Attorneys for Okada will have until June 28 to file briefs explaining how the documents being sought relate to him as a director.

Okada is seeking the documents in relation to WYNN’s application for a Macau gaming license in the early 2000s.

WYNN calls the request a fishing expedition that should be rejected, because it is a way for Okada to try to get the upper hand in his case appealing the forced redemption of his stake in the company and his ousting from the board.

No documents indicating that WYNN engaged in improper acts to get a gaming license will be found, because they do not exist, the company’s attorneys contend.

WYNN forced Okada to redeem his 20 percent stake in the company at a 30 percent discount earlier this year after claiming his actions in the Philippines made him unsuitable for licensing in the US.

CHH may have an advantage in the region. Financing for independent hotels remains difficult, but lenders are looking more favorably at projects that are connected to a brand with a strong track record such as CHH, CEO Stephen Joyce told Travel Weekly.

Some of the areas where the company is seeing the most interest for its brands are Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

There are currently four Caribbean properties in CHH’s pipeline. Two are slated for Haiti, and one each for Dominica and Anguilla. The Comfort Inn Jacmel in Haiti could open by the end of the year. That project was put on hold in 2010 after the January 12th earthquake.

Under the deal, BYD will get Diamond Jo Dubuque and Diamond Jo Worth in Iowa, Evangeline Downs and Amelia Belle in Louisiana, and Kansas Star Casino near Wichita, KS.

The acquisition should close by the end of the year, and BYD expects it to add to earnings immediately and significantly add to free cash flow, CEO Keith Smith said.

It will be financed with $200 million in cash and around $1.2 billion of debt that has already been secured, plus a note provided by Peninsula of about $144 million.

The purchase price is based on an EBITDA multiple of 7 times the trailing 12 month EBITDA of $109 million for Peninsula’s Iowa and Louisiana properties, and an annualized run-rate for Kansas Star based on first quarter $26.8 million EBITDA.

BYD would make an additional payment in 2016 of 7.5 times Kansas Star’s EBITDA, if 2015 EBITDA exceeds $105 million.

“Acquiring Peninsula Gaming is a transformative transaction that fits perfectly into our growth strategy by expanding our company’s scale, diversifying our platform, strengthening our financial profile and generating meaningful value for shareholders,” Smith said.

BYD hosted a special conference call to discuss the transaction. Our full service subscribers will receive a synopsis of the call, and the replay info is shown in our Conference Cal Replay section at the end of this report.

Wynn Resort’s plans for a $1 billion casino in Foxboro are coming to an end.

The company has suspended plans for the project the day after residents of Foxboro elected two selectmen that are opposed to the development of a casino in the city.

In a statement, WYNN said that the election shows the opposition to the project, and it respects the decision.

Even before the election was held, Foxboro’s board of selectmen voted against entering negotiations with WYNN by a vote of 3 to 2.

That leaves Caesars and partner Suffolk Downs, which are proposing a mega resort in Boston, as the only Boston zone candidate.

In other news:

 Penn National is considering the former Pavilion Mall site in Westfield for a casino, the Springfield Republican reported.

Westfield Mayor Daniel Knapik has had talks with PENN about the site near the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Kanpik wants a proposal that is entertainment-based, and not casino-focused, the newspaper said.

PENN is competing with Mohegan Sun, Ameristar and Hard Rock for the western region license.

 The Aquinnah Wampanoag, who continue to search for a spot to develop a casino, have chosen KMD Consulting Services of California as its development partner.

The Aquinnah hope to get the sole gaming license that is set aside for a federally recognized tribe. They are competing against the Mashpee Wampanoag, who are already in compact talks with Gov. Deval Patrick and have a referendum scheduled with their host city of Taunton.

Cities being considered by the Aquinnah are Freetown, Lakeville and Fall River.

… IN AT ECHO?

Wynn Resorts and Genting might throw their hat into the ring as candidates to buy Echo Entertainment, the owner of Star Casino in Sydney, according to UBS.

That would put them in competition with Crown Gaming, which already owns 10 percent of Echo and is seeking regulator approval to increase that to 20.

CWN CEO James Packer has generated cash that could go to the purchase by selling his stake in the Foxtel pay-TV business for $1 billion.

However, a spokesperson for WYNN indicated he was unaware of any discussions between Echo and WYNN, the Macau Daily Times said.

Echo, spun off as a public company from TabCorp last year, is run by Larry Mullin, former president of the Borgata.
Star holds the monopoly gaming license on casinos in Sydney, where CWN hopes to develop a property in Barangaroo.

The casino is seen as a potential mega resort attracting Asian players, a segment WYNN, Genting and Packer know well.

More important, the strategy includes ongoing investments in innovation and growth, as well as returning excess cash to shareholders, he said.

Since 2007, BYI has repurchased approximately 19 million shares for about $722 million, including $95 million so far this year.

At the end of its March quarter, BYI had 45.052 million diluted shares compared to 55.527 million last year.

GET already has $300 million in incentives from the city of Aurora, the Denver suburb where the project is being proposed. However, it is waiting on the state’s Economic Development team to allot Regional Tourism Tax funding, which would allow GET to hold on to some of the sales tax it generates for up to 30 years.

GET’s senior VP of development, design and construction, told the commission that the project would be nixed unless it gets the full amount of incentives. The statement came after a state-hired analyst recommended that GET receive 53 percent to the $45.3 million originally requested.

The commission meets May 18 to decide on where the incentives will go.

The $1.1 billion project, which will be located in Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp’s (PAGCOR) Entertainment City, will be three times the size of its Resorts World Manila, social news network Rappler reported.
Resorts World Bayshore is being developed in a joint venture between Genting and Andrew Tan’s investment firm Alliance Global Group. The JV will go by the name Travellers International Hotel Group.

Observers have estimated the Philippine gaming market to be in the billions, and earlier this year, Andrew Fischer of CLSA forecasted that revenues could reach $3 billion by 2015.

Other players there include:

- Bloombury, along with giant Philippine retail developer SM, which is planning to open the Solaire Manila casino resort during the first quarter of 2013

- Belle Corp, which will open its $750 million casino in the second half of 2013

- Tokyo-listed Universal, with its $2 billion project, which sparked a war between its CEO, Kazuo Okada and Wynn Resorts.

Occupancy is expected to see a 1.8 percentage point lift to 69 percent with ADR to jump 3.9 percent to $106.64,

The growth will bring ADR and RevPAR above peak levels of $107.74 and $73.26 respectively.

Leisure travel will help boost hotel demand, according to STR.

Additionally, concerns over gas prices rising above $5 this summer seem to have subsided, COO Brad Garner said.

Its full-year forecast calls for a 1.5 percentage point growth in occupancy, a 4 percent jump in ADR to $105.74 and 5.5 percent growth in RevPAR to $64.43.

INVESTORS

That reason is growth.

In the social gaming realm, games like FarmVille are on the decline while casino games are on the rise, according to recent research from Kontagent.

Casino games now accounts for 13 percent of all social game players on Facebook, compared to 8 percent in 2011 and 6 percent in 2010, VentureBeat reported.

Many of those players come from Zynga Poker, which is the second most-popular game on Facebook. Both Zynga and Facebook have indicated they may enter online gambling.

The study also found that social casino games generate 40 percent more revenue than a typical social game.

Among gaming companies, the most publicized acquisition was IGT’s $500 million purchase of Double Down poker site, and Caesar’s purchase of Playtika.

But online software provider Playtech is moving into the space, too.

PTEC plans to invest €95 million in social gaming buying a 20 percent stake in Viaden Gaming and acquiring games developer CTXM, which is responsible for the Facebook game Slots Farm.

The now under-development platform will feature free-play versions of PTEC’s casino products.

Holders waived their rights to make an obligatory bid for the company.

Apollo emerged as the winning bidder for the company after a bidding war with KSL Capital that ended with Apollo raising its offer from $5 per share to $7.85.