The Government, Venetian Macau and trade union representatives will sign a four-party agreement over the details of Venetian Macau’s pay cut scheme today (30 December).

The agreement will include a guarantee from Venetian Macau not to make staff redundant, while the staff will accept a 13.3% pay cut proposal. Read the rest of this entry »

In late December, a federal appeals court denied a request by Titleist to stay a previously ordered injunction against the continued sale of its popular Pro V1 golf balls.

The ruling followed a decision in November by Delaware’s U.S. District Court granting Callaway Golf of Carlsbad, Calif., for a permanent injunction stopping sales of the Pro V1 line on the grounds that the balls infringed on patents owned by Callaway. Read the rest of this entry »

At Spa Alila, they are committed to providing unique treatments from the heart, blending ancient Asian healing techniques with age-old beauty recipes featuring the curative benefits of fresh, natural, quality ingredients.

Trained in anatomical physiology, massage, meditation and service, our local therapists combine the latest organic nutrition and health knowledge with the most essential element – warm, genuine care that flows from the heart through the hands, to stimulate, rejuvenate, balance and relax your mind and body. Read the rest of this entry »

PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion Wall Street fraud scheme has hurt and embarrassed the Jewish community who socialised at Palm Beach Country Clubs, the Florida country club where the mega-wealthy where the financier found so many of his investors.

Madoff made his connections at the Palm Beach Country Club, an oceanfront hideaway founded by Jews excluded from other posh clubs in one of America’s wealthiest towns. Read the rest of this entry »

Scottsdale, AZ – December 2008 – Star Resort Group (SRG) has announced that Anabui, a private residence club located in the gated community of Tierra Del Sol, Aruba has launched sales. SRG is a leading developer, marketer and seller of luxury fractional ownership real estate, private residence clubs, condo-hotels, timeshares, and whole ownership resort real estate products in The Americas.

Star Resort Group (www.starresortgroup.com) provides sales and marketing, development and management expertise to developers throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America and now, the Caribbean. The company also develops resort projects for its own account, and is unique in that aspect. Read the rest of this entry »

The newest casino on the Las Vegas Strip is openfor business. Steve Wynn opened the doors tonight of his latest luxury resort, Encore Las Vegas.

By the time the doors opened at 8 p.m., hundreds of people were waiting outside to enter the building in five different lines. The parking garage was full about 30 minutes later.

Nearly all slot machines were occupied and many restaurants and bars appeared full. Read the rest of this entry »

Dec. 24 (Bloomberg) — The head of the Asian Tour said he was “appalled” by an Australian-led push to form a new golf “Super Tour” across the region.

National golf tours in Australia, Japan, South Korea and China signed agreements over the past 15 months to explore starting a united circuit, known as the OneAsia Tour.

The Asian Tour, which stages events in 17 nations, has opposed the move and today described the Australasian Tour’s methods as an “invasion.” The Asian Tour won’t support or get involved in the new tour, Executive Chairman Kyi Hla Han said.

“We are appalled with the Australasian Tour’s attempt to create another tour in this region as the Asian Tour has already successfully achieved this objective with our well-documented growth over the past decade,” Han said in a statement.

Han said he had proposed an alternative plan of staging four to six World Golf Championship-styled events at meetings between the tours in May and July. Subsequent meetings were held without the Asian Tour being invited, according to Han. Read the rest of this entry »

Mr Obama’s score in his 18-hole game on a par 72 course in Waimanalo was not revealed. He played with a group of local friends from his schooldays and Eugene Kang, an aide who has played the game since he was 10.

Although he teed off in Hawaii with a strong drive, assessments of the standard of his game are mixed. Golf Digest reported in March that his handicap was a very respectable 16 - just behind President George W. Bush, who plays off 15.

But his spokesman Robert Gibbs said in June that Mr Obama and others “went to a golf course, and they swung golf clubs but I don’t think it was real pretty”.

Mr Obama, who plays left-handed, stopped at the 9th hole to but some hot dogs and other snacks for the group. When asked how the game was going, he smiled and replied: “I’m not that good.” Read the rest of this entry »

HONG KONG (AFP) — Macau’s giant Venetian casino owned by troubled Las Vegas Sands has sacked 500 staff, the company said in a statement, the latest sign of the firms’s struggles to deal with the global credit crunch.

The Venetian, a massive hotel and casino complex billed as the cornerstone of a new Las Vegas-style strip, has cut the weekly working week for its casino workers, and laid off 500 staff, the firm said in a statement. Read the rest of this entry »

A boutique spa called Jabulani will open in March 2009 in the heart of the rainforest at the Machaca Hill eco-resort in Punta Gorda, Belize.

With three treatment rooms, a relaxation room and a swimming pool, other facilities within the Jabulani spa will include a gym, a lounge and a juice bar.

The spa’s signature, Western-inspired treatments will use produce from the retreat’s organic garden.

Machaca Hill, which is owned by parent company Outpost International, has a total of 12 treehouse suites.

The intimate jungle retreat is situated in a remote area of the private 11,000-acre (4,451-hectare) Laughing Falcon Reserve in Belize’s southern-most Toledo District.

Brian Gardiner has recently been appointed to the role of general manager of the resort