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Briefs: Why be a governor when you can work for MGM?

Gov turned MGM: Former Gov. Brian Sandoval is joining MGM Resorts International as its first president of global gaming development, the company announced Tuesday. Sandoval, a Republican who turned the governor’s office over to Democrat Steve Sisolak on Monday, will head MGM’s global expansion plans in Japan and focus on state public policy efforts around sports gaming. The company also announced that MGM Resorts President Bill Hornbuckle will now lead global casino marketing by leveraging company assets to drive revenue growth, including MGM’s efforts in Macau. Sandoval has gaming industry experience. He was appointed to the Nevada Gaming Commission in 1998 and became its youngest chairman a year later.

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Advent acquires majority in Aimbridge: Dallas-based private equity investor Advent International signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority ownership interest in North America’s leading third-party hotel operator Aimbridge Hospitality from Lee Equity Partners, a U.S.-based private equity firm, and and global growth investor General Atlantic. Aimbridge’s experienced senior management team will continue to lead the company and will retain a meaningful equity stake in the business. The transaction is expected to close by February. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. 

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The China travel boom: New York-based Resonance Consultancy has released its Future of Chinese International Travel Report, in partnership with China Luxury Advisors (CLA), a global consultancy that advises luxury brands, tourism boards, destinations and retailers on their China consumer strategies. Key insights within include the prediction that the number of Chinese passport holders will double to 240 million by 2020—only 7% of Chinese citizens currently have passports—and that international trips by the country’s residents will increase from 145 million in 2017 to more than 400 million by 2030.  Additionally, Chinese travelers have spent $20 billion abroad and that sum is expected to hit US$40 billion in the next four years. 

Read the full report here 

‘1 billion devices’ Google claims that Google Assistant will be on a billion devices by the end of the month. (Up from around 400M devices this time a year ago). The company first announced Assistant back in May 2016. Today, it’s on TVs, smart speakers, tablets, smart watches, and just about every new Android phone that hits the market.

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Paypal-driven app for Chat: Las Vegas-based Bnb Chat has released a vacation rental app which allows hosts, property managers, and hotel owners the ability to receive credit card payments directly into their PayPal accounts, while not collecting any user data, or charging traveler fees. The company has developed a platform that puts business owners in total control of their companies by solving what it sees as seven of the most troubling problems encountered by hospitality companies on a daily basis.

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Alibaba acquires data company: Alibaba has paid €90 million (US$103 million) to acquire Data Artisans, a Berlin-based startup that provides distributed systems and large-scale data streaming services for enterprises. The deal was first announced by European media, including EU-Startups, before being confirmed by both Alibaba and Data Artisans through blog posts. The Chinese e-commerce giant has been working with Data Artisans since 2016, through support and open source work to help the architecture and performance of the software, both companies said in statements.

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