Street Talk
Brownwood Paddock Square | 5:00 PM
Justin Heet Band
Lake Sumter Landing Market Square | 5:00 PM
Studio 77
Spanish Springs Town Square | 5:00 PM
Boozy Bingo at Sawgrass Grove
Sawgrass Grove | 5:00 PM
The neck on one of the guitars he plays is as long as he his tall.
But 12-year-old Saxon Weiss’s fingers moved furiously up and down that guitar neck on day three of the BeachLife festival, where talent and tenacity wasn’t just on display on the big stages.
From the small Speakeasy stage on Sunday, the Palos Verdes Estates phenom wowed the standing-room only crowd, playing, by his account, about 96% original music.
It was the local prodigy’s first time playing as the main act, said his mom Cassie Weiss after the boy’s performance that had dads, moms, aunts, uncles and grandparents head nodding and looking on in amazement.
Saxon Weiss was in good company, too.
He was joined on stage by professionals: bassist Tal Wilkenfeld and drummer Kiel Feher. Wilkenfeld has performed with Mick Jagger, Chick Corea, Jeff Beck, Prince and even BeachLife headliner Incubus, who performed on Saturday night.
Feher, who has kept the beat for Megan Trainer and Julian Lennon, said after the youth’s set he felt lucky to be a part of Weiss’ journey.
“He’s so ahead of his time,” Feher said. “He’s just such an incredible musician.”
Weiss himself, who played guitar and sang all the vocals in a sweet, high tenor, said he felt bolstered by the professional backing.
There’s no one else musical in his family, said the Palos Verdes Intermediate School student. His musical talent’s genesis?
“It’s a gift from God,” said Weiss after the show.
And, he felt supported by family, friends and BeachLifers, one of whom walked away from Weiss’ performance predicting — “He’ll be on the HighTide stage in about five years.”
Like many locals, Weiss was grateful to be included in the BeachLife lineup
“I feel so happy to walk on stage and see all the people in the audience,” Weiss said. “It’s so energizing.”
Also bringing energy to one of the small stages on Sunday, was the band Wall of Sound who played the RipTide stage.
The Grateful Dead tribute band is starting to branch out in Southern California, said its drummer Darren Pujalet, a Hermosa Beach resident.
“We’re just having a great time,” Pujalet said as few minutes before taking the stage. “We bring a little bit more energy, I think, to the music and it’s just a little bit more higher octane.”
Pujalet said Sunday’s performance was the band’s second at BeachLife following 2022.
“It’s our back yard,” Pujalet said. “We have so much family and friends here that it’s just super special.”
On a cool and cloudy Saturday at BeachLife, Devo fans made their reappearance in the new wave band’s de-evolution movement, showing up with red-tiered helmets and sardonic salutes.
“You don’t buy the hat unless you’re a big fan,” said Johnny Ray right before Devo took to the LowTide stage.
Ray and partner Kelly Dahlman were dressed in matching black and red outfits, in addition to the helmets. They’ve been Devo fans since Kelly saw them in concert, her first, back in the late 1970s.
The pair came to BeachLife last year just to see a variety of bands, said Ray. But when they heard Devo was playing, he immediately bought tickets.
Later on Saturday, fans crammed into the VIP section to await the arrival of rockers Incubus.
Sitting on a picnic table trying to keep warm were Maren Hoffmann and Ashley Yeager.
For Hoffmann, 25, who said she BeachLife was her first music festival.
Incubus, especially the popular song, “Drive,” was the draw for her.
“It was so great,” said Hoffman.
The best part of Saturday BeachLife for Hoffmann?
“Santigold dancing,” she said about the new wave/hip hop crossover artist who performed on the LowTide stage Saturday afternoon.
–Staff writer Michael Hixon contributed to this report
MIRAMAR– Renowned Haitian American musician Lucky Pierre has composed and recorded a powerful song titled “Kanal La Pap Kanpe,” accompanied by a captivating music video, to raise awareness and funds to aid in the construction of much-needed canals for irrigation in Haiti.
Haiti, home to over 11 million people, grapples with significant challenges, including acute food insecurity affecting over 5 million Haitians. One contributing factor to this crisis is the inadequate irrigation infrastructure, which impedes agricultural efforts across vast swathes of land. In response, farmers in Nord Est Haiti have taken a proactive approach, defying political and economic pressures to initiate the construction of a canal along the River Massacre.
The music video premiered on May 1, 2024, on YouTube & all music platforms. May 1 is celebrated as Labor Day in Haiti and May is also celebrated as Haitian American Heritage Month in the United States. Pierre aims to rally the community to download the song, to raise one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) towards the canal’s construction.
The canal project seeks to irrigate and cultivate lands, fostering self-sustainability and economic empowerment within local communities. The grassroots movement, “Kanal La Pap Kampe” (KPK), has ignited inspiration among Haitians worldwide, driving individuals to join forces and contribute to this noble cause.
Speaking at a press launch event on Thursday, April 25 at the Springhill Suites in Miramar, Florida, Lucky Pierre expressed his excitement about the project. “We are thrilled to unveil this music video, which not only raises funds but also encapsulates the spirit of resilience and unity among the Haitian people. It showcases their unwavering determination to overcome adversity,” he stated. Translated in English as “The Canal Will Not Stop” expressing the will of the people of Haiti.
Rhonda Eyes Alliance (REA) a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization registered in the State of Florida has received the endorsement of President Moise Joseph of the KPK Committee for the responsibility to receive funds to support the Cause of the Kanal. Rhonda’s Eyes Alliance provides eyecare for underserved communities in Haiti, the Caribbean & South Florida.
On Wednesday night, May 1st, the 2024 APRA Music Awards took place in Sydney. Of the 17 award categories, two were won by women. That’s equal to the number awarded to Dean Lewis alone.
The music industry is male-dominated at every turn, a fact that has been highlighted time and time again in academic research, articles, 2022’s National Music Industry Review, and social movements for at least the past three decades. I’d like to discuss the link between women’s underrepresentation and the male-inflicted harm that pervades the Australian music industry.
Because the connection is not tenuous.
In fact, it’s the accumulation of moments like these that form the cultural scaffolding of an industry that fosters and maintains high rates of sexual violence and gendered harm against women.
In a post-#MeToo context, in a week marked by nationwide protests calling for action on violence against women, we are sick of a two-steps forward, one-step back approach to society valuing, respecting and celebrating women.
Misogyny, sexism, and sexual violence in society is reflected in the microcosm of the music industry. Music is an animating force of pop culture, and pop culture both shapes and imitates broader social attitudes. To me, the magic of working in music is that our industry does not exist in a vacuum. When we amplify, platform, and celebrate women and people from other marginalised groups, we build their social capital.
However, the change-making potential of the music industry is undercut by a distinct paradox. Creative industries like music have been found to outwardly present as progressive, cool, and egalitarian, while harbouring high rates of inequality and gendered harm.
In other words, the leaders, tastemakers, and gatekeepers of the music industry talk a big talk about women’s inclusion.
Meanwhile, every shred of evidence shows that the music industry is male-dominated in all roles, women are underrepresented as executives, erased from the music canon as artists, devalued as fans, subject to higher rates of harassment while working in the industry, experience higher rates of sexual assault as audience members in the live sector, are not platformed as role models for other women, face less support for career development, and are excluded from the “boys club” culture that locks women out of the industry and throws away the key.
When women’s contributions to the industry are erased and excluded like at this year’s APRA Awards, progress is washed away and replaced with the status quo.
And let me make something crystal clear about the norm: male dominance is a known risk factor for sexual violence. The connection between the “boys club” and high rates of sexual violence in music is not a long bow to draw because sexual violence is born from gendered power structures.
The two women recognised at this year’s APRA awards were Taylor Swift for her song “Anti-Hero” being the most performed international work, and Sia for her song “Unstoppable” being the most performed Australian work overseas. Taylor and Sia are already stratospheric artists whose careers transcend the bounds of the APRA Awards, and both their award categories reflect their international success.
There is a time and a place to celebrate their personal dominance as solo female artists at the top of their game, just as I’d like to take a moment to shout-out the few male winners who are not straight, white dudes.
The music industry needs to deeply invest in amplifying the voices of gender diverse people, of First Nations artists and music makers from a whole range of marginalised groups. But right now, the lack of women represented by APRA on Wednesday night was so glaring it sent me reeling.
APRA AMCOS is a peak music industry body with over 100,000 members and is a national organisation that supports the careers of nearly every Aussie and New Zealand composer, songwriter and publisher.
In the local music industry, APRA is a big deal. They collect music license fees, pay out royalties, run professional development workshops and competitions, and put on the annual APRA awards. They also do good work towards gender parity, diversity, and inclusion, all of which is listed on their website.
The Aussie music industry was rocked by the #MeToo movement in 2020, and it seemed like the veil was lifted on the state of toxicity, sexism and misogyny in music. The national inquiry Raising Their Voices report in 2022 further detailed this, and set out recommendations for reform. One recommendation was that industry bodies “set targets and actions to increase women’s representation,” including award nominations.
There are known solutions to reducing gendered harm in music, the industry just ignores them.
I don’t know what else to say.
Lily Richardson fronts the band CLEWS. She is a PhD candidate at UNSW researching gendered harm in the music industry and barriers to lasting change.
“None of them exist no more. They fired all the heads of the labels and if they didn’t, they turn them into glorified A&Rs. They cut off 50 percent of the people who work in all these departments, most of those people is us, people of color, that come from hip-hop and R&B and these other things, right?” he added.
He continued, “Then you got record labels opening up IPOs. You got record labels destroying their relationships with TikTok, Spotify, things that pay our artists because they want to start their own shit.”
Staples is referring to Universal Music Group’s highly-publicized spat with TikTok that had the music conglomerate removing its catalogue of music from the video-sharing app in January after failed negotiations over royalties and AI-related issues. UMG recently reinstated its offerings, featuring hit songs from artists like Drake and Billie Eilish, back to the platform on Thursday after a three-month standoff.
The rapper explained that Black artists are feeling the effects of the actions of record labels in the streaming era. Instead of focusing on the rap battles, Staples points to Taylor Swift, 34, as an example of a prominent musician fighting for artists.
“So then we getting priced out of our contracts, we getting priced out of our imprints. There are no labels, basically, that are incentivized to sign Black music and it’s happening in front of our eyes,” he said. “While Taylor Swift is fighting for people to be able to have streaming money, n***as is on the internet arguing with each other about some rap shit. So that’s how I feel about it, honestly.”
As noted by Billboard’s Chris Eggertsen, Swift fought for artist’s rights when she withdrew her music from Spotify in November 2014 in protest of low royalty payments from the streaming platform’s “freemium” model. The following year, Swift successfully pressured Apple Music to pay artists during a user’s three-month free trial period by threatening to withhold her then-new album 1989 from their platform.
“Personally, I think we better than that. I think we deserve better than that because we’ve been saying for decades that we want people to respect Black music and Black art and Black people,” Staples added. “I think for that to happen, we gotta respect ourselves and they don’t make it easy for us, but we gotta try to work a little bit harder at that.”
Staples went one step further after Mayor Richardson reiterated the importance of uplifting Black artists instead of “celebrating” tearing each other down.
PORTAGE, Mich. — Sunday marked the official opening day for the 2024 Portage Farmers Market.
The celebration featured live music from local musicians, balloon animals, and about 30 different vendors offering fresh, local products.
As part of their sixteenth “Green-a-thon,” the Portage Youth Advisory Committee was handing out various tree seedlings and sharing information about composting and recycling.
Organizers from the committee said opening day at the Portage Farmers Market is a yearly tradition for the group.
“We’re giving out everything for free, so everyone has access to it,” Co-Chair for the Social Media Subcommittee of the Portage Youth Advisory Committee Aamya Gole said.
The Portage Farmers Market will be held at Portage City Hall every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Oct. 13.
To learn more about the market, go here.
KUCHING 7 May 2024: Brace yourselves for an exciting experience at the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) 2024 as ticket purchasers to the festival stand a chance to win incredible prizes worth more than MYR100,000 by entering a skill contest and answering simple questions.
At this year’s RWMF, all adult three-day pass ticket buyers stand to win a Mitsubishi Triton 4X4 VGT AT Premium or an electric bike, the Ebixon Bold EV Bike, while Adult 1-day pass ticket buyers are eligible to win an electric bike. For new ticket purchasers, the link to join the contest will be sent by Ticket2U.com via email, along with their tickets. Earlier ticket purchasers can access the contest either via RWMF.net or the Ticket2U ticketing platform.
The highly anticipated festival will take place from 28 to 30 June 2024 at the Sarawak Cultural Village from 1000 onwards. It will offer a vibrant celebration of international and local performers, including Kitaro, Havana Social Club, Dato’ Zainalabidin, and Sarawakian power-pack multi-talented artiste Belle Sisoski.
Themed EVOLUTION, the RWMF 2024 showcases 21 acts, comprising 68 international musicians from 14 countries across six continents and 63 Malaysian artists. World music fans can indulge themselves in the rhythm of world music while advocating responsible tourism to foster sustainable practices and protect the environment.
Grammy Award winner Kitaro, with his The Best of Kitaro Live, promises to be a memorable performance, and world-known multicultural band Havana Social Club is another headliner on a mission to illuminate Asia and beyond with the vibrant rhythms of Cuba. Another top act at the RWMF this year from West Malaysia is Dato’ Zainalabidin, known for his hit song ‘Hijau’, which has been around for over three decades. Representing East Malaysia is Sarawak’s own Belle Sisoski, well-known for using her creative platform to raise awareness about indigenous rights, environmental and musical conservation in Sarawak. Another highlight of the festival is the debut of The Borneo Collective, a musical project featuring Sarawak’s masters of traditional instruments backed by an ensemble of world-class musicians from all over Malaysia.
Other international acts include Alright Mela Meets Santoo (Pakistan/France), Bourbon Lassi (Australia/Malaysia), Imarhan (Algeria/France), Krakatau Ethno (Indonesia), Nini (Taiwan/USA), Rizal Hadi and Folk (Indonesia), Rhythm Rebels Featuring Selonding Bali Aga (Indonesia), and Tribal Tide (Singapore). Attendees to RWMF 2024 will also be entertained by other Malaysian acts such as The Borneo Collective (East Malaysia), Adrian G (West Malaysia), Alena Murang (East Malaysia), Nisa Addina (East Malaysia), Salammusik (West Malaysia), The Colour of Sound’s Malaysia (West Malaysia), Tuni Sundatang (East Malaysia) and Zarul @OurBodySound (West Malaysia).
For music enthusiasts looking to delve into the full weekend of festivities, the coveted 3-Day Pass grants access to all that the RWMF 2024 has to offer. Priced at MYR635 for adults, the pass ensures an uninterrupted celebration of music, culture, and community. Act fast to grab the special early bird rate of RM235, available only until the close of 5 May. Don’t let this opportunity slip away to secure your tickets at a discounted rate and be in the running for fantastic prizes! For more information on how to win the grand prize, follow us on our social media channels.
For more information and ticket bookings, please visit the official Rainforest World Music Festival 2024 website at www.rwmf.net. Or via the Ticket2U ticketing platform.
For more information on Sarawak, visit www.sarawaktourism.com
Sipepisiwe Moyo, [email protected]
The Bulawayo Shutdown show, which attracted thousands of attendees, has been widely praised for its consistent delivery of quality entertainment. Many have lauded the event for its vibrant atmosphere and its ability to draw large crowds, further cementing its reputation as a premier entertainment showcase in the region.
Coinciding with the final day of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, the event’s seventh edition held last weekend, featured top performers from Bulawayo, Harare and South Africa, and attracted not only locals, but also international visitors, who took part in the festivities before returning to their respective countries.
Organising an event of this magnitude involves numerous challenges, from securing sponsors and convincing top-tier performers to participate, to navigating a myriad of obstacles that arise during the planning process.
Chronicle Showbiz recently sat down with the Harris Entertainment team, to delve into the detailed planning behind the successful Bulawayo Shutdown event. Harris Lodges general manager Jordan Dube enthusiastically shared insights into both the challenges and triumphs encountered while orchestrating such a significant gathering, shedding light on the complexity and dedication involved in bringing the event to life.
Q. Can you give us a brief overview of what went into planning of the Bulawayo Shutdown gig this year?
A. I’m thrilled to have the chance to share the journey my team and I embarked on while planning the Bulawayo Shutdown show. This was a collaborative effort where we engaged with nearly everyone involved to ensure its success. This was done through advertising the event on various social media platforms, informing people across the country about the big day and engaging various sponsors from the beginning.
Q. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in organising this event?
A. We encountered financial challenges due to insufficient sponsorship for the event. Managing finances is particularly crucial when dealing with artistes from South Africa, as they require full payment before signing any agreements. This added an extra layer of complexity to our planning and execution.
Q. How did you go about selecting artistes for this year’s line-up?
A. To tackle the challenge of artiste selection and ensure maximum audience satisfaction, we devised a strategy that involved the audience directly in choosing the performers. We posted a poll on the Harris Entertainment page, inviting fans to suggest their preferred artistes. The artistes who received the most suggestions were then selected to perform at the show, guaranteeing that our line-up reflected the audience’s favourites and enhancing the overall appeal of the event. Despite our initial plans, there were a few changes along the way. Nash brought another artiste along (Saintfloew), and during our roadshow campaign for the event, we discovered and included an up-and-coming artiste named Mhungu. Also, Aymos from South Africa failed to catch the private jet we had booked for him on time and he also had to attend awards in SA so he did not show up. We had also cancelled Emtee as he had double bookings but there were also changes in his Kenya performance so we then decided to bring him as a surprise act.
Q. What marketing and promotional strategies did you find most effective in attracting attendees?
A. Our team was deeply involved in marketing and raising awareness for the event. We organised a roadshow and distributed posters throughout the city and surrounding areas. Additionally, we handed out flyers across Bulawayo, ensuring that as many people as possible knew about the show and were excited to attend. This comprehensive approach helped generate a significant buzz and anticipation leading up to the event.
Q. How many people attended the event?
A. As of now, I haven’t had the opportunity to confirm the exact number of attendees through ticket sales. However, we are pleased to report that the event was a success. While we did not make a profit, importantly, we did not incur any losses either.
Our primary goal was not financial gain, but to demonstrate our capability and desire to host events of this nature. We aimed to showcase the potential for such events to bring people together and celebrate culture and talent, which we successfully achieved.
Q. How was this year’s turnout compared to previous events?
A. In my view, we managed to attract the same number of attendees as previous events. Some might think there was an increase, but that’s not the case. The perception of larger crowds is often influenced by how the event is captured on camera, which can make the audience appear more densely packed than it actually is.
Q. How did you manage crowd control and safety during the event?
A. I am quite satisfied with the security measures we implemented. We had over a hundred security personnel on site, ensuring everyone’s safety. I’m pleased to report that the event was highly secure, with no incidents of stolen property or breakages recorded. This level of security contributed significantly to the overall success and smooth running of the show.
Q. What impact do you think the event has on local artistes?
A. Artistes benefited significantly from the collaborations that occurred during the show, experiencing a rich cultural exchange.
They had the opportunity to learn from each other, sharing diverse artistic techniques and perspectives. The show featured an exciting collaboration between Enzo Ishall and Ma9ine, which highlighted how beneficial the event was for the artistes involved.
Q. What impact do you think the Bulawayo Shutdown has on the local community and economy?
A. The event had a positive impact on the local economy, benefiting multiple sectors. By drawing attendees from various regions, it acted as a promotional tool for domestic tourism, encouraging visitors to explore the area and spend locally. This influx of visitors supported hotels, restaurants and other local businesses, showcasing the broader economic benefits of hosting such large-scale events. I would like to extend my gratitude to Minister Barbara Rwodzi, who provided crucial suggestions that contributed significantly to the success of this event. Her insights and ideas were invaluable and we greatly appreciate her support and input.
Q. What are your future plans?
A. For our next event, we aim to enhance the experience by partnering with radio stations for broader outreach and securing more sponsorships to enrich the event’s offerings. Additionally, we plan to invest in a state-of-the-art stage to elevate the performance environment, ensuring an even more impressive and engaging experience for all attendees.
A chillwave musician last week uploaded the first entirely artificial intelligence-generated music video created by OpenAI’s text-to-video model, Sora.
Washed Out’s latest song, “The Hardest Part,” was released Thursday, complete with a four-minute music video following a couple’s romance from high school through the rest of their adult lives together — speeding through scenes alluding to a wedding, child-rearing and eventual death.
The video’s director, Paul Trillio, wrote in a statement shared by Washed Out’s record label, Sub Pop, that he had wanted to film such an “infinite zoom” concept for a decade now but never attempted it because he believed it would be too ambitious.
“I was specifically interested in what makes Sora so unique. It offers something that couldn’t quite be shot with a camera, nor could it be animated in 3D, it was something that could have only existed with this specific technology,” Trillio wrote. “The surreal and hallucinatory aspects of AI allow you to explore and discover new ideas that you would have never dreamed of.”
Sora, which is not yet available to the public, can generate videos up to a minute long based on ideas typed into a text box. Edited together, the clips could feasibly be used to make full-length projects. The technology had roused a mixture of excitement and concern online after OpenAI unveiled its hyper-realistic video-generation capabilities in February.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The Hardest Part,” the lead single from Washed Out’s coming album, “Notes From a Quiet Life,” is the longest music video made with Sora so far. There is something dreamlike, almost uncanny, about the visuals — an effect that seems intentional, according to Trillio, who wrote that it’s “boring” to try to re-create reality with AI.
“I wasn’t interested in capturing realism but something that felt hyperreal. The fluid blending and merging of different scenes feels more akin to how we move through dreams and the murkiness of memories,” Trillio wrote. “While some people feel this may be supplanting how things are made, I see this as supplementing ideas that could never have been made otherwise.”
Washed Out, whose real name is Ernest Greene, also wrote in a statement shared by Sub Pop that Sora managed to bring the fictitious couple’s story, centered on nostalgia and love lost, to life in ways that he believes only AI can.
“What [Trillio’s] come up with is nostalgic, sad, uplifting, and often quite strange. However, he still manages to make you feel for the characters and invested in the journey of how their lives progress,” Greene wrote, adding, “In my opinion, the hallucinatory quality of Sora clips feel like the beginning of a new genre unto itself — one that is surreal and unpredictable and entirely unique to traditional cinema or even animation.”
Some artists online criticized the use of AI to create the video, expressing doubt that it enhanced the video’s creativity or helped evoke emotion from viewers.
The explosion of generative AI technology has permeated creative industries in recent years, raising questions of how the influx of new tools — enabling internet users everywhere to create music, write scripts or lyrics and generate visual media with nothing but a few text prompts — will affect the labor of real-life artists and producers.
Concerns about generative AI were already top of mind for entertainment industry workers during last year’s labor strikes. And many musicians continue to push for protections around use of AI models. Just last month, Drake pulled his diss track “Taylor Made Freestyle” from his social media accounts after Tupac Shakur’s estate threatened to sue him for using an AI-generated version of Shakur’s voice.
Despite a flurry of lawsuits around AI algorithms’ learning from human artists’ copyrighted work without consent or compensation, others in the tech space have few qualms about using the technology — often arguing that the accessibility of generative AI tools will allow lower-budget artists to pursue bigger projects.
Trillio wrote that he remains optimistic about how artists will adapt as AI reveals new technological and creative possibilities.
“This offers a glimpse at a future where music artists will be given the opportunity to dream bigger,” he wrote. “An overreliance on this technique may become a crutch and it’s important that we don’t use this as the new standard of creation but another technique in the toolbelt.”
Hong Kong-listed Century Entertainment International Holdings Ltd said Friday it has cancelled an agreement it previously signed with its own Chairman and CEO to run VIP gaming tables at a casino in Cambodia, inking instead a new agreement directly with the casino’s owners.
Under the terms of the agreement, the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Wisdom Ocean Group Limited will operate all seven tables at the casino in Dara Sakor for an initial three-year term, for which it will pay the owner, LongBay Entertainment, US$35,000 a month. For this, Century Entertainment will be entitled to 100% of winnings and responsible for 100% of house losses as well as paying relevant staff costs.
LongBay will be responsible for the provision of a relevant valid gaming license, for any operating expenses that cannot be individually separated from the casino and are required for the operation of the VIP room such as utilities fees, sanitation charges and air-conditioning charges, and for the dealers of the gaming tables.
According to details contained in a filing, the previous agreement with Chairman and CEO Ng Man Sun’s Lion King Entertainment was cancelled because the company was unable to obtain the full underlying books and records for the preparation of the profit and loss statement on the identifiable net income stream in relation to the new gaming table business rights, as required under listing rules.
“In order to resume the Group’s gaming business, the company started to negotiate with LongBay Entertainment to directly lease the VIP Rooms from LongBay Entertainment for operation of gaming business,” Century Entertainment explained.
“The VIP Rooms are located at Dara Sakor, Koh Kong Province, Cambodia, which is one of the most rapidly developing districts in Cambodia and a well-known tourism destination in Southeast Asia with attractive potential on the gaming market.
“According to the latest design and construction of the VIP Rooms, the company plans to operate baccarat on all the gaming tables in the VIP Rooms. The Directors expect that the gaming business in the area will have good prospects. The Board believes that the entering into of the Casino Agreement would resume the Group’s gaming business and generate stable revenue for the Group and therefore improve its financial performance and financial position.”
Century Entertainment, formerly known as Amax International Holdings, had previously operated gaming tables at a casino controlled by Ng in Sihanoukville, but announced in October 2020 plans to relocate to Dara Sakor after Ng received a “more attractive offer”.
However, despite signing a new five-year deal in February 2023, the company never officially began its new table games business due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and delays in completing its implementation agreement.
The Dara Sakor casino in question covers a gross floor area of 10,500 square meters and feature a total of 40 mass gaming tables, 55 VIP tables and 80 slot machines as well as a Chinese restaurant, spa and night club.