%1

Nevada’s tourism economy is putting the coronavirus pandemic behind it, with regulators reporting a 12th straight month of $1 billion or more in casino house winnings statewide and the airport serving Las Vegas planning to add international service in April, the Associated Press reported. The Nevada Gaming Control Board on Wednesday reported the best February ever in casino winnings, at $1.1 billion, in the key marker of state economic health. The state reaped almost $59 million in casino taxes based on the figure, up more than 34% from a year ago. Harry Reid International Airport on Tuesday reported monthly passenger traffic more than doubled in February from a year ago, with 3.3 million arriving and departing passengers. That was down just 13.5% from the 3.8 million passengers tallied two years ago, in February 2020 — the last month before COVID-19 closed casinos and businesses for more than two months.

Federal health officials are dropping the warning they have attached to cruising since the beginning of the pandemic, leaving it up to vacationers to decide whether they feel safe getting on a ship, the Associated Press reported. Cruise-ship operators welcomed Wednesday’s announcement, which came as many people thought about summer vacation plans. An industry trade group said the move by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention validated measures that ship owners have taken, including requiring crew members and most passengers to be vaccinated against the virus. The CDC removed the COVID-19 “cruise ship travel health notice” that was first imposed in March 2020, after virus outbreaks on several ships around the world. However, the agency expressed reservations about cruising. “While cruising will always pose some risk of COVID-19 transmission, travelers will make their own risk assessment when choosing to travel on a cruise ship, much like they do in all other travel settings,” CDC spokesman Dave Daigle said in an email.

Film studio STX Entertainment has put an indirect subsidiary company holding the rights to the Chris Pine and Ben Foster-starring thriller “The Contractor” into chapter 11 bankruptcy, The Hollywood Reporter reported. The move, detailed in an SEC filing from Eros Global Corp., parent of STX, aims to protect the value of the action thriller for the company’s shareholders as Eros moves ahead on a deal to sell the indie studio built and led by Robert Simonds to an affiliate of the Najafi Companies. Unveiled on Tuesday, the SEC filing indicates that a Dec. 6, 2021 agreement for the sale of STX was amended on March 15. The Najafi Companies will now acquire 85 percent of the equity interests and 100 percent of the voting interests of STX, while Eros STX Global Corp. agrees to retain 15 percent of the non-voting shares in the indie studio. “We anticipate the purchase price and the amount of outstanding debt at closing to be approximately $157 million,” Eros said in the SEC filing. The deal for STX Entertainment calls for the indie studio to repay $148 million in debt, and follows STX Entertainment and Eros completing a stock-for-stock merger to form Eros STX Global Corp. in 2020. The Najafi Companies is a private investment company with holdings in consumer, media, talent-driven brands, e-commerce, tech and sports.

Two years after adopting some of the strictest COVID-19 measures of any U.S. jurisdiction, Puerto Rico is eliminating most of its restrictions amid falling infection rates and an aggressive vaccine campaign, Bloomberg News reported. Masks will no longer be required outdoors or indoors except in hospitals and at nursing homes, Governor Pedro Pierluisi said during a press conference Monday. In addition, all occupancy restrictions — including those on restaurants, bars and theaters — will be dropped. Events of 1,000 people or more, however, will still be required to follow special guidelines. Visitors from the U.S. mainland will no longer have to fill out a health declaration form upon arrival. The U.S. territory of 3.3 million took aggressive steps to stop the spread of COVID-19, imposing curfews, shuttering bars and restaurants, and adopting strict masking policies in March, 2020, before most U.S. states. Health Secretary Carlos Mellado said 83% of the population has been vaccinated, 53% has had a booster shot and that — between the vaccinated and those who have recovered from COVID-19 — a full 91% of the population has antibodies to the virus. Even so, Pierluisi warned that “the pandemic is not over” and that he would reimpose restrictions if officials detect a rise in cases.