Macao has tentatively renewed the casino licenses of MGM Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts and three Chinese rivals after they promised to help diversify the economy by investing in non-gambling attractions.

The American casino giants that helped make Macao the “Las Vegas of Asia” are losing money due to COVID and travel restrictions.

The world also said goodbye to U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a lion of the civil rights movement who died in July. Other former political figures who died this year include Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, New York Mayor David Dinkins, Arizona Gov. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2020 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___David Stern, 77. The guitarist who supplied the scratching, seething sound that fueled the highly influential British punk band Gang of Four. He fused African rhythms with funk to become one of the most influential musicians in world dance music.

On Tuesday, May 26, 2020, the family of Stanley Ho, the Macao casino tycoon considered the father of modern gambling in China, has died at 98. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)HONG KONG Casino tycoon Stanley Ho, whose business empire dominated the Portuguese gambling enclave of Macao for decades, has died in Hong Kong at age 98. He had left the same job at his Hong Kong conglomerate Shun Tak Holdings just a year earlier. In those days, the Portuguese said Stanley Ho was a dreamer. I feel rather proud in having succeeded.___Chan, who reported from Hong Kong for the Associated Press for seven years, is now based in London.