Free Republic

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A Daytona Beach man thought he hit the jackpot. He thought he won $166 million on a slot machine at the very popular Hard Rock Hotel and Casino near I-4 in Tampa. However, as soon as the crowds departed, the celebration ended. The casino told him that he didn't win a thing. The casino claims the slot machine malfunctioned. Bill Seebeck, who lives on a houseboat, thought his ship had come in. His blood pressure skyrocketed and said he was screaming and celebrating. But then casino workers told him there was a malfunction and wanted him...

Note: The following text is a quote: Hamilton Man Sentenced to 30 Months' Imprisonment for Threatening to Bomb Cincinnati Airport and Other Cincinnati-Area Landmarks CINCINNATI—Frederick D. Purvis, 43, of Hamilton, was sentenced in United States District Court here today to 30 months' imprisonment for a series of messages he sent in November, 2008 in which he threatened to blow up seven Cincinnati-area landmarks including the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. He was also sentenced to serve six years of supervised release after his prison term. Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, James A. Zerhusen, United...

Two aldermen are floating the idea of putting a casino and entertainment complex where Chicago had hoped to build an Olympic Village for the 2016 Games. Alds. Richard Mell, 33rd, and George Cardenas, 12th, have not yet broached the idea with Mayor Richard Daley, who for years has wavered on the notion of bringing land-based gambling to Chicago. In the week since the city lost its Olympic bid to Rio de Janeiro, Daley has said he is confident the 37-acre parcel site of the abandoned Michael Reese Hospital would be attractive to developers. The city recently bought the Near South...

He's been jobless and living on Social Security disability income for 15 years, yet Andre Michael Nestor told District Judge Jay Weller yesterday he had access to $400,000 cash to bail himself and a friend out of jail. That amount represents slightly less than what Mr. Nestor and two friends are accused of stealing from The Meadows Racetrack and Casino, in what officials have characterized as one of the biggest casino heists ever. It is certainly the largest in Pennsylvania, Washington County District Attorney Steven Toprani said yesterday during a news conference to announce county grand jury indictments of Mr....

LEDYARD, Conn. - When the doors at Foxwoods first swung open in 1992, more than poker fanatics and bingo mavens began trekking to the sparkling new casino nestled in the thick forests of the Mashantucket Pequot reservation. Dozens of Pequots traveled from as far away as California and Hawaii to their native lands in southeastern Connecticut. Many came for the promise of a steady job, and to reconnect with a tribe that had come close to extinction. But Foxwoods did not just help revive the Pequot nation; it made it fabulously wealthy. Within a few years, Foxwoods was the world’s...

Hooters celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, but it's not clear if its Las Vegas casino will make it to 4. Hooters Casino Hotel opened just off the Las Vegas Strip 3 1/2 years ago, hoping to add some spice to what had been the frumpy Hotel San Remo. Its ownership group includes some of the founders of Hooters restaurant chain, which was launched in Clearwater in 1983. However, the casino hasn't been nearly the success Hooters restaurants have been. On Friday, the business entity that controls Hooters Casino Hotel, named 155 East Tropicana LLC, announced it lost $5.1 million...

WORLEY, Idaho -- Democrats from around the West are gathering in northern Idaho for four days of planning and strategy.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - A day after a warrant was issued stemming from his $822,500 in gambling debts, Antoine Walker was arrested in Harrah's Casino in South Lake Tahoe, Nev., on Wednesday night. Walker was led out of the building in handcuffs, and is in Douglas County Jail with bail set at $87,000. Walker is accused of three felony counts of writing bad checks. County prosecutors say he failed to make good on 10 checks totaling $1 million written to Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood and the Red Rock Resort Walker’s lawyer in Las Vegas, Jonathan Powell, didn’t immediately respond...

Note: The following text is a quote: Four Members of Casino-Cheating Criminal Enterprise Sentenced for Targeting Casinos in the United States and Canada George Michael Lee, Duc Cong Nguyen, Hop Nguyen and Tien Duc Vu were sentenced today in San Diego for their roles in a scheme by the "Tran Organization" to cheat casinos across the United States and Canada. Duc Cong Nguyen and Vu admitted that they and their co-conspirators unlawfully obtained up to $2.5 million during card cheats. A three-count indictment was returned May 22, 2007, and unsealed in the Southern District of California on May 24, 2007,...

A New Jersey man has pleaded guilty to stealing 91 lobster tails from an Atlantic City casino's kitchen by cramming them into his jacket and backpack. He's been sentenced to four years in prison. Anthony Jones took the frozen lobsters from Bally's Atlantic City in February and tried to sneak them out in his jacket and backpack. A security guard monitoring a surveillance camera noticed his clothes were unusually bulky, and stopped him. He pleaded guilty to burglary on Friday in deal with prosecutors, who dropped additional charges. The lobsters, worth $1,275, were destroyed.

A Taiwanese man who lost two million US dollars in Las Vegas is threatening to sue the casino for using feng shui to cause his losing streak, a report here said. The man, surnamed Yuan, alleged that the Venetian dug a one-metre (40-inch) square hole on the wall of the presidential suite he was staying in April last year and covered it with a black cloth, said Apple Daily. The casino also put two white towels in front of Yuan's suite and turned on two large fans facing his room without notifying him, it said. Yuan claimed that his luck...

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) ― There was a shooting inside the Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City on Wednesday afternoon.

Are you ready to Rock and Roll All Night and Party Every Day? While even if you are, chances are Kiss isn’t; not without a vitamin B shot and some red bull mixed in with their prune juice. Of course this isn’t stopping them from bringing their massive stage show, big hair, and pyrotechnics to Caesars Windsor. While there may be some pesky laws in the United States about blowing up septuagenarians, it appears Canada is fairly tolerant to the idea of mixing a mid-life crisis with military grade munitions. So Windsor, lock up your grandmothers, KISS is coming to...

THE CASINO-RESORT MAGNATE Steve Wynn is so unhappy with President Barack Obama's stimulus plan that he vented about it on stage in Los Angeles, Tuesday, to a ballroom filled with corporate, financial, scientific and academic experts. The plan fails to create jobs fast enough and it failed to help one of America's biggest employers -- the hospitality industry, he said. "The only thing that should have mattered was job creation," said Wynn. "If you put an intelligent manager in charge of the government, he would know that job formation would be the first thing to fix, not a bunch of...

Reid seeks to clarify stimulus rule on casinos March 20, 2009. LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Nevada Sen. Harry Reid has sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking for clarification to a provision that restricts casinos from using federal stimulus funds. The Democratic majority leader says in a letter sent Friday that the provision is "overly broad" and is discouraging nonprofit groups from applying for stimulus money. Reid argues that casinos are often the only suitable space for conferences and workshops held by community organizations. He also cites a women's group that often uses casino hotel rooms as transitional housing...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- West Virginia lawmakers hope to help The Greenbrier resort make the most of its recently won authority to open a casino and enhance its appeal to potential buyers. Legislation introduced Friday would parallel the rules for any video lottery machines or table games at the world-famous resort with that of the state's racetracks. The bill slightly reduces the gross receipts tax set when the resort was first eyed for a casino in 2000. It also allows The Greenbrier to recoup some proceeds for employee benefit costs. Greenbrier County voters approved gambling at the resort in November...

Clearly many of you are in desperate need of a history lesson and perhaps a reminder of your manners. Recently too many of you have issues regarding the Great people of the Seneca Nation and the other Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. If it were not for the generosity and hospitality of the Seneca's and the rest of the Iroquois, there would be NO New York State nor would you enjoy the democratic society YOU enjoy today. Apparently Governor Patterson thinks this is the other way around. That the Senecas and the rest of the Iroquois tribes are citizens of...

Casinos, media join autos on way to bankruptcy Bonds selling for dimes on the dollar show investors are expecting the worst By Deborah Levine, MarketWatch Last update: 5:43 p.m. EST March 2, 2009 NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The bond market is doing the equivalent of a death watch on several well-known companies, signaling the U.S. economy could be in for more pain as struggling firms renege on loan payments and possibly file for bankruptcy. Bonds of General Motors Corp. (GM) and auto supplier Visteon Corp. (VC) ; retailer Michaels Stores and theme-park operator Six Flags Inc. (SIX) ; media firm...

A teaser for an MGM Grand Detroit casino ad campaign that features a pair of golden eyes peering at motorists from a billboard is causing a stir among some who see the image as sinister. The Detroit billboard depicts the eyes on a black background, accompanied by a golden silhouette of MGM's signature lion. City Councilwoman Alberta Tinsley-Talabi tells The Detroit News for a Saturday story she wants it taken down. The Rev. James A. Smith, pastor of Maranatha Gospel Church in the Detroit suburb of Romulus, says it "looks like a demon glaring at you." Yvette Monet, a spokeswoman...

Trump Entertainment files for bankruptcy By Kyle Peterson CHICAGO (Reuters) – Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc, the casino operator named for Donald Trump, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday as recession and declining gambling revenues battered the company and its rivals. The Chapter 11 filing marks the third plunge into bankruptcy for the company, which was created out of a restructuring in 2005. It also underscores the struggles facing the casino business as recession squeezes casino gambling. Trump Entertainment owns and operates three casino hotels in Atlantic City, New Jersey, including the Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza and Trump Marina. The...

Link only - Business sues casino where stolen funds gambled

Last year it was the “Bridge to Nowhere” that outraged America. This year it’s the “Mob Museum”. The Mayor of Las Vegas has a plan to save his city. Unfortunately, the rest of the country does not share his vision. In fact, Oscar Goodman’s proposal to use up to $55 million of federal stimulus funds to build a museum celebrating the Mafia’s influence over Sin City — part of it will presumably be dedicated to the Mayor himself who, in a previous career as a defence lawyer, represented many of the city’s most notorious gangsters — has become something of...

Freedom's Watch, a conservative political advocacy group bankrolled mainly by casino owner Sheldon Adelson that poured $30 million into this year's political races, is shutting down. Multiple sources said the board of directors, which includes former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer and former Ambassador to Italy Mel Sembler, has decided to close down rather than just scale down post-election. "There are no ifs or buts," said a Republican operative close to the situation. "The board has made the decision to shut the doors." The group had always planned a reduction after the election and up until the Thanksgiving holiday it...

Up to 11,000 workers to lose casino jobs in Macau

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Atlantic City's less-than-two-week-old ban on smoking in casinos will soon end under a change-of-heart measure narrowly approved Monday by the City Council and quickly signed by the mayor. Casinos said the ban cut into their business, while their workers were deeply divided whether its health benefits outweighed the potential economic harm. Some at Monday's meeting shouted "Save Our Jobs!" while others chanted "Save Our Lives!"

Former Las Vegas casino executive and mob-connected sports handicapper Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal has died at his Florida home at age 79. Rosenthal had been living in Miami Beach and died of a heart attack Monday. No funeral services have been scheduled. A sports gambling pioneer, Rosenthal at one time ran the Stardust, Fremont and Hacienda hotel-casinos secretly......

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. has spent millions of dollars for elaborate indoor and outdoor smoking lounges for its four casinos. The Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort and Resorts Atlantic City, on the other hand, won't have any lounges at all. Some casinos seem prepared, some not, for the start of a smoking ban that could last for only three days - or a bit longer - depending on how quickly City Council acts to end the confusion. On Wednesday, Atlantic City is supposed to become the largest casino market in the country to go completely smoke-free. No one will be allowed...

Frank "Lefty'' Rosenthal was a Chicago bookie who was sent to Las Vegas by the mob and helped turned sports betting into a billion-dollar business. The manager of several well-known casinos, his life inspired the Martin Scorsese movie "Casino.'' Rosenthal, 79, died Monday after a heart attack at his Miami Beach condo. Born in 1929 in Chicago, Rosenthal got involved in illegal bookmaking and eventually connected with mobsters. His nickname stemmed from a 1961 Senate hearing on gambling and organized crime at which he invoked the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination 38 times. Throughout his testimony, he kept his left...

Wealth breeds 'poverty of soul' Ten years after the casino cash started flowing, the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians' good fortune is on display across the peaceful Capay Valley. Thanks to their Cache Creek Casino Resort – which makes about $300 million a year and is scheduled to expand – each of the 26 adults in the 60-member nation gets about $1 million a year after taxes, more if they're on the tribal council or committees. They get a travel allowance to expand their horizons to Tahiti, Europe or anyplace they desire. They own luxury cars, custom homes on the...

The 72-year-old senator from Arizona is a lifelong gambler, who favours the craps tables, and continues to play today, the New York Times reported. Former campaign officials said they were alarmed that his behaviour would be deeply unpopular with the Christian base of his party. Mr McCain's habit, which appears to take the form of a monthly binge rather than a daily addiction, has never before percolated into standard descriptions of his life and career. However, it could now prove damaging in a very close contest with his Democratic rival Senator Barack Obama. The evangelical wing of the Republican Party...

Senator John McCain was on a roll. In a room reserved for high-stakes gamblers at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, he tossed $100 chips around a hot craps table. When the marathon session ended around 2:30 a.m., the Arizona senator and his entourage emerged with thousands of dollars in winnings. A lifelong gambler, Mr. McCain takes risks, both on and off the craps table. He was throwing dice that night not long after his failed 2000 presidential bid, in which he was skewered by the Republican Party’s evangelical base, opponents of gambling. Mr. McCain was betting at a casino...

Casinos in Illinois have posted double-digit revenue declines since a smoking ban took effect there in January. And it's not primarily because high air fares stop tourists from visiting the Windy City in search of a game of chance. "The smoking ban is having a major impact," Tom Swoik, head of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, told The Wall Street Journal last week. Share & Save Newsvine Digg Fark Technorati reddit StumbleUpon del.icio.us Slashdot Propeller Mixx Furl Twitter MySpace Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Bookmarks Windows Live Favorites Ask MyStuff myAOL Favorites What is this? A 2005 research paper by the...

SAN JACINTO, Calif. — With 9 reservations and 10 casinos, Riverside County is a major center of Indian gambling in California. But a standoff between county sheriff’s deputies and leaders of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians has led to an unusual effort to close one of the casinos because of safety concerns. Three Soboba members were killed in gunfights with deputies on the reservation in May, and the authorities say tribal members have shot at deputies in patrol cars and helicopters with high-powered assault rifles over the past nine months. In July, citing what it called heavy-handed treatment by...

Excerpt - Officials say a Harrah's shuttle bus carrying 42 passengers overturned on its way to the Tunica airport near Casino Strip Drive after losing control. According to eyewitnesses there are many injuries and multiple fatalities. ~ snip ~

CHEROKEE, N.C. — Investigators have stopped a cheating ring that stole $286,000 at the Cherokee Indian casino in western North Carolina, a newspaper reported today. No arrests have been made but investigators are questioning a 26-year-old electronic card dealer at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported. Cherokee Indian Police Department Chief Ben Reed said the FBI had been contacted. Arrests are likely . . .

Just a few months ago, images of smiling children, police officers and firefighters filled TV screens and mailboxes across the state, urging voters to support major casino expansions for four Southern California tribes. Gov. Schwarzenegger and other government officials promised that the tribes would help balance the state's troubled budget with an influx of gambling dollars. The casino riches would help protect state funding for schools, police and fire departments, health care and roads, the tribes and their supporters said.

Just a few months ago, images of smiling children, police officers and firefighters filled TV screens and mailboxes across the state, urging voters to support major casino expansions for four Southern California tribes. Gov. Schwarzenegger and other government officials promised that the tribes would help balance the state's troubled budget with an influx of gambling dollars. The casino riches would help protect state funding for schools, police and fire departments, health care and roads, the tribes and their supporters said. Voters approved the deals, but recent signs suggest the promises may not pan out. Deals touted as a sure-fire way...

A federal judge today ruled against the Seneca Nation's Buffalo Creek Casino, saying that casino gambling cannot legally take place on the nine-acre site on Michigan Avenue. U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny, in a 127-page decision, vacated the earlier decision by the commissioner of the National Indian Gaming Commission to allow gambling. It was not immediately clear whether Skretny's ruling will halt construction on the $333 million permanent casino, but it is clear that the temporary casino no longer has the legal right to operate. Skretny ruled that the parcel is indeed Indian country. "However, the court finds that...

Thousands of problem gamblers in have launched a $3.5 billion class action lawsuit in Ontario, saying they were allowed into provincially run casinos despite signing up for a program that should have denied them entry. According to the CBC's website, the suit was filed earlier this week in Toronto, claiming the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. did not fully enforce a "self exclusion" program that allows problem gamblers to ban themselves from casinos. Those who sign up for the program are photographed and their personal information is stored in binders at all of the province's casinos. If program members are...

Beware talk of Dubai being home to the world's biggest hotel. The recently expanded Venetian hotel in Las Vegas now offers 7,000 rooms - topping the 6,500 rooms at the planned Asia Asia in Dubailand. The Venetian's new $2bn, 50-storey Palazzo extension adds two award-winning restaurant franchises and a nightclub run by Jay-Z. In total the hotel now offers 50 restaurants, cafés, bars and banqueting halls can serve 10,000 diners a night. Asia Asia, due to open in 2010, plans for 6,500 rooms (of which 5,100 will be four-star and 1,400 five star), but, with plenty of desert space, could...

RIVERSIDE – The union representing thousands of Riverside County Sheriff's Department employees has recommended people stay away from the Soboba Indian Casino following fatal shootings last month of tribal members by deputies. The Riverside County Sheriff's Association sent an e-mail to its nearly 3,700 members late last week advising them and the public to visit other casinos until the situation at Soboba was “stabilized.” The action was based on safety concerns, union president Pat McNamara said. In early May, three tribe members were killed in shootouts with deputies on the reservation. Sheriff Stanley Sniff announced a few weeks later that...

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe's top casino executive encouraged tribal members to vote early last week by offering free meals at Casino del Sol worth up to $20 per vote. Like laws governing Arizona and federal elections, the tribe's code makes it unlawful to give anything of value to someone as an incentive to vote or to refrain from voting. CEO Wendell Long issued a memo on the eve of early voting for the Tribal Council that urged tribal gaming enterprise employees to clear it with supervisors and then "leave their work post to cast their vote." "As a small token...

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — In recent years, the Trump Marina Hotel Casino has been wasting away in Atlantic City's ultra-competitive casino market, searching for its lost shaker of salt, if you will. Now, it's about to be reborn with a tropical theme under new owners who are bringing singer Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville" brand to the Northeast in hopes of reviving a property that had become as listless as the hero of Buffett's hit song. Coastal Marina LLC, an affiliate of Coastal Development LLC, said Thursday it is buying the casino from Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., the casino company founded...

All too familiar with the gambles of war, Jimmy Kinsey, Kyle Riley and a few dozen fellow soldiers landed in the desert. But for these guys this Memorial Day, the most at stake is a few bucks. The soldiers-turned-high rollers took a private jet to Las Vegas over the weekend for an all-expenses-paid getaway with all the perks normally saved for casinos' richest regulars. They were greeted at the airport by Wayne Newton, chilled backstage with the guys from Blue Man Group and hobnobbed with Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino mogul who runs Las Vegas Sands Corp. and paid for...

All too familiar with the gambles of war, Jimmy Kinsey, Kyle Riley and a few dozen fellow soldiers landed in the desert. But for these guys this Memorial Day, the most at stake is a few bucks. The soldiers-turned-high rollers took a private jet to Las Vegas over the weekend for an all-expenses-paid getaway with all the perks normally saved for casinos' richest regulars. They were greeted at the airport by Wayne Newton, chilled backstage with the guys from Blue Man Group and hobnobbed with Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino mogul who runs Las Vegas Sands Corp. and paid for...

SACRAMENTO – A bipartisan measure that authorizes a large group of California Indian tribes to operate up to 2,000 slot machines each sailed out of the state Senate yesterday despite late opposition from San Diego County. The legislation would redefine terms of 61 compacts negotiated in 1999 to grant each of the tribes up to 2,000 slot machines. That includes local tribes such as Rincon, San Pasqual and Jamul, which are itching to expand or build new casinos. “It's a truth-in-advertising measure,” said Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, a Temecula Republican whose district includes the Rincon and San Pasqual reservations. “The tribes...

snip- He told radio interviewers and a reporter at the golf tournament that the debt stemmed from a wager on the 2008 Super Bowl. He did not explain why Wynn alleged the loans were made in October. "I've been gambling 20 years. I've never had this happen before," the 45-year-old Barkley told WJOX. "It's my fault I let the time lapse. I screwed up." Barkley, now a basketball analyst for Turner Network Television, denied any personal financial problems, and said the casino didn't call him before filing the complaint. "All they had to do is call and say, 'Hey, you...

Democrats are trying to chase from the political playing field a new conservative group expected to spend tens of millions of dollars this year attacking liberal candidates. Using accusations of links to gambling and "forced abortions," the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is striving to make the group, Freedom's Watch, too toxic for Republicans to stomach. "House Republicans and Republican candidates need to decide whether they can afford to partner with Freedom's Watch, a group that embodies the Republicans' culture of corruption by consistently breaking the law and is bankrolled by money that is inconsistent with their values," said Jennifer...

DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- A new gambling study shows some Massachusetts residents who have not supported casinos in the past may be changing their minds. "Fifty-seven percent of Massachusetts residents still favor two or more resort casinos in the state of Massachusetts. That number is actually four percent higher than when we last did this poll in September," said Dr. Clyde Barrow, a public policy analyst at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. The study was funded by a real estate development firm with land interests in the proposed Palmer and New Bedford casino sites. The research showed that as the state's deficit...

The fallout from losing its New Jersey casino license will force the owner of Tropicana casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the company said Monday. --- The bankruptcy filing would cover nine properties: The Tropicana Casino & Resort in Las Vegas; Bayou Caddy's Jubilee Casino in Greenville, Miss.; Casino Aztar in Evansville, Ind.; Horizon Casino Hotel in Vicksburg, Miss.; Horizon Casino Resort and the MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa, both in Lake Tahoe, Nev.; the Tropicana Express Hotel & Casino in Laughlin, Nev.; River Palms Resort & Casino in Laughlin, Nev.; and the...