Free Republic

A federal grand jury in San Diego has indicted an additional eight defendants for conspiracy to cheat a total of 11 casinos across the country, Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California Karen P. Hewitt announced today. A one-count indictment, handed up in the Southern District of California on Sept. 1, 2009, and unsealed on Sept. 15, 2009, charges seven defendants each with one count of conspiracy to commit several offenses against the United States, including conspiracy to steal money and other property from Indian tribal casinos, and...

Eight people have been charged in San Diego as part of a conspiracy that authorities said cheated U.S. and Canadian casinos out of millions of dollars by bribing dealers to rig card games. The suspects were indicted by a federal grand jury this month and face up to five years in prison if convicted. The U.S. attorney's office claims that from 2002 to 2006, they bribed card dealers and supervisors at 11 casinos to perform false shuffles during blackjack and mini-baccarat games that helped players win.

The Obama administration may make it easier for Indian tribes to build casinos far from their reservations.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - In Kansas, Carrie Nation battled booze by smashing up saloons, the state school board once approved science guidelines questioning evolution and anti-abortion leaders have made their stiffest stands - all burnishing the state's conservative credentials.

Louisiana casinos won $193 million from gamblers in June, a 14 percent decline from the $225 million haul in May and a nearly 10 percent drop from last year's June haul of $214 million, State Police reported Tuesday. Winnings were down at all New Orleans area casinos between May and June. The only metro area gambling hall to post a gain between June 2008 and June 2009 was the Fair Grounds Race Course and Slots, which was still in its infancy this time last year. The state's riverboats reported a 12 percent decline in revenue in June compared with May...

With the current recession driving states to beg for handouts from the Obama Administration, some legislators will invariably begin to look at other areas for revenue. And some states will probably consider what could be called the “Nevada model.” The “Nevada model” began in 1931 with that state’s legalization of casinos, which in turn directly created one of America’s most desired vacation spots, Las Vegas. According to Nevada’s Gaming Control Board casinos raised 928.2 million dollars for that state just through taxes and licensing fees in 2006. Since the Nevada legalization of casino gambling -- and various rulings simultaneously allowing...

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia's plan to close gaming halls, from gaudy casinos crowned by extravagant neon structures to dingy dwellings containing a handful of slot machines, could turf a third of a million people out of work this week. "I've got 800 staff looking at me every day for inspiration and hope," said Clive Tilley, who runs the 70-tabled Casino de Paris, Moscow's largest gaming complex where gamblers play under vines in mock French courtyards. "With the economy as it is now, it's not the time to pound the streets looking for work. It breaks my heart." From July 1,...

The European Union urged the United States on Wednesday to open talks on scrapping a ban on foreign online gambling companies, saying it breaks global trade rules. The EU says it could seek compensation from the World Trade Organization because the 2006 ban unfairly prevents foreign Internet gambling sites from operating in the United States. But it said it would hold off launching legal action until it had the chance to negotiate a solution with President Barack Obama's administration — another sign of a thaw in EU-U.S. relations since President George W. Bush left office.

Note: The following text is a quote: Former Bank of China Managers and Their Wives Sentenced for Stealing More Than $485 Million, Laundering Money Through Las Vegas Casinos Two former managers of the Bank of China and their wives were sentenced today after their convictions on Aug. 29, 2008, by a federal jury in Las Vegas on charges of racketeering, money laundering, international transportation of stolen property as well as passport and visa fraud. U.S. District Judge Philip M. Pro sentenced Xu Chaofan aka Hui Yat Fai to 25 years in prison, Xu Guojun aka Hui Kit Shun to 22...

A New York banker with roots in Ely is exploring a run against U.S. Sen. Harry Reid. John Chachas, a managing director of Lazard Ltd., has been talking to Republican Party bigwigs in Nevada and Washington who are anxious to find a credible challenger to the Senate majority leader, sources said this week. Chachas declined to comment Thursday on the speculation about his potential candidacy. Chachas' interest in the race is said to be active but preliminary: He feels strongly that Reid could be felled by a strong opponent and would be willing to step into that role if no...

What? Casinos and gambling considered threat to national security and military readiness by Univ. of Illinois economist. No way, says the business...

6 Apr 2009 MGM hires bank to sell casino assets: Source NEW YORK: MGM Mirage to advise on selling a number of its casinos, and is talking to potential buyers about the assets, a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday. The No. 2 casino operator, controlled by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, is grappling with weak consumer demand and reduced access to credit. The casino firm is hoping to raise money to meet debt payments and also to fund a troubled project it jointly owns with Dubai World called CityCenter, the source said. MGM Mirage, which said in March that...

Court rules for state in American Indian land case I. – The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday limited the federal government's authority to hold land in trust for Indian tribes, a victory for Rhode Island and other states seeking to impose local laws and control over development on Indian lands. The court's ruling applies to tribes recognized by the federal government after the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. The U.S. government argued that the law allows it to take land into trust for tribes regardless of when they were recognized, but Justice Clarence Thomas said in his majority opinion that the...

Nothing but snake eyes for Atlantic City casinos By WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press Writer Sunday, February 22, 2009 Uncertainty has always been a way of life for casinos who make their money on games of chance. But now, Atlantic City casinos are looking at their own futures with uncertainty. Donald Trump quit as chairman of the casino company he once ran, and wants his name off the three casinos that have been synonymous with Atlantic City for decades, now that they're in bankruptcy for the third time. The Tropicana Casino and Resort will file for bankruptcy next month, and Resorts...

Gaming revenue fell for the 12th month in a row in December and last year's overall drop is historic. Some locals who depend on conventions to survive say they can't afford the war of words going on between President Obama and Mayor Oscar Goodman. Last week, both Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs canceled corporate junkets scheduled to take place here in Las Vegas. They were trying to get away from the perception that they are taking the money given to them in these bailout packages and using it to treat their CEO's to lavish vacations. The comment President Obama made...

As head of the bad check unit at the Clark County, Nev., district attorney's office, Zadrowski has seen a lot of deadbeat gamblers reported by the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip - at least 700 a month, a number that has climbed as the economy has soured. But a few of those names stick in his memory - and Ausaf Umar Siddiqui is one of them. Turns out the Clark County district attorney's office is one of a number of agencies that has been watching Palo Alto resident Siddiqui, 42, who was arrested Friday on a federal complaint of...

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...

John Huddy, a veteran TV producer and print journalist, recounts the saga of Jose Manuel Vigoa Perez, who came to Sin City in the early 1980s, rose to the top of the drug trade, went to prison for several years on drug charges and, once released, embarked on a series of casino and armored-car heists. Following his June 2000 raid on the Bellagio hotel ("the crown jewel in the legendary MGM Mirage group"), he was captured by authorities and put away for good. Vigoa's rise was decidedly American, a kind of dark and violent Horatio Alger success story," Mr. Huddy...

Governor says deal curbs the growth of Indian gamblingOLYMPIA -- Gov. Chris Gregoire is benefiting from more than $650,000 in campaign contributions from Indian tribes that hit the jackpot in 2005 when she killed a gambling compact potentially worth more than $140 million a year to the state. Unlike 22 other states that collect millions from revenue sharing agreements for tribal gambling, Washington gets no money from tribal casinos under the compact that Gregoire renegotiated with the Spokane Tribe. Gregoire backed away from the 2005 agreement that included revenue sharing in an attempt to keep gambling from expanding too quickly...

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...

In March, the Massachusetts House of Representatives rejected a measure that looked unstoppable when it was proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick last September: the authorization of “destination casinos” across the commonwealth. The plan was for Massachusetts to sell three 10-year licenses for at least $200 million apiece and then tax the casinos’ takings at 27 percent, raking in $400 million a year. That, went the reckoning, would cover a $1.3 billion budget shortfall. Patrick was backed by The Boston Globe, big casino corporations and some trade unions. His opponent, the House speaker, Salvatore DiMasi, warned of “human devastation” and suggested...

PALM SPRINGS – A state senator has introduced legislation that would enable a large group of Indian tribes to expand existing casinos or build large new ones without further negotiations with the state. Sen. Jim Battin, R-Palm Desert, said his proposal would allow all 61 tribes that negotiated gambling agreements, or compacts, with former Gov. Gray Davis in 1999 to have up to 2,000 slots each, the number many tribes believe were promised by the deals. But the California Gambling Control Commission had voted to limit all tribes in the state to roughly 60,000 slots, based on the commission's interpretation...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois' statewide smoking ban is barely a month old and opponents already are trying to relight the debate. With the General Assembly scheduled to return to Springfield this week, various Illinois interests — casinos, bars, veterans' organizations — are preparing to push state lawmakers to carve out exceptions for various types of facilities from the sweeping ban that went into effect this year in all indoor public places. "I'm a dedicated nonsmoker, but the hair on the back of my neck stands up" at some of the freedom-of-choice issues created by the ban, said state Rep. Bill...

Southern California gamblers can try their luck this weekend on shiny new slot machines just days after voters approved four Indian gambling expansion plans. Workers have been busy installing some of the 17,000 slot machines allowed in new deals approved by voters Tuesday for four tribes. The new deals, known as amended compacts, allow the tribes to expand in exchange for sharing their slot-machine revenue with the state. The first payments, expected to be more than $40 million, are due to the state at the end of the fiscal year June 30, according to the governor's office's lowest estimates. That...

Even as Governor Deval Patrick seeks to license three resort casinos in Massachusetts, he hopes to clamp down on the explosion in Internet gambling by making it illegal for state residents to place a bet on line. He has proposed jail terms of up to two years and $25,000 fines for violators. The provision, buried deep in Patrick's bill to allow three casinos to the state, puts the governor at odds with a fellow Democrat: US Representative Barney Frank, the sponsor of federal legislation to license and regulate online gambling nationally. Yesterday Frank strongly criticized the governor's plan to punish...

MASHANTUCKET PEQUOT INDIAN RESERVATION, Connecticut: With hundreds of millions of dollars in annual profit flowing in from their gambling business, the Mashantucket Pequots first floated the idea of building a large amusement park. But those plans were shot down by neighbors already unhappy with the huge Foxwoods casino in their midst. The tribe then bought into a ferry-building business in hopes of diversifying its holdings, but that only provided a costly lesson, said Michael Thomas, the tribe's chairman. So maybe it should not be surprising that Pequot tribal leaders would choose to stick with what they know best. In doing...

Governor Deval Patrick plans to propose as early as tomorrow that the state sell licenses for three full-scale resort casinos in Massachusetts, citing their potential to spur economic growth, create jobs, and generate new government revenue, according to State House officials who have been briefed on his plan. Patrick will recommend that the casinos be licensed in three regions: Southeastern Massachusetts, Western Massachusetts, and an area that includes Boston and points north, the officials said... All three licenses would be put up for competitive bid, in a process that is expected to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in immediate...

Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian and MGM’s Board of Directors are expected to announce today (WED) that certain members of the Royal Family of Dubai- a Mid-East oil-rich kingdom - are buying into MGM Mirage and its $7-billion City Center hotel-condo complex. My Wall Street sources are abuzz this morning saying the multi-billion dollar deals signal the next phase of corporate takeovers and foreign investment into the booming Vegas gaming and hospitality business.Kirkorian’s company, Tracinda that owns his share of MGM is reducing his stake from 54.15% to 51.65% in the transaction and Wall Street believes that Dubai World will ultimately buy...

While America looks to amnesty as a way out of an illegal immigration problem it can't cope with, and while Europe undergoes soft Islamization as it gives up any hope of assimilating the newcomers to its shores, there remains just one entity capable of preserving civilization: Casinos. Take Las Vegas, for example. In defiance of the current trend of embracing Arabic culture and even bending to certain Muslim practices in banking, real estate and other spheres, last week the Mandalay Resort Group announced that the Luxor hotel-casino will be dropping the Egyptian theme: The Luxor is poised to undergo a...

BILOXI, Miss. — This seaside gambling resort along a stretch of the Gulf Coast, sometimes called the “redneck Riviera,” has 40 percent fewer hotel rooms and only two-thirds as many slot machines as it did before Hurricane Katrina. A major bridge that connects the casinos in this popular tourist destination to Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and other points east remains closed, and Mayor A. J. Holloway estimates that as many as 15 percent of the city’s pre-Katrina residents still have not returned. Yet business in the gambling halls of Biloxi has reached all-time highs in recent months, so much so...

[b]Pa. Budget Impasse Looms[/b]Pennsylvanians will be unable to take driver's license tests, state-run museums will be shuttered and casinos will have to stop taking bets Monday unless an 11th-hour breakthrough over the budget stalemate averts a partial government shutdown. If Sunday ends without a compromise between Gov. Ed Rendell and the Legislature, 24,000 state workers whose jobs are not deemed to be essential to health and safety will be furloughed without pay at 12:01 a.m. Monday. Critical services -- such as health care, state police patrols and prisons -- will be maintained. [snip]

Governor's spending plan counts on approval of new tribal deals, but Democrats want changes. --- TEMECULA-State lawmakers are warning Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger not to pin his hopes of balancing the state budget on a massive expansion of Indian casino gambling. The admonishment, delivered last week at the state's largest tribal gambling convention, offers a potential preview of a second blistering legislative battle over agreements that would allow five of the state's richest tribes to add up to 22,500 slot machines. Schwarzenegger negotiated compacts last year for casino expansions -- of between 3,000 and 5,500 new slot machines each -- for...

AUSTIN — Flashy billboards and television ads beckon Texans to casinos in Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Buses and cars full of eager gamblers zip over to those states to plop down cash playing blackjack, roulette and slots. It's a pot of money Texas ought to have a piece of, gambling proponents say, to help pay for education and other important services. But time and again anti-gambling forces have blocked casinos or any semblance of them in the conservative Lone Star State. In some circles the idea of casino wagering is akin to a state income tax — a Texas...

BULLHEAD CITY - It's not often that the discussion of a TV show is placed on the Bullhead City Council agenda in the form of a public hearing, but that's what's in store for tonight's meeting. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in the council chamber at City Hall. The very last item on the agenda is discussion and possible action regarding the Fox News Channel program “Hannity's America” which aired Jan. 7. A segment of the program featured a story on the proposed second bridge between Bullhead City and Laughlin, charging that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Searchlight) would...

The Texas Legislature heads back to work next week, and at the top of the agenda is whether to legalize gambling in order to pay for college tuition. The question remains, though, is a good way to pay for education? "For kids, it's a better education for them," said a woman who only identified herself as Erica. "I don't think it's going to work. It's not doing it now," Stephanie Feltmann said. She is opposed to legalized gambling. Some contend the state missed the boat and lost out on billions of dollars in revenue. "I think it's a false economy,"...

You didn't have to believe in omens to find it a bit odd that on the subway ride toward Mellon Arena yesterday, "I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas" seemed to be squawking in a continuous loop. This was right at the top of zero hour, when the long-awaited, viciously anticipated casino licensing issue would finally be decided. Twenty minutes later, the Penguins had begun practice on the NHL's oldest living hockey pond, and at precisely 11:27 a.m., the franchise learned it was indeed getting nothing for Christmas. Oh yeah, mommy and daddy are mad, the NHL is mad, even the Rooneys...

National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman issued a grim assessment Wednesday of the Penguins' future in Pittsburgh after state gambling regulators bypassed the team's partner for the city's sole slots license. Detroit-based Majestic Star Casino, which won the license, says it will contribute $7.5 million a year for 30 years toward an arena -- as long as the team and taxpayers also contribute money. St. Louis-based Isle of Capri Casinos pledged $290 million to build an Uptown facility the team and the NHL say is necessary to guarantee the franchise stays in Pittsburgh. "The future of this franchise in Pittsburgh...

Penguins not bound to Pittsburgh; KC eyes NHL team Kansas City’s chances of bringing the Pittsburgh Penguins to the new Sprint Center next fall greatly increased today thanks to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The seven-member board denied awarding a slots license to Isle of Capri Casinos, which had pledged to commit $290 million toward a new arena that would replace the Penguins’ antiquated Mellon Arena, and unanimously granted it to PITG Gaming. Isle of Capri’s agreement with the Penguins, as part of its license application, would have legally bound the Penguins to stay in Pittsburgh for 20 years, even...

LAS VEGAS - Harrah's Entertainment Inc., the world's largest casino company, has agreed to a $90 per share buyout offer from two private equity groups, said a person with knowledge of the negotiations. The agreement with Apollo Management Group and Texas Pacific Group came late last week but lawyers for both sides have been working out the details, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. An official announcement on the deal could come as early as Tuesday, the person said Monday. A Harrah's spokesman declined to comment. The company owns the...

You'll be happy to hear that Biloxi's gaming business not only has made big strides since Hurricane Katrina devastated the coastline, but also that the restored casinos have expanded what they offer, and new properties are on the way. Before the storm that destroyed tens of thousands of gulf-area homes, Biloxi had nine casinos. Today, seven are back in business, including the glitzy Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, which reopened at the end of August, a year after Katrina hit. After the hurricane, the city changed its laws to allow casinos -- previously confined to floating structures at the water's...

Welcome to Myriad World Resorts The Myriad Botanical Resort is a multi-attraction, themed resort planned to be located in Tunica County, Mississippi. Covering 540 acres along the Mississippi River, the resort will be dominated by large, cable-supported enclosures reaching heights of over 200 feet. These enclosures will be translucent on their lateral sides and transparent above to allow light to support growth of world-class botanical gardens. These unique structures will also provide a climate-controlled environment for year-round enjoyment of the following: * 80,000 sq. ft. casino * 1,200 room 4-star hotel * 375,000 sq. ft. convention center * 250,000 sq....

This historic waterfront city was on the verge of becoming the great gambling destination of the South. Then came Hurricane Katrina. Now the Gulf Coast is fighting to get back in the game. BILOXI, Miss. -- Olivia Boglin stood in her yard, staring down at a pile of Sheetrock. Just staring in the Mississippi heat, dabbing the sweat off her forehead with a wadded-up tissue. A block away, a guy was riding a bicycle slow, so the front wheel swerved with each crank of the pedals. The heat, the humidity and the noon hour had everything almost at a standstill....

BILOXI, MISS. — Jim Ullery drove along Highway 90 in this coastal community earlier this month, somberly taking in the devastation from Hurricane Katrina with other volunteers from Aiken. Then he stopped the car. “I know that church,” he said. Five years earlier Ullery and his wife, Sandra, had visited friends in nearby Gulfport, spending five days at the Methodist church’s adjacent retreat center. Virtually nothing was left of the church, battered by winds and water last fall. Little more than the shell remained ... along with a cross on the glass front and another on a back wall. “Some...

Comic Relief held its 20th event Saturday night from the Harrah's property in Las Vegas to help raise money and awareness for victims of Hurricane Katrina. That's a noteworthy cause, to be sure, and we in South Mississippi were gratified to hear that more than a year after the storm, people still recognized we need help here. Of course, that was before the pre-event press releases came out, advertising appeared and the show itself was aired simultaneously on HBO and WTBS. The media advances talked about how bad New Orleans was affected. The billboards and at least one full-page ad...

Six months after the start of scheduled air service, Pan Am made its official departure from Tunica County. The last flight took off from the Tunica Airport on Oct. 8. Since May, Pan Am had operated three flights a week from Atlanta to Tunica. County administrator Clifton Johnson attributes the exodus to internal problems within the Pan Am organization. According to Johnson, Pan Am recently lost a major route from Orlando to Puerto Rico. “During the time of their contract with us, they lost both of those flights out of Orlando. That’s where they were staging their Atlanta to Tunica...

Despite soaring revenues from gambling, Indians are receiving an increasing amount of federal funding. Indian Finances: Going Up While Oklahoma Indian tribes earn more money than ever from gaming and other businesses, they continue to collect federal grant funds for housing, medical care, education and other needs at an increasing rate, federal records show. The pattern is the same across the country. During a three-year period examined by the Tulsa World, gaming revenues among all tribes increased about 30 percent while federal grants and loans to tribes and tribal entities jumped 44 percent. The World analyzed a database that tracks...

LAS VEGAS - Harrah's Entertainment Inc., the world's largest casino operator, said Monday it has received a $15.05 billion offer for the company from private-equity firms Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group. The private-equity firms are offering $81 per share in cash, a 22 percent premium to Harrah's closing stock price on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. After the news, Harrah's shares surged $9.52, or 14.3 percent, to $75.95 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Harrah's said it has established a special committee of independent directors to review the offer and has retained UBS Securities...

Flashy neon signs and the lure of easy riches entice gamblers by the millions each year to California's growing gaming industry. It has blossomed into one of the most prosperous gambling regions on the globe since voters in the state legalized casinos on American Indian reservations in 2001. But almost none of the wealth has trickled down to address one of its most inauspicious consequences: problem gambling. Take, for example, Chet Gunderson, a French Valley man who lost between $250,000 and $300,000, including $150,000 he borrowed against his house, gambling at North County's Pala Casino since it opened five years...

SACRAMENTO — The Schwarzenegger administration faced a dilemma today over a bill — stemming from a clash between two Bay Area card rooms — that would let local governments allow much higher-stakes in games like Texas Hold'em at 90 card clubs statewide. If Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is running for re-election, signs the measure. he pleases small business and cities that get a cut of their revenue, but goes against the wishes of 9,000 California churches that say he would be deregulating card rooms across California. The California Coalition Against Gambling Expansion that represents the churches is pleading with Schwarzenegger...

ATLANTIC CITY A mob-linked construction company - accused of lying about dealings with ex-NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik - must stop doing work for Atlantic City casinos....the Casino Control Commission suspended the licenses of Interstate Industrial Corp.......owners pleaded not guilty to charges of lying to a grand jury.....denying they secretly paid for the bulk of an extensive makeover of Kerik's apartment when he was in charge of city jails.