Free Republic

Indian tribes seek federal bailout money for casinos A native-American tribe struggling to keep its Foxwoods Resort Casino in the red is now turning to the U.S. government for a helping hand. The Associated Press reports that the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation has already received more than $4.5 million in grants from the Department of Health and Human Services and from the Interior Department in the last five years. But now members are facing tough times with its casino — which used to be a billion-dollar empire — and are looking at the government for more grants, AP says. Critics...

Former San Diego Mayor Maureen O’Connor took $2 million from a nonprofit foundation to feed a gambling addiction in which she lost more than $1 billion over a nine-year period, federal prosecutors said Thursday. O’Connor, 66, appeared in federal court and pleaded not guilty to a money laundering charge as part of a deferred prosecution. Under the arrangement with federal prosecutors, she has two years to repay the $2 million taken from the R.P. Foundation, a nonprofit set up by her late husband, Robert O. Peterson. Peterson was co-founder of the Jack-In-The-Box restaurant chain and later Southern California First National...

SAN DIEGO — Former San Diego Mayor Maureen O’Connor took $2 million from a nonprofit foundation to feed a gambling addiction in which she lost more than $1 billion over an eight-year period, federal prosecutors said Thursday. O’Connor, 66, appeared in federal court and pleaded not guilty to a money laundering charge as part of a deferred prosecution. Under the arrangement with federal prosecutors, she has two years to repay the $2 million taken from the R.P. Foundation, a nonprofit set up by her late husband, Robert O. Peterson. Peterson was the co-founder of the Jack-In-The-Box restaurant chain and later...

Prince George’s County voters could tip the balance in Maryland’s two most closely contested ballot initiatives on Election Day. Polls have shown that Maryland voters are closely divided on referendums to expand gambling and legalize same-sex marriage, and Prince George’s residents have been courted heavily in both campaigns. The county’s voters have unofficial veto power over part of the gambling initiative that would allow a Prince George’s casino, and its abundance of religious, socially conservative black Democrats are widely seen as a pivotal demographic in the marriage battle. “This is a really important election for us,” said Pat Myers, an...

Europe's largest betting company, renowned for settling its bets early, is paying out to punters who backed Barack Obama to win Tuesday’s US Presidential election. Irish bookmaker Paddy Power said that despite the polls showing voters remain largely undecided, they believe it’s a done deal and that Obama is a “nailed on certainty to win a second term”. President Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney are blitzing the remaining toss-up states, with both sides predicting victory just two days before election day. However Paddy Power has been caught out before with similar early calls. In 2009 Tiger Wood’s failure to...

A 24-year-old poker professional from Laurel won the World Series of Poker main event, outlasting his final opponents in a marathon card session of nearly 12 hours for the $8.53 million title on Wednesday. Greg Merson emerged with the title before dawn in Las Vegas after a session that proved a showcase for his skills amid the unpredictability of tournament no-limit Texas Hold ‘em. On the last hand, Mr. Merson put Las Vegas card pro Jesse Sylvia all-in with a king high. Mr. Sylvia thought hard, then called with a suited queen-jack.

OMAHA, Neb.—State Sen. Brenda Council has apologized for misusing more than $60,000 in campaign donations at casinos and filing false reports to conceal it. Attorney General Jon Bruning says Council agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor charges of filing false campaign reports that omit the casino withdrawals and cash deposits. In a statement, Council says she "made an error in judgment," and that she takes "full responsibility." She says she's receiving professional treatment for a gambling addiction and will not "give up or quit fighting for the issues."

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that poker is more a game of skill than chance and cannot be prosecuted under a law created to stop organized crime families from making millions of dollars from gambling.

A New Jersey casino has sued a group of gamblers who won $1.5 million after they allegedly realized the eight decks of cards used in a game of mini baccarat were not preshuffled. The Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, N.J., filed suit against the gamblers and playing card company Gemaco after 14 players collectively won $1,536,700 in 41 winning hands. As the same sequence of cards kept appearing April 30, the players increased their bets from $10 to $5,000, the casino alleged. "The gamblers unlawfully took advantage of the Golden Nugget when they caught onto the pattern and ... by...

ANNAPOLIS — The General Assembly passed legislation Tuesday night to expand gambling in the state, setting up a November referendum that will determine the proposal’s ultimate fate. After six hours of passionate debate, the House voted 71-58 in favor of the bill, which would allow table games at the state’s slots casinos and at a sixth gambling facility to be built in Prince George’s County if voted into law. The Senate approved the House amendments to the bill shortly after midnight, finalizing the legislation and wrapping up a four-day special session. Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, is expected to sign...

ANNAPOLIS — The Senate voted Friday to approve a gambling expansion bill, sending the legislation to the House where floor debate is expected to begin Monday. The Senate voted 28-14 in favor of the bill, which would legalize table games at the state’s slots casinos and allow a new casino to be built in Prince George’s County, pending approval in a November referendum.

Maryland legislators will be cutting their summer vacations short after Gov. Martin O'Malley announced a special session for Aug. 9 to address gambling questions left unanswered in the spring. But after Mr. O'Malley repeatedly urged state leaders to “put the issues behind us so we can move forward,” some people are wondering whether the decision was a risky bluff. It’s the second special session this summer — Mr. O'Malley called the first one in mid-May to wrap up the budget — and the issues of table game expansion at Maryland’s existing casinos and adding a sixth casino in Prince George’s...

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley will call a special session of the General Assembly between Aug. 9 and Aug. 16 to discuss a sixth casino and allowing table games in the state. Delegate Frank Turner, a Howard County Democrat who chairs the subcommittee that deals with gambling, confirmed Mr. O'Malley’s plans Thursday. Mr. O'Malley, flanked by Speaker of the House Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. will formally announce the session in Annapolis Friday morning. Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat, is the only person with the power to call a special session in Maryland. On Wednesday, Mr. Busch,...

Baby boomers and others worried about the lack of money in their 401(k)s and IRAs are day trading within their retirement accounts. Americans worried about running out of money in their golden years are trying a new investment strategy: day trading their retirement funds. Disillusioned with the conventional buy-and-hold approach, baby boomers are anxious to improve their retirement prospects after two punishing bear markets in the last decade. Some people are trading the mutual funds in their 401(k) plans more frequently. Others are venturing into options. And some aggressive investors have begun day trading their nest eggs — all in...

A gambler who turned a £17 stake into £650,000 over a three-and-a-half-hour online gaming session compared to the classic film 'The Man who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo' could be stripped of his jackpot.Bruno Venturi, 41, kept winning while playing a lottery-style game on Eurobet.com in 2009. However, the company which operated the gambling website insists a software bug meant chance had nothing to do with it. Surrey-based Eurobet UK Ltd claims that his winnings are null and void because he was mistakenly charged for only one in six of his bets. The company has refused to pay up,...

ANNAPOLIS — Maryland can support a sixth casino and adding table games would more than make up for the revenue that competing casino operators could lose, representatives from a consulting firm told state lawmakers Tuesday. Representatives from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the state’s Department of Legislative Services presented a report Tuesday to the state’s Work Group to Consider Gaming Expansion - a panel of legislators and executive-branch officials charged with deciding whether the General Assembly should hold a special session next month to consider a bill legalizing table games and adding a casino In Prince George’s County. Opponents have argued that adding...

The Maryland General Assembly could consider legislation that would soften the impact of an April court ruling classifying pit bulls as “inherently dangerous” in the latest of several recent cases that have highlighted the checks and balances between the state’s legislative and judicial branches. A panel of Maryland lawmakers will meet later this month to study the possible effects of a state Court of Appeals decision that makes owners of pit bulls or pit-bull mixes liable if their dog attacks another person, even if the dog had no prior history of dangerous behavior. The assembly is expected to hold a...

After voting this week to raise income tax rates on the state’s highest earners, Maryland lawmakers aren’t ruling out more tax increases next year. The General Assembly passed legislation that will raise taxes on the top 14 percent of earners in an effort to balance the state’s $35.5 billion budget and cut half of Maryland’s $1 billion structural deficit, which measures expected revenue shortfalls in the future. Lawmakers could look to eliminate the remaining $500 million deficit over the next year by methods such as expanding gambling in the state, cutting spending or passing a long-debated tax increase to fund...

Six leaders from South Korea's biggest Buddhist order have quit after secret video footage showed some supposedly serene monks raising hell, playing high-stakes poker, drinking and smoking.The scandal erupted just days before Koreans observe a national holiday to celebrate the birth of Buddha, the holiest day of the religion's calendar. The head of the Jogye order, which has some 10 million followers, or about a fifth of the population, made a public apology on Friday, vowing "self-repentance". South Korean TV networks aired shots of monks playing poker, some smoking and drinking, after gathering at a luxury lakeside hotel in late...

When Marylanders go to the polls in November, the most interesting races might not involve political candidates. The state’s voters will elect eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives and one U.S. senator, and will help choose a president, but an unprecedented slate of ballot initiatives is expected to set the state’s course on social issues, including same-sex marriage and illegal immigration, and potentially on gambling and congressional redistricting. This will be the first time in 20 years that a voter-petitioned referendum makes the state’s ballot, and as many as three could appear. All were initiated by Republicans who...