My opposition to gambling isn't based on a religious belief. I think gambling is just a poor, destructive industry for a city, county or state to depend on. There may not be particulates spewed into the air from a smokestack or poisonous waste chemicals dumped into a river or stream, but gambling still is a dirty industry.

 

But I'm not too sure those of us who have opposed dog tracks and electronic gambling and casinos in Alabama haven't lost the battle. The Birmingham Race Course has tried to slip in all sorts of casino-style electronic games. Now, the track has the OK for instant racing parimutuel wagering machines that allow gamblers to bet on -- get this -- previously run horse races. Anything for a buck, right? And many people will gladly put up their hard-earned wages for a chance at a few thousand dollars, no matter how long the shot.
 

 

Maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal if only the wealthy gambled. They're used to winning and losing in the stock market, anyway. But track owners and bingo hall owners and back-woods casino owners know their customers are mostly poor people who are hoping for a miracle. Instead, those poor folks lose the rent money or the food money or the doctor money. They get hooked, get in deeper, become more desperate -- and the folks who own the tracks, bingo halls and back-woods casinos get richer off that desperation.

 

If our state is going to be stuck with this cold, dirty industry, let's at least slap on a high tax and give licenses to the highest bidders and those who are most responsible. And we must make certain there are services for those who become gambling addicts or destitute while pursuing the elusive big payoff.

 

If only those people who could afford to gamble showed up at the tracks and casinos, few people would be concerned. But the gambling bosses know they can't get rich just serving those who can afford to lose at the games. They have to scam poor people, or the scheme doesn't work.

State lawmakers form a committee to renegotiate a gaming compact with the Seminole Indian tribe, which runs several casinos in Florida.

 

A pact the tribe signed with the governor was ruled invalid earlier this year by the Florida Supreme Court. It called for $100 million annual payments by the tribe to the state.

 

Florida CFO Alex Sink realizes that means the state is losing a lot of money, while the gambling goes on.

"It's an opportunity for the state to get $300 million to help us close this $2.2 billion deficit that we have," she pointed out.

 

Manatee County lawmaker Bill Galvano will head up the panel of lawmakers.

 

"It can't be driven solely by fiscal incentive," he said.

 

He wants to hammer out what the future relationship will be between the branches of government (legislative, administrative and judicial) "and how we deal with this type of thing in the future."

 

Adding to the conversation are voices from South Florida gaming entities. The pari-mutuel betting tracks that are allowed slot machines and poker say they want a fair deal so they can compete with the tribe.

 

Revenues are down 22 percent at Broward County dog and horse tracks, according to Dan Adkins, CEO of Mardi Gras Gaming in Hollywood.

 

Voters fought ballot initiatives in 1978, 1986 and 1994 designed to legalize casino gambling in Florida, but there have been repeated attempts to expand gambling.

A co-founder of an Internet gambling company who ranks among the world's richest people pleaded guilty on Tuesday to violating the federal wire act and agreed to forfeit $300-million as part of a cooperation deal.

 

A smiling Anurag Dikshit, of the British colony of Gibraltar, entered the plea in US District Court in Manhattan to charges that he used the Internet to transmit interstate and foreign wagering information.

 

The charge carries a potential prison term of up to two years.

 

The 37-year-old citizen of India is the co-founder of PartyGaming, a Gibraltar online gambling company that offered casino and poker games and catered to a US audience.
Dikshit signed a cooperation agreement and prosecutors indicated they may eventually submit a letter to the judge asking for leniency.

 

Dikshit and defense lawyer Mark Pomerantz declined to comment.

 

Prosecutors said in a release that Dikshit developed a proprietary software platform and directed the company's computer operations from 1998 through October 2006, when he also was PartyGaming's principal shareholder.

 

Bail was set at $15-million, but Dikshit was not required to post any cash or property, prompting Judge Jed S Rakoff to ask what incentive Dikshit had to attend future court dates.

 

But prosecutors and Pomerantz agreed that Dikshit had demonstrated his desire to cooperate, in part by already paying $100-million to the US Treasury and pledging to pay another $100-million within three months and the last $100-million installment by September 30.

 

"Mr Dikshit decided to come to the United States to enter the plea under his own volition. He's been interviewed in Europe. We believe Mr Dikshit is dedicated to following through," Pomerantz said.

 

Forbes magazine estimated Dikshit's worth last year at $1,6-billion, making him the 618th richest person in the world.

Down in the Delta, Rep. JOHN MAYO, D-Clarksdale, works for a district that has 10 casinos in it and for nearly 9 years now he has been for a statewide smoking ban. While it is documented in other states with legal gambling that such a ban has helped cause declining revenues, Mayo says he "not completely oblivious to what (a smoking ban) would do." His quotes appeared in an article in the Commercial Appeal by Phil West. What Mayo is oblivious to is the harm it would cause to his thousands of constituents who depend on the gaming industry for their family livelihoods. But there is a kinder side to Rep. Mayo. "I'm all for clean water and fresh air."

 

The smoking ban issue and a casino bed tax are now facing the industry in Mississippi but both issues are not expected to get very far when the Legislature convenes in Jackson next month as they would harm an industry that is already struggling in a worsening economy. Here's a guy you can vote for. Rep. DAVID NORDQUIST, D-Cleveland..."It's not so much what we can do for the industry, but what we can do to keep things from happening to the industry." Right on rep. And another friend of gaming, BOBBY MOAK, D-Bogue-Chitta, recently told a casino- supportive audience in Tunica, "You are one the of the largest producers of taxes to the state and local governments. We are looking at ways to help you maintain your business and expand your business." Both reps get my coveted ATTABOY AWARDS.

 

FREDDY FRICK is a veteran with Las Vegas experience who also know what casinos need and he is not bashful in letting you know. Now Freddy is not a politician, altho he would make an excellent one if he chose to run, but he continually lobbies for GOLD STRIKE CASINO RESORT. When I visited with him recently to play in a blackjack tournament there, he took it on himself to show me the wonders of what millions on millions of dollars have accomplished in a major renovation and remodeling of this wonderful property. From the lobby to visit several new suites, he stopped and talked with guests, picked up trash and never stopped talking about the property. You would think he was the owner and not the executive casino host.

 

After dragging me through room after room, the convention center, the Atrium Cafe and Courtyard Buffet, not to mention the lobby and the spiffed up high limit room, he took me to the RED DOOR. First I heard of it. But Freddy is instinctively a PR guy as well and knows the power of media relations and the ensuing20publicity. The Red Door is something of a secret but once you get behind the door, you will know immediately that it's a night club. Tucked away behind the large bar reception area on the second floor as you get off the escalator, the area has been transformed into a night haunt complete with a stage for disc jockeys or musicians and a dance floor. Off to the side are two platforms for scantily clad dancers. It's become a word-of-mouth hot spot and is open Friday and Saturday nights from 10 p.m. until...

 

One other thing worth noting at Gold Strike. I never ran into an unfriendly dealer, slot gal or just employees walking by who never failed to greet me. I kept looking for a grouch but never met one, GM GEORGE GOLDHOFF has the place hitting on all cylinders. That's good news for some 120 guests arriving at Tunica airport every other day on a Gold Strike chartered 727.

 

Across the Mississippi River in West Memphis there is another secret, sort of. Inside the spacious SOUTHLAND GAMING & RACING facility is the cozy yet sublime BOURBON STREET STEAKHOUSE GRILL, the abode of a new cook, SHANE "BUC" LABHART, a Certified Chef de Cuisine. He put his unique stamp on the menu and while steaks rule, the room backs up its Bourbon Street name with an array of delicious Caj un style entrees and starters. I was exposed to its delights by another executive who understands the power of positive PR, TROY KEEPING. We dined with his wife MARY ANN and Marketing Manager BOBBI JONES. Look for a full review on Bourbon Street in the next issue of JACKPOT MAGAZINE. Another surprise came when Troy told us that revenues at the facility were up strong. Wow. That was the first good news in the casino industry down south in a long time. We also toured the new WINNER'S EDGE" parimutuel racing book room and the place was jumping with private carrels packed with horse and dog players. With the OAKLAWN racing meet to open Jan. 16 in HOT SPRINGS, AR., now is the time to reserve your seat for the 60 day meet. Why drive three hours when you can have a front row seat and service, not to mention your own private betting window at Southland.

 

How to find the advertised 98% payback slot machine? HOLLYWOOD has a carousel just outside the entry to it high limit slot room with a sign that boldly states "98% Payback." If you have been around slot floors for some time, like this degenerate gambler, you know that does not mean all the machines in that circle are paying that amount or pay it back every time you sit down. It usually means only one of the units are set that high but you could play it for a long time before it starts to hit that level. It thus poses a cha llenge. Could I find the magic machine of my dreams. I pulled a Ben from my shrinking wallet and set forth.

 

Most of the machines in this group are DOUBLE DIAMONDS, my favorite $5 slots. I hit the first machine with limited results and moved on to its neighbor adding slowly, very slowly to my remaining stash. The going was slow, where was the fabled land of 98 percenters? Down to my last Ben Franklin, a slot just around corner sort of winked at me like a street lady offering her hidden wares for a price. I went into my one-coin-at-a-time mode to see if this lady would be more generous to me. The credit indicators on the front panel kept rising and I moved into phase two, one coin, two coins every other hit. My winnings kept rising slowly but surely. Time for my bold to always bet two coins since I now had enough funds to not only sustain this attack mode but with a chance of a hitting a big one if this was the real 98 percenter. It was. With a max bet up came a red seven paired with two beautiful double diamond symbols. On cue and very quickly, two you ladies showed up with a handful of cash for the taxed pay-off and EXEC HOST JOE STRONSKI was there with some fine imported Macanudos to make the celebration complete. Olay. I had found my own personal ATM machine but I was not prone to further test my approach and left quickly. Don't call me for the machine serial number. Go find it on your own.

 

CYNTHIS BOLT, known in Tunica poker circles, has joined the staff at HARLOW'S CASINO in Greenville where she will be the shift manager. Poker Room MANAGER RICHARD WOOD is beefing up the staff and increasing the hours of the room as it grows in popularity. Bolt, who once worked the WPT Circuit, is from Tunica. The busy 7 table room is now open from 4 pm Monday-Thursday and from 2 pm on Fri-Sat. Also new to Harlow's Hotel is D. BRITT DUNAWAY who returns to his home town as sales and catering manager. Meanwhile in the casino buffet, EXECUTIVE CHEF MOULAY ELABDELLAOUI, the former cook to KING HASSAN of Morocco, has put a steak breakfast on line for late nighters to enjoy from midnight to 10 am on Fridays and Saturdays. GM DOM MEZZETTA told us on a recent visit that while business was good at the property, he expects that once the new bridge over the Mississippi is open business will increase as the casino will be a direct and shorter drive from the LITTLE ROCK market on I-65. Harlow's is strategically located between the bridges on the banks of the river.

 

CHEECH and CHONG coming to HORSESHOE Feb. 7. That's what the billboard stated and what a rush of memories it brought back from their great movies when weed was viewed with a lot more levity that in today's drug cursed society. Remember "Up In Smoke?" This hilarious successful comedy grossed $100 million in 1978. The boys and their LIGHT UP AMERICA TOUR will be at BLUESVILLE for a 9 pm show on the 7th . Better get your ducats fast before they are comped out.

 

The TUNICA RIVER PARK is offering another form of entertainment in the form of a ride down the Mississippi River through TOM SAWYER'S eyes. The new exhibit at the Park adjacent to the FITZ CASINO, runs through April 1. It features work of the DESOTO CAMERA CLUB depicting the beauty of life, architecture and views on the river. The lobby exhibit is free.

 

HOLLYWOOD CASINO 's 700 plus cast members recently presented nine area community organizations with a share of over $10,000. In these tough times, that amount from employees is especially meaningful. Atlanta's TITAN AGENCY, a full service ad and marketing firm, that represents PEARL RIVER RESORTS with some memorable print ads in the region, looks to do more of the same and has brought on board a highly regarded creative mind in MICHAEL EWING as its chief creative officer. Ewing has extensive casino ad experience having created campaigns for Horseshoe casinos and Grand Casino, Billow. It's no secret that MIKO BEASLEY DENSON and EXCUTIVE VP/ COO DALE HIPSH are seeking to mak e the luxurious resort THE place in the southeast and Ewing is a key part of that strategy.

It's ka-ching for gamblers who like to smoke while playing slot machines.

 

The state's seven casinos are soon expected to get the state's go-ahead to enlarge the amount of their floor space occupied by slot machines played by smokers.

 

When the state's new law banning smoking in most public places took effect Sept. 11, it permitted only 25 percent of a casino's floor space for machines where people smoke.

 

But it allowed a 90-day period, until Dec. 10, for casinos to submit revenues figures for the machines played by smokers vs. those used by nonsmokers. While detailed figures for the seven casinos haven't been released by the Gaming Control Board yet, they are expected to show a much higher play-per-machine for the smoking area than for the nonsmoking area.

 

"Our machines played by people who smoke did twice as much business as the nonsmoking slots,'' said David LaTorre, spokesman for The Meadows. "We filed papers with the Gaming Control Board today seeking to increase our smoking area to the maximum allowed by law," which is 50 percent of the total floor area.

 

The temporary casino now in operation at The Meadows has about 1,800 slots, but the permanent casino to open next spring will have up to 4,000 machines, he said.

 

"We want to provide the proper atmosphere, regardless of whether someone smokes or not," he added.

 

He said the enlarged smoking area will be accomplished "rather quickly once the state says OK."

 

Presque Isle Downs casino in Erie also expects to enlarge its area for slots played by smokers, a spokeswoman said. Philadelphia Park north of Philadelphia said on Monday it also planned to double the size of its smoking area, to 50 percent of the floor area.

 

Casinos are required to have powerful air-cleaning systems that remove the smoke and totally replace the interior air within a fairly short length of time.

Members of the United Auburn Indian Community used to live in poverty in Northern California, sleeping in cars or hunkering down in rundown houses with plastic sheeting for windows.

 

Yet since the 2003 opening of their Thunder Valley casino near Lincoln, Calif., the 275-member tribe has left the shacks for upscale housing, opened a pre-kindergarten to 12th-grade school and have provided members with health care coverage.

 

Although tribal casinos profit reports are confidential, Nevada gambling experts estimate that Thunder Valley takes in $500 million to $600 million annually and probably surpasses the revenue of all the casinos in the Reno city limits.

 

With the federally recognized sovereignty of the Auburn Indians, Thunder Valley doesn't pay California taxes on the profits that flow into the tribal treasury. Tribal members each get a per capita cut of the profits, as long as they have a high school diploma or GED and have taken courses in personal finance.

 

The tribe's spokesman boasts that the Auburn Indians have become one of the most generous philanthropic organizations in Northern California, donating $1 million to Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital.

 

"This is their hospital, the one that they went to primarily to the emergency room, because they didn't have their own doctors," tribal spokesman Doug Elmets of Sacramento said. "They had to go there, wait in line for hours to get medical care for years and years. Many of the tribal members have had kids in that hospital and now they are able to give back $1 million."

 

Yet what is good for the Auburn Indians and other casino tribes in California, Oregon and Washington, has not been so good for the casino industry in Reno, Lake Tahoe and Carson City.

 

For nearly a decade, gamblers from northern Nevada's primary feeder markets of Northern California have dwindled since the advent of California tribal gambling in 2000.

Gravestones of failed Reno casino properties, pushed to the edge by tribal properties, could fill a parking lot.

 

Last week, Fitzgeralds Hotel Casino, a downtown icon since 1976, was added to the graveyard. The Fitz's closure and the loss of about 475 jobs comes in the midst of a 16-month slide in casino win numbers for Washoe County and a 10-month slide for the state, according to the state Gaming Control Board.

 

The Fitz closed just weeks before the planned Dec. 17 grand opening of the latest tribal property in northern California, the Red Hawk Casino near Placerville. The tribal casino of the Mewalk Tribe could help grow the northern California gambling market but it also will cut into the profits at Thunder Valley and some other tribal properties, analysts said.

 

Its proximity to Lake Tahoe makes it a serious threat to that market, as well as Reno, experts said.

 

"Clearly, it is going to have a significant impact on Thunder Valley and also the Jackson Rancheria as well," said Bill Eadington, the director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada, Reno.

 

"It will be a quicker trip for a lot of people compared to Jackson Rancheria or Thunder Valley.

 

"As for Reno and Tahoe, it is obviously not good news," Eadington said. "We already have the recession going on and although the price of gas has gotten better, it is just one more choice for customers who otherwise would come over the mountain" to Reno.

 

Like counterparts in Reno, Las Vegas and Atlantic City, the tribal properties across the nation are feeling the effect of the recession.

 

"To be honest, our figures are not at the levels we had last year," said Bruce "Two Dogs" Boszum, of the Mohegan Tribal Council, which runs the Mohegan Sun casino in southern Connecticut. "But I think everybody in the United States is feeling the same thing we are."

 

That applies to northern California as well, said Dennis Conrad, president of Raving Consulting Co. of Reno, whose clientele includes many tribal casinos.

 

"They are seeing slowing gaming growth," Conrad said. "There are markets that are staying pretty vibrant, but California is slowing down."

 

Yet slowing down is not closing down.

Tribal gaming revenue in the U.S. could exceed that of the 12 commercial gambling states, including Nevada, in the near future, industry experts say.

 

"It is possible, and I also think it is likely," said Kristi Jackson of Bank of America Securities in Los Angeles, a primary lender for tribal sites.

Last year, tribal gambling brought in more than $26 billion while commercial gambling revenue totaled $34 billion, said Frank Fahrenkopf, the president and CEO of the American Gaming Association.

 

"For a number of years now, tribal gaming revenues have been growing faster than the commercial side of gaming," Fahrenkopf said.

Overall, tribal casino revenues will continue to increase by more than $1 billion a year, predicted Michael Anderson of Washington, D.C., the former deputy assistant secretary of Indian Affairs at the Interior Department.

 

He also said increases in gambling revenue will increase tribal political power on a national scale and that both Democrats and Republicans court Indian contributions.

 

"If you go to the big fundraisers in Washington, you'll see tables of Indian tribes and supporters there in force," Anderson told Indian County Today. "That is something new. I've been in Washington for 28 years and certainly in the last decade it's something that's grown."

 

A key difference between the potential growth of commercial and tribal gambling is the accessibility of investment capital, experts said.

While Nevada properties mourn the loss of cheap and accessible credit to expand or renovate, tribal properties have less of a problem, Jackson said.

 

"Bank of America, being a primary lender for a large proportion of tribal gaming business across the country, can look at the data and can see that with a few exceptions, you see fairly steady revenue," Jackson said. "In some markets obviously, larger markets, there is some decline.

"But on a net basis, we would expect to see increases," she said.

 

The credit market, however, was to blame for the October suspension of the $300 million expansion of the River Rock resort near Santa Rosa, Calif., according to news reports.

 

Thunder Valley recently announced it was stopping construction of its proposed 23-story hotel but the suspension was not because of the credit market, Elmets said.

 

"This is simply a reassessment of the scope of the project and has nothing to do with the credit market," Elmets said. "It has everything to do with the present economic climate and future market demands. It is simply a decision by the tribe to look at the scope of the project and make sure that it is the most prudent approach."

 

The expansion project might have been halted partially because of its impact on the tribe's per capita payments, Eadington said. Or, tribal leaders might have reassessed the need for the expansion.

 

Original plans called for a 23-story hotel tower, a nine-story parking garage, a 3,000-seat theater, two 30,000-square-foot ballrooms plus a spa, pool and other amenities.

 

"Strategically, did they really need that much?" Eadington said. "They are ultimately a locals casino and realistically, do they really think that people are going to fly into Sacramento so they can drive to Thunder Valley? The answer is probably no."

Does a Kentucky gambling case threaten your freedom and the freedom of everyone else in the United States?

That's what online gaming companies say is at stake, and it's now up to the state Court of Appeals to decide.

 

It all began when Gov. Steve Beshear went after the domain names of 141 online gambling sites, claiming they were in violation of state laws.Each of these sites is operated outside the U.S.

 

"This is a massive offshore criminal conspiracy," said Kentucky Justice Cabinet Attorney Eric Lycan.

Jon Fleicshaker, who represents some of those online interests, said those names are just like billboards along a highway.

 

"Kentucky regulates gaming in the state of Kentucky," Lycan said. "That's it, right under its police powers. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that right is virtually unlimited."

 

But attorney John Tate, who represents 61 domain names, contends the state has no legal basis for what it's trying to do.
"What the secretary is trying to do in seizing and forfeiting these domain names is to bind the world," Tate said. "If they can do it to us, we can do it to them."

 

The secretary to whom Tate is referring is J. Michael Brown, the head of the justice cabinet."You have to determine if you are going to take it to the max and we will," Tate said.

 

This is the second stop in this legal fight. The state won the first round in circuit court.The three-judge Court of Appeals panel said it will try to render a decision as soon as possible.

 

Regardless of what happens, both sides said they plan to appeal.It's estimated 13,000 Kentuckians gamble online.

Nevada gaming revenues tumbled 22.3 percent in October, the single largest monthly drop in state history and the 10th straight month gaming revenues have fallen in the Silver State. For the year, gaming revenues are down 8.3 percent statewide.

 

Casinos statewide won just under $905 million during October, compared with $1.165 billion in October 2007, according to figures released Wednesday by the Gaming Control Board. The figure was the lowest statewide one-month total since April 2005.

 

Compounding the matter was the comparison with the statewide gaming win total from a year ago. The October 2007 figure was the single-largest monthly win in state history.

 

On the Strip, gaming revenues were $475 million, a drop of 25.8 percent compared with $639.9 million a year ago. Analysts looking at the figures said gamblers wagered less but won at an above-average percentage rate.

 

"As expected, October was another difficult month for the Las Vegas Strip as the credit crisis took hold and paralyzed consumers," Jacob Oberman, director of gaming research and analysis for CB Richard Ellis, said in an e-mail to clients and investors. "More importantly, housing markets across the nation continue to weaken, which will continue to pressure Las Vegas going forward."

 

The Strip's $475 million revenue figure in October was the lowest number produced by casinos since June 2006. Gaming revenues are off 8.7 percent for the year on the Strip.

"In October, we saw huge declines in the stock market, unemployment began spiking up, and consumer confidence and spending were at all-time lows," said Frank Streshley, senior research analyst for the Gaming Control Board. "It was just a bad month all around."

 

Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Andrew Zarnett told investors the October numbers were not a surprise. Southern Nevada is suffering from increased unemployment, a high number of home foreclosures, a cutback in airline capacity and lower visitation from Southern Californians.

 

The news out of Nevada did not reverberate much on Wall Street. Many major publicly traded Nevada-based casino operators and slot machine manufacturers have seen their stock prices plummet anywhere from 75 percent to 95 percent over the past year.

 

On Wednesday, Wynn Resorts was up $2.60, 6.24 percent, on the Nasdaq National Market, to close at $44.30. On the New York Stock Exchange, Las Vegas Sands Corp., fell 22 cents, 3.98 percent, to close at $5.31; MGM Mirage was down 3 cents, 0.27 percent, to close at $11.05; and Bally Technologies finished the day up 38 cents, 2.02 percent, to close at $19.16.

 

Most gaming analysts have said gaming company stock prices already reflect a loss of perceived value by investors.

 

The revenue decline played havoc with gaming tax collections. Based on October's revenues, Nevada collected $56.4 million in gaming taxes, a 21.5 percent decline compared with $71.9 million collected a year ago. For the first five months of the fiscal year, gaming tax collections are down 13.2 percent compared with a year ago.

 

Gov. Jim Gibbons called the October results worrisome because of the size of the drop. He said the figure will not affect budget planning because the state looks at the final revenue total at the end of the year.

 

 

"It's disheartening because we have learned the gaming industry is not recession-proof," Gibbons said. "Consumers are not spending, and we are in a national economic slowdown. Lower gaming revenues are not a surprise."

The gaming revenue results were no better throughout Clark County. Casinos in North Las Vegas saw revenues decline almost 35 percent, downtown casino revenues fell almost 20 percent, gaming revenues were off 28 percent on Boulder Highway, and casinos in Laughlin saw revenues decline nearly 21 percent.

"When you compare this month to a year ago, it shows you how far we've fallen," Streshley said.

October eclipsed the 15.2 percent drop gaming revenues recorded in May, which had been the largest decrease since Nevada began keeping monthly gaming revenue totals in 1984.

JP Morgan gaming analyst Joe Greff told investors the gaming industry as a whole is suffering. The October results on the Strip were hurt by "a deteriorating macroeconomic environment and the overly tough comparison with October 2007."

Statewide, gamblers wagered $10.1 billion on slot machines, down 13.7 percent from a year ago, and $2.3 billion on table games, a 17.9 percent drop. On the Strip, slot machine wagering was down 17.6 percent, and table game wagering was off 20.5 percent.

Hold percentages, the amount of money casinos kept versus the money wagered by gamblers, were down anywhere from 1 percentage point to 4 percentage points based on the game.

"The figures stood out like I've never seen before," Streshley said. "Only two games had any sort of revenue increases, keno and sports wagering."

The Strip was hurt by baccarat play. Revenues from baccarat fell 63 percent during October while wagering was down 35.8 percent. The hold percentage for baccarat was 8.2 percent during the month when the normal hold percentage is 12 percent. October 2007 was an exceptional month for baccarat, Streshley said, because a Chinese Golden Week attracted high end play from the Far East.

 

Southern Nevada was not alone in its woes. Washoe County suffered its 16th straight monthly gaming revenue decline while every reporting section of the state, except Carson Valley, had a down month.

 

Streshley said that this month's figures, which will be released in February, could be spurred by the opening Dec. 22 of the $2.3 billion Encore by Wynn Resorts.

 

"It's opening during a difficult time period, but these type of major additions often give the market a lift," Streshley said.

The suspended gambling compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Gov. Charlie Crist will undergo an intense review from a special legislative committee before lawmakers put their stamp on the deal, House Speaker Ray Sansom said Tuesday.

 

Sansom, a Destin Republican and gambling opponent, announced the creation of the Select Committee on Seminole Indian Compact Review to ''break down the compact'' that was supposed to steer millions in gambling revenues to the state. The panel will hear why the governor signed the deal in November 2007, review options for changing it and then decide whether to ratify it.

 

The compact signed by Crist and the tribe gives the Indians the right to offer Las Vegas style slot machines at their casinos in Florida as well as table games, such as black jack and baccarat. In exchange, the tribe guaranteed the state would receive $375 million over the next three years and at least $100 million a year for 25 years, as long as the state prevents the tribe's competitors -- parimutuels including horse and dog tracks and jai alai frontons -- to expand their gambling offerings.

 

Former House Speaker Marco Rubio and the House sued the governor earlier this year, alleging that the agreement violated state law because table games were not allowed under Florida law.

 

The Florida Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the House was right and it is up to the Legislature to approve or reject the deal.

 

Sansom told The Herald/Times Tuesday that although he still opposes the expansion of gambling, the House now has an obligation ``to comb through the compact so we fully understand it.''

 

The committee will make a recommendation -- to modify, ratify or reject the deal -- by the beginning of the regular legislative session in March, but the final decision will come from the full House, he said.

 

Gov. Charlie Crist said Tuesday he is encouraged by the creation of the committee, but he warned that legislators should not use the compact as an opportunity to draw more money from the tribe.

''I think we have a very well thought-out, well negotiated, fair compact, negotiated at a time when the economy was doing even better than it is today,'' Crist told the Times/Herald. ``So I might caution people not to be greedy.''

 

He said a gambling compact ''can be a very significant revenue source'' for the state but added that the money could be lost if the Legislature doesn't approve an agreement.

 

''My concern is if we don't enter into a compact eventually, the tribe will do what it's going to do anyway and Florida taxpayers won't benefit,'' he said.

 

Barry Richard, one of the lawyers who negotiated the compact for the Seminole Tribe, said he ''never expected the Legislature to rubber-stamp it.'' But he warned that re-opening negotiations in light of the current economic downturn might result in the tribe being unwilling to offer the terms it gave the state a year ago.

 

''The state didn't just give the tribe whatever it asked for. This was a well-negotiated compact,'' he said. ``The tribe opened its books and records, which it never does. They brought in their own accounting people and we worked out an agreement that gave Florida one of the best compacts in the country. Nobody has the guaranteed payments that Florida has.''

 

Senate leaders said Tuesday they are open to whatever the House recommends but believe the debate will also include changes to the state's slot machine laws. The Senate last year passed a bill that would lower the 50 percent tax rate on slot machines at parimutuels, as long as the money the state collects in taxes doesn't decline. The bill did not pass the House.

 

''Everything is back on the table,'' said Sen. Dennis Jones, chairman of the Senate Regulated Industries Committee. He said his goal will be to ensure there is fairness for both the tribe and parimutuels, who complain that the state's high tax rate is choking them as the Seminoles expand blackjack to casinos in Immokalee and Tampa. ''We're trying to have a little something for everybody to help the economy in Florida and help the people that are already employed,'' Jones said.

 

He believes table games will be part of the compact the Legislature approves ''because we have to give them something of value,'' but he didn't think parimutuels would win table games.

With no sign of an economic recovery on the horizon, Station Casinos and Harrah's Entertainment are bargaining with lenders to help resolve their cash flow problems.

 

It's a high stakes poker game: Both companies — loaded up with debt from leveraged buyouts set in motion before the downturn — are determined to stay out of bankruptcy, and lenders are seeking to walk away from the table with as much money as possible.

 

Although Harrah's bondholders appear to be cooperating, a majority of Station bondholders are resisting that company's plan to refinance some of its debt.

 

Lately, the companies are attempting to capitalize on a decline in bond prices by buying back old notes and exchanging them with new, discounted notes that have extended maturity dates, potentially saving more than a billion dollars in principal and interest.

Although some bondholders are giving companies more time to wait out a recovery, others want more reward for their risk.

 

Investors holding 66 percent of Station's publicly traded bonds last week notified the company of their refusal to swap their notes, calling Station's offer "deficient."

 

Station is offering to exchange about $2.3 billion in publicly traded bonds for just over $700 million in new notes trading for about 50 to 20 cents on the dollar — a deal that could reduce the company's debt by more than $1.4 billion.

 

Once exchanged, analysts say, these bonds could trade at 9 cents to 29 cents on the dollar, the market value of the old notes. Their value has dropped based on the likelihood of bankruptcy.

 

Although the new notes would be worth less, in a bankruptcy they would have priority over the existing notes owned by bondholders who didn't make the exchange.

 

Harrah's made a similar offer to its bondholders recently, and many swapped their notes.

Unlike Harrah's, Station's owners are sweetening the pot with what sounds like a rich ante: They have offered to pony up $450 million to $500 million to reduce the company's debt if bondholders agree to the swap.

 

The offer has strings attached. Unless 82.5 percent of the old bonds are exchanged, the owners' loan would be ahead of both the old and new bonds in the capital structure. This means that Station's Fertitta family, which owns about 24 percent of the company, or Colony Capital, the private equity firm that put up the majority of the money in the buyout, would be paid before bondholders in a bankruptcy.

 

Most bondholders thought they were getting a raw deal, and they're back at the negotiating table. They might seek more principal, a higher interest rate on their bonds, or a better position in the capital structure, which would benefit them if the worst happens and the company files for bankruptcy.

 

Analysts say Station will likely default on the company's bank loans by year's end because it has too much debt relative to cash flow. That could allow the bank to demand repayment, triggering a filing for bankruptcy protection.

 

That's a risk even if the bond exchange is successful because cash is tight, analyst Barbara Cappaert of bond research firm KDP Investment Advisors said.

The bond exchange is no bluff.

 

The upside for bondholders is that it would reduce debt while giving Station time to recover and a shot at avoiding bankruptcy, Kimberly Noland of research firm Gimme Credit said in a research note to investors last week.

 

Cappaert added: "They're trying to buy more time when they need to get a more permanent solution together."

 

The Station offer to pay down debt isn't as rich as the $1 billion cash infusion Las Vegas Sands Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson provided his own company recently. Granted, Adelson had little choice. Some analysts say Las Vegas Sands was more in danger of default than either Station or Harrah's.

 

And yet, while Station proffers cash in the form of debt, Adelson's investment — which involved $475 million in convertible bonds that he converted into stock and another $525 million in stock — was preferable for bondholders because they would be paid before stockholders in a bankruptcy.

 

Although Harrah's and Station both risk default because of ballooning debts, Harrah's has a bit more flexibility than Station these days. Harrah's has an agreement that allows the company to accumulate more debt without violating the leverage requirements of its banks. Harrah's also can add the value of future cost savings to its cash flow figures, inflating earnings calculations and keeping the company out of immediate danger of default.

 

And yet, this is more than a numbers game. It's a fight for survival, with egos and personalities at play.

 

That's a plus for Station, a family-owned company whose executives "have a lot of pride and ego tied up in their success," Cappaert said.

 

That's not necessarily the case with Harrah's, which is owned by two private equity firms, TPG and Apollo, with countless investors. "We're not talking about a family's life's work" as with Station's Fertitta family or Adelson, Las Vegas Sands' founder and majority owner, she said.

 

Although Station's latest bargaining chip might have flopped, the company might not be putting its best offer on the table just yet. A slight improvement in the economy, however minor, might allow the company to refinance debt on more favorable terms.

 

"They're taking a real gamble. It's like playing poker with the capital markets," Cappaert said.

Consumers may be cutting back on buying new clothes or going out to eat, but they haven't scaled back their gambling appetite in Pennsylvania.

 

Despite economists' conclusion last week that the United States has been in a recession since December 2007, six of seven casinos in Pennsylvania had nearly a 13 percent increase in revenue last month compared with the year-ago period.

 

November slots revenue was $114.7 million, up from $101.6 million in November 2007. The seventh casino, Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Grantville, opened in February and is not accounted for in the revenue increase.

 

"You'd think, with the economy the way it is, there would be a slowdown, but I don't see it," said Bensalem Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo, whose township is home to PhiladelphiaPark Casino, the state's top-grossing slots parlor. "I'm amazed."

 

Taxpayers are sharing in the joy. Between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30, all seven casinos contributed $1.32 billion - 55 percent of their total $2.4 billion take - to state coffers, officials said. The money is then plowed into expansion of the Convention Center in Philadelphia, as well as county budgets and local property-tax relief.

 

Four of the seven new gambling houses are in impoverished areas with unemployment rates well above the state average in October of 5.4 percent.

The other three casinos are in towns too small to even register their own unemployment rates with the state Department of Labor and Industries, such as East Hanover Township in Dauphin County, and Washington, Pa., about 29 miles from Pittsburgh.

 

The casino and racetrack in Chester is in a city that had an unemployment rate of 9.3 percent in October and an average household income of $25,703 in the 2000 census, well below the $40,106 state average.

 

The rosy revenue numbers may owe a lot, industry experts say, to the novelty of the Pennsylvania gaming market, which is barely two years old. The first slots parlor, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, opened in November 2006.

 

"It's not a surprise," said Michael Pollock, managing director of Spectrum Gaming Group L.L.C., a gambling-consulting firm near Atlantic City. "There is still a newness to it. You are attracting people who view it as the new attraction in the neighborhood, and they're curious to see it."

 

Not surprising, Pennsylvania's windfall comes at the expense of Atlantic City, where casino revenue dropped 6.3 percent for the first nine months of this year compared with the same period a year earlier, as many former Pennsylvania slots customers were choosing to gamble closer to home.

 

Would the Pennsylvania casinos' 13 percent jump have been even bigger without the recession? Officials said it was impossible to know in such a young industry, but they were acutely aware of the shifting economy.

 

"We're cautious at what we're looking at in light of the downturn of the national economy, but really happy with what we are seeing," said Mary DiGiacomo Colins, chairwoman of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, which regulates the state's gambling industry, of the year-over-year revenue increase. "The concept of having regulated gaming all around the state is paying off for us.

 

"It demonstrates how much revenue we are recapturing back to Pennsylvania that had gone to other jurisdictions," she said.

Temple University psychologist Frank Farley, who has done research on human behavior, risk-taking and thrill-seeking, said a bad economy could spur some people toward gambling for the wrong reasons.

 

"Things are looking bad, and so why not? Why not try your hand at gambling, because things are bad anyway and you might strike it rich," Farley said. "All it takes is a few jackpots, and it keeps people coming back."

 

Hope springs eternal in gambler Kenya Wilson's heart. The 38-year-old from Sharon Hill is unemployed and on disability.

 

"I keep thinking about winning a lot of money," Wilson said last week as she worked a quarter slots machine at Harrah's Chester Casino & Racetrack.

 

Some gamblers, like Frank Carey of West Chester, are "cutting back" in other ways to keep returning to their favorite casino.

 

Carey, 45, a general contractor from West Chester, who said business this year was the worst he's seen in 12 years, no longer gambles with his own money and now relies solely on slots coupons that the Chester casino mails him.

 

The dismal economy has forced him to make another adjustment. "I used to play the dollar slots," Carey said. "Now I'm down to the penny machines. If gas didn't go down, I would not have come here."

Joel Naroff, chief economist at TD Bank and head of Naroff Economic Advisors, of Holland, said the real test of Pennsylvania casinos' staying power would be the new year.

 

"It will be interesting to see what the first quarter of 2009 looks like compared to the first quarter of 2008," he said. "There's a lot more concern, fear and uncertainty now than there was a year ago."

Blaming a punishing economy, the Sycuan band of El Cajon on Thursday walked away from a multibillion-dollar gambling agreement that it had pursued for years and spent $6 million to defend.

 

The deal authorized an expansion from 2,000 slots the tribe now operates to as many as 5,000 machines plus an option for a second, off-reservation casino on newly acquired lands that include the former Singing Hills Country Club.

The agreement, or compact, was signed more than two years ago by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sycuan Chairman Daniel Tucker. But it was never ratified by the tribe's 78 adult members, as required by a little-noticed clause.

 

The decision ultimately could cost both the tribe and the state billions of dollars.

 

“It is with sincere regret that Sycuan is unable to take advantage of the August, 2006 amended compact between our tribe and the state,” Tucker said in a letter delivered Thursday morning to the governor.

The current economic climate makes “proceeding under the amended compact financially imprudent at this time and for the forseeable future,” Tucker wrote.

 

“We are doing everything we can to avoid having to lay off our valued employees and are continuing to restructure operations to mitigate the impacts of an extremely challenging economic environment,” he added. “In these circumstances, even a modest expansion would be impossible.”

 

The decision was greeted with glee by local opponents of Sycuan's plans to expand its gambling operations and build a destination resort in the Dehesa Valley, a rural retreat served by two-lane roads.

 

“I'm kind of dumbfounded,” said Bill Bengen, leader of a local group known as Residents Against Gambling Expansion. “We thought after the referendum passed earlier this year that the battle was lost. It's quite a turn of events.”

 

In February, voters approved Sycuan's compact and three others that had been challenged with statewide ballot measures. The four tribes, which included Pechanga of Temecula, spent more than $100 million on the campaign. Sycuan contributed $6 million to the effort.

 

A few months later, Schwarzenegger's administration surprised lawmakers when it disclosed that the state would not be receiving $30 million anticipated from Sycuan because the tribe had not ratified its compact.

A deadline to execute the deal had passed, but Schwarzenegger agreed to give the tribe an extension that was set to run out on Jan. 1.

 

“We're disappointed but understand the tribe's situation,” said Camille Anderson, a spokeswoman for the governor.

Two years ago, Schwarzenegger and Sycuan Chairman Tucker posed for photographs after both signed the agreement that promised to be lucrative for the tribe and the state.

 

Sycuan had agreed to pay much more on its existing slots, roughly 10 percent of net winnings or $20 million a year. It also agreed to pay up to 15 percent on the additional 3,000 slots.

 

Over the life of the deal, which would have run through 2030, the state would collect an estimated $1.6 billion, Schwarzenegger's administration said. The tribe would have received at least several times that.

 

In addition, the compact authorized an off-reservation casino on some 1,600 acres Sycuan has acquired in recent years, lands that adjoin its reservation and include the former Singing Hills resort and golf course.

 

Off-reservation gaming proposals have become increasingly controversial and the Department of Interior declared three years ago that it would no longer even consider compacts that authorized gaming on “lands that are not now, and may never be Indian lands.”

 

George Skibine, acting assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, had warned the provision permitting an off-reservation casino could pose a problem for Sycuan's compact when it reached the Interior Department.

 

But the agreement was submitted with three other compacts from California, all of which reportedly got lost at Interior and were not rediscovered until after a 45-day review period had lapsed. That left federal officials no alternative but to “deem” them approved, as required by federal law.

 

Opponents of Sycuan's compact notified Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne in July that his agency had granted final approval to a gaming agreement that had not yet been ratified by the tribe.

 

The Bureau of Indian Affairs referred the matter to its attorneys but to date has taken no action. A spokeswoman for that office declined to return repeated telephone calls Thursday.

Although Sycuan decided not to exercise its new deal, it retains the right to build a second casino under its existing compact. But it will no longer have language blessing a casino on its newly acquired land.

 

The tribe also has added several hundred bingo-based machines to its casino. Many electronic bingo machines are considered “Class 2” gaming devices not subject to state regulation or fees under federal law.

But state gaming agents concluded that at least some of Sycuan's bingo machines are considered slots under federal criteria. That has prompted a state review of whether the tribe has violated the 2,000-slot limit in its existing compact.

 

Sycuan Chairman Tucker declined to comment beyond his letter to the governor. But analysts and others said the decision reflects a sharp economic downturn that has cut deeply into tribal and commercial gaming profits nationwide.

 

Viejas, Pechanga and other tribes have layed off hundreds of employees and expansion plans have been shelved indefinitely by tribes who operate some of the most successful casinos in the state.

 

Sycuan's was one of five large new gaming agreements that Schwarzenegger negotiated during the summer of 2006. Several of those tribes, such as Pechanga and Morongo of east Riverside County, have scaled back expansion plans.

 

Megan Neuburger, a Native American finances specialist with Fitch Ratings, noted that all of those compacts significantly increased the state's cut of the tribes' gaming revenue.

 

“The terms of these compacts,” Neuburger said, “were negotiated at a time when it was a much more optimistic climate.”

The struggling economy has dealt a bad hand to the nation's usually robust gambling business, a downturn made even worse in Illinois, where the state's nearly year-old smoking ban has proved unhealthy to casinos.

 

Among those paying the steepest prices are local governments, charities and their clients, who have come to rely on gambling tax receipts.

 

The big gambling states— Nevada, New Jersey and Mississippi—are off 5 percent to 7 percent in casino revenue. But the picture is worst in Illinois, where casino revenue is down 20.3 percent this year.

 

Gambling officials estimate that the state will get between $150 million and $160 million less in taxes, most of it earmarked for education. Statewide, the eight communities with casinos will see $20 million to $25 million less than they took in last year, officials estimate.

 

Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, had predicted a 19 percent drop in revenue when the state smoking ban was debated, based on what other states had seen. He's not happy to have been so close to the mark.

 

"There's a high correlation between smokers and gambling," Swoik said Wednesday. "Although the number of people coming to the casinos is about the same, the time they spend inside is down. They're outside smoking. And in this business, if you're not putting money in the machine or on the table—time is money."

 

The municipalities with casinos, including Aurora, Elgin and Joliet, are among those paying the price.

 

Elgin, where the Grand Victoria Casino is moored, has lost about $5 million this year. In 2007, it took in about $24.3 million but is on pace to fall far short of that, collecting $16.3 million through October, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.

 

"We've cut a variety of smaller projects, such as parks development," said Elgin budget director Sean Stegall.

 

The city hasn't been able to sock away as much money for its enhanced 911 system, bicycle paths have not been improved and old streetlights haven't been replaced, Stegall said.

 

The story is similar in Aurora, where Hollywood Casino operates.

 

"Last year we had $15.5 million" in taxes, said finance director Brian Caputo. "This year we'll be lucky if we get $13 million."

 

Of that amount, $5.8 million is dedicated for neighborhood street work and $2 million to social, educational and cultural programs.

Money once earmarked to pay for purchases of land, some computer software and vehicles has been trimmed, Caputo said.

 

Nationally, the extent of gaming revenue declines won't be known until early next year, said David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada- Las Vegas. It's hard to say whether the declines are more or less than the overall decline in consumer spending, he said.

 

"It may be just that there's less discretionary spending out there," said Schwartz, who attributed the tax plunge in Illinois to the smoking ban, which took effect in January.

 

Other states that instituted smoking bans in casinos saw revenue fall in the years that followed. Delaware's revenue got back up to pre-ban levels within a few years, but it is hard to say whether tax levels might have grown more without the ban, he said.

 

While casinos in Illinois struggle, across the border in Indiana, revenues are down by only three-quarters of a percent, according to the American Gaming Association.

 

"They have basically the same economy, the same weather" as Illinois, Swoik said. "The only difference is the smoking ban."

 

The state's gambling industry will lobby for an exemption that would allow smokers to puff away at Illinois tables again, he said.
"It's been an extremely challenging year for the gaming industry," said Darren VanDover, senior vice president and general manager of Harrah's, which operates a Joliet casino.

 

A steady stream of customers strolled in and out of Harrah's on Wednesday, but regular patrons said the crowds are not nearly as deep as they used to be.

 

"I come up here three or four times a week, and I'll tell you what, when I first started coming up here 15 years ago, this place was packed all the time," said John Kolojay, 59, of Streator. "Right now, there's nobody here. Nobody."

 

Another regular, Christine Donchez, 60, of Wilmington, said the smoking ban has prompted her to go to Iowa, where she can smoke at her leisure as she plays the slots.
"You want to sit and relax and have a drink and smoke and play," said Donchez, who has trimmed her visits from four to twice a month since the smoking ban.

 

It's all made for some tough decisions in communities such as Joliet, where the city has received $4.1 million less than it expected this year.

 

Representatives from the Spanish Community Center and the Daybreak Center, which offer programs and shelter for the homeless, recently pleaded with council members not to cut off their funding.

 

Daybreak officials said the $240,000 they were relying on from the city had already been pledged as matching funds for state and federal grants totaling $755,000.

 

"This is probably the most difficult budget I've voted on," Councilman Mike Turk said.

The idea of taxing gambling in Alabama is being sent up as a trial balloon as state government looks down a double-barrel of a lingering recession and retreating tax receipts.

 

With state revenue declining or at a standstill, Paul Hubbert, executive secretary of the Alabama Education Association, and Rep. Richard Lindsey, D-Centre, chairman of the House Education Appropriations Committee, said Tuesday new taxes on gambling might help state budgets in the 2010 budget year.
Lindsey said the $459 million "rainy day" fund for education that voters approved in Amendment 1 on Nov. 4 likely will be quickly used in the coming year.

 

Furthermore, he predicted the education budget in 2010 would probably have to be slashed by $400 million to $500 million.

State school Superintendent Joe Morton said Gov. Bob Riley this month will likely declare proration - budget cuts when revenue falls short - to begin the drawdown of the $459 million. But he agreed with Lindsey that may not be enough to avoid further cuts in the 2009 budget.

 

"If the situation does not improve before April or May 2009 when the Legislature is finishing the fiscal 2010 budgets, education could very likely see a fiscal 2010 budget that is smaller than 2009," Morton said. "This means serious cuts to many programs that have enhanced student learning and Alabama's educational image nationally and internationally. I'm not ready to put an amount on it yet, but at the present prospects look gloomy."

 

Alabama ranks 46th among states in revenue raised from gambling, although gambling, in one form or another, is prevalent throughout the state.

 

In the past fiscal year, the state collected $377,824 from the only gambling law it has, the pari-mutuel pool tax - a 1 percent tax on dog race track owners on the pari-mutuel pool on all races.

 

Lindsey said Riley "missed a golden opportunity" early in his first term by failing to take on the gambling interest and raise revenue from it.
"I hope (the Riley administration) will take a leadership role. It will not be an easy issue," he said. "It would be a very difficult issue. No issue is easy, but it would be well worth the time and effort to try and be successful."

 

Lindsey said the first step would be to bring all the affected parties together.

 

"We're trying to float some ideas (on gambling taxes) to (the Riley administration) and legislators," said Hubbert. "We've had some conversations with the administration."
Alabamians overwhelmingly rejected a state lottery in 1999, but since then lotteries have been established in Tennessee and casinos operate in Mississippi. Florida and Georgia also have lotteries.

 

Gambling also has popped up all over the state since 1999 - from Dothan to Walker County. It includes greyhound dog tracks in Birmingham, Mobile, Eutaw and Shorter, an Indian casino in Atmore, and bingo operations thriving across the state.

 

Some of the operations are protected by state law, and those operated by Indians are protected by federal law and exempt from state taxes.

 

"It's here but we're not getting revenue from it," Hubbert said. "It makes no sense to me to allow it to continue. If it can't be put out of business and it's not going away, there's the question of why others are getting tax money off of it and we're not."

 

Jeff Emerson, Riley's chief spokesman, said he was unaware of any discussions about gambling legislation.

 

"Gambling comes up every year, and the Legislature spends so much time arguing over it that more important issues like ethics reform never get debated," he said. "Governor Riley urges legislators not to waste time on efforts to expand gambling and instead focus on more important matters like the ethics reform proposals he has introduced."

 

Meanwhile, Emerson said tax collections for November were mixed, but there was some positive news.

 

"Tax collections from individual income taxes grew over 7 percent compared to last November, which reflects the good news on our employment front," he said. "Sales tax collections, however, decreased by 2 percent compared to last November."

 

Meanwhile, Riley was among 40 governors who met with President-elect Barack Obama in Philadelphia about federal aid to states. Riley was there to represent Alabama's concerns over Medicaid funding.

 

The governors want Congress to authorize a two-year increase in the federal share of Medicaid, the health program for low-income people. The need for assistance is growing as state revenues shrink.

Leaving Atlantic City's biggest and most profitable casino for Australia wasn't an easy decision for its top executive.

 

But Larry Mullin said a visit last summer to Sydney convinced him that he could help transform that gaming market in much the same way that the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa brought change to Atlantic City.

 

Boyd Gaming Corp., which co-owns the Borgata with MGM Mirage, announced last week that Mullin was resigning Jan. 5 to become chief executive officer of the casino division of Tabcorp Holdings Ltd., a Melbourne company that operates four casinos in Australia.

 

"The market in Australia is a huge locals market," Mullin said today. "The casino in Sydney has 4.8 million people to draw from, and it's the only one in that market."

 

He said that, similar to Atlantic City, which is still predominantly a day-tripper market that is trying to develop more overnight guests, many who frequent the Sydney casino are locals who return home the same day. Tabcorp wants to attract a higher-end international customer who stays overnight or longer.

 

Mullin, who will be based in Sydney, said Tabcorp was pouring $475 million into its Star City Hotel & Casino there - and repositioning it as a must-see, overnight destination resort.

 

Mullin's departure comes as Atlantic City faces daunting challenges. They include new regional slots competition, a bad economy, and a credit crisis that has stalled development.

 

Boyd Gaming placed a massive bet on the $1.1 billion Borgata in 2003 to begin the transformation of Atlantic City into an overnight destination, with Las Vegas-style casinos featuring luxury hotel rooms, spas, upscale retail, nightclubs, and top concert acts. The casino's philosophy, modeled after Las Vegas venues, was to have everything under its roof generating revenue. Several casino operators in Atlantic City soon emulated "the Borgata model."

 

Mullin, 46, who was tapped by Boyd to become Borgata's executive vice president of marketing in 2002, a year before it opened, has been integral in developing the Borgata brand. With its edgy decor, high-tech design, and Borgata Babes cocktail waitresses, the Borgata brought in the younger, affluent crowds from New York and Philadelphia and made entertainment a potent part of the casino experience.

 

Tabcorp is asking for much of the same.

 

"They looked at the U.S., specifically Atlantic City, and more specifically the Borgata and what Borgata had done to reposition Atlantic City," Mullin said. "They want to differentiate themselves in Australia and become an overnight destination."

 

Besides its biggest property in Sydney, Tabcorp owns three smaller casinos. The four combined offer more than 4,500 slot machines, 399 table games, and 1,409 hotel rooms.

 

By comparison, the Borgata has 4,100 slot machines, 200 table games, and 2,800 hotel rooms. The casino has led the Atlantic City market virtually every month since opening nearly 5 1/2 years ago.

 

Ian Manning, vice president of global due diligence investigations for consultant Spectrum Gaming Group L.L.C., said Tabcorp, a former corporatized betting agency, was moving aggressively to establish a name for itself.

 

"It's on their agenda to set up an overseas gaming destination," said Manning, a former gaming regulator in Australia. "Perhaps new blood will develop that potential market."

 

Mullin, a former Cardinal O'Hara High School running back and a graduate of West Chester University, spent his entire 23-year casino-industry career in Atlantic City. He previously held executive-level positions at all three Trump casinos in Atlantic City from 1988 to 2002.

 

Mullin was promoted in 2004 to executive vice president and chief operating officer of Borgata. In 2006, he was named president and chief operating officer.

 

"I always wanted to challenge myself, and they are giving me the opportunity to grow at this point and time," said Mullin, who was given an equity position in Tabcorp. "For me, it's a step up running a company versus just a property."

 

Robert Boughner, who developed the Borgata and served as its CEO from 2003 to 2006, will oversee the Borgata until a replacement for Mullin is found.

 

Boughner is currently in charge of Boyd's $4.8 billion Echelon Resorts project on the Las Vegas Strip. That project, as well as three of four mega casinos planned for Atlantic City, has been placed on hold because of the difficulty in securing financing.

Study shows gambling differences between Pacific Island ethnicities and gender.

 

AUT University researchers have found significant gambling differences between ethnicity and gender when studying Pacific Island parents in 2006/07, in a project funded by the Ministry of Health.

 

The findings will advance our understanding of gambling in a population sector that experiences very high levels of gambling-related harm, says Professor Max Abbott, co-director of the AUT Gambling and Addictions Research Centre that conducted the study.  They also have relevance to community education programmes around gambling, such as the Ministry of Health’s current ‘Kiwi Lives Social Marketing Campaign’.

 

The newly-released findings show that although gambling participation is substantially lower than in the general population, slightly more mothers (36%) gambled than fathers (30%) in the 12 months prior to the study.  For the New Zealand adult population as a whole, two-thirds gambled during the past 12 months, with no gender difference.

 

Ethnicity is also a key factor in gambling, as it is for alcohol and smoking.  For example, Tongan mothers were less likely to gamble than Samoan mothers; however, those who gambled were 2.4 times more likely to be classified as at risk/problem gamblers.

 

Mothers who drank alcohol were more likely to have a higher weekly gambling expenditure, and correlations could be drawn between frequency and amount of consumption and higher gambling expenditure.

 

Further gender differences were noted in terms of associations between gambling and health. For fathers, both gambling and at risk/problem gambling were associated with psychological distress and those who gambled were more likely to be perpetrators as well as victims of verbal aggression, than those who did not.

 

These findings are part of the Pacific Islands Families (PIF) study. The PIF study, being carried out by AUT researchers, has been following 1398 infants and their families for the past eight years.

 

Professor Abbott says previous studies have indicated that although Pacific peoples gamble less than New Zealanders generally, those who do are much more likely to develop problems and there are differences between the different Pacific cultures in relation to gambling.

 

“The longitudinal cohort PIF study has offered a valuable and unique opportunity to study gambling and problem gambling within a Pacific family and child developmental context.”

 

“It has allowed for sub-analysis of major ethnic Pacific groups and the potential to begin identifying risk and protective factors in the development of problem gambling,” says Professor Abbott.

 

The PIF study is the first longitudinal Pasifika study in New Zealand. The cohort was drawn from children born at Middlemore Hospital in 2000 and researchers have been working closely with them ever since.

 

The study’s aim is to provide information on the children’s health, cultural, economic, environmental and psychosocial factors considered to be important influences on child health and development and family functioning.

 

It has gained international recognition for providing connections with the Pacific community which was previously considered a difficult-to-reach group for researchers.

There is an old adage that says seeing is believing. That's what the Atlantic Lottery Corporation in partnership with the Responsible Gambling Council is attempting to do with a Youth Awareness Drama Program to be performed at several New Brunswick high schools this week.

 

House of Cards is a bilingual drama program aimed at raising awareness about the risks associated with gambling.

 

A performance took place yesterday at Bathurst Regional High School and more are scheduled for today at 9:40 a.m. at Riverview Regional High School and tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. at Bonar Law Memorial High School in Rexton.

 

The Responsible Gambling Council is an independent, non-profit organization committed to the prevention of problem gambling.

 

House of Cards was created primarily for high school students. It explores some of the non-monetary costs that first-year university students might face as he or she becomes more focused on gambling.

 

"Problem gambling is an issue normally associated with older adults," according to Laurie Bell, director of prevention programs with the council. "In reality, a 19-year-old is more likely to have a problem than a 50-year-old. That's why it's so important to reach out to high school students now, and let them know about the risks of gambling."

 

Eventually, the program will have travelled to 24 high schools across Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

 

"This will be the third year ALC partnered with the Responsible Gambling Council to deliver this type of dramatic performance to high schools in Atlantic Canada," said Kim Wilson, manager of social responsibility and responsible gambling with the corporation. "The result is that we have reached over 10,000 high schools students with important messages about the risks associated with gambling."

A number of large cities in New Zealand are going to be reviewing their gambling policies over the next few months.

 

Dunedin, and possibly Auckland way review them well before they are legally obligated to.

Have they been conned by the pokie machine industry to review them early?

 

The pokie industry, which mainly makes its money from problem gamblers, is desperately telling councils that their sinking lid policies are hurting community funding through reduced grants. But this is patently untrue, and in some cities where these policies have been brought in, funding continues to increase.
Councils who continue to support pokie funding as a legitimate form of community funding are trading on people's misery and misfortune.

 

For every $1 given to the community a gambler has lost $3. The machines are predominantly placed in poor areas, and in New Zealand it is estimated there are between 10,000 and 60,000 problem gamblers.

 

Some cities, such as Manukau and Christchurch have taken strong moral leadership overt this issue, and have brought in sinking lid policies.

 

Waitakere is proposing the same, so the question is will these other cities succumb to the pokie industry's spin and go for the easy dollars, or will they do the right thing by their citizens?