Gambling will not be tolerated in Potter County. The County attorney is sending out a strong message, after two gambling rings are broken up.More than one hundred machines were confiscated and the bulk of those machines coming from inside the Cherokee Mega-Sweepstakes on Interstate 40 near Ross.
The rest of them came from a much smaller, no name, speakeasy type of place on Bivins Road. Potter County Attorney Scott Brumley says both locations were under surveillance for quite some time, but authorities waited until now, when they were absolutely sure illegal activity was going on.
He says it's not just about getting rid of the gambling, but in many cases, the other crimes that go with it. "We've found guns in there, we've found drugs. And in many cases we see organized crime involved."
A new law goes into effect on September first that will allow the county to store only the eight liner computer chips, instead of the entire machine, but Brumley says they will still continue to store the entire machines. "To show this wasn't just one little machine here, when you have sixty machines all in one place it presents a more powerful and compelling case."
If convicted, the gambling ring owners could face up to two years in state jail and a ten thousand dollar fine.
The raid happened at 232 Arnold Drive in Hillview after police found something that had nothing to do with an Auto Glass Solution Company.
"We got some information that there was possibly some illegal gambling going on at that location," said Officer Roy Raines of the Hillview Police.
Hillview Police raided the business, and found some people they were not expecting. "Found about 15 people inside playing either slot machines or at gambling tables" said Raines. "There was an off duty police officer and an attorney."
According to the police report, the attorney is Cassandra Schmidt. The officer has been identified as Brent Dawson of the Shepherdsville Police Department.
"It's very difficult. You share the same faith in the law. It's a thin blue line. You hate to do that to another officer, but if you break the law you break the law," said Raines.
Raines believes the illegal gambling had been going for a few weeks and its discovery shocked everyone. "This was in a place very non-descript. You could have driven by there 100 times and never thought of it."
Shepherdsville Police have assigned Dawson to administrative duties pending the result of an internal investigation. The three who were arrested posted bond Wednesday morning. The 13 others received citations to appear in court.
McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler, meanwhile, does not support Franks’ efforts to block video gambling here. Keohler said the state needed the revenue.
Video gambling will provide a new revenue stream for the state and help fund the $31 billion capital improvement bill for new roads, schools and state infrastructure.
“What we’ve done is overnight allowed 60 new casinos to come into the state of Illinois,” said Franks, D-Marengo.
Projections said the legislation resulted in about 45,000 video gambling machines across the state. Franks said the Illinois Gaming Board would be overwhelmed and unable to properly regulate the expansion.
In a letter to Koehler, Franks wrote that “many gamblers fall into problem or addictive gambling during their lifetime. The result of addiction is divorce, debt, isolation, depression and occasionally suicide.”
Although Illinois has gambling boats, a state lottery, and horse racing, Franks said, video gambling will greatly expand access.
“Video poker machines are more addictive than casinos and racetracks because they represent ‘convenience’ gambling available in any corner bar on most Main Streets,” Franks wrote.
So far, the DuPage County Board has voted to ban video gambling, as have the towns of Rosemont and Country Club Hills.
Koehler said the capital bill was important to McHenry County and that it would be “fickle” for the county to support the public improvements, but not support the funding mechanism.
“This was too important to the state,” Koehler said. “The bottom line is that some form of taxation was going to be needed. We need the money. What are we supposed to do? Approve a 8- to 12-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax?”
Among the projects that should receive funding is the Routes 31 and 62 bypass in downtown Algonquin. About $82.5 million is dedicated for that project.
Among the other McHenry County projects to be funded:
• $40 million to widen Route 47 between Reed and Kreutzer roads in Huntley.
• $400,000 to replace the Yellow Head Marsh Dam at Moraine Hills State Park.
• $1.5 million for capital outlay and shoreline stabilization for the Fox Waterway Agency.
• $671,600 for a greenhouse at McHenry County College.
“Personally, I have no problem with that as a revenue source,” Koehler said.
Koehler said video gambling could help bars and taverns that had been hurt in recent years by the smoking ban and higher taxes.
In his letter, Franks asked that the matter be placed on the County Board’s next agenda and discussed. Whether the County Board will consider a ban has yet to be determined. The issue only has been preliminarily discussed by the county liquor commission.
If McHenry County did nix video gambling, the ban would affect only the unincorporated areas of the county. Municipalities would have to consider the issue on their own.
Franks said that expanding gambling was not the only answer to funding quandaries and the state’s budget woes.
“They’re out of ideas,” Franks said, adding that there are budget cuts and other measures that the state should pursue.
Phillips began his career with UK gambling giant Ladbrokes where he spent seven years in land-based casino operations. Following his tenure with Ladbrokes, he spent eight years with the Gala Coral Group's online gaming division, becoming Gaming Director with responsibility for casino, bingo, TV and poker operations across multiple channels.
“I am excited to be joining a progressive and ambitious company like Chartwell”, said Phillips, “I feel my experience in all aspects of online gaming operations will add value across our entire portfolio of products and services.”
“The addition of Dan Phillips significantly expands our team’s capabilities and adds a wealth of experience from the operational perspective”, said Lee Richardson, Chief Executive Officer, Chartwell Games (International) Ltd.. “Dan will oversee our community and networked games divisions and our new fully managed services operations which include our soon to launch Chartwell Games Platform.”
Richardson added that the Chartwell Games Platform represents the latest in fully certified, licensed hosting environments providing for the integration and deployment of multiple third-party gaming content, all of which can be operated from Chartwell’s powerful back office application, Cyberboss. The new product will also provide the capability to deliver Chartwell gaming content to existing casino systems.
Seventeen-year-old Carlos DeJesus was arraigned in Holyoke District Court on Thursday, one day after he was arrested on charges including murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
Police are seeking 21-year-old Jose Anibal Bonilla-Torres in connection with the early Sunday slaying. Chief Anthony Scott says 23-year-old Joseph Hernandez was shot on Suffolk Street and managed to make it two blocks to City Hall before collapsing, leaving a trail of blood.
It was the city’s second homicide of the year.
DeJesus’ attorney did not immediately return messages for comment.
The impetus for the ordinance came at a July 14 council work session when council discussed lawful gambling issues and a state law that allows cities to impose a 10 percent net profit contribution on all licensed gambling organizations in their communities.
The council decided not to take the full 10 percent allowed by state law.
And the 5 percent approved in the ordinance won’t have any impact on the gambling organization’s bottom line.
“The requirement for expenditures within the city has been reduced from 10 percent to 5 percent, thus having no net effect on an organization’s expenditure requirement,” said City Clerk Joni Anderson.
The ordinance, which will go into effect Sept. 1, also adds Ham Lake to the definition of the city’s trade area, which also includes Andover, Anoka, Blaine, Brooklyn Park and Champlin, besides Coon Rapids.
All those communities share a border with Coon Rapids, including Ham Lake.
Ham Lake touches on Coon Rapids’ border in Bunker Hills Regional Park.
In addition, the council has added a section that allows veterans organizations in the gambling business to include water, heat, electricity and sewer costs as eligible expenses to deduct from the net profit calculations.
No one appeared from gambling organizations in the city at the two readings of the ordinance before the council, nor were any objections raised at the work session.
But Councilmember Joe Sidoti said he had heard concerns raised after the work session from two gambling organizations that were not at that meeting.
Councilmember Scott Schulte said those objections might have been the result of the city not doing a good job explaining the “zero impact” of the ordinance on gambling organizations’ profits.
State law is very specific in how the money can be spent and the council can’t go outside the law, said Councilmember Bruce Sanders.
The city’s cut can be spent on “lawful purposes,” as defined by state law, or police, fire and other emergency or public safety-related services, equipment and training, according to Anderson.
The recession has caused organizations’ gambling profits to dip, but using current profit data, the city would receive some $22,000 a year with a 5 percent net profit contribution, said City Manager Matt Fulton.
No decision has been made by the council on where the money should be spent, but Mayor Tim Howe suggested the annual July 4th fireworks display.
However, council members indicated that once the ordinance had gone into effect, they would sit down at a work session to decide where to spend the net profit contribution within the parameters of state law.
A survey by Anderson of surrounding communities found that a majority do receive a cut of gambling organizations’ profits, while some do not.
Andover, Blaine and Maple Grove require the state-maximum 10 percent contribution, while Ramsey has a 5 percent net profit contribution.
Neither Anoka nor Brooklyn Center require a net profit contribution.
Organizations that have legal gambling operations in Coon Rapids include the Coon Rapids American Legion, Coon Rapids Lions Club, Coon Rapids Mat Bandits, Coon Rapids National Little League, Coon Rapids Youth Hockey Association and Coon Rapids VFW Post.
Last week, the Giants said they’d be sticking their logo on Connecticut lottery tickets and with that logo come cash prizes, but losers can return their tickets to win Giants-themed prizes, like tickets, training camp packages and helmets and jerseys. The game starts Aug. 26. NFL owners in May approved a rule that allows teams to partner with local lotteries.
But, this is Connecticut and our loyalties are divided between Boston and New York teams, so Giants tickets are not going to satisfy the many Patriots fans out there.
Connecticut does not have lotto tickets for followers of the Brady bunch, but the Massachusetts lottery has a new game offering a chance to win Patriots season tickets for life, prizes or 4,250 Patriot VIP ticket packages and team merchandise.
Pats fans know all-too-well that money can’t buy you tickets, unless you’re willing to take a chance on scalped tickets, so winning admission for life might even be more valuable.
Because the Massachusetts lottery is selling these, you’ll have to head over the border to take a gamble on these.
The Connecticut lottery, however, has capitalized on the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry and offers different scratch tickets for fans of each team.
The specialised iGaming section is intended for owners, managers and specialists of the many companies dislocated by the draconian new regulations currently being vigorously applied by police forces, and finding the best way forward will clearly involve wideranging discussions of alternatives and listening to expert presentations.
Participants will include Russian and foreign Internet systems providers, payment systems, legal and consulting companies.
Held in Kiev's Parus business centre, the event will include mini booths where visitors can get acquainted with solutions for Internet casino, poker, bookmaker and payment systems.
"We knew there was a lot of speculation on whether New Jersey gamblers were bypassing Atlantic City's casinos in favor of gaming opportunities in adjacent states," Malinowski explained. "Over the last couple of weeks we counted license plates at a trio of Pennsylvania facilities, Harrah's Chester, Philadelphia Park and Sands Bethlehem, and at Empire City Gaming at Yonkers in nearby Westchester County, New York, to collect that data."
The surveys revealed that 59.4 percent of the vehicles at Sands Bethlehem were from New Jersey, 31 percent at Philadelphia Park, 14 percent at Harrah's Chester, and 10 percent at Yonkers.
"The Rutgers study validates what we have been saying all along — New Jersey is losing out to nearby states, and the loss to the New Jersey economy is significant," said Tom Luchento, president of the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey. "We need slots at our racetracks to bring those bettors and their bankrolls back to our state.
"The casinos in Atlantic City will never lure those players back in any significant numbers," Luchento continued. "The public appears to be letting their feet — or cars —do the talking. They want something closer to home and save an hour or more of traveling time."
The Rutgers report is titled "Impact of Slot Machines/Video Lottery Terminals on the Economy, Horse Racing and Breeding Industry, Agriculture and Open Space in States/Provinces Where They Exist - Why Is This Important for New Jersey?"
The study observed that New Jersey "stands to lose its premier agribusiness, which generates $780 million of economic impact annually, 7,000 jobs, $110 million in federal, state and local taxes and 57,000 acres of working agricultural landscape and open space if racing-related activities leave New Jersey."
The report noted the installation of video lottery terminals/slots at New Jersey's racetracks "has the potential to be a 'win-win' situation for both the racing and casino industries. The revenue would enhance the state budget significantly and provide capital for use by the horse racing industry to keep it competitive. Racinos [racetracks with slots] would add jobs to the state during construction and renovations of the racetracks as well as during operation. Video lottery terminals run by the operators of the Atlantic City casinos would help these interests diversify sources of revenue."
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Inland Southern California, with its nine Native American-owned casinos, has more in common with Las Vegas than just a multitude of places to gamble.
Both places had solid economies and robust construction activity a few years ago, and both now are dealing with unemployment rates well above the nation's: 13.7 percent in Riverside and San Bernardino counties; and 12.3 percent in Las Vegas, according to the most recent reports.
It all adds up to less money being spent on the slots and the tables and adjustments by casino management, although the strategies vary from place to place.
For example, some of the tribal casinos in Inland Southern California have added features that might not pay off this year or next but will serve as permanent, long-term attractions.
Some also are offering enticements that pay off now by keeping customers excited enough to return regularly despite the lingering recession.
None of these decisions are simple, said Randy Fine, managing partner of The Fine Point Group, a Las Vegas-based casino marketing consulting firm.
"The right marketing strategy is property-specific. There isn't one solution," Fine said. "It's not just all about making the buffet half-priced or giving double-points on club cards. There are different customers and different offers."
Fine said there are three main phases of casino development. The first occurs when the facility opens and attracts its initial customers. The second is when the casino invests in a new landmark building.
Most Inland casinos went through the second phase in the first half of this decade, when most of the tribes built new facilities with room for thousands of gamblers. That set up a competitive environment, and also set up what Fine sees as a third phase, one that he said takes advanced mathematical theory and a marketing plan with multiple strategies.
"It's all about putting the right money in the right players' hands at the right time," Fine said. Almost no tribal casinos, and none in the Inland area, reveal how much money they take in and how much of it is profit for the tribes. But in June, the National Indian Gaming Commission released figures for 2008 that indicated revenues -- defined as the money taken in from gamblers minus the winnings returned -- in the 58 Indian casinos in California were down 5.8 percent. Most of California's facilities are located in the Inland area, where the housing meltdown took the biggest economic toll. Tribes and casino managers acknowledge, however, that the head counts are roughly the same, but the players are dropping less money per visit. Spence Johnston, a spokesman for the Morongo Band of Mission Indians near Cabazon, said the casino is "not doing horribly," but he said it's a tough environment. Johnston said the casino has reduced the prices at the buffet and the hotel and is offering package deals involving lodging. "They're doing a lot of cash giveaways, trying to keep the customer base happy," Johnston said. "It's pretty old-school." More visibility Some tribes have increased their visibility. The Agua Caliente tribe is offering name entertainment and boxing at The Show, its new arena, and the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino near Highland has engaged celebrities, including comic actor Cheech Marin and basketball legend Magic Johnson, as television pitchmen. The casino has increased its visibility at Los Angeles sports venues. Several casinos have made significant additions recently. The Pala Band of Mission Indians in northern San Diego County added a new buffet as part of a remodeling project. Also, the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians casino near San Jacinto unveiled a new a poker room and dedicated food outlet, "The Luiseño Grill," Bob Frear, the general manager, said in an e-mail through a spokesman. "Perpetually working to optimize the guest experience is always a top priority," Frear said in the statement. The Fantasy Springs Resort Hotel and Casino near Indio is offering golf, entertainment and lodging packages and has also revamped its club card system, which came online June 15, said Don Casper, vice president for marketing. "I think the bottom line is, we realize our product is a form of entertainment and the consumer is looking for the best value for the money," Casper said. "Our responsibility is to create that value." The new club cards include an instant perk. If a new player joins and plays $20, the casino, which is owned by the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, gives away $50 in free play. Good Now, for future That has brought in new players to offset part of the recessionary downturn, and Casper said it's a good future investment as well. But he said it is unlikely the casino would have made that kind of move a few years ago. "We realize there's competition, and due to the economy, your entertainment dollar has to go further than it did two years ago," Casper said. Ray Poirier, longtime editor of the Las Vegas-based gaming publication Gaming Today, said a lot of that city's casino executives were a little blindsided by the economy's flameout. "This is a completely different recession for the casinos," Poirier said. "In the past, the gaming properties had people who called customers and said, 'We have a terrific deal. Just bring $10,000.' That doesn't work any more."
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