Been a while since we've done one of these. Kinda of slow on the casino beat these days. Oh, and Easter got in the way. In fact, all of Holy Week. St. Patrick's Day, too. And we had a dinner party that we absolutely could not get out of. Got sidetracked over at Early Returns. Did I mention Easter? Dang, yeah, I thought so.

On with the show.

... Consumer confidence is down. Homes sale prices are down. John McCain says the American economy is in "crisis." But casinos? Recession-proof:

"At least somebody's making money during the current economic slump. According to a recent report, slot machines at Philadelphia Park Casino in Bensalem are generating profits that are the highest among casinos in the eastern United States. The report from Spectrum Gaming Group, an international gaming consultant, indicates Philadelphia Park's slots earn a daily average of $395. That's an annual average of $144,175 a year on each of the casino's 2,703 slot machines. When you do the math, it comes out to a total average annual earning of more than $3.89 million."

See? Told ya. Recession-proof.

Except ...

"In a town enthralled with its own mythology, Las Vegas would like to hold on to one myth in particular these days: Gambling is recession proof. It's conventional wisdom characteristic of a city and an industry far more accustomed to boom than bust, but it's just not true, experts say. Gamblers, whether motivated by compulsion or hope, don't necessarily double down when the economy spirals and belts tighten. 'It's an old idea that has very little relevance and maybe no relevance to the United States today,' industry analyst Eugene Christiansen said. Christiansen and others trace the notion to decades old economic research conducted when gamblers' options in the U.S. were limited to horse racing and a handful of Nevada resorts. Such tight supply ensured demand for gambling was steady."

Problem is, demand might soon be exceeded by the sheer supply of racetracks and slot machines.

Battle of Gettysburg

It's a major award! Why, it could even be a bowling alley!

"Endless meetings didn't do it. What may have seemed like countless hearings didn't either. Even the influence of powerful opponents couldn't deter the members of No Casino Gettysburg from protesting a proposal to build a casino near the Gettysburg National Military Park. [That] determination and persistence is why the National Parks Conservation Association chose to honor the grass-roots organization Wednesday with its Marjory Stoneman Douglas Award, which is awarded once a year to groups or individuals who advocate and fight for the protection of the National Park System. (Douglas was a lifelong advocate for Everglades National Park.)"

No bowling alley, no leg lamp, but a $2,500 check.

Notes from the AC

A year ago at this time, the Casino Journal was telling you how Atlantic City casinos were planning some major expansions and renovations to better compete with Pennsylvania's racetracks and slots parlors. (At least, I assume the Casino Journal told you about this. It would have been irresponsible not to.)

Today? Not so much:

"Even before the recent demise of Wall Street investment firm Bear Stearns & Co. Inc., casino operators were beginning to wonder about financing for their dream developments in this gambling town. To some, the cost of entering the nation's second-largest gambling market was no longer within reach - something unexpected two years ago when three operators announced they were buying land here. 'Now is one of the worst times to raise capital because lenders are willing to lend less, and the cost of capital is significantly more expensive than it was a year ago,' said gambling analyst Andrew Zarnett of Deutsche Bank AG in New York. 'For Atlantic City, it means delays.' Last month, Dan Lee, chief executive officer of Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. of Las Vegas, announced that it was holding off on building a $1.5 billion gambling palace - the one being teased by five billboards along the Atlantic City Expressway."

Odds and ends

Maine: We want casinos too, darn it! ... Kentucky: We want casinos too, darn it! ... San Diego: We want casinos too, darn it! ... For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction: "Expansion at a Rhode Island casino is drawing revenue away from Connecticut's two tribally owned casinos, according to a report released Sunday." ... Here's why Don Barden and others fight so hard to preserve smoking sections in their casinos: "The Casino Queen's business is down, and it blames Illinois' smoking ban. [Business] has declined since Jan. 1 when the state's ban on smoking in public places took effect.'It's been devastating,' said casino manager Tom Monaghan." ... Labor groups had a nice winning streak last year, casino-wise, but lost a big game in New England this month.

See you soon ...

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... Jokers to the right. The east has Louis DeNaples (more on him in just a bit). Out here in the west, we're rolling out our welcome mats for Stephen and Tomisue Hilbert:

"Casinos always have been full of colorful characters, but rarely so colorful as the part-financiers of the planned racetrack and casino in Lawrence County: one an exotic dancer turned apparel designer, the other an Indiana businessman who captained one of the most spectacular business shipwrecks in recent U.S. history. Stephen and Tomisue Hilbert, husband and wife, operate M.H. Equity Investors, a Carmel, Ind., company providing much of the financing for Centaur Inc.'s Valley View Downs. Last autumn, Centaur, an Indiana racing and gaming company, closed on a $1 billion financing package that will pay for the $428 million investment west of New Castle."

Yep, that's her real name. Tomisue. Swear. To. God.

Stephen was the head of Conseco Inc., a major insurance carrier and finance company, before it tanked and its new board kicked him to the curb, with little more than a few baronial estates to his name. Poor guy. Now he and his wife are in charge of one of the biggest private equity firms in the Midwest. Read the full story here.

Dispatches from the east

The Citizens Voice:

"Prosecutors in the Louis A. DeNaples perjury case opposed DeNaples' attempt to have the charges against him dismissed and called for the prompt scheduling of a preliminary hearing in a brief filed Wednesday. DeNaples, accused of lying to state gaming regulators when seeking a license for his Mount Airy Casino Resort, has attacked the prosecution's case in the state Supreme Court and Dauphin County Court. The Dunmore billionaire has maintained his innocence and denied having mob ties."

Striped ties? Yes. Paisley ties even? OK. But not mob ties.

... "Reputed mobster William D'Elia, the imprisoned head of Scranton's Bufalino crime family, had a personal and business relationship that spanned 30 years with Mount Airy Casino Resort owner Louis DeNaples, D'Elia's attorney said Saturday. And D'Elia would have told the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board about his long-standing ties to DeNaples, but he was never subpoenaed by the board to testify, said attorney James Swetz of Stroudsburg. 'He would have testified and he would have answered any questions truthfully that were posed to him about whether or not he knew Mr. DeNaples, and Bill has known him for 30 years,' Swetz said."

Man, you give a casino license to a guy who's about to be indicted with possible mob ties just one time, and everybody's a critic.

... The DeNaples case has some Republican lawmakers calling for an (unlikely) overhaul of the state's gaming law:

State Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin, picked an unusual place Tuesday to outline his criticism of the law -- a conference of gambling industry officials sponsored by Spectrum Gaming Group of New Jersey ... Mr. Piccola said he's not trying to get rid of casinos because he knows they're here to stay, and they should even do some good by generating revenue for modest properly tax relief for homeowners and senior citizens. But he said there still are major problems with the current gaming law, so he's drafting a list of what he calls 'necessary reforms' to the law."

How nice is too nice?

The Meadows racetrack casino won't be as nice, or expensive, as one of those ginormous Las Vegas casinos, because it wouldn't be cost-effective to build such a gilded palace.

"Anytime Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan appears before an audience to talk about the casino complex being built on the South Side, he proudly notes the $800 million price tag, as if he's describing the cost of a fine work of art. But analysts who appeared this week at the fourth annual Pennsylvania Gaming Congress in Harrisburg aren't nearly as impressed. For them, Sands BethWorks might just be too nice for Wall Street to like. 'The experienced [casino] operators know how to make a property just nice enough,' said David Katz, executive director of the New York firm of Oppenheimer & Co. 'Some that we've seen in Pennsylvania have allowed costs to spin out of control.' [But] Las Vegas Sands Chief Executive Officer Sheldon Adelson has become one of the richest men in the world by defying Wall Street and breaking traditional models.

Casinos and health care

What do they have in common? Besides soaking us for bajillions, I mean? They are generally viewed as recession-proof -- even in hard times, people gamble, and people have compound fractures.

But lately, hospital systems (UPMC, we're talking about here) are getting hit with the fallout from the credit crunch and housing meltdown. And casinos are feeling it too:

"With the U.S. economy slowing, there are signs that Americans, especially those who frequent local casinos, are not in a betting mood. 'Competitive pressures in several markets do not appear likely to lessen in the near term,' Oppenheimer analyst David Katz [that guy again! Busy dude] said in a report on Wednesday. Harrah's Entertainment Inc, the world's largest casino company, and Boyd Gaming Corp. both posted weaker quarterly earnings on Wednesday and both described the economic environment as 'challenging.' Their weaker earnings come a day after Pinnacle Entertainment, which operates casinos in regional U.S. markets, posted a wider fourth-quarter loss, due mainly to costs related to opening a new casino."

Odds and ends

The new Hollywood casino near Harrisburg will have a no-smoking gambling section, thanks to complaints from customers ... The Meadows' slots tax obligation is already funding public projects in Washington County ... Slot machines are boosting the Pennsylvania racetracks that host them ... Will legalizing cash-paying tavern poker machines help repeal the unpopular drink tax? And would casinos stand for it? ... An editorial on the DeNaples situation ... Need a job? Grab a hammer! ... A casino might be coming to Maine, of all places, no doubt hoping to catch all the border traffic from New Brunswick.

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The writer's strike is over; I guess that means the Casino Journal resumes:

"The former chairman of the state Gaming Control Board accused Pennsylvania State Police of breaking the law by failing to turn over more information during the licensing process of indicted casino owner Louis DeNaples. Mr. DeNaples was charged Jan. 30 with four counts of perjury for allegedly lying to gambling board investigators about his ties to reputed organized crime figures and men at the center of a federal corruption probe. Police, however, suspected Mr. DeNaples lied to the board months before it voted on Dec. 20."

We've been hearing that refrain for weeks, but Tad Decker (the aforementioned former chair) agitated the load when he wrote a letter to the Philadelphia Inquirer, calling out the state police:

"State police Commissioner Jeffrey Miller 'violated the (gaming) act' by not telling board members about the suspicions, former chairman Tad Decker, now an attorney with the Philadelphia law firm Cozen O'Connor, wrote in a letter to The Philadelphia Inquirer."

... Well, De Scandal in De Poconos is officially a big deal now -- The New York Times is paying attention to it.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch ...

More kvetching about the size, necessity and texture of the proposed Majestic Star casino garage.

"The Riverlife Task Force is taking its battle over the size of the parking garage for the Majestic Star casino to the state Supreme Court, drawing a sharp rebuke from casino developer Don Barden. The task force and two North Side residents, Randy Zotter and Robert Blackwell, appealed the Jan. 14 city planning commission approval of the casino and garage design to the high court, listing a host of procedural and design-related issues."

The ironic part is, by the time they get this thing built, parking won't even be an issue because we'll all be able to teleport directly to the casino.

... In case you were wondering about the math, opening more casinos = Pennsylvanians lose more money at casinos. Don't believe us? It's right here in print! And if you read it in a newspaper, it has to be true.

... We haven't done enough to address the impending flood of gambling addicts, the social services they will require, and the inter-family financial havoc they will wreak, say a pair of Pitt social scientists.

... Speaking of those problem gamblers, here's a nice feature on a residential treatment program:

"Panfilo DiCenzo considers himself streetwise on addictions and people, among other topics. He intends to use that knowledge by adding a recovery residence for addicted gamblers to Clean and Sober Humans Association Inc., the shelter program he started for alcoholics and drug abusers 12 years ago in Stowe. [The] Arneault House [is a] remodeled residence at 821 Broadway Ave., sandwiched between tanning and nail salons. It will serve as low-cost housing for five to 10 people attempting to work out their gambling problems."

The place is named for Ted Arneault, president of the Mountaineer Casino in West Virginia.

Hollywood on the Susquehanna

Pennsylvania's sixth racetrack casino is open for business and ready to take your money:

"Now slots players from central Pennsylvania have a place to go. The $310 million Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course opened this week after 15 months of construction. The thoroughbred racetrack and casino in Grantville, 20 miles east of Harrisburg, is the sixth track casino to open in Pennsylvania, and the seventh slots parlor overall, since expanded gambling was authorized by the Legislature in July 2004."

More here and here.

Reno on the Delaware

You thought the delays on the North Shore were bad? Tain't nothing. Philadelphia continues to haggle, in council and courtroom chambers, about all matters casino-related:

"The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said [this week] that it would decide whether the City of Philadelphia has the power to give and take away licenses to build over state-owned riverbed lands, handing SugarHouse Casino a temporary victory over Mayor Nutter. Nutter last month revoked a submerged-lands license that Mayor John F. Street's administration issued to SugarHouse in its final weeks. The permit was needed so SugarHouse could build its slots parlor along and over the banks of the Delaware. Nutter said he wanted to take a closer look at the last-minute deal by the Street administration, which advocated heavily for casinos."

Dispatches from the South

After months (years, really) of chatter on the issue, Kentucky has formally introduced legislation that, if approved, would legalize casino gambling in the state and boost year-round attendance at Churchill Downs, which has said for years that the Kentucky Derby weekend isn't enough to sustain the track:

"Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear on Thursday unveiled his plan to the Kentucky General Assembly with legislation calling for up to seven licenses for horse-racing tracks and up to five free-standing casinos. If state lawmakers and voters approve his plan, Kentucky would be the last of the five states that border Ohio to adopt casino gambling."

Odds and ends

Mississippi's casinos continue to rebound nicely from the damages of Hurricane Katrina ... The Meadows in Washington County just paid out its biggest casino jackpot to date ... Another bad report out of Atlantic City: "For the first time since gambling halls in Pennsylvania and New York debuted a year ago, Atlantic City's 11 casinos all reported revenue declines in January. Monthly revenue was down 10 percent, marking the 12th month out of the last 13 that revenues have fallen." ... Table games, if they come to Pennsylvania, would be nice for the casino owners, but wouldn't provide much tax relief because they are more expensive to operate, on account of the labor that goes into it ... Can a new generation of slot machines attract big-spending 20- and 30-somethings (as opposed to grandma and grandpa)?

OK, you're on your way to Vegas, but the gambling jones hits you so bad that you can't even wait for the plane to land. What to do?

"High-rolling gamblers may soon be cashing in their chips with the great casino in the sky. Airbus has been approached by potential Asian buyers who are looking to turn its A380 'superjumbo' aircraft into a flying casino, says the European aircraft-maker."

Great, lose your shirt before you hit the ground. But would you still be able to gamble when that seat belt light comes on?

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So Phil saw his shadow. G-Men beat the Patsies. Guess that means six more weeks of the Casino Journal ... or the coming apocalypse.

... Here's the day that local bars, delis and private social clubs have been dreading ever since the passage of Pennsylvania's gambling act:

"Allegheny County and Pittsburgh police officials are primed to step up their efforts in combating operation of illegal gambling machines in bars, restaurants and taverns thanks to more than $500,000 in grants from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The grants -- $250,000 to the county district attorney's office, $180,000 to the Pittsburgh Police Bureau and $160,000 to the Allegheny County Police -- will be used by the agencies to establish units aimed at eliminating unlawful machines used for gambling, said Richard McGarvey, spokesman for the gaming board."

Don Barden paid $50 million for that slots license. For that, he wants to be the only game in town. Can't blame him.

Question -- how long before we see video of a steamroller crushing a bunch of video poker machines?

Dispatches from the east

More on De Scandal in De Poconos:

"Old wounds have been reopened with the suspension of Louis A. DeNaples' casino license as debates over the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board's decision to keep its enforcement arm separate from law enforcement have risen to the surface again. Would Mr. DeNaples have been issued a gaming license in New Jersey, for example, a state with stricter and more open licensing procedures? How about in Nevada? 'I don't think anybody knows the answer to that question,' said Nicholas Casiello, the chairman of Fox Rothschild LLP's Gaming Practice Group."

(A link to a handy DeNaples perjury indictment timeline, if you were wondering about it.)

Here's the state police account:

"Months before casino applicant Louis DeNaples received his casino license, the Pennsylvania State Police realized that DeNaples may have lied to gaming regulators - but kept it secret from regulators, the State Police acknowledged today. That decision meant that the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board was in the dark about the potential perjury when they voted in December 2006 to give DeNaples a license to open a $412 million Poconos slots parlor... . Thomas A. Decker, former head of the gaming board, said he was astonished at the revelation that the information had not been shared. 'I'm totally stunned,' he said. He added: 'If it's true that Mr. DeNaples lied, they [state police] did a horrible disservice to the citizens of this commonwealth.'"

Now, now. There's plenty of disservice to go around.

A nugget from The Morning Call of Allentown:

"Two months before Mount Airy Casino Resort owner Louis DeNaples was charged with perjury and his gaming license was suspended, he asked permission to hand the reins -- and finances -- of his slots parlor to family members. A grand jury was investigating whether he lied about ties to organized crime as he filed the reorganization papers. But DeNaples told state slots regulators his request was based on business reasons, not legal concerns. 'This was for succession planning -- not because of anything happening with the Dauphin County grand jury,' DeNaples' spokesman Kevin Feeley said. 'The timing was more coincidental.'"

The upshot? Republicans some of whom were against the casinos on moral grounds, are calling for an investigation:

"State House Republicans today demanded major changes in the way the state Gaming Control Board conducts its background investigations of applicants for slots casino licenses. The call for change came after one casino owner, Louis DeNaples of Mt. Airy Casino Resort in the Poconos, was charged with perjury last week and was at least temporarily stripped of his slots license. He was charged with not telling the truth about his friendship with some alleged organized crime figures. The Republican House members said the Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement, the primary background checking agency, should be independent of the Gaming Board and have its own separate budget."

By the way, whoever had 406 in the pool -- the number of days between the awarding of the casino licenses and the first indictment being handed down -- is the big winner.

... Moving on: A county boundary that bisects a racetrack means that two municipalities should split the casino proceeds. Or so goes the reasoning of East Hanover township in Lebanon County, which hopes to win part of the jackpot once the casino opens:

"The casino sits in East Hanover Twp., Dauphin County, but a portion of the race course property is in Lebanon County. Lebanon County and its East Hanover want a share of the state slots revenue. They should be entitled to a share of the state's proceeds, according to Eric Epstein, a Harrisburg-area political activist who was hired by Dauphin County's East Hanover to represent its interests in the gambling money ... None of the casino buildings is within Lebanon County, [but] about 22 acres of the 635-acre Penn National property are in Lebanon County."

Odds and ends

The Mohegan Tribe wants a presence in Atlantic City, but it won't build one -- it will buy one, if it can, either the Tropicana Casino and Resort or the Trump Marina ... Is casino gambling on its way to Kentucky's stretch of the Ohio River? ... Ohio's governor keeps trying to come up with ways to get around the state's laws on casinos and gambling ... An odd stabbing at the new casino near Harrisburg.

Is the bloom of the gambling rose in Erie?

"Workers at Presque Isle Downs & Casino are having their hours cut because casino business has slowed during the winter season. About 200 of the casino's 800 employees are having their hours cut. Full-time employees are now working just four days a week, and part-timers have had about eight hours cut from their 25-hour work week... The casino drew $44.6 million in wagers during the high tourism week of July 2-8, but just $24 million for one week in mid-December."

Could be worse. It's not like the owners were indicted.

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Keep digging, boys!

Another victory for Majestic Star casino owner Don Barden, who can begin building on the North Shore:

"The city planning commission [approved] design plans for his $450 million North Shore casino and a controversial parking garage to be built behind it. In doing so, the commission turned aside objections from the Riverlife Task Force and others in the local design community who feared the garage could overwhelm the sleek glass and steel riverfront Majestic Star casino and mar views of the city's skyline."

Construction on the site began last month, but that doesn't mean the casino's garage has a true green light:

"The battle may not be over for Mr. Barden, who also has fought -- and reached agreements -- with the Steelers and Pirates over the casino's impact on traffic and the Carnegie Science Center over site improvements. Clifford Levine, an attorney for the Riverlife Task Force, said the agency is considering its options in terms of a possible appeal. It objected to yesterday's hearing on procedural grounds, saying it should have the right to present evidence and witnesses, a position rejected by the commission. Mr. Levine argued in his presentation that accessory structures, such as garages, are limited to 20 feet in height under city zoning laws without a variance from the city's Zoning Board of Adjustment."

... that decorative screening looks really pretty, by the way.

... Good news for Don Barden: Pennsylvania's slots, despite predictions from social conservatives and know-it-all media types that nobody would want to play slots here when they could get full table games elsewhere, are among the most lucrative on the East Coast (which now apparently includes the Allegheny plateau and middle Appalachia). Check it aht:

"Pennsylvania casinos held four of the top five spots on the East Coast for money grossed per slot machine in fall 2007. [The] Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs generated $403 per slot machine per day between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30, 2007, more than any other East Coast casino. The Mohegan Sun in Connecticut came in second at $390 per machine, followed by three Pennsylvania casinos: Philadelphia Park at $369 per machine, The Meadows at $347 per machine and Harrah's Chester at $322 per machine."

Not horsin' around

Gov. Ed Rendell wants to merge the state's thoroughbred and harness racing agencies into one group, on the logic that ... well, we'll let him explain it:

"In the past, there sometimes hasn't been as much cooperation between harness and thoroughbred officials as there should be ... Officials think they can get better cooperation out of the two staffs if a single person directs both staffs." They'll be conducting a nationwide search for that special, multi-talented person.

If that doesn't scream Pennsylvania -- two separate horseracing agencies that just can't seem to cooperate -- I don't know what does.

De Scandal in De Poconos

The Louis DeNaples grand jury saga continues:

"The recently resigned top federal prosecutor in central and northeastern Pennsylvania is working for a casino owner who is under investigation for alleged ties to organized crime. Former U.S. Attorney Thomas Marino [said] that his work will be limited to other businesses owned by Louis A. DeNaples, and will not involve Mount Airy Casino Resort or defending DeNaples in the ongoing grand jury investigation."

That sounds reasonable.

... This bit of news comes after the Patriot-News revealed that the priest who got tied up in the grand jury mess also got tied up in a bit of debt:

"Most priests take a vow of poverty, but bankruptcy records show that the Rev. Joseph F. Sica, a Scranton-area priest, took out enough loans to live large if he wanted to. On an annual salary of $13,200, Sica amassed debts totaling more than $218,000. Most of that debt was owed to First Community National Bank, whose chairman is Sica's longtime friend Louis DeNaples. DeNaples, a casino owner, is the subject of an ongoing Dauphin County grand jury investigation. Sica was arrested on a perjury charge that accuses him of lying to that same grand jury."

Odds and ends

The AP reports on the continuing "woes" at Atlantic City's casinos, caused by an encroaching Pennsylvania ... The DeNaples grand jury probe is a sordid affair, says the Morning Call editorial board ... Political gadfly Gene Stilp tangles with columnist John Baer and the state Supreme Court ... Harrah's Entertainment is allowed to transfer ownership of its Pennsylvania casino ... And in case you're doing any traveling, Israel is going to open a casino along the Red Sea.

Do you think Moses can turn a junk hand into a straight flush?

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Brand New Year, same old Casino Journal. Hope you all had a pleasant holiday. We spent it by watching the "Ice Bowl" spectacle, the Pens-Sabres hockey game up in snow-swept Buffalo. Had we made the drive up there for the game, you betcha we would have stopped for some hot wings and a beef-on-weck, but we also would have made time for the Senaca Indian casino in downtown.

And who needs one of those palatial Las Vegas casinos? If you ever wanted proof that gamblers will literally gamble in a warehouse if need be, check out the photo of the temporary casino:

The news is that the Seneca Nation of Indians wants to enlarge the temporary casino, because it's drawing so many gamblers. That casino will remain open (barring a court-imposed closure) until the permanent, $333 million casino opens, an event scheduled for mid-2010.

... A man of the cloth is, caught up this nasty Louis DeNaples grand jury investigation:

"A Scranton Catholic priest was charged this morning with perjury in connection with statements he made before a grand jury investigating whether Louis A. DeNaples lied in his application to operate a casino in the Poconos. The Rev. Joseph F. Sica allegedly lied about his relationship with late crime boss Russell Bufalino, according to the Dauphin County district attorney's office. Father Sica told the grand jury that he met Mr. Bufalino in passing and had no relationship with him, but contradictory evidence surfaced. It included photographs of the two arm-in-arm and a letter to former Pennsylvania First Lady Ginny Thornburgh in which Father Sica called Mr. Bufalino 'a friend.'"

That happened this morning.

More from the grand jury investigation, from the AP:

"In recently unsealed court documents, Dauphin County prosecutors say the grand jury's investigation 'has uncovered substantial evidence demonstrating that DeNaples lied in his sworn testimony' to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. At hand is the question of whether DeNaples has ties to organized crime figures, prosecutors said in the documents."

Notes from the border

The P-G reported last month on the debut of table games in West Virginia casinos. The Charleston Daily Mail is reporting today the effect of those games:

"Two Northern Panhandle tracks have kept their word on hiring. The Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in Chester has hired 725 employees and the Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack has added 500 to the payroll. Those promised jobs were a key part of the sales pitch used to get voter approval for table games at the tracks."

That's more than 1,200 jobs in all.

Smoke if you got 'em ...

... but not in Illinois, whose statewide no-smoking-in-the-workplace law went into effect Jan. 1.

How will that play in casinos?

"They've been puffing away at penny and nickel slots in the glitzy Casino Queen, taking slow drags playing video poker at the bar and lighting up in the hallways while digesting winnings or losses. But as of Tuesday, smokers will have to try their luck elsewhere. Illinois' indoor-smoking ban applies to its nine casinos, triggering bitterness in the gaming halls and uncertainties over the possible economic impact. On the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, the economic fallout could be swift and dramatic, analysts say. Three casinos from Rock Island to East St. Louis border ones in Iowa and Missouri where smoking bans are not under consideration."

So will gamblers head across the bridge so they can smoke? If you could smoke in West Virginia, but not in Pittsburgh or The Meadows, would it be worth the drive for a pack-a-day smoker? Seems so:

"Illinois gaming operators predict a sudden drop in business statewide of about 20 percent, a $380-plus million loss, they say. They estimate at least a $144 million drop annually in the state's share of gambling taxes and predict a $20-plus million loss in local government tax receipts from casinos. Gambling netted more than $830 million in 2006 for state and local coffers, the Illinois Gaming Board said."

Odds and ends

How gambling helped an impoverished Mississippi county (a description that could technically apply to any of Mississippi's 80-some counties)... The first summer racing season at the new Presque Isle Downs Racetrack & Casino begins May 9 and ends Sept. 27 ... 2008 racing purses are increasing in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Park ... Kansas is mulling casinos ... Same goes for Kentucky ... The Meadows changes hands ... You, too, can win the penny slots!

Last, before you think about spending hours and hours researching the math of blackjack, know that it might well get you banned from the very casino you hope to play in:

"Bill [has] been barred from playing blackjack at two Northwest Indiana casinos, not for breaking any laws but for being a person deemed an undesirable guest for being able to play blackjack too skillfully. At one of the properties, Blue Chip Casino & Hotel in Michigan City, he has been denied access to even set foot on the grounds... . But is it fair? Bill doesn't deny he is a skilled player, but neither is he a high roller or a member of a team bent on taking the casinos for millions. He's an average guy who invested the time and effort it took to learn the math of the game and then set out with a $1,000 bankroll to see what he could do."

What he did was beat the house, over time.

The house doesn't like that.

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