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?