Saturating the Gambling Market

Mass. casino competition would cut NH income

By NORMA LOVE

Associated Press / April 30, 2013

 

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A think tank estimates that a planned casino in the Boston area would reduce revenues New Hampshire would receive by more than a third from a casino built on its border near Massachusetts — if New Hampshire approves a gambling house and if one is built.

 

It remains unclear what if any profit New Hampshire would see if it legalizes a casino. Revenue estimates have ranged from a possible loss when social costs are counted to $135 million in 2017 if 5,000 video slot terminals are operating.

 

Given that Massachusetts is preparing to license three resort casinos and one slots parlor, New Hampshire officials are considering how that might affect any future casino activity in the state.

 

A Senate bill would require a minimum investment of $425 million, but the casino license holder could deduct the $80 million license cost and other costs. The bill allows up to 5,000 video slot machines and would authorize 150 table games. The House is expected to vote on the bill at the end of May.

 

Steve Norton, executive director of the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies, said Tuesday that New Hampshire’s income from building a casino at Rockingham Park race track in Salem, N.H., would drop about 36 percent if a comparable casino is built in Massachusetts.

Norton said a slots facility with 1,000 terminals in Worcester, Mass., would have only a marginal impact on a New Hampshire casino because of its small size and distance from the Salem facility.

 

The state’s profit would drop 45 percent, Norton told a special joint House subcommittee examining a Senate casino bill, if the Massachusetts casino is three times as attractive as the proposed New Hampshire facility.

 

Norton said construction and other costs are much higher in Massachusetts, making it possible to build an equally attractive facility in New Hampshire for less money. He said Wynn Resorts has proposed spending $1.2 billion on a resort casino in Everett, Mass., but the company faces high labor costs and potential environmental issues at the proposed site.

 

‘‘It strikes us that $1.2 billion doesn’t buy you a facility three times as attractive’’ as what is proposed by the Senate legislation, Norton said.

 

Norton based his estimates on a $300 million casino with 3,000 terminals. He did not factor income from table games into his calculations.

 

The joint House Finance and Ways and Means committees formed three sub-panels to consider revenues from a casino, necessary regulations and its impact on the community and state. The sub-panels are to report to the joint committee next week.

 

The Senate passed the bill in March. The House has never passed a casino bill, but Gov. Maggie Hassan supports a single casino and included the $80 million license fee in her budget.

 

The House did not include the money in the budget it passed in early April and the Senate is not expected to support a 30 cent increase in the cigarette tax favored by Hassan and the House to pay for state spending. The Senate won’t include the gambling license income in its budget unless the House passes the bill. If the House kills it, the two will negotiate in June a compromise and many in the House are afraid the Senate will demand cuts without the gambling revenue.

 

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/04/30/mass-casino-competition-cuts-income/xTREGEaI1UhF2twUAP8GUL/story.html

 

 

The Massachusetts Gambling Commission Scam

On April 18, the Massachusetts Gam(bl)ing Commission voted to allow the host communities schedule votes prior to the results of the financial/background analyses being finalized and made public.

... THE RESULT: What this means is that East Boston and Revere will be asked to vote on the proposed Suffolk Downs Casino BEFORE their financial background check has been completed.

They did this using the "emergency regulation" authority that state agencies have, claiming that it is in the public interest to move ahead as quickly as possible--regardless of whether or not we have all of the information we need about the investors-- with the vote. They cited pressure from the cities and towns and developers as the reason to move the process ahead and made light of the fairly significant concerns raised by groups like No Eastie Casino when asked what the hurry was.

This happened about 3 weeks after one of Suffolk Downs' largest investors, Vornado Trust pulled out because they didn't want to submit to background checks.

According to the Globe, "The gambling commission approved a transfer of Vornado’s shares Thursday to a blind trust over which the company will have no control. That is an interim step that will allow the track’s casino application to move forward while Vornado works to sells its interest “as soon as possible,” said Catherine Blue, the gambling commission’s general counsel."

THE RESULT. This means that the MGC is conducting a background check on on a blind trust, and East Boston Residents aren't even going to see the results of this analysis before we vote on Suffolk Downs' proposal.

The MGC is an agency set up to "strive to ensure that its decision-making and regulatory systems engender the confidence of the public and participants, and that they provide the greatest possible economic development benefits and revenues to the people of the Commonwealth"

Using Dreamworks Characters to Target Families in Sands

Bill Kearney

This is about targeting families and getting the Dreamworks characters in the Sands properties here in the states. What’s next DISNEY?

The Associated Press - April 30, 2013 - Sands Dreamworks strike Macau casino license deal

MACAU - Las Vegas Sands' China arm is licensing Dreamworks characters for a new attraction at one of its Macau casino resorts.
...
Executives said Tuesday that Sands China would be able to use characters like Shrek and Kung Fu Panda's Po for an attraction at the resort starting July 1.

They released few details but said one idea could involve hotel guests being able to eat meals with the characters. They did not disclose the investment amount or how long the agreement would last.

A Dreamworks executive said the deal would not involve Sands' casinos.
The self-governing Chinese region of Macau is the world's biggest casino market but authorities want to diversify away from gambling.

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20130430_ap_sandsdreamworksstrikemacaucasinolicensedeal.html?c=rSee More

 

 

KELVIN CHAN , The Associated Press

Posted: Tuesday, April 30, 2013, 6:23 AM

MACAU - Kung Fu Panda, Shrek and other DreamWorks characters are coming to a new attraction at Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s Chinese casino resorts, the companies said Tuesday, in the latest sign of China's growing importance to Hollywood studios.

Sands China Ltd. is licensing DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.'s stable of animated characters for use at the gambling company's resorts in the former Portuguese colony of Macau starting July 1.

The deal is also a sign of how authorities in Macau, now a self-governing Chinese region that has become the world's biggest casino market, want to diversify the economy away from gambling after years of hypercharged growth.

The companies said there will be an array of themed interactive experiences. One idea could involve guests having "breakfast, lunch or dinners with some of our characters in a highly themed way," said Yoshi Maruyama, DreamWorks' global head of location-based entertainment.

The companies would not disclose financial details such as the investment amount or how long the agreement would run.

DreamWorks last year set up a $330 million joint venture with three Chinese companies to make animated and live action content and the venture is producing the third installment of the "Kung Fu Panda" series. It's one of a number of Hollywood studios that, faced with stagnant growth at the box office back home, have set their sights on the rapidly growing film market in China, which raked in $2.7 billion last year to become the world's second-biggest movie market. Studios are also adding Chinese scenes and characters to big-budget blockbusters to make them more acceptable to local audiences.

The new attraction will be based at the company's newest resort, Sands Cotai Central, one of three operated by the company on the Cotai Strip, an area of reclaimed land that's modeled on the Las Vegas Strip. It will be open to both hotel guests and casino visitors.

Maruyama said the deal is aimed at families and would not involve Sands' gambling business. He said DreamWorks' movie characters are very popular in China, noting that "Kung Fu Panda 2" is the top-grossing animated movie of all time in China.

Macau was handed back to China in 1999 and is the only place in the country where casino gambling is legal.

Macau has about three dozen casinos that raked in a total of $38 billion last year, 13.5 percent more than in 2011. Much of the growth has come from wealthy high-rollers from mainland China, whose trips are organized by junket operators , middleman companies that lend money and collect debts. Some junkets also have a reputation for being associated with organized crime. But leaders are eager for the tiny enclave to shed its reputation for seediness and corruption and draw more middle-class Chinese families.

 

 

 

Saturating the Gambling Market

Local: Maryland

Casinos reap benefits as Maryland Lottery revenues drop

April 29, 2013

 

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - JULY 8: A group of people play slot machines at Caesars Atlantic City July 8, 2006 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Caesars, along with Atlantic City's 11 other casinos reopend this morning after they were forced to close their gambling floors for the first time in their 28-year history due to the New Jersey state budget impasse. (Photo by William Thomas Cain/Getty Images)

Matt Connolly

Examiner Staff Writer

The Washington Examiner

The Maryland Lottery is losing ground thanks largely to the rise of casino gambling in the Free State.

Lottery revenue in fiscal 2013 totaled about $435 million as of April 14, according to a report from lottery Director Stephen Martino. That's less than the $442 million in revenue at the same point last year.

Total sales, according to the report, are down nearly $29 million -- from $1.41 billion as of April 14 last fiscal year to $1.38 billion this year. Revenue from Keno games, which lottery officials said are more similar to slots and casino games than more standard lottery tickets, are down more than $5.9 million over the same period.

"We're starting to see some erosion on some of our games, particularly Keno," Martino said. "I don't think there's any doubt that there is some crossover."

Martino said during a meeting of the Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency that, if the trend continues, total lottery revenue from this fiscal year will fall below last year's $556 million figure. Lottery officials are quick to point out, however, that last year's revenue was buoyed by the record $588 million Powerball jackpot.

Casino revenues, meanwhile, have skyrocketed. Maryland casinos hauled in $58 million in March, up from $16.3 million in March of last year. That's due to the opening of Anne Arundel County's Maryland Live! Casino, which opened in June and accounted for about 77 percent of last month's revenue.

Casinos' share of the state gambling industry is only expected to grow. Maryland Live! added table games this month, while two more major facilities -- a Baltimore casino run by Caesars Entertainment and a Prince George's casino still being bid on -- likely will open in 2014 and 2016, respectively.

That doesn't mean lottery sales will hit a free fall, though. Many of the new casinos' customers will come from out of state, meaning they wouldn't have been able to buy Maryland lottery tickets anyway, gambling analyst James Karmel said. He added that the number of Marylanders inclined to play casino games will eventually hit a ceiling.

"There's only so much business within the region," Karmel said. "A lot of lottery players are not the same as casino players."
http://washingtonexaminer.com/casinos-reap-benefits-as-md.-lottery-revenues-drop/article/2528462

Ocean House owner, 2 others receive probation for gambling ring

Ocean House owner, 2 others receive probation for gambling ring

By Heather Wysocki

hwysocki@capecodonline.com

April 30, 2013

 

Related Stories

• Feds abandon probe of DA O'Keefe
• Robert A. George convicted of money laundering
• Prosecutors: George conspired to launder money

Timeline of gambling probe

April 26, 2011: Federal charges are filed against Adam Hart, William Neofotistos and Timothy Reardon in U.S. District Court in Boston.
 

June 3, 2011: All three men plead guilty to running an illegal $2,000-per-day gambling business and other charges

Aug. 1, 2011: John Pizzillo, of Milford, who pleaded guilty to funding the Dennisport gambling ring, is ordered to forfeit $300,000.

Sept. 22, 2011: Original sentencing date; continued to Dec. 22 and then canceled.

June 12, 2012: First of three motions to continue are filed.

June 2012: Robert George, attorney for two of the men, is found guilty by a federal jury of money laundering; he also withdraws from the gambling case. That same month, attorney J.W. Carney Jr. announces that an investigation into Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe's connection to the three gamblers had ended. O'Keefe's name had been linked to the case since a 2010 federal grand jury probe into the gamblers' organization.

Oct. 31, 2012: George is sentenced to 3½ years in prison.

April 24: Defendant Adam Hart files another motion to continue that is denied.

Sources: Online U.S. District Court filings, Times archives

 

 

 

After nearly two years with little movement in their case, three men who pleaded guilty in 2011 to running a profitable illegal gambling ring were sentenced to probation Tuesday.

 

Adam Hart, 86, and William Neofotistos, 62, were sentenced to two years of probation, the first six months of which are to be under house arrest, said Liz McCarthy, spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz's office.

 

They also will be required to pay $40,000 and $10,000 in fines, respectively, she said.

Timothy Reardon, 34, was sentenced to two years of probation and fined $3,000.
 

With their plea, they also agreed to forfeit nearly $800,000.

The sentences were more in line with family members' and friends' pleas for leniency, outlined in letters to Judge Mark Wolf, than maximum sentences, which could have been up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each charge.

"He has shown contrition and remorse for his actions and wishes this to be behind him, like the rest of the family," Hart's granddaughter and Reardon's wife, Kari Reardon, wrote of Hart.

The three men pleaded guilty in June 2011 to one count of running an illegal gambling business and aiding and abetting. Hart and Neofotistos also were charged with obstruction of state or local law enforcement.

They operated the business from 2000 to 2009, making more than $2,000 per day, according to court records.

Hart is the owner of The Ocean House restaurant and Three Seasons Motor Lodge in Dennisport.

The case has remained nearly stagnant since the men's pleas, mainly because the agreement required them to cooperate with the continuing federal investigation.

As a result of their cooperation, two other men — John Pizzillo, who funded the Dennisport gambling ring, and Joseph Colucci, who took secondary bets — were prosecuted, according to a document filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Wyshak.

During the investigation, there was speculation into a possible connection between Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe and the gambling ring.

At the June 2011 sentencing, Wyshak said the government was looking into the possible involvement of an elected official in the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office. O'Keefe is the only elected official there.

O'Keefe consistently denied the allegations that he had tipped off the men to a federal investigation. In June of last year his attorney, J.W. Carney Jr., announced the inquiry had been closed and no charges would be filed against his client.

Ortiz's office had no comment on whether the three men's sentencing meant inquiries into others involved were over, McCarthy said.

As part of their 2011 plea agreement, the three men also were ordered to forfeit hundreds of thousands of dollars in ill-gotten profit.

Hart filed a motion April 22 to continue sentencing, stating that in the nearly two years since his plea he hadn't been able to secure a loan to pay the money. Not paying by the sentencing date would have violated terms of the plea.

"The major issue is due to Adam being a convicted felon," his attorney, Douglas Crabtree, wrote in an email about the case.

But on April 22 he was notified that a $1.2 million loan using the mortgages of his restaurant and motor lodge as collateral would go through by May 24, according to court filings.

Though Wolf denied the motion to continue the sentencing, Hart was given until June 24 to pay the money.

Neofotistos was ordered to forfeit $17,000 seized from his home in Coconut Creek, Fla., and Reardon must forfeit $1,580 seized from his Barnstable home, court filings state.

 

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130430/NEWS/304300321/-1/NEWSLETTER100

 

 

Let’s not make New Hampshire the Casino State

Editorial: Let’s not make New Hampshire the Casino State

Sunday, April 28, 2013
(Published in print: Sunday, April 28, 2013)

 

Think of Vermont, and you picture Holsteins and maple syrup; Maine, lobsters and lighthouses on a rocky coast. As for New Hampshire, even before the Old Man of the Mountain did a face plant on the floor of the notch, the state had a branding problem – so much so that in 2010 the state hired a Florida marketing company to help it come up with a slogan or image that would draw tourists to the state. That campaign, like many before it, was a flop.

 

That means, should the New Hampshire House say yes to a casino, it will be an out-of-state gambling company’s marketing department that brands the state. Think of Connecticut, and what comes to mind first? Casinos. Ads for the giant Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods resorts are hard to escape. What will it mean if people come to think casino when they think New Hampshire? The state’s tourist mix will change. It will have more single young people and people over 50, the mainstay of the casino business, and fewer families. The change will be to the detriment of a state whose image and economy have long been based on its being a beautiful, family-friendly place to enjoy the glory of the great outdoors, not the glitz of a casino.

 

Say “yes” to a New Hampshire casino and there will be an ad war, not just with the Connecticut casinos, which have seen a steady decline in business, but with the three new mega-casinos approved by Massachusetts. The investment in each of those will be double or triple the $425 million that New Hampshire is requiring that a casino developer invest. It’s a war New Hampshire will lose.

 

Massachusetts gamblers won’t drive north to a second-rate venue when they can go to the $1.2 billion palace Las Vegas casino owner Steve Wynn plans to build on the Mystic River in Everett, Mass. A New Hampshire casino will primarily empty the pockets of New Hampshire residents. That’s why, among other reasons, Nicolette Clark, who runs the Capitol Center for the Arts, joined with the directors of The Music Hall in Portsmouth, the Lebanon Opera House and the Colonial Theatre in Keene to oppose the casino proposal. It’s why the state’s 600-member hospitality association came out against casino gambling this month.

 

Casinos spend a fortune to attract customers and as much or more to keep them coming. They issue rewards cards and vouchers for meals and hotel stays. They suffuse casinos with enticing aromas, and they program slot machines to show near-wins to keep people playing, and do all they can to up the house’s take. They are not in business to help other businesses.

 

The hit to existing businesses, and New Hampshire’s image, of a casino in Salem – “high-end and highly-regulated” as Gov. Maggie Hassan claims, or more likely mid-grade and modestly-regulated – would only be the beginning. UNH professor Andrew Leitz, chairman of the Governor’s Gaming Study Commission, former governor John Lynch and Tom Sedoric, veteran head of the commission that advises the state’s Department of Resources and Economic Development, are among those who say there’s no way to stop the proliferation of casinos once they start. The state’s dependence on casino revenue and the power of the gambling lobby in the Legislature will guarantee that.

 

Say yes to casino gambling and the state’s new motto might as well be “Come to New Hampshire, where we’ll empty your pockets before you make it to the lakes or the mountains.”

 

http://www.concordmonitor.com/home/5892421-95/editorial-lets-not-make-new-hampshire-the-casino-state

 

 

Stop Subsidizing Racing Industry

Stop Subsidizing Racing Industry

April 28, 2013

The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

 

Last year, $92 million in gambling proceeds that could have gone into the state treasury to serve any number of useful purposes in West Virginia went elsewhere, instead - into the pockets of thoroughbred horse and greyhound dog breeders and racers. That would be bad enough if the money had stayed in our state. Some of it did not.

Residents of 26 other states and the District of Columbia benefitted from West Virginians' generosity in supporting the horse racing industry, as a story in today's newspaper details.

One of the ways Mountain State residents were persuaded to support legalized gambling years ago was a claim it was needed to keep West Virginia racetracks in business. So, legislation allowing gambling machines and later, full-blown casinos was written to require the tracks to subsidize racing horse and dog breeders and owners. Percentages of the pot from machine and table gambling must go into purse funds to pay winners at the tracks, and to "development" funds to support animal breeders.

A total of $92 million was raked off the gambling returns for those purposes last year. Of that total, about $6 million went to greyhound breeders - all located in West Virginia.

But of the about $9 million that went to racing horse breeders, a large chunk went out of state. Thoroughbred breeders from as far away as California received checks from Charleston.

That is not how state residents were led to believe the system would work. We were told the West Virginia horse and dog racing industries would be helped - not that dozens of breeders from throughout the nation would benefit.

Defenders of the system say it needs to stay as it is. State Delegate Randy Swartzmiller, D-Hancock, points out that if West Virginia limits payouts to in-state horse breeders, other states may follow suit.

So what? West Virginians should not be subsidizing any business or industry in the manner to which horse and dog racers have become accustomed. The money - all $92 million of it, not just the cash going out of state - ought to be sent to local and state governments, which can put it to good use.

State Senate President

Jeff Kessler is right about subsidizing out-of-state horse breeders. It is "something we need to take a look at," he told our reporter. While lawmakers are at it, they should simply eliminate the entire rotten system of subsidizing the ponies and puppies, so to speak.

http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/584717/Stop-Subsidizing-Racing-Industry.html?nav=511

Cardinal Thomas Collins

Sat Apr 27 2013

Gambling can bring ‘grievous suffering’

Guelph-born archbishop of Toronto urges reflection on the proliferation of gambling in Ontario

Cardinal Thomas Collins, the Catholic archbishop of Toronto, has spoken out against bringing a casino to Toronto in a new pastoral letter being distributed in the Toronto archdiocese this weekend.

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

(Editor’s note: This pastoral letter by Guelph-born Cardinal Thomas Collins, the archbishop of Toronto, is being distributed to 225 parishes in the Toronto archdiocese this weekend. The city of Kitchener is holding a second public meeting Tuesday for input into whether the city should accept or reject a casino for the city.)

In my years of pastoral ministry as priest and bishop, I have become sadly aware of the grievous suffering experienced by individuals and families because of gambling dependence.

We are now engaged in debating plans for an expansion of casinos in Ontario, including a major new one in the Toronto area, so I am writing to offer pastoral guidance to our Catholic community.
This current discussion is an appropriate occasion for each of us to reflect more deeply upon the effects of gambling in our community.

In recent years, governments have more and more used gambling to increase tax revenue, proposing as well that gambling benefits the economy. It is understandable that governments are tempted by the prospect of what seems to be an easy way to do that. Even if there were significant long-term economic benefits, however, and that is far from clear, the establishment of a new casino in Toronto will have a negative social impact that outweighs such benefits, and will have an adverse effect on the vitality and social health of our community.

It is sometimes argued that yet another casino could be a source of employment and would attract visitors and tourists. That approach is short-sighted. We need to consider the overall effects of the expansion of gambling. I recommend that you read the Jan. 28 report of the city’s medical officer of health, Community Health Impacts of a Casino in Toronto, which concludes that “with respect to all other potential impacts, the available evidence indicates that the introduction of a new casino is likely to have greater adverse health-related impacts than beneficial impacts.”

I am particularly concerned that marriages and families will be hurt or even destroyed through greater ease of access to gambling through the construction of yet another large casino. The health of families is a constant concern of our Catholic Family Services and of Catholic Charities member agencies throughout the archdiocese. In our parishes as well we seek to strengthen families, and we directly deal with the suffering that gambling addiction causes to individuals and families. We seek to heal, and are concerned by the expansion of the capacity to harm.

Licensed gambling is undeniably legal, and in fact is being heavily promoted by the government. In view of the suffering that gambling can cause, however, it is important to consider what light both our Christian faith and reason shed on the moral issues related to it.

Occasional and small-scale gambling can be a legitimate form of entertainment, and is not inherently evil. The catechism of the Catholic Church, in the section relating to respect for persons and their goods, states that games of chance or wagers are not in themselves contrary to justice, but become morally unacceptable when these activities deprive people of what is necessary to provide for their needs and those of others. That, unfortunately, is what happens far too often. The catechism also notes the power of gambling to enslave.

Individuals, and the government, and charitable organizations as well can become enslaved by the lure of easy gambling revenue, and that is clearly not healthy.

The Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario has consistently raised concerns about the proliferation of gambling, advising governments to take a more cautious approach toward promoting this source of income. These concerns have heightened as gambling has grown over the past 30 years to become a basic source of government revenue in the province.

Gambling is inherently based on illusion — on promoting the fantasy, particularly attractive to the most vulnerable and the most desperate, that it is an easy way to provide a quick solution to the financial problems that they face. That is a cruel illusion, and it is not wholesome for governments to promote it, especially through extensive advertising.

It is sometimes said that should anyone become addicted, gambling’s proceeds can be used to treat their addiction. Apart from the fact that this is rather dubious logic, as it makes more sense not to cause the problem in the first place, problem gambling is a serious public health concern. There is evidence that a significant amount of revenue is derived from people who are most vulnerable to gambling.

When gambling is so extensively available, and is so aggressively promoted, it is also very difficult to protect our young people from viewing gambling as a worthwhile activity, whose negative effects are masked.

As we consider this important issue in the civil society in which we all live and participate as citizens, we should also look carefully at whether we as a Church are also caught up in an unhealthy dependence on gambling that can harm others. I ask all Catholic organizations to examine any connection which they might have with gambling as a source of revenue. If we are engaged in any form of gambling that is likely to cause harm, we should find alternatives as soon as possible. We must not fund our good works in ways that cause suffering to others.

As a Catholic community, we should ponder carefully the proposals before our elected officials and add informed commentary to the discussion. Is yet another major casino a truly wholesome development that enhances the quality of life in our community? Does even more gambling make for a better society for individuals and for families? Can we support the further extension of a reality which already causes significant harm to the most vulnerable among us?

Cardinal Thomas Collins is the archbishop of Toronto.

http://www.therecord.com/opinion/columns/article/924598--gambling-can-bring-grievous-suffering

Rivers: License to Steal

Bill Kearney

Massachusetts ‘Gaming’ Future

To get their license to steal casino operators will giveth but then they taketh away.

Pittsburg Post Gazette - April 27, 2013 - Letter to the business editor
...
Firms must honor social duty

In 2006, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board granted Rivers Casino a casino operating license. In exchange, the company agreed to contribute $1 million in grants annually for three years to the North Side and Hill District communities impacted most by the development.

Now the company has announced that it would not be renewing its community agreements, opting instead to stick with its own community outreach programs ("Rivers Casino Won't Extend Agreement With Pittsburgh's North Side, Hill District," April 18).

In granting Rivers Casino its gaming license, public officials argued that the development would provide a significant source of new revenue and jobs.

Yet, although the company has generated over $1 billion in gaming revenue, it has sought to reduce its property tax assessment and resisted efforts of workers to improve their conditions through unionizing.

Rivers is not unique in extracting lucrative commitments from our community while failing to uphold its end of the bargain.

UPMC, for instance, is under scrutiny for its non-profit designation. It is time to demand that companies operating here uphold their social responsibilities.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/opinion/letter-to-the-business-editor-685229/#ixzz2RlIKmcqySee More

Partnering with the Gambling Industry

Bill KearneyStop Predatory Gambling

Massachusetts ‘Gaming’ Future

What’s next Russian roulette? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t33HXyN6WM

 

Philadelphia Enquirer - April 25, 2013 - Casino begs state for online gambling as bets drop
...
Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, Inc., which owns Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in central Delaware, says sales tumbled to $50.5 million last quarter vs $64.1 million a year earlier "primarily as a result of increased competition" in Pennsylvania and other states that are promoting their own gambling halls. Delaware has been trying to legalize forms of NFL game betting and keno, among other gambling.

In a statement, CEO Dennis McGlynn said he was lobbying Delaware state government to cut its gambling tax and allow Internet-based betting and other new games: "A business model that addresses the current competitive environment is in the best interest of all stakeholders... There are a lot of iGaming providers extremely anxious to do business in Delaware. We are pleased to see that the State remains on its timetable and we expect to begin our first online offerings on or about the end of September.”

 

 

Preying on Others & Giving a Pittance.....Hmmm.....

Bill Kearney

More casino propaganda from the ‘PIMPS’ at the American Gaming Association (AGA)

Now don’t get me wrong, 135.78 million dollars is a helluva lot of money to donate. But what the (AGA) never mentions is where all this donated money comes from. That’s because the money is coming from the 36 BILLION DOLLARS a year that’s being lost by the patrons who patronize their industry.

From the official website of the American Gaming Association (AGA)
...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Commercial casino gaming revenues rose for the second consecutive year in 2011, continuing the recovery that began in 2010, according to a national economic impact study released today by the American Gaming Association (AGA). The annual State of the States: The AGA Survey of Casino Entertainment shows national gross gaming revenues increased by 3 percent from 2010 figures (when revenues rose just under 1 percent) to a total of $35.64 billion in 2011. The report also includes a survey that found continued strong support of the industry among gaming community leaders.

Read more: http://www.americangaming.org/newsroom/press-releases/2012-report-shows-national-commercial-casino-gaming-revenues-continue-toSee More

 

 

Bravo, Holliston!

Casino-Free Milford

Holliston FinCom decides to support $100K Anti casino fund.

 

http://hollistonreporter.com/article/8108/20-Minutes-Notice-Cut-the-Drama-Budget-.html

 

 

Parx outdoes itself......

Bill Kearney

Pennsylvania’s number one casino shines again

Have you given the Pawn Stars slots a try? Check them out this weekend!

https://www.facebook.com/parxcasino

 

 

Towns to form anti-casino coalition

Towns to form anti-casino coalition

By Jessica Trufant/Daily News staff

Milford Daily News

Posted Apr 24, 2013

Purchase this photo

Shane Gerardi/for Wicked Local and Daily News

Milford residents picketed the streets in front of Milford Town Hall prior to a Selectmen's meeting earlier this year that featured a presentation for a potential casino project.

HOLLISTON —

Facing a classic David versus Goliath scenario, several small towns opposed to having a casino in the neighborhood are seeking strength in numbers – about 58,000 residents worth.

More than a dozen officials from Medway, Holliston, Ashland and Hopkinton met Wednesday night at Holliston Town Hall to discuss drafting an inter-municipal agreement for confronting the proposed Milford casino.

Town administrators and several selectmen from each of the four towns took a firm stance against the casino and agreed to form the Metrowest Anti-Casino Coalition

If the agreement is solidified, the towns will pool money for expenses like impact studies or attorneys to assist in the battle against or mitigation of the $1 billion resort-casino proposed by FCX LLC at the intersection of I-495 and Rte. 16.

"We recognize that this development will have a much bigger footprint than one individual town," said Holliston selectmen Chairman Jay Marsden.

While Holliston and Hopkinton have already joined forces, Medway and Ashland officials plan to review it before meeting again in May.

"It’s easy to roll over one town. It’s much harder to roll over us as towns collectively," Hopkinton selectmen Chairman Benjamin Palleiko said. "Collectively, we’re all going to be better if we do this together. We share the costs. We share the burdens."

Foxwoods on April 8 outlined for Milford selectmen plans for the 300,000-square-foot casino, but officials were disappointed at the proposal's lack of details, given the tight timeframe from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission that calls for a community vote in October.

Medway Selectman Dennis Crowley questioned whether joining the coalition and supplying money would be "chasing a red herring," since he does not believe the Milford proposal with go forward.

"What are the chances that it’s going to happen in Milford? We have water problems. We have sewer problems. We have no transportation at all, and there’s no political strength," Crowley said.

While Hopkinton and Holliston officials acknowledged that the proposal may never come to fruition, the threat of a casino and its potential problems warrant the funding.

"My problem is as we sit in these chairs, we’re all responsible if we don’t take action," Palleiko said.

"We can’t afford to sit back and, no pun intended, roll the dice."

The proposal recently raised more concern for officials when Foxwoods joined the proposal, and David Nunes, the original applicant, alerted Milford that he would no longer be active in any negotiations with the town on behalf of the casino proposal.

Despite still holding the largest share in the partnership, Nunes said he has been "stripped of his authority and title," according to a letter he sent Milford Town Administrator Richard Villani earlier this month.

Medway officials agreed to put forth $25,000 of the $40,000 annual Town Meeting on May 13 will consider allocating for casino expenses.

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1973693669/Towns-to-form-anti-casino-coalition#ixzz2Rnqvarmm

More casinos in Florida? Bet on it

April 27, 2013|Scott Maxwell, TAKING NAMES

An old gambling joke says the difference between a prayer in church and a prayer in a casino is that, in a casino, you really mean it.

But when it comes to gambling in Florida, the Legislature isn't wasting time on prayers.
It's buying the results it wants — with your money.

The Legislature recently agreed to spend nearly $400,000 to "comprehensively examine gaming issues."

Supposedly, this will help legislators determine whether Florida needs more big-time gambling and casinos.

Except the company they hired to do the study specializes in promoting big-time gambling and casinos.

Spectrum Gaming Group (note the key word there in the middle) actually sponsors the annual Florida Gaming Congress.

Gee, I wonder what it will find.

This would be like contracting Anheuser-Busch to do a study on whether drinking beer is OK.

Of course, legislators and Spectrum say there are no foregone conclusions. You can't buy a predetermined opinion, they say.

Sure you can. Florida has done it before.

A few years back, House Speaker Dean Cannon wanted to bolster his case for oil drilling off the Florida coast. So he commissioned a "study" — using $200,000 of public money — to assess the risk.

The study concluded there were virtually no risks at all.

In fact, the report predicted that the worst-case scenario — an epic spill that might happen once every hundred years or so — might result in only 1,000 leaked barrels or so.

Two weeks later, BP happened … and leakage was estimated at nearly 5 million barrels.

Forget 1,000 barrels every century; Horizon was leaking 1,000 barrels every few hours.
Oops.

The truth is that the Legislature can do whatever it darn well pleases. It usually does. And since it does, I'd prefer these guys not waste taxpayer money justifying plans they're going to ramrod through anyway.

Which brings us to point No. 2: More gambling is coming. Bet on it.

Gambling is on the march across both the nation and state.

Fifteen years ago, if you wanted to find a slot machine in Florida, you had to take a cruise to nowhere or sit inside some aluminum shack playing video versions of "pull-tab" machines run by the Seminole or Miccosukee tribes.

Today, Florida is home to nearly a dozen live casinos — including the Hard Rock in Tampa, which is the sixth-largest … in the world.

Put simply: Big-time gambling is already here.

But we'll see even more for one simple reason: money.

Gambling interests have tons of it. And they are throwing it at anyone who'll take it: Republicans, Democrats, legislators, the governor.

We live in a state full of politicians who use one hand to wag fingers about the supposed immorality of gambling and the other hand to stuff campaign donations in their bank accounts.

Just look at Gov. Rick Scott. Before he was elected, Scott promised the Baptists that he would fight gambling. Yet right after he was elected, Scott jetted off to Vegas to meet with casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who wants to build casinos in Florida — and who later cut a $250,000 check to Scott's campaign.

And now, according to the Sunshine State News, Adelson's lobbyists are telling legislators they should start giving casinos tax breaks and incentives.

Think about that. Legislators supposedly haven't even decided whether they are going to allow more casinos — yet they're already hearing pitches for incentives.

Plus, our state is already addicted to gambling. Legislators balance their budgets every year by relying on everything from the so-called "education lottery" to revenue from horse racing, Indian casinos, jai alai and poker rooms.

Personally, I think more casinos are inevitable. They are sweeping the country, bolstered by Americans' belief that they have a God-given right to do whatever they want with their money.

My own policy approach would be maddeningly simple: Communities that want them can have them. Communities that don't, won't.

That would probably mean more casinos in South Florida but not here in Central Florida.
Miami seems to want them to rejuvenate its downtown and complement its night-life scene. Orlando, however, doesn't think blackjack and slot machines are natural complements for Snow White and Dr. Seuss.

I get all that. Different plans for different communities. Local residents control their own destinies.
What I don't get is why legislators feel the need to waste money on bogus studies or time posturing about morals and deliberations when it's already obvious what they are going to do.


http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-04-27/news/os-scott-maxwell-florida-casino-gambling-study-20130426_1_florida-gaming-congress-gambling-interests-more-gambling

 

Racing to the Bottom at Taxpayer Expense

Predatory Gambling was sold as 'RiverBoat Gambling' for Tourists, now they're docked.
Race Tracks were allowed Slot Barns to 'save racing,' then whined about taxes, now want expansion. [It was already acknowledged that the Massachusetts Slot Barn will add Table Games because it's a 'given.']

The Saturation of the Gambling Market by the Gambling Industry caused declining revenues and the state, any state bails them out.

When Government partners with the Gambling Industry, taxpayers foot the bill.

Indiana casinos win few gains from Legislature

Associated Press

The Indiana Legislature turned down most of the proposals meant to boost the state's casinos as they face greater competition from neighboring states.

The compromise that received final approval from the Senate early Saturday won't allow live table games such as blackjack and roulette at the horse track casinos near Indianapolis, where only electronic versions of those games are now allowed. It also won't permit the 10 riverboat casinos to build new inland facilities nearby.

Republican Sen. Phil Boots of Crawfordsville had sought those provisions and said he was disappointed he couldn't get an agreement from House Republicans who regarded them as a gambling expansion.

The bill does give some tax breaks by allowing the casinos to deduct up to $5 million a year in free gambling given in promotions.




http://www.ibj.com/indiana-casinos-winning-few-gains-from-legislature/PARAMS/article/41037

Philadelphia

For additional information omitted from the article below, please review Casino Free Philadelphia

Stadium district casinos make neighbors nervous

The Hollywood Casino Philadelphia as proposed by Penn National, in which some revenue would flow to the city. (Source: Penn National Gaming Inc.)

DAVID GAMBACORTA, Daily News Staff Writer gambacd@phillynews.com, 215-854-5994

Posted: Saturday, April 27, 2013

LINCOLN FINANCIAL FIELD will soon play host to an anxious, angst-ridden crowd of people - but they won't be Super Bowl-starved Eagles fans.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is set to hold public-input hearings May 8 and 9 at the stadium as the battle for the city's second casino license lumbers forward.

So, why the angst?

Three separate proposals call for casino complexes to be built in South Philly, not far from the area that's already home to the Linc, Citizens Bank Park, the Wells Fargo Center and Xfinity! Live.

The influx of traffic for games and concerts at the venues has long been a bone of contention for neighbors. The potential for even more congestion already has local groups on alert.

The Gaming Control Board said it had to add the hearing on the 9th because all of the speaking slots had been filled for the eight-hour hearing on May 8.

Shawn Jalosinski, executive director of the Sports Complex Special Services District, the nonprofit that serves residents in the stadium area, said in an email earlier this week that the organization's leaders "unanimously oppose any casino to be located south of Oregon Avenue, based on concerns of increased traffic congestion, security, and neighborhood quality-of-life impacts."

The SCSSD stretches from 20th to 7th Street, and from Oregon Avenue to the I-95 South entrance near the Navy Yard.

Representatives for the proposed South Philly casinos downplayed the possibility of adding to congestion woes in the area, which hosts 380 events and about 8 million visitors every year, according to the SCSSD.

PHL Gaming, which wants to build the Casino Revolution at Front Street and Pattison Avenue, touts the fact that it would be almost a mile away from a residential neighborhood.

"We've been lumped into the broad category of the stadium-district casinos, but we are not, geographically, a part of that community," said Bruce Crawley, spokesman for Casino Revolution. "We're the furthest removed from any residential properties."

Karen Bailey, spokeswoman for Penn National Gaming - which wants to build the Hollywood Casino at 7th Street and Packer Avenue - said casino customers, unlike fans heading to sports games, won't flood the area en masse at the same time.



http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20130428_Stadium_district_casinos_make_neighbors_nervous.html

Reducing Oversight to Save Casinos $$$$

When Casinos own your state, the partnership demands protection to ensure profitability, consequences be damned!

DCI agent cuts in the cards for Iowa casinos?

Union, lawmaker raise concerns about plan to slash state staff at facilities, which would save industry millions

Apr. 27, 2013

Written by

William Petroski

State lawmakers are planning to dramatically slash the force of state investigative agents at most of Iowa’s casinos — a move that would save the gambling industry $3.7 million annually.

But questions have arisen about whether the changes could jeopardize the state’s ability to detect patrons and dealers trying to cheat at casino table games and slot machines, as well as its ability to prevent thefts, money laundering and other crimes.

There are 108 agents and supervisors from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation working at the 18 state-regulated casinos and three racetracks, which had 22.7 million admissions last year with gross casino revenues of more than $1.4 billion. Under a budget bill in a House-Senate conference committee, the number of DCI agents and supervisors — whose salaries are paid by casino fees — would be reduced to 60 over a three-year period.

A union representing the agents argues the cuts go too far, and warns the plan is a shift toward casinos policing themselves. Meanwhile, a key state senator says he wants to ensure the honesty of Iowa’s gambling industry isn’t shortchanged. The three racetrack casinos, including Prairie Meadows in Altoona, would not be part of the cuts.

Gambling industry officials insist that in-house security employees and off-duty local law enforcement officers can fill any gaps left by departing DCI agents. But Sen. Tom Courtney, D-Burlington, chairman of a Senate public safety budget panel, said he expects more committee talks before a final decision is made.

“I just want to make sure that this is not the casinos saying, ‘We want to chop some heads,’ ” Courtney said. One of his concerns, he added, is avoiding situations where “the fox is guarding the chicken house.”

The Iowa Gaming Association, representing the casino industry, has developed the plan in cooperation with top officials at the Department of Public Safety and other state agencies. Iowa’s casinos — some of which have seen flat or declining revenues in recent years — are anxious to implement the plan to improve their financial bottom lines.

DCI Assistant Director Dave Button said the current staffing model dates to 1991, when Iowa became the first state to offer riverboat gambling. Because the riverboats regularly cruised on the Mississippi River, leaving Iowa cities where they were docked, state law enforcement agents were needed to ensure jurisdictional questions didn’t arise.

But with all of Iowa’s casinos now either permanently anchored or operating as land-based gambling facilities, Button said, the number of state agents assigned to them can be reduced without causing problems. He noted that Iowa’s racetrack casinos in Altoona, Council Bluffs and Dubuque each operate with three DCI agents, while all other casinos have six or seven DCI agents.

“There is no integrity issue there” at the racetrack casinos, Button said.

The staffing-reduction proposal would gradually eliminate all lower-ranking DCI agents who now serve in front-line law enforcement roles on casino floors to monitor gambling operations and perform investigative work. The remaining agents would be primarily focused on conducting background investigations on people and companies involved with the casino industry, as well as criminal investigations related to casino gambling.

Most agents whose jobs would be eliminated would either be promoted and remain at the casinos or offered jobs elsewhere in the Iowa Department of Public Safety, such as in narcotics enforcement, general criminal investigation, or with the Iowa State Patrol or the state fire marshal’s office.

Wes Ehrecke, president of the state gaming association, said security staffing at the casinos ranges from about 26 to 60 people at each facility, depending on its size and whether it is open 24 hours.

Some casinos hire off-duty local police and sheriff’s deputies as backup security staffers, and all gambling businesses work with local law enforcement when crimes and other serious incidents occur.
Ehrecke describes the proposed changes in DCI staffing at Iowa’s casinos as the result of “very thoughtful and deliberate discussions” with state officials. He suggests the agency’s realignment simply reflects a “right-sizing” of staffing levels.

Sue Brown, executive director of the State Police Officers Council, which represents DCI agents in collective bargaining, has sent a letter to House members suggesting the cuts are too deep and could hurt Iowa’s gambling industry.

The agents are the only impartial, outside enforcement within the facility to ensure rules are upheld and Iowans are gambling in a fair environment, Brown said. In addition, local police departments are not trained to spot felony violations, she said. One example of such cheating is known as “capping a bet,” which means to place a winning wager on a table game after the outcome is known.

Brown suggested a compromise that would trim the force less deeply, saving the gambling industry $1.9 million instead of $3.7 million.

Jeff Lamberti of Ankeny, chairman of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, said he is probably OK with the plan being considered by state lawmakers.

Regardless of whether the bill passes, all of Iowa’s casinos must submit a security plan approved by state regulators, he noted.

“We don’t have any intention of reducing what we believe is appropriate to satisfy security and integrity,” Lamberti said.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20130428/NEWS/304280035/DCI-agent-cuts-in-the-cards-for-Iowa-casinos-?Frontpage

 

They Will Own Your State....They Already Do

They Will Own Your State

Paul Boni

Never learning the lessons of Atlantic City

Atlantic City is the poster child for all that is wrong with Predatory Gambling with increased crime, increased poverty, lack of economic development, destruction of local businesses, homelessness, corruption and so on.

The cheerleaders are preparing their arguments for spreading that destruction on the pretext of saving horse racing.

Herald News: Casino player at the Meadowlands

Sunday, April 28, 2013
Herald News

THE MEADOWLANDS could use a little rock 'n' roll and Hard Rock International may be just the ticket. It is investing in the New Meadowlands Racetrack.

Governor Christie wanted to get the state out of the horseracing business. The sale of the racetrack at the Meadowlands was an important part of that process. Private ownership is creating a smaller grandstand reflecting current interest in horse racing, which makes more sense than the old model.

What would make even more sense would be the addition of casino gambling.

We continue to oppose the state's efforts to bring gambling into the living rooms of New Jerseyans through online casino-style games. We also see no benefit in expanding the kinds of sporting events that are open to betting. But we recognize casinos are all around New Jersey and the days of Atlantic City's primacy are long gone. In North Jersey, gamblers can travel either to New York or Pennsylvania with greater ease than to Atlantic City. And they are.

Christie has pledged to keep gambling solely in Atlantic City while a five-year plan to restore the luster to A.C. is given a chance to work. While we hope Atlantic City will reinvent itself as a family destination, it cannot change its geographic location. Refusing to see the revenue potential in a North Jersey casino site is myopic on the part of state leaders. It is also self-serving on the part of powerful South Jersey politicians.

That brings us back to the good news of Hard Rock's presence at the Meadowlands. There was hope two years ago that a Hard Rock hotel and casino would open in Atlantic City. The failing economic climate in Atlantic City proved unattractive to Hard Rock management.

Investing in the Meadowlands is a sign that the company sees great value in New Jersey.

If state law changes to allow casinos outside of Atlantic City, Hard Rock is poised to develop one in the Meadowlands. Keeping the corporation engaged in New Jersey also keeps a door open for Atlantic City investment, as well. It is rare when we see such a good corporate fit for future Meadowlands development.

We have only to look at the failed Xanadu site to realize what the consequences are when the developer and investors are not equal to the task at hand. A Hard Rock hotel and casino at the Meadowlands would complement the American Dream concept for the failed Xanadu, and it would also augment MetLife Stadium. For now, all of that is pure speculation. What is real is Hard Rock's investment in the racetrack and in New Jersey. And that is good news, indeed.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/205053791_Herald_News___Casino_player_at_the_Meadowlands.html

The Slippery Slope of Government Sponsored Addiction

American Indian tribes oppose New Jersey's Internet gambling measure
Posted: Saturday, April 27, 2013 |
BY HOA NGUYEN, Staff Writer

Almost immediately after New Jersey legalized Internet gambling, an alliance of American Indian tribes operating thousands of miles away issued a statement decrying the move, accusing the state of weakening gambling license requirements.

The California Tribal Business Alliance’s reaction was a testament to the far-reaching effect of New Jersey’s decision in February, affecting a debate American Indian tribe casinos have grappled with for years even though no tribes operate in New Jersey, observers said.

Only three states in the country, including Nevada and Delaware, have legalized Internet gambling. Several tribe-run operations have ventured to offer play-for-free Internet gambling, but none offers real-money games in this country. A debate continues on whether tribes should pursue real-money Internet gambling.

“There is a huge divide in Indian country,” said Roger Gros, publisher of Global Gaming Business magazine, who has written about Internet gambling issues facing commercial and American Indian casinos.

For some, New Jersey’s law has become a legal affirmation that tribes could offer Internet gambling to patrons as long as server machines taking the bets were in Indian territory, Gros said. But others, who are concerned that Internet gambling will lead to a drop in visitors to casino properties, greet New Jersey’s new law with more skepticism, he said.

Joe Brennan Jr., director of the Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association, said New Jersey represents the first of many states expected to legalize Internet gambling, and it’s those jurisdictions that most concern tribes.

“They’re worried about what comes after New Jersey,” he said. “While tribal gaming doesn’t have a footprint in New Jersey, they do have in other jurisdictions.”

The Sacramento-based California Tribal Business Alliance, which represents three tribes in the state, was one of the most vocal critics of New Jersey’s law.

“Online gaming is a slippery slope, and putting at risk a multimillion-dollar industry, the associated jobs and the revenue interests to impacted states, without safeguards, is a gamble no one should be willing to take,” Robert Smith, chairman of the alliance, said in a statement prior to the enactment of the New Jersey law.

Leslie Lohse, vice chairwoman of the alliance, said the primary concern was that New Jersey’s law allows regulators to decide whether companies, such as PokerStars, will be allowed to operate Internet gambling sites on behalf of Atlantic City casinos. The parent company of PokerStars, Rational Group, is looking to take over the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, through which it would offer Internet gambling.

“We don’t believe their bad-actor language is strong enough,” Lohse said of New Jersey’s gambling laws. “That would definitely be an issue for us.”

Unlike New Jersey, some other states, such as Nevada, have inserted so-called bad-actor clauses that prohibit certain companies from receiving licenses.

PokerStars last year settled with the U.S. Department of Justice a case that involved charges of money laundering, bank fraud and illegal gambling.

Another provision of New Jersey’s law allows it to negotiate agreements with other states, such as California, that would allow residents in both jurisdictions to gamble on websites run by entities in other states. That would place Atlantic City casinos in direct competition with tribal casinos in California.

“What we are concerned about is the standard of regulation is somewhat weakened,” Lohse said of New Jersey. “If there is reciprocity with the state down the road, which standard will prevail?”

California is a much more populous state than New Jersey, she said, so the potential for many more people to play poker and other casino games online is huge.

“The crown jewel is not New Jersey,” Lohse said.


http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/communities/atlantic-city_pleasantville_brigantine/american-indian-tribes-oppose-new-jersey-s-internet-gambling-measure/article_68017084-af4f-11e2-ab7b-001a4bcf887a.html

Gambling Addict Embezzles

Coming to Massachusetts --

Former official at Indian center accused of theft
By Tony Perry

April 26, 2013, 8:43 p.m.

A former official with the San Diego-based Indian Human Resource Center was indicted Friday on charges of stealing $140,000 from the agency and using it to gamble at Indian casinos.

David Hedley, 38, was executive director of the agency from September 2012 to December. The Indian Human Resources Center receives federal funds to help Indians find jobs off their reservations.

Hedley took money from the agency and then gambled at the Viejas Casino and Pala Casino in San Diego County, according to federal officials. He has been charged with eight felony counts.

The case involves "one individual's greed and the abuse of trust," said Daphne Hearn, special agent in charge of the FBI's San Diego office.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-indian-theft20130426,0,5234885.story