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Showing posts with label bingo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bingo. Show all posts

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Mashpee Wampanoag behind on payments to Taunton







Mashpee Wampanoag behind on payments to Taunton


By Jessica Hill
Posted May 13, 2020 


Tribal leader denies report that arrears would be made up through bingo hall.
TAUNTON — The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is late with its annual payment of more than $500,000 to the city of Taunton in accordance with the two entities’ intergovernmental agreement, and there is some confusion as to how that payment will be made.
Taunton city councilors were surprised Tuesday night to learn in a letter from the city’s legal department that the tribe planned to pay through revenue it would receive from establishment of a “tribal bingo hall.”
A leader of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe said he also was surprised.
“There are no plans for a bingo hall or any other financing strategies at this point because the tribe is too busy fighting to protect our ancestral lands against attacks from the Department of Interior during the global COVID-19 pandemic,” Tribal Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to work closely with the City of Taunton and the town of Mashpee and finding ways to support each other.”
The tribe, which owns 150 acres of reservation land close to the intersections of routes 24 and 140 in Taunton, made an agreement with the city in 2012 based on expected revenue from its proposed $1 billion First Light Resort and Casino. The tribe was to pay the city at least $8 million every year once the casino was operating or 2.05% of its net slot revenue.
The casino and resort were projected to bring more than $50 million in revenue to the state and create more than 1,000 permanent jobs as well as 1,000 construction jobs.
As the tribe has been stuck in a legal tug-of-war with neighbors of the proposed casino who oppose the project and with the Interior Department over its land-in-trust status, that casino has yet to come to fruition.
The tribe has been paying Taunton a rate of $27.62 per $1,000 of assessed valuation every year instead of property taxes because of the land’s tax-exempt status, usually totaling a little more than $500,000.
In the past few years the tribe has been sending those payments through a wire transfer from a New York bank. Taunton Treasurer-Collector Barbara Auger previously commended the tribe on its continued commitment to make the payments.
Matthew J. Costa, first assistant city solicitor, wrote in a May 8 letter to the Taunton City Council that payment was due from the tribe in November. The Law Department issued a formal notice March 31 disputing the nonpayment, and the tribe asked for an extension.
That extension was agreed to based on the expectation the tribe would raise revenue through establishment of a tribal bingo hall, according to the letter.
“However, the establishment of a tribal bingo hall has not been realized due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Costa wrote in the letter.
If the tribe does not pay, the city would take action in Superior Court.
Cromwell said he had no idea how the city got the impression the tribe would establish a bingo hall. He also said the tribe would make its payment as part of the agreement, although he would not specify when or how that payment would be made.
“We’re going to pay it,” Cromwell said. “We’re working through it.”
Costa and City Solicitor David Gay could not be reached for additional comment on where they heard about plans for a bingo hall.
“This is the first I heard the possibility of a bingo parlor being on that site,” Taunton City Councilor David Pottier said at Tuesday’s meeting.
“Secondly, I find it somewhat incredulous that they’re blaming COVID for not being able to make a payment ... that was due in November when COVID only really took the scene in the last month or so,” Pottier said. “I find their excuse totally inadequate.”






















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Tuesday, January 9, 2018

High court declines to hear Aquinnah gaming case






High court declines to hear Aquinnah gaming case


By Ethan Genter
Posted Jan 8, 2018

Decision clears way for Wampanoag bingo hall.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up a case against the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)’s planned bingo hall in that island town, clearing the way for the gaming center to go forward.
In a post on its website Monday, the court included the case, brought forward by the town, state and a taxpayers group, on the list of cases it would not hear.
At the center of the case is whether an agreement between the state and tribe is superseded by the 1988 federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
The town and state have argued that the tribe waived its rights to a casino in 1983, when the state and tribe agreed to a land settlement of about 485 acres in Aquinnah. In that land deal, the tribe agreed to abide by state and local zoning laws.
The tribe contends that because it is federally recognized, it should be allowed under the regulatory act to have certain types of gambling on land it controls. It also has maintained that the federal act overrides the land agreement.
The Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the case leaves the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2017 ruling in favor of the tribe over the town, state and group intact.
It is rare for a case to make it before the highest court in the country, with about 1 percent of the 8,000 or so petitions it receives each term granted a hearing.
“We’re not surprised at the outcome,” said Larry Hohlt, president of the Aquinnah/Gay Head Community Association. “It’s a formidable task for any case to be taken by the Supreme Court.”
James Newman, chairman of the Aquinnah Board of Selectmen, declined to comment on the court’s decision, saying he had not met with the board or town counsel. The board is scheduled to meet in executive session at 5 p.m. Wednesday and will likely talk to the public after that meeting, he said.
The tribe plans to convert its community center into a 9,000-square-foot Class II gaming facility, a category that allows electronic and traditional bingo. Town officials have previously said that Aquinnah, the smallest town on the island, does not have the infrastructure to support such a facility.
Tribe Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais did not respond to a request for comment.

http://www.capecodtimes.com/news/20180108/high-court-declines-to-hear-aquinnah-gaming-case
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Sunday, January 1, 2017

Woman Jailed For Stealing $427K From Thompson Auto In Doylestown To Play Bingo







Woman Jailed For Stealing $427K From Thompson Auto In Doylestown To Play Bingo





The former office manager of the Thompson Organization in Doylestown was sent Thursday to the Bucks County Correctional Facility for stealing more than $427,000 from her employer over a 10-year period.
Kelley M. Lutz, 49, of Silverdale, was sentenced by Bucks County Senior Judge Albert J. Cepparulo to serve one to two years, plus a concurrent 10 years of probation.
Cepparulo also ordered Lutz to pay $427,019 the Thompson Organization, owners of several area auto dealerships, during her probation. Lutz was the business’s longtime office manager in Doylestown.
She blamed an addiction to high-end bingo games for the thefts. Investigators found no evidence that she spent the stolen money on anything but bingo, which Lutz attended at volunteer fire companies or other charitable organizations several times each week.
Lutz pleaded guilty on November 7 to a long list of felony theft-related charges. She admitted that from February 2006 to January 2016, she consistently stole money from her employer by a variety of means, and then altered computer records to cover her tracks.
Deputy District Attorney Marc Furber said Lutz stole $166,540 by creating 302 fraudulent checks made out to cash. Another 559 instances were identified in which Lutz stole $260,479 by withholding or skimming money from bank deposits or stealing money from petty cash reserves.
Furber noted that Lutz committed the thefts despite drawing a substantial salary that ranged from $77,000 to $93,000 over the course of her employment as office manager.
“This is not someone who had a good reason” to steal, Furber said of Lutz’s gambling addiction. “It was a bad reason to do a very bad thing.”
Lutz had worked for Thompson since 1989, and had been office manager since 1994. She had multiple accounting, financial and human resources duties that gave her access to Thompson’s computerized systems for financial records and transactions, enabling her to create false entries to cover her crimes.
Not until Lutz was terminated in January 2016 for an unrelated matter did her thefts come to light, when a senior manager reviewed paperwork that was left on her desk.
“We soon realized a despicable crime was committed by someone we had trusted to oversee our family-run business for many years,” wrote John H. Thompson, owner of the Thompson Organization, in a victim impact statement submitted to Cepparulo. “In the year prior to Mrs. Lutz’s termination, it was discovered that she had stolen over $150,000 in one year.”
Thompson said the damage from Lutz’s thefts went beyond monetary loss, saying she had damaged the reputation of his business, and had cast suspicion on subordinates who unwittingly cashed some of the phony checks that Lutz wrote.
“After a front-page article was published in the local newspaper, residents and business people in the Doylestown community began to question our ability to run a business and even questioned whether we were selling the business,” Thompson wrote. “Words can’t describe the anger and betrayal my family and I and so many of our employees feel.”
Lutz acknowledged that in 2007, she had been confronted by a senior manager after $30,000 went missing. She agreed to make restitution, borrowed the funds from her 401(k) retirement plan, and was able to keep her job.
Furber noted that despite that second chance, Lutz continued to steal even during the time she was repaying that money. She also failed to seek help for her gambling addiction until her arrest this year, despite having an aunt who works as an addictions counselor.
Lutz said that, contrary to common perceptions of bingo, it is possible to lose in excess of $1,000 a night in higher-end games. She described her addiction as a mix of giddy anticipation beforehand and crushing depression after a losing night.
“When I knew I was going to play bingo, I got a natural high,” she said, but then got “seriously depressed” after a bad night. She rationalized that she could return the money she stole once she had a few big wins.
“That’s what I intended to do when I hit it big,” she said.
“But you never hit it big,” defense attorney Andrew Schneider said.
“No,” Lutz replied.
Friends and family, including Lutz’s husband, Shawn, said they knew she played bingo a lot, but never realized the amount of money involved. Several described her as a generous, compassionate person.
“She’s ashamed, devastated, remorseful,” Shawn Lutz said. “She wants to make this right.”
Kelley Lutz said that after she was arrested, she began seeing a therapist for her gambling addiction and joined Gamblers Anonymous.
“They help me to see what I was, and what I’ve done, and how to become a whole person without gambling,” she said. “I have to live with the guilt of what I have done to my family, my place of employment, and my friends.”
Under questioning by Furber, Lutz said she and her husband own their residence, a shore house in New Jersey and a boat, but had made no effort to liquidate any of those assets to start paying restitution. Her husband submitted $2,000 today, calling it “all I could afford.”
Schneider called Lutz “a good woman who has done a bad thing. What is this case about? This case is about an illness.”
Lutz “has learned her lesson,” Schneider said, asking Cepparulo to sentence her to probation. “There is nothing more shameful than being arrested for a crime and having a criminal record.”
Cepparulo said Lutz’s crimes cannot be dismissed as a one-time mistake by a first-time offender.
“There is no mistake when it comes to theft,” the judge said. “Theft is an intentional act” that Lutz committed “on a repeated basis, over time – time and time again.”
Cepparulo rebuked her for not seeking help sooner, saying “it’s hard for me to understand how you ended up squandering $427,000, an average of $42,000 per year, playing bingo. That’s an astounding amount of money.”
Cepparulo said he would approve making Lutz eligible for intermediate punishment such as house arrest or work release. Schneider said that Lutz had already been screened and approved for house arrest.
The case was investigated by Bucks County Detective Eric Landamia and Doylestown Township Detective Anthony Breslau.
(Information provided by the Bucks County Office of the District Attorney, and is assumed accurate.)


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Thursday, August 18, 2016

Gambling Addiction




LETTER: More needs to be done to fight gambling addiction

Published: July 29, 2016


Re: Seniors excited about proposed casino for Victoria (Gazette, July 27)

As a 75 year old senior, I am excited about another casino locating in Greater Victoria, but not for the reasons given in the article.

Don’t other seniors and the general public realize that the B.C. Treasury takes in over a billion dollars annually from gambling - more than comes in from forestry. And for the small indulgences and pleasures it offers a few of us seniors, it increases the number of confirmed addicts, including adults, children and grandchildren. And that costs us hundreds of millions of dollars to repair families and relationships damaged by this so-called benign pastime.

That my fellow seniors can’t appreciate that is beyond me.

Everyone connected to the gambling industry must confront the scope and magnitude of gambling addiction in this province. And all of us must demand that our politicians face this social disease and use our money for programs that enhance the family and community.

Otherwise we become party to turning our provincial government, including municipal governments, into the most insidious pimps ever known.

Dale Perkins
Victoria



Bingo can lead to gambling addiction, experts claim




Bingo players may be at risk of developing a gambling addiction

Read more at http://talkradio.co.uk/news/bingo-can-lead-gambling-addiction-experts-claim-1607292577#RwTu7Pkvl8CwawWv.99

Friday, July 29, 2016

As many as one in 10 bingo players are at risk of developing a gambling addiction, recent research shows.
The study, commissioned by the Resonsible Gambling Trust, revealed that 2.5% of regular players had already developed a gambling problem, with only a third of those telling family and friends about it and just 7% seeking professional help.
"All forms of gambling carry some risk of addiction," Iain Corby, director of operations at the Gambling Association, told Julia Hartley-Brewer. "That's been rising steadily since gambling was effectively made more legal in 2007. 
"When we asked people if they [wanted] to cut down where they would go for help, most of them didn't really know there was professional help available. 
"We'd encourage people to ask themselves some questions: whether they're feeling more stressed, or maybe lying about their gambling."
Listen to the full interview to find out more, and for information on where to get help if you are facing challenges with gambling



Has Boom In Gaming Industry Increased Gambling Addiction?



July 29, 2016

By Tracey Leong

VIDEO ON LINK


BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A new study will be looking into the booming business and the impact it has on people living in Maryland.

Since 2010, the state has seen a rapid growth of gambling, with a new one popping up almost every year, and a sixth on the way.

Researchers want to know if the booming fambling industry is also increasing gambling addiction.

“We know that gambling has an impact on things like suicide–highest suicide of any addiction–bankruptcy, domestic violence,” said Jeffrey Beck, a clinical director for the University of Maryland, focusing on gambling problems.

Having overcome his own gambling addiction, Beck knows the disorder all too well.

His concern is the accessibility of in Maryland.

“You can’t get hooked until you try it,” Beck said.

Experts say only five percent of gamblers are actually addicted, and there have been no studies that show casinos cause the problem.

While researchers are working to determine a casino’s impact on a gambling addiction, it’s clear they’re a huge economic boost for Maryland, bringing in a record revenue of more than $100 million a month.

But casinos are not the only way people can gamble.

“You can gamble on your cell phone, you can do it online, you can do it by phone. So there are so many means,” said Sharon Bolden, Institute for Behavioral Resources.

Bolden has an extensive background in treating those with a gambling addiction. She says the responsibility falls on the individual, not the industry.

“I don’t believe that they’re feeding off those with an addiction because I think they are being as responsible as they can be,” said Bolden.

Researchers hope to have the survey results of casinos impacting addiction available by the end of 2017.

For information on treating a gambling addiction, CLICK HERE.


Tracey Leong joined WJZ Eyewitness News in July 2014 as a general assignment reporter. Her journalism career began in Southern California, where she was born and raised. She worked as an intern at KABC and an editorial assistant at KNBC in Los...

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2016/07/29/new-study-will-look-into-impact-of-casinos-on-gambling-addiction/

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Friday, August 12, 2016

Gambling Addiction





BOSTON (AP) -- Massachusetts gambling regulators say they're encouraged by early numbers from a unique gambling addiction prevention effort ...



Massachusetts gambling regulators say they're encouraged by early numbers from a unique gambling addiction prevention effort being tested at the ...
Willie Thorne bankrupt after borrowing £1m to fund gambling addiction
Willie Thorne has been declared bankrupt after admitting borrowing a million pounds to fund his gambling addiction. The Insolvency Service said the ...

Willie Thorne has been declared bankrupt after admitting borrowing a million pounds to fund his gambling addiction. The Insolvency Service said the ...


Legendary snooker player Willie Thorne has admitted that he's 'penniless' after borrowing £1 million to cover his gambling addiction. The snooker ...



BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts gambling regulators say they're encouraged by early numbers from a unique gambling addiction prevention effort ...



A recent study has found that nearly one in three bingo club players have experienced a gambling problem of some kind. One in nine of those ...


BOSTON (AP) -- Massachusetts gambling regulators say they're encouraged by early numbers from a unique gambling addiction prevention effort ...


A panic button that allows gamblers with addiction problems to lock their ... the regulation was introduced by the UK Gambling Commission last year.



... to Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon has recommended an outright bans on slot machines and horse racing as a way to prevent gambling addiction.


But it's not funny for Johnson, who told prosecutors he has a gambling ... far from alone in resorting to crime to satisfy a gambling problem or addiction.


Bizarre bank robbery arrest sparking conversations about gambling addictions
The arrest of a Charleston man in a bank robbery case has sparked a conversation about gambling addiction.Investigators say Kerry Johnson left the ...




Collett used the lie to borrow money from the partially-sited neighbour for various bills – but in fact the money was going on a £300-a-week gambling ...



... to 21 months in prison for stealing from two charities - a crime he blames on a gambling addictioncaused by football-related brain injuries. Rucker ...




Defense attorney Michael Hennenberg said after the sentencing hearing on Wednesday that Rucker'sgambling addiction resulted from poor impulse ...


Galway Bay FM


Galway hurler Davy Glennon was in the centre himself last year, checking in four days after the Leinster hurling final to treat a gambling addiction.

Dr. Jeffrey Derevensky, professor of psychiatry at McGill University and a gambling expert, said many people who are addicted to gambling do ...



Toledo Blade


Penn National Gaming is trying to prevent problem gambling with a weeklong outreach blitz aimed at educating the public on the signs and dangers of ...
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Wall said Hales needed treatment for a gambling addiction and impulse ... "it seems more accurate to say he has an addiction to defrauding people.".



According to the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), the ... to their emotional or financial health, may meet gambling addiction criteria.

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