Beacon Hill Genuflects to More Drunks on the road

Beacon Hill Prostitution disregards PUBLIC SAFETY!

No debate, no fanfare, no discussion! Just slip it in?

What happened to  Senator Stanley Rosenberg opposition?

Review the costs of:  HAPPY HOUR

FROM MASSterlist:

Casinos’ last-call perk has its share of critics

Public safety officials and casino opponents are among those sounding warnings after the state budget process resulted in the state’s future casinos being able to request the right to serve alcohol until 4 a.m., then start serving again at 8 a.m. Local bars and restaurants say the carve-out puts them at a competitive disadvantage. Dan Atkinson and Jordan Graham of the Herald have more.   Boston Herald

Interesting budget tidbits: 4 a.m. liquor hours for casinos and T pension transfer

Gov. Baker yesterday signed, amended or rejected a number of policy riders within the state budget, two of which caught our attention, via the Globe: “Baker approved language, sought by the casino industry, to extend alcohol service at the gambling palaces until 4 a.m., two hours past what is permitted at the latest-serving restaurants and bars. Baker’s budget message also includes authorization for the state to transfer control of the MBTA employees pension fund into the state’s general pension program, a measure lawmakers have rejected previously.” MASSACHUSETTS DRUNKS ON THE ROAD? Conn. ended push for 24-hour bars at casinos after crash EXPANDED FREE ALCOHOL IS NOT  ''another little change'!  Massachusetts has only Plainridge Slot Barn open at this time and already CHANGES? How many DRUNKS do you want on the road?  Masachusetts is unable to reduce ALCOHOL RELATED fatalities now.  Reported by MASSterlist 04/14/2017: Rosenberg ‘not a fan’ of extending casino last calls to 4 a.m. The House budget unveiled earlier this week has an outside section that would allow casinos to sell liquor to gamblers an extra two hours till 4 a.m. But Shira Schoenberg at MassLive reports that Senate President Stan Rosenberg is “not a fan of the idea,” in his words. "We said we're not going to chip away at the statute because this is how it happens in state after state,"Rosenberg said. "First there's one little change, then another little change and before you know it the commonwealth loses control of the industry." MassLive Conn. ended push for 24-hour bars at casinos after crash State had hoped to collect more slot machine profits DRIVER CHARGED A sailor, Daniel E. Musser, 24, is charged with manslaughter and driving under the influence and faces up to 19 years in prison. By Gregory B. Hladky Globe Correspondent / March 22, 2009 HARTFORD - Officials looking to help solve Connecticut's multibillion-dollar deficit thought they had found an easy way to raise another $5 million a year: allow casinos to serve alcohol 24 hours a day. A sailor, Daniel E. Musser, 24, is charged with manslaughter and driving under the influence and faces up to 19 years in prison. DRIVER CHARGED More hours of bar service would mean more gambling, they figured, which would mean the state could collect more slot machine profits. But the proposal by Governor M. Jodi Rell's administration came to a sudden end at about 3:30 a.m. on March 7, when a car leaving the Mohegan Sun casino turned the wrong way down Interstate 395, headlights off, and slammed into a van full of college students on their way to Logan International Airport. They were scheduled for a flight to Uganda, where they had plans to help out at an orphan age over spring break. Elizabeth Durante, a 20-year-old pre-med student at Connecticut College in New London, was killed. The car's driver, Daniel E. Musser, 24, a sailor from the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, was charged with manslaughter and driving under the influence and faces up to 19 years in prison. The next day, Rell called Durante's death "an unconscionable tragedy" and pulled back her budget proposal to make alcohol available 24 hours at the casinos. "Even though this accident occurred under the laws as they have been for many years, the governor said it does give one pause to question the wisdom of extending liquor service hours at the casinos," Christopher Cooper, Rell spokesman, said recently. "We don't believe the bill is going to move forward this session." Chuck Bunnell, chief of staff for the Mohegan Tribal Council, agreed. "The Tribal Council in general has taken the position that it's time to pause and mourn the loss of this very bright light of humanity," Bunnell said, "that it's not appropriate to have those discussions right now." Bunnell said the tribe was originally "approached on a bipartisan basis" by lawmakers looking for ways to increase state revenue. Lori A. Potter, a spokeswoman for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, said analysts at the tribe's Foxwoods Resort Casino stand by their prediction that extending casino bar hours would result in an increase in state revenue. "It is important to note that it would be impossible to find a more heavily regulated serving establishment in the state of Connecticut than the two casinos," Potter said. Connecticut law requires the casinos' bars to stop serving by 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and by 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. One of the arguments originally used in favor of allowing longer serving hours was that their competitors in Atlantic City serve alcohol 24 hours a day. Legal hours for bars to serve alcohol vary greatly across the United States, according to Steven Schmidt, vice president for public policy at the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association. In Massachusetts, for example, state law allows service until 11 p.m., but local governing bodies can extend the hours to 2 a.m. In states such as New Jersey and Nevada, Schmidt said, local authorities are allowed to set bar closing hours. Charles H. Gartman, one of the students with Durante in the van that night, has difficulty understanding why anyone thought round-the-clock liquor at the casinos was a good idea. "Twenty-four-hour bar service is a little bit ridiculous," Gartman said last week in a phone interview from his New York City home. "You can't trust everyone to drink and drive safely." Gartman, 19 and a sophomore at Connecticut College, has not yet recovered from injuries he suffered in the crash. The five other passengers also suffered injuries, some minor. "Both my legs were pretty banged up, and at first I couldn't walk," he said. "I have pretty severe lacerations on my chin." Nor has he recovered from the loss of Durante, of West Islip, N.Y. Gartman said it was Durante who got him interested in going to Uganda to aid orphaned children. "It was her enthusiasm for helping people," he recalled. Stephanie Hinman, who was Durante's roommate and one of the students on the Uganda trip, finds it ironic that her friend would die at the hands of an accused drunk driver. "Neither Liz nor I ever drank," Hinman said from her home in Norfolk, Conn. "We lived together in the substance-free dorm." In a 2007 interview with a college publication, Durante said she wanted to become a surgeon and work in Africa with Doctors Without Borders. For Janice Heggie Margolis, executive director of the Connecticut chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Durante's death provided tragic evidence of why casino liquor hours should never be expanded. She said the potential price to society of more fatal crashes is simply too high, no matter how much money might flow to the state. "This is exactly the reason why," Heggie Margolis said. "You can never put on paper the cost of a life." http://archive.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2009/03/22/conn_ended_push_for_24_hour_bars_at_casinos_after_crash/

MASSACHUSETTS DRUNKS ON THE ROAD? Conn. ended push for 24-hour bars at casinos after crash

EXPANDED FREE ALCOHOL IS NOT  ''another little change'! 
Massachusetts has only Plainridge Slot Barn open at this time and already CHANGES?


How many DRUNKS do you want on the road? 
Masachusetts is unable to reduce ALCOHOL RELATED fatalities now. 




Reported by MASSterlist 04/14/2017:

Rosenberg ‘not a fan’ of extending casino last calls to 4 a.m.

The House budget unveiled earlier this week has an outside section that would allow casinos to sell liquor to gamblers an extra two hours till 4 a.m. But Shira Schoenberg at MassLive reports that Senate President Stan Rosenberg is “not a fan of the idea,” in his words. "We said we're not going to chip away at the statute because this is how it happens in state after state," Rosenberg said. "First there's one little change, then another little change and before you know it the commonwealth loses control of the industry." MassLive

Conn. ended push for 24-hour bars at casinos after crash

State had hoped to collect more slot machine profits

DRIVER CHARGED A sailor, Daniel E. Musser, 24, is charged with manslaughter and driving under the influence and faces up to 19 years in prison.

By Gregory B. Hladky

Globe Correspondent / March 22, 2009

HARTFORD - Officials looking to help solve Connecticut's multibillion-dollar deficit thought they had found an easy way to raise another $5 million a year: allow casinos to serve alcohol 24 hours a day.

A sailor, Daniel E. Musser, 24, is charged with manslaughter and driving under the influence and faces up to 19 years in prison.

DRIVER CHARGED

More hours of bar service would mean more gambling, they figured, which would mean the state could collect more slot machine profits.

But the proposal by Governor M. Jodi Rell's administration came to a sudden end at about 3:30 a.m. on March 7, when a car leaving the Mohegan Sun casino turned the wrong way down Interstate 395, headlights off, and slammed into a van full of college students on their way to Logan International Airport. They were scheduled for a flight to Uganda, where they had plans to help out at an orphan age over spring break.

Elizabeth Durante, a 20-year-old pre-med student at Connecticut College in New London, was killed.

The car's driver, Daniel E. Musser, 24, a sailor from the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, was charged with manslaughter and driving under the influence and faces up to 19 years in prison.

The next day, Rell called Durante's death "an unconscionable tragedy" and pulled back her budget proposal to make alcohol available 24 hours at the casinos.

"Even though this accident occurred under the laws as they have been for many years, the governor said it does give one pause to question the wisdom of extending liquor service hours at the casinos," Christopher Cooper, Rell spokesman, said recently. "We don't believe the bill is going to move forward this session."

Chuck Bunnell, chief of staff for the Mohegan Tribal Council, agreed.

"The Tribal Council in general has taken the position that it's time to pause and mourn the loss of this very bright light of humanity," Bunnell said, "that it's not appropriate to have those discussions right now."

Bunnell said the tribe was originally "approached on a bipartisan basis" by lawmakers looking for ways to increase state revenue.

Lori A. Potter, a spokeswoman for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, said analysts at the tribe's Foxwoods Resort Casino stand by their prediction that extending casino bar hours would result in an increase in state revenue.

"It is important to note that it would be impossible to find a more heavily regulated serving establishment in the state of Connecticut than the two casinos," Potter said.

Connecticut law requires the casinos' bars to stop serving by 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and by 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. One of the arguments originally used in favor of allowing longer serving hours was that their competitors in Atlantic City serve alcohol 24 hours a day.

Legal hours for bars to serve alcohol vary greatly across the United States, according to Steven Schmidt, vice president for public policy at the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association.

In Massachusetts, for example, state law allows service until 11 p.m., but local governing bodies can extend the hours to 2 a.m. In states such as New Jersey and Nevada, Schmidt said, local authorities are allowed to set bar closing hours.

Charles H. Gartman, one of the students with Durante in the van that night, has difficulty understanding why anyone thought round-the-clock liquor at the casinos was a good idea.

"Twenty-four-hour bar service is a little bit ridiculous," Gartman said last week in a phone interview from his New York City home. "You can't trust everyone to drink and drive safely."

Gartman, 19 and a sophomore at Connecticut College, has not yet recovered from injuries he suffered in the crash.

The five other passengers also suffered injuries, some minor.

"Both my legs were pretty banged up, and at first I couldn't walk," he said. "I have pretty severe lacerations on my chin."

Nor has he recovered from the loss of Durante, of West Islip, N.Y. Gartman said it was Durante who got him interested in going to Uganda to aid orphaned children. "It was her enthusiasm for helping people," he recalled.

Stephanie Hinman, who was Durante's roommate and one of the students on the Uganda trip, finds it ironic that her friend would die at the hands of an accused drunk driver.

"Neither Liz nor I ever drank," Hinman said from her home in Norfolk, Conn.

"We lived together in the substance-free dorm."

In a 2007 interview with a college publication, Durante said she wanted to become a surgeon and work in Africa with Doctors Without Borders.

For Janice Heggie Margolis, executive director of the Connecticut chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Durante's death provided tragic evidence of why casino liquor hours should never be expanded.

She said the potential price to society of more fatal crashes is simply too high, no matter how much money might flow to the state. "This is exactly the reason why," Heggie Margolis said.

"You can never put on paper the cost of a life."

http://archive.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2009/03/22/conn_ended_push_for_24_hour_bars_at_casinos_after_crash/

For gambling addicts, Super Bowl wagers could bring ruin

What are the odds gambling is popular for Super Bowl?

Wayne T. Price, Ilana Kowarski and Dave Berman 12:10 a.m. EST January 31, 2015

We all know what Sunday is — it’s Super Bowl Sunday, the day for one of the most-watched sporting events in the world.

For hardcore wagerers, as well as the casual “You wanna bet” types, Sunday also is known as the Super Bowl of gambling. The website superbowlbets.com predicts more than 200 million people will bet on the game, part of an estimated about $10 billion Super Bowl betting industry in the United States.

“The Super Bowl is fun to bet on simply because it is such a cultural event these days,” said Jimmy Boyd, who runs the Walnut, California-headquartered BoydsBets.com. “Trying to win a few extra bucks is always fun, but when you can combine it with something that virtually everyone you know is going to be watching, it really amplifies the enjoyment.”

For Brevard County, and all of Florida, sports betting is illegal, though still very common.

There are straight-up bets between individuals and organized office pools where managers often turn a blind eye to the activity. At many gatherings tonight, party goers will pick a Super Bowl square for a small cash payout. And of course, there’s also betting through online gambling sites.

Sports gambling is growing so large that last month the U.S. Treasury Department threw a warning flag at casinos.

“Increases in sports betting conducted on behalf of third parties are facilitating criminal activity and posing a money laundering risk to the U.S financial system,” Treasury said in a letter on Dec. 24.

Because of the popularity of the Super Bowl, and sports betting, FLORIDA TODAY took a look at what’s happening with this issue on the Space Coast.

Victory Casino

There is only one place to gamble — legally — on the Super Bowl in Brevard County and that’s on the Victory Casino Cruise ship. Even then, you have to be international waters to make your bet and collect your winnings.

Passengers already have been laying plenty of action .

“The betting is happening on every cruise” for the past two weeks said Pete Lynch, the casino marketing manager at Victory Casino Cruises, Lynch said.

And the betting isn’t just on who will win the game. Gamblers can bet on dozens of things related to the game — even which team wins the coin toss before the game starts and how long it will take Idina Menzel to sing the national anthem.

Naturally, all the ship’s televisions will be tuned into the game — 20 screens in the ship’s sports book area and 10 at other locations.

Some additions:

•A Super Bowl “tailgate” party with burgers, chicken wings and nachos.
•Cocktail servers and card dealers in referee-striped outfits.
•At least five former National Football League players mingling with the customers. Lynch said some of them have played in previous Super Bowls.

“It’s going to be a fun day,” Lynch said.

It costs $10 to get on the ship. Sunday cruises are noon to 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. to midnight.

Drinks are free for customers actively betting in the slot machine or table game areas. But if you’re just there to watch the game, be prepared to buy your own beers.

Sports bars and office pools

The beers and cocktails will be flowing at Duffy’s Sports Grill in Melbourne, where a full house is expected. Duffy’s has been selling tickets for $25 each for guaranteed seating.

While you can expect wings galore and loud cheering, don’t expect to see any gambling. And if anyone at Duffy’s is seen wagering, they can expect a swift reprimand.

“Frankly I’ve never come across that,” said Renee Masse, assistant general manager at Duffy’s. “If we saw something like that taking place, we’d tell them to stop and go some place else.”

Though there are probably informal office pools in Brevard, there are few employers that sanction them. Many strongly discourage any kind of gambling in a work setting.

In the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, it is common for human resources departments to send out warnings to workers telling them not to make sports bets on office property, said John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray, & Christmas, Inc., a national employment consultancy based in Chicago.

Challenger said betting in the workplace is a risky move, since it can result in a formal reprimand or termination.

“In the banking industry or the financial sector, in particular, gambling is counter to the culture,” he said. “Those are companies that make their name by keeping people’s money safe and making wise investments, which is the complete opposite of gambling.”

Arguments against gambling laws

Some in Brevard say that gambling in moderation is harmless, and believe that Florida’s laws against sports betting are hypocritical, given that there is an official state lottery.

That’s the view of Jamie Nance, an attorney for Nance Cacciatore law firm in Melbourne.

“I imagine that there is a vocal minority that opposes gambling for moralistic or religious reasons, but look, man has been gambling since the dawn of time,” Nance said. “It’s probably one of the world’s oldest professions.”

Nance said given strained government resources it seems unwise for law enforcement to spend money on the incarceration of gamblers and bookies “for relatively victimless vices.” If any punishment was warranted, it should be a small fine.

“There supposedly is a big libertarian movement in this country, but for some reason with the libertarians I know, their philosophy stops with gambling and prostitution,” Nance said. “Even if you disapprove of those activities, regulating them is still a government intrusion.”

Enforcement

State gambling statutes say sports betting is a second-degree misdemeanor. Those convicted can get up to 60 days of prison time and a maximum fine of $500.

There are stiffer penalties for “bookies,” a person who accepts bets based on set odds..

Bookmaking is a third-degree felony for first-time offenders and a second-degree felony for repeat offenders. A bookie’s first conviction can lead to a five-year prson sentence and $5,000 pine. The penalties escalate for repeat offenders. Those who are twice convicted of bookmaking can get a 15-year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine.

Bill Respess, the chief trial attorney in Brevard, said that law enforcement rarely prosecutes individual bettors and primarily focuses its energy on “the people that are making money off the operation.”

In the past, Brevard has prosecuted operators of internet gambling cafes, but gambling prosecutions are rare, Respess said.

“I don’t see us spending a lot of time enforcing the gambling law to prevent Super Bowl bets between friends, but that doesn’t mean it’s legal,” he said. “There are lots of things that go on that are illegal. I hear fireworks go off around the holidays all the time. When people are caught breaking the laws, we enforce them.”

Addiction

Arnie Wexler, a self-described former compulsive gambler who operates a national hotline for gambling addicts, said that the Super Bowl is the time of year when temptations for gambling addicts are the most prevalent and intense.

“The Super Bowl is a hotbed for gambling. Compulsive gambling is an all-year kind of thing, but what happens is that the Super Bowl is the last game for gamblers to bet on in the football season,” he said. “With compulsive gamblers, if they’ve won money before, they’re putting it all on the line right now, and if they’ve lost money, they’re trying to get it back during the Super Bowl. It’s the get-out bet for a gambler.”

Wexler said that every year after the Super Bowl, he gets inundated with desperate phone calls to his hotline, 1-800-LAST-BET. In his new book, “All Bets Are Off,” he shares how he recovered from a gambling addiction and describes how others can do the same.

“Nobody really cares about gambling addicts. They look at alcoholics and drug addicts as sick people, but they see compulsive gamblers as crooks,” he said. “The motive of my book is to get people to understand that compulsive gambling is an addiction, and it’s treatable.”

Contact Price at 321-242-3658 or wprice@floridatoday.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @Fla2dayBiz.


Giving props

A big part of Super Bowl gambling is proposition, or “rop” betting, wagering on aspects of the game other than the outcome of the score. Examples:
Will the winning coin toss land on heads or tails?
Will the performer singing the National Anthem remember the words?
Which player will score the first touchdown?
Which team will score first?
Which team will score last?
Will the first score of the game be a field goal or touchdown?
How many songs will the half-time performer sing?
Which team will have the most penalty yards?
Which quarterback will have the most passing yards?
Who will be named Super Bowl MVP?
Source: American Gaming Association, Indianapolis Star research



http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2015/01/31/odds-gambling-popular-super-bowl/22601763/



VIDEO ON LINK:

Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL

For gambling addicts, Super Bowl wagers could bring ruin

Posted: Jan 31, 2015

By Ben Gutierrez

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -

Super Bowl XLIX is coming up on Sunday. It's the world's biggest sports spectacle, and also the event with the heaviest bets. Legal betting will rake in over $100 million this year, but that's dwarfed by illegal betting, which may total $3.7 billion.

So for problem gamblers, the Super Bowl may be a the last chance for a big win. A loss could be especially catastrophic.

Think you're a big roller?

"I lost a hundred thousand dollars on one bet," said a man we're calling Al. He's the head of Gamblers Anonymous in Hawaii. He lost the 100 grand rolling dice.

"I had 4, and I did not make the 4. I threw a 7," he said. "And it's the worst feeling of your life. But if you make the 4, it's the best feeling of your life."

Al said he even had to ask his relatives for about a quarter of a million dollars to pay gambling debts.

"During my 16 or 17 years gambling compulsively, we estimate that I lost over two million dollars."

According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, 10,000 people in Hawaii are pathological gamblers, those whose wagering has a severe negative effect of his or her job, relationships or mental health. Another 20,000 are problem gamblers, who wager despite possible negative consequences.

The Washington, D.C., group said last year, it received 2,759 calls for help from Hawaii because there are no local hotlines for gambling addiction. And since legal gambling doesn't exist in Hawaii, there's no public funding for treatment and prevention. Those programs could be useful on Monday, as Al expects hardcore gamblers to go big on Super Sunday.

"Football season is ending. The Super Bowl is the wrap up of this. So people are running out of games to bet on, and they can't recover all their losses and they can't bet enough to recover their season."

"I wouldn't be surprised if there were an increased number of people calling G.A. (Gamblers Anonymous) after the Super Bowl," said Dr. Robin-Marie Shepherd, a University of Auckland professor who has done research on gambling in Hawaii. "That would be interesting to find out if that's the case."

Meanwhile, Al is glad to have kicked the addiction:

"The two most important things in my life was my children and my wife, and I was willing to give that away to continue to gamble."

For help in Hawaii, Gamblers Anonymous has help here.

 

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/27990718/for-gambling-addicts-super-bowl-wagers-could-bring-ruin

 

Former gambling addict talks about desperate days around Superbowl

Posted: Jan 30, 2015 10:53 PM EST


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -
Super Bowl weekend is not just the climax of the football season -- it is the biggest weekend of the year for legal and illegal gambling.

Only social betting is legal in Hawaii, but the state still has its share of desperate gamblers according to the leader of Hawaii's only chapter of Gamblers Anonymous.

"Football season is ending the Superbowl is the wrap-up of this, so people are running out of games to bet on."

Speaking under the pseudonym "Al" the chapter leader said the festive weekend is a frightening time for many players.

"They can't recover all their loses and they can't bet enough to recover their season. So we are getting a lot of phone calls from people asking about how to stop."

Al says recovery is similar to recovery from a drug addiction and can take years. He himself took nine years and multiple lapses before he gave up betting completely 21 years ago. National experts say Hawaii does not have the enough resources to prevent chronic gambling or help wean gamblers of the addiction, primarily because of the assumption that gambling addictions would not be as common in a state with no legal gaming.

Click HERE for more information on how to get help in Hawaii.


http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/27990206/former-gambling-addict-talks-about-desperate-days-around-superbowl

Meet Your Potential New Neighbor: Slot Machines

REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL!

The ONLY THING THAT MATTERS: KEEP GAMBLING!

Bill Kearney

Massachusetts ‘GAMING’ Future

Pittsburgh Tribune - July 29, 2014 - Rivers Casino sued by family of patron who died in car crash

The family of an O'Hara man who died in a car crash sued Rivers Casino in Allegheny County court on Tuesday.

 

Gianluca Cresta, 41, crashed his Ford Taurus on Sept. 30, 2012 while driving on Route 8 near the McDonald's in Shaler after drinking for several hours at the North Shore casino, the lawsuit alleges.

Employees at Rivers served Cresta “several double vodka and waters” between 8:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. even though he was visibly intoxicated, according to the lawsuit.

The casino had not yet reviewed the lawsuit and declined to comment on the pending litigation, a spokeswoman said.

http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/6527545-74/casino-lawsuit-rivers#ixzz39Epi03vo

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FROM: No Plainville Racino

Conn. casinos place liens on RI homes to recover debt

Tim White

Updated: Friday, April 25, 2014

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Dozens of Rhode Island homeowners have faced property liens after costly trips to Connecticut casinos in recent years, a strategy some experts say is aggressive and may increase as gaming expands across Southern New England.

All told, Foxwoods Resort Casino has taken out liens on Ocean State homes for outstanding debts 30 times mainly since 2004, according to a Target 12 review of land records statewide. Mohegan Sun has used the legal avenue to recoup a debt only once.

Interactive: Lien Data by City/Town

But while some of the debts are as high as $55,000, records show more than half of the liens taken out by Foxwoods – 57 percent – were for debts of $1,000 or less. That includes a $100 lien in Cranston and $200 due in Providence.

Here’s how it works: Casinos offer credit – called “markers” – to patrons who don’t want to travel with large amounts of cash or, as is often the case, when someone has run out of money gambling.

That’s exactly what happened to Tom Hanson.

Hanson, of Warwick, said he lost roughly $3,000 of his own cash playing blackjack at Foxwoods in 2012, so a friend suggested he take out a marker.

In hindsight, Hanson said “it was a horrible idea.”

Traditionally casinos require gamblers who apply for a marker to leave a check in the amount they are borrowing. Hanson said Foxwoods was able to print one up for him after a quick credit check.

Within minutes, he said they handed him $7,500 in cash and he was back on the casino floor.

In a frank conversation, Hanson said his poor decision-making to take out the loan was fueled by alcohol, having received several drinks on-the-house while he gambled. Over the next several hours, the money he borrowed evaporated too.

“I was feeling sick to my stomach,” Hanson said. “Basically they set you up for failure: you get the money from them, you lose it back to them and then you still owe them the money.”

Nonetheless Hanson knew he had a responsibility to pay the debt. “I’m a big boy, I decided to do that and I owed the money,” he said.

Over the coming weeks he began sending them money, but “it was less than they wanted me to pay.”

“They said I either pay it in full or [in] payments they arranged that were exorbitant amounts – over $500 a month – which I couldn’t afford at the time,” Hanson said. “Then they took the lien out.”

According land records from Warwick City Hall, Foxwoods hired a Rhode Island law firm to place a lien on Hanson’s home in January 2013 for $7,290, plus an additional $72 in interest and $200 in fees.

Records indicate all of the liens placed by Foxwoods are taken out by “Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprises.”

Dale Wolbrink, a spokesperson for Foxwoods declined to comment stating in an email “as a matter of policy, we do not discuss any matters that may involve litigation.”

Property liens can wreak havoc for homeowners by preventing a property from being sold or refinanced, and they can sometimes lead to a home being auctioned off if a debt remains unpaid.
Records show Foxwoods has placed liens on homes in 13 cities and towns across Rhode Island, but none have led to a foreclosure and nearly all were eventually repaid.

Mohegan Sun placed its only lien on a Cranston property for an outstanding debt of roughly $21,000.
Mohegan Sun did not provide a comment.

A lawyer who spoke on the condition of anonymity tells Target 12 Foxwoods tends to use the legal route of property liens, while Mohegan Sun favors collection agencies.

Dr. Patrick Kelly a professor at Providence College who has tracked the social impacts of gamblin said he thinks issuing liens is an aggressive tactic and may only become more common if either of the Connecticut casinos win their bid to open resorts in Massachusetts.

“I think there are ways the lender should be interacting with the borrower to get back the funds,” Kelly said. “To place a lien on someone else for $100 or $200, that’s problematic.”

Foxwoods has already secured 30 acres of land in Fall River while voters in Everett have approved a casino proposal from Mohegan Sun. In Springfield, MGM Resorts has pitched an $800 million casino, but the gambling giant has not yet been awarded a license from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

• RELATED: What you need to know about Mass. casino proposals

State legislators in Massachusetts would have to authorize the ability for any casinos that open their doors there to lend money, according to Kelly, but Rhode Island lawmakers could regulate how debts are recouped in the Ocean State.

“I think anytime you have a lien placed on somebody’s property there is a failure and I think that is very problematic,” Kelly said. “So the lawmakers can write laws to address that specifically.”
Twin River Casino in Lincoln does not have the ability to issue markers, but spokesperson Patti Doyle said they may explore that option in the near future.

“The ability to extend credit is an issue of interest to us but there is no legislation submitted to date,” Doyle wrote in an email.

Kelly said he believes Twin River will be asking lawmakers to authorize the casino the ability to issue credit, soon. He said if nothing else, transparency is key and the casino should be required to report their loan activity.

“How many markers have you extended this year? How many [were] paid back? How many liens have been put on different properties this year,” Kelly said. “That sort of thing can be reported to regulators and I think that will be potentially a lever to have casinos act more prudently in dealing with who they extend credit to.”

Hanson said he thought having a lien placed on his home was a scare tactic, but one that worked. He was able to cobble together what he owed and drove to Ledyard Connecticut to pay back the marker, in full. After handing a teller the cash, Hanson said he was told his line of credit was open again.

“I was like ‘I’m all set,’” he said.



http://wpri.com/2014/04/24/target-12-connecticut-casinos-place-liens-on-ri-homes-to-recover-debt/

Casinos and Booze Are Bound to Make You Lose — Two Cases in Point

Casinos and Booze Are Bound to Make You Lose — Two Cases in Point

Sat March 08 2014



George Lopez passed out on the floor of a Canadian casino.

Casinos and booze is bound to make you lose.




Mark A. Johnston of Ventura, California, asserts that he shouldn’t have to pay a $500,000 debt to the Downtown Grand Las Vegas Hotel & Casino because casino employees served him so much alcohol that he suffered a blackout and was unable to remember the losses or even his gambling, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit says the man was too drunk to be allowed to gambling, and that the casino should have recognized his condition and stopped his gambling. Documents claim the plaintiff was “Dropping chips on the floor, confusing chip colors, and slurring his speech badly. And he was unable to read his cards.”


http://www.arlingtoncardinal.com/2014/03/casinos-and-booze-are-bound-to-make-you-lose-two-cases-in-point/

...the most effective business model in history....

Photo by Danita Delimont/Getty

Mark Johnston says it’s not his fault that he blew $500,000 gambling while he was blind drunk. It’s the latest foolhardy case against the houses that never seem to lose.

It is arguably the most effective business model in history: Serving customers free alcohol in an effort to remove them from reality. And nobody does it better than Vegas, baby…Vegas.

For those few of you who haven’t visited a casino, the process at, say, a blackjack table goes something like this: Sit down at a minimum wage table of your choosing ($2, $5, $15, $50, $100, whatever…) and throw hard cash on the table. The dealer quickly turns that cash into chips, which—like spending with a credit card—suddenly feels less real when making a transaction or in this case… losing a hand.

A waitress will then come by in less than 5 minutes asking for your drink order. Gambling itself is always a party—and there’s a good chance you’re enjoying something resembling a vacation—so it’s invariably an order of (insert liquor here) on ice or a tall frosty one to start. Doesn’t matter what time it is… there is no sunlight in most casinos, nor are there any clocks. And since cellphones need to be put away, the concept of time is completely thrown out the window.

So let’s add it all up: You’re playing with fake money (even through it’s very real), you’re drinking for free aside from tips (which are also invariably paid in fake money), and you have no idea if it’s 5 p.m. or 5 a.m. Talk about escaping reality…

How much is too much? Some folks can hide being hammered better than others.

Like an all-inclusive island resort, it’s easy to get over-served in these situations. Dealers aren’t bartenders, and waitresses—if you play long enough—change shifts. In other words, NO ONE is looking out for your best interests. Get loaded? Lose next month’s rent or mortgage? In the words of Henry Hill in Goodfellas: “F**k you. PAY ME!”

Which brings us to the story of Mark Johnston: He’s a 52-year-old one-percenter who lost on Super Bowl weekend in a more brutal and decisive fashion than anyone wearing orange at the actual Super Bowl.

Here’s the short version of Johnston’s unmemorable weekend: Decided to fly to Vegas on Jan. 30. Had “two to four drinks” at a Burbank (Calif.) airport. One drink on the 45-minute flight to Vegas. One drink waiting (fixed by his limo driver upon landing). Another drink while riding to the hotel, and then “several more” at dinner right after checking into his hotel…

That’s 10-12 cocktails before the check for dinner even arrived. After that—not so unpredictably—Johnston entered blackout mode, which is that scary place where the body and mind keep (somewhat) functioning but all memory ceases to exist.

And that’s apparently when the real fun started: Johnston began a 17-hour gambling and drinking bender that ended in $500,000 in losses. During this time, the AA and GA Candidate of the Year knocked down 20… yup… 20 additional drinks, bringing the total to at least 30 since first arriving in Burbank. The half-million in losses mostly came from credits (aka “markers”) provided by the casino.

So since everyone sues over just about anything these days, Johnston is taking the casino (The Downtown Grand) to court. While he was taking this financial beating, his lawsuit claims he was so inebriated he couldn’t read his cards nor hold his chips. Nevada law prohibits permitting visibly drunk patrons to gamble, as well as serving them the aforementioned free drinks if the patron appears to already be bombed. The question is… how much is too much? Some folks can hide being hammered better than others.

There is precedent for these types of lawsuits, with mixed results for the plaintiffs. For example, 25 years ago, a New Jersey federal court decided that a man who claimed to have lost $250,000 after overindulging was justified in suing an Atlantic City casino that served him while providing markers during wagering. The ruling stated: “While under the influence of drugs or alcohol, one suffers a deficit, to varying degrees, of cognitive faculties such as the power to reason sensibly, to appreciate the danger of activities engaged in, and/or to exercise sound judgment.”
Good news for the gambler, right?
Well, almost.

Even with the favorable procedural ruling, a jury concluded that said gambler (Shmuel Aboud) had not demonstrated he was sufficiently drunk not to know better.

Other drunken gamblers have fared better by settling out of court, including one guy in 2000 who lost $1 million and settled for an amount not disclosed.

But the most infamous story is one Philadelphia Eagles fans know all too well. In 1993, the team’s now-late owner—Leonard Tose—was unsuccessful in swaying a jury in a civil suit against Hollywood Casino Corp. (which owned The Sands) that the betting parlor had caused him to become so intoxicated, he had no clue what he was doing when he pissed away millions in AC. Consequently, he was forced to pay the casino $1.2 million in gambling debt. (He died broke in 2003.)

As for Mark Johnston, here’s what he recently told CNN: “I am not a sore loser. I’ve lost half a million. I’ve lost $800,000. I’ve lost a lot of money. This has nothing to do with that. Obviously I can afford what I lost.”

Maybe it’s time for him to pick up a new hobby. Clearly his gambling strategy isn’t working out for him. While he’s at it, take some responsibility for his actions…

Doubling down on visits to Gamblers Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous would be a good start.
Johnston is just another victim of the most effective business model in history: Fake money, free alcohol, no clocks, no concept of reality.

And apparently, no accountability.



http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/07/a-boozer-a-casino-and-the-inevitable-lawsuit.html#url=/articles/2014/03/07/a-boozer-a-casino-and-the-inevitable-lawsuit.html

 

Pennsylvegas: First the LOOTTERY.....

Worth listening to!

9 DAILY DRAWINGS?

Pennsylvegas: First the LOOTTERY, then FLEECINOS....now?

In every BAR, RESTAURANT....where else?

Dianne M. Berlin

This is about 30 minutes long and I do mention MA.

 

SPOTLIGHT: MARCH 8, 2014

wdac.podbean.com

 

Dianne Berlin with Casino Free PA Discusses Gambling Expansion In Pennsylvaniawww.casinofreepa.org717-575-2771email: dmberlin@aol.com...

Plainville Host Community Public Hearing

Testimony
Plainville Host Community Public Hearing
January 21st, 2014

Dear Commissioners:

I write to you today to present an alternative view about the agreements struck between Penn National (Springfield Gaming and Redevelopment, LLC) and surrounding communities, particularly Foxborough. I say “alternative” because the opinions of Plainville’s selectmen, town administrator, and certain other town officials do not represent my views nor the views of many other Plainville residents.

More than a year and a half ago, Thomas Keen and I met with Joe Fernandes and his then-assistant Dave Gagnon to present our well-researched 13-page paper about what we felt needed to appear in the RFP for a Plainville gambling consultant. One of the issues we highlighted was a need to meet with our neighbors — Wrentham, North Attleborough, and Foxborough, especially — to discuss the impact of an expanded gambling facility on their borders. Both Mr. Fernandes and Mr. Gagnon dismissed the need for Plainville to consider the concerns of our neighbors, equating whatever impact might come from a casino with the impact on Plainville from Gillette Stadium and the Wrentham Outlet Mall; they were utterly dismissive of the needs of the surrounding towns because, they said, Plainville never received mitigation for the projects built in other communities. (Interestingly enough, Mr. Gagnon is now town administrator in West Bridgewater, for which he negotiated a rather comprehensive Surrounding Community Agreement with Raynham Park.)

As Selectman Rob Rose famously said when dismissing the concerns of Plainville residents about a casino in our neighborhood, “[Plainridge] almost isn’t even in Plainville.” Extrapolating from Rob’s snide remarks, it seems only reasonable that Plainville would support the efforts of its neighbors to protect themselves from the vagaries of a casino on their doorstep, especially because — due to their proximity — Foxborough and Wrentham are as likely to deal with the casino’s negative aspects of traffic, DUIs, and criminal behavior as Plainville is. Instead, the attitude of Mr. Fernandes, Ms. Soucy, and Mr. Rose toward our neighbors is to dismiss their concerns and to treat their representatives deplorably in public meetings, often with mean spirited, vindictive, and embarrassing comments.

At your October 22nd "Public Input Meeting" in Wrentham, Plainville Treasurer and Tax Collector Kathleen Parker demonstrated the ignorance and “magical thinking” prevalent among Plainville officials when it comes to the impact of a casino on our town and our neighbors towns. Speaking about the danger of drunk driving, Ms. Parker said, “... I don't remember ever hearing of a drunk driving accident coming out of Plainridge. I know we have our current Chief here, Police Chief as well as our current Fire Chief and our prior Police Chief. They would correct me if I am wrong. We have a very well-trained professional police department. We have people in the facility and we will continue to have more people in the facility if we are lucky enough to be granted this license. They are not going to let drunk drivers out onto our streets, their streets. Because not only are they our police officers, they are also our residents, if not within the town, in the neighboring towns. Their children, their neighbors are on the same streets that we'll all be using and that we have been using.”

As I pointed out in an email to Ms. Parker, “Plainridge has seen a relative handful of people in and out of their facility over the years, while the Plainridge Park Casino — should they receive the license and withstand the court challenge regarding equal protection — plans to have thousands of people there every day, for 24 hours a day, with alcohol (some of it free or cheap) served for 18 of those 24 hours. Plainville’s own gambling consultant’s report says there will most likely be an increase in both DUIs and fatalities. To think that a handful of cops can catch every drunk as he exits, or will stop every drunk driver before she leaves the town limits is simply a fantasy. To assure townspeople they have nothing to worry about is irresponsible.”

Regarding the “social ills,” Ms. Parker has faith that Plainville will be able to do what no other town in America has been able to do when expanded gambling moves in. She doesn’t think that the surrounding towns should be worried because she’s “... Thrilled to hear about the amount of money that's available for problem gambling... All of these things are addressed in the right and proper ways. We're not irresponsible in Plainville that we're going to allow any of the things to all of a sudden erupt like a volcano in our community and not have them addressed.”

In my email to her, I suggested that she might want to reconsider her “thrill” that there is money "available for problem gambling.” The money allotted to treat gamblers who are addicted to the Lottery, Keno, and horse racing is already not enough. Worse news, the amount casinos will eventually be required to pay each year toward problem gambling treatment has dropped by more than $20 million since Governor Patrick first rolled out his plans for casinos in 2007. Massachusetts legislators axed $560,000 from this fiscal year's budget for the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling, which, in turn, has put a big dent in the Council's plans to prepare for the four casinos in the commonwealth. (http://www.telegram.com/article/20130324/NEWS/103249834/0)

Even if the amount of money for treatment and prevention approached the amount necessary to treat every citizen who needs treatment, none of the monies set aside can or will be applied to the actual costs of the damage done by people struggling with gambling addiction: bankruptcies, child neglect, divorce, job loss, foreclosures, evictions, embezzlement, theft, arrests, homelessness … There are no sums set aside to feed or house families when a mother or father spends the grocery or rent money on slots, or when an elder uses her savings or her limited income on the "crack cocaine of gambling."

 

There is no money set aside to replace money lost in businesses when addicted employees resort to petty theft, when the addicted CEO loses the payroll, or to pay hospital bills resulting from domestic violence. There are no funds dedicated to help when a family member, addicted to gambling and drowning in debt, commits suicide. And, of the pittance set aside to deal with the addicted gamblers in the host communities, there are even fewer resources set aside for surrounding towns, even though none — NONE — of the impact of expanded gambling stops at the town line. To think is does is simply insane.

Ms. Parker’s thoughts on the casino — representative of the views of most town officials here in Plainville — are nothing more than wishful thinking. They see a wad of cash and they’re willing to believe anything to get it. Somehow, they have convinced themselves (or been convinced?) that Plainville will not suffer the ill effects that other towns around the world suffered when a casino moved in. Moreover, they have convinced themselves (or been convinced?) that surrounding towns won’t experience any ill effects from the casino. Worse news, they resent and belittle the efforts of our neighbors to try to protect their residents. How pathetic and sad is that?

Therefore, I urge you to disregard Plainville town officials when they challenge the right or the amount of the surrounding community agreements. They are people for whom reality and facts have little meaning. They have told themselves a fairytale, and a fairytale it shall be. Until the dragon shows up...

Respectfully submitted,

Mary-Ann Greanier

The no-interest credit scam, underage gambling, and drinking free booze is happening in casinos throughout our country on a daily basis.

REMINDER: Harrah's = Caesars

Bill Kearney

Massachusetts ‘GAMING’ Future

The no-interest credit scam, underage gambling, and drinking free booze is happening in casinos throughout our country on a daily basis.

Philadelphia Inquirer - January 8, 2014 - Harrah's Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack fined $90K for gambling violations by PGCB...

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board handed down a $90,000 fine to Harrah's Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack in Chester on Wednesday for violating casino credit processes and underage gaming laws.

The fine issued to operators Chester Downs and Marina, LLC resulted from two consent agreements between the board's Office of Enforcement Counsel and the casino license holders.

The lion's share of the fine - $70,000 - was issued due to Harrah's violations of casino credit issuance procedures. According to a consent agreement, Harrah's Credit Department routinely violated board regulations between July 2010 and January 2013 by failing to get authorization from a second approver before credit was issued. The department further failed to separate the credit verification process from the credit approval process.

Harrah's was slapped with an additional $20,000 fine for underage gambling. According to a second consent agreement, Harrah's operators in April 2013 allowed a 20-year-old woman to spend two hours on the casino gaming floor, where she gambled at slot machines and drank alcohol.

Both consent agreements were approved by the Gaming Control Board Wednesday during its public meeting in Harrisburg.
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/Harrahs_Philadelphia_Casino_and_Racetrack_fined_90K_for_gambling_violations_by_PGCB.html#Ub5RmA2ydBEl1eFs.99