1993: A new gambling era begins in New Orleans
By The Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune
A new gambling era began on Nov. 8, 1993, when the Star Casino on Lake Pontchartrain opened its doors. In less than a decade, Louisiana welcomed three forms of legalized gambling: a state lottery, video poker machines, and casinos on the state’s rivers and at the foot of Canal Street.
Critics warned that gambling would nourish the state’s culture of political corruption, and they were right. But the industry became a reliable employer and helped the state diminish its dependence on oil and gas.
Louisiana’s chief cheerleader for gambling was Gov. Edwin Edwards. But most of the measures legalizing gambling passed while Buddy Roemer ran the show in Baton Rouge. The lottery, video poker and riverboat casinos were all approved on Roemer’s watch.
There were two chief reasons why the Louisiana public accepted the gambling measures: Roemer, the reformer, was expected to win re-election in 1991, so he would oversee the licensing; and Mississippi was legalizing casinos.
Edwards’ chief contribution to the gambling landscape was to authorize a single land-based casino at the site of the Rivergate, an obsolete convention center. The competitors for the right to operate the gambling hall made promises so lavish that the project went broke twice before finding its financial footing, thanks in part to a state tax break in 2001.
The timeline: May 1, 1995: Harrah’s temporary casino opens in the Municipal Auditorium. Nov. 22 1995: The casino files for bankruptcy, the temporary casino closes and work on the permanent casino stops. Oct. 28, 1999: The permanent casino opens. For the past 10 years, Harrah’s New Orleans Casino has been a dependable source of jobs and tax revenue.
Riverboat casinos never provided the economic boom for the New Orleans area that supporters had expected. The Star Casino lasted a year and a half before shutting down and eventually heading for Lake Charles. But lavish casino developments like L’Auberge du Lac lifted Lake Charles and Shreveport, which benefited from their proximity to Texas.
When he unexpectedly won the 1991 governor’s race, Edwin Edwards inherited an opportunity for political corruption that dwarfed anything he had encountered in his first three terms. He won the right to award licenses for the state’s 16 casinos. In 2000, nearly five years after he left office for the last time, a Baton Rouge jury convicted him of extorting nearly $3 million from companies that applied for the licenses, and he was sent to jail for more than eight years.
Tomorrow, 1994: New Orleans' homicide rate peaks.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Back Room Deals in Foxborough
Back Room deals and secret meetings highlight the need for transparency to avoid the "He said, She said" that follows the Gambling Industry.
The Gambling Industry depends upon secrecy and preventing the costs from being discussed and considered. Those costs destroy communities and weigh states down.
Those are the costs Beacon Hill didn't want disclosed.
Casino idea was floated last summer
Krafts met with Foxborough officials
By Mark Arsenault
Globe Staff
The Kraft Group discussed a potential Foxborough casino with two top town officials last summer, months before the public, or other town officials, learned of plans to build a $1 billion gambling resort in their town.
How the issue of casino gambling came up at the meeting is a matter of dispute, though both sides confirm that Town Manager Kevin Paicos and Selectman Larry Harrington discussed casino issues privately with top Kraft executives, including Robert and Jonathan Kraft, in a meeting at Gillette Stadium organized by The Kraft Group. The meeting included a discussion of the need for zoning changes if a casino proposal was to move forward.
Shortly after that meeting, Paicos suggested that the town consider zoning changes to permit gambling on Route 1, saying he had been contacted by several developers interested in building a casino in town. The talks with The Kraft Group were not disclosed at the time, a fact first reported this week by The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro.
“I believe that the people in town and I were misled,’’ Selectwoman Lorraine Brue, a casino opponent, said yesterday. She said she had “no problem with behind-the-scenes meetings’’ to discuss development concepts, but that town boards should not be making policy decisions without all the facts.
“It didn’t allow me as a selectman to publicly vet what was going on,’’ she said.
Harrington, the board’s chairman, said last night that public officials, including the town manager and selectmen, meet as a matter of routine with developers who might be interested in building in the town.
“There wasn’t a conscious effort not to tell anybody,’’ he said. “We came back from that meeting and said: ‘Let’s bring it to the Planning Board. Let’s bring it to the Board of Selectmen and see if there’s any interest.’ ’’
The Foxborough Planning Board declined to endorse the zoning changes, and the Board of Selectmen voted 5 to 0 in September not to put the zoning changes on the town meeting warrant.
After the state legalized casino gambling in November, Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn announced plans to build a casino resort on land near Gillette Stadium, which he would lease from Kraft. Wynn has estimated that Foxborough would collect more than $10 million a year in local tax revenue from his project.
Harrington has reversed course since his September vote, arguing the town should consider the proposal and let the voters decide the matter in a referendum. He was on the losing side of a 3-to-2 vote last month in which selectmen went on record in opposition to a casino.
Paicos lashed out at The Kraft Group yesterday, accusing the developer of mischaracterizing the substance of the August meeting. The Kraft Group had said in a statement that the meeting was called to discuss water, sewer, and general development issues and evolved into a discussion about gambling after Paicos said he had been contacted by several casino developers interested in Foxborough.
Dan Murphy, vice president of business development for The Kraft Group, who was at the meeting last August, said yesterday that he did not recall who broached the subject of casino gambling at the Route 1 site.
“I do remember [Paicos] asking if we had been contacted by [casino developers], and we told him we had by a handful,’’ he said. “And Kevin said he had, too, and I think he used the number four.’’
Paicos called that description “utterly laughable,’’ insisting he had never heard any casino proposal in town until that meeting, when Kraft officials pitched the idea of a casino “specifically - specifically - to gauge our reaction to their proposal.
“The entire discussion was about their proposal to lease their land for gaming, to ascertain our interest, and, if we had any interest, what the first steps would be,’’ Paicos said.
In the weeks after the meeting, one casino and several real estate companies professing to represent casinos, contacted Paicos, he said, declining to name the casino because the company had asked for confidentiality.
The Gambling Industry depends upon secrecy and preventing the costs from being discussed and considered. Those costs destroy communities and weigh states down.
Those are the costs Beacon Hill didn't want disclosed.
Casino idea was floated last summer
Krafts met with Foxborough officials
By Mark Arsenault
Globe Staff
The Kraft Group discussed a potential Foxborough casino with two top town officials last summer, months before the public, or other town officials, learned of plans to build a $1 billion gambling resort in their town.
How the issue of casino gambling came up at the meeting is a matter of dispute, though both sides confirm that Town Manager Kevin Paicos and Selectman Larry Harrington discussed casino issues privately with top Kraft executives, including Robert and Jonathan Kraft, in a meeting at Gillette Stadium organized by The Kraft Group. The meeting included a discussion of the need for zoning changes if a casino proposal was to move forward.
Shortly after that meeting, Paicos suggested that the town consider zoning changes to permit gambling on Route 1, saying he had been contacted by several developers interested in building a casino in town. The talks with The Kraft Group were not disclosed at the time, a fact first reported this week by The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro.
“I believe that the people in town and I were misled,’’ Selectwoman Lorraine Brue, a casino opponent, said yesterday. She said she had “no problem with behind-the-scenes meetings’’ to discuss development concepts, but that town boards should not be making policy decisions without all the facts.
“It didn’t allow me as a selectman to publicly vet what was going on,’’ she said.
Harrington, the board’s chairman, said last night that public officials, including the town manager and selectmen, meet as a matter of routine with developers who might be interested in building in the town.
“There wasn’t a conscious effort not to tell anybody,’’ he said. “We came back from that meeting and said: ‘Let’s bring it to the Planning Board. Let’s bring it to the Board of Selectmen and see if there’s any interest.’ ’’
The Foxborough Planning Board declined to endorse the zoning changes, and the Board of Selectmen voted 5 to 0 in September not to put the zoning changes on the town meeting warrant.
After the state legalized casino gambling in November, Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn announced plans to build a casino resort on land near Gillette Stadium, which he would lease from Kraft. Wynn has estimated that Foxborough would collect more than $10 million a year in local tax revenue from his project.
Harrington has reversed course since his September vote, arguing the town should consider the proposal and let the voters decide the matter in a referendum. He was on the losing side of a 3-to-2 vote last month in which selectmen went on record in opposition to a casino.
Paicos lashed out at The Kraft Group yesterday, accusing the developer of mischaracterizing the substance of the August meeting. The Kraft Group had said in a statement that the meeting was called to discuss water, sewer, and general development issues and evolved into a discussion about gambling after Paicos said he had been contacted by several casino developers interested in Foxborough.
Dan Murphy, vice president of business development for The Kraft Group, who was at the meeting last August, said yesterday that he did not recall who broached the subject of casino gambling at the Route 1 site.
“I do remember [Paicos] asking if we had been contacted by [casino developers], and we told him we had by a handful,’’ he said. “And Kevin said he had, too, and I think he used the number four.’’
Paicos called that description “utterly laughable,’’ insisting he had never heard any casino proposal in town until that meeting, when Kraft officials pitched the idea of a casino “specifically - specifically - to gauge our reaction to their proposal.
“The entire discussion was about their proposal to lease their land for gaming, to ascertain our interest, and, if we had any interest, what the first steps would be,’’ Paicos said.
In the weeks after the meeting, one casino and several real estate companies professing to represent casinos, contacted Paicos, he said, declining to name the casino because the company had asked for confidentiality.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Online Gambling Targets Gambling Addicts
Online Casinos Run by New York, Other States Will Target Gambling Addicts
A new ruling that allows states to operate Internet gambling sites for profit will result in a system whose speed is stacked against compulsive gamblers, says former professional blackjack player Josh Axelrad.
Casinos taught me that gambling can be dangerous. A shift manager at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas threatened me one night that the next time I walked into his casino, I wouldn't be walking out. The problem was that I was a card counter: a professional blackjack player. When I was at the table, the casino was expected to lose. So they panicked, threatened, and at times practically assaulted me—all for playing lawfully.
Casinos hate playing without an edge. When you don't have an edge you risk losing control. I learned this when I tried to retire from blackjack. After supporting myself in casinos for five years, I discovered online poker in my home in Brooklyn. I was bad at this new game, but confident: a poor combination.
When I finally quit, I was broke. Fifty thousand dollars of mine had been beamed electronically to Gibraltar and the Isle of Man, where the websites I'd been compulsively using were based. It struck me that something was wrong.
It would have been weirder if I'd delivered that money not to private corporations, but to the state of New York. Such weirdness is now possible with a late-December announcement from the Department of Justice that threatens to transform not just what a lottery is, but what a state is and what it does. The decision could still be overruled, but as it stands, states can operate gambling sites thanks to petitioning by Illinois and New York.
The announcement reverses years of precedent that said all forms of Internet gambling violate the 1961 Federal Wire Act. The act was invoked in 2005 to prevent Illinois from obtaining an Internet lottery. In 2007, U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway told the House Committee on the Judiciary that the government viewed "all forms of Internet gambling" as "illegal under federal law."
But the state of the state has changed since then. Tax revenues languish below pre-recession levels, unemployment is high, and tax hikes are political poison. New income streams are a good idea. So Illinois asked the Justice Department to reconsider, this time with the help of New York, and together they hit the jackpot. The Wire Act now only restricts sports betting, not online lotteries, poker, or gambling in any other online forms. California, Michigan, Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland are among the states exploring this potential revenue source.
A likely model is Washington, D.C.’s “iGaming” program, the nation's first and most evolved state-sponsored Internet gambling initiative, which has been rolling along somewhat brazenly, gambling that the proper permission would come. Now that it has, the D.C. Lottery would include full-blown casino-style gambling, accessible round-the-clock at home. These games are considerably faster and more dangerous for players than the harmless-seeming, dollar-a-week scratch-card habit. I know from my poker experience that speed plus accessibility can turn a hobby into an addiction. Not to mention players’ lottery accounts are wired directly to their bank accounts.
Gambling stimulates many but thrives on the few.
“Addiction is very much about the speed,” said MIT associate professor Natasha Dow Schüll, author of the forthcoming book, Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas, in an interview. "Faster play accelerates the addictive process."
Illinois Lottery Superintendent Michael Jones said Internet gambling actually may be safer, less likely to result in pathological or addictive play, because the state-run websites can limit the losses of players betting too much money. "Right now I can't control someone walking in and spending $1,000 on tickets in retail stores, but online I can prevent that," he said.
Just because he can doesn't mean he will. State lotteries have not impeded problem gambling, according to Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling. "To claim otherwise ignores history," he said. "There's nothing to indicate lotteries have been more or less responsible than private companies."
Illinois has no current plan to limit individuals’ spending while gambling online. The D.C. Lottery will cap losses at $250 a week, or $13,000 a year, which is not a number particularly inconsistent with degenerate, compulsive play. But that's really no surprise. If the states want to emulate casinos, degenerate, compulsive play is where the money is.
Just look at Oregon: the bulk of that state's lottery revenue comes from slotlike "Video Lottery Terminals" available in places like bars, according to Oregon Lottery interim public affairs manager Chuck Baumann. The Oregonian newspaper reported in 2009 that the majority of video gambling revenue in that state was attributable to a minority of players: a small 10 percent whose monthly losses averaged $500 each, month in and month out. These are the people powering the lottery.
It's the degenerates, not the dollar-a-week hobbyists, who will really fill the states' online coffers. One Josh Axelrad prepared to drop 50 G's in a year is worth a thousand of the dollar-a-week types. Gambling stimulates many but thrives on the few. It thrives on people like Long Khong, who was sentenced last week for embezzling more than $800,000 from a Denver employer to fuel his gambling addiction. Ralph Edward Staelgraeve turned himself in the same week on charges of embezzling $700,000 in Michigan, some of which he spent in a casino. Kevin McAuliffe, a 58-year-old Nevada clergyman, faces sentencing next week for stealing $650,000 from his diocese. These are just the latest examples of hardcore gambling gone wrong.
The ultimate responsibility with this tricky game lies not with the state or the casino, but with the individual. Finally embracing this concept helped me get up from that chair—as did Gamblers Anonymous and the fact that I was broke. I can't in good conscience complain about the vile designers of gambling websites who maximize game speed and encourage addictive play. That's their job and it behooves them to be good at it. Ugly work—but someone always does it.
That someone should not be the government though, fiscal problems notwithstanding. A broke state is preferable to a state dependent on breaking its own citizens to put cash in the bank.
A new ruling that allows states to operate Internet gambling sites for profit will result in a system whose speed is stacked against compulsive gamblers, says former professional blackjack player Josh Axelrad.
Casinos taught me that gambling can be dangerous. A shift manager at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas threatened me one night that the next time I walked into his casino, I wouldn't be walking out. The problem was that I was a card counter: a professional blackjack player. When I was at the table, the casino was expected to lose. So they panicked, threatened, and at times practically assaulted me—all for playing lawfully.
Casinos hate playing without an edge. When you don't have an edge you risk losing control. I learned this when I tried to retire from blackjack. After supporting myself in casinos for five years, I discovered online poker in my home in Brooklyn. I was bad at this new game, but confident: a poor combination.
When I finally quit, I was broke. Fifty thousand dollars of mine had been beamed electronically to Gibraltar and the Isle of Man, where the websites I'd been compulsively using were based. It struck me that something was wrong.
It would have been weirder if I'd delivered that money not to private corporations, but to the state of New York. Such weirdness is now possible with a late-December announcement from the Department of Justice that threatens to transform not just what a lottery is, but what a state is and what it does. The decision could still be overruled, but as it stands, states can operate gambling sites thanks to petitioning by Illinois and New York.
The announcement reverses years of precedent that said all forms of Internet gambling violate the 1961 Federal Wire Act. The act was invoked in 2005 to prevent Illinois from obtaining an Internet lottery. In 2007, U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway told the House Committee on the Judiciary that the government viewed "all forms of Internet gambling" as "illegal under federal law."
But the state of the state has changed since then. Tax revenues languish below pre-recession levels, unemployment is high, and tax hikes are political poison. New income streams are a good idea. So Illinois asked the Justice Department to reconsider, this time with the help of New York, and together they hit the jackpot. The Wire Act now only restricts sports betting, not online lotteries, poker, or gambling in any other online forms. California, Michigan, Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland are among the states exploring this potential revenue source.
A likely model is Washington, D.C.’s “iGaming” program, the nation's first and most evolved state-sponsored Internet gambling initiative, which has been rolling along somewhat brazenly, gambling that the proper permission would come. Now that it has, the D.C. Lottery would include full-blown casino-style gambling, accessible round-the-clock at home. These games are considerably faster and more dangerous for players than the harmless-seeming, dollar-a-week scratch-card habit. I know from my poker experience that speed plus accessibility can turn a hobby into an addiction. Not to mention players’ lottery accounts are wired directly to their bank accounts.
Gambling stimulates many but thrives on the few.
“Addiction is very much about the speed,” said MIT associate professor Natasha Dow Schüll, author of the forthcoming book, Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas, in an interview. "Faster play accelerates the addictive process."
Illinois Lottery Superintendent Michael Jones said Internet gambling actually may be safer, less likely to result in pathological or addictive play, because the state-run websites can limit the losses of players betting too much money. "Right now I can't control someone walking in and spending $1,000 on tickets in retail stores, but online I can prevent that," he said.
Just because he can doesn't mean he will. State lotteries have not impeded problem gambling, according to Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling. "To claim otherwise ignores history," he said. "There's nothing to indicate lotteries have been more or less responsible than private companies."
Illinois has no current plan to limit individuals’ spending while gambling online. The D.C. Lottery will cap losses at $250 a week, or $13,000 a year, which is not a number particularly inconsistent with degenerate, compulsive play. But that's really no surprise. If the states want to emulate casinos, degenerate, compulsive play is where the money is.
Just look at Oregon: the bulk of that state's lottery revenue comes from slotlike "Video Lottery Terminals" available in places like bars, according to Oregon Lottery interim public affairs manager Chuck Baumann. The Oregonian newspaper reported in 2009 that the majority of video gambling revenue in that state was attributable to a minority of players: a small 10 percent whose monthly losses averaged $500 each, month in and month out. These are the people powering the lottery.
It's the degenerates, not the dollar-a-week hobbyists, who will really fill the states' online coffers. One Josh Axelrad prepared to drop 50 G's in a year is worth a thousand of the dollar-a-week types. Gambling stimulates many but thrives on the few. It thrives on people like Long Khong, who was sentenced last week for embezzling more than $800,000 from a Denver employer to fuel his gambling addiction. Ralph Edward Staelgraeve turned himself in the same week on charges of embezzling $700,000 in Michigan, some of which he spent in a casino. Kevin McAuliffe, a 58-year-old Nevada clergyman, faces sentencing next week for stealing $650,000 from his diocese. These are just the latest examples of hardcore gambling gone wrong.
The ultimate responsibility with this tricky game lies not with the state or the casino, but with the individual. Finally embracing this concept helped me get up from that chair—as did Gamblers Anonymous and the fact that I was broke. I can't in good conscience complain about the vile designers of gambling websites who maximize game speed and encourage addictive play. That's their job and it behooves them to be good at it. Ugly work—but someone always does it.
That someone should not be the government though, fiscal problems notwithstanding. A broke state is preferable to a state dependent on breaking its own citizens to put cash in the bank.
Woman, 70, sentenced in mail fraud case
Woman, 70, sentenced in mail fraud case
Gets 28 months for stealing $921,000 from employers
By SANFORD J. SCHMIDT
The Telegraph
EAST ST. LOUIS - A federal judge Tuesday sentenced a 70-year-old woman with a million-dollar gambling addiction to 28 months in prison after questioning whether federal authorities could go after the gaming companies for restitution.
U.S. District Judge G. Patrick Murphy of East St. Louis sentenced Flora Buckingham of Granite City to prison and to pay $921,000 in restitution, but the judge noted there is little chance the defendant ever will be able to repay the money she stole from her employer.
"Why can't we get that money back?" Murphy asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Garrison.
He noted that if Buckingham had purchased an expensive car with the money, the government could go after the car for restitution, but the gambling losses are gone.
Garrison answered that the collection specialists at the U.S. Department of Justice can be "creative" in devising methods of getting restitution.
"We will look at that collection angle," she said.
Buckingham pleaded guilty in September to federal mail fraud charges for stealing the money from her employer, Ahmad and Rana Pediatrics of Granite City.
A court document stated she was the office manager for the doctors and would write third-party checks to pay off her credit cart accounts. The fraud took place between May 2004 and November 2010.
The document specifically mentions a check for $9,275 payable to Buckingham's credit card account, drawn on the business account of the doctors, Shafique Ahmad and Jamil Rana. The transactions were done through the mail, so she was charged with mail fraud.
Garrison asked for a 36-month sentence. Federal guidelines called for a sentence of between 33 months and 20 years.
Before Murphy asked the lawyers to present their arguments at the sentencing hearing, he lamented the number of otherwise decent people that had come before him because they stole to feed a gambling addiction.
"This is a paradigm that I have seen often. She lived her life as a gambling addict; it's not unusual at all," the judge said. "She had some skill and worked hard, but she treated her depression with a poker machine."
Garrison said the sheer magnitude of the theft stands out.
"This is an extraordinarily serious offense. This is a breath-taking abuse of trust," she said.
She asked the judge to imagine translating the amount stolen into the number of hours of crying babies, anxious parents and medical study it took to earn that amount.
She said Dr. Ahmad was planning to attend the sentencing hearing Tuesday in order to testify, but he canceled because the office was swamped with patients. She said the doctors could not figure out why they were not making more money, given the number of hours they were putting in.
Defense attorney Bill Lucco acknowledged his client had broken a trust but said that she used gambling to treat depression, especially after her disabled sister died.
Lucco pointed out that his client cared for her sister for 19 years and would do anything to help others, especially family members, many of whom came to the hearing Tuesday.
Lucco suggested a sentence of one year and one day.
Buckingham was in tears when she made her formal statement. She said she does not know why she did what she did and admitted she broke a great trust.
She said Dr. Rana told her on Nov. 1, 2010, that the doctors needed another office manager like her. That was when a bell rang in her head, and she broke down and confessed to the doctors.
She pleaded guilty shortly after that.
Murphy pointed out before pronouncing sentence that the people who operate casinos know how much money they are going to make when a person like Buckingham walks in the door.
"Fifty yeas ago they were called fish, or in harsher terms, suckers," he said. "They are not gambling; you are."
He acknowledged that the crime was "a breach of trust of the first order."
Murphy said, however, that he was taking the defendant's age into account. Had she been 50, he would have gone along with the 36 months suggested by Garrison, he said.
The judge said he hopes prison time for Buckingham might deter others.
"I can only hope that putting a 70-year-old woman in federal prison might at least give people pause," he said. "It's a heck of a thing."
Gets 28 months for stealing $921,000 from employers
By SANFORD J. SCHMIDT
The Telegraph
EAST ST. LOUIS - A federal judge Tuesday sentenced a 70-year-old woman with a million-dollar gambling addiction to 28 months in prison after questioning whether federal authorities could go after the gaming companies for restitution.
U.S. District Judge G. Patrick Murphy of East St. Louis sentenced Flora Buckingham of Granite City to prison and to pay $921,000 in restitution, but the judge noted there is little chance the defendant ever will be able to repay the money she stole from her employer.
"Why can't we get that money back?" Murphy asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Garrison.
He noted that if Buckingham had purchased an expensive car with the money, the government could go after the car for restitution, but the gambling losses are gone.
Garrison answered that the collection specialists at the U.S. Department of Justice can be "creative" in devising methods of getting restitution.
"We will look at that collection angle," she said.
Buckingham pleaded guilty in September to federal mail fraud charges for stealing the money from her employer, Ahmad and Rana Pediatrics of Granite City.
A court document stated she was the office manager for the doctors and would write third-party checks to pay off her credit cart accounts. The fraud took place between May 2004 and November 2010.
The document specifically mentions a check for $9,275 payable to Buckingham's credit card account, drawn on the business account of the doctors, Shafique Ahmad and Jamil Rana. The transactions were done through the mail, so she was charged with mail fraud.
Garrison asked for a 36-month sentence. Federal guidelines called for a sentence of between 33 months and 20 years.
Before Murphy asked the lawyers to present their arguments at the sentencing hearing, he lamented the number of otherwise decent people that had come before him because they stole to feed a gambling addiction.
"This is a paradigm that I have seen often. She lived her life as a gambling addict; it's not unusual at all," the judge said. "She had some skill and worked hard, but she treated her depression with a poker machine."
Garrison said the sheer magnitude of the theft stands out.
"This is an extraordinarily serious offense. This is a breath-taking abuse of trust," she said.
She asked the judge to imagine translating the amount stolen into the number of hours of crying babies, anxious parents and medical study it took to earn that amount.
She said Dr. Ahmad was planning to attend the sentencing hearing Tuesday in order to testify, but he canceled because the office was swamped with patients. She said the doctors could not figure out why they were not making more money, given the number of hours they were putting in.
Defense attorney Bill Lucco acknowledged his client had broken a trust but said that she used gambling to treat depression, especially after her disabled sister died.
Lucco pointed out that his client cared for her sister for 19 years and would do anything to help others, especially family members, many of whom came to the hearing Tuesday.
Lucco suggested a sentence of one year and one day.
Buckingham was in tears when she made her formal statement. She said she does not know why she did what she did and admitted she broke a great trust.
She said Dr. Rana told her on Nov. 1, 2010, that the doctors needed another office manager like her. That was when a bell rang in her head, and she broke down and confessed to the doctors.
She pleaded guilty shortly after that.
Murphy pointed out before pronouncing sentence that the people who operate casinos know how much money they are going to make when a person like Buckingham walks in the door.
"Fifty yeas ago they were called fish, or in harsher terms, suckers," he said. "They are not gambling; you are."
He acknowledged that the crime was "a breach of trust of the first order."
Murphy said, however, that he was taking the defendant's age into account. Had she been 50, he would have gone along with the 36 months suggested by Garrison, he said.
The judge said he hopes prison time for Buckingham might deter others.
"I can only hope that putting a 70-year-old woman in federal prison might at least give people pause," he said. "It's a heck of a thing."
California: Government Sponsored Addiction Instead of Sound Fiscal Policy
EDITORIAL: A heartless proposal
By North County Times and The Californian opinion staff North County Times
The fact that state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) is talking about legalizing online gambling in California is sad evidence of how far our elected officials will go to avoid tackling the structural flaws in our state's finances.
After a decade or so of granting unprecedented increases in pension and retirement benefits to public employees, the politicians in Sacramento are now looking at another method of increasing the state's intake on the backs of California's poor and middle class rather than addressing the growth in compensation to public employees.
Online gambling was originally banned for some very good reasons: Unscrupulous operators would have no incentive to help gambling addicts stop, and the existing real-world social impediments to such an addiction (having to travel to the casino, the casino operators' desire to be good corporate citizens, friends and family traveling with you) don't exist online. Experts in addiction have warned that the privacy inherent to online gambling is likely to exacerbate compulsive wagering.
But Steinberg is unmoved by such concerns, having recently been quoted as saying, "If there really is the potential for hundreds of millions of dollars ... then I'm open to it."
Like the proposed sales tax increase, or the state lottery, the "hundreds of millions" that has Steinberg and other politicians blinded to their moral responsibilities regarding online gambling would primarily come out of the pockets of the middle class and poor. It is a regressive form of public revenue in that those with the least to start with are being asked to contribute more.
In moderation, gambling can be a legitimate form of entertainment. Some folks look forward to their weekly movie and dinner, others spend their recreational funds on mountain biking, and yet others on travel. It's hard to see how budgeting a reasonable portion of your income for gambling in casinos is any different from other entertainment options ---- as long as the interests of those who become addicted to gambling (and their families) are taken into account.
But the checks and balances present in real-world gambling simply do not exist online. To blithely move forward with plans to legalize online gambling, simply to raise enough money to allow our politicians to avoid confronting the results of their profligate spending, is a heartless proposal that will only add misery to the lives of far too many Californians.
By North County Times and The Californian opinion staff North County Times
The fact that state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) is talking about legalizing online gambling in California is sad evidence of how far our elected officials will go to avoid tackling the structural flaws in our state's finances.
After a decade or so of granting unprecedented increases in pension and retirement benefits to public employees, the politicians in Sacramento are now looking at another method of increasing the state's intake on the backs of California's poor and middle class rather than addressing the growth in compensation to public employees.
Online gambling was originally banned for some very good reasons: Unscrupulous operators would have no incentive to help gambling addicts stop, and the existing real-world social impediments to such an addiction (having to travel to the casino, the casino operators' desire to be good corporate citizens, friends and family traveling with you) don't exist online. Experts in addiction have warned that the privacy inherent to online gambling is likely to exacerbate compulsive wagering.
But Steinberg is unmoved by such concerns, having recently been quoted as saying, "If there really is the potential for hundreds of millions of dollars ... then I'm open to it."
Like the proposed sales tax increase, or the state lottery, the "hundreds of millions" that has Steinberg and other politicians blinded to their moral responsibilities regarding online gambling would primarily come out of the pockets of the middle class and poor. It is a regressive form of public revenue in that those with the least to start with are being asked to contribute more.
In moderation, gambling can be a legitimate form of entertainment. Some folks look forward to their weekly movie and dinner, others spend their recreational funds on mountain biking, and yet others on travel. It's hard to see how budgeting a reasonable portion of your income for gambling in casinos is any different from other entertainment options ---- as long as the interests of those who become addicted to gambling (and their families) are taken into account.
But the checks and balances present in real-world gambling simply do not exist online. To blithely move forward with plans to legalize online gambling, simply to raise enough money to allow our politicians to avoid confronting the results of their profligate spending, is a heartless proposal that will only add misery to the lives of far too many Californians.
Casino fallout may hit at polls
Casino fallout may hit at polls
Selectmen chair unclear on run
No matter how the issue plays out in the coming months, the recent vote by selectmen to reject a casino in Foxborough is likely to reverberate at the ballot box for two incumbents - on opposite sides of the gambling issue - whose terms expire in May.
Selectmen chairman Larry Harrington and Selectwoman Lorraine Brue have clashed repeatedly recently on a range of issues, but their disagreement escalated to a full-on confrontation last month over the gambling proposal floated by Las Vegas developer Steve Wynn and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
While Brue opposes siting a high-end “destination’’ resort on 200 acres across from Gillette Stadium, Harrington reversed a September vote against it, saying he’s keeping an open mind now because residents should hear details before making any decisions.
Harrington, a former School Committee member, said he hasn’t decided whether he’ll run again but that the casino won’t determine whether he does or doesn’t.
“I love this community,’’ he said. “I would hope that voters look at an entire record and not just one issue, but who knows?’’
Brue, a former chairwoman of the town’s Advisory Committee, has already announced reelection plans. She said her position on the gambling issue that has sent the town into pandemonium hasn’t wavered since the five-member board first discussed it in September.
A casino is not right for Foxborough, she said. “And the voters in Foxborough will want to know where the candidates stand on this very important issue.’’
That is very true, agreed longtime lawyer and Foxborough resident John Michelmore - although he said whether any candidates emerge to challenge the incumbents, whom he described as diametrically opposed, has yet to be seen.
“There isn’t anyone who doesn’t have an opinion on this,’’ he said. “But anyone who has been watching these meetings would be reluctant to step into this hornets’ nest. . . . There is some hostility that is clearly boiling over.’’
Tensions surged when Brue asked whether Harrington, and other selectmen who changed their votes, had been influenced by the casino developers to back away from their unanimous stance against gambling in September. Harrington angrily denied it in public last week, slapping back at Brue’s steadfast support of an unpopular town meals tax proposal that failed twice before finally passing last year.
Stress from the casino plan has been palpable at recent public meetings, with people shouting each other down and some selectmen slapping the table with their hands or threatening to walk out.
Traci Bridge Longa, who facilitates the Facebook page “Foxboro Casino Discussion,’’ said the casino debate will affect the spring election in a number of ways, including by bringing out more voters than usual to support the candidate who feels most as they do.
“I hope Larry Harrington will run again,’’ she said. “To me, he has been the one board member that has taken a balanced, business-oriented approach to this issue.’’
Longa said she wouldn’t blame Harrington if he doesn’t seek another term because of how difficult and time-consuming the job has become.
“It will be interesting to see who runs,’’ she said. “I would assume that the anticasino movement would be encouraging someone to come forward that will back their cause. They have been extremely impressive with their ability to get their view across, but I can tell you it is not the view of the majority of the town.’’
Residents and others have vented strong feelings on both pro- and anticasino blogs all month. They have waved signs at meetings and circulated petitions.
Last Saturday, casino opponents posted an online petition titled, “Mr. Kraft: Please Do the Right Thing,’’ following a statement from Town Manager Kevin Paicos that Kraft and Wynn will lose credibility if they don’t drop the casino proposal as they promised if residents said they don’t want it.
That followed a joint statement by Kraft and Wynn that expressed disappointment with the board’s decision “to deny Foxborough taxpayers the due process they are entitled under the state’s gaming law.’’
Meanwhile, some say they believe the chaos in town in recent weeks was unnecessary. Resident Hector Ballon said he holds Harrington responsible as the selectmen chairman.
“We have a bylaw that precludes gambling in town,’’ Ballon said, adding selectmen should have assembled a subcommittee to assess whether residents even want casino gambling before discussing potential zoning changes to accommodate it.
They should gather statistics from towns that have allowed a casino, independent of Wynn Resorts, and then perhaps ask for bids from casino developers if residents indicate that they want it, Ballon said.
“My feeling is Mr. Harrington has been pushing to allow Mr. Kraft and Mr. Wynn to make a sales pitch to us without any counterbalance,’’ he said.
But Harrington said selectmen were doing the best they could to serve the town and hold down their own full-time jobs and lives.
“As one person said to me last night, ‘No wonder we have so few people willing to run for these non-paying, part-time public positions when you have to go through meetings like tonight and the last two months,’ ’’ he said a day after the Dec. 27 vote to tell Wynn and Kraft thanks but no thanks.
“It is what it is.’’
Selectmen chair unclear on run
No matter how the issue plays out in the coming months, the recent vote by selectmen to reject a casino in Foxborough is likely to reverberate at the ballot box for two incumbents - on opposite sides of the gambling issue - whose terms expire in May.
Selectmen chairman Larry Harrington and Selectwoman Lorraine Brue have clashed repeatedly recently on a range of issues, but their disagreement escalated to a full-on confrontation last month over the gambling proposal floated by Las Vegas developer Steve Wynn and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
While Brue opposes siting a high-end “destination’’ resort on 200 acres across from Gillette Stadium, Harrington reversed a September vote against it, saying he’s keeping an open mind now because residents should hear details before making any decisions.
Harrington, a former School Committee member, said he hasn’t decided whether he’ll run again but that the casino won’t determine whether he does or doesn’t.
“I love this community,’’ he said. “I would hope that voters look at an entire record and not just one issue, but who knows?’’
Brue, a former chairwoman of the town’s Advisory Committee, has already announced reelection plans. She said her position on the gambling issue that has sent the town into pandemonium hasn’t wavered since the five-member board first discussed it in September.
A casino is not right for Foxborough, she said. “And the voters in Foxborough will want to know where the candidates stand on this very important issue.’’
That is very true, agreed longtime lawyer and Foxborough resident John Michelmore - although he said whether any candidates emerge to challenge the incumbents, whom he described as diametrically opposed, has yet to be seen.
“There isn’t anyone who doesn’t have an opinion on this,’’ he said. “But anyone who has been watching these meetings would be reluctant to step into this hornets’ nest. . . . There is some hostility that is clearly boiling over.’’
Tensions surged when Brue asked whether Harrington, and other selectmen who changed their votes, had been influenced by the casino developers to back away from their unanimous stance against gambling in September. Harrington angrily denied it in public last week, slapping back at Brue’s steadfast support of an unpopular town meals tax proposal that failed twice before finally passing last year.
Stress from the casino plan has been palpable at recent public meetings, with people shouting each other down and some selectmen slapping the table with their hands or threatening to walk out.
Traci Bridge Longa, who facilitates the Facebook page “Foxboro Casino Discussion,’’ said the casino debate will affect the spring election in a number of ways, including by bringing out more voters than usual to support the candidate who feels most as they do.
“I hope Larry Harrington will run again,’’ she said. “To me, he has been the one board member that has taken a balanced, business-oriented approach to this issue.’’
Longa said she wouldn’t blame Harrington if he doesn’t seek another term because of how difficult and time-consuming the job has become.
“It will be interesting to see who runs,’’ she said. “I would assume that the anticasino movement would be encouraging someone to come forward that will back their cause. They have been extremely impressive with their ability to get their view across, but I can tell you it is not the view of the majority of the town.’’
Residents and others have vented strong feelings on both pro- and anticasino blogs all month. They have waved signs at meetings and circulated petitions.
Last Saturday, casino opponents posted an online petition titled, “Mr. Kraft: Please Do the Right Thing,’’ following a statement from Town Manager Kevin Paicos that Kraft and Wynn will lose credibility if they don’t drop the casino proposal as they promised if residents said they don’t want it.
That followed a joint statement by Kraft and Wynn that expressed disappointment with the board’s decision “to deny Foxborough taxpayers the due process they are entitled under the state’s gaming law.’’
Meanwhile, some say they believe the chaos in town in recent weeks was unnecessary. Resident Hector Ballon said he holds Harrington responsible as the selectmen chairman.
“We have a bylaw that precludes gambling in town,’’ Ballon said, adding selectmen should have assembled a subcommittee to assess whether residents even want casino gambling before discussing potential zoning changes to accommodate it.
They should gather statistics from towns that have allowed a casino, independent of Wynn Resorts, and then perhaps ask for bids from casino developers if residents indicate that they want it, Ballon said.
“My feeling is Mr. Harrington has been pushing to allow Mr. Kraft and Mr. Wynn to make a sales pitch to us without any counterbalance,’’ he said.
But Harrington said selectmen were doing the best they could to serve the town and hold down their own full-time jobs and lives.
“As one person said to me last night, ‘No wonder we have so few people willing to run for these non-paying, part-time public positions when you have to go through meetings like tonight and the last two months,’ ’’ he said a day after the Dec. 27 vote to tell Wynn and Kraft thanks but no thanks.
“It is what it is.’’
Man charged with robbing Bowser's Casino
Man charged with robbing Bowser's Casino, four other felonies
By ANGELA BRANDT Independent Record
Police have located and charged a Helena man believed to be the armed robber who made off with more than $9,000 from a Helena casino last month.
Prosecutors filed paperwork in Justice Court on Wednesday charging David Gary Burton with robbery along with four other felony counts, including burglary, theft and deceptive practices.
Burton, 35, is accused of pointing a handgun at an employee and demanding money during a robbery at Bowser’s Lucky Dog Casino at 3140 Dredge Drive on Dec. 17. The robber was clad in a dark ski mask at the time of the robbery.
Burton is being held in Lewis and Clark County Detention Center in lieu of $100,000 bond.
Court documents allege Burton told a friend he had stolen a minivan at King Lewy’s Auto on North Last Chance Gulch earlier that same night and used it as the getaway vehicle for the robbery. Burton allegedly had bragged to the friend about the money he had stolen from the casino. Investigators found this lead credible as the amount was similar to the cash taken from the establishment and that number had not been publicized, the documents note.
Another charge of felony theft has been filed for stealing the cash.
During a pool game with another acquaintance just before the casino robbery, Burton allegedly informed the man that he intended to commit a robbery. Court documents say the stolen van was seen on surveillance footage near the Helena bar where the pool game took place and later parked near Bowser’s.
Burton also faces two charges of felony burglary for allegedly stealing the minivan after breaking into the lot’s office and stealing the keys, and also burglarizing a home on Green Meadow Drive two days before the robbery.
Court documents allege Burton shattered a window at the home to gain access and then stole a laptop computer and a credit card from the homeowner.
Burton, who is on probation for a burglary conviction in Jefferson County, also is charged with deceptive practices for allegedly using the stolen credit card to purchase fast food and fuel.
Helena police investigated these crimes along with state probation and parole officers and the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
By ANGELA BRANDT Independent Record
Police have located and charged a Helena man believed to be the armed robber who made off with more than $9,000 from a Helena casino last month.
Prosecutors filed paperwork in Justice Court on Wednesday charging David Gary Burton with robbery along with four other felony counts, including burglary, theft and deceptive practices.
Burton, 35, is accused of pointing a handgun at an employee and demanding money during a robbery at Bowser’s Lucky Dog Casino at 3140 Dredge Drive on Dec. 17. The robber was clad in a dark ski mask at the time of the robbery.
Burton is being held in Lewis and Clark County Detention Center in lieu of $100,000 bond.
Court documents allege Burton told a friend he had stolen a minivan at King Lewy’s Auto on North Last Chance Gulch earlier that same night and used it as the getaway vehicle for the robbery. Burton allegedly had bragged to the friend about the money he had stolen from the casino. Investigators found this lead credible as the amount was similar to the cash taken from the establishment and that number had not been publicized, the documents note.
Another charge of felony theft has been filed for stealing the cash.
During a pool game with another acquaintance just before the casino robbery, Burton allegedly informed the man that he intended to commit a robbery. Court documents say the stolen van was seen on surveillance footage near the Helena bar where the pool game took place and later parked near Bowser’s.
Burton also faces two charges of felony burglary for allegedly stealing the minivan after breaking into the lot’s office and stealing the keys, and also burglarizing a home on Green Meadow Drive two days before the robbery.
Court documents allege Burton shattered a window at the home to gain access and then stole a laptop computer and a credit card from the homeowner.
Burton, who is on probation for a burglary conviction in Jefferson County, also is charged with deceptive practices for allegedly using the stolen credit card to purchase fast food and fuel.
Helena police investigated these crimes along with state probation and parole officers and the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
Protesters Demand Full Enforcement Of Antigambling Law
Kyrgyz Protesters Demand Full Enforcement Of Antigambling Law
By RFE/RL
BISHKEK -- Some 50 people have gathered in front of the Kyrgyz government building in Bishkek to demand enforcement of a new law against gambling.
The law came into force on January 1, but several casinos in the Kyrgyz capital were still operating two days later, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.
Protester Akyl Chmankulov told local media that antigambling protests would continue until all gambling halls are shut down.
The law was signed by then-President Roza Otunbaeva in November after parliament approved the bill in late September, despite protests by casino employees in Bishkek, Jalal-Abad, and Osh.
Owners of casinos and gambling halls have vowed to take legal action, saying the new law is unconstitutional. They also argue that the ban leaves some 15,000 gambling-industry employees without jobs.
Legal Challenges
Opponents argue that the ban on gambling violates the country's investment law, as it forces some foreign investors out of business without any right to compensation.
The law, however, has been welcomed by antigambling campaigners, including many family members of gambling addicts.
Svetlana Kovalitskaya, a former gambling addict, says she has lost all her savings to gambling -- including her son's college fund and the money she saved to purchase an apartment.
Kovalitskaya tells RFE/RL she sought counseling to treat her addiction, and later joined many other former addicts and their relatives to demand the authorities outlaw gambling.
Reined In?
According to official statistics, the gambling industry annually contributed some 500 million soms (nearly $11 million) in taxes to Kyrgyzstan's economy.
The state agency for regulation and supervision of financial markets confirmed in October that there were 23 officially registered casinos in Kyrgyzstan, including 14 in the capital, Bishkek, and four in the southern town of Osh.
There were also some 300 gambling halls throughout the country, but only 17 of them had obtained official license while others have been registered as "entertainment clubs," the agency's officials were quoted by local media as saying.
There were calls in Kyrgyzstan to create a single gambling zone in the country, but parliament rejected such proposals.
Written by Farangis Najibullah, based on RFE/RL Kyrgyz Service reporting
By RFE/RL
BISHKEK -- Some 50 people have gathered in front of the Kyrgyz government building in Bishkek to demand enforcement of a new law against gambling.
The law came into force on January 1, but several casinos in the Kyrgyz capital were still operating two days later, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.
Protester Akyl Chmankulov told local media that antigambling protests would continue until all gambling halls are shut down.
The law was signed by then-President Roza Otunbaeva in November after parliament approved the bill in late September, despite protests by casino employees in Bishkek, Jalal-Abad, and Osh.
Owners of casinos and gambling halls have vowed to take legal action, saying the new law is unconstitutional. They also argue that the ban leaves some 15,000 gambling-industry employees without jobs.
Legal Challenges
Opponents argue that the ban on gambling violates the country's investment law, as it forces some foreign investors out of business without any right to compensation.
The law, however, has been welcomed by antigambling campaigners, including many family members of gambling addicts.
Svetlana Kovalitskaya, a former gambling addict, says she has lost all her savings to gambling -- including her son's college fund and the money she saved to purchase an apartment.
Kovalitskaya tells RFE/RL she sought counseling to treat her addiction, and later joined many other former addicts and their relatives to demand the authorities outlaw gambling.
Reined In?
According to official statistics, the gambling industry annually contributed some 500 million soms (nearly $11 million) in taxes to Kyrgyzstan's economy.
The state agency for regulation and supervision of financial markets confirmed in October that there were 23 officially registered casinos in Kyrgyzstan, including 14 in the capital, Bishkek, and four in the southern town of Osh.
There were also some 300 gambling halls throughout the country, but only 17 of them had obtained official license while others have been registered as "entertainment clubs," the agency's officials were quoted by local media as saying.
There were calls in Kyrgyzstan to create a single gambling zone in the country, but parliament rejected such proposals.
Written by Farangis Najibullah, based on RFE/RL Kyrgyz Service reporting
Utah couple charged in Nevada over Casino Shooting
Utah couple charged in Nevada over crime spree
Written by: Dan Metcalf Jr.
Reported by: Marcos Ortiz
ELKO, Nev. (ABC 4 News) - A Utah man and woman have been charged in connection with a kidnapping and attempted murder investigation after a crime spree that began with the death of a retired Mt. Pleasant couple.
Logan McFarland and Angela Hill (aka Angela Atwood) appeared in an Elko courtroom on Wednesday to face charges related to the kidnapping of a West Wendover woman who was shot in the head while escaping.
The woman survived and was recovering in a Salt Lake City hospital.
McFarland and Hill were arrested on Tuesday while walking along a dirt road 30 miles west of West Wendover after a rancher and pilot spotted them from the air.
Court documents show that Angela Hill was the person police believe fired the shot that hit Rattana Keomanivong as she struggled to get away from the Utah couple during a failed carjacking on Saturday near a West Wendover casino.
Police say McFarland and Hill are also suspects in the deaths of Dorothy Ann and Leroy Woody Fullwood, who were found covered in blood at their home in Mount Pleasant on Sunday.
A police affidavit said that a witness told investigators that McFarland and Atwood "borrowed" a friend's car while attending a party in Moroni on December 29, but did not return it.
The affidavit said that a witness reported that McFarland returned to the Moroni residence at about 2:00 a.m. on the 30th and bragged about having obtained cash and firearms.
The witness told police that McFarland and Atwood left sometime during the night, and that when the car's owner asked him about the car, he texted McFarland, suggesting the car might be reported as stolen if he did not return it. According to the affidavit, McFarland called the witness and told him the car was parked near Santaquin.
The witness told police he and a companion went to Santaquin to retrieve the car, and found a jewelry box, an electric grill, a keyboard and other items in the trunk as they returned the vehicle to the owner.
Police say the witness burned some of the items, fearing they were stolen.
According to the affidavit, the witness later read about the Mt. Pleasant homicides and called police to report what had happened.
Meanwhile, police in Santaquin reported that another stolen vehicle had been found in Wells, Nevada.
In court Wednesday, Angela Hill became visibly and vocally upset when a judge read formal charges that would be filed against her, including one first degree felony attempted murder accusation, which identifies Hill as the person investigators believe shot Rattana Keomanivong during the West Wendover carjacking.
Hill and McFarland will face nine charges between them during another Wednesday evening hearing. Among the felony charges they will face are kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnapping, vehicle theft, robbery with a weapon, and a possible battery with a weapon.
No known charges have been filed against McFarland or Hill in connection with the Utah investigation into the death of Dorothy Ann and Leroy "Woody" Fullwood.
Should McFarland or Hill be charged with any crimes related to the Mount Pleasant deaths, they would then face extradition to Utah.
Suspects In West Wendover, Nev. Casino Shooting And Mount Pleasant, Utah Homicides Flee Into Desert
Written by: Dan Metcalf Jr.
Reported by: Marcos Ortiz
ELKO, Nev. (ABC 4 News) - A Utah man and woman have been charged in connection with a kidnapping and attempted murder investigation after a crime spree that began with the death of a retired Mt. Pleasant couple.
Logan McFarland and Angela Hill (aka Angela Atwood) appeared in an Elko courtroom on Wednesday to face charges related to the kidnapping of a West Wendover woman who was shot in the head while escaping.
The woman survived and was recovering in a Salt Lake City hospital.
McFarland and Hill were arrested on Tuesday while walking along a dirt road 30 miles west of West Wendover after a rancher and pilot spotted them from the air.
Court documents show that Angela Hill was the person police believe fired the shot that hit Rattana Keomanivong as she struggled to get away from the Utah couple during a failed carjacking on Saturday near a West Wendover casino.
Police say McFarland and Hill are also suspects in the deaths of Dorothy Ann and Leroy Woody Fullwood, who were found covered in blood at their home in Mount Pleasant on Sunday.
A police affidavit said that a witness told investigators that McFarland and Atwood "borrowed" a friend's car while attending a party in Moroni on December 29, but did not return it.
The affidavit said that a witness reported that McFarland returned to the Moroni residence at about 2:00 a.m. on the 30th and bragged about having obtained cash and firearms.
The witness told police that McFarland and Atwood left sometime during the night, and that when the car's owner asked him about the car, he texted McFarland, suggesting the car might be reported as stolen if he did not return it. According to the affidavit, McFarland called the witness and told him the car was parked near Santaquin.
The witness told police he and a companion went to Santaquin to retrieve the car, and found a jewelry box, an electric grill, a keyboard and other items in the trunk as they returned the vehicle to the owner.
Police say the witness burned some of the items, fearing they were stolen.
According to the affidavit, the witness later read about the Mt. Pleasant homicides and called police to report what had happened.
Meanwhile, police in Santaquin reported that another stolen vehicle had been found in Wells, Nevada.
In court Wednesday, Angela Hill became visibly and vocally upset when a judge read formal charges that would be filed against her, including one first degree felony attempted murder accusation, which identifies Hill as the person investigators believe shot Rattana Keomanivong during the West Wendover carjacking.
Hill and McFarland will face nine charges between them during another Wednesday evening hearing. Among the felony charges they will face are kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnapping, vehicle theft, robbery with a weapon, and a possible battery with a weapon.
No known charges have been filed against McFarland or Hill in connection with the Utah investigation into the death of Dorothy Ann and Leroy "Woody" Fullwood.
Should McFarland or Hill be charged with any crimes related to the Mount Pleasant deaths, they would then face extradition to Utah.
Suspects In West Wendover, Nev. Casino Shooting And Mount Pleasant, Utah Homicides Flee Into Desert
Judge says no acquittals in Alabama gambling case
Judge says no acquittals in Alabama gambling case
Associated Press
MONTGOMERY — A federal judge has refused to acquit the seven defendants in Alabama’s gambling corruption case, including former State Sen. Larry Means, D-Attalla.
U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson on Tuesday issued an order denying the seven defendants’ requests for acquittals. The defendants’ lawyers had contended there was a lack of evidence against their clients. The judge gave no explanation for his decision. It clears the way for the seven to be retried in Montgomery starting Jan. 30.
A jury could not resolve all the charges against the seven when their first trial ended in August. The seven are casino owner Milton McGregor, casino lobbyist Tom Coker, Sen. Harri Anne Smith, former Sens. Means and Jim Preuitt, casino spokesman Jay Walker and former legislative employee Ray Crosby.
Associated Press
MONTGOMERY — A federal judge has refused to acquit the seven defendants in Alabama’s gambling corruption case, including former State Sen. Larry Means, D-Attalla.
U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson on Tuesday issued an order denying the seven defendants’ requests for acquittals. The defendants’ lawyers had contended there was a lack of evidence against their clients. The judge gave no explanation for his decision. It clears the way for the seven to be retried in Montgomery starting Jan. 30.
A jury could not resolve all the charges against the seven when their first trial ended in August. The seven are casino owner Milton McGregor, casino lobbyist Tom Coker, Sen. Harri Anne Smith, former Sens. Means and Jim Preuitt, casino spokesman Jay Walker and former legislative employee Ray Crosby.
Abramoff warns of corruption
Abramoff warns Kentucky lawmakers of slipping into corruption
Written by Mike Wynn The Courier-Journal
FRANKFORT, KY. — Disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff cautioned Kentucky lawmakers Wednesday that ordinary, well-meaning people can succumb to political corruption under the influence of creeping arrogance and free-spending lobbying groups.
“I thought I was the good guy,” Abramoff said. “I thought I was actually one of the moral lobbyists. ... I was so deeply enmeshed and immersed in this system that I didn’t realize that I was doing some really bad stuff until somebody hit me in the head with a two-by-four.”
Abramoff — who served 3½ years in prison and was hit with a $44 million restitution order after pleading guilty to tax evasion, fraud and corruption in 2006 — published a memoir on his exploits in November and is speaking to groups across the country.
The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission paid him a $5,000 speaking fee, plus expenses, to provide an insider’s perspective on government corruption as part of the ethics training that all lawmakers are required to take each year at the start of a legislative session.
During his hour-long talk, Abramoff recalled how he rose from a young politico and filmmaker to one of the most powerful lobbyists in the nation, currying favor in 100 political offices with gifts and campaign contributions.
His firm was spending $1.5 million each year just on sports tickets before his scandal erupted eight years ago, he said.
“I started losing sight of the lines in the sand between right and wrong, not only being enveloped by the culture there, but being really the tip of the spear of some of the stuff that went on down there,” he said. “That attitude, an attitude of winning at all costs, ultimately led me to cross lines and do things that I regret.”
Ambramoff touched on lobbying strategies, policy recommendations and personal accounts of the Washington political culture.
He said that, while society draws distinctions between political contributions and bribes, a period of introspection in prison led him to conclude that all donations to lawmakers are essentially bribes when intended to gain influence.
(Page 2 of 2)
“A public servant works for the public — doesn’t work for the lobbyist,” he said. “Basically, at the end of the day, any gratuity received by a public servant from anybody who is trying to get something out of that public servant is a problem.”
Lawmakers never believe they will be bought, Abramoff added. But he warned that lobbyists become successful by building relationships and that gifts or contributions are designed to take advantage of a person’s natural instincts to express gratitude.
“When somebody does something good for you, you are going to have to feel that way in your soul, and when you do I would hold that that is the problem,” he said, urging lawmakers to stay “five steps ahead.”
Abramoff, who along with his wife gave about $150,000 in political donations each year while he was lobbying, is calling for reforms in Washington to prevent lobbyists from making direct contributions to politicians — something Kentucky law already prohibits.
Lawmakers were asked to submit questions for Abramoff in writing. In response to one question on gambling, Abramoff warned that the gaming industry can inject large amounts of money into politics. But he added later that gambling is no different than any other monied interest.
Another written question asked if receiving $5,000 in taxpayers’ money to speak wasn’t itself an abuse of the system.
John Schaaf, general counsel for the ethics commission, responded by saying Abramoff received the standard speaking fee, and he called the talk a “worthwhile expenditure” to better understand how Washington works. He said later that he did not hear any complaints and that several members praised the choice of a speaker.
In an interview afterward, Abramhoff said he is not in any position to exploit taxpayers, considering that his income and spending are monitored as part of his restitution order. He also said he reduced his typical speaking fee of $15,000 to $20,000.
Rep. Mike Harmon, R-Danville, said he had some reservations initially but believes Abramoff made some good points and was worth the speaking fee.
House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said the talk will help lawmakers discern what is proper in their relationships with lobbyists.
“When you hear what ... these people are thinking from their perspective, it’s an eye-opener,” he said.
Written by Mike Wynn The Courier-Journal
FRANKFORT, KY. — Disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff cautioned Kentucky lawmakers Wednesday that ordinary, well-meaning people can succumb to political corruption under the influence of creeping arrogance and free-spending lobbying groups.
“I thought I was the good guy,” Abramoff said. “I thought I was actually one of the moral lobbyists. ... I was so deeply enmeshed and immersed in this system that I didn’t realize that I was doing some really bad stuff until somebody hit me in the head with a two-by-four.”
Abramoff — who served 3½ years in prison and was hit with a $44 million restitution order after pleading guilty to tax evasion, fraud and corruption in 2006 — published a memoir on his exploits in November and is speaking to groups across the country.
The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission paid him a $5,000 speaking fee, plus expenses, to provide an insider’s perspective on government corruption as part of the ethics training that all lawmakers are required to take each year at the start of a legislative session.
During his hour-long talk, Abramoff recalled how he rose from a young politico and filmmaker to one of the most powerful lobbyists in the nation, currying favor in 100 political offices with gifts and campaign contributions.
His firm was spending $1.5 million each year just on sports tickets before his scandal erupted eight years ago, he said.
“I started losing sight of the lines in the sand between right and wrong, not only being enveloped by the culture there, but being really the tip of the spear of some of the stuff that went on down there,” he said. “That attitude, an attitude of winning at all costs, ultimately led me to cross lines and do things that I regret.”
Ambramoff touched on lobbying strategies, policy recommendations and personal accounts of the Washington political culture.
He said that, while society draws distinctions between political contributions and bribes, a period of introspection in prison led him to conclude that all donations to lawmakers are essentially bribes when intended to gain influence.
(Page 2 of 2)
“A public servant works for the public — doesn’t work for the lobbyist,” he said. “Basically, at the end of the day, any gratuity received by a public servant from anybody who is trying to get something out of that public servant is a problem.”
Lawmakers never believe they will be bought, Abramoff added. But he warned that lobbyists become successful by building relationships and that gifts or contributions are designed to take advantage of a person’s natural instincts to express gratitude.
“When somebody does something good for you, you are going to have to feel that way in your soul, and when you do I would hold that that is the problem,” he said, urging lawmakers to stay “five steps ahead.”
Abramoff, who along with his wife gave about $150,000 in political donations each year while he was lobbying, is calling for reforms in Washington to prevent lobbyists from making direct contributions to politicians — something Kentucky law already prohibits.
Lawmakers were asked to submit questions for Abramoff in writing. In response to one question on gambling, Abramoff warned that the gaming industry can inject large amounts of money into politics. But he added later that gambling is no different than any other monied interest.
Another written question asked if receiving $5,000 in taxpayers’ money to speak wasn’t itself an abuse of the system.
John Schaaf, general counsel for the ethics commission, responded by saying Abramoff received the standard speaking fee, and he called the talk a “worthwhile expenditure” to better understand how Washington works. He said later that he did not hear any complaints and that several members praised the choice of a speaker.
In an interview afterward, Abramhoff said he is not in any position to exploit taxpayers, considering that his income and spending are monitored as part of his restitution order. He also said he reduced his typical speaking fee of $15,000 to $20,000.
Rep. Mike Harmon, R-Danville, said he had some reservations initially but believes Abramoff made some good points and was worth the speaking fee.
House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said the talk will help lawmakers discern what is proper in their relationships with lobbyists.
“When you hear what ... these people are thinking from their perspective, it’s an eye-opener,” he said.
Ohio: Jimmy Dimora Corruption Trial Begins
Witness list in Jimmy Dimora corruption trial should provide some surprises: Mark Naymik
By Mark Naymik, The Plain Dealer The Plain Dealer
Former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora's public corruption trial just got a whole lot more interesting for me.
It has nothing to do with charges of bribery, prostitution, gambling trips or taped phone conversations, which illustrate how little Dimora and his buddies cared about the public's interests.
What excites me is the witness list, revealed publicly for the first time Wednesday during jury selection.
The list includes many obvious players, such as former Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo and J. Kevin Kelley, the big weasel in all this who pleaded guilty early in the investigation to acting as a middleman in bribery schemes involving Dimora and Russo.
But the list also contains a lot of people who could know a lot but from whom we have heard little.
For example, I can't wait to hear from Cleveland Councilman Martin J. Sweeney.
He's generally so approachable that he's comes across as bumbling at times. But he's repeatedly refused to talk about his interaction with a businessman implicated in the case and whose description in court papers match that of Michael Forlani, who headed Doan Pyramid Electric. Forlani is accused of bribing public officials.
Sweeney, whose name appears on subpoenas for records served on several companies in the corruption probe, has dodged questions about Forlani and his company for more than three years, since a Plain Dealer investigation showed that Doan helped to build a $50,000 addition to Sweeney's home in 2002. He's said that he received nothing for free, but he has failed to fulfill his promise to show his receipts. Without subpoena power, The Plain Dealer has had little leverage to make him talk.
The witness list doesn't reveal who the witnesses will be called by, the prosecution or defense. Some witness – like those who have pleaded guilty – are obviously there to help prosecutors.
While its unclear how Sweeney will be used, it will be nice to finally hear from the second most powerful official in Cleveland. I wish I could throw in a few questions when he's under oath.
I also look forward to the testimony of Joe Nanni, former Human Resources Director for the county and now chief of staff to the county council. He was responsible for keeping track of personnel changes at the county. He could testify that Dimora tried to treat government like a hiring hall. Or, perhaps even more interesting, he'll say everything ran by the book. Of course, that would have to mean there was a book, and we now know the county had few rules for hiring before voters launched a new government last year.
Tom Day, Bedford Clerk of Courts, who matches the description in court papers of Public Officail 13, is also worth watching. A prominent figure inside county Democratic Party circles, he's quietly built an influential political base in the southeast suburbs. He was close to Dimora and is a political ally of county prosecutor Bill Mason.
Day certainly knows plenty.
We are also sure to gain insight into Dimora's personality and habits from Patrick Smock, Dimora's former campaign treasurer and county executive assistant at the time federal agents raided Dimora's office in 2008.
Smock has never been implicated. You have to wonder, though, how much he saw and if he and others, such as Day, are among the 10 confidential informants who helped federal investigators. Their identities remain under court seal.
The county's former top administrator, Dennis Madden, also could testify. He had oversight on everything that passed through the county commission's hands. What does he know?
The witness list also includes a suburban mayor or two and others who can color in Dimora's time as party chairman, regardless of whether the prosecution or defense is calling them to the stand.
There are others witnesses whom we know little or nothing about.
Will witnesses say they were paid to have sex with Dimora? Will they say Dimora was nothing more than a gentleman.
Will someone surprise us with testimony that reveals Dimora gave far more attention to good government issues than he's been given credit for thus far?
This trial is likely to give us daily revelations about how our government worked. I expect it will be riveting.
By Mark Naymik, The Plain Dealer The Plain Dealer
Former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora's public corruption trial just got a whole lot more interesting for me.
It has nothing to do with charges of bribery, prostitution, gambling trips or taped phone conversations, which illustrate how little Dimora and his buddies cared about the public's interests.
What excites me is the witness list, revealed publicly for the first time Wednesday during jury selection.
The list includes many obvious players, such as former Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo and J. Kevin Kelley, the big weasel in all this who pleaded guilty early in the investigation to acting as a middleman in bribery schemes involving Dimora and Russo.
But the list also contains a lot of people who could know a lot but from whom we have heard little.
For example, I can't wait to hear from Cleveland Councilman Martin J. Sweeney.
He's generally so approachable that he's comes across as bumbling at times. But he's repeatedly refused to talk about his interaction with a businessman implicated in the case and whose description in court papers match that of Michael Forlani, who headed Doan Pyramid Electric. Forlani is accused of bribing public officials.
Sweeney, whose name appears on subpoenas for records served on several companies in the corruption probe, has dodged questions about Forlani and his company for more than three years, since a Plain Dealer investigation showed that Doan helped to build a $50,000 addition to Sweeney's home in 2002. He's said that he received nothing for free, but he has failed to fulfill his promise to show his receipts. Without subpoena power, The Plain Dealer has had little leverage to make him talk.
The witness list doesn't reveal who the witnesses will be called by, the prosecution or defense. Some witness – like those who have pleaded guilty – are obviously there to help prosecutors.
While its unclear how Sweeney will be used, it will be nice to finally hear from the second most powerful official in Cleveland. I wish I could throw in a few questions when he's under oath.
I also look forward to the testimony of Joe Nanni, former Human Resources Director for the county and now chief of staff to the county council. He was responsible for keeping track of personnel changes at the county. He could testify that Dimora tried to treat government like a hiring hall. Or, perhaps even more interesting, he'll say everything ran by the book. Of course, that would have to mean there was a book, and we now know the county had few rules for hiring before voters launched a new government last year.
Tom Day, Bedford Clerk of Courts, who matches the description in court papers of Public Officail 13, is also worth watching. A prominent figure inside county Democratic Party circles, he's quietly built an influential political base in the southeast suburbs. He was close to Dimora and is a political ally of county prosecutor Bill Mason.
Day certainly knows plenty.
We are also sure to gain insight into Dimora's personality and habits from Patrick Smock, Dimora's former campaign treasurer and county executive assistant at the time federal agents raided Dimora's office in 2008.
Smock has never been implicated. You have to wonder, though, how much he saw and if he and others, such as Day, are among the 10 confidential informants who helped federal investigators. Their identities remain under court seal.
The county's former top administrator, Dennis Madden, also could testify. He had oversight on everything that passed through the county commission's hands. What does he know?
The witness list also includes a suburban mayor or two and others who can color in Dimora's time as party chairman, regardless of whether the prosecution or defense is calling them to the stand.
There are others witnesses whom we know little or nothing about.
Will witnesses say they were paid to have sex with Dimora? Will they say Dimora was nothing more than a gentleman.
Will someone surprise us with testimony that reveals Dimora gave far more attention to good government issues than he's been given credit for thus far?
This trial is likely to give us daily revelations about how our government worked. I expect it will be riveting.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Study the Danger
In Our View: Study the Danger
New research is needed in Washingtonabout the problems of gambling addiction
With Washington state projected to rake in $2.5 million [sic] in 2011 tax revenue from gambling, why would state officials want to research the dangers of gambling addiction? That’s the cynical view. The humanitarian and sociological view is that our state should and must take a full interest in the public health aspects of revenue sources.
For that reason, the state properly saw fit to conduct a problem-gambling study in 1999. Among the findings: 2 to 4 percent of adults were “problem gamblers,” according to Maureen Greeley, executive director of the Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling, which works with the state to provide services for addicts.
That, however, was the last time the state conducted such a study. And as Ray Legendre reported in Friday’s print edition of The Columbian, state revenues from gambling have more than tripled from the $698.8 million received in 1999. What has happened during these 12 years? Is gambling addiction a bigger problem? Washingtonians deserve to know.
In our continuing opposition to the growth of gambling, The Columbian has acknowledged the futility of hoping gambling will go away. It’s been around as long as humans could count. But if the state is going to increase its revenue from gambling, it ought to increase its interest in the hazards of the activity.
The local impact of this issue is clear. Four cardrooms have operated for years in La Center. The Cowlitz Tribe wants to open a megacasino on Interstate 5 near La Center. And the Oak Tree Casino opened recently as a cardroom in Woodland. At the state level, the growth of gambling has been significant; it’s now a $2.5 billion industry. Washington state has 28 tribal casinos. The number of cardrooms has climbed to 61. Also, there are 1,043 commercial pull tab operations and 234 bingo halls. In the Columbian story, Greeley was quoted: “If you are seeking an avenue to gamble, it’s there for you at a very close proximity. There’s no lack of opportunity to gamble.”
The Washington Department of Behavioral Health and Recovery oversees treatment for gambling addicts and their families, training for treatment providers, and outreach and awareness programs. Six years ago, the state began a 0.13 percent business and occupation tax on cardrooms, commercial pull tab operations and bingo halls, and the tax yielded more than $400,000 for problem-gambling programs in 2011. Tribal casinos, not included in the tax, contributed about $1.6 million toward treatment programs in 2010. So it’s not as if no attention is being paid to the problem.
But is the commitment enough?
And there is more than just this ongoing financial commitment to treatment programs. To their credit, workers at many gambling establishments are on the lookout for problem gamblers, but the signs are difficult to detect. Chuck McCormick, the general manager at the Oak Tree Casino, who has worked 38 years in the business, describes the dreaded call. It wasn’t received in the first two weeks the Oak Tree has been open, but McCormick knows how relatives of gambling addicts alert employees of gambling establishments about the problem. And McCormick said he is quick to bar such players from his establishment.
But at the state level, more research is needed. If officials at casinos and cardrooms suspect the problem is no worse than it was in 1999, they should welcome a study that proves the point. At any rate, it’s time to find out.
New research is needed in Washingtonabout the problems of gambling addiction
With Washington state projected to rake in $2.5 million [sic] in 2011 tax revenue from gambling, why would state officials want to research the dangers of gambling addiction? That’s the cynical view. The humanitarian and sociological view is that our state should and must take a full interest in the public health aspects of revenue sources.
For that reason, the state properly saw fit to conduct a problem-gambling study in 1999. Among the findings: 2 to 4 percent of adults were “problem gamblers,” according to Maureen Greeley, executive director of the Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling, which works with the state to provide services for addicts.
That, however, was the last time the state conducted such a study. And as Ray Legendre reported in Friday’s print edition of The Columbian, state revenues from gambling have more than tripled from the $698.8 million received in 1999. What has happened during these 12 years? Is gambling addiction a bigger problem? Washingtonians deserve to know.
In our continuing opposition to the growth of gambling, The Columbian has acknowledged the futility of hoping gambling will go away. It’s been around as long as humans could count. But if the state is going to increase its revenue from gambling, it ought to increase its interest in the hazards of the activity.
The local impact of this issue is clear. Four cardrooms have operated for years in La Center. The Cowlitz Tribe wants to open a megacasino on Interstate 5 near La Center. And the Oak Tree Casino opened recently as a cardroom in Woodland. At the state level, the growth of gambling has been significant; it’s now a $2.5 billion industry. Washington state has 28 tribal casinos. The number of cardrooms has climbed to 61. Also, there are 1,043 commercial pull tab operations and 234 bingo halls. In the Columbian story, Greeley was quoted: “If you are seeking an avenue to gamble, it’s there for you at a very close proximity. There’s no lack of opportunity to gamble.”
The Washington Department of Behavioral Health and Recovery oversees treatment for gambling addicts and their families, training for treatment providers, and outreach and awareness programs. Six years ago, the state began a 0.13 percent business and occupation tax on cardrooms, commercial pull tab operations and bingo halls, and the tax yielded more than $400,000 for problem-gambling programs in 2011. Tribal casinos, not included in the tax, contributed about $1.6 million toward treatment programs in 2010. So it’s not as if no attention is being paid to the problem.
But is the commitment enough?
And there is more than just this ongoing financial commitment to treatment programs. To their credit, workers at many gambling establishments are on the lookout for problem gamblers, but the signs are difficult to detect. Chuck McCormick, the general manager at the Oak Tree Casino, who has worked 38 years in the business, describes the dreaded call. It wasn’t received in the first two weeks the Oak Tree has been open, but McCormick knows how relatives of gambling addicts alert employees of gambling establishments about the problem. And McCormick said he is quick to bar such players from his establishment.
But at the state level, more research is needed. If officials at casinos and cardrooms suspect the problem is no worse than it was in 1999, they should welcome a study that proves the point. At any rate, it’s time to find out.
Promoting Addiction
Gambling addiction
Deseret News editorial
Few behaviors are as devastating to personal and familial well being as compulsive indulgence in substances or behaviors that rob individuals of dignity and money. Addicts rarely prosper.
This is particularly true for gambling addicts. For some who indulge in gambling, the wild ride of gambling's risk and reward is every bit as mesmerizing and addictive as cocaine. And the results are disastrous as life savings and self-worth are squandered in the irrational pursuit of winnings. Experts agree that for pathological gamblers the cravings are rarely dulled, except through disciplined efforts like 12-step programs and careful monitoring.
Studies consistently show that although so-called problem gamblers make up a small percentage of all gamblers but they provide a disproportionate amount of the revenue. For example, Canadian university researchers found that although about 4.8 percent of Ontario gamblers had a moderate to severe gambling problem, their compulsive wagering provided about 35 percent of Ontario's gaming revenue, and about 60 percent of revenue from gambling machines.
States that allow gambling, along with the gaming industry itself, have claimed to be concerned with the plight of the gambling addict. Consequently, as states in recent decades decided to allow gambling, some have enacted various policies and safeguards to prevent compulsive gamblers from utterly ruining their lives.
Some states, like Colorado, initially limited the stakes at casinos and required casinos to close, providing a kind of fuse breaker for bouts of compulsive gaming. Other states have created lists of gambling addicts that provide essentially a restraining order against self-identified addicts from entering casinos.
But the fact that compulsive gamblers provide disproportionate revenue is not lost on the gaming industry, and sadly it is not lost on states that have become increasingly dependent on and hungry for the revenues derived from legalized gambling.
When Colorado saw other revenue streams dry up after the 2008 downturn, the state removed the gambling fuse breakers by increasing stakes from $2 to $100 and let casino's operate 24/7.
Recently Missouri, which legalized riverboat gambling in 1996, chose to ease its restrictions on compulsive gamblers. Missouri is one of a few states that allowed gamblers to identify themselves as having a problem such that they could blacklist themselves from Missouri casinos for life.
Although there were logistical challenges enforcing the ban, thousands of self-identified problem gamblers have been expelled from Missouri casinos over the years because of the blacklist. But cash-strapped Missouri, instead of finding ways to improve enforcement of their voluntarily imposed ban, has opted to ease it from a lifetime restriction to five-years.
Behavioral experts agree that compulsive gambling might be controlled but never cured. Nonetheless, Missouri has decided to welcome back to its wealth-depleting slots and tables 11,000 self-identified gambling addicts who have been on the casino blacklist for more than five years. Of course these are not just any addicts, these are the rare addicts who actually sought to make use of a tool that they hoped might prevent harm to themselves and their families.
We deplore all the lies associated with gambling and lament the inevitable sorrow that surrounds it. We find it particularly contemptible that states would cynically seek additional revenue by abandoning controls designed to protect vulnerable addicts. It is an irresponsible government that allows such practices to persist. It is a predatory state that profits from them.
Deseret News editorial
Few behaviors are as devastating to personal and familial well being as compulsive indulgence in substances or behaviors that rob individuals of dignity and money. Addicts rarely prosper.
This is particularly true for gambling addicts. For some who indulge in gambling, the wild ride of gambling's risk and reward is every bit as mesmerizing and addictive as cocaine. And the results are disastrous as life savings and self-worth are squandered in the irrational pursuit of winnings. Experts agree that for pathological gamblers the cravings are rarely dulled, except through disciplined efforts like 12-step programs and careful monitoring.
Studies consistently show that although so-called problem gamblers make up a small percentage of all gamblers but they provide a disproportionate amount of the revenue. For example, Canadian university researchers found that although about 4.8 percent of Ontario gamblers had a moderate to severe gambling problem, their compulsive wagering provided about 35 percent of Ontario's gaming revenue, and about 60 percent of revenue from gambling machines.
States that allow gambling, along with the gaming industry itself, have claimed to be concerned with the plight of the gambling addict. Consequently, as states in recent decades decided to allow gambling, some have enacted various policies and safeguards to prevent compulsive gamblers from utterly ruining their lives.
Some states, like Colorado, initially limited the stakes at casinos and required casinos to close, providing a kind of fuse breaker for bouts of compulsive gaming. Other states have created lists of gambling addicts that provide essentially a restraining order against self-identified addicts from entering casinos.
But the fact that compulsive gamblers provide disproportionate revenue is not lost on the gaming industry, and sadly it is not lost on states that have become increasingly dependent on and hungry for the revenues derived from legalized gambling.
When Colorado saw other revenue streams dry up after the 2008 downturn, the state removed the gambling fuse breakers by increasing stakes from $2 to $100 and let casino's operate 24/7.
Recently Missouri, which legalized riverboat gambling in 1996, chose to ease its restrictions on compulsive gamblers. Missouri is one of a few states that allowed gamblers to identify themselves as having a problem such that they could blacklist themselves from Missouri casinos for life.
Although there were logistical challenges enforcing the ban, thousands of self-identified problem gamblers have been expelled from Missouri casinos over the years because of the blacklist. But cash-strapped Missouri, instead of finding ways to improve enforcement of their voluntarily imposed ban, has opted to ease it from a lifetime restriction to five-years.
Behavioral experts agree that compulsive gambling might be controlled but never cured. Nonetheless, Missouri has decided to welcome back to its wealth-depleting slots and tables 11,000 self-identified gambling addicts who have been on the casino blacklist for more than five years. Of course these are not just any addicts, these are the rare addicts who actually sought to make use of a tool that they hoped might prevent harm to themselves and their families.
We deplore all the lies associated with gambling and lament the inevitable sorrow that surrounds it. We find it particularly contemptible that states would cynically seek additional revenue by abandoning controls designed to protect vulnerable addicts. It is an irresponsible government that allows such practices to persist. It is a predatory state that profits from them.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Filling Prisons With Gambling Addicts
Catholic priest's defense to target gambling
By Doug McMurdo
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
When Kevin McAuliffe appears in federal court Jan. 13, the Catholic priest's addiction to gambling will be used as an argument for leniency in his sentencing for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his Summerlin parish.
His attorney, Margaret Stanish, has hired an expert who will offer testimony about gambling and his assessment of McAuliffe as a pathological gambler. The expert, Dr. Timothy Fong, is a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles and on the staff of UCLA's Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior. He treats problem gamblers with a combination of pharmacology and psychotherapy, trying to rewire brains that can't shake the feeling the next bet is going to yield a big payday.
According to court papers, Fong will tell Mahan that the former monsignor, in addition to being a pathological gambler, suffers from major depression and social anxiety.
Meanwhile, the priest hopes his case sheds light on problem gambling in Nevada -- and that people will get help before the disease takes command of their lives, as it did with his, according to McAuliffe's attorney.
THE SILENT ADDICTION
There aren't many vices the Nevada lifestyle can't exploit, and McAuliffe, who was the pastor at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, is far from the only resident to develop a compulsion to gamble -- or who resorted to theft to feed that addiction.
Stanish said her client is remorseful and eager to share his story.
"He thinks some good can come out of this if he talks about what he's gone through," she said after McAuliffe, once the vicar general of the Las Vegas Diocese, pleaded guilty. "Our hope is the judge takes into account the monsignor's gambling problem and all the good works he's done."
Six percent of Nevada adults are compulsive gamblers, according to statistics from the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling. The national average is between 1 percent and 2 percent.
This translates to at least 120,000 people in Clark County and 25,000 in Reno. Only a small percentage of them commit crimes to feed their habit, but the "silent addiction" wreaks havoc in other ways.
Compulsive gambling is called the silent addiction because those afflicted are hard to spot. Nobody overdoses from gambling. You don't get arrested for gambling and driving.
A WOLF IN PRIEST'S CLOTHING
McAuliffe, 58, was not forced to admit to major theft. He pleaded guilty to three counts of mail fraud, but theft is what he did, and he did it a lot: $650,000 worth.
According to court documents, he stole from the collection basket.
He stole from the votive candle fund.
He stole from the gift shop.
He stole from the church mission fund.
He stole from the general bank account and he wrongly reimbursed himself by claiming he made church-related purchases on his personal credit card when he did not.
Indirectly, McAuliffe stole from every church in the diocese. As second-in-command to Bishop Joseph Pepe, McAuliffe was responsible for controlling finances -- and for giving the diocese 13 percent of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton's annual income from the contributions and collections of its more than 10,000 families.
Thirteen percent of $650,000 is $84,500.
Parishioners were rocked in June when Pepe announced McAuliffe had been relieved of most of his duties while the FBI investigated the theft allegations.
Rumors flew for four months, pitting the many who couldn't believe their beloved priest did anything wrong against those who feared the worst.
In October, those fears were realized when McAuliffe and federal prosecutors agreed to a deal. McAuliffe pleaded guilty to the mail fraud charges for sending falsified financial documents across state lines to the San Francisco Archdiocese.
After he entered the plea, the question of the faithful became, "What did he do with the money?"
By all appearances his life was an austere one.
McAuliffe, said parishioners, drove a Cadillac that was old when he brought it to Las Vegas from Wisconsin in 1997. He did his own repairs. He wore threadbare jeans and cowboy boots. He was frugal.
But he had a dark secret -- a secret that might have revealed itself whenever McAuliffe walked into a casino and sat down in front of a slot machine.
AN ADDICTION TO GAMBLING
In an Oct. 8 interview conducted one day after her client pleaded guilty, Stanish said the irresistible temptation to gamble led McAuliffe to steal from St. Elizabeth's over a period of years. That irresistible temptation has the priest facing a maximum term of 60 years in prison and $750,000 in fines.
But he could also receive probation, depending on what federal probation officials have learned about McAuliffe's life in preparing their pre-sentence report for Judge Mahan, and what prosecutors have to say about the man.
In court documents outlining his plea agreement, McAuliffe agreed to repay the money he took from the Summerlin parish -- but how a priest who no longer has a flock would do that is unclear.
Mahan might be inclined to be lenient if McAuliffe somehow makes restitution -- or at least a sizable payment -- before his hearing.
But the federal court system has yet to embrace the concept of alternative sentencing programs that many state judiciaries have implemented.
Clark and other Nevada counties have programs for offenders ranging from drug addicts and repeat drunken drivers to people with mental health issues. The Legislature in 2009 created a specialty court for problem gamblers, albeit one that couldn't be implemented for lack of funding.
And while the U.S. government seems more interested in taking a pound of flesh than giving an ounce of cure, federal prosecutors and judges are not without compassion.
A VIEW FROM THE FEDERAL BENCH
"We are very concerned," said U.S. Chief District Judge Robert Jones when asked whether problem gambling is an issue for a significant number of federal defendants.
Jones presided over bankruptcies for two decades before ascending to the federal bench in Las Vegas.
"A substantial percentage of bankruptcies are caused by problem gambling," he said, recounting a case in which a man filed bankruptcy after his wife chocked up "huge gambling losses" in the year after they moved to Nevada.
"All judges have that concern, and I don't fault the Nevada Legislature for enacting laws to address it."
Jones said while there are no specialty courts in the federal system, there are treatment programs available. When defendants are found guilty of a crime that was committed to pay for a gambling habit, he said, "very specific" conditions can be placed on them, including an outright prohibition on gambling once they are released from prison or if they are given probation.
Jones said U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden and Federal Public Defender Rene Valladares and their respective staffs are well aware of the toll all addictions have on defendants, their families and society as a whole. They prepare their cases accordingly, he said.
While federal judges have the discretion to require a defendant to get treatment, they don't often grant them the opportunity to avoid a conviction.
"Diversion is always a possibility," said Assistant Federal Public Defender Jason Carr, who spoke in general terms and not on a specific case. "But they are quite difficult to get. You better have an ultrasensitive client or the prosecution has to have major defects in the case. They are extremely rare in federal court."
Diversion is available to people who commit minor crimes because of an addiction. If they successfully complete a treatment program that lasts from one to three years, the charge that got them into trouble is dismissed.
DA: CASES INVOLVING GAMBLING RARE
Outgoing Clark County District Attorney David Roger does not think problem gambling results in many crimes, and as a result he doesn't think the state should fund a specialty court for problem gamblers.
The overwhelming majority of crimes are committed by people involved in some manner with the illegal drug trade, he said, and not because they gamble more than they can afford to lose.
Roger said his office opposed gambling addiction legislation when it was discussed and ultimately passed in 2009.
"We took issue because the law allowed courts to dismiss a case without the defendant paying one penny in restitution," Roger said.
NO FUNDS TO PAY COUNSELORS
Clark County Public Defender Phil Kohn disagreed with the district attorney's opinion that an addiction to gambling doesn't usually result in crime.
And without a formal and funded specialty court, it can be difficult to find a place for an offender to get help.
"If you can't afford an attorney you probably can't afford counseling," he said, particularly when it can take years for an offender to stop gambling.
While Roger said the state law doesn't require full restitution, those who treat compulsive or pathological gamblers require their clients to do so. Restitution, according to the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, is a primary element of the treatment process, which also includes cognitive behavior therapy.
"We do not want to send the message that you get a free pass or that we condone this behavior," said Denise Quirk, an addictions counselor and marriage and family therapist in Reno.
Quirk said federal judges in Reno have diverted people guilty of theft-related crimes to a treatment program for compulsive or pathological gamblers.
She has advocated for such people in federal court in Reno with mixed results. A pathological gambler is described as the "worst of the worst" of problem gamblers.
One of Quirk's clients, a twice-convicted bank robber, ultimately went to prison but the judge also ordered treatment for his gambling addiction while he is incarcerated and after he is released.
Another client, a woman charged with counterfeiting and a drug offense, was allowed to enter treatment for compulsive gambling. Quirk said she is now a "model citizen."
Treatment, when it works, is remarkable, she said. "It's amazing when you see the transformation. She is now a productive member of society."
If she stays out of trouble, her criminal record will remain clean.
THE TOLL TAKEN ON FAMILIES
Clark County District Judge Cheryl Moss has been a Family Court jurist in Clark County for a decade. She served on the legislative subcommittee on problem gambling that ushered through a bill to create the specialty court for problem gamblers in 2009.
She said judges sometimes base child custody and property division decisions on whether a spouse has a gambling problem.
And sometimes, a spouse can see no alternative to dealing with a problem gambler other than divorce.
"The budget problems would not allow us to create another court," she said, "but we're still able to order treatment."
Moss said problem gamblers affect the family in ways other than spending the grocery money. As Judge Jones said, bankruptcy is common, but there are other issues.
"They leave kids in cars while they go gamble. They leave their kids in a casino's child care and forget to pick them up."
Compulsive gambling also leads to domestic violence and other destructive behavior, Moss said.
And sometimes, it leads to a priest pulling a stint in federal prison -- with his congregation left to pick up the pieces.
By Doug McMurdo
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
When Kevin McAuliffe appears in federal court Jan. 13, the Catholic priest's addiction to gambling will be used as an argument for leniency in his sentencing for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his Summerlin parish.
His attorney, Margaret Stanish, has hired an expert who will offer testimony about gambling and his assessment of McAuliffe as a pathological gambler. The expert, Dr. Timothy Fong, is a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles and on the staff of UCLA's Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior. He treats problem gamblers with a combination of pharmacology and psychotherapy, trying to rewire brains that can't shake the feeling the next bet is going to yield a big payday.
According to court papers, Fong will tell Mahan that the former monsignor, in addition to being a pathological gambler, suffers from major depression and social anxiety.
Meanwhile, the priest hopes his case sheds light on problem gambling in Nevada -- and that people will get help before the disease takes command of their lives, as it did with his, according to McAuliffe's attorney.
THE SILENT ADDICTION
There aren't many vices the Nevada lifestyle can't exploit, and McAuliffe, who was the pastor at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, is far from the only resident to develop a compulsion to gamble -- or who resorted to theft to feed that addiction.
Stanish said her client is remorseful and eager to share his story.
"He thinks some good can come out of this if he talks about what he's gone through," she said after McAuliffe, once the vicar general of the Las Vegas Diocese, pleaded guilty. "Our hope is the judge takes into account the monsignor's gambling problem and all the good works he's done."
Six percent of Nevada adults are compulsive gamblers, according to statistics from the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling. The national average is between 1 percent and 2 percent.
This translates to at least 120,000 people in Clark County and 25,000 in Reno. Only a small percentage of them commit crimes to feed their habit, but the "silent addiction" wreaks havoc in other ways.
Compulsive gambling is called the silent addiction because those afflicted are hard to spot. Nobody overdoses from gambling. You don't get arrested for gambling and driving.
A WOLF IN PRIEST'S CLOTHING
McAuliffe, 58, was not forced to admit to major theft. He pleaded guilty to three counts of mail fraud, but theft is what he did, and he did it a lot: $650,000 worth.
According to court documents, he stole from the collection basket.
He stole from the votive candle fund.
He stole from the gift shop.
He stole from the church mission fund.
He stole from the general bank account and he wrongly reimbursed himself by claiming he made church-related purchases on his personal credit card when he did not.
Indirectly, McAuliffe stole from every church in the diocese. As second-in-command to Bishop Joseph Pepe, McAuliffe was responsible for controlling finances -- and for giving the diocese 13 percent of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton's annual income from the contributions and collections of its more than 10,000 families.
Thirteen percent of $650,000 is $84,500.
Parishioners were rocked in June when Pepe announced McAuliffe had been relieved of most of his duties while the FBI investigated the theft allegations.
Rumors flew for four months, pitting the many who couldn't believe their beloved priest did anything wrong against those who feared the worst.
In October, those fears were realized when McAuliffe and federal prosecutors agreed to a deal. McAuliffe pleaded guilty to the mail fraud charges for sending falsified financial documents across state lines to the San Francisco Archdiocese.
After he entered the plea, the question of the faithful became, "What did he do with the money?"
By all appearances his life was an austere one.
McAuliffe, said parishioners, drove a Cadillac that was old when he brought it to Las Vegas from Wisconsin in 1997. He did his own repairs. He wore threadbare jeans and cowboy boots. He was frugal.
But he had a dark secret -- a secret that might have revealed itself whenever McAuliffe walked into a casino and sat down in front of a slot machine.
AN ADDICTION TO GAMBLING
In an Oct. 8 interview conducted one day after her client pleaded guilty, Stanish said the irresistible temptation to gamble led McAuliffe to steal from St. Elizabeth's over a period of years. That irresistible temptation has the priest facing a maximum term of 60 years in prison and $750,000 in fines.
But he could also receive probation, depending on what federal probation officials have learned about McAuliffe's life in preparing their pre-sentence report for Judge Mahan, and what prosecutors have to say about the man.
In court documents outlining his plea agreement, McAuliffe agreed to repay the money he took from the Summerlin parish -- but how a priest who no longer has a flock would do that is unclear.
Mahan might be inclined to be lenient if McAuliffe somehow makes restitution -- or at least a sizable payment -- before his hearing.
But the federal court system has yet to embrace the concept of alternative sentencing programs that many state judiciaries have implemented.
Clark and other Nevada counties have programs for offenders ranging from drug addicts and repeat drunken drivers to people with mental health issues. The Legislature in 2009 created a specialty court for problem gamblers, albeit one that couldn't be implemented for lack of funding.
And while the U.S. government seems more interested in taking a pound of flesh than giving an ounce of cure, federal prosecutors and judges are not without compassion.
A VIEW FROM THE FEDERAL BENCH
"We are very concerned," said U.S. Chief District Judge Robert Jones when asked whether problem gambling is an issue for a significant number of federal defendants.
Jones presided over bankruptcies for two decades before ascending to the federal bench in Las Vegas.
"A substantial percentage of bankruptcies are caused by problem gambling," he said, recounting a case in which a man filed bankruptcy after his wife chocked up "huge gambling losses" in the year after they moved to Nevada.
"All judges have that concern, and I don't fault the Nevada Legislature for enacting laws to address it."
Jones said while there are no specialty courts in the federal system, there are treatment programs available. When defendants are found guilty of a crime that was committed to pay for a gambling habit, he said, "very specific" conditions can be placed on them, including an outright prohibition on gambling once they are released from prison or if they are given probation.
Jones said U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden and Federal Public Defender Rene Valladares and their respective staffs are well aware of the toll all addictions have on defendants, their families and society as a whole. They prepare their cases accordingly, he said.
While federal judges have the discretion to require a defendant to get treatment, they don't often grant them the opportunity to avoid a conviction.
"Diversion is always a possibility," said Assistant Federal Public Defender Jason Carr, who spoke in general terms and not on a specific case. "But they are quite difficult to get. You better have an ultrasensitive client or the prosecution has to have major defects in the case. They are extremely rare in federal court."
Diversion is available to people who commit minor crimes because of an addiction. If they successfully complete a treatment program that lasts from one to three years, the charge that got them into trouble is dismissed.
DA: CASES INVOLVING GAMBLING RARE
Outgoing Clark County District Attorney David Roger does not think problem gambling results in many crimes, and as a result he doesn't think the state should fund a specialty court for problem gamblers.
The overwhelming majority of crimes are committed by people involved in some manner with the illegal drug trade, he said, and not because they gamble more than they can afford to lose.
Roger said his office opposed gambling addiction legislation when it was discussed and ultimately passed in 2009.
"We took issue because the law allowed courts to dismiss a case without the defendant paying one penny in restitution," Roger said.
NO FUNDS TO PAY COUNSELORS
Clark County Public Defender Phil Kohn disagreed with the district attorney's opinion that an addiction to gambling doesn't usually result in crime.
And without a formal and funded specialty court, it can be difficult to find a place for an offender to get help.
"If you can't afford an attorney you probably can't afford counseling," he said, particularly when it can take years for an offender to stop gambling.
While Roger said the state law doesn't require full restitution, those who treat compulsive or pathological gamblers require their clients to do so. Restitution, according to the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, is a primary element of the treatment process, which also includes cognitive behavior therapy.
"We do not want to send the message that you get a free pass or that we condone this behavior," said Denise Quirk, an addictions counselor and marriage and family therapist in Reno.
Quirk said federal judges in Reno have diverted people guilty of theft-related crimes to a treatment program for compulsive or pathological gamblers.
She has advocated for such people in federal court in Reno with mixed results. A pathological gambler is described as the "worst of the worst" of problem gamblers.
One of Quirk's clients, a twice-convicted bank robber, ultimately went to prison but the judge also ordered treatment for his gambling addiction while he is incarcerated and after he is released.
Another client, a woman charged with counterfeiting and a drug offense, was allowed to enter treatment for compulsive gambling. Quirk said she is now a "model citizen."
Treatment, when it works, is remarkable, she said. "It's amazing when you see the transformation. She is now a productive member of society."
If she stays out of trouble, her criminal record will remain clean.
THE TOLL TAKEN ON FAMILIES
Clark County District Judge Cheryl Moss has been a Family Court jurist in Clark County for a decade. She served on the legislative subcommittee on problem gambling that ushered through a bill to create the specialty court for problem gamblers in 2009.
She said judges sometimes base child custody and property division decisions on whether a spouse has a gambling problem.
And sometimes, a spouse can see no alternative to dealing with a problem gambler other than divorce.
"The budget problems would not allow us to create another court," she said, "but we're still able to order treatment."
Moss said problem gamblers affect the family in ways other than spending the grocery money. As Judge Jones said, bankruptcy is common, but there are other issues.
"They leave kids in cars while they go gamble. They leave their kids in a casino's child care and forget to pick them up."
Compulsive gambling also leads to domestic violence and other destructive behavior, Moss said.
And sometimes, it leads to a priest pulling a stint in federal prison -- with his congregation left to pick up the pieces.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
The Threat To Mickey Mouse
The Banana Republican has taken the time to analyze and graph the Big Money that successfully silences the voices of voters, as we witnessed in Massaachusetts.
Banana Republican
Gambling Industry Fueling Next Year's Election Season
By Francisco Alvarado
In the past year, parimutuel and casino companies have contributed over a million dollars to state legislators and Republican political action committees as the gambling industry gears up for a combative legislative session in 2012. The stakes are high. State Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff and Rep. Erik Fresen have drafted two bills that would regulate existing parimutuel gambling centers and allow Miami-Dade and Broward voters an opportunity to approve mega-casino resorts, but cuts out the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
Banana Republican spent the past two days analyzing campaign finance reports for every state legislator running for reelection and several political action committees to determine just how much the Seminoles and their competitors, including but not limited to, Malaysian-based Genting, which wants to build a casino resort on the site of the Miami Herald, and Magic City Casino, the former Flagler Dog Track that won voter approval to have slot machines and card games at its parimutuel facility.
We broke down who's giving to whom and how much with graphs: LINK
Banana Republican
Gambling Industry Fueling Next Year's Election Season
By Francisco Alvarado
In the past year, parimutuel and casino companies have contributed over a million dollars to state legislators and Republican political action committees as the gambling industry gears up for a combative legislative session in 2012. The stakes are high. State Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff and Rep. Erik Fresen have drafted two bills that would regulate existing parimutuel gambling centers and allow Miami-Dade and Broward voters an opportunity to approve mega-casino resorts, but cuts out the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
Banana Republican spent the past two days analyzing campaign finance reports for every state legislator running for reelection and several political action committees to determine just how much the Seminoles and their competitors, including but not limited to, Malaysian-based Genting, which wants to build a casino resort on the site of the Miami Herald, and Magic City Casino, the former Flagler Dog Track that won voter approval to have slot machines and card games at its parimutuel facility.
We broke down who's giving to whom and how much with graphs: LINK
Foxborough: Lost Local Control
Casino would play by its own liquor rules
BY MATT KAKLEY SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
Any gaming venue in Foxboro would get its permits from state, not the town
FOXBORO - The town would be cut off from regulating liquor licenses or enforcing alcohol violations at a proposed resort casino across from Gillette Stadium on Route 1.
Under the state's new expanded gaming legislation, the casino would receive its alcohol license directly from the state, rather than from the town, as other bars and restaurants do.
The license would encompass the entire resort facility, including any restaurants or clubs contained within.
The town currently pursues a policy of strict alcohol enforcement at Gillette Stadium and at bars and restaurants, many of which are clustered at Patriot Place on Route 1.
Alcohol issues have plagued Foxboro in recent years and officials are working to strengthen the town's rules and regulations. Police Chief Edward O'Leary and Selectwoman Lorraine Brue have spent the better part of the past year looking at the issue and are expected to present their findings to the full board of selectmen soon.
The findings will deal with the town's enforcement efforts and inspection procedures, O'Leary said.
O'Leary said it was premature to say what effect a casino would have on the town's fight against alcohol abuse.
"It would be just mere speculation at this point about impacts," he said.
Town Counsel Paul DeRensis said Thursday the newly formed state gaming commission, in conjunction with the state's Alcohol Beverage Control Commission, would be charged with creating a Gaming Liquor Enforcement Unit.
The unit would be responsible for monitoring the gaming establishments and making sure they are in compliance with state law. Any punishments, such as those for serving an underage or intoxicated person, would be meted out by the state gaming commission.
Other businesses are investigated and punished by the town if there is an issue.
Casinos in the state will also be able to offer drink specials and free drinks to gamblers only, except between the hours of 2 and 8 a.m. - practices that are not permitted to other establishments in the state.
The free drinks are only allowed in the gaming area, not the rest of the facility.
As part of the legislation, the ABCC is charged with investigating and creating a report on whether the new gaming alcohol licenses represent a unfair competitive advantage for casinos at the expense of other bars and restaurants around the state.
Once the report is completed in June 2013, it's possible that liquor license restrictions will be relaxed across the state, DeRensis said.
The issue of how town public safety personnel would deal with the casino would be up for negotiation, according to the legislation, with the state gaming commission responsible for creating a memorandum of understanding between the town's police department and casino operators.
The memorandum would include details on how emergency calls for service at the casino would be handled, as well as how alleged crimes involving casino employees or patrons would be investigated.
The state law also suggests that casino operators establish an on-site day care program.
BY MATT KAKLEY SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
Any gaming venue in Foxboro would get its permits from state, not the town
FOXBORO - The town would be cut off from regulating liquor licenses or enforcing alcohol violations at a proposed resort casino across from Gillette Stadium on Route 1.
Under the state's new expanded gaming legislation, the casino would receive its alcohol license directly from the state, rather than from the town, as other bars and restaurants do.
The license would encompass the entire resort facility, including any restaurants or clubs contained within.
The town currently pursues a policy of strict alcohol enforcement at Gillette Stadium and at bars and restaurants, many of which are clustered at Patriot Place on Route 1.
Alcohol issues have plagued Foxboro in recent years and officials are working to strengthen the town's rules and regulations. Police Chief Edward O'Leary and Selectwoman Lorraine Brue have spent the better part of the past year looking at the issue and are expected to present their findings to the full board of selectmen soon.
The findings will deal with the town's enforcement efforts and inspection procedures, O'Leary said.
O'Leary said it was premature to say what effect a casino would have on the town's fight against alcohol abuse.
"It would be just mere speculation at this point about impacts," he said.
Town Counsel Paul DeRensis said Thursday the newly formed state gaming commission, in conjunction with the state's Alcohol Beverage Control Commission, would be charged with creating a Gaming Liquor Enforcement Unit.
The unit would be responsible for monitoring the gaming establishments and making sure they are in compliance with state law. Any punishments, such as those for serving an underage or intoxicated person, would be meted out by the state gaming commission.
Other businesses are investigated and punished by the town if there is an issue.
Casinos in the state will also be able to offer drink specials and free drinks to gamblers only, except between the hours of 2 and 8 a.m. - practices that are not permitted to other establishments in the state.
The free drinks are only allowed in the gaming area, not the rest of the facility.
As part of the legislation, the ABCC is charged with investigating and creating a report on whether the new gaming alcohol licenses represent a unfair competitive advantage for casinos at the expense of other bars and restaurants around the state.
Once the report is completed in June 2013, it's possible that liquor license restrictions will be relaxed across the state, DeRensis said.
The issue of how town public safety personnel would deal with the casino would be up for negotiation, according to the legislation, with the state gaming commission responsible for creating a memorandum of understanding between the town's police department and casino operators.
The memorandum would include details on how emergency calls for service at the casino would be handled, as well as how alleged crimes involving casino employees or patrons would be investigated.
The state law also suggests that casino operators establish an on-site day care program.
Foes Criticize Online Lottery
C-stores, Gambling Foes Criticize Online Lottery in Illinois
CHICAGO -- Convenience store operators and anti-gambling activists make strange bedfellows, but many of them have united in opposition to an Illinois lottery pilot program that would allow the state to sell lotto tickets over the internet, according to a WBEZ.org report. The program was approved in 2009 but put on hold until the U.S. Department of Justice gave its approval, which happened last week.
For the c-store industry, online lottery sales mean a potential loss of foot traffic. "When somebody comes inside the store to buy a lottery ticket, they're a whole lot more likely to buy something else -- whether it's a cup of coffee, a newspaper, a sandwich," said Jeff Lenard, spokesman for the industry trade association, NACS.
Addicted gamblers are the problem, according to the group Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems. "They could gamble on home computers, from the office, they could gamble on their cell phones, on their iPhones," noted Anita Bedell, head of the organization. "So, it's making gambling too accessible."
Illinois state law lets gamblers exclude themselves from the ability to create an online lottery account, according to the report, but Bedell stated that the system is not reliable and provides no effective way of preventing underage gamblers from purchasing tickets.
When buying tickets in convenience stores, customers must show identification and pay in cash. State officials have said that they will develop a website that ensures only adults are able to purchase lottery tickets.
CHICAGO -- Convenience store operators and anti-gambling activists make strange bedfellows, but many of them have united in opposition to an Illinois lottery pilot program that would allow the state to sell lotto tickets over the internet, according to a WBEZ.org report. The program was approved in 2009 but put on hold until the U.S. Department of Justice gave its approval, which happened last week.
For the c-store industry, online lottery sales mean a potential loss of foot traffic. "When somebody comes inside the store to buy a lottery ticket, they're a whole lot more likely to buy something else -- whether it's a cup of coffee, a newspaper, a sandwich," said Jeff Lenard, spokesman for the industry trade association, NACS.
Addicted gamblers are the problem, according to the group Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems. "They could gamble on home computers, from the office, they could gamble on their cell phones, on their iPhones," noted Anita Bedell, head of the organization. "So, it's making gambling too accessible."
Illinois state law lets gamblers exclude themselves from the ability to create an online lottery account, according to the report, but Bedell stated that the system is not reliable and provides no effective way of preventing underage gamblers from purchasing tickets.
When buying tickets in convenience stores, customers must show identification and pay in cash. State officials have said that they will develop a website that ensures only adults are able to purchase lottery tickets.
The state should not be in the gambling business
No dice on casinos in southeast Kansas
By Tim Carpenter
FRONTENAC — Dilapidated scoreboards, tattered roofing and junk piles at Camptown Greyhound Park epitomize the status of pari-mutuel racing in southeast Kansas.
While locks stiff-arm visitors outside this silent hulk in Crawford County, the venue was briefly a beehive of renovation after the state passed a 2007 law allowing slot machines at dog and horse racetracks. Work abruptly ceased when Camptown owner Phil Ruffin calculated the state's 40 percent cut of slot revenue was untenable during a recession.
"That was the worst time in the last 50 years to OK it," Ruffin said.
Despair about the circus life of gambling in this economically depressed region doesn't end at weed-choked Camptown. A consultant declared seven years ago Galena in neighboring Cherokee County was the best location in the state for a casino. None has been built in the old mining town while gambling edifices emerged in all three other zones formed by the state government.
As if to mock lost opportunity, a tribal casino opened in Oklahoma so close to the border that a parking lot for guests sits in Kansas.
Crawford County Commissioner Linda Grilz said political leaders in Topeka should approve legislation making it more likely commercial gambling takes its place by racetrack in Crawford County and by casino in Cherokee County.
"The state of Kansas had their hands too deep into the pockets of owner-operators," Grilz said. "We want this."
House and Senate Democrats are on Grilz' bandwagon, but Gov. Sam Brownback and his Republican allies are prepared to block a new campaign to magnify gambling.
'LEFT FIELD'
Conclusions in the 2004 study for gambling locations in the state by Christiansen Capital Advisors, of New Gloucester, Maine, shocked the 3,000 residents of Galena.
"It's out of left field," Galena Chamber of Commerce president Kathy Anderson said at the time.
Most Kansans couldn't find Galena without a map much less comprehend that a casino might generate $240 million in annual revenue from thrill seekers drawn from Springfield, Mo., Tulsa, Okla., or Fayetteville, Ark.
After moderate Republican and Democratic legislators collaborated with Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to light the fuse of new gambling activity, and the law was upheld by the Kansas Supreme Court, developers descended on zones coined for Wyandotte County, Ford County, Sedgwick or Sumner counties, and Cherokee or Crawford counties.
Penn National Gaming, of Wyomissing, Pa., stepped forward with the blueprint for a $295 million casino near Interstate 44 where Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma converge.
"A reflection of our eagerness to proceed with the tremendous economic development opportunity,” said Peter Carlino, Penn National's chairman and chief executive officer.
His enthusiasm vaporized as the economy wilted and formidable competition emerged.
SOUTHERN STRATEGY
When members of the Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board voted in 2008 to award a development contract to Penn National, handwriting was on the wall. Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma was preparing to christen the $300 million Downstream Casino in Oklahoma a short distance from Penn National's site in Kansas.
Penn National retooled its offer to hold initial casino investment to $125 million and layer $100 million into the venture over 12 years. This strategy of building casinos in phases, previously considered contrary to the intent of state law, was endorsed in a legal opinion from then-Attorney General Steve Six. [Watch this happen in Massachusetts!]
Eric Schippers, a Penn National vice president, added drama by threatening the company's withdraw from southeast Kansas if the review board didn't also pick Penn National's $340 million bid for a Wellington casino in south-central Kansas. The approach was know as Penn National's "southern strategy."
State regulators handed the south-central contract to a subsidiary of Harrah's Entertainment. Penn National backed out of southeast Kansas amid complaints the Quapaws held an edge because Oklahoma’s tax on casinos was lower than Kansas' 22 percent rate.
"The Quapaws have a tremendous revenue advantage that can be used for additional amenities, marketing and promotional giveaways," Schippers said.
ALTERNATIVE
Reps. Bob Grant, of Frontenac, and Doug Gatewood, of Columbus, said state officials should acknowledge reality by lowering minimum casino investment benchmarks to make a Kansas casino in the southeast viable.
Casino developers in the northeast, southeast and south-central zones were required by the 2007 law to invest $225 million in a casino and pay the state a $25 million fee. The statute set a baseline for southwest Kansas requiring a $50 million casino and $5.5 million fee.
A House bill introduced by Grant and Gatewood would obligate a southeast Kansas developer to put $100 million in a casino and pay the state $11 million. Both expressed frustration that House Speaker Mike O'Neal, R-Hutchinson, vowed to block the measure.
"That's all I've asked for is to have an honest, open debate — a democratic debate," Gatewood said.
Their bill also would let Camptown keep 58 percent of revenue by trimming the state share to 22 percent. Current law splits 80 percent between tracks and the state. Twenty percent goes to local government and breed industries.
"We voted to have gaming," Grant said. "Why can't we get it? It seems like we've been the unwanted stepchild down here."
House and Senate Democrats endorsed the strategy because it would generate $15.4 million annually by 2015 for cherished state programs, but Republican opposition lingers.
BLOWBACK
O'Neal remains disenchanted about how casino reforms embodied in Senate Bill 66 were rammed through in 2007.
"Supporters of gambling got the bill they wanted in SB 66, and now need to live with the consequences, both good and bad," the House speaker said. "Those who want a 'redo' need to keep in mind that opponents of gambling may want one, too. The state should not be in the gambling business."
O'Neal said he would enjoy a vote to eliminate the exemption for casinos in Kansas' indoor smoking ban.
Senate President Steve Morris, R-Hugoton, said there was no broad appetite in the Senate to rethink the smoking ban or shrink the state's potential share of racetrack slot revenue. A bill devoted exclusively to casino investment in southeast Kansas may find support, he said.
"If it gets through the House first," Morris said, "it might have some traction in the Senate."
The Republican governor cautioned against a gambling debate in the 2012 legislative session because the agenda was loaded with weighty budget, tax, school finance and Medicaid policy.
"I don't want to address the gaming issue this legislative session," Brownback said.
Dallas businessman Larry Waldrop, part of two casino bids in Kansas, said the $225 million minimum should hold. He said a casino in southeast Kansas would benefit from Downstream, which drew 2.2 million people in 2010.
"A quality facility next to the tribal facility would succeed similar to the restaurant-row theory," Waldrop said. "I would create a gaming destination area."
TRACKS TOAST?
Doug Lawrence, who represents the Kansas Greyhound Association, is part of a new effort to ask Sedgwick County voters to endorse slot machines at racetracks.
He is interested in influencing political opinion about reopening Wichita Greyhound Park, which closed in 2007 after the county's voters rejected both a casino or track with slots. The Woodlands track in Kansas City, Kan., has steadily fallen into disrepair since it closed in 2008. Camptown hasn't heard the bark of a dog in years.
Lawrence said the state's breeders were gravitating to elsewhere because the business collapsed in Kansas. It may be too late to restore greyhound or horse racing in Kansas.
"Both of those industries have declined in many parts of the country," said Bob Sheldon, general manager of Penn National Gaming's nearly completed Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan.
For some drawn to this debate, racetracks don't deserve a lifeline tied to slot machines.
"Do we bail out a failing typewriter company by giving them slots?" said Dave Heinemann, a former state legislator and lobbyist for the anti-gambling organization Stand Up for Kansas.
BALANCE
Galena Mayor Dale Oglesby said the state's plodding approach to advancing casino and racetrack gambling allowed Oklahoma to usurp Kansas. Hundreds of jobs that could have been secured in Cherokee County have been lost, he said.
"Our government moves too slow," Oglesby said.
Former Baxter Springs Mayor Huey York said political leadership in Topeka should rebound by assigning proper credit to casinos as an economic development tool.
If an aviation company dangled 500 new jobs, York said, the state would eagerly offer incentives at taxpayer expense. For example, the state issued $33 million in bonds to support Bombardier LearJet's expansion in Wichita in exchange for several hundred jobs.
"We would open our economic development suitcase," York said. "We're not going to give up down here."
By Tim Carpenter
FRONTENAC — Dilapidated scoreboards, tattered roofing and junk piles at Camptown Greyhound Park epitomize the status of pari-mutuel racing in southeast Kansas.
While locks stiff-arm visitors outside this silent hulk in Crawford County, the venue was briefly a beehive of renovation after the state passed a 2007 law allowing slot machines at dog and horse racetracks. Work abruptly ceased when Camptown owner Phil Ruffin calculated the state's 40 percent cut of slot revenue was untenable during a recession.
"That was the worst time in the last 50 years to OK it," Ruffin said.
Despair about the circus life of gambling in this economically depressed region doesn't end at weed-choked Camptown. A consultant declared seven years ago Galena in neighboring Cherokee County was the best location in the state for a casino. None has been built in the old mining town while gambling edifices emerged in all three other zones formed by the state government.
As if to mock lost opportunity, a tribal casino opened in Oklahoma so close to the border that a parking lot for guests sits in Kansas.
Crawford County Commissioner Linda Grilz said political leaders in Topeka should approve legislation making it more likely commercial gambling takes its place by racetrack in Crawford County and by casino in Cherokee County.
"The state of Kansas had their hands too deep into the pockets of owner-operators," Grilz said. "We want this."
House and Senate Democrats are on Grilz' bandwagon, but Gov. Sam Brownback and his Republican allies are prepared to block a new campaign to magnify gambling.
'LEFT FIELD'
Conclusions in the 2004 study for gambling locations in the state by Christiansen Capital Advisors, of New Gloucester, Maine, shocked the 3,000 residents of Galena.
"It's out of left field," Galena Chamber of Commerce president Kathy Anderson said at the time.
Most Kansans couldn't find Galena without a map much less comprehend that a casino might generate $240 million in annual revenue from thrill seekers drawn from Springfield, Mo., Tulsa, Okla., or Fayetteville, Ark.
After moderate Republican and Democratic legislators collaborated with Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to light the fuse of new gambling activity, and the law was upheld by the Kansas Supreme Court, developers descended on zones coined for Wyandotte County, Ford County, Sedgwick or Sumner counties, and Cherokee or Crawford counties.
Penn National Gaming, of Wyomissing, Pa., stepped forward with the blueprint for a $295 million casino near Interstate 44 where Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma converge.
"A reflection of our eagerness to proceed with the tremendous economic development opportunity,” said Peter Carlino, Penn National's chairman and chief executive officer.
His enthusiasm vaporized as the economy wilted and formidable competition emerged.
SOUTHERN STRATEGY
When members of the Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board voted in 2008 to award a development contract to Penn National, handwriting was on the wall. Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma was preparing to christen the $300 million Downstream Casino in Oklahoma a short distance from Penn National's site in Kansas.
Penn National retooled its offer to hold initial casino investment to $125 million and layer $100 million into the venture over 12 years. This strategy of building casinos in phases, previously considered contrary to the intent of state law, was endorsed in a legal opinion from then-Attorney General Steve Six. [Watch this happen in Massachusetts!]
Eric Schippers, a Penn National vice president, added drama by threatening the company's withdraw from southeast Kansas if the review board didn't also pick Penn National's $340 million bid for a Wellington casino in south-central Kansas. The approach was know as Penn National's "southern strategy."
State regulators handed the south-central contract to a subsidiary of Harrah's Entertainment. Penn National backed out of southeast Kansas amid complaints the Quapaws held an edge because Oklahoma’s tax on casinos was lower than Kansas' 22 percent rate.
"The Quapaws have a tremendous revenue advantage that can be used for additional amenities, marketing and promotional giveaways," Schippers said.
ALTERNATIVE
Reps. Bob Grant, of Frontenac, and Doug Gatewood, of Columbus, said state officials should acknowledge reality by lowering minimum casino investment benchmarks to make a Kansas casino in the southeast viable.
Casino developers in the northeast, southeast and south-central zones were required by the 2007 law to invest $225 million in a casino and pay the state a $25 million fee. The statute set a baseline for southwest Kansas requiring a $50 million casino and $5.5 million fee.
A House bill introduced by Grant and Gatewood would obligate a southeast Kansas developer to put $100 million in a casino and pay the state $11 million. Both expressed frustration that House Speaker Mike O'Neal, R-Hutchinson, vowed to block the measure.
"That's all I've asked for is to have an honest, open debate — a democratic debate," Gatewood said.
Their bill also would let Camptown keep 58 percent of revenue by trimming the state share to 22 percent. Current law splits 80 percent between tracks and the state. Twenty percent goes to local government and breed industries.
"We voted to have gaming," Grant said. "Why can't we get it? It seems like we've been the unwanted stepchild down here."
House and Senate Democrats endorsed the strategy because it would generate $15.4 million annually by 2015 for cherished state programs, but Republican opposition lingers.
BLOWBACK
O'Neal remains disenchanted about how casino reforms embodied in Senate Bill 66 were rammed through in 2007.
"Supporters of gambling got the bill they wanted in SB 66, and now need to live with the consequences, both good and bad," the House speaker said. "Those who want a 'redo' need to keep in mind that opponents of gambling may want one, too. The state should not be in the gambling business."
O'Neal said he would enjoy a vote to eliminate the exemption for casinos in Kansas' indoor smoking ban.
Senate President Steve Morris, R-Hugoton, said there was no broad appetite in the Senate to rethink the smoking ban or shrink the state's potential share of racetrack slot revenue. A bill devoted exclusively to casino investment in southeast Kansas may find support, he said.
"If it gets through the House first," Morris said, "it might have some traction in the Senate."
The Republican governor cautioned against a gambling debate in the 2012 legislative session because the agenda was loaded with weighty budget, tax, school finance and Medicaid policy.
"I don't want to address the gaming issue this legislative session," Brownback said.
Dallas businessman Larry Waldrop, part of two casino bids in Kansas, said the $225 million minimum should hold. He said a casino in southeast Kansas would benefit from Downstream, which drew 2.2 million people in 2010.
"A quality facility next to the tribal facility would succeed similar to the restaurant-row theory," Waldrop said. "I would create a gaming destination area."
TRACKS TOAST?
Doug Lawrence, who represents the Kansas Greyhound Association, is part of a new effort to ask Sedgwick County voters to endorse slot machines at racetracks.
He is interested in influencing political opinion about reopening Wichita Greyhound Park, which closed in 2007 after the county's voters rejected both a casino or track with slots. The Woodlands track in Kansas City, Kan., has steadily fallen into disrepair since it closed in 2008. Camptown hasn't heard the bark of a dog in years.
Lawrence said the state's breeders were gravitating to elsewhere because the business collapsed in Kansas. It may be too late to restore greyhound or horse racing in Kansas.
"Both of those industries have declined in many parts of the country," said Bob Sheldon, general manager of Penn National Gaming's nearly completed Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan.
For some drawn to this debate, racetracks don't deserve a lifeline tied to slot machines.
"Do we bail out a failing typewriter company by giving them slots?" said Dave Heinemann, a former state legislator and lobbyist for the anti-gambling organization Stand Up for Kansas.
BALANCE
Galena Mayor Dale Oglesby said the state's plodding approach to advancing casino and racetrack gambling allowed Oklahoma to usurp Kansas. Hundreds of jobs that could have been secured in Cherokee County have been lost, he said.
"Our government moves too slow," Oglesby said.
Former Baxter Springs Mayor Huey York said political leadership in Topeka should rebound by assigning proper credit to casinos as an economic development tool.
If an aviation company dangled 500 new jobs, York said, the state would eagerly offer incentives at taxpayer expense. For example, the state issued $33 million in bonds to support Bombardier LearJet's expansion in Wichita in exchange for several hundred jobs.
"We would open our economic development suitcase," York said. "We're not going to give up down here."
Patrons stand to lose big if they fail to play by casino rules
Patrons stand to lose big if they fail to play by casino rules
By Kari Andren, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Not everyone barred from entering a Pennsylvania casino committed a crime.
In fact, most of those banned voluntarily added themselves to the list because of compulsive gambling problems. As of Dec. 1, more than 3,120 people asked to be barred from the state's casinos for a year, five years or life.
Fifty-six percent of those on the list banned themselves for one year; 19 percent opted for a five-year ban and 25 percent chose lifetime exclusion. Since the self-exclusion list started in November 2006, records show 436 known violations.
Violating the voluntary ban nets a trespassing charge -- a summary offense -- but can escalate with repeated offenses, said Liz Lanza, director of state Gaming Control Board's Office of Compulsive and Problem Gambling.
Unlike those banned from casinos for wrongdoing, whose photos and offenses are public, officials guard the privacy of people on the voluntary list. Only high-level employees at the casinos and the gaming board know their identities, Lanza said.
To be voluntarily banned, an individual must appear at one of the board's regional offices or any casino, present government-issued ID and fill out paperwork. The state provides the information and a photograph to casinos statewide.
A person remains on the list until he or she requests removal, regardless of the length of their ban.
If Kerry Allan Laverde passed through the shimmering glass doors of the Rivers Casino to place a wager, he could find himself in a scenario right out of the movies.
Above the casino floor, security officers in a closely guarded surveillance room watch a bank of computers using face-recognition software that would detect Laverde's presence.
Speaking into the ear pieces of their counterparts on the casino floor, the security officers would tell them that Laverde -- one of 45 people banned from Pennsylvania's 10 casinos for offenses ranging from cheating at blackjack and stealing chips to leaving children unattended -- is in the house.
Officers would descend on Laverde, whisk him away and then turn him over to state troopers stationed at the gaming hall.
"It's not a place to come and hide, with all the cameras that are in here," said Rivers General Manager Craig Clark, surveying the casino's 3,000 slot machines and 108 tables that are under constant human and electronic scrutiny.
Casino camera systems are so sophisticated that they can peer inside a woman's purse, said Hamid Kreidie, a King of Prussia-based security consultant. Face-recognition technology is so advanced that the software could identify even an offender who had facial surgery, said Ken Braunstein, a security consultant and professor emeritus at University of Nevada, Reno.
Clark's wagering world leaves many things to chance. But some sure bets exist.
If you break the rules, Pennsylvania gambling regulators will ban you from every casino in the state and likely file criminal charges. If you try to return, you'll be caught and prosecuted.
Just ask Laverde, a former Swissvale police officer who conspired with two others to exploit a poker machine software glitch at the Meadows Racetrack and Casino in North Strabane, causing it to pay double jackpots. The men won nearly $430,000 between June and August 2009, records show.
Laverde, 52, of Swissvale and Patrick Loushil, 45, of Brookline pleaded guilty and received three years' probation. Federal prosecutors charged the third man, Andre Nestor, 40, of Swissvale with the same crime in Las Vegas, and he awaits trial there.
Laverde would not comment about the case, but said, "I have no interest in any casino anywhere in the country."
Meadows officials declined a request to be interviewed for this story.
The list grows
Last month, the state Gaming Control Board expanded the list of those banned when they voted to add six people.
Among the newly banned are Charles H. Baker, 54 of Wheeling, W.Va., and Kevin B. Pendleton, 47, of South Franklin in Washington County. Records show the Meadows cited them for violations.
Baker, a casino employee, and Pendleton, a patron, were arrested for cheating at craps between May 30 and June 11 to win about $6,256. Both were admitted to a first-time offenders program and each was ordered to pay $3,128 in restitution, plus court costs.
With the start of table games at state casinos in July 2010, new scams emerged. That's the year the state began banning violators.
Card counting, a complex strategy players use primarily in blackjack to keep a running tally of high and low cards in play, led to several bannings. Officials barred others for capping bets, or adding chips to a bet that won, typically at a roulette wheel. They cited some for passing counterfeit cash or gambling chips.
Fifteen of the 45 people on the list left children, some as young as 15 months, outside casinos while they gambled.
"I am really remorseful for what I did. I'm not that type of mother," Sharon Balek, 36, of Philadelphia told a judge, admitting a gambling addiction led her to leave her 8- and 16-year-old daughters in her car outside Parx casino in Bensalem for five hours.
State Rep. Mike O'Brien, D-Philadelphia, introduced legislation making it a third-degree misdemeanor to leave a child younger than 14 unattended in a vehicle at a casino. The House approved the measure in early December and it awaits Senate action.
Some of the incidents that led to bannings had nothing to do with actually gambling.
Steven Min, 37, of Cherry Hill, N.J., was arrested in 2010 for posing on Craigslist as a casino official seeking massage therapists to cater to high rollers at the Sands Casino in Bethlehem. Min was banned in 2011 after nine arrests for incidents at casinos in Bensalem, Bethlehem, Chester, Philadelphia, Wilkes-Barre and Washington, records show.
Min said he never claimed to work for Sands, but he told a woman he interviewed that he owns taxis in Manhattan and planned to bring clients to the casino.
Min, who said he's barred from casinos in New Jersey, Mississippi, Illinois and Indiana, said he thinks officials are threatened by knowledge he gained while working as a casino host in Atlantic City.
The numbers
With 16, Parx Casino has had the most incidents that banned players. Presque Isle Downs in Erie and SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia have not barred any gamblers, but that doesn't mean their security is any better or worse, said gaming board spokesman Richard McGarvey.
"At this point, it just happens that nothing has come forward ... for those two particular casinos," he said.
Pennsylvania has banned more gamblers than Nevada, which has barred 33 people from its 449 casinos -- only the most notorious offenders, said David Salas, deputy chief of the Nevada Gaming Commission's enforcement division.
"If we were to put everybody in the black book who was convicted of (one offense) ... we'd need a truck to haul it around," Salas said.
New Jersey has banned 205 from its 12 casinos since its list began in 1979.
Pennsylvania's banned gamblers stay on the list until they successfully petition gambling regulators to be removed, said communications director Doug Harbach, who added that the board hasn't taken anyone off the list.
Casinos lose if they fail to keep out banned gamblers.
Harrah's Chester received a $10,000 fine on Dec. 20 for allowing someone on the voluntary ban list to enter the casino twice in recent months. The Meadows faced $30,000 in fines for permitting entrance in December 2009 and July 2010 to people who voluntarily banned themselves.
Rivers security officer Christina Ober has to multitask in her job of monitoring the casino floor. A criminal justice student and Beaver native, she constantly scans three monitors, reviews incident reports and studies photos of banned gamblers.
Outside, Ober's counterpart, Theodore Gilder of Pittsburgh, patrols the perimeter of the 450,000-square-foot casino, watching traffic and looking for anyone trying to sneak inside.
"I expect the best, but the worst is possible," he said
By Kari Andren, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Not everyone barred from entering a Pennsylvania casino committed a crime.
In fact, most of those banned voluntarily added themselves to the list because of compulsive gambling problems. As of Dec. 1, more than 3,120 people asked to be barred from the state's casinos for a year, five years or life.
Fifty-six percent of those on the list banned themselves for one year; 19 percent opted for a five-year ban and 25 percent chose lifetime exclusion. Since the self-exclusion list started in November 2006, records show 436 known violations.
Violating the voluntary ban nets a trespassing charge -- a summary offense -- but can escalate with repeated offenses, said Liz Lanza, director of state Gaming Control Board's Office of Compulsive and Problem Gambling.
Unlike those banned from casinos for wrongdoing, whose photos and offenses are public, officials guard the privacy of people on the voluntary list. Only high-level employees at the casinos and the gaming board know their identities, Lanza said.
To be voluntarily banned, an individual must appear at one of the board's regional offices or any casino, present government-issued ID and fill out paperwork. The state provides the information and a photograph to casinos statewide.
A person remains on the list until he or she requests removal, regardless of the length of their ban.
If Kerry Allan Laverde passed through the shimmering glass doors of the Rivers Casino to place a wager, he could find himself in a scenario right out of the movies.
Above the casino floor, security officers in a closely guarded surveillance room watch a bank of computers using face-recognition software that would detect Laverde's presence.
Speaking into the ear pieces of their counterparts on the casino floor, the security officers would tell them that Laverde -- one of 45 people banned from Pennsylvania's 10 casinos for offenses ranging from cheating at blackjack and stealing chips to leaving children unattended -- is in the house.
Officers would descend on Laverde, whisk him away and then turn him over to state troopers stationed at the gaming hall.
"It's not a place to come and hide, with all the cameras that are in here," said Rivers General Manager Craig Clark, surveying the casino's 3,000 slot machines and 108 tables that are under constant human and electronic scrutiny.
Casino camera systems are so sophisticated that they can peer inside a woman's purse, said Hamid Kreidie, a King of Prussia-based security consultant. Face-recognition technology is so advanced that the software could identify even an offender who had facial surgery, said Ken Braunstein, a security consultant and professor emeritus at University of Nevada, Reno.
Clark's wagering world leaves many things to chance. But some sure bets exist.
If you break the rules, Pennsylvania gambling regulators will ban you from every casino in the state and likely file criminal charges. If you try to return, you'll be caught and prosecuted.
Just ask Laverde, a former Swissvale police officer who conspired with two others to exploit a poker machine software glitch at the Meadows Racetrack and Casino in North Strabane, causing it to pay double jackpots. The men won nearly $430,000 between June and August 2009, records show.
Laverde, 52, of Swissvale and Patrick Loushil, 45, of Brookline pleaded guilty and received three years' probation. Federal prosecutors charged the third man, Andre Nestor, 40, of Swissvale with the same crime in Las Vegas, and he awaits trial there.
Laverde would not comment about the case, but said, "I have no interest in any casino anywhere in the country."
Meadows officials declined a request to be interviewed for this story.
The list grows
Last month, the state Gaming Control Board expanded the list of those banned when they voted to add six people.
Among the newly banned are Charles H. Baker, 54 of Wheeling, W.Va., and Kevin B. Pendleton, 47, of South Franklin in Washington County. Records show the Meadows cited them for violations.
Baker, a casino employee, and Pendleton, a patron, were arrested for cheating at craps between May 30 and June 11 to win about $6,256. Both were admitted to a first-time offenders program and each was ordered to pay $3,128 in restitution, plus court costs.
With the start of table games at state casinos in July 2010, new scams emerged. That's the year the state began banning violators.
Card counting, a complex strategy players use primarily in blackjack to keep a running tally of high and low cards in play, led to several bannings. Officials barred others for capping bets, or adding chips to a bet that won, typically at a roulette wheel. They cited some for passing counterfeit cash or gambling chips.
Fifteen of the 45 people on the list left children, some as young as 15 months, outside casinos while they gambled.
"I am really remorseful for what I did. I'm not that type of mother," Sharon Balek, 36, of Philadelphia told a judge, admitting a gambling addiction led her to leave her 8- and 16-year-old daughters in her car outside Parx casino in Bensalem for five hours.
State Rep. Mike O'Brien, D-Philadelphia, introduced legislation making it a third-degree misdemeanor to leave a child younger than 14 unattended in a vehicle at a casino. The House approved the measure in early December and it awaits Senate action.
Some of the incidents that led to bannings had nothing to do with actually gambling.
Steven Min, 37, of Cherry Hill, N.J., was arrested in 2010 for posing on Craigslist as a casino official seeking massage therapists to cater to high rollers at the Sands Casino in Bethlehem. Min was banned in 2011 after nine arrests for incidents at casinos in Bensalem, Bethlehem, Chester, Philadelphia, Wilkes-Barre and Washington, records show.
Min said he never claimed to work for Sands, but he told a woman he interviewed that he owns taxis in Manhattan and planned to bring clients to the casino.
Min, who said he's barred from casinos in New Jersey, Mississippi, Illinois and Indiana, said he thinks officials are threatened by knowledge he gained while working as a casino host in Atlantic City.
The numbers
With 16, Parx Casino has had the most incidents that banned players. Presque Isle Downs in Erie and SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia have not barred any gamblers, but that doesn't mean their security is any better or worse, said gaming board spokesman Richard McGarvey.
"At this point, it just happens that nothing has come forward ... for those two particular casinos," he said.
Pennsylvania has banned more gamblers than Nevada, which has barred 33 people from its 449 casinos -- only the most notorious offenders, said David Salas, deputy chief of the Nevada Gaming Commission's enforcement division.
"If we were to put everybody in the black book who was convicted of (one offense) ... we'd need a truck to haul it around," Salas said.
New Jersey has banned 205 from its 12 casinos since its list began in 1979.
Pennsylvania's banned gamblers stay on the list until they successfully petition gambling regulators to be removed, said communications director Doug Harbach, who added that the board hasn't taken anyone off the list.
Casinos lose if they fail to keep out banned gamblers.
Harrah's Chester received a $10,000 fine on Dec. 20 for allowing someone on the voluntary ban list to enter the casino twice in recent months. The Meadows faced $30,000 in fines for permitting entrance in December 2009 and July 2010 to people who voluntarily banned themselves.
Rivers security officer Christina Ober has to multitask in her job of monitoring the casino floor. A criminal justice student and Beaver native, she constantly scans three monitors, reviews incident reports and studies photos of banned gamblers.
Outside, Ober's counterpart, Theodore Gilder of Pittsburgh, patrols the perimeter of the 450,000-square-foot casino, watching traffic and looking for anyone trying to sneak inside.
"I expect the best, but the worst is possible," he said
Protestors show up in opposition to new casino
Protestors show up in opposition to new casino
Indian tribe to build facility near schools
By Chris Davis and Russell Mills
TULSA, Okla. —
The signs say it all. About 100 Broken Arrow residents showed up where a press conference was set to take place Thursday on the casino being built at S. 111th St. and 129th E. Ave.
"Save BA-No Casino" read one sign. Others said pretty much the same.
The press conference was led by Jared Cawley, an expert on Indian law and a resident of the neighborhood just north of the casino site.
He says the project is illegal under state, federal and local law and residents will do what it takes to get it stopped.
The Kialegee Tribal Town, a group affiliated with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is planning a temporary slot machine facility that could open as early as March.
The tribe apparently claims sovereignty over the tract of land, according to signs posted there.
However, no one -- including the Kialegee Tribal Town, the Muscogee Nation, their attorneys, the developers, or the land owners will talk with residents or the media about the situation.
A more permanent structure would open in 2013. The complex would be called the Red Clay Casino.
But, not if Broken Arrow residents have their way. Many have shown up at city council meetings vocalizing their opposition to the planned gambling establishment, fearful of a moral breakdown in their town.
However, protesters said Thursday, the council has so far refused to allow an agenda item on the casino for next Tuesday's council meeting.
Some in Thursday's crowd say they're opposed to gaming on moral grounds. Others say they just think the location's wrong.
Phil Dietz, another neighbor, told KRMG "I'm not necessarily against gaming in general, but this is the wrong place for a casino."
He points out that Tulsa Tech's Broken Arrow campus is immediately across the street. The land to the northeast will soon become home to a new pre-k and elementary school.
North of the casino project, quiet neighborhoods where Dietz fears property values will begin to drop if the casino gets built.
Lori Pettus says she's extremely concerned about the proximity of the vo-tech, where inexperienced high school-age drivers will "according to the law of averages" come in contact with impaired drivers leaving the casino after drinking.
She's also fearful of the intentions of the builders, who have not communicated at all with area residents. People in the area all say they learned about the project when giant earthmovers began working on the site.
"We are all very concerned about the conspiracy of silence that has enveloped this whole operation," she told KRMG. "If we cannot stop this, then any community is vulnerable, any community can be invaded.
Perhaps the sign which most succinctly and directly summed up the feelings of the crowd read simply: "CasiNO."
Indian tribe to build facility near schools
By Chris Davis and Russell Mills
TULSA, Okla. —
The signs say it all. About 100 Broken Arrow residents showed up where a press conference was set to take place Thursday on the casino being built at S. 111th St. and 129th E. Ave.
"Save BA-No Casino" read one sign. Others said pretty much the same.
The press conference was led by Jared Cawley, an expert on Indian law and a resident of the neighborhood just north of the casino site.
He says the project is illegal under state, federal and local law and residents will do what it takes to get it stopped.
The Kialegee Tribal Town, a group affiliated with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is planning a temporary slot machine facility that could open as early as March.
The tribe apparently claims sovereignty over the tract of land, according to signs posted there.
However, no one -- including the Kialegee Tribal Town, the Muscogee Nation, their attorneys, the developers, or the land owners will talk with residents or the media about the situation.
A more permanent structure would open in 2013. The complex would be called the Red Clay Casino.
But, not if Broken Arrow residents have their way. Many have shown up at city council meetings vocalizing their opposition to the planned gambling establishment, fearful of a moral breakdown in their town.
However, protesters said Thursday, the council has so far refused to allow an agenda item on the casino for next Tuesday's council meeting.
Some in Thursday's crowd say they're opposed to gaming on moral grounds. Others say they just think the location's wrong.
Phil Dietz, another neighbor, told KRMG "I'm not necessarily against gaming in general, but this is the wrong place for a casino."
He points out that Tulsa Tech's Broken Arrow campus is immediately across the street. The land to the northeast will soon become home to a new pre-k and elementary school.
North of the casino project, quiet neighborhoods where Dietz fears property values will begin to drop if the casino gets built.
Lori Pettus says she's extremely concerned about the proximity of the vo-tech, where inexperienced high school-age drivers will "according to the law of averages" come in contact with impaired drivers leaving the casino after drinking.
She's also fearful of the intentions of the builders, who have not communicated at all with area residents. People in the area all say they learned about the project when giant earthmovers began working on the site.
"We are all very concerned about the conspiracy of silence that has enveloped this whole operation," she told KRMG. "If we cannot stop this, then any community is vulnerable, any community can be invaded.
Perhaps the sign which most succinctly and directly summed up the feelings of the crowd read simply: "CasiNO."
2011 in Review: Vancouver Gambling Opposition
Unrest drove Vancouver politics in 2011
Cup riot, Occupy Vancouver, casino protests rocked city hall
By Mike Howell, Staff writer
A mega casino proposal, a hockey riot and an international protest movement were all tied to Mayor Gregor Robertson and his 10 city councillors.
But first a look back to the spring and Las Vegas-based Paragon Gaming’s proposal to build a mega casino adjacent to B.C. Place Stadium. From the outset, many city hall watchers predicted city council would rubber stamp the proposal that was first announced by former premier Gordon Campbell.
But after a marathon session of public hearings, all bets were off on a predictable outcome. A strong lobby by grassroots group Vancouver Not Vegas! , which attracted a wide array of prominent Vancouverites, countered an organized push from casino employees. Council voted unanimously to quash the proposal for 1,500 slot machines and 150 games tables. It, however, left the door open for Paragon to move its casino licence from Edgewater Casino at the Plaza of Nations to the property adjacent to B.C. Place Stadium.
So what possibly can the news gods have in store for 2012 that will erase memories of burning police cars, protest camps and mega casinos?
Cup riot, Occupy Vancouver, casino protests rocked city hall
By Mike Howell, Staff writer
A mega casino proposal, a hockey riot and an international protest movement were all tied to Mayor Gregor Robertson and his 10 city councillors.
But first a look back to the spring and Las Vegas-based Paragon Gaming’s proposal to build a mega casino adjacent to B.C. Place Stadium. From the outset, many city hall watchers predicted city council would rubber stamp the proposal that was first announced by former premier Gordon Campbell.
But after a marathon session of public hearings, all bets were off on a predictable outcome. A strong lobby by grassroots group Vancouver Not Vegas! , which attracted a wide array of prominent Vancouverites, countered an organized push from casino employees. Council voted unanimously to quash the proposal for 1,500 slot machines and 150 games tables. It, however, left the door open for Paragon to move its casino licence from Edgewater Casino at the Plaza of Nations to the property adjacent to B.C. Place Stadium.
So what possibly can the news gods have in store for 2012 that will erase memories of burning police cars, protest camps and mega casinos?
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