When Russia closed down thousands of casinos in 2009, that nation’s economy improved, says Kindt. “Crime, bankruptcy, and gambling addiction were on the rise,” he notes. “That’s why Russia shut down the casinos. And most important, they [casinos] were killing their economy.”
The Casino Effect
Written by Erik Bojnansky - BT Senior Writer
According to professor John Kindt, it is destructive -- always and without exception
According to John Warren Kindt, a professor of business and legal policy at the University of Illinois, the City of Miami will experience a burst of economic activity if the Genting Group, a Malaysian-based corporation, wins the right to build Resorts World Miami, a $3.8 billion casino complex where the Miami Herald building and Omni Mall now stand.
“Generally there is a bump lasting about two to three years,” says Kindt, who has studied casinos for two decades. “There are new construction jobs and a lot of activity as money is coming in.”
But Kindt warns that the bump won’t last: “Once the project is completed, and slot machines come in, [the casino] takes everything.”
After that Miami will lose jobs as businesses within a 35-mile radius of casinos like Resorts World Miami see their profits shrink, says Kindt, thanks to local residents gambling away their wages, mainly at slot machines.
Crimes committed by gambling addicts will increase nine percent every year while sales-tax revenues decline. Casinos will hire vast armies of lobbyists and contribute generously to the campaigns of pro-casino politicians, enabling them to lower taxes charged on their slot machines and to rewrite legislation to fulfill their needs. Casinos, Kindt contends, may even get local government to seize private property through eminent domain, just as they have in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, in order to expand their operations.
“You are going to find that they [casino owners] will have the power,” says Kindt. “They change things to their benefit. Initially there will be all these restrictions, but they will drop away. In most states [with casinos], it takes a couple of years.”
Kindt issued such dire warnings to a Miami audience this past December, during a forum on casino resorts. The gathering was hosted by the Beacon Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the economic development of Miami-Dade County.
A faculty member of the University of Illinois’s School of Business since 1978, Kindt has written numerous papers on antitrust, tax, commercial, environmental, and international law. However, his main expertise is the economics of gambling -- from Internet poker games to lavish casinos.
He became a critic of casinos in 1992, after the gambling industry invited him and other economists to analyze their proposal for a casino in downtown Chicago. The plan, which was supposed to create thousands of new jobs and a lucrative tax source, seemed wonderful at first, Kindt remembers. But upon closer examination by the economists, the casino industry’s assertions were revealed to be wrong. “Within ten days,” says Kindt, “all my economic colleagues determined that this was a con game.”
“Certainly Kindt is a wealth of knowledge on this issue,” says Brad Swanson, vice president of corporate and strategic policies for the Florida Chamber of Commerce, an organization that has opposed casino gambling for the past 20 years. Swanson fears Miami could become another Atlantic City, where some 40 percent of independently owned restaurants closed down during the first decade of gambling in that city.
Frank Nero, president and CEO of the Beacon Council, is familiar with Atlantic City’s 1978 foray into gambling. He was New Jersey’s regional representative to the U.S. Department of Labor when casinos were being proposed.
As a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, Nero backed the proposal, but eventually saw that the gambling industry’s promises of prosperity fell short. The experience has given him an appreciation for some of Kindt’s findings: “A lot of what he says is valid. I think some of the same kind of promises that I saw at Atlantic City are being replicated here.” (The Beacon Council is officially neutral on casinos.)
A broad, meandering, rooftop lagoon is one planned feature of Resorts World Miami. Courtesy: Resorts World Miami
Nero and Swanson are worried about a pair of bills sponsored by state Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff (R-Fort Lauderdale) and state Rep. Erik Fresen (R-Miami) that would allow three “destination resorts” in Florida counties where such complexes are approved by voters. The bills would also lower the taxes charged to existing and new operators of slot machines from 35 percent to 10 percent, legalize 24-hour gambling, and remove existing prohibitions on serving complimentary alcohol to casino patrons. Bogdanoff’s bill also enables more pari-mutuels to obtain slot machines and other Las Vegas-style games such as blackjack or roulette.
If resort casinos are allowed to open their doors in Florida, Kindt predicts they will make local economies worse. “And not just worse, enormously worse,” he warns. “This is all about taking money out of Florida -- and not even back to Nevada, like most casinos, but to Malaysia.”
Christian Goode counters that the Genting Group is not like American casino companies. Goode, who is president of Resorts World Miami, claims that Genting, which operates “destination resort” casinos in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, England, and New York City, aims to attract wealthy tourists, not poor locals. “Resorts World Miami’s revenue model is built on attracting new-to-market tourists from around the world to Miami,” Goode says. “All told, we expect approximately 70 percent of our guests to be from outside the local market.”
Indeed, if Resorts World Miami is anything like the Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore, the casino will be only part of the operation. That complex includes five resort hotels, a luxury condo, a Universal Studios theme park, the Maritime Experimental Museum and Aquarium, a marine-life park, more than 60 bars and clubs, 45 stores, and beachfront villas.
Current plans for Resorts World Miami include four luxury hotels with 5200 rooms, two condo towers with 1000 units, an expansive rooftop lagoon, a sandy beach, more than 50 restaurants and clubs, 700,000 square feet of convention meeting space, and a multimedia center.
So far Genting has invested more than $400 million buying up 30 acres of property along the Biscayne Corridor, according to the New York Times . That figure includes the $236 million Genting spent last year for 14 acres of waterfront land, including the Miami Herald’s building.
Genting also paid $206 million to gain control of the 900,000-square-foot Omni Mall, a 2300-space parking garage, and the adjoining 525-room Hilton hotel.
Aside from the land purchases, Genting has given $10,000 each to political action committees aligned with Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Joe Martinez, the Miami Herald reported. Genting also funneled $628,320 to the state Republican and Democratic parties and hired at least two dozen lobbying firms, the New York Times reported.
Goode assures that a “world-class destination-resort experience with a gaming amenity” will attract between two and three million people to Miami each year. “We chose to invest in Miami because of what’s already here,” Goode says. “Our ‘export business model’ thrives because the resort is integrated within a city that already has strong tourist appeal and a diverse business base. That will bring new tourists here -- and bring them back.” Goode, who previously worked at Genting’s New York City operation, promises that “destination resorts” based on Genting’s model will create up to 100,000 new jobs. HORSE MANURE!
Kindt argues that most of the jobs available to local residents will pay less than $30,000 per year. He also scoffs at the notion that Genting’s casino will attract large numbers of gamblers from abroad, particularly Asia: “Who in the world is going to fly from Malaysia to Miami when they have all those gambling operations in Hong Kong and Macau?”
More likely, Kindt says, is that Resorts World Miami will seek to keep as many tourism dollars as it can for itself. Since the resort’s amenities and attractions will be subsidized by gambling revenue, restaurants and hotels outside of Resorts World Miami will find it difficult to compete. “They [destination resorts] will offer free meals and free hotel rooms,” Kindt says. “The existing hotels can’t compete with free.”
Kindt also says that casino games such as poker, blackjack, and roulette are merely “window dressing” designed to draw in players. Slot machines, which include video poker and other electronic gambling machines, are at the heart of all casinos. “Every slot machine brings in a minimum of $100,000 a year,” he asserts. “Slot machines don’t create jobs -- you just dust them off. And that’s 90 percent of the money.” According to Kindt, most of that slot-machine money comes from middle-class and poor individuals living near casinos.
Each slot machine costs the surrounding community one job per year, Kindt says. In a 2003 article for the Ohio Law Review, he reported that within a newly established casino’s “feeder market,” business and personal bankruptcies increase between 18 and 42 percent, while “impulse” business transactions in the area decline by 65 percent.
“When billions of dollars are going into slot machines, where are those billions of dollars coming from?” Kindt asks. “They are no longer buying cars, refrigerators, or even food and clothing.”
South Florida is already feeling the effects of casinos and slot machines, which were approved by Broward voters in 2005 and Miami-Dade voters in 2008. Calls to the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling have increased 57 percent over the past five years, according to an October 2011 report from the nonprofit organization.
Thirty-five percent of callers admitted to committing crimes in order to finance their gambling. Individuals who were unemployed and/or receiving public assistance made up 25 percent of the callers, a hike of 12 percent from five years ago. Potentially suicidal callers increased from 11 to 16 percent in one year. The largest chunk of callers, 46 percent, named slot machines as their primary gambling vice.
“Slot machines are known as the crack cocaine of new gamblers,” Kindt says. “When you bring in [thousands of slots] in a big place like Miami, you are going to hook tens of thousands of people, many of whom have never gambled before.”
Kindt doesn’t think slot machines are fair, either. “There needs to be a hearing under oath, investigating how the slot machines work, what the odds are, how they are regulated, if people are treated fairly or not, and if the machines can be tampered with,” Kindt says. “You need to have hearings where they actually haul in these machines and show how they work. Nobody has ever had these hearings.”
So how many slot machines will Resorts World Miami have? Goode declines to say: “We are still very early in the design stage, so it would be premature to project a count.”
This past October, Sergio Bakas, senior vice president of Arquitectonica, the Miami architecture firm tasked with designing Resorts World Miami, told the Miami Herald that the Genting resort would be among the largest casinos in the world, with 800,000 square feet of gaming and at least 8500 slot machines. Floor plans published recently by the local blog Crespo-Gram Report depicted 344,645 square feet of gaming on the first three floors of the old Omni mall alone, which could be open for business late this year if a gaming license is obtained.
Arquitectonica later said Bakas had misspoken, and that casino will have between 5000 and 6000 slot machines. Goode adds that the total gaming area for Resorts World Miami will be less than 300,000 square feet.
Even with 5000 slot machines, Resorts World Miami will dwarf the local competition. Two pari-mutuels operating in Miami, Magic City Casino and the recently reopened Casino Miami Jai-Alai, have a combined 1850 slot machines. Gulfstream Park in Hallandale has 850 slots. Calder Casino and Race Course in Miami Gardens has 1200. In west Miami-Dade, the Miccosukee casino also has 1200, while in Hollywood, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino has 1500.
Resorts World Miami is not the only entity wanting to build a destination resort in Miami-Dade. Las Vegas Sands, a company headed by Newt Gingrich presidential campaign financier Sheldon Adelson, is interested in developing a destination resort on nine blocks of Park West land assembled by Miami Worldcenter investors. Steve Wynn, former CEO of Mirage Resorts, hopes for a casino in Miami Beach. In Miami Gardens, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross also wants to build a casino on land surrounding Dolphins Stadium.
“The scope of what Genting is proposing, and what would be allowed under the legislation, is an order of magnitude that is far greater than anything that exists here or anywhere else in America,” writes John Sowinski, an Orlando political consultant who heads NoCasinos.org, in an e-mail to the BT. “Comparing slots at a dog track, or even limited tribal gambling, to what is being proposed is like comparing a 7-Eleven the Mall of the Americas. Literally.”
In spite of the tax breaks and gambling opportunities the new bills offer to existing casinos and racetracks, the pari-mutuels and tribes have joined with churches, theme parks, restaurants, and hotels in an effort to defeat the legislation. That’s because the new resorts will cannibalize existing casinos, Kindt explains: “When a new casino comes up with flash, the other casinos tend to have liquidity problems.”
So why is Singapore still a prosperous city-state with two mega-casinos located within its borders? Because only foreigners can patronize casinos for free. Citizens and permanent residents must pay a $70 entrance fee or a $1400 annual pass to enter a casino. The hefty admission price, which is collected by the government, “discourages impulse gambling,” a Singapore official told Time magazine two years ago. To fill the casinos, promoters ferry in high-stakes gamblers, known as “whales,” from neighboring countries.
In Florida’s case, Kindt believes the tax rates charged on slot machines should be increased to at least 50 percent to help pay for the social costs he asserts will come with compulsive gambling. Moreover, he argues that the state should receive 100 percent of the slots’ revenues, as in Canada, where casino operators only collect a management fee.
The license fees contemplated for casinos are also too low, Kindt says. Under the pending legislation, a casino company wishing to build a destination resort would pay a $1 million, nonrefundable application fee, a $125 million one-time license fee (which is refundable entirely or in part if the application is rejected), and a $5 million annual fee thereafter.
License fees for pari-mutuels will be lowered from $3 million per year to $2 million.
Kindt, however, maintains that the license for a casino with more than 500 slot machines is worth at least $500 million in the open market. “If a casino has 500 slot machines, they will make a pure profit of at least a half-billion dollars in one year,” Kindt claims. “In the case of a casino in Miami, they will make a billion dollars in half a year.”
The best thing Florida could do, Kindt asserts, would be to not only scrap the destination resort bills, but also remove slots and legalized gambling entirely. When Russia closed down thousands of casinos in 2009, that nation’s economy improved, says Kindt. “Crime, bankruptcy, and gambling addiction were on the rise,” he notes. “That’s why Russia shut down the casinos. And most important, they [casinos] were killing their economy.”
If the United States were to ban casinos, Kindt believes $300 billion a year would be infused into the nation’s troubled economy.
But eliminating gambling after it has taken root is nearly impossible, Kindt concedes. “Once the gambling interests are in,” he says, “it’s like an economic cancer on the body politic. You can’t get them out. They will want to move in whatever they can, as fast as they can get in. Then, once they have their foot in the door, they will continue to push for more and more and more. You have to slam the door shut and, if you’re smart about it, cut their foot off while you’re at it.”
With or without gambling, the Genting Group is still interested in turning its new Miami property into a resort, says Goode, the company’s Miami executive. But with a gaming component, development could be achieved at a much faster pace.
“The timeline for development is significantly accelerated should a destination resort bill pass,” Goode says. “A 20-year project delivered in stages, in line with market demand, could be fully realized in three to five years if we are licensed as a destination-resort operator. That means the necessary construction and permanent jobs for Floridians can be created almost immediately.”
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Rubber-Stamping Insolvency
It's simplistic to blame the 'recession' when "Casino Capitalist" investors and Gambling Regulators bear a great deal of responsibility for ignoring INSOLVENCY.
New Jersey's Gambling Commission rubber-stamped licenses they knew were insolvent - Trump's and Merv Griffin's bankruptcies pre-date any 'recession.'
New Jersey's Gambling Commission rubber-stamped licenses they knew were insolvent - Trump's and Merv Griffin's bankruptcies pre-date any 'recession.'
It's all about abdicating responsibility.
Will this happen in Massachusetts? We already have the insolvent MGM, Mohegan Sun and Caesars salivating to suck discretionary dollars out of the local economy. And Wynn, known for budget overruns, isn't far behind.
What dummy invests in this kind of loser?
The solution? Ahhhh! Reduce the taxes, offer incentives, government bailouts, the state becomes partners in sponsoring GAMBLING ADDICTION on whatever pretext - we can't loose jobs, blah, blah, blah. Same reasons. Different state.
We'll see how much sense Mr. Crosby has.
'Bad times': Several major casinos saddled with heavy debt
By Bill O'Driscoll, USA TODAY
Several major casino companies in the USA are grappling with heavy debt taken on in better economic times, and industry observers expect more as the list of states vying for gamblers' dollars grows.
The biggest operator, Caesars Entertainment with 52 properties worldwide including the Harrah's chain, is working with its lenders to manage $22 billion in debt tied to when the company was taken private in 2006, according to gaming analysts in Reno.
MGM Resorts International, whose properties include the Circus Circus name, Bellagio and New York-New York, has $13.6 billion of its own debt, its fourth-quarter 2011 earnings report shows.
Tribal-owned Foxwoods in Connecticut, the USA's biggest casino, defaulted in 2009 and is restructuring a debt estimated at $2 billion.
In Las Vegas, Station Casinos emerged last summer after two years in bankruptcy court, and the bankrupt Hooters Hotel was bought at auction earlier this month by its main lender, an affiliate Canyon Capital Realty Advisors, court documents show.
In Reno, the 2,000-room Grand Sierra Resort was taken over by its chief lender in 2009 and the Siena Hotel Spa & Casino went bankrupt in 2010, reopening last year under new owners.
Now Reno's 35-story Silver Legacy Resort Casino is scrambling to refinance a $142.8 million mortgage note due Thursday.
"It's not so much bad management on their part. It's bad times," Reno gaming analyst Ken Adams said of the struggling properties.
Nationwide, gaming revenues are only now showing life in a 2.3% uptick in the first 11 months of 2011, American Gaming Association figures show. Even so, the number of vulnerable casinos, particularly in shrinking markets like Atlantic City and Reno-Tahoe, will grow, said I. Nelson Rose, professor at Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, Calif., and expert on gaming law.
"Places in Nevada and Atlantic City and Foxwoods had the horrible misfortune of expanding right when recession hit," Rose said. " The only states left now without any kind of gambling are Hawaii and Utah. I expect we will continue to see more bankruptcies."
Adams cited hotspots for possible future financial woes, including:
• Atlantic City, which continues to battle casinos in nearby Pennsylvania and Delaware for the coveted Philadelphia-to-New York market, and will add the new $2.4 billion, 47-story Revel resort in April on the Boardwalk.
"That will put huge pressure on the old properties," Adams said.
• States adjoining Ohio, where up to four casinos are planned to open after voters approved legalized gaming in 2010.
"That will stress Indiana and Pennsylvania," Adams said.
• Reno-Tahoe, which shows no signs of recovery after reeling for a decade from California tribal casinos which have siphoned off Nevada-bound travelers over Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 50.
There could be more, Adams said. Massachusetts has approved three casinos and efforts are ongoing to in New York state.
Contributing: O'Driscoll also reports for the Reno Gazette-Journal.
Video surveillance catches criminals
Video surveillance catches criminals
Holly Meyer Journal staff Rapid City Journal
Sylvester “Beaver” Pacheco is serving a 45-year sentence at the South Dakota State Penitentiary thanks largely to a video surveillance system at a Rapid City casino.
Not all the surveillance cameras in Rapid City’s video lottery casinos and convenience stores do as good a job as those that captured Pacheco in the act, according to the Rapid City Police Department, which has been working with businesses to improve the quality of their surveillance systems.
“We’ve really struggled in the past when we were still using a VHS, running tapes over and over again,” said Capt. Doug Thrash, who commands the department’s criminal investigations division. “The quality was terrible. It was so bad that it was worthless.”
Effective video surveillance, on the other hand, can often make the difference when prosecuting criminals for robberies and burglaries, he said.
“It may not break the case open, but it sure opens another door,” Thrash said.
In the case of the 38-year-old Pacheco, video played a crucial role in his arrest, conviction and lengthy prison sentence.
In late May, he robbed his first Rapid City casino. The next day, he hit a second one. Clerks described the suspect to police, but the most useful evidence was provided by the video surveillance system at Jokers Casino on Mount Rushmore Road, which is where the second robbery occurred.
Police released the video to the public and within days Pacheco, a convicted felon, was identified and arrested.
In addition to identifying him, police were able to see what Pacheco touched inside the casino, dust that space and find fingerprints, Thrash said. Without the video surveillance, the crime still might be unsolved, he added.
After a surge of crimes at casinos about three years ago, the police department started giving casino and convenience store owners guidelines for digital surveillance systems, Thrash said.
Those guidelines focus on picture quality, how long video is stored, how easily it can be exported from the system for use and whether third parties – investigators, attorneys and courts – can easily view the video.
“There is a lot of improvement," Thrash said. "I think it is something with our culture now, people expect to see the video.”
The police department recommends videos be retained for 31 days and encourages businesses to install systems that automatically transfer the video to an off-site storage or at least hide it on site to prevent tampering, Thrash said.
In the case of Jokers Casino, owner ISIS Hospitality had spent thousands of dollars upgrading surveillance systems at all its establishments in the Black Hills after the same casino was robbed several times, said Caleb Arceneaux, the company’s chief executive officer. The new system improved the image quality and added more cameras.
“It’s getting better every year, every month, every day. We need to keep up with those emerging technologies,” Arceneaux said. “It’s a worthy investment.”
Rapid City-based Golden West Technologies & Internet Solutions works with the police department to help educate customers on what systems and camera placement would effectively solve crimes, according to James Van Loan, a sales manager with the company.
“You just have to start with an evaluation and set your goals and work with organizations that help with more customizable solutions,” Van Loan said.
Cameras can range from about $300 up to $2,000 each depending on the quality and zooming capabilities, Van Loan said.
Business owners may choose a mix of cameras and point the pricier ones at the more potentially volatile locations, such as the cash registers. Instead of buying one expensive camera, business owners also will opt for several low-cost cameras and position them to cover more angles, he said.
The cost can dissuade businesses from investing in a surveillance system, which is why a consultation includes a discussion of low-cost security measures like replacing locks, improving lighting and looking at what behaviors the business owner is trying to prevent, Van Loan said.
Surveillance footage from a January armed robbery proved that businesses are installing better systems that work for law enforcement.
A man walked into the Loaf ’N Jug on West Main Street on Jan. 14 and while making no attempt to conceal his identity brandished a handgun and demanded money.
Five days later, 26-year-old Robert White Janis of Rapid City was arrested by Nebraska authorities and identified as the suspect in the robbery. The store’s surveillance system captured the crime and the suspect’s face in clear, bright video.
“I’ve never seen a video come out that nice,” Thrash said. “That is the home run.”
But even if a suspect covers his face, the video can still be useful.
Last July, video surveillance once again helped police nab a serial business burglar. This time, Jason Edwards’ mannerisms and an attempt to conceal an arm tattoo gave him away. The Rapid City man was in custody about a week after police released a video. Edwards is now serving a 29-year prison sentence.
“That allowed us to move the investigation. We may not have had that as soon or if ever without that break,” Thrash said.
Read more: http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/video-surveillance-catches-criminals/article_b5f05970-64e3-11e1-8929-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1o9vdM2F1
Holly Meyer Journal staff Rapid City Journal
Sylvester “Beaver” Pacheco is serving a 45-year sentence at the South Dakota State Penitentiary thanks largely to a video surveillance system at a Rapid City casino.
Not all the surveillance cameras in Rapid City’s video lottery casinos and convenience stores do as good a job as those that captured Pacheco in the act, according to the Rapid City Police Department, which has been working with businesses to improve the quality of their surveillance systems.
“We’ve really struggled in the past when we were still using a VHS, running tapes over and over again,” said Capt. Doug Thrash, who commands the department’s criminal investigations division. “The quality was terrible. It was so bad that it was worthless.”
Effective video surveillance, on the other hand, can often make the difference when prosecuting criminals for robberies and burglaries, he said.
“It may not break the case open, but it sure opens another door,” Thrash said.
In the case of the 38-year-old Pacheco, video played a crucial role in his arrest, conviction and lengthy prison sentence.
In late May, he robbed his first Rapid City casino. The next day, he hit a second one. Clerks described the suspect to police, but the most useful evidence was provided by the video surveillance system at Jokers Casino on Mount Rushmore Road, which is where the second robbery occurred.
Police released the video to the public and within days Pacheco, a convicted felon, was identified and arrested.
In addition to identifying him, police were able to see what Pacheco touched inside the casino, dust that space and find fingerprints, Thrash said. Without the video surveillance, the crime still might be unsolved, he added.
After a surge of crimes at casinos about three years ago, the police department started giving casino and convenience store owners guidelines for digital surveillance systems, Thrash said.
Those guidelines focus on picture quality, how long video is stored, how easily it can be exported from the system for use and whether third parties – investigators, attorneys and courts – can easily view the video.
“There is a lot of improvement," Thrash said. "I think it is something with our culture now, people expect to see the video.”
The police department recommends videos be retained for 31 days and encourages businesses to install systems that automatically transfer the video to an off-site storage or at least hide it on site to prevent tampering, Thrash said.
In the case of Jokers Casino, owner ISIS Hospitality had spent thousands of dollars upgrading surveillance systems at all its establishments in the Black Hills after the same casino was robbed several times, said Caleb Arceneaux, the company’s chief executive officer. The new system improved the image quality and added more cameras.
“It’s getting better every year, every month, every day. We need to keep up with those emerging technologies,” Arceneaux said. “It’s a worthy investment.”
Rapid City-based Golden West Technologies & Internet Solutions works with the police department to help educate customers on what systems and camera placement would effectively solve crimes, according to James Van Loan, a sales manager with the company.
“You just have to start with an evaluation and set your goals and work with organizations that help with more customizable solutions,” Van Loan said.
Cameras can range from about $300 up to $2,000 each depending on the quality and zooming capabilities, Van Loan said.
Business owners may choose a mix of cameras and point the pricier ones at the more potentially volatile locations, such as the cash registers. Instead of buying one expensive camera, business owners also will opt for several low-cost cameras and position them to cover more angles, he said.
The cost can dissuade businesses from investing in a surveillance system, which is why a consultation includes a discussion of low-cost security measures like replacing locks, improving lighting and looking at what behaviors the business owner is trying to prevent, Van Loan said.
Surveillance footage from a January armed robbery proved that businesses are installing better systems that work for law enforcement.
A man walked into the Loaf ’N Jug on West Main Street on Jan. 14 and while making no attempt to conceal his identity brandished a handgun and demanded money.
Five days later, 26-year-old Robert White Janis of Rapid City was arrested by Nebraska authorities and identified as the suspect in the robbery. The store’s surveillance system captured the crime and the suspect’s face in clear, bright video.
“I’ve never seen a video come out that nice,” Thrash said. “That is the home run.”
But even if a suspect covers his face, the video can still be useful.
Last July, video surveillance once again helped police nab a serial business burglar. This time, Jason Edwards’ mannerisms and an attempt to conceal an arm tattoo gave him away. The Rapid City man was in custody about a week after police released a video. Edwards is now serving a 29-year prison sentence.
“That allowed us to move the investigation. We may not have had that as soon or if ever without that break,” Thrash said.
Read more: http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/video-surveillance-catches-criminals/article_b5f05970-64e3-11e1-8929-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1o9vdM2F1
Wynn Goes ‘Nuclear’
Okada Manila Tour Proves Defining as Wynn Goes ‘Nuclear’
By Vinicy Chan and Kana Nishizawa
Bloomberg News
Stephen Wynn stepped off his private jet at Manila airport in June 2010 to be greeted by the Philippines gaming regulator. On the tarmac too, in black wraparound sunglasses and trademark 1950s-style slicked-back hair, was Japanese slot-machine billionaire Kazuo Okada.
Okada, 69, wanted the chief executive officer of Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) to join his $2 billion casino and hotel project on Manila Bay. Wynn, companion Andrea Hissom and Wynn Resorts Chief Operating Officer Marc Schorr toured a hotel, shopping mall and casino showcasing Manila’s investment potential, and sat through a presentation on the new project in an air-conditioned marquee, photographs of the trip show.
That visit proved pivotal for Okada’s ambition to create an Asian casino empire -- only not as he’d hoped, according to an interview last week detailing how his 12-year alliance with Wynn went sour. Philippines regulator Efraim Genuino was indicted in an ongoing graft case. By the fall, Wynn was focusing on Okada’s Philippines activities, court documents show, removing him as vice chairman last year and forcibly buying his $2.77 billion stake last month at a 30 percent discount.
During three hours at his 36th-floor office in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui district, Okada laid out his version of the split with Wynn, whose business he helped revive with funding in 2000. It’s a story at odds with the 47-page report Wynn commissioned from Louis J. Freeh, a former director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, which catalogues more than $110,000 in hotel rooms, meals and gifts for gaming officials and their associates that Wynn’s lawyers said may have breached U.S. anti- graft laws.
No Notice
“They gave the board the report without letting me review it,” said Okada, founder of Tokyo-based Universal Entertainment Corp. “Even criminals would be asked to sign off on the findings to ensure there are no mistakes.”
The boardroom scrap at Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts shows the dilemma U.S. companies face when seeking growth in Asia, where a broader acceptance of gift giving and hospitality conflicts with the tightening anti-bribery regime at home. Wynn Resorts alleges Okada misused its assets, name and know-how to promote himself, even though Wynn had decided to stay out, and that his actions put the company’s gambling licenses at risk.
Freeh briefed Wynn Resorts’ directors on his findings Feb. 18, and on the same day they judged Okada to be an “unsuitable person,” invoking a clause in the articles of incorporation to redeem the 20 percent stake that made him the company’s biggest shareholder. Okada said he’s gathering evidence to show the report was riddled with errors and exaggerated standard industry practice as a pretext to eliminate a man Wynn, 70, had come to regard as a threat.
‘Dormant Nuclear Weapon’
“These are very standard terms that lawyers put in these contracts, but they’re rarely invoked,” said Wendy Wysong, a Hong Kong-based lawyer at Clifford Chance (1000L) LLP who specializes in anti-corruption matters. Clifford Chance isn’t advising either party, she said. The clause is like a “dormant nuclear weapon” that’s put in “to make everyone comply with the law.”
Wynn’s use of the provision raises the prospect that other companies may follow suit to “just boot somebody out that’s fallen out of favor,” she said.
Freeh interviewed Okada for more than seven and a half hours in Tokyo. “He did not offer any exculpatory evidence in that meeting nor has he to date,” said Paul Kranhold, a Wynn spokesman.
Wynn Resorts alleges Okada broke its code of conduct by trying to set up a casino to rival its operation in Macau.
Macau Rival
Okada planned “to lure high-limit, VIP gamblers from China” to Manila “in direct competition with Wynn Macau,” according to documents filed in a Feb. 19 lawsuit in Nevada.
A shareholder agreement amended Jan. 6, 2010, bars Okada from investing in casinos in Macau and Nevada, regulatory filings show. There is nothing to stop Universal (6425) from expanding elsewhere, he said. What’s more, everything was done to further the partnership with Wynn and for their mutual benefit, he said.
“I believe that business by nature is about trust, contracts are a last resort,” Okada said. “That may be a difference between Western and Asian countries.”
Okada won one of four provisional gaming licenses awarded in the Philippines in 2008, according to a Feb. 19 lawsuit filed by Wynn in Nevada. Pushing ahead with the project went against “requests to Okada not to pursue business in the Philippines,” the document said.
Manila Trip
“In or around the fall of 2010,” Wynn learned Okada was falsely claiming that he and Wynn Resorts were developing the Manila project together, the writ said. After Wynn’s compliance committee advised the group to steer clear of the country because of corruption concerns, “Okada was unrelenting,” and in February 2011 “repeated his oft-uttered request that Mr. Wynn travel to the Philippines to explore investing in Universal’s Manila Bay project,” the court papers said.
The photographs, copies of which were given to Bloomberg News, show Wynn had already been there, with Hissom and Schorr, on June 14, 2010. Wynn was “very interested” and asked to meet with Aquino, Okada said.
In a 2008 press release, Universal said it “intends to enlist the full cooperation of Wynn Resorts Ltd.’s Steve Wynn” to develop the project. Okada said the license was to build the hotel-related facilities at an integrated casino resort and that he wanted Wynn to join in any gaming business.
Okada pushed for the meeting with Aquino and was “embarrassed and angry” when told to cancel, the court document said. Okada said Wynn was “foolish” to turn his back on the Philippines project, which he expects to rake in about $3.5 billion in revenue in its first year of operation.
Hong Kong Move
Okada last year began moving operations to Hong Kong, transferring Philippine land assets from his U.S. unit to Aruze Hong Kong Ltd. in April, filings show. Through another Hong Kong company, Okada, his son, daughter and second wife control 70 percent of Universal, filings show. Okada and his wife rent a luxury, 10th-floor apartment overlooking Repulse Bay on the south of Hong Kong island, and he plans to open three restaurants in the territory this year.
It’s all part of refocusing the group on growth in Asia outside Japan, he said, seated at a conference-room table in offices bereft of ornaments or signage, except for an Aruze Gaming logo above reception. During the interview, Okada’s iPhone rang with a Japanese earthquake warning. Category 2, he said, nothing to worry about.
Cambodia, South Korea
Okada said he has also bought land in Siem Reap, Cambodia, and has held talks with South Korean officials about a $3 billion casino project near Incheon Airport (IIACZ).
For Okada, the growing number of governments in the region that plan to introduce casinos offers a chance to diversify away from Japan, where Universal’s operating profit peaked in 2000. Wynn Resorts sees the trend more as a risk.
“If current efforts to legalize gaming in other Asian countries are successful, our Wynn Macau resort will face additional regional competition,” the company said in its annual report released last week.
Wynn lost out to Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) and Kuala Lumpur-based Genting Bhd. (GENT) when Singapore granted its first gaming licenses in 2005 and 2006. Global anti-graft watchdog Transparency International ranks Singapore the fifth- least corrupt nation in the world, behind New Zealand, Denmark, Finland and Sweden.
The Philippines ranks 129th. Cambodia, 164th.
Outstripped
Ten years after Macau began offering new casino licenses, the Chinese territory’s $34 billion annual gambling revenue is more than four times that of Las Vegas. A turf war between triad mobsters in the run-up to the deregulation saw casinos raked with automatic gunfire, gangland killings and the attempted car- bombing of the police chief. Now the enclave has cleaned up its act, said Okada.
“It’s no longer that dim, dirty, dark and sketchy place that’s scary at night,” he said.
The territory, the only place under Chinese rule where casinos are legal, now accounts for more than 70 percent of the group’s revenue. Okada was booted off the board at Wynn Macau Feb. 24. He’s still on Wynn Resorts’ board because he can’t be removed without a shareholder vote.
Wynn married Hissom on April 29, 2011, at Wynn Encore in Las Vegas. He divorced his first wife, Elaine, in 2009, giving half his 20 percent stake in the company in her settlement.
University Grant
In a conference call to explain the decision to oust Okada, Wynn Resorts executives, including compliance committee head Robert Miller, said they needed to limit the company’s risk of losing its gaming licenses. Okada was given ample notice of the board’s concern and was asked to choose between the Philippines and Wynn Resorts, Miller said, according to a transcript of the call.
In January, Okada turned the spotlight on Wynn, suing to force more disclosure on a $135 million donation to the University of Macau that he said hasn’t been sufficiently explained.
Wynn Resorts needs land to build a second Macau casino- hotel on the increasingly popular Cotai Strip, where it is one of only two operators in the territory yet to set up business. Wynn Resorts rose 4.3 percent yesterday after it filed a statement suggesting it had been awarded a concession there. It later retracted the filing. Las Vegas Sands will open a new casino-hotel on Cotai in April. Hong Kong tycoon Francis Lui’s Galaxy Resorts opened there in May.
No Details
Wei Zhao, the university’s rector, in a Feb. 29 interview, declined to give a detailed breakdown of how the money would be spent.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month requested information on the donation, Wynn Resorts said in its annual report. Okada’s court action was an attempt to distract attention from his own conduct, Wynn said.
Wynn’s court documents cited 36 occasions between 2008 and June 2011 in which Universal allegedly made a total of about $110,000 in payments at Wynn Resorts in Macau and Las Vegas benefiting Philippine gaming officials. Cristino Naguiat, who took over from Genuino, stayed at a $6,000 a night apartment usually reserved for high rollers, the report said.
Villa 81, one of four for VIP guests at Wynn Macau, sprawls over almost 7,000 square feet, with three master bedrooms, a sound-proof media room with 100-inch television, and bathrooms with mother-of-pearl walls. One time, Universal picked up a $50,523.22 tab for Naguiat’s party, Wynn alleges.
Inaccurate Picture
Wynn’s figures fail to distinguish between business and regulatory guests, highlight the total amount rather than per- person expenses over the three-year period and fail to take account of Universal’s own costs tagged onto the rooms, Okada said. Universal was also reimbursed for some expenses, he said.
Universal keeps track of hospitality its executives receive and seeks to provide a reciprocal amount in return, he said. Universal estimates Philippines regulators spent about $47,375 entertaining its officials since July 2010, according to a document provided by Okada.
There was nothing inappropriate in the Macau trip, Naguiat said in a Feb. 21 phone interview. “It is industry practice that if there are casino executives in town, we offer cars, security and rooms as a courtesy, as a form of reciprocity,” he said. “In the past month, Francis Liu of Galaxy and Lawrence Ho of Melco also visited and we offered the same.”
Okada said he is gathering evidence to prove Wynn’s facts are wrong, clear his name, and win back the shareholding. Wynn Resorts’ board canceled the stock at a weekend meeting, effectively preventing Okada from seeking an injunction, the company’s lead counsel Kim Sinatra said on the conference call.
10-Year Note
Wynn Resorts will pay Okada $1.9 billion for his stake though a 10-year promissory note, the maximum term permissible under the company’s articles of incorporation. Because of a 2006 shareholder agreement restricting Okada from selling the shares without Wynn’s consent, they weren’t deemed freely tradable and so were priced at a discount, Wynn Resorts Chief Financial Officer Matt Maddox said on the call.
With hindsight, Okada said he now suspects Wynn may have harbored a desire to get rid of him as early as 2002, when he unilaterally approved the articles of incorporation for the company before its initial public offering.
Wynn couldn’t afford to get rid of him until their expansion into Macau, Okada said.
“He saw his chance when Macau proved to be a success, and started to feel like he was on top of the world around mid- 2010,” Okada said.
Okada said he wasn’t aware of the 2002 amendment that included a clause giving the board powers to declare a person unsuitable, forcibly redeem their shares at a price they would determine.
“Mr. Okada has previously authorized and acknowledged these fundamental protective measures and has participated in board meetings at which the documents containing these provisions were discussed,” Wynn spokesman Kranhold said.
Articles of incorporation are generally overlooked in Japan as nobody thinks they’re important, Okada said.
“We should have been helping each other over the hard times, in a relationship based on trust,” he said. “But he was a cunning man.”
By Vinicy Chan and Kana Nishizawa
Bloomberg News
Stephen Wynn stepped off his private jet at Manila airport in June 2010 to be greeted by the Philippines gaming regulator. On the tarmac too, in black wraparound sunglasses and trademark 1950s-style slicked-back hair, was Japanese slot-machine billionaire Kazuo Okada.
Okada, 69, wanted the chief executive officer of Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) to join his $2 billion casino and hotel project on Manila Bay. Wynn, companion Andrea Hissom and Wynn Resorts Chief Operating Officer Marc Schorr toured a hotel, shopping mall and casino showcasing Manila’s investment potential, and sat through a presentation on the new project in an air-conditioned marquee, photographs of the trip show.
That visit proved pivotal for Okada’s ambition to create an Asian casino empire -- only not as he’d hoped, according to an interview last week detailing how his 12-year alliance with Wynn went sour. Philippines regulator Efraim Genuino was indicted in an ongoing graft case. By the fall, Wynn was focusing on Okada’s Philippines activities, court documents show, removing him as vice chairman last year and forcibly buying his $2.77 billion stake last month at a 30 percent discount.
During three hours at his 36th-floor office in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui district, Okada laid out his version of the split with Wynn, whose business he helped revive with funding in 2000. It’s a story at odds with the 47-page report Wynn commissioned from Louis J. Freeh, a former director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, which catalogues more than $110,000 in hotel rooms, meals and gifts for gaming officials and their associates that Wynn’s lawyers said may have breached U.S. anti- graft laws.
No Notice
“They gave the board the report without letting me review it,” said Okada, founder of Tokyo-based Universal Entertainment Corp. “Even criminals would be asked to sign off on the findings to ensure there are no mistakes.”
The boardroom scrap at Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts shows the dilemma U.S. companies face when seeking growth in Asia, where a broader acceptance of gift giving and hospitality conflicts with the tightening anti-bribery regime at home. Wynn Resorts alleges Okada misused its assets, name and know-how to promote himself, even though Wynn had decided to stay out, and that his actions put the company’s gambling licenses at risk.
Freeh briefed Wynn Resorts’ directors on his findings Feb. 18, and on the same day they judged Okada to be an “unsuitable person,” invoking a clause in the articles of incorporation to redeem the 20 percent stake that made him the company’s biggest shareholder. Okada said he’s gathering evidence to show the report was riddled with errors and exaggerated standard industry practice as a pretext to eliminate a man Wynn, 70, had come to regard as a threat.
‘Dormant Nuclear Weapon’
“These are very standard terms that lawyers put in these contracts, but they’re rarely invoked,” said Wendy Wysong, a Hong Kong-based lawyer at Clifford Chance (1000L) LLP who specializes in anti-corruption matters. Clifford Chance isn’t advising either party, she said. The clause is like a “dormant nuclear weapon” that’s put in “to make everyone comply with the law.”
Wynn’s use of the provision raises the prospect that other companies may follow suit to “just boot somebody out that’s fallen out of favor,” she said.
Freeh interviewed Okada for more than seven and a half hours in Tokyo. “He did not offer any exculpatory evidence in that meeting nor has he to date,” said Paul Kranhold, a Wynn spokesman.
Wynn Resorts alleges Okada broke its code of conduct by trying to set up a casino to rival its operation in Macau.
Macau Rival
Okada planned “to lure high-limit, VIP gamblers from China” to Manila “in direct competition with Wynn Macau,” according to documents filed in a Feb. 19 lawsuit in Nevada.
A shareholder agreement amended Jan. 6, 2010, bars Okada from investing in casinos in Macau and Nevada, regulatory filings show. There is nothing to stop Universal (6425) from expanding elsewhere, he said. What’s more, everything was done to further the partnership with Wynn and for their mutual benefit, he said.
“I believe that business by nature is about trust, contracts are a last resort,” Okada said. “That may be a difference between Western and Asian countries.”
Okada won one of four provisional gaming licenses awarded in the Philippines in 2008, according to a Feb. 19 lawsuit filed by Wynn in Nevada. Pushing ahead with the project went against “requests to Okada not to pursue business in the Philippines,” the document said.
Manila Trip
“In or around the fall of 2010,” Wynn learned Okada was falsely claiming that he and Wynn Resorts were developing the Manila project together, the writ said. After Wynn’s compliance committee advised the group to steer clear of the country because of corruption concerns, “Okada was unrelenting,” and in February 2011 “repeated his oft-uttered request that Mr. Wynn travel to the Philippines to explore investing in Universal’s Manila Bay project,” the court papers said.
The photographs, copies of which were given to Bloomberg News, show Wynn had already been there, with Hissom and Schorr, on June 14, 2010. Wynn was “very interested” and asked to meet with Aquino, Okada said.
In a 2008 press release, Universal said it “intends to enlist the full cooperation of Wynn Resorts Ltd.’s Steve Wynn” to develop the project. Okada said the license was to build the hotel-related facilities at an integrated casino resort and that he wanted Wynn to join in any gaming business.
Okada pushed for the meeting with Aquino and was “embarrassed and angry” when told to cancel, the court document said. Okada said Wynn was “foolish” to turn his back on the Philippines project, which he expects to rake in about $3.5 billion in revenue in its first year of operation.
Hong Kong Move
Okada last year began moving operations to Hong Kong, transferring Philippine land assets from his U.S. unit to Aruze Hong Kong Ltd. in April, filings show. Through another Hong Kong company, Okada, his son, daughter and second wife control 70 percent of Universal, filings show. Okada and his wife rent a luxury, 10th-floor apartment overlooking Repulse Bay on the south of Hong Kong island, and he plans to open three restaurants in the territory this year.
It’s all part of refocusing the group on growth in Asia outside Japan, he said, seated at a conference-room table in offices bereft of ornaments or signage, except for an Aruze Gaming logo above reception. During the interview, Okada’s iPhone rang with a Japanese earthquake warning. Category 2, he said, nothing to worry about.
Cambodia, South Korea
Okada said he has also bought land in Siem Reap, Cambodia, and has held talks with South Korean officials about a $3 billion casino project near Incheon Airport (IIACZ).
For Okada, the growing number of governments in the region that plan to introduce casinos offers a chance to diversify away from Japan, where Universal’s operating profit peaked in 2000. Wynn Resorts sees the trend more as a risk.
“If current efforts to legalize gaming in other Asian countries are successful, our Wynn Macau resort will face additional regional competition,” the company said in its annual report released last week.
Wynn lost out to Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) and Kuala Lumpur-based Genting Bhd. (GENT) when Singapore granted its first gaming licenses in 2005 and 2006. Global anti-graft watchdog Transparency International ranks Singapore the fifth- least corrupt nation in the world, behind New Zealand, Denmark, Finland and Sweden.
The Philippines ranks 129th. Cambodia, 164th.
Outstripped
Ten years after Macau began offering new casino licenses, the Chinese territory’s $34 billion annual gambling revenue is more than four times that of Las Vegas. A turf war between triad mobsters in the run-up to the deregulation saw casinos raked with automatic gunfire, gangland killings and the attempted car- bombing of the police chief. Now the enclave has cleaned up its act, said Okada.
“It’s no longer that dim, dirty, dark and sketchy place that’s scary at night,” he said.
The territory, the only place under Chinese rule where casinos are legal, now accounts for more than 70 percent of the group’s revenue. Okada was booted off the board at Wynn Macau Feb. 24. He’s still on Wynn Resorts’ board because he can’t be removed without a shareholder vote.
Wynn married Hissom on April 29, 2011, at Wynn Encore in Las Vegas. He divorced his first wife, Elaine, in 2009, giving half his 20 percent stake in the company in her settlement.
University Grant
In a conference call to explain the decision to oust Okada, Wynn Resorts executives, including compliance committee head Robert Miller, said they needed to limit the company’s risk of losing its gaming licenses. Okada was given ample notice of the board’s concern and was asked to choose between the Philippines and Wynn Resorts, Miller said, according to a transcript of the call.
In January, Okada turned the spotlight on Wynn, suing to force more disclosure on a $135 million donation to the University of Macau that he said hasn’t been sufficiently explained.
Wynn Resorts needs land to build a second Macau casino- hotel on the increasingly popular Cotai Strip, where it is one of only two operators in the territory yet to set up business. Wynn Resorts rose 4.3 percent yesterday after it filed a statement suggesting it had been awarded a concession there. It later retracted the filing. Las Vegas Sands will open a new casino-hotel on Cotai in April. Hong Kong tycoon Francis Lui’s Galaxy Resorts opened there in May.
No Details
Wei Zhao, the university’s rector, in a Feb. 29 interview, declined to give a detailed breakdown of how the money would be spent.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month requested information on the donation, Wynn Resorts said in its annual report. Okada’s court action was an attempt to distract attention from his own conduct, Wynn said.
Wynn’s court documents cited 36 occasions between 2008 and June 2011 in which Universal allegedly made a total of about $110,000 in payments at Wynn Resorts in Macau and Las Vegas benefiting Philippine gaming officials. Cristino Naguiat, who took over from Genuino, stayed at a $6,000 a night apartment usually reserved for high rollers, the report said.
Villa 81, one of four for VIP guests at Wynn Macau, sprawls over almost 7,000 square feet, with three master bedrooms, a sound-proof media room with 100-inch television, and bathrooms with mother-of-pearl walls. One time, Universal picked up a $50,523.22 tab for Naguiat’s party, Wynn alleges.
Inaccurate Picture
Wynn’s figures fail to distinguish between business and regulatory guests, highlight the total amount rather than per- person expenses over the three-year period and fail to take account of Universal’s own costs tagged onto the rooms, Okada said. Universal was also reimbursed for some expenses, he said.
Universal keeps track of hospitality its executives receive and seeks to provide a reciprocal amount in return, he said. Universal estimates Philippines regulators spent about $47,375 entertaining its officials since July 2010, according to a document provided by Okada.
There was nothing inappropriate in the Macau trip, Naguiat said in a Feb. 21 phone interview. “It is industry practice that if there are casino executives in town, we offer cars, security and rooms as a courtesy, as a form of reciprocity,” he said. “In the past month, Francis Liu of Galaxy and Lawrence Ho of Melco also visited and we offered the same.”
Okada said he is gathering evidence to prove Wynn’s facts are wrong, clear his name, and win back the shareholding. Wynn Resorts’ board canceled the stock at a weekend meeting, effectively preventing Okada from seeking an injunction, the company’s lead counsel Kim Sinatra said on the conference call.
10-Year Note
Wynn Resorts will pay Okada $1.9 billion for his stake though a 10-year promissory note, the maximum term permissible under the company’s articles of incorporation. Because of a 2006 shareholder agreement restricting Okada from selling the shares without Wynn’s consent, they weren’t deemed freely tradable and so were priced at a discount, Wynn Resorts Chief Financial Officer Matt Maddox said on the call.
With hindsight, Okada said he now suspects Wynn may have harbored a desire to get rid of him as early as 2002, when he unilaterally approved the articles of incorporation for the company before its initial public offering.
Wynn couldn’t afford to get rid of him until their expansion into Macau, Okada said.
“He saw his chance when Macau proved to be a success, and started to feel like he was on top of the world around mid- 2010,” Okada said.
Okada said he wasn’t aware of the 2002 amendment that included a clause giving the board powers to declare a person unsuitable, forcibly redeem their shares at a price they would determine.
“Mr. Okada has previously authorized and acknowledged these fundamental protective measures and has participated in board meetings at which the documents containing these provisions were discussed,” Wynn spokesman Kranhold said.
Articles of incorporation are generally overlooked in Japan as nobody thinks they’re important, Okada said.
“We should have been helping each other over the hard times, in a relationship based on trust,” he said. “But he was a cunning man.”
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Shovelling "Anecdotal" Horse Manure!
Is there any indication that State Trooper Seth Cooper, the president of the N.H State Troopers Association actually conducted any solid research of his own by reviewing FBI crime statistics [in the article below]?
Spring is arriving soon and we all need plenty of manure...for the garden that is, but not for public policy.
With all of the issues surrounding PREDATORY GAMBLING, the Gambling Industry has bought and paid for its share of SHILLS willing to prostitute themselves, say what needs to be said to propagandize the public into believing the falsehoods [dare we call them LIES?].
Spring is arriving soon and we all need plenty of manure...for the garden that is, but not for public policy.
With all of the issues surrounding PREDATORY GAMBLING, the Gambling Industry has bought and paid for its share of SHILLS willing to prostitute themselves, say what needs to be said to propagandize the public into believing the falsehoods [dare we call them LIES?].
The Gambling Vultures are desperate and don't want the truth to be known, much like the Tobacco Industry paying doctors to promote smoking as harmless entertainment.
Last week, the media repeated the nonsense about the Connecticut Slot Parlors, when this is widely known: A couple of obstacles stand in the way. First, many of the larger casinos are on tribal land, and so crime data is collected by tribal police who don't need to report or release their findings in the same way U.S. law enforcement does.
(From: Do more casinos mean more crime? )
Las Vegas’ crime rate is 1,040 percent higher than Branson’s and 15.7 times higher than Bloomington’s, Grinols reported, although both destinations draw far more visitors per resident than does Las Vegas.
From: Bet on gambling? Oh?
Do your homework, folks! The lipstick doesn't transform the pig.
Troopers Association Favors Casino Bill
But the state coalition against the bill calls their position "objectively false."
By Jake O'Donnell
The fight over expanded gambling in New Hampshire has a state organization tied to law enforcement at odds with the coalition trying to stop the most recent form of casino legislation.
In February, State Trooper Seth Cooper, the president of the N.H State Troopers Association, testified in front of the N.H. House Ways and Means Committee in favor of House Bill 593, a bill that would legalize video slots and create four casino licenses in the state.
Cooper said his association has conferred with similar associations in Connecticut and Delaware, states with casino gambling. They asked about a possible increase in crime as a result of casinos.
"The boots on the ground aren't seeing this mass influx of low-end people with massive drug problems and causing rampant armed robberies on every street corner," Cooper told the committee. "They just aren't seeing it." [What a dumb statement!]
Cooper said the biggest increase in crimes will come as a result of an increase in people in a given area if casinos are legalized. He likened that increase to what happens in the North Country during ski season.
"We see different crimes that occur when you bring in more bodies," he said. "We have a rise in DUIs in the winter time, but I don't think anyone's going to outlaw skiing anytime soon. There have been no real mass murders, no real high impact of violent crimes that have come with these casinos that have gone into those two states."
Jim Rubens, the chair of the Granite State Coalition Against Expanded Gambling, said a recent study indicates the facts do not rest with Cooper's evaluation.
"A claim that a Salem casino would cause no more incremental crime than would a shopping center or ski area attracting the same number of visitors is objectively false," Rubens said.
Rubens cited the New Hampshire Gaming Study Commission Report from 2010 which showed that a casino in Salem would add 1,200 serious crimes each year in Salem and surrounding communities. The commission unanimously agreed with this assessment and Rubens said half the commission members were pro-casino.
"The Commission carefully evaluated voluminous evidence on the crime-casino link presented by both sides," Rubens said.
The N.H. Association of Chiefs of Police are part of the Granite State Coalition Against Expanded Gambling. Rubens said the chiefs, as well as every state Attorney General for the last 35 years, have been opposed to expanded gambling because those additional crimes "have large cost to victims and to the New Hampshire quality of life."
HB 593 recently came out of Ways and Means by a 14-7 vote with new amendments, including the aforementioned change from two casino licenses to four.
It's widely expected that Rockingham Park in Salem would be in the running for a casino license should expanded gambling become law.
Alabama: Jury deliberates over weekend
Sebastian Kitchen did a stellar job reporting on the VOTE BUYING CORRUPTION trial for the Montgomery Advertiser [Gannett] and seems to have been mostly replaced by the consistently poor quality, superficial reporting of the AP, included below.
So much for decent reporting!
Second day of deliberations begin in gambling corruption retrial
CBS42
(WIAT) - The second day of deliberations started Friday morning in the gambling corruption retrial in Montgomery. The jury received the case Wednesday but were unable to begin deliberations because of a juror doctor appointment.
Jury in Ala. gambling case to resume Saturday
Herald Times Reporter
(WTW) — The jury in Alabama's gambling corruption trial did not reach a verdict Friday in its second day of deliberations and will work through the weekend to try to resolve charges accusing six people of buying and selling votes for pro-gambling ...
Corruption jury deliberations moving into third day
CBS42
(WIAT) - Despite two days of deliberations, there are still not verdicts in the gambling corruption retrial. Jurors sent a note to the judge Friday morning. Attorneys, prosecutors and the judge discussed it behind closed doors.
Judge tells Ala. gambling trail jury to keep at it
Gadsden Times
By PHILLIP RAWLS AP
The jury in Alabama's gambling corruption trial tried to reach a verdict for the second day Friday on charges accusing six people of buying and selling votes on pro-gambling legislation. The jury sent a note about its deliberations ...
Corruption trial jury to deliberate Saturday
Dothan Eagle
MONTGOMERY -- Jurors in the gambling corruption retrial deliberated most of Friday after sending another note to the judge that sent a buzz through the courthouse. Attorneys went behind closed doors Friday morning with US District Judge Myron Thompson ...
Gambling trial jury plans weekend deliberations
WALA-TV FOX10
(AP) - The jury in Alabama's gambling corruption trial has sent the judge another note. US District Judge Myron Thompson did not read the note in open court Friday morning. Instead, he discussed it in private with attorneys and then sent the jury word ...
Weekend deliberations in Alabama gambling trial
GoErie.com
By PHILLIP RAWLS AP
The jury in Alabama's corruption trial is deliberating into the weekend to try to reach a verdict on charges accusing six people of buying and selling votes on pro-gambling legislation. The jury wrapped up its second day of ...
Dismissal forces gambling corruption jury to start over
Dothan Eagle
Jurors were forced to hit the reset button on deliberations Thursday morning in the gambling corruption retrial after the presiding judge dismissed a juror. US District Judge Myron Thompson told jurors to start over Thursday after one of the alternates ...
Gambling Corruption Retrial deliberations could last through weekend
CBS42(WIAT) - Deliberations in the gambling corruption retrial could last through the weekend. Thursday jurors in the case set a schedule to deliberate a few hours on both Saturday and Sunday. Earlier in the day a juror was dismissed for what was later ...
Gambling Corruption Trial Deliberations Continue
WKRG-TV
The jury in Alabama's gambling corruption trial has returned for a third day of deliberations. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - The jury deliberating in Alabama's gambling corruption trial has indicated it's having trouble agreeing on testimony and may take ...
Jurors in gambling trial return today
Montgomery Advertiser
AMANDA SOWARDS/ADVERTISER The Associated Press
The jury deliberating in Alabama's gambling corruption trial had to start deliberations over with a new juror Thursday, and indicated it may take a few days to reach a verdict. Before recessing about 4 ...
Jury in Alabama gambling trial to meet for 2nd day
Wisconsin Rapids Tribune(WTW) — The jury in Alabama's gambling corruption trial is scheduled for a second day of deliberations in Montgomery. The sequestered jury is due at the federal courthouse at 8 am Friday. The jury had to start anew on deliberations Thursday because ...
So much for decent reporting!
Second day of deliberations begin in gambling corruption retrial
CBS42
(WIAT) - The second day of deliberations started Friday morning in the gambling corruption retrial in Montgomery. The jury received the case Wednesday but were unable to begin deliberations because of a juror doctor appointment.
Jury in Ala. gambling case to resume Saturday
Herald Times Reporter
(WTW) — The jury in Alabama's gambling corruption trial did not reach a verdict Friday in its second day of deliberations and will work through the weekend to try to resolve charges accusing six people of buying and selling votes for pro-gambling ...
Corruption jury deliberations moving into third day
CBS42
(WIAT) - Despite two days of deliberations, there are still not verdicts in the gambling corruption retrial. Jurors sent a note to the judge Friday morning. Attorneys, prosecutors and the judge discussed it behind closed doors.
Judge tells Ala. gambling trail jury to keep at it
Gadsden Times
By PHILLIP RAWLS AP
The jury in Alabama's gambling corruption trial tried to reach a verdict for the second day Friday on charges accusing six people of buying and selling votes on pro-gambling legislation. The jury sent a note about its deliberations ...
Corruption trial jury to deliberate Saturday
Dothan Eagle
MONTGOMERY -- Jurors in the gambling corruption retrial deliberated most of Friday after sending another note to the judge that sent a buzz through the courthouse. Attorneys went behind closed doors Friday morning with US District Judge Myron Thompson ...
Gambling trial jury plans weekend deliberations
WALA-TV FOX10
(AP) - The jury in Alabama's gambling corruption trial has sent the judge another note. US District Judge Myron Thompson did not read the note in open court Friday morning. Instead, he discussed it in private with attorneys and then sent the jury word ...
Weekend deliberations in Alabama gambling trial
GoErie.com
By PHILLIP RAWLS AP
The jury in Alabama's corruption trial is deliberating into the weekend to try to reach a verdict on charges accusing six people of buying and selling votes on pro-gambling legislation. The jury wrapped up its second day of ...
Dismissal forces gambling corruption jury to start over
Dothan Eagle
Jurors were forced to hit the reset button on deliberations Thursday morning in the gambling corruption retrial after the presiding judge dismissed a juror. US District Judge Myron Thompson told jurors to start over Thursday after one of the alternates ...
Gambling Corruption Retrial deliberations could last through weekend
CBS42(WIAT) - Deliberations in the gambling corruption retrial could last through the weekend. Thursday jurors in the case set a schedule to deliberate a few hours on both Saturday and Sunday. Earlier in the day a juror was dismissed for what was later ...
Gambling Corruption Trial Deliberations Continue
WKRG-TV
The jury in Alabama's gambling corruption trial has returned for a third day of deliberations. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - The jury deliberating in Alabama's gambling corruption trial has indicated it's having trouble agreeing on testimony and may take ...
Jurors in gambling trial return today
Montgomery Advertiser
AMANDA SOWARDS/ADVERTISER The Associated Press
The jury deliberating in Alabama's gambling corruption trial had to start deliberations over with a new juror Thursday, and indicated it may take a few days to reach a verdict. Before recessing about 4 ...
Jury in Alabama gambling trial to meet for 2nd day
Wisconsin Rapids Tribune(WTW) — The jury in Alabama's gambling corruption trial is scheduled for a second day of deliberations in Montgomery. The sequestered jury is due at the federal courthouse at 8 am Friday. The jury had to start anew on deliberations Thursday because ...
Tell that to the Marines
Tell that to the Marines
BusinessMirror.com.ph
Teddy Locsin Jr. / Free Fire
FINALLY, the Aquino administration has justified a piece of proven corruption by the GMA administration. How fair big and fair of it.
In a US government investigation for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act—yes, “practices,” not just actions but practices, even industry practices—it was revealed, not by hearsay, but by direct evidence, that Pagcor, among other state gambling regulators, received $110,000 in payoff s from a Japanese gambling tycoon between the years 2008 and 2011, spanning both the GMA and Aquino administrations.
Malacañang immediately came to the defense—of GMA’s and its own state-gambling regulators by admitting, yes, they had received part— now it turns out all—of that huge payoff but it was standard industry practice. Sure it is standard, like bribing cops by the Mafia; that is standard, too.
There’s the problem, US law is called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: it targets industry practices. Just because a crime is habitual does not decriminalize it. It makes it worse.
To be sure, huge payoff s of government regulators is a practice; no doubt about it. It has even acquired a term of art: regulatory capture.
It is a practice of criminal syndicates. It is, therefore, corrupt by definition. That it is a practice only makes it worse. It makes the practice syndicated under the RICO act.
Receiving payoff s on a regular basis, as SOP, calls into question the integrity of Pagcor officials entering contracts with gangs that regularly pay them off.
But it is nice to know, and it belies the accusations of a vindictive P-Noy administration, that the one time we have proof of corruption in the GMA administration, the Aquino administration defends it as SOP, standard operating procedure, standard practice, par for the course, what you must expect and anticipate when dealing with crooks. And that, said Malacañang, makes it all right.
Since jueteng lords have been paying off administrations in the past does this mean that the practice is all right for this administration as it was for the previous ones? The answer must be yes because it is not possible that what is wrong with one is right for the other, and vice versa. After all, what is the difference between the GMA and Aquino administrations; there is none; the names of both administrations even begin with the letter “A.”
So why is GMA under arrest for, among other things, what this administration admits it is practicing—taking payoff s as standard crime-industry practice?
The Palace said taking payoff s is a kind of cost-cutting measure. How? Because by accepting the payoff, the government partially off sets the cost of official travels abroad. How do we know that gambling officials do not get travel allowances just the same? In fact, Pagcor officials did because the Pagcor chief said that out of the allowance he had saved, he was able to buy a Chanel bag for his wife who, however, didn’t like it. No wonder Erap thought he committed no crime because he took no money from the government, only from gambling lords. Is this happening all over again?
The Palace said that, anyway, Pagcor intends to make the same kind of payoff s to visiting gambling syndicates by giving them free of charge the most expensive accommodations in return. In short, Pagcor is adopting crime-industry practices, as well. Wonderful. Now, we don’t have a government; we have a syndicate.
And is there really no money involved, just room and board? In the favorite words of Ferdinand Marcos, “Oh, c’mon.” Tell that to the Marines.
BusinessMirror.com.ph
Teddy Locsin Jr. / Free Fire
FINALLY, the Aquino administration has justified a piece of proven corruption by the GMA administration. How fair big and fair of it.
In a US government investigation for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act—yes, “practices,” not just actions but practices, even industry practices—it was revealed, not by hearsay, but by direct evidence, that Pagcor, among other state gambling regulators, received $110,000 in payoff s from a Japanese gambling tycoon between the years 2008 and 2011, spanning both the GMA and Aquino administrations.
Malacañang immediately came to the defense—of GMA’s and its own state-gambling regulators by admitting, yes, they had received part— now it turns out all—of that huge payoff but it was standard industry practice. Sure it is standard, like bribing cops by the Mafia; that is standard, too.
There’s the problem, US law is called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: it targets industry practices. Just because a crime is habitual does not decriminalize it. It makes it worse.
To be sure, huge payoff s of government regulators is a practice; no doubt about it. It has even acquired a term of art: regulatory capture.
It is a practice of criminal syndicates. It is, therefore, corrupt by definition. That it is a practice only makes it worse. It makes the practice syndicated under the RICO act.
Receiving payoff s on a regular basis, as SOP, calls into question the integrity of Pagcor officials entering contracts with gangs that regularly pay them off.
But it is nice to know, and it belies the accusations of a vindictive P-Noy administration, that the one time we have proof of corruption in the GMA administration, the Aquino administration defends it as SOP, standard operating procedure, standard practice, par for the course, what you must expect and anticipate when dealing with crooks. And that, said Malacañang, makes it all right.
Since jueteng lords have been paying off administrations in the past does this mean that the practice is all right for this administration as it was for the previous ones? The answer must be yes because it is not possible that what is wrong with one is right for the other, and vice versa. After all, what is the difference between the GMA and Aquino administrations; there is none; the names of both administrations even begin with the letter “A.”
So why is GMA under arrest for, among other things, what this administration admits it is practicing—taking payoff s as standard crime-industry practice?
The Palace said taking payoff s is a kind of cost-cutting measure. How? Because by accepting the payoff, the government partially off sets the cost of official travels abroad. How do we know that gambling officials do not get travel allowances just the same? In fact, Pagcor officials did because the Pagcor chief said that out of the allowance he had saved, he was able to buy a Chanel bag for his wife who, however, didn’t like it. No wonder Erap thought he committed no crime because he took no money from the government, only from gambling lords. Is this happening all over again?
The Palace said that, anyway, Pagcor intends to make the same kind of payoff s to visiting gambling syndicates by giving them free of charge the most expensive accommodations in return. In short, Pagcor is adopting crime-industry practices, as well. Wonderful. Now, we don’t have a government; we have a syndicate.
And is there really no money involved, just room and board? In the favorite words of Ferdinand Marcos, “Oh, c’mon.” Tell that to the Marines.
How Casinos Target Gambling Addicts
Card Sharks: How Casinos Target Gambling Addicts
As cash-strapped states increasingly turn to gambling for revenue, some casinos are resorting to devious methods to keep vulnerable gambling addicts coming back.
By David Greenstein
Ever wonder why states love gambling? Because legalized casino gambling, which reaped a $50 billion whirlwind in 2010, seems like a painless way to raise money for government coffers without increasing taxes. Lawmakers in Florida, New York, and Chicago are all considering the pros and cons of legalized gambling. At the same time, casino spokespeople in Las Vegas report upticks in revenue, and two of Connecticut’s Indian tribes, which already control the wildly successful Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos, are making moves to run the state’s seemingly inevitable online gaming enterprise.
While members of Gamblers Anonymous would rightly rally against such developments, I take a more measured view—mostly because I have an interest in casino gambling. I get no rush from games of chance like roulette or craps, but I have mathematical inclinations and a disciplined desire to win, which is how I ended up in the world of high-stakes card counting. Through a series of happy accidents, I wound up being taught to count cards and got myself invited to audition for a blackjack team not unlike the one depicted in the Kevin Spacey movie, 21. Along the way, I received a firsthand look at how high-stakes gamblers operate and what casino managers do to keep them happy, coming back, and trying to win money at games in which the odds are hopelessly stacked against them.
Casinos most commonly come after gamblers by giving them free stuff. But to get the free stuff, you need to show your ID and get a player’s card, which you present to the dealer every time you sit down to play. The card gets entered into a computer and allows the casino to track your play. This impacts decisions on the items that you’re worthy of receiving. It’s based on how much you bet, how often you play, and how much you lose. It also allows the casino to figure out what sorts of goodies will keep you coming back. And for problem gamblers, coming back can be disastrous. Of all the addictions—including drugs, alcohol, sex—gambling addicts have the highest suicide rate (by at least one estimate, as many as one in five gambling addicts try to kill themselves at least once.)
Casinos are so good at what they do they exacerbate a gambler's addiction. Think of an alcoholic who’s six months sober—except that Johnnie Walker knows his habits, and just when the physical craving passes, a case of Blue Label lands on his doorstep.
At the low-end you might get a windbreaker or a free lunch at the buffet. At the high end, it’s travel aboard a private jet and week-long stays in butler-equipped villas that are literally fit for sultans. I fell somewhere in the middle. I got gratis rooms, lots of tasty meals, gifts, and free entry into poker and blackjack tournaments. On a few occasions, I received $500 chips to play with. Other times, there were bottles of Chateau d'Yquem, computer games, and even cookware. Ultimately, I’d get backed off and told that I could no longer play blackjack in the casino “because your action is a little strong for us, Mr. Greenstein.”
The rebuffs were public and should have made other players at the table wonder what they were doing wrong, and why the casinos welcomed their action. But that never seemed to cross anybody’s mind.
Somewhere along the line—probably while I was enjoying a long weekend in a comped suite, eking money from the casinos and dining like a prince—I realized what a nightmare this has got to be for somebody who actually has a gambling problem. My only problem was getting booted out of the casinos for playing at an advantage. For nearly everybody else, though, winning appeared to be practically impossible. I’ve seen people drop six-figure sums in shockingly short periods of time and walk away from the table emotionless, as if they felt they had the financial beating coming. Bizarre plays for thousands of dollars, wild bouts of drinking, women who were clearly there for good times and cash—it was all standard stuff for a number of gamblers at the high-stakes tables.
Judging by how most people play blackjack, I recognized that they have no shot at winning money in the long term. But they keep getting lured back by comps, by a love of action, by the belief that it will be different next time—like an alcoholic who returns to the bottle expecting an alternate result. Gambling for most of them is a costly accompaniment for blowing off steam, meeting girls, and getting treated like big shots. For somebody with an addiction to gambling, who actually is trying to stop before he burns through his life’s savings, it’s way worse. And the casinos are so good at what they do that—willingly or not—they exacerbate the problem.
Think of an alcoholic who’s managed to stay off of liquor for six months, but Johnnie Walker somehow knows his habits, and just when he’s stayed away long enough for the physical craving to pass, the liquor company messengers over a case of Blue Label. That parallels the challenge that once faced Joe B., who placed his first horse bet at age 16, in 1974, and stopped gambling, with the help of Gambler’s Anonymous, in 2004. “You always get free stuff in the mail,” he says. “There were tickets for concerts, free rooms, free meals. Even after I got into the program, I would continually get all kinds of invitations and inducements to visit the casino. I’d tell them that I didn’t need to see the stuff and I wouldn’t get anything for a while. But then, suddenly, six months later, there’d be an offer to match my bet for up to $150 or to give me $50 in tokens for free slot play.”
Joe, who says that he’s lost six-figures to the casinos and remembers many a time when he’d gamble with his rent money or bet until he was broke, views the gambit without a whole lot of animosity. He figures that the casinos’ marketing people were just doing their jobs. But Joe acknowledges that those particular offers were enticing. “I would feel tempted to go down there,” he continues. “I figured that I should go there and make one bet and then go home. A friend heard that and said, ‘God forbid if you hit a jackpot for $5,000.’ The friend was right. A normal person would have put that money in the bank. But for me it was never enough. I would have kept right on gambling.”
For a jonesing gambler, the casinos make it hard to quit. Hosts (the guys who serve as the point-people between gamblers and casinos) will send limos to pick you up and come across as the friendliest folks you’d ever want to meet, always smiling, happy to see you, endlessly accommodating your desires. Some casinos, most notably the Wynn Las Vegas and MGM Resorts properties, have made efforts to identify problem gamblers, ban them from continuing to play, and stop them from completely destroying their lives (after, of course, the casinos win enormous sums). But others don't, and in many cases the situation spins wildly out of control.
The most extreme example in recent years of a gambling implosion, was that of a novelty goods magnate by the name of Terrance Watanabe, who dropped nearly $127 million in 2007. Most of his losses happened at Caesars Palace and the Rio, both in Las Vegas. According to the Wall Street Journal, the casinos’ parent company, which was known as Harrah’s Entertainment at the time, made nearly six-percent of its Las Vegas-based revenue from Watanabe in 2007. That year he lost around $112 million to the casinos in cash and close to $15 million in so-called markers.
Markers are ingenious devices that casinos use to make it easy for their best customers to gamble for large sums of money. Rather than having to travel with thousands of dollars in your pocket, you arrive at the casino, sign a marker, and receive a specified sum of chips. For a non-compulsive gambler, this is a convenience. For someone with a gambling addiction, however, it can be the beginning of a very rough ride.
According to a Vegas-based attorney who asked not to be named, “Markers are the equivalent of checks. But people think of them as loans. In reality, though, when you sign for a marker, you are vouching for the fact that you have funds in a banking institute to back it up.” Typically, players have 30 days to pay off their markers. After that, the casino can deposit the marker like a check and hope to receive its money. And if the money is not there? “It is as if the gambler has passed a bad check and, in Las Vegas, a division of the DA’s office attempts to collect the money.” An extra 10-percent is tacked on to what the gambler owes and the DA’s office keeps that additional fee.
Watanabe got in deep with his markers. When he would not pay, charges were filed against him. But Watanabe fired back at the casino, maintaining that one of his casino hosts plied him with liquor and painkillers (his host denies this, insisting that it was a single Lortab, taken from his own personal prescription, after Watanabe slipped in his room and hurt his back) and allowed him to keep playing even though he was so inebriated that he actually fell asleep at the table. It was turning into the kind of case in which nobody looks good. In fact, it came out, Wynn Las Vegas banned Watanabe for his drunkenness and because he appeared to have a gambling addiction. Avoiding a public relations nightmare, Harrah’s agreed to remove its civil charges and the DA’s office dropped its criminal charges, though Watanabe still had to pay a $500,000 administrative fee to the DA’s office (considerably less than the nearly $1.5 million that he would have owed had the court found him guilty). The case between Watanabe and Harrah’s went to arbitration with confidentiality for all parties.
Regardless of the wind-up, Watanabe, a man who apparently had an illness when it came to gambling, had lost so much money that the $15 million he owed seems weirdly inconsequential. As Bill Thompson, a UNLV professor who focuses on gambling, told the Las Vegas Review Journal, “No one has ever lost this much money in a casino before. It’s just a fantastic amount. He’s just the biggest whale of all time."
It is hard to tell if that statement was made in a tone of wonder, pity, or matter-of-factness.
Not long ago, a high rolling friend in the Midwest brought me out of retirement. He wanted to back me for low-stakes card counting and put me into a blackjack tournament (which requires game-playing skills other than card counting). I agreed, and, for three days, I enjoyed being back in the saddle. I got a little unlucky and busted out of the tournament but I did manage to win us a few bucks at the cash tables.
Overall, it was a good and pleasurable experience. But at the tournament, a little older and a little more jaded than my younger card-counting self, I enjoyed eavesdropping on the conversations of bonafide high rollers. Most of these guys were well to do men. They had successful businesses and did not come across as desperate gamblers in any way—until you heard snatches of their conversations. They were not talking sports or cars or where to get the best steak in the casino. Instead, they were bonding over tales of juggling outstanding markers and sharing information on which casino operators around the country were most lenient in terms of their policies.
The guy who won the tournament’s six-figure first prize seemed to be particularly embroiled in casino debt. If I couldn’t win it, I felt glad that he did. Of course, though, whether that money went toward getting himself straight or financed another bender of high-stakes risk is anybody’s guess.
Want to bet where it wound up?
As cash-strapped states increasingly turn to gambling for revenue, some casinos are resorting to devious methods to keep vulnerable gambling addicts coming back.
By David Greenstein
Ever wonder why states love gambling? Because legalized casino gambling, which reaped a $50 billion whirlwind in 2010, seems like a painless way to raise money for government coffers without increasing taxes. Lawmakers in Florida, New York, and Chicago are all considering the pros and cons of legalized gambling. At the same time, casino spokespeople in Las Vegas report upticks in revenue, and two of Connecticut’s Indian tribes, which already control the wildly successful Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos, are making moves to run the state’s seemingly inevitable online gaming enterprise.
While members of Gamblers Anonymous would rightly rally against such developments, I take a more measured view—mostly because I have an interest in casino gambling. I get no rush from games of chance like roulette or craps, but I have mathematical inclinations and a disciplined desire to win, which is how I ended up in the world of high-stakes card counting. Through a series of happy accidents, I wound up being taught to count cards and got myself invited to audition for a blackjack team not unlike the one depicted in the Kevin Spacey movie, 21. Along the way, I received a firsthand look at how high-stakes gamblers operate and what casino managers do to keep them happy, coming back, and trying to win money at games in which the odds are hopelessly stacked against them.
Casinos most commonly come after gamblers by giving them free stuff. But to get the free stuff, you need to show your ID and get a player’s card, which you present to the dealer every time you sit down to play. The card gets entered into a computer and allows the casino to track your play. This impacts decisions on the items that you’re worthy of receiving. It’s based on how much you bet, how often you play, and how much you lose. It also allows the casino to figure out what sorts of goodies will keep you coming back. And for problem gamblers, coming back can be disastrous. Of all the addictions—including drugs, alcohol, sex—gambling addicts have the highest suicide rate (by at least one estimate, as many as one in five gambling addicts try to kill themselves at least once.)
Casinos are so good at what they do they exacerbate a gambler's addiction. Think of an alcoholic who’s six months sober—except that Johnnie Walker knows his habits, and just when the physical craving passes, a case of Blue Label lands on his doorstep.
At the low-end you might get a windbreaker or a free lunch at the buffet. At the high end, it’s travel aboard a private jet and week-long stays in butler-equipped villas that are literally fit for sultans. I fell somewhere in the middle. I got gratis rooms, lots of tasty meals, gifts, and free entry into poker and blackjack tournaments. On a few occasions, I received $500 chips to play with. Other times, there were bottles of Chateau d'Yquem, computer games, and even cookware. Ultimately, I’d get backed off and told that I could no longer play blackjack in the casino “because your action is a little strong for us, Mr. Greenstein.”
The rebuffs were public and should have made other players at the table wonder what they were doing wrong, and why the casinos welcomed their action. But that never seemed to cross anybody’s mind.
Somewhere along the line—probably while I was enjoying a long weekend in a comped suite, eking money from the casinos and dining like a prince—I realized what a nightmare this has got to be for somebody who actually has a gambling problem. My only problem was getting booted out of the casinos for playing at an advantage. For nearly everybody else, though, winning appeared to be practically impossible. I’ve seen people drop six-figure sums in shockingly short periods of time and walk away from the table emotionless, as if they felt they had the financial beating coming. Bizarre plays for thousands of dollars, wild bouts of drinking, women who were clearly there for good times and cash—it was all standard stuff for a number of gamblers at the high-stakes tables.
Judging by how most people play blackjack, I recognized that they have no shot at winning money in the long term. But they keep getting lured back by comps, by a love of action, by the belief that it will be different next time—like an alcoholic who returns to the bottle expecting an alternate result. Gambling for most of them is a costly accompaniment for blowing off steam, meeting girls, and getting treated like big shots. For somebody with an addiction to gambling, who actually is trying to stop before he burns through his life’s savings, it’s way worse. And the casinos are so good at what they do that—willingly or not—they exacerbate the problem.
Think of an alcoholic who’s managed to stay off of liquor for six months, but Johnnie Walker somehow knows his habits, and just when he’s stayed away long enough for the physical craving to pass, the liquor company messengers over a case of Blue Label. That parallels the challenge that once faced Joe B., who placed his first horse bet at age 16, in 1974, and stopped gambling, with the help of Gambler’s Anonymous, in 2004. “You always get free stuff in the mail,” he says. “There were tickets for concerts, free rooms, free meals. Even after I got into the program, I would continually get all kinds of invitations and inducements to visit the casino. I’d tell them that I didn’t need to see the stuff and I wouldn’t get anything for a while. But then, suddenly, six months later, there’d be an offer to match my bet for up to $150 or to give me $50 in tokens for free slot play.”
Joe, who says that he’s lost six-figures to the casinos and remembers many a time when he’d gamble with his rent money or bet until he was broke, views the gambit without a whole lot of animosity. He figures that the casinos’ marketing people were just doing their jobs. But Joe acknowledges that those particular offers were enticing. “I would feel tempted to go down there,” he continues. “I figured that I should go there and make one bet and then go home. A friend heard that and said, ‘God forbid if you hit a jackpot for $5,000.’ The friend was right. A normal person would have put that money in the bank. But for me it was never enough. I would have kept right on gambling.”
For a jonesing gambler, the casinos make it hard to quit. Hosts (the guys who serve as the point-people between gamblers and casinos) will send limos to pick you up and come across as the friendliest folks you’d ever want to meet, always smiling, happy to see you, endlessly accommodating your desires. Some casinos, most notably the Wynn Las Vegas and MGM Resorts properties, have made efforts to identify problem gamblers, ban them from continuing to play, and stop them from completely destroying their lives (after, of course, the casinos win enormous sums). But others don't, and in many cases the situation spins wildly out of control.
The most extreme example in recent years of a gambling implosion, was that of a novelty goods magnate by the name of Terrance Watanabe, who dropped nearly $127 million in 2007. Most of his losses happened at Caesars Palace and the Rio, both in Las Vegas. According to the Wall Street Journal, the casinos’ parent company, which was known as Harrah’s Entertainment at the time, made nearly six-percent of its Las Vegas-based revenue from Watanabe in 2007. That year he lost around $112 million to the casinos in cash and close to $15 million in so-called markers.
Markers are ingenious devices that casinos use to make it easy for their best customers to gamble for large sums of money. Rather than having to travel with thousands of dollars in your pocket, you arrive at the casino, sign a marker, and receive a specified sum of chips. For a non-compulsive gambler, this is a convenience. For someone with a gambling addiction, however, it can be the beginning of a very rough ride.
According to a Vegas-based attorney who asked not to be named, “Markers are the equivalent of checks. But people think of them as loans. In reality, though, when you sign for a marker, you are vouching for the fact that you have funds in a banking institute to back it up.” Typically, players have 30 days to pay off their markers. After that, the casino can deposit the marker like a check and hope to receive its money. And if the money is not there? “It is as if the gambler has passed a bad check and, in Las Vegas, a division of the DA’s office attempts to collect the money.” An extra 10-percent is tacked on to what the gambler owes and the DA’s office keeps that additional fee.
Watanabe got in deep with his markers. When he would not pay, charges were filed against him. But Watanabe fired back at the casino, maintaining that one of his casino hosts plied him with liquor and painkillers (his host denies this, insisting that it was a single Lortab, taken from his own personal prescription, after Watanabe slipped in his room and hurt his back) and allowed him to keep playing even though he was so inebriated that he actually fell asleep at the table. It was turning into the kind of case in which nobody looks good. In fact, it came out, Wynn Las Vegas banned Watanabe for his drunkenness and because he appeared to have a gambling addiction. Avoiding a public relations nightmare, Harrah’s agreed to remove its civil charges and the DA’s office dropped its criminal charges, though Watanabe still had to pay a $500,000 administrative fee to the DA’s office (considerably less than the nearly $1.5 million that he would have owed had the court found him guilty). The case between Watanabe and Harrah’s went to arbitration with confidentiality for all parties.
Regardless of the wind-up, Watanabe, a man who apparently had an illness when it came to gambling, had lost so much money that the $15 million he owed seems weirdly inconsequential. As Bill Thompson, a UNLV professor who focuses on gambling, told the Las Vegas Review Journal, “No one has ever lost this much money in a casino before. It’s just a fantastic amount. He’s just the biggest whale of all time."
It is hard to tell if that statement was made in a tone of wonder, pity, or matter-of-factness.
Not long ago, a high rolling friend in the Midwest brought me out of retirement. He wanted to back me for low-stakes card counting and put me into a blackjack tournament (which requires game-playing skills other than card counting). I agreed, and, for three days, I enjoyed being back in the saddle. I got a little unlucky and busted out of the tournament but I did manage to win us a few bucks at the cash tables.
Overall, it was a good and pleasurable experience. But at the tournament, a little older and a little more jaded than my younger card-counting self, I enjoyed eavesdropping on the conversations of bonafide high rollers. Most of these guys were well to do men. They had successful businesses and did not come across as desperate gamblers in any way—until you heard snatches of their conversations. They were not talking sports or cars or where to get the best steak in the casino. Instead, they were bonding over tales of juggling outstanding markers and sharing information on which casino operators around the country were most lenient in terms of their policies.
The guy who won the tournament’s six-figure first prize seemed to be particularly embroiled in casino debt. If I couldn’t win it, I felt glad that he did. Of course, though, whether that money went toward getting himself straight or financed another bender of high-stakes risk is anybody’s guess.
Want to bet where it wound up?
"...government becomes hooked on gambling just like a compulsive gambler...."
This is the floodgate that Governor Slot Barns opened in Massachusetts --
With stadium plan, Dayton carries on unfortunate legacy of ‘gambling governor’
By Steven Dornfeld
To help fund a new Vikings stadium, DFL Gov. Mark Dayton wants to borrow a page from the political handbook of the late Gov. Rudy Perpich – to expand legalized gambling in Minnesota.
Perpich, who gave Dayton his political start, was about as straight an arrow as they come. However, during his 10 years as governor, he presided over the greatest expansion of legalized gambling in state history. As biographer Betty Wilson noted, Perpich is remembered by some as “the gambling governor.”
Under Perpich’s watch, the state:
•Expanded charitable gambling in 1978 by permitting the use of paddle wheels, tip boards and raffles (he allowed the bill to become law without his signature).
•Enacted legislation in 1983 to allow the construction of Canterbury Downs and legalize racetrack betting, capitalizing on a constitutional change approved by the voters a year earlier.
•Approved a constitutional change in 1988 that allowed the creation of the Minnesota Lottery.
•Signed compacts with Minnesota’s11 Indian tribes in 1989 that allowed the tribes to go into the casino business and gave them a lucrative monopoly – no strings attached.
At the end of the 1989 legislative session, then-Sen. Dean Johnson of Willmar said, “The gambling floodgates are open.” By 1992, Minnesota was “the largest casino gaming center between Nevada and New Jersey,” according to a State Planning Agency report.
Electronic pull-tabs
Now Dayton and his legislative allies want to build on this unfortunate legacy, proposing the legalization of electronic pull-tabs to fund the state’s $398 million share of a $975 million stadium. The Minnesota Department of Revenue has estimated electronic pull tabs could bring in up to $42.7 million annually.
Questions about the expansion of gambling may be the least of the political hurdles facing the latest stadium proposal.
For much of the state’s history, legalized gambling consisted largely of low-stakes bingo games in church basements. In 1947, Gov. Luther Youngdahl made a political name for himself by passing legislation to drive out slot machines that had crept into Minnesota and become popular attractions in many resort communities.
However, over the last three decades, legal gambling increasingly has become a part of the state’s culture. It started with a 1981 law allowing nonprofit and charitable organizations to sell pull-tabs, which forged a regrettable link between gambling and youth athletic programs, among others.
Last year, pull-tabs generated nearly $1 billion in sales and the lottery sold another $500 million in tickets. As for the 18 tribal casinos, who knows how much they raked in? In 2007, the most recent year for which figures are available, these casinos attracted 24.6 million visitors, three times as many as people as Minnesota state parks.
Striking it rich
The unfortunate message, amplified in advertising for the lottery and Powerball: The way to get ahead is not through education and hard work, but rather by buying a ticket and striking it rich.
“How would you like a chance at a million big ones?” asked the Minnesota Lottery’s website. “ Check out our new Million $$ Match TV spot and see if any of these scratching styles could bring you a million dollars instantly!”
Perpich, who championed the lottery proposal, justified it as a way to generate money for economic development and conservation programs. Now Dayton and his allies see the electronic pull-tabs as they only way to build a football stadium and hang onto the Vikings.
If you’ve ever sat in a sports bar and watched patrons fill multiple baskets with the pull-tabs they’ve ripped through, it may be difficult to imagine electronic pull-tabs being any more seductive, if not addictive.
Addiction experts estimate that 160,000 to 214,000 Minnesotans struggle with compulsive gambling, which can threaten family relationships, empty retirement savings , lead to criminal behavior and ultimately destroy lives.
If you’ve followed the news even casually over the years, you know there are church staff members who have embezzled from their employers, elected officials who have written bad checks and law students who have robbed banks – all to support their gambling habits.
As for the state, it’s much like the problem gamblers within our borders. As a William Thompson, a professor at the University of Nevada, once observed, “What happens in gaming is that the government becomes hooked on gambling just like a compulsive gambler.”
With stadium plan, Dayton carries on unfortunate legacy of ‘gambling governor’
By Steven Dornfeld
To help fund a new Vikings stadium, DFL Gov. Mark Dayton wants to borrow a page from the political handbook of the late Gov. Rudy Perpich – to expand legalized gambling in Minnesota.
Perpich, who gave Dayton his political start, was about as straight an arrow as they come. However, during his 10 years as governor, he presided over the greatest expansion of legalized gambling in state history. As biographer Betty Wilson noted, Perpich is remembered by some as “the gambling governor.”
Under Perpich’s watch, the state:
•Expanded charitable gambling in 1978 by permitting the use of paddle wheels, tip boards and raffles (he allowed the bill to become law without his signature).
•Enacted legislation in 1983 to allow the construction of Canterbury Downs and legalize racetrack betting, capitalizing on a constitutional change approved by the voters a year earlier.
•Approved a constitutional change in 1988 that allowed the creation of the Minnesota Lottery.
•Signed compacts with Minnesota’s11 Indian tribes in 1989 that allowed the tribes to go into the casino business and gave them a lucrative monopoly – no strings attached.
At the end of the 1989 legislative session, then-Sen. Dean Johnson of Willmar said, “The gambling floodgates are open.” By 1992, Minnesota was “the largest casino gaming center between Nevada and New Jersey,” according to a State Planning Agency report.
Electronic pull-tabs
Now Dayton and his legislative allies want to build on this unfortunate legacy, proposing the legalization of electronic pull-tabs to fund the state’s $398 million share of a $975 million stadium. The Minnesota Department of Revenue has estimated electronic pull tabs could bring in up to $42.7 million annually.
Questions about the expansion of gambling may be the least of the political hurdles facing the latest stadium proposal.
For much of the state’s history, legalized gambling consisted largely of low-stakes bingo games in church basements. In 1947, Gov. Luther Youngdahl made a political name for himself by passing legislation to drive out slot machines that had crept into Minnesota and become popular attractions in many resort communities.
However, over the last three decades, legal gambling increasingly has become a part of the state’s culture. It started with a 1981 law allowing nonprofit and charitable organizations to sell pull-tabs, which forged a regrettable link between gambling and youth athletic programs, among others.
Last year, pull-tabs generated nearly $1 billion in sales and the lottery sold another $500 million in tickets. As for the 18 tribal casinos, who knows how much they raked in? In 2007, the most recent year for which figures are available, these casinos attracted 24.6 million visitors, three times as many as people as Minnesota state parks.
Striking it rich
The unfortunate message, amplified in advertising for the lottery and Powerball: The way to get ahead is not through education and hard work, but rather by buying a ticket and striking it rich.
“How would you like a chance at a million big ones?” asked the Minnesota Lottery’s website. “ Check out our new Million $$ Match TV spot and see if any of these scratching styles could bring you a million dollars instantly!”
Perpich, who championed the lottery proposal, justified it as a way to generate money for economic development and conservation programs. Now Dayton and his allies see the electronic pull-tabs as they only way to build a football stadium and hang onto the Vikings.
If you’ve ever sat in a sports bar and watched patrons fill multiple baskets with the pull-tabs they’ve ripped through, it may be difficult to imagine electronic pull-tabs being any more seductive, if not addictive.
Addiction experts estimate that 160,000 to 214,000 Minnesotans struggle with compulsive gambling, which can threaten family relationships, empty retirement savings , lead to criminal behavior and ultimately destroy lives.
If you’ve followed the news even casually over the years, you know there are church staff members who have embezzled from their employers, elected officials who have written bad checks and law students who have robbed banks – all to support their gambling habits.
As for the state, it’s much like the problem gamblers within our borders. As a William Thompson, a professor at the University of Nevada, once observed, “What happens in gaming is that the government becomes hooked on gambling just like a compulsive gambler.”
When it comes to addictions....
When it comes to addictions....
By Bill Brady, Special to QMI Agency
Gambling in its many forms takes a terrible toll on families. Here's the irony: A gambler wishes he or she had more money but that very addiction will eat up their financial resources faster than one could say "Dealer, hit me again."
Experts say the house usually comes out ahead.
I am no gambler. Like most, I have tried my hand at a few moments of madness, but once my $20 is gone, I am too. It's a fact that most addicted gamblers do not have the resources that make it OK to lose. They play cards, roll dice or play the slots to get badly needed money to replace their losses and maybe occasionally get ahead.
It seldom happens.
The dichotomy is the government wants us to be healthy, spending most of our taxes on facilities to care for us, including our mental health. Yet the government is a co-conspirator and enabler, promoting and supporting all kinds of gambling to gather in needed revenue so it can then pay to treat the many whose addictions have disabled them.
By Bill Brady, Special to QMI Agency
Gambling in its many forms takes a terrible toll on families. Here's the irony: A gambler wishes he or she had more money but that very addiction will eat up their financial resources faster than one could say "Dealer, hit me again."
Experts say the house usually comes out ahead.
I am no gambler. Like most, I have tried my hand at a few moments of madness, but once my $20 is gone, I am too. It's a fact that most addicted gamblers do not have the resources that make it OK to lose. They play cards, roll dice or play the slots to get badly needed money to replace their losses and maybe occasionally get ahead.
It seldom happens.
The dichotomy is the government wants us to be healthy, spending most of our taxes on facilities to care for us, including our mental health. Yet the government is a co-conspirator and enabler, promoting and supporting all kinds of gambling to gather in needed revenue so it can then pay to treat the many whose addictions have disabled them.
Do you have a gambling problem?
Do you have a gambling problem?
Here’s how to determine whether you or a loved one suffers from an addiction and what to do about it
By Linda Lewis Griffith Special to The Tribune
National Problem Gambling Awareness Week is Sunday through March 10. This is a campaign sponsored by the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) to educate both the public and health care professionals about the warning signs of uncontrolled gambling and the programs available to treat it.
An estimated 2 percent to 5 percent of social gamblers qualify as pathological gamblers.
Although more men than women suffer from gambling addictions, women are developing the disorder at ahigher rate, now making up one quarter of all problem gamblers. Men tend to develop gambling problems in their teens; women’s afflictions arise later in their lives.
A few gamblers encounter problems with their very first wager. Most are able to socially gamble for years without any concerns. But increased life stresses or bouts of anxiety or depression can cause gamblers to become obsessive about their gambling and about acquiring the money needed to do it.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, pathological gamblers display the following symptoms:
• A preoccupation with gambling, either by reliving past gambling experiences, planning their next excursions, or constantly thinking about new ways to finance their gambling behavior.
• A need for more and more money for gambling in order to reach the desired level of gambling enjoyment.
• Repeated unsuccessful attempts to stop or reduce gambling.
• Irritability when trying to stop gambling.
• A tendency to gamble for the purpose of escaping problems or to re duce sadness or anxiety.
• A pattern of gambling again after losing money in an effort to recoup losses.
• Lies to family members intended to hide the extent of the gambling.
• Crimes committed to finance gambling.
• A willingness to risk losing relationships or employment because of gambling.
• Requests for money to pay gambling debts.
In addition, Gamblers Anonymous notes that compulsive gamblers have problems accepting reality and frequently turn to the fantasy world of gambling.
They are psychologically insecure; pathological gamblers often make such statements as, “I never feel comfortable unless I’m at a craps table.”
Finally, they are emotionally immature. They want the finer things in life without having to put out the effort to achieve them. They also want to be seen by others as competent and powerful.
Gamblers Anonymous is a 12-step program. Effectiveness studies have shown abstinence rates of 8 percent after one year.
Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy teaches gamblers how to manage their anxious, compulsive symptoms and to make wise choices for themselves. In addition, various medications have proven useful in decreasing both the urge to gamble and the thrill that accompanies the behavior.
For more information, visit the Gamblers Anonymous website, http://www.GamblersAnonymous.org, or contact the group by phone at 1-888-GA-HELP. If you are concerned about a loved one’s gambling, contact Gam-Anon at http://www.gam-anon.org.
ASK YOURSELF 20 QUESTIONS
Wonder if your gambling is a problem? Ask yourself these 20 questions offered by
Gamblers Anonymous:
1. Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling?
2. Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?
3. Did gambling affect your reputation?
4. Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?
5. Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties?
6. Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?
7. After losing, did you feel compelled to return as soon as possible and win back your losses?
8. After a win, did you have a strong urge to return and win more?
9. Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone?
10. Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?
11. Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?
12. Were you reluctant to use “gambling money” for normal expenditures?
13. Did gambling make you careless regarding your family’s welfare or your own?
14. Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned?
15. Have you ever gambled to escape worry, trouble, boredom or loneliness?
16. Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling?
17. Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping? 18. Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create an urge to gamble?
19. Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling?
20. Have you ever considered self-destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?
According to GA, most compulsive gamblers will answer yes to at least seven of these questions.
Read more here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/03/02/1971654/do-you-have-a-gambling-problem.html#storylink=cpy
Here’s how to determine whether you or a loved one suffers from an addiction and what to do about it
By Linda Lewis Griffith Special to The Tribune
National Problem Gambling Awareness Week is Sunday through March 10. This is a campaign sponsored by the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) to educate both the public and health care professionals about the warning signs of uncontrolled gambling and the programs available to treat it.
An estimated 2 percent to 5 percent of social gamblers qualify as pathological gamblers.
Although more men than women suffer from gambling addictions, women are developing the disorder at ahigher rate, now making up one quarter of all problem gamblers. Men tend to develop gambling problems in their teens; women’s afflictions arise later in their lives.
A few gamblers encounter problems with their very first wager. Most are able to socially gamble for years without any concerns. But increased life stresses or bouts of anxiety or depression can cause gamblers to become obsessive about their gambling and about acquiring the money needed to do it.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, pathological gamblers display the following symptoms:
• A preoccupation with gambling, either by reliving past gambling experiences, planning their next excursions, or constantly thinking about new ways to finance their gambling behavior.
• A need for more and more money for gambling in order to reach the desired level of gambling enjoyment.
• Repeated unsuccessful attempts to stop or reduce gambling.
• Irritability when trying to stop gambling.
• A tendency to gamble for the purpose of escaping problems or to re duce sadness or anxiety.
• A pattern of gambling again after losing money in an effort to recoup losses.
• Lies to family members intended to hide the extent of the gambling.
• Crimes committed to finance gambling.
• A willingness to risk losing relationships or employment because of gambling.
• Requests for money to pay gambling debts.
In addition, Gamblers Anonymous notes that compulsive gamblers have problems accepting reality and frequently turn to the fantasy world of gambling.
They are psychologically insecure; pathological gamblers often make such statements as, “I never feel comfortable unless I’m at a craps table.”
Finally, they are emotionally immature. They want the finer things in life without having to put out the effort to achieve them. They also want to be seen by others as competent and powerful.
Gamblers Anonymous is a 12-step program. Effectiveness studies have shown abstinence rates of 8 percent after one year.
Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy teaches gamblers how to manage their anxious, compulsive symptoms and to make wise choices for themselves. In addition, various medications have proven useful in decreasing both the urge to gamble and the thrill that accompanies the behavior.
For more information, visit the Gamblers Anonymous website, http://www.GamblersAnonymous.org, or contact the group by phone at 1-888-GA-HELP. If you are concerned about a loved one’s gambling, contact Gam-Anon at http://www.gam-anon.org.
ASK YOURSELF 20 QUESTIONS
Wonder if your gambling is a problem? Ask yourself these 20 questions offered by
Gamblers Anonymous:
1. Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling?
2. Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?
3. Did gambling affect your reputation?
4. Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?
5. Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties?
6. Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?
7. After losing, did you feel compelled to return as soon as possible and win back your losses?
8. After a win, did you have a strong urge to return and win more?
9. Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone?
10. Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?
11. Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?
12. Were you reluctant to use “gambling money” for normal expenditures?
13. Did gambling make you careless regarding your family’s welfare or your own?
14. Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned?
15. Have you ever gambled to escape worry, trouble, boredom or loneliness?
16. Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling?
17. Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping? 18. Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create an urge to gamble?
19. Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling?
20. Have you ever considered self-destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?
According to GA, most compulsive gamblers will answer yes to at least seven of these questions.
Read more here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/03/02/1971654/do-you-have-a-gambling-problem.html#storylink=cpy
Friday, March 2, 2012
Atlantic City Targets LOCALS
Ahhhh....paving the streets with Fools' Gold, phony promises, mismanagement and corruption, Atlantic City's Slot Barns have drained the swamp and seek to suck discretionary $$$$ from the LOCALS.
Deluding yourself that 'We can get it right!' doesn't work when you consider the experience of others in the Race to the Bottom.
Atlantic City casino takes a gamble with cheaper chips, smaller stakes for bigger crowds
By Eliot Caroom/The Star-Ledger
ATLANTIC CITY — As Atlantic City casinos fight for their survival while regional competitors multiply and revenues dive, one gaming hall believes it’s on to something.
The Atlantic Club is offering its players cheaper chips and smaller stakes.
"Anything to play longer here," patron Cassandra Johnson of Landover, Md., said during a recent visit to the Atlantic Club, the original Golden Nugget that’s now on its third name in about a year.
The casino is betting its future on fulfilling her wish.
"If we were a hamburger place, we would try to have the best hamburger ... our aim is to have the best slot floor," said COO Michael Frawley.
Among the changes are a higher percentage of penny slots, 70 percent, than any other casino in the city and lower limits for table games. The casino will take $1 bets on roulette and blackjack, and $3 bets on dice games. Gamblers can use 25- and 50-cent chips just approved by state regulators — the cheapest ever in Atlantic City.
For years casinos have aimed for big spenders with luxurious frills and costly entertainment. Many also paid partial bus fare for low-budget players. But experts say the Atlantic Club’s cut-rate strategy is something unique.
"Most casinos would like to have ‘whales.’ Whales are the ones making the thousand-dollar bets, and getting (complimentary) hotel rooms," said Richard McGowan, a Boston College professor who studies gaming and cited the Borgata, which just announced a $50 million makeover, and the Trump Taj Mahal as establishments that court whales. "It looks like this place is going after the minnows."
Eliot Caroom/The Star-LedgerThe Hilton sign has been taken down, but as of late last week, the Atlantic Club sign had yet to go up at this revamped hotel-casino in Atlantic City.
McGowan said the strategy could help the Atlantic Club fight other Atlantic City casinos and competition in Pennsylvania for the low end of the market.
"The bus crowds for the most part like to play slot machines," he said. "It looks like this casino is getting people to play other things and afford it."
McGowan’s not the only one who thinks the strategy could buoy the Atlantic Club, which has lost money, laid off workers and nearly fell into foreclosure in recent years.
"It certainly has potential," Michael Pollock, founder of the Gaming Industry Observer, said of the low-roller approach. "Historically there have been numerous properties trying to take their disadvantages and turn them into advantages. It has to be done, because the status quo is really not an option."
That’s true because Pennsylvania casinos topped Atlantic City’s in monthly revenue for the first time late last year. On top of that, the Revel will open this spring in Atlantic City — a new, somewhat secluded and smoke-free venue.
It’s true that some casinos already have table games with low minimums.
"Casinos have always adjusted the minimum bet on tables based on demand, kind of like pricing a plane ticket," explained Daniel Heneghan, a spokesman for the Casino Control Commission. "On a Saturday night you’re going to find higher table minimums than at Tuesday noontime."
But the Atlantic Club plans to double down on low-stakes tables and 1,500 low-denomination slot machines, 70 percent of them penny slots.
"We’re doing what our core product is," Frawley said.
Frawley began his career in 1978 with a dice dealing job at the birth of Atlantic City’s first casino, Resorts International, worked casino jobs in Biloxi, Miss., and returned to the city in 2008 to take on his first COO job in a profoundly changed market.
Billboards have gone up around Atlantic City promoting the value sell with the slogan "Finally, a casino for the rest of us."
Another part of the local strategy: The Atlantic Club is partnering with local businesses so "comp" dollars earned by hours of play can be used at 20 partner businesses in the area, including ‘The Walk,’ which includes 95 stores.
The comp program is already under way, and nearby Margate grocer Casel’s Marketplace sees an average of $700 in comp money spent there each week.
Casino regulators applaud the Atlantic Club’s attempts to reinvent itself.
"Atlantic Club’s branding to attract local residents and its efforts in marketing lower minimum play is supported by the Division (of Gaming Enforcement)," the agency’s head, David Rebuck, said in a statement.
Frawley said he believes other casinos in Atlantic City will try to compete with the new model.
But he thinks it will be hard to readily imitate the affordable restaurants, slot floor and expanded use of comps.
"If you come here with a couple of hundred bucks, you should be here for a few hours and have a great meal, instead of a couple of minutes," Frawley said.
Deluding yourself that 'We can get it right!' doesn't work when you consider the experience of others in the Race to the Bottom.
Atlantic City casino takes a gamble with cheaper chips, smaller stakes for bigger crowds
By Eliot Caroom/The Star-Ledger
ATLANTIC CITY — As Atlantic City casinos fight for their survival while regional competitors multiply and revenues dive, one gaming hall believes it’s on to something.
The Atlantic Club is offering its players cheaper chips and smaller stakes.
"Anything to play longer here," patron Cassandra Johnson of Landover, Md., said during a recent visit to the Atlantic Club, the original Golden Nugget that’s now on its third name in about a year.
The casino is betting its future on fulfilling her wish.
"If we were a hamburger place, we would try to have the best hamburger ... our aim is to have the best slot floor," said COO Michael Frawley.
Among the changes are a higher percentage of penny slots, 70 percent, than any other casino in the city and lower limits for table games. The casino will take $1 bets on roulette and blackjack, and $3 bets on dice games. Gamblers can use 25- and 50-cent chips just approved by state regulators — the cheapest ever in Atlantic City.
For years casinos have aimed for big spenders with luxurious frills and costly entertainment. Many also paid partial bus fare for low-budget players. But experts say the Atlantic Club’s cut-rate strategy is something unique.
"Most casinos would like to have ‘whales.’ Whales are the ones making the thousand-dollar bets, and getting (complimentary) hotel rooms," said Richard McGowan, a Boston College professor who studies gaming and cited the Borgata, which just announced a $50 million makeover, and the Trump Taj Mahal as establishments that court whales. "It looks like this place is going after the minnows."
Eliot Caroom/The Star-LedgerThe Hilton sign has been taken down, but as of late last week, the Atlantic Club sign had yet to go up at this revamped hotel-casino in Atlantic City.
McGowan said the strategy could help the Atlantic Club fight other Atlantic City casinos and competition in Pennsylvania for the low end of the market.
"The bus crowds for the most part like to play slot machines," he said. "It looks like this casino is getting people to play other things and afford it."
McGowan’s not the only one who thinks the strategy could buoy the Atlantic Club, which has lost money, laid off workers and nearly fell into foreclosure in recent years.
"It certainly has potential," Michael Pollock, founder of the Gaming Industry Observer, said of the low-roller approach. "Historically there have been numerous properties trying to take their disadvantages and turn them into advantages. It has to be done, because the status quo is really not an option."
That’s true because Pennsylvania casinos topped Atlantic City’s in monthly revenue for the first time late last year. On top of that, the Revel will open this spring in Atlantic City — a new, somewhat secluded and smoke-free venue.
It’s true that some casinos already have table games with low minimums.
"Casinos have always adjusted the minimum bet on tables based on demand, kind of like pricing a plane ticket," explained Daniel Heneghan, a spokesman for the Casino Control Commission. "On a Saturday night you’re going to find higher table minimums than at Tuesday noontime."
But the Atlantic Club plans to double down on low-stakes tables and 1,500 low-denomination slot machines, 70 percent of them penny slots.
"We’re doing what our core product is," Frawley said.
Frawley began his career in 1978 with a dice dealing job at the birth of Atlantic City’s first casino, Resorts International, worked casino jobs in Biloxi, Miss., and returned to the city in 2008 to take on his first COO job in a profoundly changed market.
Billboards have gone up around Atlantic City promoting the value sell with the slogan "Finally, a casino for the rest of us."
Another part of the local strategy: The Atlantic Club is partnering with local businesses so "comp" dollars earned by hours of play can be used at 20 partner businesses in the area, including ‘The Walk,’ which includes 95 stores.
The comp program is already under way, and nearby Margate grocer Casel’s Marketplace sees an average of $700 in comp money spent there each week.
Casino regulators applaud the Atlantic Club’s attempts to reinvent itself.
"Atlantic Club’s branding to attract local residents and its efforts in marketing lower minimum play is supported by the Division (of Gaming Enforcement)," the agency’s head, David Rebuck, said in a statement.
Frawley said he believes other casinos in Atlantic City will try to compete with the new model.
But he thinks it will be hard to readily imitate the affordable restaurants, slot floor and expanded use of comps.
"If you come here with a couple of hundred bucks, you should be here for a few hours and have a great meal, instead of a couple of minutes," Frawley said.
Kraft/Wynn Foxborough: YUK!
Since Steve Wynn's eyesight is diminishing, maybe he can't see the monstrosity presented.
Since Michael Milken made Steve Wynn rich selling his junk bonds, maybe there are still suckers laying around waiting to flush $$$ down the toilet without figuring out that Slot Barns will attract ONLY LOCALS.
Gambling is wildly profitable which is why the massive blitz of glossy mailings and DVDs, paid people knocking on doors...maybe the residents of Foxborough are smarter than that.
Wait until they figure out the the puny Slot Barn in Palmer was going to cost $18 MILLION to $39 MILLION each year and that leaves the Kraft/Wynn Monster buckets short.
The folks in Foxborough still haven't figured out that they're subsidizing Kraft's enterprises already which is why they're broke.
Oh, well!
Worth viewing the photos of this monstrosity and wondering who designed it!
Wynn unveils renderings of proposed Foxborough casino
By Mark Arsenault
Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn this morning released his first renderings of his proposed $1 billion gambling resort in Foxborough, making his pitch to win over the community in a glossy mailing, including a 20-minute DVD, sent to more than 7,000 households.
Wynn wants to develop what is now a vast gravel parking lot on Route 1 into a casino and convention center modeled after the design of his own luxury home in Sun Valley, Idaho, which is built of local stone and heavy timber. The plans in Foxborough include a 5,000-car parking garage, a pedestrian bridge connecting the project with Patriot Place, more retail stores, and a spa, in addition to a gambling room with slot machines and table games.
Wynn has added a new carrot to entice local voters: a public skating rink, useable year-round.
He is estimating that the town would get between $10 million and $15 million a year in tax revenue from the project, which the developer is calling Wynn Foxborough.
Wynn’s DVD includes renderings of the exterior of the hotel, the shopping promenade, a typical restaurant and the gambling room, as well as short testimonials from Foxborough residents who support the project.
Opposition to Wynn’s plans has been boisterous since the developer confirmed in December than he is eyeing land across from Gillette Stadium owned by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft for a casino. Opponents quickly organized, and public hearings on the issue have drawn large and rowdy crowds.
Since Michael Milken made Steve Wynn rich selling his junk bonds, maybe there are still suckers laying around waiting to flush $$$ down the toilet without figuring out that Slot Barns will attract ONLY LOCALS.
Gambling is wildly profitable which is why the massive blitz of glossy mailings and DVDs, paid people knocking on doors...maybe the residents of Foxborough are smarter than that.
Wait until they figure out the the puny Slot Barn in Palmer was going to cost $18 MILLION to $39 MILLION each year and that leaves the Kraft/Wynn Monster buckets short.
The folks in Foxborough still haven't figured out that they're subsidizing Kraft's enterprises already which is why they're broke.
Oh, well!
Worth viewing the photos of this monstrosity and wondering who designed it!
By the way -- Who's paying for the COMMUTER RAIL that will cost $100 MILLION and $4 MILLION per year to subsidize?
Wynn unveils renderings of proposed Foxborough casino
By Mark Arsenault
Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn this morning released his first renderings of his proposed $1 billion gambling resort in Foxborough, making his pitch to win over the community in a glossy mailing, including a 20-minute DVD, sent to more than 7,000 households.
Wynn wants to develop what is now a vast gravel parking lot on Route 1 into a casino and convention center modeled after the design of his own luxury home in Sun Valley, Idaho, which is built of local stone and heavy timber. The plans in Foxborough include a 5,000-car parking garage, a pedestrian bridge connecting the project with Patriot Place, more retail stores, and a spa, in addition to a gambling room with slot machines and table games.
Wynn has added a new carrot to entice local voters: a public skating rink, useable year-round.
He is estimating that the town would get between $10 million and $15 million a year in tax revenue from the project, which the developer is calling Wynn Foxborough.
Wynn’s DVD includes renderings of the exterior of the hotel, the shopping promenade, a typical restaurant and the gambling room, as well as short testimonials from Foxborough residents who support the project.
Opposition to Wynn’s plans has been boisterous since the developer confirmed in December than he is eyeing land across from Gillette Stadium owned by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft for a casino. Opponents quickly organized, and public hearings on the issue have drawn large and rowdy crowds.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Tearing a town assunder
The Town of Foxborough added a prohibition of GAMBLING to their zoning by-laws. In a referendum, residents voted overwhelmingly to oppose a SLOT BARN.
This is a host community that schmoozes with a football stadium and has no idea what the costs and impacts are, yet has fiscal problems which might be caused by those costs.
While some have consumed the KoolAid and welcomed the low wage jobs a Slot Barn offers, Foxborough represents the latest town to be divided in what promises to be contentious wherever by 'developers' who have no personal connections to their destruction.
FOXBOROUGH
High stakes for this election
Casino a big issue in selectmen’s race
By Michele Morgan Bolton
Officially, it’s the election of two Foxborough selectmen. But the outcome is being watched from Boston to Las Vegas.
That’s because Foxborough’s Board of Selectmen is gatekeeper for a Town Meeting vote on whether to allow gambling in Foxborough, and in light of the narrow 3-to-2 vote on Dec. 27 that stalled the $1 billion casino proposal of Las Vegas mogul Steve Wynn, the May 7 election could easily swing the balance in the opposite direction.
Selectmen’s races in small towns usually don’t generate much attention, said Thomas Whalen, an associate professor of social science at Boston University, but this year in Foxborough will be “radically’’ different.
“There’s nothing like a controversial issue such as casino gambling to galvanize grass-roots political efforts on both sides,’’ Whalen said. “In fact, for this small area of the state, this might rival the much anticipated Scott Brown/Elizabeth Warren race for the US Senate.’’
Noting former House speaker Thomas P. O’Neill’s comment that “all politics is local,’’ Whalen said: “The moral of the story is that every vote counts, especially with so much at stake in terms of the future of Foxborough.’’
For the May 7 election, completed nomination papers with at least 50 certified signatures are due in the town clerk’s office by March 19. Already, candidates with a range of views on the subject have lined up to run.
Incumbent Selectwoman Lorraine Brue, who voted on Dec. 27 not to enter negotiations with Wynn, and board chairman Larry Harrington, who voted in favor of hearing more about the proposal, will seek reelection against four challengers.
Former selectman Paul Mortenson and former state representative Virginia Coppola, who oppose the casino proposal, are in the race, as is newcomer Richard Letson, who says he is undecided on the casino plan.
Also in the running is 14-year School Committee member Martha Slattery, who has said she wants to see details of the casino proposal. She has also acknowledged that until a specific proposal comes forward, there really is no casino issue.
This reminds me:
What has emerged about the proposal so far is that Wynn wants to build a resort hotel complex on land across from Gillette Stadium on Route 1. He has pledged to accommodate Foxborough’s rural, small-town character by down-scaling the design and tailoring it to the property, which he would lease from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
The land is currently used for stadium parking.
Supporters say they welcome the jobs and business development promised by a casino and hotel complex, while opponents say they fear round-the-clock traffic and increased crime, among other concerns.
Immediately after the idea of a casino surfaced in early December, a public relations battle erupted, with debate sometimes turning ugly at public meetings where selectmen drew boos and taunts, and, in some cases, argued loudly with residents.
The debate has simmered down in recent weeks, and attention has shifted to the town election.
In their campaigning, the candidates have pointed out that a selectman’s job involves tending to all the town’s issues, not just its most contentious one. But clearly, they are going to play a pivotal role in the latter. For the casino to become a reality, Foxborough would have to change current zoning, which bans gambling; agree to enter into a contract with Wynn; then hold a series of townwide votes. That won’t happen without the support of selectmen.
And no matter who wins the election, recent history has shown that views can change. A unanimous September vote, for example, to reject zoning changes to allow gaming was upended a week later, when Harrington apologized publicly for acting hastily and said the board should have allowed the town to decide.
At the time, Selectwoman Lynda Walsh and Selectman Mark Sullivan agreed with Harrington, while Brue and Selectman James DeVellis remained opposed.
Then, in December, Sullivan switched to the anti-casino side, creating the majority that rebuffed the Kraft-Wynn team.
In this election, Members of No Foxborough Casino, a grass-roots opposition group, will support candidates who reflect their belief that a casino is not right for the town, said spokeswoman Holly Steel.
“We have to trust that the elected leaders are looking out for our best interests,’’ said Steel. That means adhering to town bylaws voted into law by residents at Town Meeting to outlaw gaming, she said.
“We also feel candidates on both sides of the issue have to be transparent,’’ Steel said. “If you are for it, tell voters. If you oppose it, be clear. Then people in Foxborough can make the right decision.’’
On the other side, at least 80 tradesmen in Norwood-based Carpenters Local 535 are unemployed and in danger of losing their homes, said union business manager Joe Broderick, a Foxborough native. [There is no guarantee that ANY jobs will be union jobs. The Gambling Industry has a lengthy history of being anti-union, a fact that escapes many.]
“I don’t understand the opposition to the casino,’’ Broderick said. “How can you say no to something you haven’t seen?’’
In the end, people will vote for whom they want in this year’s election, Broderick said, but he is encouraging voters to seek out candidates who have an open mind.
“And, if I was a selectman, I would look for the best mitigation expert there is and get every penny I could,’’ he said of any deal the Wynn team would negotiate with the town. “Here, you practically have a goose laying a golden egg.’’
Walpole wants a say on gambling
Michele Morgan Bolton
State Representative John Rogers has asked the chairman of the new Massachusetts Gaming Commission to give Walpole a voice in the Foxborough casino debate, asserting the town has as much at stake, if not more, than its neighbor to the east.
Rogers, a Norwood Democrat whose district includes Walpole, wrote to Stephen Crosby late last month looking to have the town declared a co-host community so that it will not only be compensated, as the new state casino law allows, but also have a primary seat at the table, and a vote on whether to allow the casino.
Walpole town officials have been vocal in their opposition to the proposal brought by Steve Wynn. The Las Vegas mogul intends to build a $1 billion resort complex across from Gillette Stadium on land he would lease from Robert Kraft, who owns the stadium and the New England Patriots.
The casino would be near the border with Walpole, and in his letter, Rogers said the site directly affects 500 Walpole residences.
He cited the 1999 legislation related to the construction of the Foxborough stadium that named Walpole as an integral player “whose infrastructure enhancements are necessary to promote the public safety and convenience of the Foxborough economic area.’’
Rogers also noted that parking, sewer, and emergency access issues further promote Walpole as an equal player, including the fact that the property’s alternative egress point would force the flow of traffic out onto Summer Street, if needed.
Michael Boynton, Walpole’s town administrator, said Rogers’ efforts are appreciated.
“We should have an equal voice because there is a clear impact on our residents as well,’’ Boynton said. “The Town of Walpole has made its concerns known. Now the next steps are waiting to see what comes out of the development team.’’
Crosby, who was traveling, made no commitments in a statement released through a spokeswoman.
“We are filing whatever correspondence is being sent to the commission so that once the other four gaming commissioners are appointed and the organization is fully formed and is up and running, we can address these matters in an organized and appropriate way,’’ Crosby said.
This is a host community that schmoozes with a football stadium and has no idea what the costs and impacts are, yet has fiscal problems which might be caused by those costs.
While some have consumed the KoolAid and welcomed the low wage jobs a Slot Barn offers, Foxborough represents the latest town to be divided in what promises to be contentious wherever by 'developers' who have no personal connections to their destruction.
FOXBOROUGH
High stakes for this election
Casino a big issue in selectmen’s race
By Michele Morgan Bolton
Officially, it’s the election of two Foxborough selectmen. But the outcome is being watched from Boston to Las Vegas.
That’s because Foxborough’s Board of Selectmen is gatekeeper for a Town Meeting vote on whether to allow gambling in Foxborough, and in light of the narrow 3-to-2 vote on Dec. 27 that stalled the $1 billion casino proposal of Las Vegas mogul Steve Wynn, the May 7 election could easily swing the balance in the opposite direction.
Selectmen’s races in small towns usually don’t generate much attention, said Thomas Whalen, an associate professor of social science at Boston University, but this year in Foxborough will be “radically’’ different.
“There’s nothing like a controversial issue such as casino gambling to galvanize grass-roots political efforts on both sides,’’ Whalen said. “In fact, for this small area of the state, this might rival the much anticipated Scott Brown/Elizabeth Warren race for the US Senate.’’
Noting former House speaker Thomas P. O’Neill’s comment that “all politics is local,’’ Whalen said: “The moral of the story is that every vote counts, especially with so much at stake in terms of the future of Foxborough.’’
For the May 7 election, completed nomination papers with at least 50 certified signatures are due in the town clerk’s office by March 19. Already, candidates with a range of views on the subject have lined up to run.
Incumbent Selectwoman Lorraine Brue, who voted on Dec. 27 not to enter negotiations with Wynn, and board chairman Larry Harrington, who voted in favor of hearing more about the proposal, will seek reelection against four challengers.
Former selectman Paul Mortenson and former state representative Virginia Coppola, who oppose the casino proposal, are in the race, as is newcomer Richard Letson, who says he is undecided on the casino plan.
Also in the running is 14-year School Committee member Martha Slattery, who has said she wants to see details of the casino proposal. She has also acknowledged that until a specific proposal comes forward, there really is no casino issue.
This reminds me:
What has emerged about the proposal so far is that Wynn wants to build a resort hotel complex on land across from Gillette Stadium on Route 1. He has pledged to accommodate Foxborough’s rural, small-town character by down-scaling the design and tailoring it to the property, which he would lease from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
The land is currently used for stadium parking.
Supporters say they welcome the jobs and business development promised by a casino and hotel complex, while opponents say they fear round-the-clock traffic and increased crime, among other concerns.
Immediately after the idea of a casino surfaced in early December, a public relations battle erupted, with debate sometimes turning ugly at public meetings where selectmen drew boos and taunts, and, in some cases, argued loudly with residents.
The debate has simmered down in recent weeks, and attention has shifted to the town election.
In their campaigning, the candidates have pointed out that a selectman’s job involves tending to all the town’s issues, not just its most contentious one. But clearly, they are going to play a pivotal role in the latter. For the casino to become a reality, Foxborough would have to change current zoning, which bans gambling; agree to enter into a contract with Wynn; then hold a series of townwide votes. That won’t happen without the support of selectmen.
And no matter who wins the election, recent history has shown that views can change. A unanimous September vote, for example, to reject zoning changes to allow gaming was upended a week later, when Harrington apologized publicly for acting hastily and said the board should have allowed the town to decide.
At the time, Selectwoman Lynda Walsh and Selectman Mark Sullivan agreed with Harrington, while Brue and Selectman James DeVellis remained opposed.
Then, in December, Sullivan switched to the anti-casino side, creating the majority that rebuffed the Kraft-Wynn team.
In this election, Members of No Foxborough Casino, a grass-roots opposition group, will support candidates who reflect their belief that a casino is not right for the town, said spokeswoman Holly Steel.
“We have to trust that the elected leaders are looking out for our best interests,’’ said Steel. That means adhering to town bylaws voted into law by residents at Town Meeting to outlaw gaming, she said.
“We also feel candidates on both sides of the issue have to be transparent,’’ Steel said. “If you are for it, tell voters. If you oppose it, be clear. Then people in Foxborough can make the right decision.’’
On the other side, at least 80 tradesmen in Norwood-based Carpenters Local 535 are unemployed and in danger of losing their homes, said union business manager Joe Broderick, a Foxborough native. [There is no guarantee that ANY jobs will be union jobs. The Gambling Industry has a lengthy history of being anti-union, a fact that escapes many.]
“I don’t understand the opposition to the casino,’’ Broderick said. “How can you say no to something you haven’t seen?’’
In the end, people will vote for whom they want in this year’s election, Broderick said, but he is encouraging voters to seek out candidates who have an open mind.
“And, if I was a selectman, I would look for the best mitigation expert there is and get every penny I could,’’ he said of any deal the Wynn team would negotiate with the town. “Here, you practically have a goose laying a golden egg.’’
Walpole wants a say on gambling
Michele Morgan Bolton
State Representative John Rogers has asked the chairman of the new Massachusetts Gaming Commission to give Walpole a voice in the Foxborough casino debate, asserting the town has as much at stake, if not more, than its neighbor to the east.
Rogers, a Norwood Democrat whose district includes Walpole, wrote to Stephen Crosby late last month looking to have the town declared a co-host community so that it will not only be compensated, as the new state casino law allows, but also have a primary seat at the table, and a vote on whether to allow the casino.
Walpole town officials have been vocal in their opposition to the proposal brought by Steve Wynn. The Las Vegas mogul intends to build a $1 billion resort complex across from Gillette Stadium on land he would lease from Robert Kraft, who owns the stadium and the New England Patriots.
The casino would be near the border with Walpole, and in his letter, Rogers said the site directly affects 500 Walpole residences.
He cited the 1999 legislation related to the construction of the Foxborough stadium that named Walpole as an integral player “whose infrastructure enhancements are necessary to promote the public safety and convenience of the Foxborough economic area.’’
Rogers also noted that parking, sewer, and emergency access issues further promote Walpole as an equal player, including the fact that the property’s alternative egress point would force the flow of traffic out onto Summer Street, if needed.
Michael Boynton, Walpole’s town administrator, said Rogers’ efforts are appreciated.
“We should have an equal voice because there is a clear impact on our residents as well,’’ Boynton said. “The Town of Walpole has made its concerns known. Now the next steps are waiting to see what comes out of the development team.’’
Crosby, who was traveling, made no commitments in a statement released through a spokeswoman.
“We are filing whatever correspondence is being sent to the commission so that once the other four gaming commissioners are appointed and the organization is fully formed and is up and running, we can address these matters in an organized and appropriate way,’’ Crosby said.
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