Casinos

Overturning Bush Administration Precedent

In January 2008, Despite Widespread Support from NYS and Local Officials and Community Leaders, Then-Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne Denied Applications for All Pending Off-Reservation Casinos, Including Those in Catskills

October 13, 2009 -- Today U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand wrote to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, asking him to consider the pending applications for off reservation gambling in the Catskills on a case by case basis, and overturn the blanket ban established by his predecessor Dirk Kempthorne.    » read more »

New agreement stabilizes revenue stream to state, local governments

September 14, 2009 --
LANSING - Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm and the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi (NHBP) today announced the signing of an amended gaming compact. The amendment officially takes effect when published in the Federal Register.

The amended compact stabilizes the revenue sharing agreement between the state of Michigan and the tribe and its FireKeepers Casino in Emmett Township near Battle Creek. It also restructures the Local Revenue Sharing Board to include more communities near FireKeepers Casino and clarifies the funding formula for local revenue sharing funds.    » read more »

Compact heads to Legislature for ratification

August 31, 2009 -- TALLAHASSEE – Florida Governor Charlie Crist today signed a compact on behalf of the State of Florida with the Seminole Tribe of Florida worth an estimated $6.8 billion over 20 years for Florida’s students, for the purpose of authorizing Class III gaming on tribal lands within the State.

Governor Crist first began negotiations in July, following passage of SB 788 during the 2009 regular session. Governor Crist signed SB 788 on June 15, 2009, Tribe Chairman Mitchell Cypress signed the compact on Friday, and the compact now heads to the Legislature for ratification.    » read more »

May 14, 2009 -- TRENTON - New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine today signed an Executive Order creating the Atlantic City Regional Implementation Group for Housing and Transportation (AC RIGHT). The purpose of the new group is to coordinate and facilitate the implementation of transportation infrastructure and workforce housing projects necessitated by casino resort development in Atlantic City.    » read more »

Laundering Money Through Las Vegas Casinos

May 6, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- Two former managers of the Bank of China and their wives were sentenced today after their convictions on Aug. 29, 2008, by a federal jury in Las Vegas on charges of racketeering, money laundering, international transportation of stolen property as well as passport and visa fraud, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Gregory A. Brower of the District of Nevada announced today.    » read more »

March 05, 2009 -- MONTGOMERY - Alabama Governor Bob Riley issued the following statement on Thursday concerning the introduction of a far-reaching gambling bill in the Legislature, SB 471 in the Senate and HB 676 in the House:

“If supporters of this bill really believe gambling is so good for Alabama, then why does their bill say it will restrict gambling? It’s because deep down they know the truth: gambling might make casino operators into multi-millionaires, but it hurts people, families and our communities. It brings with it more misery, more crime and more corruption. Alabamians know this and that’s why every time all the people have had a chance to vote on gambling, they’ve rejected it.    » read more »

02/26/2009 -- WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an $880,286 grant to assist approximately 165 workers affected by layoffs at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Conn.

"Today's grant will give affected workers access to re-employment services, allowing them to return to work faster," said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Douglas F. Small.

Awarded to the Connecticut Department of Labor and administered by the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board, the grant will provide employment and training-related assistance to affected workers.

Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, owners of the Foxwoods Resort Casino, announced layoffs on Sept. 30, 2008, because of the gaming industry's downturn. Those layoffs occurred on Oct. 17, 2008.    » read more »

January 28, 2009 -- MONTGOMERY - Alabama Governor Bob Riley has sent letters to manufacturers of gambling machines found in Alabama gambling halls warning them they risk prosecution if found to be in violation of state law against gambling and, specifically, slot machines.

The warnings come after an initial investigation of gambling halls by the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling, which is led by former Jefferson County District Attorney David Barber.    » read more »

Twentieth Member of Casino-cheating Criminal Enterprise Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy Targeting Casinos in the United States and Canada

January 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Phat Ngoc Tran, 35, pleaded guilty today in San Diego to conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise, the "Tran Organization," in a scheme to cheat at least 12 casinos across the United States and Canada out of millions of dollars, Acting Assistant Attorney General Rita M. Glavin of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Karen P. Hewitt for the Southern District of California announced today. Tran admitted that he and his co-conspirators unlawfully obtained up to $2.5 million during card cheats.    » read more »

Tigua tribe operating eight-liner gambling machines in violation of Texas law

March 14, 2008 -- EL PASO – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today filed an enforcement action against the Tigua Indian tribe for conducting illegal gambling operations. In a motion for contempt of court, the state seeks to enforce a 2001 injunction prohibiting casino-style gambling at the tribe’s Speaking Rock Entertainment Center.    » read more »

March 14, 2008 -- Jackson, MS -- Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood today confirmed two guilty pleas stemming from an undercover operation involving illegal gaming devices. Bruce Collier, Jr. (age 37, last known address: 120 Pemble St, Merrigold, MS), Manager of Bruce’s Place (aka Joe’s Bar), 2492 HWY 446,Boyle, MS and Jimmy Utz (age 62, last known address: 557 HWY 61, Boyle, MS), Owner/Manager of Sky King’s Lounge, 557 HWY 61, Boyle, MS appeared in Bolivar County Justice Court before Judge Harold Ward, Sr.    » read more »

1-30-08 -- Lincoln, Neb. - Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning today challenged a decision that allows gaming on land in Carter Lake. The land is held in trust by the federal government for the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska.

“Nebraskans have repeatedly said no to casino gambling in our state,” said Bruning. “The Ponca Tribe shouldn’t be able circumvent voters’ wishes.”    » read more »

January 15, 2008 -- Augusta- Proponents of a gambling facility to be located in Oxford County delivered several boxes of signatures to the Secretary of State prior to the deadline yesterday for the citizen initiative listed below. Supporters of the Oxford County casino plan claim they have submitted in excess of 76,000 signatures. A total of 55,087 valid signatures are required in order to place a question about an Oxford County gaming facility on the statewide ballot in November, 2008.    » read more »

Government Action Removes Threat to Catskills Region

ALBANY (January 4, 2008) – The people of the Catskills and New York State won a major victory today when U.S. Interior Department Secretary Dirk Kempthorne rejected the proposed casinos in Monticello and by the Neversink River. The federal government’s action closes the door on development projects that would have drastically overburdened the Catskills region with severe traffic congestion, pollution, and sprawl.    » read more »

December 20, 2007 -- TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today released the following statement regarding a lawsuit to be filed by the Attorney General’s Office on behalf of the State of Florida. The lawsuit seeks an injunction against the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior to prevent him from publishing and making effective the Florida compact on expanded gambling which is currently in litigation before the Florida Supreme Court.    » read more »