BJ21.com Newsletter
March 2, 2007                                0709

Compiled by Al Rogers
 Al@bj21.com


Las Vegas: A winner's guide to blackjack


Losing in Vegas is often considered par for the course, but it's happening at the blackjack tables at an accelerating rate. And it's easy enough to see why. A simple, small-print banner on one of the tables reads "Blackjack Pays 6 to 5."

A new imprint on Missouri gambling -- If it repeals the $500 loss limit, the state may impose fingerprint or other high-tech identification

“Our bottom line is we want to know who’s on that boat … for a lot of different reasons,” said Missouri Gaming Commission director Gene McNary. Gamblers may soon get fingerprinted before they can get inside a Missouri casino

Court of Appeals reverses summary judgment in favor of officer in beating at Vegas Club

Once again we confront the question whether a police officer’s use of force during the arrest of an unarmed citizen was sufficiently excessive to violate the citizen’s clearly established constitutional rights. Officer David Miller of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded to a call from the Las Vegas Club Hotel & Casino informing him that security personnel had encountered Frankie Davis reading a magazine in an area of the Casino not open to the public. After Davis, who had been handcuffed by Casino employees and remained handcuffed throughout his encounter with Officer Miller, refused to consent to being searched by the officer, Miller slammed him head-first into a wall several times, pinned him against the floor, and punched him in the face. At some point during this encounter, Miller fractured Davis’s neck. Davis was unarmed at all times.

Thanks to Green Chip member Cal Heel  for posting this link.

Tamares changes management, causing 'confusion' over new casino licenses


 Who's in charge here? That's the big question regarding the single largest aggregation of downtown casinos. Tamares Group, the absentee landlord of the Plaza Hotel & Casino, the Nevada Hotel and about 30 other property holdings, is changing its top management in Las Vegas, according to those involved.

Casino cheat shows how subtle moves squeezed out cash

Organizers said approximately 300 casino executives and security personnel from around the country -- the people charged with catching casino cheats -- attended the conference.

Girl awarded Macau casino jackpot


A casino in Macau has been ordered to pay out nearly $100,000 in prize money won by a 16-year-old girl who was too young to enter the casino.

Resort owned by Harrah's first to go smokeless at Lake Tahoe


A resort owned by Harrah's Entertainment Inc. has become the first casino to go totally smokeless at Lake Tahoe and one of the first casinos to voluntarily impose such a ban in the nation.

Bill's comes due for new ownership -- Harrah's takes over renamed Barbary Coast hotel-casino


The world's largest casino company officially got a little larger Thursday. Harrah's Entertainment reopened the former Barbary Coast under the name Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon.

Tournament Winner Says He Was Wrong


After resolving a lawsuit over his victory in the World Series of Poker last summer, Jamie Gold acknowledged he had some regrets about his experience at the tournament, although none of them were about his legal issues.

Casino yanks Konami video slot machines


A gambling operator in Ontario, Canada, has shut down 87 Konami video slot machines due to concerns that they may contain subliminal messages encouraging players to keep gambling, according to CBC News.

Thanks to Mike of  www.Professionalpoker.com  for providing this link.

Man charged with robbing casino winner at her home


A 39-year-old man faces charges on accusations he followed a woman home after she won a big slot machine jackpot at Milwaukee's Potawatomi Bingo Casino and then took the money from her.

NBA might just need the oasis in the desert


You've walked through downtown Memphis and, on any street not named Beale, seen the series of padlocked doors and soaped-up windows. And every time you do, you're reminded that Joe Barry Carroll for Robert Parish and Kevin McHale was not the worst trade in NBA history; Vancouver for Memphis was.

Union drive targets casino security guards


They help to protect millions of customers and billions of dollars in revenue each year, but the modestly paid security guards seem to be the Rodney Dangerfields of the casino industry. “The biggest problem with the security officers is that they don't get the respect," said Steve Maritas, a representative of the International Union of the Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America.

PartyGaming closes French website

PartyGaming, the online gambling group, quietly closed its website to French customers last Friday without telling investors, the Guardian has learned. Just three days later one of the firm's largest shareholders sold 123 million shares.

Shuffling Out of Shuffle Master?


Shuffle Master expects much lower profits for its first quarter.

Casino bus trips could be risky gamble

Allegations of fatigued drivers would be raised in other casino bus crashes, allegations that some drivers were gambling at the casinos instead of resting, then getting back behind the wheel for the sometimes middle-of-the-night drive back home.

 In lawsuit, Wynn dealers accuse chief of losing temper


" ... Wynn became even more enraged, began to gesture wildly at (Fields) and yelled in her face that he was 'the most powerful man in Nevada' " and said all 600 dealers were replaceable, according to the lawsuits.

Station Casinos Accepts Offer From Founder and Buyout Firm ...


Station Casinos Inc., which owns 12 casinos in the Las Vegas area, agreed yesterday to a sweetened $5.4 billion takeover bid from the founder’s family and a buyout firm.

... Dissident shareholder still skeptical of Station deal

Some gaming-sector analysts are already giving a thumbs-up to the sweetened, $8.8 million insider bid for Station Casinos, which was first reported Sunday. For instance, Guzman & Co. analyst Jake Balzer, in a note to investors, observed that the $90/share deal “appears fair in our view.”

State hopes new casino owner possible soon

The Missouri Gaming Commission has been running a southeast Missouri casino for nearly two months now, but it hopes a new owner can be finalized soon.

Partnership called suitable -- Businesswoman gets board's backing to join MGM Mirage in Macau casino venture

Nevada gaming regulators said Tuesday that MGM Mirage's 50-50 partnership with Chinese businesswoman Pansy Ho in an under-construction hotel-casino in Macau was suitable under the state's regulations covering investments outside the Silver State.

Tax Court Cites Wikipedia 8 Times, Says Taxpayer Who Spent 1,000 Hours Per Year Playing Video Poker Is Not a Professional Gambler


The Tax Court yesterday held that a taxpayer was not engaged in the trade or business of gambling and thus was not a professional gambler, even though he spent over 1,000 hours per year playing video poker. 

Thanks to Green Chip member Corsair for posting this link.

Golden Palm on the block -- Tropicana hotel-casino site has defied redevelopment for years


For seven years, Golden Palm Hotel owner Marvin Lipschultz has been trying to redevelop his 3.1-acre casino site but now has evidently given up. The six-story hotel at the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Dean Martin Drive has been placed on the open market and is only taking reservations through March 12.

Fitz finds 4th possible buyer

Fitzgeralds hotel-casino downtown has a signed agreement with a buyer, an attorney for the property said Wednesday, marking the fourth formal proposal for the property since 2002 after its parent company's bankruptcy.

Former residents tell of life at Lakemill Lodge

Some of the nearly 175 displaced residents of Reno's Lakemill Lodge, which was shut down by city officials this week for code and safety violations, say they are glad to be gone because crime was rampant there.

Riverside Casino sues underage gambler

Riverside Casino & Golf Resort said today it is suing an underage gambler to pay back a $20,000 fine imposed by state regulators after she was caught illegally gambling inside the casino last fall.

Monorail to report ridership numbers with less regularity

Repeatedly and publicly hammered over falling ridership numbers in 2006, the Las Vegas Monorail apparently has decided that less news will be good news in 2007.

Analysts say verdict could cripple Progressive


Casino equipment provider Progressive Gaming International Corp., which found itself on the losing end of a judgment of more than $39 million in a decade-old antitrust violation lawsuit this month, is trying to put a positive spin on the situation.


Beat the Players - Casinos, Cops and the Game Inside the Game, by Bob Nersesian

This book should be read by everyone who sets foot in a casino: average casino patrons, skilled players, casino employees, and anyone else. It should be required reading for police officers, regulators, other public officials, and attorneys who may represent any of the aforementioned.

Bob Nersesian is an attorney who represents victims of casino wrongdoing against patrons. In an enjoyable writing style, he takes a look at the often too-cozy relationship between casinos, police, and regulators. He discusses specific cases and dispenses sound, practical advice that patrons, casinos and public officials would be wise to heed. Cases discussed are from Nevada and other jurisdictions.

Chapters include: Your Money or Your Liberty; Scary Cop Statements; They'll Take Your Liberty Anyway; Gaming Agents Speak; The Take of the State; Rules for Casino Patrons; Gambling at the Legal Limits; Cops Hate Card Counters; Griffin Investigations; Casinos Cheat With Impunity; A Judicial and Government Overlay; Finding a Nickel Brings Trouble; Names and Aliases; The Security Office and Surveillance Functions, and Casinos and Cops.

Appendices include Nevada Cheating and Detention Laws with Commentary; Other Nevada Gaming Laws of Interest; Gaming Cases of Interest, and Nevada Gaming Regulations with Commentary.

The 320-page book includes a bibliography and an index.

The price is $19.95 plus shipping (plus sales tax if sent to a Nevada address). Green Chip members get their normal 10% discount.

To order Beat the Players, click here

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