Illinios Casino Bets on the Hearing Impaired

Rivers Casino

Chicago Tribune: After years of job rejection, Kuumba Hogu of Park Forest wasn't expecting much when he applied for a position at Rivers Casino.

Employers would often retreat the second they saw his hearing aid, the 37-year-old said, so he anticipated the same reaction from the gambling venue in Des Plaines.

But his confidence grew when the Anixter Center, a Chicago nonprofit that helps those with disabilities, had him sign with a hearing-impaired Rivers Casino employee who described the work atmosphere and his experience with other staffers. After a successful interview with the northwest suburban casino, Hogu began working as a facility technician Sept. 9.

People at Rivers Casino "take the time to hear what you have to say," Hogu said through an interpreter. "I wish other employers would give deaf people a chance and open the doors."

Hogu is one of seven hearing-impaired staffers at the new casino, which has partnered with the Anixter Center to find job candidates. Three of those seven were introduced by Anixter.

The 95-year-old organization's goal is to convince businesses that disabled people can exceed job expectations despite some limits. One of its programs also brings in translators to make the interview process smoother.

Often, employers focus on the person's disability rather than their abilities and ask questions unrelated to the job, said David Price, an employment specialist for the Anixter Center.

That has not been the case at Rivers, which opened this summer and is now used as an example by the agency. The casino will also be highlighted in the center's upcoming promotional film as a model for workplace diversity.

"They're not hesitant to hire our candidates," Price said. "That's something we don't see very often."

The partnership began this year when Adam Schermerhorn, 52, who is also hearing-impaired, decided to apply for a job at the casino. Working with the Anixter Center, the Chicago resident said he wasn't nervous about the application process but felt a little overwhelmed at the job fair in April with 6,000 others.

But when Schermerhorn and a member of the nonprofit were approached by a Rivers Casino employee who also knows sign language, they immediately felt more relaxed. Representatives from the nonprofit began speaking with casino staff about its mission and began building a relationship.

Ultimately, Schermerhorn was asked back for an interview, then offered a job as a technician, which allows him to flex his carpentry muscles. He is now a liaison between the casino and the agency and was the Rivers employee who sat down with Hogu to see if he would be a good fit.

Rivers leaders say American Sign Language is one of about 10 languages in use at the casino. Instead of focusing on a disability, they look for people who fit the job qualifications, have great customer service skills and positive attitudes, said Kate McMahon, director of human resources and community relations for Rivers Casino.

"It's almost invigorating to see the communication between our employees," she said. "It's not a barrier for us."

Hogu said he's happy to finally be part of a team that's accepting of him. He and Schermerhorn have been teaching sign language to their co-workers, but more important, they are sharing their skills and expertise.

"I'm just glad to be offered the opportunity to work here," Hogu said. "It's been a long journey for me."

Many Consider 11/11/11 a Lucky Day

The Republic: From casinos to wedding chapels, Oklahomans are feeling the luck of 11.

Friday is the 11th day of the 11th month of 2011. Several Oklahoma casinos are hoping the rare alignment of numbers — 11-11-11 — will lure in players, though it's also proving to be a popular wedding date.

The Lucky Star Casino in El Reno will hold $11,000 cash drawings for 11 hours, while the Riverwind Casino in Norman is giving away $11,000 in cash and prizes from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. Oklahoma City's Remington Park racetrack and casino will give away a cash prize of $1,111.11 following the last race.

Riverwind has seen a spike in attendance on other dates with the day, month and year with the same numerals, according to the casino.

"It just lends to our customers' belief that this is a change of events that's going to be a windfall for them," Riverwind general manager Jack Parkinson said. "We like to cater to them. We like to make it fun."

Remington Park sponsored similar promotions on July 7, 2007 — 7-7-7 — and "people really got behind it and came out for it," spokesman Dale Day said, adding that veterans and active-duty military personnel with receive $11 of free play at the track, since Friday is also Veterans Day.

"We try to play on the calendar numbers," he said. "When it falls in our favor, we normally try to do something with it. It's a special, fun thing to do."

But the hope of good fortune isn't just among gamblers.

At the Arbuckle Wedding Chapel near Davis, seven couples are scheduled to exchange vows Friday. Owner and wedding coordinator Joan Bratcher said that many bookings in one day "is unbelievable." One couple booked their wedding just Thursday morning, though others were scheduled weeks or months ahead of time, she said.

"Every one of them has said they thought that would be such a perfect time," she said. "It is such a great wedding date."

Except maybe for one couple. Bratcher said a large wedding she had booked for Friday night cancelled.

"I had one huge one tomorrow night. And they broke up," she said Thursday. "It was not lucky for them."

It was other coincidences of the date that initially prompted Tulsa residents Russell LaCour and Jennifer Torain to pick the day to tie the knot.

"It is my birthday on Nov. 11 and it also happened to be her late father's birthday as well," LaCour said. "She just happened to suggest that day. It's just amazing."

The couple is now planning to take advantage of the 11-11-11 date: Their ceremony is scheduled to begin at 11:11 a.m.

"I don't think luck has anything to do with it at all," Torain said. "We knew we were going to get married. We were looking for a day. I just believe it was God-ordained."

Disney Fighting Florida's Casino Bill

Orlando Sentinel: The biggest challenger standing between Miami and casinos is a mouse.

Walt Disney World, the giant resort near Orlando whose four theme parks draw more than 45 million visitors a year, has made preventing "destination" casinos a top priority. And few, if any, businesses carry as much weight in Florida as Disney, which employs more than 60,000 workers, generates nearly $600 million a year in tax revenue — and doled out more than $2 million to political candidates and causes during the past election cycle.

Some analysts say Disney — and, by extension, Orlando's entire tourism industry — has good reason to be wary of casinos. Though adult-oriented resorts in South Florida are unlikely to appeal to Disney's core audience of families with young children, they could siphon away travelers in narrower segments that are also important to the resort, from South Americans to conventions to weddings.

"Disney has lots of little pockets or niches that they're really good at getting market share in. And it adds up," said Duncan Dickson, a professor at the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management. "Disney doesn't want another Las Vegas anywhere close to them. Who needs the competition?"

Disney has always opposed efforts to expand gambling.

The Walt Disney Co., one of the most brand-protective companies on the planet, does not want to jeopardize its kid-friendly reputation by any association whatsoever with casinos and the taboo images they often conjure. The company's cruise line is the only major operator to sail ships without onboard casinos, which are typically one of the biggest generators of on-board spending.

"We've studied this issue carefully and remain opposed for many reasons," said Disney spokesman Mike Griffin, "including the fact that it is inconsistent with Florida's brand as a family-friendly destination and with the efforts we've long supported to diversify Florida's economy through research, innovation and entrepreneurship."

The legislation to be considered in Tallahassee would authorize three "destination" casinos in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Each would boast a luxury hotel, shops, restaurants, convention space and casinos with every major game, from blackjack to roulette and craps. Any company awarded a casino license would have to spend at least $2 billion building the facility.

Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts, both based in Las Vegas, and Genting, a Malaysian-based resort developer, are among the companies expected to seek licenses. Genting has already spent more than $300 million to buy bay-front property in downtown Miami and has announced plans for a $3.8 billion resort.

All have promised they will create thousands of jobs in South Florida, making the deal attractive to lawmakers hoping to lower the state's 10.6 percent unemployment rate.

Analysts say anyone that invests that much capital to build a resort also will have to spend lavishly to market the property. At a minimum, that will force Disney to ramp up its own spending on advertising, eroding its profit margins.

"Anytime you've got to fight and compete with more marketing dollars, which you know these folks have in abundance, it makes Disney's job that much harder to battle against," said Vicki Johnson, a tourism-marketing expert in Orlando.

More specifically, casinos could prove attractive draws in key markets for Disney. Executives at Genting, for instance, have said they would market heavily in Latin America.

Latin America — particularly Brazil, its biggest country — has become one of Disney World's most valuable markets in recent years. This summer, even as overall attendance at the resort was about flat with a year ago, Disney officials said traffic from Brazil was up by a double-digit percentage.

Though Disney doesn't disclose exact attendance numbers, national data show that visitation from Brazil is up 27 percent to more than 833,000 so far this year. And though Miami is the most popular destination for South American travelers, Orlando is growing more rapidly.

Disney says its business from Brazil is predominantly family-leisure travel, the group least likely to be swayed by casinos. But some industry followers say lavish resorts, when combined with the boutique shopping already in Miami, might be enough to peel away some of that business, especially Brazilians with older children or none at all.

"All of a sudden, it really cuts into their [Disney's] South American markets," Johnson said.

Group meetings and conventions business is also a growing profit center for Disney, which has nearly 470,000 square feet of meeting space spread among its hotels. It also routinely picks up lucrative private parties and other business tied to shows using Orange County's massive, publicly owned convention center.

Finally, allowing casinos in South Florida could lead to pressure to build more in other parts of the state. Already, some hoteliers in Orlando — led by Harris Rosen, owner of three major convention hotels — have made rumblings about bringing casinos to Central Florida. And officials at Port Canaveral — Disney Cruise Line's home port — are interested in casinos, too.

"Once they get their foot in the door, what's next? Orange County is going to say, 'Well, if it's legal in Dade County, why isn't it legal here?' " said Dickson, the UCF professor.

Disney has worked to enlist broader business groups to fight the casino legislation, most notably the Florida Chamber of Commerce, even though more than half of the businesses represented on the chamber's board of directors say they are neutral on the issue.

And the opposition from Disney has put casino boosters on the defensive during the past few days.

"Florida's identity cannot be changed because one casino or two destination resorts open in Miami-Dade County," said state Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, who is sponsoring the casino legislation in the Florida House of Representatives.

"Florida will always be the Sunshine State," he added. "The dominant trademark of Florida will always be Disney World. I don't think they have anything to worry about when it comes to that."

New York Casino Using Robot Croupiers

Daily Mail: New York's first casino has opened to a frenzied crowd after successfully side-stepping gambling laws - by staffing its tables with robots.

The Aqueduct racino - so called because it is connected with the race track in South Ozone Park, Queens - has done away with human dealers in favour of mechanical arms. It also features 5,000 video gambling terminals and some 200 electronic table games including craps and roulette.

New York state regulations prohibit live casino games, but allow electronic gambling at race tracks.

On its opening day on Friday, the Resorts World Casino, was swamped by a 15,000 capacity crowd, with a further 5,000 lining up outside.

To remain in accordance with state rules that prevent human-operated table games, guests shot craps using two fingers and a touch screen. Meanwhile, a roulette game was supervised by a chesty cyber-woman who leaned forward immodestly as she spun the little white ball on a pixilated wheel.

But some gamblers weren't so impressed.

'It's very confusing,' Lennox Bailey, 35, told the New York Daily News after trying his hand at computerised baccarat. 'I like it better with the people... this is just you and the machine.'

JohnPaul Difava, a 'slot ambassador' for the casino, argued the faceless table games were 'better than going all the way to Atlantic City.'

'I'm sure there will be a lot of confusion in the beginning, but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy,' he said.

The casino, which has been a decade in the pipeline and took a year to build, is predicted to add more than $1 million to the state funds. However, anti-gambling advocates argue that the economic benefits are far outweighed by the potential social problems.

'Crime might go up,' said Zenaida Carson, 25, a business analyst who lives nearby in South Ozone Park. 'This is gambling and drinking - and it's right next to a school.'

Atlantic City Casino Offers Plastic Surgery Prize

Times Colonist: Rolling the dice and playing the slots at one Atlantic City casino may have gamblers in New Jersey cashing in on an unexpected jackpot: botox, cheek implants or liposuction.

One winner of the Trump Taj Mahal Nip, Tuck and Lift Sweepstakes could walk away with $25,000 toward an array of plastic surgery procedures, according to the casino.

Players earn chances to win the lucrative makeover throughout the month of October, with a drawing for the winner held on Oct. 29 at the casino.

"We wanted to change the face of a typical casino promotion and with this one we are literally doing it," Trump Entertainment resorts senior vice-president of marketing Kathleen McSweeney said.

"Many people have something they want to change; a nip and tuck here, a lift there, but these procedures can be quite costly," she said in a statement.

The estimated cost of a breast augmentation is between $5,000 and $8,000 with an upper and lower eyelid tuck costing roughly $5,000, according to infoplasticsurgery.com pricing cited by the casino.

Botox injections run a couple hundred dollars while liposuction could cost anywhere between $2,500 and $10,000, according to the estimates.

The sweepstakes are open to Trump One Card holders who earn a certain number of points and then must be playing at the time of the drawing for a chance to win, the casino said.

The prize money will be awarded in cash, it said.

MA Casino Bill Includes Millions for Gambling Addiction

Boston Globe: On her final day of gambling, Feb. 21, 2009, Sandi Hall lost $1,000 in 60 minutes to the slot machines at Foxwoods Casino and then spent a sleepless night thinking about how to confess a dark secret to her husband.

During a two-year gambling spree hidden by a veil of lies, the grandmother from Scituate, R.I., had lost at least $40,000, probably more, at the Connecticut Indian casinos and the Twin River slots parlor in Lincoln, R.I.

“The insanity of it is that you rationally know that what you’re doing is absolutely crazy,’’ Hall, 67, said in an interview. “I knew I was risking my husband, my marriage. I did away with most of my retirement money.’’

Even while trumpeting the jobs that casinos would create in Massachusetts, proponents of expanded gambling acknowledge that casinos come with a human cost, measured in the lost savings and loss of control by gamblers who become addicted.

A casino bill to be taken up next week by the state Senate calls for what would be one of the nation’s most aggressive programs to help people like Hall, including an estimated $25 million annually to support addiction prevention, treatment, and research. The Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling has praised the plan as a big step in the right direction.

“We’re taking gambling addiction extremely seriously and to a whole new level,’’ said state Senator Stanley C. Rosenberg, an Amherst Democrat and a leading supporter of the bill.

The casino bill under consideration would authorize three Las Vegas-style resort casinos and one slots-only betting parlor. The Massachusetts House approved a similar bill last week. Governor Deval Patrick has said he is inclined to sign a casino bill when it reaches his desk.

The bills include several provisions aimed at reducing problem gambling, beginning with creation of a public health trust fund to fight addiction. Under the legislation, the casino properties would pay fees into the fund totaling $5 million per year. In addition, the fund would receive 5 percent of the state’s casino tax revenue, an estimated $20 million each year, Rosenberg said.

The money would be spent on social service and public health programs that fight gambling addiction, as well as public education on problem gambling, research, and studies.

“It’s so we can do treatment in the broadest sense, which can include mental health treatment,’’ Rosenberg said. “It could be residential treatment. It could be specific addiction treatment such as Gamblers Anonymous, things of that nature, and also prevention services: advertising, hotlines, and all kind of things in the casinos and outside to get people to think twice about what they’re doing if they’re having a problem.’’

An annual $25 million budget for gambling addiction programs would be “an amazing figure if it’s valid,’’ said Bob Breen, director of the gambling treatment program at Rhode Island Hospital, which he said receives the comparatively meager sum of $75,000 annually for the treatment of problem gambling. The state has two slots parlors.

Breen warned that a state’s commitment to treating addiction could wane over time. He said his own state has slashed money for gambling treatment in half during the past several years to meet other budget needs. While Massachusetts residents have long been able to drive south to gamble in Connecticut or Rhode Island, Breen said that research shows that making gambling easier and more convenient will inevitably create more addicts.

“The question is how many is OK?’’ he said. “And what are you going to do with the ones who develop problems?’’

To help gambling addicts quit, the Massachusetts legislation would create a voluntary “self-exclusion list’’ for problem gamblers to, in effect, ban themselves from casinos. Many states have similar programs, but the Massachusetts law would go much further by allowing relatives to file in court to get an unwilling family member with a gambling problem onto the exclusion list.

“That would be an advance,’’ said Marvin Steinberg, a psychologist who runs the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling. “Families become very frustrated because they have not been able to exclude someone’’ from casinos in other states.

Steinberg, who said he worked with Foxwoods in 1994 to install the nation’s first self-exclusion list, said the programs help some problem gamblers, though they are regularly flouted by those who change their minds when the gambling urge strikes.

“Enforcement by casinos has been not active in a sense of going out and looking for people,’’ he said. “It’s created to help the person who wants to stop. It’s not a punitive thing by the casino. They don’t promise to find everybody if they come back.’’

Disobeying the exclusion list is a lose-lose proposition for the gambler: Casinos will not pay winnings to someone found to be self-excluded, and yet they will not reimburse any losses, either. “If you’re excluded and if you hit a $5,000 or $10,000 jackpot, they won’t pay you,’’ said Hall, the recovering addict. “The only one who wins is the casino.’’

But in the throes of her addiction, being unable to collect a jackpot would not have made any difference to Hall. “As a social gambler, I had hoped to win,’’ she said. “When I was addicted, I knew I wasn’t going to win and that I would give all my winnings back.’’ In fact, she would sometimes get annoyed when she won a slot jackpot because the machine would shut down until an attendant arrived to pay out her winnings. “I would have to stop playing while they paid me, and that could take up to 15 or 20 minutes,’’ she said.

The legislation also requires casino companies to provide free space on-site for mental health and addiction services and training for employees to identify patrons with gambling problems.

As gambling technology evolves and casinos move toward cash-free wagering through electronic cards, the legislation would allow gamblers to set their own limits before they start gambling, by restricting how much they may bet or lose per hour or per day, according to the legislation. Where the technology is available, the bill provides that gamblers may request regular statements from the casino tallying their wins and losses.

Taken in total, the provisions to reduce or treat problem gambling are “a good start, if it all actually happens and if the dollars are there for prevention programs,’’ said Steinberg. He recommended wide advertising of treatment programs for those who fall into addiction, which is something Hall can support:

When she finally struck bottom and decided to get treatment, Hall called a help-line number printed on the back of a lottery ticket.

Oregon Man Mistakes Police Station for Casino

Casino?

KETV: An Oregon man's trip to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln police station front desk did not score him the blackjack chips he was seeking, but did land him in a detox cell for a night.

The 21-year-old man wandered into the station Saturday night after the Nebraska game against Washington, approached the front desk and asked for blackjack chips, thinking he was in a casino.

Staff at the front desk told the man they didn't have any chips.

When he returned to the station a few minutes later, officers administered a blood alcohol test, which registered at .273. Police then decided to place him into protective custody. A police sergeant said the man had not committed a crime and was not arrested.

$3 Billion Miami Casino Resort Plan Unveiled

Artist's Rendering of Proposed Resorts World Miami

Sun Sentinel: A company known for glamorous global resorts showed off stunning plans for a massive project that would accelerate Miami's reputation for the exotic — on a prime waterfront site. It's also the first concrete evidence of casino-style gambling in Florida.

Officials from Genting Malaysia Berhad, a $45 billion company, unveiled a $3 billion plan called Resorts World Miami, on the 13.9 acres where the Miami Herald building now sits along Biscayne Bay. Genting proposes 5,200 rooms spread over four hotel towers, two condos with 1,000 units, a convention center and shopping, 50 restaurants and nightclubs covering about 10 million square feet. And, tucked away up on the third and fourth floors, is a spot it will have to fight for: a casino.

"If you just drop a square box with slot machines and table games you won't have much of an economic impact," said Colin Au, a principal in the Genting group. "But we think this will be the finest resort in America."

Florida has tiptoed toward Las Vegas-style casinos, first with slots, then expanding poker, then blackjack (but only for the Seminole Tribe of Florida). Genting's blueprints are the first that go for the whole shebang — including craps and roulette for the first time in Florida.

The casino is planned for the third and fourth floor of an eight-story podium for the hotels. Most Las Vegas casinos offer the ding-ding-ding of slots as soon as you walk in.
"Genting really feels that gambling is just one of many amenities," said architect Bernardo Fort-Brescia, who showed renderings of fish-shaped buildings, breezeways with ocean views and a 3.6-acre beach and swimmable lagoon.

Fort-Brescia sees the Resorts World site as a centerpiece to the three-mile section that runs past Bayfront Park, Bayside, AmericanAirlines Arena and the Adrienne Arsht Center. "When you describe Miami and Florida, you inevitably come back to the water," Fort-Brescia said. "We've captured that relationship with this design."

The state has yet to approve any kind of destination casino, let alone Genting's plan specifically.

"The Genting proposal creates a unique policy decision for state lawmakers that will require balance between generating substantial state revenue and creating a competitive environment where the destination casinos, pari-mutuel facilities and Seminole Tribe can prosper," said John Lockwood, a gaming law expert in Tallahassee who represents several gambling interests.

There's also a case in the First District Court of Appeal, challenging the Legislature's right to approve expanded gambling without a Constitutional amendment. A lower court had agreed the Legislature has the authority; the challenge surfaced after the state approved slots at Hialeah Park.

U.S. Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, and Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, say they will propose legislation for companies such as Genting to bid on licenses for resort-style casinos in South Florida. "It won't be geared toward any one vendor," Bogdanoff said. "We're coming up with a concept and a framework, but at the end of the day you're going to have 160 people total [the House and the Senate] poking at this."

Bogdanoff also wants a ban on Internet café gambling and a commission to better regulate all facets of gambling.

Genting, which owns 50 percent of Norwegian Cruise Line, made news on May 27 when it paid $236 million for The Miami Herald property – which will be demolished once the paper finds a new home. Since then, it also bought one of two bank notes for the nearby Omni Center, and two other small parcels nearby.
Genting already has Resorts World operations in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines and officials say the Miami one will happen, casino or no casino. "If destination casinos are approved in the next year or two, they'll build it all at once, within three to five years," said Genting spokesman Tadd Schwartz. "If not, they'll build it as the market demands, and take 10 to 15 years."

Officials say the project would create up to 15,000 construction jobs and employ 30,000 in the long-term. The Seminoles, who are in the second year of a five-year, $1 billion contract with the state that allows them to exclusively offer blackjack and other table games, declined to comment.

But if cards and dice start flying at destination resorts in Florida, the Seminoles' payments to the state would be voided. Federal law allows the tribe to have any game offered elsewhere in the state, so Seminole casinos could add craps and roulette. Bogdanoff supports destination casinos because the Seminoles have a monopoly, she says.

"This would create competition in an environment that has none," she said. "Right now pari-mutuels are going for the same market share: Floridians. What we're trying to do is, when people from elsewhere decide on a destination that they consider South Florida."
South Florida horse track, dog track and jai-alai fronton owners don't necessarily speak out against destination casinos, but some are asking the Legislature to ensure "parity in tax and products offered," said Mardi Gras Casino President Dan Adkins. Pari-mutuel casinos pay a 35 percent slot tax and have no table games.

"With parity, the Legislature can preserve the existing dollars and grow from there," he said. "Without parity, new operators would have to produce as much revenue as the entire Las Vegas strip in order to make up for what would be lost."

The bill from Bogdanoff and Fresen wouldn't address pari-mutuels, but Bogdanoff said "we don't want the industry itself to tear itself up, which they historically do."

Gunmen Set Fire to Mexican Casino, Kill 53

Los Angeles Times: Gunmen stormed a crowded casino in northern Mexico on Thursday and ignited a fire that trapped patrons inside, killing at least 53 people in what the nation's president called an "aberrant act of terror."

The attack on the Casino Royale was the latest bout of spectacular violence in Monterrey, an industrial hub that is Mexico's third-largest city. For more than a year, the city has been the setting for a brutal turf war between rival drug-trafficking gangs that at times have held gunfights on downtown streets in broad daylight.

Adrian de la Garza, prosecutor for the border state of Nuevo Leon, told reporters that the death toll stood at about 40. Four people remained missing. Gov. Rodrigo Medina later told Mexican media that 53 had died. He said the five or six attackers apparently used gasoline to start the blaze. Officials did not give a suspected motive.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon went on Twitter to express dismay over what he called an "aberrant act of terror and barbarity."

"This is a night of sadness for Mexico," said Alejandro Poire, a federal security spokesman. "An unspeakable, repugnant, unacceptable act of terror has been committed."

Television images showed shocked patrons waiting outside as helmeted rescue workers raced into the blackened casino in search of survivors. One woman told Milenio Television that customers scattered in panic after profanity-spewing gunmen burst into the casino and ordered people to get out. In the confusion, many people trapped themselves inside after hiding in bathrooms or fleeing to an upper floor.

Emergency exits were blocked, possibly increasing the death toll, officials said.

Monterrey Mayor Fernando Larrazabal said the casino was shut down in May for code violations but later allowed to reopen after lawyers for the casino won a court order.

The woman interviewed by Milenio Television described a frenzied scene. "Four armed persons entered and began to say: 'Everybody leave! Everybody leave!' " she said. The woman said she ran out a door to a parking lot, but many others fled to the second floor of the casino.

The witness said the attackers, wearing white masks, did not fire weapons or hurl grenades, as some early news reports had suggested. "They started to throw gasoline. There was no grenade attack," she said.

At least 20 people were killed in July after suspected drug cartel members opened fire in a crowded Monterrey bar, an apparent attack on a rival gang. Much of northeastern Mexico has been besieged for a year and a half by fighting between the Gulf cartel and former allies known as the Zetas. The bloodshed has been especially shocking in Monterrey, an important business town formerly known for relative tranquillity.

Violence has exploded across Mexico since Calderon declared war on the cartels soon after taking office in 2006.

Social Media Pays Off for Detriot Casinos & Customers

The Detroit News: When Detroiter Henry Balanon sent a message through social networking site Twitter announcing to friends he was enjoying a night at MGM Grand Detroit, he didn't expect the casino to take notice. But the social media team monitoring the casino's Twitter account responded quickly, asking Balanon for his room number. What happened next left a lasting impression on the 29-year-old iPhone app developer.

"When we got back up to the room, we had cookies and treats and a handwritten note waiting for us," he said. "This was like two years ago. It still sticks with me to this day."

Balanon's experience reflects the effect Detroit's casinos can have on their customers as they ramp up their use of Twitter and Facebook to provide a new level of customer service in an increasingly competitive market.

Detroit's three casinos are sending messages about jackpots and promotions and responding to customer queries via social media as they fight for customers among themselves as well as Caesars Windsor across the river in Canada. They also face a future challenge for business from four new Ohio casinos — three of which are tentatively scheduled to open next year, including one in Toledo that will be less than an hour's drive south of the Detroit trio.

MotorCity Casino Hotel has the most Twitter followers and Facebook fans among the three casinos. MGM Grand — the city's largest casino by revenue — is second, and Greektown Casino Hotel lags the pack. Social media "has become a huge area of our efforts over the last 18 months," said MotorCity Casino Hotel president and CEO Gregg Solomon. "People are looking for that instantaneous update about what's going on where."

Social media followers have taken notice.

"It seems MotorCity has a good grasp of what social media is about and that MGM is catching on," said Farmington Hills-based publicist Lynn Haliburton, who attended a recent social media night at MotorCity. "They seem to respond to questions, they are starting to retweet people and even reply to people that talk about the casino," she said. "However, Greektown seems to keep with just the 'push' method by pushing out their information and not pulling their customers into the conversation."

But Greektown, the smallest of the city's three gaming halls, said social media is becoming a more important part of its overall marketing mix. "We find this type of media to be a great way to listen and often to engage with all gaming customers," said spokeswoman Lloryn Love. "Social media provides feedback for our operations staff, and social media provides us with more channels to reach our customers in a way they may favor."

Social media has great potential for casinos because going to gaming halls is a social experience, according to Frank Fantini, editor and publisher of Fantini's Gaming & Lodging Reports, a Dover, Del.-based company that follows the national gambling industry. "It creates a continuing focus group that casinos can learn from. It also gives the initiative to players to express what works for them in terms of promotions," Fantini said. "It's also an opportunity for casinos to market directly to customers' enthusiasms."

But social media is not easily controlled and can be seen as a threat to companies that want to tightly manage their brands, said David Schugar, principal at RMC Gaming Management, a consulting firm in Las Vegas. A perusal of the three casinos' social media sites finds it is not unusual for dissatisfied casinogoers to send Twitter messages complaining about certain aspects at the Detroit properties — from a lack of service to even a lack of wins.

"Most gaming companies are very protective of their brands," Schugar said, "and thus are careful to relinquish control of the essence of the brand to blogs, social media threads and commentary." Still, there is a payoff for casinos to market in social media and form relationships with their clients, experts said.

Customers enjoy participating in a social media dialogue with casinos and other visitors because "people like to talk about what they did, who they saw, how they got a great deal on a room, etc.," Fantini said. "It's very experiential, and social media is a way to tie in that kind of sharing of experience."

That was certainly the case for Stella Trunzo of Riverview, who in May sent a Twitter message to her followers saying she would love to visit the spa at MotorCity and that it would likely make for a fun spa day. MotorCity contacted Trunzo, 30, and gave her and three friends spa passes in exchange for writing a blog post about the day.

"I was very surprised," said Trunzo, who added that the casino's spa manager gave her a personal tour of the facilities.

The spa passes, a social media night and other events have Trunzo thinking about MotorCity first when it comes to casinos — and spa treatments.

"All the experiences were so amazing," she said, "and so I do lean toward going to MotorCity."

Iowa Casino to Reopen Thanks to Duck Boats

The WinnaVegas Resort Casino in Sioux City, Iowa, has been closed since June 10 due to flooding of the Missouri River. Now there are plans to ferry visitors to the casino using amphibious vehicles called Duck Boats. Reopening of the casino will put 350 employees back to work.

The Duck Boats have the capacity to carry 25 people and will plow through the water on the flooded roads. Since they won't actually float, the casino won’t need clearance from the U.S. Coast Guard and can be operated per Iowa Department of Transportation licensing.

The Taking of Atlantic City

New York Post: He set them up perfectly. As if sitting in a basement poker game, Don Johnson played the pigeon, hoping to lull his competitor into a false confidence and a bad beat. But he wasn't playing his buddy from down the block, and this was no $5-ante Texas hold 'em game. He was up against a billion-dollar Atlantic City casino. The game was blackjack. And the stakes were huge.  

Wearing his humble hoodie and a baseball cap, the Bensalem, Pa., player rolled into the Tropicana Resort & Casino. He had called ahead to make sure they would reserve a table just for him. Johnson arranged to play in the high-roller pit, where minimum bets start at $100 a hand and the table limit is usually $50,000 per hand. Only months ago, desperate to lure high rollers, the casino had upped the betting cap from $5,000.  

Over the course of 12 hours, he took advantage of all the freebies the casinos ply their gamblers with, especially alcohol. When the cocktail waitresses made their rounds -- clad in sleek, black bustier-like outfits, dark stockings and high heels -- Johnson drank, and did it liberally, insiders said. He played alone, surrounded by casino guards. Gawkers were shooed away.

Johnson faced off against the black-vested dealer, who shuffled from a shoe of eight decks. As the table's only gambler, he could play multiple hands. He had from one to three running most of the time, depending on the flow of the cards. Fortified with a massive bankroll, which proved unbreakable, Johnson bet as high as he could when the cards were with him, and went small when they weren't.  

He also knew that if he wound up in the red when he finally called it quits, the casino would knock 20 percent off his losses -- an astounding perk he had negotiated with the Tropicana before making the trip there. He also asked for, and received, a $100,000-per-hand table limit -- a sum unheard of except for the biggest whales. With three hands going at once, the higher limit allowed him to bet up to $300,000 a deal. 

Johnson had set the hook. And he was about to slowly reel in his $5.8 million catch.  

The marathon session lasted 12 hours and contained all the ebb and flow of a typical blackjack game. Until, that is, Johnson was able to string together a streak of astronomical odds -- taking more than 40 hands in row, according to a source. The chance of winning that many consecutive blackjack hands are 1 in 47,217,280,736,393,700, said Michael Shackleford, a Las Vegas gaming expert who runs the Wizard of Odds Web site.

In the wake of Johnson's massive payout, the Tropicana fired CEO Mark Giannantonio, who had authorized the $100,000 table limit. But the damage was done -- that month, April, the casino posted a loss in its blackjack earnings. In the 33 years that gambling has been legal in Atlantic City, it was only the sixth time any hotel reported a monthly blackjack loss.  

The Tropicana should have known to be wary of Johnson. He had already divested Caesar's Atlantic City of $4.23 million in December, and the nearby Borgata of $5 million in March and April. "There's no magic to this. I'm beating them with my own skills," Johnson told The Press of Atlantic City.  

"A smart player could gain an advantage with even a 10 percent rebate in blackjack. It's just a mathematical fact that [20 percent] was very generous and very foolish," Shackleford said. A beginner blackjack player has only a 46 percent chance of winning any given hand, Shackleford said. Someone who plays "basic strategy" -- a statistics-driven guide to splitting cards, doubling down and playing every hand -- can boost those odds to slightly more than 49 percent.  

In other words, a gambler playing perfect basic strategy will lose only about 50 cents for every $100 bet, according to Josh Axelrad, professional blackjack gambler and author of "Repeat Until Rich." But card counters -- gamblers who have a system for knowing which cards have been played and which remain in the deck -- can push their advantage up to 67 percent at times, according to the book. Johnson is adamant that he didn't count cards, but that doesn't mean he didn't have a system. 

"Very experienced players, and smart ones -- and Johnson is known to be a very good player -- know how to ride out changes in cards," (Las Vegas gaming consultant Leonard) Benson said. "There can be clumping, for example, when all small cards come out or all high cards come out. If you see a clump, recognize and can capitalize on it, that's to your advantage. He would have had a very good sense of what cards were played."  

The Tropicana says it's sticking with its policy of offering high-stakes tables to big players -- even though they got walloped again in early June by a player who walked off with $5.3 million.

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Las Vegas Casino Introduces New Dice Game

Vegas Chatter: Red Rock Casino introduced a new game this past weekend called Scossa.

Scossa is a dice game, played on a table similar to a craps table, but actually plays more like roulette. In fact, compared to craps, the odds don't seem too bad and look even better on the exotic bets. We love craps, so we were immediately curious. Let's take a look at how to play:

The object of Scossa™ is to correctly predict the outcome on a roll of a pair of dice. Scossa™ offers seven different types of bets:

- Straight Number Bets - You win if the result of the dice is the number you placed your wager on (i.e., 2 thru 12).

- Split Bets - You win if the result of the dice is either of the straight numbers adjacent to the line you placed your wager on. (i.e., 7 or 2, 6 or 3, 5 or 4, 7 or 12, 8 or 11, 9 or 10)

- Range Bets - You win if the result of the dice is any of the four numbers in the range you placed your wager on. (i.e., Low – 3, 4, 5 or 6, High – 8, 9, 10 or 11)

- Hard Way Bets - You win if the result of each dice shows the same number. (i.e., two 1’s, two 2’s, two 3’s. two 4’s, two 5’s, or two 6‘s)

- Hard Way Split Bets - You win if the result of the dice is either of the Hard Way numbers adjacent to the line you placed your wager on. (i.e. 2 or hard 4, hard 4 or hard 6, hard 6 or hard 8, hard 8 or hard 10, hard 10 or 12)

- Triple 7’s Bonus Bet - You win if the Shooter rolls three 7’s in a row

- Lucky 7 for Dealer - The Dealer wins if the Shooter rolls a 7

In our research, the only thing that stood out as controversial, and possibly negative, is that there is a dealer bet placed on the felt. This is the first game to do that and reaction seems mostly negative. It has long odds, but seems as if it comes across like placing a tip jar at a coffee shop cash register. Some people are bothered by that, some don't care. We gamble enough to know how, and when, to tip. We don't need the nudge.

There are quite a few bets with a relatively small house edge (under 3%), which is nice to see. It seems as if the game makers are trying to find any way to capture the excitement of craps. We're not sure that changing the rules in craps will make it more fun, but with decent odds and simple play, Scossa has us curious to try it out.

Atlantic City's Last Hotel Casino?

Atlantic City's Revel Hotel Casino

Hotel Chatter: While Las Vegas has had its fun (somewhat) opening new casino hotels over the past few years, Atlantic City hasn't seen a new property since the opening of the Borgata's Water Tower back in 2008. But that will change when the planned Revel casino opens in mid-2012.

The Press of Atlantic City reports:

Revel is a play on the word meaning fun. The company plans to entertain its guests by stocking the resort with pools, a spa, 12 restaurants, retail shops, two nightclubs and other attractions found nowhere else in Atlantic City.

One of the most striking features will be a two-acre, landscaped outdoor deck overlooking the ocean. The so-called roofscape will include a man-made “pine grove” of more than 30,000 live trees and plants. Cabanas and fire pits will allow guests to party while soaking up the outdoor decor.

The 47-hotel room tower will have 1,090 rooms and downstairs it will be anchored by a 150,000-square-foot casino floor. However, Revel is shying away from using the word "casino" in its name.

“We are not promoting this as a casino,” Revel spokeswoman Lisa Johnson said. “It’s a lifestyle resort with a casino.

Hmm...we didn't know casino was a dirty word.

Revel will probably be the last new resort/casino to open in Atlantic City for a while. The $2.4 billion project was nearly dead in the water thanks to the mortgage crisis but new financing in February put it back on the fast track.

Still, that doesn't mean that the other casino hotels in AC can't spiff themselves up. And indeed, the Borgata is already working on a renovation of its main tower before Revel opens. Jersey Shore, Season 6 get ready!

PA Gaming Control Board Rejects Gettysburg Casino

Fired Casino Workers Sue for Age and Sex Discrimination

Cocktail servers Jessica Ruiz, Kerly Duran and
Keiona Robbins pose in their Roaring '20s
 costumes at the hotel in Atlantic City, N.J

Seven of the 16 waitresses fired from Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City after posing for the company in skimpy new flapper costumes are suing, claiming age and sex discrimination. Resorts says the reason for the firings was for "violating uniform standards.” The workers suspect that management wanted to get rid of older women who were judged not sexy enough to fit in with the casino’s new image.

The women, all long-time employees in their 40s, 50s and 60s, were told to go into a room and try on the new flapper-style uniforms so they could be photographed.

Nancy Schromsky, one of the fired waitresses, said the uniforms were strewn on the floor and were all sizes two and four. A modeling agency representing the casino later told the 16 they were fired.

“It was very degrading to women,” said fired waitress Kathryn Felici, 53. “I feel they never gave me a chance. We had no idea that photo shoot was fighting for our jobs.”

The casinos management defended their actions, calling the process “fair and objective”. They said they also offered the women other positions in the casino, although some of the women claim they were not offered other employment options.

 In 2008, two former cocktail servers at Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa settled a multimillion-dollar sex discrimination lawsuit they brought against the casino. They claimed the casino humiliated costumed waitresses, known as "Borgata Babes," by imposing weight limits, encouraging breast augmentation surgery and emphasizing looks over job performance.

Instant Replay: Atlantic City Casino Workers Fired Because of "Skimpy Uniforms"

Tulsa Hard Rock Hotel And Casino Bets Big on Orca Green

Texans Could Vote on Expanding Gambling

NBC: Texans could get to vote on a constitutional amendment to expand gambling.

The House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee will hear testimony on a number of measures to allow casinos and slot machines. The Texas Gaming Association is backing a measure that would license eight casinos and slot machines at eight racetracks. Other measures would allow gambling on Indian reservations or slot machines at bingo halls.

The Texas Gaming Association says its proposal could bring in $1.2 billion a year in gaming taxes alone. The organization also released a poll it said found that 86 percent of Texans believe there should be a vote on gambling.

The state faces a $23 billion budget shortfall over the next two years. Opponents warn that gambling could bring more trouble than it's worth.

PA to Overtake Atlantic City in Casino Revenue

Press of Atlantic City: Pennsylvania’s surging gaming industry will probably overtake Atlantic City next year as the nation’s second-largest casino market, Wall Street analysts predicted Tuesday.

Pennsylvania has been growing by double-digit margins at the same time that Atlantic City’s gaming revenue has plunged 30 percent since peaking at $5.2 billion in 2006. Pennsylvania’s 10 casinos, which are spread across the state, took in about $2.5 billion in revenue in 2010, compared to $3.6 billion for the 11 gaming halls in Atlantic City.

As Atlantic City continues to decline, it seems inevitable that Pennsylvania will become the next $3 billion market and should surpass New Jersey for the nation’s No. 2 spot in gaming revenue behind Nevada, analysts told an industry conference.

“Pennsylvania gaming, sometime next year, will most likely be bigger than Atlantic City,” Andrew Zarnett, managing director of Deutsche Bank, said during a panel discussion at the Pennsylvania Gaming Congress.

Zarnett and other Wall Street observers believe Atlantic City will continue to struggle as competition intensifies in the Mid-Atlantic gaming market, including the opening later this year of a new slots parlor at New York’s Aqueduct racetrack.

Even the opening next year of the $2.4 billion Revel casino may not be enough to reverse Atlantic City’s slide, the analysts stressed. Revel, a Las Vegas-style megaresort, is being counted on to draw high-end customers and more conventions.

“I think Atlantic City will fight back a little bit with the opening of Revel,” said Christopher Jones, a director at Telsey Advisory Group. However, Zarnett contended that Revel will not expand the market overall. He warned that Revel may cannibalize a large piece of the marketplace from the existing casinos.

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