Gambling News by House of Odds

Betfair points out its anticipated payment to the NRL is not a sponsorship
because advertising restrictions in NSW mean it can't promote its investment
via signage, branding or hospitality. Under NSW law, only wagering operators
licensed in NSW are allowed to advertise in the state.

Tabcorp's insistence that its new deal with the NRL be called a sponsorship,
rather than a product fee, is consistent with its reluctance to concede
sports are entitled to a fee for use of intellectual property.

However, Betfair, keen to legitimise a business in which punters can back a
team to lose, seeks strong relationships with sports via the product fee,
even though it can still take bets without the sport's endorsement.

Betfair points out it has no-charge information-sharing arrangements with
the International Cricket Council, Premier League football and English rugby
league and rugby union, yet has no commercial arrangements with these
sports.

On the other hand, it has information-sharing and product-fee agreements
with Cricket Australia, Tennis Australia, the PGA Tour and AFL. Both Betfair
and Tabcorp are keen to promote their integrity, with Betfair being the
first to name AFL player Simon Goodwin in an audit last November and Tabcorp
revealing another three players three months later.

Betfair boasts that it has a staff of nine checking records to determine if
athletes are gambling on their sports, while Tabcorp says: "No organisation
takes integrity more seriously than Tabcorp. We have the right level of
resources and excellent processes in place to monitor betting patterns for
account holders."

Tabcorp concedes it has no access to information on bets laid with TABs in
Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.

The forthcoming deals with Tabcorp and Betfair are independent of the NRL's
membership of the Coalition of Major Professional Sports, which has been
lobbying the states for a fixed return on betting on sporting events.

The AFL intended to join COMPS but signed with Tabcorp and Betfair. NRL
chief executive David Gallop expects the Victorian Government to introduce
legislation soon which would set a mandatory percentage return for all
sports on money gambled on their events.

10 percent would be divided among the remaining 51 counties in the state.

10 percent would be divided among the remaining 203 municipalities in West
Virginia.

4 percent would be placed into track employee pension funds.

The Senate Judiciary Committee specified that the money received by
municipalities be used for capital improvements and municipal pensions.
Counties can use the funds to cover regional jail costs.

The West Virginia Lottery Commission has predicted that table gambling would
bring in an additional $10 million annually to racetracks.

The racetracks still would have to pay an initial $1.5 million license fee
to offer table gambling products, as well as an annual $2.5 million renewal
fee under the legislation.

"We thought it important that all municipalities in the state share in these
revenues," Kessler said. "We thought it was important that all 1.8 million
people in the state and the track employees get the money - rather than the
tracks and owners of the dogs and horses that race. Many of them live out of
the state."

State Sen. Ed Bowman, D-Hancock, termed West Virginia's purse fund "one of
the richest in the country."

"We will still have additional $3 million going in there, according to
figures provided by the lottery commissioner," John Musgrave, Bowman said.
"He told us his figures are 'conservative,'but once people come in to play
table games, slot play will increase. There will be more money from slots
going into the fund.

"The fund could realize as much as another $10 million," he added. "They
could get another $13 million, if he is correct. This is a very rich purse
fund."

The senators said they already have conversed with Senate President Earl Ray
Tomblin, D-Logan, as well as Senate Finance Committee Chairman Walt Helmick,
D-Pocohontas, regarding the legislation.

The Senate Finance Committee is slated to pick up the table gambling bill
early next week. If quickly approved in committee, a vote by the whole
Senate on the legislation could come within a week.

"They say the bill is satisfactory,'' Bowman said. ''But there are X number
of committee members. Not knowing their thoughts, it is hard to say.''

McKenzie added that Senate Judiciary Committee members knew they had to make
a decision.

"The House put a higher emphasis on the purse fund than the counties and
municipalities in West Virginia," he said. "We shifted the numbers and made
cities, counties and pensions more important."

Whenever these commissioners tell you sports betting is evil and ruins the
carefully crafted image of their sport, just think of the unspoken harm they
cause. Their hands are dirty from the addictions they promote and push to
their benefit. Betting on sports is a sin, but buying a baseball themed
instant lottery ticket is a virtue?

The sports leagues spend money to warn of the dangers of betting on sports,
but when are they going to take responsibility for the addictions they
support with fantasy sports. Maybe it's time to produce some public service
warning messages for fantasy participants?

In the meantime thinking about the hypocrisy just might be a sign of being
addicted to anxiety. To kick such a habit make sure when the NCAA website
in a few weeks posts brackets for office pools, you fill them out and put
your money into the prize pool with great joy. Celebrate the fact you won't
get fired like you are some $2 million a year football coach who didn't get
the right memo.

Three kidnappings last year were said by police to have been related to
gambling activities there, several women were assaulted and robbed earlier
this year after leaving the casino with large winnings, and Rong Lilly Li,
last seen in the casino's parking lot, was killed.

"There is zero tolerance for unlawful activity in casinos," Mr. Gass said.
"We co-operate fully with police."

Historically, expanded gaming faced opposition in the Legislature,
especially in the House where Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi opposes it.

The stakes on this are obviously high for gambling interests -- and for the
Patrick administration. With Rubin potentially in the mix as an advocate for
gambling interests, the governor could have an appearance problem bigger
than a leased Cadillac and expensive new office drapes.

Rubin is not a state employee. He has a right to make a living. But he
sounds naive when he talks about a "bright line" between lobbyist and
communications strategist. The line might be bright to him, but it's not
that bright to anyone else. His closeness to Patrick is part of his appeal
to any client.

If someone as close to Patrick as Rubin takes on a gambling client, it will
be another example of this administration not understanding perception and
its critical role in politics.

Symbolism means everything in politics. The leased Cadillac, the $10,000
damask drapes, and new office furniture were the wrong symbols for a
candidate who ran a populist campaign, and now heads an administration
grappling with a $1 billion budget deficit.

It took a while, but Patrick finally got that message. He announced he would
contribute $543 each month to the lease of the Cadillac DTS he uses for
state business, bringing the cost to the public in line with the Ford Crown
Victoria used by Governor Mitt Romney. He also said he would repay the state
for the draperies and new furniture.

Patrick promised a new order of business on Beacon Hill. Having a close
political associate such as Rubin represent a gambling client represents a
very old order of business.

In the drug conspiracy, Gilman admitted to conspiring with co-defendants
Keele Vesnefski, Ahisa Kaluhiokalani and others to distribute three pounds
of crystal methamphetamine, or "ice."

As part of the plea agreement, Gilman has agreed to cooperate with
investigators and testify if required against any co-defendants in any
criminal or civil proceedings.

Gilman was allowed to remain free on bail until his sentencing July 12
before Chief U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor. He faces a maximum life term
for the drug charges and up to five years for the gambling offenses.

Canada has another unique quandary. Although operating online gambling sites
here is supposed to be illegal, the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve in Quebec has
been hosting dozens of betting sites for a decade, claiming that Canadian
laws don't apply to them. They insist that they maintain sovereign authority
over Internet gambling on their territory, arguing gambling is part of their
ancient rites and traditions.

Now the Alexander First Nation near Morinville plans to start a similar
online-hosting scheme, forcing the Alberta government to make a decision
about the future of online gambling in this province. As such, the Alberta
Gaming and Liquor Commission has commissioned a poll to determine what
Albertans think of the issue.

Canada has another unique quandary. Although operating online gambling sites
here is supposed to be illegal, the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve in Quebec has
been hosting dozens of betting sites for a decade, claiming that Canadian
laws don't apply to them. They insist that they maintain sovereign authority
over Internet gambling on their territory, arguing gambling is part of their
ancient rites and traditions.

Now the Alexander First Nation near Morinville plans to start a similar
online-hosting scheme, forcing the Alberta government to make a decision
about the future of online gambling in this province. As such, the Alberta
Gaming and Liquor Commission has commissioned a poll to determine what
Albertans think of the issue.

Canada has another unique quandary. Although operating online gambling sites
here is supposed to be illegal, the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve in Quebec has
been hosting dozens of betting sites for a decade, claiming that Canadian
laws don't apply to them. They insist that they maintain sovereign authority
over Internet gambling on their territory, arguing gambling is part of their
ancient rites and traditions.

Now the Alexander First Nation near Morinville plans to start a similar
online-hosting scheme, forcing the Alberta government to make a decision
about the future of online gambling in this province. As such, the Alberta
Gaming and Liquor Commission has commissioned a poll to determine what
Albertans think of the issue.

Richard Calderon of the Bermuda Land Development Corporation told the trial
that the Corporation had leased a berth at Marginal Wharf to the Niobe
Corinthian's owners for six months from July to January.

Unusually, he said, the contract wasn't first signed nor was payment made
from the outset.

He agreed with Mr. Bean that payment would be due even if the vessel weren't
in port: "Not to sound like a greedy landlord."

"Gambling law, and therefore the public communication of those laws, is a
reserved area of responsibility."

Shona Robison, the SNPs spokeswoman on health, yesterday saw no reason why a
public education campaign, or even a national strategy on problem gambling,
should not be launched in Scotland just because Westminster was in charge of
the licensing regime.

She said: "Dr Reith's report made clear recommendations.

"It's disappointing the executive has chosen to treat it with disregard. It
is just passing the back to make it Westminster's responsibility."

Getting the three-fifths majority needed to pass a capital plan this year
won't be easy, but desperation could help drive a compromise.

"The pent-up desire to do it is there," Black said. "Talk and fingerpointing
for the last four years hasn't solved the potholes, hasn't taken care of the
backlog in school construction grants."

He said he hoped at least some of the money would be used for the
long-awaited Lincoln Hall renovation project at the University of Illinois.

But after that the transparency can quickly blur.

Gambling revenues from Sport Select wagering and other lotteries, from VLTs
and from slot machines -- an estimated $1.4 billion for 2006-07 alone -- all
goes into something called the Alberta Lottery Fund.

>From there, money is allocated to 12 different ministries and to foundations
and grant programs to directly support volunteer and community-based
initiatives.

So when the Edmonton Soccer Association got $80,000 in two Community
Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) grants for turf replacement, facility
construction and equipment through the provincial department of Tourism,
Parks, Recreation and Culture, that, in fact, is gambling money.

When the Edmonton International Baseball Foundation received $75,000 from
the Community Initiatives Program (CIP) for the 2008 World Junior AAA
baseball championships, again, that's gambling money.

And when the Capital City Gymnastics club got $3,665 to purchase two beams
and a mat from the Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks and Wildlife Foundation,
you guessed it, that's gambling money.

The gambling revenues are funnelled through different departments and
programs, but no matter where they eventually come from, it's still gambling
money.

"It's a bit of a shell game," says Reade. "Sports organizations love the
idea they don't have to consider it as gambling money, they like to think of
it as government support."

The Alberta government also likes to talk about its "charity model" for
distributing gambling revenues, but that is a misnomer, according to the U
of A's Garry Smith.

Smith says that only about 20 per cent of the money from the Alberta Lottery
Fund goes to groups that might be considered non-profit, community-based and
charitable.

The rest goes to a variety of other groups and initiatives. For instance,
last year two one-time $35-million grants were given to Edmonton Northlands
and the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede. This year, $55 million is budgeted
for provincial highways, $25 million more for street improvements. More than
$60 million is budgeted to public and separate schools in the province, $1.6
million is budgeted for gaming research. And on and on and on. All of it was
from gambling revenues.

"They like to call it a charity model because it sounds good," says Smith.

Still, the money goes to a lot of groups that provide vital community
programming, including amateur sports organizations, who really depend on
that funding.

"Every amateur sports organization struggles financially. They survive but
they don't thrive," says Reade. "Any ethical question goes away when there
is no alternative."

Also, a revenue dip may only accelerate a movement already well under way
here: Making sure there's a lot more to do in Atlantic City than just
gamble. ''Clearly, Atlantic City recognizes that for its overall revenue to
grow, it has to become less gaming-centric,'' said Joseph Weinert, vice
president of Spectrum Gaming Group, a casino consulting firm. ''A majority
of Atlantic City's customers will be able to play slots somewhere closer to
home. Atlantic City has to give them a compelling reason to drive farther,
stay longer and spend more.''

Lorrie Harm came to the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa to play the slots, when
she easily could have gone to a Philadelphia area facility near her home in
Cherry Hill.

''The restaurants are great, and I love to shop,'' she said. ''I like the
atmosphere here. There's more to do.''

Barbara Sieminski, a retiree from Mountaintop in Luzerne County, comes to
the Borgata at least once a month for amenities like the manicure she
treated herself to last week.

''It's difficult to just spend time on the gambling floor morning to
night,'' she said as a manicurist rubbed her hands up and down Sieminski's
wrists. ''I come for the total package. Coming to Atlantic City is like a
vacation for us.''

Weinert said he expects overall 2007 revenues to be about flat, with a
possible fluctuation of 1 percent above or below the break-even point. But
Frank Fantini, publisher of The Gaming Morning Report, says a decline of as
much as 5 percent is possible this year.

In 2006, Atlantic City's revenues came in at $5.2 billion, up 4 percent from
the year before.

The closing in November of The Sands Casino and Hotel is also expected to
hurt the bottom line. ''Some of that money will flow to other casinos, but
some of it won't be recovered until another property takes its place,'' said
Fantini. There are now 11 Atlantic City casinos, down from 12 last year.

Smoking restrictions are another wild card. As of April 15, casinos must
designate at least 75 percent of their gambling floors as smoke-free. The
industry is worried about losing its smoking patrons, as well as the
millions of dollars it will cost each property to wall off smoking areas and
install expensive ventilation systems.

The state has an interest in keeping casino revenues flowing as well. The
casinos pay 8 percent tax on their gross revenues, and pay another 1.25
percent toward projects approved by the Casino Reinvestment Development
Authority. Last year, that worked out to $417.5 million in revenue taxes,
and $65.2 million in reinvestment obligations. But even if revenues decline
this year, almost no one thinks it would be an irreversible trend. Tolosa,
the Harrah's president, noted that casinos shut down last July during a
state budget crisis, a revenue loss he doesn't expect to recur this year.

Further, the act refers only to gambling that violates existing federal or
state laws, thereby recognizing each state's right to develop and enforce
its own regulations on gaming.

After the passage of this legislation, publicly traded gambling operations
lost 50 percent of their market value. Cyber ventures listed on the London
Stock Exchange announced that they would no longer be accepting wagers from
players in the United States. And many Internet gambling sites chose to deny
wagering by residents of the United States, where these bets would be in
violation of existing laws.

Rather than supplying an Internet retailer with financial and personal
information directly, many consumers use digital wallets (e-wallets) such as
PayPal to more securely transfer these data and complete their transactions.
FirePay, an offshore e-wallet, has announced in response to the act that it
will not transfer funds to online gambling operations.

Last month, the two founders of a British e-wallet known as NETeller were
arrested on charges of transferring funds with the intent to promote illegal
gambling. After these arrests, the company decided to eliminate the transfer
of funds by United States bettors to Internet gambling sites, instantly
eradicating about 65 percent of its activities in this industry.

Existing technologies used by credit card companies and banks to block
illegal transactions by verifying the identities (and, if appropriate, the
ages) of the parties involved also can be helpful in enforcing the act. Most
important, this legislation illustrates one method for effectively
controlling some of the harmful effects of cyberspace.

Some gurus even claim knowledge of special tricks that can affect the
outcome of a game. Frank Scoblete, author of Golden Touch Dice Control
Revolution, draws to his seminars thousands of people who are eager to learn
how to hold and throw dice in a way that will tilt the odds of a craps game
in their favor.

The key, he preaches, is avoiding the amateur's penchant for a big, dramatic
shake-up of the dice before each throw. Instead, he says, hold the dice
together in your hand as if they were glued to each other, with the
corresponding numbers lined up together (the two ones, two two's, etc.,
facing outward while aligned next to each other). That way, each die needs
to flip over at least twice to maximize the chances of rolling a seven, the
most common result of a dice throw and the one that needs to be avoided to
win. A soft throw with backspin that bounces the dice gently off the back
wall theoretically minimizes the number of times the dice will turn over,
cutting the chances of rolling a seven and crapping out.

"A backward spin slows it down; you can absolutely learn how to control the
dice throw to reduce the house's odds," says Scoblete, who claims he's been
banned from every casino in Mississippi and a couple in Las Vegas by
managers leery of being taken by his method. Some gambling veterans think
Scoblete's system is mostly a lot of bunk, but that hasn't stopped people
looking for an edge from forking over $1,495 apiece to attend his seminars.

Meanwhile, the fastest growing gambling Mecca, and home to the young gurus
of tomorrow, is the exploding online poker arena. Just as a blind person
often develops superior senses of hearing and smell, an online poker player
learns to read opposing players without the benefit of seeing their faces.
Patterns like how fast or how big a player bets are often a precursor to
whether they're holding a good hand or bluffing, according to Ryan McLane,
an avid player who also writes about the game for casinocitytimes.com.

Still, all seemed well in Burnaby. In September, Deloitte & Touche ranked
ESI the 26th fastest-growing technology company in Canada. The same month,
Citadel acquired at auction 30 baseballs signed by controversial baseball
star Pete Rose with the message, "I'm sorry I bet on baseball." The idea was
to give the balls to customers as an incentive to open accounts.

A few days later, there was a sobering development. The U.S. Congress passed
the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which specifically
prohibited financial intermediaries like Citadel from processing online
gambling transactions.

Initially, ESI executives took a wait-and-see approach. "At this time, we
are evaluating the negative impact of this new legislation on our
activities," said president Michael Meeks.

On Jan. 15, the company reported good results. Revenues for the nine months
ending Nov. 30 were up 35 per cent to $17.5 million, and gross profit had
soared by 81 per cent to $11 million.

However, it was becoming clear that Citadel's business model would be
seriously squeezed by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, so the
company wrote down just over $6 million in assets, resulting in a net loss
of $4.5 million. The company also announced it would lay off 22 employees,
saving $1 million in annual staffing costs.

The appropriateness of these moves was confirmed two days later, when the
U.S. Justice Department announced that FBI agents had arrested John Lefebvre
and Stephen Lawrence, co-founders of London-based electronic payment
processor NETeller Inc., for conspiring to promote illegal gambling.

Lefebvre and Lawrence are both Canadian citizens. Lefebvre, in particular,
is a part-time resident of Saltspring Island, which no doubt helped drive
home the point to ESI's officers and directors.

The same day the arrests were announced, ESI announced that, in view of the
arrests, Citadel would no longer offer financial processing to foreign
Internet gambling merchants for U.S. consumers.

"This decision will have a material impact on the financial condition of the
company as a substantial part of its revenues was derived from non-domestic
Internet gaming merchants for USA consumers," the company warned.

Last week, ESI announced it had reduced its workforce by another 35 per cent
to 80 people, and had taken other measures that would save $5 million per
year.

"With these changes completed," said Greening, "we are now able to focus our
cash reserves on our growing market opportunities in Europe and are better
positioned to execute our international payment solution strategy."

All this has had an extremely deleterious effect on ESI's stock price. It
has slumped from its $3 initial offering price to 58 cents on the Toronto
Stock Exchange, proving once again you don't mess with Uncle Sam.

"A robust association was found with medication-induced mania 'a psychiatric
disorder involving excessive physical and mental activity and impulsive
behaviour'." Pathological gambling was also weakly linked to younger age,
Parkinson's disease that began in the brain's left hemisphere and a high
score on a scale measuring the impulsiveness of behaviours. Screening for
such features and advising those at higher risk may be warranted," they
conclude.

The American Gaming Association is on record as saying the new Internet
Gaming Legislation is "confusing".

Americas Watchdog believes that the American Gaming Association or
affiliated Associations should begin to lobby Congress & the Bush
Administration for immediate amendments to the Unlawful Internet Gambling
Enforcement Act that will allow for licensed US Casinos to be able to offer
their services to US Citizens or International players. This would have
three positive affects.

1. US Citizens who go online to US licensed casinos would get a regulated
gaming or casino environment. A regulated environment is not offered by
existing offshore casinos or sports books. The offshore gaming industry
would effectively be out of business losing the bulk of even their European
or Asian clients to the US.

2. Off shore-Internet Gambling is a multi billion dollar a year business.
Why not tax it and control it? Further by taxing & regulating the US online
casinos and effectively shutting down off-shore gaming, US law enforcement
could pursue other criminal activities because this particular issue would
no longer be a major problem, provided US banks actually comply with
anticipated federal banking regulations.

This change would also put most illegal US bookmakers out of business
because US consumers could actually place a legal wager on a sporting event,
or other gambling activity with a licensed US casino/sports Book. Illegal
bookmaking-sportsbook in the US is also a multi billion dollar a year
business.

Why not tax & regulate this activity?

3. The entry of licensed US casinos into online gaming would effectively
shut down or cripple all offshore gaming web sites. This could create
thousands of new tax paying jobs in the US. Why support some other countries
economy, when the US should be able to control & regulate its own?

The United States has a poor at best record on prohibitions. From alcohol in
the 1930's to its current 'war on drugs'. The new US legislation will not
stop offshore online casinos or gambling. Why not create a sensible
regulated environment that will be a win for US Citizens, and for the US
Government and individual State Governments that can control the activity,
and tax it?

Records show Kiel has struggled with financial problems in the past year. On
Sept. 7, a notice of default was filed by a loan corporation against Kiel,
seeking payment of $16,610 from a $591,634 mortgage. The property no longer
is being foreclosed. In 2005, Kiel obtained a $50,000 home equity line of
credit. When $49,438 became due, Kiel "refused to pay," according to the
lender. The case was settled in April.

Prosecutors allege Kiel was illegally obtaining codeine-based cough syrup
from a friend, Hope Devina Vines, who worked at a San Diego pharmacy and was
stealing it from her employer. Vines, a licensed pharmacy technician at
Sharp Rees-Stealy in San Diego, has been arrested on felony charges of theft
and possession of a controlled substance in connection with the case. Kiel
and Vines have pleaded not guilty and both are expected in court today.

Kiel was arrested in September after Drug Enforcement Administration agents
intercepted two express mail packages containing 18 pint bottles full of the
drug. Authorities said Kiel admitted to shipping the cough syrup to his
native Texas, where it can sell for up to $325 on the street and where it is
mixed with soft drinks.

In an unrelated matter, the San Diego city attorney's office has charged
Kiel with public urination, a violation of the municipal code. Police cited
Kiel in the Gaslamp Quarter in December.

But who knows -- maybe Goldberg has racked up huge gambling debts from
ignorant wagers like the one tendered to Cole.

So I have a solution. Let the Tribune media conglomerate pay the $1,000. Not
only does Tribune syndicate Goldberg's column, it was Tribune's Los Angeles
Times that added the analytically-impaired Goldberg to its columnist roster
in November 2005 -- at the same time it fired renowned columnist Robert
Scheer, whose Iraq analysis had been breathtakingly accurate.

Despite financial upheavals, the highly-profitable Tribune Company has
plenty of money, as it lays off journalists en masse and squeezes the life
out once proud newspapers like the L.A. Times.

Professor Cole may be right to dismiss Jonah Goldberg as a "dime-a-dozen
pundit." But it's time to hold media corporations like Tribune responsible
for elevating the Goldbergs and their reckless predictions -- as they
strangle newspapers and silence serious journalists like Bob Scheer.

"It just gets rid of this gray area," Birleffi said. "If your customers want
to play poker, they can't even do that."

Birleffi said allowing patrons to gamble in bars and restaurants is a
tradition in Wyoming.

"It's the way things have been," Birleffi said. "Any place that has a Texas
Hold 'em poker night, or private clubs, it's just the way things have been."

15 residence violators held: During a crackdown on vice and residence law
violators in Farwaniya, police have arrested 15 hawkers - Asians and Arabs -
for violating residence laws, reports Al-Rai daily. Police also seized from
them a quantity of foodstuff, clothes, and several various types of goods
including toys and referred them to the authorities.

Maid injured in escape bid: An Indonesian maid, whose identity has not been
disclosed, has been admitted to the Mubarak Al-Kabeer hospital with serious
injuries and broken limbs, reports Al-Anba daily. A reliable security
source, quoting the maid's sponsor, told the daily the maid fell from the
third floor apartment while attempting to climb down with the help of a
'rope' made of bed sheets in an attempt to escape from his home. The rope
allegedly snapped when the maid was halfway and fell in the building
compound. However, police said to be waiting for the maid to recover to take
her statement.

Kuwaitis victim of police brutality: Two Kuwaitis recently complained to the
Al-Watan daily how some securitymen tortured them for no reason, reports
Al-Watan daily. One of the victims said he was visiting his friend and
suddenly police barged into the home and accused them of possessing and
consuming alcohol and drugs. According to the victims police raided their
home without a warrant from the Public Prosecution. However, they were taken
to the Rumaithiya Police Station and detained for four days. They claimed
they were tortured by police in a vain attempt to force them to confess to
the charge under duress.

Officers at the police station are also said to have threatened to cause
them harm if they reported the incident. The men also told the daily police
failed to find either drugs or alcohol in the house or were there any traces
of drug or alcohol consumption. Moreover, when they were referred to
Forensics a test showed negative results. The victims have filed complaints
with the General Department for Interrogation and the Public Prosecutor has
been informed about the incident.

Stray horse causes road panic: Traffic on the Fahaheel Expressway was
disrupted for some time after a horse which had escaped from a farm caused
panic among motorists, reports Al-Anba daily. It has been reported the horse
was also responsible for a two-vehicle collision. Securitymen rushed to the
spot, caught the horse and restored the traffic flow. Police are looking for
the owner of the horse.

Indian found dead in lorry: Police are investigating the death of an
unidentified Indian man whose partially decomposed remains were found in the
back of a half lorry at an unidentified location in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh,
reports Al-Anba daily. Initial Forensic report showed the man, who was
wanted by law for allegedly trading in liquor, died five days ago.

Here are five tips on how to curb your gambling addiction, according to
Gamblers Anonymous International:

* Avoid the venue. Find other interesting hobbies to enjoy during the times
when you tend to gamble.

* Limit the availability of your cash. Arrange to have daily withdrawal
limits on your bank account, set up a joint account that requires two
signatures or pay bills electronically.

* Manage stress. Exercise regularly, or do things that enable you to relax
such as listening to music and hanging out with friends. (Of course, avoid
the ones who gamble.)

* Keep a record. A diary could help you understand your gambling activities,
identify trends and patterns. For example, you might go gambling when you
feel bored or depressed, or when you need money.

Amy Kempe, spokeswoman for Newport Grand, said "it's difficult to respond to
the results without knowing under what circumstances the testing was
conducted nor how those results compare to industry standards."

"The comfort and safety of our patrons is our first priority, Kempe added.
"We welcome the opportunity to meet with GASP so they can share with us
their results and we can take a look at how we can improve under their
standards."

Newport Grand did notice a situation where smoke was traveling down an
escalator from the smoking to the nonsmoking areas and is taking action to
fix it. As part of a planned expansion and renovation, the ventilation
systems will be upgraded further.

At Lincoln Park, Stern said continuing construction has hurt air flow. She
said that a new addition soon to open will include "state-of-the-art
ventilation" and fix any air-quality problems.

Henry Thaxton said: "If you are not careful, you will project the image that
you are bought and paid for... . (The tracks) work both sides of the street.
They have no shame."

It's not the gaming interests that should be ashamed, they're capitalists
out to make money. We should be ashamed that our state is so weak that every
few years we grovel at the feet of big gambling hoping they expand to help
the state's pitiful economy. Why can West Virginia not do better?

This state relies too much on Big Daddy, big government and big coal
companies to provide jobs and fill state coffers. And where have 50 years of
reliance and groveling brought us? They've brought us to nearly last in
everything. If there was something about our economy to celebrate, it could
be celebrated, but I don't think the fact that anyone can get a job at
Sheetz or Wal-Mart is something to celebrate.

What almost everyone concedes is that the state needs a massive economic and
legal overhaul, but there's no time for that when table games are on the
agenda.

Instead, West Virginia will spin the roulette wheel again, hoping for the
best.

Farmland is disappearing at an alarming rate in our small state as
developers gobble up the open space despite considerable resistance.

"It's a real concern," Piotrowicz said, "but there is a lot of
specialization and diversification going on now. Farmers are doing more with
less land."

So a new cookbook will soon be born. Its message will be twofold: "Think
cooking, not gambling" and "Use Connecticut-grown food products for your
March Madness parties." They will taste better.

Most kids who gamble tend to play cards, sometimes with the consent of their
parents, Jefferson said. Parents who allow card playing at home should
encourage gambling for chips rather than money, and should look for signs
that their children are pushing off other activities and interests for the
activity, she said.

A federal law passed last summer has helped curb the problem of Internet
gambling among teens by making it illegal for major banks to allow the use
of their credit cards for payment, Jefferson added.

But while education about the risks of gambling could deter some kids, it
likely will not be effective without a larger social campaign about the
potential addiction.

"We have to do some kind of intervention, but it's awfully tough when
millions of dollars are being thrown into advertising every day to keep
these kids gambling," Eastwood said.

The team has contributed to the design of a government study that will chart
British attitudes and actions as more gambling opportunities are introduced.
The first stage of a five-year study is already under way.

Church officials acknowledge there is no evidence showing how a new regional
casino will affect the United Kingdom. However, they cite the U.S.
experience of rising gambling-related debt, crime, bankruptcy and associated
social problems - including unemployment and family breakdown - as a
predictor of what could happen here.

Jackson said British Methodists are just as worried about Internet gambling,
noting that recent crackdowns in the United States will push this form of
gambling underground.

"There are always ways of getting your money to gambling sites on the
Internet regardless of what the U.S. does," said Jackson. If Internet
gambling goes underground, she said, people will be at risk both from
gambling itself and from unscrupulous people who will charge extortionate
rates to channel money to Internet sites.

Government officials in British cities such as Blackpool and Greenwich,
which lost out to Manchester, hope more super casinos will be sanctioned,
though officials overseeing the Gambling Act say they won't approve more
regional casinos for the next three years.

Provisions in the gambling law require "proper monitoring" by the government
of the effects of increased gambling opportunities. British Methodists say
they will be "keeping an eye on the situation" to make sure the government
keeps its promise.

"Harrah's Entertainment offers the most complete package for the UK as we
have a proven, worldwide track record of responsibly operating successful
casino-integrated resort complexes."

Developers are already predicting a boom in property prices, with Mike
Kidd - manager with Edward Mellor in Gorton - telling the M.E.N. after the
announcement that people were `hanging out the bunting'.

House prices in many areas near the stadium have already doubled in just two
years as a result of other post-Commonwealth Games regeneration in the area.

Under the deal brokered by China last year to resume the stalled talks, the
US agreed to hold separate meetings with North Korea on the Macau bank
accounts.

The latest talks on this issue ended in Beijing on Wednesday but afterwards
a source told Reuters that the North Koreans might threaten to conduct a
second nuclear test at the resumption of six-party talks next week if the US
did not lift the Macau financial bans.

The importance of dealing with gambling before it takes hold is highlighted
by research showing that by the time most compulsive gamblers seek help,
they are hugely in debt and their family life is a shambles. Around 80%
seriously consider suicide, and up to 20% attempt or succeed in killing
themselves. Three studies of Gamblers Anonymous members and others in
treatment also found that roughly two-thirds admitted to committing crimes
or fraud to finance their gambling; while in another study, 47% of the
Gamblers Anonymous members surveyed admitted to engaging in some form of
insurance fraud, embezzlement or arson.

"What started as a simple bit of fun almost ended up costing me my life,
says one reformed gambler. I couldn't sleep, couldn't pay my bills, was
constantly lying to cover up what I'd been doing, but I simply couldn't
stop. I used to steal money from my wife's purse, and was making her and our
family's life an absolute misery. Fortunately a work colleague spotted that
I had a problem and persuaded me to see a specialist counsellor. If he
hadn't, I might not be here today."

To help employers deal with these issues, Carole Spiers Group operates a
nationwide network of fully trained counsellors, capable of providing
specialist advice on the best ways of tackling gambling addiction. Carole
has also contributed an article on gambling at work to Gambling Trends,
published by Independence Educational Publishers, click link to view
details.

'If you suspect an employee is regularly engaged in internet gambling, use a
performance review to draw attention to any concerns. Prior to this, talk to
the employee about any stressors they are experiencing, as people can gamble
when they see 'no way out', and an early intervention could resolve this,'
concludes Carole Spiers.

'If their work appears to be suffering you should ensure regular appraisals
especially if jobs are not completed on time. If you find someone has been
gambling online during work hours, use an informal warning, followed by a
more formal approach if the problem persists. And in extreme cases,
seriously consider recommending the employee for help with their gambling
addiction.'

"Defendant is willing to accede to the demands of the Chinese autocrats to
block the search term 'democracy,'" the complaint states, "but when it comes
to the protection and well-being of our nation's innocent children,
Defendant refuses to spend a dime's worth of resources to block child
pornography from reaching children."

In repsonse to the charge, a Google spokesperson said that the company would
remove such material from its website where it had been made aware of it.
This policy is consistent with UK and US law, which states that a search
engine must remove illegal material, when it has been brought to its
attention.

It is not inconceivable that the scope of the Unlawful Internet Gambling
Enforcement Act of 2006, combined with a mindset that links online gambling
with child pornography, will lead to U.S. Attorneys or state Attorney
Generals enforcing a major clampdown on online gambling advertisements. This
is likely to include requests to google and yahoo to remove links to any
sites that are known to be violating the act.

"We would need to take all the facts into full consideration and York
residents must have a say in any application," he said.

"But if the local community supports the idea, I think York could benefit
greatly from having a casino.

"York is a historic city that relies on tourism. A casino would create jobs
and draw in a new kind of visitor, one who likes to gamble and be
entertained.

"Gambling already exists in the city - betting offices, amusement arcades
and even in internet cafes. A casino provides facilities to gamble in a
strictly controlled and regulated environment. It could be a great source of
revenue and additional visitors.

"But there has to be a full debate as to whether the residents of York want
it. The main concern really is the necessary steps to ensure that any
gambling in the city would not be a source of crime, disorder or antisocial
behaviour. Children and other vulnerable people should also be protected
from being harmed or exploited by gambling."

The city may have already missed the boat, warns Neil Horwell, one of the
businessmen behind proposals for an £8 million casino and leisure complex
off Foss Islands road.

Mr Horwell said he and his associates would push ahead with their plans.
"But realistically, I think City of York Council has been so slow in
recognising the need for a casino they have let the ship leave the harbour,"
he said.

That was a wasted opportunity, he said. York without a casino was "like not
having a racecourse".

Jones said each of the four counties could add that many good-paying jobs
with health care benefits by adding table games.

"Tell these legislators to 'let's save these jobs, let's expand this
business in West Virginia, and let's help these people keep their jobs.
Let's
vote.'"

Hancock County Commissioner Dan Greathouse portrayed Mountaineer Track as a
good neighbor, making up shortfalls in the United Way's budget, giving money
to boys and girls clubs and buying holiday turkeys for the jobless.

Don't look for a big change in the Lottery because a new governor has taken
office. Gov. Eliot Spitzer hasn't taken a position on the Lottery, according
to spokeswoman Christine Anderson.

Critics of the Lottery in the state Legislature introduced several bills
last year that would place restrictions on advertising and other
regulations, but they languished in committee.

Larkin said the bills introduced, like changing the legal gambling age from
18 to 21 or limiting where Lottery vending machines can be, aren't victims
of typical Albany gridlock. They're just not realistic.

That hasn't dissuaded some in the Legislature from hammering away at the
issue that they fear will cost the state more in the long run.

"The problem is that state government is addicted to gambling," said
Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, D-Buffalo. "Under the Pataki administration, we have
seen one of the largest expansions of state-sponsored gambling in New York
state from all of the casinos and all the expansion of the video slot
machines."

In the last five years, Hoyt has proposed several restrictions on the
Lottery. Few have made it out of committee. Meanwhile, he has seen
advertisements become increasingly sophisticated.

"They are flashier and more seductive and more misleading than ever before,"
Hoyt said of the ads, since they emphasize more than ever the extremely rare
event of getting rich by just buying a ticket. "And they certainly don't
offer the truth about the 'dollar and a dream.' They talk about becoming a
millionaire, but the chances of you succeeding are a million to one."

Hoyt called for the state to advertise the odds of winning in television
commercial and print ads.

Sen. Frank Padavan, R-Queens, another critic of the Lottery, also introduced
a measure that would require the odds of winning to be shown in
advertisements.

"It advertises in a fashion that is obscene using every gimmick you can
think of," Padavan said. "They latch on in some way or another to entice
individuals and get young people to play as well."

Hoyt and Padavan both want to raise the legal age to gamble from 18 to 21.
That, too, has remained in committees of both houses. Children as young as
10 can develop a gambling problem, according to anti-gambling advocates.

So what persuaded Tessa Jowell to welcome supercasinos to Britain's shores
with open arms? The answer is that the Las Vegas cartel, already under
pressure at home, targeted Britain as the "soft underbelly" of new-wave
gaming in Europe. Either the law or the mafia had the market sewn up in
Scandinavia, France, Italy, Germany and Spain. Blair's government was
regarded as an easy touch, and tens of millions of pounds were spent
lobbying for it. Philip Anschutz invited John Prescott to his Colorado ranch
not for the colour of his eyes. Anschutz's interest in the dome was as a
supercasino, as he made abundantly clear. The only amazement is that none of
the Vegas money appears to have reached Labour party coffers (or will I have
to eat these words?)

Blair and Jowell capitulated with astonishing speed. They passed no laws
against online gaming. Under the 2005 act Jowell said she wanted not one but
40 supercasinos and was beaten back only by the massed ranks of the church
and anti-addiction lobbies. She did not take no for an answer. She retreated
from 40 to eight and then to just one, an inexplicable outcome. Why make big
punters burn petrol crossing the country to Manchester rather than stay
closer to home? Why benefit just one operator and eliminate competition? If
super-gambling is to be suppressed, stop it. If not, leave it to the free
market. The appearance of limp-wristed semi-regulation was incoherent, like
a government trying to be half a virgin.

Jowell's department seems unable to carry the weight of moral responsibility
placed on it. Under pressure from the drinks lobby she legislated to
liberate alcohol consumption in pubs across the land - while those who
supply cannabis and ecstasy in those same pubs are imprisoned in ever
greater numbers. She allows thousands to be crammed into basement raves
across England's cities, yet persecutes any church or social club that dares
to put on a string quartet. She is for more gambling yet against "problem
gaming". There is no rhyme or reason to her nannydom.

Whenever the government tries to ban something people enjoy, it makes a
mess. It tried to ban off-course horse-race betting and had to capitulate to
the high-street betting shop. In an earlier age it capitulated to the gin
shop and the brothel, and then half-uncapitulated to the latter. Now it is
trying to pretend that it disapproves of high-stakes casino gambling while
at the same time wishing to appease the casino lobby.

I imagine this whole argument is on the way to oblivion. The supercasino is
so unappealing (and now inconveniently located) as to be easily undercut by
smaller local ones and by internet sites. In a few years we shall be reading
of casino bankruptcies and closures. The free market will make decisions
that ministers find it hard to make for themselves.

The one question remaining is by what moral compass the cabinet is guided.
How can Jowell and her colleagues patronise the alcohol and gambling lobbies
and yet blindly repress other indulgences and addictions, notably street
drugs. Why are they filling city centres with drunks and gamblers yet
filling prisons with drug users?

The obvious answer to the assault of the supercasino lobby would have been
to leave decisions to the cities in which operators wanted to locate their
premises and to decide on size and regional impact if necessary at planning
appeal. As long as gambling is legal and Blackpool council wants a larger
casino, it should not be the business of London or Jowell or the cabinet to
say no. This is not a matter of postcode morality but of postcode choice.
Instead the government has handed millions of pounds and thousands of jobs
to Manchester, which does not need them, and denied them to Blackpool, which
does. It is plain unfair.

On that scale, Delaware also does quite well, pulling in about $830 per
person for a total of $689 million a year.

"It's the excitement to win dollars just as any other lottery, but we are
are probably doing better than states that just offer Lotto products and
scratch products," said Norman Lingle, director of the South Dakota Lottery,
which was the first state to introduce video lottery, in 1989, a year after
legislators approved the state's lottery program.

If any state knows the value of VLTs, however, it's West Virginia.

In 1994, before VLTs, the state's lottery brought in $142 million, White
said. Last year, lottery sales totaled $1.4 billion. Of that, $942 million,
or nearly 70 percent, came from VLTs, she said. About $283 million was spent
on video gaming in 1999.

"It is a tourism industry. That is why the revenue is so high," said White,
noting the state's proximity to Cleveland, Pittsburgh and other major
metropolitan areas.

Still, there has been some criticism of video gaming, with some calling it
the most addictive form of gambling.

Residents in many states, however, welcome VLTs. In South Dakota, video
lottery revenues are deposited in the state's property-tax relief fund, and
provide an annual 30 percent reduction in property taxes, Lingle said.

The popularity of the terminals has led many states to expand their
operations. Pennsylvania lawmakers have authorized the use of up to 61,000
VLTs in gaming facilities.

And, taking a cue from the popular Mega Millions and Powerball multistate
lotteries, Delaware, Rhode Island and West Virginia have created Cashola,
the first multistate video lottery.

Jackpots start at $250,000 and grow until someone wins. It's expected that
jackpots will climb to about $1 million once a month.

When you're in the middle of a losing session you need to have patience to
work your way through it to come out in front. Don't be concerned if you go
on a bad streak, as each game is a new event and the previous results have
absolutely no impact on the next game. Statistically you are the same chance
of winning the next game as you were the last, no matter how many times the
dealer turns over Blackjack!

Be smart with your money and enjoy your time gambling at online casinos so
that you are never in a situation where you've lost more than you can
afford. Remember that gambling should always be fun and you'll enjoy it much
more when, thanks to your wise money management techniques, you still have
cash in the Online Slots when that huge jackpot strikes!

Some analysts, however, are skeptical about the accuracy of such high growth
rates and questioned the wisdom of any speculative investment in the
proposed zones.

"We are getting interest from various hotel chains in the Russian regions
but no particular interest expressed in the proposed gambling zones," said
Konstantin Demetriou, national director at the capital markets department of
Jones Lang La Salle.

With presidential elections scheduled before the law's implementation,
Demetriou questioned whether the gambling law would ever come into effect
and who would risk investing in the areas at such an early stage.

"It is far too early to talk about a possible surge in prices, and I
seriously doubt that the figures are as dramatic as claimed", said Oleg
Repchenko, director of the analytical department at IRN.ru, a web site that
tracks the market.

Lavrenty Gubin, spokesman for Storm International, one of the country's
biggest gaming companies, which runs the Super Slots chain and several
Moscow casinos, said his company had no intention of venturing into the
gambling zones before carrying out marketing research.

Also, although foreign gaming giants are backed by the necessary financial
resources, they will not be prepared to risk investing in the zones without
guarantees that the gambling law will come into effect and with the limited
infrastructure in place, Gubin said.

"This is Russia, and anything could happen. It is obvious that these zones
are not going to start functioning in 2 1/2 years," he said.

However, supporters of the gambling law see it as a way to wrest control of
the industry from the criminal elements that controlled it during the '90s.

Uprooting the gaming industry piecemeal and relocating it to remote
locations, with the state able to determine how any new operating contracts
are divvied up, will give the industry a clean start, proponents of the move
argue.