2009 January 01 Gambling News, Events and Happenings

The voter-approved law to put money from casinos into the state’s school funding formula is irking some lawmakers because some districts won’t benefit.

In the year since the statewide smoking ban kicked in, many bar owners throughout Illinois say theyve lost business, while casinos blame a drop in business on the ban and local governments that depend on gambling-tax revenue say they are sharing in the pain. But the complaints arent universal. Some bar owners say theyve survived and even thrived since the ban, and organizations that …

FORMER mafia crime boss Michael Franzese says top-level tennis matches are being influenced by gamblers and the sport would be his prime focus were he still in the business of impacting outcomes.

St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis is considering asking voters to allow him to run for another term and to allow the parish to construct a high-end casino on the water in Slidell a pair of measures sure to be controversial.

A woman celebrated New Year’s Eve by hitting a $110,321 jackpot on a 25-cent Wheel of Fortune slot machine at the Ho-Chunk Casino in the Wisconsin Dells area. The winner, who asked to remain anonymous, met some friends at the casino for dinner, IGT, the company that makes the slot machine, said in a news release. The woman had invested $60 in the machine when she won the top progressive jackpot, …

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Just weeks after voters approved a casino ballot measure, Missouri lawmakers are looking to redirect the money that had been earmarked for the state’s school funding formula.

LOS ANGELES — Californians must abide by dozens of new state laws taking effect Jan. 1, including bans on text-messaging while driving, electronic bingo machines and bidding on state contracts by companies that do business with the government of Sudan, which the U.S. has accused of genocide. The California Highway Patrol plans no grace period before enforcing the law that takes effect today …

NEW YORK — Consumers cut back on discretionary spending in 2008, draining casino operators’ earnings and pushing the sector’s stocks down — in at least one case more than 90 percent — and resulting in job cuts and a pullback on d

KYLE LANZER/SUN NEWSLoretta Cerveny and her husband, Bob, of Broadview Heights play bingo at the Willow Room at the Rec Center in Broadview Heights. KYLE LANZER/SUN NEWSJanet Korecko of Broadview Heights playing bingo at the Rec Center in Broadview Heights….