We'll Announce the Winner Tomorrow....We Promise

We're sorry, We're sorry, We're sorry. We're sorry a hundred times over.

The winner of the flat-screen TV in our bingo newsletter drawing has been determined. But, we've had some trouble getting our people around to contact him or her, and so this has taken way longer than we wanted.

But we promise, even if we can't get everyone on the same page, we'll make sure that some sort of an announcement is made here tomorrow. Again, we're sorry for the delay and thanks for your patience.

Greektown to Get Bigger

Greektown Casino is hoping to make itself more competitive with the other two major players in the Detroit area with a recent refurbishment and coming expansion.

Construction crews are nearly finished with their work on the property, allowing surrounding roads that have been closed for almost a year to be re-opened. Those roads prevented potential customers from patronizing the casino.

Greektown Casino recently installed 600 new slot machines to bring the casino’s total to 2,600 as well as a high-roller slot area that’s slated to open in November.

The casino also expanded the slot floor by 33 percent and has new machines including $1 Wheel of Fortune progressives, Triple Double Diamond Free Games, Double Strike Gold, Super Lucky 2x3x4x5 Pay, Super Times Pay Free Games, Lil Lady, Wolf Run, Lion Dance, Desert Spirit, Mayan Riches, Arctic Fox, Lady of the Lake and Red Lions 1 for 1. The casino now has over 100,000 square feet of total gaming space.

For the complete story, please see GT Staff, Greektown set to expand , Gaming Today, September 2, 2008.

Bingo Bill Takes Interesting Path to Passage

This is a story about how laws are made in California. It's about poor kids in Los Angeles who lack tuition for parochial school, and disabled kids in Sacramento whose beloved therapy program is threatened. It's about casino tribes, Catholic priests, high school sports and blind people. Oh, and bingo.

Early 2008: Gil Cedillo is talking to John Moretta. Cedillo is a 54-year-old state senator from Los Angeles. Moretta is the 67-year-old monsignor of Church of the Resurrection Catholic Church in the east L.A. neighborhood of Boyle Heights. A lifelong resident of the Heights, Cedillo received his first Holy Communion at Resurrection.

Moretta tells Cedillo that the parish's bingo games are suffering, and that unless something is done, the parish will have to stop offering the hundred or so scholarships to the parish school that it extends to poor families.

For the complete story, please see Steve Wiegand Bingo bill took circuitous route through Capitol
, SacBee.com, September 3, 2008.

No News on Proposed Smoking Ban in Bingos

Well, it's been awhile since we posted any kind of update on the proposed smoking ban in Michigan. As you might recall, both the Senate and the House passed versions of a smoking ban. The Senate's version exempted no one, while the House version exempts casinos and charity bingos. And, that's where the stalemate has occurred up to this moment.

At this time, there is nothing new to report. The stalemate continues. However, our sources are expecting this legislation to be back on everyone's mind this fall and if not before, definately after this November's election.

Check back here from time to time for the latest news.

We Haven't Forgotten About Our Bingo Newsletter Contest

The winner of our bingo newsletter flat screen giveaway will be announced on this blog sometime today. Currently, we are compiling all of the entries (there were 1,000s) in one central location.

Check back later today to find out if you might be the lucky winner!!!


UPDATE: It looks like the announcement of the winner will have to wait until tomorrow.

As it happens, the random winner has been selected, but there was a little difficulty contacting this person. So, we will try again tomorrow and if we can't contact him or her, we will go ahead and make the announcement anyway.

Also, look for our latest bingo newsletter to go out sometime in the next day or two.

Legislature Bans Certain Class of Electronic Bingo Games

A bill that would prohibit charities from using electronic bingo games was approved Friday by the state Legislature at the insistence of California Indian tribes.

The compromise by Democratic Sen. Gil Cedillo of Los Angeles prohibits the games, which work like slot machines. But it lets many charities employ so-called remote-caller technology, which uses audio or video equipment to run bingo games at multiple locations simultaneously.

California's attorney general and Indian tribes say electronic bingo violates state agreements that give tribes sole use of slot machines.

Attorney General Jerry Brown moved to stop their use by charities, but a federal judge issued an order in June temporarily preventing the state from seizing the machines. The judge's ruling came in a lawsuit by charities that rely on the revenue and by two people with disabilities who said the e-bingo machines enable them to play the game.

For more information, please see Calif. Senate approves ban on electronic bingo, Associated Press, August 29, 2008.

Study to Determine Casino Impact

As the frame of the FireKeepers casino takes shape near I-94 and 11-Mile Road, proponents eagerly anticipate new jobs and economic growth while opponents worry about an increase in crime, traffic and social problems.

The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi's $300 million complex is scheduled to open next summer after years of government red tape, court battles and controversy.

What type of impact will it have on the community? That will be the focus of an ongoing study by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, which last week revealed the baseline measurements by which its economists will assess how the casino affects Calhoun County.

For the complete story, please see In Your Voice Study can be valuable gauge of casino's impact, Battle Creek Enquirer, August 24, 2008.