Some Muskegon County officials were wondering if they could still place an advisory question regarding a proposed gambling casino on the Nov. 4 election ballot, as long as an outside sponsor covered the costs.
The answer is no, according to state officials.
That seemingly narrows the options available to Muskegon County commissioners Tuesday, when they are expected to decide the fate of their plan to use the general election ballot to measure public sentiment about the casino proposal.
Last week, Chris Thomas, director of the Michigan Bureau of Elections, told county officials they had no legal right to spend public money to put a purely advisory question on the ballot.
For the complete story, please see Steve Gunn, Odds stacked against casino ballot plan, Muskegon Chronicle, September 8, 2008.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Autthorities Crack Down on Gaming Machines Used For "Amusement Purposes Only"
Authorities raided a corner bar in Southeast Baltimore yesterday and seized three video gaming machines that police said were used for illegal gambling, part of an effort by the Maryland Comptroller's Office to crack down on such devices in taverns and liquor establishments across the state.
Baltimore police vice detectives carrying a pry bar and a sledge hammer walked into the Colonial Inn at Eastern Avenue and Washington Street, ordered a handful of patrons to leave and seized the machines and $1,753. Police and agents with the comptroller's office also walked out with beer boxes stuffed with financial records.
The 3 p.m. raid was the second in as many days linked to the initiative announced in June by Comptroller Peter Franchot, who has vowed to use the tax collector's office to rid bars of gaming machines that in many cases are licensed for "amusement purposes only" but which state officials contend are really used for gambling.
For the complete story, please see Peter Hermann Video gaming machines seized, The Baltimore Sun, September 8, 2008.
Baltimore police vice detectives carrying a pry bar and a sledge hammer walked into the Colonial Inn at Eastern Avenue and Washington Street, ordered a handful of patrons to leave and seized the machines and $1,753. Police and agents with the comptroller's office also walked out with beer boxes stuffed with financial records.
The 3 p.m. raid was the second in as many days linked to the initiative announced in June by Comptroller Peter Franchot, who has vowed to use the tax collector's office to rid bars of gaming machines that in many cases are licensed for "amusement purposes only" but which state officials contend are really used for gambling.
For the complete story, please see Peter Hermann Video gaming machines seized, The Baltimore Sun, September 8, 2008.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Casino's Impact Both Good and Bad
When the Dowagiac-based Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians rolled the dice on New Buffalo Township, more than a few in the sleepy, quiet lakeside resort community — total population 4,668, including the township — feared the worst.
But a year after the opening of the Four Winds Casino Resort, even Mike Hosinski, arguably the casino's biggest opponent, agrees it's not the monster he thought it would be.
"It hasn't bothered me," he said. "There have been no noticeable derogatory effects yet. Or benefits."
A former New Buffalo business owner who now makes his home in nearby Rolling Prairie, Hosinski once led the New Buffalo-based Taxpayers of Michigan Against Casinos organization in its effort to keep out the casino. Through legal maneuvers, it succeeded in doing just that until its luck ran out.
Today, Hosinski says he's "running about 80 percent on my predictions," with that forecast heavily on the negative side. Although there has been an increase in traffic, he said the traffic congestion he had anticipated never materialized after the casino's first week of operation.
For the complete story, please see Lou Mumford, Four Winds Casino: Weighing the good and the bad, South Bend Tribune, September 2, 2008.
But a year after the opening of the Four Winds Casino Resort, even Mike Hosinski, arguably the casino's biggest opponent, agrees it's not the monster he thought it would be.
"It hasn't bothered me," he said. "There have been no noticeable derogatory effects yet. Or benefits."
A former New Buffalo business owner who now makes his home in nearby Rolling Prairie, Hosinski once led the New Buffalo-based Taxpayers of Michigan Against Casinos organization in its effort to keep out the casino. Through legal maneuvers, it succeeded in doing just that until its luck ran out.
Today, Hosinski says he's "running about 80 percent on my predictions," with that forecast heavily on the negative side. Although there has been an increase in traffic, he said the traffic congestion he had anticipated never materialized after the casino's first week of operation.
For the complete story, please see Lou Mumford, Four Winds Casino: Weighing the good and the bad, South Bend Tribune, September 2, 2008.
And the Winner of the Flat Screen TV is....
And the winner is of our flat-screen newsletter contest is.......Barbara Cheston from Lancaster, Pennsylvania!
Barbara is from the Heart Group, and she entered our contest in early August. Thanks to Barbara and to everyone for your tremendous feedback! We asked you to leave your audio comments for additional entries and we weren't disappointed. Don't just take our word for it, listen to our customers themselves with the audio on our Bingo Customer Testimonial Page.
We appreciate all of the positive comments that were left and ask you to keep them coming. Stay tuned to our website Wholesale Bingo Supplies for future contests.
Barbara is from the Heart Group, and she entered our contest in early August. Thanks to Barbara and to everyone for your tremendous feedback! We asked you to leave your audio comments for additional entries and we weren't disappointed. Don't just take our word for it, listen to our customers themselves with the audio on our Bingo Customer Testimonial Page.
We appreciate all of the positive comments that were left and ask you to keep them coming. Stay tuned to our website Wholesale Bingo Supplies for future contests.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Smaller Bingos Can't Compete with Tribal Interests
In recent years, charity bingo has been unable to compete with the richer prizes and slot machine-type bingo games allowed at Indian casinos in California. Alarmed by dwindling bingo revenues, the Catholic Church, one of the state's biggest charity bingo operators, pushed a bill by state Sen. Gill Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, to double the $250 prize limit in charity bingo games. Meanwhile at the behest of a handful of local charities, Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, introduced a bill to legalize bingo machines.
Unwilling to tolerate any serious competition with their gambling operations, the tribes initially fought both bills. As a chronology put together by The Sacramento Bee's Steve Wiegand makes clear, the tribes prevailed at almost every legislative hearing. Not coincidentally, the tribes have contributed $656,700 to 70 of the Legislature's 120 members in the first six months of 2008.
After the tribes announced their opposition, Steinberg quickly dropped his bill to allow electronic bingo at charity bingo parlors. The Cedillo bill was amended to give big charities the power to consolidate and simulcast their operations. Anything that might have constituted a real threat to the tribes' slot machine monopoly was deleted.
For the complete story, please see Editorial, If tribes want it – BINGO! – they get it
, SacBee.com, September 4, 2008.
Unwilling to tolerate any serious competition with their gambling operations, the tribes initially fought both bills. As a chronology put together by The Sacramento Bee's Steve Wiegand makes clear, the tribes prevailed at almost every legislative hearing. Not coincidentally, the tribes have contributed $656,700 to 70 of the Legislature's 120 members in the first six months of 2008.
After the tribes announced their opposition, Steinberg quickly dropped his bill to allow electronic bingo at charity bingo parlors. The Cedillo bill was amended to give big charities the power to consolidate and simulcast their operations. Anything that might have constituted a real threat to the tribes' slot machine monopoly was deleted.
For the complete story, please see Editorial, If tribes want it – BINGO! – they get it
, SacBee.com, September 4, 2008.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Billionaire Wins Battle, Won't Have to Pay Gambling Loss
An Arab billionaire gambler known as the “Fat Man” won his High Court battle yesterday over £2 million lost in a night of blackjack at a prestigious London casino.
In a damaging judgment, Aspinall’s Club in Mayfair was found by Mr Justice Teare to have given illegal credit to Fouad al-Zayat in the hope that he would carry on gambling while trying to pay off his debt. That breach of Gaming Act principles meant the club failed in its attempt to recoup the money lost by the colourful businessman, who bounced the £2 million cheque after a row over a croupier.
For the complete story, please see Dominic Kennedy, 'Fat Man' wins legal battle over £2m gambling debt, The Times, September 4, 2008.
In a damaging judgment, Aspinall’s Club in Mayfair was found by Mr Justice Teare to have given illegal credit to Fouad al-Zayat in the hope that he would carry on gambling while trying to pay off his debt. That breach of Gaming Act principles meant the club failed in its attempt to recoup the money lost by the colourful businessman, who bounced the £2 million cheque after a row over a croupier.
For the complete story, please see Dominic Kennedy, 'Fat Man' wins legal battle over £2m gambling debt, The Times, September 4, 2008.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Some Guidelines for Your Bingo's Layout and Location (Part 3)
Before, we discussed Some Guidelines for Your Bingo's Layout and Location Part 1 and Part 2. In those articles we talked about hall size, lighting, tables and chairs, and laying out your sales area. Today, we'll finish this conversation and talk a little about both the bingo playing area and the concession area.
Bingo Playing Area
You always want to keep your bingo players comfort in mind when establishing your bingo games' playing area. If possible, customers should be given comfortable tables and chairs that are spaced so that everyone has clear views of the bingo machine, at least one bingo flashboard, and the bingo caller.
Air conditioning and heat should be set at comfortable levels during the appropriate time of year. If your building lacks proper air conditioning, fans should be provided at the very least. In fact, it's not a bad idea to have a few fans handy in case there's ever a problem with the air conditioning. Also, if possible, make sure you set up a non-smoking section away from the smokers if your state still allows smoking.
Concession Area
Like any retail business, you want your sales area to be arranged in a way that makes the most sense from a customer service perspective. Have supplies readily available and nearby, make sure your preparation area is large enough and sanitary at all times, and always provide a number of trash receptacles both for you and your customers.
Speed is extremely important to bingo players, and so it's important for your bingo concession. The last thing that players want is to miss out on a bingo game because they're left waiting to place an order or to receive their food. So, focus on making your concession as responsive as possible. If your concession is lagging, look at McDonald's or some other business for ideas on how to speed things up.
Other Building Considerations
Finally, you want to consider a few more things such as:
Do you have adequate parking? If not, is there anything that can be done? Perhaps, you could make arrangements to use a neighbor's parking during their off hours.
Is the security and lighting for your building adequate? Everyone likes a lighted parking lot, especially bingo players that are often leaving later in the evening. It's also good to consider hiring security to guard against any potential problems in your area.
Are your restrooms and entranceways both clean and handicap accessible? This is important for obvious reasons. Bathroom cleanliness is frequently a reflection of a business' overall customer service, and dirty bathrooms will keep bingo players from coming back.
This is the same with handicap accessibility. If you have bingo players that are wheelchair bound or facing some other impediment, make sure you do what you can to help them out. Have adequate parking close to the building and make sure that any ramps or other building requirements are kept unobstructed and available for use.
Bingo Playing Area
You always want to keep your bingo players comfort in mind when establishing your bingo games' playing area. If possible, customers should be given comfortable tables and chairs that are spaced so that everyone has clear views of the bingo machine, at least one bingo flashboard, and the bingo caller.
Air conditioning and heat should be set at comfortable levels during the appropriate time of year. If your building lacks proper air conditioning, fans should be provided at the very least. In fact, it's not a bad idea to have a few fans handy in case there's ever a problem with the air conditioning. Also, if possible, make sure you set up a non-smoking section away from the smokers if your state still allows smoking.
Concession Area
Like any retail business, you want your sales area to be arranged in a way that makes the most sense from a customer service perspective. Have supplies readily available and nearby, make sure your preparation area is large enough and sanitary at all times, and always provide a number of trash receptacles both for you and your customers.
Speed is extremely important to bingo players, and so it's important for your bingo concession. The last thing that players want is to miss out on a bingo game because they're left waiting to place an order or to receive their food. So, focus on making your concession as responsive as possible. If your concession is lagging, look at McDonald's or some other business for ideas on how to speed things up.
Other Building Considerations
Finally, you want to consider a few more things such as:
Do you have adequate parking? If not, is there anything that can be done? Perhaps, you could make arrangements to use a neighbor's parking during their off hours.
Is the security and lighting for your building adequate? Everyone likes a lighted parking lot, especially bingo players that are often leaving later in the evening. It's also good to consider hiring security to guard against any potential problems in your area.
Are your restrooms and entranceways both clean and handicap accessible? This is important for obvious reasons. Bathroom cleanliness is frequently a reflection of a business' overall customer service, and dirty bathrooms will keep bingo players from coming back.
This is the same with handicap accessibility. If you have bingo players that are wheelchair bound or facing some other impediment, make sure you do what you can to help them out. Have adequate parking close to the building and make sure that any ramps or other building requirements are kept unobstructed and available for use.
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