Sunday, September 18, 2005

JuneauEmpire.com: Opinion: Alaska editorial: Some forms of gambling already exist in Alaska 09/16/05

JuneauEmpire.com: Opinion: Alaska editorial: Some forms of gambling already exist in Alaska 09/16/05: "Alaska editorial: Some forms of gambling already exist in Alaska

This editorial first appeared in the Voice of the (Anchorage) Times:

It would be one thing, perhaps, to condemn poker parlors as an evil crack-in-the-door that will soon open the way for big gambling operations in Anchorage and Alaska - if it weren't for the fact that gambling is rampant here already.
Unfortunately, we opened that door a long time ago. Once, the only authorized gambling in Alaska was the annual guessing game about the day and hour when the ice would go out every spring on the Tanana River at Nenana.
Sure, there was other gambling. The police every now and then raided a local club that had a few slot machines hidden away from the eyes of those who weren't members. There was pan and other games on which money was wagered.
But along came bingo parlors and pull tabs under the guise of being a way to raise money for charity (with the owners pocketing by far the biggest percentage of the take) - not to mention charity raffles by the thousands.
There was gambling here and gambling there, and big money everywhere. Various legislative acts over the years have condoned gambling while at the same time piously pretending it doesn't really exist.
But state lottery? Oh, no, that would be bad. Casinos? Heaven forbid, those are for Las Vegas and other gambling meccas. Card rooms? Surely not, because people would sit in them all day and night and gamble. Has anybody visited one of Anchorage's major bingo parlors lately?
We long ago opposed legalized gambling in Alaska. The Nenana Ice Classic was as far as we wanted to go. But that was a battle we lost during many years past. Like it "

Monticello Times

Monticello Times: "� Saturday and Sunday: St. Henry Catholic Church's annual Fall Festival kicks off Saturday night with a bilingual mass at 5 p.m., followed by a community street dance at 6 p.m. featuring the music of wild country. On Sunday, the Fall Festival continues, with a turkey dinner 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. The band Damascus Road performs at noon, and Mariachi band plays 2:30-4:30 p.m. A raffle drawing for $6,000 in total prizes is at 5 p.m. Festivities include bingo, a truck and auto show, craft boutique, calk walk and sweet shop. games for children and adults, a beer tent and pull tabs."

The Oakland Press: Local News

The Oakland Press: Local News

Sunday, September 04, 2005

Signature Gathering To Put Gaming Commission On Ballot Approved

Signature Gathering To Put Gaming Commission On Ballot Approved: "


:: G A M B L I N G N E W S ::


Signature Gathering To Put Gaming Commission On Ballot Approved
Sep 04, 2005

Lt. Gov. Loren Leman on Thursday said sponsors can begin gathering signatures for a ballot initiative that would create a commission with the power to regulate and expand gambling in Alaska. The proposed commission would not need the Legislature's permission to allow any game of chance in the state, including casino games, lotteries and slot machines. Gambling in Alaska is limited to games like bingo, pull tabs and raffles.
The seven-member commission would be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature.
Ken Jacobus, the lawyer for the sponsors, believes the group should be able to collect the 31,451 signatures from registered Alaska voters over the next year to qualify the initiative for the 2006 ballot. The signatures must come from all around the state.
'We are confident we can (collect enough),' Jacobus said.
The ballot initiative is sponsored by people associated with a bar and restaurant industry trade group, which in past years has lobbied unsuccessfully in the Legislature for video gambling machines in bars and clubs.
The trade group has claimed that the public supports gambling proposals. However, proposals to legalize card rooms for gamblers, an Anchorage casino, a state lottery and video poker have all failed to pass the Legislature in recent years.
The Alaska Department of Law said there are potential legal problems with taking the power to legalize gambling away from the Legislature and giving it to a commission. But the department said that could be sorted out after Alaskans had a chance to vote on the ballot initiative.
The state's lawyers also said allowing new kinds of gambling anywhere in Alaska could trigger a federal Indian law granting tribal rights to start gaming operations on "Indian Land" in the state. There is a dispute, however, over whether anything qualifying as Indian Land exists in Alaska, other than the reservation of Metlakatla in the Southeast panhandle.