Here are my newest Happy Holidays greeting cards. Click to purchase!
Enjoy Don
Friday, December 04, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are now 7-4 after beating the Detroit Lions today. Its been a great Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Check out my new designs!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Check out my new designs!
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Green Bay Packer loss!
What a disappointing loss to the Vikings! I'm still feeling loss hangover! The good thing is there is still a lot of games to go. The Packers will get better and improve each week.
The next opponent is Tampa Bay Buccaneers! Go Packers!
The next opponent is Tampa Bay Buccaneers! Go Packers!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Green Bay Packers vs Cleveland Browns 10-25-09
I will taking a road trip to see the Packers take on the Cleveland Browns. And a stop at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! This will be my first trip to Cleveland. I have only heard good things about this city. We will see how it goes with a sea of Green and Gold invading town.
I will post some pictures and videos on my blog.
I have recently post some new designs: Tribal Soldier at my DD Baz design page.
Thanks for all of the support!
I will post some pictures and videos on my blog.
I have recently post some new designs: Tribal Soldier at my DD Baz design page.
Thanks for all of the support!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
The 2009 Green Bay Packers
Anticipating a great start for the Packer 2009 season tonight! Bear meat for dinner!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Changes to Texas gaming laws won’t come easy
By S.E. Ruckman, Today correspondent
Story Published: Aug 7, 2009
EL PASO, Texas – Any hopes that Indian tribes in Texas had to resurrect gaming in their state were laid to rest again after legislators voted down efforts to further a related bill in May.
Meanwhile, another tribe, the Fort Sill Apache of Oklahoma, are forging plans for its debated gaming site in New Mexico.
The efforts represent tribes tackling obstacles to sovereignty regarding gaming, officials for both tribes said.
“We’ve been unsuccessful, but we’ve been close,” said Tom Diamond, tribal counsel for the 1,400-member Tiguas.
On the Tigua end, the tribe has backed several bills that would help them receive state casino licenses. Their political involvement was spurred by the closing of its Speaking Rock Casino in 2002, by now Texas Sen. John Cornyn, once the Lone Star State’s attorney general.
Two other recognized tribes in Texas are the Alabama Coushatta and the Kickapoos of Texas. The Kickapoo currently have poker and bingo but also back the pro-Indian gaming moves in Texas. Opponents to Texas gaming said allowing tribal gaming will increase violent crime, raise bankruptcies and spawn gaming addictions.
The window on changing current restrictive gaming laws in Texas faces further resistance because Texas lawmakers meet every two years for a four-month session. That time frame hampers and helps the Tiguas develop a plan that would allow the tribe to reopen its casino, officials said.
“Texans don’t want to recognize that Indians have any rights at all,” Diamond said. “Their sovereignty policy amounts to annihilation.”
A reopened Speaking Rock Casino would mean an estimated $60 million annually for the small tribe that now relies mostly on federal grants to stay alive. The tribe has been forced to cut back on services due to the economic downturn.
“Can you imagine what a small tribe can do with that kind of money,” Diamond said.
Other developments have held the tribe back since the tribe paid former lobbyist Jack Abramoff $4.2 million to secure help in reopening the casino after siding with the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana to back its closing.
Also, a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling said Texas laws against casino gambling stands for all Texas tribes. A more recent setback for gaming came when Texas was able to leverage stimulus funds that allowed them to dismiss tribal gaming as an answer to a revenue shortfall. Texas gaming proponents estimate $4.5 billion a year could come from casino gaming.
Meanwhile, the Fort Sill Apaches are
visualizing their Apache Homelands Casino near Deming, N.M. as there to stay, said tribal chairman, Jeff Houser. The 600-member tribe operates one casino in Lawton, Okla. less than one mile from the Comanche Nation facility. Houser said the 30-acre site could be a boon to an area that has little industry.
“It’s a desire (for the tribe) to return to our homelands.”
The tribe raised the ire of New Mexico officials when it opened a second casino outside its current tribal jurisdiction in southwest Oklahoma. The issue here is one of successfully realizing a post-1988 trust land acquisition, Houser said.
Historical shuffling also plays a part in this debate as the tribe says it’s the successor to the Chiricahua Apaches which claimed a homeland of 16 million acres on land located in New Mexico and Arizona. The tribe is reclaiming its land base and asserting its sovereignty, tribal officials said.
After opening the Apache Homelands casino, the tribe pulled down gaming machines at the site it had bought from the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Oklahoma. State officials said the casino is illegal because the tribe didn’t have a Class III gaming compact with them.
But Houser says plans are moving forward and the tribe runs a steady paper bingo and pull tabs operation on its purchased property. Class II gaming is allowed by federal statute without state compacts, according to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.
Houser and other casino officials said the plan is to maintain an operative presence in New Mexico until it secures a meeting with state officials.
A Freedom of Information Act request was submitted to the National Indian Gaming Commission on the Tigua and Fort Sill Apache decisions and is pending.
Story Published: Aug 7, 2009
EL PASO, Texas – Any hopes that Indian tribes in Texas had to resurrect gaming in their state were laid to rest again after legislators voted down efforts to further a related bill in May.
Meanwhile, another tribe, the Fort Sill Apache of Oklahoma, are forging plans for its debated gaming site in New Mexico.
The efforts represent tribes tackling obstacles to sovereignty regarding gaming, officials for both tribes said.
“We’ve been unsuccessful, but we’ve been close,” said Tom Diamond, tribal counsel for the 1,400-member Tiguas.
On the Tigua end, the tribe has backed several bills that would help them receive state casino licenses. Their political involvement was spurred by the closing of its Speaking Rock Casino in 2002, by now Texas Sen. John Cornyn, once the Lone Star State’s attorney general.
Two other recognized tribes in Texas are the Alabama Coushatta and the Kickapoos of Texas. The Kickapoo currently have poker and bingo but also back the pro-Indian gaming moves in Texas. Opponents to Texas gaming said allowing tribal gaming will increase violent crime, raise bankruptcies and spawn gaming addictions.
The window on changing current restrictive gaming laws in Texas faces further resistance because Texas lawmakers meet every two years for a four-month session. That time frame hampers and helps the Tiguas develop a plan that would allow the tribe to reopen its casino, officials said.
“Texans don’t want to recognize that Indians have any rights at all,” Diamond said. “Their sovereignty policy amounts to annihilation.”
A reopened Speaking Rock Casino would mean an estimated $60 million annually for the small tribe that now relies mostly on federal grants to stay alive. The tribe has been forced to cut back on services due to the economic downturn.
“Can you imagine what a small tribe can do with that kind of money,” Diamond said.
Other developments have held the tribe back since the tribe paid former lobbyist Jack Abramoff $4.2 million to secure help in reopening the casino after siding with the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana to back its closing.
Also, a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling said Texas laws against casino gambling stands for all Texas tribes. A more recent setback for gaming came when Texas was able to leverage stimulus funds that allowed them to dismiss tribal gaming as an answer to a revenue shortfall. Texas gaming proponents estimate $4.5 billion a year could come from casino gaming.
Meanwhile, the Fort Sill Apaches are
visualizing their Apache Homelands Casino near Deming, N.M. as there to stay, said tribal chairman, Jeff Houser. The 600-member tribe operates one casino in Lawton, Okla. less than one mile from the Comanche Nation facility. Houser said the 30-acre site could be a boon to an area that has little industry.
“It’s a desire (for the tribe) to return to our homelands.”
The tribe raised the ire of New Mexico officials when it opened a second casino outside its current tribal jurisdiction in southwest Oklahoma. The issue here is one of successfully realizing a post-1988 trust land acquisition, Houser said.
Historical shuffling also plays a part in this debate as the tribe says it’s the successor to the Chiricahua Apaches which claimed a homeland of 16 million acres on land located in New Mexico and Arizona. The tribe is reclaiming its land base and asserting its sovereignty, tribal officials said.
After opening the Apache Homelands casino, the tribe pulled down gaming machines at the site it had bought from the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Oklahoma. State officials said the casino is illegal because the tribe didn’t have a Class III gaming compact with them.
But Houser says plans are moving forward and the tribe runs a steady paper bingo and pull tabs operation on its purchased property. Class II gaming is allowed by federal statute without state compacts, according to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.
Houser and other casino officials said the plan is to maintain an operative presence in New Mexico until it secures a meeting with state officials.
A Freedom of Information Act request was submitted to the National Indian Gaming Commission on the Tigua and Fort Sill Apache decisions and is pending.
Woman banned from Conroe bingo hall
05:43 PM CDT on Friday, August 7, 2009
By Jeff McShan / 11 News
CONROE, Texas – A Huntsville woman says she was banned from a bingo hall in Conroe after she said she noticed something fishy and started asking questions.
Huntsville woman banned from playing bingo
Veronica Smith received a letter that consisted of only one sentence: “'You are no longer eligible to play bingo in this hall or be on the premises per Commander Kenny' -- whatever his last name is,” Smith said, reading the letter aloud.
The letter was from Commander Kenny Shelsteder, who runs the VFW Post 4709 in Conroe.
The VFW Post is where bingo is played Tuesday, Thursday and twice on Friday.
“I love bingo. I have been playing for over 30 years,” said Smith.
Now Smith isn't even allowed in the parking lot of the Conroe bingo hall. In fact, while she was doing the interview with 11 News across the street from the bingo hall, the VFW Post called the police.
“I feel terrible. It makes me mad. It makes me real mad because they have a lot of my money,” said Smith.
Smith says she was kicked out of the bingo hall after she called the Bingo Commission and filed a complaint. She told them the VFW Post was cheating.
One of her allegations is that bingo hall employees get to play and then mysteriously win a lot of money.
“On the pull tabs one night, she (an employee) won seven times. That is just unreal,” Smith said.
11 New has confirmed that the bingo hall is under investigation by the state. We also found two other patrons who believe cheating is taking place there.
But Commander Shelsteder says that's not happening and claims Smith was banned not because she filed a complaint, but for other reasons.
“She can’t keep her mouth shut. People around her can't play their bingo right. She accuses all my workers of stealing, lying and cheating,” Commander Kenny Shelsteder said.
“He's lying. He's lying, and anybody will tell you that,” Smith said.
Regardless of who is right in this case, Shelsteder says he can ban anyone from the hall.
In the meantime, Smith has called the Bingo Commission again, hoping they might do something because her life without bingo just isn't the same.
By Jeff McShan / 11 News
CONROE, Texas – A Huntsville woman says she was banned from a bingo hall in Conroe after she said she noticed something fishy and started asking questions.
Huntsville woman banned from playing bingo
Veronica Smith received a letter that consisted of only one sentence: “'You are no longer eligible to play bingo in this hall or be on the premises per Commander Kenny' -- whatever his last name is,” Smith said, reading the letter aloud.
The letter was from Commander Kenny Shelsteder, who runs the VFW Post 4709 in Conroe.
The VFW Post is where bingo is played Tuesday, Thursday and twice on Friday.
“I love bingo. I have been playing for over 30 years,” said Smith.
Now Smith isn't even allowed in the parking lot of the Conroe bingo hall. In fact, while she was doing the interview with 11 News across the street from the bingo hall, the VFW Post called the police.
“I feel terrible. It makes me mad. It makes me real mad because they have a lot of my money,” said Smith.
Smith says she was kicked out of the bingo hall after she called the Bingo Commission and filed a complaint. She told them the VFW Post was cheating.
One of her allegations is that bingo hall employees get to play and then mysteriously win a lot of money.
“On the pull tabs one night, she (an employee) won seven times. That is just unreal,” Smith said.
11 New has confirmed that the bingo hall is under investigation by the state. We also found two other patrons who believe cheating is taking place there.
But Commander Shelsteder says that's not happening and claims Smith was banned not because she filed a complaint, but for other reasons.
“She can’t keep her mouth shut. People around her can't play their bingo right. She accuses all my workers of stealing, lying and cheating,” Commander Kenny Shelsteder said.
“He's lying. He's lying, and anybody will tell you that,” Smith said.
Regardless of who is right in this case, Shelsteder says he can ban anyone from the hall.
In the meantime, Smith has called the Bingo Commission again, hoping they might do something because her life without bingo just isn't the same.
Proposal revamps how bingo is run
August 22, 2009
Ky. wants centralized purchasing, computerized record keeping
By Gregory A. Hall
ghall@courier-journal.com
RANKFORT, Ky. — Bingo halls and charities face an accounting nightmare — keeping records by hand — that results in lost supplies and revenues as they work with more than 20 distributors and manufacturers lining up supplies to put on fundraising games.
The state Department of Charitable Gaming wants to centralize purchasing for bingo and pull-tab supplies and computerize the charities' record keeping. The agency believes the steps will reduce prices, improve accountability and leave charities with more money to support their causes.
What exists now is very archaic and a burden, said Henry Lackey, the state commissioner of charitable gaming.
Based on audits of some of its charities, the department estimates that $100 million a year –— about a fifth of the total amount accounted for in charity games — goes unreported because of theft and clerical errors.
The state also estimates charities lose $600,000 a year from accepting bad checks and have to pay $300,000 for bookkeeping to deal with the current paperwork.
The proposed system would verify that checks are good, state bingo officers said.
Kentucky regulators want to seek proposals for suppliers of record-keeping software bingo equipment and pull tabs.
The state also wants to take bids to distribute the supplies purchased at the state-contracted prices.
Assuming the bids show the system would save money, state officials would seek legislation in January granting authority to implement the new system by fall 2010.
Some in the charitable gambling industry –— which in Kentucky saw $509million wagered in 2007, more than the $470million bet in the state on horse racing — question whether the proposed system would achieve those goals.
State charitable gambling officials expect a fight from distributors and manufacturers, some of whom stand to lose out if purchasing is centralized.
“I think this is a train wreck for the department to get involved in free trade,” said Kaven Rumpel, president of the Kentucky Charitable Gaming Association and owner of the Highview bingo hall, who said that the changes could result in less competition and higher prices for supplies — even though he likes some of the computerized record keeping that is proposed.
Charitable gambling officials declined to provide any financial estimates, which they say would tip off potential bidders and hurt the process.
The savings is expected to be sufficient to pay for the new system, in addition to allowing more money for the charities.
“We feel pretty confident in our number crunching or we wouldn't do this,” said Leah Cooper Boggs, director of the Division of Licensing and Compliance in the Department of Charitable Gaming.
Boggs said that competition among manufacturers largely would remain the same, and that manufacturers selected by the state could still subcontract with other manufacturers for certain games, if desired.
“We're not taking away the competitive process,” she said. Manufacturers are “still going to want to compete with each other because one manufacturer is still going to want to outsell another manufacturer. The only way they can do that is by putting the games in the market and taking out the games that they don't sell anymore just like they do now. That is not going to change.”
Boggs said competition would be removed from the distribution system.
Lackey said “ideally” there would be two distributors in the state, compared with 23 now.
“I think we need more information,” said Robert Castagna, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Kentucky, the public policy arm for the four Roman Catholic dioceses in Kentucky.
He said a meeting is set for this week between the department and the finance officers of the dioceses.
Castagna said his first reaction was positive, but “I think we need more details.”
Catholic groups, he said, are the single biggest group of licensees in the state.
The other two major entities in the charitable gambling world are volunteer fire departments and veterans groups, Lackey said.
Oliver Barber, an attorney who represents the Catholic Conference, the Kentucky Soccer Association and the Louisville Soccer Association, asked during a meeting of the Charitable Gaming Department's advisory board last week whether the changes could be made without legislative approval. He later said he fears other changes that could be made in the charitable gambling law if it's revisited by legislators.
“I think it's two-thirds great if they can figure out how to do it,” he said after that meeting. He said the plan would be easier to see if the state provided its estimates, but he said he agrees with its estimates of the cost of bad checks and accounting.
Others affiliated with the industry question whether it will work at all. “This sounds too good to be true,” said John Wilson, who represents the Kentucky Charitable Gaming Association on the department's advisory board, which unanimously endorsed the proposal last week.
Kevin Mills, leader of the St. Gabriel Catholic Church bingo, which is conducted in Jeffersontown, said that he also questions whether the plan will work because he believes manufacturers will be able to get a better price through the bidding than they would by ongoing competition in the current system.
“What they're basically doing is ruining all the competition, and … there's nothing anybody can do about it,” Mills said.
Reporter Gregory A. Hall can be reached at (502) 582-4087.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ky. wants centralized purchasing, computerized record keeping
By Gregory A. Hall
ghall@courier-journal.com
RANKFORT, Ky. — Bingo halls and charities face an accounting nightmare — keeping records by hand — that results in lost supplies and revenues as they work with more than 20 distributors and manufacturers lining up supplies to put on fundraising games.
The state Department of Charitable Gaming wants to centralize purchasing for bingo and pull-tab supplies and computerize the charities' record keeping. The agency believes the steps will reduce prices, improve accountability and leave charities with more money to support their causes.
What exists now is very archaic and a burden, said Henry Lackey, the state commissioner of charitable gaming.
Based on audits of some of its charities, the department estimates that $100 million a year –— about a fifth of the total amount accounted for in charity games — goes unreported because of theft and clerical errors.
The state also estimates charities lose $600,000 a year from accepting bad checks and have to pay $300,000 for bookkeeping to deal with the current paperwork.
The proposed system would verify that checks are good, state bingo officers said.
Kentucky regulators want to seek proposals for suppliers of record-keeping software bingo equipment and pull tabs.
The state also wants to take bids to distribute the supplies purchased at the state-contracted prices.
Assuming the bids show the system would save money, state officials would seek legislation in January granting authority to implement the new system by fall 2010.
Some in the charitable gambling industry –— which in Kentucky saw $509million wagered in 2007, more than the $470million bet in the state on horse racing — question whether the proposed system would achieve those goals.
State charitable gambling officials expect a fight from distributors and manufacturers, some of whom stand to lose out if purchasing is centralized.
“I think this is a train wreck for the department to get involved in free trade,” said Kaven Rumpel, president of the Kentucky Charitable Gaming Association and owner of the Highview bingo hall, who said that the changes could result in less competition and higher prices for supplies — even though he likes some of the computerized record keeping that is proposed.
Charitable gambling officials declined to provide any financial estimates, which they say would tip off potential bidders and hurt the process.
The savings is expected to be sufficient to pay for the new system, in addition to allowing more money for the charities.
“We feel pretty confident in our number crunching or we wouldn't do this,” said Leah Cooper Boggs, director of the Division of Licensing and Compliance in the Department of Charitable Gaming.
Boggs said that competition among manufacturers largely would remain the same, and that manufacturers selected by the state could still subcontract with other manufacturers for certain games, if desired.
“We're not taking away the competitive process,” she said. Manufacturers are “still going to want to compete with each other because one manufacturer is still going to want to outsell another manufacturer. The only way they can do that is by putting the games in the market and taking out the games that they don't sell anymore just like they do now. That is not going to change.”
Boggs said competition would be removed from the distribution system.
Lackey said “ideally” there would be two distributors in the state, compared with 23 now.
“I think we need more information,” said Robert Castagna, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Kentucky, the public policy arm for the four Roman Catholic dioceses in Kentucky.
He said a meeting is set for this week between the department and the finance officers of the dioceses.
Castagna said his first reaction was positive, but “I think we need more details.”
Catholic groups, he said, are the single biggest group of licensees in the state.
The other two major entities in the charitable gambling world are volunteer fire departments and veterans groups, Lackey said.
Oliver Barber, an attorney who represents the Catholic Conference, the Kentucky Soccer Association and the Louisville Soccer Association, asked during a meeting of the Charitable Gaming Department's advisory board last week whether the changes could be made without legislative approval. He later said he fears other changes that could be made in the charitable gambling law if it's revisited by legislators.
“I think it's two-thirds great if they can figure out how to do it,” he said after that meeting. He said the plan would be easier to see if the state provided its estimates, but he said he agrees with its estimates of the cost of bad checks and accounting.
Others affiliated with the industry question whether it will work at all. “This sounds too good to be true,” said John Wilson, who represents the Kentucky Charitable Gaming Association on the department's advisory board, which unanimously endorsed the proposal last week.
Kevin Mills, leader of the St. Gabriel Catholic Church bingo, which is conducted in Jeffersontown, said that he also questions whether the plan will work because he believes manufacturers will be able to get a better price through the bidding than they would by ongoing competition in the current system.
“What they're basically doing is ruining all the competition, and … there's nothing anybody can do about it,” Mills said.
Reporter Gregory A. Hall can be reached at (502) 582-4087.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, July 17, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Bingo Apparel
Check out my new Bingo Apparel designs. There are many different colors and sizes available!!
Thanks
DD Baz Designs
Thanks
DD Baz Designs
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Bingo
Bingo is a game that will maintain attendance numbers even during a recession. Bingo has a time element to play. The price of admission can bring a few hours of enjoyment. Social Bingo.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Native American Wisdom
It was supposed that lost spirits were roving about everywhere in the invisible air, waiting for children to find them if they searched long and patiently enough...(The Spirit) sang its spiritual song for the child to memorize and use when calling upon the spirit guardian as an adult.
Mourning Dove (1888-1936)
Salish
Mourning Dove (1888-1936)
Salish
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
MinnPost - Gambling expansion as part of Minnesota budget fix? Don't bet against it, some legislators say
MinnPost - Gambling expansion as part of Minnesota budget fix? Don't bet against it, some legislators say: "Gambling expansion as part of Minnesota budget fix? Don't bet against it, some legislators say
Analysis by Doug Grow Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Electronic pull tab machines might be part of the elusive end game that helps bring the legislative session to a close.
The possibility that the slot machine-like games might be part of a compromise between struggling DFLers and a governor committed to no new taxes was raised by two Republican representatives Monday afternoon. Those machines, which could be installed in bars across the state, could raise as much as $800 million to $1 billion a biennium, according to Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Delano, and Rep. Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, assistant minority leader.
Emmer and Zellers appropriately sit in the back row of the House chamber.
'Back benchers,' said Zellers.
'It's good to be in a spot where nobody can sneak in behind us,' said Emmer."
Analysis by Doug Grow Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Electronic pull tab machines might be part of the elusive end game that helps bring the legislative session to a close.
The possibility that the slot machine-like games might be part of a compromise between struggling DFLers and a governor committed to no new taxes was raised by two Republican representatives Monday afternoon. Those machines, which could be installed in bars across the state, could raise as much as $800 million to $1 billion a biennium, according to Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Delano, and Rep. Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, assistant minority leader.
Emmer and Zellers appropriately sit in the back row of the House chamber.
'Back benchers,' said Zellers.
'It's good to be in a spot where nobody can sneak in behind us,' said Emmer."
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Native American Widsom
"The American Indian is of the soil, whether it be the region of forests, plains, pueblos, or mesas. He fits into the landscape, for the hand that fashioned the continent also fashioned the man for his surroundings. He once grew as naturally as the wild sunflowers; he belongs just as the buffalo belonged..."
Luther Standing Bear (1868? - 1939)
Oglala Sioux Chief
Luther Standing Bear (1868? - 1939)
Oglala Sioux Chief
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Cheerleading coach convicted in gambling trial - Examiner.com
Cheerleading coach convicted in gambling trial - Examiner.com: "judge convicted the owner of a children's cheerleading club Tuesday of six gambling charges stemming from allegations she used proceeds from a bingo fundraiser to repay a parent who had bailed her out of jail.
Anna L. Miles, 35, of Hagerstown was sentenced to three years of unsupervised probation and ordered to pay a fine and court costs totaling $1,000. The misdemeanor charges each carried a maximum one-year jail term.
'I'm just glad it's over,' Miles said as she walked from the Washington County courtroom into the arms of supporters. But because of the convictions, Miles now faces the prospect of more than nine years in prison for violating her earlier probation for writing bad checks on the Hagerstown Heat All-Stars' account.
The gambling charges raised ticklish issues in Washington County, where local fire-and-rescue companies have customarily held bingo and pull-tab events to help fund youth sports teams and charitable groups. Although state law permits fire-and-rescue companies to hold gambling events, they are supposed to use all proceeds to fund their operations."
Anna L. Miles, 35, of Hagerstown was sentenced to three years of unsupervised probation and ordered to pay a fine and court costs totaling $1,000. The misdemeanor charges each carried a maximum one-year jail term.
'I'm just glad it's over,' Miles said as she walked from the Washington County courtroom into the arms of supporters. But because of the convictions, Miles now faces the prospect of more than nine years in prison for violating her earlier probation for writing bad checks on the Hagerstown Heat All-Stars' account.
The gambling charges raised ticklish issues in Washington County, where local fire-and-rescue companies have customarily held bingo and pull-tab events to help fund youth sports teams and charitable groups. Although state law permits fire-and-rescue companies to hold gambling events, they are supposed to use all proceeds to fund their operations."
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Lottery offers $20,000 bonanza for ticket vendors
ALEX DEMARBANalex@alaskanewspapers.com
January 08, 2009 at 2:05PM AKST
The lucky person who wins the state’s first $500,000 lottery on Jan. 9 may not be the only one in the money.
The organization or person that sells the winning ticket could pocket $20,000.
Ticket vendors in some 30 Alaska communities — including restaurants, pull-tab parlors and big-city strip joints — had a choice. They could earn $1 for every ticket they sold, or take a shot at winning their own mini-bonanza, an option several vendors have chosen, according to organizer Abe Spicola.
The dog mushing association in Kotzebue is aiming for the vendors’ prize, said manager Leanne Viveiros. It sold about 1,700 tickets in less than a month, so it will miss out on about $1,700.
But it could take home thousands more if the winning ticket came out of its pull-tab parlor, she said. The money would probably be used to help boost purses in the weekly sled dog races the group sponsors, including its flagship contest, the Kobuk 440.
“It will be a good, extra boost for the club with our upcoming dog races,” Viveiros said.
Ticket sales have sizzled throughout Alaska, including in rural communities.
Out there, the gaming tradition is strong because tribal governments, cities and nonprofit groups use earnings from pull-tab sales and bingo nights to help pay for community services, said Joseph Koss, a tax auditor for the state’s gaming division.
The revenue helps village governments pay police or other employees, power and heat buildings or help needy families buy stove oil, funeral services or medical flights to city hospitals, he said.
“In some cases it can provide almost the entire revenue for a governmental agency (in a village),” he said.
Spicola, the lottery organizer, said he wanted to make sure rural Alaska residents were included in the lottery because of their strong interest in gaming. He also thought it important to give people across the state a chance to win.
“You should have a right to participate in the state lottery if you live in the Bush,” said Spicola, owner of Lucky Times Pull Tab in Anchorage.
Any person or organization approved by Spicola could be a ticket vendor — a woman from the village of Kivalina in Northwest Alaska sold tickets there — but only a nonprofit or municipality can obtain a state gaming permit.
Hopeful players have scooped up tickets in Dillingham, said Tammy Conahan, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber was one of two outlets selling the tickets in the Southwest Alaska community of 2,400. The chamber only had two weeks to sell, but buyers gobbled up about 1,000 tickets at $5 apiece, she said.
“It took a while for word of mouth to get out, but once it did, it was just huge,” she said. “People were very excited that we finally got something like it.”
The tickets were popular Christmas items, with people buying them as stocking stuffers, she said.
“This is really neat what it’s meant to the whole state,” she said. “The revenue for all the nonprofits, it’s just another avenue for these groups to (raise money) and do things.”
The Dillingham chamber runs the pull-tab parlor to raise money for community events, fund beautification projects like street banners and help pay for advertising to lure tourists, she said.
The civic group skipped the chance for the $20,000 vendors’ prize and decided to earn money for every ticket it sold. It will take home about $1,000, she said.
The money will help pay for the 50th annual Beaver Round-up festival, a March event designed to shake off cabin fever. It stems from area trappers who once convened in Dillingham each spring to see who skinned the biggest beaver, she said.
Conahan said she bought one ticket each for her sister and his husband. They bought her a ticket in return, so she’ll be watching the big drawing closely.
That’s set for Friday night, 7 p.m. at Rum Runners Old Towne Bar in Anchorage, where a “secret, local celebrity” will draw the winning stub out of a huge, custom-made tumbler, Spicola said.
Officials with Channel 2 News in Anchorage have said they will broadcast the drawing live or announce the winner on late-night news, Spicola said.
There could be at least one other winner this year.
To offer the lottery, Spicola teamed up with Standing Together Against Rape, a statewide group providing support to victims of sexual violence. STAR, which has a gaming license, gets 20 percent of the net profit.
Spicola and STAR officials hadn’t expected to make any money in the lottery’s first year, he said.
But sales have been so strong they just might, said Spicola.
“That would be very cool, wouldn’t it?” said Nancy Haag, STAR’s executive director, adding that the money would help pay for community education about sexual violence.
And how about the irony of allowing bars, liquor stores and even strip joints — such as the Crazy Horse in Anchorage — to sell tickets? After all, those places sell the booze that often accompanies sexual violence.
They’re actually great places to educate people about the group, Spicola said.
The tickets show STAR’s name, and organizers have informed the vendors about STAR’s mission so the message can be passed on to ticket buyers.
“It’s good for everyone,” he said. “The bar owners appreciate it. They know there’s help out there if a patron is victimized. STAR is happy because they’re educating people.”
And the contestants know they’re supporting a good cause, he said.
Alex DeMarban can be reached at 907-348-2444 or 800-770-9830, ext. 444.
January 08, 2009 at 2:05PM AKST
The lucky person who wins the state’s first $500,000 lottery on Jan. 9 may not be the only one in the money.
The organization or person that sells the winning ticket could pocket $20,000.
Ticket vendors in some 30 Alaska communities — including restaurants, pull-tab parlors and big-city strip joints — had a choice. They could earn $1 for every ticket they sold, or take a shot at winning their own mini-bonanza, an option several vendors have chosen, according to organizer Abe Spicola.
The dog mushing association in Kotzebue is aiming for the vendors’ prize, said manager Leanne Viveiros. It sold about 1,700 tickets in less than a month, so it will miss out on about $1,700.
But it could take home thousands more if the winning ticket came out of its pull-tab parlor, she said. The money would probably be used to help boost purses in the weekly sled dog races the group sponsors, including its flagship contest, the Kobuk 440.
“It will be a good, extra boost for the club with our upcoming dog races,” Viveiros said.
Ticket sales have sizzled throughout Alaska, including in rural communities.
Out there, the gaming tradition is strong because tribal governments, cities and nonprofit groups use earnings from pull-tab sales and bingo nights to help pay for community services, said Joseph Koss, a tax auditor for the state’s gaming division.
The revenue helps village governments pay police or other employees, power and heat buildings or help needy families buy stove oil, funeral services or medical flights to city hospitals, he said.
“In some cases it can provide almost the entire revenue for a governmental agency (in a village),” he said.
Spicola, the lottery organizer, said he wanted to make sure rural Alaska residents were included in the lottery because of their strong interest in gaming. He also thought it important to give people across the state a chance to win.
“You should have a right to participate in the state lottery if you live in the Bush,” said Spicola, owner of Lucky Times Pull Tab in Anchorage.
Any person or organization approved by Spicola could be a ticket vendor — a woman from the village of Kivalina in Northwest Alaska sold tickets there — but only a nonprofit or municipality can obtain a state gaming permit.
Hopeful players have scooped up tickets in Dillingham, said Tammy Conahan, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber was one of two outlets selling the tickets in the Southwest Alaska community of 2,400. The chamber only had two weeks to sell, but buyers gobbled up about 1,000 tickets at $5 apiece, she said.
“It took a while for word of mouth to get out, but once it did, it was just huge,” she said. “People were very excited that we finally got something like it.”
The tickets were popular Christmas items, with people buying them as stocking stuffers, she said.
“This is really neat what it’s meant to the whole state,” she said. “The revenue for all the nonprofits, it’s just another avenue for these groups to (raise money) and do things.”
The Dillingham chamber runs the pull-tab parlor to raise money for community events, fund beautification projects like street banners and help pay for advertising to lure tourists, she said.
The civic group skipped the chance for the $20,000 vendors’ prize and decided to earn money for every ticket it sold. It will take home about $1,000, she said.
The money will help pay for the 50th annual Beaver Round-up festival, a March event designed to shake off cabin fever. It stems from area trappers who once convened in Dillingham each spring to see who skinned the biggest beaver, she said.
Conahan said she bought one ticket each for her sister and his husband. They bought her a ticket in return, so she’ll be watching the big drawing closely.
That’s set for Friday night, 7 p.m. at Rum Runners Old Towne Bar in Anchorage, where a “secret, local celebrity” will draw the winning stub out of a huge, custom-made tumbler, Spicola said.
Officials with Channel 2 News in Anchorage have said they will broadcast the drawing live or announce the winner on late-night news, Spicola said.
There could be at least one other winner this year.
To offer the lottery, Spicola teamed up with Standing Together Against Rape, a statewide group providing support to victims of sexual violence. STAR, which has a gaming license, gets 20 percent of the net profit.
Spicola and STAR officials hadn’t expected to make any money in the lottery’s first year, he said.
But sales have been so strong they just might, said Spicola.
“That would be very cool, wouldn’t it?” said Nancy Haag, STAR’s executive director, adding that the money would help pay for community education about sexual violence.
And how about the irony of allowing bars, liquor stores and even strip joints — such as the Crazy Horse in Anchorage — to sell tickets? After all, those places sell the booze that often accompanies sexual violence.
They’re actually great places to educate people about the group, Spicola said.
The tickets show STAR’s name, and organizers have informed the vendors about STAR’s mission so the message can be passed on to ticket buyers.
“It’s good for everyone,” he said. “The bar owners appreciate it. They know there’s help out there if a patron is victimized. STAR is happy because they’re educating people.”
And the contestants know they’re supporting a good cause, he said.
Alex DeMarban can be reached at 907-348-2444 or 800-770-9830, ext. 444.
Friday, January 02, 2009
King: Law still forbids electronic bingo
Is Bingo consider gambling?
The Associated Press • January 2, 2009
GADSDEN -- Attorney General Troy King said electronic bingo machines will be seized if they are brought into Etowah County before the current law governing bingo has been changed or successfully challenged.
OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1');
"This is not a threat, but a fulfillment of my oath to faithfully execute the laws of this state," King said at a news conference earlier this week with the Etowah Baptist Association.
King said a constitutional amendment allowing bingo in the north Alabama county applies only to traditional paper bingo, and he said electronic bingo is still illegal. But others disagree.
An October ruling by Etowah County Circuit Judge Clark Hall appeared to clear the way for electronic bingo in Etowah County. Some county officials interpreted the ruling to allow the county commission to decide what forms of bingo it wants and who will operate it.
CBS Supply of Mount Pleasant, S.C., and Coosa Entertainment of Rainbow City are working together to try to develop a resort complex with bingo in Etowah County.
King is warning county officials that bringing electronic bingo would be risky.
"Until someone changes the law or says this law means what it doesn't say, we plan to enforce the law as it is written in the constitution of Alabama," King said.
King's visit to Etowah County came one day after Gov. Bob Riley created a task force to investigate gambling statewide and appointed a veteran antigambling prosecutor, former Jefferson County District Attorney David Barber, to lead it. The governor did not include the attorney general on the task force.
Etowah County District Attorney Jimmie Harp said he and County Sheriff Todd Entrekin spoke with Barber on Tuesday morning and requested that Etowah County be his first stop. The sheriff said the topic of the meeting will be the appropriate administration of bingo laws in the county.
Electronic bingo is already offered in several Alabama counties, including the dog tracks in Macon and Greene counties.
The Associated Press • January 2, 2009
GADSDEN -- Attorney General Troy King said electronic bingo machines will be seized if they are brought into Etowah County before the current law governing bingo has been changed or successfully challenged.
OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1');
"This is not a threat, but a fulfillment of my oath to faithfully execute the laws of this state," King said at a news conference earlier this week with the Etowah Baptist Association.
King said a constitutional amendment allowing bingo in the north Alabama county applies only to traditional paper bingo, and he said electronic bingo is still illegal. But others disagree.
An October ruling by Etowah County Circuit Judge Clark Hall appeared to clear the way for electronic bingo in Etowah County. Some county officials interpreted the ruling to allow the county commission to decide what forms of bingo it wants and who will operate it.
CBS Supply of Mount Pleasant, S.C., and Coosa Entertainment of Rainbow City are working together to try to develop a resort complex with bingo in Etowah County.
King is warning county officials that bringing electronic bingo would be risky.
"Until someone changes the law or says this law means what it doesn't say, we plan to enforce the law as it is written in the constitution of Alabama," King said.
King's visit to Etowah County came one day after Gov. Bob Riley created a task force to investigate gambling statewide and appointed a veteran antigambling prosecutor, former Jefferson County District Attorney David Barber, to lead it. The governor did not include the attorney general on the task force.
Etowah County District Attorney Jimmie Harp said he and County Sheriff Todd Entrekin spoke with Barber on Tuesday morning and requested that Etowah County be his first stop. The sheriff said the topic of the meeting will be the appropriate administration of bingo laws in the county.
Electronic bingo is already offered in several Alabama counties, including the dog tracks in Macon and Greene counties.
Two charged with stealing from Swoyersville Hose Co.
BY MICHAEL R. SISAKSTAFF WRITER
Published: Wednesday, December 31, 2008 4:06 AM EST
SWOYERSVILLE — It was only a matter of time before investigators marked all the boxes in their probe of missing money at the now-defunct Swoyersville Volunteer Hose Co. 1:n A state audit that showed more than $700,000 in unaccounted for funds.n A mother-daughter tandem that had exclusive control for more than six years over the fire company’s revenues from bingo, pull-tab games and fair admissions.n A search of the mother’s home that revealed evidence of her penchant for gambling.
n A financial analysis that determined the daughter and her husband were spending well beyond their means.Bingo.Prosecutors charged Catherine Drago, 77, of Forty Fort and her daughter, Carol Gamble, 46, of Exeter Township on Tuesday with theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception and criminal conspiracy, all third-degree felonies, and other charges.“It doesn’t matter who you are or what stage in life, if you break the law, you must be prosecuted,” District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll said in a statement. “The law must be applied equally to everyone.”Gamble, who served as president of the fire company, and Drago, the treasurer, controlled the proceeds of the company’s bingo and pull-tab games and fair admission since at least 2001, prosecutors said.No one else from the company was allowed to tally, bundle, transport or otherwise handle the money, prosecutors said.According to an audit by the state Bureau of Charitable Organizations, $734,748 of the company’s income between January 2004 and November 2007 is unaccounted for.The Bureau of Charitable Organizations, a division of the state Department of State, initiated the investigation in December 2005, as part of a routine check to determine if the fire company was exempt from registering as a charity.Charities earning more than $25,000 per year are required to register with the bureau.According to the bureau and investigators, Drago provided an incomplete record of the fire company’s finances and later admitted she provided false information on a public disclosure form.The discrepancies led the bureau to widen its probe of the fire company. Eventually, an audit uncovered the company had generated $1,789,529 in revenue between Jan. 1, 2004, and Nov. 14, 2007.Members of the fire company, which dwindled in enrollment in recent years, told investigators Drago or Gamble would deposit all of the company’s cash and checks into the Hose Company Bingo Checking Account at Luzerne National Bank. Of the amount received, $1,054,781 made it to the bank.The rest went missing.Last November, investigators from the state police barracks at Wyoming and the Luzerne County district attorney’s office executed search warrants on Drago’s home on Seminary Place in Forty Fort, Gamble’s home on Lee Lane in Exeter Township and the hose company, at 1 Scott St., Swoyersville. At Drago’s home, investigators found casino courtesy cards from Bally’s, Trump, Claridge, the Tropicana, Hilton, Showboat, Sands and Caesars Atlantic City.Randy Farrence, an auditor with the Bureau of Charitable Organizations, conducted a financial analysis of Gamble and her husband, Darin.Farrence scrutinized the couple’s income and bank records and receipts, as well as bingo records and documents from the fire company and found they “appeared to have cash expenditures that did not correspond to their known sources of income,” investigators said in their affidavit of probable cause.Gamble was arraigned Tuesday before Magisterial District Judge David Barilla in Swoyersville and released on $50,000 unsecured bail.Drago did not appear before Barilla and was said to have been arraigned separately. She remained free on $100,000 unsecured bail.Gamble and her attorney, Joseph Cosgrove, declined to comment. An older man walking with them flashed his middle finger at photographers and reporters outside Barilla’s office, at the Swoyersville Borough Building.Preliminary hearings are scheduled for Jan. 7 in Central Court in Wilkes-Barre.If convicted, Drago and Gamble could face a maximum 38 years in prison; however, similar crimes prosecuted within the last two years in Luzerne County have largely resulted in probation or house arrest and an order to return the missing funds.Robert Pritchard, a former employee of the Luzerne County recorder of deeds, office pleaded guilty in March 2007 to stealing about $50,000 from an office cash register. He was sentenced to six months house arrest and ordered to pay back the funds.Another former employee, Carl Salitis, pleaded no contest in November 2007 to embezzling more than $100,000 from the office. He was sentenced to nine to 18 months house arrest, five years’ probation and ordered to pay back the funds.msisak@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2061
Published: Wednesday, December 31, 2008 4:06 AM EST
SWOYERSVILLE — It was only a matter of time before investigators marked all the boxes in their probe of missing money at the now-defunct Swoyersville Volunteer Hose Co. 1:n A state audit that showed more than $700,000 in unaccounted for funds.n A mother-daughter tandem that had exclusive control for more than six years over the fire company’s revenues from bingo, pull-tab games and fair admissions.n A search of the mother’s home that revealed evidence of her penchant for gambling.
n A financial analysis that determined the daughter and her husband were spending well beyond their means.Bingo.Prosecutors charged Catherine Drago, 77, of Forty Fort and her daughter, Carol Gamble, 46, of Exeter Township on Tuesday with theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception and criminal conspiracy, all third-degree felonies, and other charges.“It doesn’t matter who you are or what stage in life, if you break the law, you must be prosecuted,” District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll said in a statement. “The law must be applied equally to everyone.”Gamble, who served as president of the fire company, and Drago, the treasurer, controlled the proceeds of the company’s bingo and pull-tab games and fair admission since at least 2001, prosecutors said.No one else from the company was allowed to tally, bundle, transport or otherwise handle the money, prosecutors said.According to an audit by the state Bureau of Charitable Organizations, $734,748 of the company’s income between January 2004 and November 2007 is unaccounted for.The Bureau of Charitable Organizations, a division of the state Department of State, initiated the investigation in December 2005, as part of a routine check to determine if the fire company was exempt from registering as a charity.Charities earning more than $25,000 per year are required to register with the bureau.According to the bureau and investigators, Drago provided an incomplete record of the fire company’s finances and later admitted she provided false information on a public disclosure form.The discrepancies led the bureau to widen its probe of the fire company. Eventually, an audit uncovered the company had generated $1,789,529 in revenue between Jan. 1, 2004, and Nov. 14, 2007.Members of the fire company, which dwindled in enrollment in recent years, told investigators Drago or Gamble would deposit all of the company’s cash and checks into the Hose Company Bingo Checking Account at Luzerne National Bank. Of the amount received, $1,054,781 made it to the bank.The rest went missing.Last November, investigators from the state police barracks at Wyoming and the Luzerne County district attorney’s office executed search warrants on Drago’s home on Seminary Place in Forty Fort, Gamble’s home on Lee Lane in Exeter Township and the hose company, at 1 Scott St., Swoyersville. At Drago’s home, investigators found casino courtesy cards from Bally’s, Trump, Claridge, the Tropicana, Hilton, Showboat, Sands and Caesars Atlantic City.Randy Farrence, an auditor with the Bureau of Charitable Organizations, conducted a financial analysis of Gamble and her husband, Darin.Farrence scrutinized the couple’s income and bank records and receipts, as well as bingo records and documents from the fire company and found they “appeared to have cash expenditures that did not correspond to their known sources of income,” investigators said in their affidavit of probable cause.Gamble was arraigned Tuesday before Magisterial District Judge David Barilla in Swoyersville and released on $50,000 unsecured bail.Drago did not appear before Barilla and was said to have been arraigned separately. She remained free on $100,000 unsecured bail.Gamble and her attorney, Joseph Cosgrove, declined to comment. An older man walking with them flashed his middle finger at photographers and reporters outside Barilla’s office, at the Swoyersville Borough Building.Preliminary hearings are scheduled for Jan. 7 in Central Court in Wilkes-Barre.If convicted, Drago and Gamble could face a maximum 38 years in prison; however, similar crimes prosecuted within the last two years in Luzerne County have largely resulted in probation or house arrest and an order to return the missing funds.Robert Pritchard, a former employee of the Luzerne County recorder of deeds, office pleaded guilty in March 2007 to stealing about $50,000 from an office cash register. He was sentenced to six months house arrest and ordered to pay back the funds.Another former employee, Carl Salitis, pleaded no contest in November 2007 to embezzling more than $100,000 from the office. He was sentenced to nine to 18 months house arrest, five years’ probation and ordered to pay back the funds.msisak@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2061
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