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.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
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
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Saturday, June 06, 2009
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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
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Missouri walks away from pull-tab games
By RICK ALM
The Kansas City Star
Missouri is pulling the plug on pull-tab gambling.
Declining sales have forced an end to the once-popular “pickles” or “paper slots,” sold for years at state-licensed bingo parlors and dispensed over the counter or through vending machines at 172 bars, bowling alleys and other venues around the state. They were once sold at more than 700 places.
“We’ve been watching it for a couple of years now,” Missouri Lottery director Larry Jansen said Wednesday. “Nationwide pull-tab sales are down. Players are just walking away from it.”
In Missouri, pull-tab sales have been eroding for a decade, slipping to a tad more than $15 million in the 2008 fiscal year, down from $17.4 million a year earlier and a peak of $29 million in the late 1990s.
Lottery commissioners agreed recently to liquidate the remaining inventory of pull-tab games at half price to retailers who will sell them until they’re all gone. Pull-tab vending machines already are starting to disappear from retail locations.
Pull tabs, which sell for 25 cents to a dollar, offer prizes up to $1,000. Players peel away a series of paper tabs to reveal symbols — arranged like slot machine reels — that award predetermined prizes based on each game’s rules for various combinations and alignments of symbols.
On the upside, Jansen said the Missouri Lottery expects by March to roll out “Lucky Dough,” a new online instant game that will be sandwiched every five minutes between Keno drawings — doubling the online action for players in social environments such as bars where the games are typically played using television monitors.
Game details haven’t been revealed yet, but Jansen said Lucky Dough will be based on a tic-tac-toe format.
To reach Rick Alm, call 816-234-4785 or send e-mail to ralm@kcstar.com.
The Kansas City Star
Missouri is pulling the plug on pull-tab gambling.
Declining sales have forced an end to the once-popular “pickles” or “paper slots,” sold for years at state-licensed bingo parlors and dispensed over the counter or through vending machines at 172 bars, bowling alleys and other venues around the state. They were once sold at more than 700 places.
“We’ve been watching it for a couple of years now,” Missouri Lottery director Larry Jansen said Wednesday. “Nationwide pull-tab sales are down. Players are just walking away from it.”
In Missouri, pull-tab sales have been eroding for a decade, slipping to a tad more than $15 million in the 2008 fiscal year, down from $17.4 million a year earlier and a peak of $29 million in the late 1990s.
Lottery commissioners agreed recently to liquidate the remaining inventory of pull-tab games at half price to retailers who will sell them until they’re all gone. Pull-tab vending machines already are starting to disappear from retail locations.
Pull tabs, which sell for 25 cents to a dollar, offer prizes up to $1,000. Players peel away a series of paper tabs to reveal symbols — arranged like slot machine reels — that award predetermined prizes based on each game’s rules for various combinations and alignments of symbols.
On the upside, Jansen said the Missouri Lottery expects by March to roll out “Lucky Dough,” a new online instant game that will be sandwiched every five minutes between Keno drawings — doubling the online action for players in social environments such as bars where the games are typically played using television monitors.
Game details haven’t been revealed yet, but Jansen said Lucky Dough will be based on a tic-tac-toe format.
To reach Rick Alm, call 816-234-4785 or send e-mail to ralm@kcstar.com.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Native American Healing Songs
Purchase my sister Thirza Defoe's 2009 Grammy Nominated Best Native American Music Album at Silver Wave Records Come to Me Great Mystery Native American Healing Songs
Best Native American Music Album 70
Come To Me Great Mystery is a collection of traditional Native American songs intended to heal the body and spirit. Each song has a profound depth and beauty which invokes a compassionate and mystical presence.
This stunning collection of all new recordings is another unique conceptual project by Grammy Award winning producer Tom Wasinger. As with his ground breaking World Music and Native American Lullaby collections, he works with with a talented and experienced cast of Native American singers including Thirza Defoe, Doug Foote, Lorain Fox, Allen Mose, and Dorothy Tsatoke.ÊTogether they create a healing sound that truly touches the human spirit.
Grammy 2009 list of nominations.Grammy.com
The 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held on "GRAMMY Sunday," Feb. 8, 2009, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and once again will be broadcast live in high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).
Friday, November 21, 2008
Lottery says illegal pull-tabs cost Wis. millions
By RYAN J. FOLEY , 11.20.08, 01:45 PM EST
Illegal pull-tab games are costing the Wisconsin Lottery millions in revenue, but prosecutors rarely go after their operators, according to an audit released Thursday.
The Lottery's sales of such tickets fell 22 percent to a low of $3.2 million in the budget year that ended June 30, according to the Legislative Audit Bureau report. Twenty years ago, pull-tab games brought in $25 million a year.
The Lottery offers 10 such games ranging in cost from 50 cents to $2 per ticket. Players pull back tabs and win money if their tickets reveal certain symbols, such as three cherries in a row.
Taverns, gas stations and other retailers are choosing to sell games offered by private vendors because they get commissions of up to 30 percent compared to no more than 6.25 percent under the state-run program.
Lottery officials say the private games are being sold illegally or under a loophole in Wisconsin law.
State law specifically bans private vendors from operating lotteries but exempts "promotional games of chance" that are sold with products. The Lottery says that's a loophole that vendors are exploiting to sell tickets, commonly with coupons or collectible "milk caps." A court decision in 2001 found such tickets qualified for the exemption.
In a letter to auditors, Revenue Secretary Roger Ervin said a staff analysis has concluded the Lottery could generate up to $23 million more per year if state law were changed to put shady competitors out of business.
Illegal pull-tab games are costing the Wisconsin Lottery millions in revenue, but prosecutors rarely go after their operators, according to an audit released Thursday.
The Lottery's sales of such tickets fell 22 percent to a low of $3.2 million in the budget year that ended June 30, according to the Legislative Audit Bureau report. Twenty years ago, pull-tab games brought in $25 million a year.
The Lottery offers 10 such games ranging in cost from 50 cents to $2 per ticket. Players pull back tabs and win money if their tickets reveal certain symbols, such as three cherries in a row.
Taverns, gas stations and other retailers are choosing to sell games offered by private vendors because they get commissions of up to 30 percent compared to no more than 6.25 percent under the state-run program.
Lottery officials say the private games are being sold illegally or under a loophole in Wisconsin law.
State law specifically bans private vendors from operating lotteries but exempts "promotional games of chance" that are sold with products. The Lottery says that's a loophole that vendors are exploiting to sell tickets, commonly with coupons or collectible "milk caps." A court decision in 2001 found such tickets qualified for the exemption.
In a letter to auditors, Revenue Secretary Roger Ervin said a staff analysis has concluded the Lottery could generate up to $23 million more per year if state law were changed to put shady competitors out of business.
Looting manager puts Kusko 300 in jeopardy: Sports | adn.com
Looting manager puts Kusko 300 in jeopardy: Sports adn.com:
"Out an estimated $15,000 and shaken by a manager looting race coffers, the one-time richest, middle-distance sled dog race in the north is scrambling to prepare for the January start of the mushing season.
The Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race from Bethel to Aniak and back is still scheduled for Jan. 16, but the purse won't be set until Dec. 15. It was $100,000 last year, mushing's third largest purse, behind only the three-times longer Iditarod and Yukon Quest International sled dog races.
But a lot has changed since the dog teams took their summer hiatus.
One-time Kusko race manager Staci J. Gillilan was arrested in May on charges that she had been embezzling race funds for almost a year. By then, she'd already been fired after the race's board of directors found out the Kusko had failed to pay the city of Bethel upwards of $20,000 in gaming taxes.
The Kusko raises a big chunk of its budget with the sale of pull tabs. Both the city and the state levy taxes on those games. The race was left liable for taxes Gillilan was supposed to pay but didn't.
Myron Angstman, the Kusko race chairman, said Gillilan is prepared to plead guilty to taking money from the race, and the race is hoping she will pay back some of the missing funds as part of a plea settlement."
"Out an estimated $15,000 and shaken by a manager looting race coffers, the one-time richest, middle-distance sled dog race in the north is scrambling to prepare for the January start of the mushing season.
The Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race from Bethel to Aniak and back is still scheduled for Jan. 16, but the purse won't be set until Dec. 15. It was $100,000 last year, mushing's third largest purse, behind only the three-times longer Iditarod and Yukon Quest International sled dog races.
But a lot has changed since the dog teams took their summer hiatus.
One-time Kusko race manager Staci J. Gillilan was arrested in May on charges that she had been embezzling race funds for almost a year. By then, she'd already been fired after the race's board of directors found out the Kusko had failed to pay the city of Bethel upwards of $20,000 in gaming taxes.
The Kusko raises a big chunk of its budget with the sale of pull tabs. Both the city and the state levy taxes on those games. The race was left liable for taxes Gillilan was supposed to pay but didn't.
Myron Angstman, the Kusko race chairman, said Gillilan is prepared to plead guilty to taking money from the race, and the race is hoping she will pay back some of the missing funds as part of a plea settlement."
Independent study challenges NIGC’s Class II figures
The Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association has released an independent study that shows the National Indian Gaming Commission underestimated the cost of implementing Class II regulations by $137.2 million.
The NIGC issued a cost-benefit study prepared by Policy Navigation Group on Sept. 24 prior to its adoption of new Class II regulations establishing technical standards and Minimum Internal Controls (MICs).
The study’s purpose was “to provide a comprehensive estimate of the social benefits and costs” of proposed Class II gaming regulations. The study was meant “to update and to supplement” an earlier independent study by economist Dr. Alan Meister on the potential impact of the same Class II regulations, which the NIGC had commissioned earlier this year.
OIGA hired Meister in turn to review the Policy Navigation Groups’ work. Meister has extensive experience analyzing economic issues related to the gaming industry, especially Indian gaming and online gaming. His work has included economic and fiscal impact analyses, industry and market analyses, assessments of regulatory policies, analyses of Tribal-State gaming compacts and revenue sharing, feasibility studies, surveys, and expert testimony in litigation and regulatory matters. He has also conducted independent, academic research on Indian gaming and is the author of the annual Indian Gaming Industry Report.
“When the NIGC published its cost-benefit Study on Sept. 24, 2008, we were surprised at the very low level of negative impacts found by the study – so low that we decided that an independent analysis was needed,” David Qualls, OIGA chairman, said in a press release.
The NIGC’s cost-benefit study found that the Class II MICS and Technical Standards would only impose negative costs of $7.8 million over 10 years. Meister’s study found that the negative economic impacts could be as high as $145 million in hardware costs alone.
“Our member tribes had expressed concerns for over a year that these regulations were seriously flawed and would impose significant, unnecessary costs on our tribal gaming operations. This independent assessment shows our concerns were justified and that the NIGC has purposely ignored those concerns,” Qualls said.
Oklahoma has around 60 percent of all the Class II gaming machines in the country and will be hard hit by the costs of compliance with the new regulations, which will include upgrading current machines or buying new ones.
In his executive summary, Meister said he was asked to review and comment on the methodologies and conclusions of the Policy Navigation Groups’ cost-benefit study especially as it related to his earlier study. He found a number of shortcomings, including a lack of transparency; questionable assumptions; unsupported/speculative assumptions; assumptions contradicted by available information; biased assumptions; omission or minimization of negative impacts on tribes; mischaracterizations of results from his earlier report; and lack of an adequate basis for determining whether the proposed regulations are a “major rule” within the meaning of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act.
The NIGC used the cost-benefit study as a justification for declaring the regulations to not be a “major rule,” and for not conducting additional consultation with tribes or allowing for congressional oversight hearings, according to the press release.
“These shortcomings raise significant doubts about the reliability of the Cost-Benefit Study’s quantitative results and qualitative conclusions. Therefore, policymakers should be cognizant of these shortcomings when considering the impact of the proposed Class II gaming regulations,” Meister said.
The Class II MICS and Technical Standards regulations were made final and published by the NIGC in the Federal Register on Oct. 10; they became effective on Nov. 10.
The NIGC issued a cost-benefit study prepared by Policy Navigation Group on Sept. 24 prior to its adoption of new Class II regulations establishing technical standards and Minimum Internal Controls (MICs).
The study’s purpose was “to provide a comprehensive estimate of the social benefits and costs” of proposed Class II gaming regulations. The study was meant “to update and to supplement” an earlier independent study by economist Dr. Alan Meister on the potential impact of the same Class II regulations, which the NIGC had commissioned earlier this year.
OIGA hired Meister in turn to review the Policy Navigation Groups’ work. Meister has extensive experience analyzing economic issues related to the gaming industry, especially Indian gaming and online gaming. His work has included economic and fiscal impact analyses, industry and market analyses, assessments of regulatory policies, analyses of Tribal-State gaming compacts and revenue sharing, feasibility studies, surveys, and expert testimony in litigation and regulatory matters. He has also conducted independent, academic research on Indian gaming and is the author of the annual Indian Gaming Industry Report.
“When the NIGC published its cost-benefit Study on Sept. 24, 2008, we were surprised at the very low level of negative impacts found by the study – so low that we decided that an independent analysis was needed,” David Qualls, OIGA chairman, said in a press release.
The NIGC’s cost-benefit study found that the Class II MICS and Technical Standards would only impose negative costs of $7.8 million over 10 years. Meister’s study found that the negative economic impacts could be as high as $145 million in hardware costs alone.
“Our member tribes had expressed concerns for over a year that these regulations were seriously flawed and would impose significant, unnecessary costs on our tribal gaming operations. This independent assessment shows our concerns were justified and that the NIGC has purposely ignored those concerns,” Qualls said.
Oklahoma has around 60 percent of all the Class II gaming machines in the country and will be hard hit by the costs of compliance with the new regulations, which will include upgrading current machines or buying new ones.
In his executive summary, Meister said he was asked to review and comment on the methodologies and conclusions of the Policy Navigation Groups’ cost-benefit study especially as it related to his earlier study. He found a number of shortcomings, including a lack of transparency; questionable assumptions; unsupported/speculative assumptions; assumptions contradicted by available information; biased assumptions; omission or minimization of negative impacts on tribes; mischaracterizations of results from his earlier report; and lack of an adequate basis for determining whether the proposed regulations are a “major rule” within the meaning of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act.
The NIGC used the cost-benefit study as a justification for declaring the regulations to not be a “major rule,” and for not conducting additional consultation with tribes or allowing for congressional oversight hearings, according to the press release.
“These shortcomings raise significant doubts about the reliability of the Cost-Benefit Study’s quantitative results and qualitative conclusions. Therefore, policymakers should be cognizant of these shortcomings when considering the impact of the proposed Class II gaming regulations,” Meister said.
The Class II MICS and Technical Standards regulations were made final and published by the NIGC in the Federal Register on Oct. 10; they became effective on Nov. 10.
Class II regulations still hot | Indian Country Today | Gaming
Class II regulations still hot Indian Country Today Gaming:
"LAS VEGAS – National Indian Gaming Commission Chairman Phil Hogen is still questing after a “bright line” between Class II and Class III gaming, and may find it by enforcing compliance with an opinion he issued rather than the normal way through regulations.
But Jess Green, a Chickasaw attorney in Oklahoma who is an expert in Indian gaming law, said he’s ready to litigate if Hogen takes that route.
At a presentation called NIGC Roundtable: The Commission View, Hogen spoke at length about his perception of the need for changes that would “clarify” the difference between Class II and Class III gaming machines.
Class II machines, which are used for bingo, lotto, pull tabs and other such games, don’t require a tribal-state compact or sharing the tribe’s gaming revenues with the state. Class II gaming is particularly useful to tribes in states that refuse to negotiate gaming compacts.
Class III slot machines do require a compact with the state, which usually takes a share of the tribe’s profit.
Hogen recalled the early years of Indian high stakes bingo when a bingo blower randomly selected the numbers and players could see the balls being selected and who they were playing against. Players were confident that the game wasn’t rigged because everything was transparent, Hogen said.
“It’s not easy with all this complicated environment, all this high speed electronic equipment. You’ve got to convince the player that this is fair and a square kind of deal"
"LAS VEGAS – National Indian Gaming Commission Chairman Phil Hogen is still questing after a “bright line” between Class II and Class III gaming, and may find it by enforcing compliance with an opinion he issued rather than the normal way through regulations.
But Jess Green, a Chickasaw attorney in Oklahoma who is an expert in Indian gaming law, said he’s ready to litigate if Hogen takes that route.
At a presentation called NIGC Roundtable: The Commission View, Hogen spoke at length about his perception of the need for changes that would “clarify” the difference between Class II and Class III gaming machines.
Class II machines, which are used for bingo, lotto, pull tabs and other such games, don’t require a tribal-state compact or sharing the tribe’s gaming revenues with the state. Class II gaming is particularly useful to tribes in states that refuse to negotiate gaming compacts.
Class III slot machines do require a compact with the state, which usually takes a share of the tribe’s profit.
Hogen recalled the early years of Indian high stakes bingo when a bingo blower randomly selected the numbers and players could see the balls being selected and who they were playing against. Players were confident that the game wasn’t rigged because everything was transparent, Hogen said.
“It’s not easy with all this complicated environment, all this high speed electronic equipment. You’ve got to convince the player that this is fair and a square kind of deal"
Friday, November 07, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
"Charlotte's Web."
Review
Check out my sister's new play if you are in the area.
First Stage weaves 'Web'
Troupe captures essence of classic
By ELAINE SCHMIDT
Posted: Oct. 20, 2008
enlarge photo
First Stage
Charlotte's handiwork is apparent in First Stage Children's Theater's production of "Charlotte's Web."
more photos
First Stage
Charlotte's handiwork is apparent in First Stage Children's Theater's production of "Charlotte's Web."
Close Friendship is the star of the First Stage Children's Theater production of "Charlotte's Web," which opened this weekend.
The production, directed by Xan S. Johnson and featuring Joseph Robinette's adaptation of the E.B. White classic, captures the story's warmth and simplicity through a particularly likable cast of talking creatures.
Centering on the unlikely friendship between a pig named Wilbur and a spider named Charlotte, the story finds the wise, literate Charlotte saving Wilbur's life by writing grand things about him in her web. The "miracle" of words in the web persuades Wilbur's owners to keep him as a pet.
When Charlotte's life ends, Wilbur safeguards his dear friend's eggs and makes sure they hatch in the spring.
The First Stage production features Thirza Defoe in the role of Charlotte/The Narrator. As The Narrator, Defoe takes the persona of an American Indian storyteller, with a gentle, listen-and-learn wisdom in her delivery.
As Charlotte, she moves with balletic grace in a dimension of her own, thanks to scenic designer Sarah L. Hunt-Frank's brilliant floor-to-ceiling metal web. She presides over all the action on stage, watching over her friend Wilbur and fighting to save his life. Her presence, and constancy and wisdom are the heart of the show.
Friday's opening performance featured the "terrific" cast of young actors, which put John Filmanowicz in the role of Wilbur. Filmanowicz created an adorably innocent Wilbur, maintaining that sweet character without fail throughout his long scenes on stage.
Part of the charm of this production rests in the caricature animal characters that figure so heavily in the story. A combination of Rachel Anne Healy's clever costumes, which capture a few iconic elements of each of the animals, and portrayals that also center on a few iconic elements of each animal, creates delightful characters.
Todd Denning's Templeton (a rat) is a wonderful balance of greed and selflessness, spiced with facial/physical humor. Alison Mary Forbes creates a delightfully maternal Goose, reminding us of her animal nature with waddles and honks. All of the adults play multiple roles.
Bo Johnson, Elaine Wyler and Allen Edge round out the strong adult cast of characters.
IF YOU GO
"Charlotte's Web" runs through Nov. 16 at the Marcus Center's Todd Wehr Theater, 929 N. Water St. Call (414) 273-7206 or visit
First Stage
Check out my sister's new play if you are in the area.
First Stage weaves 'Web'
Troupe captures essence of classic
By ELAINE SCHMIDT
Posted: Oct. 20, 2008
enlarge photo
First Stage
Charlotte's handiwork is apparent in First Stage Children's Theater's production of "Charlotte's Web."
more photos
First Stage
Charlotte's handiwork is apparent in First Stage Children's Theater's production of "Charlotte's Web."
Close Friendship is the star of the First Stage Children's Theater production of "Charlotte's Web," which opened this weekend.
The production, directed by Xan S. Johnson and featuring Joseph Robinette's adaptation of the E.B. White classic, captures the story's warmth and simplicity through a particularly likable cast of talking creatures.
Centering on the unlikely friendship between a pig named Wilbur and a spider named Charlotte, the story finds the wise, literate Charlotte saving Wilbur's life by writing grand things about him in her web. The "miracle" of words in the web persuades Wilbur's owners to keep him as a pet.
When Charlotte's life ends, Wilbur safeguards his dear friend's eggs and makes sure they hatch in the spring.
The First Stage production features Thirza Defoe in the role of Charlotte/The Narrator. As The Narrator, Defoe takes the persona of an American Indian storyteller, with a gentle, listen-and-learn wisdom in her delivery.
As Charlotte, she moves with balletic grace in a dimension of her own, thanks to scenic designer Sarah L. Hunt-Frank's brilliant floor-to-ceiling metal web. She presides over all the action on stage, watching over her friend Wilbur and fighting to save his life. Her presence, and constancy and wisdom are the heart of the show.
Friday's opening performance featured the "terrific" cast of young actors, which put John Filmanowicz in the role of Wilbur. Filmanowicz created an adorably innocent Wilbur, maintaining that sweet character without fail throughout his long scenes on stage.
Part of the charm of this production rests in the caricature animal characters that figure so heavily in the story. A combination of Rachel Anne Healy's clever costumes, which capture a few iconic elements of each of the animals, and portrayals that also center on a few iconic elements of each animal, creates delightful characters.
Todd Denning's Templeton (a rat) is a wonderful balance of greed and selflessness, spiced with facial/physical humor. Alison Mary Forbes creates a delightfully maternal Goose, reminding us of her animal nature with waddles and honks. All of the adults play multiple roles.
Bo Johnson, Elaine Wyler and Allen Edge round out the strong adult cast of characters.
IF YOU GO
"Charlotte's Web" runs through Nov. 16 at the Marcus Center's Todd Wehr Theater, 929 N. Water St. Call (414) 273-7206 or visit
First Stage
Friday, October 10, 2008
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Now, every penny counts
Battered by the bleak news from Wall Street and Washington, many Americans are frightened about the prospect of yet another blow.
“I don't know what's going to happen to the economy,” said Barbara Foster, after doing some banking at a Washington Mutual branch near Bellis Fair mall.
“It seems like it's going to collapse. I'm horrified. I haven't even looked at my retirement account, it's so scary.”
Ms. Foster, who has held health care positions and is looking for work, is in full scrimp mode, where every expenditure, from whether to buy blueberries to even renting a movie is scrutinized. “We've been living on credit for so long, the government and the people, it's insane,” she said.
Near Bellis Fair, at the Slo Pitch pub and casino – open 24 hours a day – it's also pretty empty. “I'm cutting back on all and any extras,” said Mike Glick, a technology consultant, nursing a beer.
“Like gambling. I'd be playing pull tabs, I'm not doing that. And I took the bus here,” Mr. Glick said. He figures he's in good company. “Normally, this bar would be full. People are in conservation mode, to pay mortgages, rent, those basic bills. Just in the last six months, it's been a huge change.”
And Mr. Glick, who has closely followed the amazing implosion of Wall Street this month, has little faith the situation will turn around any time soon.
“I don't think we've seen the real depth of how far this'll go,” said Mr. Glick, in a ball cap, sweater and blue jeans, dismissing the rescue plan. “You have to be a real fool to believe that. This isn't going to be solved by Congress approving $700-billion.”
“I don't know what's going to happen to the economy,” said Barbara Foster, after doing some banking at a Washington Mutual branch near Bellis Fair mall.
“It seems like it's going to collapse. I'm horrified. I haven't even looked at my retirement account, it's so scary.”
Ms. Foster, who has held health care positions and is looking for work, is in full scrimp mode, where every expenditure, from whether to buy blueberries to even renting a movie is scrutinized. “We've been living on credit for so long, the government and the people, it's insane,” she said.
Near Bellis Fair, at the Slo Pitch pub and casino – open 24 hours a day – it's also pretty empty. “I'm cutting back on all and any extras,” said Mike Glick, a technology consultant, nursing a beer.
“Like gambling. I'd be playing pull tabs, I'm not doing that. And I took the bus here,” Mr. Glick said. He figures he's in good company. “Normally, this bar would be full. People are in conservation mode, to pay mortgages, rent, those basic bills. Just in the last six months, it's been a huge change.”
And Mr. Glick, who has closely followed the amazing implosion of Wall Street this month, has little faith the situation will turn around any time soon.
“I don't think we've seen the real depth of how far this'll go,” said Mr. Glick, in a ball cap, sweater and blue jeans, dismissing the rescue plan. “You have to be a real fool to believe that. This isn't going to be solved by Congress approving $700-billion.”
Pea-Shake Raid May Result In Charges - Indiana News Story - WRTV Indianapolis
Pea-Shake Raid May Result In Charges - Indiana News Story - WRTV Indianapolis:
"The alleged operators and patrons of a house that police said is long known to host pea-shake gambling could face charges as soon as this week.
The Marion County Prosecutor's Office plans to charge as many as a dozen people who were arrested or cited at the home in the 3700 block of North Keystone Avenue last week, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported.
Police raided the home nine days ago, but it apparently reopened for business the next day.
For years, the heavily fortified home equipped with surveillance cameras was widely known as a pea-shake house, a gambling game deemed illegal in Indiana, police said.
A business at the home called M&W Distributors sells pull tabs, bingo cards and tip books, said Indianapolis police Lt. Tom Black.
'It's basically a nice sign that's fronting as a legitimate business, which in fact is an illegal gambling establishment,' Black said. 'It's the same old pea-shake that's wrapped in a different package.'"
"The alleged operators and patrons of a house that police said is long known to host pea-shake gambling could face charges as soon as this week.
The Marion County Prosecutor's Office plans to charge as many as a dozen people who were arrested or cited at the home in the 3700 block of North Keystone Avenue last week, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported.
Police raided the home nine days ago, but it apparently reopened for business the next day.
For years, the heavily fortified home equipped with surveillance cameras was widely known as a pea-shake house, a gambling game deemed illegal in Indiana, police said.
A business at the home called M&W Distributors sells pull tabs, bingo cards and tip books, said Indianapolis police Lt. Tom Black.
'It's basically a nice sign that's fronting as a legitimate business, which in fact is an illegal gambling establishment,' Black said. 'It's the same old pea-shake that's wrapped in a different package.'"
News: Bingo: A FWB pastime (with VIDEO) | bingo, petty, pearson : NWFDailynews.com
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/bingo_11475___article.html/petty_pearson.html:
"Bingo Castle uses only paper cards, something players such as Betty Petty prefer. Electronics, they say, gives a natural advantage to those who can afford to play the most cards, because the tallying is automatic.
But not everything revolves around the little balls with the numbers on them. 'Pull tabs,' which are a little bit like instant lottery cards, are very popular. And there are progressive games involving pull tabs that can have payouts of as much as $5,000.
'This is better than a casino,' Houston said. 'It's not just a walk in and leave and ‘See you in two or three weeks.' And in the winter a lot of our snowbirds are repeat people.'"
"Bingo Castle uses only paper cards, something players such as Betty Petty prefer. Electronics, they say, gives a natural advantage to those who can afford to play the most cards, because the tallying is automatic.
But not everything revolves around the little balls with the numbers on them. 'Pull tabs,' which are a little bit like instant lottery cards, are very popular. And there are progressive games involving pull tabs that can have payouts of as much as $5,000.
'This is better than a casino,' Houston said. 'It's not just a walk in and leave and ‘See you in two or three weeks.' And in the winter a lot of our snowbirds are repeat people.'"
Smoking ban turns 1: What's changed? - TwinCities.com
Smoking ban turns 1: What's changed? - TwinCities.com:
"Yet, one indication of how many people are going to bars — charitable gambling receipts — seems to back up the claim. They've plummeted more than 13 percent since the ban went into effect, according to the Minnesota Gambling Control Board. Church groups, fraternal orders and youth sports organizations once raked in $100 million to $120 million monthly from pull tabs and other bar games; they now are out millions of dollars every month.
But with a tanking economy, it's tough to blame the smoking ban for all the ills. The Gambling Control Board is undertaking a broad study looking at ways to increase charitable gaming revenues, which could include allowing new types of gaming in bars and restaurants.
'We're working with the industry ... and trying to find ways to help them,' Executive Director Tom Barrett said.
The ban was part of an anti-public smoking wave sweeping the country. Following Minnesota's law, the state of Iowa, the city of Fargo, N.D., and, most recently, Wisconsin's Dane County passed comprehensive public workplace smoking bans. Minnesota is one of 24 states that ban smoking in all public establishments.
Even some of the ban's most ardent opponents seem resigned to the fact the law is here to stay.
'I think that many of the owners have tried to move on and undo the damage that's been done,' said Kenn Rockler, executive director of the Tavern League of Minnesota. 'Not everyone was damaged.'"
"Yet, one indication of how many people are going to bars — charitable gambling receipts — seems to back up the claim. They've plummeted more than 13 percent since the ban went into effect, according to the Minnesota Gambling Control Board. Church groups, fraternal orders and youth sports organizations once raked in $100 million to $120 million monthly from pull tabs and other bar games; they now are out millions of dollars every month.
But with a tanking economy, it's tough to blame the smoking ban for all the ills. The Gambling Control Board is undertaking a broad study looking at ways to increase charitable gaming revenues, which could include allowing new types of gaming in bars and restaurants.
'We're working with the industry ... and trying to find ways to help them,' Executive Director Tom Barrett said.
The ban was part of an anti-public smoking wave sweeping the country. Following Minnesota's law, the state of Iowa, the city of Fargo, N.D., and, most recently, Wisconsin's Dane County passed comprehensive public workplace smoking bans. Minnesota is one of 24 states that ban smoking in all public establishments.
Even some of the ban's most ardent opponents seem resigned to the fact the law is here to stay.
'I think that many of the owners have tried to move on and undo the damage that's been done,' said Kenn Rockler, executive director of the Tavern League of Minnesota. 'Not everyone was damaged.'"
Monday, September 15, 2008
BINGO: Some blame casino for losses
By Aleasha Sandley, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
ANDERSON — Around town, the twirl of the bingo cage might soon be replaced by the pull of a slot machine lever. The bingo hall at the city’s AMVETS Brian Simpson Post 692 has increasingly become more silent, as those who joyously yell “bingo!” when they have a winning card have left the game for higher-stakes gambling at Anderson’s new Hoosier Park Casino.
Since the casino opened in June, Post 692 has seen a decrease in bingo players, from about 250-260 players a night to 130-180, leaving the post’s operations and charity work, funded by bingo and pull-tabs, floundering for more money.
“When the casino opened in June, it pretty much just annhilated all the bingo in the area as far as making a normal profit,” said Phil Ray, financial officer for Post 692. “It put us in a tailspin.”
The Indiana Gaming Commission has not done studies on whether casinos affect the profitability of charity gaming sites, like bingo halls.
“We have at this time no statistics to support that,” said Diane Freeman, director for charity gaming at the IGC. “We definitely have not done any type of statistical analysis of that so far.”
As a not-for-profit, Post 692 depends on the money earned from charity gambling to fund its overhead costs and contribute to its charitable causes. Before the casino came, it was giving about $30,000 in scholarships a year, but since has had to withdraw from that amount and cut back on other charities as well, Ray said.
“We had to cut back any way we could,” he said. “Up until this month, we were looking at possibly even closing.”
Thanks to tireless advertising and special food and beverage deals, the post has been able to bounce back some in the past couple months, rebounding to numbers a little closer to normal. But it’s too early to tell if the rebound is a permanent fix, Ray said.
“We’re trying to get them back from the casinos, and we’re having a difficult time with it,” he said.
Chesterfield’s AMVETS Basil Barkdull Post 332 also has seen a loss due to the new casino, said post official Jan Barkdull. The post has lost $10,000 a month since May, when things started going downhill. Barkdull said the loss was a combination of the casino and poor economy.
“I think it’s probably 50/50,” she said. “I’m hoping the newness of the casino is kind of wearing off.”
Post 332’s profits go to Stepping Stones, an organization with a $350,000 to $400,000 annual operating budget that provides transitional housing for homeless veterans and women going through drug court. If losses grow, the post could have to stop giving money to the shelter.
“I keep praying that’s not going to happen,” Barkdull said.
But Bob Burns, who runs bingo operations at Anderson’s Elks lodge, said summer is a slow time for bingo anyway, with players having more options for spending their time outdoors or with their children who are home from school. The Elks bingo only has been in operation since April, so it’s too soon to tell if the casino will affect it, Burns said.
Read more >>
ANDERSON — Around town, the twirl of the bingo cage might soon be replaced by the pull of a slot machine lever. The bingo hall at the city’s AMVETS Brian Simpson Post 692 has increasingly become more silent, as those who joyously yell “bingo!” when they have a winning card have left the game for higher-stakes gambling at Anderson’s new Hoosier Park Casino.
Since the casino opened in June, Post 692 has seen a decrease in bingo players, from about 250-260 players a night to 130-180, leaving the post’s operations and charity work, funded by bingo and pull-tabs, floundering for more money.
“When the casino opened in June, it pretty much just annhilated all the bingo in the area as far as making a normal profit,” said Phil Ray, financial officer for Post 692. “It put us in a tailspin.”
The Indiana Gaming Commission has not done studies on whether casinos affect the profitability of charity gaming sites, like bingo halls.
“We have at this time no statistics to support that,” said Diane Freeman, director for charity gaming at the IGC. “We definitely have not done any type of statistical analysis of that so far.”
As a not-for-profit, Post 692 depends on the money earned from charity gambling to fund its overhead costs and contribute to its charitable causes. Before the casino came, it was giving about $30,000 in scholarships a year, but since has had to withdraw from that amount and cut back on other charities as well, Ray said.
“We had to cut back any way we could,” he said. “Up until this month, we were looking at possibly even closing.”
Thanks to tireless advertising and special food and beverage deals, the post has been able to bounce back some in the past couple months, rebounding to numbers a little closer to normal. But it’s too early to tell if the rebound is a permanent fix, Ray said.
“We’re trying to get them back from the casinos, and we’re having a difficult time with it,” he said.
Chesterfield’s AMVETS Basil Barkdull Post 332 also has seen a loss due to the new casino, said post official Jan Barkdull. The post has lost $10,000 a month since May, when things started going downhill. Barkdull said the loss was a combination of the casino and poor economy.
“I think it’s probably 50/50,” she said. “I’m hoping the newness of the casino is kind of wearing off.”
Post 332’s profits go to Stepping Stones, an organization with a $350,000 to $400,000 annual operating budget that provides transitional housing for homeless veterans and women going through drug court. If losses grow, the post could have to stop giving money to the shelter.
“I keep praying that’s not going to happen,” Barkdull said.
But Bob Burns, who runs bingo operations at Anderson’s Elks lodge, said summer is a slow time for bingo anyway, with players having more options for spending their time outdoors or with their children who are home from school. The Elks bingo only has been in operation since April, so it’s too soon to tell if the casino will affect it, Burns said.
Read more >>
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Sarah Palin is not such a small-town girl after all
By James Bennett
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 09/09/2008
It is clear that few in America, let alone Britain, have any idea what to make of Sarah Palin. The Republicans' vice-presidential candidate confounds the commentators because they don't understand the forces that shaped her in the remote state of Alaska.
John McCain and Sarah Palin
Thus, most coverage dwells on exotica - the moose shooting, her Eskimo husband - combined with befuddlement at how a woman can go from being mayor of a town of 9,000, to governor, to prospective VP within the space of a few years.
But, having worked with Alaskans, I know something of the challenge she has faced, and why - contrary to what Democrats think - it could make her a powerful figure in the White House.
The first myth to slay is that she is a political neophyte who has come from nowhere. In fact, she and her husband have, for decades, run a company in the highly politicised commercial fishing industry, where holding on to a licence requires considerable nous and networking skills.
Her rise from parent-teacher association to city council gave her a natural political base in her home town of Wasilla. Going on to become mayor was a natural progression. Wasilla's population of 9,000 would be a small town in Britain, and even in most American states.
advertisement
Full coverage of the US Election 2008
Barack Obama goes on attack over Sarah Palin's bridge record
Sarah Palin: an Alaskan writes
But Wasilla is the fifth-largest city in Alaska, which meant that Palin was an important player in state politics.
Her husband's status in the Yup'ik Eskimo tribe, of which he is a full, or "enrolled" member, connected her to another influential faction: the large and wealthy (because of their right to oil revenues) native tribes.
All of this gave her a base from which to launch her 2002 campaign for lieutenant (deputy) governor of Alaska.
She lost that, but collected a powerful enough following to be placated with a seat on, and subsequently the chairmanship of, the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which launched her into the politics of Alaska's energy industry.
Palin quickly realised that Alaska had the potential to become a much bigger player in global energy politics, a conviction that grew as the price of oil rose. Alaska had been in hock to oil companies since major production began in the mid-1970s.
As with most poor, distant places that suddenly receive great natural-resource wealth, the first generation of politicians were mesmerised by the magnificence of the crumbs falling from the table. Palin was the first of the next generation to realise that Alaska should have a place at that table.
Her first target was an absurd bureaucratic tangle that for 30 years had kept the state from exporting its gas to the other 48 states. She set an agenda that centred on three mutually supportive objectives: cleaning up state politics, building a new gas pipeline, and increasing the state's share of energy revenues.
This agenda, pursued throughout Palin's commission tenure, culminated in her run for governor in 2006. By this time, she had already begun rooting out corruption and making enemies, but also establishing her bona fides as a reformer.
With this base, she surprised many by steamrollering first the Republican incumbent governor, and second, the Democratic former governor, in the election.
Far from being a reprise of Mr Smith Goes to Washington, Palin was a clear-eyed politician who, from the day she took office, knew exactly what she had to do and whose toes she would step on to do it.
The surprise is not that she has been in office for such a short time but that she has succeeded in each of her objectives. She has exposed corruption; given the state a bigger share in Alaska's energy wealth; and negotiated a deal involving big corporate players, the US and Canadian governments, Canadian provincial governments, and native tribes - the result of which was a £13 billion deal to launch the pipeline and increase the amount of domestic energy available to consumers. This deal makes the charge of having "no international experience" particularly absurd.
In short, far from being a small-town mayor concerned with little more than traffic signs, she has been a major player in state politics for a decade, one who formulated an ambitious agenda and deftly implemented it against great odds.
Her sudden elevation to the vice-presidential slot on the Republican ticket shocked no one more than her enemies in Alaska, who have broken out into a cold sweat at the thought of Palin in Washington, guiding the Justice Department's anti-corruption teams through the labyrinths of Alaska's old-boy network.
It is no surprise that many of the charges laid against her have come from Alaska, as her enemies become more and more desperate to bring her down. John McCain was familiar with this track record and it is no doubt the principal reason that he chose her.
Focusing on the exotic trappings of Alaskan culture may make Palin seem a quaint and inexplicable choice. But understanding the real background of her steady rise in politics suggests that Barack Obama and Joe Biden are underestimating her badly. In this, they join two former Alaskan governors, a large number of cronies, and a trail of enemies extending back over a decade.
James Bennett is the author of 'The Anglosphere Challenge'
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 09/09/2008
It is clear that few in America, let alone Britain, have any idea what to make of Sarah Palin. The Republicans' vice-presidential candidate confounds the commentators because they don't understand the forces that shaped her in the remote state of Alaska.
John McCain and Sarah Palin
Thus, most coverage dwells on exotica - the moose shooting, her Eskimo husband - combined with befuddlement at how a woman can go from being mayor of a town of 9,000, to governor, to prospective VP within the space of a few years.
But, having worked with Alaskans, I know something of the challenge she has faced, and why - contrary to what Democrats think - it could make her a powerful figure in the White House.
The first myth to slay is that she is a political neophyte who has come from nowhere. In fact, she and her husband have, for decades, run a company in the highly politicised commercial fishing industry, where holding on to a licence requires considerable nous and networking skills.
Her rise from parent-teacher association to city council gave her a natural political base in her home town of Wasilla. Going on to become mayor was a natural progression. Wasilla's population of 9,000 would be a small town in Britain, and even in most American states.
advertisement
Full coverage of the US Election 2008
Barack Obama goes on attack over Sarah Palin's bridge record
Sarah Palin: an Alaskan writes
But Wasilla is the fifth-largest city in Alaska, which meant that Palin was an important player in state politics.
Her husband's status in the Yup'ik Eskimo tribe, of which he is a full, or "enrolled" member, connected her to another influential faction: the large and wealthy (because of their right to oil revenues) native tribes.
All of this gave her a base from which to launch her 2002 campaign for lieutenant (deputy) governor of Alaska.
She lost that, but collected a powerful enough following to be placated with a seat on, and subsequently the chairmanship of, the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which launched her into the politics of Alaska's energy industry.
Palin quickly realised that Alaska had the potential to become a much bigger player in global energy politics, a conviction that grew as the price of oil rose. Alaska had been in hock to oil companies since major production began in the mid-1970s.
As with most poor, distant places that suddenly receive great natural-resource wealth, the first generation of politicians were mesmerised by the magnificence of the crumbs falling from the table. Palin was the first of the next generation to realise that Alaska should have a place at that table.
Her first target was an absurd bureaucratic tangle that for 30 years had kept the state from exporting its gas to the other 48 states. She set an agenda that centred on three mutually supportive objectives: cleaning up state politics, building a new gas pipeline, and increasing the state's share of energy revenues.
This agenda, pursued throughout Palin's commission tenure, culminated in her run for governor in 2006. By this time, she had already begun rooting out corruption and making enemies, but also establishing her bona fides as a reformer.
With this base, she surprised many by steamrollering first the Republican incumbent governor, and second, the Democratic former governor, in the election.
Far from being a reprise of Mr Smith Goes to Washington, Palin was a clear-eyed politician who, from the day she took office, knew exactly what she had to do and whose toes she would step on to do it.
The surprise is not that she has been in office for such a short time but that she has succeeded in each of her objectives. She has exposed corruption; given the state a bigger share in Alaska's energy wealth; and negotiated a deal involving big corporate players, the US and Canadian governments, Canadian provincial governments, and native tribes - the result of which was a £13 billion deal to launch the pipeline and increase the amount of domestic energy available to consumers. This deal makes the charge of having "no international experience" particularly absurd.
In short, far from being a small-town mayor concerned with little more than traffic signs, she has been a major player in state politics for a decade, one who formulated an ambitious agenda and deftly implemented it against great odds.
Her sudden elevation to the vice-presidential slot on the Republican ticket shocked no one more than her enemies in Alaska, who have broken out into a cold sweat at the thought of Palin in Washington, guiding the Justice Department's anti-corruption teams through the labyrinths of Alaska's old-boy network.
It is no surprise that many of the charges laid against her have come from Alaska, as her enemies become more and more desperate to bring her down. John McCain was familiar with this track record and it is no doubt the principal reason that he chose her.
Focusing on the exotic trappings of Alaskan culture may make Palin seem a quaint and inexplicable choice. But understanding the real background of her steady rise in politics suggests that Barack Obama and Joe Biden are underestimating her badly. In this, they join two former Alaskan governors, a large number of cronies, and a trail of enemies extending back over a decade.
James Bennett is the author of 'The Anglosphere Challenge'
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Building green housing for Wisconsin's tribes
UW professor, local architect assisting state tribes with housing plans that combine sustainability with family customs
Anita Weier — 9/03/2008 10:08 am
Imagine a house where an extended family could live comfortably -- grandmother, parents, children and maybe an uncle or aunt. And try making that house "green" -- one that would not harm the environment or waste energy.
Wisconsin's First Nations are taking the lead in developing such houses for their members -- with a lot of help from the University-Wisconsin Madison and a local architect.
The idea emerged from Assistant Professor Sue Thering's work with several Native American tribal groups that wanted affordable, energy-efficient houses.
At first, the plan was to provide housing that was simply green and affordable. But while working with the St. Croix Ojibwa, the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Superior Ojibwa and the Mole Lake Sokaogon Ojibwa to develop the plans, she learned that they also wanted housing where extended families could live together.
"Traditionally, Native American families have more than one generation living together. Others call it over-crowding but we call it helping out our families," explained Duane Emery, director of community development and housing for the St. Croix Ojibwa of Wisconsin.
"We want to push green codes or green principles in our design," he added. "As Native Americans, we need to do this."
The new project has its origins in an earlier partnership that Thering fostered between the tribes and Madison-based Design Coalition, which has earned national awards for green and affordable projects. Lou Host-Jablonski of Design Coalition and others began teaching green building techniques to builders in northern Wisconsin who will use them for new housing.
"We are training the three tribes -- St. Croix, Lac Courte Oreilles and Sokaogon -- in how to use the materials. They end up with two houses on the St. Croix land that they can refer back to and a group of local professionals who know how to build. We are training the trainers," explained Thering, who works in UW-Madison's Landscape Architecture Department and in community development for UW-Extension.
Construction on two 1,400-square-foot houses on the St. Croix reservation near Hertel, Wis., is expected to be completed this fall using a combination of tribal casino revenues and grant money secured by the UW. Training on the Lac Courte Oreilles reservation near Hayward and construction of a model house is scheduled for next spring. A site design and master plan also has been done with the Mole Lake tribe.
What will make the next phase of the partnership highly unusual and "rather historic," Thering said, is its emphasis on multi-generational housing.
"It would be incredibly green: instead of five tiny houses there would be one large house with less impact on the environment," she said.
Thering obtained a $116,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Program, and Host-Jablonski has produced technical drawings for multi-generational homes after meeting with a steering committee from the three tribes to find out what they wanted.
Existing government-issued housing is simply not adequate for the way the people have chosen to live, Host-Jablonski said. "A standard floor plan does not work. There are not enough bedrooms and the kitchen, dining room and living room are not large enough."
He added that "in an extended family situation, the kitchen is always the center. You may have two to four adults in a kitchen preparing meals and the kids associated with those adults doing homework or needing to be nearby. The dining room needs to handle 12 to 20 people in an extended family situation, including guests. They need not only a bigger room but a bigger table and more chairs."
Six to eight bedrooms are needed, he said, as well as facilities that meet the needs of different age groups. For instance, a home office, a workshop or craft area and a children's space such as a combination nursery-playroom-recreation room become requirements.
The dream house the three tribes envisioned was not an apartment building but a home. The two concept plans include one house of about 3,000 square feet in addition to a partially finished basement. The smaller home would be about 2,000 square feet plus a partially finished basement. The actual houses may differ somewhat from the plans, depending on the soil and slope and street location.
"That is actually cheaper, instead of two or three buildings on separate lots with water and sewer for this number of people. It is cheaper to build and heat and cool and light it. There is less exterior surface area," Host-Jablonski pointed out.
The hope is to finish planning this year and to start construction of one or more homes next spring. Locations have not been determined.
In many ways, the goals of energy efficiency and cultural appropriateness dovetailed.
The energy-efficient homes would use 100 percent recycled roofing with recycled cellulose insulation, and interior materials would be durable and low-toxin, with as much recycled and reused products as possible. The windows would be high quality for energy efficiency.
"The prototype is a wigwam, built of saplings covered with reed mats, barks or skins, depending on the season," Host-Jablonski said. "The entry originally faced east. A variance we found in the Lac Courte Oreilles was double wall construction, with an inner and outer layer and sphagnum moss in between for insulation.
"There was an earthen floor over stones, and a fire pit set below the level of the floor into a stone-lined pit. Combustion air was fed by a tube of birch bark sat in the ground, so there was a heat exchange system in a natural building. I thought I was smart as an architect to come up with ideas, only to discover the basic elements in their culture 150 years ago.
"Another culturally appropriate thing we tried to incorporate is having a circular or octagonal quality in living spaces. The building is not round -- which is somewhat antithetical to solar -- but we try to give the main living space a circular quality or focus, with angled walls and the way stairs and outer walls shape it. Round or oblong-shaped rooms, like the wigwams, meant that a small clan could sit equal, with no front or back hierarchy."
The cooperative effort between the northern tribes and the UW that has led to the push for multi-generational housing began in 2002, when the tribal planning office for the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwa approached Thering's Department of Landscape Architecture for assistance.
"They wanted to develop a 200-acre parcel of land to build some housing, but were very concerned about protecting their natural and cultural resources," Thering recalled. "We did a participatory community planning process with the tribe. We worked with them and brought in our professional faculty and some students."
The UW helped figure out where to put the road and the tribe applied for development grants to get the roads built.
"Then I asked to see what kind of houses they were building. I wanted to make sure they knew technical assistance was available to them. Most of it was pre-manufactured homes and the energy efficiency was pretty low. I thought we could do better and asked if they wanted me to look around for something efficient, healthy, sustainable and green," Thering said.
Other tribes heard about it and the UW was asked to provide land use technical assistance for them. Thering also discovered the nonprofit Design Coalition, which had earned national awards for green and affordable projects.
"I talked them into partnering with us on a tech-transfer jobs training project in response to some of the requests we had from the tribes. Talented, experienced builders and artisans work within the tribes and want to learn about green construction and materials. So it was skill enhancement," she said.
Thering and tribal members have high hopes about the potential benefits of the new housing.
Thering said it would be one way of dealing with waiting lists for housing on several reservations. About 1,200 people live on the St. Croix reservation near Hertel, and there is a waiting list for housing, in part because people want to come back to the reservation, said the St. Croix Ojibwa's Emery. Some of them want to return to be near their families, Thering added.
Emery is also hoping that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which sometimes subsidizes housing on the reservation, will provide matching funds to build multi-generational homes.
The effort to train builders in new techniques may also pay greater dividends.
A training program at the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College is teaching green building practices, and the UW-Madison, Design Coalition and Kelly Design Group are joining with the tribal college for its construction and training program. The college has a carpentry program and an institute for sustainable living, and faculty members participated in the building of the model houses at Hertel.
Steve Kozak, renewable energy instructor at the tribal college, said his Energy Efficiency and Green Building Practices course and a carpentry class that builds houses will benefit from what the instructors learned at the St. Croix building site.
One technique in particular that the builders are using is the use of a mixture of native straw and clay to make 12-inch thick walls that provide excellent insulation.
Enterprise Community Partners, a national organization, gave $25,000 for the training project with the St. Croix, but has also asked Thering for a proposal to expand the train and build idea through the upper Midwest by working with tribal colleges.
And Thering has started to think about expanding the concept of the green affordable housing initiative beyond Indian Country. In a time of mortgage defaults, steep fuel costs and job losses, a training program for unemployed or underemployed workers that results in environmentally sound, energy-efficient affordable housing might be a good idea statewide, she said, comparing the idea with the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression.
Anita Weier — 9/03/2008 10:08 am
Anita Weier — 9/03/2008 10:08 am
Imagine a house where an extended family could live comfortably -- grandmother, parents, children and maybe an uncle or aunt. And try making that house "green" -- one that would not harm the environment or waste energy.
Wisconsin's First Nations are taking the lead in developing such houses for their members -- with a lot of help from the University-Wisconsin Madison and a local architect.
The idea emerged from Assistant Professor Sue Thering's work with several Native American tribal groups that wanted affordable, energy-efficient houses.
At first, the plan was to provide housing that was simply green and affordable. But while working with the St. Croix Ojibwa, the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Superior Ojibwa and the Mole Lake Sokaogon Ojibwa to develop the plans, she learned that they also wanted housing where extended families could live together.
"Traditionally, Native American families have more than one generation living together. Others call it over-crowding but we call it helping out our families," explained Duane Emery, director of community development and housing for the St. Croix Ojibwa of Wisconsin.
"We want to push green codes or green principles in our design," he added. "As Native Americans, we need to do this."
The new project has its origins in an earlier partnership that Thering fostered between the tribes and Madison-based Design Coalition, which has earned national awards for green and affordable projects. Lou Host-Jablonski of Design Coalition and others began teaching green building techniques to builders in northern Wisconsin who will use them for new housing.
"We are training the three tribes -- St. Croix, Lac Courte Oreilles and Sokaogon -- in how to use the materials. They end up with two houses on the St. Croix land that they can refer back to and a group of local professionals who know how to build. We are training the trainers," explained Thering, who works in UW-Madison's Landscape Architecture Department and in community development for UW-Extension.
Construction on two 1,400-square-foot houses on the St. Croix reservation near Hertel, Wis., is expected to be completed this fall using a combination of tribal casino revenues and grant money secured by the UW. Training on the Lac Courte Oreilles reservation near Hayward and construction of a model house is scheduled for next spring. A site design and master plan also has been done with the Mole Lake tribe.
What will make the next phase of the partnership highly unusual and "rather historic," Thering said, is its emphasis on multi-generational housing.
"It would be incredibly green: instead of five tiny houses there would be one large house with less impact on the environment," she said.
Thering obtained a $116,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Program, and Host-Jablonski has produced technical drawings for multi-generational homes after meeting with a steering committee from the three tribes to find out what they wanted.
Existing government-issued housing is simply not adequate for the way the people have chosen to live, Host-Jablonski said. "A standard floor plan does not work. There are not enough bedrooms and the kitchen, dining room and living room are not large enough."
He added that "in an extended family situation, the kitchen is always the center. You may have two to four adults in a kitchen preparing meals and the kids associated with those adults doing homework or needing to be nearby. The dining room needs to handle 12 to 20 people in an extended family situation, including guests. They need not only a bigger room but a bigger table and more chairs."
Six to eight bedrooms are needed, he said, as well as facilities that meet the needs of different age groups. For instance, a home office, a workshop or craft area and a children's space such as a combination nursery-playroom-recreation room become requirements.
The dream house the three tribes envisioned was not an apartment building but a home. The two concept plans include one house of about 3,000 square feet in addition to a partially finished basement. The smaller home would be about 2,000 square feet plus a partially finished basement. The actual houses may differ somewhat from the plans, depending on the soil and slope and street location.
"That is actually cheaper, instead of two or three buildings on separate lots with water and sewer for this number of people. It is cheaper to build and heat and cool and light it. There is less exterior surface area," Host-Jablonski pointed out.
The hope is to finish planning this year and to start construction of one or more homes next spring. Locations have not been determined.
In many ways, the goals of energy efficiency and cultural appropriateness dovetailed.
The energy-efficient homes would use 100 percent recycled roofing with recycled cellulose insulation, and interior materials would be durable and low-toxin, with as much recycled and reused products as possible. The windows would be high quality for energy efficiency.
"The prototype is a wigwam, built of saplings covered with reed mats, barks or skins, depending on the season," Host-Jablonski said. "The entry originally faced east. A variance we found in the Lac Courte Oreilles was double wall construction, with an inner and outer layer and sphagnum moss in between for insulation.
"There was an earthen floor over stones, and a fire pit set below the level of the floor into a stone-lined pit. Combustion air was fed by a tube of birch bark sat in the ground, so there was a heat exchange system in a natural building. I thought I was smart as an architect to come up with ideas, only to discover the basic elements in their culture 150 years ago.
"Another culturally appropriate thing we tried to incorporate is having a circular or octagonal quality in living spaces. The building is not round -- which is somewhat antithetical to solar -- but we try to give the main living space a circular quality or focus, with angled walls and the way stairs and outer walls shape it. Round or oblong-shaped rooms, like the wigwams, meant that a small clan could sit equal, with no front or back hierarchy."
The cooperative effort between the northern tribes and the UW that has led to the push for multi-generational housing began in 2002, when the tribal planning office for the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwa approached Thering's Department of Landscape Architecture for assistance.
"They wanted to develop a 200-acre parcel of land to build some housing, but were very concerned about protecting their natural and cultural resources," Thering recalled. "We did a participatory community planning process with the tribe. We worked with them and brought in our professional faculty and some students."
The UW helped figure out where to put the road and the tribe applied for development grants to get the roads built.
"Then I asked to see what kind of houses they were building. I wanted to make sure they knew technical assistance was available to them. Most of it was pre-manufactured homes and the energy efficiency was pretty low. I thought we could do better and asked if they wanted me to look around for something efficient, healthy, sustainable and green," Thering said.
Other tribes heard about it and the UW was asked to provide land use technical assistance for them. Thering also discovered the nonprofit Design Coalition, which had earned national awards for green and affordable projects.
"I talked them into partnering with us on a tech-transfer jobs training project in response to some of the requests we had from the tribes. Talented, experienced builders and artisans work within the tribes and want to learn about green construction and materials. So it was skill enhancement," she said.
Thering and tribal members have high hopes about the potential benefits of the new housing.
Thering said it would be one way of dealing with waiting lists for housing on several reservations. About 1,200 people live on the St. Croix reservation near Hertel, and there is a waiting list for housing, in part because people want to come back to the reservation, said the St. Croix Ojibwa's Emery. Some of them want to return to be near their families, Thering added.
Emery is also hoping that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which sometimes subsidizes housing on the reservation, will provide matching funds to build multi-generational homes.
The effort to train builders in new techniques may also pay greater dividends.
A training program at the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College is teaching green building practices, and the UW-Madison, Design Coalition and Kelly Design Group are joining with the tribal college for its construction and training program. The college has a carpentry program and an institute for sustainable living, and faculty members participated in the building of the model houses at Hertel.
Steve Kozak, renewable energy instructor at the tribal college, said his Energy Efficiency and Green Building Practices course and a carpentry class that builds houses will benefit from what the instructors learned at the St. Croix building site.
One technique in particular that the builders are using is the use of a mixture of native straw and clay to make 12-inch thick walls that provide excellent insulation.
Enterprise Community Partners, a national organization, gave $25,000 for the training project with the St. Croix, but has also asked Thering for a proposal to expand the train and build idea through the upper Midwest by working with tribal colleges.
And Thering has started to think about expanding the concept of the green affordable housing initiative beyond Indian Country. In a time of mortgage defaults, steep fuel costs and job losses, a training program for unemployed or underemployed workers that results in environmentally sound, energy-efficient affordable housing might be a good idea statewide, she said, comparing the idea with the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression.
Anita Weier — 9/03/2008 10:08 am
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Conference hears feedback, anticipates gaming revenue : ICT [2008/09/02]
Conference hears feedback, anticipates gaming revenue : ICT [2008/09/02]:
"A cloud on the horizon for some tribes was a proposed change in National Indian Gaming Commission rules that would return more money from casino gaming to state coffers and with which the Chickasaws, among other tribal nations, disagreed. While the harshest changes appear to have been discarded, revisions could be made that would affect electronic versions of Class II games, which include pull tabs, bingo and others.
Under the Chickasaw compact with the state of Oklahoma, 6 percent of casino gaming revenues - calculated on an amount that Anoatubby said falls between net and gross casino profits - goes to the state."
"A cloud on the horizon for some tribes was a proposed change in National Indian Gaming Commission rules that would return more money from casino gaming to state coffers and with which the Chickasaws, among other tribal nations, disagreed. While the harshest changes appear to have been discarded, revisions could be made that would affect electronic versions of Class II games, which include pull tabs, bingo and others.
Under the Chickasaw compact with the state of Oklahoma, 6 percent of casino gaming revenues - calculated on an amount that Anoatubby said falls between net and gross casino profits - goes to the state."
Worthington's Legion post struggling to keep going | Worthington Daily Globe | Worthington, Minnesota
Worthington's Legion post struggling to keep going Worthington Daily Globe Worthington, Minnesota:
"WORTHINGTON — Post 5 has occupied a role in the Worthington community ever since its organization after World War II and the post name became Calvin-Knuth. The post was active for a number of years. It moved from the church located at Sixth Avenue and 12th Street, and built a structure on the present grounds. Post 5 supported many activities in the present structure, referred to as the Post Home. Sources of income were from the lounge and other fundraising activities like steak fries, pork chop dinners, etc. Gambling activities, such as Bingo and pull tabs, became a source of income for the post.
It would seem that Post 5 would be able to exist with the income sources stated. However, those sources weren’t sufficient to meet all of the obligations. Post 5 began to cut back on its activities. The fundraising activities weren’t always profitable, and if there was income, it became a stop-gap."
"WORTHINGTON — Post 5 has occupied a role in the Worthington community ever since its organization after World War II and the post name became Calvin-Knuth. The post was active for a number of years. It moved from the church located at Sixth Avenue and 12th Street, and built a structure on the present grounds. Post 5 supported many activities in the present structure, referred to as the Post Home. Sources of income were from the lounge and other fundraising activities like steak fries, pork chop dinners, etc. Gambling activities, such as Bingo and pull tabs, became a source of income for the post.
It would seem that Post 5 would be able to exist with the income sources stated. However, those sources weren’t sufficient to meet all of the obligations. Post 5 began to cut back on its activities. The fundraising activities weren’t always profitable, and if there was income, it became a stop-gap."
The Resident » Blog Archive » Foxwoods Bingo Is Now and Forever
The Resident » Blog Archive » Foxwoods Bingo Is Now and Forever:
"Bingo veteran of 22 years and Tribal member, Michael Holder, VP Operations, Mashantucket Pequot High Stakes Bingo at Foxwoods, is a Day Two employee of Bingo. So, why not Day One?
“I was transitioning from my previous employer, Electric Boat, to High Stakes Bingo at Mashantucket,” states Mike with a gleam in eyes. “Calling bingo was my first job and eventually, I worked every job on the floor, including admissions, selling pull tabs, even washing and waxing the floor.” Mike continues, “Probably the only job I didn’t do was to work in the kitchen.” Though Mike admits to grilling himself a burger a time or two especially, after the long hours spent on the floor in the early days.
If you were around in the early days of MPTN High Stakes Bingo, you know that it all started with this game of chance. The first location for the Tribe’s lucrative enterprise was a 1200-seat hall and is now the home of Festival’s slot room. Mike gazes down into the original hall from his office windows and remembers the excitement created by this very popular game."
"Bingo veteran of 22 years and Tribal member, Michael Holder, VP Operations, Mashantucket Pequot High Stakes Bingo at Foxwoods, is a Day Two employee of Bingo. So, why not Day One?
“I was transitioning from my previous employer, Electric Boat, to High Stakes Bingo at Mashantucket,” states Mike with a gleam in eyes. “Calling bingo was my first job and eventually, I worked every job on the floor, including admissions, selling pull tabs, even washing and waxing the floor.” Mike continues, “Probably the only job I didn’t do was to work in the kitchen.” Though Mike admits to grilling himself a burger a time or two especially, after the long hours spent on the floor in the early days.
If you were around in the early days of MPTN High Stakes Bingo, you know that it all started with this game of chance. The first location for the Tribe’s lucrative enterprise was a 1200-seat hall and is now the home of Festival’s slot room. Mike gazes down into the original hall from his office windows and remembers the excitement created by this very popular game."
Thursday, August 28, 2008
1 in 10 Native American deaths alcohol related - Addictions- msnbc.com
1 in 10 Native American deaths alcohol related - Addictions- msnbc.com:
"WASHINGTON - Almost 12 percent of the deaths among Native Americans and Alaska Natives are alcohol-related — more than three times the percentage in the general population, a new federal report says.
The report released Thursday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found 11.7 percent of deaths among Native Americans and Alaska Natives between 2001 and 2005 were alcohol-related, compared with 3.3 percent for the U.S. as a whole.
Dwayne Jarman, a CDC epidemiologist who works for the Indian Health Service and is one of the study's authors, said it is the first national survey that measures Native American deaths due to alcohol. It should be a 'call to action' for federal, state, local and tribal governments, he said."
"WASHINGTON - Almost 12 percent of the deaths among Native Americans and Alaska Natives are alcohol-related — more than three times the percentage in the general population, a new federal report says.
The report released Thursday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found 11.7 percent of deaths among Native Americans and Alaska Natives between 2001 and 2005 were alcohol-related, compared with 3.3 percent for the U.S. as a whole.
Dwayne Jarman, a CDC epidemiologist who works for the Indian Health Service and is one of the study's authors, said it is the first national survey that measures Native American deaths due to alcohol. It should be a 'call to action' for federal, state, local and tribal governments, he said."
Monday, August 18, 2008
Gambling devices seized during raid | The Journal Gazette
Gambling devices seized during raid The Journal Gazette:
"No arrests made at cigar store; case sent to prosecutorAmanda IaconeThe Journal GazetteAdvertisement Gaming control officers raided a downtown Fort Wayne cigar store this week, confiscating six illegal gambling machines and cash.
About lunchtime Wednesday, officers with the Indiana Gaming Control Division served a search warrant at National Cigar, 123 W. Main St. Officers found five patrons using four Cherry Master gaming machines. Officers also found two illegal pull-tab machines, said Larry Rollins, division director.
Cherry Masters continue to be illegal in Indiana. But pull-tabs are legal in establishments with a license through the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission. Licensed and qualified charitable organizations can also use pull-tabs, Rollins said."
"No arrests made at cigar store; case sent to prosecutorAmanda IaconeThe Journal GazetteAdvertisement Gaming control officers raided a downtown Fort Wayne cigar store this week, confiscating six illegal gambling machines and cash.
About lunchtime Wednesday, officers with the Indiana Gaming Control Division served a search warrant at National Cigar, 123 W. Main St. Officers found five patrons using four Cherry Master gaming machines. Officers also found two illegal pull-tab machines, said Larry Rollins, division director.
Cherry Masters continue to be illegal in Indiana. But pull-tabs are legal in establishments with a license through the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission. Licensed and qualified charitable organizations can also use pull-tabs, Rollins said."
Maplewood - Ramsey County Review
Maplewood - Ramsey County Review:
"FUN, OUTGOING People wanted for pull-tabs, bar BINGO & tri-wheel. Several Metro locations. Send Email (include Your Phone#): laurie@climb.org"
"FUN, OUTGOING People wanted for pull-tabs, bar BINGO & tri-wheel. Several Metro locations. Send Email (include Your Phone#): laurie@climb.org"
Lions, city change pull-tab agreement | Perham Enterprise Bulletin & New York Mills Herald | Perham, Minnesota
Lions, city change pull-tab agreement Perham Enterprise Bulletin & New York Mills Herald Perham, Minnesota:
"The New York Mills Lions Club is seeing a considerable drop in pull-tab revenue at Mills Liquors, and on Tuesday submitted a request to the City Council to lower its monthly booth rent.
Wayne Mattson, Lions Gambling Manager, submitted a request to adjust rent to $100/month plus 10 percent over $4,000 gross revenue. Mattson supplied the council a report detailing the decline in revenue the past year.
The Lions is currently paying $300/month in rent to the city for space in Mills Liquors.
Since last January the Lions' gross profit from pull-tabs has gone down 36 percent from $32,376 to $20,615 from January to July of 2007. At the beginning of Sept. 1, 2007 the Lions had a reserve of $10,657 and has since decreased to $2,595 at the end of July. By using the gross profit from Mills Lanes, the Lions have an actual reserve of $4,098."
"The New York Mills Lions Club is seeing a considerable drop in pull-tab revenue at Mills Liquors, and on Tuesday submitted a request to the City Council to lower its monthly booth rent.
Wayne Mattson, Lions Gambling Manager, submitted a request to adjust rent to $100/month plus 10 percent over $4,000 gross revenue. Mattson supplied the council a report detailing the decline in revenue the past year.
The Lions is currently paying $300/month in rent to the city for space in Mills Liquors.
Since last January the Lions' gross profit from pull-tabs has gone down 36 percent from $32,376 to $20,615 from January to July of 2007. At the beginning of Sept. 1, 2007 the Lions had a reserve of $10,657 and has since decreased to $2,595 at the end of July. By using the gross profit from Mills Lanes, the Lions have an actual reserve of $4,098."
Gaming Supplier Faces License Revocation - KYPost.com
Gaming Supplier Faces License Revocation - KYPost.com:
"The Kentucky Department of Charitable Gaming (DCG) has taken the first steps toward revoking the license of a company that sells gaming supplies.
Following an investigation earlier this year, DCG notified Clarko Bingo of Lancaster, Ohio of its intent to revoke the company’s license to sell supplies such as pull tabs in Kentucky.
The company has appealed the action, and the department will hold a hearing on the matter, says Commissioner Henry Lackey.
DCG notified Clarko earlier this month that two inspections of company records uncovered violations of six statutes regulating charitable gaming.
According to the notice of violation, Clarko had sold supplies to organizations not licensed to conduct charitable gaming and to organizations that were not allowed to sell pull tabs."
"The Kentucky Department of Charitable Gaming (DCG) has taken the first steps toward revoking the license of a company that sells gaming supplies.
Following an investigation earlier this year, DCG notified Clarko Bingo of Lancaster, Ohio of its intent to revoke the company’s license to sell supplies such as pull tabs in Kentucky.
The company has appealed the action, and the department will hold a hearing on the matter, says Commissioner Henry Lackey.
DCG notified Clarko earlier this month that two inspections of company records uncovered violations of six statutes regulating charitable gaming.
According to the notice of violation, Clarko had sold supplies to organizations not licensed to conduct charitable gaming and to organizations that were not allowed to sell pull tabs."
With money to spend, Minnesota's U.S. Senate candidates spend it on mud - TwinCities.com
With money to spend, Minnesota's U.S. Senate candidates spend it on mud - TwinCities.com:
"'It's getting ridiculous,' said Millie Kohlrusch, 59, of Coon Rapids. Taking a break from selling pull-tabs at a bar in Blaine, Kohlrusch said she's tired of being inundated with negative ads.
'Right now, they're just making fun of each other,' said the Democrat, who is unsure of her choice in the Senate race. 'There's so much negativity. I'm tired of it. I want to hear them debate.'
A recent poll from Rasmussen Reports, an independent pollster out of New Jersey, found that 44 percent of voters in Minnesota said the Senate race had become too negative. But another 56 percent said they either don't know or don't believe this year's Senate race has become too negative. The poll also found that 58 percent of voters in Minnesota say they are less likely to vote for a candidate who produced a negative campaign ad."
"'It's getting ridiculous,' said Millie Kohlrusch, 59, of Coon Rapids. Taking a break from selling pull-tabs at a bar in Blaine, Kohlrusch said she's tired of being inundated with negative ads.
'Right now, they're just making fun of each other,' said the Democrat, who is unsure of her choice in the Senate race. 'There's so much negativity. I'm tired of it. I want to hear them debate.'
A recent poll from Rasmussen Reports, an independent pollster out of New Jersey, found that 44 percent of voters in Minnesota said the Senate race had become too negative. But another 56 percent said they either don't know or don't believe this year's Senate race has become too negative. The poll also found that 58 percent of voters in Minnesota say they are less likely to vote for a candidate who produced a negative campaign ad."
Monday, August 11, 2008
Nashuatelegraph.com: Post members support former selectman
Nashuatelegraph.com: Post members support former selectman:
"That money could have come from the bar and a lottery game called
'pull tabs.'
'I didn't take a penny from veterans,' Bianchi
said."
Postbulletin.com: Volunteers pick up where Kingsland voters left off - Sun, Aug 10, 2008
Postbulletin.com: Volunteers pick up where Kingsland voters left off - Sun, Aug 10, 2008:
"SPRING VALLEY -- 'Is that 724147?' Peggy Merkel asked, looking at a blueprint for a new playground.
Nope, 178829.
Where is 724147? And what is 724147?
Someone eventually solved the mystery, and about 25 volunteers continued building a playground where children in a few weeks will play.
Merkel didn't know she'd have to solve puzzles and find parts when she said she'd helped lead a project to raise money for a new playground at the new elementary school in Spring Valley. She just knew the district didn't have the money and kids need to play.
After turning down requests for a new elementary school several times, district voters two years ago approved building an elementary wing onto the high school. To win voter approval, district leaders had to scale back plans. Then when bids came in, they were high, said School Board Chairman Mitch Lentz, who was one of the 25 volunteers on Saturday. The board kept as many academics as it could and left out recreational items.
Lentz was confident people would step up.
They did.
In fact, they did much more than he expected, saving the district nearly a half million dollars. Other volunteer projects included building a softball/baseball field, painting inside the building and moving old playground equipment to the new school for special education and pre-school children."
"SPRING VALLEY -- 'Is that 724147?' Peggy Merkel asked, looking at a blueprint for a new playground.
Nope, 178829.
Where is 724147? And what is 724147?
Someone eventually solved the mystery, and about 25 volunteers continued building a playground where children in a few weeks will play.
Merkel didn't know she'd have to solve puzzles and find parts when she said she'd helped lead a project to raise money for a new playground at the new elementary school in Spring Valley. She just knew the district didn't have the money and kids need to play.
After turning down requests for a new elementary school several times, district voters two years ago approved building an elementary wing onto the high school. To win voter approval, district leaders had to scale back plans. Then when bids came in, they were high, said School Board Chairman Mitch Lentz, who was one of the 25 volunteers on Saturday. The board kept as many academics as it could and left out recreational items.
Lentz was confident people would step up.
They did.
In fact, they did much more than he expected, saving the district nearly a half million dollars. Other volunteer projects included building a softball/baseball field, painting inside the building and moving old playground equipment to the new school for special education and pre-school children."
BIG BUCKS IN BINGO: FAYETTE BOOSTERS BANK ON GAMES TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR TEAMS - Related Content - Kentucky.com
BIG BUCKS IN BINGO: FAYETTE BOOSTERS BANK ON GAMES TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR TEAMS - Related Content - Kentucky.com: "Editor's note: This story was published in the Lexington Herald-Leader on Dec. 11, 2005.
David Lindeman called out 'Flash,' the pull-tab game he was selling for $1 a play as he walked under the harsh florescent lights of Jackpot Bingo. The hall off Winchester Road was quiet despite the steady patter of the bingo caller, the voices of parents selling pull-tabs and the occasional yelp from one of the 100 players, signaling bingo.
Two Sunday nights a month, Lindeman, a civil engineer, sells pull-tabs to raise money for Tates Creek High School baseball and softball teams.'It gets downright boring sometimes,' said Lindeman, whose two children play on the teams. 'You walk around in circles and say the same thing, over and over again.'
Seven days a week, sometimes until 3 a.m., parents and students run bingo games to pay for sports and band programs in the Fayette County public schools. The school district pays for head coaches and band directors, but almost every other expense has to be paid for by parents or through fund-raising.
Of all the fund-raisers, bingo brings in the most money -- a total of $6.8 million in the last five years. But bingo's earnings are decreasing.
Few parents like working bingo, but they say the teams need the money, even those who oppose the lottery"
David Lindeman called out 'Flash,' the pull-tab game he was selling for $1 a play as he walked under the harsh florescent lights of Jackpot Bingo. The hall off Winchester Road was quiet despite the steady patter of the bingo caller, the voices of parents selling pull-tabs and the occasional yelp from one of the 100 players, signaling bingo.
Two Sunday nights a month, Lindeman, a civil engineer, sells pull-tabs to raise money for Tates Creek High School baseball and softball teams.'It gets downright boring sometimes,' said Lindeman, whose two children play on the teams. 'You walk around in circles and say the same thing, over and over again.'
Seven days a week, sometimes until 3 a.m., parents and students run bingo games to pay for sports and band programs in the Fayette County public schools. The school district pays for head coaches and band directors, but almost every other expense has to be paid for by parents or through fund-raising.
Of all the fund-raisers, bingo brings in the most money -- a total of $6.8 million in the last five years. But bingo's earnings are decreasing.
Few parents like working bingo, but they say the teams need the money, even those who oppose the lottery"
TMNews.com | The Times-Mail - Bedford, Indiana newspaper
TMNews.com The Times-Mail - Bedford, Indiana newspaper:
"BEDFORD — Two Kentucky men are in custody this morning after the duo robbed Hobby’s Inn, taking about $375 and some pull-tabs from a safe late Saturday morning.
Larry W. Teague, 52, Covington, Ky., was apprehended by Bedford police officers in the woods adjacent to the business near 25th Street. A short time later, officers found Mark Randolph, 48, Independence, Ky., in a wooded area near the railroad tracks by George’s Gateway. Both men are being held at the Lawrence County Security Center.
According to Bedford Police Chief Dennis Parsley, the men (who were later found to be driving a 1993 Cadillac that was reported stolen in Independence) went in to Hobby’s and ordered food. The suspects were in the restaurant for about an hour when a server came out of the kitchen and noticed one of the men in the safe. The suspect reportedly took a number of cash bags, money and pull-tab lottery games before fleeing the restaurant with the other man."
"BEDFORD — Two Kentucky men are in custody this morning after the duo robbed Hobby’s Inn, taking about $375 and some pull-tabs from a safe late Saturday morning.
Larry W. Teague, 52, Covington, Ky., was apprehended by Bedford police officers in the woods adjacent to the business near 25th Street. A short time later, officers found Mark Randolph, 48, Independence, Ky., in a wooded area near the railroad tracks by George’s Gateway. Both men are being held at the Lawrence County Security Center.
According to Bedford Police Chief Dennis Parsley, the men (who were later found to be driving a 1993 Cadillac that was reported stolen in Independence) went in to Hobby’s and ordered food. The suspects were in the restaurant for about an hour when a server came out of the kitchen and noticed one of the men in the safe. The suspect reportedly took a number of cash bags, money and pull-tab lottery games before fleeing the restaurant with the other man."
Sunday, August 03, 2008
al.com: Opinion
al.com: Opinion:
"What's electronic bingo? A slot machine by another name
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Huntsville Times
For one thing, they know how to have 'charity bingo' without the dog exploding.
With the appearance of a reported 18 (and growing) electronic bingo halls, Jasper has turned into tacky Tunica. The high-class veneer and grand facade opulence of Tunica's multimillion-dollar casinos have been dumbed down and given the Alabama treatment.
There are no fancy steakhouses inside these establishments, but you can have sad-looking hot dogs, popcorn and soft drinks. Alcohol is strictly prohibited, dancing too, so the religious can still play bingo without sin. Jesus loves bingo, but not on Sunday."
"What's electronic bingo? A slot machine by another name
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Huntsville Times
For one thing, they know how to have 'charity bingo' without the dog exploding.
With the appearance of a reported 18 (and growing) electronic bingo halls, Jasper has turned into tacky Tunica. The high-class veneer and grand facade opulence of Tunica's multimillion-dollar casinos have been dumbed down and given the Alabama treatment.
There are no fancy steakhouses inside these establishments, but you can have sad-looking hot dogs, popcorn and soft drinks. Alcohol is strictly prohibited, dancing too, so the religious can still play bingo without sin. Jesus loves bingo, but not on Sunday."
What’s New at 888 Ladies Bingo
What’s New at 888 Ladies Bingo:
"888 Ladies Bingo have been running for a while now and we have seen quite a few changes take place at their bingo site from the very first time they launched onto our computer screens. Vic Reeves, however still remains the face of 888 Ladies Bingo and the picture of him on their homepage never fails to bring a smile to my face each time I see it!! From the very beginning 888 Ladies Bingo brought their players some top treats to be in with the chance of winning and these just seem to get better and better as they go along.
The introduction of 5p only bingo rooms is new to 888 Ladies Bingo, so if you like playing cheap bingo games where you are still in with the chance of winning some great prizes, then these might be the bingo rooms for you to check out. When 888 Ladies Bingo first launched onto the net they brought us 6 bingo rooms to choose from, but not anymore as you will currently find 13 bingo rooms to pick from here and these bring you the choice of either traditional 90 ball bingo or 75 patter ball bingo to play.
All new pre buy jackpot online bingo rooms have also recently been added to 888 Ladies Bingo and every single day their bingo players can pre buy tickets into their guaranteed £100 bingo game that plays at 8pm at a cost of just 10p each. A guaranteed £500 bingo game also plays each Wednesday at 10pm and your tickets into this game will cost 50p each to purchase. When we near the last Friday of the month at 888 Ladies Bingo you can feel the excitement rising in their bingo rooms and the reason behind this is because their guaranteed monthly £8,888 bingo game will soon play at 10pm on Friday night."
"888 Ladies Bingo have been running for a while now and we have seen quite a few changes take place at their bingo site from the very first time they launched onto our computer screens. Vic Reeves, however still remains the face of 888 Ladies Bingo and the picture of him on their homepage never fails to bring a smile to my face each time I see it!! From the very beginning 888 Ladies Bingo brought their players some top treats to be in with the chance of winning and these just seem to get better and better as they go along.
The introduction of 5p only bingo rooms is new to 888 Ladies Bingo, so if you like playing cheap bingo games where you are still in with the chance of winning some great prizes, then these might be the bingo rooms for you to check out. When 888 Ladies Bingo first launched onto the net they brought us 6 bingo rooms to choose from, but not anymore as you will currently find 13 bingo rooms to pick from here and these bring you the choice of either traditional 90 ball bingo or 75 patter ball bingo to play.
All new pre buy jackpot online bingo rooms have also recently been added to 888 Ladies Bingo and every single day their bingo players can pre buy tickets into their guaranteed £100 bingo game that plays at 8pm at a cost of just 10p each. A guaranteed £500 bingo game also plays each Wednesday at 10pm and your tickets into this game will cost 50p each to purchase. When we near the last Friday of the month at 888 Ladies Bingo you can feel the excitement rising in their bingo rooms and the reason behind this is because their guaranteed monthly £8,888 bingo game will soon play at 10pm on Friday night."
CrossPoint pastor: Bingo would open ‘Pandora’s Box’ | GadsdenTimes.com | Gadsden Times | Gadsden, AL
CrossPoint pastor: Bingo would open ‘Pandora’s Box’ GadsdenTimes.com Gadsden Times Gadsden, AL:
"The pastor of one of Etowah County’s largest Baptist churches said he hopes a meeting this week of local churches will help mobilize a fight against electronic bingo in the county.
The Rev. Bruce Word, senior pastor of CrossPoint Community Church, said he would like for the County Commission to call for an advisory, non-binding election on the question of electronic bingo because at least three developers are considering bingo-related developments in the county.
He said the people could vote on the issue of electronic bingo to give the commission “a feel” as to the public sentiment on the issue. He said the commission then could set high standards to block electronic bingo from coming in.
Word said the Legislature then could pass a constitutional amendment calling for a vote to restrict bingo to bingo cards and to not allow electronic bingo.
“It’s the scale of it,” Word said of his concern about electronic bingo, which has been allowed in the county for almost 20 years.
He said the proposed facility would help some people but is not on the smaller scale of bingo, which currently benefits five local nonprofits that operate the games at a rented facility off North 12th Street."
"The pastor of one of Etowah County’s largest Baptist churches said he hopes a meeting this week of local churches will help mobilize a fight against electronic bingo in the county.
The Rev. Bruce Word, senior pastor of CrossPoint Community Church, said he would like for the County Commission to call for an advisory, non-binding election on the question of electronic bingo because at least three developers are considering bingo-related developments in the county.
He said the people could vote on the issue of electronic bingo to give the commission “a feel” as to the public sentiment on the issue. He said the commission then could set high standards to block electronic bingo from coming in.
Word said the Legislature then could pass a constitutional amendment calling for a vote to restrict bingo to bingo cards and to not allow electronic bingo.
“It’s the scale of it,” Word said of his concern about electronic bingo, which has been allowed in the county for almost 20 years.
He said the proposed facility would help some people but is not on the smaller scale of bingo, which currently benefits five local nonprofits that operate the games at a rented facility off North 12th Street."
Monday, July 14, 2008
Are scratch off lottery tickets misleading? :: WRAL.com
Are scratch off lottery tickets misleading? :: WRAL.com:
"Raleigh, N.C. — The odds are long, but scratch off lottery players dream of winning the top prize. But what happens if the top prize for that ticket has already been won?
Rob Schofield, of the government watchdog group N.C. Policy Watch, said these scratch off games are inherently misleading.
“It’s kind of sad and poignant that people are scratching these things off in the corner of a convenience store when they literally have no chance of winning that prize they think they're trying to get,” Schofield said.
The issue has prompted lawsuits in other states, including Virginia. North Carolina lottery officials are aware of the controversy and say they are moving ahead cautiously.
“It’s tough for a lottery to figure out what is the best way to do this,” state Lottery Executive Director Tom Shaheen said."
(Note: Pulltabs have the same controversy! )
"Raleigh, N.C. — The odds are long, but scratch off lottery players dream of winning the top prize. But what happens if the top prize for that ticket has already been won?
Rob Schofield, of the government watchdog group N.C. Policy Watch, said these scratch off games are inherently misleading.
“It’s kind of sad and poignant that people are scratching these things off in the corner of a convenience store when they literally have no chance of winning that prize they think they're trying to get,” Schofield said.
The issue has prompted lawsuits in other states, including Virginia. North Carolina lottery officials are aware of the controversy and say they are moving ahead cautiously.
“It’s tough for a lottery to figure out what is the best way to do this,” state Lottery Executive Director Tom Shaheen said."
(Note: Pulltabs have the same controversy! )
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Bingo parlors yearn for days B-4 casinos - The Denver Post
Bingo parlors yearn for days B-4 casinos - The Denver Post:
"Robert King remembers the bingo heyday in the early 1990s when individual Colorado nonprofits generated $100,000 annually holding no more than three sessions per week.
'You couldn't beat it for fundraising,' said King, president of the Sons of Norway Trollheim Lodge, a Lakewood nonprofit focused on promoting and preserving Norway's heritage.
Players wagered more than $220 million in the state annually on bingo, pickle pull-tabs and raffles back then. Last year, that figure was roughly $124 million.
Colorado's bingo industry began its downward spiral after commercial casinos opened in the state in 1991.
The slide hasn't slowed. In 2004, there were 44 bingo parlors. There are 28 now.
Under state law, only nonprofits are
Lou Haack had cancer and needed something to distract her from the pain. She found bingo to be the perfect fit. (Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post)allowed to operate bingo, renting space from parlor owners. The number of nonprofits running games fell 35 percent from 2004 to 2007. Attendance dropped 33 percent during the same timeframe.
'Bingo continues to decline, there is no doubt about that,' said Corky Kyle, executive vice president of the Colorado Charitable Bingo Association, which represents several parlors in the state. 'The reason for the decline is because (bingo) has not kept up with the changing times.'
Kyle said he wants to reinvent the pastime, pointing to two state provisions he believes are contributing to the drop in the number of bingo players, parlors and operators.
First, nonprofits have to be in business for five years before they qualify to hold a bingo session. Second, they must use volunteers and can't pay workers to run the sessions."
"Robert King remembers the bingo heyday in the early 1990s when individual Colorado nonprofits generated $100,000 annually holding no more than three sessions per week.
'You couldn't beat it for fundraising,' said King, president of the Sons of Norway Trollheim Lodge, a Lakewood nonprofit focused on promoting and preserving Norway's heritage.
Players wagered more than $220 million in the state annually on bingo, pickle pull-tabs and raffles back then. Last year, that figure was roughly $124 million.
Colorado's bingo industry began its downward spiral after commercial casinos opened in the state in 1991.
The slide hasn't slowed. In 2004, there were 44 bingo parlors. There are 28 now.
Under state law, only nonprofits are
Lou Haack had cancer and needed something to distract her from the pain. She found bingo to be the perfect fit. (Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post)allowed to operate bingo, renting space from parlor owners. The number of nonprofits running games fell 35 percent from 2004 to 2007. Attendance dropped 33 percent during the same timeframe.
'Bingo continues to decline, there is no doubt about that,' said Corky Kyle, executive vice president of the Colorado Charitable Bingo Association, which represents several parlors in the state. 'The reason for the decline is because (bingo) has not kept up with the changing times.'
Kyle said he wants to reinvent the pastime, pointing to two state provisions he believes are contributing to the drop in the number of bingo players, parlors and operators.
First, nonprofits have to be in business for five years before they qualify to hold a bingo session. Second, they must use volunteers and can't pay workers to run the sessions."
Gamblers Eager For Pull-Tabs - Indiana News Story - WRTV Indianapolis
Gamblers Eager For Pull-Tabs - Indiana News Story - WRTV Indianapolis:
"Hoosiers who like to gamble are reveling in the coming availability of a new option after a law that allows bars and taverns to sell pull-tabs went into effect.
In many ways, pull-tabs are like lottery tickets, but instead of scratching them to reveal a winner, players pull a series of tabs on the back, 6News' Norman Cox reported.
Many of the games are produced at the Muncie Novelty and Indiana Ticket plant in Delaware County. The Red Dog Saloon is among many bars that plan to carry the game."
"Hoosiers who like to gamble are reveling in the coming availability of a new option after a law that allows bars and taverns to sell pull-tabs went into effect.
In many ways, pull-tabs are like lottery tickets, but instead of scratching them to reveal a winner, players pull a series of tabs on the back, 6News' Norman Cox reported.
Many of the games are produced at the Muncie Novelty and Indiana Ticket plant in Delaware County. The Red Dog Saloon is among many bars that plan to carry the game."
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
newsminer.com • Energy solution
newsminer.com • Energy solution:
"Personally, the idea of Casinos/gambling/state lotto or somesuch is appealing. Pull-tabs, BINGO, duckie-races and the like are all forms of gambling, and they are legal, so other forms aren't too much of a stretch in my view. I'm not too sure about the profits going to residents to offset any costs, but other than that...?
'Course, I haven't researched the subject, so I'm open to furthering my knowledge from any that know more than I here."
"Personally, the idea of Casinos/gambling/state lotto or somesuch is appealing. Pull-tabs, BINGO, duckie-races and the like are all forms of gambling, and they are legal, so other forms aren't too much of a stretch in my view. I'm not too sure about the profits going to residents to offset any costs, but other than that...?
'Course, I haven't researched the subject, so I'm open to furthering my knowledge from any that know more than I here."
Might the slippery slider stop their own slide? - The Bluffton News-Banner
Might the slippery slider stop their own slide? - The Bluffton News-Banner:
"Amid my concerns about Indiana’s continuing slide down the slippery slope of gambling, I never anticipated hearing similar concerns from an unlikely source ... the gambling industry itself.
Indiana depends upon gambling revenues for too much of its budget, the state has no business promoting the prospect of getting something for nothing, and the biggest contributors to state coffers through the casinos is too often those who can least afford it. Beyond that, I have no problem with the whole issue.
With the opening of the new slots casino at the Anderson horse race track and the soon-to-be opening of a similar facility just southeast of Indianapolis, we heard the first grumblings from paradise: the operators of the casinos along the Ohio River are worried about losing business to these upstarts.
Hmmm. Too bad.
As I’ve lamented before in this space, the new slots-only casinos will surely argue at some point that they may as well have table games. Meanwhile, privately-owned bars will complain that they are having trouble competing with the fraternal-organization bars (who are being allowed to sell pull-tabs). Once the corner bar has pull tabs, the CherryMasters will return and soon we’ll have a mini-casino on every corner."
"Amid my concerns about Indiana’s continuing slide down the slippery slope of gambling, I never anticipated hearing similar concerns from an unlikely source ... the gambling industry itself.
Indiana depends upon gambling revenues for too much of its budget, the state has no business promoting the prospect of getting something for nothing, and the biggest contributors to state coffers through the casinos is too often those who can least afford it. Beyond that, I have no problem with the whole issue.
With the opening of the new slots casino at the Anderson horse race track and the soon-to-be opening of a similar facility just southeast of Indianapolis, we heard the first grumblings from paradise: the operators of the casinos along the Ohio River are worried about losing business to these upstarts.
Hmmm. Too bad.
As I’ve lamented before in this space, the new slots-only casinos will surely argue at some point that they may as well have table games. Meanwhile, privately-owned bars will complain that they are having trouble competing with the fraternal-organization bars (who are being allowed to sell pull-tabs). Once the corner bar has pull tabs, the CherryMasters will return and soon we’ll have a mini-casino on every corner."
Economy pulling the rug out from under pulltabs
Economy pulling the rug out from under pulltabs:
"Blame it on the economy, soaring gasoline prices and the state's smoking ban in bars. Pulltab sales and other forms of gambling are way down -- and nonprofit organizations from American Legion halls to athletic associations say they're feeling the crunch.
Those involved with the organizations in the south metro area say they're most pained because of a consequence of the drop: It's crippling their tradition of giving scholarships and other help to those in need.
'We still do it, but we can't do it to the degree that we want to,' said Tom (Digger) Anderson, general manager of Dan Patch American Legion Post 643 in Savage. 'There's just not the discretionary income out there, and people are tightening the belt.'"
"Blame it on the economy, soaring gasoline prices and the state's smoking ban in bars. Pulltab sales and other forms of gambling are way down -- and nonprofit organizations from American Legion halls to athletic associations say they're feeling the crunch.
Those involved with the organizations in the south metro area say they're most pained because of a consequence of the drop: It's crippling their tradition of giving scholarships and other help to those in need.
'We still do it, but we can't do it to the degree that we want to,' said Tom (Digger) Anderson, general manager of Dan Patch American Legion Post 643 in Savage. 'There's just not the discretionary income out there, and people are tightening the belt.'"
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Brazil Times: Story: CHURCH NEWS
Brazil Times: Story: CHURCH NEWS:
"Volunteers are needed to help with Bingo. We are short handed especially with the summer months coming up. We are also looking for volunteers to be on the bingo committee. We meet about every other month and we only meet for about an hour, sometimes a little longer. We need some fresh ideas about ways to improve our bingo game.
This week we are having a '500 Special'. Since it is race day we will have for our large jackpot the normal $1000 for 55 or less numbers called, but instead of $325 for the jackpot after that we will be playing for $500. We will also be playing 'instant win' pull tabs all night instead of our regular pull tab games.
We play 10 speed games starting at 6 pm each and every Sunday and our Early Bird games start at 6:30 p.m. Regular bingo starts at 7 pm. Our bingo hall is located at 8990 N. Kennedy Crossing Rd. across from the Northview High School baseball field. We are handicapped accessible and we have a lighted parking lot. We have a lot of good food each week also."
"Volunteers are needed to help with Bingo. We are short handed especially with the summer months coming up. We are also looking for volunteers to be on the bingo committee. We meet about every other month and we only meet for about an hour, sometimes a little longer. We need some fresh ideas about ways to improve our bingo game.
This week we are having a '500 Special'. Since it is race day we will have for our large jackpot the normal $1000 for 55 or less numbers called, but instead of $325 for the jackpot after that we will be playing for $500. We will also be playing 'instant win' pull tabs all night instead of our regular pull tab games.
We play 10 speed games starting at 6 pm each and every Sunday and our Early Bird games start at 6:30 p.m. Regular bingo starts at 7 pm. Our bingo hall is located at 8990 N. Kennedy Crossing Rd. across from the Northview High School baseball field. We are handicapped accessible and we have a lighted parking lot. We have a lot of good food each week also."
NIGA panel pans proposed Class II gaming regulations
NIGA panel pans proposed Class II gaming regulations:
"The proposals deal with classification standards, definitions, minimum internal control standards and technical standards for Class II games -- bingo, lotto, pull-tabs and others -- that are played using 'electronic, computer or other technological aids.'
The changes center on what distinguishes Class II gaming machines with bingo-based games from Class III slot machines, an important distinction since tribes can profitably conduct Class II gaming without a tribal-state compact or profit-sharing with the states. Class III gaming requires a tribal-state compact; and although the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act does not mandate payments to the state in Class III compacts, a cut of the tribe's profits has come to be part of the deal.
The real core of the controversy is the issue of control over tribal economic development.
Homer and Teresa Paust, a panel member who also served at the commission, changed the definitions of the terms 'electro-mechanical facsimile, electronic aids, and games similar to bingo' during their tenure at NIGC in response to several court cases. The changes resulted in an increase in income of approximately $2 billion a year in Indian country for the past five years, Homer said.
'That's because by clarifying the law with regard to what this terminology means, we also clarified that electronically aided Class II gaming is legal and is authorized under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.'
Now the commission wants to change those definitions."
"The proposals deal with classification standards, definitions, minimum internal control standards and technical standards for Class II games -- bingo, lotto, pull-tabs and others -- that are played using 'electronic, computer or other technological aids.'
The changes center on what distinguishes Class II gaming machines with bingo-based games from Class III slot machines, an important distinction since tribes can profitably conduct Class II gaming without a tribal-state compact or profit-sharing with the states. Class III gaming requires a tribal-state compact; and although the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act does not mandate payments to the state in Class III compacts, a cut of the tribe's profits has come to be part of the deal.
The real core of the controversy is the issue of control over tribal economic development.
Homer and Teresa Paust, a panel member who also served at the commission, changed the definitions of the terms 'electro-mechanical facsimile, electronic aids, and games similar to bingo' during their tenure at NIGC in response to several court cases. The changes resulted in an increase in income of approximately $2 billion a year in Indian country for the past five years, Homer said.
'That's because by clarifying the law with regard to what this terminology means, we also clarified that electronically aided Class II gaming is legal and is authorized under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.'
Now the commission wants to change those definitions."
SVAAA to give thanks, recognition during pancake breakfast
SVAAA to give thanks, recognition during pancake breakfast:
"The Association decided to raise the funds for a new building itself by getting into lawful gambling (pull tabs) and this money was set aside for the new building.
He noted that around 2000 the association came up with a design and was then really serious about raising funds. Cooper stated the building cost about $525,000 to be built and this money came from pull tabs and a pledge drive.
Cooper said a loan was taken out by the association at Security State Bank to pay off some debt and to finish off the rest of the building's interior. This is the note that will be burned at the breakfast and it was paid off from proceeds from pull tabs and some of the associations training money.
Cooper noted that at one time the association had its pull tab boxes at five locations but it has dwindled down to one currently.
'Its a good feeling, with the pull tab locations dwindling down, it seems like good timing,' stated Cooper."
"The Association decided to raise the funds for a new building itself by getting into lawful gambling (pull tabs) and this money was set aside for the new building.
He noted that around 2000 the association came up with a design and was then really serious about raising funds. Cooper stated the building cost about $525,000 to be built and this money came from pull tabs and a pledge drive.
Cooper said a loan was taken out by the association at Security State Bank to pay off some debt and to finish off the rest of the building's interior. This is the note that will be burned at the breakfast and it was paid off from proceeds from pull tabs and some of the associations training money.
Cooper noted that at one time the association had its pull tab boxes at five locations but it has dwindled down to one currently.
'Its a good feeling, with the pull tab locations dwindling down, it seems like good timing,' stated Cooper."
Economy pulling the rug out from under pulltabs
Economy pulling the rug out from under pulltabs:
"Blame it on the economy, soaring gasoline prices and the state's smoking ban in bars. Pulltab sales and other forms of gambling are way down -- and nonprofit organizations from American Legion halls to athletic associations say they're feeling the crunch.
Those involved with the organizations in the south metro area say they're most pained because of a consequence of the drop: It's crippling their tradition of giving scholarships and other help to those in need.
'We still do it, but we can't do it to the degree that we want to,' said Tom (Digger) Anderson, general manager of Dan Patch American Legion Post 643 in Savage. 'There's just not the discretionary income out there, and people are tightening the belt.'
In Shakopee, Commander Todd Mittelstadt laments that American Legion Post 2, hit hard by the smoking ban and a drop in customers, has had to halve many of its college scholarships."
"Blame it on the economy, soaring gasoline prices and the state's smoking ban in bars. Pulltab sales and other forms of gambling are way down -- and nonprofit organizations from American Legion halls to athletic associations say they're feeling the crunch.
Those involved with the organizations in the south metro area say they're most pained because of a consequence of the drop: It's crippling their tradition of giving scholarships and other help to those in need.
'We still do it, but we can't do it to the degree that we want to,' said Tom (Digger) Anderson, general manager of Dan Patch American Legion Post 643 in Savage. 'There's just not the discretionary income out there, and people are tightening the belt.'
In Shakopee, Commander Todd Mittelstadt laments that American Legion Post 2, hit hard by the smoking ban and a drop in customers, has had to halve many of its college scholarships."
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