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Aside from simple wagers such as sport betting a friend that one's favorite basketball team will win its division or buying a football "square" for the English League, sports betting is commonly performed through a bookmaker or through various online Internet outlets.

Professional sportsmen and women face having to register every bet they make under stringent reforms intended to root out corrupt sport betting gambling.Sports betting is illegal throughout most of the United States, common throughout much of Europe, and an everyday part of the gambling industry in Nevada. It's difficult to figure out how much money is bet on sports in the United States since the majority of it is done illegally, but experts estimate a "handle" of more than $200 billion annually.

Basketball sport betting is one of the easiest to gamble on. Along with football, basketball use the point spread for wagering on sides (teams), as well as an over/under for betting on the total points scored. With the point spread, the team expected to win will be called the favorite, while the team expected to lose will be called the underdog. The team expected to win gives, or lays, points to the team expected to lose for betting purposes.

The point spread is the most common method of betting basketball involves, which is a handicap the sportsbooks impose on one team to make both teams equal in terms of betting so that the betting action is balanced. The ideal scenario for a sportsbook is to be as close to balanced or have 50/50 action, so there is no risk and a guaranteed profit of the 10%. There are two primary types of basketball gambling or While betting against the point spread or on totals make up the vast majority of basketball wagers, bettors also have several other betting options available to them. One is the money line wager, which is a bet on the winner of the game without the point spread. But because some teams are given a better than 50-percent chance of winning, money line wagers are made using odds, so that if you bet on the team expected to win you will be asked to risk considerably more than you stand to win.

All sports betting was done with money lines at one point, but with too many people betting on the obvious favorites all of the time, the point spread was introduced and sports betting hasn't been the same since. As with all sports betting it is advised to stay away from parlays and teasers when gambling on basketball.

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gambling-vault : Prospect of gambling coming to A.C. impacts Staten Island

gambling-vault : Staten Iceland is the feeling that if the impact of recent Delaware legalize sports betting gambling survives court challenges, and if efforts are successful, similar to betting gambling on Atlantic City casinos. There is no movement in the swing against sports betting gambling in New York State, the hinterland with the Indian gambling casinos on reservations and slot machines at horse racing around eight tracks, including Yonkers Raceway.

But if New Jersey politicians can overturn the federal ban on sports betting gambling, District residents could be the two-plus-hour trip to Atlantic City to plunk around $ 50 at the Super Bowl, the NCAA college basketball tournament, or even at this day the Yankees - Orioles game.

"If you do not have gambling and the people want to do it, they migrate," said Jonathan Peters, a professor of finance at the College of Staten Iceland in Willow Brook. "It would be the betting gambling options available."

Prosecutor Daniel Donovan is not enthusiastic about this prospect.

"It could be a new group of players," he warned. "People involved in their [office] Super Bowl pools, you can say:" Would not it be more interesting to place a bet on the game? "This newly created player can press the [end] to the customers of illegal sports betting gambling" on Staten Iceland.

Earlier this spring, Delaware legalized sports betting gambling and table gambling games.

Delaware is one of four states - Montana, Nevada and Oregon are the others - the forms of sports betting gambling grandfathered under a 1992 federal law prohibiting sports wagering nationally.

Delaware officials predict that an additional $ 55 million in annual revenue for the state treasury if the sports betting gambling plan proceeds. Sports betting would be allowed only if they are on the state of the three racinos (racetracks and casinos) - Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway.

The nation of the four major professional sports leagues - Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League and National Hockey League - against the movement, joy broad legalized betting could create incentives to cheat on games and sets.

The four pro leagues with the NCAA action in Delaware federal court 24th July in an attempt to block the plan.

The sports betting gambling market is lucrative. An estimated $ 380 billion per year is illegal gambling to play sports. About $ 90 million is bet on the Super Bowl alone.

Hope for a piece of cake bets - and prevent threats to the nation's second largest gambling gaming market in Nevada - New Jersey State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, Trenton action in federal court in March to federal sports - betting ban. Jon Corzine supports the government campaign.

The main beneficiaries would be Atlantic City, a convenient weekend for Staten Islanders.

Every day hundreds of community residents will board buses that in the South Jersey gambling casinos. Most are seniors, the gambling slot machines and gaming gambling tables, said Laura Cagnetta, Sales Manager for the Port Richmond-based Atlantic Express, buses, the seven days a week to Atlantic City.

On the basis of this clientele, they need not have an uptick in numbers of passengers to Atlantic City, where sports betting gambling is legalized.

"It could help a charter [bus] company," said Mrs. Cagnetta, and added that bars or other groups could sponsor New Jersey junkets to wager on big games.

The assumption that the model applies Nevada - Sportsbetting comprises only 1.2 percent of state gaming gambling revenues - Peters, professor of CSI, said Staten Islanders are not likely to flock to Delaware or Atlantic City in droves.

But they could be the tip of the 100 miles or so south to the definition of a little money for big sports events like the Super Bowl, World Series and NCAA Final Four tournament.
"It could serve as a catalyst at certain times of the year, but I do not think it would have enormous impact," he said.

Donovan, the prosecutor, said legalized gambling will never eliminate illegal gambling betting.

For one thing, bookmakers offer better rates than the state. And in many cases, it is convenient to use with the local bookmakers as travel to a legitimate institution.

For these and other reasons, the prosecutor does not think legalized out-of-state would impact illegal sports betting bets here. Illicit gambling on Staten Iceland is not a major problem, the "no more or less than it in every community in America," he said.

But Donovan expressed concern that legalized sports wagering could be the equivalent of the biblical Apple tries to make the Adam in the Garden of Eden.

"Gambling is an addiction, like drugs and alcohol," he said. "It could be a larger universe of potential customers for Bookies."- gambling-vault

Gambling : All Bets for Russia's Casinos is off?

gambling : In one dive fell this week in Russia, lost more as 400,000 casino workers their jobs and closed the increasing number of unemployed persons than the country' on; S-economic crisis deepens. At midnight Wednesday the neon lights of the casinos were turned off and playing resounding over Russia and down-taken, stopped the Rouletteräder to spiders and the noise of the coins, which are buried into the play automat wells, stopped.

1st July latches the all Russia' s, which plays the plants, is the result of an anti-vice-law through imprinted 2006 from president at that time Vladimir Putin (now prime ministers) little thought the casinos was at all really resulted in, which debris-talk are. To the time as, it Putin cushion its picture as clean living helped, Workaholicpräsident as well as agreements with interests over crimes in the industry. Present president Dmitry Medvedev supported the law, with the result of reasoning of 30 main casinos and of 500 playing resounding in Moscow alone Wednesday.

The head patrolled and guaranteed police that the business the government' considered; S-regulation. However the government had a counter offer: to four development zones around the country cause, in which casinos could be established. The problem is these zones is in some the furthest ranges of Russia: the GebirgsAltai region of Siberia, along the Pacific coast in the far east close North Korea and China, the Kaliningrad enclave on the Baltic Sea and the southern Azov Seeregion. To reorganize some casinos expected, werdene smaller stirring up hook associations, which are still certified, it get in far fewer funds and employ few people.

The predominant majority of those, which worked now in the play, must other where look, in order to redeem the changes. Officials tried tamp down the anger of the former casino employees with promises of the new jobs in the service industry, but those evenly unemployed persons remain sceptical. " I am " much procures; mentioned Mikhail Smirnov, the 6 a-yearlyformer managers of Moscow' S-casino Bakara and the father of three young children.

" I must change my life completely. I must look for a new job, since I have three children, which me." of; depend; After 14 years in the casino business, Smirnov was one of those, which never thought that reasoning really and didn' one happened; T-disturbance, which looks for another job. Now he says, loses its children its health insurance and he' ll must the money use, which it put aside for its training. It added that nearly everything has its former colleague unpaid loans.

"Are we going to move? Of course we are not," Konstantin Kopylov, the owner of the Kristall casino told the RIA-Novosti newswire. "You cannot run a business on someone's wish. Business is run in the areas where a profit can be made."

Given that most never thought the shutdown would come to pass, ground has barely been broken in these zones, and the massive investment they will require to become gambling destinations means it will be years before the casinos reopen, if ever.

What is more likely, experts say, is that gambling will simply be driven underground, thereby increasing the very criminality that the closures claimed to address. Many players will turn to the Internet and to other countries, if not to illegal gambling.

Some psychiatrists say they expect to see a spike in gambling addicts coming to them for help.

Casino officials say there is interest from other businesses in acquiring the coveted real estate previously occupied by the casinos.

Still, gambling has long been frowned upon in Russia and many won't be sad to see it exiled.

"Let them close. For that matter, get them out of Russia altogether," Galina Beleznikova told The Associated Press.

ABC News' Tanya Stukalova contributed to this story, as did The Associated Press.- gambling

Gambling Vault - New bill would stem gambling cash to Pa. campaigns

Gambling Vault -Harrisburg, Pa. - Legislation designed to thicken the walls of the Pennsylvania game between industry and government officials sailed through a Senate committee Tuesday, as lawmakers are taking seriously a legalization of table games in casinos.

The bill was approved unanimously by the Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee after countless press conferences and legislative hearings on the gaps in state regulation of casino.

It is the first major reform of gambling legislation to pass a Senate committee since 2006, when state regulators approved 11 licenses for slot machine casino in Pennsylvania.

"I think it's a strong message, and I think we are on the way to restoring public confidence" in the regulation of casinos in the state, said Sen. Jane Orie, R-Allegheny, a leading critic of the status of head of gambling regulator, the Pennsylvania Board of Gaming Control.

A key priority in the bill is to restore the ban on cash contributions to political causes by executives of the gaming industry and investors.

In April, the Supreme Court overturned a State's five-year ban, saying a ban on contributions were far more in practice than is requested by the 2004 law.

On Tuesday, a government monitoring group, Common Cause Pennsylvania, said that included $ 4.4 million in political campaign contributions in Pennsylvania to individuals and groups in the gambling sector since 2001.

"This study helps to explain the game industry's winning streak in Pennsylvania," said Barry Kauffman, executive director of the group. "And to think that gambling interests go borrachera now have the opportunity."

The 51-page bill also toughens the game board of the "revolving door" policy, which requires higher and midlevel employees to wait two years, instead of just one, before working in the industry. The policy also could include attorneys, an issue that could gain control of the Supreme Court of the State, which reserves the regulation of lawyers by itself.

The bill has the support of the leaders of the Senate and could pass the chamber as soon as this month, but its prospects are uncertain in the House.

Currently, a bill to legalize table games is pending in the House, and another is expected to be introduced in the Senate within days, with some lawmakers talking about the income tax as a way to help fill the state depth of its deficit.

Pennsylvania has eight slot machine casinos currently operating and another Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, which is expected to open within weeks. -Gambling Vault

Casino owners have lobbied for the legalization of table games, saying it will create valuable jobs and establishments more competitive by expanding the industries of gambling in states along the borders of Pennsylvania.

Governor of Massachusetts largely on a platform that involved expanded casino gambling

Governor Duval Patrick ran his campaign for governor of Massachusetts is essentially a platform on which to expand casino games. The people in the State had Patrick in office, but he has yet to convince the legislature that its casino would be good for the state.

Most of his efforts in the past year, and the economy are not yet at the low point that this year has seen. Now there is a renewed push for casino gambling in Massachusetts, and it is led by the operators of the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.

The Mohegan Sun planning to open an office in downtown Palmer on Main Street. The purpose of the Office, relationships with the public. They will try to start the public support for a casino in Western Mass.

"We believe that when games introduced to the community, we would be able to enter the market as the best gaming company known on the East Coast," said Jeff Hartmann, chief executive of Mohegan Sun, "We are introducing us into the community. "

The people of Massachusetts could be susceptible to casino gambling and the opportunities that it presents. Job loss is a major problem in the state because of the recession, and casinos could be the much-needed jobs.

One thing that has been in favor of gambling proponents, the removal of former House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, which is strongly opposed to the casino expansion. The new Speaker of the House, Robert DeLeo, is in favor of casino gambling.

Online Gambling Situation, More on the Minnesota

Yesterday the Minnesota Department of Public Safety and the Alcohol Gambling Enforcement Division (AGED) announced that they had served written notice to 11 national and regional telephone and Internet service providers, advising them that they had 2-3 weeks to comply with an order to "prohibit access to nearly 200 online gambling websites".

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety charged that "online gambling is illegal in all U.S. states".

In addition to blocking access to the "nearly 200 online gambling websites", the order also requested that Minnesota residents be blocked from calling the phone numbers associated with each site.

Online gamblers, especially those residing in Minnesota, were understandably outraged by yesterday's news. Letter and phone campaigns have already begun, and multiple pro-poker organizations have already started to mobilize against the ridiculous actions of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety and AGED.

The list of the sites that are to be blocked was released earlier today. The list clearly establishes that the people behind this proposed censorship have absolutely no clue what they are doing.

The list contains many sites that don't even accept US players.

Let me state that again - the Minnesota Department of Public Safety and Alcohol Gambling Enforcement Division are seeking to block Minnesota residents from accessing sites that DON'T ACCEPT US PLAYERS.

For instance, Party Casino, Titan Poker and Mansion Poker are all listed.

On the other hand, Pokerstars, which is the largest online poker room in the world (by far), isn't included on the list.

According to Pokernewsdaily.com, AGED director John Willems claims that the list of 200 sites was drawn "randomly".

The people behind this order clearly should have spent more time on research before they pushed forward with their requests.

We'll keep you posted as more information becomes available.

Here is a link to the list of the 200 sites (*.pdf)

Gambling is not recession proof

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) - In the 20 years he's worked on the Atlantic City boardwalk, Joe Lochs has never seen business this bad. Lochs, 54, makes his living giving rides to casino patrons in a "rolling chair," a three-wheeled, wicker-sided buggy that he pushes up and down the boardwalk between casinos, shops and restaurants.

In good times, he can make $1,000 a week but since the beginning of winter, business is off by around 60 percent, and some days, there is no work at all. Business at Atlantic City's 11 casinos is falling at a record pace. Aggregate revenue plunged 19.2 percent in February from a year earlier, the sharpest decline in the 30 years since gambling was legalized in the city, according to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.

"Before this year, I never had a day without a single ride," Lochs said, rolling a cigarette outside the bankrupt Trump Plaza casino. "This year, I've had three of them."

Nearby, six of Lochs' competitors dozed in their chairs as potential clients strolled by in the late-winter sunshine. Like everyone else in New Jersey's gambling capital, Lochs has been hit by the contracting national economy and by increased competition from a growing gaming industry in surrounding states, particularly neighboring Pennsylvania, where casinos allow slot machines but not table games.

"We no longer have this total monopoly on the market," Lochs said.

DRIVE TO DIVERSIFY-Along the Atlantic City Expressway, Pinnacle Entertainment ran tongue-in-cheek billboard ads that said "You know what this town needs? Another casino."

These days, it's no joke.

Three of the city's casinos, those operated by Trump Entertainment, are in bankruptcy following a court filing by Trump on February 17. Two new resorts planned by Pinnacle and MGM Mirage have been scrapped because financing is unavailable in the tight credit market.

Pinnacle said its plans for a $1.5 billion beachfront resort had been postponed indefinitely and that it may consider selling the land once the economy improves.

Revel Entertainment is moving ahead with plans to build a $2 billion resort but the project has been delayed because of difficulty securing financing.

Michael Pollock, managing director of consulting firm Spectrum Gaming Group, said Atlantic City was experiencing an unprecedented downturn but that doesn't mean its fortunes won't improve.- By Jon Hurdle

Quit board had gambling debt

AUSTIN — A Houston investor who resigned today as the head of the board overseeing Texas Teacher Retirement System investments had a $110,000 judgment against him from Bellagio Inc. in Las Vegas for an unpaid gambling debt.

Court records show the casino received a default judgment against James H. Lee of Houston last June after he failed to respond to the lawsuit. Lee said he only became aware of the lawsuit in December when the Bellagio hired a Dallas lawyer to collect the debt.

Jeff Hunt, a spokesman for Lee, said Lee and the Bellagio reached a financial settlement in December. Hunt said Lee's resignation was not related to the lawsuit and occurred because he is entering a new business venture in Houston.

Hunt said Gov. Rick Perry will name former Dallas school Superintendent Linus Wright to replace Lee as head of the retirement system board.

The Bellagio lawsuit filed in Las Vegas claims Lee gave the casino three checks on Oct. 8, 2005, with a total value of $130,000.

The Bellagio dated the checks on May 25, 2006 and presented them for payment to Wells Fargo Bank and were returned stamped "NSF," the lawsuit says. Copies of the checks filed with the lawsuit show they were on an account at a 1000 Louisiana Street branch of the bank in Houston.

The lawsuit states that prior to the action being filed Lee paid the casino $20,000 toward his debt, leaving a balance of $110,000.

The lawsuit was filed in November 2007. Las Vegas court documents indicate service was made by certified mail to Lee's Houston home.

Nevada District Judge Timmothy Williams last June entered a default judgment against Lee for $110,000 plus 18 percent interest per year, with interest starting on Oct. 8, 2005. The court order said Lee had failed to respond to the lawsuit.

Lee briefly spoke with the Houston Chronicle before turning questions over to Hunt, who serves as a spokesman both for Lee and the TRS board.

Hunt said Lee had believed the earlier payment he made to the Bellagio had settled his debt with the casino.

Hunt said Lee and his family moved to New Jersey to work on Rudy Guiliani's presidential campaign so were not at their Houston home when service from Nevada was made multiple times. Hunt said Lee was not aware of the lawsuit or the default judgment until an attempt was made to collect the debt in December.

Lee made a payment to Bellagio to settle the debt and received a letter from the casino regretting that the issue had ever become public, Hunt said.

Bellagio general counsel Bruce Aguilera of Las Vegas, who filed the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hunt said Lee is leaving the TRS board because he believes its investment policies are now well positioned and he has a new business venture in Houston.

Hunt noted that the gambling debt occurred prior to Perry appointing Lee to the TRS board in February 2008. "Gambling's not illegal," Hunt said.

Gambling Portal Webmasters Association (GPWA) Awards 600th Seal of Approval

NEWTON, MA, Dec 10, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- The Gambling Portal Webmasters Association ( http://www.gpwa.org), the only professional association of its kind, announced today that it has reached an important new milestone with the award of the 600th "GPWA Seal of Approval" to one of its member websites. "We're extremely proud of the fact that we have now awarded 600 seals," said Steven Corfman, GPWA Program Manager. "It was only a few months ago that we awarded the 500th seal. To have reached the 600 mark so quickly underscores the increased enthusiasm and single-minded determination of our members all over the world to demonstrate that their sites are trustworthy and honorable, and can be visited with complete peace of mind. It's both exciting and gratifying to see the accelerated pace at which webmasters are joining the Seal of Approval program."

The GPWA Approved Portal Seal lets visitors know that the designated site is managed independently of the sites it provides information about or promotes; that it respects and upholds copyright standards; that it does not send spam email, use unethical search-engine-optimization techniques, or promote or display pornography; that it provides consumers with information extending beyond banner ads and links; and that it acts professionally and respectfully in its business activities.

Every site that has earned the seal represents the hard work of a webmaster who has put his or her heart and soul into the creation of a truly outstanding resource. One example is the most recent site to be awarded the seal -- http://www.PokerAffiliateListings.com. The site was recently launched by well-known poker affiliate Jeremy Enke, and has already set records as the most active poker affiliate forum on the web.

The Gambling Portal Webmasters Association was founded in May 2001 as an organization that promotes responsible gaming, strengthens relationships between affiliate program managers and portal webmasters, and give its members a way to collaborate with other webmasters. The GPWA's 6,000+ members communicate and share information in 100 forums, with 30,000 threads and 200,000 posts.

The Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling and the Massachusetts State Lottery Say Lottery Gifts Aren't for Kids

BOSTON, Dec 10, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- This Holiday Season, Send a Responsible Message to Minors.It's the season for gift giving for Bay Staters of all ages. But the Massachusetts State Lottery and Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling are urging parents and other adults to refrain from giving lottery products as holiday gifts to minors. Research suggests that 70 to 80 percent of adolescents report having gambled for money in the past year, according to the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High Risk Behaviors at McGill University. Approximately 30 percent report gambling on a weekly basis. Problem gamblers, meanwhile, report beginning gambling during childhood -- as early as ages 9-10 -- according to McGill's International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High Risk Behaviors.

The choice to gamble responsibly is an adult choice. Lottery instant games and other popular lottery products are not appropriate gifts for minors. The Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling and the Massachusetts State Lottery are working together this holiday season to increase public awareness of this issue.

"Lottery products, like any other form of legal gambling, are for adults ages 18 or older," said Kathleen M. Scanlan, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling. "This holiday season, if you do choose to offer a lottery product as a gift, it's important to keep the recipient's age in mind."

Massachusetts Lottery Director Mark Cavanagh said the Lottery's more than 7,000 sales agents are well trained in the Lottery's policies prohibiting sales of all Lottery products to minors. Such sound judgment should be used by all adults, according to Cavanagh. "Lottery season tickets and instant games are increasingly popular gift items at this time of year," Cavanagh said. "But we urge parents and other adults to find more suitable gifts for children and teenagers."

About the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling

The Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling is a private, non-profit health agency dedicated to reducing the social, financial and emotional costs of problem gambling. The Council provides prevention, information, education, advocacy, and referral services for problem gamblers, their loved ones, and the greater community.

About the Massachusetts State Lottery

The Massachusetts State Lottery was created in 1971 to raise revenues for the Commonwealth's 351 cities and towns. Since 2003, the Lottery has raised more than $5.6 billion for police officers, firefighters and teachers and other essential public services.
SOURCE Massachusetts State Lottery

Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved End of Story

Lawmaker wants to study LI gambling options

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. - Lawmakers on eastern Long Island are proposing a task force to study the feasibility of opening a casino as a way of easing fiscal problems.

Suffolk County legislators William Lindsay and Wayne Horsley say they have seen estimates that a gambling establishment could generate millions in revenues. They say it's also possible 10,200 new jobs would be created, producing $445 million in salaries.

The Shinnecock Indian Nation in Southampton has expressed an interest in working with Suffolk officials to open a casino, although the tribe still needs to receive federal recognition before it can move forward. Estimates vary on how long that process might take.

Legislation is still required to create the task force.

Las Vegas Strip Oct gambling revenue falls 26 pct

LOS ANGELES, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Las Vegas Strip casinos won $475 million from gamblers in October, 26 percent less than a year earlier for the worst such decline ever, the state's Gaming Control Board said on Wednesday. Statewide, Nevada casinos' take from gamblers fell 22 percent to $905 million for the month as the U.S. economic recession continued to cut into consumer spending.

The state has seen gambling revenue drop for 10 consecutive months. Spending at casinos began to decelerate sharply at the end of September, and the October-to-October comparison was compounded by the fact that the casinos' winnings had hit an all-time high in October 2007, control board senior research analyst Frank Streshley said.

Year-to-date, Nevada gambling revenue has fallen 8.3 percent statewide and 8.7 percent on the Strip, he said.

The revenue decline suggests that the Las Vegas gambling market will weaken further in the fourth quarter as airline flight capacity is reduced, consumer spending worsens and housing prices/unemployment continue their negative trends, Morgan Stanley analyst Celeste Mellet Brown said in a research note.

Separately on Wednesday, the New Jersey Casino Control Commission said Atlantic City casinos won $346 million from gamblers in November, a 7.8 percent drop from a year earlier.

New Rules For Banks Target Online Gambling

The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Bank yesterday issued new regulations spelling out how banks and other financial institutions must comply with a 2006 law that bans many forms of Internet gambling. The regulations were released just a few days after critics of the law questioned the involvement of a former National Football League lobbyist in the White House's final review of the new rules.

Running 120 pages, the regulations detail how banks must identify and block illegal Internet gambling transactions beginning in January. Companies involved in processing online payments have complained that the task will be difficult and costly. Some Democratic lawmakers had proposed to regulate and tax Internet gambling instead, an approach opposed by the Bush administration and many congressional Republicans.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino declined yesterday to explain why ethics officers had approved the participation of William Wichterman, a former lobbyist for the NFL, in the White House's final review of the regulations. Wichterman now works in the White House Office of Public Liaison. Internet gambling officials and Rep. Stephen I. Cohen (D-Tenn.) had called Wichterman's involvement a conflict of interest, noting that the NFL had paid Wichterman and other lawyers millions of dollars in lobbying fees, in part to press for implementation of the gambling law.

Dozen Men Busted For Gambling

MINEOLA—A dozen men have been arrested in connection with a Queens-based gambling ring that is estimated to have taken in more than $30 million in illegal sports wagers over the past five years.

The arrests were made in the early morning hours of Monday as detectives raided the ring’s College Point ‘wire room,’ a safety deposit box and several of the member’s automobiles and homes.Arrested and charged with first degree promoting gambling and fifth degree conspiracy were brothers and alleged ringleaders Stephen Rozich, 55, of Douglaston and Daniel Rozich, 52, of Little Neck. Both brothers were arrested Monday morning at their homes.

Also charged with the same crimes are Michael Donaghy, 27, of Glen Cove, Luis Castro (yet to be apprehended), 29, of Westbury, Gerald Bernot, 62, of Farmingdale, Douglas Leung, 33, of Bethpage, Jeffrey Dunn, 40, of Little Neck, Fred Levine, 59, of Flushing, James McDonnell (yet to be apprehended), 70, of Bayside; Antonio Ambroselli, 46, of Whitestone; George Rudzinski, 66, of Beechhurst; and Frank McDonnell, 41, of Williston Park.

Each of the 12 men face a maximum of four years in prison if convicted of the charges. They are all due back in court Nov. 13.Nassau County district attorney Kathleen Rice said that from March through early November, undercover detectives from the Nassau County Police Department’s District Attorney Squad placed numerous bets with an illegal betting ring based first in Flushing and then College Point in Queens.

Bettors would either call a phone number and place their bets with the wire room and the “sheetwriter” directly, or they would use one of numerous Nassau and Suffolk County “runners” to act as a go-between between themselves and the operation. A gambling organization’s sheetwriter is largely responsible for recording the bets and running the day-to-day operations of the scheme. A runner is responsible for recruiting and collecting bets for the group. A runner usually receives a commission based on his clients’ betting activity.

Rice said that the investigation has identified Michael Donaghy as the ring’s main sheetwriter and that in addition to the seven runners charged Monday, the investigation will remain highly active as authorities continue to uncover additional tentacles of the operation.

Through the extensive financial investigation, undercover activity and surveillance, Rice said that the betting ring is estimated to have taken in more than $30 million in wagers on college and professional football alone during the past five years. Authorities believe that the Rozich brothers have been in the sport betting business for more than 25 years.

“Gambling on sports is not a victimless crime,” Rice said. “The multi-million dollar profits these operations take in are not generally spent on tuition bills or charitable giving. These profits are often the lifeblood of something more sinister. We will continue to follow the money. It never ceases to amaze me the extent to which people will go to avoid an honest day’s work. In addition to breaking the law, gambling rings cheat the tax system and skirt the rules we are all forced to live by.”

Rice said that search warrants executed Monday resulted in the seizure of approximately $50,000 cash, gambling records, gambling equipment and four vehicles.

Nevada could look at lower gambling age

A top Nevada top gambling regulator said the state Legislature could consider lowering the minimum gambling age from 21 to 18 to help boost state gambling revenue. State Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander and Nevada Gaming Commission Chairman Peter Bernhard said they neither supported nor opposed the idea.

But Neilander told gambling industry lawyers at a conference sponsored by the State Bar of Nevada last Friday that he would take the suggestion to state Sen. Steven Horsford, the new Democratic majority leader, and Assembly Democratic Speaker Barbara Buckley.

The question was raised by Thomas Smock, a lawyer for slot machine maker Aristocrat Technologies Inc. He said some 12 million Americans ages 18 to 21 years old could be allowed to gamble if the law was changed.

Smock told the Las Vegas Sun on Monday that he wasn't representing Aristocrat with the question. He said he thought the discussion was relevant during the current economic slump, and noted that 18-year-olds vote and serve in the military.

"I personally feel that this is a way that additional revenue could be generated, and if that means keeping our teachers employed and not cutting the state budget any further, I think it should at least be discussed," he said.

Neilander said the proposal would get intense scrutiny from groups concerned about problem gambling and underage players. Nevada law currently makes it a misdemeanor for anyone under the age of 21 to gamble. But the age in some tribal casinos in California is 18. In Arizona, voters in 2002 raised the gambling age from 18 to 21 with a gambling expansion initiative.

Gambling on 'Guys and Dolls'

Damon Runyon's colorful characters brought to musical life by composer Frank Loesser's 1950 hit Guys and Dolls remains high on most lists of great Broadway musicals. It seemed a safe bet that this timeless show about gamblers done by a lively young cast would provide an entertaining evening and continue Anne Arundel Community College's proud performing arts tradition at Pascal Center.

The bet proved risky on opening night last Friday, when Moonlight Troupers' Guys and Dolls fell far short of expectations, based on nearly every Troupers show I'd seen over the last dozen years - including a terrific Guys and Dolls done 10 years ago by a talented cast against a great Manhattan backdrop. Guys and Dolls centers on two couples who are part of the 1940s nightclub and gambling scene. Nathan Detroit, who needs to raise $1,000 to assure a location for his craps game, bets cool Sky Masterson that Sky can't persuade local mission leader Sarah Brown to go to Cuba with him for dinner. To persuade straight-laced Sarah to accompany him to Cuba, Sky promises to deliver a dozen sinners to the mission for an all-night prayer meeting. Meanwhile, Nathan's involvement in yet another game upsets his fiancee of 14 years, Miss Adelaide, who blames Nathan's gambling for the frequent wedding postponements.

The Troupers production has a few virtues, including the reliable pit orchestra under the direction of Raymond Ascione that was relatively free of balance problems. The well-played snappy overture called "Runyonland" accompanies a parade of assorted Broadway characters passing before us, here choreographed so slow that I started to focus on the strange square box at stage right - a poorly proportioned thing with no resemblance to the New York City newspaper stand it was to suggest.

The segue from "Runyonland" into "Fugue for Tinhorns" disappoints with timing clearly off in this favorite Nicely, Benny and Rusty trio ("I got the horse right here. The name is Paul Revere") sung here by an uninspired trio of Anwar Thomas, Neil Smith and Brandon Hendrickson. Next was "The Oldest Established" anthem praising "Good Old Reliable Nathan" that lacked harmony and vitality. Still another musical disappointment followed with Sarah and Sky's ill-paired first duet "I'll Know," the soprano of Geniece Albritton, seeming better suited to an operetta, joined by Matt Stevenson's Sky Masterson, whose light baritone was audible enough to indicate he knew he was singing in a Broadway-type musical.

This Troupers production finally came to megawatt life when Hannah Thornhill appeared to bring her Broadway-caliber star power as Miss Adelaide, almost saving the show single-handedly. Thornhill's Miss Adelaide triumphed in every aspect from comic delivery to expert singing and dancing. Thornhill is outstanding among the other Hot Box chorines in "A Bushel and a Peck" and "Take Back Your Mink," and her "Adelaide's Lament" is near-perfect, as is her duet in "Marry the Man Today," which elevates Albritton's Sarah to show-stopping authenticity.

Another musical highlight occurs when Thornhill joins Andre Hinds as Nathan Detroit to deliver a memorable "Sue Me" duet that is fun and displays Hinds' skills as an actor-singer. Kimberly Kandra's choreography is tepidly uninspired and poorly executed, from the Hot Box girls incapable of kicking in line and the Latin dancers without sizzle in the Havana Club scene to the totally out-of-sync guys in the "Crap Shooters Dance."

Scenic and lighting designer Rob Berry created the newsstand unworthy of the sleaziest tabloid and the boring pastel nonrepresentational backdrops that, according to the Director's Notes in the program, are supposed to recall American artists Edward Hopper, known for sun-drenched New England cottages, and empty melancholy streets and lonely city diners, as in his Nighthawks, and pop artist Andy Warhol. These artists' relevance to the vibrant New York of Guys and Dolls eludes me, as does the artistic merit of backdrops incongruent with the bold-colored costumes of the gamblers.

Lighting is flat and uninteresting, except where it worsens with dead spots in scenes where the Hot Box girls are dancing in shadow. This brings up another gripe: Why are there only two tables at which no patrons are sitting at a presumably popular club show?

On opening night, sound was a consistent problem with strong singers such as Hannah Thornhill, who least needed a microphone, too loud, and weak singers such as Matt Stevenson without benefit of any sound boost. In dialogue, microphones proved a distraction as sound varied from loud to soft as speakers turned. Emeritus professor of theater at AACC and returning director Barbara Marder deserves a better effort from her cast and technical crew for her farewell offering that should cap a career of memorable Moonlight Troupers performances.

Md. slots opponents keep afar from gambling interests

Groups fighting the legalization of slot machines in Maryland said Monday that they don't intend to take money from gambling interests and that both sides need to reject such contributions to have a fair debate.

Two longtime slots opponents, StopSlots Maryland and NO Casino Maryland, said Monday that they would reject contributions from gambling companies. A similar pledge was made by Marylanders United to Stop Slots, a group launched in April that counts Comptroller Peter Franchot and other prominent elected officials as its chief backers.

Penn National Gaming Inc., a national casino operator, recently secured an option to buy Cecil County land where it could operate a slots venue and has vowed to help fund the push for slots at the polls.

Whether any gambling interests would oppose slots remains to be seen. Officials in the anti-slots camp said they have not been approached by anyone in the industry interested in doing so.

Gambling interests spend big on lobbyists

BOSTON — Gambling interests spent at least $2 million on lobbyist salaries in an attempt to sway the Legislature in the past 18 months, as the debate over casinos reached a fever pitch.

The House defeated Gov. Deval Patrick's casino gambling bill in March. The spending level could have gone even higher had the debate lasted through the summer.

Secretary of State William Galvin said the final tally could break a record for spending by gambling interests in a legislative session once all reports are filed with his office. The reports for the latest six-month period that ended July 1 were due Tuesday, but several had not been submitted by the 5 p.m. deadline.

"The economy might not be well, but lobbyists are doing swell," Mr. Galvin said in a telephone interview.

In the mid-1990s, gambling companies spent about $1 million a year on lobbyists while the Legislature was weighing a casino proposal from former Gov. William F. Weld.

Suffolk Downs, which wants a casino, was the top spender in the past 18 months, dropping nearly $500,000 on seven lobbying firms.

The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe reported spending $221,000 on lobbyist salaries in the past 18 months. The tribe is seeking state support for an application to take land in federal trust for an Indian casino in Middleboro.

In the latest report to the secretary of state, covering the six-month period ending July 1, the Mashpee tribe reported spending $56,000 on the firm of Quinn and Morris, and $30,000 for "indirect" lobbying by Scott Ferson of the Liberty Square Group.

Robert Quinn is a former state attorney general, and Mr. Ferson, the tribe's spokesman, is a former aide to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), which is also seeking a casino, spent $120,000 in the past 18 months on the lobbying firm of Donoghue, Barrett & Singal.

Northeast Gaming Group, of East Longmeadow, which is pitching casinos in New Bedford and Western Massachusetts, reported spending $45,000 on the Suffolk Group.

Other notable filings for the past 18 months included Donald Trump's casino company, which spent $162,000, Harrah's, $87,500, and the Mohegan Tribe, $21,000. The Mohegan Tribe, which operates Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, is a partner in a commercial casino venture in Western Massachusetts.

Tuesday's reports deal mainly with lobbyist salaries.

A report released in May by Common Cause Massachusetts found that gambling interests also gave nearly $1.5 million in campaign contributions to state politicians between 2002 and 2007 in a wide push for slot parlors and casinos.

Good-government groups say heavy spending by gambling interests keeps the issue alive on Beacon Hill year after year despite legislative defeats.

Secretary Galvin attributed the high figures in lobbyist salaries in part to a crackdown by his office on unregistered lobbyists. Mr. Galvin sent letters to nearly 30 gambling entities that met with the Patrick administration, warning them that they might have to register as lobbyists under the law. The administration was holding the meetings as it compiled briefing materials on casinos for the governor last year.

"We had a truth-telling session," Mr. Galvin said. "We had a number of entities come in and report new clients that they should have reported back in January."

Gov. Patrick is widely expected to renew his casino plan when the Legislature begins a new session next year.

Mr. Galvin said lobbyist salaries jump "whenever they think there is some kind of gambling fever. "¦ It's going into remission. It's not going away."

NBA Gambling Scandal Continues

After NBA referee Tim Donaghy was arrested on suspicions of gambling involvement in games he officiated, Commissioner David Stern demanded a full investigation, which promptly asserted that all other refs were sterling, and that Donaghy was, in Stern's words, a "rogue, isolated criminal."

Looks like Stern's conclusion may have been more desperate public relations ploy rather than thorough investigation analysis. Court records reveal that Donaghy made 134 calls to another ref during the time period he was providing gambling information to bookies.

Official Scott Foster was the recipient of the calls, which all took place either directly before or after Donaghy conversations with Thomas Martino, Donaghy's gambling connection. The calls almost all occurred either immediately preceding or following a game, and were short.

The calls took place from October of 2006 to April of 2007. During that same period, Donaghy placed no more than thirteen calls to any other referee.

Investigators also found the calls were all made from a phone Donaghy primarily used for his gambling activities, and the calls ceased when Donaghy's gambling was curtailed.

The league continues to stonewall, denying any connection between Foster and gambling, and continuing to push the "lone gunman' theory for Donaghy. Yet the evidence cries for further investigation, starting with Foster's finances.

After years of carefully grooming and growing the NBA, David Stern's downfall may be his arrogance and unilateral control of the league; two things that served him well in years past.

Study urges legalize and regulate online gambling

As one potential solution, the study's authors suggested that governments encourage large corporations like those that run the major Las Vegas casinos to enter a new, regulated online gambling market. The major Vegas operators include MGM Mirage and Harrah's Entertainment Inc

Gary Thompson, a spokesman for Harrah's, said the company has already supported a study looking at the pros and cons of legalizing and regulating online gambling.

Depending on how the government would structure its approach, he said Harrah's would be interested in exploring the market opportunity.

The study also suggested government sponsors in Canada might enter the market and regulate it with measures like more effective age checks when signing up, setting limits on bets and implementing mandatory "cooling-off" periods that force gamblers to stop betting for a set amount of time.