Casino [ptz]

NEW NET GAMBLING INDICTMENT

Four Rhode Island men have been indicted for running an Internet gambling operation out of that state. From the LV Sun:

The business was raided by federal, state and local authorities in September 2001, according to WPRI-TV, which first reported on the grand jury's action.

Joseph Tedeschi was charged with 12 counts of running an illegal gambling operation, racketeering, money laundering and conspiracy. The others face three counts of illegal gambling and money laundering.

A secretary for the defendants' attorney, John Williams, said Williams was unavailable for comment and would not return to his San Jose, Calif., office until Tuesday.

The group incorporated a company in the Dominican Republic called Tecnologia JPR that purchased software and computer services from Handa Lopez Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif., to run the online gambling enterprise, according to the indictment.

The business offered Las Vegas-style gambling, the grand jury claims. It included slots, blackjack, poker, Baccarat, sports betting and other activities. A player could choose to hold winnings in an account for future playing or request payment by check. The company used a server in Rhode Island to process the credit card transactions, the indictment states.

Even though it doesn't look like they were charged with violating section 1084, I think I can work this into my Wire Act book. Read the full story here.

GO FORTH AND SIN NO MORE

A "sinners' fund" is closing down because peopel are apparently not willing to wager that other people will continue to drink, smoke, and gamble:

MorganFunShares(NasdaqSC:MFUN - News), a closed-end fund that made a name for itself by betting people will always drink, smoke, and gamble, will be shut down later this year because investors weren't willing to take the same wager, a fund director said on Friday.
Cleveland, Ohio-based MorganFunShares has roughly $8 million in assets. It will be liquidated before the end of the year because it was too expensive to run after its founder, Burton Morgan, died in March, said Robert Pincus, president of MorganFunShares.

Morgan, who was in his 80s when he died, launched the fund in 1994 because he believed people will not cut back on liquor, tobacco or gambling habits even in bad economic times. The fund's biggest holdings include gaming company International Game Tech (NYSE:IGT - News) and brewing giant Anheuser-Busch(NYSE:BUD - News).

So we really aren't a bunch of lazy, smoking, drunken slobs who gamble instead of saving. Read the full story here.

CA GOV HOPEFULS COURT INDIAN CASINOS

Candidates for the October recall election are already lining up the support of California's tribal casino operators. From the SacBee:

Two of the three top candidates seeking to replace Gov. Gray Davis in the recall election took their cases to moneyed Indian tribes Thursday, promising to support more gambling and less government intrusion on tribal lands in California.
Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock drew standing ovations after their remarks to the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, according to members who attended the closed-door session at the downtown Hyatt Regency Sacramento.

Speaking with reporters after their speeches, Bustamante and McClintock described their commitments in broad terms. They denied promising tribes anything specific in exchange for campaign contributions.

But they left little doubt among tribal leaders that they would expedite compacts for tribes that don't yet have gaming rights and be amenable to increasing the number of slot machines allowed to tribes that already run casinos.

"In terms of Hewlett-Packard or any other industry group in California, we don't put a limitation on any of them," Bustamante said. "We don't say, 'You can only sell so many computers' or 'You can only have so many franchises.' What we do is let the market determine a lot of what is needed."

In written responses to a Gannett News Service questionnaire on gambling made available by the tribal association, Bustamante also said cities and counties should have no ability to influence land-use and zoning decisions on tribal land.

No word on what Arnold thinks of all this. Governor Davis, though, has been trying to woo back Indian support, apologizing for his earlier attempts to unilaterally slap a tax on Indian casinos and apparently promosing Indian nations two seats on the Gambling Commission. Read the full story here.

That's all for today...research in the law library beckons. Have a safe and happy weekend.
posted by Dave at 2:07 PM