The Adams Daily Report
Compiled exclusively for Compton Dancer Consulting
Thursday, May 30, 2002
Culinary extends strike deadline 1 month.
Nevada (Las Vegas-Union) – Jeff German, Las Vegas Sun The Culinary Union on Wednesday extended its
strike deadline until July 1 with 17 casinos that have
yet to reach contract agreements. The one-month
extension, which was sought by eight struggling
downtown hotels, buys the union more time to
negotiate deals with the remaining casinos and averts
a threatened weekend walkout.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/gaming/2002/may/30/513513371.h
tml
Addicts can recoup losses.
South Carolina (Legal) – Columbia - The state Supreme
Court has ruled that addicted gamblers can recoup losses
from video machine operators. However, since the $3
billion video poker business has been outlawed for almost
two years, it is unlikely that gamblers could get any
money, an industry attorney said. "Unless you believe in
blood from a turnip, this thing is largely academic,"
Dwight Drake, a lawyer for the South Carolina Coin
Operators Association, said. "It's the beginnings of the
last lashes of a dead horse."
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/gaming/2002/may/30/513513004.h
tml
Discrimination alleged at casino.
Mississippi (Legal) – Associated Press – Gulfport, Miss. - The
federal government has cited Grand Casino Gulfport for
discriminating against female employees. The casino is
owned by Park Place Entertainment Corp. of Las Vegas.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found
that five female employees were discriminated against,
then treated badly for complaining. Grand Casino
declined to answer questions about the EEOC findings.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/gaming/2002/may/30/513513008.h
tml
Casino deals rejected, but mayor won't
budge.
Michigan (Development) James G. Hill And Tina Lam, Free
Press - Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said Wednesday
that he won't renegotiate casino development agreements
despite the City Council's rejection of the deals. In voting
down the plans 6-3 Wednesday morning, the council said
the mayor should try again for better deals. Kilpatrick
accused the council of playing politics with the deals
because of a bill in the Legislature that would allow
Detroiters to vote on whether they want to elect council
members by districts, instead of at-large. The bill passed
the House on Wednesday and now goes to the Senate.
http://www.freep.com/news/casinos/cas30_20020530.htm
Emerald plays 'revenge' card.
Illinois (Development-Legal) - Scott Fornek - Spitting
out words such as "revenge" and "abuse of power," the
lawyer for embattled Emerald Casino Inc. mounted the
company's defense Wednesday in a long-awaited hearing
that was a mix of withering sarcasm and lots of fingerpointing. Emerald lawyer Michael Ficaro accused the
Illinois Gaming Board of a pattern of unfairness that
includes a chairman hellbent against his client and an
administrative law judge in the board's pocket. It's so bad,
Ficaro griped, the board's lawyers even got the more
cushy, leather seats in the hearing room. … Ficaro made
his broadsides before administrative law Judge Herbert L.
Holzman, who is considering if the Gaming Board was
justified in revoking Emerald's license over charges that
the company lied to the board, concealed casino
construction information and allowed organized crime to
get a foothold in the project.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-casi30.html
$105 Million Casino Expansion Approved.
Missouri (Development) - Rick Alm, The Kansas City Star, Mo.
- Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Construction crews are
moving Missouri River bottom land outside the Argosy
Riverside Casino, which now has the corporate green
light to proceed with its $105 million expansion. The
plan, approved earlier this year by Illinois-based Argosy
Gaming Co. and the Missouri Gaming Commission, was
put on hold in mid January when Missouri Gov. Bob
Holden proposed steep increases in casino taxes to plug
holes in the state budget. "It didn't make sense for us to
proceed if we were going to be hit with an onerous tax
increase," said Virginia McDowell, an Argosy vice
president. After Holden's proposal and other casino tax
increase bills died in the waning hours of the General
Assembly session this month, Argosy president Jim Perry
last week quietly gave his nod for construction to begin.
http://www.hotelonline.com/Neo/News/2002_May_30/k.KCC.1022776278.html
Federal powers reined in with ruling on
casino ship.
National (Legal) - Joan Biskupic USA Today - Washington -- The
Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Tuesday that U.S. regulators
lacked the power to intervene in a casino cruise ship's
complaint that it was refused berth at a South Carolina
port. …Thomas was joined by Chief Justice William
Rehnquist and Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin
Scalia and Anthony Kennedy. They have shielded states
from lawsuits under federal labor law, patent
infringement and false-advertising rules, and Indian
gaming regulation. ''By guarding against encroachments
by the federal government on . . . state sovereignty,''
Thomas wrote, ''we strive to maintain the balance of
power embodied in our Constitution.''
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020529/4147892s.htm
Confusing compact to cost poor tribes
millions.
California (Indian Gaming) - James P. Sweeney
Copley News Service - Sacramento – Language in California's
hastily negotiated Indian gambling compacts appears to
have cost the state's poorest tribes $37 million. The state
has collected that much in onetime fees of $1,250 for
each slot machine license issued since the first 60
compacts were signed in September 1999. Those
payments have been viewed widely as separate and
distinct from quarterly fees tribes must pay on new slots.
The two income streams support a revenue-sharing fund
for small and non-gaming tribes. …But the compact
called it a "prepayment" and other language suggests the
upfront charge should be considered a down-payment on
the quarterly fees, Melnicoe told the commission
Wednesday. …based on Melnicoe's advice, the
commission unanimously agreed to credit the $1,250
payments against quarterly fees due from each tribe.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20020529-1733-n84146.html
Bush rejects bill expanding card room
gambling at dog tracks.
Florida (Expansion-Legislation) - News-Journal Wire
Services -Tallahassee -- Gamblers lost a chance to win more
money playing cards at dog tracks when Gov. Jeb Bush
vetoed a bill Wednesday expanding card room betting.
The bill started out as a way to help find homes for
greyhounds after their racing careers, requiring adoption
information be placed in programs. …Bush said he
rejected the measure because of a long-standing position
that expansion of gambling is bad public policy.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/2002/May/30/FLALEG1.htm
Racetrack seeks addition of table games.
West Virginia (Expansion-Legislation) - Associated
Press - Chester - Adding table games to West Virginia's four
racetracks would create hundreds of high-paying jobs,
satisfy demands of slot machine players and boost
business by at least 20 percent, the president of
Mountaineer Racetrack & Gaming Resort said. Ted
Arneault said Wednesday that he will soon start to seek
support for legislation that could introduced in 2003 or
2004. The bill would let tracks offer live versions of
poker, blackjack and other games that patrons now play
on touch-screen machines.
http://www.dailymail.com/news/News/2002053035/
Ladbrokes and Manchester United join
forces.
International (UK) - Ladbrokes and Manchester
United have signed a four-year deal to provide the club's
global fan base with betting and gaming services. The
agreement starts on Saturday to coincide with the World
Cup. Ladbrokes says it's the most wide-ranging
agreement of its kind signed between a betting company
and a Premiership football club. Ladbrokes will provide
betting facilities at Old Trafford on match days, and on
the official Manchester United website
www.manutd.com.
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_598374.html?menu=news.technology
Help-Wanted Index Rises in April.
National (Economy) – New York (Reuters) - An index
measuring the number of jobs offered across the United
States edged higher in April but suggested that the
economic recovery lacks the momentum needed to
generate new jobs, a report on Thursday showed. The
New York-based Conference Board said its Help Wanted
Advertising Index rose to 47 in April from 46 in March.
Butthe index was down sharply from readings of 72 in
February 2001 and 65 only a year ago. "Job advertising
has been essentially unchanged since November," said
Ken Goldstein, an economist at the Conference Board.
"The economic recovery is not yet strong enough to
produce new jobs."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=580&ncid=580&e=8&u=/
nm/20020530/bs_nm/economy_helpwanted_dc_1