Australia
The use of TITO technology for printing vouchers at slot machines has been approved in New South Wales, Australia. There are currently more than 100,000 slot machines installed in the region. It is expected that most of them will either be upgraded or replaced to allow for TITO functions.
Massachusetts
Will Massachusetts be the next state to jump on the gaming wagon? State Auditor Joseph DeNucci thinks it’s “inevitable.” He believes the state should jump at the opportunity to put slot machines at racetracks to bolster the racing industry. He also believes the state could house a full-scale casino in the next three to five years, as current political yens seem to be leaning in that direction. The pressure to act may soon be magnified; the newly recognized Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has recently secured backers — Sol Kerzner, Len Wolman and Starwood Capital — for its billion-dollar destination casino in the southeastern part of the state.
Nevada
There is a new resource available for anyone interested in the rulings of the Nevada Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit — “Appealing in Nevada,” an appellate law blog created by Tami D. Cowden, a Nevada appellate attorney with the statewide firm Kummer Kaempfer Bonner Renshaw & Ferrario. Found at www.nevadaappellatelaw.com, “Appealing in Nevada” is designed to be a current source of information on appellate rulings and their ramifications, Nevada legal news and national legal issues that affect the state. The site also features quick links to the Ninth Circuit, the Nevada Supreme Court and other respected websites and legal blogs. “The idea for ‘Appealing in Nevada’ originally developed from my love of writing,” Cowden said. “After researching the idea and exploring its ethics, it seemed to be a natural fit to combine my daily work in appellate and civil litigation with writing and analysis for the blog.”
Indiana
There has been a major development in the $100 million lawsuit over the operating agent contract for the French Lick Casino. The suit alleges the Lauth Indiana Resort & Casino undermined a previous contract with Merit Management when it agreed to develop the casino with the Cook Group. Hamilton County Superior Court Judge Stephen R. Nation has ruled against Lauth, finding that there was, in fact, an April 2004 written contract between Lauth Resort & Casino and Merit Management that created a joint venture as Lost River Development for the purpose of jointly submitting an application and proposal to the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) to pursue the French Lick gaming contract in Orange County, Ind. As a result, Judge Nation denied Lauth’s motion for summary judgment on the contract issue. The court noted that, although the IGC awarded the gaming contract to Trump in July 2004, the commission publicly expressed — with Merit Management and Lauth present — its concerns about Trump’s financial abilities to carry out the contract. Judge Nation noted that Lauth principals Robert Lauth Jr. and Gregory Gurnik knew about the IGC’s reservations and its public statements that it would consider awarding the gaming contract to one of the two remaining applicants — including Lost River — if Trump did not meet conditions to the commission’s satisfaction. Merit Management Attorney Gary Grasso of the Chicago firm Grasso Bass & Williams stated: “We believe that Judge Nation’s decision has validated the fact that Merit Management and Lauth had a deal, and that deal was a joint venture to pursue the gaming contract in French Lick. Lauth breached that deal and secretly negotiated with the Cook Group to exclude Merit Management. We think Lauth’s deception has now been exposed and confirmed.”
After IGC Executive Director Ernie Yelton recommended that the commission rescind its vote for Trump due to financial difficulties, Lauth principals entered negotiations with the Cook Group in March 2005 to bid on the French Lick OAC — without telling Merit Management. Merit Management is seeking $100 million in damages.
Washington D.C.
Hot on the heels of loosened gaming restrictions in several jurisdictions nationwide, 2006 proved a year of major growth for the industry. Gross gaming revenues for the U.S. commercial casino industry climbed 6.8 percent to reach a new record of $32.42 billion, according to a survey released by the American Gaming Association (AGA). The 2007 State of the States: The AGA Survey of Casino Entertainment also illustrates the continued high acceptability of casino gambling among American adults, with more than four in five (82 percent) saying the activity is acceptable for themselves or others.
In addition to posting more than $32 billion in gross gaming revenues in 2006, the 460 commercial casinos in 11 states directly employed 366,197 people. These employees earned a total of $13.3 billion in salaries, including benefits and tips, which is a 5.6 percent increase over 2005 figures. Casinos also contributed $5.2 billion in direct gaming taxes to state and local governments in 2006, a 5.5 percent increase from 2005.
The continued economic success of the casino gaming industry is paralleled by the sustained high acceptability ratings it receives, which are evident in the annual poll of American adults conducted by Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research and Peter D. Hart Research Associates Inc. for State of the States. In addition to the more than 80 percent of American adults who consider casino gambling acceptable, almost seven out of 10 (67 percent) say casinos bring economic benefits to other industries and businesses. The same percentage believes legalized casino gambling is a good way for state and local governments to generate revenue without raising taxes.
More than a quarter of the U.S. adult population visited a casino in 2006, according to the State of the States report. These 56.2 million casino visitors made a total of 371 million trips, an increase of 3.4 million visitors and 49 million trips over 2005.