The River Belle Group’s Jackpot City Casino, which is powered by Microgaming and boasting eCOGRA’s “Safe and Fair” Seal of Approval, recently announced they are giving away fifteen free Euros to all French players, just for signing up. Of course, just like any no-deposit bonus, there are terms and conditions governing the withdrawal of such free money. Yet, along with Jackpot City’s host of other promotions, the offer should be tempting.

Some French players are planning to hold out longer, for the French-only bonuses and promotions are expected to get even better as more online casinos come round to the French market and stake a share at the prodigious amount of traffic generated from the nation who lives passionately and invented the phrase C’est la vie (say la vee), That’s Life.

Another reason why some players are holding out – that is, opening new accounts on top of existing accounts, is because of a clause in the gambling legislation amendment that says once the new internet gambling laws go into effect, all online casinos with French players will be required to close their accounts and be given the opportunity to re-register, but without any added incentives.

The idea is to “spread the wealth” so to speak, although many analysts think it is a measure more designed to protect and ensure the future of the French gambling monopoly’s, Francaise des Jeux and Par Mutuel, who you can rest assured will be offering incentives since they will be one of the new players in the French market. If you hadn’t heard already, a recent ECJ ruling gives betting monopolies the right to offer services online if the government deems it to be in the best interests of its citizens. The new legislation is scheduled to go into effect in 2010.

A MGC investigator testified that he caught six underage players entering the Ameristar Kansas City casino after a security guard allowed them onto the gaming floor. The commission reported that part of the problem comes from a recent referendum that passed a vote in November that repealed the US$500 per day loss limit. The same proposition also repealed the requirement that new customers must sign up for a casino identification card.

MGC Chairman James Matthewson said that the state’s casinos should implement uniform procedures for verifying a player’s identification. Currently, each casino has different processes for checking a player’s age and eligibility to play. MGC Executive Director Gene McNary said that, since the casinos wanted the referendum passed, they should shoulder the responsibility of insuring that underage players do not step on the casino floor.

Michael Winter, executive director of the state’s casino association, said that the underage offenders in Kansas City were quickly caught by on-site security and escorted off the premises. He also said that, of the nineteen million players who have visited Missouri casinos since the passage of the referendum, less than forty players have been cited for being underage.

In the case of each fine, the commission stiffened the penalty over what investigators recommended. With the violations at Pinnacle’s Lumiere Place, investigators recommended a fine of US$25,000, but commissioners increased the severity to US$60,000. In the case of Ameristar Kansas City’s violations, the staff recommended a fine of US$10,000, but the commission upped it to $US25,000.

A spokesman for the Ameristar group stated that the fines were “excessive” and that “mistakes happen”. He also said that the security guard who failed to verify the underage player’s identification was summarily fired

Mr. Shorr also saw some of the signs of addiction in himself when he first started playing as a college freshman. He would spend almost forty hours a week playing online poker and lost thousands of dollars before he backed off, studied the game, and went on to his current successful run. He understands how college students, with lots of pressure and little money, can be lured into such compulsive behavior.

With the growth in land-based casinos, state lotteries, and online gaming, many students are tempted by the idea of ignoring the schoolbooks in favor of quick cash at the blackjack table, the online slot machine or the local bookie. A new task force formed by the National Center for Responsible Gaming has compiled a list of recommendations for college officials to stem the rising tide of illicit gambling on their campuses.

The Task Force on College Gambling Policies was formed last year in cooperation with the Cambridge Health Alliance, a department of the world-famous Harvard Medical School. According to one report, up to half of American university students have placed a bet and more than ten percent show signs of compulsive gambling. Moreover, unlike drug and alcohol addictions, schools are not providing adequate support to students who are gambling addicts.

Another reason that students with gambling addictions do not get the help they need is that compulsive gambling often does not carry many of the physical scars that frequently accompany drug and alcohol abuse. A major effort of this new task force is to help addicts and their peers recognize the signs of a gambling addiction. An aggressive program is already underway in Missouri to educate students about such dangers

Sea The Stars’ 2009 season began six months ago with an April victory at the 2000 Guineas Stakes. Every month since has seen Sea The Stars take another major race: the Epsom Derby, the Eclipse Stakes, the International Stakes, the Irish Champion Stakes, and most recently the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. He is the first horse in 20 years to win the first three titles, and the only horse ever that has won all six.

Traditionally, the next step for a colt of this caliber would be the breeding shed, but Sea The Stars’ trainer, John Oxx, has hinted that there may be one more race in his horse. The entry deadline for the $5 million Breeders Cup Classic is only two weeks away, but Oxx hasn’t ruled it out. Americans may still see a legend hit their turf in 2009.

On the world gambling scene, Macao is now claiming the lion’s share of Asian and European gambling tourists. In the U.S., aggressive gambling expansion in a number of states has made traveling to Las Vegas less appealing when players can visit local casinos for a fraction of the cost and effort, and online gambling is the new venue of choice for poker players.

The steep decline in gambling profits has also meant a steep decline in the city’s employment rates, which has meant the end of the city’s rapid residential growth. It’s a double whammy for the city’s casinos who are now losing both their tourist customers and their loyal locals. Though the Las Vegas Strip has long been characterized by change, a recent article by the Wall Street Journal revealed that most of the city’s largest operators have no plans to expand within the next decade. Once the MGM Mirage’s City Center project is completed this winter, it could be the last new addition to the Vegas skyline for a long time to come.

While casino operators with international holdings are now redirecting their money to the growing Asian market, domestic operators are simplifying in hopes of paying down existing debts. The city hasn’t given up on itself yet, though. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has already revealed plans to attract and develop newer and bigger events in lieu of newer and bigger buildings.

Revenue from the gambling halls in September fell by 5.8 percent compared with a year ago, but that was far better than the more than 16 percent drop recorded in August. The casinos took in $335.4 million last month, and four casinos actually saw revenues increase.

The gambling halls won $231.8 million at the slot machines, down 5.2 percent from a year ago, and $103.5 million at table games, down 6.9 percent.

“I hope we’re seeing signs that things are starting to stabilize,” said Mark Juliano, CEO of Trump Entertainment Resorts, which owns three casinos here. “Perhaps the double-digit (declines) might be behind us. The real question is how long until we get back to the results we saw in past years, which is the question everyone in every business has.”

Don Marrandino, eastern division president of Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., said the while the results were helped by a Labor Day weekend that fell entirely within September this year as opposed to last year, it still felt better to see a smaller decline.
“You look for the silver lining,” he said. “My gut is it’s way too early to say. The game’s not over yet, that’s for sure.”

The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa returned to its customary place as the industry leader in September, posting a 6 percent increase. Other gainers included Resorts Atlantic City (up 3.9 percent); Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City (up 3.1 percent); and the Tropicana Casino and Resort (up 1 percent.)

Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino posted the biggest decline in September, down 16.5 percent, followed closely by the Atlantic City Hilton Casino resort (down 16.3 percent). Trump Marina Hotel casino was down 14.2 percent, the Showboat Casino Hotel was down 13.6 percent, Bally’s Atlantic City was down 13.3 percent, the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort was down 12.4 percent, and Caesars Atlantic City was down 6.3 percent.

For the first nine months of the year, Atlantic City’s casino revenues are down 14.2 percent.

Atlantic City is in its third straight year of revenue declines that started when slots parlors started opening in Pennsylvania in 2006.

“It’s an adrenaline rush,” said the 19-year-old sophomore at Northwestern University, who risks hundreds of dollars a month.

Steve isn’t alone. Recent research shows gambling is becoming a college pastime for young men — a trend fueled by high-stakes televised poker matches, more casinos nationwide and easy wagering opportunities on the Internet.

One in four college men gamble on sports on a monthly basis, while more than one in two take part in any form of gambling — including card-playing or going to casinos — according to surveys by Don Romer, who has researched high school and college gambling rates for the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Gambling among college students has proliferated over the last 20 years,” he said.

In fact, problem gambling has become such a concern that the national Task Force on College Gambling Policies last month issued a report saying universities should campaign against it to the same degree they fight drug and alcohol use. Only 22 percent of colleges have written gambling policies, the task force said, and very few have outreach programs.

The prevalence but lack of discussion about the issue has led some experts to call gambling a “silent addiction” that hits college students disproportionately.

Nationally, Romer’s surveys found most gambling among college students peaked in 2005 and has since leveled off. But problem gambling went from 6.1 percent of students in 2007 to 7.8 percent last year.

At three schools in the Midwest, one researcher found, college students and athletes are three times more likely than adults in the general population to become problem gamblers.

“College students — particularly college athletes — are among the most vulnerable groups to develop gambling problems or pathology,” said Cindy Kerber, an assistant nursing professor at Illinois State University.

Nearly 15 percent of 636 college athletes Kerber surveyed — including one in five males but only one in 20 females — are problem or pathological gamblers.

About a third of the athletes had never gambled more than $100 in one day, but 16 had bet more than $1,000 in one day.

The debts can get even higher, thanks to the ease of the Internet and proliferation of credit cards among college students, said Scott Damiani, executive director of the Outreach Foundation for Problem and Compulsive Gamblers in Downers Grove.

He recently counseled a local parent whose son — a sophomore at an Illinois public university — racked up $30,000 in gambling debts on a credit card.

Damiani agrees colleges should do more outreach on the problem. A former addict himself, he has lectured on the potential downside of betting at the College of DuPage, Aurora University and Northern Illinois University, among other schools.

But while many schools require athletes to attend sessions on gambling, even the state’s biggest schools don’t run prevention programs for the general student body.

Schools said they would like to ramp up their efforts but don’t have the resources.

“Colleges would like to address [gambling] more,” said Eric Davidson, associate director of the Eastern Illinois University Health Service. “However, with the current economic concerns that many institutions are experiencing … addressing it in a fashion that would meet the approval of many is a challenge.”

So save your money for a new place to gamble — say, the stunning new casino on Pittsburgh’s North Side. But you’ll have to battle Steelers traffic to get there.

The new Rivers Casino occupies an amazing piece of real estate along the Ohio River, right next to Heinz Field, where the Steelers and Browns kick off at 1 p.m. Oct. 18.

The casino, which launched in August, is the ninth to open in Pennsylvania since the legislature legalized such gambling in 2004.

The 400,000-square-foot hall features 3,000 slot machines and, if you can pull yourself away from the games, spectacular views of downtown Pittsburgh across the river.

One thing this casino doesn’t have: table games, though perhaps not for long. The Pennsylvania legislature voted last week to allow the state’s casinos to add poker, craps, roulette and other table games in an effort to close a $1 billion budget gap. The games should be up and running in Pittsburgh within six months, according to George Matta, director of business development and community relations for Rivers.

For those who can’t wait, the casino offers several virtual table games — poker, roulette and blackjack — featuring on-screen animated dealers and up to five live players who sit in a semicircle and advise their electronic leader whether they’ll stand or take another card.
A great lineup of attractions
Located on the western edge of Pittsburgh’s eclectic North Side neighborhood, Rivers is close to the football stadium, the baseball stadium, the Carnegie Science Center and the Andy Warhol Museum, as well as several other attractions and dozens of places to eat and party.

But, of course, the casino doesn’t really want you to leave.

The casino offers four restaurants on-site, including fine-dining Andrew’s, named in honor of Pittsburgh’s threesome of famous sons (Carnegie, Mellon, Warhol) and featuring $12 cocktails and $38 steaks. The restaurant is oriented south, offering terrific riverfront views, both inside and out.

The Grand View Buffet, a floor above, offers seven stations of freshly prepared food served alongside those same stunning waterfront views — a nice touch given most casinos’ interest in keeping customers in the dark, both literally and figuratively, about the outside world.

To soak up the views without buying a meal, head to the Drum Bar, adjacent to Andrew’s, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the river. You’ll have to buy your booze, though there are several self-service stations set up throughout the casino offering free coffee and soda.

A sports bar, the Wheelhouse, is expected to open next month, and a ballroom/theater should be finished by the end of 2010, according to Matta. Long-term plans call for the construction of an adjacent hotel, as well.

There’s also a gift shop, with the usual jewelry and knickknacks designed to appeal to gamblers who hit it big, plus an entire section devoted to Steelers gear — just in case anyone has forgotten who the hometown team is.

Despite its curb appeal and a strong draw after it opened, the Rivers Casino has posted disappointing revenue numbers in recent weeks. It was the poorest-performing Pennsylvania casino during the last full week of September, according to Pennsylvania’s Gaming Control Board.

Casino officials blame the poor numbers in part on the hoopla surrounding the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh last month, when streets and schools were closed and many residents stayed away from downtown.

It’s also not the easiest place to get to, especially for out-of-town drivers not familiar with the curvy and narrow streets of Pittsburgh.

Despite the slow start, casino spokesman Dan Fee expects the casino will meet its projected revenue figures for the year. He also expects revenue to improve as the casino launches additional gambling promotions and bus traffic increases.

In the meantime, football fans can score a cheap place to park next Sunday by using the casino’s parking garage. Members of the Rivers Edge Players Club can park free anytime in the adjacent garage; just sign up for the program online (theriverscasino.com), pick up your card inside the casino and spend what Matta called a “minimal” amount in the machines.

Just make sure you get there early enough to snag one of its more than 3,000 spaces. (Come early and enjoy the Grand View’s Sunday brunch, served from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., for $26).

You can use the money you’d spend on parking to test your luck in a slot machine. Maybe you’ll hit the jackpot. Maybe the Browns will win.

The odds are against it, but you never know.

Then maybe you’ll consider the argument that Gilbert and his companies will take part in building some rather nice casinos in Ohio’s four major cities, says Jeff Cohen, a business partner of Gilbert and a childhood friend.

Cohen is CEO of the Rock Companies, a family of companies with interests in the Cleveland Cavaliers, Quicken Loans and other Gilbert ventures. While Gilbert is the majority owner of the Cavaliers, Cohen also has an ownership stake.

“When we do something, we go all in,” said Cohen, citing the success of the Cavaliers, which have fared better than other Cleveland franchises in recent years.

State Issue 3 will be on the ballot in the Nov. 3 general election and would authorize gambling casinos in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo.

Cohen said the four planned casinos would create 34,000 new jobs in places where they are particularly needed — the downtown urban cores of four Ohio cities. While the figure includes many construction jobs, it also includes 15,000 permanent jobs for people who will work at the casinos.

Contrary to what foes of the question have suggested, “90 percent of all the permanent jobs in the casino are going to be from the surrounding (metropolitan area),” Cohen said. “It’s going to be predominantly union-based jobs.”

The pledge that the casinos will hire locally explains why Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson has endorsed the proposal, Cohen said.

The 33 percent tax on gross revenues, which Cohen says is one of the highest taxes on casinos in the country, will be redistributed to cities, counties and school systems across the state, Cohen said.

First year tax revenue will amount to about $651 million, he said.

According to Cohen, Erie County’s commissioners would receive about $2.21 million a year, with another $1.6 million going to Erie County schools. Huron County would get about $1.7 million, with its schools receiving about $1.4 million. Ottawa County would get about $1.2 million, with about $700,000 for its schools.

Ohio voters have turned down casino gaming in previous elections. A coalition of liberal and conservative groups have come together to oppose the latest proposal, offering arguments in TV ads and online at truthpac.org.

The gambling question’s foes include ProgressOhio, a liberal think tank in Cleveland, and Citizens for Community Values, a conservative group that opposes gambling on moral grounds.

TruthPAC says a loophole in the proposal means that cash wagers at casinos won’t be taxed.

“It says if cash is not exchanged for chips or other objects, no tax is due,” said Lou Blessing, co-chairman of TruthPAC.

Cohen contends the real issue is not whether people favor or oppose gambling, but whether it makes sense for Ohio gamblers to continue to send huge amounts of money out of state.

Ohio gamblers spend $1.7 billion a year in gambling casinos in neighboring states. If Issue 3 is approved, $1 billion of that will return to Ohio, he said.

The government of the Chinese gambling enclave didn’t release specifics. But depending on the results of the review, government officials could enact new restrictions on one of the gambling world’s most promising growth markets.

The government in its statement said that the six operators agreed that officials should prevent “unlimited expansion” of Macau’s gambling sector. Government officials the review would include the number of gaming tables. There were 4,390 gaming tables in Macau at the middle of the year, according to the latest figures from Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

Francis Tam, Macau’s secretary for economy and finance, on Monday told representatives of the six operators, which includes the Macau arms of Wynn Resorts Ltd. and Las Vegas Sands Corp., that the government was also seeking to raise the entry-age limit for casinos, to 21 years old from the current 18-year-old limit.

Macau’s government also said it would ban slot machines from residential areas of Macau. The city itself has about 13,500 slot machines. The slot-machine regulations would be drawn up in the next two to three months, the government said, while the new age limit would require approval by Macau’s legislature.

Macau’s government has long cautioned against expanding too quickly, fearing social dislocations and imbalances.

Macau’s gambling market is widely considered to be one of the most promising in the world, because the former Portuguese colony is the only place in China where gambling is legal. But Monday’s meeting underscores the considerable policy uncertainties involved in doing business there.

Growth has accelerated in recent years as Western casino operators have moved in, pressuring local operators.

But last September, visitor arrivals and gambling revenues fell steeply after Beijing began restricting visas for mainland Chinese traveling to Macau. While the central government and provincial officials have been silent on the issue, the move was widely interpreted as a sign of unease by Chinese officials about Macau’s quick growth.

In March, Macau’s gross gambling revenue fell 5.9% from a year earlier to 9.61 billion Macau patacas, or about US$1.2 billion. Sands last year halted two expansion projects at the Venetian, while Hong Kong’s Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. postponed opening its new Cotai casino and resort until late next year at the earliest.

But growth has resumed since then. Macau’s gambling revenue in August reached a record 11.4 billion Macanese patacas, and Citigroup expects revenue totaled 10.8 billion patacas in September, typically a slow month.

U.S. casino operators have tapped into the return of positive sentiment through initial public offerings in Hong Kong. Wynn Resorts Ltd. raised US$1.6 billion last week through the public offering of a stake in its Macau arm, and on Monday raised an additional US$242.3 million through overallotments. Las Vegas Sands Corp. is also planning its own initial public offering of its Macau operations in Hong Kong later this year.

Stanley Ho, the chairman of SJM Holdings Ltd., Macau’s biggest casino operator — with more than half of Macau’s 33 casinos — has long called for restricting the number of tables in Macau to 1,000 for each of the six concession-holders. The company couldn’t be reached late Monday night local time.