36 year old Todd Lyons of Beverley, Massachusetts, is being prosecuted under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), the rules of which will come into effect only on June 1, 2010. A 36 count indictment unsealed last week had the Department of Justice (DoJ) charge Todd with crimes of racketeering, money laundering, operating an illegal gambling business, interstate travel in aid of racketeering, filing false tax returns and a host of other related charges.

The Salem News, which was the first to break the news, reported that Lyons was involved in an enterprise that handled funds for offshore gambling operators. There is supposed to be documented evidence of $22 million collected by Lyons. It has been alleged that Lyons was working for Sports Offshore, which had its web site and customer support services in St. Johns in Antigua since 1997, but actually offered sports betting services to American citizens within the United States jurisdiction. Lyons collected millions of dollars from Americans from Massachusetts to Florida. U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said in a press release, “The conduct alleged in this case reveals a blatant effort to circumvent gaming and tax laws. The notion that the type of activity alleged here is legal because it is conducted over the Internet from offshore is pure fiction.”

The charges against Todd are full of murky financial wrongdoings. He accepted checks from online gamblers in Massachusetts for their wagering and passed them through the US banking system. Specific allegations have been made about falsification of his tax returns. Lyons claimed earnings of $49,437 in 2004 but earned at least $162,112. Similarly in 2005 his earnings were $216,007 as against his claim of $97,352. He even sent cash from Massachusetts to Antigua through FedEx. Lyons earnings consisted of commissions earned on the losses made by the American online players. He was also the conduit for channeling payments collected by other agents who had their own customers. The online gambling operator used an Antiguan front company called Benevolence Funding Ltd. to launder a part of the funds received from the illegal online gambling operations to avoid detection.

If found guilty Lyons can get a maximum prison sentence of 20 years on the racketeering and money-laundering charges alone. He can get another 10 years on the other charges. Each count also carries a three-year term of supervised release and fines up to $250,000. The investigating agencies involved in the case were the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Unit and the Massachusetts State Police. They were helped by the Essex County district attorney’s office.

Lest readers misunderstand, Sale of the Century is the name of one of the new slot game at Virgin Casino. Both the slot games released are rich in features and promise plenty of excitement. Virgin Casino is continuing with its policy of releasing new games in small lots that are spread out over the month rather than a single pack of many games. This policy keeps the excitement of new games continuously flowing.

Sale of the Century is based on the popular television game show of the same name. This game show was first aired in 1969 and has had many reruns in different avatars. The symbols on the reels depict the luxury items that can be won on the game show, such as cars, cruises, jewelry, fur coat and many more. The slot game has three bonus rounds that replicate situations in the game show and bring on the reels its vibrant excitement. The Instant Win can be won at any time, except during free spins. Players are shown a prize, which they can accept or reject for another prize. Maximum three prizes are shown. The player wins the chosen prize or the prize shown in the third round. The Super Pick Feature is activated when the Question Mark symbol simultaneously appears on reels 2, 3 and 4. Players get to pick one of nine boxes and win a prize from cash, free games at tripled payouts, cash and free games and Gift Shop. Otherwise the Gift Shop bonus is activated when three or more scatter symbols appear on the reels. Players get to play the Fast Money Spins on a special 3-reel slot with special prizes.

The second slot game released at Virgin Casino is Multi-Slot Extreme Jackpot. This is a 3-reel slot game in which players can spin up to six sets of reels simultaneously. The total stake wagered is the selected stake per reel set multiplied by the number of reel sets activated. Each reel set pays out independently. The symbols on the reels are the symbols found in the old electromechanical slots, such as Bars, Bell, Cherries and Orange. There are two modes in which this slot game can be played. The Classic Play mode pays for combinations designated as winning combinations in the payout table and at the amounts indicated in the table. The Reverse Play mode is an interesting innovation. It pays out for any combination that does not occur on the payout table. Since such combinations occur much more frequently they are paid out at 1.15 times the triggering bet. Multi-Slot Extreme Jackpot also has an Auto Bet feature.

As such Virgin Casino is powered by WagerWorks, but offers games of other software suppliers as well. The casino is licensed in the gambling jurisdiction of Alderney.

COLUMBUS — Opponents of a proposal to allow casinos in Ohio’s four largest cities are casting doubt about the issue that will go in front of voters this fall, including questioning how much tax revenue the gambling will bring the state.
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But casino supporters say the opponents are out to confuse voters with unsubstantiated attacks and half-truths.

If approved this November, the proposed constitutional amendment would allow construction of casinos in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo.

Backers promise the creation of 34,000 new jobs in Ohio’s struggling cities and $651 million in casino tax revenue.

The most recent disagreement between the two sides on Issue 3 centers on how much tax money the casinos will generate. Under the proposal, the state would take a 33 percent off the top of the revenues and redistribute the money to Ohio’s 88 counties.

Opponents argue the 33 percent tax on gross casino revenue is defined as the amount of money “exchanged for the purchase of chips, tokens, tickets, electronic cards or similar objects” minus total winnings. They say that leaves a hole by not including cash or coins that are fed into slot machines and video poker machines.

Rep. Lou Blessing, R-Cincinnati, an opponent of the casino plan, said at a Tuesday news conference that casino supporters have made it allowable to gamble with cash but do not stipulate that cash revenue be taxed.

“These casinos could run total cash games and the state of Ohio would receive no tax benefit. Period,” he said.

Issue 3 spokesman Bob Tenenbaum said the proposed casinos would not use cash except to exchange for vouchers, and would be subject to taxes.

“Cash wagering is an anachronism,” Tenenbaum said. “Nobody uses it.”