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.”

JASPER — Seven casino-style bingo halls are running out of luck in Walker County.
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A judge in Birmingham ordered one to shut down immediately and six others were given until Friday to close their doors.

The halls are filled with electronic devices that resemble slot machines.

Operators said they are running legal electronic bingo games for charity, but Walker County law officers dispute that.

The sheriff and district attorney filed suit trying to shut down the machines, and Circuit Judge Robert S. Vance Jr. ruled that some aren’t complying with state and local laws.

Southfield (WWJ) — Those who like to go to the track in Michigan could soon have more to bet on than just the ponies.

Speaking live on WWJ Thursday morning, Governor Granholm says talks are underway to allow racetracks to add a pull tabs lottery system, slot machines or other gambling to their offerings.

The idea is being discussed as a way to raise revenue and offset a projected 1.8 billion dollar budget deficit.

“It’s not on paper yet, it’s a concept and it’s being floated, I support it, but there’s alot of work that has to be done,” Granholm said Thursday.

Listen to the interview.

Wednesday Governor Granholm told WWJ Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick it would be a “wise move” if it allowed for revenue to keeping college affordable, No Worker Left Behind and scholarships

The racing industry has been looking to expand gambling at tracks as a way to stay in business.

The governor says any plan to increase gambling would have to be approved by Michigan voters.

QUESTION: Can you explain how slot tournaments work? I’m entering a $50 tournament at our casino and I was wondering if you had any strategies? — Megan H.

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ANSWER: The format for your tournament is probably one that uses timed sessions with machines in free-play mode. That means your $50 entry fee is your total cash outlay. A typical format when playing free-play tournaments is to give each player 1,000 credits and 20 minutes to play them per round. Each time you tap the spin button, three credits are deducted from your starting credits, and credits that you win are shown on a separate meter. When time has expired, the machine will automatically lock up.

Any credits that you have not played will be lost. A tournament director records each player’s win meter at the conclusion of each round, and the player with the most points at the end of the tournament wins. Your objective is to use all your credits before time runs out.

You should try to get in as many spins as you can. Just keep your fingers on the spin button and get skilled at pushing it with split-second precision. The machine will not spin until the winning credits have been displayed on the screen, so timing is everything. You need to be prepared to push the button instantly after your credits have been tallied.

QUESTION: How does a casino turn a bank of low payout slots into high payout slots for a tournament and then back again to low-payout mode without changing a computer chip inside the machine? — Harvey S.

ANSWER: Before any slot tournament, a slot technician with a tournament-mode computer chip swaps each machine’s computer chip out. Because the chips are uniform in nature, each slot machine has as good a chance of winning as any other.

What’s important to note is that the long-term payback purposely programmed into the tournament chip is a great deal higher than that used in a normal slot machine chip.

Although the random number generator stays the same, the machines are loosened up by changing the layout of the symbols on the virtual reels. That’s why you’ll see those high payouts at tournaments, but not with conventional play.

Analysts see promise ahead for slot makers

Two gaming analysts have given slot machine makers a reason to smile. Both told investors that prospects for equipment manufacturers are high going into the next few years.

Credit.com

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Potentially, 70,000 new slot machines could find their way into Ohio, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland and Pennsylvania. In addition, California and New York are taking steps to add games while Massachusetts and Kentucky may consider gaming legislation.

“The upcoming fall season brings a number of important catalysts for the equipment companies,” Janney Montgomery Scott gaming analyst Brian McGill wrote. “It will give insight into the magnitude of the new slot supply coming online.”

Said Goldman Sachs gaming analyst Steven Kent, “When we upgraded the gaming equipment sector to Attractive at the end of 2008, our primary reason was our belief that states would look to expand gambling to raise revenues to plug tax shortfalls.”

The analysts said International Game Technology, WMS Industries and Bally Technologies should all benefit.

Pinnacle advised to continue expansion

Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Joel Simkins believes Pinnacle Entertainment should proceed with a planned gaming development in Lake Charles, La.

Las Vegas-based Pinnacle already operates L’Auberge du Lac in Lake Charles and has proposed the $407 million Sugarcane Bay on neighboring land.

Simkins believes the two-resort complex, which would surround a Tom Fazio-designed golf course, could grow the Lake Charles market into a nearly $2 billion-a-year gaming destination.

The L’Auberge/Sugarcane Bay complex could give Pinnacle one of the largest commercial casino facilities in Louisiana with 1,395 hotel rooms, 3,100 slot machines and 112 table games.

Houston, with 5.6 million residents, is the prime feeder market for Pinnacle’s Lake Charles complex.

NV Energy promotes marketing executive

NV Energy said Tuesday that it has promoted Robert Stewart from vice president of marketing to senior vice president of customer relationship.

Stewart joined the power utility in February 2008 and has added customer service with his new role. He has about 25 years of utility experience with a focus on marketing, management and strategic planning.

NV Energy also announced its hiring of Rob Stillwell as executive of corporate communications.

Stillwell spent the last 14 years with Boyd Gaming Corp. as vice president of corporate communications. He replaces Jack Leone, who retired.

ATLANTIC CITY

Investors group gets OK to operate Tropicana

New Jersey regulators approved a plan Wednesday for the former corporate parent of Atlantic City’s bankrupt Tropicana to operate the business again as a reorganized company owned by a group of investors led by billionaire Carl Icahn.

The state Casino Control Commission revoked Tropicana Entertainment LLC’s casino license in December 2007 after finding that cost-cutting by its former owner, William J. Yung III, left the casino understaffed and dirty.

The commission found that the company had been sufficiently transformed through the bankruptcy and had cut its ties with Yung.

The Icahn-led investment group acquired the casino earlier this year by buying its $200 million in debt. The sale is still working its way through bankruptcy court.

TiVo sues Verizon, claims patent breaches

TiVo Inc., the pioneer in digital video recording services, sued Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. claiming infringement of patents used in their digital video recorder systems.

TiVo, in complaints filed in federal court in Marshall, Texas, is seeking damages for past infringement and an order stopping the infringement. The company claims infringement of a so-called “time warp” patent and two others.

The time warp patent is under dispute with Dish Network Corp., the second-largest satellite-TV provider, and EchoStar Corp., who were ordered in June to pay $192.7 million to TiVo and to stop providing the Dish DVR service. The ruling is under appeal.

DALLAS

Unapproved parts said to be used to fix jets

Federal officials say a maintenance company hired by Southwest Airlines used unapproved parts for repairs on some jets.

The parts will have to be replaced, but as they are not considered an immediate safety threat, officials will let Southwest keep flying the planes for 10 days while it decides how to fix the problem.

Southwest said Wednesday that the incident led it to ground 46 planes — nearly 9 percent of its fleet — for several hours last Saturday. That led to 15 canceled flights and widespread delays — Southwest said its on-time performance fell to 68 percent, down from 78 percent in June, the last month for which government statistics are available.

An investigator for the Federal Aviation Administration raised questions about the parts during an inspection Friday of a facility that maintains planes for Southwest. The parts, called exhaust gate assembly hinge fittings, are used in deflecting hot engine exhaust away from wing flaps. Southwest uses only Boeing 737 aircraft, which have an engine on each wing.