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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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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.

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.

2. The next point has something in common with the previous one. Don’t spend and count on the money you have already won in the casino but haven’t got at your disposal yet. Everybody has weaknesses and if you don’t have an absolute discipline there exists a small probability that you won’t get the money – you’ll just decide to play a little more and…such a decision may be fatal.

3. Don’t play in the Internet casino after you’ve inquired your winnings. It is a very good rule one should keep to. The matter is not in the fact that the casino may falsify something in your game in order not to let you take the money out. The point is that in the Internet casino the most important things are:

1. Money
2. Winning
3. Satisfaction

- And what will happen if you suddenly squander all your winnings?
- You’ll lose not only the money, you will lose the three main gains for the sake of which you have been playing in the Internet casino!
- From the mathematical point of view there’s no difference, for instance, between your deals in Black Jack, be they done either two hours or a month later after the order of your winnings – after a new deposit in the casino.
- However, there is a difference personally for you and it is very essential.
- To my mind, it is much more pleasant to leave being a winner and enjoy your winnings for a month than to be sorry about the loss during this particular month in case it happens.

4. According to eCOGRA, those who are in the habit of winning back the money in the casino lose more frequently than others. So here is my advice - don’t pursue the loss right here and right now. Remember, the more you play the more the casino will finally earn (provided you are not a bonus - hunter!). Why do you play for 200$ and then 500$ more after you have lost 100$? Wait for a day or two, calm down, the casino will not go anywhere! Try in another Internet casino. In the matter of fact, there’s no difference in where and when you play till you choose reliable on-line casino with big bonuses.

5. Don’t pursue round figures and winnings. What if you win 497$ instead of desirable 500$? Plus-minus 5 bucks will not influence your life. If you have already achieved approximately desirable winnings you shouldn’t polish the sums up to the most beautiful and whole numbers.