• The Survey Says... Americans Want Regulation

Opponents of the I-gaming prohibition movement are hoping the results of a recent survey will give them ammunition in their efforts to convince the U.S. Congress to regulate their industry. The results of the nationwide survey, which were released Tuesday by the Interactive Gaming Council, indicate that the American public may be more receptive to the idea of licensed online casinos in the United States than previously thought. Of the 1,000 American adults contacted between Jan. 17 and Jan. 29, 2003, 55 percent oppose efforts by the government to pass prohibitive legislation. Equally noteworthy is that 55 percent of the respondents are also in favor of passing regulatory measures to create licensed online casinos in the United States. Nearly three-quarters of the respondents, 72 percent, view gambling as a form of entertainment on the same level as attending sporting events or going to the movies. The survey also found that many Americans could be opposed to federal legislation aimed at either an outright prohibition of I-gaming or banning the use of banking instruments at online casinos and sports books. [...]

> Read the full story here Source : IGamingNews.com

• New System Detects Illegal Web Bets

WASHINGTON — New technology could soon close down closet gamblers in Utah who try to evade the state's unique total ban on gambling by quietly using their home computers to wager online at Internet casinos. One of the world's larger casino companies — MGM Mirage — told Congress on Tuesday that new systems it has developed could stop 99.99 percent of such illegal online gambling from within Utah, one of only two states that bans any form of gambling. The technology has prompted Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, to co-sponsor a bill forming a study commission to recommend how to formally legalize and regulate Internet gambling in states that choose to allow it. He figures that may also lead to requiring technology to prevent Internet gambling in Utah and other states that outlaw it. Meanwhile, the Bush administration's Justice Department is frowning on that bill, saying it would rather clearly outlaw all Internet gambling in America — something even it concedes may be difficult to enforce since online casinos have spread globally. The gambling testimony emerged Tuesday in a hearing about Internet gambling when Cannon requested that Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, ask experts one question: Can you technologically prevent people from Utah from gambling on the Internet? "Yes, we could," testified William J. Hornbuckle, president and CEO of MGM Mirage Online. [...]

> Read the full story here Source : DeseretNews.com

• Bill Bennett Has Wagered Millions

The popular author, lecturer and Republican Party activist speaks out, often indignantly, about almost every moral issue except one—gambling. It’s not hard to see why. According to casino documents, Bennett is a “preferred customer” in at least four venues in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, betting millions of dollars over the last decade. His games of choice: video poker and slot machines, some at $500 a pull. With a revolving line of credit of at least $200,000 at each casino, Bennett, former drug czar and secretary of Education under Presidents Reagan and Bush, doesn’t have to bring money when he shows up at a casino. More than 40 pages of internal casino documents provided to The Washington Monthly and NEWSWEEK paint a picture of a gambler given the high-roller treatment, including limos and tens of thousands of dollars in complimentary hotel rooms and other amenities. In one two-month period, the documents show him wiring more than $1.4 million to cover losses at one casino. [...]

> Read the full story here Source : GamblingMagazine.com

• N.J. Grandpa Wins $1 Million Blackjack Tourney

A New Jersey grandfather has won the first million-dollar prize ever awarded in a blackjack tournament open to the public. The Las Vegas Hilton's yearlong competition culminated last week when 200 players, who had qualified in individual tournaments, battled to reach the final table of seven and a shot at the $1 million first prize. The winner, Edward Rhoades, hadn't played in a blackjack tournament in years, but won a pivotal hand with only five hands remaining to bag the huge prize. Qualifying for the Million Dollar Blackjack Tournament II begins May 8-10. The entry fee is $1,000. [...]

> Read the full story here Source : AZCentral.com

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