Let your mouth speak archive

The 11 defendants accused of conspiring to buy and sell votes for a pro-gambling bill at the Alabama Legislature pleaded not guilty to the federal charges Friday.

Trial was set for April 4, with all 11 of the defendants to be tried together.

The defendants - four state senators, three lobbyists, two casino owners and two others - arrived at the federal courthouse to enter the formal pleas. About 20 supporters of Dothan casino developer Ronnie Gilley joining him, some carrying signs. One read: "Ronnie is innocent."

The federal grand jury indictment released Oct. 4 was accompanied by the announcement that a 12th defendant had pleaded guilty to taking part in offering a senator $2 million for his vote.

The vote was over a bill to legalize the electronic bingo casinos that Gov. Bob Riley's gambling task force had shut down with raids and the threat of raids during the past year. Riley contends the electronic bingo machines are Vegas-style slot machines that are illegal in Alabama.

The bill passed the Senate earlier this year but, after the bribery probe was announced, it died in the House.

The defendants include Gilley, developer of the Country Crossing casino in Dothan, and Milton McGregor, owner of VictoryLand casino in Shorter and a financial backer of Country Crossing. They operate the two largest casinos in Alabama.

Also indicted were state Sens. Harri Anne Smith, I-Slocomb, James Preuitt. R-Talladega, Larry Means, D-Attalla, and Quinton Ross Jr., D-Montgomery. All four senators voted for the bill to legalize the machines.

Gilley lobbyist Jarrod Massey and McGregor lobbyists Thomas Coker and Bob Geddie were indicted along with Jay Walker, a spokesman for Gilley, and Ray Crosby, an attorney with the Legislative Reference Service.

Federal authorities said the 12th defendant - Jennifer Pouncy of Montgomery, an employee of Massy - pleaded guilty Sept. 28 to conspiracy. Under her plea, she admitted offering Preuitt $2 million for his vote and that Massey authorized her to offer $100,000 to Means for his vote.

It appears that lawmakers in Washington have moved too slowly in their quest to regulate Internet gambling. Individual states are now taking the matter into their own hands, and New Jersey lawmakers want to be out ahead of the curve.

For the past couple of months, Democratic leaders in New Jersey have held a series of summits to try and gauge what they can do to help the struggling gaming industry in their state. On Monday they unveiled a plan that calls for sports betting at New Jersey casinos, and Internet gambling.

Atlantic City casinos have generally been against the summits that were held, not willing to allow lawmakers to determine their fate. After Monday, however, the casinos may be back in favor of the proposal that was laid out. The AC casinos would benefit greatly from both sports betting and Internet gambling.

"This was a historic first step in the US when it comes to Internet gambling regulations," said Gaming Analyst Steve Schwartz. "If New jersey lawmakers were to actually move forward with this plan, and pass legislation, it would not be long before other states started doing the same."

The plan unveiled Monday would not only help AC casinos, but also struggling racetracks. That is the part that the casinos have been opposed to, but if giving the tracks the rights to slots means Internet gambling and sports betting, the casinos would be hard-pressed to rule out such a deal.

In the past two years, AC casinos have experienced double digit declines in revenue for dozens of months in a row. Pennsylvania has made a strong push to steal customers from Atlantic City, and the casinos in New Jersey are in desperate need of a boost. Sports betting would provide that boost.

Sports betting is a billion dollar industry, and outside of Delaware and Nevada, it is illegal in the country. Internet gambling is also frowned upon by the US government, although millions of US citizens are gambling online at offshore websites.

:dirol

It is the latest tourist attraction connecting Phoenix and Las Vegas – it’s a 1,900 foot long bridge hovering over the Colorado River – making it the second largest structure of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. While the Hoover Dam is the main attraction of the area, the new bridge is definitely a sight to be seen.

Traffic between Phoenix and Nevada normally passed through a road lining the top of the Hoover Dam which will now be re-routed to the new structure which according to AFP took five years to build along with a 240 million budget. They also claimed how it took the work of 1,200 laborers and 16 million pounds of steel to complete the bridge.

The creation of the bridge is being seen as a sign of hope during tough times. Colleen Dwyer, who manages the Dam mentioned how “We’re looking at what can be done even at the worst of times to make these wonderful structures come to be, to create something new and different which enables America to keep moving ahead.”

While this amazing structure may be a sign of the times, it will certainly relieve traffic issues and will also help protect the dam from terrorist threats. The bridge was unveiled this month and is now fully operational.

:dirol

That sports channel that you forget exists for months at a time is going to give you a reason to watch starting in the near future: VERSUS has obtained broadcast rights to World Series of Poker Circuit Events, meaning that you'll be able to catch the tournaments that have been missed in a lot of the coverage that's out there. The broadcasts are going to be produced by Poker PROductions, who are currently handling Poker After Dark, high Stakes Poker and WSOP Europe coverage. VERSUS currently has no history of broadcasting poker, but with Poker PROductions at the helm, hopes are high.

“We are very excited to present coverage of the World Series of Poker Circuit tour to a national audience of more than 75 million U.S. homes," said Jeff Goldberg, Vice President of Programming for VERSUS in a press release. "The WSOP tour is one of the most successful in the business and we knew it was a great opportunity for our first venture into poker tournament coverage."

This ties into the WSOP's strategy involving their 2010-2011 circuit, which features a heavily revamped buy-in schedule and a points system that is going to results in the National Championship tournament being played prior to the 2011 WSOP in Las Vegas. The winner of the national Championship will receive a WSOP bracelet.

“This is a big milestone for the industry,” said WSOP Vice President Ty Stewart. ”We’re thrilled that one of the premier all-sports networks has recognized the brand power of the WSOP and decided to take the plunge into broadcasting our game.”

Howard Cunningham, who liked to "get frisky" with his wife Marion on Happy Days, has sadly passed away after briefly battling lung cancer. He was 83. Actor Tom Bosley died at 4:00 a.m. of heart failure at a hospital near his home in Palm Springs, California.

Bosley, who had also been battling lung cancer as well as a Staph infection, appeared on the hit show Happy Days for 10 years, from 1974 to 1984, playing a middle class father and husband living in suburban Wisconsin during the 1950s. He rented his garage apartment to Arthur Fonzarelli, known as "The Fonz," played by Henry Winkler.

Winkler told TMZ he was "shocked" by the news.

"I’m just in shock, I really am," he said. "I spoke to him just a few weeks ago and he seemed to be getting his strength back.

Winkler went on to say, "Tom Bosley was our mentor. He was a true artist, a great husband and a fabulous father and grandfather. He will be sorely missed, but never forgotten."

Bosley's TV son turned director Ron Howard, said in a statement: "Tom's insight, talent, strength of character and comic timing made him a vital central figure in the Happy Days experience. A great father and husband, and a wonderful artist, Tom led by example, and made us all laugh while he was doing it."

Howard added, "My last conversations with Tom reflected the love of life and peace of mind that he always maintained throughout his full and rewarding life."

As well as his long-time stint on Happy Days, Bosley won a Tony award for his part in the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1959 musical Fiorello! He also co-starred with Angela Lansbury on her who done it series Murder She Wrote. Most recently, he also starred in the Father Dowling Mysteries in the late 1990s.

A rep for the Bosleys told gossip site TMZ that Bosely "died of natural causes or specifically, from a brief battle with lung cancer. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the American Cancer Society."

A recent study has found that American high school females and college-aged males are increasingly gambling online, despite the implementation of UIGEA, which was designed to prevent Internet gambling by cutting off the flow of money to online gambling sites.

According to the National Annenberg Survey of Youth, 16% of college-aged males reported having gambled online on a monthly basis, a big increase from the 4.4% who reported such activity back in 2008. Similarly, high school-aged females tripled their use of online gambling sites since 2008, as 1.5% reported using them on a monthly basis compared to the 0.5% who said they did so in the last survey. High school-aged males also showed an increase (2.7% to 6.2%), but given the size of the survey, this was not considered statistically significant.

However, these results do not suggest that gambling is on the rise for young Americans overall. When considering both online and offline gambling, the monthly and weekly rates of gambling dropped for both high school- and college-aged males when compared to the 2008 survey, and remained about the same for college-aged females. The only group showing an increase in overall gambling activity was high school females, though they were still less likely to gamble than their male peers.

The survey, conducted by the Annenberg Adolescent Communication Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, was a national telephone poll of Americans aged 14 through 22. The 2008 survey had 835 respondents, while the 2010 edition included 596 respondents.

Since the overall gambling numbers did not suggest any real increase in gambling from young Americans, the biggest takeaway from the survey may have been that online gambling continues to increase despite efforts to delegitimize the practice by the US Government.

"The dramatic increase in use of online gambling by college-aged male youth indicates that payment restrictions on such sites are no longer a barrier to young people," said Institute director Dan Romer.

We have come to know Justin Timberlake as a pop star and actor and now it seems that he’s made his way into the world of pro golf. Sunday was the start of the 2010 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at the TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, where he was part of the opening ceremony and festivities.

Timberlake who is an avid golfer when he has time off from his busy schedule is actually quite a successful golfer and according to Golf Digest, he is a 6-handicapper which according to my quick Google research is pretty decent.

This week’s tournament will consist of 132 grade-A golfers all competing for the $774,000 purse together with a little fun provided courtesy of Timberlake and other guest stars joining in the fun. The tournament will begin winding down on Saturday, where Timberlake together with P-Diddy, Elton John and Christina Aguilera among others will unite to give one heck of a concert at Planet Hollywood’s Resort and Casino Theater to help raise even more funds for his cause.

Timberlake, who owes his penchant for playing golf to his father, is just looking for everyone to have a good time. “I want to grow this tournament and if that means finding a way to get it into the spring rather than the fall, I’m all for it. We’re here to have a good time. But more importantly, we’re raising money for a fantastic cause.”

:dirol

After the mega pop star, Beyonce, decided to put a ring on it with her hubby Jay-Z, it seemed like the last thing this power couple would have time for would be a baby, but guess what guys….Beyonce is pregnant!

According to reports from US Weekly, the 29-year old star is having a bambino. The report is quite shocking since Beyonce wasn’t expecting a child just yet especially due to an unfinished album that’s currently in the works along with a planned world tour.

A source from US Weekly claimed, “B was shocked. She loves kids, but she wasn’t ready to be a mother just yet, says a friend to the couple." A second source, says the singer is in her first trimester and that she’s very happy.

The father seems to be ecstatic as well, since according to one of the many sources, Jay-Z is a family man and is always in touch with the family.

Now hold on, these reports have not been confirmed as of yet so don’t get your hopes up guys. I mean according to the media, the Queen of England could be expecting a kid.

R.I.P. Tom Bosley

I have noticed an incline in online gambling among the youth in Canada as well, would be nice to see a survey done here in Canada. A lot of my younger cousins have pickked it up, even my 12 year old nephew likkes to play texxxas hold'em NL. He is rather good to at it, I have let him play a freeroll or two on my account and he has gone deep each time. Although he hasn't cashed he still is going to be a force one day, much likke many of today's youth that are pickking up the game at younger ages playing with their family for fun and eventually getting online or playing in home cash games.

That is pretty amazing, I am going to have to google it and see a photo of it. I thought you might have one posted on here with your post, oh well easy to find on the net.

Its amazing what you can do with steel.being an ex-ironworker by trade this has to be cool.never done a bridge either.whats even more amazing is the colorado river.i live on the banks of it in texas,many miles away.never been that far west but maybe one of these days i might.

Glad they have re-runs because i still watch this show.im sure he will be missed.rip

Online Gambling sites topped the list of top 50 U.S. web properties for September 2010. Education sites too became more popular as the classes resumed for schools and universities nationwide, reveals the comScore monthly analysis of U.S. web activity at the top online properties for September 2010 based on data from the comScore Media Metrix service.


Online poker tournaments such as FullTiltPoker's Doubles Poker Championship and PokerStars' WCOOP Main Event drove significant traffic to gambling sites in September. Nearly 15 million people visited a gambling site during the month, a 20-percent increase versus August, making it the highest growing site category for the month. FullTiltPoker captured the top spot with 4.2 million visitors (up 46 percent) followed by PokerStars with 2.7 million visitors (up 7 percent).

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Well, been at least 2 weeks or more since i've logged. Not sure how long/many times it will take top be considered a member, isnt a formula to considered, other then, i think im active. But o wells, i'll get their when time comes. But just a note to the members, Please excuse, the absences or lack of thread, created/responded. Currently a student and working full time. Gotta keep up with the bills. But will do my best to be considered a member or get upgrade and have access. Just dont want yah to forget the newbie =p

Professor Denise von Herrmann, author of “The Big Gamble: The Politics of Lottery and Casino Expansion” will speak at a Galveston Chamber of Commerce luncheon later this week.

Tickets aren’t cheap — $40 for chamber members and $50 for the general public — but going would be worth the price for anyone wanting an informed, objective assessment about what casinos will and won’t do, good and bad, for communities allowing them.

Gambling is an issue here now because it’s likely to be an issue during the 82nd Texas Legislature, which convenes in January.

Bills allowing some sort of gambling come up every session of the Legislature but typically die before they get very far. This year could be different, though, because the state is facing a budget deficit of something like $20 billion.

A significant population in Galveston thinks gambling would be good for the local economy.

Of 499 respondents to an online survey of chamber members administered by Texas A&M University, 79 percent said casinos would boost their businesses.

Some among the supporters seem to think gambling would cure all that ills the local economy.

An ardent opposition including some big local names argues gambling would be universally bad for the island.

Dean of the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Southern Mississippi, von Herrmann’s message is that both camps are right about some things and wrong about others.

Opponents, for example, like to warn about all the gambling addicts local casinos would create and all the social trouble they would cause.

Her research found no increase in gambling addiction because of local casinos, von Herrmann said. The truth is, local gambling addicts already are addicted and already are gambling, probably in one of the many video slot joints operating all across the county.

At the same time, opponents are right when they say people who go to casinos stay in casinos. They tend not to leave to shop or eat elsewhere, according to von Herrmann’s research.

What casinos bring is a steady stream of tax revenue for local governments, but they also mean the creation of 24-hour society that is more expensive to manage.

Would Galveston benefit or be hurt by casino gambling? It’s a tricky question and one that needs the level factual detail von Herrmann offers to answer.

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At A Glance

WHAT: Galveston Chamber of Commerce luncheon with guest speaker Denise von Herrmann, author of “The Big Gamble: The Politics of Lottery and Casino Expansion.” Also, von Herrmann will discuss the pros and cons of casino gambling.

WHEN: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday.

WHERE: Moody Gardens Hotel, 7 Hope Blvd. in Galveston.

IF YOU GO: Tickets are $40 for chamber members and $50 for the general public. Register online at Galveston Chamber of Commerce or call 409-763-5326.

If you’re looking to share a special moment across a crowded Vegas casino with a leather- chaps- wearing cowboy, then your odds will be very good this week. Top bull riders from around the world are currently in Las Vegas to take part in the 2010 Bull Riders Built Ford Tough World Finals.

Fans can expect to see about 52 of the world’s most talented bull riders battle it out for the coveted winning title as well as a hefty grand prize of $250,000. While many may not lean toward bull riding, it is actually a grueling sport considered to be one of the many adrenaline pumped extreme sports of the world.

Each rider is judged on a point system and currently rider Dustin Elliott is in the lead with 89.25 points according to Las Vegas Weekly. With a total of 52 riders, that seems to be the score to beat. In second place, Renato Nunes of Brazil is currently in second place with a total of 89 points.

The 2010 Bull Riders Built Ford Tough World Finals are currently taking place in Las Vegas in the Thomas & Mack Center. If you’re looking for a little excitement and something a little out of the ordinary, then you may want to join in the fun.

:dirol

It's fair assessment to note that when you're a famous actor/actress who has somehow wound up in jail or rehab, it can be really good for your career. Everyone loves a comeback kid – and that's just what Lindsay Lohan's team is vying for.

Word on the street is that Lohan's people are salivating at the prospect of renewed public interest in Lohan, once she is released from Betty Ford on January 3rd. TMZ reports that her crew are going crazy booking meetings and reading through scripts so that Lohan can immediately relaunch her career once she's out.

However, friends close to Lohan are worried that throwing her under the spotlight might do more harm than good, telling TMZ Lohan, "shouldn’t be working the first week. She shouldn’t be working the first couple months. She needs to be attending daily meetings to stay on track for sobriety." Another adds, “Lindsay needs to focus on herself for some time."

Although Lohan thrives off the fast-paced Hollywood lifestyle, which is filled with temptation, perhaps it would be in her best interest to pull a Julia Roberts and move to a remote ranch out in New Mexico. Or, maybe she should take a cue from Robert Downey Jr., who once told Oprah, "I finally said, 'You know what? I don't think I can continue doing this.' And I reached out for help, and I ran with it…. You can reach out for help in kind of a half-assed way, and you'll get it, and you won't take advantage of it. It's not that difficult to overcome these seemingly ghastly problems…what's hard is to decide to actually do it."

:dirol

When Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson got married back in 1994, it left many people wondering what the heck? Lucky for all of us the almighty Oprah is around to get the scoop and let Lisa Marie clear the air about the truths and fiction behind her 2 year marriage to the “King of Pop”.

It seemed to be a painful interview for Lisa Marie who was asked to rehash details of her relationship with Michael as well as her feelings about his death. She went on to say how "I wished I’d saved him.” She explained how during their marriage she began to suspect that Michael was using drugs but ‘I know it’s naive to think that I could’ve saved him, but I wanted to,’ she said.

She spoke about their marriage and how she felt it was fairly ‘normal’ and completely genuine but this is coming from someone who had a superstar dad. She went on to explain how he reached a point when he was becoming distant and that’s when she suspected he was using drugs. She also went on to talk about how she didn’t understand her relationship with him and that it took years after their separation to realize that he loved her. “It has taken until now to come to have all this love again and understanding for him.” That doesn’t sound normal to me….

She admitted to loving being around him and how his energy was infectious which reminded her of the time she spent with her father. After their divorce in 1996, she didn’t speak to Jackson again until 2005 when they shared their last conversation according to the Daily Mail.

'I was very distant … He was asking me, he wanted to tell me that I was right about a lot of people around him. And he asked if I still loved him. … I told him I was indifferent and he didn't like that word.

'And the final part of the conversation was him telling me that someone was going to try and kill him to get a hold of his catalog and estate. And I really didn't know what to do with that.'

It came down to Jackson being headed in a downward spiral and in between his battles with the ups and downs of fame and the drug abuse Lisa Marie claimed ‘that was a train that no one could have stopped.”

After the Oprah interview, Lisa Marie vowed to close this chapter and never speak in public about her marriage to Michael again. She is currently married to guitarist, Michael Lockwood and lives in England.


:dirol

The International Olympic Committee understands the possibility that exists of a competition fix. Soccer has seen match fixing scandals, and the IOC wants to ensure that no such activity takes place on any of their International competitions.

The IOC has set up International Sports Monitoring in the hopes that scandal can be avoided. ISM will be responsible for monitoring gambling trends and watching for unusual spikes in bets on certain events, then reporting them to the IOC.

"One day there will be match fixing in the Olympic games," said IOC President Jacques Rogge, at a news conference on Sunday. "That is why we built a company which has already monitored the Beijing and Vancouver games."

Although it is a precaution, Rogge stressed that the IOC needs to be out in front of any possible match fixing schemes. Rogge also alluded to a time when doping was not big in Olympic competition.

Doping has become in the past two decades a major story at all Olympic competitions. Olympians have lost their medals after it was determined that they used performance enhancing drugs to increase their odds of winning. Rogge wants to be sure that the gambling scandals do not reach the level of doping.

Soccer has been plagued by match fixing in Europe, while in the US, gambling scandals have taken place in professional baseball and basketball. The latest incident involved former NBA referee Tim Donaghy, who was convicted for his role in gambling on games he was refereeing.

ISM will be responsible for monitoring the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The UK is one of the hot spots for online sports betting, so there will be extra attention paid to the betting patterns at the London games.

:dirol