Construction has begun on a brand new Choctaw Casino in McAlester, OK and red steel beams are already being lifted into place. The current casino remains open until the new casino is ready and then that building will be demolished.

The gambling frenzy all over India has spawned a new breed of professional gamblers, called jockeys.  All the money backing the jockeys is put up by wealthy businessmen and merchants and the gamblers get a cut of up to 20% of all winnings.

Not all Republicans are against online gambling. A bill was introduced before Congress recently by Republican Congressman Pete Sessions that would redirect the focus of the UIGEA to online sports books.

Canadian tribal gambling is reporting record profits, revenues recently reached $191 million, with about $60 million being profit. With two more casinos scheduled to open soon, revenues should climb for the Saskatchewan casino industry.

Once again the US has postponed a scheduled meeting to discuss online gambling regulations. If they continue to avoid the European Commission's questions, the next step could be a suit before the World Trade Organization.

In a successful effort to keep business going in spite of the current economy, the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians sponsored a huge "Splash into cash" promotion for July. The promotion had a record breaking 100,000 winners.

A plane crash on July 31 killed three Revel Entertainment executives as well as 5 others. They were en route to Minnesota to look into glass for the Revel Casino under construction in Atlantic City.

Taiwan is close to legalizing gambling for tourists, and Penghu is gearing up to become the nation's premiere location for casinos.

Boyd Gaming Corp has announced that they are suspending work on The Echelong complex in Las Vegas for up to a year.

After a secretive two years, Pinnacle Entertainment has announced that the casino complex planned for Atlantic City will have a “beach house” theme.

Governor Steve Beshear of Kentucky has deemed online gambling domains “gambling devices” which are illegal in the US state, and was granted an order of seizure for 141 domains.

US Congressman Barney Frank has been lobbying for remedies to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The latest proposal, the Payments System Protection Act, or HR 6870, passed The House Committee on Financial Services last week.

Hurricanes Gustav and Ike caused flooding to some Biloxi casinos, including the Beau Rivage and the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The Hard Rock had about 30” of water in the ground floor but there was no damage to the casino floor on an upper level.

The Clairvest Group Inc. has announced a $16 million USD investment to purchase 50% ownership in the Plaza Sol de Los Lagos casino that it being built in Osorno, Chile.  The Clairvest investment will make them a partner with Latin Gaming, an expert in Latin American gaming.

Aruze has long been a behind the scenes player in the gambling industry. The Japanese manufacturer of gaming machines now has decided to expand into casino operation. The company was granted a provisional license to build and operate a casino resort in Manila.

Bernard "Bernie" Goldstein, current chairman of the board of Isle of Capri Casinos Inc., was one of the recent inductees of the Gaming Hall of Fame.

Approval has been given to a allow casinos within Brazil.  Regulations would limit the constructing of six casinos in the north, north-east and central-west regions and penalizes companies that allow problem gamblers to play. Revenues are targeted to go to the health sector.

This is the first year for the SkyCity Festival of Poker and the promoters are aiming big with the goal of offering a million dollar prize pool. With the number and caliber of the poker professionals that plan to attend the event, they should be able to reach their goals.

From October 2^nd through October 5th, poker players have the opportunity to see if they have the luck of the Irish at the Irish Poker Festival. The festival events will take place at the Irish National Events Center in Killarney in southwestern Ireland.

One of the online gambling industry's biggest players has had three of its core operations pass the strict Safe and Fair accreditation process offered by eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA).

Committee to Seek Changes to Discriminatory Law (CSDL) campaigning to end laws that allow tourists to gamble but disallow Bahamian citizens.

Casino Affiliate Programs (CAP), a trade group of 7,000 online gambling affiliates, is hosting an annual marketing conference in the Shangri-La hotel in Sydney, Australia on November 25 to 28.

Casinos Poland began the Mega Jackpot on October 1 and had a very successful first month.

New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez has submitted an act to the US Senate to classify poker as a game of skill and set up framework to license and regulate online providers.

The $700 million dollar MGM Grand at Foxwoods opened in May. 270 employees were laid off during the next six weeks. Now, 700 more jobs are to be cut over the next few weeks.

The Fitzgeralds Casino/Hotel, a Reno landmark since 1976, will close on November 30 putting almost 500 employees out of work.

The third leg of the SkyPoker UK Tour will arrive in Edinburgh on January 31, 2009.

PokerStars has announced an expanded schedule for their second season of the LAPT that will begin earlier this year to tie into the highest part of the Latin American tourist season.

Once a casino, a historic riverboat is being taken apart and relocated to be converted into a hotel, convension center, and museum.

Clubs Victoria alleges that Tabcorp offered them $20 million dollars to not pursue changing Victoria's gaming license structure and not participate in any bidding process for gaming licenses.

The APT annnounced the final leg before getting approval from Singapore authorities, there has been no response from the Singapore officials. APT has “made alternate plans to take it to another Asian city.”

The Asian Poker Tour has announced that the first leg of next year's tour will be held from January 27 to February 1, 2009 at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel in Makati, Philippines.

Atlantic City approved a smoking ban in April which provided for casinos to be able to set up smoking lounges, but the city council has decided to postpone the ban for a year due to the economic situation.

Leaders of poker rooms from around the globe, both online and off, met Wednesday in Budapest, Hungary for the World Poker Congress.

iMEGA filed a brief on Sept. 29 with the US Court of Appeals. The new suit claims that is unconstitutional to make the financial institutions responsible for determining what is a legal transaction.

Despite the credit crunch and the need for creative financing by Chairman Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas Sands Corp. remains on track with the planned end-of-2009 opening of Singapore's Marina Bay Sands.

The new poker television show ClubWPT launched on Oct. 5. It features 6 poker amateurs each week from the US and Canada, competing for a chance at cash prizes and  the chance to become the next poker stars.

September saw a 15.1% decrease in casino revenues over the same month last year.

Susquehanna analyst stated that the upside potential in ISLE's shares no longer met criteria for a Positive rating.

After close to a decade of catering to online gamblers, one of the oldest internet gambling sites has ceased operations.

Players in the team poker tourney would get rewarded both for individual play and team scoring.

The country of Rwanda was all set to see the country's first casino open on October 21 but the opening has been delayed.

The PTA plans five stops planned for 2009 and plans to increase to six the year after.

Between the casino, hotel and the tenants in the complex, there will be about 1,400 jobs created at the site. Nearby businesses are looking forward to the new traffic that the casino is expected to draw to the area.

After surpassing Las Vegas revenues last year, Macau has reported a loss in gaming revenues. With most of the big names in Las Vegas invested in Macau, this contributed to further stock declines for US casino companies.

Kentucky's Governor ordered an action filed against 141 online gambling operators. The civil action case sought seizure and forfeiture of domains used to promote illegal gambling. Domains included Bodoglife.com, AbsolutePoker.com, PokerStars.com and others.

Trick or Treat? Slot machine pays off for just under $5 million.  Looks like only treats this year for one lucky Toronto man.

A rule has been filed to implement the UIGEA, requiring all financial institutions to stop payments to unlawful internet gambling by Dec. 1, 2009.

Court of Appeals has intervened in the case of Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear's attempt to seize 141 gambling domains as “gambling devices”.

Two bills have been signed that will rezone Center City as a commercial entertainment district to house the proposed casino development from Foxwoods.

Tabcorp Holdings Ltd has begun searching for a new head of casinos to replace current Chief Executive Walter Bugno.

The Prime Minister of Jamaica has kept his promise and has brought legislation before the Parliament to legalize casino gambling on the island.

While destination type resort casinos have experienced a downturn in the current economy, many of the local native casinos continue to do well.

Penthouse CEO Marc Bell told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the company is actively looking to buy a casino on the famed Las Vegas Strip.

French mathematician and scientist, Blaise Pascal, went on a retreat and while there went gambling in a Parisian casino. He then created the original roulette game in 1657.

After almost 60 years of being against the law in mainland China, the government has made the first move to legalize betting on horse races.

Century Casinos, Inc. is selling the Century Casino Millennium to a majority shareholder in the Viva Casino Group.

The online casino, 32Red, has inroduced a new slots game that they say may revolutionize the online slots industry.

Max Baer Jr., better known as Jed Clampett's nephew Jethro Bodine, has been working on building a Beverly Hillbillies themed casino complex since 1985.

Century Casinos has been chosen by TUI Cruises to operate all of their casinos onboard their cruiseships through the end of 2012.

Norway passed laws banning online poker and other gambling transactions for all Norwegian residents but legislation will not be enforced until mid 2009.

The hotel section of Detroit's Greektown Casino complex is scheduled to open in February and Greektown is adding another 150 employees to staff the addition.

More than 160 welfare cheats have been identiified as being involved in money laundering scams likely to be connected to organized crime and outlaw biker gangs.

Of four planned casinos to be built in Kansas, only one is still going forward. Butler National Service Corp. hopes to have the $87.5 million dollar casino ready by the end of 2009.

The M Resort, soon to open in Henderson, NV, will be the furthest south of all the resorts in the Las Vegas Valley.

PokerStars set two records in December. Most players in an online tournament (35,000) and largest number of people logged in at the same time (250,500).

The UK Gambling Commission approved the second raise in two years for slots payouts.

Major League Baseball (MLB) officials have loosened some of the restrictions that barred baseball teams from making any kind of deal with a gambling business.

The popular East Coast casino has introduced the Rolling Chip to the United States in two of its gaming areas at the resort in Connecticut.

January 16, the five members of the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission actually asked Governor Kathleen Sebelius to cut their salaries.

After reviewing literature covering poker play and strategies the judge came to the conclusion that “it is apparent that skill predominates over chance”.

The latest casino for Jupiters will be a glamorous boutique casino located in the Sebel Port Vila.

After Governor Steve Beshear of Kentucky seized 141 domain names as “gambling devices”, the gambling industry has been up in arms over the dangerous precedent.

The US Third Circuit Court of Appeals has notified iMEGA to prepare to give oral arguments in April. The defendants in the suit, the US Dept. of Justice and the Federal Reserve, have also been put on notice.

In spite of controversy over UIEGA, a last minute ruling from president Bush ordered companies to comply.  Now. even legal state lottery subscriptions are being denied.

Huge debt loads and tight credit markets have reduced Station Casinos to the brink of filing bankruptcy.

Indiana Live Casino's March 13th grand opening 8,000 person capacity was reached at 9 pm.  The doors were closed with disappointed gamblers still lined up outside.

During renovations on March 20, welders inadvertantly sparked a blaze that spread rapidly, completely destroying the entrance building of the Empress Casino.

Les Folies Bergere opened on Christmas Eve 1959.  After almost fifty years, Les Folies Bergere has closed with its final performance March 28.

The conclusions of the report EU investigation “imply that WTO proceedings against U.S. measures would be justified.”

Within walking distance of one of the most popular beaches in the country as well as great shopping and entertainment, the Sosua Bay Grand Casino promises to be one of the premier tourists destinations.

38-year old mother of four, became a multi-millionaire in less than ten minutes of slots play over Easter break at Terrible's Rail City in Sparks, Nevada.

The small African country of Botswana isn't feeling the pinch of recession, at least not in the casino industry. Casino revenues were the highest ever for 2008.

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) continues to lead the charge for repealing the unpopular UIGEA from 2006.

Station Casinos has filed a lawsuit against a Panama-based online gambling company they claims is committing trademark infringement.

With the advent of paper tickets instead of the outpouring of coins when someone hits, penny slots are much more practical than they were before.

A new compact was formed between Florida Governor Charlie Crist and the Seminole Indian Tribe.This will add over $1 billion to state coffers over the next two years.

On April 23, Isle of Capri Casinos announced the sale of its UK casino after executing a buy-out of its debts under the Coventry casino lease for a little over $11 million.

Supporters are waiting with bated breath in the hopes that the Aragon regional parliament will pass a law that would allow the European answer to Vegas to be built.

After officially endorsing the bill, the governor said that his administration looks forward to working with the three racinos in Delaware to make the sports lottery a success.

New Jersey grandmother set a new record for the longest craps roll.  She played an unbelievable 154 rolls of the dice, taking 4 hours and 18 minutes.

On May 14, MGM Mirage announced that it had completed the billion dollar public stock offering which is part of its attempt to raise $2.5 billion in capital in total.

Harrah's Entertainment has formed a subsidiary company that will tackle the growing and lucrative online casino market.

This year's expo featured exhibits from 135 companies from 20 regions including Australia, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The Tropicana and other casino assets have been under the control of a government appointed trustee since December of 2007 after the parent company had its license revoked by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.

The industry has been hard hit by a combination of the rough economy and tightened travel restrictions by China this year. Many are seeing the opening of the City of Dreams as a sign that things are finally turning around.

Instead of the 8-10 percent market share that had been expected, the City of Dreams grabbed less than 7% of the Macau market during it's inaugural month.

NetPlay has signed a new television distribution deal with the broadcast company STV Group Plc. to launch the first live interactive television casino in Scotland.

The North Carolina development has broken ground on the addition of a third hotel tower, part of a $663 million expansion that is scheduled for completion by 2012.

Singapore's new Marina Bay Sands development will be delayed until January or February due to difficulties getting construction materials such as sand and steel.

Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods have launched a joint advertising campaign to position southeastern Connecticut as a gambling destination.

Bernie Goldstein, one of the founders of Isle of Capri Casinos and a pioneer in riverboat gambling, passed away from cancer on July 12.

A 19-year-old man was running naked down the road near the Nevada-California line. He ran through the casino saying he was a Terminator who had traveled back from the future.

The government has given the Hong Kong Jockey Club permission to have horse races on five more days this year as well as adding fifteen simulcast days to the racing schedule.

At the World Series of Poker Main Event, Frank issued the traditional “Shuffle up and deal” to kick things off. Afterwards, he addressed the media on the topic of legalizing online gambling.

Casinos all over the country are experiencing revenue drops and fewer visitors but the Oklahoma tribal casinos are not seeing so much of that.

Fernando Chui will take over running Macau from Edmund Ho on December 20. As the only candidate, it was no surprise when he was elected with 94% of the vote of the Election Committee.

Frank Fertitta Jr, founder of Station Casinos, passed away in Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles on August 21, after heart surgery.

Las Vegas Sands has applied with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in order to get a listing on the main board of the Asian stock market.

Brazil is battling out the online gambling war this summer. One proposal would be exactly like the UIGEA, outlaw the processing of any payments related to online gambling.

With the casino expansion that continues to take place in the United States, limits on the gambling age are becoming more of an issue.

Foxwoods Resort Casino, is trying to restructure over $1.45 billion in debt as revenues have slowed in the ongoing economic downturn in the US.

The new casino resort owned by Philippine billionaire Andrew Tan and Star Cruises Ltd. doubles the gaming tables available in the city of Manila.

Kien Huat Realty, buys just under half the stock in Empire Resorts.  They want to build complex near Manhattan. Empire Resorts would help to accomplish this.

After more than 30 years, Delaware offers legal sports betting in the state's three racinos.

Harrah's Entertainment cuts deal with 888 to use their software in the UK, driving both companies share values up at the announcement.

Sources within the Sega Games Ltd. Company have leaked that there is plans in place to launch a Sega branded online casino and poker room sometime this month.

Viejas Casino managed to win 10 different honors in the 2009 Reader's Choice Best of Southern California Gaming.

Just a day before Planet Hollywood defaulted on its $860 million mortgage, Harrah's Entertainment stepped in and bought $140 million of the debt.