St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Files Federal Lawsuit For Casino Decision

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U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne has delayed long enough according to the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and now they want him to make a decision, so they have filed a federal lawsuit seeking answers.

At issue is the the tribe wanting to put into trust 30 acres of land for their proposed casino in the Catskills, but they submitted the application nearly nine months ago and still have not received an answer as of yet.

Chief Lorraine White summed up the tribes feelings, saying, “It is unfortunate that we have to file a lawsuit to compel the secretary to do his job, and it is unacceptable that our completed application has been pending at the department for nearly nine months.”

Kempthorne is against the building of any casinos off of Indian reservations and the tribe believes those feelings are getting in the way of making a decision that he is obligated to make.

The tribe is waiting on the application and cannot move forward with their plans without it. They are planning a $600 million casino in Monticello that would feature 24 poker tables, restaurants, retail stores, 3,500 slots, and 125 table games.

Philadelphia Casino Site Draws Lawsuit From Neighborhood Civic Groups

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A Foxwoods casino on the Delaware River and the SugarHouse casino a few miles up the river were overjoyed when they received the necessary licenses from the Philadelphia Gaming Control Board, now the two groups are facing opposition.

Civic groups in the neighborhoods of Pennsport, Society Hill, Old City, and Northern Liberties, and some individual residents have filed a Federal lawsuit.

In the lawsuit the groups claim that by allowing the casino it will bring added crime to the area, along with pollution and congestion.

The other area of the lawsuit is one of interest, the groups claim that former commission chairman Tad Decker should have taken himself out of the decision making process since he had ties to Cozen O’Connor, the law firm that represents Sugarhouses developer.

Decker has returned to the firm as their president and chief operating officer after leaving for three years to be the gaming board chairman.

The groups have already tried to disrupt the expansion of the two casinos by challenging the licenses in state court, but that attempt failed and they have now moved on to their Federal lawsuit.

South Dakota May Block Iowa Gambling With Casino Of Their Own

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In South Dakota, it is not necessarily that they want expanded gambling in their state, but they definitely do not want to get beat to the punch by Iowa. So they have decided the best defense to a casino near the states border is a good offense.

On Monday, the state Senate in South Dakota voted 20-15 in favor of a new amendment that would give the governor of the state legislature the power to defend their borders with any means necessary. That might include the power to expand gambling in their own state.

“In the end, this (amendment) will have the effect of locating one mega-casino in Sioux Falls,” said Senator Dave Knudson. He was alluding to the fact that in the amendment there is no clarification for what type of gambling could be created.

Still, others in the Senate believe this is not a pro-gambling amendment, but rather one that will protect South Dakota and their interests. “We’re trying to discourage Iowa from building this. Nobody is trying to increase gambling,” said Senator Gene Abdallah.

The amendment is aimed at keeping Iowa from building a casino resort that would bring people from South Dakota. Developers have been slow to act on casino opportunitie4s in areas of the country where there is significant competition.

Lawmakers in South Dakota feel that if they begin a plan to bring a casino to Sioux Falls, then developers would back away from building a casino in Iowa.

The precedent was set last year when Penn National originally agreed to build and operate a casino in Kansas. After learning of potential competition from a tribal casino in Oklahoma, Penn National pulled the plug on the deal. South Dakota is hoping they will have a similar result from Iowa developers.

South Africa Moves Forward with Online Gambling Regulation

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South African lawmakers authorized a new bill yesterday targeting the regulation of online gambling websites in their country. If approved by their President, Thabo Mbekibars, the new law would prohibit gaming operators from advertising and force them to impose limits on player accounts.

In addition, companies wanting to facilitate any form of internet gambling in South Africa must receive a license to do so and place their gaming servers and records within the country. All of this according to Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa, who addressed the National Assembly in Cape Town yesterday.

Another area of focus is the verification of player identity, to ensure players are over 18 years of age, which is the legal age for adults in that country. The player must sign a sworn statement that they are of legal age and get them to declare a bank account to delegate the transfer of winnings and losings.

The new law must still be approved by the National Council of Provinces, Parliament’s lower house, before it is signed into law by President Thabo Mbeki.

South Africa has taken a strong world leadership role with respect to online gambling regulation. They have performed years of research and weeks of intensive special hearings concerning the topic. The final product of their hard work is the National Gambling Amendment Bill introduced by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which legalizes Internet gambling by creating legislation for the licensing of interactive gambling operators and creating laws and regulations under which they must abide.

Smoking Eliminated From Casino Gambling Picture In South Dakota

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It is becoming increasingly obvious in the US that lawmakers are deciding enough is enough with cigarette smoking that could harm other people. South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds became the latest lawmakers to sign a smoking ban in public places into law.

Earlier in the day CGW reported that Michigan lawmakers were in the process of discussing a possible law that would ban smoking in all indoor public places. It is not known yet whether casinos will be exempt from that ban.

In South Dakota, casinos were not spared. They will have to abide by the same laws that restaurants, bars, and other indoor public establishments will have. The governor and other lawmakers were not concerned for lost revenue, they were focused on saving lives.

“I think it’s a big day for South Dakota,” said Jennifer Stalley, an official of the American Cancer Society, from Pierre, “In the long run I think we’re going to save a lot of lives, a lot of money.”

The news was not met with as much enthusiasm from business owners. The company line across the US when it comes to smoking bans is that it will take away from business. That has not been the case in many of the states that have already banned smoking in public places.

In Michigan, over 3,000 people died last year thanks to secondhand smoke. The figures are similar in other states, and it appears that lawmakers are fed up with losing lives because of the negligence of other people.