A prosecutor said today he was dropping perjury charges against northeastern Pennsylvania casino owner Louis A. DeNaples in an agreement that requires him to turn over the business to his daughter.

Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico said perjury charges against DeNaples’ friend, the Rev. Joseph Sica, also were being withdrawn. The deal was expected to be filed with the court in the coming days.

“We have obtained what we think is a big concession, and that is (DeNaples) will not be the CEO, he will not have an ownership interest in the casino,” Marsico said. “So that is a big step.”

Marsico said a linguistic expert concluded that the questioning of DeNaples by the state Gaming Control Board and of Sica by a deputy prosecutor raised legal issues that contributed to his decision to drop charges.

“One of the requirements with perjury cases is that the questioning be precise,” Marsico said. “A witness can’t be convicted of perjury for any answer that’s evasive, that’s ambiguous or imprecise.”

DeNaples’ spokesman, Kevin Feeley, said Marsico “realized that there was no basis to proceed and he did the right thing.”

DeNaples must turn over all his interest in Mount Airy to a trust in the name of Lisa A. DeNaples, who became Mount Airy’s chief operating officer last month. Feeley said the deal allows him to enter Mount Airy Casino Resort, provide advice about the business to his daughter and continue to act as a financial guarantor.

Two months before he was charged in January 2008, DeNaples had been preparing to transfer ownership of Mount Airy to his children and grandchildren.

DeNaples also must pay costs of prosecution, which Marsico said will exceed $100,000.

Feeley said the adverse publicity has been difficult for the DeNaples family.

“You can’t prosecute somebody by newspaper,” Feeley said. “I think you have to have the facts. In the end it was pretty clear the facts weren’t there to continue the prosecution.”

Marsico said that when the charges were filed, prosecutors were convinced the men had broken the law. Despite withdrawing the charges, he was unapologetic.
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“I don’t apologize for what we did a year ago, and I don’t apologize for what we’re doing today,” Marsico said.

DeNaples, 68, is a wealthy Scranton-area businessman with interests that include banking and garbage disposal. He opened what was Pennsylvania’s first freestanding casino in October 2007 under the state law that authorized as many as 14 slots casinos.

A Dauphin County grand jury concluded the family relationship between DeNaples and William D’Elia, a reputed mobster, were closer than DeNaples indicated to the gaming board when it granted him a $50 million slots license. It also alleged DeNaples lied about his dealings with Ron White and Shamsud-din Ali, figures in a Philadelphia municipal corruption scandal.

Had DeNaples been convicted of the charges, four counts of perjury, he probably would not have faced jail time, Marsico said.

Sica had been accused of lying to the grand jury about his relationship with the late Pennsylvania organized crime boss Russell Bufalino.

“I placed my trust in God, the truth and the system and I was not let down,” Sica said in a statement. “I am grateful that the prosecution recognized that the perjury charge against me was baseless and had the courage to act upon that insight.”

The gaming board, which had awarded DeNaples a license in 2006, has banned him from entering or exercising any control over the Pocono Mountains establishment. The board issued a statement late today noting it has a process for reviewing proposed ownership changes and it would discuss the matter at its April 22 meeting.

Marsico said the investigation “unmasked numerous problems” with the state’s casino-licensing process, and proposed a set of reforms in a letter to Gov. Ed Rendell and legislative leaders.

He recommended that the state attorney general or the state police perform background checks on gambling license applicants; that the gambling board be appointed by the governor, subject to Senate confirmation; and that the state prohibit convicted felons from working in the gaming industry.

In 1978, DeNaples pleaded no contest to a felony charge of conspiracy to defraud the federal government in a case involving government payments to clean up the aftermath of Hurricane Agnes. He was fined $10,000 and placed on probation.

Also today, a report on whether grand jury secrecy rules in the case were violated, issued in August by Dauphin County Common Pleas Judge Todd Hoover, was made public.

Hoover said his review of grand jury testimony indicated “that not one matter occurring before the grand jury was leaked, i.e., testimony, documents or records which are subject to the secrecy provisions.”

The state Supreme Court has directed that a special prosecutor look into the allegations by DeNaples that secrecy was compromised. Marsico said today he was confident the special prosecutor’s findings will mirror Hoover’s.

32Red Plc has announced that the Mega Moolah slot machine has reached record-breaking levels by hitting the GBP6 million mark at their online casino, 32Red. The operator behind the award-winning 32Red Casino has reported that any win now would surpass the previous $5.5 million record won in April 2008.

Head of Marketing for 32Red, Mark Quayle, said, “Anyone who hits the jackpot on Mega Moolah will win GBP6,000,000 or more when playing at 32Red Online Casino. Combine Mega Moolah with our other progressive jackpots and that makes a total of GBP7,268,000+ up for grabs.”

Mega Moolah is one of 14 progressive jackpot games available at 32Red, but it leads the way with the biggest jackpot in online gaming. The mammoth jackpots this casino game generates are a result of each spin of its reels, where a fraction of the spin’s cost is pooled. With the game’s massive popularity the figure quickly collects into the multi-million pound figures and the life changing amounts currently available.

Quayle added, “What happens when it’s won? The jackpot is reset to a guaranteed GBP1 million. Making it immediately one of the biggest jackpots on the Net.”

In addition to the imminent Mega Moolah jackpot, 32Red is also getting ready to launch 5 new casino games, including the much talked about slot machine, The Great Galaxy Grab. The other games are Cops and Robbers, Lucky Eggsplorer, Mayan Princess and Stunt Pilot.

About 32Red Plc:
32Red is the six times winner of the Best Casino title awarded by watchdog and player advocate, Casinomeister. 32Red is renowned for providing industry-leading levels of support to players. Over 80% of 32Red’s players are from the UK and 32Red is licensed and regulated by the Government of Gibraltar. The Company operates 32Red Casino, 32Red Poker, 32Red Mobile, 32Red Affiliates and DashCasino.com. 32Red Casino is committed to responsible gambling and ensures the company adheres to UK law.

32Red is a leading online casino with back-to-back Best Casino awards every year since 2003. Awarded by the Internet’s foremost casino watchdog and player advocacy site, Casinomeister, these awards are much coveted within the industry. 32Red offers players over 350 casino games, live player support and a range of promotions. In addition to the award-winning 32Red Online Casino, the company also operate an online poker room, bingo, mobile casino and now financial spread betting after the recent launch of 32Red SpreadBet.

The Alabama Supreme Court today issued an order that allows the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling to hold onto the slot machines and cash seized in March during a raid on the White Hall internet gambling facility in Lowndes County.

Former Supreme Court Justice Mark Kennedy had ordered the Task Force to return the slot machines and cash, but the Task Force challenged Kennedy’s ability to decide the case based upon his ties to gambling interests in the state.

Following the issuance of the ruling by Kennedy, the Task Force asked the Supreme Court to stay the order and to consider whether Kennedy should have recused himself from participating in the case.

Kennedy has worked in the past for the Poarch Creek Indian Tribe, which operates some similar machines at its casino in Atmore. Kennedy also refused to disclose the existence of other current and past ties to Alabama gambling interests.

The Alabama Supreme Court decided today that Kennedy’s order should be stayed while the Court considers the recusal issue.

“Our legal system depends upon impartial and unbiased judges deciding cases,” said Governor Riley. “It is inconceivable that a judge with ties to gambling in the state would think he could act in an unbiased manner in this case, and I am glad that the Supreme Court has decided to examine that question.

“There is no doubt that the machines seized during the raid are illegal slot machines,” said Governor Riley. “To require law enforcement to give back illegal machines to the parties breaking the law would have been a terrible miscarriage of justice. I salute the Supreme Court for righting this wrong.”

Gamblingplanet Representatives announced today that the renowned online casino portal’s news desk had recently been modified in order to better serve its online gambling fans. Among the modifications are changes to the format and layout of Gambling Planet news, as well as the frequency of its posts; gambling news is now reported daily and features shorter synopses that focus on facts and implications of events at hand.

The changes to Gambling Planet’s news desk occurred almost at the same time the site established a Twitter.com feed that enabled readers to track gaming news 24/7. Recognizing the changing landscape of information delivery heralded by the proliferation of new social media outlets, Gambling Planet set out to satisfy its tech savvy audience by publishing more relevant gambling news stories more often.

Says GamblingPlanet.org Spokesperson, Rachel Holland; “We are in the midst of an information revolution, wherein comprehensive coverage of events are delivered as they happen. Political, economic, even celebrity news sources have adapted. So, too, must online casino news outlets.”

Holland is quick to point out, however, that although the Gambling Planet news format has changed, its commitment to covering germane stories and assessing their implications hasn’t. The five “Ws”—who, what, when, where, why—that form the basis of solid journalism, will not be abandoned out of deference to speedy delivery. Rather, the insightful analysis for which Gambling Planet has long been applauded will reclaim its rightful place in the editorials department.

Holland goes on to say; “Today, ‘current’ news is simply not enough. Being ‘in the know’ means being in the ‘now’, and Gambling Planet provides news now.”

About Gambling Planet: Gambling Planet is a full-service online gambling portal, providing readers up-to-date gambling news and information, the best exclusive bonuses, freerolls and promotions, and comprehensive online casino reviews.

If you live in the United States you have probably witnessed the pissing match between Windows and Mac or should we say Microsoft and Apple. The rumpus between the two companies got me thinking - do Mac users miss on the online casinos as a form of entertainment? A few years back there were no online casinos for Mac users, but truth be told, we have not examined the online gambling world for Mac compatibility in a long time. Needless to say - at our office Windows is the king, for many reasons which we will not touch upon to avoid flood of hate mail from angry Apple fans and derail the purpose of this article. It’s also true that we have not received any emails in a long time asking if there are online casinos which work with the Mac operating system and its versions.

So, Microsoft Bluetooth mouse in hand we set out to see which online casino from our recommended list of the best online casinos works with the Mac OS. Unfortunately, what we found was far from encouraging. Most of the online casinos don’t even try to list the operating system(s) required to download, install and play the casino software, but after a quick chat with the customer service the picture was clear - there is not a single online casino on our list that works with the Mac operating system. Slotocash was the only online casino which promises on its website to deliver a Mac-compatible gambling software “in the future”, but we highly doubt it it will be anytime soon. The Golden Casino website states outright that their online casino works with Windows operating systems only. We have to give it up to Golden Casino - it says it works with Windows 95, although we have no way of confirming this, not that anyone cares. The Mainstreet group online casinos, such as Vegas Casino Online mention nothing about operating system requirements to run the online casino and after we contacted the customer service, we were told that in order to play the online casino with a Mac computer you will have to opt in for the Flash-only version, i.e. browser-based casino software extremely limited in both games and fun factor.

These online casinos are all using the current three big internet gambling software developers for US players - RTG, RIVAL and Vegas Tech - and considering that Mac holds a share of the non-USA market somewhere between 3% and 5%, it’s unlikely to see a Mac online casino abroad before we see one from the online casinos catering to the US players, where some put the Apple’s personal computing market share at as high as 15%. And from our short adventure one thing is certain - there are no online casinos for Mac users and it will be a long time before there are Mac online casinos available. Until then, you may want to consider running a Windows, as well, on your Apple laptop.

A new focus by the state on casino gambling is a positive sign for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, tribal council Chairman Cedric Cromwell said this morning.

Earlier today, Senate President Therese Murray told the Greater Boston Chapter of the Chamber of Commerce that she, Gov. Deval Patrick and House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo have agreed in principle on gambling legislation that is expected to emerge from Beacon Hill in the fall.
“I think that’s really important and opens up communication channels for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to be at the table and see where the tribe fits into that picture,” Cromwell said. “We want to be part of that conversation.”

The tribe has applied to put 539 acres in Middleboro in federal trust to build an Indian casino. The Middleboro project still faces some significant hurdles given a recent Supreme Court ruling that the U.S. Department of the Interior does not have the authority to take land into trust for tribes recognized after 1934.

Cromwell said he’s not concerned that state legislation could give the state the upper hand in bringing expanded online gambling to Massachusetts before the tribe.

“It’s an important step for the state to be talking about it,” he said. “We look forward to being at the table.”

The state is looking to recover at least a portion of the $900 million that leaves Massachusetts to casinos in Connecticut and Rhode Island, Murray said citing studies.

“We need the revenue,” she said. “We’re going to take our time, build this in a proper way with a full debate and decide which part of the state it should go into. But we’re facing a $4 billion deficit for 2010 and we are still not out of ’09. We still have to pay another $500 million for this year with furloughs, cuts and layoffs. For next year, we have to creative so if we can get a gaming bill through it would give us revenue in 2011.”

Rich Young, president of Casino Free Mass, which opposes expanded gambling in the state, said what the studies don’t look at is how much gambling will cost the state to deal with compulsive gambling and other social issues.

“Casino gambling will become the state’s next Big Dig,” Young said, citing a study that indicates for every $1 a state receives in casino revenue it spends $3 for addiction and crime. “The state will have to pay for all the problems and costs associated with gambling. The people who run the gambling operations will not do that.”

Murray said she has appointed state senators Michael Morrissey of Quincy and Stanley Rosenberg of Amherst to spearhead the effort. Rosenberg was at the breakfast and said his extensive studies have led him to conclude that creating resort-style casinos such as those proposed by Patrick would result in deeper and longer-lasting economic development.

“If your objective is to create a lot of fast cash out of the pockets of your own people … then slot machines can be very successful,” he said. “But it’s not universal. You see what’s happening in Rhode Island; Rhode Island’s slot parlors are on the ropes.”

Rosenberg said it may be possible to create a hybrid system in which casino developers are given short-term slot parlor licenses while they build their resorts. Both he and Murray said they would not count on receiving any gambling revenues until the 2011 fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2010.

The discussion comes as the state confronts free-falling tax collections and an ever-expanding budget deficit.

Patrick announced $156 million in budget cuts on Tuesday, the third round of cuts he’s made this fiscal year.

The leaders are also trying to craft a budget for the fiscal 2010 year beginning July 1 and they continue to lower their projected revenue estimate.

If you are a good poker player you’ll have an edge in virtually any game you play, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go out of your way to find the most profitable game.

A lot of life is timing; being in the right place, at the right time, in the poker world can lead to a big payday. The weekend crowd always has a little more gamble in them than the weekday crowd, and the action in the evening is always bigger and faster than the in the morning.

Now, I’m not saying you can’t win money if you play at noontime, or find a crazy game at three in the afternoon; however, your are more likely to find five crazy games at three in the morning!

I’ve always found the best time to play is in the wee hours of the morning. My friends and I refer to these as late night Foxwoods runs, when we leave at midnight for the online casino, getting us there arond 1:30AM.

The reason is quite simple, at 3AM the people at the tables are, stuck a lot of money, tired, drunk, or a combination of all three. At this point, the winners have cashed out and are sleeping soundly in their beds, while the losers are trying to get back to even (which never happens). This is even more prevalent on the weekends when people stay at the casino (and often never go to their room) and pull 24 hour+ gambling benders.

This can also be applied to online games. Online is slightly different, since you are playing people from around the world. However, most players are from the US, so you’ll find the best games at about 4AM Eastern Time (1AM on the West Coast). When you play online, you’re not only playing people who are stuck, drunk, and tired, but also people coming home from the casino trying to continue their hot streak, or win back some losses. A lot of people will come home from a night out and play poker too, they are usually very, very, inebriated.