Investors in Penn National Gaming and Nevada’s slot machines makers, however, are already stacking their chips.

Tuesday night’s vote in Ohio reversed two decades of opposition to gambling in a state where residents rejected casino measures on four different occasions.

However, with the state facing a budget deficit and 10 percent unemployment, Ohio voters approved a referendum by a 53 percent to 47 percent margin that will allow one casino in each of the state’s four largest cities. The casinos offer the prospect of 34,000 full- and part-time jobs.

“This is not going to be a savior by any means, but it’s another brick in the wall,” referendum backer Dan Gilbert, owner of the National Basketball Association’s Cleveland Cavaliers, told The Columbus Dispatch on Tuesday night.

Construction on casinos in Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo and Cleveland may not take place until next year, with openings in 2012. Ohio political leaders who opposed the referendum may be exploring legal challenges or could launch another referendum to replace parts of the measure.

“Although we expect legal challenges and market infrastructure to take 24 months, the development is bullish for Penn,” Oppenheimer gaming analyst David Katz told investors.

Penn National, a racetrack and regional casino giant, bankrolled the campaign in support of the referendum, along with Gilbert, who is the founder and chairman of Quicken Loans.

Penn National will own and operate the casinos planned for Toledo and Columbus, investing at least $600 million to build the two facilities. It’s estimated that each casino could house between 2,000 and 5,000 slot machines and 50 to 100 table games.

Ohio is requiring a $50 million licensing fee for each casino with a minimum investment of $250 million per location. The tax rate on gaming revenues will be 33 percent.

Still, analysts said resort-style casinos in Ohio are a slam dunk.

“The passage is a positive for Penn and for the equipment companies as it opens up a new market,” Susquehanna Financial Group gaming analyst Robert LaFleur said.

Several analysts, including Katz and Janney Montgomery Scott’s Brian McGill, said the casinos’ opening could add up to $5 a share to Penn’s stock price.

Investors agreed Wednesday.

Shares of Penn National, up as much as 10 percent during the day on the Nasdaq National Market, closed at $28.19, up $1.99, or 7.6 percent.

Some analysts thought that Penn National could end up operating Gilbert’s casinos in Cincinnati and Cleveland.

“Clearly, we believe this is a home run for Penn National, but we believe there could be even more incremental opportunities in a potential management contract with Gilbert’s properties, given his lack of experience in casino operations,” Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Joel Simkins said.

Investors are also bullish on slot machine makers’ prospects in Ohio, where up to 20,000 new slot machines could be added at the four casinos.

“Ohio represents a meaningful new market opportunity for gaming equipment and technology providers,” Roth Capital Markets gaming analyst Todd Eilers said in a research report.

Ohio residents are expected to vote on a gaming referendum next year that could add 17,500 slot machines to the state’s seven racetracks.

“With the passage of full casino gaming it might be less likely that there will be voter appetite to approve slots,” Union Gaming Group principal Bill Lerner said.

Nevertheless, Tuesday’s vote boosted equipment makers’ stocks prices. Shares of International Gaming Technology closed at $18.60, up 8 cents, or 0.43 percent. Bally Technologies was up 72 cents, or 1.73 percent, to close at $42.41 while WMS Industries finished at $40.77, up 32 cents, or 0.79 percent. All three company stocks are traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Ohio will become the 39th state to legalize casinos and would join neighboring casino states Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

The surprise move Wednesday left five bidders competing for the right to operate 4,500 slot machine like video lottery terminals at Aqueduct.

The prolonged process, which began earlier this year, is expected to be completed in the next few weeks. New York Gov. David Paterson and legislative leaders are expected to select the winning bidder.

Five groups and partnerships, each with a online casino operation component, are bidding for the Aqueduct license.

Wynn was the only solo bidder and reportedly had the most expensive project. However, Wynn Resorts Chairman Steve Wynn publicly said the casino wouldn’t open until 2011.

New York leaders have said they want the casino to open by next year. Last week, Paterson sent a letter to the bidders asking each to provide proof it can pay the state $200 million upfront within 30 days of being selected.

In a statement released by a New York public relations firm, Wynn Resorts said it was confident the state would “find a qualified operator to meet its needs at Aqueduct.”

The potential to operate a gambling facility in Queens, less than 15 miles from Manhattan, attracted some of the gaming industry’s elite companies, including MGM Mirage, Harrah’s Entertainment, Hard Rock Entertainment, Penn National Gaming and Larry Woolf’s Navegante Group.

Because of its proximity to New York City, bidders said they weren’t going to build a traditional racino.

“This is not going to be a box with slot machines. This is going to be a destination resort,” Woolf said in May.

His company is part of the Aqueduct Entertainment Group bid, which also includes an ex-U.S. congressman turned minister whose congregation includes Queens.

Earlier this week, Penn National said it reached a community relations agreement with hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons’ Rush Communications of New York City and the framework of a labor agreement with the New York Hotel & Motel Trades Council, AFL-CIO.

Ahead of his induction into the Poker Hall of Fame on Saturday, PartyPoker Ambassador Mike Sexton said: “Phil Ivey is the most well known pro to the public and this has to be a sentimental bet for action on the online gambling tournament. It is hard to imagine, more astonishing, that a player can be favourite with just 5% of the chips in play. I regard Ivey as the best player in the world and it would be nice to see him win but as everyone knows casino games chips are power.”

A PartyBets spokesman said: “Has the world gone mad? Ivey is a short stack and Moon is a massive chip leader with 30% of the chips in online casinos play. It just doesn’t make sense but the punters just keep coming for Ivey and we have had no choice but to make him favourite because of our large six figure liabilities and the consistent interest.”

There will be a lot of punters out there sweating Ivey and a lot of bookies praying that he doesn’t get the early double-up that is essential for him to make a remarkable comeback from seventh in chips. If Ivey achieves what punters think he can it will be the worst poker result in bookmaking history.”

PartyBets - a sister site of Party Poker and Party Casino - chalked Ivey up at 175/1 to win the Main Event earlier this year. He was 100/1 as the Main Event got underway and his odds have plummeted since then. A big name on the final table of the WSOP is always bad news for bookmakers. 175/1 as a starting price for any player in a field of 6,494 players is short and his true odds could have been double that but bookmakers are forced to price him prohibitively short because punters back the name.

PartyBets currently has Ivey as 7/2 favourite, followed by the commonly regarded favourite Darvin Moon at 4/1. Eric Buchman is next in the betting at 9/2. Ivey only has 265,000 more chips than France’s Antonie Saout but Saout is a 16/1 shot. The UK’s James Akenhead, a recent participant in the PartyPoker World Open V alongside Saout has also been well supported but is still 14/1. A Shulman double, with Jeff joining Barry as a WSOP Main Event winner this year is priced at 6/1. Other markets available include winning hand and colour of the final river card.

** The story of how Jon Kalmar, a poker pro from Chorley in the UK made the final table of the 2007 WSOP Main Event is a poker fairytale in itself. Jon went to Vegas with a bankroll of $15,000 before getting down to his last $2,000 and qualifying in a satellite. He had been on a terrible run for a long time but ended up as the only UK representative making it to the climax of poker’s showpiece and won $1,255,000 for finishing in fifth place. It was also happy days for a poker pro from Skane, Sweden won $25,000 from PartyBets after placing a bet of $100 at 250/1 that Kalmar would make the final table.**

In The Fairy Tale players will come across five towers. Each tower has a hidden Fairy Tale character which will include: A Prince, A Witch, A Mermaid and A Dragon just to name a few.

The Fairy Tale concept was taken from the traditional fairy tale stories which included a range of characters and designed to create a simple and instantly gratifying casino game familiar to the mass market.

The Fairy Tale has been localised to all NeoGames’ white label and licensee’s partners, as well as being translated in 11 European languages.

The unanimous decision paves the way for an internet gambling industry on the self-governing Channel Island just off the French coast, making Jersey the latest online gambling licensing jurisdiction.

The next step will be a debate on the nitty gritty of e-gaming legislation next year, enabling Jersey people to tap into a new industry of websites running online gambling services, such as online poker and sports betting sites.

Jersey joins several small island jurisdictions, including Guernsey, Alderney, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar in setting up online gambling industries.

Economic Development Minister Alan Maclean has been the main driving force for the initiative, which was approved in principle back in 2005.

Senator Maclean said that the commission would also be a consultative and advisory body which would have a social responsibility to protect people from gambling addiction.

888 appointed Ruth Tanami as dedicated Director of Responsible Gaming in 2006, and the company’s efforts in this area have been recognised by membership of the FTSE4Good since March last year.

The year 2008 saw 888 continue to progress initiatives across a diverse range of areas, with a comprehensive programme helping improve the internet gambling company’s economic, social and environmental impacts. These are split into three sections in the report – People, Planet and Play.

Highlights included:

* Second annual charity event held, employees generating $50 000 in donations
* Charitable cash donations and in-kind contributions totaled $232 485 for charities in Antigua, Israel, Gibraltar and the United Kingdom
* 13 percent reduction in electricity consumption per square meter of office space
* Participation in the United Nations Global Compact
* Commitment to responsible gaming further by the introduction of a unique data mining system called “The Observer” structued to identify and support problem gamblers

Commenting on the report, Gigi Levy, chief executive officer of 888, said:

“The publication of this report emphasises the core importance that ethical values have to 888’s business. As well as being the right thing to do, conducting our business responsibly is fundamental to our future success.

“Managing social and environmental factors enhances our credibility with stakeholders, whilst our market-leading approach to player risk builds relationships with our customers, both in turn helping to support our international business development.”

Determined that there should never again be a repeat of the issues that resulted in it paying out millions of dollars to disadvantaged players, management at the Cereus online poker network tasked their poker and back end software provider, Quad Dimensions, with key product developments and substantial improvements to its security and safety measures designed to protect players and enhance the overall gaming experience.

The result is one of the most tightly constructed online poker softwares in the industry, which has passed the stringent inspection regime of the standards and player protection non-profit organisation eCOGRA with flying colours.

A rigorous on-site review, which encompassed every aspect of the gambling companys software development activities, was conducted earlier this year by professional eCOGRA auditing and technical staff. The Cereus software achieved full compliance with eCOGRA’s Generally Accepted Practices (eGAP), a set of industry best practice operational and management requirements.

“Cereus management’s commitment to compliance, specifically player safety, facilitated an efficient review and certification process,” Sean Roberts, Compliance Manager at the London offices of eCOGRA reported.

“The active measures taken, in light of events that impacted players, coupled with an impressive range of additional mitigating controls that have since been implemented, have contributed to the Cereus online poker network’s software reaching the standards we require for software accreditation.”

Following the inspection team’s report, eCOGRA’s independent Seals Compliance Committee confirmed that the software is implemented, maintained and continuously operated in a safe, secure and reliable manner, and awarded the software accreditation seal.

eCOGRA chief executive Andrew Beveridge revealed that for the past year continuous monthly monitoring of the Cereus online poker network’s random number generator and game results has been additionally carried out through eCOGRA’s proprietary Total Gaming Transaction Review, a process that analyses every live gaming transaction to ensure fairness of the cards dealt.

The TGTR process also includes comprehensive controls to ensure verification of the completeness and accuracy of the data used in the monthly evaluation.

“Cereus management’s complete cooperation and commitment to an in-depth inspection and monitoring process involving the network’s transaction records and its software has been remarkable,” the eCOGRA executive added. “Going forward, we are confident that the network’s adherence to our standards and best business practice requirements will prevent any reoccurrence of the unfortunate incidents of the past.”

Paul Leggett, parent company Tokwiro Enterprises chief operating officer, said that the eCOGRA inspection had subjected the company’s online poker software to one of its most exhaustive reviews.

“Doing everything possible to reassure the poker community that our operation and software are completely safe and secure is a priority for us. This is why we decided to work with eCOGRA and apply for the Certified Software accreditation seal, he said.

“Their inspection team was extraordinarily thorough, looking at a wide range of elements in our software. We are proud that our product passed the tough requirements to achieve this important accreditation. We have learned a great deal from eCOGRA, and we respect and support their ongoing efforts to make the online poker industry more accountable,” he concluded.

Microgaming will provide the Isle of Man-based JenningsCasino with access to its catalogue of quality, graphic rich casino games, and the support of a dedicated Account Management team with all the benefits of state of the art back-office services. JenningsCasino players will also have the opportunity to compete in the world’s largest online progressive jackpot network, which only last week paid out $1.2 million in one single payment.

Steve Templeman, head of e-Gaming at JenningsBet.com, says: “We are committed in bringing our reputation and integrity to the global online casino market, and are delighted to offer existing players our first full casino. As a family business, it is vital that our providers share our ethos of providing a first-class and competitive service, and we are certain that in Microgaming we have the ideal partner.”

“JenningsBet.com has quickly established itself as a major player in the online gaming world, and we are delighted that the company has decided to extend our existing relationship with the addition of our casino software,” said Roger Raatgever, CEO Microgaming. “We take great pride in giving our operators the strongest competitive edge, be it through game variety, quality, or technical sophistication, and this latest signing is yet further proof of the appeal of our unique partnership approach.”

“We are very pleased to extend our relations with 888, one of the world’s most popular online gambing companies. We believe that innovative features and enhanced gameplay will enrich 888’s offering and will strengthen our relationship,” said Udy Yosha, CEO of CTXM.

888-powered online casinos will feature a total of seven games developed by CTXM, including Freaky Wild West and Freaky Gym 3D slots. The games will be integrated into 888’s award winning gaming environment, combining popular gaming designs with 888’s gaming arena, gaming history and shared wallet.

CTXM launched new 3D slots Freaky Wild West and Freaky Gym this September at the EIG Expo. The games support all standard and high end slot features and offer unique gameplay, with multilevel and multidimensional play, humorous story-lines, advanced bonus games and visual 3D effects.

“We constantly look to deliver a superior gaming experience to our players,” said Itai Frieberger, Senior Vice President - Head of Offering Division of 888. “CTXM games have provided such an experience and we are confident that these new games will also be well received by our players.”

The group boasts that since 2006 it has been doing everything possible to call attention to online internet gambling in order to shut it down.

“These Internet casinos, and or Internet gambling sites are primarily run by the Russian Mafia, and/or organized crime syndicates, & they are a cancer, the US can do without,” it said in a statement, again without offering a shred of evidence to back it’s rather scary claims.

Now the group is calling on the US Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service to get involved “….before something really bad happens.” That something really bad, according to the Corporate Whistleblower Center, includes: ” identity theft of millions of Americans personal information.”

The statement goes on to accuse US authorities of being “asleep at the switch’, a rather harsh judgement bearing in mind the energetic efforts since 2006 of federal authorities. But in an almost surrealistic claim to fame, the Center goes on to say: “We got so far as to identify, and shut down the largest European Internet money transfer service, we got the second biggest German bank, & the biggest US bank wiring money, or sending checks, to US citizens, all in open violation of the law. And the Feds did noting (sic)”.

This wildly uninformed body then turn to the land gambling industry, suggesting that Vegas giants and tribal casinos alike should take note that online gambling is aggravating the economic recession and hurting their businesses.

“It’s billions of US dollars. Millions of very foolish US citizens completely give up their identification information, in the process of retrieving winnings. Worst of all, most of the biggest players are the Russian Mafia, or organized crime syndicates,” the statement reiterates.

“Just as bad, none of the winnings, or losses are taxed by any state, or by the IRS. The what we will call casinos in the loosest form, rake in billions every month from US citizens & they pay no tax. Even worse, these are criminal enterprises designed to cheat people.”

Taking federal enforcement back to ‘Investigation 101′, the Center suggests that FBI and IRS agents furnish themselves with a fresh set of ID and then mount a sting operation against online casinos, betting small, not taking bonuses and then tracing the money when winnings are sent.

“We want you to watch every aspect of the transaction,” the Center emphasises. “On the outgoing side of the bet, or wager, there will be a US bank involved as the transfer agent, in most cases. On the incoming side there will be a US bank that writes the winnings check to you, or a US bank will in most cases wire the proceeds into your account-again as a transfer agent.”