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September 21, 2011

Viejas Casino Offers Free Meal To Public At Harvest Buffet On 20thanniversary

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , , — OCE News @ 12:00 am

Southern California’s premier gaming and entertainment destination, Viejas casino, is amidst celebrations for its 20th anniversary. As part of this celebration, the casino is offering free meal to the public on September 13, Tuesday, at the award-winning Harvest Buffet.

In Viejas casino, there are thousands of slot machines, game tables with Baccarat, Pai Gow and blackjack, a poker room, a bingo hall, and betting facility. The casino has a variety of restaurants including the harvest Buffet, Grove Steakhouse, and Emerald Asian Cuisine. There is a unique shopping outlet which offers the visitors highly acclaimed stores, Mini Golf, Bowling, and numerous eating joints. Viejas casino is a complete entertainment center. It enjoys patronage of people from all walks of life, all age and income groups.

A Gesture to Thank Dedicated Guests

Ever since it opened up in September 13, 1991, Viejas casino has been a favorite destination for gaming, entertainment, and dining. Mr. Anthony R. Pico, the Viejas tribal Chairman, said that offering the free meal buffet is simply a way to express thanks to the dedicated guests and everybody in San Diego who has contributed in the success of the Casino in the past two decades.

He further added that the tribal government gaming has provided Tribal Community, the much required opportunity for economical independence and self–governance. Sharing the good fortune with others and giving back in some way to the society is a part of the tribal culture. Therefore, the free meal incorporates these values and has been made a prominent part of the 20th year celebrations.

The guests are requested to plan ahead and keep aside plenty of time for parking and traffic congestions, as a large crowd is expected. The free meal will be offered as a plated serving to all guests in the Harvest buffet from 9 am to 9 pm and will be served on first come first serve basis. No entry formality, no V-Club card is required. Viejas has arranged for 25 free round trip buses running from El Cajon and three from North County. This is done to provide easy transport access to all those who want to visit for the free meal at Viejas Casino.

EwasteCollection Event

In addition to this, the Viejas outlets and computers 2 SD kids are hosting e-waste recycling drop off event on August 27, Saturday. When somebody donates, they receive free voucher to the Harvest Buffet at Viejas casino. Area residents can drop off the eWaste like working and non-working electronic items at Viejas outlets; drop off signs and distribution signs have been put up. The volunteers will be there to accept TVs, phones, cords, printers, hardware, and software.

Other Celebrations at Viejas

As part of the ongoing celebration of the Casino’s 20 years on Saturday, September 17, there will be a tribal blessing with sage-burning ceremony at the south entrance at 5 pm. In the V lounge, there will be free food and entertainment, historic bird-singing, which has been a part of the tribal culture for thousands of years. The 2012 Corvette drawing is scheduled at 8 pm. One lucky guest will also win $20,000 and eight guests will each get $2,000; this is in addition to the Corvette draw. At the bingo pavilion of Viejas, $100,000 is to be given away on September 17th, as the 20th anniversary celebrations continue.

September 17, 2011

The Mexican Casino Massacre

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 12:00 am

Casino Royale in Monterrey, Mexico, has been in the news lately due to the terrifying attack that took place there recently. The terrifying act came in the form of eight gunmen entering the casino on Thursday, August 26th, 2011, and asked all the occupants to hit the floor. They then proceeded to explode a fire bomb in the casino after drenching the place in gasoline. There followed a massive fire that killed as many as 53 people.

The attack came in the wake of the impending drug wars that were taking place in the city for more than a year. The drug cartels have been demanding money from the casino owners. Casinos that are refusing to pay are attacked. This is cited as the main reason for the Casino Royale attack. Some also state that the attack came in light of the alleged connection between the drug world and the gambling business in Mexico. The attack in Casino Royale was not the first. The casino was targeted in earlier months as well by drug traffickers. Other casinos were also attacked by gunmen in May 2011. The attack was in the form of bullets fired at them. Luckily, there was no injury or life lost in those attacks.

The sight that followed the attack was heart-wrenching. Rescue workers found charred remains of people in places like office spaces, under furniture, and inside toilets. The rescue workers say that it looked like the people were trying to protect themselves from the massive fire and fumes and also from the gunmen. The fire fighters took more than four hours to control the flames and move into the casino to start the rescue operations. By then, many people succumbed to the heavy fumes that arose due to the fire.

The entrance of the casino was completely charred. The death toll from the attack is expected to increase from the now stated 53. From investigations done so far, there were around 80 people inside the building during the attack. Many out of these still remain unaccounted for. Some say that the attack on the casino came at one of its slow times and therefore the number of people in the casino was very few. At peak hours, the casino could hold as many as a thousand people at one time. The video surveillance images of the rescue operations painted a grim picture as fire fighters pulled out charred remains of bodies from the burnt structure of what once was Casino Royale.

The Mexican government is pleading to the United States of America to help curb the illegal drug trading between the United States and Mexico. The attack on the casino has had serious political implications within the Mexican government. The citizens of Mexico are looking upon the government with doubt when it comes to competency as they have failed to control the drug wars and the rise of the drug lords. The lack of a proper security system within the country is stated as one of the major reasons for such an attack on Casino Royale.

September 15, 2011

Casino Shutdown Due To Hurricane

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 12:00 am

When the hurricane hits, there is no other choice than to close up shop. This year, with Hurricane Irene set to hit Atlantic City, the casinos in the city are set to close. This means huge losses for the casinos even if the shutdown is only for a few hours. Losses of about three to four million dollars are expected.

The city officials declared a mandatory evacuation of the premises from 6 AM. Out of the 11 casinos, many are still planning to keep their rooms and restaurants open for those people stranded on the island. Gambling on the other hand has been shut down completely.

The city has 11 major casinos and all of them are preparing for the big hurricane soon to hit the city. They will be closing down business till Irene passes. In the past 33 years, such a total shutdown has only happened twice before. The casino’s business was legalized only in 1978 in the state of New Jersey. Since then, the state has been raking in huge revenues from the business. The first shutdown came in 1985 when Hurricane Gloria hit the island. Gloria being a Category 4 storm left extensive damages in most of the areas it hit. The damages caused by the hurricane was said to amount to $500 million. The second shutdown came in the form of a State government directive in 2006. Now the third shutdown is here, thanks to Hurricane Irene.

The Implications of a Casino Shutdown

A shutdown affects a lot of people. It does not just affect the casino owners. It affects all the others associated with the casino. There will be hundreds of workers in these casinos; many of them work on daily wages. Their means of livelihood is affected. Casinos have many suppliers. This could be suppliers of flowers to adorn the rooms and halls, suppliers of food, suppliers of specialized items like caviar, and so on. A shut down means that the casino would not be requiring these items for those days. The items would be wasted and spoiled. The supplier may incur heavy losses due to this. In short, a shutdown of the casino doors would mean a shutdown for all people associated with the casino. Their income is also hit in a big way and heavy losses are incurred. Sometimes these losses are so high that there will be no recovery point for the sufferer. The casinos as such recover quickly as their business is huge and a few days of good house wins would make up the loss. It is the smaller suppliers who rely on their association with the casinos that really suffer.

Be it Hurricane Irene or Hurricane Gloria, a complete shutdown means terrible losses for casinos and associated people. Casinos try and avoid the shutdown as far as possible. But when the situation is beyond human control, there is no choice than to incur the losses and hope to resurface later.

September 13, 2011

Genting New York

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 12:00 am

New York is finally going to have its own casino. Ozone Park, one of New York’s famous neighborhoods in Queens, is where the first casino is set to open. The casino will be built at the Aqueduct Race Track. The area is a 192 acre expanse of land in Ozone Park. The casino is aiming to reel in the public with more than 4000 slot machines under one roof.

The casino is being developed by a company called Genting New York. Genting is a Malaysian casino giant. They have businesses in Malaysia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Genting New York is its subsidiary.

The company is eager to start this venture as it would mean entry into New York. The company already has other investments in the United States which dates back to 20 years. The building of the casino fell into the lap of Genting after it won the bid for the same in the year 2010.

Genting plans to have the casino set up with an entertainment section as well where there would be live shows and events. The casino will be called Resort World New York. Genting is set to build a similar casino in Miami, Florida, for which they have already acquired the land. Resort World Miami is expected to be larger than the casino planned in New York.

The Story Behind the Casino

The Aqueduct Racetrack has a history dating back to the 1800s when thoroughbreds were raced. The track was an instant hit and the place for many famous races. Horses included in the hall of fame have won many races on the Aqueduct tracks. In the year 2007, the Governor of New York went into discussions with his senate regarding closing of the racetrack and converting it into a casino. A bid was called and seven companies including casino giants like MGM and Wynn applied for the slot. The bid was won by the Aqueduct Entertainment Group. The winning of the bid by the group became highly controversial. Ultimately, the deal was withdrawn and a new group was chosen for running the casino. This is how the Aqueduct casino business fell into the lap of Genting. The casino is still under controversy due to the change in license by the state. Aqueduct Entertainment is planning to sue the state regarding the matter. Despite all these problems, the casino at Aqueduct is finally moving toward reality.

The building of the casino will itself bring in a lot of jobs for the area. It is stated that more than 1000 construction workers will get jobs during the construction work. Once the casino opens, there will be permanent posts for more than 800 people. Many of these would go to the locals.

This would greatly help in increasing the standard of living of the people in the area. The opening of the casino will also bring the state annual revenues in the likes of $500 million.

Finally, New York, one of the major hubs of the United States of America, will have a casino to call its own.

September 7, 2011

“Biker Bandit” To Serve At Least Nine-Year Sentence

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , , — OCE News @ 12:00 am

The “biker bandit” Anthony Carleo is to serve nine to 27 years in prison. He was caught for robbing the Suncoast and Bellagio casinos in December last year.

“I’m completely ashamed of myself. I’m not a lost cause, though,” Carleo stated before his sentencing. “I know I can turn my life around.”

The Sentences

For the Suncoast robbery, District Judge Michael Villani sentenced Carleo to six to 16 years. Carleo was also sentenced to three to 11 years for the Bellagio robbery. Although William Terry, Carleo’s attorney, asked that the sentences run concurrently, these appeals were disregarded by Villani.

In addition, for the money stolen from a cashier cage at the Suncoast Casino, Carleo will need to pay $18,945. Financial restitution for the Bellagio robbery is yet to be determined. In this robbery, Carleo stole about $1.5 million in casino chips from a craps table at gunpoint. He then escaped through the casino, wearing a full-faced motorcycle helmet and drove off on a motorcycle.

The police have still not managed to recover all the stolen chips that amount to about $793,000. However, as Terry put forward in his case, these were no longer of any value because as soon as they were stolen, the casino created a network to monitor any stolen chips.

Terry stated, “That was one of the major problems that Mr. Carleo had, which was, it’s one thing to take something, it’s another thing to get rid.”

Drug Addiction

Before sentencing Carleo, Villani told him that he had received a number of character references from advocates of Carleo, including his mother, his father, who was former Las Vegas Municipal Judge George Assad, teachers, principals, and a former Colorado sheriff.

Terry, who blames Carleo’s actions on his need to take the pain medication Oxycodone after a car accident, said, “You’ve got the All-American boy here. So what goes wrong?”

Terry explained that Carleo became addicted to the drug and blames this and his addiction to gambling as leading him to commit these crimes.

Terry said, “This was a downward spiral that occurred within a short period of time.”

Since being held in Clark County Detention Center, Carleo no longer has any drug issues.

No Excuses

Despite the letters which, Villani said, made Carleo sound like “someone you might want as your neighbor,” the judge still saw the robberies as planned and not simply an impulsive decision. Villani was confused that the parole and probation department recommended Carleo be granted a minimum two-year sentence.

He said, “This isn’t the same as grabbing a purse from someone in a parking lot. I can imagine how the cashier felt and the manager felt when he pointed a gun at them.”

Villani sentenced Carleo to a minimum of 54 months and a maximum of 144 months for the Suncoast Casino robbery. For using a weapon, a consecutive term of 18 to 48 months was added. This equates the term to that of six to 16 years. The 18 to 60-month term for his second felony charge will run concurrently.

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