The budget deficit was the talk of the State House last week as Gov.-elect John Lynch’s transition co-chair, Stan Arnold, outlined the financial mess facing the next administration. Although it was no surprise to anyone who has followed the state’s financial problems, the former revenue administration commissioner said there is a $300 million hole in the next biennium’s budget due to the loss of federal Medicaid enhancement money, inflation, population growth and unrealized savings.
If state education aid is considered, the deficit becomes much larger. Department of Education figures indicate the state has to spend $55 million more in each year of the two-year budget cycle. That would mean the hole is actually $410 million.

The UK's e-gaming industry could be set for a "mass exodus" to Malta if the hotly-disputed UK Gambling Bill is passed without amendments.

Mario Galea, chief executive of Malta's Lotteries and Gaming Authority, told The Times he had already been approached by "a good number" of UK operators, including one which was extremely well known.

UK operators are concerned that their government is leaning towards an all-or-nothing approach whereby any firm with a presence in the UK must have all its remote gaming operations there.

Some city leaders are worried that legalized gambling could damage Bethlehem's effort to build a reputation as "the Christmas City."
For decades, the former steel town has promoted its historical district, its quaint shops and holiday craft shows, carriage rides and a family-friendly atmosphere in an attempt to lure tourists.
But the main attraction in Bethlehem would almost certainly become gambling if an investment group gets its wish and wins one of the state's coveted licences to open a slot machine parlour.

Online gaming has seen a recent explosion in popularity, driven predominantly by the poker craze, which has swept through Europe and America like wildfire this year. Hot on the heels of poker, and fast becoming the new game of choice for the savvy gamer is the ‘progressive jackpot’. Progressives are slot machines, which link a single game across a network of machines. A percentage of the money played on each machine throughout the network is added to a big jackpot, which grows and grows until it reaches dizzying heights, sometimes to over $1 million. When a player hits a certain combination, the progressive jackpot topples, and the player becomes instantly rich.

Casino slots are without a doubt gambling's most consistent money-maker. No other gambling device has produced such profits with little effort on the part of the gambler. Thirty years ago the machines shoed a combined gross payout of about $300 million, compared to about $430 million garnered from table games. That means that craps, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and the others totaled together paid little more than one-armed bandits alone.

North Saanich residents have voted overwhelmingly in favour of slot machines at Sandown Park Raceway.

Floridians are voting Tuesday on whether to allow slot machines in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

A British grandmother won more than 500,000 US dollars the first time she visited an online casino, she said today.

Karen Gibson, 48, won the equivalent of around £285,000 with only her second 3 dollar bet on a virtual slot machine.

The ad promoting slot machines in South Florida features an apple-cheeked girl telling her teacher it hurts when people break their promises.

William’s Wife Wins Quarter Million!