The state’s premier race ,the Pennsylvania Derby, was canceled due to the conversion planned for slots machines gambling. The facility has proved unable to cope with the large crowds that have been visiting the derby.

The track’s chief executive officer, Hal Handel, said the project consists of turning the first two floors of the premises into a slot machine hall. The temporary closure of the derby disappointed all horse racing fans, as it meant losing the possibility of hosting the state’s biggest race.

A group of hotels and casinos in Atlantic City are planning to attract new players by providing an easier way to reach their premises: a direct train from New York City. The group expects this train to bring gamblers who usually use other means of transport, such as buses, limos and private jets.

This new service will make a limited number of stops, to be determined by the casino industry together with traffic authorities in New Jersey.

As reported by the UK Financial Times: "Britain hopes to persuade the offshore centres that are reaping the lion's share of the explosion in online gambling to sign up to new controls on the sites.

"Centres that host online gambling sites include Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Antigua and Costa Rica.

"The government plans to invite the International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organisation, along with ministers from all the main offshore gambling jurisdictions.

Queen City Gaming Entertainment Inc. informed that it has the state’s consent to circulate petitions for a proposal to build a slot-machine parlor. The group wants the Ohio Constitution to change and allow slot parlors at the state’s horse tracks and in two sites in Cleveland and one in Cincinnati.

The Ohio Learn and Earn Committee, that submitted a competing proposal, has already gathered about 200,000 signatures, according to spokesman David Hopcraft. Queen City Entertainment needs 323,000 valid signatures to make the November ballot.

The municipal council was the one that talked about the increase. Pablo Montoya explained that, given the problems that have happened about the quotas that the township must charge, the congressmen of the AN decided to raise the tax to a 40% on the net income of the benefits that bingos and casinos may have.

About the Valence Mayoralty, the council said that the percentage will be calculated based on the net income, so the quotas should be set according to the Bingo, Casino and Slots Control Law, because the average to cash out for the municipalities is half of the amount on a national level.

The construction of the Permanent Greektown Casino began today, with completion of the new 3,100-space parking garage scheduled for mid 2007 and the new 400-room hotel and gaming floor expansion by mid 2008.

City of Detroit leaders watched as heavy construction equipment began demolishing the aging parking garage and apartment building that currently occupy the land at Monroe and I-375 where the new casino garage and hotel are being built.

Among other innovations, the Barcelona-based company will exhibit a new version of games like Return of the Pharaoh and Don Quixote de la Mancha.

For the fist time, Nova Desitec will introduce the Photosafari game in Australia and also Robin Hood’s Silver Arrow. They will be exhibited in Russian and with a new Double Up cards game, a characteristic that was specially asked for by local clients.

A retired woman from Las Vegas won the $20,519,025 Megabucks jackpot at the Cannery Casino & Hotel in Las Vegas. She is the second person to win the Megabucks jackpot at the Cannery in the last nine months.

The 64-year-old winner, who asked to remain unknown, said that a friend told her that the Megabucks were going to hit. “I couldn't believe I had won it. A cleaning lady in the casino pointed to the big jackpot and said, 'You won that.'”

SCi Entertainment recently announced that the company has signed several agreements to license its Lara Croft title as a video slot game for both brick and mortar and online casino platforms.

The group signed an exclusive licensing deal and renewed the Microgaming’s rights for Tomb Raider and Lara Croft. Microgaming is going to develop games for land-based and online platforms. Also, the video slot game will be available on mobile phones.

Foxwoods Resort Casino has opened a new slot room with 650 machines, including penny slots and progressive games linked to other American Indian casinos. Foxwoods aims to attract new players and obtain a larger share of the slot market.

According to Foxwoods executive director of slots, Alex Rodriguez, Mohegan Sun, the closest competitor of the Resort Casino, regularly shows more profits in slot reports with fewer machines. "Mohegan Sun has a bigger piece of the pie. What I'm trying to do is equalize it", Rodriguez said.