Issue 211
September 27 - October 3, 2004
Volume 4
page 2
 

Slots considered for steel works
As reported by The Brown and White

South Bethlehem, PA -- A slots-only casino may be built on 25 to 30 acres of former Bethlehem Steel land if the city is granted a gaming license.

One day after purchasing 120 acres of steel land Sept. 14, the investment group BethWorks Now met with legislators in Harrisburg to discuss plans for a gambling resort, The Morning Call reported.

While the construction of a casino would require tens of millions of dollars in fees and taxes, the proposed casino's expected profit is $250 million a year, The Morning Call reported. Approximately 2,500 jobs would be generated by the gambling resort.

BethWorks Now has met with several big-name casino chains about the plans, including Isle of Capri Casino, MGM Casino and Trump Casino. All are interested in expansion to Pennsylvania.

Slots-only gambling is now legal in Pennsylvania. A maximum of 14 gambling locations are allowed under state law. Because of restrictions on slot machine locations, only two casinos can be built in areas like South Bethlehem. This puts the city in competition with dozens of other cities vying for gambling licenses.

BethWorks Now, run in part by Phillipsburg, N.J., attorney Michael Perrucci and New York City attorney Richard Fischbein, stated that casino profits could ultimately be used to preserve the blast furnaces and some industrial buildings on the site, which are historical landmarks.

The majority of the site will be used for new shops, offices, restaurants, residences, hotels, research facilities and parks. A National Museum of Industrial History may be built at the site if adequate funds are raised. Because planning is still in its initial stages, BethWorks Now has not stated which steel buildings will be saved, or how many.

 

 

 

 


VIP Casino Wins Strictly Slots 'Best Player Reward' Award

LONDON, England -- VIP Casino's (www.vipcasino.com) innovative 10%/1% Cash Reward Program has been awarded 'Best Player Reward Program 2004' by leading slot and video poker publication Strictly Slots. 50,000 Strictly Slots readers participated in the voting, awarding VIP Casino top honors over tough competition including InterCasino and Gaming Club.

VIP Casino's 10%/1% Cash Reward Program is the first online casino to make a high-roller incentive scheme available to every player, every month with no wagering requirements. The program refunds losing players 10% of their monthly closing net losses, and bonuses winners with 1% of their monthly closing winning balance.

The program is recognized as a benchmark in the industry, and is not only praised for its generosity, but for its transparency. Players at VIP Casino recognize the rewards program as the most straightforward on the net, not requiring any minimum deposit or play-through as well as being based on players whole month's play rather than just specific days.

"Our Cash Reward Program is at the heart of our operations," says casino manger Kate Berkeley. "We use it to enforce the fact that our players are all treated as VIP's. This style of incentive is normally reserved for the top 1% of gamblers, but we have brought VIP rewards to the masses. Judging by our players' responses, and this award, I think it works."

Strictly Slots will be publishing its results to its 130,000 readership in its October issue.


Packer planning Scottish casinos
As reported by The Scotland on Sunday

Scotland -- Media tycoon Kerry Packer, Australia's richest man, is planning to open a series of casinos in Scotland as part of a GBP £300 million assault on the British gaming market.

Packer is in talks over a site in Aberdeen and is also assessing locations in Glasgow and Edinburgh. He is planning five casinos under the brand name Aspers with joint venture partner Damian Aspinall, aimed at cashing in on changes to Britain's antiquated gaming laws, which are about to be relaxed.

The two entrepreneurs have also had discussions about listing Aspers on the stock market, although no decision has yet been taken.

In Aberdeen, Aspers has secured an option agreement through its agent Donaldson on an 85,000sq ft site in the InnsLink Leisure Park.

Last week the casino operator announced plans to build a GBP £50 million leisure complex at Brierley Hill in the West Midlands. It already has plans for two small casino complexes in Newcastle upon Tyne and Swansea, costing about GBP £12 million each.

News of the additional GBP £300 million investment will put Packer and Aspinall in the big league. They are jostling with some of the world's largest casino players to grab a major piece of the action in what is one of the few remaining markets left to be deregulated.

Bette Midler

MGM Grand: Bette Midler, one of the world's best-loved and most versatile entertainers and winner of four Grammy Awards, performs at the MGM Grand.

Date: November 26, 2004

Price: $78.75 - $183.75

Time: 8:00pm

 

For more information please call: (800) 929-1111

 
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