Issue 25
February 28 - March 6, 2001
Volume 1
page 2
 

Foot and Mouth Threat to
UK Racing Hits Bookies

LONDON, ENGLAND - Shares in Britain's bookmakers fell on February 23 after an outbreak of foot and mouth disease threatened the Cheltenham Festival, one of the racing calendar's biggest events.

The highly contagious disease, which affects pigs and cattle, has been discovered at five places including a farm in southwest England, near Cheltenham, last week.

The disease carries little risk to horses and humans but both can help spread the potentially devastating virus.

It is the first outbreak in Britain for 20 years and the worst outbreak in 1967 resulted in a ban on all racing in an effort to contain the disease.

Shares in Ladbrokes owner, leisure group Hilton, fell two percent on concerns over the three-day Cheltenham meeting, which is due to start on March 13.

Shares in Stanley Leisure slumped 4.6 percent and Arena Leisure lost 7.9 percent.

Dealers said there were real concerns that the meeting, which yields 50 million pounds ($72.32 million) a day in betting turnover, could be called off.

Investigations on suspected outbreaks of the disease are also being carried out in Ireland, the source of more than 100 horses who attend the meeting.

Another of Britain's famous racing events follows in April at Aintree, home of the Grand National.

Come Aboard the Foxwoods
$500,000 Caribbean Cash Giveaway

MASHANTUCKET, CT - Take the cash or take a cruise with the Foxwoods $500,000 Caribbean Cash Giveaway running March 2 until April 29, 2001.

Wampum Club cardholders can enter by simply swiping their Wampum Club Cards daily at any of the self-entry swipe stations conveniently located throughout the resort casino to find out if they are an Instant Winner.

Any time, day or night, Instant Winners have 60 minutes to go to Sweepstakes Headquarters near Cedars Steak House for verification and to use a touch screen monitor to win cash or a cruise.

The fun-filled cruises are arranged through Mashantucket Travel, offering trips with Norwegian Cruise Lines. Foxwoods will give away getaways on fabulous Caribbean Cruises to Jamaica, the Bahamas or Puerto Rico, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash with a grand prize of $25,000!

Cruises are one of the most satisfying vacation experiences available, with meals, entertainment and recreation in one convenient location. These floating resorts offer breathtaking views and the exotic destinations only add to their appeal.

Membership in the Wampum Club is free. All sweepstakes participants and Wampum Club members must be at least 21 years of age.

With nearly 6,000 slot machines and 350 table games, Foxwoods Resort Casino offers gaming in a relaxing atmosphere, live entertainment with headliners from around the world, and fine dining at Mashantucket, the ancestral home of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.

Passengers Evacuated From Mississippi River Casino - CLINTON, IA - Scores of passengers were evacuated from a gambling boat in the Mississippi River on February 26 after a support barge to which it was moored sank, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

In all, 176 passengers were escorted off the Mississippi Belle II without incident over a gangway rigged up from the shore, officials said. Normally the mooring barge, located between the shoreline and the gambling vessel, serves as a walkway.

The Coast Guard said it ordered the evacuation because two of the four lines holding the gambling boat to the barge were damaged in the sinking, and the vessel itself could not get under way because one of its engines was down for routine maintenance.

The cause of the sinking was not known, although the service said there was a 4 knot current and heavy ice in the river.

The vessel has a 1,266-passenger capacity and features 14 gaming tables and 506 slot machines.

Facial Surveillance Used to Catch Casino Cheats - /CasinoWire/ - Before it was used to scan patrons at Super Bowl XXXV, facial recognition technology, or "biometrics," was being used by casinos to identify and catch cheaters.

Biometrics was created at MIT and first marketed in 1996. A concealed, overhead surveillance camera can be used to obtain a close-up computer image of a suspicious player.

The system translates a person's facial image into a numerical code that can be used to quickly find similar, known faces stored in the system. The suspicious player's image is matched against stored images of known cheats and other criminals. "Speedwise, it's unbelievable," attests Joe Anselmo, a Trump Marina surveillance supervisor.

Charles Guenther, surveillance director at Trump Maria, explains, "It's a tool for us to identify people who could possibly come in and take advantage of our casino. We have about 10,000 photographs of cheaters, people who have been arrested, evicted, or ejected from this or other casinos."

Although some argue that the hidden system constitutes an invasion of privacy, Guenther reassures, "We put no people in here who are honest customers or good players. This is specifically for people who could harm us."

David Benoit

Jazz pianist David Benoit will perform at Sunset Station Hotel Casino's Club Madrid March 10.

Benoit's solo career dates back to the late 1970s, and later he became a charter member of smooth-jazz supergroup The Rippingtons. Benoit's music reflects nearly every jazz style including fusion, straight-ahead be-bop, orchestral, and smooth jazz. While his name might not be as well know outside the jazz world, his music is. He has won accolades and Grammy nominations; conducted symphonies, composed a ballet; and has written music for television.

DATE:
March 10, 2001

SHOWTIME:
7:00 pm & 9:00 pm

TICKETS:
$22.50, $27.50, & $32.50 plus tax

For more information please call Sunset Station Hotel Casino's Box Office at: 702-547-7777.
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