Coushatta casino closed

As reported by The Daily Advertiser

KINDER, Louisiana - Grand Casino Coushatta suffered only minor damage from Hurricane Rita, but it has shut its doors for an undetermined amount of time because the storm plunged it, and much of the area, into the dark.

Bryan Williams, spokesman for the resort, said the casino lost power at 5 p.m. last Friday. Much of the complex is running on generator power, but the casino won't open until power is fully restored and there's a thorough inspection of the facility.

"We don't know when yet, but hopefully it will be sometime soon," he said.

Williams said electric utility authorities told the Coushatta tribe, which owns the casino, that the area may be out of power for as long as another 10 days.

Until the power is restored, most of the casino's 2,800 employees, like Raul Alfaro, wait anxiously to go back to work.
Alfaro, a pit boss who lives in Elkins, said employees were told to call the casino today for an update on their situation, but he's not hopeful.

"We just don't know when we'll go back," he said.

Alfaro said he rode out the storm in his house.

"It was horrible," he said. "It started at about 12:30 in the morning and lasted until dawn. It was real strong."

In nearby Oberlin, local police and other authorities nervously patrol the street. Police Chief Richard Young said extra security is needed because the town is a staging area for the National Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Convoys leave the town on a regular basis on trips south to Lake Charles.

Despite heavy police presence, Young said things in town have been quiet, with most residents obeying a dawn-to-dusk curfew.

"We've only had a problem in one of our shelters, but we took care of it," he said.

Betonsports launches Bospoker with the Tribeca Tables Poker Network
As reported by Yogonet.com

Steve Cook from Tribeca Tables said: "Betonsports are our first significant sports brand to join the network and bring a new dimension of players to the poker world. As you know there is a very close synergy between sport bettors and poker players that will truly add value to our aggregator."

BoSPoker.com and Millpoker.com are the first of Betonsports Brands to launch. Both have re-launched this month with a new poker solution which will give their customers constant access to thousands of online poker players through the Tribeca Tables poker network.

BoSPoker.com recently signed Tom Arnold as national endorser who will appear in adverts on TV and radio, and feature in all off and online advertising. Millions of dollars are already committed to proactively acquire new customers.

As the technology provider behind over 100 poker rooms including Paddy Power, Blue Square, Victor Chandler, Golden Palace and Doyles Room, BETonSPORTS assesses that Tribeca now has the "critical mass" to make participation desirable.

Chief Executive David Carruthers commented, "Player liquidity is crucial to the customers' online poker experience. Our deal with Tribeca will guarantee consistent liquidity and cement player loyalty to the BoSPoker brand."

Poker and casino are now established as standalone profit centres with greatly strengthened management teams and the BoSPoker Tribeca deal parallels the BoSCasino implementation of the RTG platform.