Senecas Approve Casinos in New York

Hollywood Casino Plans $8 Million Hotel Renovation - WASHINGTON - /Dow Jones/ - Hollywood Casino Corp. said it expects to start a substantial capital spending project at its Tunica, MS, property in the third quarter 2002 that will include the conversion of 22 hotel rooms into 11 new suites and the renovation of all other hotel rooms. According to the company's quarterly report filed on May 20 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the renovation will cost an estimated $8 million and is expected to be completed in late 2003.

Gambling Debate Resurfaces in Maryland - /Washington Post/ - A debate resurfaces over which gambling machines and games of chance should be legalized or banned in Maryland as the state’s race for governor heats up. Gov. Parris N. Glendening shut the door on slot machine gambling seven years ago, temporarily halting the debate. But this year, top state lawmakers have stirred it back up, promising to push for legal slots at Maryland's sagging horse tracks next year. The idea is backed by the leading Republican candidate for governor, U.S. Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., but not by the top Democrat, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. Currently, two Maryland counties (Anne Arundel and Calvert) allow commercial bingo games. Seven counties along Maryland’s Eastern Shore allow video poker machines, but only in nonprofit clubs such as the American Legion and Elks. Distinctively, a Calvert County restaurant, the "Rod 'N' Reel" in Chesapeake Beach, offers video poker and bingo machines that dispense redeemable pull-tab cards to winners, instead of coins. Gaming machines also flourish at Baltimore area taverns, even though games that pay out are illegal. In recent months, police in Western Maryland and across the Baltimore area have stepped up prosecutions for the illegal games.