Mickey Petersen Wins EPT Copenhagen

February 29, 2012

The European Poker Tour (EPT) Copenhagen Main Event wrapped up over the weekend with the 22-year old Dane Mickey Petersen taking the crown to the tune of 2,515,000 kroner or $444,595. Petersen bested the 70+ year-old Pierre Neuville during the heads-up portion of the final table. Neuville, nicknamed “Serial EPT Qualifier,” as this was his 23rd straight EPT event for which he qualified online, received 1,600,000 kroner ($282,843) and jumped to 4th on the all-time EPT points leaderboard.

Going into heads-up play, the chip counts were pretty close to even. Because of his elimination of 3rd place finisher Bjarke Hansen, Mickey Petersen had the lead, 4.7 million to 4.27 million. According to reports, Neuville was open to discussing a deal at the point, but Petersen would have nothing of it.

From there, it was a long one-on-one match. Neuville quickly took the lead by about a million chips, but it was short lived, as Petersen did not take long to flip the tables once more. The lead continued to switch hands over the next couple hours, with Neuville actually grabbing a more than 2-to-1 edge. Petersen didn’t give up though (obviously), grinding back to even and then taking a 2-to-1 edge himself within a couple hours.

Neuville made one more run, commandeering the lead one more time, but after the dinner break, it was all Petersen. Over the course of just a few hands, all of which Petersen one, the young Dane rocketed to a 7 million to 1.9 million chip lead. That lead grew some more before Neuville made what was essentially a fruitless double-up, only cutting his deficit to 4 million chips. But because he was in for 190,000 every orbit (every two-handed orbit), Neuville had to do something and do it quickly.

Thus, he moved all-in pre-flop with A-4, as all but the tightest of nits would. Against most hands, he’d be in good shape, but against Petersen’s A-5, he was not. The saving grace here was that with kickers that low, a chop was actually fairly likely. The flop of 6-K-J made that chop just one card greater than 5 away, but the 3 on the turn was not one of those cards. Still, Neuville had a lot of outs to split the pot and stay alive and three outs to double-up. To Neuville’s dismay, though, the river was a 5, pairing Petersen’s kicker and giving him the European Poker Tour Copenhagen title.

This was Mickey Petersen’s first win on the live tournament circuit and second EPT cash, to go along with three World Series of Poker cashes, all of which came last year. The win almost tripled his lifetime live earnings, taking him from just over a quarter million dollars to just under $700,000.

European Poker Tour Copenhagen – Final Table Standings (winnings in Danish kroner)

1.    Mickey Petersen – 2,515,0002.    Pierre Neuville – 1,600,0003.    Bjarke Hansen – 1,000,0004.    Aage Ravn – 740,0005.    Jacob Rasmussen – 490,0006.    Niels van Alphen – 390,0007.    Steve O’Dwyer – 290,0008.    Spencer Hudson – 191,400

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Mickey Petersen Wins EPT Copenhagen

Tribe pursues plans for off-site casino

February 29, 2012

The Manzanita Band of Mission Indians has talked for years about opening a giant gaming complex in Calexico, 50 miles east of their mountain community and 95 miles from San Diego. Now it is trying to scale some of the last regulatory hurdles in the hope of getting the go-ahead this year.

The gaming hall would be outside San Diego County, where 10 Indian casinos are in operation, the highest concentration in the nation. Set near Mexico, it is also expected to attract a lot of cross-border business.

The federal government is weighing the final environmental documents, while Imperial County officials recently approved the spot where the tribe wants to construct a casino filled with 2,000 slots, along with a 200-room hotel.

Off-site casinos remain a hot-button subject across California and the nation, with some arguing that it encourages “reservation shopping” among tribes angling for a piece of the gaming business, far from their historic land.

Critics say the off-reservation proposals floated over the years have been ill-conceived and went beyond the landmark 1988 federal law that paved the way for the industry, which today brings in as much as $26 billion annually.

Plans by a Northern California tribe to build a casino and hotel near the Central Valley town of Madera have generated considerable opposition in that community, with many worried about the impact on traffic and local business.

But backers of the Calexico complex say there are key differences. For starters, Calexico voters in 2005 approved the concept of a casino in their desert community (although Schmit argues the phrasing of the ballot measure was vague).

Boosters also point out the weak economy in Imperial County, where the unemployment rate is close to 30 percent — the highest in the state. The jobless rate often runs even higher in Calexico, a border town of 38,000.

Renison, the former mayor of Calexico, believes the argument for a casino is even stronger today than when the Manzanita band first raised the idea. He noted the project would bring an estimated 2,400 full-time jobs to the area.

According to the project’s final environmental impact statement, the casino would boost direct and indirect spending in the county by $112 million annually, while the hotel would generate substantial room-tax revenue for the city.

Tribe pursues plans for off-site casino

Welcome to Weird and Wacky Steubenville, OH

February 29, 2012

He had never seen a sky so vast and ashen with empty fury; had never heard such dire ceaseless rumblings and deafening wails. It was as if misery, the most human of states, had taken on the dimensions of an existence apart from humanity; for it was not any sense of human misery he perceived here, nor any misery of the heavens — there were no heavens — but rather a misery of the elements themselves, of the earth and the coal-fires and the dampness of the air.

Well, hot damn. Those lines, smoking with all that hellfire and brimstone, belong to one of America’s best working wordsmiths, Nick Tosches. Here, the famed punk rock writer (well known for saying modern rock ‘n roll was about as exciting as Paul Shaffer’s bald spot) is sitting behind the eyeballs of an off-the-boat Italian immigrant at the shallow end of the 20th century getting his first look at Steubenville, Ohio. The passage is out of Dino, Tosches’ 1992 biography of Dean Martin, the famed first son of that inauspicious rust belt burg on the very eastern edge of the state’s midsection. The book spends its early chapters hanging around the town, offering up tidbits on the historical relevance of a place that, like so many smaller Ohio cities that could once flex their own economic muscle, today is little more than a footnote in the bios of the people who got out.

But now, for those of us who thought Steubenville had long ago slipped the banks of the Whateveritis River, Governor John Kasich has thoughtfully found a way to remind us the city is still there — gutted and boarded, the foundries cold, and sporting an average income of $26,516, but standing still.

Today, in an unorthodox move, the governor will deliver his second State of the State address at Wells Academy in Steubenville. This is the first time the address will be given outside Columbus. The move has more than one state legislator grumbling. Kasich, usually so careful to listen to the concerns and cares of others, has been deaf to all complaint, maintaining he wants to throw a little spotlight-love at the top-ranked elementary school in the state.

With Steubenville getting so much attention today in the statewide news-cycle, we decided to jump into the town’s history and drag to light the oddball facts. Turns out, it’s not all Tosches’ visions of industrial hell. We’ve broken down the notables into easily digestible water-cooler factoids. The art we were hoping to mangle together proved to be too ambitious for Photoshop, so just close your eyes and image Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Dean Martin shooting craps in a backroom casino, while porn queen Traci Lords teaches a group of bruiser cops to slow dance to the remnants of the Minutemen jamming out the back catalog. Welcome to Steubenville . . .

Iron: This was the industrial Big Mama back in the day for Steubenville, that all-hours, coal-chugging shop keeping the city on its feet and then some. For you young folk, an iron works is like a software company, expect the only algorithm you need to wrap your head around to work there is shoveling + 14 hours shifts + black lung = America. The iron industry is the main reason Italian immigrants flooded Steubenville from 1900 onward. By that year, the city’s steel production was the highest in the state.

Dean Martin: These smooth pipes belted out their first lungful of air on June 7, 1917, when Dino Paul Crocetti came wailing into the world. The son of Italian immigrants brought to Steubenville by the promise of coal jobs, Martin’s early years were filled with idle singing and skirt chasing, according to Tosches’ account. Martin eventually skipped out for the big city — Cleveland. In our fair land, he lived on Mayfield Road, chased more skirt through the ballrooms of long-gone downtown hotels, and mingled with the East Side criminal element, all before heading to NYC and an enviable career being drunk on national television.

Gambling: Before the Mob set up shop in Las Vegas after WWII, Steubenville was one of organized crime’s largest hubs for games of chance. Operating with a wink-wink from local police and politicos, a regular system of gambling was run in the the back rooms of clubs and restaurants. When the bosses shifted their gaming interests to the desert, the operators of new Vegas casinos dredged Steubenville for talented table workers; the first couple generations of Vegas dealers, pit bosses and backroom guys were all from Steubenville. The area’s industry eventually died out against the glam of Nevada. See, even back in the 50s, the smart money knew people would rather opt to go west for gambling than sit in a room in Ohio pulling slots . . . hmmm . . .

Traci Lords: The porno video vixen — who basically single-handedly (ha.) brought the industry to its knees (again. jesus, we’re on a role) when it was revealed in the mid-80s that the Ohio girl who hotfooted to California and away from an abusive home life was actually not technically strictly-speaking 18-year-old yet when she posed for skin mags like Penhouse and starred in more than a hundred adult films, a revelations that landed a lot of producers and co-stars in the legal hot seat, not to mention occasioned an industry-wide crack down by the federal government, but still allowed the star to springboard into a mainstream career in B movies — was born in Steubenville in 1968. Police Brutality: Back in the 80s and 90s, Steubenville wasn’t the place to get mouthy at a traffic stop. Sure, those weren’t really the heyday for civil rights at a lot of police departments, but the Ohio city was unique. Over 20 years, the city was forced to pony up in 48 civil rights lawsuits alleging police misconduct and brutality. Between 1990 and 1996 alone, the town handed over $400,000 in settlement money, says Wikipedia. Things got so bad, the Department of Justice stepped in and forced the Steubenville PD to sign a consent agreement that re-organized how officers were trained and observed — only the second police force in the country to do so at the time.

Ed Crawford: For music nerds, this guy is a savior. Born and raised in Steubenville, Crawford headed to Ohio State University, where, like a lot of other dorm room dorks, he became completely wrapped up in the music of California-based post-punk gods, The Minutemen. When the three-piece’s frontman D. Boon was killed at 27 in a car accident, a heartbroken and 22-year-old Crawford hopped in a car and drove from Ohio to San Pedro to console remaining members, Mike Watt and George Hurley. He eventually offered to front a new band with the pair, putting back to work the best rhythm section ever caught on vinyl. The result was fIREHOSE, a steady presence on 90s college radio.

Population Decline: Sad to say, the last 30 years haven’t been kind to S-ville. Between 1980 to 2000, the metro area’s population nose dived quicker than any other region in the entire country.

Wu-Tang Clan: Hip-hop’s only bizarro ninja crew has many links to the area, mostly thanks to RZA, who was born here. At the height of their celebrity, the Clan members had a “compound” in the area and were affiliated with a lot of (horrible) rap groups coming off the by-then very mean streets of Steubenville. But according to recently released FBI files, those links often had more to do with gang loyalty than musical taste. The group, which was monitored by the feds for years, was allegedly involved in gun-running activities, drug sales, and occasional hits; many of those alleged offenses led back to Steubenville.

That wraps up out guide to the history of Steubenville. We’ll let Ed and fIREHOSE take it from here . . .

Welcome to Weird and Wacky Steubenville, OH

Gamesys: Online Slots Player Wins Big On Jackpotjoy! — LONDON, February 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ –

February 29, 2012

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Player of the Year Update — DeepStack Extravaganza, WSOPC Palm Beach

February 28, 2012

The Card Player Player of the Year race sponsored by Lock Poker is almost through its second month, and the action has been fierce around the globe.

Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza

The 2012 Deep Stack Extravaganza at the Venetian played host to a total of 44 events, but none were bigger than the $2,500 no-limit hold’em Main Event that came to a conclusion this week. The event attracted 254 entrants, building a total prize pool of $582,168. After three days of play, only one man was left standing, and that man was Keith Ferrera.

Ferrera, who just last week finished sixth in the WPT Lucky Hearts Open in Florida, topped a tough final table to earn his fifth career title, $139,720 and 612 Player of the Year points. Combined with his points from last week’s finish Ferrera now has a total of 840 points, which puts him into 27th place in the overall POY rankings.

Another player to make a big score in this event was fourth-place finisher Will “The Thrill” Failla, who earned $41,334 for his efforts. Failla won a massive $560 event in January at the Borgata Winter Poker Open that had 1,873 entrants, earning $165,053. As a result of these two sizable scores, Failla has moved into 24th in the overall standings with 906 points.

World Series of Poker Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club

The WSOP Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club set a record with its very first event, a $555 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament that drew an unbelievable 2,607 entrants, creating a $1,250,345 prize pool that blew away the $1 million guarantee. This huge turnout made this the largest prizepool in WSOP Circuit history outside of a Main Event.

The three-day scramble came to an end on February 20th with 50-year-old Anh Lu emerging victorious, taking home the top prize of $182,750, his first WSOP Circuit gold ring and 600 POY points.

A number of POY qualified events still have yet to take place down in Florida, including the $1,600 Main Event, which begins on the 25th, and is sure to award plenty of POY points and a healthy amount of prize money.

World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic

The 2012 L.A. Poker Classic has been running since January 18th, but this coming week is when many of its largest events, including the $10,000 World Poker Tour Main Event, are set to take place. Also scheduled are the $5,100 no-limit hold’em event that began yesterday, the $5,100 no-limit hold’em heads-up championship, and the $2,080 eight-game mix championship.

Even though many of the largest events of the series won’t be completed until next week, some big events have already taken place at the LAPC. Jordan Young took down the $1,070 no-limit hold’em event with 178 entrants for $42,275 and 312 POY points. Michael Chow topped the $1,070 H.O.R.S.E. event with 91 players, earning $31,330 and 216 POY points.

A look at the Player of the Year leaderboard:

Rank Player POY Points Earnings 1 John Dibella 2,512 $1,781,418 2 Oliver Speidel 2,500 $1,689,109 3 Faraz Jaka 2,020 $834,269 4 Kyle Julius 2,000 $1,500,000 5 Jonathan Duhamel 1,930 $1,224,251 6 Vadzim Kursevich 1,824 $1,150,756 7 Ken Wong 1,750 $1,029,474 8 Paul Guichard 1,520 $732,538 9 Joshua Mancuso 1,400 $546,147 9 Mile Krstanoski 1,400 $627,979    Post a Comment

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Player of the Year Update — DeepStack Extravaganza, WSOPC Palm Beach

At Nevada caucus, some GOPers want to have fun

February 28, 2012

LAS VEGAS — You won’t see Mitt Romney near a craps table or Nevada’s legal prostitutes.

Instead, Romney is staying in a hotel, far from the Vegas strip and embracing his inner Ned Flanders, an upright TV character on “The Simpsons.” He’s eschewing the gambling and drinking (it’s forbidden for Mormons) that is the lifeblood of the local economy.

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Meanwhile, at least some of his rivals for the GOP nod in Saturday’s Nevada caucuses are enjoying the offerings of Sin City and beyond. Ron Paul has been endorsed by working girls from the Moonlite Bunny Ranch — a group that calls itself “Pimpin’ for Paul” — and Newt Gingrich is staying at the city’s lavish Venetian hotel, home to indoor canals and Madame Tussauds.

Rick Santorum, meanwhile, has been far away in Missouri, which holds its caucuses Tuesday.

The most sinful thing Santorum did there on the stump Friday was attempt to eat an omelet bigger than his head, served up at Hannibal’s Mark Twain Dinette. As a server sat the plate in front of him, Santorum’s eyes widened. “That’s a serious omelet,” he observed, astounded.

For some Republicans, campaigning in Nevada, with its casinos, legalized brothels, Broadway shows and gun-toting cowboys, is also a chance to have a bit of fun. The contrast is stark between those candidates who seem to be enjoying the over-the-top culture, if only a little when they get a break from the stump, and those who are shunning the high-life.

Paul is running a serious campaign in Nevada and has for months. But that didn’t stop the Texas lawmaker — who stayed at the Mandalay Bay at the Four Seasons in the heart of Las Vegas — from celebrating his 55th wedding anniversary with his wife, Carol, with tickets to see “Phantom of the Opera” on Wednesday night.

Paul’s small-government message — and perhaps his proposal not to tax tips — is resonating among the legal prostitution industry in Nevada. Dennis Hof, the owner of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, was among the guests at Paul’s Reno rally on Thursday night. The ranch’s ladies of the night are even collecting money for Paul’s campaign.

“The Bunny Ranch bunnies are supporting Ron Paul because he’s for state’s rights. That’s why the Bunny Ranch exists. We love Ron Paul!” Hof told NBC.

At Nevada caucus, some GOPers want to have fun

Komis Gold Deposit Resource Drilling Assays Show New and Expanded Potential

February 28, 2012

A total of 4,319 m of NQ-diameter core was drilled (19 holes) from surface during fall and early winter of 2011 (Figure 1). The program was to confirm the depth and on-strike potential of the Komis deposit. A summary of the composited fire assay results for mineralized intersections in the 19 drillholes is shown in Table 1.

Highlights of the Komis drilling include numerous high-grade gold intersections and new zones of shallow, low-grade mineralization over potentially significant intervals, such as:

• KO-11-010: 26.3 grams per tonne (g/t) Au over 2.0 metres (m) starting from 140 m depth, including 48.9 g/t Au over 1.0 m. • KO-11-012: 4.4 g/t Au over 90 m from 24 m depth, including: 19.4 g/t Au over 18 m, 27.6 g/t Au over 2.0 m, 25.4 g/t Au over 2.0 m, and 114.4 g/t Au over 2 m. • KO-11-016: 2.9 g/t Au over 24 m starting from 5 m depth, including: 46.4 g/t Au over 1.0 m.

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Ron Netolitzky, Chairman of Golden Band Resources, stated, “These drilling results confirm that the Komis gold deposit remains open on-strike and to depth and also identifies that gold mineralization extends beyond the currently known deposit. With further definition, this newly recognized, near-surface, potential along strike may serve to expand the current resource, with higher grade mineralization beyond the currently defined deposit possibly forming the basis of an expanded mining operation.”

Mr. Netolitzky further noted, “The other very significant outcome of this drilling program is the recognition of a large gold mineralized envelope extending beyond the known Komis deposit. As a first indication of this, the wide zones of gold mineralization in drillhole KO-11-012 certainly warrant follow-up for a for a bulk-tonnage potential that was completely unrecognized before now.”

This gold-mineralized envelope to the north of the currently defined deposit was only realized after more comprehensive core sampling in this recent drilling. As an immediate follow-up, available historical core within the area having bulk tonnage potential will be assayed. This will indicate if additional drilling is warranted to define the bulk tonnage potential, as well as the newly recognized shallow on-strike potential at Komis.

Core samples from the 2011 drill program were prepared for assaying by splitting the NQ core and keeping one half for reference purposes and assaying the other half. A total of 2,493 intervals were assayed. Assays were determined by standard fire assay on 30-gram charges, and metallic screen assays were then completed for all standard assays greater than or equal to 5 g/t Au. All of the assays were completed at the Company’s unaccredited Jolu Assay Lab, with check assays consigned to TSL Laboratories located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, which is also an ISO/IEC guideline 17025 accredited facility.

In addition to quality control by the lab, Golden Band inserts Certified Reference Materials, blanks, and duplicate samples into the sample batches for independent verification of quality control. A review of the Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) results shows no significant biases and all results are considered highly reliable. Mr. Saimon Ngindi, P.Geo., Senior Resource Geologist and Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, is responsible for the accuracy of the technical data and information contained in this press release.

Golden Band Resources, already Saskatchewan's leading gold explorer, is now also its newest gold producer. Golden Band is a Saskatchewan-based, publicly listed company (GBN: TSXV; OTCQX: GBRIF) whose focus is the long-term, systematic exploration and development of its 100%-owned La Ronge Gold Belt properties. Since 1994, Golden Band has assembled through staking and strategic acquisition a land package of more than 875 km2, including 12 known gold deposits, four former producing mines, and a licensed gold mill. Golden Band's key value drivers are the methodical and systematic targeting of primary to advanced-stage exploration while progressing along a parallel path of being a sustainable gold producer. The Company is aggressively pursuing its near-term goal of commercial production of its Bingo, Komis, and EP deposits with processing at the 100%-owned Jolu mill. The Company’s objective is the annual production of at least 75,000 ounces of gold over a ten-year project life. Other longer-term objectives include the continuation of its highly successful exploration and acquisition strategies.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Golden Band Resources Inc.,

“Rob Garden” A.Robson Garden, QC, President and CEO For further information please contact:

Rodney Orr, P.Geo., VP Corporate Development Golden Band Resources Inc. Phone: 306 385 7123 Fax: 306 955 0788 Email:

Investor Relations: Raju Wani: 403 240 0555 Tony Perri: 604 682 6852 Email: goldenbandresources.com

Komis Gold Deposit Resource Drilling Assays Show New and Expanded Potential

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February 27, 2012

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    Ohio about to join long list of states with casinos: Sunday’s Numbers

    February 27, 2012

    BPGuy, I don’t play blackjack, but I do play casino craps.

    For a list of Las Vegas that offers $3 minimum bets at casino craps, check out nextshooter.com/vegas .

    I have played casino craps at many of the regional casinos (Motor City, MGM Detroit, Greektown, Seneca Niagara, Seneca Allegheny, Casino Niagara, Casino NiagaraFallsView, Rivers, The Meadows, Presque Isle, and Mountaineer) and they all about about the same– with the exception of Greektown, which also offers “crapless craps” and a one person crew craps tub, instead of a conventional craps table with several dealers, a stickperson, and boxperson.

    I also go to Atlantic City and Las Vegas to gamble.

    However, I am not particularly looking forward to playing at the Cleveland Horseshoe Casino, if it is just going to be another standard regional casino.

    I rather fly to Las Vegas and play at whatever casino gives me the best chance of winning, which currently is Las Vegas’ Casino Royale (100 times odds) or any of the several casinos, which offers $3 minimum bets, which makes it more affordable to mini-Martingale combination bets.

    Frankly, I believe Casino Windsor took a turn for the worse when Caesars took it over.

    Anyone remember the fountain show that Casino Windsor used to have?

    Does anyone really think that ripping it out was a good idea or putting concrete statutes inside made Casino Windsor better?

    Ohio about to join long list of states with casinos: Sunday’s Numbers

    Gaming board OKs full casino license for Hollywood slots

    February 26, 2012

    February 22 The first full-service operation means gamblers can stay in-state to legally bet on cards and dice.

    By John Richardson Media State House Writer

    AUGUSTA — Hollywood Slots officially won Maine’s first full-service casino license Tuesday.

    The Maine Gambling Control Board granted a casino license to the Bangor business, which will expand from a slots-only operation in the coming weeks. The legal formality marks the final step in Maine’s evolution into a full-fledged gaming state.

    Hollywood Casino Bangor, as the expanded operation will be known, is expected to open March 16 with the state’s first 14 casino table games. There will be six tables for blackjack, four for Texas Hold ‘Em poker and one each for let-it-ride poker, three-card poker, craps and roulette.

    Hollywood’s slot machines and off-track betting facility, which it has operated since 2005, will remain open for business in the meantime, said Maine Gambling Control Director Patrick Fleming.

    Hollywood’s expansion was approved by the state Legislature and by Penobscot County voters.

    While most of the business’ revenues will still come from slots, the 14 table games will add 89 jobs paying $4 million in salaries and benefits, said John Osborne, general manager. And for gamblers, it will finally mean no more having to leave the state to legally bet on cards or dice.

    Although gambling opponents lost the fight to keep casinos out of the state, they will continue to oppose the industry, said Carroll Conley, executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine.

    "We don’t think it makes sense economically and we have great concerns about the social costs as well," Conley said. "We will continue to fight any expansion."

    The Gambling Control Board issued the license for Hollywood Slots after setting up extensive rules for table games, including everything from surveillance and money handling to the configuration and size of the dice.

    The board on Tuesday also issued Maine’s first license for a casino supplies distributor to Gaming Products International USA. The Las Vegas company had to submit to financial reviews and background checks on its executives to win the license. It can now sell the dice, cards, tables and other equipment needed to furnish Maine’s first casino.

    Hollywood Slots probably won’t be the only Maine casino for long, however. The Gambling Control Board is expected to vote in March or April on a license for Black Bear Development’s casino in Oxford.

    The Oxford casino is expected to open for business in May or June.

    MaineToday Media State House Writer John Richardson can be contacted at 620-7016 or at:

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