Gamblor’s World

Vancouver Sun, March 31, 2009

from http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Toddler+being+left+freezing+outside+casino+rare/1446492/story.html

A case where a toddler was left in his carseat in a locked car for six hours in sub-zero temperatures Sunday night while his father was inside a casino is disturbing but, sadly, not that rare, police say. Police said they responded to a call to the Silver Dollar Casino just after midnight Monday morning after a patron noticed a child crying in a car. Officers said they arrived to find the car, windows covered with blankets. with a toddler inside. The 21-month-old boy, according to police, was very lightly dressed, with no shoes or socks.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
CHES CROSBIE, 579-4000
Email: ccb@chescrosbie.nf.net
www.ChesCrosbie.com
ATLANTIC LOTTO IMMUNE FROM CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWS
On December 12, 2008 Justice Dymond of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, Trial Division, released his decision on an application by Atlantic Lotto Corporation that the Trade Practices Act of Newfoundland and Labrador does not apply to a Crown agent (http://www.chescrosbie.com/library/Dymond_decision.pdf). The Court agreed, and decided that the Trade Practices Act does not apply to ALC as a Crown agent.
“Consumer protection laws that apply to everyone else, don’t apply to ALC”, stated Ches Crosbie, class counsel for VLT players who have banded together in a class action. “ALC has again benefited from rules that give the house an unfair advantage.”
Mr. Crosbie said the decision is not unexpected, and leaves the door open for the plaintiff to seek to include causes of action other than breach of consumer legislation. Mr. Crosbie pointed to the daughter of representative plaintiff Keith Piercey, who committed suicide, as an example of the harm caused. The Statement of Claim alleges that Susan Piercey lost her life due to the deceptions designed into VLT games, which led to addiction and suicide.
The Charter of Rights section 7 guarantees the right to life, liberty and security of the person. “VLTs are unlike any other form of gaming in their concealment of the rules of the
game, their manipulation of the player and in their potential for addiction”, said Mr. Crosbie. “For an agent of the government to expose players to breach of their Charter rights is a constitutional tort.”
Mr. Crosbie added that the law of Charter breach “is one area where ALC can’t rig the game.”
Mr. Crosbie stated that the claim will be amended to also allege breaches of the Criminal Code of Canada, the Competition Act, and the Statute of Anne, an early 16th century anti-gambling statute which is still on the books.
CHES CROSBIE BARRISTERS
169 Water Street, 4th Floor
St. John’s, NL A1C 1B1
Telephone: 579-4000 or 888-579-3262
Facsimile: 579-9671
Email: ccb@chescrosbie.nf.net
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q. What is the case against ALC on VLTs?
A. Dr. Kevin Harrigan described how VLT line games work to cheat the player in his Affidavit available in the Class Actions section of www.chescrosbie.com. His summaries are contained at paragraphs 36 and 63. At paragraph 36 he deposes:
VLT line games are displayed on the VLT screen. The first level of deception is that the VLT screen conceals how the line games actually work. Line games are controlled by the computer inside the VLT which uses a random number generator and various tables and algorithms to determine the result. What the player sees on the VLT screen is not the game itself. How the randomness is generated and the probabilities of each winning combination are concealed from the player. The second level of decision is that the games are intentionally designed so that the 3x5 matrix on the VLT screen misrepresents the game to the player. Observing these intentional misrepresentations will lead the player to create incorrect perceptions of how the games work including incorrect perceptions of the nature of the randomness and true probabilities of the game.
Q. What remedy does the class action lawsuit seek?
A. The lawsuit seeks a monetary remedy and an injunction. The aim is to force ALC to eliminate the deceptive features of the games.

at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/25/60minutes/main4633254.shtml

By Lee Rockwell on November 18, 2008, Online Casino Sphere

CAPITOL HILL — As the Big 3 Auto-Makers ask for a $25 billion dollar financial bailout, gaming analysts are discussing a possible bailout for the casinos. Yes, that’s right, a bailout package for the casino gambling industry in Las Vegas, Mississippi, and New Jersey.

Barney Frank, a long-time supporter of internet gambling, could be on-board if the Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson, decides their is a strong need to bailout failing casinos.

Barney Frank was the primary author of the recent $700 billion bailout package signed into law by President George W. Bush back in early October. He is a staunch supporter of casino gambling, poker, and other such betting facilities.

As you know, casinos in Las Vegas, the Gulf Coast, and Atlantic City have recently reported their biggest losses ever. Many of the casinos along the Jersey Shore in Atlantic City are nearing collapse.

“If the casino gambling industry were to fail in Las Vegas or Atlantic City, the local economies in these areas would see catastrophic effects”, says Steve Horowitz, a legal expert and long-time gaming historian.

Bill would ban military slot machines

Author: Griffin, Drew
Source: CNN
Published Date: Dec 16, 2007

Description:
A bill in Congress seeks to eliminate military slot machines overseas that take in $130 million a year, mostly from soldiers, to help finance the U.S. Army’s morale, welfare and recreation programs. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tennessee, named the bill after Army Warrant Officer Aaron Walsh, a decorated Apache helicopter pilot who became addicted to gambling on military slot machines and committed suicide after several failed attempts to break his addiction.

http://www.responsiblegambling.org/staffsearch/latest_news_articles_details.cfm?intID=10985

Author: Leslie, Keith
Source: Prince George Citizen
Published Date: Dec 18, 2007

Description:
Ontario Provincial Police are to release the details Wednesday [Dec. 19] on charges they have laid in an alleged multimillion-dollar “insider” lottery win. The charges come months after Ontario’s Ombudsman slammed the Ontario Lottery Corporation for ignoring allegations of widespread fraud by retailers who were winning too many prizes. In his report, Andre Marin accused the corporation of “coddling” ticket sellers and playing “games” with customers who complained they had been cheated of their jackpots.

Author:
Source: Newswire.ca
Published Date: Dec 19, 2007

Description:
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) is paying a group of co-workers a $5.75 million lottery prize after it was determined that this group purchased a winning ticket in 2004, Kelly McDougald, OLG CEO announced today. “We are glad to be paying the group this prize,” said McDougald. “The OLG conducted its own thorough and independent investigation that confirmed the group’s claim that a winning ticket paid out to someone else several years ago was in fact purchased by them.” The case involves co-workers who bought tickets together in 2004. They contacted the OLG in July 2007 with evidence to support a claim that they purchased the winning ticket for a prize of $5.75 million. OLG referred the case to the OPP. At the same time, OLG conducted its own independent investigation which confirmed the group’s claim that they purchased the ticket.

http://www.responsiblegambling.org/staffsearch/latest_news_articles_details.cfm?intID=11003

Saskatchewan News Network; Regina Leader-Post, Saturday, January 05, 2008

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/local/story.html?id=39ec23e5-89a7-4128-a78b-2d1985697ff6

REGINA (SNN) — A 44-year-old woman has been spared a jail term for stealing more than $130,000 from two First Nations
organizations over a period of several years.

But Agnes Worme will still pay a significant price for her crime.

On Thursday, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Ian McLellan gave Worme an 18-month conditional sentence, the first nine months
of which will be served under house arrest in the community. Worme will also have to pay back all the money she took by
making payments of $500 a month, and contributing her entire residential school settlement when she receives it.

Worme pleaded guilty in December to stealing a total of more than $130,000 from the Kawacatoose First Nation and the
Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre in Saskatoon. She took the money through multiple transactions while working in
high-ranking positions with the organizations between 2002 and 2005.

Worme stole $79,000 from the Kawacatoose First Nation while working as a financial manager between January 2002 and June 2004.

…………

At the time of her guilty plea, court heard that the stolen money went toward bills, purchases, hotels and purchases at Casino Regina.
Worme didn’t have a previous criminal record, but was addicted to drugs and gambling at the time.

The Crown had been seeking a jail sentence for the thefts, but the defence argued for a community-based term.

Court heard that Worme turned to drugs and gambling after a series of deaths in the family.

But McLellan said she has since made significant changes in her life, including marrying a man who doesn’t drink, gamble or do drugs.

Cont.

Body of Tsawwassen’s Bill Dobbs dumped roadside

Ian Austin, The Province, Tuesday, December 04, 2007

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=6e08610f-6131-4c55-9130-a909624266bf

Tributes are pouring in for Bill Dobbs, the Tsawwassen businessman found murdered in Indio, Calif.

“He was a loving guy,” said Andy Peltonen, general manager of Dobbs’ successful commercial cleaning and maintenance firm, Excelsior Building Maintenance. “He had a passion for life, and a passion for his family and friends.”

Dobbs’ battered body was found beside a road last week, and investigators have been searching for his black 1999 Cadillac Escalade with B.C. licence plates.

The Palm Springs area is a playground for the rich, and Indio is home to two large casinos. Tales of carjackings are not uncommon in the area. Dobbs had a vacation home in Palm Springs, and was scheduled to return home to Vancouver last weekend.

“Mirapex Victims Allowed to Claim Punitive Damages in the United States
On November 26, 2007, a US Court allowed various Mirapex claimants to claim punitive damages against the drug manufacturers of the dopamine agonist called Mirapex… At pages 10 - 18 of the decision, the US Court summarizes in great detail the facts relied on by the Mirapex claimants.”

The other link here should open the finding by the court.

http://www.thomsonr ogers.com/ Mirapex_Products _Liability_ Class_Action_ 071128_Punitives _Mdl_order. pdf