Sun lose to Shock in overtime, 79-77
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By MATT STOUT
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jul 11, 2009 @ 10:53 PM
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Mohegan, Conn. —
The final missed shot of many left Lindsay Whalen’s hand Saturday night, floated toward the rim and dropped far short, never having a chance of saving of the Connecticut Sun.
They did little to help themselves anyway.
Katie Smith hit a baseline jumper with 6.3 seconds to play in overtime, and the Detroit Shock rallied past a listless Connecticut team for a 79-77 victory Saturday at the Mohegan Sun Arena, extending the Sun’s frustratingly inconsistent start to the season.
Up by as many as seven points in the fourth quarter and five with 5:29 to play, Connecticut (5-6) failed to hit a basket for the rest of regulation, scoring just four points in that span. The Sun’s inability to finish extended into the extra periods, where they didn’t to hit a field goal in the final minute en route to a third loss in four games.
Asjha Jones scored 23 points and Whalen added 20, but Connecticut shot just 34.2 percent from the field and lost the rebounding battle badly, 49-35. The Sun also made just 22-of-33 free throws.
Smith scored 25 and reserves Alexis Hornbuckle and Kara Braxton (13 rebounds) added 11 and 14 for last-place Detroit (3-7), which was playing without star Deanna Nolan, who injured her right hamstring in last Sunday’s loss to Connecticut
Breathing room
Never separated by more than four points over the middle two periods, the Sun appeared to find some breathing room with help from Detroit. Whalen opened the period with a jump shot and Tan White (seven points) drew a shooting foul to go to the line.
But during a timeout with 8:12 to play, both Rick Mahorn and one of his assistants drew technical fouls for comments to the officials, and suddenly, after a pair of Whalen and White foul shots, Connecticut had its biggest lead of the game, 56-49.
Smith (9-for-17 from the floor) alone kept Detroit close, scoring its next seven points, to draw within two. But the Sun again were able to keep momentum when the Shock were assessed their fourth technical — this to Cheryl Ford for complaining to the officials — and Jones followed with a jumper from the elbow for a 63-58 lead with 5:29 to play.
The Sun couldn’t provide a finishing blow, though. With Connecticut lifeless from the field, Detroit crept back behind a Smith jumper, two Braxton free throws and two more fouls shots from Smith with 41.8 to play.
Now up 65-64 with 19.3 to play, the Sun had a chance to perhaps ice it, but threw it away when Erin Phillips’ (13 points) inbound pass was intercepted by Taj McWilliams, who was then fouled from behind by Jones, the pass’ intended target.
Tie game
McWilliams hit both free throws to put Detroit ahead, 66-65, and on the Sun’s next possession, Whalen missed an open lay-up before Jones fouled McWilliams on the rebound. But McWilliams made just one of two foul shots, and on the ensuing sequence, White was fouled on a jump shot with two seconds to play. She hit both to tie the game, and Smith’s corner jumper at the buzzer went long.
Though never trailing by more than three points, the Sun played catch-up in overtime before taking their first lead in the final minute, 77-76 on a Jones free throw.
Braxton followed with her own to tie it, and the Shock won a jump ball with 25.6 seconds left to gain possession. That set up Smith, who hit a contested jumper from the right baseline for the game-winner.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: The field goal percentage by both teams were awful. They each shot around 30% from the field. The Shock were getting two, three and four offensive rebounds. Not so with the Sun. The Sun was shooting from outside and missing with no one near the basket to make a rebound. You can't win doing that. The facts are the Connecticut Sun did not deserve to win. What was the attendance? It looked like the attendance was less than 6,000. What do you think?
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
CONNECTICUT SUN NEED IMPROVEMENT?
Coach Says Sun Still Need Improvement
The Hartford Courant
July 11, 2009
E-mail Print ShareVote
NEW LONDON — - There is only one measuring stick Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault uses and that's the WNBA standings.
His team is 5-5, not as good as he had hoped, but good enough to share second place in the Eastern Conference, more than a third of the way into the season.
"I had hoped the top end [after 10 games] would be 7-3," Thibault said. "Considering all the changes we've made, 6-4 would have been fine, too. But where we are now is acceptable, although we do need to start accelerating the pace. Between now and the end of July we need to get markedly better because the schedule is only going to get tougher."
The Sun play the Detroit Shock, their arch rivals and defending WNBA champions, tonight at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Shock are 2-7 and winless in all six conference games. Hartford native Rick Mahorn has replaced Bill Laimbeer, who resigned as coach June 15, but the team has lost five of six since.
It will be the Sun's first home game since June 27. They were 1-2 on their trip to Indiana, Detroit and Atlanta. This will be the first home game for their two newest players, center Sandrine Gruda and guard Anete Jekabsone-Zogota.
Thibault said he thinks Gruda and Jekabsone-Zogota, starters in the recent European Championships in Latvia, will make his team better.
"It's gone a lot like training camp goes," Thibault said. "I've had to re-teach some things. Since Sandrine was here last year, things have come a little quicker for her. Anete instinctively understands some of it, but we use different terminology. ... She'll get it, although it will likely take some time."
Holt Close
Forward Amber Holt, out with a broken right hand sustained in an exhibition game, is close to returning. She had her second day of full-contact practice and Thibault said she might be in uniform for tonight's game. ... Veteran forward Tamika Whitmore did not practice because of calf problems with her left leg.
All-Star Practice Open
Mohegan Sun Arena will host open practices for the East and West All-Stars on July 24, the day before the WNBA All-Star Game.
The East is scheduled to practice from 3 to 3:45 p.m., and the West from 4:15 to 5. Arena doors open at 2:30.
Starting lineups will be announced Tuesday. ... Sun players will sign autographs from 3 to 4 p.m. at four Stop & Shop locations on Sunday. Gruda will be at the Stop & Shop in Montville, Tan White will be in Groton, Kiesha Brown will in Waterford and Jekabsone-Zogota will be in Old Saybrook. Aside from autographs, fans will be able to win tickets to Sun games as part of a partnership between the team and Coca-Cola.
•Shock at Sun, Mohegan Sun Arena,
7 p.m., Ch. 59
Copyright © 2009, The Hartford Courant
The Hartford Courant
July 11, 2009
E-mail Print ShareVote
NEW LONDON — - There is only one measuring stick Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault uses and that's the WNBA standings.
His team is 5-5, not as good as he had hoped, but good enough to share second place in the Eastern Conference, more than a third of the way into the season.
"I had hoped the top end [after 10 games] would be 7-3," Thibault said. "Considering all the changes we've made, 6-4 would have been fine, too. But where we are now is acceptable, although we do need to start accelerating the pace. Between now and the end of July we need to get markedly better because the schedule is only going to get tougher."
The Sun play the Detroit Shock, their arch rivals and defending WNBA champions, tonight at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Shock are 2-7 and winless in all six conference games. Hartford native Rick Mahorn has replaced Bill Laimbeer, who resigned as coach June 15, but the team has lost five of six since.
It will be the Sun's first home game since June 27. They were 1-2 on their trip to Indiana, Detroit and Atlanta. This will be the first home game for their two newest players, center Sandrine Gruda and guard Anete Jekabsone-Zogota.
Thibault said he thinks Gruda and Jekabsone-Zogota, starters in the recent European Championships in Latvia, will make his team better.
"It's gone a lot like training camp goes," Thibault said. "I've had to re-teach some things. Since Sandrine was here last year, things have come a little quicker for her. Anete instinctively understands some of it, but we use different terminology. ... She'll get it, although it will likely take some time."
Holt Close
Forward Amber Holt, out with a broken right hand sustained in an exhibition game, is close to returning. She had her second day of full-contact practice and Thibault said she might be in uniform for tonight's game. ... Veteran forward Tamika Whitmore did not practice because of calf problems with her left leg.
All-Star Practice Open
Mohegan Sun Arena will host open practices for the East and West All-Stars on July 24, the day before the WNBA All-Star Game.
The East is scheduled to practice from 3 to 3:45 p.m., and the West from 4:15 to 5. Arena doors open at 2:30.
Starting lineups will be announced Tuesday. ... Sun players will sign autographs from 3 to 4 p.m. at four Stop & Shop locations on Sunday. Gruda will be at the Stop & Shop in Montville, Tan White will be in Groton, Kiesha Brown will in Waterford and Jekabsone-Zogota will be in Old Saybrook. Aside from autographs, fans will be able to win tickets to Sun games as part of a partnership between the team and Coca-Cola.
•Shock at Sun, Mohegan Sun Arena,
7 p.m., Ch. 59
Copyright © 2009, The Hartford Courant
RETURNING 91.64% TO 91.79% PAY BACK ON SLOT MACHINES?...
Don’t be fooled, slots pay back nearly 92%
Experts: In long term, machines return most cash to players
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By William Sokolic
For The Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jul 10, 2009 @ 11:26 PM
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Gamblers who walk away losers time after time at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods might scratch their heads and complain the casinos pay out very little from the slot machines.
In gaming parlance, casinos are tight with their money. But are they?
Truth is, Mohegan Sun paid back 91.79 percent of the money deposited in May, while Foxwoods returned 91.64 percent to players, according to data from Connecticut’s Division of Special Revenue. Translated, that means, on average, Mohegan Sun paid out $91.79 for every $100 wagered; Foxwoods paid back $91.64 for every $100 bet. The balance was what the casinos kept.
The key phrase is “on average.” A machine’s payback is a long-term percentage that takes into account all possible winning and losing combinations, said expert Henry Tamburin, who runs smartgaming.com, a gambling strategy Web site.
He also has written several books on casino gambling and has taught seminars and courses.
‘On average’
The average includes folks who lose $100 or $500, but also takes into account those who win $5,000 or $500,000. If 10 gamblers each lose $100, and one gambler wins $917.90 on a $100 investment, the payout percentage is 91.79 percent, even though 10 of 11 gamblers lost.
The May payout percentage at Mohegan Sun was the highest payout since August. The May 2008 payback was 91.28 percent. At Foxwoods, the payout percentage in May was the highest since last December and higher than last May, when it was 91.19.
Still, tracking annual payback percentages at five-year increments reveals that both casinos have held on to more of the money over time.
In fiscal year 2008-09, the payback percentages were 91.62 at Foxwoods and 91.51 at Mohegan Sun. In 2003-04, they were 91.83 at Foxwoods and 91.86 at Mohegan Sun, and in 1998-99, they were 91.98 at Foxwoods and 91.95 at Mohegan Sun.
The percentages are set by the casinos through computer programming. The computer determines which symbols line up on the reels by generating a random sequence of numbers in accordance to the percentage payout decided by the casino.
“We have a company-wide hold percentage we shoot for on the entire floor,” said Ray Pineault, senior vice president of casino operations at Mohegan Sun. “We leave it to the slot department as to the mix of games and competitive data set to stay within that range.”
Casinos know that even though a machine might be programmed to return 95 percent to players, in the short term there is a variance, Tamburin said.
After 100,000 spins of a slot machine, for example, there is a 90 percent probability that the payback percentage on that game could range from 91 to 98 percent. But as the machine gets more spins, the variance decreases and gets closer to the 95 percent payback percentage factored into the computer.
Biggest payers
The payout percentages tend to vary with the denomination. As a general rule, the higher the denomination of machine, the greater the return percentage. Thus, a $1 machine will return more to players than a nickel or penny does, Pineault said.
If a gambler plays $100 in a dollar machine the money would disappear a lot quicker than the same amount in a penny machine if the payback percents were the same. Mohegan Sun has two $100 machines. The payback percent often exceeds 95 percent, and may go as high as 98 percent, Pineault said.
Mohegan Sun president and CEO Mitchell Etess credits the rising popularity of low denomination games, such as nickel, penny and half penny, for the lower payouts and higher hold percentage from the casinos. The general rule is the lower the denomination, the more the casino keeps.
Casinos will still win more on a dollar basis even if the return is less percentage wise, so they can afford to make them looser, said analyst Roger Gros, editor of Casino Connection and co-publisher of Global Gaming Business magazines.
“If you gamble more money, you should get more money back,” said Gros, who said reporting payback percentages and not just what casinos kept emanated from a magazine he worked for in the late 1980s. “It used to be that with a nickel machine, you were lucky if the payback was 87 percent. But these days nickel and penny games are not really about nickels and pennies. There are so many alliterations of bets it’s not a hard and fast rule.”
Mohegan Sun compares its payout percentages not only against Foxwoods, but Atlantic City, Rhode Island and New York. The Atlantic City Hilton, for example, paid back 91.6 percent in May, less than Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods.
What players need to realize is that slot machines do not return all the money that is wagered in them. In the long run, they’ll lose, Tamburin said. Any other way and casinos wouldn’t be in business.
“The best advice I give slot players is to try to convince them to play video poker. Often the worst-paying video poker machine in a casino returns more than the best paying slot machine,” he said.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: At the end of the day, if you gamble long enough, over a period of time the casinos will win. The best game according to the article was video poker. The whole thing is about averages and chance. could it be the computers are allowing a higher pay back to get customers in to the casinos? What do you think?
Experts: In long term, machines return most cash to players
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By William Sokolic
For The Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jul 10, 2009 @ 11:26 PM
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Gamblers who walk away losers time after time at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods might scratch their heads and complain the casinos pay out very little from the slot machines.
In gaming parlance, casinos are tight with their money. But are they?
Truth is, Mohegan Sun paid back 91.79 percent of the money deposited in May, while Foxwoods returned 91.64 percent to players, according to data from Connecticut’s Division of Special Revenue. Translated, that means, on average, Mohegan Sun paid out $91.79 for every $100 wagered; Foxwoods paid back $91.64 for every $100 bet. The balance was what the casinos kept.
The key phrase is “on average.” A machine’s payback is a long-term percentage that takes into account all possible winning and losing combinations, said expert Henry Tamburin, who runs smartgaming.com, a gambling strategy Web site.
He also has written several books on casino gambling and has taught seminars and courses.
‘On average’
The average includes folks who lose $100 or $500, but also takes into account those who win $5,000 or $500,000. If 10 gamblers each lose $100, and one gambler wins $917.90 on a $100 investment, the payout percentage is 91.79 percent, even though 10 of 11 gamblers lost.
The May payout percentage at Mohegan Sun was the highest payout since August. The May 2008 payback was 91.28 percent. At Foxwoods, the payout percentage in May was the highest since last December and higher than last May, when it was 91.19.
Still, tracking annual payback percentages at five-year increments reveals that both casinos have held on to more of the money over time.
In fiscal year 2008-09, the payback percentages were 91.62 at Foxwoods and 91.51 at Mohegan Sun. In 2003-04, they were 91.83 at Foxwoods and 91.86 at Mohegan Sun, and in 1998-99, they were 91.98 at Foxwoods and 91.95 at Mohegan Sun.
The percentages are set by the casinos through computer programming. The computer determines which symbols line up on the reels by generating a random sequence of numbers in accordance to the percentage payout decided by the casino.
“We have a company-wide hold percentage we shoot for on the entire floor,” said Ray Pineault, senior vice president of casino operations at Mohegan Sun. “We leave it to the slot department as to the mix of games and competitive data set to stay within that range.”
Casinos know that even though a machine might be programmed to return 95 percent to players, in the short term there is a variance, Tamburin said.
After 100,000 spins of a slot machine, for example, there is a 90 percent probability that the payback percentage on that game could range from 91 to 98 percent. But as the machine gets more spins, the variance decreases and gets closer to the 95 percent payback percentage factored into the computer.
Biggest payers
The payout percentages tend to vary with the denomination. As a general rule, the higher the denomination of machine, the greater the return percentage. Thus, a $1 machine will return more to players than a nickel or penny does, Pineault said.
If a gambler plays $100 in a dollar machine the money would disappear a lot quicker than the same amount in a penny machine if the payback percents were the same. Mohegan Sun has two $100 machines. The payback percent often exceeds 95 percent, and may go as high as 98 percent, Pineault said.
Mohegan Sun president and CEO Mitchell Etess credits the rising popularity of low denomination games, such as nickel, penny and half penny, for the lower payouts and higher hold percentage from the casinos. The general rule is the lower the denomination, the more the casino keeps.
Casinos will still win more on a dollar basis even if the return is less percentage wise, so they can afford to make them looser, said analyst Roger Gros, editor of Casino Connection and co-publisher of Global Gaming Business magazines.
“If you gamble more money, you should get more money back,” said Gros, who said reporting payback percentages and not just what casinos kept emanated from a magazine he worked for in the late 1980s. “It used to be that with a nickel machine, you were lucky if the payback was 87 percent. But these days nickel and penny games are not really about nickels and pennies. There are so many alliterations of bets it’s not a hard and fast rule.”
Mohegan Sun compares its payout percentages not only against Foxwoods, but Atlantic City, Rhode Island and New York. The Atlantic City Hilton, for example, paid back 91.6 percent in May, less than Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods.
What players need to realize is that slot machines do not return all the money that is wagered in them. In the long run, they’ll lose, Tamburin said. Any other way and casinos wouldn’t be in business.
“The best advice I give slot players is to try to convince them to play video poker. Often the worst-paying video poker machine in a casino returns more than the best paying slot machine,” he said.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: At the end of the day, if you gamble long enough, over a period of time the casinos will win. The best game according to the article was video poker. The whole thing is about averages and chance. could it be the computers are allowing a higher pay back to get customers in to the casinos? What do you think?
Friday, July 10, 2009
HONORING SAMUEL HUNTINGTON
Wreath to be laid on Founder’s tomb in Norwich
Group wants to remember leader’s birthday
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By MICHAEL GANNON
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jul 09, 2009 @ 11:34 PM
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Norwich, Conn. — Samuel Huntington is not as well-known as George Washington, John Hancock or some of his other contemporaries who led the nation to independence.
But on Sunday, the Forgotten Founders, an offshoot of the Norwich Historical Society, plan to honor Huntington as the nation’s first president under the Articles of Confederation by laying a wreath at his tomb in the Norwichtown Cemetery, similar to the way the presidents are honored.
“Every president from George Washington to Gerald Ford, on the occasion of his birthday, is presented with a wreath at his grave, carried with pomp and ceremony,” Bill Stanley of Norwich said. “The United States Marine Corps brings a band and a marching unit.
“We want to honor the 10 presidents under the Articles of Confederation,” he said.
Huntington, who lived from 1731 to 1796, served as president of Congress during the American Revolution when the articles were adopted in 1781, and his office was largely ceremonial, which the founding fathers deemed inadequate.
“So they gathered in Philadelphia (at the Constitutional Convention) in 1787 to fix it, and they threw the whole thing out,” Stanley said.
The new constitution delineated the first real executive powers that would be exercised from Washington through President Barack Obama.
Norwich’s Forgotten Founders are attempting to establish a library in the city dedicated to Huntington, Thomas McKean (Del.), John Hanson (Md.), Elias Boudinot (N.J.), Thomas Mifflin (Pa.), Richard Henry Lee (Va.), Hancock (Mass.), Nathaniel Gorham (Mass.), Arthur St. Clair (Pa.) and Cyrus Griffin (Va.).
Those scheduled to attend Sunday’s ceremonies include the Second Company Governors Foot Guard, founded by Norwich native Benedict Arnold; State Troubadour Tom Callinan and the Unity Drums of Nations. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is scheduled to speak.
If you go
What: Wreath laying at tomb of Samuel Huntington
When: 3 p.m., Sunday
Where: Norwichtown Colonial Cemetery off East Town Street near the Norwichtown Green
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Maybe after the Quarterly Meeting on Sunday, the Mohegan Tribe could show up and be at this historic event? What do you think?
Group wants to remember leader’s birthday
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By MICHAEL GANNON
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jul 09, 2009 @ 11:34 PM
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Norwich, Conn. — Samuel Huntington is not as well-known as George Washington, John Hancock or some of his other contemporaries who led the nation to independence.
But on Sunday, the Forgotten Founders, an offshoot of the Norwich Historical Society, plan to honor Huntington as the nation’s first president under the Articles of Confederation by laying a wreath at his tomb in the Norwichtown Cemetery, similar to the way the presidents are honored.
“Every president from George Washington to Gerald Ford, on the occasion of his birthday, is presented with a wreath at his grave, carried with pomp and ceremony,” Bill Stanley of Norwich said. “The United States Marine Corps brings a band and a marching unit.
“We want to honor the 10 presidents under the Articles of Confederation,” he said.
Huntington, who lived from 1731 to 1796, served as president of Congress during the American Revolution when the articles were adopted in 1781, and his office was largely ceremonial, which the founding fathers deemed inadequate.
“So they gathered in Philadelphia (at the Constitutional Convention) in 1787 to fix it, and they threw the whole thing out,” Stanley said.
The new constitution delineated the first real executive powers that would be exercised from Washington through President Barack Obama.
Norwich’s Forgotten Founders are attempting to establish a library in the city dedicated to Huntington, Thomas McKean (Del.), John Hanson (Md.), Elias Boudinot (N.J.), Thomas Mifflin (Pa.), Richard Henry Lee (Va.), Hancock (Mass.), Nathaniel Gorham (Mass.), Arthur St. Clair (Pa.) and Cyrus Griffin (Va.).
Those scheduled to attend Sunday’s ceremonies include the Second Company Governors Foot Guard, founded by Norwich native Benedict Arnold; State Troubadour Tom Callinan and the Unity Drums of Nations. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is scheduled to speak.
If you go
What: Wreath laying at tomb of Samuel Huntington
When: 3 p.m., Sunday
Where: Norwichtown Colonial Cemetery off East Town Street near the Norwichtown Green
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Maybe after the Quarterly Meeting on Sunday, the Mohegan Tribe could show up and be at this historic event? What do you think?
COUPLE STEAL PHONE AND LEAVE CHILDREN IN HOTEL ROOM AT MOHEGAN SUN
Couple arrested in theft of iPhone at casino, neglect
Published on 7/10/2009
Montville - State police arrested a Yonkers, N.Y., couple Wednesday night after a woman reported losing an Apple iPhone at the Mohegan Sun Casino.
The woman told security that she had been at a blackjack pit when she last had the phone. When security reviewed video of the area they saw Mohannad H. Alahmar, 30, and Dina A. Eld, 19, approach the seat where the woman had sat. Security personnel saw Eld put the phone in her pocketbook as Alahmar attempted to conceal the action.
Eld later gave the phone to Alahmar, who took it to a hotel room and attempted to hide it. In the course of their investigation, security and state police discovered that the pair had left two children, four and 10 years old alone in the hotel room for a period of time without supervision.
They were each charged with fourth-degree larceny and leaving a child unattended.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: It seems like crime is on the upswing at the Mohegan Sun. Were the alleged couple being opportunists? Is this a sign of the times? Leaving small children should never happen. It seems to be happening at a lot of places lately. It is really bad that it is happening at the Mohegan Sun. What do you think?
Published on 7/10/2009
Montville - State police arrested a Yonkers, N.Y., couple Wednesday night after a woman reported losing an Apple iPhone at the Mohegan Sun Casino.
The woman told security that she had been at a blackjack pit when she last had the phone. When security reviewed video of the area they saw Mohannad H. Alahmar, 30, and Dina A. Eld, 19, approach the seat where the woman had sat. Security personnel saw Eld put the phone in her pocketbook as Alahmar attempted to conceal the action.
Eld later gave the phone to Alahmar, who took it to a hotel room and attempted to hide it. In the course of their investigation, security and state police discovered that the pair had left two children, four and 10 years old alone in the hotel room for a period of time without supervision.
They were each charged with fourth-degree larceny and leaving a child unattended.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: It seems like crime is on the upswing at the Mohegan Sun. Were the alleged couple being opportunists? Is this a sign of the times? Leaving small children should never happen. It seems to be happening at a lot of places lately. It is really bad that it is happening at the Mohegan Sun. What do you think?
Thursday, July 9, 2009
ANOTHER INJURY ON THE NEW GOVERNMENT COMMUNITY CENTER
Man hurt in fall at tribal site
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 7/9/2009
Mohegan - An ironworker was injured Tuesday in a fall at the construction site of the Mohegan Tribe's administration building, the second such incident there in seven weeks, prompting a federal workplace inspector to return to the site.
In the earlier incident, an ironworker was killed.
The man injured Tuesday remained hospitalized Wednesday, according to a spokesman for the Gilbane Building Co. of Providence, construction manager for the project.
Citing privacy issues, Wes Cotter, the spokesman to whom the tribe referred inquiries, said he could not release the name of the victim, who worked for Thomas F. Keefe & Sons, a Guilford contractor. The victim was injured in a fall around 7 a.m. Tuesday, Cotter said.
The Mohegan Tribal Fire Department took the victim to The William W. Backus Hospital.
According to Cotter, the incident occurred as workers were enclosing the administration building and securing the site, where construction has been halted. He said he was not aware of the exact nature of the work the victim was performing or how the incident occurred.
In the earlier incident, Richard “Dicky” Blake, 59, of Niantic, died May 19 after falling about four stories.
The fatality prompted an investigation by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which has yet to issue its findings. An inspector from the agency's Hartford office was dispatched to the site Tuesday and Wednesday to investigate the latest incident, according to Ted Fitzgerald, an OSHA spokesman.
Such inspections are conducted to determine whether violations of safety standards have occurred, Fitzgerald said.
”An extensive safety program is in place (at the construction site), with extensive training and orientation (for workers),” Cotter said. “All proper safety equipment is in place.”
When completed, the building will house the tribe's administrative offices, which are now located in a warehouse on Cow Hill Road, as well as a community center for tribal members. In February, tribal officials said the $80 million project would be suspended as part of the tribe's efforts to curb costs amid the recession. Originally, it was scheduled to be finished in December 2009.
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 7/9/2009
Mohegan - An ironworker was injured Tuesday in a fall at the construction site of the Mohegan Tribe's administration building, the second such incident there in seven weeks, prompting a federal workplace inspector to return to the site.
In the earlier incident, an ironworker was killed.
The man injured Tuesday remained hospitalized Wednesday, according to a spokesman for the Gilbane Building Co. of Providence, construction manager for the project.
Citing privacy issues, Wes Cotter, the spokesman to whom the tribe referred inquiries, said he could not release the name of the victim, who worked for Thomas F. Keefe & Sons, a Guilford contractor. The victim was injured in a fall around 7 a.m. Tuesday, Cotter said.
The Mohegan Tribal Fire Department took the victim to The William W. Backus Hospital.
According to Cotter, the incident occurred as workers were enclosing the administration building and securing the site, where construction has been halted. He said he was not aware of the exact nature of the work the victim was performing or how the incident occurred.
In the earlier incident, Richard “Dicky” Blake, 59, of Niantic, died May 19 after falling about four stories.
The fatality prompted an investigation by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which has yet to issue its findings. An inspector from the agency's Hartford office was dispatched to the site Tuesday and Wednesday to investigate the latest incident, according to Ted Fitzgerald, an OSHA spokesman.
Such inspections are conducted to determine whether violations of safety standards have occurred, Fitzgerald said.
”An extensive safety program is in place (at the construction site), with extensive training and orientation (for workers),” Cotter said. “All proper safety equipment is in place.”
When completed, the building will house the tribe's administrative offices, which are now located in a warehouse on Cow Hill Road, as well as a community center for tribal members. In February, tribal officials said the $80 million project would be suspended as part of the tribe's efforts to curb costs amid the recession. Originally, it was scheduled to be finished in December 2009.
POW WOW AT MASHANTUCKET PEQUOT MUSEUM
Powwow Festival
11 a.m.-3 p.m., The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, 110 Pequot Trail, Mashantucket; Grand Entry at 11 am and 1 pm daily. Free with Museum admission, or free to Museum members; 1-800-411-9671.
11 a.m.-3 p.m., The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, 110 Pequot Trail, Mashantucket; Grand Entry at 11 am and 1 pm daily. Free with Museum admission, or free to Museum members; 1-800-411-9671.
NEW JERSEY RACINOS AGAINST CASINOS?
New Jersey gambling interests at odds over how to compete
Published on 7/9/2009
Oceanport, N.J. - New Jersey's horse racing and casino gambling industries still have a long way to go in developing a collaborative strategy to meet the competitive challenges emerging in neighboring states.
Representatives of the longtime rival industries couldn't even agree on what to discuss Wednesday at a meeting of a new commission charged with saving the state's four horse racing tracks.
Track officials wanted to talk about “racinos,” the electronic betting parlors that have been introduced at 36 race tracks in 15 states since 1995. However, Joseph Fusco, a spokesman for the Casino Association of New Jersey, spoke for 20 minutes at the meeting without even mentioning the word.
Racinos are now operating in neighboring states, but they're still barred in New Jersey out of deference to the powerful Atlantic City casinos, which have seen their revenue shrink amid the national recession. Racing interests are afraid they're losing valuable time by not joining the trend.
Fusco, an executive vice president at Trump Entertainment Resorts, drew a testy response from racing industry representatives at the end of his prepared testimony by suggesting they focus on improvements “horse racing can generate from its own business.”
Thomas F. Luchento, president of the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey, said the casinos should fix their own problems instead of meddling in racing.
”Our decline is directly related with casinos and lotteries,” Luchento said, noting that racing's share of state gambling tax revenue has decreased from 81 percent to 1 percent since casinos were first allowed in 1978.
Casinos have subsidized New Jersey's tracks since 2004 to help them provide the same kind of purses now being offered by racino-equipped tracks in neighboring states. The higher purses are needed to attract the best horses and jockeys. The total amount of the subsidy through 2011 is estimated at $176 million.
However, Chris Scherf, executive vice president of The National Thoroughbred Racing Association, said subsidies don't address the need to upgrade New Jersey's stagnant tracks to compete with the new facilities. Electronic gaming would help pay for those improvements, he said.
The number of racinos in the United States has grown from four to 36 since the trend began in 1995 and is expected to top 45 by 2015.
”It's not horse racing versus casinos,” state Sen. Jennifer Beck, of Red Bank, reminded members at Wednesday's meeting of the Governor's Commission on the Horse Racing Industry. “It's New Jersey versus Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and New York.”
Ernie D'Ambrosio, a gambling consultant with The Innovation Group, said it's a tough time for racing to push changes on the state's casino industry, which employs 43,000 workers and generates about $1 billion in annual state taxes. Revenue at the 11 casinos in Atlantic City fell 16 percent to $1.62 billion during the first five months of this year from the same period of 2008.
The racing industry has about 2,050 employees and generates about $31 million in annual state and local taxes, according to a 2007 study by Rutgers University.
”It's an election year and Atlantic City is fragile right now,” D'Ambrosio said. “So, New Jersey is playing a waiting game.”
"Regional"
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: This story is another example of horse race tracks not making money. Why would you save something that makes $31 million annually, to something that makes over $1 Billion a year.
The real money is in the casinos, not in the horse tracks. The MTGA (the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority) should know this better than anyone, don't we own a racino, called Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, in Pennsylvania?
The way I see it, it doesn't make money either. Another bad, bad, bad business deal by the MTGA? Didn't four of the five (4 of 5) Tribal Councilors who are running for re-election vote for the building of the permanent facility?
The four (4) Tribal Councilors were: Bruce "Two Dogs" Bozsum, Lynn Malerba, Bill Quidgeon and James Gessner.
The one Tribal Councilor who is running for re-election who voted against building the permanent facility was Mark Hamilton.
Remember this at election time. Think about what is happening in New Jersey, and what could eventually happen in the Pennsylvania. What do you think?
Published on 7/9/2009
Oceanport, N.J. - New Jersey's horse racing and casino gambling industries still have a long way to go in developing a collaborative strategy to meet the competitive challenges emerging in neighboring states.
Representatives of the longtime rival industries couldn't even agree on what to discuss Wednesday at a meeting of a new commission charged with saving the state's four horse racing tracks.
Track officials wanted to talk about “racinos,” the electronic betting parlors that have been introduced at 36 race tracks in 15 states since 1995. However, Joseph Fusco, a spokesman for the Casino Association of New Jersey, spoke for 20 minutes at the meeting without even mentioning the word.
Racinos are now operating in neighboring states, but they're still barred in New Jersey out of deference to the powerful Atlantic City casinos, which have seen their revenue shrink amid the national recession. Racing interests are afraid they're losing valuable time by not joining the trend.
Fusco, an executive vice president at Trump Entertainment Resorts, drew a testy response from racing industry representatives at the end of his prepared testimony by suggesting they focus on improvements “horse racing can generate from its own business.”
Thomas F. Luchento, president of the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey, said the casinos should fix their own problems instead of meddling in racing.
”Our decline is directly related with casinos and lotteries,” Luchento said, noting that racing's share of state gambling tax revenue has decreased from 81 percent to 1 percent since casinos were first allowed in 1978.
Casinos have subsidized New Jersey's tracks since 2004 to help them provide the same kind of purses now being offered by racino-equipped tracks in neighboring states. The higher purses are needed to attract the best horses and jockeys. The total amount of the subsidy through 2011 is estimated at $176 million.
However, Chris Scherf, executive vice president of The National Thoroughbred Racing Association, said subsidies don't address the need to upgrade New Jersey's stagnant tracks to compete with the new facilities. Electronic gaming would help pay for those improvements, he said.
The number of racinos in the United States has grown from four to 36 since the trend began in 1995 and is expected to top 45 by 2015.
”It's not horse racing versus casinos,” state Sen. Jennifer Beck, of Red Bank, reminded members at Wednesday's meeting of the Governor's Commission on the Horse Racing Industry. “It's New Jersey versus Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and New York.”
Ernie D'Ambrosio, a gambling consultant with The Innovation Group, said it's a tough time for racing to push changes on the state's casino industry, which employs 43,000 workers and generates about $1 billion in annual state taxes. Revenue at the 11 casinos in Atlantic City fell 16 percent to $1.62 billion during the first five months of this year from the same period of 2008.
The racing industry has about 2,050 employees and generates about $31 million in annual state and local taxes, according to a 2007 study by Rutgers University.
”It's an election year and Atlantic City is fragile right now,” D'Ambrosio said. “So, New Jersey is playing a waiting game.”
"Regional"
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: This story is another example of horse race tracks not making money. Why would you save something that makes $31 million annually, to something that makes over $1 Billion a year.
The real money is in the casinos, not in the horse tracks. The MTGA (the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority) should know this better than anyone, don't we own a racino, called Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, in Pennsylvania?
The way I see it, it doesn't make money either. Another bad, bad, bad business deal by the MTGA? Didn't four of the five (4 of 5) Tribal Councilors who are running for re-election vote for the building of the permanent facility?
The four (4) Tribal Councilors were: Bruce "Two Dogs" Bozsum, Lynn Malerba, Bill Quidgeon and James Gessner.
The one Tribal Councilor who is running for re-election who voted against building the permanent facility was Mark Hamilton.
Remember this at election time. Think about what is happening in New Jersey, and what could eventually happen in the Pennsylvania. What do you think?
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
SENECAS TO EXPAND, HOW ABOUT THE MOHEGANS?
Seneca Nation to form new firm
Holding company to expand revenue
By Brian Hayden
NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
The Seneca Nation of Indians has announced plans to form a $28 million holding company to invest in and buy businesses. The goal is to broaden the nation’s revenue sources beyond casino gaming and tobacco and gasoline sales.
The company, to be called Seneca Holdings LLC, is planning to invest $3 million this year, followed by $5 million in each of the next five years.
Robert Odawi Porter, chairman of the holdings committee, said the main goal of the company is to generate profit for the nation. One of the company’s future subsidiaries, Seneca Capital, will seek to make investments in other companies, both on and off the Seneca reservation.
“We’re looking anywhere we can find a potential opportunity,” Porter said.
The nation’s council has not yet determined where the funds will come from within its budget.
The nation’s businesses have evolved from a bowling alley and campgrounds in the 1970s; to bingo, gasoline and tobacco sales; to the Seneca Gaming and Entertainment Corp., which profited $17.6 million in its second quarter ending in March, down 16 percent from a year earlier. The nation operates the Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls, Seneca Allegany Casino in Salamanca and Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino in Buffalo.
Potential investment opportunities include government contracting, joint ventures, and existing, viable companies. Decisions on those investments will not be made until a CEO for the holding company is chosen, Porter said.
The nation hopes to encourage those companies it invests in to relocate jobs onto Seneca land.
“It’s exciting to think about applying our natural advantages to a new economic path,” he said.
Seneca Nation President Barry E. Snyder Sr. could not be reached for comment.
An investment firm for the nation has been in the works the last several years.
The return on the investment will also provide further financial security for the nation, which has faced legal challenges to its Buffalo gaming operations, as well as political pressure to tax its tobacco products. Porter said the investment firm’s management committee, and the Seneca council, are both confident of seeing a return on the investment.
“It’s innovative for the nation in terms of its revenue generating opportunities,” Porter said. “The horse is out of the gate. Right now, we want to keep running.”
bhayden@buffnews.com
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Other tribes are expanding away from gambling, how about the Mohegans? Not us (the Mohegan Tribe), we went to Pocono Downs, Wisconsin, Washington State, and now Palmer. We don't seem to know anything but gambling. Could it be poor leadership, from the powers above (the Mohegan Tribal Council)? Is it time for the Mohegan Tribal Council to step forward? Is it time for a change? Do you know? What do you think?
Holding company to expand revenue
By Brian Hayden
NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
The Seneca Nation of Indians has announced plans to form a $28 million holding company to invest in and buy businesses. The goal is to broaden the nation’s revenue sources beyond casino gaming and tobacco and gasoline sales.
The company, to be called Seneca Holdings LLC, is planning to invest $3 million this year, followed by $5 million in each of the next five years.
Robert Odawi Porter, chairman of the holdings committee, said the main goal of the company is to generate profit for the nation. One of the company’s future subsidiaries, Seneca Capital, will seek to make investments in other companies, both on and off the Seneca reservation.
“We’re looking anywhere we can find a potential opportunity,” Porter said.
The nation’s council has not yet determined where the funds will come from within its budget.
The nation’s businesses have evolved from a bowling alley and campgrounds in the 1970s; to bingo, gasoline and tobacco sales; to the Seneca Gaming and Entertainment Corp., which profited $17.6 million in its second quarter ending in March, down 16 percent from a year earlier. The nation operates the Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls, Seneca Allegany Casino in Salamanca and Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino in Buffalo.
Potential investment opportunities include government contracting, joint ventures, and existing, viable companies. Decisions on those investments will not be made until a CEO for the holding company is chosen, Porter said.
The nation hopes to encourage those companies it invests in to relocate jobs onto Seneca land.
“It’s exciting to think about applying our natural advantages to a new economic path,” he said.
Seneca Nation President Barry E. Snyder Sr. could not be reached for comment.
An investment firm for the nation has been in the works the last several years.
The return on the investment will also provide further financial security for the nation, which has faced legal challenges to its Buffalo gaming operations, as well as political pressure to tax its tobacco products. Porter said the investment firm’s management committee, and the Seneca council, are both confident of seeing a return on the investment.
“It’s innovative for the nation in terms of its revenue generating opportunities,” Porter said. “The horse is out of the gate. Right now, we want to keep running.”
bhayden@buffnews.com
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Other tribes are expanding away from gambling, how about the Mohegans? Not us (the Mohegan Tribe), we went to Pocono Downs, Wisconsin, Washington State, and now Palmer. We don't seem to know anything but gambling. Could it be poor leadership, from the powers above (the Mohegan Tribal Council)? Is it time for the Mohegan Tribal Council to step forward? Is it time for a change? Do you know? What do you think?
MOHEGAN SUN AND FOXWOODS TO WORK TOGETHER TO GET SOME OF ATLANTIC CITY'S BUSINESS
Teaming Up To Take On Atlantic City
Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun come together to promote an 'unparalleled destination'
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 7/7/2009
Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, long the fiercest of rivals, have joined forces to take dead aim at their main competition: Atlantic City's 11 casinos.
Collaborating on a marketing campaign that promotes southeastern Connecticut as “an unparalleled resort destination,” the tribally owned casinos launched their attack Monday online and on billboards on Interstate 80 in New Jersey, the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95), the Atlantic City Expressway and the Long Island Expressway (I-495).
View the joint billboard campaign
”This is a clear case of the sum of the parts being greater than the whole and we are excited to partner with our neighbor, Mohegan Sun, in this historic undertaking,” Michael Speller, president of Foxwoods' Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprises, said in a statement. “We feel the collective amenities we offer to consumers are on par, if not better than, any resort destination in the world.”
The collaboration grew out of meetings among Speller, who arrived at Foxwoods last December; Mitchell Etess, the Mohegan Sun president and chief executive officer; and other top casino and tribal officials, according to Robert Victoria, Foxwoods' senior vice president of consumer marketing. Local tourism officials were kept apprised of the effort, Victoria said.
The billboards and the Web site, www.playCTcasinos.com, will remain in place through September, at which time the campaign's effectiveness will be evaluated, Victoria said. At that point, a print-advertising component could be launched.
The casinos are contributing an equal share to the campaign, though no casino official would say how much.
”It's very important for us to get people to look at the Connecticut casinos as a destination,” Etess said. “It's Atlantic City or Connecticut - not Atlantic City or Mohegan Sun, or Atlantic City or Foxwoods. … We're targeting the North Jersey area, where we think we can generate new revenues.”
THE MESSAGE
The Foxwoods-Mohegan Sun campaign, devised by the Adams & Knight agency of Avon, includes eight billboards placed in northern New Jersey, metropolitan New York and on Long Island with the following message:
The Foxwoods-Mohegan Sun campaign, devised by the Adams & Knight agency of Avon, includes eight billboards placed in northern New Jersey, metropolitan New York and on Long Island with the following message:
Two worlds beat one City.
Way beyond the boredwalk.
Escape the Jersey snore.
Tony Sheridan, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, said he would not comment on the casinos' campaign until he had received official word of it. Donna Simpson, executive director of the Eastern Regional Tourism District, was unavailable.
While noting that the Foxwoods-Mohegan Sun alliance was rare if not unprecedented among tribal casinos, industry analysts said casinos in other gaming markets have long pooled their marketing efforts and resources.
”For a long time, Las Vegas has been marketing itself as Las Vegas, not as Caesar's Palace,” said Clyde Barrow, director of the Center for Public Analysis at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. “Atlantic City's been doing it for a decade.”
Barrow described the alliance as “the logical culmination of a trajectory they've been on for some time.”
”They're in very stiff competition with Atlantic City, New York, Pennsylvania and likely Massachusetts,” he said. “If Massachusetts gets gambling, it's going to recapture a sizable piece of the regional gaming market. That's why Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun have to be part of a larger tourist destination. This could be the start of them becoming a national or international destination.
”Atlantic City casinos view themselves as competing with and losing to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. They don't have the same convention space, the entertainment, the golf courses.”
In a report last month on the economic and social impacts of gambling in Connecticut, the New Jersey-based Spectrum Gaming Group found that the state's promotion of tourism is fragmented and underfunded and that the casinos could be bettered “leveraged.”
Michael Diamond, the Spectrum researcher who led the study, said he was pleased to hear of the Foxwoods-Mohegan Sun alliance.
”There seemed to be very fierce competition between the two entities - and I guess that's a good thing,” he said. “But this is a positive sign, a sign of the times. I think Atlantic City casinos are trying to work together more than ever before, too.”
The Connecticut casinos' collaboration was not born of dissatisfaction with other campaigns that market the region, Etess said, adding, “It would be nice if this part of Connecticut received more recognition as the primary driver of the state as a destination for out-of-staters. Perhaps it should receive a better share of the (tourism) funding, but that's a separate issue.”
With most state workers serving a furlough Monday, state tourism officials were unavailable to comment.
"Regional"
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Good job Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods. The only thing is that the two casinos should have been working together for years with the State of Connecticut, the Federal Government and local governments, to get things done that would benefit both casinos. This should have started years ago. Maybe, late is better then never. The bottom line is both casinos are taking a bath, they need to generate a lot of income. BIG BUCKS. Both casinos have a long, long way to turn their business's around. What do you think?
Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun come together to promote an 'unparalleled destination'
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 7/7/2009
Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, long the fiercest of rivals, have joined forces to take dead aim at their main competition: Atlantic City's 11 casinos.
Collaborating on a marketing campaign that promotes southeastern Connecticut as “an unparalleled resort destination,” the tribally owned casinos launched their attack Monday online and on billboards on Interstate 80 in New Jersey, the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95), the Atlantic City Expressway and the Long Island Expressway (I-495).
View the joint billboard campaign
”This is a clear case of the sum of the parts being greater than the whole and we are excited to partner with our neighbor, Mohegan Sun, in this historic undertaking,” Michael Speller, president of Foxwoods' Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprises, said in a statement. “We feel the collective amenities we offer to consumers are on par, if not better than, any resort destination in the world.”
The collaboration grew out of meetings among Speller, who arrived at Foxwoods last December; Mitchell Etess, the Mohegan Sun president and chief executive officer; and other top casino and tribal officials, according to Robert Victoria, Foxwoods' senior vice president of consumer marketing. Local tourism officials were kept apprised of the effort, Victoria said.
The billboards and the Web site, www.playCTcasinos.com, will remain in place through September, at which time the campaign's effectiveness will be evaluated, Victoria said. At that point, a print-advertising component could be launched.
The casinos are contributing an equal share to the campaign, though no casino official would say how much.
”It's very important for us to get people to look at the Connecticut casinos as a destination,” Etess said. “It's Atlantic City or Connecticut - not Atlantic City or Mohegan Sun, or Atlantic City or Foxwoods. … We're targeting the North Jersey area, where we think we can generate new revenues.”
THE MESSAGE
The Foxwoods-Mohegan Sun campaign, devised by the Adams & Knight agency of Avon, includes eight billboards placed in northern New Jersey, metropolitan New York and on Long Island with the following message:
The Foxwoods-Mohegan Sun campaign, devised by the Adams & Knight agency of Avon, includes eight billboards placed in northern New Jersey, metropolitan New York and on Long Island with the following message:
Two worlds beat one City.
Way beyond the boredwalk.
Escape the Jersey snore.
Tony Sheridan, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, said he would not comment on the casinos' campaign until he had received official word of it. Donna Simpson, executive director of the Eastern Regional Tourism District, was unavailable.
While noting that the Foxwoods-Mohegan Sun alliance was rare if not unprecedented among tribal casinos, industry analysts said casinos in other gaming markets have long pooled their marketing efforts and resources.
”For a long time, Las Vegas has been marketing itself as Las Vegas, not as Caesar's Palace,” said Clyde Barrow, director of the Center for Public Analysis at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. “Atlantic City's been doing it for a decade.”
Barrow described the alliance as “the logical culmination of a trajectory they've been on for some time.”
”They're in very stiff competition with Atlantic City, New York, Pennsylvania and likely Massachusetts,” he said. “If Massachusetts gets gambling, it's going to recapture a sizable piece of the regional gaming market. That's why Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun have to be part of a larger tourist destination. This could be the start of them becoming a national or international destination.
”Atlantic City casinos view themselves as competing with and losing to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. They don't have the same convention space, the entertainment, the golf courses.”
In a report last month on the economic and social impacts of gambling in Connecticut, the New Jersey-based Spectrum Gaming Group found that the state's promotion of tourism is fragmented and underfunded and that the casinos could be bettered “leveraged.”
Michael Diamond, the Spectrum researcher who led the study, said he was pleased to hear of the Foxwoods-Mohegan Sun alliance.
”There seemed to be very fierce competition between the two entities - and I guess that's a good thing,” he said. “But this is a positive sign, a sign of the times. I think Atlantic City casinos are trying to work together more than ever before, too.”
The Connecticut casinos' collaboration was not born of dissatisfaction with other campaigns that market the region, Etess said, adding, “It would be nice if this part of Connecticut received more recognition as the primary driver of the state as a destination for out-of-staters. Perhaps it should receive a better share of the (tourism) funding, but that's a separate issue.”
With most state workers serving a furlough Monday, state tourism officials were unavailable to comment.
"Regional"
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Good job Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods. The only thing is that the two casinos should have been working together for years with the State of Connecticut, the Federal Government and local governments, to get things done that would benefit both casinos. This should have started years ago. Maybe, late is better then never. The bottom line is both casinos are taking a bath, they need to generate a lot of income. BIG BUCKS. Both casinos have a long, long way to turn their business's around. What do you think?
Sunday, July 5, 2009
FOURTH OF JULY FIREWORKS IN NORWICH
By EMILY GROVES
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jul 04, 2009 @ 11:19 PM
Last update Jul 04, 2009 @ 11:37 PM
Norwich, Conn. —
Thousands turned out to Howard T. Brown Memorial Park in Norwich Saturday for the Fourth of July fireworks that almost weren’t, but were saved by a monthlong fundraising drive.“I’m just happy they did,” Jaimey Romanoff of Preston said. “There are a lot of little kids that will enjoy this and maybe some big ones, too.
”The annual spectacle went off over Norwich Harbor Saturday night, despite a month of worries of how to pay for them.The fireworks originally were to be put on by the 350th Anniversary Committee. But the group ran into financial trouble.Norwich resident Tiena Ellis said she was very upset when she heard the fireworks funding was in jeopardy.
“I was like please don’t, please don’t” cancel the fireworks, Ellis said. “I just did a lot of praying.”Donations from residents and local businesses saved the Rose City tradition, raising $42,000 for the display.“I was surprised how much they raised,” Marsha Prokop of Lisbon said. “It was good to see, especially with the economy. It’s good to have this kind of thing to bring out the families.
”But other residents said they never doubted the fireworks would happen.“Somehow they always come through,” Judy Avery of Lisbon said.“I knew they’d have them one way or another,” Debbie Brooke of Willimantic said.Getting good spotsPeople from across the region filled the park along the harbor with lawn chairs and blankets in the hours leading up to the fireworks.“We wanted to come here where the good fireworks are,” Nicole West, 8, of Jewett City said.\
Denise Dembinski said she arrived at the park at 2 p.m. to reserve her favorite waterfront spot. “I try to get this corner every year,” Dembinski said. She said she arrived extra early this year because she expected bigger crowds because the holiday was on a Saturday.She said in the seven hours before the fireworks began, she read, took a nap and ate the supper she had packed.Mike Gardner and Andrew Ledogar of Hampton said the Norwich fireworks are “the best around.”“The reflection in the water makes them even better,” Ledogar said. \
If you go
Norwich’s 350th anniversary parade steps off at 1 p.m. today from Chelsea parade.It will travel along Broadway to Broad Street, to McKinley Avenue, Franklin Street and Main Street and end at Chelsea Groton Bank.
'Tea Party Patriots' exercise right to assemble
Published on 7/4/2009
Norwich - The Connecticut Second District Tea Party Patriots held a rally on Chelsea Parade in Norwich Saturday, July 4, 2009. About 300 filled the north end of the parade by the Civil War memorial to hear speakers "encourage elected officials to exercise fiscal restraint, rein in government growth and support free market economic principals" according to an organization's press release. State Rep. Chris Coutu of the 47th district spoke as did former 2nd district congressman Rob Simmons\
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: The fireworks in Norwich were great, some of the best fireworks I have ever seen.
The tea party was great. People talking about how the federal government is over spending, that U.S. Citizens, great great grandchildren, will be paying. People wanting smaller more efficent government. Government that listens to its people. Is this the way it is at the Mohegan government? Is the Mohegan Government doing the same thing? What is the tribe's debt? How many generations will pay for the bad deals of this Mohegan Tribal Council? Is the Mohegan Tribal Council responsive to its members? Do you know?
The Norwich parade on Sunday, was really good too. I especially liked the old cars, and the fire engines. Where was the Mohegan Tribe? Oh, I remember, the tribe couldn't get enough people to march, so we didn't do it. Where was the leadership, to be a part of the event? How come, the Tribal Council and the Council of Elders, didn't get it done? Do you know? What do you think?
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jul 04, 2009 @ 11:19 PM
Last update Jul 04, 2009 @ 11:37 PM
Norwich, Conn. —
Thousands turned out to Howard T. Brown Memorial Park in Norwich Saturday for the Fourth of July fireworks that almost weren’t, but were saved by a monthlong fundraising drive.“I’m just happy they did,” Jaimey Romanoff of Preston said. “There are a lot of little kids that will enjoy this and maybe some big ones, too.
”The annual spectacle went off over Norwich Harbor Saturday night, despite a month of worries of how to pay for them.The fireworks originally were to be put on by the 350th Anniversary Committee. But the group ran into financial trouble.Norwich resident Tiena Ellis said she was very upset when she heard the fireworks funding was in jeopardy.
“I was like please don’t, please don’t” cancel the fireworks, Ellis said. “I just did a lot of praying.”Donations from residents and local businesses saved the Rose City tradition, raising $42,000 for the display.“I was surprised how much they raised,” Marsha Prokop of Lisbon said. “It was good to see, especially with the economy. It’s good to have this kind of thing to bring out the families.
”But other residents said they never doubted the fireworks would happen.“Somehow they always come through,” Judy Avery of Lisbon said.“I knew they’d have them one way or another,” Debbie Brooke of Willimantic said.Getting good spotsPeople from across the region filled the park along the harbor with lawn chairs and blankets in the hours leading up to the fireworks.“We wanted to come here where the good fireworks are,” Nicole West, 8, of Jewett City said.\
Denise Dembinski said she arrived at the park at 2 p.m. to reserve her favorite waterfront spot. “I try to get this corner every year,” Dembinski said. She said she arrived extra early this year because she expected bigger crowds because the holiday was on a Saturday.She said in the seven hours before the fireworks began, she read, took a nap and ate the supper she had packed.Mike Gardner and Andrew Ledogar of Hampton said the Norwich fireworks are “the best around.”“The reflection in the water makes them even better,” Ledogar said. \
If you go
Norwich’s 350th anniversary parade steps off at 1 p.m. today from Chelsea parade.It will travel along Broadway to Broad Street, to McKinley Avenue, Franklin Street and Main Street and end at Chelsea Groton Bank.
'Tea Party Patriots' exercise right to assemble
Published on 7/4/2009
Norwich - The Connecticut Second District Tea Party Patriots held a rally on Chelsea Parade in Norwich Saturday, July 4, 2009. About 300 filled the north end of the parade by the Civil War memorial to hear speakers "encourage elected officials to exercise fiscal restraint, rein in government growth and support free market economic principals" according to an organization's press release. State Rep. Chris Coutu of the 47th district spoke as did former 2nd district congressman Rob Simmons\
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: The fireworks in Norwich were great, some of the best fireworks I have ever seen.
The tea party was great. People talking about how the federal government is over spending, that U.S. Citizens, great great grandchildren, will be paying. People wanting smaller more efficent government. Government that listens to its people. Is this the way it is at the Mohegan government? Is the Mohegan Government doing the same thing? What is the tribe's debt? How many generations will pay for the bad deals of this Mohegan Tribal Council? Is the Mohegan Tribal Council responsive to its members? Do you know?
The Norwich parade on Sunday, was really good too. I especially liked the old cars, and the fire engines. Where was the Mohegan Tribe? Oh, I remember, the tribe couldn't get enough people to march, so we didn't do it. Where was the leadership, to be a part of the event? How come, the Tribal Council and the Council of Elders, didn't get it done? Do you know? What do you think?
Friday, July 3, 2009
SUN LOSE TO THE FEVER
Third unkind for Sun
The Associated Press
Posted Jul 02, 2009 @ 11:46 PM
Ashford, Conn
—
INDIANAPOLIS — Tammy Sutton-Brown had 14 points and 14 rebounds to help the Indiana Fever beat the Connecticut Sun, 67-53, Thursday night and win a franchise-record seventh game in a row.
The Fever held Connecticut scoreless for the first 4:37 of the second half during an 11-0 run to take control. Connecticut didn’t make a field goal until 4:40 remained in the quarter.“I just think this was two teams that play similar styles of defense, and they were better at it tonight we were,” Sun coach Mike Thibault said. “We shot poorly. Part of it is them, part of it was us.”
Katie Douglas scored 14 points and Tamika Catchings and Ebony Hoffman each scored 10 for Indiana (7-2), which has the WNBA’s best record.Lindsay Whalen scored 11 points and Asjha Jones added 10 for the Sun (4-4), whose three-game winning streak ended.
“We’ve been talking about starting better, and tonight was a setback,’ Whalen said. “We got ourselves into big holes to start each half, and the second half we were never able to get back out of it.”Sutton-Brown had 10 points and 11 rebounds in the first half to help Indiana take a 37-30 lead at halftime.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Four wins and four losses. Does Mike Thibault have the pulse of the team? It is still early in the season, but we (the Connecticut Sun fans), need our team to play better. What do you think?
'
'
The Associated Press
Posted Jul 02, 2009 @ 11:46 PM
Ashford, Conn
—
INDIANAPOLIS — Tammy Sutton-Brown had 14 points and 14 rebounds to help the Indiana Fever beat the Connecticut Sun, 67-53, Thursday night and win a franchise-record seventh game in a row.
The Fever held Connecticut scoreless for the first 4:37 of the second half during an 11-0 run to take control. Connecticut didn’t make a field goal until 4:40 remained in the quarter.“I just think this was two teams that play similar styles of defense, and they were better at it tonight we were,” Sun coach Mike Thibault said. “We shot poorly. Part of it is them, part of it was us.”
Katie Douglas scored 14 points and Tamika Catchings and Ebony Hoffman each scored 10 for Indiana (7-2), which has the WNBA’s best record.Lindsay Whalen scored 11 points and Asjha Jones added 10 for the Sun (4-4), whose three-game winning streak ended.
“We’ve been talking about starting better, and tonight was a setback,’ Whalen said. “We got ourselves into big holes to start each half, and the second half we were never able to get back out of it.”Sutton-Brown had 10 points and 11 rebounds in the first half to help Indiana take a 37-30 lead at halftime.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Four wins and four losses. Does Mike Thibault have the pulse of the team? It is still early in the season, but we (the Connecticut Sun fans), need our team to play better. What do you think?
'
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Wednesday, July 1, 2009
THREE RESTAURANTS OPEN TODAY AT MOHEGAN SUN
Mohegan Sun's new expansion offers affordable eateries
Revamped Winter Entrance, 3 restaurants unveiled today
By JAMES MOSHER
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 30, 2009 @ 11:43 PM
Mohegan, Conn. —
With routes to consumers’ gambling wallets blocked by the recession, Mohegan Sun hopes to reach them through their stomachs.The casino is scheduled to unveil a major expansion, opening three restaurants and a reconfigured Winter Entrance
Today’s event, which features 11 a.m. ribbon-cuttings, is the largest introduction of culinary offerings since the casino opened its shops concourse in 2001, spokeswoman Cathy Soper said. Additional gambling isn’t on the menu, but recession-conscious pricing is.
“These are all nongaming entities and all pretty affordable,” Soper said. Headlining the occasion will be the opening of Bobby’s Burger Palace in the Casino of the Earth. The hamburger restaurant, owned by renowned chef and TV personality Bobby Flay, will be followed by another Flay creation, Bar Americain, this autumn.
These ventures seem poised to mirror the success of David Burke’s businesses at Foxwoods Resort Casino. Burke opened a burger emporium followed by David Burke Prime, a steakhouse that was named Connecticut’s top new restaurant in the most recent Zagat Survey.
Mohegan Sun’s top officer eschewed the notion of copying his rival.“This has nothing to do with Foxwoods,” CEO Mitchell Etess said during a tour of the $41 million expansion Tuesday.Local customersRather, Etess and others said, the project is aimed at capturing more of the local market with attractive pricing and amenities.
A standard burger at Bobby’s costs only $6.50.“The price point is just right,” Etess said.
A new concourse for the Winter garage and parking lot connects it with the casino’s winter entrance, so patrons no longer need to go outside.“This will make it a lot easier for our local customers to come and go,” he said.
Also in the mix is an appeal using well-known Connecticut attractions. Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, beloved for decades thanks to its original New Haven store, is among the eateries opening today. “Everybody in Connecticut knows Pepe’s,” Lindsay Todd, a Mohegan Sun marketing intern, said during the tour.Fidelia’s Market, eventually to be home to five restaurants, will also open with its Jasper White’s Summer Shack Express starting business today. Francis Rosselli, co-owner of Pepe’s Pizza and grandson of founder Frank Pepe, is scheduled to be at today’s openings.
Tribal Chairman Bruce “Two Dogs” Bozsum is slated to attend, as are Etess and Flay.“It’s very exciting,” Etess said. “Everything seems very well integrated.”
Route 2A workThe new restaurant and commuter areas, part of Project Horizon, are also linked with an ongoing Route 2A highway project and a planned Earth Hotel Tower.
The tower’s construction remains suspended because of the recession.
The roadwork, slated for completion at the end of this month, was aimed at creating easier access to the tower, but should help in other ways.
“Getting out of Mohegan Sun hasn’t been easy for some time,” Etess said. “This (project) will help us solve a nagging problem. A lot of good things are happening.”
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: The new food area has a ribbon cutting at 11:00 A.M., this morning. See you there. What about the HOTEL that wasn't built? Was it the economy or poor planning by the Tribal Council? You mean, they didn't know about Twin Rivers or the casinos in New York? Are you kidding me? Off course, they knew. Bad planning, again. The new connection to the Winter Garage, goes to the garage and not where the hotel was going to be located. Go to the Winter Garage and look at the doomed hotel, and make your own opinion. Another mess. What do you think?
Revamped Winter Entrance, 3 restaurants unveiled today
By JAMES MOSHER
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 30, 2009 @ 11:43 PM
Mohegan, Conn. —
With routes to consumers’ gambling wallets blocked by the recession, Mohegan Sun hopes to reach them through their stomachs.The casino is scheduled to unveil a major expansion, opening three restaurants and a reconfigured Winter Entrance
Today’s event, which features 11 a.m. ribbon-cuttings, is the largest introduction of culinary offerings since the casino opened its shops concourse in 2001, spokeswoman Cathy Soper said. Additional gambling isn’t on the menu, but recession-conscious pricing is.
“These are all nongaming entities and all pretty affordable,” Soper said. Headlining the occasion will be the opening of Bobby’s Burger Palace in the Casino of the Earth. The hamburger restaurant, owned by renowned chef and TV personality Bobby Flay, will be followed by another Flay creation, Bar Americain, this autumn.
These ventures seem poised to mirror the success of David Burke’s businesses at Foxwoods Resort Casino. Burke opened a burger emporium followed by David Burke Prime, a steakhouse that was named Connecticut’s top new restaurant in the most recent Zagat Survey.
Mohegan Sun’s top officer eschewed the notion of copying his rival.“This has nothing to do with Foxwoods,” CEO Mitchell Etess said during a tour of the $41 million expansion Tuesday.Local customersRather, Etess and others said, the project is aimed at capturing more of the local market with attractive pricing and amenities.
A standard burger at Bobby’s costs only $6.50.“The price point is just right,” Etess said.
A new concourse for the Winter garage and parking lot connects it with the casino’s winter entrance, so patrons no longer need to go outside.“This will make it a lot easier for our local customers to come and go,” he said.
Also in the mix is an appeal using well-known Connecticut attractions. Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, beloved for decades thanks to its original New Haven store, is among the eateries opening today. “Everybody in Connecticut knows Pepe’s,” Lindsay Todd, a Mohegan Sun marketing intern, said during the tour.Fidelia’s Market, eventually to be home to five restaurants, will also open with its Jasper White’s Summer Shack Express starting business today. Francis Rosselli, co-owner of Pepe’s Pizza and grandson of founder Frank Pepe, is scheduled to be at today’s openings.
Tribal Chairman Bruce “Two Dogs” Bozsum is slated to attend, as are Etess and Flay.“It’s very exciting,” Etess said. “Everything seems very well integrated.”
Route 2A workThe new restaurant and commuter areas, part of Project Horizon, are also linked with an ongoing Route 2A highway project and a planned Earth Hotel Tower.
The tower’s construction remains suspended because of the recession.
The roadwork, slated for completion at the end of this month, was aimed at creating easier access to the tower, but should help in other ways.
“Getting out of Mohegan Sun hasn’t been easy for some time,” Etess said. “This (project) will help us solve a nagging problem. A lot of good things are happening.”
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: The new food area has a ribbon cutting at 11:00 A.M., this morning. See you there. What about the HOTEL that wasn't built? Was it the economy or poor planning by the Tribal Council? You mean, they didn't know about Twin Rivers or the casinos in New York? Are you kidding me? Off course, they knew. Bad planning, again. The new connection to the Winter Garage, goes to the garage and not where the hotel was going to be located. Go to the Winter Garage and look at the doomed hotel, and make your own opinion. Another mess. What do you think?
Monday, June 29, 2009
MOHEGAN SUN TRYING TO ATTRACT CUSTOMERS?
Eastern Connecticut casinos offer bargains in hopes of attracting tourists
By WILLIAM SOKOLIC
For The Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 28, 2009 @ 11:33 PM
In the past, summer marked a high time for tourism in Connecticut.
No need to cut room rates. No reason to offer dinner specials.Not so this summer.
Casino resorts such as Mohegan Sun are looking for ways to attract visitors in an economy that is still reeling.
“We realize what the economic times are like now and are aware guests and potential customers need value-created offers, rather than discount everything. There are myriad things we’ve done,” said Mitchell Etess, CEO and president of Mohegan Sun. “We call it the stimulus recovery.
” Other hotels and attractions have taken similar tacks. “The summer is usually a good time to hold pat. But this year we are seeing discounts as part of the picture,” said Randy Fiveash, tourism director for the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.Mohegan Sun features seven packages this summer, from $99 up to $239 a person.
The $99 room includes a $25 food and beverage credit. Food specials include a $15 meal in Birches Bar & Grill, Etess said.
Even the new restaurants opening this summer speak to value. Bobby Flay Burger Palace and Pepe’s Pizza are low-priced for the economy.
“We’re promoting free concerts in the Wolf Den,” he said, with headliners such as Edgar Winter, Bo Bice and Three Dog Night.
“We’re also conscious about showroom ticket prices. They can get very expensive.” Many shows offer tickets from $30 to $55.
$5 table gamesThe low limit $5 table game pit introduced at Mohegan Sun in February grew from six tables to 18, Etess said. In addition to 13 blackjack tables, the casino includes Spanish 21, roulette and big wheel, all low-limit every day. “We never had that before. It’s being driven by the economy,” he said.
The casino also is experimenting with $5 tables in other pits during mid-week. And hundreds of slots accept pennies, and some even half pennies. While the games usually attract gamblers who bet far more than a single penny per spin, the one-cent option is available.
The tourism commission is promoting staycations by offering discounts from dozens of local establishments to entice in-state visits.
The Slater Memorial Museum in Norwich, for example, offers free admission on Sundays and Roseland Cottage Museum in Woodstock has $1 off admission Wednesdays through Fridays.“I think all of this will help,” Fiveash said.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Mohegan Tribal Members are invited to a pregrand opening of Pepe's Pizza and Bobby Flay, today Monday June 29, 2009, in the Earth Casino of the Mohegan Sun. Tribal members must show their Tribal Id's to be able to attend. You may bring a guest. There will be free burgers and pizza. The time is 5:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. Tell your friends. Have fun. What do you think?
By WILLIAM SOKOLIC
For The Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 28, 2009 @ 11:33 PM
In the past, summer marked a high time for tourism in Connecticut.
No need to cut room rates. No reason to offer dinner specials.Not so this summer.
Casino resorts such as Mohegan Sun are looking for ways to attract visitors in an economy that is still reeling.
“We realize what the economic times are like now and are aware guests and potential customers need value-created offers, rather than discount everything. There are myriad things we’ve done,” said Mitchell Etess, CEO and president of Mohegan Sun. “We call it the stimulus recovery.
” Other hotels and attractions have taken similar tacks. “The summer is usually a good time to hold pat. But this year we are seeing discounts as part of the picture,” said Randy Fiveash, tourism director for the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.Mohegan Sun features seven packages this summer, from $99 up to $239 a person.
The $99 room includes a $25 food and beverage credit. Food specials include a $15 meal in Birches Bar & Grill, Etess said.
Even the new restaurants opening this summer speak to value. Bobby Flay Burger Palace and Pepe’s Pizza are low-priced for the economy.
“We’re promoting free concerts in the Wolf Den,” he said, with headliners such as Edgar Winter, Bo Bice and Three Dog Night.
“We’re also conscious about showroom ticket prices. They can get very expensive.” Many shows offer tickets from $30 to $55.
$5 table gamesThe low limit $5 table game pit introduced at Mohegan Sun in February grew from six tables to 18, Etess said. In addition to 13 blackjack tables, the casino includes Spanish 21, roulette and big wheel, all low-limit every day. “We never had that before. It’s being driven by the economy,” he said.
The casino also is experimenting with $5 tables in other pits during mid-week. And hundreds of slots accept pennies, and some even half pennies. While the games usually attract gamblers who bet far more than a single penny per spin, the one-cent option is available.
The tourism commission is promoting staycations by offering discounts from dozens of local establishments to entice in-state visits.
The Slater Memorial Museum in Norwich, for example, offers free admission on Sundays and Roseland Cottage Museum in Woodstock has $1 off admission Wednesdays through Fridays.“I think all of this will help,” Fiveash said.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Mohegan Tribal Members are invited to a pregrand opening of Pepe's Pizza and Bobby Flay, today Monday June 29, 2009, in the Earth Casino of the Mohegan Sun. Tribal members must show their Tribal Id's to be able to attend. You may bring a guest. There will be free burgers and pizza. The time is 5:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. Tell your friends. Have fun. What do you think?
Saturday, June 27, 2009
DISTRIBUTIONS OF CASINO REVENUES
State's Distribution Of Casino Revenue Faulted In Report
Towns frustrated, findings suggest 'regional approach'
Published on 6/27/2009
While documenting the tribal casinos' undeniable impact on Connecticut's economy, a report released Friday also finds that the state fails to distribute its share of the casinos' revenues in an equitable way.
Titled “Gambling in Connecticut: Analyzing the Economic and Social Impacts,” the report recommends the state address the negative effects Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun have on the towns closest to them.
”It cries out for a regional approach,” said Michael Diamond, vice president of research for the Spectrum Gaming Group of Linwood, N.J., which prepared the report. “What affects municipalities doesn't stop at their boundaries. We found there was tremendous frustration on the part of the towns. We point out that other casino jurisdictions have set up separate funds for specific local impacts
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: The way i see it, the towns around the two Connecticut casinos, have been saying they don't get enough of the revenue that the State of Connecticut redistributes back to the different towns in the entire state. What needs to be realized, in my opinion, is that the casinos have no control (say) on what the state does with the money. The towns have a legitimate beef. What do you think?
Towns frustrated, findings suggest 'regional approach'
Published on 6/27/2009
While documenting the tribal casinos' undeniable impact on Connecticut's economy, a report released Friday also finds that the state fails to distribute its share of the casinos' revenues in an equitable way.
Titled “Gambling in Connecticut: Analyzing the Economic and Social Impacts,” the report recommends the state address the negative effects Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun have on the towns closest to them.
”It cries out for a regional approach,” said Michael Diamond, vice president of research for the Spectrum Gaming Group of Linwood, N.J., which prepared the report. “What affects municipalities doesn't stop at their boundaries. We found there was tremendous frustration on the part of the towns. We point out that other casino jurisdictions have set up separate funds for specific local impacts
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: The way i see it, the towns around the two Connecticut casinos, have been saying they don't get enough of the revenue that the State of Connecticut redistributes back to the different towns in the entire state. What needs to be realized, in my opinion, is that the casinos have no control (say) on what the state does with the money. The towns have a legitimate beef. What do you think?
ALLEGED STEALING AT MICROTEL INN
Hotel Employee Accused Of Embezzlement
Published on 6/23/2009
A former employee of the Microtel Inn & Suites in Montville is accused of embezzling $39,363 by stealing from the hotel's weekly deposits.
Matthew Morton, 41, of 9 Alscot Drive, East Lyme, former assistant general manager of the hotel, was fired in January after admitting to the hotel's general manager that he had stolen money from the deposits to support a $150 a day pain killer habit. He said he had been drinking a six-pack of beer at lunch every day and was “in a daze all the time,” according to an arrest warrant affidavit prepared by Montville police officer David Radford.
Morton, who is charged with first-degree larceny and embezzlement, posted a $1,000 cash bond following his arraignment Friday. He is scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Norwich on July 9. Defense attorney Gregg W. Wagman said his client became addicted to pain killers after taking them for a back injury and that Morton has been through rehabilitation and is now employed elsewhere.
Morton told a superior who interviewed him that he began stealing from the hotel in the fall of 2008. He said he was responsible for making deposits and would sometimes wait a week before going to the bank. He said he would open all the deposit bags and take money, then use funds from the current week's deposits to cover the amount stolen.
Morton said he started taking $50 to $60 “here and there” from the hotel's deposits. He said he began having “liquid lunches” every day then take a couple of Oxycodone pills.
Morton's superior, general manager Ty Coleman, was suspended and then fired following the discovery of the thefts, according to the warrant affidavit.
- Karen Florin
"Regional"
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: The accused person, is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The purpose of the story is Uncasville, Connecticut, is not the sleepy country town that it used to be. With progress, development, and the casinos, etc. has brought crime to the area. In my opinion, my readers, from around the country, need to know what is going on around here, so they can become more informed. This is not utopia, that our (the Mohegan Tribe) wants you to believe. What do you think?
Published on 6/23/2009
A former employee of the Microtel Inn & Suites in Montville is accused of embezzling $39,363 by stealing from the hotel's weekly deposits.
Matthew Morton, 41, of 9 Alscot Drive, East Lyme, former assistant general manager of the hotel, was fired in January after admitting to the hotel's general manager that he had stolen money from the deposits to support a $150 a day pain killer habit. He said he had been drinking a six-pack of beer at lunch every day and was “in a daze all the time,” according to an arrest warrant affidavit prepared by Montville police officer David Radford.
Morton, who is charged with first-degree larceny and embezzlement, posted a $1,000 cash bond following his arraignment Friday. He is scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Norwich on July 9. Defense attorney Gregg W. Wagman said his client became addicted to pain killers after taking them for a back injury and that Morton has been through rehabilitation and is now employed elsewhere.
Morton told a superior who interviewed him that he began stealing from the hotel in the fall of 2008. He said he was responsible for making deposits and would sometimes wait a week before going to the bank. He said he would open all the deposit bags and take money, then use funds from the current week's deposits to cover the amount stolen.
Morton said he started taking $50 to $60 “here and there” from the hotel's deposits. He said he began having “liquid lunches” every day then take a couple of Oxycodone pills.
Morton's superior, general manager Ty Coleman, was suspended and then fired following the discovery of the thefts, according to the warrant affidavit.
- Karen Florin
"Regional"
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: The accused person, is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The purpose of the story is Uncasville, Connecticut, is not the sleepy country town that it used to be. With progress, development, and the casinos, etc. has brought crime to the area. In my opinion, my readers, from around the country, need to know what is going on around here, so they can become more informed. This is not utopia, that our (the Mohegan Tribe) wants you to believe. What do you think?
Friday, June 26, 2009
COULD THIS BE THE MOHEGAN TRIBE NEXT?
Buffalo Thunder misses bond payment
Related
Casino feeling effects of economic downturn
Kate Nash The New Mexican
6/24/2009 - 6/25/09
Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino in Pojoaque wasn't able to make a nearly $11.5 million payment this month on the $245 million bond for the resort and is working with note holders to restructure terms of the deal.
The new terms have yet to be agreed on, but Robert Moore, a financial restructuring partner with the international law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, said in a statement that the companies holding the notes "are engaged in a constructive dialogue with the Pueblo of Pojoaque, the bond issuer Buffalo Thunder Development Authority, and the bond guarantors Pojoaque Gaming and Buffalo Thunder, regarding the June 15 semi-annual coupon default."
Moore is a Los Angeles attorney for a committee that represents 90 percent of the bond holders, some of whom met at the resort June 15 to figure out a plan to go forward.
The lavish, 395-room resort north of Santa Fe opened in August. Hilton Hotels manages the resort and handles bookings while the pueblo runs the on-site casino. The facility includes a spa, several restaurants, a golf course and a $5,000-a-night Governor's Suite.
Pojoaque Pueblo Gov. George Rivera said the pueblo has been hit hard by the economy, just like everyone else.
"We're working with our investors, we're talking about the economic conditions and trying to get through this downturn in the economy," he said.
"We're just concentrating on trying to get the market expanded for Buffalo Thunder," Rivera said.
Among other things, the pueblo is reaching out to companies including American Airlines, which has a new direct flight from Dallas to Santa Fe, to attract customers and drum up new business.
The pueblo also seems to have stepped up advertising in local markets recently, with prevalent television, Internet and billboard ads.
Pojoaque Pueblo is not alone in feeling the economy's pinch. Several big-name casinos including in Las Vegas, Nev., are suffering and Indian and non-Indian gaming revenues are down across the country. In New Mexico, even though two new casinos came online in the past year, casino net wins dropped by almost $2.5 million in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same time period last year, records show.
The net win is the amount gambled on machines minus the amount paid in cash and noncash prizes as well as fees.
For the first quarter 2009, the total net win was $173,364,770. For the first quarter 2008, it was $175,791,147, according to the New Mexico Gaming Control Board.
Between the first quarters of 2008 and 2009, both Pojoaque Pueblo and the Navajo Nation opened new casinos.
Unlike other casinos in the state, Pojoaque nearly doubled its net win, up from $6.3 million in the first quarter of 2008 to just more than $12 million this year. The pueblo also operates Cities of Gold Casino in Pojoaque.
Fourteen tribes operate gaming facilities in the New Mexico. The tribes pay a share of their gaming revenues to the state each quarter, which for the first quarter of this year was nearly $16 million.
Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog at www.greenchilechatter.com.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Could this happen to the Mohegan Tribe, who owns the Mohegan Sun Casino and the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs? When does the MYGA ever make a payment? Do we just pay the interest?
IF YOU KEEP DOING THE SAME THINGS OVER AND OVER AGAIN EXPECTING TO GET A DIFFERENT RESULT, IT IS INSANITY.
The present Mohegan Tribal Council, in my opinion, continues to do just that. The fact is when these people took office four (4) years ago, the MTGA was $1.2 Billion in debt, today we (the Mohegan Tribe) are $1.6 Billion in debt.
Can we afford more leadership like this? Is it time for a change? What do you think?
Related
Casino feeling effects of economic downturn
Kate Nash The New Mexican
6/24/2009 - 6/25/09
Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino in Pojoaque wasn't able to make a nearly $11.5 million payment this month on the $245 million bond for the resort and is working with note holders to restructure terms of the deal.
The new terms have yet to be agreed on, but Robert Moore, a financial restructuring partner with the international law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, said in a statement that the companies holding the notes "are engaged in a constructive dialogue with the Pueblo of Pojoaque, the bond issuer Buffalo Thunder Development Authority, and the bond guarantors Pojoaque Gaming and Buffalo Thunder, regarding the June 15 semi-annual coupon default."
Moore is a Los Angeles attorney for a committee that represents 90 percent of the bond holders, some of whom met at the resort June 15 to figure out a plan to go forward.
The lavish, 395-room resort north of Santa Fe opened in August. Hilton Hotels manages the resort and handles bookings while the pueblo runs the on-site casino. The facility includes a spa, several restaurants, a golf course and a $5,000-a-night Governor's Suite.
Pojoaque Pueblo Gov. George Rivera said the pueblo has been hit hard by the economy, just like everyone else.
"We're working with our investors, we're talking about the economic conditions and trying to get through this downturn in the economy," he said.
"We're just concentrating on trying to get the market expanded for Buffalo Thunder," Rivera said.
Among other things, the pueblo is reaching out to companies including American Airlines, which has a new direct flight from Dallas to Santa Fe, to attract customers and drum up new business.
The pueblo also seems to have stepped up advertising in local markets recently, with prevalent television, Internet and billboard ads.
Pojoaque Pueblo is not alone in feeling the economy's pinch. Several big-name casinos including in Las Vegas, Nev., are suffering and Indian and non-Indian gaming revenues are down across the country. In New Mexico, even though two new casinos came online in the past year, casino net wins dropped by almost $2.5 million in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same time period last year, records show.
The net win is the amount gambled on machines minus the amount paid in cash and noncash prizes as well as fees.
For the first quarter 2009, the total net win was $173,364,770. For the first quarter 2008, it was $175,791,147, according to the New Mexico Gaming Control Board.
Between the first quarters of 2008 and 2009, both Pojoaque Pueblo and the Navajo Nation opened new casinos.
Unlike other casinos in the state, Pojoaque nearly doubled its net win, up from $6.3 million in the first quarter of 2008 to just more than $12 million this year. The pueblo also operates Cities of Gold Casino in Pojoaque.
Fourteen tribes operate gaming facilities in the New Mexico. The tribes pay a share of their gaming revenues to the state each quarter, which for the first quarter of this year was nearly $16 million.
Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog at www.greenchilechatter.com.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Could this happen to the Mohegan Tribe, who owns the Mohegan Sun Casino and the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs? When does the MYGA ever make a payment? Do we just pay the interest?
IF YOU KEEP DOING THE SAME THINGS OVER AND OVER AGAIN EXPECTING TO GET A DIFFERENT RESULT, IT IS INSANITY.
The present Mohegan Tribal Council, in my opinion, continues to do just that. The fact is when these people took office four (4) years ago, the MTGA was $1.2 Billion in debt, today we (the Mohegan Tribe) are $1.6 Billion in debt.
Can we afford more leadership like this? Is it time for a change? What do you think?
FOXWOODS NAMES NEW VICE PRESIDENT
Foxwoods names Mississippi casino veteran as vice president of finance
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By William Sokolic
For The Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 24, 2009 @ 11:30 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A former executive at casinos in Mississippi has joined Foxwoods Resort Casino as executive vice president of finance.
Edward Farrell will assist Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprises President Michael Speller in directing the financial strategy of the company and analyzing opportunities for expansion. In this capacity, he will oversee all company accounting practices including preparing budgets, financial reports and tax and audit functions, and will direct the projection of future company growth.
“Foxwoods has long been a leader on the casino resort landscape,” Farrell said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to join a team that is so committed to providing its guests with the best possible gaming and hospitality experience.”
Farrell comes onboard during a challenging time for casinos throughout the Northeast, as a combination of a poor economy and growing competition have taken a toll. Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun continue to experience year-over-year slot revenue declines. Atlantic City, N.J., casinos have suffered a similar fate for about two years, while the Twin River slot parlor — Rhode Island’s largest — filed for bankruptcy protection this week.
Neither Farrell nor Speller were available for further comment Wednesday. In a press release, Speller said, “Ed Farrell’s proven track record of success and keen understanding of the gaming and hospitality industries makes him a great fit for our team.”
Farrell, who has a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Nevada, Reno, arrived at Foxwoods from Harrah’s Entertainment in Tunica, Miss., where he had served as regional vice president of finance since 2005. He was responsible for overseeing the capital and operating budget process for Harrah’s Tunica and Horseshoe Casino-Hotel. He also worked as vice president of casino operations and vice president of finance and administration for Horseshoe Casino-Hotel.
Before joining Harrah’s, Farrell spent more than six years as executive vice president and CFO for Treasure Bay Resort Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Miss.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: The Mashantucket Pequot are taking their destiny into their own hands. They are hiring new people, and looking for new solutions, to the bad economic climate of the casino industry in Connecticut. This is a smart thing to do. How come the Mohegans Tribal Gaming Authority (the MTGA, the Mohegan Tribal Council), isn't doing something? Did they recently give the top executives at the Mohegan Sun Casino, new contracts? Are continuing losses acceptable? Should the MTGA be proactive? Is the MTGA, instead reactive? Could it be that the MTGA is sitting on their hands? Are these valid observations? What do you think?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By William Sokolic
For The Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 24, 2009 @ 11:30 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A former executive at casinos in Mississippi has joined Foxwoods Resort Casino as executive vice president of finance.
Edward Farrell will assist Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprises President Michael Speller in directing the financial strategy of the company and analyzing opportunities for expansion. In this capacity, he will oversee all company accounting practices including preparing budgets, financial reports and tax and audit functions, and will direct the projection of future company growth.
“Foxwoods has long been a leader on the casino resort landscape,” Farrell said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to join a team that is so committed to providing its guests with the best possible gaming and hospitality experience.”
Farrell comes onboard during a challenging time for casinos throughout the Northeast, as a combination of a poor economy and growing competition have taken a toll. Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun continue to experience year-over-year slot revenue declines. Atlantic City, N.J., casinos have suffered a similar fate for about two years, while the Twin River slot parlor — Rhode Island’s largest — filed for bankruptcy protection this week.
Neither Farrell nor Speller were available for further comment Wednesday. In a press release, Speller said, “Ed Farrell’s proven track record of success and keen understanding of the gaming and hospitality industries makes him a great fit for our team.”
Farrell, who has a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Nevada, Reno, arrived at Foxwoods from Harrah’s Entertainment in Tunica, Miss., where he had served as regional vice president of finance since 2005. He was responsible for overseeing the capital and operating budget process for Harrah’s Tunica and Horseshoe Casino-Hotel. He also worked as vice president of casino operations and vice president of finance and administration for Horseshoe Casino-Hotel.
Before joining Harrah’s, Farrell spent more than six years as executive vice president and CFO for Treasure Bay Resort Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Miss.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: The Mashantucket Pequot are taking their destiny into their own hands. They are hiring new people, and looking for new solutions, to the bad economic climate of the casino industry in Connecticut. This is a smart thing to do. How come the Mohegans Tribal Gaming Authority (the MTGA, the Mohegan Tribal Council), isn't doing something? Did they recently give the top executives at the Mohegan Sun Casino, new contracts? Are continuing losses acceptable? Should the MTGA be proactive? Is the MTGA, instead reactive? Could it be that the MTGA is sitting on their hands? Are these valid observations? What do you think?
Thursday, June 25, 2009
ROUTE 2 NEW ACCESS OPENS
Route 2 bypass eases access to Foxwoods
Mashantuckets dedicate $67 million highway project
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Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 23, 2009 @ 11:23 PM
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Ledyard, Conn. — There was some disagreement on its history and geography, but all concurred that it will be a major spur to business in Eastern Connecticut.
Leaders of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, who own Foxwoods Resort Casino, joined with state and local officials Tuesday to celebrate completion of a $67 million road project aimed at decreasing traffic congestion and improving business.
“We are happy to be here for many, many reasons,” Tribal Chairman Michael Thomas said. “This is an example of people coming together to create things that benefit us all.”
The new 64-foot-wide section of road contains two lanes for traffic in each direction, enabling motorists to bypass the casino when traveling to Misquamicut State Beach in Westerly.
Help to businesses
Several speakers at a morning ribbon-cutting ceremony predicted the Route 2 bypass will be a major help to Foxwoods, MGM Grand at Foxwoods and other local businesses. Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Uncasville have seen gaming revenues slump as the recession prompts consumers to curb discretionary spending.
“This is a shot in the arm for economic development in southeastern Connecticut,” said Michael Lonergan, bureau chief of highway operations at the state Department of Transportation, which oversaw construction.
The project, financed entirely by the tribe, was estimated to have taken anywhere from five to 15 years by different speakers at the overpass ceremony. One said the land was in Ledyard, while another said North Stonington. The new section of road runs through both towns. Others in attendance said it was more important to consider the impacts on commerce, safety and traffic.
Safer driving
“Any transportation improvements benefit all our communities,” Norwich City Manager Alan Bergren said. The likelihood of fewer traffic accidents pleased Bergren, noting that many Foxwoods employees live in Norwich.
A Route 2A project near Mohegan Sun, slated for completion at the end of July, will be another blow against traffic tie-ups, Montville Mayor Joseph Jaskiewicz said. The projects are finishing at a convenient time, Lonergan noted.
“This is the time of year when you have the beach traffic and the casino traffic,” he said. “It’s doubly important to keep people moving.”
Smoother travel will help regional tourism, said state Rep. Tom Reynolds, D-Ledyard.
A top executive at the lead contractor on the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun projects praised the gambling spirit of the Mashantuckets.
“This project is a quite a risk-taking,” said Stephen A. Cardi Sr., secretary and treasurer of Warwick-R.I.-based Cardi Corp. “I am truly proud to be part of this massive economic development project.”
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: I have taken a ride on the new section of Route 2 in front of the Foxwoods Resort Casino, it is really nice. It really should help traffic flow. The two lanes leading on to Route 2-A that the Mohegan Tribe built is really nice, too. What do you think?
Mashantuckets dedicate $67 million highway project
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Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 23, 2009 @ 11:23 PM
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Ledyard, Conn. — There was some disagreement on its history and geography, but all concurred that it will be a major spur to business in Eastern Connecticut.
Leaders of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, who own Foxwoods Resort Casino, joined with state and local officials Tuesday to celebrate completion of a $67 million road project aimed at decreasing traffic congestion and improving business.
“We are happy to be here for many, many reasons,” Tribal Chairman Michael Thomas said. “This is an example of people coming together to create things that benefit us all.”
The new 64-foot-wide section of road contains two lanes for traffic in each direction, enabling motorists to bypass the casino when traveling to Misquamicut State Beach in Westerly.
Help to businesses
Several speakers at a morning ribbon-cutting ceremony predicted the Route 2 bypass will be a major help to Foxwoods, MGM Grand at Foxwoods and other local businesses. Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Uncasville have seen gaming revenues slump as the recession prompts consumers to curb discretionary spending.
“This is a shot in the arm for economic development in southeastern Connecticut,” said Michael Lonergan, bureau chief of highway operations at the state Department of Transportation, which oversaw construction.
The project, financed entirely by the tribe, was estimated to have taken anywhere from five to 15 years by different speakers at the overpass ceremony. One said the land was in Ledyard, while another said North Stonington. The new section of road runs through both towns. Others in attendance said it was more important to consider the impacts on commerce, safety and traffic.
Safer driving
“Any transportation improvements benefit all our communities,” Norwich City Manager Alan Bergren said. The likelihood of fewer traffic accidents pleased Bergren, noting that many Foxwoods employees live in Norwich.
A Route 2A project near Mohegan Sun, slated for completion at the end of July, will be another blow against traffic tie-ups, Montville Mayor Joseph Jaskiewicz said. The projects are finishing at a convenient time, Lonergan noted.
“This is the time of year when you have the beach traffic and the casino traffic,” he said. “It’s doubly important to keep people moving.”
Smoother travel will help regional tourism, said state Rep. Tom Reynolds, D-Ledyard.
A top executive at the lead contractor on the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun projects praised the gambling spirit of the Mashantuckets.
“This project is a quite a risk-taking,” said Stephen A. Cardi Sr., secretary and treasurer of Warwick-R.I.-based Cardi Corp. “I am truly proud to be part of this massive economic development project.”
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: I have taken a ride on the new section of Route 2 in front of the Foxwoods Resort Casino, it is really nice. It really should help traffic flow. The two lanes leading on to Route 2-A that the Mohegan Tribe built is really nice, too. What do you think?
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
ROBBERY ATTEMPT AT MOHEGAN SUN GARAGE
Victims fight back in attempted robbery in Mohegan Sun garage
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By Staff reports
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 23, 2009 @ 11:01 PM
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State police said several casino patrons fought off a robbery attempt early Tuesday in a parking garage at Mohegan Sun.
At about 1:30 a.m., police said Bobby Porter, 21, of 45 Boulder Drive in New London, followed several casino patrons to their vehicle in Riverview Garage. The patrons had just cashed in their chips and were leaving.
Porter approached the vehicle, opened the driver’s door and told the female driver to “give me your money or I will shoot,” according to police reports. Witnesses said they never saw a gun.
The two passengers in the vehicle wrestled with Porter and punched him several times in the face, police said. Porter ran from the scene, leaving behind a sweatshirt and baseball cap, police said.
With the aid of casino security, state police from Troop E in Montville tracked Porter to New London, where he was arrested.
At Porter’s court appearance in Norwich Tuesday, Judge Robert Young ordered Porter held on $10,000 bond and to stay away from the casino. Porter is charged with attempted second-degree robbery, second-degree larceny and breach of peace. He is due back in court July 13.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: I don't know if fighting back is the right thing to do, however a very good job by The Mohegan Tribal Police, the Connecticut State Police, Public Safety (Security). Well done, you have served the Mohegan Tribe and our patrons very well. Thank You. What do you think?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Staff reports
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 23, 2009 @ 11:01 PM
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State police said several casino patrons fought off a robbery attempt early Tuesday in a parking garage at Mohegan Sun.
At about 1:30 a.m., police said Bobby Porter, 21, of 45 Boulder Drive in New London, followed several casino patrons to their vehicle in Riverview Garage. The patrons had just cashed in their chips and were leaving.
Porter approached the vehicle, opened the driver’s door and told the female driver to “give me your money or I will shoot,” according to police reports. Witnesses said they never saw a gun.
The two passengers in the vehicle wrestled with Porter and punched him several times in the face, police said. Porter ran from the scene, leaving behind a sweatshirt and baseball cap, police said.
With the aid of casino security, state police from Troop E in Montville tracked Porter to New London, where he was arrested.
At Porter’s court appearance in Norwich Tuesday, Judge Robert Young ordered Porter held on $10,000 bond and to stay away from the casino. Porter is charged with attempted second-degree robbery, second-degree larceny and breach of peace. He is due back in court July 13.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: I don't know if fighting back is the right thing to do, however a very good job by The Mohegan Tribal Police, the Connecticut State Police, Public Safety (Security). Well done, you have served the Mohegan Tribe and our patrons very well. Thank You. What do you think?
OPEN PACKAGE STORES ON SUNDAYS?
Last Of The Blue Laws Package Stores - Open Them On Sundays
The Hartford Courant
February 22, 2009
Move aside, Carry Nation, and let the General Assembly do what it should have done years ago: allow Sunday sales of beer, wine and liquor.
Connecticut is one of only three states in the country that still ban the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sunday. The prohibition was imposed in 1933.
Many mom-and-pop package store owners - especially those with stores located away from the state's borders - enjoy taking Sunday off. They argue that they would have to open a seventh day to remain competitive. But many of those who own stores near Connecticut's borders with New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island favor repeal because they lose Sunday sales to outlets that are open in those three states.
The law shouldn't be written for a relatively few package store licensees. Nor should the spirit of the old temperance leader, Ms. Nation, rule the day. If liquor sales are permitted six days a week, why not seven? If alcohol is sold at bars and restaurants on Sunday, why not at liquor stores as well? The law should be written for the convenience of the consumer.
Republican lawmakers who propose the repeal of the Sunday ban insist that seven-days-a-week sales will raise extra sales- and alcohol-tax revenue, and that will help to reduce the budget deficit during hard times. But the best reason to repeal a particularly inconvenient "blue law" is that it removes a barrier that needn't exist. If you want to buy a six-pack on Sunday for an impromptu barbecue, why should the state and mom-and-pop store owners say no?
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Why not let the stores selling alcohol, be able to sell their goods on Sunday? Why should Connecticut be only one of the three (3) states that don't allow sales on Sunday? Do you know? What do you think?
The Hartford Courant
February 22, 2009
Move aside, Carry Nation, and let the General Assembly do what it should have done years ago: allow Sunday sales of beer, wine and liquor.
Connecticut is one of only three states in the country that still ban the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sunday. The prohibition was imposed in 1933.
Many mom-and-pop package store owners - especially those with stores located away from the state's borders - enjoy taking Sunday off. They argue that they would have to open a seventh day to remain competitive. But many of those who own stores near Connecticut's borders with New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island favor repeal because they lose Sunday sales to outlets that are open in those three states.
The law shouldn't be written for a relatively few package store licensees. Nor should the spirit of the old temperance leader, Ms. Nation, rule the day. If liquor sales are permitted six days a week, why not seven? If alcohol is sold at bars and restaurants on Sunday, why not at liquor stores as well? The law should be written for the convenience of the consumer.
Republican lawmakers who propose the repeal of the Sunday ban insist that seven-days-a-week sales will raise extra sales- and alcohol-tax revenue, and that will help to reduce the budget deficit during hard times. But the best reason to repeal a particularly inconvenient "blue law" is that it removes a barrier that needn't exist. If you want to buy a six-pack on Sunday for an impromptu barbecue, why should the state and mom-and-pop store owners say no?
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Why not let the stores selling alcohol, be able to sell their goods on Sunday? Why should Connecticut be only one of the three (3) states that don't allow sales on Sunday? Do you know? What do you think?
BLOGGER ARRESTED
Blogger surrenders over threats
New Jersey man accused of inciting violence against Connecticut lawmakers on Web site
By Pat Eaton-Robb Published on 6/12/2009
Hartford - A New Jersey blogger who urged readers to “take up arms” against Connecticut lawmakers and who suggested government officials should “obey the Constitution or die” surrendered Thursday on a charge of inciting violence.
Harold “Hal” Turner, a former radio talk show host from North Bergen who broadcasts commentary on his Web site, was angry over legislation that would have given lay members of Roman Catholic churches in Connecticut more control over their parish's finances. The bill, brought by state Sen. Andrew McDonald and Rep. Michael Lawlor, was withdrawn in March.
Turner was charged by Capitol Police in Connecticut with inciting injury to persons or property, and released after posting bond. He is due in court June 22.
On June 2, Turner wrote on his blog, turnerradionetwork.blogspot.com, that Catholics should “take up arms and put down this tyranny by force,” and promised to post the lawmakers' home addresses.
”It is our intent to forment direct action against these individuals personally,” Turner wrote. “These beastly government officials should be made an example of as a warning to others in government: Obey the Constitution or die.”
Writing about police or prosecutors who may try to stop his cause, Turner wrote, “I suspect we have enough bullets to put them down too.”
Last week, Turner explained the posts as “crude political hyperbole uttered in a context which did not lend itself to imminent lawlessness.”
On Thursday, Turner's attorneys issued a statement saying that his First Amendment rights need to be protected, even if people disagree with his views.
McDonald declined to comment. Lawlor did not immediately return a phone message left Thursday.
Late Thursday afternoon, Turner's blog had been taken down, apparently by the company that hosts it.
Turner's views have drawn scrutiny before. The FBI questioned him, but did not charge him with any crime, in 2005 after the mother and husband of U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow were found shot to death in Chicago. In an interview with The Associated Press at the time, Turner said he was questioned because two years earlier he had said on his radio show that Lefkow “was worthy of being killed.”
Two years ago, police in New Jersey beefed up security for four state Supreme Court justices whose addresses Turner revealed in his Webcast “to show they can be gotten to.” Turner released the information after the court ruled that gay couples were entitled to the same rights as married couples.
Associated Press Writer Stephanie Reitz in Hartford contributed to this story.
"Regional"
New Jersey man accused of inciting violence against Connecticut lawmakers on Web site
By Pat Eaton-Robb Published on 6/12/2009
Hartford - A New Jersey blogger who urged readers to “take up arms” against Connecticut lawmakers and who suggested government officials should “obey the Constitution or die” surrendered Thursday on a charge of inciting violence.
Harold “Hal” Turner, a former radio talk show host from North Bergen who broadcasts commentary on his Web site, was angry over legislation that would have given lay members of Roman Catholic churches in Connecticut more control over their parish's finances. The bill, brought by state Sen. Andrew McDonald and Rep. Michael Lawlor, was withdrawn in March.
Turner was charged by Capitol Police in Connecticut with inciting injury to persons or property, and released after posting bond. He is due in court June 22.
On June 2, Turner wrote on his blog, turnerradionetwork.blogspot.com, that Catholics should “take up arms and put down this tyranny by force,” and promised to post the lawmakers' home addresses.
”It is our intent to forment direct action against these individuals personally,” Turner wrote. “These beastly government officials should be made an example of as a warning to others in government: Obey the Constitution or die.”
Writing about police or prosecutors who may try to stop his cause, Turner wrote, “I suspect we have enough bullets to put them down too.”
Last week, Turner explained the posts as “crude political hyperbole uttered in a context which did not lend itself to imminent lawlessness.”
On Thursday, Turner's attorneys issued a statement saying that his First Amendment rights need to be protected, even if people disagree with his views.
McDonald declined to comment. Lawlor did not immediately return a phone message left Thursday.
Late Thursday afternoon, Turner's blog had been taken down, apparently by the company that hosts it.
Turner's views have drawn scrutiny before. The FBI questioned him, but did not charge him with any crime, in 2005 after the mother and husband of U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow were found shot to death in Chicago. In an interview with The Associated Press at the time, Turner said he was questioned because two years earlier he had said on his radio show that Lefkow “was worthy of being killed.”
Two years ago, police in New Jersey beefed up security for four state Supreme Court justices whose addresses Turner revealed in his Webcast “to show they can be gotten to.” Turner released the information after the court ruled that gay couples were entitled to the same rights as married couples.
Associated Press Writer Stephanie Reitz in Hartford contributed to this story.
"Regional"
Monday, June 22, 2009
SUN WIN
Jones, Sun roll past Silver Stars
By Ned Griffen Published on 6/21/2009
Sports Writer
Mohegan — Asjha Jones had 19 points and six rebounds as the Connecticut Sun defeated the San Antonio Silver Stars Sunday, 71-58, before 6,928 at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Rookie Chante Black had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Sun (3-3) before leaving with one minute, 38 seconds left in the third quarter with a left elbow injury. Also, Erin Phillips scored 11.
Sophia Young had 22 points and seven rebounds for San Antonio (1-3).
n.griffen@theday.com
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: The Connecticut Sun are now 3 and 3. Maybe the team will make the playoffs after all. Go Sun, Go. What do you think?
By Ned Griffen Published on 6/21/2009
Sports Writer
Mohegan — Asjha Jones had 19 points and six rebounds as the Connecticut Sun defeated the San Antonio Silver Stars Sunday, 71-58, before 6,928 at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Rookie Chante Black had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Sun (3-3) before leaving with one minute, 38 seconds left in the third quarter with a left elbow injury. Also, Erin Phillips scored 11.
Sophia Young had 22 points and seven rebounds for San Antonio (1-3).
n.griffen@theday.com
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: The Connecticut Sun are now 3 and 3. Maybe the team will make the playoffs after all. Go Sun, Go. What do you think?
Saturday, June 20, 2009
SEVEN TOP MANAGERS ARE LET GO AT MOHEGAN SUN CASINO
Sun cuts jobs for 7 top managers
Streamlining aimed at casino savings
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 6/18/2009
Mohegan - Mohegan Sun has eliminated the positions of seven top managers, the casino's president and chief executive officer said Wednesday.
Mitchell Etess said the positions were at the director level and above. He declined to identify those let go, either by name or specific title. Six of the managers were informed Tuesday and a seventh was told Wednesday, Etess said.
”It's been a very difficult day here,” he said. “All of these people have contributed greatly to the success of Mohegan Sun over the years.”
Etess said the eliminations came after an eight-month review of the casino's organizational structure, which involved “assessing ways to gain efficiencies among our senior management team.”
”As a result of that process,” he said, “we've eliminated seven positions at the director level and up to senior vice president.”
Directors, he said, typically run a large department, while senior vice presidents run a division. Vice presidents fall in between.
Early this year, amid falling revenues and a grim economic outlook, Mohegan Sun implemented a series of cost-cutting measures, including salary rollbacks for all 9,800 employees, including top management. It avoided layoffs.
At the same time, the Mohegan Tribe, which owns Mohegan Sun, also rolled back the salaries of its tribal-government employees, downsized the government and took other steps to reduce costs.
Etess said the organizational review of the casino's senior management was an in-house process and “something organizations do on a regular basis.”
”It's unfortunate that our business needs required us to streamline our organization,” he said. “As we were looking at costs, it became obvious we were going to have to find ways to save money. We had to look at business trends and at the way we've evolved to see if we had management that could be eliminated.”
The duties of those whose positions were eliminated will be shifted to other departments, Etess said.
"Regional"
Streamlining aimed at casino savings
By Brian Hallenbeck Published on 6/18/2009
Mohegan - Mohegan Sun has eliminated the positions of seven top managers, the casino's president and chief executive officer said Wednesday.
Mitchell Etess said the positions were at the director level and above. He declined to identify those let go, either by name or specific title. Six of the managers were informed Tuesday and a seventh was told Wednesday, Etess said.
”It's been a very difficult day here,” he said. “All of these people have contributed greatly to the success of Mohegan Sun over the years.”
Etess said the eliminations came after an eight-month review of the casino's organizational structure, which involved “assessing ways to gain efficiencies among our senior management team.”
”As a result of that process,” he said, “we've eliminated seven positions at the director level and up to senior vice president.”
Directors, he said, typically run a large department, while senior vice presidents run a division. Vice presidents fall in between.
Early this year, amid falling revenues and a grim economic outlook, Mohegan Sun implemented a series of cost-cutting measures, including salary rollbacks for all 9,800 employees, including top management. It avoided layoffs.
At the same time, the Mohegan Tribe, which owns Mohegan Sun, also rolled back the salaries of its tribal-government employees, downsized the government and took other steps to reduce costs.
Etess said the organizational review of the casino's senior management was an in-house process and “something organizations do on a regular basis.”
”It's unfortunate that our business needs required us to streamline our organization,” he said. “As we were looking at costs, it became obvious we were going to have to find ways to save money. We had to look at business trends and at the way we've evolved to see if we had management that could be eliminated.”
The duties of those whose positions were eliminated will be shifted to other departments, Etess said.
"Regional"
NORWICH 350TH EVENTS SCHEDULE
Norwich 350TH Celebration events this week
Published on 6/20/2009
Sunday
Soldiers Through History, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Norwichtown Green, free.
American Veterans Traveling Tribute, traveling Vietnam War Memorial, all day through 6 p.m. closing ceremony. Howard T. Brown Memorial Park, free.
Backus House Museum Tours, 1-4 p.m., 42 Rockwell St., free but donations accepted.
Walking Tour, Mohegan Park and Spaulding Park, 1 p.m., Mohegan Park main entrance. Free.
Sarah Huntington presentation, 4 p.m., Little Plain. Free.
Sarah Huntington lecture, 5 p.m. Park Congregational Church, followed by reception. Free.
Wednesday
Native Son/Daughter luncheon, noon, Holiday Inn, admission $10.
Norwich Clergy Association Interfaith Worship Celebration, 7 p.m., Norwichtown Green. Free.
Thursday
Norwich 350th Golf Tournament, all day, Norwich Golf Course.
Victorian Lady, A Re-Enactment of Everyday Life, 7 p.m., Slater Auditorium, free.
Friday
Community Birthday Party, 6 to 9 p.m., Marina at American Wharf tent, $3.50 for Norwich residents, $15 for nonresidents. Tickets at the door.
Laser Light Show, 9 p.m., Norwich Harbor, free.
Saturday
Harbor Day, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Howard T. Brown Memorial Park, free.
Ancient Mariners Concert, 10 a.m. Marina At American Wharf, and 1 p.m. Brown Park, free.
Mystic Whaler tours, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Marina at American Wharf, $2.
Children's Birthday Parties, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 to 5 p.m., $3.50 per person. Purchase tickets for each party at mayor's office, City Hall. Call 823-3743.
Gun Factories Tour, 1 p.m., meet at City Hall, free.
Laser Light Show, 9 p.m., Norwich Harbor, free.
Sunday
Harbor Day, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Howard T. Brown Memorial Park, free.
Mystic Whaler tours, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Marina at American Wharf, $2.
Children's Birthday Parties, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 to 5 p.m., $3.50 per person. Purchase tickets for each party at mayor's office, City Hall. Call 823-3743.
Rose City Renaissance Tour, 1 p.m., meet at former Elks Club building, Main Street, free.
Laser Light Show, 9 p.m., Norwich Harbor, free.
"Norwich-CT"
Published on 6/20/2009
Sunday
Soldiers Through History, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Norwichtown Green, free.
American Veterans Traveling Tribute, traveling Vietnam War Memorial, all day through 6 p.m. closing ceremony. Howard T. Brown Memorial Park, free.
Backus House Museum Tours, 1-4 p.m., 42 Rockwell St., free but donations accepted.
Walking Tour, Mohegan Park and Spaulding Park, 1 p.m., Mohegan Park main entrance. Free.
Sarah Huntington presentation, 4 p.m., Little Plain. Free.
Sarah Huntington lecture, 5 p.m. Park Congregational Church, followed by reception. Free.
Wednesday
Native Son/Daughter luncheon, noon, Holiday Inn, admission $10.
Norwich Clergy Association Interfaith Worship Celebration, 7 p.m., Norwichtown Green. Free.
Thursday
Norwich 350th Golf Tournament, all day, Norwich Golf Course.
Victorian Lady, A Re-Enactment of Everyday Life, 7 p.m., Slater Auditorium, free.
Friday
Community Birthday Party, 6 to 9 p.m., Marina at American Wharf tent, $3.50 for Norwich residents, $15 for nonresidents. Tickets at the door.
Laser Light Show, 9 p.m., Norwich Harbor, free.
Saturday
Harbor Day, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Howard T. Brown Memorial Park, free.
Ancient Mariners Concert, 10 a.m. Marina At American Wharf, and 1 p.m. Brown Park, free.
Mystic Whaler tours, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Marina at American Wharf, $2.
Children's Birthday Parties, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 to 5 p.m., $3.50 per person. Purchase tickets for each party at mayor's office, City Hall. Call 823-3743.
Gun Factories Tour, 1 p.m., meet at City Hall, free.
Laser Light Show, 9 p.m., Norwich Harbor, free.
Sunday
Harbor Day, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Howard T. Brown Memorial Park, free.
Mystic Whaler tours, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Marina at American Wharf, $2.
Children's Birthday Parties, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 to 5 p.m., $3.50 per person. Purchase tickets for each party at mayor's office, City Hall. Call 823-3743.
Rose City Renaissance Tour, 1 p.m., meet at former Elks Club building, Main Street, free.
Laser Light Show, 9 p.m., Norwich Harbor, free.
"Norwich-CT"
COUNTERFEIT $20 BILLS
More counterfeit bills show up in Eastern Connecticut; investigation expands
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By GREG SMITH
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 19, 2009 @ 11:46 PM
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New London, Conn. — Groton town police have joined with other law enforcement agencies in Eastern Connecticut to investigate the passing of counterfeit bills at area businesses.
Groton Town Police Lt. John W. Varone said there were three reported incidents in Groton in which a patron tried using a fake $20. He said they are exploring a connection to the two Norwich men arrested by state police Thursday for similar incidents in Montville.
Jose G. Rivera, 25, and Jesus M. Molina, 28, were arraigned in New London Superior Court Friday on charges of forgery and larceny.
State police said the men were caught trying to pass counterfeit bills at two convenience stores. A search of Rivera’s Roath Street apartment turned up a scanner and printer combo, an uncut roll of copied $100 bills and more fake $20s.
Molina told police Rivera had been selling five fake $20s for one real $20 for several weeks, police report shows.
Police reports also indicate the men pushed their luck when they made a return visit to a Dunkin’ Donuts Thursday to try to cash in counterfeit money. Shortly after midnight Thursday, police said the pair bought food and drinks with a bogus $20 at the Route 32 Dunkin’ Donuts inside Henny Penny in Montville. The clerk accepted a second fake $20 when one of the men asked for change, police said.
It wasn’t until after the two men left that the clerk realized there was something wrong.
“My night person felt the difference in the bill,” Henny Penny manager Veleka McKinney said.
A closer look, police said, would have revealed duplicate serial numbers and magnetic strips missing from the bills. McKinney said clerks will often mark a bill with a special pen to identify a counterfeit bill.
Police said the two men did not stop with the first visit to Dunkin’ Donuts. At 2:30 a.m., police said a clerk at the 7-Eleven across the street from Henny Penny refused the suspected fake bill, threatened to call police and watched the men cross the street back to Henny Penny.
The second attempt to pass off a bill at Dunkin’ Donuts prompted a call to police and led to their arrest. Police said each of the men had more fake $20s in their possession.
Police, who called in the U.S. Secret Service, are continuing to investigate where those bills may have been used.
Groton police have issued a warning, asking businesses and residents to be aware. Anyone with a suspected counterfeit bill is asked to keep it and report it to police immediately.
Molina and Rivera each were ordered held on $49,000 bond and are scheduled to appear July 2 in Norwich Superior Court.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Check your $20 bills, Check the feel and the numbers. Remember the bills were passed at the Seven Eleven and the Henny Penny in Uncasville. Be careful.
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By GREG SMITH
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 19, 2009 @ 11:46 PM
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New London, Conn. — Groton town police have joined with other law enforcement agencies in Eastern Connecticut to investigate the passing of counterfeit bills at area businesses.
Groton Town Police Lt. John W. Varone said there were three reported incidents in Groton in which a patron tried using a fake $20. He said they are exploring a connection to the two Norwich men arrested by state police Thursday for similar incidents in Montville.
Jose G. Rivera, 25, and Jesus M. Molina, 28, were arraigned in New London Superior Court Friday on charges of forgery and larceny.
State police said the men were caught trying to pass counterfeit bills at two convenience stores. A search of Rivera’s Roath Street apartment turned up a scanner and printer combo, an uncut roll of copied $100 bills and more fake $20s.
Molina told police Rivera had been selling five fake $20s for one real $20 for several weeks, police report shows.
Police reports also indicate the men pushed their luck when they made a return visit to a Dunkin’ Donuts Thursday to try to cash in counterfeit money. Shortly after midnight Thursday, police said the pair bought food and drinks with a bogus $20 at the Route 32 Dunkin’ Donuts inside Henny Penny in Montville. The clerk accepted a second fake $20 when one of the men asked for change, police said.
It wasn’t until after the two men left that the clerk realized there was something wrong.
“My night person felt the difference in the bill,” Henny Penny manager Veleka McKinney said.
A closer look, police said, would have revealed duplicate serial numbers and magnetic strips missing from the bills. McKinney said clerks will often mark a bill with a special pen to identify a counterfeit bill.
Police said the two men did not stop with the first visit to Dunkin’ Donuts. At 2:30 a.m., police said a clerk at the 7-Eleven across the street from Henny Penny refused the suspected fake bill, threatened to call police and watched the men cross the street back to Henny Penny.
The second attempt to pass off a bill at Dunkin’ Donuts prompted a call to police and led to their arrest. Police said each of the men had more fake $20s in their possession.
Police, who called in the U.S. Secret Service, are continuing to investigate where those bills may have been used.
Groton police have issued a warning, asking businesses and residents to be aware. Anyone with a suspected counterfeit bill is asked to keep it and report it to police immediately.
Molina and Rivera each were ordered held on $49,000 bond and are scheduled to appear July 2 in Norwich Superior Court.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Check your $20 bills, Check the feel and the numbers. Remember the bills were passed at the Seven Eleven and the Henny Penny in Uncasville. Be careful.
Friday, June 19, 2009
VIETNAM WALL REPLICA IN NORWICH
Our View: Wall is a fitting addition to Norwich events
It is an honor to play host this weekend to the traveling Vietnam War memorial
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 18, 2009 @ 11:07 PM
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Norwich, Conn. — There are more veterans per capita residing within Connecticut’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes all of Eastern Connecticut, than any other congressional district in the state. So, it’s no wonder there exists here a special relationship between communities and those who have served our country.
And it is fitting that Norwich, centrally situated in the region and celebrating its 350th anniversary, serves as the gathering point of this weekend’s tribute to all veterans — and in particular, those who died in Vietnam.
The Vietnam War claimed the lives of 612 Connecticut residents. To put that in perspective, consider this: Slightly more than 500 young men and women will be awarded high school diplomas this afternoon at Norwich Free Academy. If you’re attending today’s graduation, imagine if all those chairs — and then some — were empty.
Brought to Norwich
This weekend, the American Veterans Traveling Tribute, the traveling replica of the Vietnam Memorial that arrived Wednesday evening and opened to the public Thursday, will be on display and serving as the backdrop for events honoring all our veterans.
Norwich’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 594 and its Ladies Auxiliary are responsible for bringing the traveling exhibit to the city, a wonderful addition to the city’s anniversary celebration. On behalf of the region, we express our appreciation to them for their contribution. We hope that every citizen in the region take the opportunity to visit.
The exhibit is open to the public 24 hours a day through Sunday, with special programs slated throughout the weekend.
Beginning at 7 p.m. this evening, events will be held honoring World War II and Korean veterans, the Gold Star families of those whose names are engraved on the wall and a special POW/MIA program honoring those still missing in action.
As the sun sets this evening, 270 luminary bags will be lit, followed by a candlelight vigil.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOT: Many times when coming back from down south (Florida), I would stop in Washington D. C., I would go to the Vietnam Memorial (the Wall). It is black Granite, and you walk down into the ground looking at the wall. You feel like you are going into a grave or tomb. When you see the names, you realize that these were young American men who gave their lives for their country. The number of names is mind bending. It is disturbing.
I had two (2) really good friends who died over there. There names are on the wall.
One was William B., he was about a year younger than me, when I was out of High School for a few years, I used to stop every day at his bakery, (he worked in) and got donuts and coffee for my boss and myself. He was a younger brother of one of my friends, in high school. We became good firends. He died on a carco vessel that blew up in Saigon Harbor.
Another friend was John C., he was a year or two older than me in high school. A gifted athlete, a really nice guy that everyone liked and respected. He died in a fire fight in the jungles of Vietnam fighting the Viet Cong.
I watched with another tribal member and his father, as the parade traveled up Route 32, on Wednesday night across from a car dealer. I watched the runners running in their red, white and blue running outfits (shorts and tee shirts). Then we saw the motorcycles led by motorcycle police (two State Police and one Norwich Police Department). I saw the tractor trailer carrying the minature wall. There was several classic cars in the parade, too. It was very inspiring. It made you proud to be an American.
On Thursday, I went to Norwich, to see the wall. It took sometime but I found my two firends, on the wall. I was glad to be there to pay my respects to them. They have given the ultimate sacrafice. They died young men. They never had the opportunity to grow old. Thank you, my friends.
If you get the time, visit the wall in Norwich, and if you ever get the chance visit the real wall in Washington, D.C. To all the soldiers who have fought and who will fight, thank you. God bless you. What do you think?
It is an honor to play host this weekend to the traveling Vietnam War memorial
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 18, 2009 @ 11:07 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Norwich, Conn. — There are more veterans per capita residing within Connecticut’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes all of Eastern Connecticut, than any other congressional district in the state. So, it’s no wonder there exists here a special relationship between communities and those who have served our country.
And it is fitting that Norwich, centrally situated in the region and celebrating its 350th anniversary, serves as the gathering point of this weekend’s tribute to all veterans — and in particular, those who died in Vietnam.
The Vietnam War claimed the lives of 612 Connecticut residents. To put that in perspective, consider this: Slightly more than 500 young men and women will be awarded high school diplomas this afternoon at Norwich Free Academy. If you’re attending today’s graduation, imagine if all those chairs — and then some — were empty.
Brought to Norwich
This weekend, the American Veterans Traveling Tribute, the traveling replica of the Vietnam Memorial that arrived Wednesday evening and opened to the public Thursday, will be on display and serving as the backdrop for events honoring all our veterans.
Norwich’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 594 and its Ladies Auxiliary are responsible for bringing the traveling exhibit to the city, a wonderful addition to the city’s anniversary celebration. On behalf of the region, we express our appreciation to them for their contribution. We hope that every citizen in the region take the opportunity to visit.
The exhibit is open to the public 24 hours a day through Sunday, with special programs slated throughout the weekend.
Beginning at 7 p.m. this evening, events will be held honoring World War II and Korean veterans, the Gold Star families of those whose names are engraved on the wall and a special POW/MIA program honoring those still missing in action.
As the sun sets this evening, 270 luminary bags will be lit, followed by a candlelight vigil.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOT: Many times when coming back from down south (Florida), I would stop in Washington D. C., I would go to the Vietnam Memorial (the Wall). It is black Granite, and you walk down into the ground looking at the wall. You feel like you are going into a grave or tomb. When you see the names, you realize that these were young American men who gave their lives for their country. The number of names is mind bending. It is disturbing.
I had two (2) really good friends who died over there. There names are on the wall.
One was William B., he was about a year younger than me, when I was out of High School for a few years, I used to stop every day at his bakery, (he worked in) and got donuts and coffee for my boss and myself. He was a younger brother of one of my friends, in high school. We became good firends. He died on a carco vessel that blew up in Saigon Harbor.
Another friend was John C., he was a year or two older than me in high school. A gifted athlete, a really nice guy that everyone liked and respected. He died in a fire fight in the jungles of Vietnam fighting the Viet Cong.
I watched with another tribal member and his father, as the parade traveled up Route 32, on Wednesday night across from a car dealer. I watched the runners running in their red, white and blue running outfits (shorts and tee shirts). Then we saw the motorcycles led by motorcycle police (two State Police and one Norwich Police Department). I saw the tractor trailer carrying the minature wall. There was several classic cars in the parade, too. It was very inspiring. It made you proud to be an American.
On Thursday, I went to Norwich, to see the wall. It took sometime but I found my two firends, on the wall. I was glad to be there to pay my respects to them. They have given the ultimate sacrafice. They died young men. They never had the opportunity to grow old. Thank you, my friends.
If you get the time, visit the wall in Norwich, and if you ever get the chance visit the real wall in Washington, D.C. To all the soldiers who have fought and who will fight, thank you. God bless you. What do you think?
WINTER ENTRANCE TO REOPEN
Winter entrance, garage to reopen at Mohegan Sun
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Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 18, 2009 @ 11:57 PM
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Mohegan, Conn. — The Winter Parking Garage and Winter Entrance at Mohegan Sun will reopen July 1, providing many new parking spaces.
Various promotions will coincide with the reopening. For more information, go to www.mohegansun.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 18, 2009 @ 11:57 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mohegan, Conn. — The Winter Parking Garage and Winter Entrance at Mohegan Sun will reopen July 1, providing many new parking spaces.
Various promotions will coincide with the reopening. For more information, go to www.mohegansun.com
Thursday, June 18, 2009
IMPERSONATION
New York man arrested at Foxwoods for impersonation, trespassing
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By Staff reports
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 17, 2009 @ 06:21 AM
Last update Jun 17, 2009 @ 12:03 PM
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Mashantucket, Conn. — A Brooklyn, N.Y., man was arrested by Foxwoods Resort Casino State Police after he was identified as a prior ejection by casino security.
The accused, Chun Shan Guo, 48, of 343 58th St., F12, fled the Cedar Casino and was found in the Rainmaker Casino. When approached by security he presented a fake ID.
Guo was arrested and charged with first degree criminal trespassing and criminal impersonation. Guo also was wanted on an active warrant for deportation because of an alleged immigration violation.
He was held on $100,000 bond and is expected today in New London Superior Court
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Staff reports
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 17, 2009 @ 06:21 AM
Last update Jun 17, 2009 @ 12:03 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mashantucket, Conn. — A Brooklyn, N.Y., man was arrested by Foxwoods Resort Casino State Police after he was identified as a prior ejection by casino security.
The accused, Chun Shan Guo, 48, of 343 58th St., F12, fled the Cedar Casino and was found in the Rainmaker Casino. When approached by security he presented a fake ID.
Guo was arrested and charged with first degree criminal trespassing and criminal impersonation. Guo also was wanted on an active warrant for deportation because of an alleged immigration violation.
He was held on $100,000 bond and is expected today in New London Superior Court
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
BETTER NUMBERS?
Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun have best slot revenue month since August
Numbers still down compared to a year ago
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By WILLIAM SOKOLIC
For The Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 15, 2009 @ 11:27 PM
Last update Jun 16, 2009 @ 12:03 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mohegan Sun won more than $69.9 million from slot machines in May, a less than 7 percent decline over the previous May’s revenue of $75.1 million, based on figures reported to the Connecticut Division of Special Revenue.
The figures come out to $10,362 per game, compared to $12,621 per game last May. Mohegan contributed $16.5 million to the state, representing 25 percent of the gross slot revenue.
Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods reported the property took in $62.2 million in slot machine revenue, a 14.2 percent decrease. This marked the first year-over-year comparison with MGM Grand at Foxwoods in the mix. The addition opened last May, with a heavy advertising and media blitz.
The slot handle — the amount of money played — fell 1.3 percent to $851.3 million. The handle at Foxwoods tumbled 9.6 percent. Still, both properties can take some comfort that May’s winnings were the best since August.
“Although our numbers are down from last May, we are pleased that May 2009 was our strongest month of this fiscal year,” said Michael Speller, president of Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprises.
In general, the industry has recalibrated expectations, said gaming analyst Robert LeFleur, with Susquehanna Financial Group in Stamford.
“Not getting worse is the new better,” he said. “If the rate of decline was higher earlier in the year that’s good news in a market that does not have much to offer in the way of good news. The economy is still weak, and spending is still down.”
Everyone is anxious to know what the new better really is, said Mitchell Etess, CEO and president of Mohegan Sun. “It’s hard to look and say we’re down 7 percent and that’s great. But the reality is, when you take a step back, for this month in general, with Atlantic City and our own competition it’s difficult not to feel that being down 7 percent is a good month. It is almost incredible to say that.”
Overall, such feelings don’t equate with stabilization relative to Mohegan Sun and the entire Northeast section of the country, Etess said. The 11 casinos in Atlantic City reported $351.3 million in revenues in May, a 15.4 percent decrease over the same month a year ago. Results reported to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission showed that slot revenue tumbled 14.9 percent, while table game win — not reportable in Connecticut — slipped 16.7 percent. For the first five months of the year, casinos won $1.62 billion, down 15.7 percent from the same period in 2008.
“We need a few months of some sort of stabilization in the year-over-year numbers,” Etess said.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: A loss compared to Atlantic City or any place, doesn't matter. A loss is still a loss. Losses on top of losses year after year. Mohegan Sun is doing better? How do you figure that one out? It is bad. It is not turning around. Palmer, Pocono Downs or any other deal that may come the way of the Mohegan Sun will not change the fact that the golden goose is no longer laying golden eggs. The MTGA should be leading the way. We need to fight. We need to do better. Are our leaders falling down on the job? What do you think?
Numbers still down compared to a year ago
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By WILLIAM SOKOLIC
For The Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 15, 2009 @ 11:27 PM
Last update Jun 16, 2009 @ 12:03 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mohegan Sun won more than $69.9 million from slot machines in May, a less than 7 percent decline over the previous May’s revenue of $75.1 million, based on figures reported to the Connecticut Division of Special Revenue.
The figures come out to $10,362 per game, compared to $12,621 per game last May. Mohegan contributed $16.5 million to the state, representing 25 percent of the gross slot revenue.
Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods reported the property took in $62.2 million in slot machine revenue, a 14.2 percent decrease. This marked the first year-over-year comparison with MGM Grand at Foxwoods in the mix. The addition opened last May, with a heavy advertising and media blitz.
The slot handle — the amount of money played — fell 1.3 percent to $851.3 million. The handle at Foxwoods tumbled 9.6 percent. Still, both properties can take some comfort that May’s winnings were the best since August.
“Although our numbers are down from last May, we are pleased that May 2009 was our strongest month of this fiscal year,” said Michael Speller, president of Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprises.
In general, the industry has recalibrated expectations, said gaming analyst Robert LeFleur, with Susquehanna Financial Group in Stamford.
“Not getting worse is the new better,” he said. “If the rate of decline was higher earlier in the year that’s good news in a market that does not have much to offer in the way of good news. The economy is still weak, and spending is still down.”
Everyone is anxious to know what the new better really is, said Mitchell Etess, CEO and president of Mohegan Sun. “It’s hard to look and say we’re down 7 percent and that’s great. But the reality is, when you take a step back, for this month in general, with Atlantic City and our own competition it’s difficult not to feel that being down 7 percent is a good month. It is almost incredible to say that.”
Overall, such feelings don’t equate with stabilization relative to Mohegan Sun and the entire Northeast section of the country, Etess said. The 11 casinos in Atlantic City reported $351.3 million in revenues in May, a 15.4 percent decrease over the same month a year ago. Results reported to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission showed that slot revenue tumbled 14.9 percent, while table game win — not reportable in Connecticut — slipped 16.7 percent. For the first five months of the year, casinos won $1.62 billion, down 15.7 percent from the same period in 2008.
“We need a few months of some sort of stabilization in the year-over-year numbers,” Etess said.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: A loss compared to Atlantic City or any place, doesn't matter. A loss is still a loss. Losses on top of losses year after year. Mohegan Sun is doing better? How do you figure that one out? It is bad. It is not turning around. Palmer, Pocono Downs or any other deal that may come the way of the Mohegan Sun will not change the fact that the golden goose is no longer laying golden eggs. The MTGA should be leading the way. We need to fight. We need to do better. Are our leaders falling down on the job? What do you think?
WAMPANOAGS BACK OFF DEAL
Wampanoags back off deal with casino investors
Published on 6/16/2009
MASHPEE, Mass. (AP) _ The new leadership of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe has put a deal with casino investors on hold saying terms are unfair.
The tribal council voted unanimously last week not to reaffirm a 2007 development contract that a previous leadership group had negotiated with investors Sol Kerzner and Len Wolman.
Council chairman Cedric Cromwell and vice chairman Aaron Tobey tell the Cape Cod Times that investors would pocket nearly three times as much as the Mashpee Wampanoags each year if a proposed $1 billion resort casino is built in Middleborough.
A feasibility study showed that a casino would generate approximately $700 million in gross gaming revenue each year. The investors would take about $40 million, while the tribe's take would be about $15 million.
Access the Day's E-Edition
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: At least this tribe is not making the same kind of mistakes the Mohegans made many moons ago. They are being smart. $40 million to investors and $15 million to the tribe on $700 million? Doesn't sound like a good deal to me. What do you think?
Published on 6/16/2009
MASHPEE, Mass. (AP) _ The new leadership of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe has put a deal with casino investors on hold saying terms are unfair.
The tribal council voted unanimously last week not to reaffirm a 2007 development contract that a previous leadership group had negotiated with investors Sol Kerzner and Len Wolman.
Council chairman Cedric Cromwell and vice chairman Aaron Tobey tell the Cape Cod Times that investors would pocket nearly three times as much as the Mashpee Wampanoags each year if a proposed $1 billion resort casino is built in Middleborough.
A feasibility study showed that a casino would generate approximately $700 million in gross gaming revenue each year. The investors would take about $40 million, while the tribe's take would be about $15 million.
Access the Day's E-Edition
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: At least this tribe is not making the same kind of mistakes the Mohegans made many moons ago. They are being smart. $40 million to investors and $15 million to the tribe on $700 million? Doesn't sound like a good deal to me. What do you think?
Monday, June 15, 2009
MOHEGANS DROP OPTION ON WISCONSIN CASINO SITE
Mohegans Drop Option On Wisconsin Casino Site
While the Mohegans continue to support a Wisconsin tribe's efforts to have land taken into trust for an off-reservation casino project, they are no longer paying to maintain an option on the property, according to the Mohegan Tribal Council's vice chairwoman.
In regard to the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin's proposed development, “our spending is minimal,” Lynn Malerba said Tuesday.
The Mohegans had been making quarterly payments on an option on the Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kenosha, which the Menominees - with the Mohegans help - hope to turn into a $1 billion entertainment center and casino. The Mohegans would develop the project and, under a 2004 agreement, manage the casino for the first seven years of its existence in exchange for 13.4 percent of net revenues.
In 2007, the Mohegans bought out another partner, Kenosha businessman Dennis Troha, whose Kenesah Gaming Development LLC had obtained an option to buy the greyhound park. Starting in July 2006, the option, renewable for three months at a time, cost $400,000 a year, according to a Kenesah financial statement.
Malerba said the Mohegans have made no option payments in 2009, relinquishing that responsibility to the Menominees. Eric Olson, director of the Kenosha casino project, said Tuesday the Menominees' option remains in effect. “We're hoping that things come through and that we have a casino,” he said.
The Menominees are also on their own in pursuing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior, whose previous secretary, Dirk Kempthorne, decided Jan. 7, days before leaving office, that he would not take the Kenosha land into trust for the Menominees.
On May 15, the Wisconsin tribe filed suit against the Interior Department and its new secretary, Kenneth Salazar, asking that Kempthorne's decision be overturned. The suit takes issue with a department rule requiring the department to decide whether to take land into trust before deciding whether the land is suitable for gaming, and with a department memorandum discouraging approvalof casinos located beyond a “commutable distance” from a tribe's reservation.
The Menominee reservation in northeastern Wisconsin is about 200 miles from Kenosha.
”We're not involved in the lawsuit,” Malerba said. “We believe in (the Menominees') sovereignty, as they believe in ours. Our role is to help develop the project, manage it and then back away. For us to get involved in an intergovernmental issue would be overstepping our bounds.”
Tribal officials have put the Mohegans' investment in the Kenosha project at more than $12 million, a figure Malerba said “is in the ballpark.” She said it's less than the Forest County Potawatomi, a Wisconsin tribe that operates a casino in Wabeno, has spent fighting the Kenosha project.
"Regional"
- 5/27/2009 12:56:19 PM
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Another bad deal by this Mohegan Tribal Council who voted for this project, at the very least another $12 million gone. How much are we short on our Mohegan Tribal Government Budget for Fiscal year 2009? Could it be as much as was lost on the Wisconsin project? These people need to go. What do you think?
While the Mohegans continue to support a Wisconsin tribe's efforts to have land taken into trust for an off-reservation casino project, they are no longer paying to maintain an option on the property, according to the Mohegan Tribal Council's vice chairwoman.
In regard to the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin's proposed development, “our spending is minimal,” Lynn Malerba said Tuesday.
The Mohegans had been making quarterly payments on an option on the Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kenosha, which the Menominees - with the Mohegans help - hope to turn into a $1 billion entertainment center and casino. The Mohegans would develop the project and, under a 2004 agreement, manage the casino for the first seven years of its existence in exchange for 13.4 percent of net revenues.
In 2007, the Mohegans bought out another partner, Kenosha businessman Dennis Troha, whose Kenesah Gaming Development LLC had obtained an option to buy the greyhound park. Starting in July 2006, the option, renewable for three months at a time, cost $400,000 a year, according to a Kenesah financial statement.
Malerba said the Mohegans have made no option payments in 2009, relinquishing that responsibility to the Menominees. Eric Olson, director of the Kenosha casino project, said Tuesday the Menominees' option remains in effect. “We're hoping that things come through and that we have a casino,” he said.
The Menominees are also on their own in pursuing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior, whose previous secretary, Dirk Kempthorne, decided Jan. 7, days before leaving office, that he would not take the Kenosha land into trust for the Menominees.
On May 15, the Wisconsin tribe filed suit against the Interior Department and its new secretary, Kenneth Salazar, asking that Kempthorne's decision be overturned. The suit takes issue with a department rule requiring the department to decide whether to take land into trust before deciding whether the land is suitable for gaming, and with a department memorandum discouraging approvalof casinos located beyond a “commutable distance” from a tribe's reservation.
The Menominee reservation in northeastern Wisconsin is about 200 miles from Kenosha.
”We're not involved in the lawsuit,” Malerba said. “We believe in (the Menominees') sovereignty, as they believe in ours. Our role is to help develop the project, manage it and then back away. For us to get involved in an intergovernmental issue would be overstepping our bounds.”
Tribal officials have put the Mohegans' investment in the Kenosha project at more than $12 million, a figure Malerba said “is in the ballpark.” She said it's less than the Forest County Potawatomi, a Wisconsin tribe that operates a casino in Wabeno, has spent fighting the Kenosha project.
"Regional"
- 5/27/2009 12:56:19 PM
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: Another bad deal by this Mohegan Tribal Council who voted for this project, at the very least another $12 million gone. How much are we short on our Mohegan Tribal Government Budget for Fiscal year 2009? Could it be as much as was lost on the Wisconsin project? These people need to go. What do you think?
Friday, June 12, 2009
FINAL APPROVAL GIVEN FOR FOXWOODS IN PHILADELPHIA
Philly council OKs zoning for possible Foxwoods casino in downtown
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Associated Press
Posted Jun 11, 2009 @ 04:06 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Philadelphia, Pa. — The Philadelphia City Council has given final approval for zoning changes allowing a casino downtown.
Councilman Frank DiCicco called the bill up for a final vote Thursday and it passed unanimously. The move was a surprise because DiCicco previously said he would not do so until the Foxwoods casino had a signed lease. That hasn't happened yet, but DiCicco said his previous position was a mistake.
Foxwoods also needs approval from the city planning commission and from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to move its license location to the former Strawbridge & Clothier department store.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: It looks like Foxwoods is going to get i done. It looks like they are going to have a casino in Pennsylvania. They still have to build it. In other news in the state, the new casino that opened in Bethehem in eleven days did more business then Pocono Downs for the month. Pocono Downs, in my opinion, has never made money and never will. More bad decisions by the MTGA. They should go. What do you think?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Associated Press
Posted Jun 11, 2009 @ 04:06 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Philadelphia, Pa. — The Philadelphia City Council has given final approval for zoning changes allowing a casino downtown.
Councilman Frank DiCicco called the bill up for a final vote Thursday and it passed unanimously. The move was a surprise because DiCicco previously said he would not do so until the Foxwoods casino had a signed lease. That hasn't happened yet, but DiCicco said his previous position was a mistake.
Foxwoods also needs approval from the city planning commission and from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to move its license location to the former Strawbridge & Clothier department store.
EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: It looks like Foxwoods is going to get i done. It looks like they are going to have a casino in Pennsylvania. They still have to build it. In other news in the state, the new casino that opened in Bethehem in eleven days did more business then Pocono Downs for the month. Pocono Downs, in my opinion, has never made money and never will. More bad decisions by the MTGA. They should go. What do you think?
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