While the scenes at the opening of the new Resorts World racino in Queens may seem depressing to some, having people throw away their hard-earned money has one upside: More aid for schools! According to the Post, "New York’s nine 'racinos' generated $667 million in aid for schools last year — an increase of 28 percent." more ›

The recent action out of Albany wasn't all about DNA databanks and pension reform. There was also much wheeling and dealing to bring Governor Andrew Cuomo's dream of non-Indian New York casinos closer to fruition. But even if gambling does get legalized here (and there are still many hoops to get through) don't expect to see a casino open in Times Square. more ›

Connecticut police arrested a 38-year-old woman for risk of injury to a minor for leaving her five-year-old son in a casino hotel room so she could gamble. And police found out what happened because her son called 911. more ›

With the success of the Aqueduct "Racino" last year there is a serious political push, headed by Governor Cuomo, to bring real casinos to New York State. And you know who really likes the idea? Brooklyn mascot and third-term Beep Marty Markowitz, who really wants to bring Casino's to the boardwalk. Craps on Coney, anyone? more ›

On the heels of NY State being super-duper excited to allow online gambling, now Governor Cuomo has signaled his support for a casino in the Big Apple. In a year-end interview with the Daily News, Cuomo said, "Do I support casino gaming at a New York City location? ... Yes." more ›

The Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City is facing some serious fines this week after a 14-year-old boy was caught playing the slots, right under the not-so-watchful eye of the casino's security guards. more ›

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver does not want a full-blown casino opening within the five boroughs, because he thinks New Yorkers are weak, won't be able to resist the lure and may very well do something stupid when money is involved. Silver told The Daily News, "I don't want to see people going out for lunch during work and losing a week's pay or a month's pay." more ›

While Atlantic City's Resorts Casino Hotel has Club Piscopo, which, yes, means you can see Joe Piscopo, it also is home to Prohibition, very possibly the "first full-time gay bar at any big American casino." The casino's CEO Dennis Gomes told the NY Times, "I feel like I’m doing something that needs to be done, but it’s perfect because the right thing to do is the lucrative thing to do, too." Word. more ›

While the recession has been over for quite some time now, if there was to be a recession, there's nothing like gambling to give the economy a shot in the arm. Yesterday the Interior Department reversed position on a rule that denied Indian tribes to build casinos "beyond commuting distance from their reservations," which means that the St. Regis Mohawk tribe may get that casino [pdf] 90 miles from New York City at the Monticello Race track after all. Atlantic City was just way too far! more ›

Last year Jones Beach had to close Field 1, one of the park's largest parking areas, because of the state's budget mess. (Even worse, the MTA suspended buses to Jones Beach amphitheater, making it a real headache getting out there for Creed.) But a couple of forward-thinking lawmakers have come up with a solution to the budget shortfall: Build a casino at the beach! Reactions to the idea have been mixed, to put it mildly. more ›

The Shinnecock tribe, who have lived for centuries in a patch of land on the Hamptons shoreline, have been formally recognized by the federal government after a 32-year court battle. The Shinnecock had to prove they existed in order to apply for federal funding to build schools, health centers and set up their own police force, which left some members bitter: "Why do we need federal recognition to show we are who we are? It's a humiliating, degrading and insensitive process. Why do Indian people have to go through that? No other peoples are treated like that," said Shinnecock leader Lance Gumbs. more ›

The Turkish immigrant who used comped chips to cheat casinos nationwide has landed on Homeland Security's terrorist watch list. Seyit Ibrahim Yel used the name Mustafa Seda as an alias in the states, and the FBI began tracking him after the real Mustafa Seda sold Yel his ID. Yel used the fake identity to scam American casinos out of over $500,000, and recently escaped to Abu Dhabi. Though he was arrested for stealing gasoline, a judge didn't hold him without bail because arrest warrants were under the name Mustafa Seda. more ›

Brooklyn native Seyit Ibrahim Yel has allegedly conned casinos across the country out of over $500,000 by using comped chips to bet at the blackjack table. However, no one has been able to sue him because he is nowhere to be found. Yel and a group of other con men somehow tricked casinos into thinking he was a 35-year-old businessman named Mustafa Seda, and within weeks of beginning a gambling spree in 2008 he was traveling on private jets and staying in complimentary suites paid for by big casinos. more ›

After an initial deal fell apart amidst controversy and allegations of political favoritism, state officials will soon start searching for a new company to operate video slot machines at the Aqueduct Racetrack. Unlike the previous round of bidding that ended with Gov. Paterson's selection of the Aqueduct Entertainment Group, this time the Governor's office will actually establish a set criteria that will be used to judge applicants. "We want to limit the leaders' involvement," a Paterson official told the Daily News. more ›

State officials refused to grant a gaming license to the politically-connected consortium selected by Gov.Paterson to open a casino at the Aqueduct Racetrack—meaning the company will not install slot machines at the Queens facility or receive the lucrative contract. "The Division of the Lottery has concluded that it cannot issue a gaming license to Aqueduct Entertainment Group. Therefore, the State has officially withdrawn its support for AEG," the governor's office wrote in a statement. more ›

The politically-connected casino operator chosen to bring slot machines to the Aqueduct Racetrack beat out its rivals by claiming the other bidders would cater to crowds that were too young or too classy for Queens. Documents released to the public in an effort to quell the controversy surrounding Gov. Paterson's selection of the Aqueduct Entertainment Group also reveal that the company was picked even though it initially said it would net the least amount of money for the state. Paterson has been accused of choosing the group to win the political support of AEG shareholder Rev. Floyd Flake. more ›

Following Gov. Paterson's controversial selection of Aqueduct Entertainment Group to operate video slot machines at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, federal prosecutors have reportedly seized records related to the politically-connected winning bidder. Investigators are researching ties between Aqueduct Entertainment Group and a Queens nonprofit, which was last in the news for allegedly fleecing Hurricane Katrina victims out of money raised on their behalf. more ›

Speculators say the NY Times's Paterson scoop has to do with drugs, swinger parties or some combination of the two, but as scandals pile up, it seems like the news could have to do with 4,500 video slot machines planned for a racetrack in Queens. In a move that by some accounts "smacked of favoritism" Gov. Paterson awarded the project to a company that operates a shabby casino in Elko, Nevada. Now, sources say, Paterson is "paranoid" and lashing out at aids over the corrupt-looking gambling deal. According to one insider, "He sits gnashing his teeth, looking around for scapegoats among the people around him. He's lecturing them, launching into tirades, and he's demoralized the entire staff in the process." more ›

The horse racing organization that threatened to cancel the Belmont Stakes due to monetary woes will be subpoenaed for refusing to open its books. The state is skeptical of the New York Racing Association's claims that it doesn't have enough money to hold the final leg of the Triple Crown, because the organization was awarded $105 million in taxpayer money and had its $200 million debt erased last year, according to the Daily News. more ›

The NY Times reports, "Gov. David A. Paterson has endorsed an Indian tribe’s bid for federal recognition." Paterson sent a letter to the Department of Interior, "to say federal recognition of the Shinnecock is long overdue would be an understatement." The Shinnecock Nation wants to build a casino in the Hamptons and is thrilled with the support, calling the governor a "man of principle." more ›

An underage gambler has cost the Atlantic City Hilton Casino over $115,000—the second-largest fine for underage gambling in the city's 31-year history of casino gaming. (Last year Bally's Atlantic City was slapped with a record-setting $157,500 fine for letting an underage customer gamble; the legal age there is 21.) The Hilton's teenage gambler, identified only as "M.R." by the gaming commission, was granted a player's account at the Hilton in 2007 and even given a free room. He was 19 at the time, but gave fake identification indicating he was 24. During the next 16 months, "M.R." traveled repeatedly to A.C. from Brooklyn, and in February 2008, he was arrested at a different casino for underage gambling. Still, the Hilton didn't know his real age until April 2008, when the Gaming Enforcement Division found a record for "M.R." at the Hilton, and notified the casino. But the next day, the casino permitted him to gamble some more, for nearly three hours. Linda Kassekert, chairwoman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, tells the AP, "We have a big concern about it because kids can make themselves look older, and that's problematic." Especially if they get lucky. more ›

You know what the Hamptons really need? A more efficient way to throw money away. That's why the Shinnecock tribe on Long Island is hoping to get federal recognition and open a casino out there. (They've been recognized by the state for ages.) The Shinnecocks filed a petition with the Interior Department for federal recognition back in 1978, but you can't rush the Grandfather in Washington. The tribe finally sued the agency in 2006, and on Tuesday the Interior Department finally agreed to a time frame to answer the tribe's petition. John A. Strong, a retired professor who's an expert on Long Island tribes, tells the Times recognition is pretty much a lock, and once that happens, the Shinnecocks will be allowed to open a Class II casino (just video slot machines, no table games). They'd sure love it if they could get out of poverty by attracting gambling swells from the Hamptons, but because Suffolk County is worried about the traffic, the tribe may cut a deal with the state to open a Class I casino in Queens, perhaps at the Aqueduct racetrack! more ›

According to The Villager, all artist Arnie Charnick wants to do is transform that cube in Astor Place – a kinetic sculpture called “The Alamo” – into a giant craps table. Charnick’s vision would temporarily turn the big cube into a die with white Velcro dots, drop in a second giant die next to it, paint the Astor place island like a craps table, add some manhole-sized chips (one of which would actually be a manhole!) and string a 17-foot-high banner between two lampposts, depicting a casino-like scene. Clever, right? Not to the agent who represents Tony Rosenthal, the artist who made “The Alamo”:

Can you go into the Museum of Modern Art and draw on a Picasso painting? I don’t think so. What is the point of allowing someone else to capitalize on Mr. Rosenthal’s important and famous Work of Art by letting someone else modify or change or revise this Sculpture? Why not be an Artist, and create your own Art? If you want to be famous, rape Britney Spears and you’ll get in the newspaper.