Gaming briefs for Oct. 13, 2003

Monday, Oct. 13, 2003 | 11:01 a.m.

Fire-damaged casino to reopen

The refurbished Commercial Casino intends to reopen at the end of the week, 10 months after suffering heavy fire damage, Full House Inc. officials said.

Co-owner Marcy Simon said she and her husband, Jack, plan to break a bottle of champagne on the building and then open the doors to the public Friday evening. It's expected to employ about 100.

The fire last December put 100 employees out of work while Full House negotiated with insurance companies and began the remodeling.

The refurbished casino has all-new bars, new carpeting, a new espresso bar and a new home for White King, the polar bear. Fifty percent of the slot machines are new.

The building first opened in 1869 as the Humboldt House. Those attending Friday's grand opening will have a shot at a drawing for $1,869 on Oct. 19, Simon said.

Zoning may prohibit lottery terminals

PUEBLO, Colo. -- A zoning rule may prohibit video lottery terminals at a dog track even if voters approve the proposal next month, a city planner says.

The hitch comes down to the difference between putting money into a lottery terminal, where you are betting against other gamblers, and putting money on an animal to win a race, where you are betting against the house, senior land use planner Todd Ahlenius said.

The racetrack is permitted under the property's industrial zoning, but there is no consideration for other types of gambling, Ahlenius told the Planning and Zoning Commission last week.

Charges dismissed against former racing chairman

ALTOONA, Iowa -- Former Prairie Meadows Chairman Jim Rasmussen will not face gambling charges, officials with the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission said.

Rasmussen, who has admitted he and his sons wagered on football games through a bookmaker, resigned from the Racing Association of Central Iowa board in May. He also gave up his license as a horse owner.

Turning in his licenses was the main reason for dismissing the case against Rasmussen, said Mike Mahaffey, chairman of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. Rasmussen also is battling inoperable lung cancer.

"He had basically done everything we initially asked him to do," Mahaffey said. "We had been wrestling with whether we wanted anything else. Secondly, we knew that from communications from legal counsel that his health had deteriorated. I think the reason was twofold. We just thought it was time for it to come to an end."

Top suspect sentenced in gambling ring

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The man law enforcement authorities describe as the head of an organized crime gambling operation in New York City was sentenced Friday to up to 4 1/2 years in state prison.

Joseph "Sonny" Juliano, identified by state prosecutors as a capo in the Gambino crime family, pleaded guilty in April to attempted enterprise corruption, including promoting gambling, conspiracy and presenting a false record for filing.

Albany County Court Judge Thomas Breslin sentenced Juliano to 1 1/2 to 4 1/2 years in prison.

As part of the sentence, Juliano will forfeit $578,000. Mark Fitzmaurice, a prosecutor with the state Attorney General's Organized Crime Task Force, said $37,000 of that will go to pay taxes Juliano owes.