Gaming briefs for Feb. 6, 2004

Friday, Feb. 6, 2004 | 11:21 a.m.

Job center set up

A one-stop job search center will be set up to help laid-off workers from the Castaways hotel-casino. The center will operate at Nevada Partners in North Las Vegas beginning Tuesday and ending Friday.

The center was organized by the Nevada Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation, Culinary Union Local 226 and other area agencies in response to the casino's unexpected Jan. 29 closure.

Laid-off workers will be given job search assistance, job training, job placement assistance, emergency economic assistance and unemployment insurance assistance.

The sessions are set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Nevada Partners, 710 W. Lake Mead Blvd. Former Castaways workers can call the Castaways Employment Assistance hotline at 657-3335. Also, laid-off Binion's Horseshoe workers can call 657-3334 with their questions.

Partnership launched

The Nevada Council on Problem Gambling has formed a partnership with Nevada Federal Credit Union to distribute materials on gambling addiction to credit union workers and train them about the signs and effects of problem gambling.

The program marks the first formal training program in problem gambling to be offered by a nongaming employer in the Las Vegas Valley and is similar to programs long required of casinos in the state.

Nevada Federal Credit Union will train its 250 or so employees using the same Nevada Council program that casinos use. The company also will distribute brochures and display posters in the workplace.

Credit union customers will receive toll-free problem gambling hotline numbers on their ATM receipts and account statements. A consumer guide entitled "Personal Financial Strategies for the Loved Ones of Problem Gamblers" will be made available to credit union members in their 20 branch offices in Southern Nevada.

Gambling surge lifts profit

SYDNEY, Australia -- Tab Ltd., Australia's second-largest gaming company, Thursday said first-half profit rose 8.8 percent after it recorded the highest increase in betting in more than a decade.

Net income in the six months ended Dec. 31 rose to A$40.2 million ($31 million), or 9 cents a share, from A$37 million, or 8 cents, a year earlier, the Sydney-based company said. Sales increased 9.1 percent to A$519.6 million from A$476.4 million.

"The performance of wagering underpins the transformation of our company," as the division targets sports betting and new gambling products, Chief Executive Warren Wilson said in a statement.

Tab is the target of competing takeover offers from rivals Unitab Ltd. and Tabcorp Holdings Ltd. as gaming companies seek to expand through acquisition to counter government limits on slot machines and betting licenses.

Director under investigation

LINCOLN, Neb. -- An investigation of suspended Nebraska Lottery Director James Quinn centers on a trip he and his wife took to Greece that was paid for by a Georgia lottery vendor, Attorney General Jon Bruning said Thursday.

Bruning said his office is looking into a $5,000 trip that was paid for by Intralot USA of Duluth, Ga., which was recently selected to be the lottery's online game vendor.

Quinn and his wife, Kathy, traveled to Greece in September after Intralot was awarded the new contract with the Nebraska Lottery so Quinn could inspect Intralot's operations, Bruning said.

But state law prohibits public officials from accepting gifts of travel or lodging for their spouse while on state business.

Quinn, who has been director of the Nebraska Lottery since its creation in 1993, was suspended with pay on Monday by Tax Commissioner Mary Jane Egr.