Gaming briefs for May 21, 2004

Friday, May 21, 2004 | 11:08 a.m.

Governor set to veto gaming compact bill

MADISON, Wis. -- Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle is poised -- for the third time -- to veto a bill that would require legislative approval of the gaming compacts he negotiates with Indian tribes.

Both houses of the Legislature passed the bill Wednesday and sent it to the governor. Doyle last year vetoed two similar versions of the legislation that lawmakers sent to his desk. It takes a two-thirds vote in both houses to override a veto.

The Assembly approved the latest incarnation of the bill 54-39 and the Senate passed it 20-13. Both houses are controlled by Republicans.

Legislative leaders introduced the bill again after a state Supreme Court decision last week found Doyle had overstepped his authority by signing a compact with the Forest County Potawatomi that allowed Las Vegas-style games such as craps and roulette.

Gambling nightclubs planned

LONDON -- Luminar Plc, the United Kingdom's biggest nightclub owner, will link with Accor Casinos to set up U.S.-style 24-hour gambling venues and revive sales after a full-year loss.

Luminar, which runs theme bars such as the Chicago Rock Cafe, will test the first of the new venues in Leeds, northern England. They will include restaurants, dancing, bars and gambling.

"We plan to roll it out across the country," Luminar Chief Executive Stephen Thomas said. "The first one will be opening in about 18 months in Leeds."

The venues will be modeled on "Hollywood-movie type casinos" and will open at night and in the day, Thomas said.

Luminar is based in Luton, England. Accor's unit owns 23 casinos in Europe and is France's biggest casino operator by sales. About 80 percent of Britons gambled in the past year, according to data from Gamcare, a U.K. organization that monitors gambling. Only 4 percent visit a casino each year, compared with 25 percent in the United States.