Gaming briefs for November 11, 2004

Thursday, Nov. 11, 2004 | 11:02 a.m.

Former lottery security officer charged with rigging game

INDIANAPOLIS -- Prosecutors have charged a former Hoosier Lottery security officer with telling two others that a winning ticket in a $1 million scratch-off game had been sent to a small town grocery store.

William C. Foreman, 59, was arrested and charged with felony counts of disclosing confidential lottery information and theft, Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said.

Foreman told two men that a winning ticket in the "$2,000,000 Bonus Spectacular" game had been sent to a store in Cross Plains of southeastern Indiana's Ripley County, Brizzi said.

One of those men then went to that store and spent about $700 to buy its entire supply of the game's $20 tickets, according to court documents.

Foreman faces a prison sentence of 30 years to 50 years if convicted of the most serious of the charges against him.

Authorities said the game was compromised on May 13 when a Hoosier Lottery investigator obtained a ticket reconstruction list from the Georgia-based manufacturer. That list, combined with information available at the lottery office, would allow someone to trace all five winning tickets.

House delays gaming debate

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- An effort by House Republicans to modify the slot-machine gambling law was blocked Wednesday, at least temporarily, by opponents who argued that the proposal needed fine-tuning.

"Politely, amicably, respectfully, I think that Democrats and Republicans can do a better job if we do this job on Monday and Tuesday," said Democratic leader H. William DeWeese, of Greene County. "Second point -- this potentially is the biggest piece of legislation that would evolve from this session of the General Assembly. This has cosmic impact upon our commonwealth."

The Republican proposal would ban most forms of ownership in gambling interests by lawmakers, certain family members, and some officials of local governments that will receive gambling proceeds. The law passed earlier this year allows lawmakers to own as much as 1 percent of a gambling company.

Large investor sells shares

Marsico Capital Management LLC, one of Mandalay Resort Group's largest institutional shareholders, has sold off nearly its entire stake of about 8.8 million shares, according to a filing this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Denver-based company, known for managing the Marsico brand of mutual funds, owned 833 shares of Mandalay stock as of Oct. 31. Marsico Capital owned 8,764,249 shares of Mandalay stock, a 13.2 percent stake, as of April 30.

Park City pursues Indian casino

PARK CITY, Kan. -- Park City officials voted Tuesday to pursue a large Indian casino they said would create between 1,300 and 1,500 permanent new jobs in the community of slightly more than 5,400 a few miles northeast of Wichita.

The Park City Council voted 7-1 enter into a "memorandum of understanding" with the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska in an effort to gain state and federal approval for the casino.

Under the memorandum, the city and tribe will apply to the federal government to take land into trust for Class II gaming purposes. They also will try to negotiate with the state for a Class II gaming contract for the facility.

The casino plan calls for a 250-to-300-room hotel and a youth activities area that could feature a theme park and other attractions.