Gaming briefs for September 2, 2004

Thursday, Sept. 2, 2004 | 10:35 a.m.

Chip maker changes name

Paul-Son Gaming Corp. announced it has completed a name change to Gaming Partners International Corp. and that it has acquired a new Nasdaq trading symbol, GPIC.

The name change was approved by shareholders at the company's annual meeting May 26.

Company President and Chief Executive Gerard Charlier said the name change follows nearly two years of "intensive efforts to reorganize and improve operations" since Paul-Son merged with privately held French chip maker Etablissements Bourgogne et Grasset in 2002.

The company has aimed to eliminate duplicate functions, build an executive team and expand the company's product line.

Jackpot ends with ticket, fine

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa -- A jackpot at Bluffs Run Casino will end up costing both the winner and the casino.

The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is expected to fine the casino $10,000 today for allowing a minor to hit a $1,350 jackpot on a slot machine.

Daniel Enriquez-Ramirez, who will turn 21 this month, pulled the winning lever about 4 a.m. on July 5.

A casino employee arrived to process the winnings and asked Ramirez for identification. Enriquez-Ramirez left and quickly returned with two people to act as his interpreter.

Casino staffers told Enriquez-Ramirez that he would not receive his winnings and he was cited by Council Bluffs police for gambling under the age of 21.

Enrique-Ramirez was found guilty by an administrative judge and paid a $50 fine plus court costs.

Bluffs Run is not challenging the ruling and will pay the fine, said casino spokeswoman Gina Ott.

Casino employee charged

ATLANTIC CITY -- A casino hotel employee and her alleged accomplice have been arrested and charged with robbing $70,000 in cash from the Trump Taj Mahal Hotel Casino before dawn Monday.

Authorities said hotel employee Monica Robertson, 41, of New York City helped Tyrone Daniels, 33, of Atlantic City, get into a secured casino cashier's office. There, police said, he demanded money at gunpoint and walked away with $70,000.

Robertson was arrested Monday. Daniels was arrested the next day in his home, where police said they recovered more than $39,000 in cash.

Both Robertson and Daniels were charged with conspiracy and armed robbery. Both were being held at the Atlantic County jail.

More residents seek treatment

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Record numbers of Oregonians are seeking help for gambling addictions, threatening to overflow the state's free treatment program, health officials say.

"For the first time, we don't have enough money to meet the growing demand," said Jeffrey Marotta, a clinical psychologist who manages problem gambling services for the state Human Services Department. "We kind of hit a ceiling."

He said more than 1,500 gamblers -- with debts averaging more than $19,000 -- enrolled in the program in fiscal 2003 and that there are waiting lists in some areas.

About 2 percent of adults are thought to be problem gamblers.

Oregonians spent $1.18 billion last year on all forms of gambling -- an average of $447 per adult. Spirit Mountain Casino in Grand Ronde has surpassed Multnomah Falls as Oregon's leading tourist attraction.

Marotta said clients average 44 years of age, with a household income of more than $39,000. A majority work full time and 70 percent play video poker.

About one in four seeking treatment said gambling cost them a marriage or other significant relationship. An equal number said they committed illegal acts to pay for their habit.

The Legislature designated 1 percent of Oregon Lottery's net proceeds for the program, one of the few free ones in the nation.

There are 26 outpatient centers, two residential crisis-respite programs, a round-the-clock gambling Help Line and 18 community prevention programs.

Six months after treatment, 80 percent say they either don't gamble or gamble much less, Marotta said.

But last year, budget problems reduced funding while gambling rose.

"The funds are there," said Marotta, co-author of the new state report. "We just don't have the authority to spend them."