Have you ever sat at a winning slot machine or table game and have a person sit right next to you smoking a cigar or cigarette? You can’t breathe, and you don’t want to give up your winning seat. Yes, there are nonsmoking areas, but they have limited table games and slot machines.

Casinos are now the entertainment centers for senior citizens. Have Missouri elected officials or medical providers visited a casino lately? What’s up with casinos receiving exceptions to smoking bans?

In 2004, I had stage 4 cancer supposedly caused by secondhand smoke. I have never smoked a day in my life.

There should be no smoking in all public places. Companies who allow smoking should pay much higher premiums than nonsmoking companies. What about casino employees who have to stand there in a cloud of cigar and cigarette smoke? Jobs are hard to find, and sometimes working in a smoking place is all that is available.

If our elected officials can’t get a ban on smoking in public places approved, then put it on the ballot. The surgeon general has a warning on smoke products, but the state does nothing to protect the health of the people of Missouri.

All voting people, stand up and call your representative to make Missouri a smoke-free state. This includes banning electronic cigarette products in public places as well.

LAS VEGAS (October 24, 2014) Caesars Entertainment says pop star Britney Spears will get a key to the Las Vegas Strip and celebrate with her own dedicated day.

The Las Vegas-based casino giant announced Thursday that it would host "Britney Day" starting at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 5 at The LINQ Promenade.

Caesars says that starting at 8 a.m., the first 100 people who prove that they, too, are named Britney will get two tickets to Spears' "Piece of Me" show at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino and a ride aboard the High Roller observation wheel.

The announcement follows reports that Caesars is talking with pop icon Jennifer Lopez to also perform at Planet Hollywood.

A Caesars spokeswoman says it hasn't made any offer to Lopez.

Clark County has handed out 10 "keys" to the Strip so far.

Atlantic City, N.J.’s Revel Casino will be sold to private-equity firm Brookfield Capital Partners LP for $110 million, a U.S. judge decided, rejecting Florida real-estate developer Glenn Straub ’s arguments he didn’t get a chance to top the bid.

Bankruptcy Court Judge Gloria Burns thanked Mr. Straub’s company for being the original, or “stalking horse,” bidder with a $90 million cash offer for the closed casino and hotel. But she supported Revel’s argument that it had to take a guaranteed Brookfield bid over the possibility of Mr. Straub’s higher bid.

“The sale was properly conducted and was fair,” Judge Burns said. Several other parties who objected to the sale were satisfied with minor wording changes in the sale order or with preserving their rights to object later, but Mr. Straub fought the sale for more than two hours.

Mr. Straub on Tuesday said he was prepared to top the $110 million cash bid from Brookfield at a Sept. 30 auction, but couldn’t immediately contact his financial advisers and was coping with a serious illness.

“I’m worrying about my life,” Mr. Straub said. His Polo North Country Club Inc. investment vehicle wanted more time to top the $110 million Brookfield bid, he said. Mr. Straub also accused the company of withholding information about competing bids, something Revel lawyers denied in court on Tuesday.

According to testimony on Tuesday from Moelis MC -1.13% & Co. managing director Barak Klein, Revel and its advisers decided not to wait on a potential new bid by Mr. Straub, fearing it could lose the Brookfield bid if it did.

When a 6 a.m. deadline came without a new bid submitted by Mr. Straub, Brookfield was declared the auction winner.

“It was in the best interest for sure,” said Moelis’s Mr. Klein, who advised Revel on the sale. “We had raised the [original] price 20 million bucks.”

Brookfield, which also owns Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Las Vegas, was named the winner of the auction for the 47-story boardwalk property, topping Mr. Straub’s final offer of $95.4 million with its $110 million bid. Brookfield plans to reopen the casino as soon as it gets the necessary licenses and permits.

“Your honor, this is a very important day for Revel and for Atlantic City,” said Revel lawyer John Cunningham at the outset of the hearing. Mr. Cunningham, of White & Case LLP, called Brookfield “the most logical buyer with a strong gaming background.”

Mr. Straub told The Wall Street Journal previously that would appeal the bankruptcy-court sale if it were approved. Mr. Straub is in line to collect a $3 million breakup fee for serving as the lead bidder.

Revel, built at a cost of $2.4 billion, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a second time in as many years in June. Before shutting down, Revel employed more than 3,000 people, and its retail, food and beverage partners employ hundreds more, court papers show.

The gambler eyed the cards being laid out on the baize table and murmured quietly to his attractive Asian companion. She had accompanied him, he told the staff at the London casino, purely for 'good luck'.
But why then was she the one talking to their female dealer in Mandarin Chinese, persuading her to oblige her friend's extreme superstitiousness with all manner of harmless little changes to the high stakes game of baccarat he was playing.
Some might have been suspicious, but casinos love the so-called 'high-rollers' willing to gamble millions in a single session. And they didn't come much more high-rolling than Phil Ivey, regarded as the world's greatest poker player.
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A Mayfair casino will not have to pay poker player Phil Ivey£7.7million in winnings
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It is believed that the poker player was helped by Cheung Yin Sun Cheung
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A Mayfair casino will not have to pay poker player Phil Ivey (left) £7.7million in winnings after a High Court judge ruled the 'edge-sorting' technique he used, helped by Cheung Yin Sun (right), was cheating
His arrival at Crockfords in Mayfair, Britain's oldest casino, the previous night had caused genuine excitement, not to mention a gleeful rubbing of hands.
As a casino inspector paced the private room, hung not only with chandeliers and oil paintings but also a battery of security cameras, the scene one August night two years ago could have come straight from the pages of Ian Fleming.

Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati has a powerful new attraction to draw discerning customers: vino.

The casino's prime eatery, Jack Binion's Steak, is one of a handful of local winners to nab Wine Spectator's coveted "Award of Excellence" designation. The recognition honors restaurants with unique selections that complement their menus.

"This shows our complex and wide offerings of wine and that we're very diligent about our program," said Ross Highley, general manager of Jack Binion's.

A local restaurant veteran, Highley has made several attempts to win the honor at other eateries, but it was only the casino that changed his luck. A total of 15 local restaurants won the magazine honor, and Horseshoe was the only casino to make the cut.

Jack Binion's stands out even among other Horseshoe casinos: it is the only Jack Binion's that offers its own private label wine, called Vintage 51. It's private label wine and its selection of more than 200 wines designed to complement its steak menu.

Making the Wine Spectator's list provides Horseshoe with bragging rights it hopes to leverage into gambling visits. This year, the casino has battled fiercely with Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg for the No. 1 spot among the region's crowded gambling market that includes three riverboat casinos in Southeast Indiana and three racinos in Southwest Ohio.

Horseshoe to smokers: Prepare to light up and bet

Rising Star owner: Not so fast, we might be for sale

The Horseshoe was the region's fourth full-blown casino in Greater Cincinnati when it opened in March 2013. Since then, Miami Valley Gaming racino opened in December in Turtlecreek Township; Belterra Park opened in May in Anderson Township; and Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway opened in August.

Located in Downtown, Horseshoe's competitive strategy has varied from its suburban competitors. Horseshoe attracts more higher-frequency gamblers that stay for a shorter period during each visit. Hollywood, by contrast, attracts more gamblers staying for a weekend.

To attract its core customer, Horseshoe has opened with signature restaurants designed to draw customers such as Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville and Bobby's (Flay's) Burger Palace. The casino has also booked top entertainment acts to perform at its outdoor The Shoe and indoor Pavilion venues.■

More than 12,000 litres of paint is being applied in three coats to the iconic Gold Coast building.
The workers say the scariest part of the job is hopping over the edge, the rest is easy.
Project manager Mick Ward from Gold Coast-based company Usher and Son says the painters are a breed of their own.
"To wake up every morning knowing that you're getting off the top of a high-rise, you've got to be a pretty special sort of person to do that," he said.
Mick admits he was not originally sold on the idea of abseiling painting, but over the past decade he has come around.
"It's a lot safer than people realise," Mick said.
"Even though to the novice driving along the road watching a bloke hang off a building off a rope [it] can be fairly frightening."
A significant amount of logistical planning, training and safety measure have gone into the project.
The work is being done in stages to minimise the impact on hotel guests.
The painters work in pairs to ensure safety and weather conditions are closely monitored.
If wind gusts get too high, the painters down tools and hope it is calmer the next day.
"You've got just as much chance of getting hurt riding a bike as you have abseiling over a wall," he Mick.
The project is expected to be finished in the new year.
Listen to the abseiling painters as they give Jupiters a new coat.