Casino News From the Edge: The Dead Come To Life in Las Vegas & More

by Jack Prophet | Jul 26 2011

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Hopefully Your Car Wasn't Made After a Bad Beat
South Korean police have arrested 53 workers at car manufacturer Hyundai for placing bets with online gaming sites from workplace computers. Online gambling  is strictly forbidden in South Korea but a wealth of online sites has nevertheless popped up to serve a market voracious to gamble. The workers were apparently using computers in the staff break room to place wagers over a period of two years, and during that time bet on everything from horses to baccarat  and blackjack.

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Apparently four of the 53 Hyundai workers arrested placed the majority of the wagers averaging almost 250,000 dollars each in bets placed during the two year timeframe. These risk aficionados will be charged with the crime of "habitual gaming" which carries a stiffer sentence. South Korea does have limited state sanctioned storefront gambling outlets, but has waged a desperate if possibly futile war against the encroachment of illegal online operators.

It's Like Payola But Different

The FBI investigation into political corruption in Alabama took a surprising twist last week. The influence peddling drama that is playing out in the state's courts is centred around the legislative battle to extend gambling beyond bingo. A number of pro-casino lobbyists have been forced to testify about a range of offers made to legislators should they vote to expand casino gambling. Incentives included hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, as well as support for personal bills and projects. Several lobbyists have been charged and at least two State Senators are also under indictment.

The strangest incentive offered was to recently retired State Senator Bobby Denton, who prior to entering politics was a musician of small note. Last year the "singing senator" as he is known to his friends and constituents was apparently looking to record a Christmas album. He approached Randy Owen, the lead singer of country super-group Alabama, about using one of his songs for the Yuletide album. Owen reportedly offered to not only allow the Senator to use his group's song, but also promised to sing on it with fellow music country star George "No Show" Jones should Senator Denton vote in favour of expanded gambling.

So what was the reason for the alleged attempted bribe of multi-platinum backup vocals? Apparently Owen and Jones have venues named after them in the proposed casino. The Senator, who is not under investigation, did ultimately vote in favour of the bill but all was for naught as it was killed when the FBI started laying charges. No word yet on when the Christmas album will hit stores.

Dead But Not Out

In the "life is stranger than fiction" category, a man long reported to be dead has been found happily living in Las Vegas. One time commodities trader Arthur Jones disappeared without a trace from his upscale Chicago home in 1979 and was declared legally dead over 25 years ago. Police and the FBI investigated, and the working hypothesis was that Jones had a gambling problem and that perhaps he was killed by gangsters over debts.

However, the case was never settled conclusively until last week when Jones was discovered in Las Vegas. It appears that he had been living and working in the gambling mecca for over a decade as a bookie, which may not be that surprising given his apparent love of the gamble. Jones was caught when the person whose social security number he was using complained to police about unauthorized activity.

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