The group that failed to stop New York from approving Indian casino deals and video slot machines filed Thursday to take its case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The anti-gambling group that includes state lawmakers, clergy and a Chamber of Commerce president argue the federal Indian gaming law allowing casinos doesn't trump a prohibition against gambling in the state constitution.

Lawmakers are near, but not close enough, to approving slot machine regulations. One representative feels no "compulsion to push" the slot machine regulations into a special session.What exactly will it take to prod Tallahassee to move on this issue? Are legislators really that indifferent to the will of the voters?The issue has been settled in the way that democratic societies decide public policy -- at the ballot box.

For slot players and managers alike, the gambling experience could soon be quite different. Slot floors of the near future are likely to feature machines that are unlike the singular "Elvis!" or "Wheel of Fortune" games.

Instead, they will be portals through which consumers will have at least 10 to 12 games to choose from, and in which slot bosses can endlessly manipulate and reconfigure game offerings, bonuses, denominations and hold percentages via a centrally located computer.

When the fifth annual Global Gaming Exposition (G2E) opens September 13, much of the anticipated buzz is expected to emanate from these devices. No longer free-standing game machines, they may soon be run from computer servers in the back of the house.

As state Senate leaders prepare for a push to legalize slot-machine gambling in Massachusetts this fall, influential conservatives in key presidential primary states are vowing to press Governor Mitt Romney to veto any such legislation, or to risk losing their support in the 2008 contest for the White House.

A prominent conservative activist and a crusader against gambling in Iowa is threatening to try to hamper ticket sales for a Republican ''Steak Fry" fund-raiser in Dallas County, Iowa, if the governor does not come out strongly against expanded gambling in his home state. Romney has been invited to the steak fry to be the keynote speaker.

The activist, Stacey Cargill, mobilized thousands of voters last fall to soundly defeat a proposal to bring a casino to Dallas County.

Two popular video slot machines, Tomb Raider™ and Texas Tea™, which were previously only available to slot players in brick and mortar casinos, are now available online as internet casinos attempt to lure slot players away from land based casinos by offering the same state-of-the-art theme-based video slots found in casinos.

Usually, when online casino players play slots, they don't see the 'Big Name' Games, like Wheel of Fortune™, I Dream of Jeanie™, Texas Tea™ and Jeopardy™ video slots, simply because these brands are very expensive to license or have exclusive licensing deals with slot machine manufacturers. Casinos pay big bucks to offer these popular, theme-based slots to their patrons and, until recently, these exclusive licensing offers were unheard of online.

A veteran Louisville Democrat wants to have another go at legalizing video slot machines in Kentucky.

Rep. Tom Burch has prefiled a bill for the 2006 legislative session that would allow up to 21,000 video slot machines to be installed across the state, including in areas where they are approved by local referendums.

Prefiled bills have to be refiled to be considered for the next General Assembly.
Burch estimates expansion of gaming could generate more than $200 million in state revenue per year. "The purpose of this legislation is to give Kentucky the revenue it desperately needs.''

Empire Resorts, Inc. owner and operator of Mighty M Gaming at Monticello Raceway, has announced the installation of its first video gaming progressive jackpot machines.

Monticello becomes the third gaming facility in New York State to offer the new games.

Eleanor Lederman of Monticello, a frequent visitor, became the first Mighty M Gaming patron to play IGT's new Spam progressive machine. The Spam game is one of the latest additions to the Mighty M Gaming's VGM gaming floor.

Construction of The Landmark London Hotel was completed in 1899, when the property became the last of the Victorian railway-era hotels to be built in London.

With its fashionable terra-cotta exterior and striking central tower on Marylebone Road, the hotel seemed destined for grand things. But a short 40 years later, the advent of the motor car and World War II devastated the railroad industry, and the opulent property was converted into office space.

Today, the hotel has been restored to its intended glory, having been purchased by the Bangkok, Thailand-based Lancaster Landmark Hotel Company in 1995.

The Jackson family plan an invitation-only bash as a thank you for loyal supporters, fans and friends of Michael Saturday night at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, near Jackson's Neverland Ranch.

The chosen will receive word of their invitations today. Will B.J. Hickman get an invite, or was he a little too supportive?

"We don't know who will perform; we're just told the Jackson family is putting together an event for fans they have selected," Frances Snyder, a spokeswoman for the casino, told the Los Angeles Times.

On one corner of the Las Vegas Strip, Steve Wynn runs his signature $2.7-billion mega-resort and busily plans another.

Across the street, Sheldon Adelson is building the Palazzo hotel-casino next to his successful Venetian. Soon to be shimmering near both properties are Donald Trump's gold-glass hotel-condo towers, and Phil Ruffin has ambitious plans for the aging New Frontier casino.

Four billionaire-sized egos, a slew of big-budget projects and all within stone's throw of one another. Is this desert sandbox big enough to hold them? Can the tycoons coexist harmoniously as neighbors?