It was announced this week that Middleborough voters must approve all the terms and conditions of any contract with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to build a casino and resort in the city. Attorney Daniel Murray informed selectmen in a letter that according to state laws, voters must authorize such contracts before a deal is formalized.

“This is exactly what we were asking for,” David Parker, member of the anti-casino group called Casinofacts. “We're hearing everyone say we are a minority voice. That's absolutely not true, and we're going to prevail.” On the other hand, casino supporters were also pleased with the news.

“The United States has always been a gambler country”, says Keith White, president of the National Council on Gaming Problems, an American organization created in 1972.

According to official numbers, 80 percent of American has played in a casino at least one time in their lives. Some estimates have reported that about 1 percent of the American population (approximately two million people) has a gambling related problem, specifically a compulsive addiction, a fraction that is slowly growing since the possibilities to play related to the proliferation of the gambling industry increase.

Dealers at the Trump Marina Hotel Casino voted 183-175 against joining the United Auto Workers. Casino officials said the company is pleased about the results of the vote, which took place amid a general campaign to unionize all 11 casinos in Atlantic City.

“Trump Marina won tonight,” Trump Marina games shift manager Ray Perri said after the vote. “The dealers at Trump Marina do not want representation from the UAW, and as management, we're happy that that happened, and we all want to work together to make a better, unified place.”

As it was done in Spain, Chinese Internet users that enjoy online gambling will have a points system that, in the case of minors, will limit the time they can spend in front of the computer. The reason is the fight against the Internet addiction that many young people suffer from. So, from next July 15th, the companies that offer this kind of games will have to register their users.

This way, over 31 million Chinese players of the Net, will be registered, and they will have to enter their name and identity number each time they want to play a game.

Trump Entertainment Resort Inc., whose chairman is Donald Trump, announced this week that it has hired Merrill Lynch, an investment firm, in order to start exploring its strategic alternatives. Such alternatives, they said, might include a potential sale.

The company owns the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort and Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, located on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J., and Trump Marina Hotel Casino located in Atlantic City’s Marina District. Rumors about the sale of the casinos caused Trump shares to rise nearly 8 percent.

The online site Ebay, is very popular among all the internet users and the internet buyers. They have taken the decision to leave aside the buying and selling of virtual objects of any kind, no matter what game they come from or even the characteristics of it.

The reasons that have led them to take this transcendental decision has to do with the complexity of the legal framework involved in this kind of purchasing and selling activity, and that is because Ebay demands the sellers to be the real owners of the object they are presenting and that they have the corresponding rights of it.

A New Jersey anti-smoking group started this week a campaign against isolated smoking areas in casinos. They argue that these areas increase smoke contamination inside and out the smoking areas, as proved by readings they took on gaming floors in Rhode Island.

According to Regina Carlson, executive director of the group called New Jersey Group Against Smoking Pollution, the more tightly you concentrate the pollution sources, the more highly you increase the pollution.

Casino mogul Steve Wynn informed this week that Lloyd’s of London had made him an offer to settle his $54 million claim of lost value for a Picasso canvas after Wynn accidentally made a hole in it with his elbow.

“They've started to negotiate,” he said, and also made clear that he was not satisfied with the talks. “Their offer is ridiculous”. Wynn filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan claiming for reimbursement and restoration costs for Picasso’s painting “Le Reve” (The Dream).

The Düsseldorf Fair will open its doors on 16th January 2007 and it will continue until 18th January. The Reed Exhibition Deustschland GMBH Company, the organizer of the Gaming Fair IMA in Germany, is optimistic about the attendance of expositors and visitors.

Although all the sectors of the Gaming Industry are invited to the meeting, Recreational Machines and casinos will receive most of the attention. The Fair will take place in a time in which the new Germany legislation on this activity is encouraging the opening of Gaming Venues around the country.

Las Vegas based Eighth Wonder has included Brazilian soccer star Pele in its team, hoping that this move will help them obtain Singapore’s second casino license. A 5,000-seat stadium named after Pele will be part of Harry’s Island gaming and leisure resort if Eighth Wonders wins the bidding.

The soccer star will also be in charge of the Pele Sports Academy that will promote youth participation in sports. “Pele will become Harry's Island ambassador for goodwill, sportsmanship and the pursuit of excellence," a spokesperson for the company said.