The Mike Tyson’s show might get scrapped as the reality TV series has been caught up in an investigation of local gambling laws violation.

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Boxing legend Mike Tyson is embroiled in an investigation into illegal gambling over his upcoming bird racing reality show. The former heavyweight champion is a life-long pigeon fancier, and will showcase his passion for the birds in new U.S. series “Taking on Tyson“, which is set to begin shooting in April.

But the show faces the axe before it’s even begun, after city officials in Brooklyn, New York – where Tyson is set to film – were tipped off that the series violates local gambling laws. The District Attorney’s office is looking into claims the show will profit from animal racing, according to TMZ.

“Taking on Tyson” will follow Mike Tyson and his feathered friends as he pits them against the best racing-pigeon owners in New York. On his passion for bird race, the former heavyweight champion said, “I may have stopped fighting. But I never stopped flying birds. It’s my first love.”

 

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According to the Proactive Investor online edition a company named Play LA Inc. has made a good move by acquiring Arsenal-mania.com which has a huge presence in the world of football in the U.K. Play LA Inc. is a leading advertising and publishing company specializing in the online gaming sector. The company owns and operates a network of multi-language websites for those who are looking for information and promotions, published daily. This is a significant move to tap into the potential of online sports fans. According to Play LA. the Arsenal-mania website already has an impressive following, with around 250,000 visitors per month, 40,000 registered users and nearly 9,000 followers on Twitter. Those 250,000 visitors generate around 4.5 million page impressions per month. Nice tap for an advertising company, that already services some of the biggest online bookies, such as Ladbrokes, William Hill and Party Poker. CEO of Play LA Inc., David Hallonquist, commented, “the transaction will help it expand its reach into the United Kingdom’s sports audience, but the strong following of football fans at Arsenal-Mania.com opens up the potential of similar deals in this space, which could generate substantial readership for the group’s wider network of sites.” In recent months Play LA has announced a revamped U.K sports news website Bettingchoice.co.uk just in time for the Winter Olympic games in Vancouver Canada and the Summer Olympic games in London U.K. Made available on a publisher friendly platform with more interactive features and data capture. Hallonquist said, “The improvements we have implemented are yielding the results in increased traffic that we had hoped for. This gives us the confidence to apply these same improvements to the other sites we own and operate. As our revenues are closely tied to website traffic, we are optimistic about the effect these improvements will have on future revenue growth,”

 

William Hill was optimistic in it’s first quarter results for 2010 considering the weak economy.

Chief Executive Officer of William Hill, Ralph Topping, commented, “In terms of 2009, the scale and breadth of our business ensured that we were well-placed to ride out the extra volatility in sporting results and the areas affected by the economy were counteracted by good growth in gaming machines and our improving online performance. “We have transformed key parts of William Hill in the last year. William Hill Online is almost unrecognisable from a year ago, with highly competitive gaming products, proven marketing expertise and a Sportsbook that has more pre-match and live betting products. ‘Storm’ machines will shortly be available across much of the estate, giving us 22-inch HD technology to enhance the customer experience. In addition, we have addressed the balance sheet issues to leave us in a much stronger position.” This statement seems to have given brokers and analysts have given William Hill a positive investment rating. According to a report the financial newspaper Barron’s William is expected to grow as much as thirty percent over the next year. This is good forward thinking looking at the revamped William Hill company turning lemon’s into lemonade has never been made to look so easy and this is one old school company that knows where to turn it’s attention. Online gambling is the future and now William Hill is positioned to take advantage of it’s new resources. It sounds like a safe bet that, expertise, passion and commitment to customer satisfaction, will give the William Hill investor returns year after year. William Hill is one of the U.K.’s leading betting and gaming companies and employs more than 16,000 people. The London Stock Exchange is home to William Hill stock that looks right now to be an exceptional buy.

Mike Tyson’s new reality TV show about pigeon racing is under investigation over accusations of illegal gambling, TMZ reported today.

The retired U.S. champion boxer, a life-long pigeon keeper, stars in the Animal Planet series “Take on Tyson” – a show about bird racing.

The program pits Tyson and his birds against the best racing-pigeon owners in New York.

Now the show is being taken on by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which is accusing the show of violating New York’s gambling laws because it profits from animal racing.

READ THE LETTER (TMZ)

The District Attorney in Brooklyn – where the show is filmed – told entertainment website TMZ they are investigating PETA’s claims, which are detailed in a letter.

Animal Planet has disputed the claims saying there would be no gambling on the show.

But a representative for PETA claims making any money off animal racing (including Tyson’s salary) is illegal.

Boxing legend MIKE TYSON is embroiled in an investigation into illegal gambling over his upcoming bird racing reality show.

The former heavyweight champion is a life-long pigeon fancier, and will showcase his passion for the birds in new U.S. series Take on Tyson, which is set to begin shooting next month (Apr10).

But the show faces the axe before it’s even begun, after city officials in Brooklyn, New York – where Tyson is set to film – were tipped off that the series violates local gambling laws.

The District Attorney’s office is looking into claims the show will profit from animal racing, according to TMZ.com.

By


Dan Murtaugh

March 21, 2010, 7:24AM

(Press-Register/G.M. Andrews)Willie Waite of Red Square Agency runs the advertising firm’s March Madness pool. “To me, it’s just another thing that’s good for morale and camaraderie,” said Red Square President Rich Sullivan. “And there’s nothing wrong with a little healthy competition.” MOBILE, Ala. — Rich Sullivan says he doesn’t know a “damn thing” about basketball.

But he knows enough about motivation that he’s happy to let his employees at Red Square Agency, an advertising firm in downtown Mobile, take part in a low-stakes office pool for March Madness every year.

“To me, it’s just another thing that’s good for morale and camaraderie,” he said. “And there’s nothing wrong with a little healthy competition.”

Not everyone would agree. Studies published in the past week have linked office pools to gambling addiction and a loss of productivity. Officials in Alabama and Mississippi have questioned their legality.

One thing is for certain — a whole lot of people are doing it.

Different studies estimate that anywhere from 25 to 45 percent of American workers enter a pool. If that were to hold true in south Alabama and southeast Mississippi, anywhere from 87,000 to 150,000 people will fill out a bracket.

At $10 per entry, that would mean the fate of $870,000 to $1.5 million could rest on whether Mobile’s Demarcus Cousins can sink a free throw for Kentucky.

Nationally, the FBI estimated in 1995 that $2.5 billion was wagered on the tournament, a figure that’s likely risen.

Not everyone has management’s blessing to play. Federal employees are forbidden from participating in office pools. A bank with offices in Mobile said employees are discouraged from participating, while an employee of a national firm with local operations said about 45 people take part in two different pools, but they keep it hidden from bosses. And the University of Washington fired football coach Rick Neuheisel in 2003 after the NCAA began investigating his winning $20,000 in a pool the year before.

Conversely, a Nassau University Medical Center employee was fired after he told managers that the office pool should be shut down. He later filed a grievance and got his job back, according to a 2006 U.S. District Court case in New York.

Gambling is a Class C misdemeanor in Alabama, but state law makes an exception for players who are “engaged in a social game in a private place.”

That language is vague enough that the legality of an office pool would likely be open to the interpretation of a judge, said Henry Strickland, an associate dean at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham.

John Tyson, the Mobile County District Attorney who is also heading up Gov. Bob Riley’s anti-gambling task force, said he could not give an opinion on the matter but suggested people entering pools should “seek the advice of their lawyer, and do it immediately.”

Mississippi officials believe office pools break two state laws, but no case has ever been brought to court as a test, said Tom Mueller, a special assistant attorney general.

The Colorado Court of Appeals in 2000 ruled that a bar-hosted, low-stakes NCAA Tournament pool was legal because it was “incidental amusement to the regular patrons.”

For some people — about 1 or 2 percent of the population — office pools could lead to compulsive gambling, according to Todd Kasdan, a medical director with ValueOptions, a Norfolk, Va.-based behavioral health and wellness company.

For most, though, filling out brackets or buying a few Super Bowl squares is just social gambling and is harmless, he said.

The tournament may also sap companies of worker productivity. Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., a Chicago-based consulting firm, estimates that American companies pay about $1.8 billion in wages for time workers waste watching games and filling out brackets.

But Don Forsyth, a professor at the University of Richmond, said that claim is specious.

“You don’t work eight hours every day,” he said. “There’s time spent surfing the Web and fooling around. Time spent on March Madness comes out of that off-task time.”

A March Madness pool might even be good for business, he said. “Companies hire consultants to do team-building exercises,” he said. “March Madness probably gives you the same results for free.”

Sullivan, the Red Square president, said he’s seen no loss of productivity because of the pools.

“We get paid for our knowledge of the inane and pop culture,” he said. Entering a bracket is “almost part of our job.”

By


Joanne Berger DuMound, Sun News

March 21, 2010, 10:09AM

View full sizeJOANNE BERGER DuMOUND/SUN NEWS The Gemini Players Club is inside a plain storefront on Bagley Road next to Powerhouse Gym. The private club offers tables of pool, ping pong and Texas Hold ‘em. Gemini Players Club closed Saturday after receiving a letter from the city of Berea.

The city delivered a letter to the Gemini Players Club Friday saying gambling activities would be considered “criminal acts by any player, dealer, operator” at the club after 12:01 a.m. Saturday. The club offers several activities, including Texas Hold ‘em poker.

The city is taking a legal stand that the club was violating Ohio’s gambling laws by charging an entrance fee.  The club requires membership dues and a entry fee.  

Mayor Cyril M. Kleem told the News Sun Wednesday the city has been reviewing the club’s operations and state’s gambling laws and would have an answer about whether the club was operating legally or illegally “by the end of the week.” 

“The action could be to close them down,” Kleem said.

That is exactly what occurred.

The city’s Planning Commission approved the club’s conditional use permit request but added provisions. One was that the club conforms with the state’s and city’s gambling laws. 

The club opened its first facility in Columbus in 2007. It is still in operation.

It’s unclear whether the owners will challenge the city’s interpretation of the gambling laws and how they pertain to the club. 

See the News Sun March 25 issue for more details.

WILMINGTON – Keith Bewley stood in line at Delaware Park casino eagerly waiting to demonstrate that he had good vision, dexterity, and could count – essentials to being a table-games dealer.

“I’m a victim of the recession,” said the currently unemployed Bewley, 28, of West Grove in Chester County, who took his place at the table, rubbed his hands together, and began stacking a pile of chips by color, one of the tests. He proceeded to the next round, where he shuffled a deck of cards, had an interview, and took a drug test.

He was among more than 200 job seekers Thursday hoping to land one of 300 dealer positions that Delaware Park wants to have filled by Memorial Day – the official arrival of table games in Delaware. Two job fairs at the casino last month attracted more than 900 applicants combined.

High unemployment helps explain the intense competition. The jobless rate in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, which includes northern Delaware and South Jersey, stood at 9.0 percent in January, the latest month for which a regional figure was available.

“We’re getting a decent number of people,” said Shannon DeLucia, vice president of human resources, who gave a presentation at the job fairs. “You have a lot of people out of work. But you also have a lot of buzz about table games coming to both states.”

Meaning Delaware and Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania legalized table games earlier this year and is neck-and-neck in the hiring process for dealers – creating a frenetic scene throughout both states.

Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack in Delaware County, 25 miles north of Delaware Park on I-95, held its first job fair to fill 500 table-games positions last Monday. Despite rain, 365 applicants showed up to become dealers, supervisors, and assistant shift managers.

The casino is holding additional job fairs this month: on Friday, 4 to 8 p.m.; and March 30, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

To date, 10 of the 12 licensed facilities have filed petitions with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to add tables. Two casinos – Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, and Parx in Bensalem – were approved Tuesday. The other eight are in the process.

All are in the midst of hosting job fairs. Mount Airy Casino Resort held one in January – less than three weeks after table-games legislation passed in Harrisburg.

Besides getting petition approval, the Pennsylvania casinos must gain approval for staffing levels and floor plans from the state gaming board, and satisfy board regulations and other conditions. And the board will have to conduct background investigations on all new hires, as well as hire and train its own staff of regulators for table games.

“The board and the casinos still have a tremendous amount of work in front of them before the public will be able to enjoy table games,” said Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Chairman Greg Fajt. “Everyone is working well together to move this process along, but the expectation is that it will still take three to six more months until table games are operating.”

That has not prevented any casino from moving full steam ahead on getting its own army of dealers ready.

Harrah’s Chester began running local newspaper ads seeking dealers three weeks ago, hoping to get a large number of applicants from Chester and other parts of Delaware County. The casino is offering its own dealer schooling for free.

It hopes to open with 86 table games, including craps, roulette, mini-baccarat, blackjack, and pai gow, and a 25-table poker room by summer.

“The seriousness and desire with which the applicants approached the process was refreshing,” said Robert Guidice, vice president of table games at Harrah’s Chester, who worked last week’s fair. “Many great candidates came through and were processed.”

Guidice is among those that Pennsylvania has plucked from Atlantic City. He was table-games director at Showboat until Harrah’s Chester hired him last month. Both are owned by Harrah’s Entertainment Inc.

He said he was looking forward to influencing careers – this time in Pennsylvania.

“It’s my top priority. As we look to bring table games to the forefront of Pennsylvania, I want to make sure the folks we hire are the best,” Guidice said.

Atlantic City stands to lose workers to Delaware as well.

A billboard prominently placed on the outbound side of the Atlantic City Expressway teases the arrival of table games at Delaware Park. The casino wants to begin offering poker by Memorial Day, with other table games, including blackjack and craps, three weeks later.

To do that, it needs to hire 50 dealers with experience and an additional 250 part-time and full-time dealers new at the job, DeLucia said.

“We’re bringing a new endeavor here,” she said. “We don’t have Delawareans with experience.”

Complicating the shortage, she said, was that “we’re all competing for a limited employee base.”

That is why enrolling applicants in dealer school was critical in increasing the pool to draw from, she said, and why representatives from Delaware Technical and Community College were on hand at all three Delaware Park job fairs to register applicants. About 150 have enrolled in dealer courses at Del-Tech.

Among them was Bewley, job applicant number 1065.

“I’m pumped,” said Bewley, who was laid off last April from his shipping-industry job, and whose unemployment benefits run out in less than two months.

DeLucia said wages would be competitive. Dealers make $5 to $7 an hour on average in Atlantic City, and an additional $15 to $21 in tips per hour, depending on their shift and whether they are part-time or full-time.

Not surprisingly, applicants with table-games experience, like Robert Mims, 56, a pit boss at Wheeling Casino in Wheeling, W.Va., are a hot commodity these days.

The West Philadelphia native visits Philadelphia every two weeks to see his mother, wife, three children, and extended family, who all live in West Philadelphia. He said the arrival of table games in Delaware and Pennsylvania was his ticket to return home.

“There will never be another time like this for me,” Mims said. “It’s just a matter of . . . who makes the right offer.”

Mims, a 21-year veteran of the industry who also has worked in Atlantic City, Missouri, and Michigan, began sending resumes in November, two months before table games passed in Pennsylvania.

Since January, he has interviewed with Delaware Park and applied at the two other Delaware racetracks, Harrington Raceway, and Dover Downs. He has mailed resumes to SugarHouse, Parx, and Harrah’s Chester.

Last week, he interviewed for a table-games managerial job at Hollywood Casino near Harrisburg and at Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem.

This week, he has interviews lined up with Meadows Racetrack & Casino near Pittsburgh and Charles Town Races & Slots in West Virginia – which recently expanded to add table games and hopes to have them operating by fall.

 

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Contact staff writer Suzette Parmley at 215-854-2594 or sparmley@phillynews.com.