By: Lakshmi PS

Some constituents are unhappy in what they perceive to be racist policies at Pittsburgh’s Rivers Casino
The streams Casino in Pittsburgh is not the types of casino that always makes headlines. But one politician that is local worried that the casino has recently put policies into place that show an ugly pattern one that might, in reality, be discriminatory towards black patrons.
Earlier this an Allegheny County councilwoman named Amanda Green Hawkins wrote a letter to the casino’s general manager month. In the letter, she asked a question that is pointed why several events that seemed to be targeted at the local African-American community have been cancelled, afflicted by higher pricing, or faced other unequal conditions.
According to Councilwoman Hawkins, the page follows a pattern of reports she received from her constituents.
‘There have been allegations of battle discrimination,’ Hawkins stated. ‘Constituents have called me or written me emails about things they have seen going on [at Rivers Casino] that they state are simply racism.’
There were several examples in current months that prompted the letter. Within the letter, Hawkins highlighted an event held month that is last a black motorcycle club called the Pittsburgh Ruff Ryders. The casino discovered that the function was overcrowding the area it had been held in, and so shut the event down early. However, there have been questions about why the casino don’t try taking other measures instead, such as closing the doorways rather than allowing any more guests in the location.
While this 1 case on its own might mean little, Hawkins thought that it was part of a pattern of behavior from the casino that was being reported to her from visitors. A historically black fraternity was charged $15,000 last year to host an event in the casino’s ballroom, which was far more than the fee normally charged to use that venue for instance, Omega Psi Phi.
In addition, the casino has recently power down many events that have been understood become well-liked by the black community. Boxing matches and coverage of such matches at casino pubs are not any longer found there. Meanwhile, a promotion that is popular as ‘Casino Royal Nights,’ organized by African-American promoter Jay Legacy during the casino’s Drum Bar, has additionally been shut down.
‘In effect, the casino will not conduct or hold any event that attracts or caters to a large audience that is african-American’ Hawkins had written.
Interestingly, the casino itself took a soft line when responding to the accusations. While basic supervisor Craig Clark has not commented on the whole story, casino spokesman Jack Horner told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette they would be pleased to talk about the matter with the councilwoman.
‘Rivers Casino already has reached out to Councilwoman Hawkins’ office to schedule a individual meeting with our general manager, to address any misunderstanding, and to correct the record,’ Horner said.
If the allegations turn out to be accurate, the casino could possibly be found in violation of laws discrimination that is regarding though it’s too early to say just how severe any potential punishment could possibly be.
The Rivers Casino was opened in 2009. The casino sits alongside the Ohio River, beside the Carnegie Science Center. Along with 3,000 slot machines which have been on the casino floor considering that the Rivers’ launch, the casino now features over 100 table games, which were included with the casino in 2010.
Billionaire slot magnate Enrique Razon wants to just take a gamble on expansion
Filipino billionaire Enrique Razon comes from a family that built a port company throughout Southeast Asia, eventually becoming certainly one of the biggest such corporations within the area. Now, Razon is seeking to accomplish the same with his casino ventures.
Razon is the owner of Bloomberry Resorts, business that runs a $1.2 billion casino resort known as Solaire in Manila. Solaire was given certainly one of four licenses for casino jobs in Manila included in an effort to provide the Philippines a gambling hub that could contend with Macau and Singapore.
But Razon is looking to expand his casino business much like how he took their family’s little ports procedure and turned it right into a worldwide procedure. He’s already expressed an interest in moving into markets including Latin America and also the market that is biggest of these all: Macau. While the latter probably can’t happen immediately, Razon hopes that when present licenses start to expire in Macau in 2020, the federal government there will open the marketplace to entrants that are new.
‘We just have to build the brand,’ Razon said.
This is simply not the time that is first Razon family was part of the casino industry. Many years, ago, Enrique’s father had been element of a venture with Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho that operated a floating casino in Manila. But he left that venture, allowing the family to concentrate exclusively in the ports business.
While Razon’s Solaire could be a success, there’s still plenty of skepticism over whether he’ll have the ability to translate that into a casino brand that is international.
‘ He will have harder time expanding his casino ventures overseas,’ said strategist Alex Pomento. ‘Mr. Razon’s expertise has been ports, company who has no correlation with video gaming.’
Needless to say, Razon disagrees. He points out that Solaire has already drawn a lot of VIP and high-stakes gamblers, sufficient that 30 so-called junket operators have actually decided to work with the casino. Those businesses offer credit and arrange trips for Chinese and Asian gamblers who want to make visits to overseas gambling enterprises.
Razon additionally believes that their ports business can actually give him a leg up in some markets especially in Latin America.
‘We have the benefit there because we are the biggest port operator there. We understand the landscape,’ he said.
Of course, Razon will face a good amount of competition as he tries to push their fledgling casino brand. In Macau, he’ll face resistance from established brands, both domestic and foreign, including Sands and Wynn. Even into the Philippines, several other operators will be competing for influence, including tycoon Henry Sy, who has partnered with Melco Crown to start a $1.3 billion casino complex in 2014. How effective Razon is at moving to the the top of market that is local figure out whether international expansion is in the cards.
The Razon household is better known for their ownership of International Container Terminal Services, an ongoing company that Enrique and his father began in 1987. Today, the company (known as ICTSI) is the Philippines’ largest ports operator and also operates in Asia, Argentina and Colombia.
Scottish soccer player Ian Black could face sanctions and even worse for sports bets against his own team
When it comes towards the rules of conduct for players and coaches in activities, you’ll find nothing taken more really than gambling. It’s easy to understand why: while other hot issues in sports such as for instance performance enhancing drugs may give some players an unfair advantage, they don’t change the fundamental competition taking put on the field. Whenever players and coaches gamble in the games, on the other side, the legitimacy of your competition it self is thrown into question.
That’s why allegations taken from Scotland this are being taken so seriously week. The Scottish Football Association the regulating body for soccer in that nation is accusing player Ian Black of wagering on matches by himself team on many occasions over days gone by seven years. Worse still, in at the very least three of those circumstances, he is accused of betting that his team that is own would.
To be clear, Black isn’t being accused of wanting to fix the games he played in. Even into the games in which he bet against his very own team, the SFA doesn’t think he attempted to gain by playing poorly or elsewhere increasing the possibility of his team losing.
But that doesn’t suggest that the 28-year-old midfielder, who currently plays for the Glasgow Rangers, would not face serious punishments for his betting habits. Because of the 13 times he bet on or against their team that is own with 147 other bets he made on matches he didn’t be a part of, Black could face a fine of up to $1.3 million.
To make these bets, Black violated an anti-gambling rule disciplinary rule 22 that is regarding the books throughout his career, which spanned his time at Hearts, Inverness, and now with the Rangers. The rule states that ‘no club, official, team official or other member of team staff, player, match official or other individual underneath the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA shall bet at all on a football match.’ While there are exceptions for many authorized ‘football pools,’ the ban also includes all football matches any place in the world and thus Ebony would be facing punishment more chilli slot machine ad even if he hadn’t bet on his own team.
However, the bets on his team that is own do the chance of even harsher punishments for Black. According to the SFA, Black could face a suspension system in addition to their fine, in which he could potentially even receive a life time ban from playing soccer.
Black has recently had a long profession for clubs in Scotland, beginning with a 132-game stint at Inverness from 2004 to 2009. He then relocated to the favorite club of his childhood, Hearts, for 36 months before joining Rangers last year. Black has additionally played one game for Scotland’s national group, coming in as an alternative in a friendly against Australia. Black’s family members features a long reputation for playing soccer, as his dad was a player that is professional well, playing for both Hearts and Hibernian.
This is not the time that is first Ebony has made headlines for off-the-field tasks. In 2011, he and a teammate had been arrested and charged with drug control at an Edinburgh club, though the case as since been dismissed night. Later that year, whenever Hearts was struggling to pay player salaries for a short period of time, he had been said to have taken up a part-time job as being a painter and decorator to pay his bills.