Free Republic

Philadelphia Park opened southeastern Pennsylvania's first slot-machine parlor and the second statewide yesterday, attracting gamblers who said they were happy for a local alternative to the casinos in Atlantic City. Hundreds of people poured in when the doors opened shortly after 11:30 a.m. and began stuffing bills into the machines, and the ca sino enjoyed a brisk business in its first hours of operation. Ines Beiez, 47, a North Philadelphia woman who was one of the first to sit down at a machine, said Philadelphia Park would become her gambling destination of choice. Although she was a frequent patron of...

Today we're checking out people whose passions keep them working from midnight to morning. Their labor of love can sometimes even bring about a spiritual awakening in themselves and others. If you think the Today we're checking out people whose passions keep them working from midnight to morning. Their labor of love can sometimes even bring about a spiritual awakening in themselves and others. If you think the daily routine for a priest ends when services are over and the sun goes down, wait 'til you meet Father Stephen Siniari. He's a Christian Orthodox priest who spends his nights searching...

Two women walking behind the Golden Key Motel on Monday afternoon stumbled upon the body of a dead woman. When police arrived at approximately 3:00 p.m. they discovered three more dead women laying face down in a few inches of water in a drainage ditch. The investigation of the deaths stretched far into the night . Police cordoned off the area and flood lights were set up as investigators worked to uncover clues from the crime scene. Tall fragmities grass obscured the work area, but at least one body bag was observed being carried near the white Atlantic County...

ATLANTIC CITY ? Mayor Bob Levy has knowingly misrepresented his military record to family, friends, reporters and the public for decades.As an Atlantic City lifeguard and as a candidate for mayor last year, Levy claimed he had served during the Vietnam War with the U.S. Army?s elite Special Forces, more familiarly known as the Green Berets. In campaign literature distributed last year, he claimed he had won medals as a Green Beret. None of that was true. Levy ? who has an otherwise distinguished military service record ? was never a member of the Army?s Green Berets, he told The...

ATLANTIC CITY A mob-linked construction company - accused of lying about dealings with ex-NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik - must stop doing work for Atlantic City casinos....the Casino Control Commission suspended the licenses of Interstate Industrial Corp.......owners pleaded not guilty to charges of lying to a grand jury.....denying they secretly paid for the bulk of an extensive makeover of Kerik's apartment when he was in charge of city jails.

UL. 5 8:54 A.M. ET New Jersey's casinos ushered the last of the gamblers away from slot machines and tables Wednesday, and janitors locked the doors behind them as a state government shutdown claimed its latest victims. In the first mass closure in the 28-year history of Atlantic City's legalized gambling trade, all 12 casinos were under state orders to lock up. Atlantic City's casinos are lucrative for New Jersey. They have a $1.1 billion payroll, and the state takes an 8 percent cut -- an estimated $1.3 million a day. But as a stalemate over the state budget entered...

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - New Jersey's casinos ushered the last of the gamblers away from slot machines and tables Wednesday, and janitors locked the doors behind them as a state government shutdown claimed its latest victims. In the first mass closure in the 28-year history of Atlantic City's legalized gambling trade, all 12 casinos were dark. Gov. Jon S. Corzine addressed the Legislature at the Statehouse Wednesday morning, defending his position as a stalemate over the state budget entered its fifth day with no deal in sight. Corzine wants to raise the state sale tax from 6 percent to 7...

TRENTON, N.J. -- New Jersey's state government was all but shut down Monday, with state lawmakers and the governor unable to agree on a state budget. The two sides met for nearly four hours Sunday night but couldn't cut a deal. As part of the dispute, Atlantic City's casinos have been ordered to close Wednesday. The shutdown, now in its third day, is a result of the New Jersey Legislature's failure to adopt a budget by its July 1 deadline. The head of the Casino Control Commission ordered gaming in Atlantic City to cease at 8 a.m. Wednesday if New...

Atlantic City's casinos were ordered to close Wednesday, the latest casualty of a state government shutdown that entered its second day Sunday after the Legislature failed to adopt a budget by its July 1 deadline. The head of the Casino Control Commission ordered gaming in Atlantic City to cease at 8 a.m. Wednesday — the day after the July Fourth holiday — if New Jersey fails to enact a budget by then. Atlantic City's 12 casinos, which require state monitoring, have waged a court battle to remain open, and an appeals court was weighing the matter Sunday. There was no...

Caesars claims lottery winner wrote $1.5 million in bad checks The Associated Press Published: Wednesday, June 7, 2006 Updated: Wednesday, June 7, 2006 ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - After winning almost $315 million, it seems odd that lottery winner Jack Whittaker would have money troubles. But a court case has revealed an addition to the long list of Whittaker's problems since his windfall: Caesars casino is suing him, claiming he wrote bad checks. The Atlantic City casino, owned by Harrah's Entertainment Inc., contends Whittaker wrote 21 checks totaling $1.5 million that bounced during gambling trips in 2004. Whittaker claims he...

Monopoly, invented in 1935, is getting with the times. The game's updated Here and Now edition, which is due out this fall, will replace Atlantic City landmarks with legendary streets, neighborhoods and national monuments. Until May 12, fans can vote on www.monopoly.com for their favorite landmarks from 22 cities — including New York's Times Square, Chicago's Wrigley Field, Honolulu's Waikiki Beach, Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. Additionally, the votes will determine where each landmark will appear on the game board, the city with the most votes landing on the coveted Boardwalk spot. "We encourage Monopoly...

An 84-year-old South Jersey woman hits the nickel slots for $10 million. By Troy Graham Inquirer Staff Writer One happy grandmother, Josephine Crawford of Galloway Twp. talks to reporters after her record win at Harrah's Atlantic City. One happy grandmother, Josephine Crawford of Galloway Twp. talks to reporters after her record win at Harrah's Atlantic City. Down to her last credits on a nickel slot machine, an 84-year-old retired waitress hit for an improbable sum of money Tuesday night. $10,010,113.48. The largest jackpot ever in Atlantic City. The largest jackpot ever on a nickel slot machine, nationwide. And certainly the...

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (April 19) - For 84-year-old Josephine Crawford, the golden years just got a lot more golden. After a night playing the slot machines, the retired waitress widow was about to call it quits Tuesday when she hit a $10 million jackpot - the biggest in the history of casino gambling in Atlantic City. Crawford, who gambles here twice a week and has been going to the casinos since the first one opened in 1978, had never won more than $1,000 before she came into the big money at the nickel slots at Harrah's Atlantic City. The widow...

TRENTON, N.J. -- Just over a month before he jumped into the governor's race, U.S. Sen. Jon S. Corzine sank $7 million into a firm owned and controlled by one of the state's casino operators. The investment with Icahn Partners LP, a hedge fund headed by Carl Icahn, earned Corzine up to $100,000 by the end of last year, according to the Democrat's Senate financial disclosure statement. Corzine in a published report Friday conceded that if he defeats Republican Doug Forrester in November, the investment could run afoul of a state law that largely restricts governors from holding financial interests...

A third floor balcony of an Atlantic City hotel collapsed this morning, but there were no reported injuries. A room balcony at the Ascot Motel, at the intersection of Iowa and Pacific avenues, collapsed just before 8 a.m. The balcony collapsed into the motel parking lot, and it did not appear that there were any injuries. Hotel guests are still being evacuated. Hotel has been deemed an unsafe structure.

New Jersey casino investigators have reopened their case against the owners of a Clifton construction company that last year beat allegations of ties to organized crime and won a license to do business in Atlantic City. As part of the probe, the state Division of Gaming Enforcement wants to question former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, according to a subpoena issued to him. The agency subpoenaed Kerik last month and asked him to produce documents pertaining to 13 issues, from communication between him and the brothers who own Interstate Industrial and a sister company, Interstate Drywall, to records...

TRENTON, March 25 - After countless newspaper headlines and snide pop-culture references about the misdeeds of New Jersey politicians, it has become conventional wisdom to assume that the state is controlled by a handful of self-interested political bosses. Many New Jersey political leaders insist that the reputation is undeserved and argue that the state's public servants are no more mercenary than their counterparts elsewhere. Still, decisions involving the intersection of politics, government policy and private interest are usually made so far from public view that there are few actual opportunities to watch government in action. A court fight in Burlington...

Whoever convinced John Kerry to begin a renewed (Read: just a little angrier) assault on the US economy needs to be fired. They then need to be publicly flogged. Shot in the back of the head. And left to rot in downtown Boston as an example to all the other Dems of what happens to people who make stupid decisions. Of course, now that President George W. Bush has co-opted Iraqi support from the Frogs and the Krauts, John Kerry has nothing else to talk about. So he began his new economic attacks in Atlantic City, NJ yesterday and his...

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) _ Atlantic City has become the fourth school district in New Jersey to recognize Muslim holidays. The city's board of education approved districtwide days off for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, two sacred Islamic holidays, for the upcoming school year. Previously, under state law Muslim students and teachers were allowed to take off Islamic holidays without being penalized. According to Superintendent Fredrick P. Nickles, about 560 of the city's 7,800 children are Muslim. Board member Cornell Davis, who is Muslim, called the decision ``courageous'' in light of current tensions between Americans and Islamic extremists. ``It shows...

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- Jennifer Lopez's mother won a $2.4 million jackpot while playing $1 slots in Atlantic City on Saturday night. Guadalupe Lopez, 58, of New York, was playing a Wheel of Fortune-themed slot machine at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa when she hit for $2,421,291.76 just before 8 p.m. Saturday, according to the casino. Casino spokesman Michael Facenda denied knowing of any relationship between the jackpot winner and pop celebrity Jennifer Lopez. But Us Weekly and People magazine report in upcoming issues that Guadalupe Lopez is Jennifer's Lopez's mother. Jennifer Lopez's publicist, Rob Shuter, declined...