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Casino Gambling Spreads from 2 to 33 States in Past 12 Years, Says Industry Expert

Since 1988 two more states went on to legalize land-based casinos, while six others approved riverboat casinos. Sixteen states now have Indian casinos and seven other states offer some form of casino gambling says Steve Bourie, author of the American Casino Guide - 2000 edition ($14.95 at bookstores, or call 800-741-1596) and a former executive in the gambling industry for more than 25 years.

"Casino gambling is now within a four-hour drive of virtually every major U.S. city," said Bourie who also maintains a free web site at http://www.americancasinoguide.com with an extensive database of detailed information on all U.S. casinos.

"In all," said Bourie, "there are 33 states with some form of casino gambling: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin."

"The most successful of all of U.S. casinos is Foxwoods in Connecticut," said Bourie. "It's also the world's largest casino and generates about $2 million a day in profits on its slot machines."

In his book, as well as at his web site, Bourie gives details on what kind of games are offered at every U.S. casino and how they're regulated by gaming authorities. He also includes slot machine statistics for each state showing what the machines actually returned to the public.

"Keep in mind, that not all U.S. casinos have traditional table games," said Bourie, "three states - Delaware, Rhode Island and West Virginia - only offer video lottery terminals at racetracks. These VLT's are video versions of poker, blackjack or slot machines operated in conjunction with a state lottery agency. There are also some states, with full-scale casino gambling, however, it only takes place on boats operating three miles out in international waters and it isn't regulated by any state agency."

American Casino Guide - 2000 is $14.95 at bookstores, participating AAA offices, Amazon.com, americancasinoguide.com, or by calling 800-741-1596.

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