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Column Inside Gaming: Illinois' Gaming Ambitions High

Illinois could end up with 70,000 slots or more, generating up to $500 per day per machine vs. $90 per day on Nevada's 130,000 slots. Sources say if it's a choice between taxes and gaming, politicians will tag gaming, making it nearly a sure thing. Anyhow, the issues will all be decided in the next 10 days.

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Wall Street sources are saying Park Place Entertainment Corp. has been getting bids to sell the Las Vegas Hilton and other specific properties in its mid-South region. The trouble, sources say, is that financial backing seems slim. Also, Park Place may shift direction in its search for a new chief operating officer and go instead to a regional management structure. The company recently made Tony Santo head of the Western and mid-South regions. More to come.

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Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman this week hit the nail on the head. "The only difference between George Washington and myself is he did not want to be king," Goodman said. The Las Vegas mayor's tongue-in-cheek remark came during Tuesday's convention authority board meeting. Fellow board members Jim Gibson and Mary Kincaid-Chauncey previously joked about whether Goodman's latest preferred title was "Lord Mayor" or "Sir Oscar."

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Humor also raised its funny head at Wynn Resort annual meeting last week -- if you gather Oscar was joking. One senior shareholder asked why gold print was used in publishing the company's annual report. Chairman Steve Wynn promised it would not happen again. "We got a bit carried away with aesthetics. They got a little artsy-fartsy," he said.

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It's a funny thing how the media get stories wrong. The main topic on "The McLaughlin Group" last weekend was William Bennett's outing for heavy gambling. MSNBC commentator Lawrence O'Donnell said Bennett played on slots brought to his rooms. "Bill Bennett, the way he gambled was alone in his hotel room. ..." Wrong. Industry sources in Las Vegas say it didn't happen and casinos could have lost their licenses if it had.

The Inside Gaming column is compiled by Gaming Wire Editor Rod Smith. You can contact him by phone at (702) 477-3893, fax (702) 387-5243 or e-mail at rsmith@reviewjournal.com. Gaming Wire writers Chris Jones and Jeff Simpson contributed to this week's column.

Copyright GamingWire. All rights reserved.

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