 Newsletter Signup
Stay informed with the
NEW Casino City Times newsletter! |
Gaming News
No Crime in Name of Borgata Casino5 March 2001ATLANTIC CITY – March 5, 2001 -- As reported by Pressplus: ``When the acclaimed television series "The Sopranos" begins its third season tonight on HBO, you might hear its star, fictional mob boss Tony Soprano, talk about his "borgata." It's a widely accepted mob term meaning "crime family." ```That's a complete surprise to me, ' said New Jersey's top gaming regulator, Casino Control Commission Chairman James Hurley. ```Of course, Borgata also is the name of a $1 billion casino hotel under construction here. ```Robert Boughner, CEO of The Borgata casino hotel, called any negative meaning to the Italian word "borgata" old news to him and "much ado about nothing." "…It sounds like a pretty obscure slang reference to use. I'd be more concerned if it was a very common term. ``Furthermore, the fact that there is no mob influence in today's modern, well-regulated gaming industry is well known," Feldman said. ``…Obscure or not, "borgata" is a mob term. From the "The Mafia Handbook" to educational Web sites to the "mobspeak" section of "The Sopranos" Web site, "borgata" is invariably defined as "crime family" or "organized-crime family." ``…Boyd officials, who scrupulously researched the Borgata name and theme, were aware that "borgata" has a mob context, Boughner said. He called it a good word that's `been bastardized on occasion.'…" |