If Sheldon Adelson wants to protect America from underage gambling, 
he might start at his Sands Bethlehem casino. The casino has racked up $305,000 in fines in five years. Six incidents this year have incited the latest fine: $85,000. Casino staff have a problem keeping underage players out but they seem to be good at catching them once they’ve begun playing (by which point it’s too late). Only Mt. Airy Casino has a worse track record in this respect. By contrast, SugarHouse in Philadelphia only racked up 70 grand in fines.
“In the third and fourth quarter last year, when most of these incidents occurred, we challenged 424,000 persons and turned away nearly 4,800. We do have a robust program. But human beings being human beings, mistakes are made,” said Las Vegas Sands attorney Fred Kraus.
Kraus had a better day for Adelson than did kept congressman and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), who received the Sheldonian kiss of death — $10 million worth. In addition to being allies against Internet gambling, they also both sought to kneecap the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. That’s all on hold now. “Not just Internet poker, nothing is going to move forward in Washington,” a Beltway source told the Las Vegas Review-Journal‘s Howard Stutz. By contrasts, prospects for the anti-Internet gambling legislation look better in the U.S. Senate look better, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) having vaporized six challengers in a runaway primary win.
But …until his casinos cease to be a magnet for underage players, Adelson maybe ought to put a sock in it about the evils of Internet gambling.
Moving aggressively, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians is seeking federal approval for two casinos at once, one in downtown Lansing, the other near Detroit’s Metro Airport. The Chippewa must be 
really feeling their oats: They expect a decision “within weeks” and these land-in-trust applications have a habit of moving slowly. In Lansing, the tribe owns a tiny parcel and has an option on another one, pending federal act. Kewadin Lansing, as the casino would be called, enjoys the support of Mayor Virg Bernero — and doubtless that of local gamblers, who would have action right at their doorsteps. The Huron Township project, down near the airport, will cover 71 acres but is currently the subject of an economic-impact study.
I spoke in error yesterday when I wrote that casino property-tax rebates from Atlantic City to Borgata and its ilk would decimate the city budget. The city is asking for $130 million in bonds to coverage the refund and is paying other casinos out of $200 million in existing bonds. That’s a relief, I guess.
