Hawaii is one of the last two bastions of anti-gambling in America. Naturally, in such an environment, illegal gambling is 
going to flourish. Last week federal authorities indicted 15 individuals (seven of whom are on the lam) and seized 60 machines, along with $150,000 in cash. The raids on Oahu were a joint operation of three federal agencies and the Honolulu police department. U.S. Attorney Kenji Price described the two busts as part of a larger effort to extirpate gambling in the Aloha State.
Said Price, “Our goal is to take your property through civil or criminal forfeiture. And if you or anyone else you know happens to get a cut of the proceeds of illegal gambling, we’ll be trying to seize that, too.” This part of an ongoing law-enforcement effort that has included a crackdown on an illicit sweepstakes and misdemeanor pleas (and hefty fines) for two sports bettors. No target is too small for the five-os. Social gambling is legal in the 50th state but that obviously doesn’t sate the gambling jones of its citizens. As for the Honolulu 15, authorities threw in drug and weapons charges against Ifo Nimoai, Jr. for good measure.
* Accused money launderers got a surprise present from a British Columbia court. The latter returned $2 million in cash to the former, ruling that it had been improperly seized. The court still held onto casino chips, a $2 million house and other items of value. Spouses Caixuan Qin and Jian Jun Zhu are charged with laundering as much as $220 million a year through their Silver International Bank, making this B.C.’s biggest AML case ever. We’re curious to find out where the casino chips figure into the larger picture.
* Whatever happened to the Magic City Casino card room and jai-alai fronton announced for Miami? Its owners are suing the city, charging it with changing the zoning rules in midstream, thwarting their project. Court proceedings start next May 2020.
* Not yet. That’s the message from the city of Danville to casino supplicants. “We are still awaiting a few final financial documents as well as negotiating community benefits with both applicants,” explained Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. In the meantime, the Danville government turned its attention to a more-pressing matter: legalizing recreational marijuana within city limits. (It passed, 9-3.) Two companies are vying for a Danville casino. Look for the winner to be announced Oct. 1.
Elsewhere in Illinois, Hard Rock International is essentially trying to buy community support in Rockford, donating to local groups in return for official endorsement. This does not sit well with all nonprofits. The River District Association rebuffed the money with architect Gary Anderson explaining, “We are not going to endorse anybody. It’s an inappropriate time to do so.” Hard Rock attorney Ian Linnabary explained, “All we did was express our interest in the fall festival. We heard back that the board discussed it and it was not appropriate.” Hard Rock has approached at least three other nonprofits, as it tries to gain an edge on low-profile competitors Forest City Casino and Gorman & Co.
* There’s no ‘L’ in Brockton but the Massachusetts city is a loser yet again, as Bay State casino regulators voted 3-1 against considering putting a Region C casino there. It was another loss for Neil Bluhm‘s Massachusetts Gaming & Entertainment. “Brockton needs the jobs and the revenue,” 
said a Bluhm spokesman. “There have been multiple economic studies that show this would be a successful resort casino and [will] bring benefits to Brockton and the state.” Bluhm’s people feel that, aside from stanching the bleeding of gamblers to neighboring states, the virtues of the project would number 2,000 permanent jobs, $10 million to $12 million in local tax revenue and $65 million in state taxes. Bluhm himself implied that he was ready to throw in the towel on Brockton.
He evidently wasn’t mollified by MGC Chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein‘s statement that the commission retained the prerogative to reopen Region C consideration at any time, including for MG&E. “We will address that issue at an appropriate time in the future, if necessary,” she said. Casino saturation has been a topic of discussion in Massachusetts lately and while the MGC didn’t cite that as a factor in their Brockton decision, others think differently.
“They … wonder whether that region could support a casino without attracting customers from the Boston area,” said Boston College‘s Rev. Richard McGowan. “With Encore 
the major attraction in the Boston area, it seems that the commission felt that there was little chance of a successful regional casino in southeastern Massachusetts. Clearly, officials from Brockton were hoping that this would provide some sort of economic stimulus. That scenario appears to have little chance of being fulfilled. The fact that the southeast Massachusetts casino has taken so long to be approved is a real handicap.”
Brockton Mayor Moises Rodrigues blew his stack, damning the MGC and saying (among other things) that others “feel that Massachusetts ends around [Route] 128 and the rest of us are left with crumbs.” Bluhm’s withdrawal doesn’t spell finis for Region C. Thomas O’Connell is still out there with his Wareham Park proposal, even though it presently doesn’t meet the budgetary or gaming-position requirements for the region. Also, the Mashantucket Pequots could get Trump administration approval for Project First Light, bringing that project back from the brink.
