Pennsylvania’s tax revenue from commercial casinos approached $1.1 billion in the fiscal year that ended June 30, The Morning Call of Allentown reported Monday.

Indiana was second with $878 million and Nevada third with $831 million.

Third? What’s going on here?

Well, now you know why cash-starved states are getting into the gambling business.

Pennsylvania has 9 casinos operating, but its 55 percent tax rate on slot machine gambling more than makes up for it.

Nevada takes 8 percent from its 260 casinos.

Pennsylvania’s casinos began offering table games this month. Those games are being taxed at a rate of 16 percent and are projected to bring the state $320 million more per year.

Looks like Ed Rendell (Gov.) knows what he is doing.

Sometimes.

Slot machine revenue has helped lower real estate taxes and helped prop up the state’s horse racing industry.

Its also helping pay for large civic projects like the expansion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia and grants for volunteer fire companies.

So now we keep an eye out on Mass., the next state to go this route.

Interesting, huh?

From my correspondent in the U.K., comes this delightful story.

OK, it’s a warning to watch your granny.

She might be gambling it all away.

A grandmother who stole from her employer to feed her gambling habit wagered £2m ($2.9 million in U.S. Dollars) on a single internet gaming site, it has been revealed.

Eileen Evis, 61, from Colaton Raleigh, Devon, was jailed in March last year for stealing £140,000 from building firm TAG in Sidmouth.

A confiscation hearing at Exeter Crown Court heard police were still trying to claw back any assets Evis may have.

The judge adjourned the hearing for more information to be provided.

The prosecution has claimed between £20,000 and £30,000 of the money remains unaccounted for – although the defence lawyers have disputed this.

Employers ‘ruined’

Evis worked as a £50-a-week bookkeeper at the family-run building company in Sidmouth, Devon.

The offences took place over 10 months from March 2007 after Evis was left in charge of the company when its owners Terry and Lin Green moved to Canada.

Prosecutor Howard Phillips said she had “effectively emptied” the firm’s accounts.

“She physically laid her hands on just under £140,000,” he said.

“She had a massive internet gambling problem – she wagered over £2m on one site.”

Evis had lost £127,000 in total on her gambling addiction, Mr Phillips added.

The court was told Evis had transferred about £18,000 to her daughter who lives in Australia and £2,000 to her son, which she claimed was the repayment of a debt.

Figures ‘disputed’

She had also received £35,000 in a divorce settlement from her husband since the case.

Mr Phillips said any money confiscated will go to the victims “who are effectively ruined”.

“There is £20,000 to £30,000 not obviously accounted for…it doesn’t immediately appear where it’s gone.”

Barrister Nigel Wraith, defending, said: “Some of the facts and figures are in dispute.”

The Greens said their lives were a “total mess” and they are still being targeted by debt collectors over fraudulent loans taken out by Evis in their name, as well as bank debts racked up by her.

The couple say the ordeal has left them feeling suicidal and has cost them a total of £400,000.

Can a casino ban a player because he (or she) is a card counter?

I don’t believe they can. Or should.

I am a card counter. A bad card counter, but a card counter nonetheless.

Hence, casinos love me.

They love people who count cards, but aren’t very good at it.

Even if you are an average to good counter, they will let you in because they know, over time, they win.

Now, there is a very interesting case going through the Indiana courts … with their Supreme Court set to make a ruling this week.

The Indiana Supreme Court will listen to arguments this week on whether casinos have the right to ban gamblers who count cards.

Here’s the background:

Thomas Donovan of Indianapolis sued the Grand Victoria Casino and Resort after it banned him from the blackjack table in 2006.

The casino won the suit in court, but the state Court of Appeals reversed that decision.

Donovan’s argument is that neither the state nor the casino has rules barring card counting.

But the casino argues it’s privately owned and can choose not to do business with anyone.

The argument is interesting.

I’ll let you know what the court decides, whenever they decide.

The story is set in the world of gambling…and horse racing.

Hoffman would play a career criminal (he’s done that before) involved in gambling.

Hey…the actor is 72 (can you believe it?) and has never done regular TV but this one, could be very very cool.

Dennis Farina, who previously starred on “Law & Order,” is also in the cast.

“Luck” will be written by David Milch, he of Deadwood fame and NYPD Blue.

I’ll keep you all posted on what happens and when it will hit the airwaves.

The Princess Casino Guyana exposed foreign dignitaries, the business community and the media to its $2 million investment recently. This, after more than a year of preparations.

“Ours was a soft opening and in about a week or two we will have the big one with speeches,” Operations Director Oguz Tayanc,” said.

Anxious to create employment and less dependence on traditional exports like rice, sugar, gold and bauxite, authorities have turned to the hotel and entertainment sector, setting up a gaming authority that said it was giving out two licenses initially.

Locals are barred from gambling at the facility unless they are registered guests at the 150-room hotel but the director acknowledged that marketing the entity in the small South American nation that attracts less than 300,000 tourists annually will be its greatest challenge.

Church groups had railed against the industry saying it will lead to further moral decay but authorities have insisted that safeguards like non-hotel guests will ensure it is only for tourists and foreigners.

I guess it’s OK for the rest of us to sink into moral decay.

But I digress.

The casino has more than 300 slot machines, 11 tables, two roulette tables, seven card games including poker and two Texas Holdems.

Nearby South American countries like Brazil, Venezuela and Surin already have casinos to attract foreign dollars.

Interesting things going on in the great state of Alabama.

Seems like the Governor’s task force on illegal gambling continues to lash out against illegal operations.

Well and good, we say.

The fight over bingo machine versus slot machine has been running rampant, but a change in the winds has been detected.

The Alabama Senate is meeting this week to discuss a proposed bill that would legalize gambling in Alabama.

It’s about time.

Twenty-one votes are required to move the Bill forward, but constituents are not entirely sure whether or not the Democrats in the state can manage to pull through and achieve the needed votes.

Legislators have tried this before, and failed.

We’d like to see voters cast their opinions on the issue.

Meanwhile, closing casinos in the state has NOT helped the local economies, and left many out of work. With the new found string of unemployment, the state is prepared to pick up the tab through taxpayer’s money. Legalized gambling,would not only reemploy these workers, but also generate tax revenue for the state.

We’ll check with our sources in Alabama and see if any progress is being made.

Imagine your grandmother getting busted for playing cards at home with her friends, even though they play for a few dollars.

My mother, God rest her soul, played Mah Jong almost every week of her life for small stakes. I can’t imagine that she would ever be hauled in for illegal gambling for a friendly game but that’s apparently what happened in late November in Cyprus, where 42 elderly women learned how riduculous some laws could be and how inflexible some cops can be.

The women ranged in age from 75-95. They were arrested after Cyprus officials raided their home card game. The take? Less than 100 pence, news reports said.

The women were busted and taken to jail. One was 95 years old. Then, they were released, but will have to appear in court at a future date to defend their card playing habits.

I guess it’s possible they could be jailed. More likely, they’ll be fined.

The bust came after nosy neighbors phoned police about noise.

What’s next Canasta busts?

The games are so popular that in some retirement communities, the clubhouse has a gambling card game nearly every night of the week. Most of these games are played with nickels and dimes, and rarely do pots exceed five dollars.

In the US, police agencies have been raiding some video gambling halls, which cater mostly to older folks, but even there, authorities have been slow to bust the actual gamblers themselves.

U.S. cops generally don’t raid private homes.

Only problem is, the land is more than 100 miles from its tribal land.

That may not be a problem if the Obama administration loosens the rules on where some of these projects can be built.

Gambling opponents deplore the trend and complain that Indian tribes are trying to game the system to expand their operations and get closer to lucrative big-city markets.

They fear that more gambling will bring more crime and other social ills.

“These are all casinos coming to a highway ramp near you,” said Cheryl Schmit, director of a nonprofit group that opposes Indian gambling.

Tribal spokesperson say, however, that casinos mean jobs for their tribal members.

The vast majority of the hundreds of Indian casinos in the U.S. are on tribal land — often well-removed from big cities — as envisioned under the 1988 federal law that created regulations for the $26 billion Indian gambling industry.

But the law has exceptions, including ones for tribes such as Guidiville that have regained federal recognition in recent decades and are looking to establish a reservation.

Off-reservation casinos already exist in Milwaukee and Spokane, Wash., having been approved in the 1990s.

We’ll keep you posted on what happens in San Francisco, and by extension…other cities near you.

Get me to Ireland. Fast.

One of the most beautiful countries in the world is now primed to OK a new gambling complex in Tipperary.

According to the Irish Times newspaper, planning permission is being sought for this highly ambitious development, which will include a casino and an all-weather horse track in North Tipperary.

The proposed 800 acre “Tipperary Venue” is being pioneered by a local businessman Richard Quirke, who made his money in Dublin property and was praised today for his “vision” during tough economic times, the newspaper detailed.

While no state money was required for the complex, the development relies on the government passing legislation to allow the opening of casinos.

We’ll keep you posted.

As if I needed any other reason to go to Ireland.

To my European readers, what do you think?

No question, the popularity of online poker has never been greater and the tournaments held both online and offline are drawing some of the biggest crowds.

If you’ve been a fan of poker, you already known that participating in a major tournament could be quite costly, but one popular online poker room is giving away participation in many international poker tournaments.

It’s called Bodog Poker (official website), and they are giving away at least one seat each month to a major international poker event, including WSOP. Also many tourneys held outside the United States, such as LAPT Punta Del Este in Uruguay, WPT in Morocco and more.

Running under the name of “Bodog Fight Club”, winners will get a free seat at the poker tournaments, paid accommodation and travel to and from theplace where the poker tournament will be held, spending money, as well as the good ole swag the online poker rooms love giving away by the bags.

Some of the qualifiers for the tournaments run as low as $1, while at others you can actually use your Bodog points to participate, leading to no cost at all. You can check out the tournament schedule at the online poker room section of the Bodog gambling website, as well as sign up to play poker online.

Don’t forget that Bodog is giving new poker players a 110% bonus on their first deposit – more than double your bankroll before you hit the online poker rooms at this popular gambling company.

So check it out. And let me know what you think.