“Don Corleone said quietly, `It is true I have many, many friends in politics, but they would not be so friendly if my business were narcotics instead of gambling. They think gambling is something like liquor, a harmless vice.'”

That comment by Mario Puzo’s fictional godfather should serve to remind Taiwan’s government of the always present and close ties between legalized gambling and organized crime. It should also serve to remind the general public that gambling is not “a harmless vice.”

The idea of allowing legalized gambling in Taiwan has recently been in the news. Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Chu-lan (¸µâÄõ) has been on a tax payer-supported junket to Las Vegas ostensibly to study “tourism” (“Minister jets off to Las Vegas to study tourism,” Aug. 10, page 1). Obviously, tourism in Vegas means gambling.

This is not the first time that the government has considered gambling. Several years ago the Ministry of Justice looked into what impact legalized gambling would have on the criminal justice system. At that time the consensus was that the cost of legalization outweighed the benefits.

The situation has changed since then — for the worse. Taiwan’s economy is clearly in a downturn and the government is becoming increasingly desperate for a quick fix. One solution that is being considered is gambling. The best metaphor I can use to describe that solution is that it is like drinking seawater to assuage one’s thirst. It looks tempting when one is very thirsty but it merely hastens your death. Legalized gambling will only speed up the death of an economy already in trouble.

The reasons for this are several, and they have been clearly shown by studies done on legalized gambling in different parts of the US. The US-basedTogel Hongkong …

Read More »

UEFA U21 Championship Group BEngland & Ukraine finish even.

England 0:0 Ukraine

Att: 3,495

England and Ukraine survive after a goalless but entertaining clash here in Herning, but both now face do-or-die showdowns with the Togel Hongkong Czechs and Spanish respectively after they failed to find the net in Jutland this evening.

With Spain on four points and the Czechs on three, England on two and the Ukraine with a point know that nothing less than victory will do on Sunday.

With both teams hungry for a win, a fast-paced opening duly arrived and it was the yellow jerseys of the Ukraine, backed by a noisy support from the ranks of Jutland’s expat agricultural workers, who bared their teeth first.

Denys Garmash, the attacking midfielder from Dynamo Kyiv who has gained some admiring glances already, won a corner England & Ukraine finish even.deflected off Phil Jones with a snapshot on the edge of the area in the seventh minute. Soon afterwards the Ukrainians confirmed their attacking desire when Yevhen Konoplyanka let rip with a 20 yard missile which Frank Fielding dove quickly to parry away. The Dnipro midfielder was the chief protagonist, dribbling at speed, switching positions and shooting from distance.

England needed to stand firm as the yellow shirts attacked with alacrity, and some of their stratospheric clearances betrayed their nerves at being on the back foot. Familiar failings were to the fore again for Stuart Pearce’s men, who looked unlikely to threaten the Ukrainian goal in the first half hour, ruining a number of moves with yet more hopeful but dispiriting pumps upfield.

But suddenly a spark of hope came in the 33rd minute. Michael Mancienne threaded a pass through the middle to Daniel Sturridge and the Chelsea striker let …

Read More »

Las Vegas! It is the place to go wild, to get into trouble, to fall and to rise again to fall. And of course, it is a city that never sleeps, a place where boredom never enters. The spinning slot machines, the sound of tossed dice, the clicking sound of roulette wheels, the sharp sounds of shuffling cards being snapped; all these and more make up all that what we know about Las Vegas.

As you are aware, the concept of Sin City goes incomplete if we do not mention anything about its Casinos. People in general find this place interesting because of its sensational casino culture. However the slim the chances may appear, winning a fortune in a Las Vegas casino sounds pretty awesome. So, it is no wonder why people find these casinos a place to realize all their unfulfilled dreams. Everything is possible on Las Vegas casino floors and there is at least .001% chance of striking it rich on a slot machine. Here is a list of some of the most fascinating Las Vegas Casinos where you can test your luck in style –

The Luxor Hotel & Casino

The Luxor Hotel & Casino can catch you off guard completely. Forget its swanky interior and lavish exterior. What captures your attention the most is the huge pyramid like structure and the gigantic Sphinx. This Casino aptly captures all the grandeur of the ancient Egypt in its purest form, at least as far as possible. The beauty of this place will certainly put Egyptian Kings to shame. Though the cuisines are exquisite and immaculate in every possible way and the accommodation is excellent, it is actually its Casino which is its center of attention. The classy look and feel of its Casino …

Read More »

Prosecutors opened the retrial of the “Poker Murder Case” in Las Vegas on Thursday October 14, telling jurors that a former stripper and her secret lover killed WSOP director Ted Binion for a piece of a million-dollar estate and a fortune in buried treasure.

“This case is about betrayal,” Deputy District Attorney Christopher Lalli said in his opening statement. “It is about lust. It is about abject greed.”

Sandy Murphy, a 32-year-old former stripper, and Rick Tabish, a 39-year-old Montana contractor, were sent to prison for the 1998 death of Ted Binion, who came from a prominent Las Vegas family that owned the famed Binion’s Horseshoe Hotel & Casino.

But the defendants are back on trial because the Nevada Supreme Court tossed out their convictions last year. If convicted a second time, the pair could be sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Prosecutors say the suspects forced Togel Hongkong Binion to ingest lethal levels of heroin and the anti-depressant Xanax before suffocating the 55-year-old casino owner.

Prosecutors say the motive was a piece of Binion’s $55 million estate and a cache of more than $5 million in silver bars and coins that Binion had buried in an underground desert vault. Tabish built the vault for Binion.

“The evidence will show that the only way they could live their lives happily ever after was to kill Ted Binion and take his property,” Lalli said.

In throwing out the earlier convictions, the state Supreme Court ruled that the judge made a mistake in not forcing prosecutors to try an extortion case against Tabish separately. Justices said the extortion evidence unfairly prejudiced the jury.

During opening statements, a prosecutor painted the pair as desperate lovers who saw Ted Binion …

Read More »