1979 stories by Steve Bittenbender
Las Vegas Area and Most of Nevada Under Mandatory Mask Order Starting Friday
If you find yourself in a Las Vegas casino later this week when Thursday night turns into Friday morning, you better have something other than Lady Luck with you. You better have a mask. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak on Tuesday signed an...
Chicago Cop Gets 15-Month Federal Sentence for Role in Illegal Sportsbook
A Chicago police officer will spend 15 months in federal prison for his role in organizing an illegal sports betting operation. That was the sentence Nicholas Stella received on Thursday from US District Judge Virginia Kendall. In April, Stella entered a guilty...
Hawaii, Illinois Advise Against Visits to Las Vegas, Cite Delta Strain
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Las Vegas, officials in more jurisdictions are starting to advise their residents to either wear a mask when they go to the Nevada resort mecca or hold off on making a trip there for the...
Rhode Island Teamsters Cry Foul as Casino Valets, Drivers Await Twin River Recall
A Teamsters union official says more than three dozen valets and drivers have been off the job for way too long, and wants their Rhode Island casino employer to bring them back. The workers were officially laid off from Twin River Casino...
NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo Losing Reelection Support, Casino Owner Calls Him a ‘Bully’
In a Wall Street Journal article posted Wednesday, casino and racetrack owner Jeff Gural made it clear how he felt about New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Gural is one of the former contributors to Cuomo’s campaigns interviewed in The Journal article. The...
Smyler Tabbed as New Chair of Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
Monday marks a new era in Pennsylvania gaming. Denise Smyler will take over as chairperson of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. She is succeeding David Barasch, whose six-year stint as PGCB chair ended last week. Gov. Tom Wolf (D) made the announcement...
Britney Spears Says No More Stage Shows Until She’s Free From Her Father
Legendary pop star Britney Spears spoke freely on Instagram over the weekend. She wrote to say that she won’t be returning to a stage in Las Vegas – or anywhere, for that matter – as long as her father maintains a role...
Ontario Authorities Launch Money Laundering Task Force as Casinos Reopen
The majority of Ontario’s casinos reopened on Friday, as Canada’s most populous province took another step toward fully reopening from the COVID-19 pandemic. Gaming officials there also launched a new initiative to combat money laundering schemes. A task force established by the...
Pleas for Vaccinations Continue, As Las Vegas Area Health Leaders Urge Mask Use
Representatives from the Las Vegas tourism and gaming industry on Friday again called on more people to get a COVID-19 vaccine. That's after area health officials issued a recommendation earlier in the day. The call asks for all individuals in the region...
Bob Baffert Wins Injunction to Race Horses at New York Tracks
Bob Baffert got a victory in the courtroom Wednesday when a federal judge blocked a suspension against him handed down by the New York Racing Association (NYRA). Baffert is best known as the legendary thoroughbred racehorse trainer whose reputation is in tatters...
