Sentenced -- Anthony Delevo, a 63 year-old man from Westfield, Massachusetts, was yesterday sentenced to 3 years incarceration for racketeering and money laundering in connection with an illegal gambling business operated by the Genovese Organized Crime Family. Delevo, who plead guilty to the charges in June, is one of 15 individuals who were charged in the same gambling and loan sharking case. He also received a $100,000 fine, and his prison term will be followed by five and a half years of supervision.
Trademark Case -- Last week Mirage Resorts, which owns the Golden Nugget hotel-casino, filed a lawsuit against YH Technology, whose web site at www.goldnuggetcasino.net might be in violation of Mirage’s trademark rights. The online casino has apparently relocated, however, and is now accessible at www.24ktgoldcasino.com rather than at www.goldnuggetcasino.com, though it still retains the name Gold Nugget Online Casino. YH Technology, which is licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and seems to be based in Australia, is also accused of unfair competition, trademark dilution under federal statutes, deceptive trade practices, and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage.
Deals -- Internet sports media company SportsLine.com, Inc., has sold subsidiary Las Vegas Sports Consultants to a group of investors in Las Vegas with much experience in the gaming industry, including Ellen Whittemore, Jeff Patterson, David Whittemore and Ken White. Las Vegas Sports Consultants supplies gaming information and analysis to legally licensed sports books. The sale is part of SportLine.com's plan to get rid of some of its information operations so that it can focus on its main business, which is proprietary-branded properties NFL.com, PGATOUR.com, and NCAAsports.com.
Recruits -- Chimera Technology Corp. has recruited two new personnel to its E-Network operations in Costa Rica. Melvin Pereida-- who has worked in the industry for over five years and has held executive management positions with Tropical Cyber Casino and ABC Islands Casino and Sportsbook-- will become president of E-Network, and Arnoldo Rodriquez-- who has assisted in the restructure of multinational companies in Costa Rica such as Chiquita brands, Seagram International and Euro Autos de Centro America-- will become Corporate Financial Officer for the E-Network.
I-gaming Europe -- The European Casino Forum, the association that represents licensed casinos in Europe, has expressed satisfaction with the European Commission’s report on the e-Commerce Directive, in which the Commission says that it will investigate a potential harmonized approach to online gambling among the EU member states. ECF Secretary General Heliodoro Giner said, “With remote gambling being one of the driving forces (killer applications) in the proliferation of advanced communication technologies, there is an urgent need to regulate the offer of and the access to interactive services. This would protect the interests of European citizens, the European casino businesses and last but not least the EU-Member States themselves.”