Topic: Gambling Industries

Facebook stock: 6 intriguing investors

Facebook stock will make many people suddenly wealthy when it begins trading this Friday. The company is expected to be valued somewhere around $100 billion, with stock expected to sell anywhere between $34 and $38 per share.  Here are six of the more unexpected people set to make a killing with initial public offering of Facebook stock, including a rock star, a graffiti artist, and pair of Mark Zuckerberg’s enemies.

States should fold on Internet gambling

California and New Jersey, each seek more revenue, are leading the states toward Internet gambling, starting with online poker. But this all-too-easy form of gaming would come with at a high cost to society – and government.

Who'll win the Mega Millions lottery? The states.

Mega Millions jackpot is the world's largest. But the chances of winning the Mega Millions are so slim that the only sure winners are the states, which get a little over a third of the take.

Online gambling 101: What the new gambling expansion means for states

Online lotto – and virtual slot machines, blackjack, and poker – could be coming to your state or one near you. Here are five questions on internet gambling, following the US Justice Department's policy reversal late last year, possibly producing a boon to both the industry and state budgets.

What happens in Vegas

More cash-strapped states are being lured into allowing casinos for the tax revenues. But a new book offers a close-up view of how local residents in Las Vegas are worse off than the rest of the country.

How Congress can partly redeem itself

A one-time 'supercommittee' tasked to find a deficit-cutting compromise must resist the siren call of special-interest lobbies. The online gambling industry, for one, is already pouncing on this panel of 12 lawmakers.

Google's 16 biggest purchases, and how they worked out

Google's $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola will be its biggest acquisition ever -- more than four times the size of DoubleClick, the previous leader.

But over the last decade, Google has been one of the biggest -- and most successful -- acquirers in the tech industry, and owes a lot of its success to these smart buys.

Its core search advertising platform and most of its biggest new businesses, including Android, YouTube, and display advertising, all come from other companies.

Join us as we count down Google's top 16 acquisitions by value and show what happened to them.

Angry Birds to spawn cookbook and textbook

The popular iPhone app is about to become the basis for a series of cookbooks, textbooks, and maybe even a feature film.

Zynga, maker of Farmville, says it will raise $1 billion for IPO

Zynga has filed for a $1 billion IPO. But is Zynga too dependent on Facebook for its growth?

Illinois' new solution to huge budget crisis: gambling

The Illinois Legislature has passed a bill to dramatically expand gambling in the state in a bid to help close a $15 billion budget deficit. But the bill still needs a wary governor's signature.

Stocks for after Memorial Day? Think Nasdaq.

From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the Nasdaq outdoes the Dow and S&P 500. Best post-Memorial Day stock over the past five years: Priceline.

Is Sin City turning into the Motor City?

The financial crisis knocked Las Vegas flat. Will it suffer the same woeful fate as Detroit?

Crackdown on Full Tilt Poker clouds future of online gambling

The US Attorney in Manhattan has filed fraud charges against Full Tilt Poker and two other online companies. The move is roiling the US poker community, and it plays into a larger debate about the legal status of online betting.

GameSpy throws open doors to indie developers

GameSpy Technology will now allow indie developers to use the GameSpy toolkit – free of charge.

Oregon Trail is coming to Facebook. Caulk the wagons!

Oregon Trail, the strategy game first launched in 1971, is finally coming to Facebook. So how will the Facebook edition of The Oregon Trail stack up to the original?

Recession over? Not in these four cities.

America's longest postwar recession officially ended more than a year ago. But in some places, the recession still looks alive and well. Here are four cities that over the past year have seen the biggest drops in employment and at least a 1 percentage point rise in the unemployment rate, according to the US Department of Labor. Is your city on the list?

Do benefits outweigh the social costs of casinos?

Casinos are usually judged on the dollars they'll bring in. But what about the social costs, for problem gamblers and the community?

Do state governments have a gambling addiction?

Many states are turning to legalized gambling to help fill holes in their budgets. But gambling revenue is not a long-term fix for budget problems.

Supreme Court turns back Delaware bid to expand sports betting

Delaware wanted to expand sports betting games, in an effort to bring in new revenue for a strapped state budget. But a US appeals court said a federal law prevents it. On Monday, the Supreme Court let that ruling stand.

Mastermind sentenced in tribal casino scheme

Phuong Quoc Truong was part of the 'Tran Organization,' a card counting ring that bilked 27 Indian tribal casinos out of millions over eight years.

Russia exiles casino industry – and its seedy image – to Siberia

The move aims to counter Western depictions of the country as a fast and loose post-communist frontier. Gambling operators say the state is pushing the industry underground – and losing $1 billion in tax revenues.

Letters to the Editor

Readers write about diversity on the Supreme Court, sexting, and gambling.

Lottery's lure lost

Gambling in general, once largely recession proof, is down. Risk ignorance is now too risky.

Ballot-box gamble

Since 2004, voters have said 'no' to casino expansion. Now it's time to roll back legalized gambling.