Casino rivals wonder if deck was stacked - 2004-02-01
In under a year, Penn National Gaming has gone from one of Gov. Blagojevich's worst critics to the fix for one of his worst problems: the state's budget crisis.

And that makes some of the company's rivals wonder if the fix is in for Penn to manage a state-owned casino -- something Blagojevich's office flatly denies.

The Pennsylvania horse-track and casino company on Friday announced a $506 million bid to buy the state's last available casino license, build a $255 million casino and hotel in Rosemont and sell the whole package back to the state for $1.
Read the full story at Chicago Sun Times

FIFE: Casino gets tax cut from City Council - 2004-02-01
The Fife City Council has lessened the city gambling tax on struggling Freddie's Club.

After casino owner Chip Mudarri told the council he would have to shut down without the reduction, the council on Tuesday voted 6-0 to cut the tax from 8.5 percent of gross receipts on card playing to 4 percent.

The council acted after hearing Mudarri's request for a tax cut on Dec. 16 and after City Manager Bill Malinen met with him. Malinen then recommended the reduction to help Freddie's "to remain a viable business in Fife," he wrote in a memo to the council.
Read the full story at Tacoma News Tribune