Gov: State should consider owning casino with 'safeguards' - 2004-02-03
Gov. Blagojevich on Monday said the state should look into a proposal that would have Illinois own a casino if it has the right safeguards -- which he did not identify.

A proposal by Penn National Gaming calls for the company to build a casino in Rosemont and then sell it to the state for $1.

''My own personal opinion is that if you have the right kind of safeguards built in and you have the right kind of vigilance placed in the process, that it's something that we seriously have to take a look at,'' Blagojevich said after touting his education reform proposals at a school on the West Side.
Read the full story at Chicago Sun Times

CLOSED CASINO: Castaways likely finished - 2004-02-03
The Castaways will probably not reopen, Las Vegas casino industry executives predicted on Monday after the 49-year-old hotel-casino was sold to Vestin Mortgage, the property's largest creditor.

Vestin was the lone bidder in Monday morning's foreclosure auction held in the lobby of Vestin's El Camino Avenue offices, winning the property with a bid of $20.7 million.

The Castaways closed Thursday afternoon after Vestin exercised its right to foreclose on the property and collect its cash as collateral for its $22 million-plus mortgage note.
Read the full story at Las Vegas Review-Journal