Let your mouth speak archive

If only I had one of those 😔

RIP Amy. SO talented.

Rest in peace Amy.

Another tragic member of the "27 club" 😔

I like Shannen - never has come across as caring what people think about her. That's rare in the showbiz industry.

Secretary of State William Galvin has filed a complaint against a West Boylston man, alleging that he defrauded three investors of nearly $800,000 by selling them stakes in real estate ventures in Leicester and Sutton and then using their money to pay for trips to the Foxwoods casino in Connecticut and the French Riviera.

Galvin said Edward Kooyomjian Sr. targeted investors who had ties with the Armenian-American community in central Massachusetts in an apparent case of affinity fraud. Galvin also accuses Kooyomjian of selling unregistered securities and acting as an unregistered agent.

“Not only did these investors lose their money on what they thought to be an investment, but they were betrayed by someone they had every reason to trust,” Galvin said.

Worcester Probate Court has has ruled that Kooyomjian used investors’ money for gambling, and ordered him to repay $381,200, but he is presently in default on that judgment. He had been sued by the daughter of a widow whose husband had been a close friend of Kooyomjian’s.

Opelousas Alderman Louis Butler Jr., District B, was found gambling inside Added Attractions, the nightclub he owns, after 2 a.m. Saturday and was issued an oral warning from the Opelousas Police Department, Police Chief Perry Gallow said.

Another alderman, District D's Reggie Tatum, called police to report that the bar remained open after closing hours set by a city ordinance.

When police investigated the complaint at 2:23 a.m., they found six men and Butler "gambling with dice on the top of a pool table," according to the police report.

"Officers then intervened and stopped the dice game from continuing. I, Lt. (Mark) Semien advised Mr. Butler that gambling by dice is a misdemeanor offense and charges could be filed on all participants," according to the report.

Butler closed the club without resistance, was given a warning and told "if the violation continues then a citation or arrest will be in affect," the report read.

Reached by phone Monday, Butler did not want to discuss the incident.

"I have no comments in reference to Mr. Tatum's accusations," Butler said. "I'd prefer not talking about it. It's a sensitive matter."

Tatum and Butler have a strained relationship, with Butler known as a loyal supporter of Opelousas Mayor Don Cravins and Tatum as one of Cravins' most vocal opponents.

Cravins had heard about the incident, he said Monday. However, he was not willing to comment extensively because he said did not know the details and had not read the police report.

"I think it's an issue that the police did what they were supposed to do, and I would certainly hope that's not a habitual thing, that it's just one of those oversights on that evening," Cravins said.

Butler was one of three aldermen who twice voted to remove Tatum as mayor pro tempore this summer, but the rift between them did not factor into Tatum's call, Tatum said.

Opelousas aldermen, including Butler, adopted an ordinance in 2007 that set a 2 a.m. closing time for Opelousas bars.

Tatum was not an alderman at the time, but was one of the citizens who started a grass-roots effort to eliminate all-night bars in Opelousas.

He still receives calls about bars that are open after hours, Tatum said. He was leaving his job as a medic at 2 a.m. Saturday when he answered a call complaining that bars on The Hill were still open.

The Hill and Butler's bar are inside Tatum's district.

Tatum drove by and noticed that people were walking into Butler's bar after 2 a.m., he said. He reported it to police, but was unhappy with the warning that was given to Butler because "we're held to a higher standard because we are aldermen."

"If we're making the laws and we're not following them, how can we expect anyone else to follow them?" Tatum said.

After Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill left the stage in Dallas, complaining that the heat had gotten the better of him, he never returned to the stage, leaving the rest of the band to apologize to the pissed off crowd. But now there is speculation that there is something more to the story than just being overwhelmed by the heat.

Caleb told the crowd, "My voice is completely 100 percent gone."

After a few more songs, he told the audience: "I'm gonna go back stage for a second, I'm gonna vomit, I'm gonna drink a beer and I'm gonna come back out and play three more songs."

But Caleb never returned, leaving band slash family members awkwardly on stage to apologize to jeering fans. Also, if you're gonna puke due to dehydration, a beer is probably not the best medicine.

In a statement, the band, known for hits including "Sex on Fire" announced plans to return to Dallas on Sept. 21 to make up for Friday's mid-show walk-off, which drummer Nathan Followill called a "fiasco" on Twitter.

"Not so good morning 4 me today," Nathan Followill tweeted the next morning. "Ashamed & embarrassed by last night's fiasco. Can't apologize enough, utterly gutted. A million I'm sorrys."

However, in a tweet that was a little more telling, Jared Followii added, "Dallas, I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am. There are internal sicknesses & problems that have needed to be addressed. No words."

He added: "I love our fans so much. I know you guys aren't stupid. There are problems in our band bigger than not drinking enough Gatorade."

Among all the different international online gambling and casino jurisdictions currently out there, the United Kingdom is recognized as one of the very first to begin regulating the online gambling industry. These regulations do not only supply benefits to the present government via online gambling revenues, but it also protects the public’s interest and protects and offers unique advantages to a number of online casino operators as well as the gambling market. As online gambling continued to flourish under these jurisdictions, the revenue that made its way to the United Kingdom’s treasury, often in taxes. However, recently the United Kingdom has been looking to update its regulations due to recent events, including the shutdown of online casinos by the United States Department of Justice.

Prior to United States federal government indicting online poker websites, the United Kingdom has already sent ideas forth to change their laws concerning online gambling and online casinos. However, because of these events, the United Kingdom started to move at a much quicker pace to amend laws regarding internet gambling. The Secretary for Culture, Media and Sports, Jeremy Hunt, notes that his department is looking to propose a number of modifications regarding how online casino operators need to be regulated and how they can go about with distributing promotions of their online gambling websites.

The agenda regarding online gambling includes prescribing a new accounting system that will guard customers’ personal information. Online casinos will need to offer this protection to stifle fraud and corruption. A number of laws regarding sponsorship and advertising of sports teams by online casinos overseas will also be changed to provide more protection to the United Kingdom and its citizens. According to Secretary Hunt, the changes proposed will provide benefit to operators who will continue to work under the United Kingdom’s jurisdiction.

The American Gaming Association is sponsoring Responsible Gaming Education Week, running from August 1 to 5, and will look to educate people on gambling. The AGA will release a brochure called The House Advantage: A Guide to Understanding the Odds in support of the week.

The brochure will outline different games mathematical probabilities and other factors that effect winning and losing.

"Helping educate and inform players is an essential component of our commitment to responsible gaming," said Patti Heart, International Game Technology's CEO. IGT is supporting the week of gambling education in partnership with the AGA.

The program, Know the Odds, will entice consumers to learn and understand the odds of each game they play, as well as the need to set limits to the amount of money wagered before they play. The AGA said that all casino games are "games of chance" and reminded gamblers to remember this when playing.

The University of Florida's Electronic Data Information Source extension said that educational brochures should have a target audience and objective, which could also be described as the message of the campaign.

In picking a topic, the university said marketers should pick a broad topic, then narrow the topic and write a theme statement sentence. This will help develop the body of the brochure.

The gut-twisting brinkmanship that Congress inflicted on us and our economy the past few weeks is taking a toll. Lawmakers’ approval rating in one new poll is at an all-time low of 14 percent. But there are ways for Congress to dim memories of the debt ordeal and prove it is a functioning institution.

Both Democrats and Republicans should be interested in this, since they have joint control of the government and joint ownership of the economy. And believe it or not, there are a number of ideas floating around Capitol Hill that have bipartisan backing, or the potential for it.

Some are well on the way to passage; others are at the beginning of their legislative journeys and less certain. All have some degree of bipartisan appeal.

Herewith, 10 opportunities for Congress to get something done:

1. Prod businesses to hire again, especially the long-term unemployed who are being automatically disqualified by some companies adding workers. Offer employers a tax break for hiring people who’ve been out of work for six months or more. Limit the pot of money so they’ll rush to take advantage of the break. Maybe even revive a broadly popular portion of the 2009 stimulus package that subsidized jobs with private firms, nonprofits, and government agencies. It won praise from Democrats and Republicans alike.

2. Grant a one-year amnesty on paying back taxes owed to the federal government. Economist Arthur Laffer says that would increase revenues by $600 million to $800 million over 10 years as tax evaders grabbed the chance to pay up without penalties.

3. Find ways to help state and local governments. Their continuing layoffs were the primary driver of near-stagnant growth of the gross domestic product in the second quarter. Maybe give state and local governments some of the money from a federal tax amnesty. Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) suggests giving them a one-year amnesty of their own to collect state taxes owed by cheaters.

4. Pass pending trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. The White House says the agreements will “create or support” 70,000 American jobs. Others aren’t so sure. The sticking point has been help for workers displaced by trade. President Obama and the two parties should work out their differences and move forward.

5. Streamline and modernize the patent process. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the patent bill will be the first measure the Senate takes up when it returns in September from a recess. The House has already passed the measure, called the America Invents Act. It is expected to create 270,000 jobs.

6. Set up an infrastructure bank to lend private companies money for projects. Supporters, who include President Obama, the AFL-CIO, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce, say this would jump-start the moribund construction industry and spark repairs and upgrades to roads, bridges, airports, ports, and broadband service. Democrat John Kerry and Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison have introduced the proposal in the Senate; an initial federal contribution of $10 billion would leverage far larger private investments.

7. Legalize and regulate Internet gambling. This is an idea with some bipartisan support. Backers say it could bring in $42 billion over 10 years. Right now only other countries are benefiting.

8. Extend the current payroll tax cut for workers. It is saving them up to $2,136 each—money that’s going into the economy. The break expires at the end of the year, when it is safe to say the economy will still need the extra shot of consumer spending.

9. Hold China and other trading partners accountable for manipulating currency to get unfair trade advantages. “This would be very beneficial to U.S. businesses and workers,” says Scott Paul, executive director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing. There is bipartisan support for such a move in both the Senate and House, which passed a bill in the last Congress. Rep. Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, says it is a key part of his party’s jobs plan this year.

10. Move on noncontroversial nominations to courts and executive agencies. There are two dozen judicial nominees awaiting Senate floor votes and another three dozen in earlier stages of the process. More than 100 people nominated to serve in the administration are awaiting confirmation, some of them for months, and dozens are ready for floor votes. Granted, confirming a bunch of nominees won’t create any jobs except the ones they’re waiting to fill. But at least the Senate would demonstrate it can conduct the people’s business.

Congress returns to Washington after Labor Day, as a super-committee of 12 lawmakers plunges back into the deficit-reduction morass. The panel was created on the assumption that Congress doesn’t get anywhere unless it outsources hard decisions, as it did when it created an independent commission to pick which military bases to close.

Think how impressive it would be if the House and Senate proved they could accomplish things the normal way—by debating them, passing them, reconciling their differences and sending the completed products to the White House. Getting back into that routine might well dim the spotlight on Congress—something that after the last few weeks might be welcomed by lawmakers and Americans alike.

After a volatile split, Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller seem to be back on speaking – and even photographing terms. The pair posed for this picture with their sons Bob and Max recently.

Brooke and Charlie met up for a meeting at Charlie's Hollywood Hills mansion Sunday during a break from Brooke's treatment for substance abuse.

For the first time in a long time, Bob and Max played in the presence of both of their parents.

Sheen told TMZ, "Harmony is our goal. Sunday was a wonderful start."

After Mueller completes her recovery, apparently Sheen wants to buy her a home in his neighborhood so that they can co-parent together in close proximity to one another.

Speaking of harmony, as for his role on Two and a Half Men, Charlie Harper will be killed off. Deadline-com is reporting that the beginning of the premiere episode on September 19 will show Harper's funeral, which will be a memorial service attended by Harper's plethora of lady friends. Harper's home, which is shared with his brother and nephew, Alan (Jon Cryer) and Jake (Angus T. Jones), will be up for sale with real-life celebs guest-starring as potential buyers.

Ashton Kutcher's character will buy the house and somehow Alan and Jake will get to stay. Will you be tuning into Two and a Half Men on September 19? Do you think Brooke Mueller and Charlie Sheen will remain civil to one another? The Bodog Sportsbook has all your entertainment betting. Get your odds today!

Gov. Pat Quinn said Wednesday he hadn't made up his mind about a bill that would massively expand gambling in the state, as a watchdog group sharply criticized the measure and warned it would overwhelm state regulators.

Quinn said he was still meeting with proponents and opponents of the measure that would add five new casinos, including one in Chicago, increase gambling at the state's existing 10 casinos and add slot machines at racetracks in the state and at Chicago's airports. "I think there's some strong critics of the bill that are on our schedule so we want to make sure everybody gets their voice heard," the Chicago Democrat said after an unrelated bill signing at an animal shelter.

His comments came as the Chicago Crime Commission said Quinn shouldn't sign the bill because it can't be properly regulated. Crime commission deputy director Jody Weis, the former Chicago police superintendent, warned in a statement that scandal and corruption were to be expected if the gambling expansion becomes law.

Commission executive vice president Art Bilek said the Illinois Gaming Board won't be able to keep up with the flood of new gambling.

"These regulatory shortcomings coupled with the almost unbelievable number of new gambling activities provided by the bill will enable the always ingenious and persistent crime syndicate to seek out schemes to enrich itself by getting into the state's legal gambling business," Bilek said in a statement.

Quinn hasn't officially received the bill yet.

Lawmakers passed the measure in May but Illinois Senate President John Cullerton has put a legislative hold on it. That's so lawmakers can work out a deal so the governor can sign it. Quinn has previously dismissed the idea of such a sizable expansion of gambling, although he has been willing to consider a Chicago casino, something Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants.

UK based gaming company Gamesys pride themselves on being one of the most innovating gaming brands in the marketplace. Throughout their ten year history they’ve created a range of unique soft-gambling games including Team Bingo, Monopoly Snap! and Bingo Royale. In the spring they changed the way they built their games and the results have been released steadily this summer. First came Nuts & Bolts, a slot which offered a Winning Streak feature that was unique anywhere in the online environment. Next came Jalapeno Racers, a multi-screen slot that also continued Gamesys tradition of creating games based around genuinely interesting characters.

Their third release is Jungle Jump a slot which offers both innovation and a cute cast.

“The brief for the game was to create a cascading slot that would fit well within our portfolio,” explains Michael Saunders, Jackpotjoy’s Managing Director. “And Jungle Jump’s blend of soft jungle flowers and fun bonus game characters fits the bill perfectly.”

For those who aren’t aware, a cascade happens when certain symbols – in this case any winning symbol or any pair of the top three highest paying symbols – disappear and are replaced after the initial spin. The feature works a little like a free spin in that new winning opportunities are presented without the player needing to re-wager anything.

“The cascade is a great feature,” Michael smiles. “It’s a really good way to extend the winning experience since even after your spin – and any slots player knows that feeling of excitement that comes with every one – if you get a win, another is possible, and another, and another... it offers the chance of a multiple winning experience from every spin and that can’t be a bad thing!”

Alongside this feature, Jungle Jump offers a really thrilling bonus game that players can enter if they score four cascading wins in a row. In the game, Jin the Red Panda – the star of the show – takes a leap from a high jungle branch in pursuit of a butterfly. During his fall he could encounter a choking snake, a hive of bees, a crocodile in a birds nest or even eaten by a Venus Fly Trap – any of which will result in the player earning a healthy bonus.

“In many ways Jungle Jump is a great example of what we try to achieve here at Jackpotjoy,” Michael concludes with a smile. “It’s inventive but accessible, it’s cute and all about the entertainment but the chance to win cash is ever present. It’s a really exciting addition to our suite.”

Jungle Jump is ready to play at Jackpotjoy and its partner sites now.

Last week, Martha Stewart's company reported more losses for the quarter. On the heels of this news, an expose featured in NY Mag has surfaced, detailing how the state of her company is just not pretty. Last week, the company reported an operating loss to $2.5 million from $803,000 in the year before, while overall revenue declined to $54.9 million from $55.3 million. Once this new surfaced stock sank 4.3 percent.

Now some company employees have leaked what it's really like working for the domestic diva, and it doesn't sound like a picnic.

New York Magazine writes, Robin Marino, the head of merchandising until this May, was responsible for 3,000 items at Macy’s alone, but Stewart insisted on personally approving every one. 'At a board meeting,' recalls someone with knowledge of the episode, 'Martha walked in with a pot, slammed it on the table, and goes, ‘This is crap. I don’t want my name on it.’ ” A series of highly capable executives came and went, worn down by Stewart and thwarted in their efforts to bring the company back to health. And yet, although Stewart’s reputation of being a difficult boss was widely known, she continued to attract talented executives. Explains one: “Before you go there, you can’t imagine how bad it is. You can’t imagine that a company with a brand that’s so big could keep functioning with so much dysfunction.”

Insiders go on to tell the magazine, "That women’s bathroom, there are women in there crying literally all day long."

And that, "[Stewart herself retained] nine personal assistants. Nine. That number is untouchable. I broached it with her, and I almost lost my job that day."

Worse yet. Even though the company has been treading water for a long time, Stewart expenses almost everything in her life, because she feels her brand and her personal life are one in the same. This has long-been a source of contention between her and her CFOs, because everything she does or buys in her personal life can be used for business purposes – say on television on mentioned via social networking mediums.

Will Martha be able to hold her company together, or will her diva antics be her professional downfall?

Greece's parliament will pass Thursday a hastily assembled reform bill to overhaul everything from online gambling to tourism developments, but the opposition the plan is likely to provoke underscores the government's difficulties in pushing through ambitious changes.

Greece's civil servants' union, ADEDY, already plans protests over the legislation's proposed cuts in public-sector bonuses, while foreign betting companies are threatening to sue over the gambling reforms. Opposition lawmakers say the legislation may be unconstitutional.

"The way things are being done, it's all happening on a very ad-hoc basis," said political commentator and City Press newspaper editor George Kyrtsos. "But the real issue is whether the law will even be implemented."

In late June, parliament narrowly passed a controversial five-year budget plan as a precondition for fresh aid from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Last month, European leaders rewarded that effort with a new €109 billion ($156.1 billion) assistance program.

The omnibus bill, which brings together a raft of reforms not included in that medium-term budget plan, is expected to pass the 300-member parliament. The Socialist government controls 154 seats.

Analysts say a wave of protests against the latest reforms is likely to arise after the summer. Greece may also face legal challenges from the European Commission over the gambling reforms, which appear to contravene EU law.

Specifically, the government plans to legalize slot machines and online gambling—which are now banned in Greece—with an aim of collecting €700 million from license concessions and taxes on the new gambling income.

But the commission has already voiced its opposition to the new law's structure. The proposed legislation would set limits on the number of new licensees and other restrictions on newcomers. It would also grant certain exclusive privileges to Greece's state-owned gambling monopoly, OPAP SA, which the government hopes to privatize this year.

Critics say the privileges greatly strengthen OPAP's position to the detriment of competitors, while also infringing on EU law. Worse, they argue that an unfriendly regulatory environment may put off potential investors.

The proposed law is in "stark contravention of EU law" because it aims to protect a monopoly, said Martin Cruddace, chief legal and regulatory affairs officer at U.K.-based online gambling exchange Betfair.

Mr. Cruddace added that it is "difficult to see any credible defense" to the challenge his company plans to file if the law is passed. "This legislation, far from fattening up OPAP, as intended, will have the very opposite effect."

Former Chicago top cop and current Chicago Crime Commission deputy director Jody Weis came out Wednesday in staunch opposition to the massive gambling expansion bill, a measure narrowly approved by the Illinois state legislature and still awaiting Governor Pat Quinn's signature.

Weis feels the bill -- Senate Bill 744 -- "is critically flawed due to a lack of regulatory safeguards and should be reconsidered," according to a statement released Wednesday by the watchdog group, which recently completed their analysis of the legislation. They argue that the vast expansion -- including five new casinos and nearly 40,000 new gaming positions statewide, 4,000 of which are located in Chicago -- should be accompanied with a corresponding increase in regulatory capabilities.

Instead, the state's regulating body -- the Illinois Gaming Board -- will lose oversight of both the Chicago casinos and downstate race tracks downstate, which could put those facilities in "untested and, most likely, politically connected hands," according to the commission's executive vice president Art Bilek.

The Illinois Gaming Board has, in recent months, largely agreed with the commission. In July, the board's chairman Aaron Jaffe described the measure as "409 pages of garbage" and indicated that the would be "flabbergasted" if the Democratic governor signed it into law.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has consistently defended the bill -- particularly with its plan for a casino in downtown Chicago as a job provider and revenue creator that will keep the city economically competitive. He previously said he was hopeful about Quinn signing the measure. Emanuel, of course, made the decision to pass over Weis and hire new Chicago Police Department Superintendent Garry McCarthy earlier this year.

Also fans of the bill likely are many of those who received political contributions -- totaling about $812,000 -- from the gambling industry since the beginning of 2010 and also voted for the bill. Senate President John Cullerton (D), another high-level supporter of the bill, as reported by the Tribune was among the biggest recipients of gaming cash in the state.

Representatives of south suburban Ford Heights, the proposed site of one of the state's new casinos, were incensed by the watchdog group's criticism of their village's ability to oversee such a facility, as one village spokesman called the report "a slap in the face," according to the Northwest Indiana Times. Meanwhile, Quinn remains publicly undecided and has yet to even officially receive to bill, as the Chicago Tribune reports. Cullerton put a legislative hold on the measure in May reportedly with the hope that the governor, who has previously opposed such widespread gaming expansion, might be talked into it. He appears to still be meeting with folks throughout the state to see how they feel about the bill.

"I think there's some strong critics of the bill that are on our schedule so we want to make sure everybody gets their voice heard," Quinn said of the bill Wednesday to the Tribune.

The movement for the regulation of online gambling in the USA recently continued to gain momentum when congressman Michael Grimm (R-NY) pledged his support for the cause.

The former FBI agent released a statement saying ‘I applaud the efforts of FairPlayUSA for launching its coalition to combat illegal gambling. […]Together we must fight for the return of quality, good paying jobs to the United States and a strong regulatory framework for legal online poker will contribute to that goal.’

FairPlayUSA is a Washington-based group lobbying for the regulated return of online poker in the US. It is made up of a variety of lawyers and other interested parties, including Greg ‘Fossilman’ Raymer, who won the 2004 WSOP main event. Raymer recently appeared on the Quad Jacks radio show, asserting that ‘as far as I’m concerned, all types of gambling should be legal once you’re of age.’

The backing of Grimm surely gives the FairPlayUSA movement some clout, but whether or not any great progress will be made in the near future remains uncertain – unfortunately, it seems that the reputation of online gambling in the USA is still in tatters following the events of Black Friday. However, after a recent stream of disheartening reports, including the departure of pro Phil Galfond, the news could serve as a much-needed glimmer of hope for US players.

If I had to escape from the world because I was the most hated woman in America, I'd try heading off to the beaches of Hawaii, or blend in with the bustling crowd of New York City. The last place I would go is middle America… especially to an Old Navy in middle America.

But that's just where acquitted child murderer and proven chronic liar Casey Anthony has wound up.

Casey was photographed on Sunday wearing an Ohio State University baseball cap, a grey shirt, and glasses. She walked around town holding a Starbucks drink and stopped at an Old Navy to look at dresses.

Reps for Ohio State University immediately went on the defence, telling TMZ, "We are never surprised to see Buckeye pride displayed across the world. Buckeye hoodies and hats have traditionally been spotted across the world, and we understand that as a result, our logo will be seen in a wide range of news situations, whether positive or negative."

TMZ, who first obtained the images of Anthony, reports that Anthony has relatives in Ohio, but it is unknown as to whether she spent any time with them and that the former mother has been touring around the country since her release from jail.

Think Casey will last out in the real world? Think she'll get sucker punched by an Old Navy customer? Bodog has awesome entertainment, business and political odds. Which party will win the 2012 Presidential election? Bet now with Bodog.

Alabama's two-month-long gambling corruption trial is about to get to jury deliberations.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson says closing arguments will wrap up Friday morning and the jury should begin deliberations after lunch. The judge has ordered the jury sequestered during its deliberations.

The trial involves VictoryLand casino owner Milton McGregor, two of his lobbyists, four present and former state senators, a casino spokesman and a former legislative bill writer. They are accused of buying and selling votes on pro-gambling legislation.

Prosecutors say tape recordings of phone calls and meetings show there was a conspiracy to corrupt the legislative process. But defense attorneys say there is no tape of a senator agreeing to swap a vote for money.

Residents of the District of Columbia were dismayed last month to discover that the state's online gambling legislation had been delayed. Political officials opposed to the legislation stated more time was needed before launching the play-money version of the website in order to gather public opinion on the matter. Now, it has been announced that community meeting will be held, marketing a huge step forward for DC's online gambling legislation.

Over the course of the next couple of months, lawmakers will hold town hall meetings in each of the state's eight wards. During these meetings, residents of DC will be able to voice their thoughts on the launch of a state-regulated online gambling website.

DC is one of the first states to adopt this approach when considering the legalization of online gambling. Many other states like Florida and New Jersey made plans to launch their own online casinos, but never took into consideration the opinions of residents.

These meetings will maintain an air of transparency for those residing in DC. In addition to providing citizens with the chance to speak up about online gambling, the town hall meetings will also seek to answer any questions that DC residents might have about the launch of the new online casino.

Originally, the play-money version of the website was expected to have been launched by now. If residents show support at these town hall meetings, the government may be able to continue on with its plans by the end of the year.