How will the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board change course now that its first executive director has announced her resignation?

"With Anne Neeb's decision to resign as the executive director of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, some lawmakers see an opportunity for the embattled agency to change its direction. Neeb, who came to Pennsylvania from the Louisiana's Gaming Control Board, said that she is leaving for family reasons. She has faced heavy criticism since charges were filed against Louis DeNaples, owner of the Mount Airy Casino Resort. DeNaples is charged in Dauphin County Court with lying to the gaming board about his relationships with organized crime figures in an effort to obtain a slots license [Rep.] Doug Reichley, R-Lehigh, said he doesn't place the blame solely on Neeb. But he added, 'From everything that has been coming out, it has painted a picture where Miss Neeb failed to act in the best interest of the people of Pennsylvania and didn't raise issues with board members on the way these licenses have been issued.'"

Frank Donahue, the board's chief counsel, will be the board's acting executive director. Neeb's resignation is effective on Friday, but she'll be paid through September.

From the P-G:

"Mrs. Neeb, 52, who is from New Orleans, is returning to Louisiana to deal with family matters, board officials said Thursday. She is the first, and so far only, person to serve as board director. She was hired in September 2005 for the $180,000-a-year position."

Whoa, 180K? Maybe we should apply. Who knows more about casinos than the Casino Journal?

... Does Don Barden have the money to build a casino on the North Shore? Gov. Ed Rendell thinks so:

"Don Barden's latest deal to finance his North Shore casino got a vote of confidence yesterday from Gov. Ed Rendell. Meeting with reporters after the Point State Park reopening, Mr. Rendell said the $780 million financing package appears to be a 'strong one.' Mr. Barden announced nearly two weeks ago that he had completed the financing by securing a $150 million commitment from Apollo Strategic Value Fund LP and a group of other lenders. Apollo is affiliated with Apollo Management, one of the two private equity firms that jointly purchased gambling powerhouse Harrah's Entertainment for $17.1 billion. Mr. Rendell likes what he has heard about the deal. 'The holding company that owns Harrah's is one of the strongest in the United States of America, and Harrah's is a great, great operator and great institution. So I think that is reason for optimism here,' he said."

OK. That's good. I'm sure he knows what he's talking about. I mean, it's not like Apollo or Harrah's is an imminent bankruptcy risk, right?

"Casino bonds are generating the worst returns for investors, as companies from Apollo Management LP's Harrah's Entertainment Inc. to Herbst Gaming Inc. risk bankruptcy under the weight of their debt. High-yield, high-risk casino bonds, which returned 10 percent during the last recession in 2001, are the biggest losers this year, according to Bank of America Corp., as consumers get slammed by record gasoline prices and the worst housing-market slump since the Great Depression. The debt has lost 4.4 percent, compared with junk bonds' average return of 1.4 percent ... Harrah's $1.4 billion of 10.75 percent notes due in 2016 tumbled to 80 cents on the dollar to yield 14.7 percent, or 1,077 basis points more than Treasuries, according to Bloomberg data. The cost of protecting Harrah's bonds from default in the credit-default swaps market has almost doubled since the start of the year, Bloomberg data show."

Oh. Wait. What?

... Is no news good news out of last week's gaming board hearing?

Dispatches from the east

New Jersey Gov. John Corzine's pep talk to the struggling Atlantic City casinos.

"We're going inside of 'em, we're going outside of 'em -- inside of 'em! outside of 'em! -- and when we get them on the run once, we're going to keep them on the run. We're gonna go, go, go, go! And we aren't going to stop until we go over that goal line! And don't forget, men -- today is the day we're gonna win. They can't lick us -- and that's how it goes ... The first platoon men -- go in there and fight, fight, fight, fight, fight!"

Sorry, wrong pep talk. This is the one we were looking for:

"A day after the city's gambling halls reported a 17.7 percent decrease in profits in the first quarter of 2008, the former Goldman Sachs CEO told the East Coast Gaming Congress he has a businessman's sensitivity to the current struggles. He said there is a 'political consensus' to keep casinos' tax burden stable, and reiterated his pledge to sign a bill to keep them open in case of a state shutdown. 'I know there are a few tough spots, rough spots' the governor said. But when the risks and rewards are weighed, he said, Atlantic City is a 'great investment' that in five to 10 years could rival Las Vegas and other gambling destinations worldwide. 'If you don't quite buy that today, just wait,' Corzine said."

Not. Buying it.

... Here's the news that necessitated the pep talk:

"Casino operators are blaming the drag on Pennsylvania's slots parlors. The casinos produced a collective operating profit of $243.8 million in the first quarter of this year, which was down just shy of 18 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer."

Dispatches from the west

Another racetrack, another sad story about The Way Things Were, and how slot machines might be the only thing that can save horse racing:

"Once upon a time, when the sport of kings was king in Columbus, the horse-track business was this simple: Build it, and they will come. That's what Charlie Hill did, buying 134 acres of the Hartman farm south of town and opening Scioto Downs for business in the fall of 1959 ... Now, instead of playing host to 10,000 people a night, they're lucky to draw half of that. (Editor's note: Sounds like the Pirates.) The purses are down, and the better horses race elsewhere. (Editor's note: Also sounds like the Pirates.) [A] big blow to tracks is the ability to gamble from afar. When folks gamble on Scioto Downs races from off-track parlors or the Internet, less of the money goes to the track than if the betting had been done at Scioto. The solution for many tracks nationwide is to add 'alternative gaming' -- slots and/or casino games. At tracks that have those, business booms, and when it takes place just outside Ohio's borders, it has a devastating effect on the Ohio horse business."

So, what I take out of this is, maybe we should let the Pirates have slot machines at PNC Park.

... Labor supports Ohio's latest push for slots gaming.

... "Detroit's Greektown Casino is seeking approval in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for an about $45 million loan to pay contractors and continue construction of its permanent hotel and gambling complex in downtown. The project's general contractor told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Walter Shapero on Tuesday that some of the project's subcontractors have stopped working and 123 of 369 workers did not show up to work that day."

Odds and ends

Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer, brought some officially stunning wagering numbers to Pennsylvania: "Statewide, wagers grew to $430 million, a 5 percent jump for the week. Gross Terminal Wagers gained 4 percent to close at $34.5 million. Fifty five percent of that is collected by the state as gaming tax. That amount was $19 million last week." ... Not exactly the stuff of Ocean's 11 -- The most common crime being committed at Pennsylvania's casinos are thefts: "Between Feb. 12 and the end of April, 35 crimes were reported at the Hollywood Casino. More than half of the crimes reported at the casino -- 20 -- were thefts. The rest of the reported crimes were essentially petty offenses such as disorderly conduct, according to state police reports." ... The Penn National merger is being delayed ... Trump Marina in Atlantic City will become Margaritaville.

Don't expect a phone call from the Parents of the Year committee:

"Delaware State Police have charged a Pennsylvania man and woman for allegedly leaving two children in the car while they gambled at Delaware Park. Police say 33-year-old Juan Mingucha and 31-year-old Marisol Santos-Mingucha of Reading, Pa. are charged with endangering a child's welfare and conspiracy. About 4 p.m. Saturday, a security officer at the Delaware Park Race Track and Slots saw the 10-year-old boy and a 6-year-old in a car. About an hour earlier, police say the Minguchas left their children alone in the car and went inside to play slot machines."