The Meskwaki Indian tribe in Iowa plans to offer poker to 18-to-21-year-old gamblers next month at its Tama casino, but state regulators said the young players will be barred from slot machines, blackjack and other games. The minimum age for casino gambling in Iowa is 21 years old according to State law but the federal law allows other the Indian tribes to offer other games such as bingo to those players who are 18 years old.

The casino plans to allow 18 -21 year old players the opportunity to play poker at the casino and said it will not take a cut of the pot. Tribal Chairman Adrian Pushetonequa sent a letter to state officials on Monday about the tribe's plans. The poker games will start June 1; and marketing will begin May 15.

Two weeks ago I took a trip Tunica Mississippi for the weekend to visit the casinos there. On Friday afternoon something happened that really amazed me. I was playing video poker at Sam's Town casino where I was staying when the smoke alarm went off. There were flashing lights and a very loud beeping of the alarm which I could clearly hear. I immediately hit the button to cash out. I grabbed my voucher from the machine and headed for the nearest exit. There were only about a dozen or so people who joined me outside. The rest of the people just kept on playing as if nothing was happening. Apparently, they all just assumed that it was a false alarm and didn't feel a need to take it seriously.

Earlier this year there were two casino fires within a week of each other. One was at the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas, the other was at Foxwoods in Connecticut and both were reported on the national news. For this reason alone I was surprised that more people did not take the fire alarm seriously. Apparently most of the other people just felt it was too inconvenient to get up and go outside when the alarm went off. Instead of playing it safe they decided to gamble with their lives. Although it proved to be a false alarm this time there could've been serious consequences if it had been an actual fire. Fire alarms should always be taken seriously and you should leave the building immediately if you hear one going off! If it proves to be a false alarm you have only given up a few minutes of your time but if there is an actual fire and you don't heed the alarm you may be giving up your life.

Fires can happen anywhere and everyone should be familiar with fire safety and what to do in case of an emergency. Many fires happen in hotels and anyone who stays in a hotel should take a few minutes when they check into their room go over and evacuation route in case of a fire. Here are some fire safety tips that could save your life.

The owner of Tropicana casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week. The action comes five months after the Tropicana lost their license to operate their casino in Atlantic City when the New Jersey Casino Control Commission determined that the company was incapable of running the "first-class operation" required by state law.

When the Tropicana lost the license to operate the Atlantic City casino it triggered a lawsuit by bond holders seeking immediate repayment. Scott C. Butera, the company's president, said that without the Atlantic City casino, the company can't afford to pay its debt obligations. The bankruptcy filing is "an opportunity to take a breathing spell," and get its debt under control, and move forward.

He urged current patrons of the Tropicana and the company's other casinos to keep coming. "This is the first step in making things much better," he told The Associated Press in an interview Monday. "I'd encourage them to remain a customer of the Tropicana, and I'm sure the customer will be rewarded as we do better things and invest in our assets."

The champion of this year's World Series of Poker main event won't be decided until November because of a change in format. The 39th annual WSOP begins on May 30th at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas with 55 events this year. The $10,000 no limit main event will get under way on July 3rd and is scheduled to be played for 13 days until the field is narrowed down to the nine players making the final table. Instead of playing it out immediately, the final table action will be stopped and will not resume until November 9th when it will be played down to the final two players who will compete in a heads up match on November 10th to determine the champion. The taped delayed action of the event will be broadcast on ESPN within hours of the actual tournament.

Jeffrey Pollack, the WSOP commissioner said that during the 117 day delay, players will have an opportunity to line up sponsorships, coaches, review the play of all their competitors, participate in other tournaments, and take advantage of the new publicity and promotional opportunities that will be available.

Some players were excited about the new format while others expressed displeasure at the prospect of having to stop and wait months to conclude the event.

Blackjack is a game of skill and learning to count cards can give a player the advantage over the house. Your probability of winning a hand is dependent upon the mix of the cards remaining to be dealt. If the deck contains high cards it favors the player. If the deck contains low cards it favors the dealer. When you count cards you are keeping track of the ratio of the high and low cards left in the deck. One of the most popular card counting methods is the Hi Lo system. Here is how it works.

A proposed ballot initiative would ask Colorado voters to give authority to the state's gambling towns to increase casino bet limits, add new games and extend operating hours. The measure, filed Friday with the Legislative Council, still has to go through the title board to get a ballot title, and proponents must submit 76,000 certified signatures to get it on the November ballot.

Under the present Colorado law, gamblers can only wager a maximum of five dollars and the casinos are required to close at 2 am. The new proposal is seeking to raise the maximum bet to $100 and allow the casinos to stay open 24 hours a day. The state's casino industry for years has said that the bet limit prevents local operators from attracting out-of-state gamblers. Colorado is the only state with a $5 bet limit.

The City Council unanimously approved a total smoking ban ordinance that will make the casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey completely smoke free come October 17 of this year. Mayor Scott Evans said he will sign the measure into law within 10 days. This will end the year long battle over a previous ordinance that allowed smoking on 25 percent of the casino floor.

In January 2007, Atlantic City tried to pass a law banning smoking in the casinos but backed down under pressure from the casino industry. The City Council then enacted a compromise law restricting smoking to no more than 25 percent of the casino floor. There were many complaints that it was ineffective because smoke was drifting from the smoking sections of the casino into the non-smoking areas. The casino industry is already citing the present partial ban for the reduced revenue being felt by the Atlantic City casinos and they feel that the complete ban will drive customers to nearby States that allow smoking in the casinos. There is however a push by more States to curtail smoking in the casinos.

More than two dozen states nationwide regulate smoking inside casinos, eight ban smoking altogether inside the gambling halls, and two others will impose a total ban starting in 2009, according to Karen Blumenfeld, policy director of the New Jersey Group Against Smoking Pollution. Lawmakers in Connecticut are trying to extend the present public smoking ban to include Foxwoods and the Mohegan Sun, which are located on Native American reservations. Both casinos claim that smoking restrictions would be a threat to tribal sovereignty. Pennsylvania lawmakers debated last week to make the casinos completely smoke-free or limit smoking to 25 percent of the gaming floor which is similar to the smoking restrictions in Atlantic City which were just replaced in favor of the total ban on smoking.

I really think that part of the fun of visiting the casino is to try different experiences, whether it is dining at a new restaurant, seeing a show or trying a new game. There are probably many players who get stuck in a rut of going to the same casino, and playing the same machine over and over again without ever trying something new or different. Here some suggestions to add variety to your next casino visit.

The Salvation Army announced that it would no longer accept donations from the gambling industry. Each year the gaming industry donates hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Salvation Army and the money is used to help treat people with gambling addictions. The decision was made because they were not happy with the way that gambling has been affecting society.

"We won't be taking any money where the profits come directly from the gambling industry...that's not to say we aren't grateful for the support that's been given," said Campbell Roberts, the Social Services National Director for the Salvation Army.

This means that the Salvation Army will have to find alternative donations to make up for the money they are rejecting. While it may be a noble decision, people will continue to gamble and I wonder if it would be better to keep accepting the money and use it to help problem gamblers. What do you think?

A few days ago I was playing Craps and the shooter was having he spectacular roll. He had held the dice for over 45 minutes and every one at the table was making a lot of money. Then disaster struck.

Even though the table was full, and there were no open spots, it did not stop one idiot who wanted to get into the game. He tried to force his way in between two players at the end of the table where the dice were landing. Without even looking he extended his arm over table just as the shooter let the dice go. Sure enough the dice hit his hand and when they landed on the table it was a four and a three. "Seven Out" the stickman yelled. A great roll had come to an end because this inconsiderate player was clueless about craps etiquette.

The craps table can only accommodate a certain number of players and the dealer had told the player that the talbe was full before he reached over to drop his money on the layout to buy in. His first mistake was trying to force his way into a full table. His second mistake was extending his hands over the table without looking to see in the shooter was getting ready to roll.

After the dice have landed the stickman will call out the number and then move the dice to the center of the table while the dealers make the payouts and he will wait until the players make their bets for the next roll before passing them to the shoot. The time to make your bets at the craps table is when the dice are in the center of the table. Once the shooter has the dice you should never throw down more bets or dangle your hands over the table.