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Illinois residents can now place bets for the first time ever on horse races around the world at TVG.com, the largest, legal online wagering company in the U.S. Today, the Illinois Racing Board licensed TVG to accept wagers from Illinois residents, making this the first time that advance deposit wagering is legal in the state.

To commemorate the occasion, TVG will provide a $50 free trial offer for Illinois residents who create accounts at TVG.com. Additionally, TVG will provide extensive on-track television programming live from the Hawthorne racecourse in Chicago.

“Just in time for the Hawthorne races and Zenyatta to race in the Breeder’s Cup, Illinois’ racing fans can experience the thrill of betting online at TVG.com,” said Gerard Cunningham, president of Betfair US, parent company of TVG. “No other online wagering site offers the number of tracks, secures your money, or engages with its community like TVG.com.”

Illinois – home to a significant horse breeding industry, three Thoroughbred and two Standardbred tracks – joins a growing number of states that have approved online wagering on horseracing including California, New York, Kentucky, and Maryland, among others.

The introduction of regulated online wagering in Illinois will provide an additional revenue stream for the state’s horseracing industry – including horse owners, racetracks and horsemen’s groups. For every wager placed on a race by an Illinois resident at TVG.com, the Illinois horseracing industry will now receive a percentage of the profits. Additionally, TVG will heavily promote all Illinois racing on its television and wagering platforms, as well as advertising within the state of Illinois.

“We believe that legal, regulated online betting will help reinvigorate the horseracing industry in Illinois,” said Cunningham. “The convenience of being able to wager online, or away from home with your cell phone, will help attract a new audience and generation to racing.”

Americans have already wagered close to $6.5 billion on horseracing this year alone, with about 10 percent of bets placed online. There are more than 55,000 races around the U.S. every year, and TVG broadcasts 27,000 races each year on its television network.

In 2008, TVG.com accepted more than $500 million in wagers from customers across the U.S. The TVG television network, which is broadcast into more than 33 million homes across the U.S., is already available in Illinois through distributors including Comcast, DirecTV, Dish Network and Media One. Earlier this year, TVG and TVG.com were acquired by Betfair Ltd., the largest, legal online wagering company in the world.

Online casino enthusiasts can now enjoy a pair of the most recognized faces from recent Hollywood blockbusters, The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man at Casino Plex.

The two new 5-reel, 20 payline Video Slot Games are both based on the very popular Marvel movies and are packed with fantastic features that will entertain even the most demanding casino players.

Iron Man contains an exciting Missile Attack Bonus round which features captivating graphics and sounds. This movie-like bonus round will test players as they try to shoot missiles in order to win prizes, free games and free games multiplier. Iron Man features reel symbols such as Tony Stark, his alter ego Iron Man, missiles and suitcases.

Additionally Iron Man has a unique expanding wild feature and a massive prize of 5,000 times the line bet.

The Incredible Hulk is equally entertaining and features a thrilling Smash Bonus round which is triggered when the Smash Bonus icon appears on reels 1 and 5 at the same time.

The Smash Bonus round starts with an amazing Flash animation in which the Hulk is being chased by the police in dark alleys. As the Hulk faces the police, the player is asked to choose 3 out of 7 police cars to reveal the prize. After that, the player must choose 1 of 3 police helicopters to get a multiplier for the prize amount. During this round, the Hulk Rage special feature might come into play awarding players even more prizes.

The Free Games bonus round is entered when 3 or more scatter symbols, The Incredible Hulk logos, appear anywhere on the reels. The player is awarded 10 Free Games with a multiplier of three.

“We had tremendous success with the last bunch of new slot games that we launched at Casino Plex, but I think the mass market appeal these movie characters have will definitely appeal to our existing players but also help us attract new players to Casino Plex.” said Harry Christodoulou, Marketing Manager at Casino Plex.

Both, the high flying Iron Man and the angry not so little green monster, The Incredible Hulk can be played at Casino Plex for as little as €0.01 per spin.

Making difficult on-the- job decisions is not anything new for him. He made tougher calls while flying 160 combat missions as a command pilot over Viet Nam and Southeast Asia. Meeting Major General Paul A. Harvey (USAF Ret.) for the first time, one would never guess that this quiet gentleman put in 5,000 flying hours, many of them under deep duress.

In all General Harvey spent 32 years on active duty for his country and held numerous command positions in the U.S., Europe, Africa and the Middle East before serving as the commander for Keesler Air Force Base, retiring in 1991.

That experience helped in his appointment as Executive Director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission from 1993 to 1998. That, plus many years in various executive corporate positions, all serve him and the Mississippi Band of Choctaws well, where as President and Chief Executive Officer, he is now making decisions to take Pearl River Resort through the difficult economic downturn that has had a significant negative affect on the gaming industry.

“It is not just about managing and directing a large operation with two casinos and hotels, and all the wonderful amenities this resort offers, but different in that we must help sustain the 10,000 member Tribe and distributions to its members. ” he said. ‘At the end of the day, the Choctaws make up 36 percent of the large work force here and keeping our operation viable and profitable helps insure those positions.”

One of the first tough steps that had to be implemented was the downsizing the work force and closing the high-end Golden Moon casino and hotel during the week from Sunday nights to Friday noon.

“The challenge when we made this decision was the “management of people,” said Gen. Harvey. “Now, months later, maintaining our operation and planning for the upturn occupies our time.”

An outside observer might take all the changes at Pearl River Resort to mean it was in trouble but the opposite is quite true. “Actually we are doing quite well as a regional market, “said the General. The Choctaws, under Miko Beasley Denson, state unequivocally that the total operation is the most profitable among Mississippi’s 30 casinos.

“The strength of our Silver Star casino and hotel, with its loyal clientele, leads the way as we move forward,” said General Harvey. “We have made a significant reduction in our monthly operating expenses and with a manageable work force, we can be more nimble then casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City when the nation comes out of the current financial and credit mess.”

Changes now being made or planned for include the rebranding of some the 11 restaurants on the property, planning some capital expenditures and continuation of aggressive and targeted marketing. In addition, the Tribe is planning to be a leader in the move to server-based gaming.”

Long term the Golden Moon is viewed as an important active operation when it returns to a full-time schedule.

“When you list all the amenities that this Resort offers, it has a lot of attraction power that will make it much sought out when the economy recovers,” said General Harvey.

Those supporting amenities include the highly rated Dancing Rabbit Golf Club, recently named the top golf facility in the state by Mississippi Magazine, Geyser Falls Water Theme Park, Lake Pushmataha, The Choctaw Museum, and the large 30,000 square foot convention center and entertainment theater.

In addition, some of the edge has been taken off the bad economy by the 150 acre Choctaw TechParc, which is the headquarters of the Tribe’s global business activities dedicated to supporting the needs of today’s high-tech, high speed companies.

By nature, the Choctaws are a resilient people, and facing and overcoming challenges is nothing new for the Tribe. That independent spirit and strong, battle-hardened management, will combine to lead the Tribe through the difficult times into a brighter future.