Las Vegas (AP) – Station Casinos has cleared its final hurdle to going private. The Las Vegas-based company’s USD 5.4 billion buyout has won approval from the National Indian Gaming Commission, according to regulatory filings submitted Friday. The Indian commission’s approval clears the way for the $ 90 per share buyout to close early next week, possibly by Tuesday, the filing said. Station agreed in February to a buyout offer by an investor group that includes members of the company’s founding family.

Washington (AP) – Aiming to rein in the booming Indian gambling industry, the government is trying to make sure electronic bingo machines at tribal casinos can’t masquerade as Las Vegas-style slots. Slot machines are more lucrative for tribes and more attractive to players, but they are subject to state approval and limits. Video bingo isn’t. The basic difference between the two is that slot machines involve a gambler interacting only with a single machine, whereas video bingo requires gamblers to play each other over a linked network.

Opponents of a nearly 30 percent expansion of tribal gambling began turning in petition signatures Friday for what could prove to be latest ballot fight over Indian casinos in California. A group opposing deals between four wealthy Southern California tribes and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said it has collected enough signatures to let voters decide if the agreements should be revoked. It said the rest of the signatures will be turned in by Monday to the secretary of state’s office.

The referendum battle over a major expansion of Indian casino gambling in California already resembles the stretch run of a bruising political campaign — despite the fact nothing has even qualified for the ballot. But with signature gatherers circulating petitions for Feb. 5 referendums seeking to stop four of the Golden State’s richest tribes from adding up to 17,000 new slot machines, big campaign dollars are flowing and the political vitriol is in full bloom.

Mashantucket Pequot Indian Reservation, Connecticut: With hundreds of millions of dollars in annual profit flowing in from their gambling business, the Mashantucket Pequots first floated the idea of building a large amusement park. But those plans were shot down by neighbors already unhappy with the huge Foxwoods casino in their midst. The tribe then bought into a ferry-building business in hopes of diversifying its holdings, but that only provided a costly lesson, said Michael Thomas, the tribe’s chairman.

Tallahassee, Florida (AP) – Republican Gov. Charlie Crist and the Seminole Indians are close to a deal allowing the tribe’s casinos to offer Las Vegas-style slot machines — possibly even card games — with the potential to generate more than USD100 million a year for the state. Crist, who took office in January, has made progress in negotiations with the tribe, unlike his predecessor, Gov. Jeb Bush. Bush adamantly opposed gambling and was at an impasse in talks when he left office.

Hollywood, Florida — PRNewswire — As the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe enter the final days of their closely watched compact negotiations, the 3rd annual Florida Gaming Summit is preparing to spotlight Indian gaming with special presentations on October 8-9 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood Hotel & Casino. James F. Allen, CEO of Seminole Gaming, will kick off the conference with a keynote address at the conference Welcome Reception.

San Jacinto, California – A man suspected of masterminding the USD 1.5 million Soboba Indian Casino robbery was arrested over the weekend near Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said Monday. Rolando Luda Ramos, 25, was booked into the Southwest Detention Center Saturday on suspicion of strong armed robbery, false imprisonment, battery with injury and kidnapping. According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Ramos was picked up at a hotel near LAX at 3 a.m. Saturday.

Sacramento – A coalition of labor and horse racing interests announced Friday that it will ask voters to pull the plug on a huge tribal gambling expansion negotiated by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The owner of two racetracks and the hotel workers‘ union will team up on a campaign that could put four new initiatives on the February ballot and cost tens of millions of dollars. Some tribes with casinos that are not part of the expansion said they might join the effort.

Buffalo, New York — The Seneca Indian Nation quietly opened its third casino Tuesday, a day after the National Indian Gaming Commission sided with the tribe over opponents who claim it is illegal. Workers labored through the night wiring 124 slot machines inside a small warehouse-type building that will serve as an interim casino while a USD 125 million permanent complex is built over the next year and a half.

Sacramento — The Legislature removed a key hurdle to passing a state budget Thursday, agreeing to allow four Indian tribes to expand casino gambling in exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue to the state. The action ended what had been a lengthy legislative logjam that pitted two special interest titans: labor groups vs. casino-operating Indian tribes. The tribes won.

Washington — Indian gambling pulled in USD 25 billion in 2006, 11 percent more than the year before as the industry’s explosive growth outpaced Las Vegas. Federal figures announced Monday, compiled from 387 tribal facilities in 28 states, show Indian gambling revenue has nearly doubled in five years. Indian casinos brought in USD 12.8 billion from gambling in 2001, USD 22.5 billion in 2005 and USD 25.1 billion in 2006, according to the National Indian Gaming Commission.