<font size="2" face="arial">The American Gaming Association (AGA) expects that U.S. President-elect Barack Obama will adopt laissez-faire, or anything goes, <strong>approach to gambling expansion</strong> when he takes office in two months, something of a contrast to his reported plans for the rest of the U.S. economy. </font>

<font size="2" face="arial">The <strong>U.K.'s biggest bookmaker Ladbrokes</strong> said this week it expects 2008 earnings to fall within the range of analysts' forecasts. Shares in Ladbrokes rose 4 percent, and Paddy Power's shares rose even higher, at 8.5 percent. Increased taxes in Ireland may impact earnings for both firms, next year, however, experts said. </font>

<font size="2" face="arial">A study by West Virginia University indicates The Greenbrier resort hotel may reap <strong>more than $6 million in profits </strong>a year and $34 million may be infused into the local economy. What's more, up to 76 jobs may be created by table games being offered as an amenity at the four-star resort.</font>

<font size="2" face="arial"><strong>Churchill Downs Inc.</strong> President Bob Evans said he is poised to pursue expanded gambling next year in Kentucky, citing the approval of voters of slot machines in Maryland, another horse racing state.</font>

<font size="2" face="arial">A number of trends are converging which are expected to push total annual <strong>wagers via mobile phones</strong> to more than $27.5 billion by 2013, according to a new report from Juniper Research. <br> </font>

<font size="2" face="arial">Casino stocks soared this week as the <strong>MGM Mirage</strong> reported new funding for its CityCenter project. Investors are jumping back into the niche as the Federal Reserve slashed a key interest rate by half a point.</font>

<font size="2" face="arial">The National Basketball Association's governing body yesterday voted to allow the Palms Casino Resort in <strong>Las Vegas to accept bets on league games.&nbsp; </strong></font>

<font size="2" face="arial">A decision to allow gambling advertising on search engines in the U.K. is increasing spending by <strong>gambling firms on Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google. </strong></font>

<font size="2" face="arial">A Cape Girardeau businessman, a state <strong>lawmaker and gambling</strong> critics contended the proposal illegally mixed multiple subjects in an attempt to "logroll" voters and was unfairly summarized on the ballot.</font>

<font size="2" face="arial">The casino went live just last week and further expands the leisure offering includes <strong>sports spread betting</strong>, sports binary betting and fixed-odds sports betting. </font>