Atlantic City is considered to be one of the most popular gaming cities in the country, home to various casinos that offer gamblers different ways to play poker. One of the casinos in Atlantic City, the Hilton, has been fined for underage gambling. The fine incurred is a total of $115,000. The person that caused the fine was only 19 years old and he played blackjack, poker, roulette, slots and Spanish 21. He also had a player’s club card, an account opened to track his gambling, and was given a free room.

New Jersey state law requires that all gamblers be 21 years of age or older. This fine was the second highest fine ever given to an Atlantic City casino. “We have a big concern about it because kids can make themselves look older, and that’s problematic,” said Linda Kassekert, chairwoman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, which imposed the fine.

The fine was so high because the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement had notified the Hilton that the player in question was underage and was gambling in their casino yet the casino still allowed the player to gamble. The player has only been identified as “M.R.” The player provided fake identification to gamble in the casino saying that he was 24 years old at the time.

The underage player began gambling at the casino on January 25, 2007 and continued to gamble at the Hilton until 2008. Any money lost by the gambler that went to the casino has to be returned to the state per state laws. The largest underage gambling fine in Atlantic City was imposed on Bally’s in 2008 for $157,500.

Congressman Joe Sestak is planning to run against Senator Arlen Spector in the 2010 Democratic primary election. Sestak is currently working as a representative of the 7th District in the state of Pennsylvania. It has been reported that Sestak is planning a major announcement for Tuesday morning that will be held at a VFW Hall in the state of Pennsylvania in Delaware County.

Sestak will then embark on a two-day tour of the state of Pennsylvania which will end with an appearance on Comedy Central’s Colbert Report show. This announcement doesn’t come as a surprise to many people in the industry since Spector switched to the Democratic party back in the month of April. Sestak is a former Navy vice admiral.

Sestak has been in office since January 4, 2007 after an award winning career in the Navy. He is a graduate of the Naval Academy and Harvard University. He resides in Edgmont Township and was born in the town of Secane in 1951. Sestak also graduated from Cardinal O’Hara High School in Springfield, a suburb of the city of Philadelphia in Delaware County.

The awards presented to Sestak during his time in the United States Navy include three Defense Distinguished Service Medals, two Navy Distinguished Service Medals, two Legion of Merit awards, two Meritorious Service Medals and a Joint Service Commendation Medal. Sestak retired from the Navy as a two star Rear Admiral because he did not serve long enough as a Vice Adminral in the Navy to retire as a Vice Admiral in the US Navy.

Former Pennsylvania state senator Vincent Fumo was sentenced to 55 months in prison for corruption charges stemming from misappropriating millions of dollars of taxpayer money from the coffers of the state senate and two nonprofit organizations. 20 years was the sentence recommended by the prosecutors of the case or at the least 10 years in prison. The sentence of 55 months actually calculates into just over 4.5 years in prison.

Fumo was convicted on all 137 counts brought against him by the jurors but the judge presiding over the case, Ronald Buckwalter, decided that a 55 month sentence would be sufficient enough for what Fumo did while serving as senator in the state of Pennsylvania. The federal prosecutors that worked so feverishly on the case will ask the Justice Department if they can appeal the ruling handed down by Buckwalter because they are so furious over the ruling.

Fumo’s co-defendant, Ruth Arnao, will be sentenced next Tuesday and the U.S. Attorney’s office will wait until then to file an appeal on Fumo’s sentencing. The U.S. Attorney’s office has only 30 days to file their appeal. The prosecutors working on the Fumo case called his sentencing “unduly lenient and unreasonable.” The prosecutors also cite this past week’s outpouring of support for Fumo, which might have led the judge presiding over the case to hand down a sentence lower than what should have been assigned to the former state senator.

Many people in the city of Philadelphia, where the trial was taking place, are sick of hearing about this case because the taxpayer’s money is being wasted on a criminal that is not violent or dangerous to society. Instead, they would rather have their tax money put to better use, for protecting the streets of the city.

Owning a successful business is difficult to do but it can be done and it has been done in the past. What are the tricks of owning a successful business? Well, for starters, the owner must put in a ton of their own time and money to make the business successful. If time and money is not put into the business then it won’t last long at all. Take a look at the Jersey Shore. Businesses come and go each summer but the ones that have lasted the longest are the ones that have received the most effort from their owners.

Another secret to successfully running a business is to treat your employees with as much respect as possible. If you keep your employees happy while at work they will perform well and won’t turn their back on the company. Being loyal to employees, which includes giving them raises when deserved, will help the business in the long run. All businesses that are based on customer service continue to be successful because their employees are happy with their job.

Another secret to successfully running a business is to make sure that the owner and the employees know that the customer is always right when it comes to customer service. Never argue with a customer about price, availability, or any other product problem. Arguing with a customer will get the business nowhere. It will cost the business a customer, which doesn’t seem too important at the time but customers talk to each other and bad word of mouth marketing can kill a business.

If you own your own business or work for yourself then you are required by federal and state laws to pay estimated quarterly taxes to the government of the United States. Estimated quarterly taxes can be figured out with the help of a business attorney or an accountant. Basically, they will need you to provide how much money you have made so far (you really should be honest here), and then they will figure in Social Security tax and other tax to determine how much you must send to the Internal Revenue Service.

Quarterly taxes are due on January 15, April 15, June 15 and September 15 of each fiscal year. If they are not paid by the 15th or postmarked by the 15th then the person paying the estimated quarterly taxes can be suspect to penalties. These penalties are usually 10 percent of the entire quarterly tax amount due to the IRS. Sometimes the IRS will not penalize the person paying the taxes as long as they are paid in full by the end of the fiscal year or the next April 15th with their tax return.

Paying estimated quarterly taxes helps businesses and self employed people in the area of their wallet. Sending in a miniscule estimated payment every couple of months is easier on the wallet then sending in the tax payment all at once on April 15th each year. This way, the business owner or the self employed person will be able to put more money away for profit and not have to save thousands of dollars in a separate account when tax time rolls around.

Tags: Business, owning a business, paying quarterly taxes, running a business

In these tough economic times many people are struggling with staying out of financial trouble because of limited funds and too many bills needing to be paid. Avoiding financial troubles doesn’t just pertain to a bad economy because people can fall into trouble even when the economy is roaring. But right now is the worst time to fall into financial trouble because of the unsteady job market and economy in general.

Our first tip is to pay off credit card bills when they are due and not to pay the minimum. If you pay the minimum of the bill then the remaining balance will be subject to interest. This is what gets people into trouble in the first place. Pay off the credit card bill in full when the money is due and problems will be avoided.

The second tip we have to offer deals with compulsive shopping or buying. Being a compulsive buyer or shopper means that you spend money on items you do not need for everyday living like soap and toilet paper. Removing any bad shopping habits like being a compulsive buyer can help people avoid financial troubles. Stop spending money on items that are not needed on a daily basis and life will get easier.

The third and final tip we are going to offer today is to acquire medical insurance if you are not already medically insured. Why? Paying for a hospital visit out of pocket can cost thousands of dollars and ruin a person’s financial accounts. Spending roughly $150-$250 per month on medical insurance is better than spending $5,000 at one shot for a hospital visit because you are uninsured.

Buying a home, no matter how large or small, can be an expensive venture for anyone at any stage of their life but it can be especially difficult for a first-time home buyer in this economy. What type of home should I buy? What type of home can I afford? Where should I live? How much in yearly property taxes can I afford? All of these questions are tough to answer and can only be answered by the person purchasing the home. There are some advantages for first-time home buyers in this economy that will be outlined in this article.

For starters, first-time home buyers are provided with an $8,000 tax credit from the government for the purchase of their first home. Now, the buyer can use $5,000 of that tax credit towards closing costs, another added benefit of purchasing a home in this economy. It doesn’t matter how large or small the home is, whether it is a condominium or an apartment, or if it is a trailer home or a single family home; the $8,000 tax credit applies to all first-time home buyers.

The second advantage of being a first-time home buyer in this economy is if you have nothing to sell on your end. This is definitely a buyer’s market right now and sellers are having one heck of a difficult time right now. So, if you are a first-time home buyer and don’t have another property to sell because you either rent or live with your parents then you are in great shape. You can purchase your new home and not have to wait to sell your current home to use the money from the sale. Keep your head up, the market will improve and so will the economy.

The stock market and the home value crisis was just the tip of the iceberg. These homeowners that owe more than their houses are currently valued have another problem in their portfolio. The last couple of years have been ones of free credit for consumers. Stores, credit card companies, and banks gave out credit like candy. We are about to the see the horrible affects of those loans in 2009-2010.
Credit cards offered o% cash loans to consumers who ate them up. Now these companies have decreased their credit lines and jacked their rates as they realize that their offers were not warranted. They know that many defaults are likely and that they must recoup as much money as possible with higher rates now before the Obama administration makes it easier to get away from these debts.
It is very important for us to get out of debt in any way possible. Their are many unsecured debt relief programs out there that can help you drastically reduce your payment and crawl back into the black. Sure you may have a small blemish on your credit report but it’s much better than carrying huge balances that will never be paid off. If you have a lot of this debt, please seek credit card debt help.

Tags: Cards, Credit, debt, obama, portfolio, rates

Every aspect of the loan industry has been severely affected by the recession. I was fortunate enough to graduate in a year where the rates were low and the loans were readily available. I refinanced all of my outstanding loans into a 2.9% package and haven’t looked back since. I owe a lot of my success to these loans.
Students pursuing degrees at this time are having a more difficult time getting financing and good rates due to their lack of credit and the amount of defaults on the market. Most cases require a backing from their parents to secure the loan and most parents are in crisis with their homes and jobs. The issue has compounded to the degree that it threatens the higher education of tomorrow’s leaders.
Student Loans are becoming more accessible through private companies and the government. It is very important to make payments on time and not default on these loans. Defaults on these loans can be catastrophic to your credit report for years to come.

Tags: Credit, recession, Student Loans