The tough economic conditions which have hammered the gambling centre for the past two years have been exacerbated by growing competition for gamblers money from adjacent states.

Pennsylvania started offering table games on Thursday, a few weeks after Delaware did likewise.

The increased competition could cost Atlantic City about a quarter of its annual table games revenue, or about $300 million a year, according to analysts consulted by AP.

The competitive action at Pennsylvania slot parlours has been impacting Atlantic City since late 2006, and the state will soon have nine casinos offering the same gambling options as Atlantic City but much closer to home for Pennsylvania players, AP reports.

Table games revenue for Atlantic City fell 16.2 percent in June 2010 to $79.9 million. Slot revenue fell 9 percent to $206.9 million.

Only one of the citys 11 casinos posted a revenue increase; Trump Marina Hotel Casino, edged up scant 1.3 percent.

According to the Associated Press report, Resorts Atlantic City, which turned itself over to its lenders in December when it could no longer pay its mortgage, posted the biggest drop, nearly 20 percent.

Caesars Atlantic Citys revenue sank 17.8 percent, the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort dropped 13.5 percent, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino fell 13.2 percent, and Harrahs Resort Atlantic City fell 13 percent. Showboat Casino Hotel declined 12.4 percent, the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa fell 11.7 percent, and the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort slid 7.7 percent.

The Tropicana Casino and Resort fell 5.9 percent and Ballys Atlantic City was down 3.2 percent.

The first round match at the Hall of Fame grass court tournament apparently attracted an unusual $1.5 million in wagers and was the subject of dramatic price movement, which was quickly picked up by Betfairs real-time betting patterns software.

The incident was widely reported Saturday in the international press, with the Associated Press news service reporting that Britain’s Bloomfield won the match 7-6 (1), 6-3.

Bloomfield, ranked No. 552, was rated even money against his 160th-ranked Belgian opponent Rochus. In the hours before the match, the odds on Bloomfield winning shortened to 1-4. After he won the first set, the odds shorted to 1-8.

“If people are willing to risk 4 pounds to win one, that is indicative of a substantial gamble,” Betfair spokesman Tony Calvin told the news service.

Notification of the irregular betting pattern was made to the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU), an independent body created by the sport’s governing bodies to lead the fight against corruption.

Associated Press reports that 27-year-old Bloomfield was caught up in a betting controversy in 2006, when his 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Argentina’s Carlos Berlocq in the first round at Wimbledon was investigated following irregular patterns. No conclusion was reached by authorities about the match.

There is no suggestion Bloomfield is implicated in the irregular betting surrounding his victory over Rochus.

The Daily Mail reported that equivalent matches attracted around 15-20 times less money on Betfair, and that some bookmakers cautiously stopped taking bets several hours before the start of the match.

First, the House Financial Services Committee announced their December agenda, which includes a committee hearing for Frank’s two House Resolutions—2266 and 2267—on December 3. Second, to give Frank a chance to plead his case and to give the already beleaguered U.S. banks some breathing room, the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department have agreed to delay implementation of the new UIGEA laws by another six months, which should prevent anymore immediate gambling-related funds seizures.

Many online gambling advocates believe that these two decisions stand as proof that the tide is turning when it comes to the U.S. Government’s stance on online gambling and that legalization and regulation may finally be near.

Truth be told, Microgaming online casinos – now numbering over 120 – have paid out over $280 million in progressive jackpots to date, and are responsible for creating fourteen online gambling millionaires since the network was launched in the late nineties. Back when Microgaming had its doors open to U.S. citizens (pre UIGEA, 2005), you could say the Microgaming jackpot network was “off the chain”.

Other than Cryptologic and Playtech, no other progressive jackpot network came close to the figures being generated by Microgaming online casinos. These days, with Vegas Technology, Real Time Gaming and a budding Rival Gaming software taking the bulk of all U.S. traffic, and consequently producing million-plus progressive jackpots of their own, one can only help but to wonder just how large the Microgaming network would be if it had stayed in the U.S. market. But then again, one would also have to wonder just how much money the U.S. government would be able to blackmail from Microgaming if they kept their doors open to U.S. players.

Regardless, Microgaming has managed to keep it’s jackpot numbers in the millions by focusing on the European and UK markets. At the time of this publication, Microgaming’s cumulative jackpots were worth over $2.5 million – with a recent string of big winners, no less. While there are several different progressive casino games to choose from, it’s been the “Treasure Nile” video slot that has been making the most headlines of late. Just in the last five months, thirteen different players have won varying progressive jackpots totaling over half-a-million in winnings. The largest of the jackpots was hit just one day ago, paying out over $149,000 on a $4.50 wager. Prior to this, the largest Treasure Nile win in the last five months was for $117,000 thousand, while the remaining wins averaged $57,000 each.

Currently, “Treasure Nile” is the second largest Microgaming jackpot, worth just shy of $100,000. The largest of the bunch is the video slot “Mega Moolah”, having racked up a combined $1.125 million.

Late last week, Ozark Trail Gaming came forward with their own proposal. While the Kansas Lottery Commission has been doing their best to attract such proposals, they turned this one away. With the recent economic crisis, the state’s had a hard time attracting potential casino managers; Ozark Trail’s proposal was the first in months. While Ozark Trail supporters have called foul play, the Lottery Commission expressed doubts about the company’s ability to properly fund and manage the project. But the January 15 deadline for casino proposals is fast approaching, and many have expressed doubts that the Commission will get a better offer.