Ads by Google Ads by Google

VIDEO: Today's Headline News from Associated Press

CASINOS BRACE FOR IMPACT OF INTERNET GAMBLING

 

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- With legal gambling now moving beyond the casinos and onto the Internet, the industry is bracing for the most far-reaching changes in its history.

 

A Las Vegas firm, Ultimate Gaming, on Tuesday became the first in the U.S. to offer online poker, restricting it, for now, to players in Nevada. New Jersey and Delaware also have legalized gambling over the Internet and expect to begin offering such bets by the end of this year.

 

And many inside and outside the industry say the recent position taken by the federal government that states are free to offer Internet gambling - as long as it doesn't involve sports betting - will lead many cash-hungry state governments to turn to the Web as a new source of tax revenue.

 

Ten other states have considered some form of Internet gambling so far this year, but none has legalized it yet. Efforts to pass a national law legalizing online poker have sputtered, leaving states free to pass laws as they see fit.

 

Morgan Stanley predicts that by 2020, online gambling in the U.S. will produce the same amount of revenue as Las Vegas and Atlantic City markets combined bring in today: $9.3 billion.

 

Indian tribes are also moving to get into the online gold rush.

 

APNEWSBREAK: STATES FEAR LOSS OF HEALTH CARE AID

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Thousands of people with serious medical problems are in danger of losing coverage under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul because of cost overruns, state officials say.

 

At risk is the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, a transition program that's become a lifeline for the so-called "uninsurables" - people with serious medical conditions who can't get coverage elsewhere. The program helps bridge the gap for those patients until next year, when under the new law insurance companies will be required to accept people regardless of their medical problems.

 

In a letter this week to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, state officials said they were "blindsided" and "very disappointed" by a federal proposal they contend would shift the risk for cost overruns to states in the waning days of the program. About 100,000 people are currently covered.

 

The crisis is surfacing at a politically awkward time for the Obama administration, which is trying to persuade states to embrace a major expansion of Medicaid under the health care law. One of the main arguments proponents of the expansion are making is that Washington is a reliable financial partner.

 

The root of the problem is that the federal health care law capped spending on the program at $5 billion, and the money is running out because the beneficiaries turned out to be costlier to care for than expected. Advanced heart disease and cancer are common diagnoses for the group.

 

5 THINGS TO KNOW SATURDAY AT THE KENTUCKY DERBY

 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- The Kentucky Derby is Saturday at Churchill Downs. Here are five things you should know:

 

TODD'S SQUAD

 

Trainer Todd Pletcher will saddle a record-tying five horses - Verrazano, Revolutionary, Palace Malice, Overanalyze and Charming Kitten. He first tried it in 2007, when his best finish was sixth. His only win came in 2010 when he entered four and won with Super Saver.

 

COMING UP ROSIE

 

Rosie Napravnik rides long shot Mylute in her attempt to become the first female jockey to win the Derby. She's the sixth woman to try, and she had the best finish in 2011 when Pants On Fire was ninth.

 

KRIGGER CHASES HISTORY

 

Kevin Krigger, a 29-year-old jockey from the U.S. Virgin Islands, will ride Goldencents in a bid to become the first black jockey to win since 1902. That's when Jimmy Winkfield won for the second time. Goldencents is co-owned by Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino and trained by Doug O'Neill, who won last year's Derby with I'll Have Another.

 

SHUG IS BACK

 

Trainer Shug McCaughey is in the Hall of Fame, but his resume is missing a Derby win. He's 0 for 6 in the big race. He will saddle Orb, the early 7-2 favorite. His best finish was second with Easy Goer in 1989.

 

SUNSHINE BOYS

 

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas and jockey Gary Stevens own a combined seven Derby wins. At 77, Lukas could become the oldest trainer to win with either Oxbow or Will Take Charge. At 50, Stevens is back in the saddle after ending a seven-year retirement earlier this year.