IN BRIEF
Labor board certifies vote by Wynn dealers
The National Labor Relations Board certified the May 12-13 vote by dealers at Wynn Las Vegas to be represented by the Transport Workers Union of America.
In a two-paragraph certification signed late Wednesday, the NLRB said no timely objections to the 444-149 vote by dealers had been filed and that the ballot tally showed that a collective bargaining representative was selected.
Wynn dealers voted to be represented by the New York-based union after the hotel-casino made a change to the casino’s tip-pooling program. Wynn added certain managers and supervisors to the list of those who shared in the casino’s often lucrative tip pool.
A representative for the union said the roughly 700 dealers covered by the union hope to see the casino eliminate the tip-pooling changes that led to the labor unrest. Dealers are also expected to negotiate with management for job security initiatives and the right to divide their own tips.
ST. LOUIS
BetOnSports pleads guilty to racketeering
Gambling Web site operator BetOnSports PLC has pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges, U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway announced Thursday.
Hanaway’s office has been pursing a 22-count criminal indictment against the London-based company and its top executives since July. Her office settled civil charges against BetOnSports in November, permanently barring the company from accepting bets from gamblers in the United States.
BetOnSports founder Stephen Kaplan and Chief Executive David Carruthers remain under arrest, and the company’s plea deal will not end their prosecution, Hanaway said.
Massachusetts official aims to widen betting
Massachusetts Treasurer Tim Cahill, who manages the state’s lottery, wants to expand gambling.
Cahill, a Democrat in his second term, said Thursday that the state should invite proposals for a hotel-casino that would include slot machines. The development would compete with one the state’s Mashpee Wampanoag tribe has proposed opening.
“The simple fact is people here in Massachusetts like to gamble,” said Cahill in a speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. “All things considered, the net societal and economic impact of resort casinos on states and their cities have been overwhelmingly positive.”
Governor Deval Patrick, who began his first term in January, said he is studying the idea of expanding the law for gambling in Massachusetts beyond the state lottery.
NEW YORK
Rejected suitor may try to stop exchange deal
In a sign that Intercontin-entalExchange is still intent on breaking up the merger of Chicago’s two biggest exchanges, Chief Executive Jeffrey Sprecher said Thursday that he plans to meet with members of CBOT Holdings.
Atlanta-based ICE had been silent on its $10.7 billion bid for CBOT, parent company of the Chicago Board of Trade, since May 11, when CBOT agreed to a revised merger deal with crosstown rival Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings. Shareholders have yet to vote on the merger between the Chicago exchanges. Some CBOT shareholders oppose the CME deal because it values CBOT at a lower level than ICE’s all-stock bid.
OAK BROOK, Ill
McDonald’s to use new trans-fat-free oil
McDonald’s Corp. executives said Thursday that the world’s largest restaurant chain will roll out a new trans-fat-free oil nationwide within the next year, while suggesting they also plan to add more fruits and vegetables to future menus.
McDonald’s already is using its trans-fat-free oil in about 3,500 U.S. restaurants.
McDonald’s officials said they were also studying a dollar breakfast menu in certain markets while continuing to test premium Angus burgers, iced coffees and sweet tea at other sites around the United States.
NEW YORK
Adelphia founder’s conviction upheld
A federal appeals court Thursday upheld the fraud conviction of Adelphia Communications Corp. founder John Rigas, who built one of the nation’s largest cable television companies and then looted it.
The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of the 82-year-old Rigas and his son, Timothy Rigas, on charges of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud. The court did reverse their conviction on one lesser count.
Lawyers for the men had argued that fraud charges should be thrown out because accounting terms were not explained to the jury.
Toll Bros. says earnings decline by 79 percent
Government data showing an unexpected surge in new home sales weren’t much comfort to luxury homebuilder Toll Bros., which reported a 79 percent drop in second-quarter profits Thursday.
In the second quarter, Toll Brothers reported net income of $36.7 million, or 22 cents per share, down from $174.9 million, or $1.06 per share, a year earlier.
Revenue fell 18.8 percent to $1.17 billion from $1.44 billion.
The Commerce Department reported that sales of new single-family homes jumped 16.2 percent in April, a 14-year high, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 981,000 units. Economists were expecting just a 0.2 percent gain.
NEW YORK
Bond prices static as market rebounds
Treasury prices were unchanged to higher late Thursday, as the market rebounded from hefty morning losses caused by a double digit rise in April new home sales numbers.
At 5 p.m. EDT, the 10-year Treasury note was up 94 cents per $1,000 in face value, or 0.09 points, from its level at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, fell to 4.84 percent from 4.85 percent.
The 30-year bond rose 0.22 points. Its yield fell to 4.99 percent from 5.01 percent.
