The original "Ocean's 11" plus the Clooney/Pitt flicks are all available in this cool DVD collection from Amazon.

Hitting four aces or watching the reels stop on three fiery sevens aren’t the only ways to rack up some big cash at a casino.  There are always other, shall we say, more creative ways to try and score as a recent news item showed:   A former employee of the Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson was sentenced Thursday to 37 months in prison plus must pay restitution to the casino for printing and cashing more than HALF A MILLION bucks in bogus jackpot tickets. The “instant winner,” 31-year-old Adam Thomas Vega, must pay $644,422 in restitution to the Tohono O’odham Nation, owners of the casino where he worked as a slot floor person from 2001 until July 2007.  Vega generated  585 phony slot tickets — all below the magic W-2-generating $1,200 amount — using passwords belonging to casino supervisors.  Read more about the case here.

Casino heists and cheats make for great movies — think “Ocean’s 11″ and “21″ — but in real life the criminals such as the Desert Diamond employee rarely get away with the cash.  Here are some examples of heists and cheats “gone bad” in the real world of casino crimes:

Luck ran out for these two Georgia men who tried to rip off both the Showboat Casino and Caesars in Atlantic City:  Atlantic City casino heist

The Tucson man mentioned above merits a listing in this interesting article detailing the mistaken adventures of would-be casino “winners” in  this post on this eclectic U.K. site, Destroy the Odds:  18 Casino Heists: The Strange, The Surgical, and The Stupid.

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The new Camelback Ranch-Glendale Stadium. Photo courtesy of Ron Vesely, Chicago White Sox.

Batter, batter, swing!  Welcome to spring training in Arizona!  For visitors to the state, there’s still plenty of time — and tickets — available to take in a game this March.  Fourteen teams play in our nine metro-Phoenix and two Tucson stadiums so there’s bound to be a game of interest happening near your destination on any given date.

If you are in the Phoenix area, you’ll definitely want to check out our brand-new Camelback Ranch-Glendale stadium, the new spring-training home of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. This grand new facility welcomed its first fans for the home opener of its inaugural season on March 1.  The beautiful new Cactus League facility boasts:

• Largest seating capacity in the Cactus League – 10,000-plus seats, 3,000 bermed grass seating. There are 8 full suites, 4 mini-suites, 1 press box, 1 suite-level party deck, and a series of outfield terraces that create party areas.
• A fish-stocked lake that separates the Dodgers and White Sox training facilities.
• Over 5000 plants and trees.
• Stadium playing field sunken 12 feet below grade to improve sightlines.

For all the baseball teams training in the Phoenix-area and in Tucson, check out this article “Cactus League Swings into Spring Training” from the Arizona Office of Tourism and Travel website.

For terrific deals on hotels throughout Arizona, visit Spring training specials: Hotels from $70 at Expedia.

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Win your share of more than $50,000 in cash during the "Lucky Loot" promo at Wild Horse Pass Casino.

Casinos in Arizona have lots of special players club promotions going on in March.  Lucky winners will walk away with everything from a cruise to Mexico to thousands of dollars in cash and free slot play.  Here’s just a sample of the promotions taking place in Arizona casinos this month.  (Be sure you check with the casino for exact details and all the “fine print” on these and other promotions.)

“Lucky Loot” at Wild Horse Pass Casino in Chandler
Tuesdays from 6 – 10 p.m.
• Three players drawn every hour for a chance to win up to $5,000 in cash.
• Contestants select a Leprechaun plush doll. Each doll has a cash prize attached—from $200 to $5,000!
• On March 17th, each winner wearing a visible green item of clothing wins an additional $100!
• A total of $55,000 awarded guaranteed!

Vee Quiva Casino’s “Pot O’ Gold” in Laveen
Mondays this month from 2—9 p.m.
• Two players drawn each hour to win up to $5,000!
• Grand Finale drawing on March 30th at 10 p.m. One player drawn to win all remaining cash prizes!

$50,000 Cash & Cruise Giveaway at Lone Butte Casino in Chandler
DRAWINGS: Sunday, March 8th, 15th, 22nd & 29th, 3—9 p.m. with one winner every hour.
Select winners will win up to $3,000 and a chance to participate in the Main Event.
MAIN EVENT: March 15th & 29th following the 9pm drawing.
Two grand prizes include:
• 7-day Mexican Riviera Cruise Package for two plus
• $2,500 in cash & airfare

Video Poker Points Bonanza at Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson
Check out the big video poker promo happening Wednesday, March 25 through Saturday, March 28, 2009, when the Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise will host a “Video Poker Points Bonanza.” The promotion will be held at Desert Diamond Casino at the I-19/Pima Mine Rd. location to promote the opening of the new Video Poker Lounge and will consist of daily cash prize giveaways to the five (5) Desert Diamond Club members who accumulate the most Desert Diamond Club points while playing video poker machines between the hours of 8:00 am and 8:00 pm each day of the promotion period. In addition, immediately following the conclusion of the 12-hour promotion period on Saturday March 28, a Grand Prize cash prize giveaway will take place that will award cash prizes to five (5) Desert Diamond Club Members based on the cumulative total points earned over all four days of the promotion. Win up to $1,000 during the daily promo or up to $7500 when the cumulative winners are tallied.

Spring Fever at Casino del Sol in Tucson
Drawings every Wednesday and Sunday from March 16 – April 29, 2009
$10,000 in Sol Free Play given away on each drawing date!

Five winners will be drawn each hour to win $250 in Sol Free Play. Drawings will take place at 5pm, 6pm, 7pm and 8pm on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Two winners will be drawn at 9pm to win $2500 in Sol Free Play. Drawings will take place on Wednesdays and Sundays at 9pm only.

–  All drawings will take place at Casino Del Sol and will be announced at both Casino of the Sun and Casino Del Sol. If guests are present at Casino of the Sun they will have the opportunity to also claim their prize at the Casino of the Sun Club Sol booth.
–  All cash prizes must be claimed within 10 minutes of drawing time with the exception of the 9pm drawing which must be claimed by 9:05pm.

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