Commerce Club Casino

The city of Commerce--long known as a blue-collar industrial center--seeks to become a regional shopping and entertainment mecca as well with plans for a 40-acre complex along the Santa Ana freeway. The proposed 400,000-square-foot retail and entertainment project would connect the Citadel outlet shopping center on the north with the Commerce Club casino on the south. Projects of similar size and scope usually cost $60 million to $70 million to develop, according to real estate observers.

Gamblers at the Commerce Casino's high-limit Texas Hold 'Em tables didn't appear to notice as armed sheriff's deputies shuffled past them on their way toward a red-carpeted stairwell. Some deputies were in uniform, guns holstered at their waists or strapped to their thighs. It was 8 a.m.

Gamblers at the Commerce Casino's high-limit Texas Hold 'Em tables didn't appear to notice as armed sheriff's deputies shuffled past them on their way toward a red-carpeted stairwell. Some deputies were in uniform, guns holstered at their waists or strapped to their thighs. It was 8 a.m.

When Daniel Negreanu gets a yen for a salad with chickpeas and peppers and hard-boiled eggs, it doesn't matter that it's not on the menu; the kitchen is happy to oblige. And if Jean Gluck wants her New York steak -- 12 ounces, crusted with cracked black pepper and seared in butter -- cut into bite-sized pieces, it will come cut into bite-sized pieces. These folks are not regulars at the Polo Lounge, nor are they aboard the QE2.

The Commerce Club, the state's largest poker casino, has agreed to pay an $85,000 fine for secretly funneling campaign contributions to defeat ballot measures that would have allowed rival clubs to open, according to court records released Tuesday. The fines resulted from an investigation by the state Fair Political Practices Commission of the casino's spending during the 1995 elections, in which at least five Southern California cities considered ballot measures to open new casinos.

When Daniel Negreanu gets a yen for a salad with chickpeas and peppers and hard-boiled eggs, it doesn't matter that it's not on the menu; the kitchen is happy to oblige. And if Jean Gluck wants her New York steak -- 12 ounces, crusted with cracked black pepper and seared in butter -- cut into bite-sized pieces, it will come cut into bite-sized pieces. These folks are not regulars at the Polo Lounge, nor are they aboard the QE2.

Three cities faced with job and revenue losses after a court decision outlawing a popular casino poker game have filed petitions asking the state Supreme Court to overturn the ruling. The state Court of Appeal in Los Angeles agreed in July with the state attorney general's office that the game, jackpot poker, is illegal in California casinos because it is a game of chance, and therefore a lottery. Lotteries not conducted by the state are illegal.

A South Gate man, apparently angered that he was cut off in traffic, was killed when he confronted another motorist on a busy street and fell into the path of an oncoming car, police said. Roberto Garcia Scheffini, 51, was struck in the 9600 block of Firestone Boulevard in Downey after he started a fight with another driver, witnesses and police said.

Dressed for success (not). County marshals and San Diego cops went to arrest a teen-ager in North Park on a no-bail felony warrant for auto theft Tuesday about mid-morning. But the fellow took flight and began running several blocks, apparently hoping to lose himself in the neighborhood crowd. That's often a good tactic in such cases. Not this time. The men in uniform had no trouble spotting the fugitive amid all the neighbors and bystanders. He was the one dressed only in white underpants.

After years of scandals and dwindling revenues, card club owners in Los Angeles County are betting on better days ahead by building two casinos and expanding and renovating several existing clubs. Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt is taking the biggest gamble: He is investing $30 million in a new casino in Gardena, where five casinos have closed since the early 1980s because of financial problems.

The city of Commerce--long known as a blue-collar industrial center--seeks to become a regional shopping and entertainment mecca as well with plans for a 40-acre complex along the Santa Ana freeway. The proposed 400,000-square-foot retail and entertainment project would connect the Citadel outlet shopping center on the north with the Commerce Club casino on the south. Projects of similar size and scope usually cost $60 million to $70 million to develop, according to real estate observers.

The Commerce Club, the state's largest poker casino, has agreed to pay an $85,000 fine for secretly funneling campaign contributions to defeat ballot measures that would have allowed rival clubs to open, according to court records released Tuesday. The fines resulted from an investigation by the state Fair Political Practices Commission of the casino's spending during the 1995 elections, in which at least five Southern California cities considered ballot measures to open new casinos.

Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn and Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa have enough money to dominate the crucial television ad battle in the final 11 days of the mayor's race as a third contender, former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg, struggles to keep pace, according to finance reports released Thursday. City Councilman Bernard C. Parks is stuck in a distinct second tier in the race to raise money, but his campaign has enough cash to make him a wild card in the March 8 election. State Sen.

Restaurant tabs in the hundreds of dollars. Outstanding loans in the thousands. A $4,000 phone bill long past due. And $26,000 owed to the printer for campaign flyers. The June 2 primary election has long since passed and the campaign trails are cold, but according to financial statements, most Southeast-area candidates who ran in hotly contested state and federal races are now mired in debt.