plus 3, After 25 years of gaming, Miwoks create Founder's Day in memory of ... - Amador Ledger-Dispatcher

After 25 years of gaming, Miwoks create Founder's Day in memory of ... - Amador Ledger-Dispatcher
Hotel rates rise as Olympics near - Abbotsford News
Free Guide to New York Campgrounds and RV Parks Available Now - PRLog (free press release)
Moody's Re-Evaluates Criteria For Residual Value Risk on EMEA Auto ... - Structured Finance News

After 25 years of gaming, Miwoks create Founder's Day in memory of ... - Amador Ledger-Dispatcher

Posted: 04 Feb 2010 02:11 PM PST

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By Scott Thomas Anderson

In 1985, a struggling, single mother of four children witnessed the glimmer of her dream come true when a bingo hall opened on the Jackson Rancheria.

Now, eight months after the passing of Margaret Dalton, the self-reliant tribe she left behind is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its gaming empire.

Despite recent layoffs, the Jackson Rancheria Casino, Hotel and Conference Center remains by far the largest single employer in Amador County. It's also one of the most consistent contributors to local nonprofits and youth organizations. Money donated to Amador County charities has been in the millions. The Jackson band of Miwok Indians believes the casino - as an entity - has poured tens of millions of dollars, if not more, into the local economy. However, that level of financial power didn't accumulate overnight. According to Jackson Rancheria CEO Rich Hoffman, the first bingo hall Dalton raised on tribal land was a "noisy, leaking metal building."

As the Jackson Rancheria grew in size and stature, Dalton continued to publicly say her mission was to give Jackson Miwoks proper health care and resources, while partnering with various groups to improve Amador's overall community. Her ability to achieve that goal was vastly improved in 1998, when Californians passed Proposition 5, the Tribal Government and Economic Self-Sufficiency Act. A compact between the state and the Jackson Band of Miwoks followed the next year, along with a second proposition passed by California voters reaffirming Indian gaming. In 1998, Dalton was named business-woman of the year.

Today, the Jackson Rancheria includes new neighborhoods, an RV park, general store and gas station, a medical and dental clinic, water and sewage treatment plant, auto mechanic shop and off-reservation apartments.

Last May, Dalton's funeral drew thousands of people, including tribal and county dignitaries. Many employees, former employees and long-time patrons of the Rancheria who'd known Dalton were also in attendance. Commenting on her passing at the time, former Amador County Supervisor Rich Escamilla said, "I know for a fact that she helped many individual families who were in trouble and never told anyone about it."

The truth in Escamilla's statement was evident at the matriarch's funeral, as numerous people stood up to reveal how Dalton had assisted their families in desperate moments, including paying for bills and funerals.

In honor of Dalton's achievements, Jackson Miwoks have declared her birthday, Feb. 9, "Founder's Day." According to tribal spokesperson Carol Cook, the introduction of Founder's Day, along with the casino's 25th anniversary, will be marked by a year-long celebration. Cook said that patrons could look forward to major promotions and specials throughout 2010.

In a time when jobs are scarce in Amador, employment matters more than ever, according to Jacqueline Lucido, director of the Amador County Chamber of Commerce. Lucido was a long-time friend of Dalton's and feels the Rancheria has kept people working in the foothills in the absence of industry.

"I've got people calling here every single day looking for work," Lucido said last week about the chamber. "Gaming has provided a large number of jobs."

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Hotel rates rise as Olympics near - Abbotsford News

Posted: 04 Feb 2010 05:10 PM PST

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As much as $249 a night for a room

The arrival of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics has pushed up hotel rates and pushed out some visitors to Maple Ridge.

Members of the Fraternal Order of Eagles service club had planned a zone meeting in Maple Ridge Feb. 27 and 28, but now most will be just staying for the day, then returning home.

Eagles member Eric Phillips called around to try to book a few rooms and found room prices had taken a jump of Olympian proportions.

"Even this far out of town the rates are unbelievable."

Phillips checked with the Ramada Inn and found the nightly single rate for February was $249.

At the Travelodge Inn, one-night will cost $199.

"That's what they're charging."

That compares with the Maple Ridge Inn and Suites, which is advertising on its website a single room for $189 during the Games.

As a result, some of the visiting Eagles service club members will bring their recreational vehicles and park at an RV park on Fern Crescent for $25 a night.

"It's a slow time of the year for them. They're not ripping people off," Phillips said.

While the Winter Games have resulted in some increase in business, it's still possible to get a room.

Nizar Virani at the Maple Ridge Travelodge said occupancy at the motel is just above 50 per cent. Normally it would be around 30 per cent for this time of year.

"This is better than the usual February."

He's charging $199 for a single room each night during the Olympics. With a seniors or auto club discount, that often works out to $164. The normal rate for this time of year is between $112 and $119 a night.

"I think we're one of the lowest advertised rates around. We didn't want to do any gouging or anything. "We just wanted to charge a little bit more, because even then, we tried to be among the lowest in the area."

Regular customers will get the same rate, he added.

During the peak summer time, the same room would go for between $130 and $140.

The fact that he's still only half booked with only days to go before the Olympics is unexpected. "I'm a little surprised. We made sure our rates were very competitive." Hotels in Vancouver and Richmond are charging about $300 a night and many hotels tripled their rates.

But given the recent cancellation of a cruise ship booking, it shows there might not be as much demand, Virani added.

A few kilometres closer to Vancouver, on Lougheed Highway and Harris Road, at the Ramada Inn Pitt Meadows, the occupancy rate is about 80 per cent, thanks to dozens of rooms occupied by Games workers from across the country.

Manager Mark Artuso responded to the Vancouver Organizing Committee's request for advance group bookings of rooms to accommodate Olympic Games workers and rented out about half the hotel's 80 rooms for the duration of the Games. Vanoc was offering a reasonable rate for the rooms and paid three months in advance.

"At the time, they needed a certain number of rooms. We wanted to strike a balance," he said.

Some hotels and motels, though, didn't pursue that because they were counting on getting higher rates from the general public.

"There's definitely a premium to be paid for certain nights," said Artuso.

"For the most part, people understand there is a little bit of a premium because it's an unprecedented event."

The cheapest rate for a room in April at the Ramada is $95 a night, climbing to $120 a night in July.

Artuso said the hotel, however, often gives back to the community with discount rates for sports teams and it donates at least 20 rooms each September for the Cops for Cancer fundraiser.

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Free Guide to New York Campgrounds and RV Parks Available Now - PRLog (free press release)

Posted: 04 Feb 2010 10:29 AM PST

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PR Log (Press Release) – Feb 04, 2010 – Campground Owners of New York (CONY) announces the availability of its 2010 Campground & RV Park Guide. The guide is free and available by visiting www.nycampgrounds.com and filling out the online request form, or calling CONY toll-free at (800) 497-2669.

Entitled "Camping New York Style," the 100-page guide highlights the features and amenities for over 210 privately-operated campgrounds and RV parks across New York State. The guide is a handy reference tool for researching and booking just the right campsite for your next vacation.

Camping and RVing are well entrenched as American pastimes. This year the recreational vehicle industry is recognizing 2010 as its 100th anniversary, as three prominent RV historians – renowned RV collector David Woodwoth, RV/MH Hall of Fame and Museum archivist Al Hesselbart, and Smithsonian Institution curator Roger White – cite 1910 as the beginning of this uniquely American industry. According to the RV Centennial website, the "mass-produced, manufactured auto campers and camping trailers first built that year were the forerunners of today's RVs and gave birth to a way of travel that has thrived through war and peace, booms and busts, and rapid technology advances." (www.rvcentennial.org)

Donald G. Bennett Jr., President and CEO of CONY, is pleased to offer a diverse selection of campgrounds and RV parks all across New York State. "Using the CONY directory, tenters and RVers alike will easily find something fitting their style and budget. It could be a secluded grassy site by a river, or a full-hookup site with a concrete pad for their 40 foot motorhome."

The directory also includes website addresses and driving directions for all the campgrounds and RV parks listed, and advertisements for vacation destinations and RV service providers.

For vacationers that prefer not to tent or don't own an RV, other options exist including onsite cabin and trailer rentals at many campgrounds and RV parks listed in the CONY guide. Or, look into RV rentals from local or national RV rental companies.

Campground Owners of New York, founded in 1963, is an association dedicated to the promotion, growth, improvement and development of privately owned campgrounds in New York State. More information about the association and its campgrounds – including a free camping directory - is available at www.nycampgrounds.com.

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Moody's Re-Evaluates Criteria For Residual Value Risk on EMEA Auto ... - Structured Finance News

Posted: 04 Feb 2010 10:22 AM PST

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February 4, 2010

Moody's Investors Service will be re-evaluating the assumptions it utilizes to rate auto lease deals that are exposed to EMEA residual value (RV) risk.

RV risk pertains to the risk that a vehicle's realised market value at the end of its lease term will be different from its book value.

This difference could result from adverse movements in used car prices or the RV policy used by the originator.

RV losses on a deal are a function of the number of lessees exercising their option at the contract maturity date to return the vehicle (the turn-in rate) and the severity of loss on the contractual residual value (the loss on turn-in).

Moody's said its re-evaluation has been driven by the volatility in the used car markets across Europe in the past two years. In several sectors, value declines of up to 30% were seen over 2008 and even though values have since recovered, the observed volatility considerably exceeds expectations.

To date, when rating such EMEA transactions, the rating agency has mainly relied on the historical performance data provided by originators.

However, this data is influenced by changes in RV policies and/or does not adequately capture the sudden shifts seen in the used car market.

In forming its revised assessment, the rating agency will put increased emphasis on the current market values of vehicles in the securitized pool. It will also consider third-party forecasts of residual values. Until recently, this data was unavailable to Moody's in Europe.

To enhance its analysis, Moody's has acquired a large data set of historic and current U.K. market values. It is currently acquiring similar data sets for key European jurisdictions. Together with contract level data received by originators, this allows the rating agency to carry out an analysis similar to that detailed in Auto Lease Securitization: Moody's Rating Approach, published in 1998 on U.S. auto ABS.

Preliminary analysis of the data set implies that haircuts of around 50% would be enough toreforecast residual values at the 'Aaa' level.

Considering the RV setting strategy of many originators (who typically set RV levels at 5% to 10% below the breakeven value), a 50% haircut on reforecast RV would translate into a loss assumption of 45% to 40% on the residual value of the securitised portfolio in a Aaa scenario. The haircuts would be lower for lower rating levels.

Moody's is concluding its analysis of the data set, including determining appropriate haircuts at each rating level. The agency's next steps will be to assess the rating impact on all EMEA auto ABS deals that are exposed to RV risk and it will offer an update of the findings of this analysis over the coming weeks.

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