So I read the most horrifying news. Of course, it's so surreal I have trouble believing anyone is actually serious about it. So here it is. According to the Austin Business Journal, a group of investors is proposing a casino (yes, I said casino, as in Las Vegas) for Austin. Yuck. The proposed place is at Red River and Ceasar Chavez. (Didn't we just finish cleaning up downtown less than 10 years ago?) Of course, casinos not being legal in Texas, the first order of business is to legalize gambling (start a lottery and it's all downhill from there). Luckily for us, there are 24 *other* proposed casino sites in Texas, so there's plenty of potential money to hire vetern Lege PR (read lobby) firm Christian-Hubble to get the issue to a statewide vote.

Oh yeah. Did I mention that the Austin development is being led by Barry Keenan, who (and I quote) "says he is prohibited from ownership in a casino due to his conviction in the 1963 kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr., when he was sentenced to life in prison plus 75 years. The courts later changed his sentence to 12 years and he was released on parole after four and a half years." Although this story sounds familiar, I can't remember what the deal was. I'll see if I can find out and let you know.

Here's the story of the Frank Sinatra Jr. Kidnapping. According to the article, Keenan rationalized he'd be doing the Sinatra family a favor by kidnapping old blue-eye's son, as it would bring them closer together. What a dumbass. About as dumb as trying to get a casino in downtown Austin.