Britain's royal protection officers traded hardcore pornography and posed for "comical" photographs on the queen's throne, it has been claimed. It has also been alleged that they hired firearms while drunk, sold steroids, ran gambling rings and fell asleep while on duty at Buckingham and St. James' palaces.

Well, here's food for thought: A business professor claims that the global economic downturn could be reversed by simply outlawing all gambling world-wide. John W. Kindt, a professor of business and public policy at the University of Illinois and national gambling critic, is making a case for banning legalized gambling.

Las Vegas may soon have a competitor for the title wedding capital of the U. S. in Lower Manhattan as New York City upgraded its Marriage Bureau in a bid to attract couples who want a quickie wedding ceremony. The bureau, which used to be housed in a small office marked by cracked floor tiles and plastic chairs in the municipal building opposite city hall was moved to a swanky 24,000 square foot palace.

Las Vegas may soon have a competitor for the title wedding capital of the U. S. in Lower Manhattan as New York City upgraded its Marriage Bureau in a bid to attract couples who want a quickie wedding ceremony. The bureau, which used to be housed in a small office marked by cracked floor tiles and plastic chairs in the municipal building opposite city hall was moved to a swanky 24,000 square foot palace.

The long-held belief that gambling will thrive during a period of economic difficulty as people see it as their only way out is being put to a test in Las Vegas and other U. S. cities where games of chance proliferate. As credit tightens and Americans lose their homes and jobs, gambling their last dollar away has become less of an option for many. This has led to casinos' revenues dipping for the eighth consecutive month in August. The peak was a 16 percent income reduction in May, which has slowed down to 7. 4 percent in August.