Mar 312014
 
All-New 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage Ranked #1 in Cars.com’s ‘Top 10 New Cars for Penny Pinchers’

2014 Mitsubishi Mirage ES Cypress, California  – Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) has seen its all-new 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage 5-door hatchback take overall top honors by finishing in first place in Cars.com’s latest “Top 10 New Cars for Penny Pinchers” list. In its evaluation, Cars.com utilized key data points in its assessment, including a vehicle’s starting price, combined EPA fuel mileage rating and estimated cost for fuel over the first eight years of ownership to determine its rankings. In the very important eight-year cost for fuel metric, Cars.com determined that the 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage would save consumers nearly $1,000 in fuel costs when compared to the vehicle that finished in second place, and more than $2,000 over many of the other “Top 10” finishers. The 2014 Mirage delivers impressive fuel economy with an EPA fuel mileage rating of 37 mpg city/44 mpg highway/40 mpg combined. Important standard safety features include 7 air bags (including driver’s side knee air bag), Active Stability Control (ASC) and Mitsubishi Motors’ patented Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution (RISE) body/chassis construction. Additional peace of mind is delivered through Mitsubishi Motors’ exceptional warranty that includes a 10-year/100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty, 5-year/60,000-mile new vehicle basic limited warranty, 5-year/unlimited miles roadside assistance and 7-year/100,000-mile anti-corrosion limited warranty. If you want to know why the Mitsubishi is up in its sales and why the Outlander is America’s top Mitsubishi vehicle for the past several months or why Evolution is the choice of many who are looking for speed, call Richard Read More …

Feb 212014
 
Manny Pacquiao has two missions in Las Vegas fight

There are two things that 8-division world champion Manny Pacquaio would like to bring with him when he takes to the ring on April 12, 2014 for his rematch against 2-division champion Timothy Bradley. “Nasa kanya kasi ‘yung korona ko e. Gusto ko maibalik ulit,” he said in an interview with “Kababayan Today.” (He has my crown. I want to get it back.) When the two first faced off in Las Vegas on June 9th 2012, the welterweight bout went the distance, And after 12 rounds, Bradley’s hands were raised as the winner by split decision. Not only did that controversial Bradley victory stop Pacquiao’s dominance in the division; he also put an end to the Filipino boxing champ’s 15-bout winning streak, raising speculations that Pacquiao has lost his fire and drive in the ring. In the upcoming rematch, Pacquiao added that he also plans to bring this famous “killer instinct” back on the ring. “Siguro this time around kailangan ko nang ibalik yung killer instinct ko and aggressiveness ko sa itaas ng ring and throwing a lot of punches. Kailangan dumaan sa puspusang training, ” he said. (Maybe this time around I would really need to bring my killer instinct back and aggressiveness in the ring; and throwing a lot of punches. I need to go through rigorous training.) It’s been five years since Pacquiao has stopped a fight. In 2009 was his last knock out win, against Miguel Cotto. In fact, he has been the one knocked out Read More …

Dec 272013
 
Filipino cabbie in Vegas finds and returns $300K

By Bert EljeraINQUIRER.net US Bureau 8:02 am | Saturday, December 28th, 2013 Gerardo Gamboa with the $10,000 reward he received for returning $300,000 in cash left behind by a passenger in his cab in Las Vegas on Christmas Day. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/Yellow Checker Taxi LAS VEGAS — Filipino-American cab driver Gerardo Gamboa returned $300,000 in hard cash left behind by a passenger. He was rewarded handsomely for his honesty. Gamboa of Mabalacat, Pampanga, and Silay City, received $10,000 Friday from the owner of the money, a professional poker player who chose to remain anonymous. His identity, however, has been established. “I’ll give this to my wife, and we can buy some stuff,” said the 34-year-old Gamboa, who created a worldwide sensation for returning the money left behind in his cab on Christmas Day. “I’m happy that we can show to the world the Filipino is a good person, and can not be easily dazzled by money.” Together with the $1,000 reward and steak dinner for two from Yellow Checker Star, the cab company Gamboa has been working for, it was a rewarding Christmas for the 13-year cab veteran. Cash bundle that Gamboa found. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/Yellow Checker Taxi “We’re so proud of him,” said Bill Shranko, the company’s COO. “He epitomizes the culture of honesty we try to develop among our drivers.” In an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Gamboa said he found the money after noticing a brown paper bag in the back seat of the cab. When a passenger Read More …

Nov 062013
 
Makers of ‘Forgotten Soldiers’ get Congressional recognition

INQUIRER.net US Bureau 9:35 am | Thursday, November 7th, 2013 Stephen Sifuentes, representing US Sen. Dean Heller, and Lt. Cmdr. Ceasar Elpidio of the Filipino American Veterans and Families organization, present producer/director Donald Plata the Certificate of Congressional Recognition. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO LAS VEGAS—Representatives of US Sen. Dean Heller and US Rep. Joe Heck of Nevada presented filmmakers Donald Plata, Lou Diamond Phillips and Chris Schaefer certificates of Congressional Recognition for creating and producing the documentary movie “Forgotten Soldiers.” The legislators also recognized the Philippine Scouts Heritage Society for its support of the film, and the Nevada chapter of the Filipino-American Veterans and Families organization presented the filmmakers the Freedom Award at the Leatherneck Club in Las Vegas. “Forgotten Soldiers” tells the story of the Philippine Scouts, a little-known US Army organization composed of Filipino soldiers and American officers.  The Scouts were the backbone of General Douglas MacArthur’s US Army Forces in the Far East at the beginning of World War II. Fighting alongside US National Guard units and the Philippine Army, they held out for more than four months on Bataan and Corregidor while every other Allied stronghold in the Pacific fell to the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. The soldiers were promised food, ammunition and reinforcements…but months went by and the reinforcements never came.  Eventually the men were surrounded by the Japanese, starved out and subjected to one of the worst atrocities in military history–the Bataan Death March. The Freedom Award plaque and the congressional certificates were presented at Read More …

Apr 172013
 

Los Angeles 16 April 2013, The Philippine Consulate General successfully launched the first day of elections for Overseas Absentee Voters (OAV) on 13 April 2013 at the Rizal Hall of the Consulate. The Consulate General invites all registered Overseas Absentee Voters (OAVs) in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to cast their […]

Feb 092013
 
Philippine laundering law ‘exempts’ casinos

The $1.2 billion Solaire Manila Resorts (design model above) is one of four gaming operations licensed at Manila’s bayside Entertainment City, a government project designed to compete with Macau, Las Vegas and Singapore as a gaming hub. MANILA, Feb 6, 2013 (AFP) – Casinos were given a free pass as the Philippine parliament Wednesday passed a tougher law against money-laundering but protected the government’s bid to chase mega-dollars in Asia’s gaming boom. The amendments passed by the Senate and House of Representatives apply to businesses other than banks and aim to stop the funneling of proceeds from criminal activity, as well as to block terror funding. They also raise prison terms and fines. However, Senator Teofisto Guingona said casinos and Internet gaming were excluded at the request of the House and of the state regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. “(They) excluded casinos from coverage because (House members) warned it would deter investors. That’s the number one reason. And number two, Pagcor,” Guingona told reporters, referring to the regulator’s abridged name. The Senate’s passage of the law came five weeks before the opening of Entertainment City, an $4 billion Manila casino complex aimed at rivalling Macau, Las Vegas and Singapore as a gaming hub. The latest changes to a 2001 statute are now expected to be signed into law by President Benigno Aquino. Banks were already covered under the 2001 law. The new law’s passage followed a threat last year to blacklist the Philippines unless it assumes greater powers to Read More …

Feb 072013
 
$4-B mega-casino set to open next month in Manila

The $1.2 billion Solaire Manila Resorts (design model above) is one of four gaming operations licensed at Manila’s bayside Entertainment City, a government project designed to compete with Macau, Las Vegas and Singapore as a gaming hub. MANILA, Feb 6, 2013 (AFP) – A $4 billion mega-casino complex is set to open in the Philippines in mid-March when the first of four franchise-holders starts commercial operations, the parent firm said in a disclosure released Wednesday. The $1.2 billion Solaire Manila Resorts is one of four gaming operations licensed at Manila’s bayside Entertainment City, a government project designed to compete with Macau, Las Vegas and Singapore as a gaming hub. Boasting 500 hotel rooms set in modern resorts, Solaire will open its doors on March 16, parent company Bloomberry Resorts Corp. said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange. “(We) confirm that (Bloomberry’s) Solaire Manila Resorts and Casino has collected the top former operating officers of world-renowned casinos in Las Vegas and other parts of the world,” it said in a letter to the exchange. The February 5 letter, released by the bourse on Wednesday, said these personnel include around 400 Filipinos who have worked in gaming and hotels across the world. Solaire plans to add 300 more hotel rooms after two years, said Bloomberry, a listed firm controlled by Philippine port tycoon Enrique Razon. Two other franchise-holders – one involving Australian billionaire James Packer and Macau gaming tycoon Lawrence Ho as shareholders and another with Japanese gambling tycoon Kazuo Read More …

Feb 072013
 
Vegas judge nixes Mrs. Lapid bid to serve sentence in PH

By Tonette OrejasInquirer Central Luzon 6:03 am | Friday, February 8th, 2013 Marissa Lapid with husband, Sen. Manuel “Lito” Lapid CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Philippines—A judge in Las Vegas, Nevada, has turned down the request of the wife of Sen. Manuel “Lito” Lapid to live in the Philippines as she serves three years of probation for dollar smuggling and reporting violations, an Inquirer source said. Last Monday’s ruling by United States Magistrate Judge Peggy Leen denied Marissa Lapid’s request to live in the Philippines while on probation, said the source who was inside the courtroom when the sentence was handed to the senator’s wife. The sentence came more than a year after the Department of Homeland Security found $40,000 in her luggage when she entered Nevada in November 2011. She pleaded guilty in a plea bargain. Probation Aside from the probation that comes with travel restrictions, the sentence includes a five-month home confinement for which she was required to continue wearing an ankle bracelet that electronically tracks her location, according to reports quoting the spokesperson of Nevada US Attorney Daniel Bogden. The source explained this “means she can’t travel and has to report to an officer of the court in a supervised release system for three consecutive years, usually once a month.” The source declined to be named, citing future work in the Philippines. “There is usually a fine and an additional sentence of time served or added as possible total time to serve if they fail to adhere to Read More …

Feb 062013
 
Lapid’s wife gets 3 years probation in US

By Nimfa U. Rueda Inquirer Correspondent 6:14 pm | Wednesday, February 6th, 2013 Sen. Lito Lapid and his wife Marissa LOS ANGELES—The wife of  Sen. Lito Lapid felt “very relieved” that her cash smuggling case is over following her sentencing by the US district court to three years of probation, said her lawyer Eliot Krieger. The probation period includes five months of home confinement. Krieger said that Marissa Lapid, who remains confined in her residence in Las Vegas, Nevada, may be able to return to the Philippines “after five months of home confinement with the permission of the Probation Department.” Marissa Lapid “is very relieved to have the whole thing over,” Krieger told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Krieger said that in a plea agreement that he negotiated, Lapid pleaded guilty to cash smuggling and conspiracy to structure transactions “with intent to evade reporting requirements.” Lapid was charged before US Magistrate Judge Peggy Leen in Las Vegas and sentenced on Monday (Tuesday in Manila). The reporting violations stemmed from a series of cash deposits made by Lapid in different banks in Las Vegas from January 2009 to June 2010 totaling more than $150,000. Banks are required to submit to the federal government currency transaction reports on cash deposits that exceed $10,000. Lapid’s cash deposits ranged from $5,000 to $9,000. All the deposits, plus the $40,000 confiscated from Lapid when she arrived at McCarran International Airport on Nov. 27, 2010, were forfeited by the US government, Krieger said. The lien placed on Read More …

Jan 312013
 
Okada wants Wynn Resorts head probed

MANILA, Philippines – Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada, whose company will build a casino complex along Manila Bay, has sought for an investigation of Wynn Resorts Ltd.’s chairman. Bloomberg reported that Okada wanted directors to probe the actions of company chairman Steve Wynn in securing a casino concession in Macau. In a Jan. 24 letter to the board of directors of Wynn Resorts, Okada said the Cotai project raises “serious questions about the propriety of the actions taken by Mr. Wynn, the company, and its affiliates in pursuing” it. Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts wants to remove Okada from its board. Okada and former business partner Wynn are in a bitter corporate feud, which started when the Japanese pachinko businessman questioned the $135-million donation pledged by Wynn Macau Ltd., a Macau subsidiary of Wynn Resorts in Macau. Both businessmen continue to trade barbs, accusing the other of questionable payments to public officials in Asia including the Philippines. Okada’s Tiger Resorts & Leisure Corp. entered into a partnership with Gokongwei-led Robinsons Land Corp. to jointly develop a $2-billion hotel and casino complex in the 100-hectare Entertainment City along Roxas Blvd. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Tiger Resorts is one of four groups that were granted a license by the Philippine Amusement & Gaming Corp. to operate a casino on a reclaimed land along Manila Bay, which the government expects to turn into the world’s number two gaming destination ahead of Singapore and Las Vegas and behind only Macau. In Read More …