Security experts gave the Gaming Control Board a lesson yesterday on how to protect Pennsylvania's 14 new casinos from being cheated by real-life versions of George Clooney, Brad Pitt and the rest of the "Ocean's Eleven" crew.

Tom Sterling, president of the Information Services Group of suburban Harrisburg, a consultant hired by the state Department of Revenue, listed a few casino-security pointers for state officials to keep in mind.

Fueled by a surge in table game play on the Strip, Nevada casinos in October recorded their second-best month ever, winning $924.9 million from customers, numbers reported Friday by the state Gaming Control Board show.

The figure was a 13 percent increase from a year ago and the amount was second only to the March 2004 total win of $930 million, an all-time high. Strip casinos won $491.9 million in the month, $83 million more from customers than in the previous October. The 20.3 percent increase was the largest monthly percentage increase on the Strip since November 1999.

As reported by the Associated Press: "Nearly $5 million seized in a statewide gambling scam must be sent to the charities it was supposed to reach in the first place, a judge ruled.

"The scheme was estimated to have raised more than $57 million through the sale of pull-tab instant-lottery tickets in hundreds of bars and restaurants. Twenty people were convicted in the case, but most of the money raised over several years still is missing.

The Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments Tuesday presented a plan to the Connecticut Transportation Strategy Board that it believes would reduce traffic and increase tourism in the region.

The plan would link Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun to stations in New London and Mystic with buses running every 15 minutes. It envisions about 20 "attractive" station stops, including "high amenity" stations that would be close to tourism attractions or other means of transportation, such as high-speed train service or high-speed ferries.