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April Simmons, a Grand Victoria Casino employee from Yorkville, Illinois, was killed in a car crash. She was nine months pregnant, but her unborn child could not be saved. John Homatas, 24, from Wayne, has been charged with reckless homicide and driving under the influence. Investigators claim the accident occurred as Simmons was making her way home from the casino. Homatas, who was driving in the opposite direction, crossed the center line at a high speed so he could pass other cars.

Homatas' passenger, John Chiarello, died as well. Homatas himself suffered horrible injuries and is currently in a drug-induced coma at the Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

China's 18th casino, the Emperor Palace Casino, opened in Macau this Thursday. About 20,000 people visited the casino on its first day of business, where an opening celebration was held with action film star Jackie Chan as the host. Other visiting celebrities included Michael Hui and Louis Koo.

The hotel-casino, built by Emperor Entertainment Hotel Limited, holds over 300 brand new slot machines on three levels of casino gaming space, which also feature all of the classic table games, geared toward both high and low rollers. The casino also has a flashy entrance: 78 pieces of gold bars have been placed underneath the casino's lobby floor. They are heavily guarded 24 hours a day.

Emperor Entertainment Hotel Limited's Executive Director, Vanessa Fan, was reported as saying, "The grand opening ceremony of our hotel has been scheduled for 20 January 2006. With the Macau economy developing rapidly and China continuing to relax travel restrictions, we believe the gaming industry in Macau will continue to boom and present us with abundant lucrative opportunities. "