Credit Card

Move over, Sierra Club and Elvis fans. Caesars World Inc. has joined your ranks as a credit-card sponsor, the first casino company in the nation to put its name on a major piece of plastic. Since the inception of the Caesars program in Atlantic City a year and a half ago, the resort chain has enrolled more than 20,000 MasterCard holders. Credit-card users receive cash rebates and discounts to restaurants, shows and shops in the chain. Caesars World became part of a growing number of credit-card sponsors that appeal to groups of consumers with common interests.

The bill usually belongs to Tom Brady, because he is the quarterback and, after all, it is his responsibility. Linemen have to eat. Quarterbacks have to pay. But when the crowd swelled at a Scottsdale restaurant Tuesday night, with defensive players joining in on the offense's dinner, a good old-fashioned game of credit- card roulette determined who would pick up the tab. For offensive tackle Nick Kaczur, guard Stephen Neal and defensive lineman...

THE GUY tossed restlessly in his bed, night after night, for the better part of a year. He couldn't sleep. He had nightmares whenever he did - bizarre, Kafkaesque snippets of dialogue involving the Russian mob, a pair of mysterious, dark-haired women, a goofy-looking painting and an incomprehensible credit-card bill. The shadowy characters and confusing plots from the bad dreams haunted John Bolaris in real life, too. Yeah, that John Bolaris. Few people know that the affable local weatherman's life was turned upside down during a visit to Miami Beach last spring that started out pleasantly and ended with his getting drugged - twice - while his credit card was used by Eastern European scam artists to rack up $43,000 worth of expenses in just two days, while he staggered around in a stupor.

With his car needing tires and his budget already stretched to the breaking point, Bill Losse might as well have had a bull's-eye on his back when the telemarketer called. For an up-front fee plus a $19 monthly charge, she said, Losse could get an interest-free "Platinum Trust Card," which the caller compared to an American Express card, and a $10,000 credit limit. The retired New Jersey corrections officer probably did have that bull's-eye, according to investigators from the Federal Trade Commission.

Hey, we goofed, OK? When we cut out Harry Gross' column last July but insisted "remaining true to our populist roots as the People's Paper," most of you begged to differ. One reader asked, "Have you people lost your mind?" while another asked, "How is a horoscope column more important to readers than Mr. Gross' column?" The good news is that some mistakes can be corrected. So we're thrilled to announce the return of our personal-finance columnist. IT'S GREAT to be back! Through many years of teaching, writing and lecturing, I have come across or invented many aphorisms that apply to financial situations.

I once assumed that the word seasonal referred only to part-time employment, persistent allergies, and mood disorders. I didn't realize the word could apply to Bucks County front-door wreaths that were supposed to be rotated faster than you could say "Center hall Colonial. " Wreaths achieved stardom back in Greco-Roman times, when winners of sporting events were crowned with laurel or oak-leaf wreaths. A few centuries later, a practical decathlon champion realized that the prickly foliage looked, and actually felt, a lot better if you hung it on a door instead of around your forehead.

Also in this column: First Union cuts jobs PhilEx reduces fees MBNA chief recovering Do gamblers borrow more? Casino operator Harrah's Entertainment Inc. has tapped MBNA America Bank of Wilmington to sell cards to 23 million gamblers who have registered at the company's casinos, restaurants and hotels from Atlantic City to Las Vegas, according to Harrah's spokesman Gary Thompson. Heavy users win discounts at Harrah's, Rio and Showboat casinos and casino-hotels.

If the Charles Dickens tale A Christmas Carol were updated to fit these times, Scrooge probably wouldn't bother gathering his hoard of cash to buy last-minute gifts for Tiny Tim and the others. He'd simply pull out a credit card and worry about the bill later. At least, that's how thousands of people in Scrooge's income bracket pay for their holiday purchases each year. And when it is finally time to pay the bill about 30 days or so later, bankers in South Jersey say, the credit-card customers rarely complain that they are being charged more than twice the prime interest rate on their purchases.

Advanta Corp. yesterday reported a steep decline in profit from its small-business credit cards in the first quarter, as the slumping economy caused more borrowers to fall behind in their payments. Even so, the Spring House company's class B shares jumped 16.45 percent, or $1.24, to $8.78 in Nasdaq trading yesterday because the earnings were better than expected. Advanta said its credit card operation earned $6.67 million in the first quarter, off sharply from $21.17 million in the same period a year earlier.

One adult and three juveniles have been charged with using a stolen Discover card to steal $1,500 worth of merchandise, Newtown Township police said. The credit card, stolen June 27 from a home in the 500 block of Atwood Court, was used from June 28 to July 3 for purchases at 14 shops in the Oxford Valley and Neshaminy Malls and the I. Goldberg outdoor clothing store in Philadelphia, investigating police Sgt. Charles Patton said. Quincy J. Connor, 18, of the Americana Terrace apartments in Morrisville, has been charged with criminal attempt and six counts each of conspiracy, theft by unlawful taking, theft of property lost, receiving stolen property and forgery.

AN ARBITRATOR upheld the NFL's salary cap reductions on the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins for this season and next. Stephen Burbank ruled Tuesday in favor of the league and dismissed the grievances by both teams. The Redskins lost $36 million over 2 years. The Cowboys lost $10 million for overloading contracts during the uncapped 2010 season despite league warnings about such maneuvering. The Cowboys and Redskins, who filed their grievances against the league and players' association, said in a joint statement they would "abide by the arbitrator's decision to dismiss.

Craig: I had a number of great bites this week — including the season's first al fresco tacos al pastor from Los Taquitos de Puebla, which can only mean one thing: the return of the Head House Farmer's Market … what a joy! Here ares some other great flavors that make up this week's Crumb Tracker Quiz. (1) spinach gnocchi with ricotta salata; (2) peanut butter ice cream double-chocolate chip cookie sandwich (3) artisanal ham plate (with Finchville Farms sugar-cured country ham from Kentucky, with drop biscuits, honey butter and green tomato marmalade (people, this is a "wow" ham if there ever was one)

Q: My husband's ex-wife always guilt-trips her daughter into going all out for her on her birthday and on Mother's Day. My stepdaughter gets a very small allowance, so her dad is the one who has to pay. I think this is his ex-wife's way of sticking it to my husband, above and beyond the hefty child support and alimony she already gets. I want to put a stop to this, but I don't want to be a wicked stepmother. Please respond quickly. I overhead my stepdaughter tell my husband that her mother wants a certain Michael Kors watch, and the thought of that going on the credit card we both pay for makes me want to scream.

Hey, we goofed, OK? When we cut out Harry Gross' column last July but insisted "remaining true to our populist roots as the People's Paper," most of you begged to differ. One reader asked, "Have you people lost your mind?" while another asked, "How is a horoscope column more important to readers than Mr. Gross' column?" The good news is that some mistakes can be corrected. So we're thrilled to announce the return of our personal-finance columnist. IT'S GREAT to be back! Through many years of teaching, writing and lecturing, I have come across or invented many aphorisms that apply to financial situations.

April is Financial Literacy Month, and although the month is almost over I believe it's wise to be smart about money year-round. This is as good a time as any to talk about it. Specifically, let's discuss credit scores because they play such an important role in your ability to borrow money. Mortgages are my chief interest, of course. Assisting me today are the folks at Clarifi, until recently known as the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of the Delaware Valley (http://goo.gl/qNVbo)

An IRS employee and her boyfriend were arrested Wednesday and charged in a tax-refund scam that defrauded the federal government. In an indictment, federal prosecutors charged IRS worker Patricia Fountain, 34, with conspiring to file false claims, filing 15 false tax returns, extortion, and related offenses. Codefendant Larry Ishmael, 39, was charged with conspiracy to file false claims and aiding in the filing of a false tax return. Authorities said Fountain and Ishmael, of North Philadelphia, shared a residence, money, and assets, including a 2007 Mercedes-Benz R350.

MAYS LANDING, N.J. - Jury selection began Wednesday in the murder-kidnapping trial of Craig Arno, accused of stabbing an Atlantic City casino patron to death after abducting him from the garage of the Trump Taj Mahal Hotel Casino in May 2010. A panel of 150 potential jurors filled out questionnaires in Superior Court here before Judge Michael Donio began individual questioning to determine if they had heard about the case or had prejudices or biases that might prohibit them from serving.

What's more unfashionable than paying in cash? Not much. But the advantages in many situations outweigh the hassle of counting your change. Not for convenience. In an age when some banks let you pick your own photo or logo to put on your credit card, some people see using cash as a throwback, says this article at Investopedia.com. Indeed, it says, the convenience of plastic is not what you're after when you choose to use green-backs. Still, if overspending is your problem, paying cash is one of the few ways to to finish a month without having increased your debt load.

JOHN BOLARIS will discuss being drugged and fleeced by two Eastern European hotties on an episode of ABC's "20/20. " The former Fox 29 meteorologist was interviewed recently in New York and Miami, where in 2010 two Balkan beauties urged him to "do shot," and he wound up being roofied. Then $43,000 was charged to his credit card. Bolaris has fought paying the charges and is cooperating with federal authorities, who busted some Russian mobsters for the Miami nightclub scam.

I once assumed that the word seasonal referred only to part-time employment, persistent allergies, and mood disorders. I didn't realize the word could apply to Bucks County front-door wreaths that were supposed to be rotated faster than you could say "Center hall Colonial. " Wreaths achieved stardom back in Greco-Roman times, when winners of sporting events were crowned with laurel or oak-leaf wreaths. A few centuries later, a practical decathlon champion realized that the prickly foliage looked, and actually felt, a lot better if you hung it on a door instead of around your forehead.