But officials in Deadwood say the figures may be misleading. They say betting during the first six months of this year is actually higher than last year.   And most importantly, they say, visitor numbers are up.  Chuck Turbeville says, "What I'm seeing is the visitation numbers are up over last year. Her in the Chamber office our inquiries are up. The requests for information on various events: that's up."  The Black Hills Pioneer is reporting that gross gambling revenues during the first six months of this year are up more than seven percent.

Al Van Zee