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were so bad that some snowplows slid into ditches, underlining the danger even to well-equipped travelers.
• The weight of the snow strained power lines and cut electricity to more than 100,000 homes and businesses. Hospitals closed outpatient centers and urgent-care clinics.
• At least three deaths were blamed on the blizzard.
• In the northwest Oklahoma town of Woodward, a person was killed after 15 inches of snow brought down part of a roof. The storm was also blamed for the deaths of two people who were killed in rollover crashes Monday on Interstate 70 in Kansas.
• Heavy snow pulled down large trees and caused roofs to cave in at businesses in Belton and Warrensburg, Mo., where 13 inches of snow piled up. In Columbia, a canopy over gas pumps collapsed at a convenience store.
• By late afternoon, airlines canceled almost 500 flights at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway international airports.
• Many commuters appeared to heed warnings and either stayed home or left work early. Chicago train cars were well over half empty during the evening commute, and traffic on some expressways flowed like it was a Sunday afternoon.
• "This is fabulous," said Mitzi Norton, 34, of suburban Elmwood Park, as she rode a train home. "I wish I drove."
•

• STEPHEN SINGER,AP Business Writer
• HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Indian casinos brushed off weak consumer spending in a sluggish U.S. economic recovery to post a modest increase in revenue in 2011, an industry study reported Wednesday.
• Not only did revenue rise 3 percent, to $27.4 billion, but Indian casinos are holding on to their share of total casino gambling revenue, competing closely with commercial casinos, according to the report, "Casino City's Indian Gaming Industry Report."
• The revenue increase is the second in as many years following a first-ever drop in Indian casino revenue in 2009 as the worst recession in decades took its toll on consumer spending. The back-to-back increases in revenue are encouraging, the report said.
• "The question is how much further can Indian gaming grow?" author Alan Meister said.

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