Posted Friday, October 21, 2011 10:50 AM
In a little over two weeks, New Jersey voters will head to the polls, and if history is any guide most of the incumbents on the ballot will be re-elected. Some will have a tougher time than others, and a few state pols will be looking for work come the morning of Nov. 9, but for the most part, the electorate – mad as it is – will send their reps back to Trenton for another couple of years.
The gambling community will be keeping more than a close eye on the only referendum on the ballot – a question that would put the state on record as favoring a legal challenge to the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which denies New Jersey (and most other states) the right to allow legal and regulated sports wagering.
New Jersey, which nearly two decades ago opted out of sports wagering when it had the chance to opt in, will be the point on the spear if voters indicate they are up for a court battle with the federal government over PASPSA. The court battle would likely take years, but the longest journey starts will a single step, in this case with voters headed to the... [More]
Posted Friday, October 14, 2011 11:39 AM
Are we ready for blackjack dealers dressed up like Mickey Mouse? Instead of Blazing 7s slot machines, you win if you line up Huey, Dewey and Louie after pulling the lever?
Central Florida, home to Disney World, wants a casino. At least some of the forward-thinking planners do. They’re looking hard at their neighbors to the south, who are laying the groundwork for a gigantic gambling/entertainment/shopping complex on the Miami waterfront, and thinking why not another one, in the Orlando area? Las Vegas is often called Disneyland for adults, so why not merge the two playgrounds? The cross-promotion possibilities are endless. How about a stripper pole in Cinderella’s castle?
It’s all about the money, of course, and folks in Central Florida are concerned that big-time gambling in Miami-Dade and Broward counties will lure away some of the Orlando area's 30.5 million yearly visitors. If the Miami complex is built, families can bypass Orlando and spen... [More]
Posted Thursday, October 06, 2011 11:44 AM
Late to embrace the online gambling phenomena, big-time Vegas casinos have come to the conclusion that betting online will be a good thing – especially for the big-time Vegas casinos. Even if some players will stay at home rather than trek to the casino, the alternative – not having a line in the water when the fish are biting – is uncomfortable for the Wynns, LV Sands and Caesars.
But even as the land-based casino giants finally and somewhat reluctantly embrace at least the concept of allowing people to gamble online, there is still talk that every person wagering while logged on takes away a potential customer who might book a flight to Vegas and settle in at a craps table.
Some gambling experts at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas this week say the concern is overblown, and that online gambling and the full casino experience create tremendous cross-promotion opportunities. In addition, the legalization of online play would probably create an even larger customer base, easing the concern among casino suits that online players would peel away bricks-and-mortar customers because it’s more convenient to play at home.
"It's a matter of retention," said Vahe Baloulian of eGaming Partners Inc. in Los Angeles. "It's also a matter of bringing new clients in by using online gaming."
In many states lottery officials have warned that allowing construction of casinos would either kill or seriously cripple the scratch-ticket cash cow that helps fund local p...
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