A big loss for Wynn

Steve Wynn is not used to losing.

With two 5-star hotel-casinos in Vegas and two more in Macau, he has permanent street cred among the uber-rich in the world. He pretty much gets what he wants, usually with just a knowing nod or a snap of his fingers.

But Wynn is a beaten man today, turning over his king o0n the chess board after voters in Foxboro, Mass., peed all over his plan to put a resort casino across the street from Gillette Stadium. Voters elected two anti-casino selectmen in the town election, and Wynn decided to fold up his tent.

Here in Mass., no one is really sure exactly why the plan (Wynn would lease property owned by Patriots boss Bob Kraft) never got much traction. But Foxboro is a moderately wealthy community with low (4 percent) unemployment, so the promise of jobs didn't resonate as much as it might have. Not even the possibility of $15 million in casino tax money directly to the town was enough to turn the tide.

Wynn has a long history of bullying anyone who doesn't agree with him. Reporters, blackjack dealers, union organizers, business partners ... he doesn't discriminate, and he almost always gets his way.

Not this time.

Cantor-run poker area at Palms opens in May

Major paper to take shot at NFL's gambling/ad ties

The NFL is about to take one in the solar plexus.

A source close to the New Jersey gambling scene has told Covers.com that the Philadelphia Inquirer is planning a story that will sharply criticize the NFL on its hypocrisy of allowing teams to accept in-stadium casino gambling advertisements while continuing to oppose sports betting.

The story will be published, said the source, as soon as the Giants and/or Jets confirm that they will be accepting gambling-related advertisements.

The NFL has been widely hammered for years for its stance on sports betting, and it's hardly a secret that the league encourages and benefits from gambling even as it opposes gambling publicly and (occasionally) in the courts.

Guess the NFL figures that the economic benefits of cozying up to casino ad money outweigh the criticism it receives for being hypocritical about the issue.

British take advantage of legal Internet gambling

Once again Europe has shown that it is light years ahead of the United States in regulation of Internet gambling.

Plans are in the works in England to change the way wagering is taxed, and if things work out as planned it will help bring more jobs to Great Britain.

Online gambling companies have set up shop outside GB in order to take advantage of low tax rates elsewhere. But Britain is now putting together plans that would alter the tax policy and make it worthwhile for the companies to do business in England, providing needed jobs. Basically, taxes would be paid at what is called the “point of consumption”, in other words where the bettor is, rather than the point of supply, where the operator is. So a company based offshore would still be required to pay taxes to England, even if its operations are in Malta. And if there is less tax benefit to being in Malta, why not just set up shop in London? And hire British workers.

Obviously, all this is world-class level chess compared to the checkers now being played in the United States, where states are arguing about whether they can legally  sell a lottery ticket online.

Presidential election offers slim pickings for online players

With each passing day it becomes more likely that come next January Barack Obama, Mitt Romney or Rick Santorum will be sworn in as the president for the next four years.

None of the above figure to be supportive of online gambling that would lead to legalization of sports betting. A look at the options, from worst to best:

3. Santorum. Ugh. Is he running for president or Pope? He's on record as opposing gambling, though if the longest of long shorts is elected, Sunday night church bingo probably would be safe.

2. Romney. He can't connect with voters and he changes his mind more than he changes his underwear. The best thing you could say about him is that even though he's on record as being against online gambling, with no core principles maybe he can be turned.

1. Obama. Did he order or even know about the DoJ Black Friday/Blue Monday indictments? And did he mandate the Dec. 23 easing of regulations regarding online poker and casino games? Who knows? He's not talking.

That's all, folks.

If you're a one-issue voter, Obama's mixed-message policies appear to be better than what the Republicans have to offer. In this instance, the devil you don't know could be a lot better than the devil(s) you do.

Iowa moves toward Internet gambling OK. Iowa???

Nevada has its ducks in a row as it moves closer to Internet gambling, but you might be able to make a few bucks if you bet on Iowa to place.

Iowa?

Iowa.

The state that gave religious zealot/family values politician Rick Santorum his only victory in the Republican primary race is working on plans to bring online casino games to flyover country. And with other areas just spinning their wheels (New Jersey) or taking a step back (Washington D.C.), Iowa is plodding along and may have a plan in place this spring.

Chances are it will start with Internet poker, where the president pro-tem of the Senate, Jeff Danielson, is a strong advocate.Danielson points out that the state is bleeding money because thousands of residents are playing outside the state.

Danielson says that gambling revenue would not be used to balance the state budget, which he says is already in pretty good shape. In fact, he even has offered to place the state's take in an account that couldn't be accessed for two or three years.

Prof. Nelson Rose, the leading authority on gambling issues relating to the law, says that Iowa relishes the idea of being first, pointing out the number of casinos in a socially conservative state.

Danielson no doubt will have his hands full, but there is optimism that his state will be among the first to the finish line, helping break a logjam and allowing us to log on without worrying about government intervention.

Positive signs for NJ sports betting vote

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]

How about gambling near the House of the Mouse?

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]

Online play will help -- not hurt -- land-based casinos

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... [More]

Happy birthday, UIGEA -- I've got two words for you

Next month marks the 5-year anniversary of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which has been about as welcome in the online betting community as a rattlesnake in your sleeping bag.

It's impossible to understate the chaos that UIGEA has created, from the establishment of hundreds of offshore sites -- many of them unscrupulous -- to Tuesday's indictment of TV poker personalities Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson at Full Tilt . . . the 2006 law has played a prominent role in all of it.

But UIGEA's most obvious victim has been trust. Most bettors, forced to wager offshore, simply don't know what sites are good and what sites aren't. What sites will pay quickly and what sites sit on money. Had UIGEA never been signed into law by George Bush, the online betting landscape would be much different today. Not to say there would not be problems, but it would not be the 100-car pileup that it has become.

Politicians have mostly tiptoed around efforts to repeal UIGEA, fearful of a conservative movement that now appears on the rise in the United States. There is some momentum toward legalization and regulation, but it's impossible to gauge how strong the tide is toward repeal.

In the meantime, we can just sit, wait and wonder what other sites the U.S. Dept. of Justice is planning to close down. All thanks to a law that passed 5 years ago even though many congressmen didn't even know what they were voting for. 

Happ... [More]

Online poker effort gets boost in Massachusetts

Out of nowhere, Massachusetts has joined the race to become the first state in the country to offer safe, legal, regulated and taxed online poker. And  if when when it happens, it might be open to anyone -- including out-of-state players.

There is much work to be done, but the effort at least has a champion -- a Republican, no less, who is a former judge.

"We will have actual legislation to vote on," says state Rep. Daniel Winslow, who represents the district in which Sen. Scott Brown lives. "Probably by summer of 2012."

Winslow, an unlikely booster of the right of residents to gamble online, used the debate about casino expansion in Massachusetts to attach an amendment that would have legalized online poker. "We were already talking about gambling," he said in an interview with Covers.com. "Why not talk about online gambling too?"

With the effort to pass enabling legislation for the construction of three major resort-style casinos finally in the red zone, leaders in the Mass. House apparently decided that online discussion might make things harder. So Winslow was persuaded to tap the brakes, and his revised amendment -- calling for a commission that is required to develop online poker legislation by next July -- easily passed.

So Massachusetts is now in the running with Iowa, Florida, New Jersey, California and the federal government to see who will be the first, perhaps of many, to finally allow online poker.

<... [More]

USA not alone is squabbling about online legalization

Those of us who are bewitched, bothered and bewildered about how United States politicians can't seem to make up their mind about whether legalization of online gambloing is best handled on the state or federal level can take some solace -- Europe seems to be just as fragmented.

On the surface, the European Union seems like a perfect platform for a unified policy with regard to online gambling. The area is not that large, conferences can be arranged with only moderate travel, and for the most part there is not that much divergence in the general belief that people ought to be able to do what they want, when they want and how they want.

Uh, not quite.

EU member nations have talked about a coordinated, leveled-playing-field approach to online betting, but when push comes to shove member nations seem intent on fluffing up their own pillows. At a recent gettogether to coordinate policies regarding licensing and safety issues, reps of member nations nodded their heads when talking about a coordinated approach and then insisted on their right to set their own course regarding taxation, regulation etc.

Not a lot different than what's going on in America, where state and federal legislation can be compared to railroad tracks that never seem to meet.

Kid-friendly Atlantic City? What could possibly go wrong?

Atlantic City has decided that in addition to enticing 20- and 30-somethings to come to its casinos by pushing the limits with a generous amount of g-strings and pasties, it also wants to tell vacationers that in many ways it’s also a wonderful family destination if you don’t have the scratch to make it to Disney World.

In addition to the beach, AC likes to point out that it now offers a family-styled luau (Harrah’s), a circus (Resorts) and a dinosaur exhibit (Showboat), among other activities for the G-rated crowd.

Trying to be all things to all people is a semi-desperate attempt to cast a wider net for entertainment dollars that are increasing being dropped in Pennsylvania rather than Atlantic City. If you don’t want to be titillated, says the AC suits, come anyway. We have people walking around in animal costumes.

Nice try, AC. But it won’t work, any more than Vegas’s effort to make the Strip family-friendly (Excalibur, Treasure Island) did. LV found out that families were coming and bringing their kids, but it was a loss leader because the parents didn’t have time to gamble. That was that.

Besides, kids don’t belong near casinos. They belong at Disney World.

... [More]

Boom may be lowered on British online companies

Do taxes bug you?

I mean, do you have a problem with the concept of taxes?

Not me.

In fact, I think we get a pretty good deal in the States. Property taxes got a cop at my house within minutes of a break-in several years ago, and the fire dept. and EMTs are ready in case something bad happens. The town plows my road in the winter, then in the spring repairs damage that the plows cause. When my kids were young, each of them got 12 years of good education.

State taxes allow me to take the dog on walks in state parks at no charge. Federal taxes will someday pay for my heath care, and provides for the common defense, even if we invade a few too many countries.

Bottom line: I'm OK with paying taxes, even if it pisses off a lot of my fellow citizens in the lower 48.

But I have problem with some taxes that will probably soon be imposed. In England.

Seems the Brits are a little short on funds, and rather than cut off the royals and make them go out and get jobs like the rest of us, they are hell bent on taking the easy way out and taxing online books.

Online gambling companies such as Ladbrokes and William Hill based in Great Britain have been able to avoid the heavy British tax burden that other companies face by locating their software elsewhere, such as Gibraltar, where taxes are as low as one percent of profits. Nice deal all around, and the lawmakers in England have been OK with it.

Bu... [More]

Anti-casino group plays the organized crime card

The original members of the Chicago Crime Commission, an organization born to combat crime in the Roaring '20s when the police couldn't and/or wouldn't, are all dead now. But at least they went to their graves knowing they helped take down Al Capone and the mob which basically ran the city for a decade or more.

After that big splash, it figured that there would be a letdown, and while the CCC exists to this day, the members have had to be satisfied with ratting out an occasional street gang and running their annual golf tournament (June 20, if you're interested).

But now the crime busters have a new signature issue, devoting their PR machine toward warning the citizens of northern Illinois that organized crime will re-emerge from under the concrete and poison the lives of the city's millions of residents if the government allows them to play nickel slots at a proposed new casino.

The crime fighters don't seem to have much of a problem with the state's nine riverboat casinos, which have yet to shown any signs of a mob takeover. But if a bricks-and-mortar casino gets the approval of the governor and is built in downtown Chicago, then apparently it's just a matter of time before someone Tony Spilatro does to Chicago what Spilatro himself did to Vegas in the 1970s and '80s.

"Pure and simple, [if a casino is built] law enforcement can expect the entrance of the Crime Syndicate," says J.R. Davis, the CCC chairman. "Federal... [More]

Labor issues dampen Resorts' rebranding

Workers rights, sexism, age discrimination and a whole bunch of other isms are conflicting with the rights of an employer to run a business as he or she feels it should be run as the rebranding of the Resorts Hotel/Casino in Atlantic City takes an expected turn.

Nine drink servers were fired recently when the new bosses at Resorts said that they weren't sexy enough to fit the properity's new hip business model. The fired servers, some of whom have worked at Resorts for decades, say that they were humiliated when they were forced to wear ill-fitting outfits when they re-applied for their jobs under the new ownership, and that their only crime was their inability to create a time machine that would make them 25 years younger.

Resorts obviously sees things differently. Owner Dennis Gomes is trying to return the proprerty to profitiability in a tough economy, and says that the servers who were let go were unfortunate collateral damage. Nothing personal, Gomes says, but if we don't change things around quickly, there will be no jobs here for anyone.

The firing no doubt strikes a chord with many older workers who have lost jobs or been denied promotions, and the drink servers at the Rio in Vegas who lost their jobs several years ago when schleppers were also required to dance periodically can certainly identify.

Was Resorts' action morally right? Probably not.

Was it legally allowable? That's an entirely different question, and t... [More]

Can Medicare issue help online gambling?

We’re all depressed about the poker indictments and the aftershock shutdown of a few other sites earlier this week, but are you ready for a little good news?

Maybe very little good news, but these days you take your victories when you can if the U.S. government has a hair across its backside and is coming after you.

If you’re at all plugged in to the political scene, you know that there was a special election in western New York a few days ago to fill the seat abandoned by Republican Chris Lee after Lee decided to send shirtless photo of himself to a woman he met on Craigslist in hopes of . . . well, we all know why.

Anyway, the special election to replace Lee was supposed to be a lock for Republicans, who outnumber Democrats by 30,000 registered voters. Only it wasn’t, because Republicans have scared the pants off senior citizens by voting for a House budget that would basically end Medicare as we know it. Anyone with elderly parents knows that life after 70 is about staying as healthy as possible through the Golden Years, and all the backpedaling in the world couldn’t save the GOP candidate, who lost to the underdog Democrat by 4 percentage points.

Gambling? Oh yeah.

Well, the result got giddy Democrats to thinking that they actually have a chance to rid... [More]