That’s how JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff described the online sports-betting bill enacted by the New York State Lege. The latter essentially caved to Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), giving control of OSB to the state lottery. Instead of the one-operator solution proposed by Cuomo there will be … wait for it … two. Big whoop. Those two casinos will be enabled to host four ‘skins’ on their Internet platforms. So, as we predicted, somebody (maybe a lot of somebodys) are going to be left out in the cold. The ‘Net platform providers will each pay Albany $25 million for a 10-year concession plus an annual levy of $5 million to the host casino “to alleviate the constitutional requirement that sports wagers are placed at casinos.” No tax rate has been announced but both Greff and Credit Suisse‘s Ben Chaiken anticipate it will be steep, probably in the 50% range, another Cuomo object of desire.

The cure may be worse than the disease. Greff, for one, finds himself with more questions than answers. For instance, what’s the difference between a platform provider and an OSB operator (Cuomo tipped his hand here by taking a meeting with DraftKings)? The bill calls for a minimum of four skins but what’s the maximum? Who gets to choose the skins, the state or the private sector? Will Native American tribes be eligible to compete? Will they sue the state and how might this delay the launch? Greff foresees the Empire State going live by the start of NFL season, as the bid process will begin July 1 with a truncated, 30-day RFP period. Regulators, says Chaiken, have five months to decide, which kind of shoots that NFL-kickoff target in the keister. The New York Gaming Commission gets to play King Solomon, depending on how much Cuomo tries to interfere.

Virginia has now had two full months of sports betting and February handle was an impressive $266 million—not quite the explosion that Michigan was but still noteworthy as the second-biggest debut in U.S. history. Reacted PlayUSA analyst Dustin Gouker, “The nation’s major operators have the resources to engage bettors in new markets in ways that were impossible in the early days of legalization, which benefits later-comers like Virginia. Ultimately, that will mean a market that goes through fewer growing pains than some of the earlier adopters.” Compared to other states, Super Bowl handle wasn’t bad: $19.5 million. Revenue was $12 million but books went overboard with promotional credits, ending up with a $3 million loss. The tax haul was a scant $300,593. FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and BetRivers were all on the field, joined just before the Super Bowl by William Hill. This month brought the entry of WynnBet, which should reap some of the rewards of March Madness … to a degree. Virginia law forbids betting on in-state teams, which could mute interest in the NCAA tournament.

Don’t like the misshapen circles which now represent Caesars Entertainment? Well, get used to them, especially if you’re a New Orleans Saints fan. The casino giant is dickering with the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for naming rights, although Saints and New Orleans Pelicans Senior Vice President of Communications Greg Bensel grumps that “there is not a signed deal with any company at this time. We continue to have conversations with numerous interested companies.” Yes, but how many of them are as heavily invested in the New Orleans area as Caesars? Its Kate Whiteley demurred that “we have nothing to share beyond our current, valuable relationship with the teams.” There’s also the question of throwing tens of millions (at least $60 million) at naming rights at a time when Caesars casinos are snowballing a reputation as outdated, unkempt properties … something that company itself has obliquely acknowledged. (Former CEO Gary Loveman ran the company into the ground and successor Mark Frissora was mainly tasked with rearranging debt, er, deck chairs on this particular Titanic.)

At present, Harrah’s New Orleans is the subject of a $400 million renovation and expansion, which will culminate in its renaming as Caesars New Orleans. One thing that we like about CEO Tom Reeg is that, unlike Loveman, he’s not shy about deploying the prestigious Caesars brand name, previously reserved for really important destinations like … Windsor, Ontario. The Superdome would be the fourth, casino-affiliated stadium in major league sports, joining Gila River Arena (hockey’s Arizona Coyotes), Mohegan Sun Arena (home of the WNBA‘s Connecticut Sun) and Hard Rock Stadium, venue of the Miami Dolphins. The makeshift home of the Las Vegas Aces—Mandalay Bay Event Center—doesn’t count. While it might not be the highest and best use of CZR bucks, we see no reason not to have a Caesars Superdome, do you?

If you cruise by Circa, you’re liable to see members of Teamsters Local 986 walking a picket line on behalf of the ‘Circa Seven,’ a group of unfortunate warehouse workers. The seven were employed by Derek Stevens‘ Three Corners company, which services Circa. What caused the Circa Seven to get the axe? According to the Teamsters, it discovered they were pursuing union membership and gave them the chop. “The Circa Seven came to work, informed that their jobs were ‘outsourced’ to [subcontractor] QLI and then fired without warning,” claims Local 986 Secretary-Treasurer Chris Griswold. “It is heartless of this company to displace its own workers during the worst health crisis in a century.” If you agree with the Teamsters, you can make your feelings known online. If you side with Stevens, you of course don’t need to do anything … except maybe cross a picket line.

Room rates on the Las Vegas Strip were tanking this time last year, so maybe improvement is in eye of the beholder but they continue to trend upward. For April 18-24 they’re 28% higher, averaging $129/night, including an encouraging 2% improvement in weekday rates (weekends are up an eye-popping 73%). Mind you, at that time last year the averages were -33% midweek, -56% weekend and -44% overall. Caesars Entertainment is seeing a 23% midweek climb and a 106% improvement on the weekend. Venelazzo leapt 185% weekends and 50% weekdays. Convention-dependent MGM Resorts International saw only a 1% midweek nudge, plus a 70% weekend uptick, while Wynncore tumbled 26% midweek, even on such an easy comparison, and bumped up just 12% on the weekend. Was it too soon for Encore to reopen?