If you want to get away from it all and gamble at the same time, head north — way north — to tiny and isolated Jarbidge, Nevada. That is the home of the Silver State’s newest casino license, that of the Outdoor Inn. It may not have capacity — only four slot 
machines — but they’re all coin operated. “There’s nothing like the sound of $20 worth of quarters falling into a slot machine’s steel hopper,” owner Jason Stegall told the Las Vegas Review-Journal (ironically the property of the owner of some of the biggest casinos in the world). Given the location and the nature of the machines, Stegall’s biggest problem was finding a company to service them until Reno‘s Dynasty Games took the bit between its teeth. “It’s where the high desert meets the mountains and it’s at 6,200 feet, so we have cross-country skiing in the winter,” Stegall said of Jarbidge. “About 27 people live here year-round, and we get mail delivered every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.” A slot machine for every six people? I wonder how that compares to Las Vegas?
* Meadowlands Racetrack was slow getting out of the sports-betting gate in New Jersey but owner Jeff Gural plans to have that rectified by July 15. Since New York State‘s Legislature adjourned without putting sports betting in place, nearby Meadowlands is extremely well-positioned to make hay while the sun shines. As 
Gural said, “New York did me such a favor by not passing sports betting. That leaves me the entirety of New York City, Long Island, Westchester County. There are 15 million people that live within 20 miles of the Meadowlands. They gave me a tremendous gift.”
It’s also going to be a gift for New Jersey’s tax coffers, filling with money that would otherwise have stayed in the Empire State’s. Although he’s temporarily given up on getting a racino, Gural still has his handout for a subsidy, saying that without it he could forced to abandon horseracing, and just offer sports betting and simulcasts. If tracks like Gural’s can’t stand on their own four fetlocks, isn’t time for the horseracing industry to call it a day?
* The U.S. is a deadbeat debtor to Antigua and Barbuda to the tune of $315 million. Uncle Sam lost a $21 million/year judgment over online-gaming rights and the meter has been running through the George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump administrations. Antigua’s U.S. ambassador, Ronald Sanders, said his government is “losing all hope” of seeing its money and would ask the World Trade Organization to mediate. You might say the U.S. government has a gambling problem. We can recommend several good help lines, starting with 1-888-LAST-BET.
* Although the Macao gaming industry is trending upward, not everyone is seeing the benefit. Emperor Entertainment, owner of two of Macao’s older casinos — Grand Emperor Hotel and Inn Hotel Macau — was 8% down in FY18. Management tried to paper 
over this unfortunate trend with vague optimism: “Upon the completion of large-scale tourism projects, along with government initiatives to boost infrastructure development, Macau’s position as a global leisure and tourism hub will be further reinforced. On the demand side, sustained growth in Macau’s gaming market is expected on the back of the increase in numbers of Chinese outbound travelers, which is largely driven by the expanding wealth effect and the rise of China’s middle class. The group is optimistic regarding growth prospects for Macau’s gaming market and is actively reviewing growth strategies and value-creating opportunities in Macau.”
