Here we go again. Illinois solons will once more take up the question of casino expansion in the Land of Lincoln. However, 
other and more pressing gambling concerns may take priority. In addition to Internet gambling there is the quick revenue fix that is sports betting. Also, legalization of daily fantasy sports is jostling for its place on the docket. That’s an ambitious slew of laws to push through the state capitol, even for indefatigable state Sen. Robert Rita (D) and state Rep. Lou Lang (D). The witness list for yesterday’s hearing was tilted against the existing casino industry, with only Casino Queen execs being called to testify.
If Rita’s SB7 comes up to a vote, it should be coupled with Amendment 3, which would ease the usurious tax rates Illinois casinos are required to pay. (It would also authorize three racinos but maybe that’s an acceptable tradeoff for lower taxes.) Advocating both mobile wagering — a potential blow to casinos — and sports betting, Pala Interactive CEO Jim Ryan wrote lawmakers, “Illinois needs to make it legal and regulated. Voting for anything less is a lost opportunity for the state’s economy.” Advocates of DFS and casino expansion would surely express similar sentiments. How existing casinos would weather substantially increased competition is an issue that rarely gives the Lege much pause, though.
* The American Gaming Association, in tandem with Nielsen Sports, has released a new study that shows NBA and MLB revenues increasing $1.1 billion and $585 million, respectively, thanks to legalized sports betting. The NBA, for example, could see 
8% higher media rights, 4% greater sponsors and 3.5% more ticket sales. The AGA’s Sara Slane said, “The four major sports leagues will earn a collective $4.2 billion from widely available legal sports betting, further proving that working together with the gaming industry will pay dividends for all sports stakeholders.” It remains to see whether the numbers resonate with the Evil Empire, er, major leagues — who currently trying to smother legalized sports betting in its crib by dint of federal regulation. (We’re looking at you, Orrin Hatch and Charles Schumer.)
Meanwhile in Nevada, regulators are looking at changing the sports-betting rules to allow bets to be taken from out of state. They’re also considering removing the requirement that interactive-gaming players provide their entire Social Security number (a move that would be greeted with relief by security-conscious punters, I’m sure). Also certain to be popular with bettors would be an extension of the time period for redeeming a winning ticket from 30 days to 365. We like that last potential change a lot. (Casinos would hate it but think how happy it will make your customers feel.)
MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts all lined up behind a proposal that would allow players to register sports-betting accounts from the comfort of home. They cited New Jersey, where ‘Net bets are far 
outdistancing ones made in casinos. If money talks that recommendation is a cinch for adoption. The Nevada Resort Association also saw an opening for a much wider array of wagering. “Things like MVP awards, the draft, draft position, the Heisman Trophy, for example, those are some things that are on that list currently. But the process for determining how that contest or other events are conducted and awarded is well-known and fairly well recognized, so the board would be comfortable creating a second list and that would be things like the Academy Awards, Emmys, Grammys, those types of things that we think might provide an interesting wager for some people,” said the NRA’s Scott Nielson. Just imagine the heightened interest in Johnny Avello‘s annual Oscar odds if you could have a fiddle on them.
* Unions are taking an ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ approach to automation in the workplace. The Culinary Union has already wrung major concessions from MGM and Caesars Entertainment, Now Unite Here is telling Marriott (a massive presence in Las Vegas), “We want to talk about how technology can assist the work we perform and ease the rigors of our work, how our members are trained, what happens to workers who would otherwise be tagged as redundant, how our members are repositioned to succeed or hired into other workplaces.” Already automation has stretched its robotic fingers into the casino experience, even displacing dealers on the gaming floor. However, there’s no reason that workers — or customers — should take this lying down.
* Lawrence Ho found taxes in Russia too steep for his comfort but new Tigre de Cristal owner Summit Ascent Holdings is feeling bullish. Since the Vladivostok area is about to become a 
duty-free zone, Summit plans to add a retail mall, along with an indoor beach club, eight villas, 300 hotel rooms, and at least 20 apartments. Said Summit COO Stylianos Tsifetakis, “One of the biggest challenges we face nowadays is the lack of room capacity, and we have made plans to expand by next summer and we are progressing very well with the design of phase two.”
