Gambling’s fate in Virginia now rests in Gov. Ralph Northam‘s hands, as the General Assembly has sent a casinos-and-sports-betting bill to his desk. In an eleventh-hour compromise to preserve the legislation, betting 
on Virginia collegiate teams will be forbidden, a win for the education establishment. Otherwise it’d be all systems go for retail, Web-based and mobile sports wagering, as well as for casinos in the cities of Bristol, Danville, Portsmouth, Norfolk and Richmond (provided that the latter approve them through the initiative-and-referendum process). The casino-enabling legislation was part of an ambitious slate of bills that lawmakers forwarded to the governor’s desk. Taking advantage of their 2018 ‘blue wave,’ solons interpreted it as a mandate for change and went all-out. Even Robert E. Lee‘s statue might get moved out of the U.S. Capitol. Sorry, general. That’s a cruel blow.
Sports-betting concerns got something out of the compromise with the colleges and universities. The tax rate on revenue was shaved from 17.5% to 15%. So that’s something. ‘Historical racing’ will be expanded in the state, including a 1,000-HRM facility in Dumfries. Oh, and pot will be decriminalized. That’s another step into the 21st century for Virginia.
* St. Tammany Parish voters nixed a riverboat casino in 1996—and their representatives did it again last week, voting against an entertainment zone that would incorporate casino gambling. Just to make sure the message got across, the Parish Council voted unanimously against any 
casino-enabling legislation being filed in the Louisiana Lege. “It’s not that we’re against anything,” said Council Chairman Mike Lorino. “It’s the simple fact that the parish government was not notified properly in our opinion; definitely the Parish Council was not notified. And we think that we need to have a long look at this and not rush into anything helter-skelter, and that’s the purpose of this resolution.” In any event, a casino a few years down the road won’t help in the here and now, when the rejection of sales-tax renewals to support the jail and courthouse are producing a financial crunch. Out of luck also is Diamond Jacks casino in Shreveport, still looking for a new home. As Councilman Jacob Airey said, “It seems odd to me … that someone would just unilaterally file this without some indication.”
* “We are a proud people that call this place our home, not for a year and not because of some 10-year corporate outlook.” So said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., in a not-so-veiled pushback against Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt‘s threat to put tribes in their place by bringing private-sector casinos into the Sooner State. The context for Hoskin’s remarks was the donation of $6 million as part of Public School 
Appreciation Day. Hoskin challenged Stitt to man up and improve education funding, noting that the state’s gaming tribes have chipped in $1.5 billion since 2004. (Oklahoma has one of the worst per-pupil spending ratios in its region.) In the case of the Cherokee, 38% of their car-tag tax is allocated for schools. According to the Tulsa World, “Districts are given total discretion in how they apply the funding, which is distributed based on the number of Cherokee Nation citizens enrolled. In recent years, the money has been used to make up for gaps in district budgets for teachers’ salaries, operations, technology upgrades and school programs.” If the tribes can put their gaming dollars to work in this fashion, surely the state can follow suit.
* Nagasaki is suddenly looking a lot more feasible as a casino site in Japan after the local government said it wasn’t looking for more than $4.3 billion (the cost of Resorts World Las Vegas), compared to $10 billion or more in Osaka. The low end of acceptable investment would be $3.25 billion, very doable in terms of ROI. The numbers aren’t definitive and might not include some infrastructure and access costs, but they’re a big step in the right direction. Unfortunately for Nagasaki, the three interested applicants are all dark-horse candidates: Casinos Austria, Oshidori International Holdings and Japanese Current Corp.
* $382 million used to gamble in Philippines online casinos has been pegged as “suspicious.” What? Online gambling in the Philippines suspect? Say not so! Next thing you’ll tell me that Lefty Rosenthal ran a skim at the Stardust. Mercy me!
