Nevada gaming authorities will have to start reporting the Silver State’s online-gambling revenue now that South Point has entered the lists under its Real Gaming banner. (We won’t get the numbers until late March.) The site ” is offering tournament play and cash games across multiple platforms, including PC and Mac computers, smartphones and tablet computers.” The true significance, however, is that now there are three Web casinos, the Nevada Gaming Control Board will have to start releasing revenue numbers for online play, giving us some insight to the appeal of Internet poker in the state and with players who create accounts here so that they can play when they visit. Real Gaming and Station Casinos‘ Ultimate Poker are quits for brand equity, so one expects WSOP.com to dominate the market.
As predictable as the sunrise, Democratic legislators in New Jersey and sounding the gong for casino gambling at the Meadowlands. (But would it have the entertainment value of the ever-
disintegrating New York Jets and their potty-mouthed coach, Rex Ryan?) Atlantic City has two years to redeem itself under Gov. Chris Christie‘s rescue plan. But Assemblyman Ralph Caputo is having none of it. “We don’t want to destroy an industry. They can do that themselves. They don’t need your help or my help,” he fulminated. “They don’t give one damn about anything but themselves. All they did was take money from that city. Now that the market is challenged, it’s up to us to try to assist. But that doesn’t mean we can’t look at it honestly.” Caputo (right) would like to see a legislative committee take the temperature of Atlantic City and also look into the viability of a Bergen County casino. I think we know what the intended outcome is to be. He’s right that the Boardwalk will never be what it once was but S&G endorses the sentiments of Assemblyman Vincent Mazzeo: “When the tourism district was created, both the Legislature and the governor made a solemn commitment to Atlantic City. To go back on your word to the people of Atlantic County before the five-year waiting period ends is wrong.”
Some things are too hot even for Sin City, and that would include the Erotic Heritage Museum. Inability to keep pace with rent payments doomed the ultra-risque venue to an abrupt closing. While I consider myself a relatively jaded observer, the Erotic Heritage Museum definitely had a high shock value. I wonder how UNLV will react to the offer of the museum’s contents for permanent storage.
Although it’s somewhat of a “push poll,” a new sampling of Florida shows that casino expansion in Miami-Dade and Broward counties would have almost enough support to pass in a statewide vote. Voter approval goes past the supermajority level when “hotels, shopping, celebrity chef restaurants, and headliner shows and convention facilities,” are promised, per the ballot language. Much to the chagrin of Gov. Rick Scott (R), no doubt, 68% approve of independent casino regulation. (He doesn’t.) Support for expansion is strongest among Cuban descendants and weakest among African Americans. Interestingly, 36% of respondents said they would be more likely to vote yes if the state’s compact with the Seminole Tribe was breached, taking $250 million/year off the table. Another 36% didn’t care one way or another.
