Like a Smith College student ‘experimenting’ with same-sex dalliance, the Massachusetts Lottery wants experimental online gambling, with a view toward possible for-money play somewhere down the road. “[I]in the interests of preserving and protecting the Lottery, we simply want to ensure that we have a solid understanding of the technology and logistics of online gaming should this market space become more competitive” ran the official explanation. “If we do not start to prepare for the future generation of lottery players we’ll find ourselves with a smaller player base.”
The Lottery would theoretically go ‘live’ with Internet gambling when the state’s casinos open, escalating the warfare for customers’ gambling dollars. A bill to authorize for-money online-lottery play has already been introduced in the state Senate. It has the support of the state treasury’s Online Products Task Force. Even if online gambling has been an early disappointment in Delaware and New Jersey, look for other states to start nibbling at the apple … as Bulgaria is already doing.
Like his Macao rival, Sheldon Adelson, Lui Che-woo has no use for 
retirement. The 84-year-old oligarch of Galaxy Entertainment is planning massive expansion on his home turf and now has his eyes on the U.S. It would be a logical extension of a real estate empire that includes 13 Yankee hotels already. He’s a man who thinks big: He’s spending $2.6 billion on the second phase of his Cotai Strip expansion and $7.75 billion on Phases III and IV.
The slightly eccentric (he wears hats indoors) Che-woo is keeping mum on his American plans. He has committed an aggregate $5.2 billion to Taiwan and Japan, should casinos be legalized in either country. After posting a $1 billion-plus profit last year, Galaxy would be well-equipped to go shopping in the U.S., where casinos are a buyers’ market. Perhaps Carl Icahn has finally found someone who will rid him of Fontainebleau. It’s worth the price of a phone call.
