New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is setting himself up for a fall with his blue-sky projections of Internet-gambling revenue. Eilers Research has projected that it will take two or three years for gambling revenue to reach $227 million … well short of what Christie has been predicting. The flow-through to state tax coffers would be $34 million. Two other studies peg it at $39 million and yet another expects only $31 million. Christie, however, expects to book $160 million by June — an aggressive projection, to say the least. The Eilers dossier looked at all 50 states and crunched “existing land-based gaming revenue trends, propensity to gamble, and what forms of online gaming will likely be permitted within each state.” It expects that it will take seven years to get the U.S. market to $2 billion in revenue. Far more aggressively, various Wall Street firms (including casino-owning Goldman Sachs) see i-gaming revenues growing to $7 billion, even $12 billion over that same time frame. If New Jersey were only allowing online poker (as Nevada is), its revenue projection for Year One would be a near-meager $77 million.
Christie’s exuberant numbers have already been trimmed a bit (from $180 million) and the absence from New Jersey of brand-name PokerStars could give cause to curb the enthusiasm a mite further.
The Massachusetts’ Gaming Commission‘s “overabundance of caution” has somehow produced “an agency rife with potential conflicts.” Mostly it’s cases of somebody knowing somebody who’s representing a casino applicant. Still, the MGC seems to keep tripping over its shoelaces with remarkable regularity.
We don’t often read about the trickle-down benefits of casino gambling. Ergo, it’s a pleasure to shine a light on the Volt Fund, which is a Maryland 
agency that uses slot taxes to help small businesses. And not just any small businesses but ones owned by women and minorities. Bravo! One beneficiary uses “provides online learning activities to children and allows them to create a wish list of products they would like as a reward.” Another makes constructive use of Lego blocks. Under the Volt Fund’s formula, 50% must be spent within 10 miles of the casino that generated the money, and the other 50% can be spent statewide. The low-interest loans max out at $500,000. Nearly all of this year’s fund has been spent and there’s already a healthy waiting list for next year.
While American casino executives try to cling to eroding market share, those in Macao are debating how much much growth they can expect. When you’re contemplating 10%-20% increases in casino revenue, it’s easy to see why certain companies (we’re looking at you, Sheldon) have soured on the U.S. of A.
Happy 67th birthday to the Flamingo Las Vegas, if only technically. Nothing remains of the House That Bugsy Built. It may come as a surprise to some that it was originally conceived as a somewhat genteel resort, but gentility and Vegas rarely go well together outside of the Mandarin Oriental hotel.
