Borgata is ahead of the curve again in Atlantic City. At least it’s thinking progressively, incepting a March Madness-themed free-throw competition as a first step toward skill-based 
gambling. Four hundred people have already plunked $20 each down to play on ad hoc courts. The casino just needs 100 more sign-ups to break even on the prize pool. “We won’t have basketballs flying across the casino,” Borgata Senior Vice President Joe Lupo wryly told the Wall Street Journal. (Lupo has a strong sense of humor. He says LeBron James “definitely” could enter the tourney and “In fact, I wish he would.”) Other innovations are somewhat vague, if promising-sounding, ranging from “Scrabble-like slot machines and tablet-based arcade fare.”
The WSJ reports that “boardwalk ski-ball games or Xbox-style games along with other sports events” are also on the Borgata to-do list. “A year from now, you’ll probably see a lot more of these skill-based tournaments or even games on the casino floor,” Lupo told ESPN. The free-throw melee is considered the U.S.’s first gambling contest purely predicated on physical skill. “It’s smart for them to be creative and try to find new ways to provide what consumers want, given the highly competitive nature of the region,” says the American Gaming Association‘s Chris Moyer. Added Borgata prexy Tom Ballance “We appreciate the progressive thinking of the [DGE] as well as their encouragement as we begin to introduce social and skill-based gaming options to a new generation of players.”
“You see the younger generation walking past the casino floor and not really paying much attention” to the games — especially compared to their fascination with their mobile devices — complains New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement Director of Technical Services Eric Weiss. However, except for Borgata and perhaps the Golden Nugget, the town is proving slow to adapt, motivated perhaps by the cost of innovation in an era when one slot machine can cost $15,000. “Maybe you have bowling,” says Nugget General Manager Tom Pohlmann. “I’ve got a marina on my property, so maybe I do a swimming competition.”
One company that’s trying to crack this market is Gamblit, which is seeking expedited approval of its machines in the Garden State. It’s peddling a line of skill-based games like Bears Behaving Badly, in which players try to smash honeycombs.
The major sports leagues, with their alliances with DraftKings.com and FanDuel.com, have already thrown in their lot with skill-gambling. Elaborating on his change of mind about the relationship between sports and wagering, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver rationalizes his evolved stance thusly, “I view myself more as pro-transparency. And someone who’s a realist in the business. The best way for the league to monitor our integrity is for that betting action to move toward legal betting organizations, where it can be tracked. That’s the pragmatic approach.”
* Wynn Resorts has issued proxy ballots for its upcoming board of directors election and 
the gloves are coming off. Among the jabs at Elaine Wynn is the accusation, “Ms. Wynn is not meaningfully contributing to the Board’s discussion and work, which is increasingly conducted at the Board committee level, in which Ms. Wynn is unable to participate.” Trying to cover its butt for its imminent conversion of the board into a boys’ club, the filing continues, “Consistent with the Company’s long-standing commitment to promoting diversity, as reflected by the number of women in senior leadership roles at the Company, the Corporate Governance Committee intends to prioritize women and diverse candidates in its search to bring new perspectives and experience to the Board.” It sounds like Ms. Wynn has struck a nerve.
