Improbably, Sheldon Adelson has found two U.S. senators to carry water for him on Capitol Hill as he tries to stem the tide of Internet gambling. Both Sen. Dean Heller (R) and Sen. Harry Reid (D) are working to reinstate the ancient Wire Act, which used to be the regulatory bullwark against which Internet-gaming hopes were dashed. However, they want to do it with a twist, leaving an exception for poker on the grounds that it is a game of skill not chance. Heller told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “to have the wild wild West as an empire of gambling for the country would have some serious social implications. And I think that’s what [Adelson is] concerned with.”
Heller paints a picture of “devastation of bricks and mortar” if Internet gambling continues to flourish. “They’re corporate entities. They’ve got to keep their shareholders happy,” he said dismissively of his patrons in the casino industry, adding, “There is no daylight between where Senator Reid and and myself are on this particular issue.” (How appreciative casinos will be of this remains to be seen.)
In a move that’s not exactly unprecedented (New Jersey permits it), the Nevada Gaming Commission OK’d the use of prepaid cash cards on slot machines. This puts the slot floor on an even footing with sports books, where the use of such instruments is permitted. It’s not as easy as it sounds, since you have to register at the casino, then at your bank before loading cash onto the card. Considering how usurious ATM fees in casinos have become, I can understand the appeal of the cards. Despite some equivocal opposition by the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, the cards got the thumbs-up. While I share some of the unease, New Jersey is the strictest jurisdiction in the nation and if it’s permitted out there then it’s crossed a very high threshold.
The NGC also dropped the hammer on Reno‘s Peppermill Casino for skullduggery against rival establishments. The Peppermill was fined $1 million for encouraging Ryan Tors to use a reset key to obtain “play history, hold percentages, event logs and game configuration” from 11 casinos as far away as Wendover. According to the Peppermill’s attorney, Tors’ actions were conducted merely “to satisfy curiosity.” I hope the NGC got a good laugh out of that one.
Casino owners, including a number of independents, are hanging tough on negotiations with Culinary Union. The latter has struck back by voting to end any further contract extensions. That leaves MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment as the only companies with Culinary contracts. Three Caesars properties also voted to reach terms with dealers represented by the Transport Workers Union. The latter was largely able to maintain the status quo, a qualified success that the TWU’s Joe Carbon attributed to taking a more conciliatory tone in negotiations. (Read: no picketing.) In return for assenting to tip-confiscation — much as in its hard-won Caesars Palace contract — the TWU gained job security for its dealers. At least the tip-confiscation is subject to “complicated criteria” and isn’t an everyday fact of life.
Privatization of the casino-vetting process is putting some jurisdictions in a pickle. For instance, Springfield, Massachusetts, was using the same firm to check out MGM that MGM uses as its Illinois lobbyists. This kind of outsourcing is cheaper and faster, The Associated Press‘ Hannah Dreier reports, but it comes with complications. Privatization has extended to 16 states already, with Spectrum Gaming at the forefront. This creates concerns with what the Illinois Gaming Board‘s Gene O’Shea calls, “the purity of the investigation.” Spectrum has been retained by several states — and by the biggest names in gaming, too.
Spectrum’s managing director, Michael Pollock, insists that his company would never work both sides of the fence at the same time. However, that’s probably less of a concern than if, say, work product generated for Springfield somehow found its way into MGM’s hands to help it gain an advantage elsewhere. However, casino naysayers like Florida‘s John Sowinski are just out to lunch when they say casinos should be vetted by companies with no ties to the industry. One can’t get much of a perspective from the consultancy equivalent of a Carmelite nun. We’re either going to have resign ourselves to more apparent conflicts of interest or the return of casino investigation and oversight to Big Government.
