Don’t expect sports betting in Massachusetts: Not now, maybe never. Why? Two words: Rhode Island. That state counted on $23 
million in tax revenue from sports wagers—a ludicrous figure—and got $2 million. Bay State lawmakers are not only sobered by the dose of economic reality, they can’t decide whether to allow betting on collegiate sports, whether to run online betting through the state lottery and how to shut down the illegal betting market, among other concerns. It’s a tough task the Lege has set itself. As state Sen. Eric P. Lesser (D) told the Boston Globe, “But if a bill moves forward, it needs to be carefully crafted.”
MGM Springfield prexy Michael Mathis, citing other jurisdictions, says the presence of sports betting lifts other casino revenues by as much as 10%. And DraftKings President Jason Robins says legalizing sports wagers is the best way to crack down on those back-alley bookies. Gov. Charlie 
Baker (R, pictured) has given sports betting his blessing but that hasn’t moved legislators, who cite things like “expanding the number of problem gamblers” and “a distraction from raising taxes on the wealthy or closing tax loopholes.” With that kind of attitude on Beacon Hill, we’d expect legalization to happen at best later rather than sooner.
* New York State casino companies are looking to the Big Apple for their salvation. They’d better not: New York City leads all of America with 277 people leaving every day. On the other hand, break out the champagne if you own a Las Vegas locals casino. 105 people move there every day. Other casino cities seeing noteworthy population growth were Tampa (143) and Phoenix (200). The latter is tops for domestic migration while New York remains #1 for international migration. On the other hand, don’t tell Jim Murren (or his tribal rivals) but Bridgeport is on the decline. Some 20K residents fled last year. Of course, that could play right into their hands, pitching a casino megaresort as a fixit.
* Here’s a challenge to Lorenzo Doumani: Build Majestic with hempcrete. The building-block substance is made from—you guessed it—hemp. And with marijuana Nevada‘s new cash crop here’s an additional use for hemp, feeding the maw of the construction industry. “While architects and developers have traditionally concentrated on the energy used by their buildings once they’re are standing, it’s actually the materials required in their construction that represent the brunt of a structure’s lifetime carbon footprint. Replacing high-carbon-intensity materials like cement with greener alternatives like hemp can dramatically reduce or even offset greenhouse gas pollution,” reports Bloomberg.
Hemp has an illustrious history as a building material dating back to ancient Rome. Now, with its ability to sequester greenhouse gases, it could help battle global warming. “We have way more demand than we can supply,” said JustBioFiber Structural Solutions founder Mac Radford. Queue up, casino industry.
* Never bet (legally) on the NFL before? iGamingPlayer has a primer. Note that the Indianapolis Colts have fallen to from 12/1 to as a 60/1 Super Bowl pick after the sudden retirement of Andrew Luck, leaving them literally luckless. The soon-to-be Las Vegas Raiders are projected to win six games, giving Sin City fans a taste of what to expect. By the way, Coach Jon Gruden made $1.49 in the time it took you to read this sentence.
