{"id":17873,"date":"2016-03-08T10:51:04","date_gmt":"2016-03-08T18:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=17873"},"modified":"2016-03-08T10:51:04","modified_gmt":"2016-03-08T18:51:04","slug":"the-partys-over-dfs-sniffs-at-nevada-regulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/the-partys-over-dfs-sniffs-at-nevada-regulation\/","title":{"rendered":"The party’s over; DFS sniffs at Nevada regulation"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s no party for two executives at Bwin.Party<\/strong>. The Austrian government has leveled charges of corruption, “breach of trust” and money laundering at Bwin’s Norbert \"Bwin\"Teufelberger<\/strong> and Manfred Bodner<\/strong>. The indictment was filed two months ago but is only now coming to light<\/a>. The charges are in connection with an unsuccessful attempt by Bwin to land a sports-betting license in Turkey<\/strong> in 2007. According to the Austrian government, Teufelberger and Bodner laid two million Euros on lobbyist Ali Ocak<\/strong>, with the purpose of greasing the palms of Turkish officials. Bwin’s response is the money was a (very generous) consulting fee. “They were especially disappointed to find out that their Turkish license was a flat-out fake,” reports CAP.com<\/strong>. It’s interesting that it has taken nine years for the Austrians to act on the alleged bribery. For their part, Bodner and Teufelberger have to be hoping that justice delayed won’t be justice denied.<\/p>\n

* Daily fantasy sports CEOs think they’re too good to play by the same rules as everyone else in Nevada<\/strong> gaming. At a hearing convened expressly to facilitate DFS operations in the Silver State, DraftKings<\/strong>‘ arrogant CEO Jason Robins<\/strong> bloviated, \u201cThe bottom line and the main reason we don\u2019t feel like the type of regulation we\u2019re being asked to administer is right for our industry.\u201d He called Nevada’s regulatory system, which seems to work pretty well on the whole, “overly onerous.” (As opposed to appropriately onerous?) FanDuel<\/strong> CEO Nigel Eccles<\/strong> piled on, terming the procedure “heavy handed.” Characteristically, when pressed for any ideas on how to improve the process, both execs came up empty-handed.<\/p>\n

Both Robins and Eccles said they were willing to work with the state to some form of compromise and Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval<\/strong> (R) effectively called their bluff, saying he \"sandoval_t178\"expected “meaningful proposals” from them. He added,\u00a0\u201cNo [legislative] session is easy and no session is guaranteed. The more work that can be done early the better.\u201d Golden Gaming<\/strong> CEO Blake Sartini<\/strong> had a more specific objection to the current modus operandi<\/em>, saying,\u00a0\u201cThe problem is that Catch-22 for us. We would love to see your industry prosper and grow.\u00a0But our attorney general has already stated it\u2019s a sportsbook, and anything in conflict with that in another state [where sportsbooks are illegal] is going to pose a problem for us.\u201d (Golden operates casinos in Colorado<\/strong> and Maryland<\/strong>, and slot routes in Montana<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n

Further explaining the casino industry’s reluctance to embrace DFS, American Gaming Association<\/strong> President Geoff Freeman<\/strong> said,\u00a0\u201cThey don\u2019t fit into the traditional regulatory and statutory silos.\u201d DFS expert — and sometime detractor — Chris Grove<\/strong>\u00a0called for a flexible\u00a0regulatory framework, saying\u00a0\u201cA regulatory approach should appreciate that these products can rise very quickly and can become cultural phenomenons in a brief period of time …\u00a0far more rapid than craps or faro.\u201d We’re inclined to agree with Nevada Gaming Commission<\/strong> Chairman Tony Alamo<\/strong>, who said, “we have the infrastructure right now to regulate it with the laws we have on the books.\u201d DFS operators should stop posturing and preening, and\u00a0accept the Nevada process for what it is, even if — God forbid — it inconveniences them.<\/p>\n

* That food you leave on your plate at tony Las Vegas Strip<\/strong> restaurants finds its way into the gullets of Robert Combs<\/strong>‘ pigs in North Las Vegas<\/strong> (who, in turn, become a protein-rich source of pork for the Strip). But times change<\/a> and Combs is uprooting his vast pig ranch. S&G<\/em> received this news with a sigh of regret because Combs provided a refuge for Plucky<\/strong>, a mutilated and orphaned rooster than my wife and I rescued. (Actually, Plucky sort of chose us, but it’s long story.) Combs, who keeps roosters as pets, took him, and soon Plucky was hanging out by the pond, in a shady grove, helping another family of chickens ride herd on their brood. So here’s to you, Plucky, wherever you wind up.<\/p>\n

* Las Vegas<\/strong>‘ Erotic Heritage Museum<\/strong> is asking Donald Trump<\/strong> for a unique donation<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s no party for two executives at Bwin.Party. The Austrian government has leveled charges of corruption, “breach of trust” and money laundering at Bwin’s Norbert Teufelberger and Manfred Bodner. The indictment was filed two months ago but is only now … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[98,18,42,22,37,189,207,78,25],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17873"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17873"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17876,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17873\/revisions\/17876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}