{"id":28736,"date":"2020-11-03T08:23:28","date_gmt":"2020-11-03T16:23:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=28736"},"modified":"2020-11-10T09:49:26","modified_gmt":"2020-11-10T17:49:26","slug":"bakers-casino-crackdown-nfl-playoffs-diluted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/bakers-casino-crackdown-nfl-playoffs-diluted\/","title":{"rendered":"Baker’s casino crackdown; NFL playoffs diluted"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

No more all-night gambling for you, Massachusetts<\/strong>! Seeing a rise in Covid-19<\/strong> cases, Gov. Charlie Baker<\/strong> (R) has curtailed casino hours. They have to close by 9:30 p.m.<\/a> until further notice. If you’re buying booze (essential for Election Night) or reefer, you also have to have your transaction wrapped up by 9:30 p.m. One retailer welcomed the moderation of Baker’s action, saying, \u201cWe have perishable produce and staff holding on by their fingernails.\u201d Another two- to three-week shutdown would have been fatal to many businesses. It can also be expensive to stay open: A restaurateur who had a Coronavirus<\/strong>-positive result among her staff had to have everyone tested, a $12K cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encore Boston Harbor<\/strong> responded by shutting down its hotel. Wynn Resorts<\/strong> said \u201cThe resort will adjust its operating hours to be in compliance with new regulations. We are currently analyzing the impacts of these new directives on our operations and are making adjustments accordingly.\u201d (Similar sentiments were uttered at MGM Springfield<\/strong>.) Calling the Baker edict “another setback” for casinos, the Boston Globe<\/em> elaborated, “The facilities are already facing limits on their capacity and the types of games they can offer, and the industry\u2019s workforce has declined markedly over the past several months. Now, the casinos, which are designed as 24-hour attractions, will have to figure out new protocols to help them open and close securely each night.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

It remains to be seen whether the gaming industry will raise its voice for state financial relief. Jody Adams<\/strong> of Mass Restaurants United<\/strong> wants to see distressed-business subsidies. \u201cThere\u2019s this stark reality that it\u2019s a significant financial hit for independent restaurants, and without financial relief from the state or federal government we\u2019re not going to survive,\u201d she said. Still, there were those who thought Baker is doing the right thing. \u201cI would like nothing better than for this all to go away,\u201d remarked Massachusetts Lodging Association<\/strong> CEO Paul Sacco<\/strong>. \u201cBut the governor is doing what\u2019s necessary right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"It could be worse. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson<\/strong> has re-darkened his country’s casinos. Both gambling houses and betting shops are affected by the Johnson ban, his second of the year. The good news is that the fatwa<\/em> will be lifted on Dec. 2<\/a>, the bad news that the gaming industry has had only two months so far to recoup its losses. Mobile betting, at least, will remain unfettered. And sports will go on, albeit without fans. Reports Global Gaming Businesss<\/em>, “In addition to casinos and betting shops, pubs, restaurants, retailers and any non-essential business was to shut down for a month.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government’s policy was protested by British Betting & Gaming Council<\/strong> CEO Michael Dugher<\/strong>. He quailed that “the government must have a science-led approach and avoid the arbitrary and unnecessary decisions that led to random closures of casinos and betting shops, which damage employment and revenues to the Exchequer.\u201d Added Dugher, \u201cAt a time when there is widespread despair among sporting bodies the government also needs to recognize that a healthy betting industry is vital to the funding of sport, and that betting shops in particular are critical to the financing of horseracing.\u201d His sentiments were echoed in Scotland<\/strong>, where casinos are already closed, despite having conducted tens of thousands of tests with only two positives. Queried Rank Organization<\/strong> Managing Director John O’Reilly<\/strong>, \u201cOur venues are indisputably Covid-secure. Why must they therefore close in Level 2 whilst other hospitality industries can remain open?” Good question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you ready for a lot more football? The NFL<\/strong> is pondering expanding this year’s playoff field from the normal 12 teams to 16? Given the vast disparity between good and bad teams this year, we wonder how badly this would dilute the quality of play. But hey, those 2-5 New England Patriots<\/strong> suddenly have a shot. Explains Credit Suisse<\/strong> analyst Ben Chaiken<\/strong>, “NFL thought process is to make up for any missed games due to COVID especially with limited Bye weeks remaining. In our view, clear positive for [DraftKings<\/strong>] and others with leverage to sports betting.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"This development certainly wouldn’t hurt the Kansas City Chiefs<\/strong>‘ odds to repeat as Super Bowl<\/strong> champs. The consensus of FanDuel<\/strong>, DraftKings<\/strong>, PointsBet<\/strong>, PlaySugarHouse<\/strong> and BetMGM<\/strong> has the Chiefs +350 to win it all, meaning your $100 wager pays you $350 if and when Patrick Mahomes<\/strong> hoists the trophy. However, our<\/em> favorite team, the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/strong>\u2014riding a 7-0 hot streak\u2014is sneaking up on the rail, going from +2,500 to +550, the second-shortest odds. They are followed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/strong> at +750, while the Baltimore Ravens<\/strong> have faded from +650 to +900. In the NFC<\/strong>, the Seattle Seahawks<\/strong> are the new darling of the oddsmakers, at +800 (having started the season at +2,000) and ousting previous favorites the San Francisco 49ers<\/strong>, down to +2,800 from +900. How the mighty are falling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if you hanker to play long shots, don’t forget the Las Vegas Raiders<\/strong>, playing surprisingly well and consensus +5,700 picks, up from +6,000. (The longest of shots are the New York Jet<\/strong>s, +240,000.) \u201cThe NFL is a league built on parity, and a significant change in Super Bowl odds are expected,” claims TheLines.com<\/strong> analyst Brett Colson<\/strong>, although the competitive imbalance we’re presently seeing makes one think that certain teams’ odds should be lengthening dramatically. (And yes, we think the bookmakers underrate the Raiders.) There are no dramatic point spreads next weekend, certainly nothing remotely like the Chiefs’ covering of an historic 20.5-point spread against the abysmal Jets. If you like betting the ‘over,’ Lions<\/strong>\/Vikings<\/strong> and Seahawks\/Bills<\/strong> set the pace at 53 points each.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No more all-night gambling for you, Massachusetts! Seeing a rise in Covid-19 cases, Gov. Charlie Baker (R) has curtailed casino hours. They have to close by 9:30 p.m. until further notice. If you’re buying booze (essential for Election Night) or … 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":[277,14,278,283,22,112,245,25,242,74,243,233],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28736"}],"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=28736"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28736\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28737,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28736\/revisions\/28737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}