Congress may have waited too long to effectively restore order to the developing chaos around Internet poker.
This thought came my way from a casino executive familiar with Internet activity who pointed out that some jurisdictions, California being a state he cited, are moving ahead with plans that may make them opposed to federal action.
The executive’s understanding is that some Californians contend a federal plan for regulating Internet poker would only get in the way of a state approach.
"They’ve got a big enough population base in California," the executive was saying. "They’re figuring they can do very nicely with their own plan."
But the talks aimed at crafting a national approach to regulatory legislation continue in Washington although the principal architects of a Senate approach (Harry Reid of Nevada and Jon Kyl of Arizona) have been described by Penn National officials as "keeping their cards very close to the vest."
Penn has good reason to keep an attentive eye on developments since it operates 26 casinos and racinos in 18 jurisdictions, including Nevada.
Penn executives expect an effort to attach a federal poker bill to an upcoming appropriations measure – "The kind of bill no one wants to vote against" – sometime in the next several months.
It’s anyone’s guess what kind of activity may have been launched then at the state or Indian tribe level.
GamingToday’s Micah Roberts went right back to the Oracle for a new Preakness pick and Jay Rood came up with his selection once he knew Union Rags was not headed to Pimlico.
An Internet gambling bill being considered by New Jersey lawmakers could allow Atlantic City’s casinos to take bets from people in other states or countries, although key details remain to be worked out.
The nation’s commercial casinos continued their slow-but-steady comeback from the recession last year, with revenues up 3 percent nationwide and jobs holding nearly steady, according to a report released Wednesday.
Revel, the $2.4 billion casino resort widely seen as Atlantic City’s best hope of survival, trailed most of its competition in its first month of operation, placing 8th out of the city’s 12 casinos.
New signs are up to direct visitors, the sidewalks have been power-washed, crosswalks have been freshly painted and 1,600 people have been hired to inaugurate the Horseshoe Casino Cleveland on Monday.
