
The Delaware land-based casino sector happens to be struck hard by increased competition from new markets in neighboring states, as the more recent and shinier casinos of Pennsylvania and Maryland outperform its three struggling, and highly taxed, racinos.
Dover Downs is Delaware’s biggest and just publicly traded racino, but high taxes that are domestic increased competition across the state line means crisis for the home therefore the state’s two other racinos.
The sector, which comprises Harrington Raceway, Dover Downs, and Delaware Park, peaked in 2006, the 12 months Pennsylvania began issuing its first casino licenses, when slot revenues hit more than $650 million. By 2016, slots and table revenues combined had plunged to $398 million.
Meanwhile, outfall from the brand new MGM National Harbor, which started in Maryland year that is late last stands poised to be the final nail in the coffin. That property caused other casinos in Maryland and West Virginia to ramp up their own marketing drives, drawing even more customers away from Delaware’s ailing properties.
The three racinos cannot compete because they spend higher state taxes than their counterparts across the border, and they are begging legislators for help.
Taxed From the Market
This the Delaware’s Video Lottery Advisory Council (VLAC) met to discuss the status of Diamond State’s three casinos week. The council is tasked with advising federal government policy on gambling and could urge lawmakers to pass a casino relief measure.
But the racinos will have to wait. VLAC will not publish its recommendations before the fall, and until then, it’s maintaining tight-lipped.
Legislation that would have supplied relief by producing marketing and capital credits, while quashing the table game fee and lowering the income tax rate on dining table games, received shrift that is short the typical Assembly in 2015 and 2016.
Begging for a Lifeline
While there is sympathy for the racinos’ plight in the legislature, a sizable spending plan deficit has caused it to be hard for a bill advocating tax relief to get much traction. Still, something has become done, says Ed Sutor, president and CEO of Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, as he urged VLAC to throw the racinos a lifeline.
Sutor told the Delaware State Information that a concession that is simple could be easily enacted should be to allow the racinos to operate on Christmas and Easter, which will generate a calculated $2.25 million more.
‘We’re the casinos that are only the country that shut down completely on Easter and Christmas,’ said Sutor. ‘We can’t stop trying, people, and we can’t sit out another year of not doing anything.’
Impossible Odds? Wagering Sites Offer Lines on Political, Celebrity Absurdity
Governmental betting markets are doing their best to remain appropriate because the highly engaging 2016 presidential campaign, by providing online bettors unique lines on activities that appear to have little possibility of occurring.
Lines on Kid Rock and The Rock’s future in government are two markets to be had at governmental wagering websites. (Image: Terry Renna/Associated Press/WWE/Collage by Casino.org)
From Kid Rock’s running for the United States Senate to talk associated with the Rock building a serious bid for the White House in 2020, political betting networks are attempting to maintain a connection between celebrity entertainment and influence that is political. It definitely worked in 2016 with Donald Trump.
Betting on governmental outcomes is illegal throughout the US (also in vegas), but American politics is a popular wager that is exotic Europe and elsewhere on the planet.
PredictIt.org provides exchange wagering, which is really a slightly different variant of wager that trades shares in real time on predicted outcomes of political events. (Exchanges charge a commission on trades instead of establishing odds.)
Kid Rock for Senate?
Musician and Trump that is avid supporter Rock has recently teased a bid to run for Michigan’s US Senate seat in 2018 against incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow (D). Nevertheless, betting money is currently against Rock officially operating.
PredictIt shares of Kid Rock, aka Robert Ritchie, operating can sell for 40 cents, while no, he won’t run shares are at 60 cents. Following a tweet in early July from rap star that revealed a yard indication reading ‘Kid Rock for all of us Senate,’ shares laying claim to the concept which he would indeed run soared to 70 cents.
Rock accompanied the image with a statement of political philosophy that read, ‘we believe you should certainly effortlessly navigate the laws, taxation codes, health care, and whatever else the government sets in place that affects us all. if you work your butt off and pay fees,’
The 46-year-old singer from Michigan has never run for or held elected office, but that didn’t stop the present president that is american. Ritchie reportedly has yet to file campaign that is official, however, which undoubtedly factors into why the PredictIt line remains open.
President The Rock
Bettors, of course, need to be mindful not to confuse Kid Rock with The Rock. PredictIt is asking whether star Dwayne Johnson will throw his name in to the ring for the US presidency in 2020.
A campaign committee called ‘Run the Rock 2020’ recently did file paperwork because of the Federal Election Committee, which appeared like a more impressive action in a serious direction. The Rock, nevertheless, isn’t really behind the organization attempting to elect him. It’s instead the work of the fan whom just hopes he’ll run.
Even though the seed’s been planted, enthusiasm for a Rock presidency is rather low on PredictIt. Shares that Johnson will run are trading for 25 cents, while owning ‘no’ can cost you three quarters.
PredictIt’s willingness to own market on Johnson despite his public declaration that he is not also considering a 2020 run recommend that celebrity lines with without any chance of striking are a popular income stream for the exchange.
ElectionBettingOdds.com, meanwhile, offers the actor a 3.5 per cent chance of actually winning the White House, similar odds it offers for Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, that will turn 35, the minimum age for allowed for A united states president by the Constitution, in 2019.
Just What Hath Paddy Power Wrought
Sites and markets such as PredictIt may be seeing the value of offering opportunities for wagering on wishful thinking and fears that are irrational but really these are typically simply following in the footsteps of Paddy Power.
The infamous Irish bookmaker set the conventional for allowing individuals to bet the unthinkable, at one time asking customers whether or not then-President Barack Obama would be assassinated.
Paddy Power’s current odds in the winner of the 2020 election feature Trump as the favourite (2-1), followed by Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and current Vice President Mike Pence at 15-2.
But a slew of ridiculous names are included on the odds sheet. Leonardo DiCaprio (80-1), Kanye West (100-1), Beyoncé (200-1), fictional House of Cards president Kevin Spacey (200-1), and Kim Kardashian (275-1) are just a couple of the picks readily available for those who think they could see something in an extreme longshot.
Macau Police Bust Scam ‘Pop Up’ VIP Casino Op
Director of Judiciary Police Chau Wai Kuong said that gaming related criminal activity in the gambling hub stayed ‘serious’ despite the apparent recovery that is economic. (Image: Macau Day-to-day Times)
Macau authorities have busted a bogus ‘pop-up’ VIP casino racket that bilked high-rollers out of millions in allegedly baccarat that is crooked, according to the South China Morning Post.
The police investigation started in after a man told authorities he had been defrauded of HK$4 million (around $500,000) june.
Officers through the Judiciary Police raided an unidentified hotel in the gambling hub on Wednesday, arresting 15 men and four women, all from the Chinese mainland.
They’re accused of luring high-rollers to hotel rooms that the gang had gone to elaborate lengths to disguise as bona fide VIP rooms.
Ruse Meticulously Planned
Police said the ruse, which had been in operation since 2015, was intricately planned and executed, with members of the gang posing as dealers, VIP hosts, VIP room operators, protection guards and shill gamblers to be able to trick their victim.
Four ‘customers’ were based in the process to be scammed whenever police swooped on according to Macau’s public broadcaster, TDM wednesday.
Significantly more than HK$75 million ($9.6 million) worth of gaming chips were available at the scene. While reports didn’t specify, it’s likely these had been ‘rolling chips,’ non-redeemable tokens issued to rollers that are high casino as credit to gamble with, rather than the type of chips that can be exchanged directly for cash. HK$200,000 in hard currency had been additionally seized, around US$25,600.
The suspects, aged between 35 and 53, are dealing with numerous charges, ranging from fraud to owning a criminal syndicate.
Last week, 15 mainlanders had been detained and accused of managing a high-interest loan-sharking ring focusing on casino gamblers in the Cotai Strip.
Taking Crime Seriously
Gaming-related crime has risen into the enclave since Beijing’s anti-corruption drive almost 36 months ago. The crackdown on the junket industry has put the squeeze regarding the gambling hub’s criminal underbelly, with reports of the increase that is sharp triad-related crime.
Police have said that the true quantity of illegal detentions, which largely involve the forced collection of gaming debts by loan-sharking triads, are up 11.8 percent year-on-year, after having almost doubled between 2014 and 2015.
‘Although the performance of Macau’s gaming industry has stabilized since the second 1 / 2 of final year, the crime that is gaming-related remains serious,’director of Judiciary Police Chau Wai Kuong said this week in a statement.
‘We have witnessed an escalation in how many cases of unlawful detention related to loan-sharking operations,’ he added. ‘As such, police have actually strengthened patrols, having detected 20 situations of gaming-related unlawful detention in just one day.’
Macau’s Judiciary Police recorded a total of 734 suspected gaming-related crimes in the 1st five months of this year, up by 74 cases weighed against the corresponding period of 2016.
Nj’s Chris Christie Urges President Donald Trump and Congress to Support States’ Rights in Online Gaming Battle
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) put his signature on a bill late a week ago that urges President Donald Trump, members of his management, and Congress to oppose any legislation that will prohibit individual states from authorizing and regulating gambling that is online.
Nj-new jersey State Representative Vincent Mazzeo has authored a bill that asks federal leaders to push back against any measures that will impede states’ right in the online gambling arena, and it’s really gained the support of Governor Chris Christie. (Image: Jackie Schear/Press of Atlantic City)
Introduced by State Rep. Vincent Mazzeo (D-Northfield) in January, the joint quality seeks to notify the president and Congress how internet casinos are playing a vital role within the recovery of Atlantic City. Of course, it’s an opinion just plus one that holds no given weight, as state governments haven’t any direct input into federal laws.
The issue that is main once again the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA), legislation that would reverse a 2011 US Department of Justice viewpoint that stated the longstanding Wire Act applied just to recreations betting, and not other kinds of gambling.
Mazzeo’s quality explains, ‘Recent federal measures, such as [RAWA], introduced in the 114th Congress, if pursued by the 115th Congress and supported by President Trump and his management, would prohibit the transmission of cable communication of any bet or bet … including internet gaming.’
A copy of the signed legislation is being sent to the president, US House and Senate leaders, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and different other political powers in Washington, DC.
Internet Gaming Wins
Garden State politicians have plenty of reason to guide Mazzeo’s bill. Atlantic City’s remaining seven casino operators are finally posting gains, and online gambling is playing a leading part in the recovery that is fiscal.
Through June, land-based gaming win is up 1.5 percent. However, internet gambling has soared over 28 per cent, bringing the casinos’ bottom line to 3.5 percent.
Web gambling has delivered $121.4 million to operators through June, about $26.6 million ahead of where these were this time this past year.
‘A federal prohibition against internet video gaming would directly and negatively impact brand New Jersey by dismantling the investments that their state and Atlantic City casinos have currently made,’ Mazzeo explained.
iGaming’s prominent part in revitalizing Atlantic City is just why Mazzeo had small trouble in garnering support for the joint resolution. Just a single ‘nay’ vote came in from either chamber, State Senator Shirley Turner (D-Mercer) being the opponent that is lone.
Not Biting
There doesn’t seem to be much enthusiasm in Washington to take up RAWA, or similar gambling legislation that is anti-online. Previous committee hearings in the House and Senate don’t change the fact that most in Congress just aren’t terribly spent in discussing internet gaming prohibitions at the federal level, a matter that the Republican-controlled Congress would seemingly prefer to leave up to each state to choose for themselves.
RAWA had been introduced into their particular chambers by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and previous Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah). It’s largely thought that those actions came at the behest of Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson, a effective gop financier who has made it his life’s work to block iGaming.
After lingering for two years, RAWA has not been re-introduced to Congress for the 115th session.
Scott Blumstein Wins $8.15M at World Series of Poker Main Event with Three-Outer on River
Scott Blumstein, a 25-year-old medium stakes poker pro from New Jersey, made a decision to play his first World variety of Poker tournament several months ago, the 2017 Main Event. It turned out to be always a pretty good decision, as late into Saturday night, Blumstein survived an initial field of over 7,200 entrants to take home $8.15 million along with a jewel-encrusted champion’s bracelet worth another half-million.
WSOP 2017 Main Event winner Scott Blumstein, now in a higher tax bracket he entered the World Series of Poker’s most prestigious tournament two weeks ago, says fame and fortune will not change who he is than he was when. (Image: ABCNews.com)
It was not long after midnight Pacific Time on Sunday morning, on hand 256 of the WSOP Main Event table that is final Blumstein defeated Pennsylvanian Dan Ott to become poker’s “” new world “” champion.
‘I’m still in shock,’ Blumstein told reporters afterwards. ‘ I thought I would get even more emotional that what I got in real time but it’s just the feeling that is best, I can’t also place it into words.’
First Time’s the Charm
This was the first time Blumstein had ever ventured to the Rio in Las Vegas to play live in a World Series event despite making a living as an online grinder back home in New Jersey.
With the November Nine concept scrapped in favor of three consecutive segments of final-table play, broadcast with a 30-minute delay by ESPN on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Blumstein began the new format last table with a chip lead that is commanding. It was a lead he relinquished just once over the program regarding the match, whenever crowd that is jovial and British granddad John Hesp briefly wrestled top spot through the chip-stacking juggernaut.
Hesp busted out in fourth, establishing up a night that is final of action between Americans Blumstein and Ott, and France’s Benjamin Pollack.
Two Plus Two Equals $8.15 Million
The Pollack that is short-stacked had to achieve and was ready getting his chips in and gamble. Ultimately, however, he hit the rail right after 9 o’clock PT, after some intense action that is three-way.
Pollack shoved from the button with Q-T, while Ott lived as much as his title, coming over the top (OTT in poker parlance), re-raising all-in from the blind that is small K-9. Blumstein saw potential to go on it all down right there, and called from he big blind with A-Q. Blumstein had been ahead pre-flop, and also the tournament that is entire have ended then and there. Alternatively, a king on the flop tripled-up Ott and sent Pollack to the rails.
The final moment had been postponed for another 60-odd hands, and when it came, it came via a piece of luck for Blumstein, who played sturdily throughout the event that is 10-day. With all of the chips going in pre-flop, Ott was ahead with A-9 versus Blumstein’s A-2, but one of three remaining deuces hit in the river, ending the Main Event and assuring Blumstein an area in poker history.
The champ that is new that, whilst the money is nice, it won’t change his lifestyle all that much. The Temple University graduate, who holds an accounting degree, told WSOP officials after their win:
‘simply two weeks ago I was a New Jersey online grinder and nothing has really changed.