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Sharon Harris Is thinking of the children
The G2E show is over. I liked the new location at the Sands, except for the nightmarish parking garage below the building, because everything was on one floor. Also, the exhibit hall was squarer, reducing that monstrous walk from end to end.
People seemed more optimistic since 2010, confirmed by a survey of 1,150 gaming professional taken at the G2E. Seventy-seven percent have positive feelings about the industry’s direction in 2012. Bucking many national polls about job security, 80 percent believe their gaming employer will strengthen in 2012; 76 percent feel confident about their future employment.
What is the basis for this optimism? Many see dramatic legislative changes on the horizon. Casino operating companies are opening properties across the US and more states are considering legislation to introduce or expand their gaming opportunities.
Atlantic City folks eagerly anticipate positive changes, thanks to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s unprecedented legislation last February. Legislative changes last February in New Jersey are already taking shape, thanks in part to a streamlined Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) and several relaxed regulations.
The DGE recognized that visitors won’t always make that extra effort to gamble, and smart operators want to bring it to them. They have approved tables and slots off the casino floors in Atlantic City.
For the first time since the 1976 legalization of gaming in Atlantic City, gamblers may play outside designated casino space along the Boardwalk’s beachfront block. The only exceptions were allowing gaming in the Marina District along the back bays, which houses Borgata, Golden Nugget and Harrah’s.
By Thanksgiving, The 200,000 square foot Quarter dining, entertainment and retail complex at the Tropicana will launch a 90-day pilot program of 11 slots and two electronic table games within the main square. The Quarter features 20 shops and 20 restaurants, plus the IMAX movie theater. The plan is to expand to between 100 and 125 slots, plus live table games. The DGE will closely monitor the machines for underage gamblers. If successful, more off-casino game areas will surely follow.
Imitating Nevada, Atlantic City hopes to profit from casual impulse gamblers. Situated near restaurant row and the IMAX, Tropicana hopes they’ll play as they wait.
As of press time, Election Day on November 8 is two weeks away. New Jersey voters will determine whether to permit sports betting at the Atlantic City casinos and state racetracks. Early polling reveals that 58 percent of likely voters, along with local media, support the measure. The strongest support comes from three Jersey Shore counties, home to most casino workers.
Speaking of sports betting, the Nevada Gaming Control Board has approved an application to allow sports betting on personal iPhone smart phones. This may ultimately expand to the personal iPads. The firm, American Wagering, Inc., hopes to have access to 90 percent of Nevada’s smart phone market.
Who could have predicted these types of gaming options even 10 years ago? It proves what IGT CEO Patti Hart said at the “State of the Industry” seminar: “technology drives entertainment consumption”.
Commercial casinos are forging ahead although Nevada’s economy remains terrible, Las Vegas and northern Nevada gaming jurisdictions like Lake Tahoe are seeing an uptick in gaming revenues. Las Vegas visitor traffic at the airport has increased and conventions report greater attendee numbers.
However, states like Illinois often work against their own best interests. For one thing, the sky-high taxes paid by riverboat operators make it one of the least attractive jurisdictions for major operators.
From my perspective, the Illinois lawmakers have again pulled a bonehead act, but they’re not the only ones. A new issue has surfaced, even as major operators seek public respect as solid citizens.
Ever wonder who people are when they line up to cash in their chips? Thousands are deadbeat parents, or people who have reneged on their child support obligations. They have cash to throw in a slot, but can’t be bothered paying child maintenance.
More states are utilizing technology to confiscate their winnings, but not Illinois. Collection efforts have been thwarted by both casino lobbyists and the state agency charged with collecting and dispersing child support in Illinois. It’s millions lost.
For example, after a protracted battle in 2008, Colorado passed such a law. In three years, Colorado has seized gamblers’ winnings 810 times, totaling $1.25 million. The law is based on federal law. Slot winnings above $1200 must be reported. Table games have a specific formula with a minimum $600 win.
Casino operators and state child support officials claim they want to avoid the bureaucracy and providing database identification to casinos.
Why worry about these freeloading losers who refuse to pay their bills? And why wouldn’t casino companies want to be seen as the good guys here? I say go after them with all available tools… the kids deserve a break.
