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Las Vegas is Dead – Can the City Recover?
For a couple of weeks we’ve been revisiting the blogger VegasRex’s classic posts from Las Vegas – the town he once loved and later hated to the extent that he had to leave.
To sum this up, we give you a couple of post about why Las Vegas slowly, but steadily, is dying.
How Sin City lost its “cool”.
But can Las Vegas once again regain its attraction?
Let’s end this series with Rex’s tips on what the city has to do to recover.
Thanks again Rex for all the cynical, yet valuable insights.
Is Las Vegas Still Cool?
“It’s been a long time since I met someone my own age who reacted to Las Vegas residency in a positive way. There is no more envy, and there are no more excited questions about the town. From my own point of view, it really feels like the mystique of Las Vegas is a thing of the past.”
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Straight from the Hip
“I do not think that these are traits that anyone would associate with Vegas. Las Vegas is a place filled with manufactured excitement and tireless self-promotion. It’s a place where people preen, get drunk, and excitedly run around the perimeter of swimming pools screaming: Woooooo!”
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Prelude to Recovery
“For the past 5 years, I have been yelling, nay, SCREAMING to anyone who will listen, exactly what needs to be done to restore Las Vegas to the most sought-after tourist destination in the USA. The problem is, nobody has listened to me.”
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10 Things Vegas Must Do to “Recover”
“It’s time to bring Vegas back, and it’s time to start thinking a little more aggressively about how to do that. This list is a start.”
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Hawaii Gets Online Gambling Bill
The last state to join the union may be one of the first to adopt regulated internet gambling, as Hawaii has introduced legislation that would create a “Hawaii Internet and Gaming Corporation”.
Introduced by House Speaker Emeritus Joseph Souki, Representative Faye Hanohano, and Representative Angus McKelvey, House Bill 2422 would offer games of chance and skill over the internet to Americans in Hawaii, not just residents. Games such as lottery, poker, and casino games would be regulated through the bill.
The bill would also include a provision that casino operators have not offered online gaming services to Americans in the past. This would effectively knock out poker companies such as PokerStars and Absolute Poker.
The bill is also being debated along House Bill 2316 which would call for the establishment of a state lottery. Last year the Hawaii State Government introduced a bill that would have legalized online poker, only to see the bill cut out after a deadline passed.
Spiedel wins Aussie Millions
Local pro banks $1.6m prize
Oliver Speidel overcame a star-studded field at last week’s Aussie Millions to pocket a career-best $1.6m and add his name to the growing list of hometown heroes who have triumphed at Australia’s premier poker event.
Spiedel has only been playing the game for five short years but put on a final table masterclass, busting five of his six opponents en route to beating Kenneth Wong heads-up for the winner’s cheque.
Heading into the seven-handed final, Spiedel turned a top three chip stack into over £1m thanks to a run of decent cards and perfect timing. Only Mohamad Kowssarie, formerly known as Fast-Freddie – the nemesis of one Johnny Lodden – posed any serious difficulty, but even he tasted the rail when Spiedel Kings were too much for his A-3.
One player notable by his absence on the final table, though, was Aussie $250k winner Phil Ivey, who narrowly missed out on the final table, busting in 10th place a day earlier. And while many players were glad to see the back of poker’s most infamous name, Spiedel said it would have ‘been cool’ to play against a ‘really damn good’ player.
But with Ivey nowhere to be seen, Spiedel didn’t mourn for too long and in the final hand saw off the experienced Kenneth Wong when his timely Aces crushed the runner-up’s pocket nines for the win.
‘Words can’t describe it,’ said Speidel. ‘It’s amazing to win it all. I don’t know what to say, to be honest.’
Here’s how the final table finished up:
1. Oliver Speidel $1,600,000
2. Kenneth Wong $1,000,000
3. Mile Krstanoski $610,000
4. Mohamad Kowssarie $405,000
5. Patrick Healy $300,000
6. Bjorn Li $230,000
7. Yann Dion $170,00
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Chris Ferguson Last Obstacle in Full Tilt Sale?
Stories surfaced over the weekend that one of the last obstacles in the sale of online poker site Full Tilt Poker to Groupe Bernard Tapie involves millions of dollars that Chris “Jesus” Ferguson held in personal accounts that were used for corporate purposes.
Groupe Bernard Tapie agreed to acquire the troubled company on November 17th in a deal struck with the permission of the US Department of Justice and that would ultimately see Full Tilt’s assets sold to GBT for $80 million.
The complicated deal included the US government taking responsibility for repaying an estimated $150 million owed to former US players of Full Tilt, with Groupe Bernard Tapie repaying the $150 million owed to international players.
Full Tilt was indicted by the US government in April 2011 for breaking US anti-gambling laws as well as for wire fraud and money laundering; Full Tilt continued to operate for several months before losing its gambling license in June 2011 after which point the site went dark, leaving players unable to cash out their funds on deposit.
Ferguson and other directors and shareholders of Full Tilt received tens of millions od dollars in payments and distributions over the years, with some of that money in question now and potentially holding up the sale of Full Tilt.
Ferguson is reportedly seeking the return of over $14 million that was held in a personal account of his controlled by a company associated with Full Tilt, with Ferguson giving permission last April for the money in the account to be used for corporate expenses.
Ferguson and his lawyer have threatened to file for an injunctive relief to delay the planned sale of FTP’s assets until their issue is settled, which could further delay the repayment of over $300 million in player funds that many players have been anxiously awaiting for nearly a year.
Planetwin365 Getting Zoneplay
Leeds based Buzz Sports has announced that it is teaming up with Austrian operator Planet Win 365 to supply its ZonePlay system.
The new in-betting product will be available to new areas and will allow Planet Win 365 customers the ability to watch a live event and bet on “what happens next”?
Commenting on the agreement Planet Win 365 Project Manager Antonio Papa said “We are delighted to have added Zoneplay to our offering. It is a perfect fit for the PlanetWin365 philosophy of sports betting as entertainment.”
Buzz Sports Chief Commercial Officer Ian Williams also commented, saying “We are very happy to be working with PlanetWin365. They already had a strong in-play offering, but the introduction of ZonePlay now gives their customers chance to get involved with every twist and turn of live games. It will keep customers coming back for more, and increase the stickiness of their website.”
Bet365 Internet Casino’s Slots Club Provides Cash Prize Every Single Month
Bet365’s online slots club is a great way for casino players to maximise their slots play and earn a cash prize of up to £1,000 each and every month.
All players need to do to take part in the slots club is opt in and start collecting comp points by playing their favourite online slot games. Earning comp points is easy, as one will receive three for every £10 wagered on bet365’s slots.
Casino players may accumulate as many comp points on as many individual days as possible and they will put themselves in line for a superb cash prize at the end of the month.
bet365 online casino offers a huge range of exciting and popular online slots and progressive slots, all of which count towards the comp point total, so there is bound to be plenty of games to suit everyone.
Every day gets slots players closer to winning a prize, when they start hitting those comp points targets and they could be enjoying a monthly cash prize courtesy of bet365 finally.
bet365 is one of the world’s biggest internet gambling groups having over seven million customers. The company offers a online casino experience that is very unique, employs over 1,700 people and is the United Kingdom’s seventh largest private firm.
Trickett tops European Poker Awards
Sam Trickett added another accolade to his already bulging trophy cabinet this week when the UK’s all-time money winner was crowned Player of the Year at the 11th Annual European Poker Awards.
Trickett was poker in 2011, banking a head-scratching $4.5m thanks to big-money wins Down Under and the Partouche Poker Tour main event. The Retford hotshot has gone from rags to riches in the past few years, cementing himself as one of the world’s best players. And now he has the trophy to prove it.
But Trickett wasn’t the only notable winner at this year’s EPAs. French tournament crusher Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier waltzed off with Poker Personality of the Year, while last year’s Main Event champ Pius Heinz understandably banked Best Tournament Performance.
Elsewhere, Andrey Pateychuk was named Rookie of the Year after winning two legs of poker’s illusive Triple Crown, Illari ‘ziigmund’ Sahamies pulled in Online Player of the Year and PokerPlayer favourite Jesse May took down the Lifetime Achievement Award.
With 2012 already off to a bang for Team UK thanks to early victories for James Akenhead and Toby Lewis, don’t be surprised if Trickett isn’t joined in the record books by another from these shores when the EPAs roll around next year.
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Macau Poised to Break Revenue Record
Macau is poised to kick off 2012 on the same winning streak it enjoyed in 2011, with analysts predicting that January gambling revenue totals will eclipse the record set last October.
The Chinese New Year holiday is expected to give a big boost to Macau’s revenues for January, with VIP operators and gambling junket providers (who largely cater to high stakes baccarat players from mainland China) already experiencing surging business in early 2012.
Union Gaming Group principal Grant Govertsen has pointed to increased occupancy rates at hotels and casino raising their maximum and minimum table stakes and stated that: “Assuming hold is within the normal range, it should translate into record gross gaming revenue. We have walked most of the major casino floors on each of the past several nights, both on the Macau Peninsula and Cotai Strip, and have seen crowds grow significantly.”
Macau’s current record for monthly gamblign revenue was $3.4 billion which was set in October 2011. While many associate Las Vegas as the gambling capital of the world, Macau passed the Vegas Strip in 2006 as far as total gambling revenue taken in and is poised to eclipse the entire state of Nevada in the near future.
The appetite of Asian gamblers shows no signs of being sated, with casinos in both Singapore and Macau showing double digit growth in 2011 with more of the same projected for 2012 and 2013.
Rumbles from the Chinese government about possibly slowing the growth of gambling in Macau via making credit harder to come by have spooked investors in the stocks of casino groups operating in Macau but to date has had no impact on the steady stream of gamblers visiting the former Portugese colony.
Several US casinos also stand to profit from booming business in Macau, with Las Vegas Sands, MGM International, and Wynn Resorts all operating casino properties in Macau.
NFL Football Betting Odds Favor Patriots While Giants Relish Super Bowl History
The New York Giants managed to hold on in the NFC Championship Game Sunday night, squeezing past the tough San Francisco 49ers and on into the Super Bowl. It may have taken overtime to do it, but the narrow victory pays fitting tribute to the looming rematch of 2008’s title game.
The last time the Giants met the New England Patriots in the league finale, fans and experts alike gave Eli Manning’s underdog squad nary a chance. We all know how that played out and it was not 18-0.
This time around, expect increased caution on the NFL betting lines as the NFC offering looks as viable as ever. Is New York as perennially feared as Tom Brady and the Pats? Hardly so, but anything can certainly happen in professional football, especially on the game’s greatest stage.
Get individual money lines and player props at Bodog’s online sportsbook as the newly-appointed conference champions prepare for kick-off. And betting on the Super Bowl has never been more comprehensive.
Think the Giants can pull off another miracle? Convinced Bill Belichick and company can stave off another catastrophic disappointment? At Super Bowl XLVI fans will see a lot more than a simple rematch of XLII, but a little reminder of history certainly does not hurt. Continue..
Can the Internet be addictive?
Opponents of online gambling have long said that the activity is dangerous because it can be addictive. Players who are addicted to online gambling can blow all of their money and ruin their lives. While that is true, it accounts for a small percentage of players and it ignores the fact that many things can be addictive but are available to people. Alcohol and cigarettes are the two most obvious examples, but what about the Internet. A recent study out of China suggests that people can become addicted to the Internet.
Recent studies have shown that those who have an addiction to gambling usually are addicted to some substance, such as drugs or alcohol, as well. It shows an addictive personality trait or mental disorder. The same can be said of the Internet. In an interesting article found at guardian.co.uk, it was stated that studies say approximately 5-10% of Internet users are thought to be addicted to using the Web. In the Chinese study, brain scans showed anomalies consistent with those who have substance addictions.
The study of Internet use and suggestion that it can be addictive is still controversial. Still, there is enough merit to it that the American Psychiatric Association is considering updating the DSM to include Internet addiction as a disorder. If the Internet can be addictive, what does that mean for online gambling? Some would suggest that it makes gambling online more dangerous, and more likely to lead to addiction, than gambling offline. Others say that if the players didn’t get hooked on playing at online casinos, they would get addicted to eBay, Facebook or something else on the Web. The study, which used MRI scanners on adolescents who spent many hours on the Internet daily, hopes to lead to better treatment of the disorder.
Tags: addicted to internet, guardian.co.uk
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