PokerStars, the biggest most legitimate online poker site in the world, which got that way by thumbing its nose at the US government for their stupid laws, has gotten the big X in Nevada, and in New Jersey … so where to next? According to my personal Linked In recommended jobs feed, the less pokery-sounding Stars/Tilt parent Rational Group seem to be setting up shop in California, with a new open position(s?) to beef up their “social” gaming presence. Seems to make sense, with Cali kinda a holy grail as the only state, along with Texas, that could supply a profitably massive player pool. Or it could just be a play to recruit some Bay area tech talent …
Meanwhile, to catch up those of us who may have checked out for a semester, gaming law expert I. Nelson Rose explains rather succinctly the other day, in an appearance on Fox Business, where things currently stand with Obamapoker the slow rollout of American online gambling. And, he explains, why California online poker doesn’t really stand a chance this year (even though politicians are still happy to take your donations for giving it the good-ole college try) — go 2014!
Regional casino giant Penn National Gaming, which owns M Resort, announced plans Friday to enter San Diego’s Indian gaming market.
The company, which is based in Wyomissing, Pa., announced an agreement to build a $360 million Hollywood-branded casino project for the Jamul Indian Village. The development, which is expected to break ground later this year, is roughly 20 miles east of downtown San Diego.
In a statement, tribal officials said that the environmental review process for the site was completed and the tribe is working with California and San Diego County agencies to address potential environmental impacts.
The project is planned as a three-story, 200,000-square-foot casino with 1,700 slot machines and 50 table games, restaurants, entertainment amenities and a parking structure.
Two Las Vegas-style casinos, including one that is a partnership with Station Casinos LLC, will be built miles from their traditional reservation land in California after Gov. Jerry Brown signed two compacts on Friday.
Brown’s decision allows the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians near Fresno, Calif., and the Enterprise Rancheria of Maidu Indians near Marysville, Calif., to pursue plans to have the federal government put land into trust on which the tribes will build casinos.
In a letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar , Brown said approval of the two casinos is unlikely to allow many other tribes to expand gambling operations in a similar way.
“I expect there will be a few requests from other tribes that will present the same kind of exceptional circumstances to support a similar expansion of tribal gaming land,” Brown wrote.
If California lawmakers pass a controversial gambling measure now under consideration in Sacramento, the Golden State will join New Jersey in a bicoastal effort to overturn a 20-year-old partial federal ban on sports wagering.
The measure would legalize sports betting at licensed gaming establishments such as tribal casinos and racetracks, including those at Del Mar and Santa Anita.
“The bill is still alive,” said Paul Donahue, a consultant for California state Sen. Roderick Wright, D-Inglewood, who authored the measure.
“Wright authored the bill because he believes California residents should be able to wager on sports,” Donahue said. “Another reason was to help the horse racing industry, card rooms, tribal casinos and generate revenue for the state.”
NO FEAR OF COMPETITION
Federal law prohibits sports betting in 46 states. California residents who want to place a bet on sports now must do it illegally or travel to Nevada where it’s legal to operate a race and sport book.
Cantor Fitzgerald LP, which owns sports book operator Cantor Gaming, is seeking a gaming license in Macau as the company moves to expand its sports betting business beyond Nevada, a company executive said.
“We’re in the process of getting licensed in Macau,” Cantor CEO Howard Lutnick said in a recent interview with Bloomberg Television. “When you have these big casinos as your partners, it makes it much more easy.”
Cantor Gaming officials in Las Vegas declined comment Friday.
The company, an affiliate of the New York-based financial services company, operates seven sports books in Southern Nevada. The company announced Monday it had reached a deal to build and operate its eighth sports book at the Silverton.
While New Jersey pushes forward, California debates, and Iowa considers, Delaware decides to get in the race. And with so many states moving toward legal online gambling, is it any wonder predictions are they will lead the way in American gaming?
My brother Chris and I, hiking Runyon Canyon above LA
If you’re reading this blog, you’re probably either a poker player or fan of the game in some fashion. You know that the games in Las Vegas are plentiful on any day of the week. The weekend crowd consists of tourists from all parts of the US escaping their routine lives for a few days in the desert. During the week, the player ratio skews more towards Europeans on extended holiday, mixed with the company conference crowd and conventioneers. There are always locals in the game and during the daytime, they can represent 50 percent or more of the table lineup, even at Strip properties.
At nighttime the ratio shifts more towards the out-of-towners, but where the tourists are, there will always be local regs scattered about.
It’s so fun playing a heads-up tournament. You get to play every hand… what more needs to be said?
As a poker player and/or fan, you might’ve heard that while Las Vegas is the gambling epicenter of the US, when it comes to poker, the true Mecca is actually located in Los Angeles. And after a recent return visit to my old stomping grounds, I was quickly reminded of that fact. The LA cardrooms are different in so many ways from their Vegas counterparts in everything from the atmosphere to the feel of the cards to the player makeup to what’s comped and what isn’t. At any one time in the Commerce, Bicycle, Hustler or any other casinos that occupy very non-glitzy East LA districts, you won’t find more than 1 percent of the player pool designated as “tourists”. No tourist is going to take time out of enjoying gorgeous Malibu or exploring the weirdness of Venice Beach to grind Commerce Casino. These places are packed with locals who love poker, love gambling, and very much love action. They absolutely have to… how else could you explain these folks braving horrific Los Angeles traffic to get to Bell Gardens to play $2/$3NL midweek? It’s true, you do get comped food from a rather impressive menu at the Bike, as opposed to free cocktails a la Las Vegas. But I have to assume it’s more than that. Poker has become a real part of several cultures that make up Los Angeles’ diverse demographics. It’s been that way for decades now, before the no-limit era and now well into it.
This week we again visit the regulated online poker situation in both California and New Jersey, plus big news for Internet gambling from Manitoba, Canada. Also, a look ahead to what’s coming up over the next several weeks.
Coming up in Texas poker is tough. In addition to fading the normal variance of the game, players have to fight exorbitant rakes and dodge robberies and raids. Spots come and go often, with no regulation cheats can operate with impunity for years before their reputations get tarnished. No poker tours come to our home towns, no special promotions for pit players trickle down into our economy, and no advertising means we have smaller player pools to fish in. When people express shock that grinders from Texas are going on a rush in a regulated market like Cali I just laugh- compared to our home games this is a walk in the park.
I think I was in Los Angeles at the end of last summer. Somewhat amazingly, that was the last time I was outside of the desert. I did go to Palm Springs with my girlfriend and met some family there for Thanksgiving … but that’s still in the desert. I didn’t go home this past Christmas for the first time ever in my life, and I haven’t left Vegas once in 2012. This can’t be healthy. I need to get out for a while.
This was THE nit festival of all nit festivals. Your normal hourly rate simply does not translate when you remove the fun-loving, didn’t-come-to-fold tourist factor and replace it with the game-has-obv-passed-me-by-but-I’ll-still-sit-here-and-fold-for-$10/hr-zomg-dreams-do-come-true jaded older Vegas reg. I mean, it was truly miserable.
Las Vegas is awesome. We all know about the availability of booze and gambling 24/7, and the ability to keep whatever sleep schedule you desire. As cash game poker players, we never have to endure the pain of an alarm clock’s rouse, as Vegas embraces daywalkers and nightowls alike. The cost of living is relatively low, especially considering the quantity and quality of entertainment options available as compared to other cities with similar offerings, such as LA, San Francisco, Miami. If outdoor adventure is your thing, you can find plenty of that at places like Red Rock Canyon; hikes such as the Gold Strike near Hoover Dam, which takes you all the way down into the Colorado River; and weird natural beauty like the Valley of Fire. And for those less willing to leave Clark County, there’s the peaceful Summerlin suburbs, and the increasingly interesting downtown Vegas scene.
Quick LOL … something I stumbled across while reading what I presumed was just a ho-hum news article about another state gearing up for online gambling (via the PPA’s latest newsletter). I wanted to see what state was next and whether or not they separated out poker. Turns out it was just California, talking about how much money they stand to make if they can just catch up with Nevada. For sure. Righteous, dudes.
But what stands out most to me is a line from one of the opponents of any measures for California to finally get serious about regulating online games within their own borders:
“We don’t want to see any of it,” said pastor James Butler from the California Coalition Against Gambling Expansion. “Pretty soon they’ll have an app that will allow you to connect instantly to a casino or a gambling site. Want to lose your home? We have an app for that,” Butler said.
Emphasis added. Not sure if we should tell the fine pastor that they already do have such an app — all over the UK to be sure, and in Nevada you can bet sports for real money anywhere you want using your Droid or iPhone with Leroy’s App. (It just turns off when you get to the California border — amazing that crazy technology these days!)
We know about Jamie Gold’s poker residency at the Tropicana in Las Vegas — where he can be found playing 1/2 and apparently trying to fill the poker world’s Professor void by offering lessons that cost about as much as a college education. (The Jamie Gold Poker Room official launch party, btw, is Feb 17!)
But what about the rest of ’em?
You can currently find Jerry Yang, the 2007 WSOP’s biggest winner and #20 on the all-time poker tournament money list, bussing tables while commanding an otherwise lackadaisical staff (according to Yelp) at Pocket 8s Sushi & Grill in central California. Um, pass the yum-yum sauce?
Via Pokerati’s resident Vegas grinder-thug @AndrewNeeme:
Poker Fish: You wouldn’t believe how many of Jerry Yang’s relatives are always hitting him up for free sushi.
The United States is moving closer and closer to regulated online gambling, with powerful Las Vegas casinos supporting political action. Plus, more talk of legal internet wagering from Florida, California, and Washington, DC
Online gambling bills from Congressmen in Texas and Washington State are ready to follow in the success of Barney Frank’s efforts! Plus, Internet betting is almost ready to launch in Washington DC while a major software provider gets some support in California!
Stumbled across this vid on Youtube — the time-lapse construction of the welcome desk @AviatorCasino in Delano, Cali. I can 100 percent say that Aviator is my favorite poker room in California’s Central Valley … (where Bakersfield is the big town some 30 miles away, but is also just a $15 flight from Vegas on Allegiant! $40 after taxes, but still … airplanes!)
That’s the whole theme of the Aviator Casino … airplanes, airports, and pai gow. That’s why at least some non-poker people see this creation of an info station at a California poker room as less about tourney registration but not too much less because it is still “functional art”:
More about this awesome little poker room — the coolest I’ve ever seen in the area — at TheAviatorCasino.com.
Regional casino giant Penn National Gaming, which owns M Resort, announced plans Friday to enter San Diego’s Indian gaming market.
