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I do not know too much about the political front, but I keep up-to-date just enough to keep myself "in the dark." I voted here in Vegas just a few weeks ago and, just like in sports, I went for the dogs in the three big races. So far I am 0-3 going against the local "machine." In Vegas, as long as the gaming is going good, whomever they anoint to take instructions is usually around for a long time.
With regards to the national picture concerning gaming issues, I do pay close attention because (in some way) I feel the impact of a lot of things that we do and speak about. I feel that this subject will move into the center spotlight in the next 2 to 5 years.
As you all know, the Republicans have taken over control, which has put a lot of people here in Nevada in a defensive posture once again concerning the future of sports betting in our state. Senator John McCain has publicly stated that in the not-too-distant future he will resurrect the "ban on betting" bill. He apparently feels that he has a much stronger position than he had just a few short years ago.
I personally think that his position has weakened after the results of the nationwide elections just a few short weeks ago and I will explain why.
His stand is that the moral bankruptcy of the nation has to be addressed and it should start with sports betting. There's no need to get into all of the rhetoric, but here is why he has no chance: Following the results we have found that eight new states have passed either legislation or referendums to OK some sort of gambling in their state. If this all holds up we will now have 33 out of the 50 states that have some sort of casino gambling. Couple that with 46 out of the 50 states that have lotteries. Just remember that a short 24 years ago, the only place that you could play a legal hand of 21 in the states was in Nevada. The climate has changed and, to a greater degree, so has the attitude. The most redeeming American quality is that everybody wants a piece of the cash cow. If we are of a moral fiber then we can call it a "gaming experience," get in line, and count the cash every morning.
So Senator McCain, even with his good intentions, will definitely fight an uphill battle and sooner rather than later the thought will be just that... "a thought."
This leaves me to the part of the process that can affect sports bettors. For something that was considered unthinkable just two years ago, sports gambling has actually took a giant step in our direction and the major push came from three states: New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. With either racino's, riverboats, or reservations getting some early approval, this will be the spark that might have you and me finally having the ability to bet on a sporting event in the states outside of Nevada.
These three states had to make this move because they were all tired of the drain caused by their constituents driving to states such as New Jersey, West Virginia, and Connecticut. Finally, after the moral bankruptcy syndrome got all wore out, they came to their financial senses and got in line.
"Now Jimmy," you might ask, "I still do not know where this is leading. You are talking about slots and table games while we want to bet on sports."
Well, here it is. There are actually three states that present the opportunity to bet on sporting events. We all know about Nevada. Oregon has some sort of pari-mutual sports betting which I honestly do not know much about. Our one ally is the little wee state of Delaware, which chugs along with OTB's and some other small interest venues. Did you know that some 20 years ago they were taking action from their state on games in a parlay card format?
If memory serves me correct they did one good thing and then followed up with a string of disasters that set it back to the Stone Age. They consulted the legendary Bob Martin to take them through the early stages (who better could you pick?). He got it up and running and, although I do not remember all the details, this is what I do remember:
After having dinner with Bob and his friends sometime after, it turns out that Delaware tried to do it with their state CPA's and accountants. Bob just got tired of the nonsensical process that he was exposed to. The bottom line is that it lasted maybe one or two years. Can you imagine messing that up? Having the ability to book an entire state with parlay cards?
Well, after the failed attempt, the ability to book this sort of activity is still on the books in the state of Delaware. I am sure that it could be brought up to today's standards in their legislation, perhaps in about one year's time. Here is why I think it will get revived:
With the three states that I have just mentioned now putting enormous pressure on the little guy, he has to strike back with the only thing he has (which is to offer something that no one else has), which is sports betting. With Atlantic City a stone's throw away they might have no choice and, personally, I think it tilts way over to the do side.
New Jersey will rethink their position and will, at sometime, address sports betting in the casinos (which the special interest groups and pro teams have fought off for quite a while now). That is when Atlantic City had no immediate competition against their strength, which was table games and slots.
So the wheels will definitely start to turn in the next few years and, although nothing is absolute, it may have opened the door a little. This, my friends, will not hurt the off shore operations because they at sometime will learn a few lessons on conducting business that are still overlooked by the state's sports books.
Here is one reason that I will never stop playing offshore and it happened just this past week. As I have been stating for numerous years, I have friends who now are a part and parcel of some of the rock solid operations that are offshore. The three that I needed some help at involved Heritage 2000, Tradewinds, and WWTS.
My account at Heritage 2000 had more money than the other two spots, but the other spots had some numbers that I wanted to play into but could not cover it without getting some money there. So Michael at Heritage, who I have been dealing with for years, simply set up a transfer to the other books so that I could play. Now here is a spot that moved some of my money to another place so that I could play. I was in a spot and Heritage helped me out. Now transfers do occur, but they are rare. It is a two-way street: I have dealt with these outfits for years and feel comfortable that everything is taken care of when you make such a request. The money was sent in no less than 20 minutes and I played on.
The reason that I brought this up is just to show that, when handled above board, the people who naturally have been around this business realize that this profession is no different from any other business that deals in buying or selling. Forget whether I won or lost the game, that is not the point. The point being that I could conduct what I thought, at the time, was a decent business transaction involving people from both sides who have built a relationship. It could be that way in the states too, but that is a huge stretch and I would rather get to first base here long before we can hit the homerun.
I am always positive about this business we are in and feel really good about our chances to see some sort of positive resolution in the near future concerning this issue.
I have always said that, in the long run, states are like children. If Mary has one then Bob wants one too (and wants it bigger and better). Politicians, for the most part, are like little children and sooner or later get their way.
Take care and keep in touch,
Jimmy V
This article is courtesy of Don Best Sports, the industry leader in live lines service. Please visit our website at www.DonBest.com to get the latest odds, scores, lines, and sports information.
With regards to the national picture concerning gaming issues, I do pay close attention because (in some way) I feel the impact of a lot of things that we do and speak about. I feel that this subject will move into the center spotlight in the next 2 to 5 years.
As you all know, the Republicans have taken over control, which has put a lot of people here in Nevada in a defensive posture once again concerning the future of sports betting in our state. Senator John McCain has publicly stated that in the not-too-distant future he will resurrect the "ban on betting" bill. He apparently feels that he has a much stronger position than he had just a few short years ago.
I personally think that his position has weakened after the results of the nationwide elections just a few short weeks ago and I will explain why.
His stand is that the moral bankruptcy of the nation has to be addressed and it should start with sports betting. There's no need to get into all of the rhetoric, but here is why he has no chance: Following the results we have found that eight new states have passed either legislation or referendums to OK some sort of gambling in their state. If this all holds up we will now have 33 out of the 50 states that have some sort of casino gambling. Couple that with 46 out of the 50 states that have lotteries. Just remember that a short 24 years ago, the only place that you could play a legal hand of 21 in the states was in Nevada. The climate has changed and, to a greater degree, so has the attitude. The most redeeming American quality is that everybody wants a piece of the cash cow. If we are of a moral fiber then we can call it a "gaming experience," get in line, and count the cash every morning.
So Senator McCain, even with his good intentions, will definitely fight an uphill battle and sooner rather than later the thought will be just that... "a thought."
This leaves me to the part of the process that can affect sports bettors. For something that was considered unthinkable just two years ago, sports gambling has actually took a giant step in our direction and the major push came from three states: New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. With either racino's, riverboats, or reservations getting some early approval, this will be the spark that might have you and me finally having the ability to bet on a sporting event in the states outside of Nevada.
These three states had to make this move because they were all tired of the drain caused by their constituents driving to states such as New Jersey, West Virginia, and Connecticut. Finally, after the moral bankruptcy syndrome got all wore out, they came to their financial senses and got in line.
"Now Jimmy," you might ask, "I still do not know where this is leading. You are talking about slots and table games while we want to bet on sports."
Well, here it is. There are actually three states that present the opportunity to bet on sporting events. We all know about Nevada. Oregon has some sort of pari-mutual sports betting which I honestly do not know much about. Our one ally is the little wee state of Delaware, which chugs along with OTB's and some other small interest venues. Did you know that some 20 years ago they were taking action from their state on games in a parlay card format?
If memory serves me correct they did one good thing and then followed up with a string of disasters that set it back to the Stone Age. They consulted the legendary Bob Martin to take them through the early stages (who better could you pick?). He got it up and running and, although I do not remember all the details, this is what I do remember:
After having dinner with Bob and his friends sometime after, it turns out that Delaware tried to do it with their state CPA's and accountants. Bob just got tired of the nonsensical process that he was exposed to. The bottom line is that it lasted maybe one or two years. Can you imagine messing that up? Having the ability to book an entire state with parlay cards?
Well, after the failed attempt, the ability to book this sort of activity is still on the books in the state of Delaware. I am sure that it could be brought up to today's standards in their legislation, perhaps in about one year's time. Here is why I think it will get revived:
With the three states that I have just mentioned now putting enormous pressure on the little guy, he has to strike back with the only thing he has (which is to offer something that no one else has), which is sports betting. With Atlantic City a stone's throw away they might have no choice and, personally, I think it tilts way over to the do side.
New Jersey will rethink their position and will, at sometime, address sports betting in the casinos (which the special interest groups and pro teams have fought off for quite a while now). That is when Atlantic City had no immediate competition against their strength, which was table games and slots.
So the wheels will definitely start to turn in the next few years and, although nothing is absolute, it may have opened the door a little. This, my friends, will not hurt the off shore operations because they at sometime will learn a few lessons on conducting business that are still overlooked by the state's sports books.
Here is one reason that I will never stop playing offshore and it happened just this past week. As I have been stating for numerous years, I have friends who now are a part and parcel of some of the rock solid operations that are offshore. The three that I needed some help at involved Heritage 2000, Tradewinds, and WWTS.
My account at Heritage 2000 had more money than the other two spots, but the other spots had some numbers that I wanted to play into but could not cover it without getting some money there. So Michael at Heritage, who I have been dealing with for years, simply set up a transfer to the other books so that I could play. Now here is a spot that moved some of my money to another place so that I could play. I was in a spot and Heritage helped me out. Now transfers do occur, but they are rare. It is a two-way street: I have dealt with these outfits for years and feel comfortable that everything is taken care of when you make such a request. The money was sent in no less than 20 minutes and I played on.
The reason that I brought this up is just to show that, when handled above board, the people who naturally have been around this business realize that this profession is no different from any other business that deals in buying or selling. Forget whether I won or lost the game, that is not the point. The point being that I could conduct what I thought, at the time, was a decent business transaction involving people from both sides who have built a relationship. It could be that way in the states too, but that is a huge stretch and I would rather get to first base here long before we can hit the homerun.
I am always positive about this business we are in and feel really good about our chances to see some sort of positive resolution in the near future concerning this issue.
I have always said that, in the long run, states are like children. If Mary has one then Bob wants one too (and wants it bigger and better). Politicians, for the most part, are like little children and sooner or later get their way.
Take care and keep in touch,
Jimmy V
This article is courtesy of Don Best Sports, the industry leader in live lines service. Please visit our website at www.DonBest.com to get the latest odds, scores, lines, and sports information.