Jeff Simpson on why
it's unlikely the online gambling ban will
be reversed
American
Gaming Association President Frank
Fahrenkopf told me last week that if
online poker players are confident they
can persuade Congress to pass a law that
would define poker as a game of skill,
they're sadly mistaken.
The poker players, online poker rooms
and poker publishers hope that the recent
changes in congressional leadership will
prompt legislators to reverse the impact
of the Unlawful Internet Gambling
Enforcement Act of 2006, which caused the
leading online poker room to stop taking
action from Americans and made funding and
withdrawing money from online poker
accounts more cumbersome.
A law that defined poker as a game of
skill would exempt online poker from the
UIGEA.
The climate on Capitol Hill is not
favorable for any pro-Internet gambling
legislation, he said.
"They don't have a chance in hell,"
Fahrenkopf said.
The AGA supports a congressionally
mandated study of online gambling to see
whether technology exists to make sure
customers are playing from jurisdictions
that allow betting, keep underage bettors
from wagering and limit problem gambling.
If the study determines that the
technology exists to provide those
safeguards, then a law could be passed
allowing individual states to decide
whether to offer online gambling.
Fahrenkopf acknowledged that even if
those two hurdles are cleared, it is
unlikely that states would set tax rates
low enough to compete with the barely
regulated and taxed casino and poker sites
that now proliferate.
Before he left for Macau last week, I
spoke to Steve Wynn by phone as he took a
break from skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Wynn said he's had a couple of feelers
from companies that would like to combine
operations with Wynn Resorts to compete
more effectively with the industry's
biggest operators, but he told them he's
not interested in diluting the strength of
the Wynn brand.
"I won't say never, but it would have
to be an incredible deal," Wynn said.
Wynn said he expects gaming regulators
in Nevada and New Jersey to OK competitor
MGM Mirage's Macau casino partnership with
Pansy Ho, daughter of controversial casino
owner Stanley Ho.
"I expect MGM to open the MGM Grand in
Macau," Wynn said. "There will be some
finger-pointing and finger-wagging here,
but MGM's partnership with Pansy will be
allowed."
Wynn said he was returning to Las Vegas
from Macau before the Chinese New Year
because he wants to attend a Friday event
being held in conjunction with the NBA
All-Star Game, the Touching a Life Gala,
which is run by a group of NBA wives.
His wife, Elaine Wynn; Magic Johnson's
wife, Cookie Johnson; and NBA player
Dikembe Mutombo are being honored at the
event for their community-service efforts,
with proceeds to benefit the Greater Las
Vegas After-School All-Stars and
Communities in Schools of Southern Nevada.
Elaine Wynn told me the NBA All-Star
Game and its associated events are signals
to the rest of the world that Las Vegas
has arrived.
"I think we've earned the credibility
before this, but fabulous events like this
allow people to come and sample the menu
of diverse attractions in Las Vegas," she
said.
Jeff Simpson is
business editor of the
Las Vegas Sun and executive editor of
its sister publication In Business Las
Vegas
