Online casino guide

State Rep. Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah) says that if every other business, like it or not, has to tell smokers to bug off, casinos should, too,

I get the part about fairness. If bars, at least the smoky-dive kind, justly complain that having to leave to have a cig will likely depress their trade, why shouldn’t casinos, which already get an immensely valuable special privilege (being able to offer legalized gambling) on no more basis than that their owners are of a favored ethnicity, be exempted? Said Kaufert to the Appleton Post Crescent:

“ ‘It’s a fairness issue,’ said Kaufert, a Neenah Republican who has been contacted by constituents regarding the reach of the ban. ‘A statewide ban should truly be a statewide ban. There shouldn’t be pockets where people don’t have to comply with the state.’”

Though my question would be: If the smoking ban is an unthinkingly stupid law (and it is), aren’t pockets of legal immunity better no chance at all to defy the prohibitionists?

Look, some people like to smoke, even if you and I don’t, and smoking is legal. The ban is predicated on a number of faulty ideas, one of them that in no place should there be an expectation of smoky air. That’s why the law bans any new cigar bars – if you’d think there was a place you’d expect to find smoky air, it would be a cigar bar, yes? – and the calculation is plainly that there should be nowhere in the state that people bothered by smoke say, “I like that place, but the trade-off is that it’s smoky, so maybe I won’t go.”

Every Wisconsin casino I’ve been in – about a half-dozen, though I don’t gamble – has been at least a little smoky. Tribes say they install big-time ventilation, and I’m sure they do, but in places dedicated to the vices of gambling, drinking, staying up too late and, at the buffet, gluttony, that the scent of yet another vice lingers in the air is no surprise.

Tribes, plainly, think the majority of their gamblers are OK with this. If they thought there was any advantage in it, they’d be smokeless in an instant, but they are obviously attuned to the fullest kind of democracy: the preferences of the majority of their paying customers. Why impose on them what shouldn’t have been imposed on bars and hookah lounges in the first place?

Hoping for Black Jack and slot machines to provide a much-needed cash infusion into the city’s shrinking revenues?

Don’t bet on it for this fiscal year.

Casino revenues have dipped 33 percent since last year, according to the latest figures provided to the Greenville City Council by council financial consultant Steve Osso.

The average monthly gaming revenue for the city has been $136,196 for this fiscal which ends Oct. 1.

The average for last fiscal year was $203,877, according to Osso’s report that was presented at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

And it’s not just the economy that’s causing the decline. A big chunk of the city’s gaming revenue has been lost to the county.

Harlow’s Casino Resort and Hotel, the newest casino kid on the block — located outside city limits — has sucked market share from Jubilee and Lighthouse Point casinos, said Tom Dashiell, Harlow’s assistant general manager.

The other two gambling houses are located at the Cityfront on Lake Ferguson.

According to state and county tax structure, Greenville and Washington County share a four percent tax on casinos within Greenville and outside of it.

Of that four percent of casino profits, Greenville gets two thirds from casinos within the city, while the county gets one third. For those casinos outside the city, Greenville gets one third of the four percent and the county gets two thirds.

Because Harlow’s is locate outside the county, Greenville only makes revenue on one third of four percent of its profits.

Unfortunately for Greenville, but to the county’s benefit, Harlow’s, which opened in 2007, now has 60 percent of the casino market share within the county, Dashiell said.

Harlow’s, however, may likely have new competition, as plans for a downtown Delta Blues Casino are underway.

“They say more casinos are coming down,” Dashiell said, “which means our slice of the apple may be getting thinner.”

As of April, casino revenues had decreased in Mississippi by 7.9 percent.

Representatives of Jubilee an Lighthouse Point did not return calls from the DDT.

Online casino gambling may not be legal in the United States, but it’s one step closer to being that way. The State of Illinois has passed a measure that allows online wagering on horse races. Following an approval by the State Senate, Illinois’ House passed the new law by a vote of 87 to 27 - a major show of support for any legislation, albeit of the highly controversial gambling sort. And let’s not forget we’re talking about wagering on animals - an entire separate topic of concern.

There wasn’t a great showing of support, however, for online casinos. Another bill calling for the legalization of this growing pastime was voted down. Goes to show just how much interests there are in the land-based casino gambling industry in Illinois. It makes one wonder why online horserace betting was even passed at all. But then again, the horseracing industry in Illinois has been needing a boost for a good while, and frankly, is on the edge of becoming a dying breed.

As mentioned, while online gambling would appear to be one step closer to being legalized in Illinois, there’s a bit of a catch. The only reason why online horserace betting could be legalized in the first place is due to carve outs written into the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) - and hence the reason why online casino gambling could not be passed.

Protectionism has long been a major motivator in key legislation, however, it would seem that Illinois is being presses by even greater stakes - a state deficit that could reach in excess of $11 billion by the end of this fiscal year. Of course, the legislation still needs to be approved by Illinois Governor, Patrick Quinn. Considering the wide margin of support in the Senate and House, Governor Quinn is expected to give it a green light, thus allowing eight thoroughbred and harness racing tracks in Illinois to offer online betting through their very own websites.

June brings good news for poker fans in certain European markets as The Poker Channel has just announced plans to expand their audience to 17 million homes across the continent. Starting at the beginning of this month, residents of Croatia and Cyprus will have new access to the channel, and existing markets like Poland, Portugal and Germany will be expanded.

Not only is The Poker Channel projecting new viewers, it’s also promising new programming in the form of a nightly segment on live American horse racing. In addition to live race coverage from a number of prestigious East Coast tracks, this one-hour program will include professional commentary, betting guidance, and horse selection advice from industry insiders, including the very trainers and jockeys whose horses will be competing.

The Poker Channel’s Managing Director, Chris White, claims that this development came in response to viewer requests for more sports betting content. While the new stations and many other existing ones will be privy to the time slot change, the UK and Irish channels will retain their poker-centered programming.