Casino [ptz]

Busy news day today, so let's have at it....

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ: PARK PLACE ON THE BOARDS, REGULATIONS REFINED

As expected, Park Place Entertainment announced plans for their revamping of the Ocean One Mall as a Monopoly-themed entertainment experience. Hopefully, this new incarnation of the pier/mall will find some tenants. Story here from the AC Press.

The legislature has recodified some casino regulations. Story here.

DETROIT, MI: GREEKTOWN CASINO PLANS

In a move that doesn't seem be surprising to anyone, the Greektown Casino's permanent location will not, apparently, be in Greektown. Should this bother me? Story here.

MACAU, PRC: ADELSON, WYNN ANNOUNCE DEALS

As long expected, Sheldon Adelson and Steve Wynn's groups have formally inked plans to become the first American casino operators in Macau, breaking Stanley Ho's decades-long monopoly. Story here.

INTERNET NEWS

Kids have access to internet gambling. Story here.

And in another story that hasn't provoked any response to speak of, Citibank will no longer allow its credit cards to be used to pay for online gambling. I know that there are several sides to this story, and that internet gambling is technically illegal in the US, but shouldn't someone have problems with Citibank telling its card-holders how to spend their money?

Let's say, for example, it's decided that, with the national economy pretty shakey, Americans should be encouraged to buy online from only American-based companies. Should Citibank then block all transactions that would benefit e-tailers outside the US? When banks are used to formulate the public policy on issues like internet gambling, there is little good that can come out of it. Because, in the final analysis, it is not Citibank's place to tell its cardholders what to buy or what not to buy--they exist, ostensibly, simply to facilitate the transaction (and to make money from this).

I'd be the last guy to gamble anywhere, let alone on the internet, but I think it's a matter of personal choice, and I don't appreciate a credit card company dictating consumer spending.

And that's all I've got to say about that.

posted by Dave at 5:16 PM

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: LV BAD BOY RETURNS!

I just got back from the 7th Gaming and Casinos Asia Pacific Conference, where I was the first day's chairperson. It was incredible. I feel like I've had a glimpse of where the industry is heading in Asia, and we're in for a wild ride.

I had a very good perspective on the conference as chairperson, and also because, as a disinterested university person, I didn't have any real product to sell or buy. So I got to sit back and watch everyone else. Let me say this: if I were a gaming supplier, or consultant, or was interested in either, I would definitely go to a conference like this, because I think there were many buyers and sellers there.

The exhibit room was great, because we heard speaker's talk about new technologies, then got to see the technologies in action. My favorite was Trackside, a virtual horseracing thing with a John Elway lookalike mascot.

Singapore was a great city to visit. I traveled around quite a bit, and was very impressed. There was a lot of shopping, but shopping's not something that I'm really interested in as a recreational activity--for me it's more like go in, get what I need, and get out. I didn't need anything, so I didn't buy anything.

But one of the coolest things I saw was in this mall's foodcourt--it was one of the many on Orchard Road. It was around 3 and I was kind of hungry, but not really starving. So I'm walking around and I see this crepes place, right between the Orange Julius and a doughnut place. I KNOW IT'S PROBABLY A CHAIN PLACE AND ALL (so any cosmopolitan travelers who find this old hat, don't bother flaming me), but for me, a fresh-faced former security guard from Atlantic City, it seemed very novel. And here's the kicker. I'm loooking at all of the crepes (choco banana, peanut butter and jelly, whatever, whatever) and I see one for Tuna Pizza. Now some may find it strange, but I've always been an advocate of tuna salad as a pizza topping--there's something neat about putting fresh cold tuna salad on a piping hot piece of pizza. Plus, it's a good way to add protien into an otherwise carb-fest. So here was a crepe made for me. It was honestly one of the best things I've ever tasted. If I could, I would put franchises for this in the US.

The other big non-conference highlight for me was getting to hit the beach. As an Atlantic City native and former member of the Ventor City Beach Crew, I've always been a big fan of beaches. So naturally, I moved to Vegas, right. Anyway, while most of the poor slugs in Vegas were still hard at work, grilling in an unrelenting 110 degree heat, I was lounging on the beach and swimming in the Singapore Straits off the coast of Sentosa Island. All in all, not bad.

And that's all I've got to say about that.

posted by Dave at 5:09 PM