Kyl toots his own horn

Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona has proclaimed that a newer, stronger version of his anti-Internet gaming bill is destined to pass the Senate. This bill differs from an earlier bill that passed the House; while both ban the use of bank instruments for online wagering, the latest iteration specifically denies states the option of legalizing betting via the Internet. This, according to AGA president Frank Fahrenkopf, is the rub. From the LVRJ:

This can easily be fixed by including language which would say gambling must be legal in states where the (Internet) gambling transmission is coming from," Fahrenkopf said.

So far, no state has legalized Internet gambling. But online wagering has mushroomed from $445 million in bets six years ago to projected wagers of $4.2 billion this year on more than 1,800 offshore Web sites.

Fahrenkopf said states, not the federal government, should decide if they want to legalize Internet gambling.

States retain that option in an Internet gambling bill that the House passed 319-104 on June 10. Both the House bill and the Senate bill would prevent the use of credit cards, checks and electronic fund transfers for online wagering.

Fahrenkopf said the casino industry could support an earlier version of the Kyl bill, which mirrored the legislation passed by the House. But after the Department of Justice complained that the House bill would expand Internet gambling, the Senate Banking Committee changed Kyl's bill to prohibit states from legalizing online wagering.

Fahrenkopf said the Justice Department misread the House bill and overreacted.

FULL STORY

Does this remind anyone of the Bond movies where the villain prepares an elaborate execution trap for Bond, announces his plans for world domiantion, then leaves so Bond can escape? Maybe it's Batman (the TV show) I'm thinking of--every episode had that spot it it. Anyway, if this thing passing is so inevitable, why does he have to announce it. It sounds like he's desperate to get the support of the commercial casino industry and is trying to play them off the tribal industry.

Hopefully, facing tremendous difficulties in both foreign and domestic policy, the Senate will have more to do than pass bills banning online gaming. The current regime of tepid prohibition hasn't curbed online betting or helped anyone besides off-shore operators, and it's hard to imagine that a vigorous prohibition would do much better. All I'm saying is that there should be some study of the situation.
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THE most unimaginative name on the Strip

When you hang around the Strip long enough, you start to notice that once you get past all of the surface glitz and theming, many casinos have no real personality. Most casino architecture is kind of bland, with the usual thousand-room hotel towers dipped in fancy exterior paint jobs.
The new hotel tower at Mandalay Bay seems to be heading in the same direction. I had assumed that whatever name the marketing people fastened to it, employees would just refer to it as "the new tower," even when it's ten years old. Names of hotel components just aren't that descriptive. Most places call them "the north tower" or something like that; Excalibur really outdid itself by calling them I, II, III, and IV. Don't strain yourselves, OK? But the name of the new Mandalay Bay tower is by far the most vanilla and forgettable appelation for a structure I've seen in a while: "THE hotel at Mandalay Bay." So what, the existing 3000 rooms in the triform tower are part of a sock factory? Kind of like the Blue Man Group, I just don't get it. Here's the details from the LV Sun:

It will have a minimalist, contemporary look -- black, white and gray with some splashes of color -- that is largely absent from the city's kaleidoscopic megaresorts.

Though attached to the back end of the Mandalay Bay casino, it will also be marketed as a separate property from the resort, with its own advertising and marketing budget.

"This is not the fourth tower at Mandalay Bay," Chief Financial Officer Glenn Schaeffer said.

The hotel tower will feature two restaurants, a spa and a coffee bar and lounge in the lobby to entertain guests. A separate check-in and VIP area in the lobby means guests never have to venture into Mandalay Bay during their stay -- though that's unlikely, executives say.

"If that's all they do it's a profitable project for us," Schaeffer said.

The hotel will be marketed to convention-goers who desire larger, more upscale digs, he said.

"We realized there was a product offering we were lacking here that was an all-suite product," added Mandalay Resort Group marketing chief John Marz. "There's substantial demand for that on the convention side of the business."

The rooms will fetch more than $220 on average per night compared to the roughly $180 a night for a Mandalay Bay room, Schaeffer said.

That compares to rates of $250 to $260 per night at the Four Seasons Hotel, which typically commands the highest rates on the Strip. Like the hotel tower, the Four Seasons is an integrated hotel property attached to Mandalay Bay.

Rooms will contain a master bedroom and bathroom and a separate, "work-friendly" sitting area with a plasma screen television, workstation, wet bar and half bath.

"What we're finding is that the visitor to the Las Vegas Strip wants even more sophisticated luxury in the resort product," Schaeffer said. "The most expensive rooms (at Mandalay Resort Group properties) sell the first."
FULL STORY

The average room size in the all-suite tower is 750 square feet--bigger than my apartment, which has its own "work-friendly" sitting area with a chair, my laptop, a stereo, and a TV. No wetbar, but I do have a bottle of pinot grigio chilling in the fridge in case company comes, along with a few bottles of the hard stuff I've been given as gifts and never drank. So I think I've got all the amenities.

So maybe my new plan should be to market my place--which is located in a complex about 2 blocks from the Strip on Flamingo--as an exclusive all-suite property. I could easily get $220 a night. If I did this just one weekend a month, I'd be doing great.

Or not. But while I'm sure the all-suite tower will be all that, it's name is just an example of the agressive blandness that is so prevalent today in the industry.
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Class II machines good to go

Don't ask me for a technical definition of the difference between a class II and class III gaming machine. All I'll tell you is that a class III machine is a real (or a reel) slot machine or video slot and a class II machine is based on bingo or lottery. But the National Indian Gaming Commission approved the use of bingo slots on Indian reservations this week. From the LVRJ:

The federal ruling, in effect, allows American Indian tribes that don't have compacts with states to offer unlimited numbers of bingo slots.

Since the newly approved devices are very similar to traditional casino slot machines, the decision is likely to clear the way for the further growth of tribal gaming, said Merrill Lynch analyst David Anders.

"Because federally recognized tribes do not need compacts with state governments to operate Class II gaming devices, the ramifications of this decision are far-reaching," he said.

Class II gaming is limited to bingo and similar type slot games on tribal lands and does not require a state compact. Class III gaming includes many traditional forms of slot and gaming machines.

The ruling could be a boon for tribes in states where Class III gaming is not permitted, such as Alabama, Florida, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Texas, since they will be able to introduce the new technologically advanced slot machines into their casinos without entering revenue sharing agreements with states. That will allow them to improve their win per day.

Tribes, such as those in California, where the number of Class III slots is limited, also may choose to install the bingo slots where play levels are high.
FULL STORY

Yes, I imagine permitting an unrestricted amount of gaming machines would fuel the growth of manufacturing. Obviously this will impact state-tribe compacts; if tribes know they can put in as many bingo slots as they want, they have no real need to negotiate compacts.
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That's all for today. Have a great weekend.
posted by Dave at 8:57 AM

Another Cali recall

Not content with recalling the gov, Sonoma County, CA citizens are banding together to recall members of the Board of Supervisors for not opposing a tribal casino proposal with sufficient vigor:

Disgruntled citizens from southern Sonoma County started a recall drive Monday against three Sonoma County supervisors, claiming the elected officials weren't doing enough to halt a proposed casino on the outskirts of Rohnert Park.

The "notice of intent" to circulate recall petitions were handed to the three Sonoma County supervisors -- Valerie Brown, Tim Smith and Mike Kerns -- at a joint meeting with Marin County supervisors on the proposed casino. Both supervisorial boards have passed resolutions against it.

The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria have proposed building a casino- resort complex -- including a 300-room hotel, a 2,000-seat theater and a casino with up to 1,900 slot machines -- on 360 acres of unincorporated land just northwest of Rohnert Park. The tribe moved its planning away from an earlier 2,000-acre site, near Highway 37 and Lakeville Highway, after community outrage over development on fragile wetlands.

Smith said the recall drive was like "an out-of-body experience." "It is the ultimate irony because I actually agree with these folks' position and have dedicated a lot of time to seeing the casino is not built."

FULL STORY

The funny thing is that all of these supervisors are against the casino, anyway. So recalling them won't do much except for shuffle the deck.
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Casino expansion: Kansas

Kansas City, Kansas may see more gaming, as two separate developments indicate. From the Kansas City Star:

Two casino dramas played out Monday afternoon in downtown Kansas City, Kan.

At the Reardon Convention Center a 15-member task force appointed by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius heard arguments from nearly two dozen witnesses for and against expanded casino gambling in Kansas.

It was the second of four hearings across the state aimed at shaping a gambling bill Sebelius expects to put before state lawmakers in 2004.

Matt All, the governor's chief legal counsel, also was present and said later, "There's a lot of counties around the state that want gambling, and the governor wants to give it to them. She wants what's best for the state and for the state budget."

J.P. Warrick of Olathe, testifying for the anti-gambling group Stand Up for Kansas, said it appeared Sebelius created the committee to advocate more gambling for the state.

"Many of us are dismayed the governor has neglected to investigate the human cost of gambling" in financial and family ruin, Warrick said.

A few blocks away, Kansas' only tribal casino that operates without state consent was open for business but defying a demand from Attorney General Phill Kline that state investigators be allowed on the property for a look around.

After a 5 p.m. deadline expired Monday, Kline spokesman Whitney Watson said the state today would sue the Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma for access.

FULL STORY

The most interesting I learned from this article is that the 7th Street Casino, the facility in question, consists of 152 slot machines and a machine that vends cold sandwiches. Sounds like full-service gaming destination to me.
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Casinos remain behind the times

True personal note: when people ask me what it's like in Atlantic City, I rip off an old one-liner and tell them it's in a different time zone: when it's 8:00 in New York City, it's 1982 in Atlantic City. That's my probably unfunny way of saying that the gaming business tends to be a conservative one that changes with great reluctance. An article from the LVRJ has finally given me the printed justification for saying this:

The casinos of 2020 are going to be very different from those around today, but you won't find George and Jane Jetson-style technology.

Instead, their design and development likely will be driven by five- to 10-year-old technology and economics, Green Valley Ranch general manager Scott Kreeger told industry insiders at the recently concluded Global Gaming Expo.

Bruce Rowe, founder of Renaissance Casino Solutions and until recently Harrah's vice president of slots, told attendees at G2E that casinos adopt new technology as soon as it is economically affordable.

"Many of the things we are (just) using today were available a decade ago, but we couldn't afford (them)," he said.

Such dynamics will continue to drive development of casinos and slot floors, he said.

Rowe and other slot machine experts speaking at G2E said to expect big changes but changes that lag behind most technology-driven businesses.

Bob Luciano, president of Reno-based Sierra Design Group, said casino companies are risk-averse. As an example, he cited bill validators that were on soft-drink dispensers 10 to 15 years before they became widespread in casinos.

"We lag for two reasons, generally by five to 10 years, because economics rule (casinos) and we live in a regulated environment that didn't anticipate these changes," he said.

FULL STORY

It's certainly an interesting article that speaks to certain accepted truths.
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That's all for today. If you're curious, I'm doing 2 TV interviews tomorrow. One will air on UNLViews, a student-run show on the UNLV station--I'll be talking about the history of the Strip. The one with a wider distribution will air on Court TV's Hollywood at Large this Friday ay 7PM. I'll be talking about the new NBC show Las Vegas and casino surveillance. The show seems to champion the idea of a very active CCTV department that is probably unique. I've got to do a satellite interview at a studio here in LV, which will make for fascinating television. If you're at home on Friday night, check this out.

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posted by Dave at 4:45 PM

Shannon Bybee, 1938-2003

The gaming world lost one of its legends recently when Shannon Bybee passed away. Shannon was one of the epic figures of the industry, a man who changed the course of the business as a regulator, executive, lawyer, and teacher. He was one of the architects of Nevada's gaming regulations, and was the executive director of the International Gaming Institute at UNLV since 1994.
The LVRJ had an excellent story about Shannon, and I'll quote parts of it here:

One of the first casino executives to take a stand in support of problem gambling research and treatment, Bybee was a former president of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling. The council created the Shannon Bybee Award last year, an annual recognition given to a person who has made meaningful contributions to the issue of problem gambling.

Bybee was awarded the American Gaming Association's Gaming Greats Special Achievement Award last fall.

Nevada Gaming Commission Chairman Pete Bernhard had high praise for Bybee and his career.

"I believe Nevada and the gaming industry has lost a pioneer in gaming regulation and integrity. His commitment to his family, gaming law and regulation were paramount. We're very grateful for what he gave his community and the state," he said Friday.

Bybee was born Aug. 29, 1938, in Tropic, Utah, and was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He served as a U.S. Army military police officer and worked at the jail in Reno while putting himself through college at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Bybee graduated from the University of Utah College of Law in 1969 and clerked for Nevada Supreme Court Justice Jon Collins before moving into private practice.

He was appointed as a member of the Nevada Gaming Control Board in 1971 and served on the panel that serves as the industry's tax collector and policeman until 1974.

Bybee later worked for the Golden Nugget, eventually serving as president and chief executive officer of Golden Nugget Atlantic City.

He also was CEO of Atlantic City's Claridge hotel-casino and president and chief operating officer of slot maker Alliance Gaming Corp.

Steve Wynn, Bybee's former boss at Golden Nugget and its successor, Mirage Resorts, was saddened by Bybee's passing.

"Shannon Bybee was a dear friend and colleague who contributed greatly to the success of the Golden Nugget and Mirage Resorts in its Atlantic City day," Wynn said in a statement. "Shannon's personal integrity and his commitment to helping others was expressed in public service to the community as a member of the Gaming Control Board and as a teacher of young people in his role as professor at UNLV.

"Our community does not often enjoy the benefits of a man such as Shannon, so his passing is a loss to all of us," Wynn continued. "He will surely be missed, especially (by my wife Elaine and me)."

Bybee joined the faculty at UNLV in 1994 as a gaming professor. He was a professor at the school's College of Hotel Administration, the William S. Boyd School of Law and directed UNLV's International Gaming Institute.
FULL STORY

On a personal level, Shannon was more than a mentor to me--he was a friend as well, and someone who helped me to get established at UNLV and in the gaming field. That he was able to accomplish so much on so many fronts during his career and maintain an unimpeachable sense of personal integrity is an inspiration to me, and should be for anyone who is connected to the gaming profession.
His memory will continue to be an inspiration to those who were fortunate enough to have known him, and his legacy will always serve as an example for those in casino regulation and the gaming industry.
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posted by Dave at 4:58 PM