WTO decision upheld

The US is on a major losing streak with the WTO. With all of the current controversy about US policy in Iraq, this is way under the radar. From Forbes.com:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tiny Antigua and Barbuda have successfully challenged a U.S. ban on Internet gambling, diplomatic sources said Friday, dealing the United States another setback at the World Trade Organization.

A U.S. trade official, speaking on condition that she not be identified, confirmed that a WTO panel had issued a final report that was "largely unchanged" from its preliminary ruling against the U.S. ban one month ago.

"We intend to appeal and will argue vigorously that this deeply flawed panel report must be corrected by the (WTO) appellate body," the trade official said, echoing comments made last month by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick.

The final ruling, although expected, represented the third major trade case the United States has lost this week.

A WTO panel issued a preliminary ruling on Monday that U.S. cotton subsidies violated WTO rules, in a case that could embolden other countries to challenge the tens of billions of dollars the United States pays in farm subsidies each year.

Then on Thursday, a North American Free Trade Agreement panel ruled the United States failed to prove that imports of Canadian lumber threatened to injure U.S. timber companies -- undercutting a major basis for U.S. duties imposed on $6 billion worth of Canadian wood imported each year.

In the gambling case, the WTO panel determined that the United States' ban on Internet, telephone and other remote gambling services violated its WTO commitments, diplomatic sources in Geneva said.

The United States argued the gambling restrictions were legal under WTO rules that allow countries to make exceptions for laws to protect public morals and public order.

The panel agreed the U.S. prohibitions were designed to achieve those ends, the diplomatic sources said.

But it faulted the United States for not pursuing good faith negotiations with Antigua that might have identified WTO-consistent alternatives to the ban, the sources said.

Copyright 2004, Reuters News Service

Forbes.com: Challenge to U.S. ban on Internet gambling upheld

As I say in Uneasy Convictions, the issue of Internet gaming is really indivisible from that of Internet commerce and the general issue of national boundaries in the cyberspace era.
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posted by Dave at 3:22 PM

Don't look now...

...but you won't be able to look at the environs of Las Vegas's Rio All-suite Hotel and Casino from the world's largest observation wheel. The company that had planned to build the wheel in conjunction with Harrah's at the site of the Rio has announced that all bets are off. From biz.yahoo.com:

Richard Hannigan, President and CEO of Voyager stated, "It is unfortunate that we could not come to an agreement with Rio. I have always had and will continue to have the deepest respect for the management at the Rio. While the Rio location would have fit the needs of the company, Voyager has identified other sites that we believe are suitable for a project of this magnitude."

Voyager is an entertainment development company that anticipates constructing the "World's Largest and Tallest Observation Wheel," which we expect to be over 600-foot tall high-tech attraction that would have, upon completion, the capacity of 7,500,000 guests per year with an average individual ride ticket of $18.00. We anticipate that each Observation Wheel would consist of 30 Orbitors seating 20 passengers and making a complete revolution approximately every 27 minutes. Our current designs anticipate that each Orbitor would consist of its own galley and lavatory to achieve the maximum comfort and safety for our guests.

Voyager Entertainment International, Inc. and The Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino Discontinue Negotiations for the Observation Wheel to be Located at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino

I don't like to rain on other people's parades, but honestly the attraction of an observation wheel eludes me. There are already several tall buildings from which one can observe the Las Vegas Valley. Although the possibilities of using the restroom while "orbiting" at 600 feet above the ground are doubtless intriguing, the project on the whole seems like a waste of space.
I know that non-gaming amenities are an important part of a casino resort, but it would be nice if these amenities had something to do with hospitality or entertainment. The observation wheel sounds hospitable, but I don't know how entertaining it would be.
I sincerely hope that Voyager didn't try to sell people on 7.5 million people a year riding this thing. That's over 1/5 of all visitors to Las Vegas. This is just a reminder that for every Stratosphere Tower, there are dozens of other projects that don't make it.
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posted by Dave at 9:55 AM

NJ sports betting on tap?

A NJ legislative panel will meet to discuss the possible legalization of sports betting, a step that is probably a decade too late. From the AC Press:

One of the sponsors of the sports betting plan, Assemblyman Lou Greenwald, D-Camden, met Tuesday with the New Jersey Casino Association.

"They're very excited," Greenwald said. "They, like myself, have questions. We have to analyze the legal constraints."

Federal law limits sports betting to four states: Nevada, Oregon, Delaware and Montana. New Jersey had the chance to approve sports betting in 1994, but the state Legislature failed to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot after opposition from professional sports leagues and former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley.

The Assembly Tourism and Gaming Committee, chaired by Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland and Atlantic, will discuss the issue Monday and may vote on a resolution to urge the federal government to include New Jersey.

"The federal government may have overstepped its bounds," Van Drew said. "We want to hear from expert attorneys on both sides of the issues. We need to explore this more thoroughly."

No matter what happens, Van Drew said he believes sports betting needs to go to voters for approval.

Atlantic County News: The Press of Atlantic City

In other AC news, the Division of Gaming Enforcement wants to slap a five-year ban on Don King for making a mockery of the license application process

King has skirted gaming regulations during the past six years by applying for a casino license, then withdrawing his application before an intense background investigation begins. Simply by applying for a license, he is temporarily allowed to promote casino-sponsored fights - earning millions of dollars in the process.

Tired of King's fancy footwork, the state Division of Gaming Enforcement is urging the Casino Control Commission to get tough.

Great way to elude the background investigation, but apparently the state is catching on...after how long?
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posted by Dave at 11:11 AM

The real addicts

Gaming has emerged as a budget stopgap for politicians eager to avoid raising taxes. There's always the question of how best to balance the state's need for revenues with the presumed social problems of increased gaming. One New York Senator, though, says that enough is enough. From the LV Sun:

Between the state Lottery, Off-Track Betting parlors, horse tracks, the multi-state Mega Millions lottery and video lottery terminal casinos, "a person can gamble any time, day or night, and not only is it perfectly legal, it's actually sponsored, supported and encouraged by the state," said state Sen. Frank Padavan, a Queens Republican.

"We're at saturation point now, but still some seek to increase access to gambling and to ruin more lives," Padavan said.

Gov. George Pataki is proposing to establish as many as eight new VLT betting halls, six in New York City, as a way of having the state comply with a court mandate that it improve school aid for poor districts. Pataki has proposed earmarking what he said will be about $2 billion a year that eight currently authorized VLT casinos and the eight new VLT parlors will produce for school aid.

Padavan said he is trying to get legislative leaders to reject a further expansion of VLT gambling. If the Legislature approves Pataki's call for eight new VLT casinos, Padavan projected that $39.4 billion would be wagered at the 16 new VLT gambling halls.

Though legislative leaders have been cool to the eight new VLT ventures, they have not proposed alternative ways of raising money to comply with the school aid ruling and meet other state obligations. They said all means of increasing revenue were on the table in their discussions over a new state budget except for further expansion of broad-based taxes such as the income and sales taxes. The Legislature did both last year over Pataki's objections.

"The governor knows that broad-based tax increases hurt New York's economy and our ability to create new jobs," Pataki spokesman Kevin Quinn said. "The Lottery expansion will create new jobs and allow New Yorkers to see the dollars they already spend in states like Connecticut and New Jersey invested in their own state and their own children's education."


Las Vegas SUN: New York senator criticizes state 'addiction' to gambling

Is Padavan a long, disgruntled legislator, or does his speak for a broad swath of New York that is uneasy about the expansion of gaming? Only time will tell.
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posted by Dave at 10:46 AM

WSOP thoughts

I picked up my media credentials today for the World Series of Poker, which took up much of my afternoon, so I didn't have time to persuse the web for legitimate gaming news stories. I'll pass off a few insights from my downtown sojourn as today's contribution.

First of all, Binion's is definitely different. I hadn't been back since the reopening, but I can see that they took out a lot of machines. It seems a bit emptier, not more spacious. That's just my impression. Also, the display of Benny Binion's guns is, if I'm not mistaken, gone. It's a shame, because little things like that really gave the place character.

The tournament area itself looks much the same. It looks like they're ready to handle the deluge of players that are sure to arrive for the championship. All in all, it looks good.

A few other thoughts...

I went across the street to the Golden Nugget, and it was absolutely packed. Whatever the Poster group is doing there is working, because it seemed like a really happening place. Contrast this with Mermaids across the street, which I also walked through. Although the hot dog bar was a mess of activity, the place looked a little threadbare, and I got the feeling that people were giving me dirty looks because I had the audacity to walk around with a smile on my face. Outside the casino, there is a huge banner ad for a deep-fried twinkie. I think that is my metonym for downtown: deep-fried twinkies next to a strip club. I can just imagine that consumer choice..."stuff face with deep-fried twinkie, or stuff dollar bills?"

If you're coming to town for the WSOP, another high point of downtown would have to be the Gold Spike, which I guess Barrick hasn't started reworking yet. The reader board outside the casino advertises "Free 40 oz Bud for players." Wow. I thought the point of gambling was to get free alcohol, but playing nickel slots and chugging on a 40 seems a bit much.

On the positive side, I think that with Barrick's acquisition, the days of free 40s will soon be history.
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posted by Dave at 4:57 PM