ï»¿Genting Gambles in Florida with Uncertain Outcomes

A rendering of 1 portion of the proposed Resorts World Miami Genting casino resort project; the $3 billion project still hasn’t received a high sign from Florida lawmakers.

They say money talks, but in Genting Resorts World’s case, it’s not been speaking as loudly as the ongoing company might like.

The asian gambling conglomerate has largely met with nothing but resistance despite pouring $236 million into a 14-acre waterfront Miami spread back in 2011 and then sprinkling millions more into pressuring state politicians to ‘adapt’ a construction law to accommodate a new $3 billion resorts World Miami casino project. Therefore they’ve now decided on a new, less direction that is cumbersome the Sunshine State: a slots-only task that would set them up with Gulfstream Park racetrack in Miami’s Key Biscayne area.

Antagonists Await

Of course, anytime a potential casino that is new turns up in a state, the first thing that happens is some form of anti-gaming coalition forms; and Florida has been no exception compared to that guideline. Anti-casino group NoCasino.org is also releasing a movie mid-January called Pushing Luck that claims to show a ‘sobering glimpse’ of ‘broken claims’ from casino operators.

According to Genting’s new partner Gulfstream, the racetrack holds an as-yet-unused gaming license that has the prospect of use in either Miami-Dade or Broward counties, as the track rests just between the two areas. Gulfstream also brought home this time last summer with a three-horse event that occurred on their property, which happens to just review the Broward county line into Miami-Dade.

But the event may have backfired, as Florida gaming commissioners later filed a complaint from the race track for said event, so the licensing issue remains confusing, and unsupported by the capabilities that could require to accept it. The proposed Genting project would also break precedent, as so far, only Native American tribes were able to offer slots without a racetrack that is actual the property.

With horse racing still an essential requirement of Florida’s economy, the new pairing created a creative providing to tempt both lawmakers and regulators to bless their new union; Genting and Gulfstream say they would share some of their profits with Florida’s breeders, trainers and owners, an offer that sits mighty well with all the Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. FTHA CEO Lonny Powell has even gone therefore far as to say this makes it a ‘game-changing’ deal, saying ‘this is the very first partnership where the revenue stream and investment would in fact get back to the horses.’

Two-Hour Tours

Up to now, Genting happens to be providing only ‘cruises to nowhere’ in fact, thrice-daily sailings between Miami and the business’s Resorts World Bimini casino in the nearby Bahamas, which conveniently rests just 50 miles off the Sunshine State’s shore. During the two-hour trips, fast-acting gamblers could play any games they wanted to on board, and that included recreations betting; in exchange for that business opportunity, Genting would be to cough up $11 million to go towards fixing up Miami’s ports, plus a yearly $7 million fee that is rental will extend for at least the next 10 years.

A wrench ended up being thrown into the day and evening cruise excursions year that is late last nevertheless, when the U.S. Customs and Border Protection told Genting these people were only to use U.S.-based employees on the trips. a battle that is legal; but Genting ultimately had to concede, as maritime rules that would connect with other Miami-based cruiselines apparently don’t apply once the ship does not actually dock in a foreign slot and does not need passenger passports, either.

With that decision, Genting scale back on its cruise operations away from Miami, saying they can’t manage to make a crew that is all-american.

And that isn’t most of the issues that have actually plagued the day-trippers either; pier issues in Bimini have meant Genting needs to anchor off-shore and then ferry groups that are small and forth, a real possibility that not only eats up time and manpower, but has proved to be unpleasant for passengers in inclement weather.

Despite all these hurdles and projected losses of $11 million for 2014 Genting is apparently not planning on getting out of the cruise business day. And clearly, no matter how stormy the seas, they plan to keep the course in Florida, one way or another.

Maine Gambling Enterprises Oppose Expanded Gambling in State

Most people think of Maine like this, but a small casino contingent is trying to hold their own there because well. (Image: Katarina Neef/atpm.com)

We might not agree using them, but we know there are plenty of reasons that individuals may oppose more gambling in their state, from moral objections to concerns about problem gambling. However in Maine, gambling is finding an opponent that is unusual the gambling enterprises on their own.

Read Our Lips: No New Casinos

Officials from the two Maine casinos presently in procedure talked to lawmakers this week and said which they shouldn’t approve any expansion of the casino industry in the state. In this instance, it appears that the casinos think that the marketplace in the state is wholly saturated already while others believe they’re simply afraid of a competition that is little.

The two properties in question the Hollywood and Oxford Casinos faced off as you’re watching Joint Standing Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs against members of two native tribes that are american the state, plus the owner of the Scarborough Downs race track, over a number of bills that would serve to grow Maine’s gambling options.

The most controversial of those is called LD 1111. It might enable Scarborough Downs to become a ‘racino,’ operating slot machines with their current horse racing operations. That issue has already been brought to referendum in 2011, when it received only 45 % of the vote statewide.

Factional Battles

According to track owner Sharon Terry, Scarborough Downs is struggling as a result of competition it faces from the casinos in the state particularly Oxford Casino, that will be just 45 minutes away and opened in June 2012. And while Hollywood Casino may away be further, it has a friend racino, and can offer everything Scarborough Downs can and more.

Terry says that revenues fell 21.8 % at her track since slots were allowed at the Bangor competition track, and that the specific situation gets even worse since the opening of the Oxford Casino. The cut in revenue not only threatens the track, but also Maine’s entire horse racing myfreepokies.com industry since Scarborough Downs is responsible for 101 days of racing each year.

‘The Downs cannot endure under the laws that are current’ Terry said.

Nevertheless, the general supervisors of both casinos in addition to several business owners in the Oxford area disagreed, opposing allowing slots at the Scarborough Downs facility. In general, the gambling enterprises feel that any gambling that is new hawaii threatens to ‘cannibalize the industry,’ as Maine is a relatively small state without enough gamblers to help more venues.

That helps explain why additionally they opposed three other bills being considered by hawaii. Those include a bill that would allow charities to perform up to five slots at their headquarters to be able to raise funds, also two bills that would allow Indian tribes to grow their gambling operations: one that would let the Houlton Band of Maliseets to operate slots and table games, and another that could let the Passamaquoddy Tribe apply to run table games and slots at a existing bingo facility.

‘Should further facilities open or expand, we would see erosion that is further of customer base,’ said John Osborne, general manager of the Hollywood Casino.

Big Banks Refuse to Process Legal Online Gambling Transactions

Major charge card issuers like Chase, Wells Fargo and United states Express will not process online that is even legal gambling, they state. (Image: Jason Hindley/money.cnn.com)

Every thing seemed so hunky dory: Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey all got legal online gambling or at least poker, in Nevada’s instance up and running in 2013, and with the exception of a few problems with geo-location snafus, overall, the web sites in all three states have been operating pretty smoothly. Except for just one bug that is fairly major has nothing at all to do with the sites on their own: major economic institutions like American Express, Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan Chase are refusing to process any money interactions on these sites, legal or perhaps not.

Your Transaction Was Denied

Whether credit or debit, several heavy-hitter card issuers say they aren’t gambling with regards to honoring their cards on online video gaming sites. And demonstrably, that’s not sitting well with many players whom say, exactly what gives? But the banks included say they will not budge, not for online casinos, poker or even legal recreations betting in Nevada.

‘We do not allow credit card transactions for this task,’ stated Steve O’Halloran, manager of advertising and public affairs for Chase Card and Merchant Services. And American Express spokeswoman Sanette Chao concurs, saying her company simply ‘prohibits the usage of the card for gambling services.’

While some may conclude that this is certainly some kind of moral imperative, it works out that it’s more of a bottom-line that is simple choice than anything else.

‘Gambling services, historically, account for a number that is high of user credit losses and customer service disputes,’ noted Chao.

UIGEA Still Directs Banks’ Positions

And some banking institutions do still hold onto the old UIGEA model (illegal Web Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006), because, in the end, from the federal standpoint, it’s still murky exactly how it’s become interpreted following a 2012 reinterpretation of the original 1961 Wire Act was handed down through the Supreme Court that opened the doorway to at least state-by-state lawful Internet gambling.

Wells Fargo spokeswoman Natalie Brown says that is the thinking behind her company’s decision to decline gambling deposits.

‘In compliance with regulation GG (illegal Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006), we prohibit the use of consumer credit cards for Web gambling,’ said Brown, who is vice president of consumer lending communications with Wells Fargo. ‘The systems (Visa, MasterCard and American Express) monitor the merchant category codes and block charges that do not conform to federal laws.’

While this may make some sense from their views, it can prove a frustrating truth for online players in appropriate gambling states.

‘What the industry has done is take a conservative approach or a reaction to the legalization of online gambling,’ said Tobin Prior, CEO of Ultimate Gaming, which really is a subsidiary of Station Casinos, a land-gaming proprietor in Nevada and the first to ever go online with legal poker into the Silver State. ‘That can be frustrating, but we work with customers discover alternatives.’

One of the benefits of this brick-and-mortar/Internet symbiosis is that clients can both fund and cash out at any of these land gaming properties, in either Southern Nevada or at Station’s land video gaming partner the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. Players can also use e-checks or wire transfers to make deposits, Prior noted.

While legal online sites might wish that banks had been more in their court right now, Caesars WSOP site’s spokesperson Seth Palansky states its what it really is.