New Law

Please consider this post as trying to start a discussion. Add your own ideas instead of only criticizing. Consider it inspired by the multi-millionaire that owns Dotty's in Nevada.

Reference:
A BILL To establish a program for State licensing of Internet poker, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Mr. BARTON of Texas introduced the following bil

CASINO GAMING FACILITIES.—The term ‘‘casino gaming facility’’ means a facility that provides casino gaming on a riverboat, at a race track, or in another facility that hosts 500 or more "gaming devices" in 1 physical location pursuant to a duly authorized license issued by a gaming regulatory authority of a State or Indian tribe.

GAMING DEVICE.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘gaming device’’ means any computer-based gambling machine, including slot machines and video lottery termi24 nals that have been approved by a gaming regulatory authority of a State or Indian tribe.
(B) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘‘gaming device’’ does not include machines that process bets or wagers for pari-mutuel betting pools.
End of Reference:

This bill will open internet poker to applicants from "casino gaming facilities" (CFG). Demand may be very high for some sort of arrangement to fit 500 slot machines in a very small space, so that you have a center for internet gaming. Perhaps using standing chairs against a wall.



Perhaps there will be a some box containing circuit boards that meets the standard of a "gaming device". There could be 500 of these boxes but only 50 input output terminals with screens. The user has his choice to log into any one of the "gaming devices" from 1 to 500. Then you fit an operation into a storefront that meets the requirement of the law , and it also operates internet poker.

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To the best of my knowledge the only casino in Nevada with less than 10,000 square feet dedicated to slots and still have over 500 slot machines (i.e. less than 20 sq ft per machine) is Club Fortune in Henderson NV. The casino is actually 12,000 square feet but 2,000 square feet is for 7 table games and 5 poker tables.

Gold Dust West in Reno is also 12,000 square feet (27 hotel rooms) and has 480 slot machines. With only a little effort it could meet the 500 slot machine requirement.

These places could be real bargains if they were only the front for internet poker.


The biggest Dotty's I can find is DOTTY'S #6 (4350 North Las Vegas Boulevard) which has a 7,680 square foot casino and 47 slot machines.

Machines at Dottys and the Aztec (near the Strat) often have multiple pages of game options. Only one game might be playable at a time but is it one device? Or just have 500 devices but one chair. Think of those "live Keno rooms" some casinos have. Keno display panels all over the casino but there is just one seat in the casino's "live Keno room".

Obviously the proposed legislation is aimed at avoiding any Ma and Pop Internet Poker Palaces from opening. Sort of the way the various state lottery officials try to insist on there being other business transaction, not just lottery ticket sales. Many of those separate business transactions are not contributing much revenue and certainly not contributing any profits at all.

Ofcourse there seems to be no legitimate connection to having ANY physical gaming devices and being an Internet Poker Palace, its simply that the regulators can claim an existing bricks casino is more likely to be legit in its Internet Poker activities because it has to protect its license for the Bricks Casino. The real reason of course is to exclude Dotty and restrict everything to The Big Boys who paid the lobbyist who drafted the bill for the politician who submitted it.

ensure, to a reasonable degree of certainty,
2 that Internet poker games are fair and honest, and
3 to prevent, to a reasonable degree of certainty,
4 cheating, including collusion, and use of cheating de5
vices, including use of software programs (sometimes
6 referred to as ‘‘bots’’) that make bets or wagers ac7
cording to algorithms;
Easier said than done !

Quote: FleaStiff

Obviously the proposed legislation is aimed at avoiding any Ma and Pop Internet Poker Palaces from opening.

Intent of the law and compliance with the law are only loosely related. I think when laws permitting bingo were first passed no one expected there to be a class of machines that complied with the laws governing bingo, but looked like slots.

Clearly we have technology that would allow for a maximum of 500 people to enter a 10K square foot space and operate gambling machines.


The law says 500 machines, not 500 people. You could even imagine a scenario where the equipment is available for loan with a deposit so that players could come to the casino for some real face to face interaction and play, and then take their equipment to their homes or other locations and continue to play the same games on broadband or wi-fi. They could also opt in for a limited interface through a conventional computer screen or tablet.

I don't see anything in the law that says the casino even has to be open 24 hours (although the remote internet portion would certainly be operating 24 hours). A casino operating with this kind of equipment doesn't have to be any more intrusive than a local tavern or steakhouse. States may find that there is less public resistance to granting casino licenses when they don't come with the traditional baggage (24 hour operations, people hanging around, noise, large parking lots, smoking, lots of currency).

A casino might resemble a local Dave and Buster's (many of which are in shopping malls).



At the same time there should be a run on these little places like "Poker Palace" which currently has 349 slot machines, 7 table games, and 8 poker tables, and a sports betting kiosk in 25,900 square feet. It would be easy enough to increase them to 500-550 slots.

At one point, the law says "500 slot machines" or something to that effect. Maybe the law needs to be changed to reflect that the 500 gaming devices have to be simultaneously playable by 500 different patrons in a manner that doesn't violate fire codes. Otherwise you could have 500 of Cantor Gaming's hand-held eDeck devices in a box and run the whole operation out of a 20x20 space in a strip mall, and that's obviously not the intent of the law.

My prediction is that when the dust settles, there will be perhaps three or four big Nevada online poker providers, not a thousand small operations. The nature of online Poker lends itself to consolidation, as most players do not want to wait for tables to fill up, and will stick with the largest, most reputable operators.

The only way the smaller joints will have a chance, is for them to band together and share their action. They may have their own club, and maintain their own database of accounts, but all their players should be able to have at it with each other.

Irish bookie, Paddy Power, seeks to be licensed in Nevada

LVRJ article

By Howard Stutz LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Posted: Sep. 28, 2011
Paddy Power is seeking approval from Nevada for a license as a manufacturer and operator of mobile gaming devices. The licensing is viewed as a precursor for Paddy Power to seek approval for a Nevada-based Internet poker website, should the federal government legalize the activity. PaddyPower.com has never accepted wagers from American gamblers.

Paddy Power filed its Nevada gaming license application in August 2010 and has been participating in the investigative process. In March, Gibraltar-based 888 Holdings was deemed by Nevada gaming regulators to be a suitable business partner for Caesars Entertainment Corp.