New investment in Atlantic City has yet to materialize, yet the New Jersey Casino Control Commission‘s holding of a hearing for Hard Rock International is
encouraging. It’s a purely theoretical exercise, a determination of suitability. Its goal, however, is for the Seminole Tribe to “act quickly if an appropriate investment opportunity arises.” And those opportunities could indeed arise should, for instance, Curtis Bashaw seek a gaming-experienced partner for his Chelsea Hotel, to which he’d like to add gambling. Also, hiring Hard Rock to run his Revel casino would be the least-daffy thing Glenn Straub has done so far.
But Hard Rock has already had a look at Revel and passed on it. So it may be going back to Plan A: a museum, 208-room hotel and casino. Since the ’boutique casino’ law now permits the use of preexisting buildings, the idea no longer seems so far-fetched. In either case, the prospect of reinvestment in Atlantic City is getting attention.
* With New York State and Massachusetts casinos creeping closer to its borders, it was only a matter of time before it became of matter of discussion in Vermont. It’s being pushed 
by state Rep. Ronald Hubert, who’s hoping the seventh time will be the charm. Hubert’s proposal, which has healthy support in the GOP caucus, would empower the Vermont Lottery Commission to license one casino, for $6 million on the barrelhead. The casino would be taxed at 10%, with the money earmarked to help elderly Vermonters on fixed incomes.
“We’re in such desperate need for taxes, how about some voluntary taxes? It’s something that most states have done, and the numbers show that we could bring in annually somewhere between $8 million to $15 million to state coffers,” Hubert queried.
He’s going to run into a firm “no” from freshly re-elected Gov. Peter Shumlin and from Speaker of the House Shap Smith. “As long as he’s governor, he’ll do everything in his power to stop casino gaming in Vermont,” Shumlin’s spokesman said. Smith cited evidence of oversaturation, adding, “I’m not a big fan of casinos at all as a way to fund state government.”
* If you’re playing keno in Nebraska, you have to wait five minutes between games. Legislators want to remove that inconvenience … because it might put another $1.3 million in 
the state budget. In other legislative action, state Sen. Tyson Larson wants to reclassify at least some iterations of poker as games as skill, enabling them to be played for money in the Cornhusker State. Bars could host poker games with a “special endorsement” and 5% tax payment.
“You can be a professional poker player; you cannot be a professional coin flipper. You can lose a poker game on purpose; you can’t lose a coin flip on purpose,” Larson reasoned. “You can have the worst hand in poker but be the best player. The math is there; the statistics are there. Poker is a game of skill; it is not a game of chance.” The proceeds from Larson’s bill, if passed, would go toward property-tax relief.
