Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R) finally got to hold his dog-and-pony show on the eeeeeeevils of Internet gambling, after a previous date had been snowed out. As expected, the proceedings “broke little new ground” on the issue. Afterward, Chaffetz condescended to say, “We’re doing the hearing for a reason.” One hopes so, since taxpayers are bankrolling this spectacle. He also set off B.S. detectors everywhere when he denied being a minion of Sheldon Adelson, whose money keeps people like Chaffetz in office. Apparently having never heard of geolocation, Luddite and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R) blathered, “In other words, how would you ensure that online gambling, if legal in one state, wouldn’t bleed over into a neighboring state where it is not legal, particularly since the Internet doesn’t stop at state borders?”
But the Silly Catchphrase Award goes to Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D, below), who came up with the sharp observation that myriad Americans own personal computers, even smartphones — Gosh! — and “each of these Internet-connected devices is a potential slot machine or roulette wheel.” Caesars Interactive Senior Vice President Mario Ceccarelli tried to educate lawmakers on digital fencing, geolocation and other fail-safe mechanisms … but good luck getting through this bunch of noggins.
The defeatist line was taken by Washington University law professor Michael Fagan, who moaned that “There is no way that the federal government, or any individual or combination of state governments, can expand to the degree necessary to effectively police and regulate the likely scale of legalized Internet casino, poker, and/or sportsbook gambling,” John Warren Kindt was also there to reiterate his rote hyperbole about genies in bottles.
One of the few voices of reason belonged to Rep. John Conyers (D), who said “We cannot ban our way out of this problem. The better option is to allow states to permit online gaming as they see fit, subject to regulation and monitoring.” Let’s hope he wasn’t wasting his breath, even if the fix appears to be in for the Chaffetz bill.
* Judge Gloria Burns has designated April 2 for the next hearing in the fool’s errand that is the pursuit of Revel. If she had a sense of humor, she’d hold the hearing one day sooner.
* Trump Entertainment Resorts is getting rather careless about keeping up with its regulatory obligations. Twenty-two instances of underage gambling went unreported, an act of discretion that will cost the bankrupt company $2,648 in fines. It’ll have to pony up $3,000 for not reporting a five-man beatdown that sent a casino patron to the hospital. It’s all another triumph for the Bob Griffin administration.
* Audrey Oswell is nothing if not a survivor. After having been buffeted around the industry, from Caesars Atlantic City to Fontainebleau, with several stops in between, she’s landed at Seneca Gaming Corp. In fact, she’s its new CEO, the Seneca tribe having forced out Catherine Walker. Nobody’s saying why Walker is on the outs but it’s a tribute to durability that Oswell has returned to prominence after five years in obscurity.
* Despite the woes of nearby Tunica, Tennessee state Rep. Jason Powell (D) is proposing to amend his state’s constitution to permit casino gambling. The inducement for other lawmakers to sign on is that taxes from Tennessee casinos would go toward funding education and to alleviate problem gambling. If the bill clears the House State Government Subcommittee, it’s got high hurdles to clear: passage by a majority of both houses this session, by two-thirds majorities next session and then approval by voters in a statewide referendum. The committee hearing should tell us how much appetite Tennessee has for allowing casinos.