New Jersey‘s quest for sports betting came to a bitter, penultimate roadblock before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which deemed the Garden State’s repeal of its sports-betting ban to be a violation of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. The ruling was basically a rerun of prior Third Circuit edicts, with judges Maryanne Trump Barry and Marjorie Rendell frowning upon New Jersey’s law and Judge Julio Fuentes the lone voice of sanity, saying “There is simply no conceivable reading of PASPA that could preclude a state from restricting sports wagering.”
State Senator Raymond Lesniak is going to make a last-ditch, long-shot appeal to the entire Third Circuit panel but a dramatic 
reversal of events seems unlikely. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver hailed the decision, calling for sports betting to be legalized by way of Congress, where a bill to do so is currently languishing. AGA President Geoff Freeman (above) reacted with predictable dismay, pointing to the money being forfeited thanks to the Third Circuit’s stance: “With Americans betting at least $140 billion on sports illegally each year, it’s clear that current law is not achieving its intended result.”
While Internet gambling has proven merely to be lagniappe for Atlantic City casinos and not the Fountain of Youth, sports betting would genuinely have been a shot in the arm. Gov. Chris Christie (R) has fought the good fight on this issue but it will take a miracle to achieve victory.
* Lawrence Ho is just days from opening Tigre de Cristal casino in the Russian region of Primorye. Gamblers from China, South Korea and Japan will be able to reach it by way of Vladivostok. Ho is starting cautiously, only committing 800 slots, 65 tables and 119 hotel rooms to the project. Still, Tigre de Cristal is the first “super casino” of a planned 16 in Primorye. When the area is fully developed, government officials predict 10 million annual visitors and Las Vegas Strip-sized revenues in excess of $5 billion.
Given the single-digit tax rate in Primorye, the region is expected to be attractive to developers. It will also be an acid test for Russia’s experiment with banishing casinos to distant, geographically restricted areas like Azov City (with which Harrah’s Entertainment flirted). Visas are not required for tour groups from China, so that bodes well. However, unless an exception is enacted, smoking will be forbidden in the casino. As you can see from the video, the beautiful people are expected to come out in force.
* Gaming writer par excellence James Rutherford has done a penetrating analysis of the listless Macao gaming market and suffice it to say that the problem runs a lot deeper than just a government crackdown on graft. Or, as one casino operator asks, “Do the customers already find Macao boring?”
* Casino legalization has failed yet again to make the agenda of the Japanese parliament. Ho-hum. We’re told it might really, really, really just possibly make it onto the docket of a special session. And General Tojo might have been a nice guy but I very much doubt it.
