Cantor’s been a naughty boy

There’s a certain whiff of desperation to this Cantor Gaming spot, pimping their casino-in-one gaming devices (which, in addition to their cutting-edge technology, apparently make chicks find you totally hot). The gadgetry and software, which were legalized five years ago, have been a big hit with sports bettors. For all other forms of gamblers … not so much, judging by the technology’s slowness to move past M Resort and a limited rollout at Venelazzo.

At the time AB 471 (drafted by Cantor itself) legitimized the devices, MGM Resorts International spokesman Alan Feldman said, “Our customers know how to find the casino. We need to undertake a more thorough analysis of whether this is relevant for our guests.” The ultimate answer appears to have been, ‘no.’ Perhaps it’s because the communal experience of a group of players whooping it up around a craps table, say, may be thrilling on the casino floor but it’s hard to create that same frisson with a bunch of people crowding about a glorified iPhone, squinting at the lilliputian “green felt” onscreen.

Cantor isn’t afraid to stretch the truth in order to promote wider use of its gizmos …

At the end of the commercial, which I was startled to discover in the course of yesterday’s NFL TV marathon, a player is shown wagering via Cantor technology from the privacy of his luxury suite. Since in-room wagering is expressly forbidden under AB 471, I put in a call to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, to find out if the law had been amended in the dead of night or something of that ilk. The NGCB’s Mark Warren informs me that is has not and that hotel rooms still do not constitute “public areas.” So Cantor and M Resort are engaged in misleading — perhaps outright false — advertising. Whether anyone is going to call them on it remains to be seen, although I tend to doubt it.