ï»¿Genting Gambles in Florida with Uncertain Results

A rendering of one portion of the proposed Resorts World Miami Genting casino resort project; the $3 billion project nevertheless hasn’t received a high sign from Florida lawmakers.

They do say money talks, but in Genting Resorts World’s case, it’s not been speaking as loudly as the ongoing company might like.

Despite pouring $236 million right into a 14-acre waterfront Miami spread back in 2011 and then sprinkling millions more into pressuring state politicians to ‘adapt’ a construction legislation to accommodate a brand new $3 billion Resorts World Miami casino project, the Asian gambling conglomerate has largely met with absolutely nothing but resistance. Therefore they’ve now determined on a new, less cumbersome direction for the Sunshine State: a slots-only task that would pair them up with Gulfstream Park racetrack in Miami’s Key Biscayne area.

Antagonists Await

Of course, anytime a potential casino that is new turns up in a state, first thing that happens is some sort of anti-gaming coalition forms; and Florida has been no exclusion compared to that rule. Anti-casino group NoCasino.org is even releasing a movie mid-January called Pushing Luck that claims to show a ‘sobering glimpse’ of ‘broken promises’ from casino operators.

According to Genting’s new partner Gulfstream, the racetrack holds an as-yet-unused gaming license that gets the possibility of use in either Miami-Dade or Broward counties, as the track rests simply between the two areas. Gulfstream even brought house this time last summer with a three-horse occasion that happened on their property, which occurs to just review the Broward county line into Miami-Dade.

But the big event might have backfired, as Florida gaming commissioners later filed a complaint up against the race track for said event, so the licensing issue remains not clear, and unsupported by the capabilities that could need to approve it. The proposed Genting project would also break precedent, as until now, only Native American tribes have now been in a position to offer slots without a real racetrack on the property.

The new pairing came up with a creative offering to tempt both lawmakers and regulators to bless their new union; Genting and Gulfstream say they would share some of their profits with Florida’s breeders, trainers and owners, an offer that sits mighty well with the Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association with horse racing still an important aspect of Florida’s economy. FTHA CEO Lonny Powell has even gone therefore far as to say this makes it a ‘game-changing’ deal, saying ‘this is the partnership that is first the revenue stream and investment would in fact go back into the horses.’

Two-Hour Tours

Up until now, Genting happens to be offering only ‘cruises to nowhere’ in actuality, thrice-daily sailings between Miami and the company’s Resorts World Bimini casino in the nearby Bahamas, which conveniently rests just 50 miles from the Sunshine State’s shore. During the two-hour trips, fast-acting gamblers could play any games they wanted to on board, and that included sports betting; in exchange for that business opportunity, Genting is to cough up $11 million to go towards fixing up Miami’s ports, plus an annual $7 million fee that is rental will extend for at least the next 10 years.

A wrench was thrown into the time and evening cruise excursions late a year ago, nonetheless, when the U.S. Customs and Border Protection told Genting these people were only to use U.S.-based employees on the trips. a battle that is legal; but Genting ultimately had to concede, as maritime laws that would connect with other Miami-based cruiselines apparently do not apply whenever ship does perhaps not actually dock in a foreign port and does not require passenger passports, either.

With that choice, Genting cut back on its cruise operations out of Miami, saying they can’t afford to generate a crew that is all-american.

And that’s not all of the issues that have actually plagued the day-trippers either; pier issues in Bimini have meant Genting has to anchor off-shore and then ferry small teams back and forth, a real possibility that do not only eats up time and manpower, but has proved to be unpleasant for passengers in inclement weather.

Despite all these hurdles and projected losses of $11 million for 2014 Genting is apparently not thinking about getting out of the day cruise business. And clearly, regardless of how stormy the seas, they plan to remain the course in Florida, some way.

Maine Casinos Oppose Expanded Gambling in State

Most people consider Maine like this, but a small casino contingent is attempting to hold their own there because well. (Image: Katarina Neef/atpm.com)

We may not agree we know there are plenty of reasons that people may oppose more gambling in their state, from moral objections to worries about problem gambling with them, but. But in Maine, gambling is finding an opponent that is unusual the casinos on their own.

Read Our Lips: No New Casinos

Officials from the two Maine casinos currently in procedure talked to lawmakers this week and stated that they shouldn’t approve any expansion of the casino industry within the state. In cases like this, it seems that the casinos believe that industry in the state is totally saturated already while others believe they’re just afraid of a small competition.

The two properties under consideration the Hollywood and Oxford Casinos encountered off as you’re watching Joint Standing Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs against members of two Native American tribes in the state, as well as the owner of the Scarborough Downs race track, over a number of bills that would serve to expand Maine’s gambling options.

The absolute most controversial of these is known as LD 1111. It might allow Scarborough Downs to become a ‘racino,’ operating slot machines along with their current horse racing operations. That problem was already brought to referendum in 2011, when it received only 45 % of the vote statewide.

Factional Battles

According to track owner Sharon Terry, Scarborough Downs is struggling due to the competition it faces from the casinos within the state particularly Oxford Casino, which is just 45 minutes away and opened in 2012 june. Even though Hollywood Casino may be further away, it features a companion racino, allowing it to offer everything Scarborough Downs can and more.

Terry says that revenues fell 21.8 % at her track since slots were allowed at the Bangor battle track, and that the specific situation gets worse considering that the opening of the Oxford Casino. The cut in revenue not only threatens the track, but also Maine’s entire horse racing industry since Scarborough Downs is responsible for 101 days of racing each year.

‘The Downs cannot survive under the current laws,’ Terry said.

Nonetheless, the general supervisors of both gambling enterprises along with several business owners within the Oxford area disagreed, opposing slots that are allowing the Scarborough Downs facility. In basic, the casinos feel that any gambling that is new their state threatens to ‘cannibalize the industry,’ as Maine is a relatively small state without enough gamblers to help more venues.

That helps explain why they also opposed three other bills being considered by the state. Those add a bill that would allow charities to run up to five slots at their headquarters so that you can raise funds, in addition to two bills that would allow Indian tribes to expand their gambling operations: one that would let the Houlton Band of Maliseets to operate slots and table games, and another that could let the Passamaquoddy Tribe apply to run table games and slots at a current bingo facility.

‘Should further facilities available or expand, we would see further erosion of our client base,’ said John Osborne, general manager of the Hollywood Casino.

Big Banks Refuse to Process Legal Online Gambling Transactions

Major credit card issuers like Chase, Wells Fargo and United states Express won’t process even legal on line gambling transactions, they say. (Image: Jason Hindley/money.cnn.com)

Every thing seemed so hunky dory: Nevada, Delaware and brand New Jersey all got legal online gambling or at least poker, in Nevada’s situation up and running in 2013, and except for a few problems with geo-location snafus, overall, the sites in all three states have been running pretty smoothly. Except for starters fairly major bug that has nothing in connection with the sites on their own: major financial institutions like American Express, Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan Chase are refusing to process any cash interactions on these web sites, legal or perhaps not.

Your Transaction Was Denied

Whether credit or debit, several card that is heavy-hitter say they are not gambling with regards to honoring their cards on online video gaming internet sites. And clearly, that’s not sitting well with many players who say, what gives? But the banks involved say they will not budge, not for online casinos, poker or also legal activities betting in Nevada.

‘We never let credit card deals for this activity,’ stated Steve O’Halloran, manager of advertising and public affairs for Chase Card and Merchant Services. And American Express spokeswoman Sanette Chao concurs, saying her company simply ‘prohibits the usage of the card for gambling services.’

While some may conclude that this might be some sort of moral imperative, it turns out that it is more of a simple bottom-line business decision than anything else.

‘Gambling services, historically, account for a number that is high of user credit losses and customer service disputes,’ noted Chao.

UIGEA Still Directs Banks’ Positions

And some banking institutions do still hold onto the old UIGEA model (illegal Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006), because, all things considered, from the federal standpoint, it’s still murky how it is become interpreted after a 2012 reinterpretation of the original 1961 Wire Act was handed down through the Supreme Court that opened the door to at least state-by-state lawful Internet gambling.

Wells Fargo spokeswoman Natalie Brown states that is the reasoning behind her company’s decision to decline gambling deposits.

‘In compliance with regulation GG (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006), we prohibit the application of consumer credit cards for Web gambling,’ said Brown, who is vice president of customer financing communications with Wells Fargo. ‘The networks (Visa, MasterCard and Express that is american the vendor category codes and block fees that do not adhere to federal regulations.’

While this may earn some feeling from their views, it could prove a reality that is frustrating online players in appropriate gambling states.

‘What the industry has done is take a conservative approach or response to the legalization of online gambling,’ said Tobin Prior, CEO of Ultimate Gaming, which is a subsidiary of Station Casinos, a land-gaming proprietor in Nevada and the first to ever go online with legal poker in the Silver State. ‘That can be frustrating, but we work with customers to find alternatives.’

One of the benefits of this brick-and-mortar/Internet symbiosis is that clients can both fund and cash away at any of the land video gaming properties, in either Southern Nevada or at Station’s land gaming partner the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. Players can also use e-checks or wire transfers to prior make deposits noted.

While legal online sites might wish that banks were more in their court right now, Caesars WSOP site’s spokesperson Seth Palansky states it really is what it really is.

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Genting Gambles in Florida with Uncertain Results