
Harry Reid states that RAWA, or another online gambling ban measure, is likely to be reintroduced to Congress year that is again next.
RAWA, also called the Restoration of America’s Wire Act, the online poker ban that has been highly pressed by Sheldon Adelson, is likely to be introduced to Congress once more in 2015. That’s the word from Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada), who will not be the Senate Majority Leader when he returns for the following legislative session.
‘I think there will be efforts designed to check the Wire Act in A republican-initiated congress, yes I do,’ Reid said. ‘I think you will have efforts made to beat the Wire Act.’
By getting rid of the Wire Act, Reid seems to mean that he’d want to see legislation put in place that could create a law to displace ( or simply just reword) the current Wire Act, which had been reinterpreted to use just to recreations betting in 2011. That critical interpretation permitted for states to manage other forms of online gambling within the last 3 years.
Lame Duck Effort Fails for RAWA
Adelson, the billionaire casino tycoon who is the chairman and CEO of the vegas Sands Corporation, had hoped to attach RAWA to the year-end spending that is omnibus. But, the lame-duck session effort ultimately failed, with congressional leaders seemingly uninterested in adding on a potentially contentious driver to the must-pass ‘cromnibus’ legislation.
Reid is definitely a supporter as a whole of the gaming industry, and once served once the chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission. But it has become obvious that his stance on the issue is much closer to Adelson’s than many may have thought while he has tried in the past to regulate online poker at the federal level, his overall stance on Internet gaming had been much less clear, and in recent days.
‘ I think the proliferation of gambling online is not advantageous to our country,’ Reid said in an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal. ‘i believe it is an invitation to crime. I believe that it is difficult to get a grip on for criminal activity when you have brick-and-mortar places, let alone something up in the sky someplace, also it is quite harmful to kids.’
Reid Says No Deal with Adelson for 2016
Statements like that have led some to speculate that Reid may have struck a deal together with his long-time buddy Adelson, one in which Reid would push for a gambling that is online while Adelson would concur maybe not to fund Reid’s next Republican opponent in their 2016 election bid. But Reid denied that this kind of alliance had ever been considered between the two.
‘Sheldon Adelson and i have already been friends for a time that is long on politics he and I actually don’t concur, so we don’t do politics,’ Reid said.
Critically for fans of on the web poker, though, Reid confirmed that he would still try to help keep a lifeline open for the game should an online gambling ban gain vapor in Congress.
‘ If there exists a opportunity to [regulate] poker, i am going to do that,’ Reid said. He noted that there might have been an opening for poker had RAWA been placed into the bill that is omnibus though the timing might have been difficult given the madness of action within the last few days before it ultimately passed.
Golden Nugget Atlantic City Threatens Lawsuit Over Tax Aid Plan, Then Backs Off
The Golden Nugget dropped its threat to challenge an Atlantic City tax relief bill after some of the New Jersey casino’s issues had been addressed. (Image: goldennugget.com)
Atlantic City’s Golden Nugget casino threatened to derail a casino tax relief plan, but then backed off those threats after changes were made to the bill to satisfy its concerns. The bill, introduced by State Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3rd District), is designed to help support revenue for Atlantic City while also providing cost certainty for the staying casinos there.
Last week, Golden Nugget counsel that is general Scheinthal had harsh words for the proposed legislation, saying that the business was prepared to ‘blow the entire thing up.’ Based on him, the bill ended up being essentially taking money away from the casinos which could least afford it, while offering great deals to the greatest casinos in the town.
Tax Increase for Golden Nugget
In particular, Scheinthal calculated that the Golden Nugget’s goverment tax bill would rise from $4.7 million to $8.1 million under the proposed legislation. Resorts Casino Hotel and Bally’s would also see increases in their tax bills.
Meanwhile, a number of the town’s most resorts that are profitable actually save money as an outcome of the law. Harrah’s and Caesars Atlantic City would both save more than $10 million a year, while the Trump Taj Mahal (that has however been teetering on its legs that are last, the Tropicana therefore the Borgata would reportedly save millions as well.
‘We expect fair legislation,’ Scheinthal said. ‘ We do not expect our legislators to harm us, and that’s what’s going on.’
That along with other aspects of the bill led Scheinthal to say that Nugget owner Tilman Fertitta might try to receive a court purchase to block the legislation from entering effect were it ever signed by Governor Chris Christie. But on Monday, the Golden Nugget seemed much more satisfied with the direction what the law states is now taking.
Casinos Now Protected
After changes to the bill, a casino will now have some security against paying more under the payments in lieu of taxes than it would have beneath the old taxation plan. Any excess payments will be credited towards a casino’s reinvestment tax obligation for the next five years. The Golden Nugget may also save your self $2 million a thanks to the elimination of the atlantic city alliance marketing group, which it helped to fund year.
‘we are OK with it now,’ Scheinthal said on Monday. ‘We’re protected for 5 years; that is clearly a thing that is good. At the very least we have some stability and know our fees aren’t going to increase.’
If the Golden Nugget’s calculations are correct, lots of the biggest Atlantic City casinos will still receive tax that is large in the coming years, though they now won’t come at the expense of smaller resorts.
Sweeney’s legislation, which includes already passed through committees in the continuing State Senate and State Assembly, would ensure fixed re payments from the casinos to Atlantic City over the next 15 years. The casinos would collectively pay $150 million per year for the next two years, lots that would drop to $130 million over the next 13 years. That number could be adjusted if gambling revenues changed dramatically.
That measure would be joined by others built to support Atlantic City’s budget, whilst also protecting workers. Money that is designated for the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority would instead be used to spend down the city’s debt, while minimal advantages levels could be guaranteed for all casino workers.
Winning Millions Poker Tournament Stopped by DDoS Attack
Players in the Winning Millions unearthed that the tournament had been terminated whenever a message announcing the decision appeared on their screens. (Image: WinningPokerNetwork.com screenshot)
A $1 million poker tournament on the Winning Poker Network (WPN) was cancelled because of a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) assault, rendering it the latest poker website to be victimized by such an assault on its servers.
The attack caused connectivity issues for players, leading company officials to eventually choose to cancel the tournament as a matter of fairness.
The cancellation may be a major blow to WPN, which had been hoping to build the largest poker event on a site that accepts American players in nearly four years, since the occasions of Black Friday forced PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker from the United States market.
The function had been still in its late registration period at the time it had been canceled, and thus all players had been completely refunded according to community policy.
Strong Turnout Despite Connectivity Problems
While skeptical players might often see such a cancellation as ladbrokes live casino mobile a method to escape a major guarantee, that does not seem to be exactly what happened in this instance.
The tournament was cancelled, 1,937 players had already put up their $500 buy-ins into the prize pool at the time. Combined with the $40 entry fee, the competition had already covered its guarantee, sufficient reason for 45 minutes left into the late registration period, it’s feasible that the field would have risen to over 2,000 players, enough to surpass the guarantee in buy-ins alone.
The competition began at 3 pm on Sunday afternoon, and the connectivity issues did actually occur soon after that, with the competition being suspended just minutes in and players complaining of host issues through the event. While WPN initially tried to permit the big event to keep, as the site was still operational, CEO Phil Payton eventually decided that the specific situation merely wasn’t fair for several players, particularly in this kind of contest that is major.
Cancellation Occurred After Most of Field Eliminated
The amount of time ahead of the cancellation has been alternatively reported as anywhere between four and six hours. Based on time stamped posts in the Two Plus Two forums that had been made as the occasion unfolded, it appears as though the tournament was finally canceled at around 8:30 pm, or 5.5 hours after it began. That accompanied hours of player complaints over being folded out of fingers or being not able to link to the site.
‘Due to circumstances out of our control, we’ve been unable to offer a reliable gaming that is fair,’ said a message that appeared regarding the displays of players into the tournament at that time of the cancellation. ‘Many players timed out, while other remained linked. As per our terms and conditions, the tournament will be canceled and buy-ins and fees refunded to any or all participants.’
That choice didn’t stay well with everyone, especially those who were still alive at the time the tournament was cancelled, who felt they must be compensated at the least partially considering their chip stacks.
‘Absolutely ridiculous,’ wrote Two Plus Two poster AdamHendrix. ‘ Was still in with less than a third of the social individuals left. And everybody else gets refunded. You have to be kidding.’
However, Payton defended his decision in a short Twitch.tv broadcast soon after the cancellation.
‘If it happened again tomorrow, I’d do the same task,’ Payton said. ‘It doesn’t make a difference if you want it or not, it had been fair.’
