Steve Wynn says Internet gaming will never happen in Nevada or with ties to it?
 

I find his comments interesting as at one time he signed a deal with Stars (I think) and was open to some cross advertising and licensing I wonder why the change of heart now. Oh and Macao is in big trouble as the earnings reports are horrible so far this year.

Will be boring to those not interested in the gaming business the specific comments are around the 10min mark.
http://watch.knpb.org/video/2365482629/

Re: Steve Wynn says Internet gaming will never happen in Nevada or with ties to it?
 

This is not breaking news, it is a rehashing of what he has said in the past - and frankly many in the industry agree.

1) Online gaming is unlikely to occur at a federal level, if anything it will most likely occur on a state by state basis. This statement is supported by most in the industry, but it must be clear that even if we are unlikely to see anything done on a federal level there is still a strong reason to continue lobbying. For example we must lobby to stop RAWA from passing, assure states rights to enter online gaming biz is not diminished, and perhaps someday we can see a bill that will encourage states to compact together using a unified set of business engagement rules across state lines. Would I like to see federalised online gaming? Of course I would! Will it happen? Unlikely. Should we stop fighting to make that happen since it is unlikely? No.

2) For the most part B&M casino businesses are interested in online gaming if it can affect their bottom line. Adelson and Wynn are only invested in Las Vegas (soon to be Boston for Wynn), they will not benefit from an expansion of online gaming. Wynn does not believe internet gaming will benefit his business, or be anyway meaningful for Las Vegas financially - you got to admit that is probably true even though its not a position any of us likes. He believes that the future for online gaming is via state lottery boards, which he views as a competitor. Thats exactly what occurred in Delaware, and is happening across Canada right now; there is evidence to show that this may be correct. Attend any online gaming trade show and you will find that many of the delegates are from state lotteries investigating the future of online gaming. Wynn's position is that he does not want to be involved, he is afraid the casino industry will be blamed if anything goes wrong - but he is not spending lobbying money. Adelson on the other hand is spending and trying to get RAWA passed. On the other side you will find MGM and Caesars, both of which support a state by state solution - they have abandoned hope for a federal bill.Both of these companies can benefit from state level exposure, hence it is logical that they support online gaming.

Long story short there is nothing new here, once again this is all old news.

- TT

Re: Steve Wynn says Internet gaming will never happen in Nevada or with ties to it?
 

TT is correct, nothing new here.

As a resident of Boston, Massachusetts, (and I have stated this in the NewEngland Region forum prior to Wynn winning his license) that it concerns me that one of the few Casino License owners in this state is anti-online gaming. (it was for this reason I was Pro Mohegan Sun @ Suffolk Downs)

It occurs to me that it's the Casinos in each state that will be licensed and stand to benefit the most financially from i-gaming, and it requires some effort & desire on their part to get this type of legislation passed.....in each & every state considering such legislation.

Will it hurt the chances for online Poker in Massachusetts, knowing that one of the primary Casino owners is against it ? A key stakeholder that should be fighting for the passage of iGaming, is clearly against it.

I sure hope not.

Re: Steve Wynn says Internet gaming will never happen in Nevada or with ties to it?
 

What Mr. Wynn says is, basically, online gambling is not relevant to his resort/entertainment/tourism business, nor that of the successful Nevada casino operators. (I would note only that some other casino operators seem more inclined to embrace the "internets", having seen the benefits of a robust online and social media presence. This is relevant to Nevada's economy and the hotel/gaming/entertainment does need an online and social media presence, whether incorporating "convenience gambling" or not.)

TT, not only is the underlying analysis voiced by Mr. Wynn not news, it is an accurate read of the legislative process, Unfortunately, the majority of "industry" proponents of a "Federal Poker Solution", and their vocal lobbyists on this forum, repeatedly denied it and refused to acknowledge the need for State Lottery support, for whatever reason. Political logrolling is an art, one necessary on the Hill if your legislation does not have the votes outright.

It has always been the case that no federal poker legislation was going to pass without the cooperation and support of the various State lotteries. The sad truth was that poker's allies had confliicting, non-cooperative agendas, even within the brick and mortar casino industry. Online poker was never the "goal", rathher it was protectionism and grabbing a legislated parochial advantage going forward. Lotteries and tribes had to be "dealt-out" not included as allies. ....

Instead pick of picking fights with Chad Hills, or endless complaining about how much Lottery-backed poker would "suck", poker players, in an alliance or not, might have sought out Lotteries, who could be politically-connected allies in virtually every State, who already have a built in constituency happy to get funding from "gambling".

Whether or not poker players still want to debate ad nauseum about Opt-in v Opt-out or evn about "socialist monopolies", poker WILL need better allies at the State level, even if Lotteries generally are interested in instant games more than poker.

Re: Steve Wynn says Internet gaming will never happen in Nevada or with ties to it?
 

Well what does he know.

Re: Steve Wynn says Internet gaming will never happen in Nevada or with ties to it?
 

Biggest issue is Christians. Look at Europe. They have legal online gambling and casinos can feck off.

Re: Steve Wynn says Internet gaming will never happen in Nevada or with ties to it?
 

The "news" part was Wynn did have some ties to the online world and now says he nor anyone else in Nevada has any interest and that he is now looking like he is not a supporter of anything not B&M as it relates to gaming. Also how bad Maccao is doing I didnt realize it was down so much.

Re: Steve Wynn says Internet gaming will never happen in Nevada or with ties to it?
 

You do know that Europe has Christians too?