Midwest Gaming Journal

Yes Kansas You Will Have Gambling...Maybe

Despite gloomy casino forecasts coming out of the Global Gaming Expo is Las Vegas this week, and the announcement that two of the four developers for Kansas' state controlled casino have backed out sighting the cash crunch, there's still hope for those casinos to get up and running sooner than later.

Bad Deal for Harrah's in Kansas

Citing a bad economy, Harrah's is pulling out of a deal to run a casino in Kansas. Recently, a vote passed to allow a few government run casinos in the state. This slip up by one of the world's largest casino operators has prompted veteran casino scribe Rick Alm to once again question the effectiveness of state run gambling halls.

Voting on Loss Limits

Gambling in Missouri can be a pain in the ass because of their screwy loss-limit rule which attempts to prevent gamblers from losing $500 in a 2-hour period. Yes, "attempts" because crafty gamblers can easily skirt this silly and ineffective rule.

Coming up on the Missouri ballot in the upcoming election voters can repeal the law, but not if Illinois has anything to say about it.

The dichotomy the casino industry presents - supporting their own gaming interests while aligning with anti-gambling groups squash competitors - is confusing. This attitude has also crossed the tribal lines. The Milwaukee Potowatomi casino is lobbying against a Kenosha casino that would apparently really help the Wisconsin tribe. The Menomonees have even started their own blog about the issue.

Mistakes On the Lake

The casino industry has fought for years to assuage those that think gambling halls are run by thugs and crooks. Then stuff like this pops up.

The Indiana Supreme Court has been called in to find out if $16-million that the Ameristar casino in East Chicago, IN paid to a private business is legit.

Millions of dollars intended goes missing in corporations all the time because of nefarious activities. But the casino industry has been in a long battle to prove it is a legitimate business. It's funny though: Getting rid of the mob and gangster run casinos from the Vegas olden days and turning them into tightly run corporate organizations that now blanket the country has made them more suspicious. Gone are the days of back room beatings and tables that can't be beat, replaced with  6-5 blackjack and $150 tickets to see mega-douche Chriss Angel. Which is worse?

Get Out To Vote

Among the important issues to be decided this November, Ohio residents will vote on whether or not to allow the Midwest's biggest casino to set up shop near Cincinnati.

There's a lot of stuff out there to help you make your mind...or just find out more about the sometimes thorny issue:

Cincinnati.com says, among other things, analysts may be off in projecting how much a casino in Southwest Ohio will make with competition from Indiana.

Vindy.com does a nice job laying out the players in the pro-/con- casino movement.

The Akron Beacon Journal shows how the politics of the region are playing into the battle for the state's first casino.

Setting The Line For the 10th License

 It's a little strange because gaming companies - especially the big ones - are not doing well on Wall Street right now. I know, everyone's suffering, but casino stocks have been among the biggest losers. But rumors of the Green Giant entering the Chicago market have been circling for a while. There was a lot of speculation MGM would buy Don Barden's barges in Gary, hopefully resurrecting the no-longer majestic Majestic Star boats to what they once were. Now they've offered the state $435 million to build a casino in Illinois.

MGM outbid 6 other groups, the next highest offer was $225 million coming from a group lead by the former owner of Sportsman's Park. Even that bid is higher than expected.

MGM's Kirk Kekoiran and his right-hand man Alex Yemenidjian are no dummies. Even as their company's value has plummeted, they've done a good job staying out of debt. Their most masterful move was selling off part of their City Center project to investors from Dubai long before the market showed weakness.

Apparently they feel the Chicago market is largely untapped. Most of the  area casinos are still making money, albeit at a slower pace than last year. The more dilapidated boats aren't doing so well (read: Ameristar), while the newer joints are making lots of cash (Horseshoe/Four Winds). Putting a fancy casino near the Indiana border should keep a lot of Chicagoans off the Skyway.

With a big corporation willing to dump this much cash into a new venture, is this a sign our economy is on an up-swing? Or do people in Chicago just like to gamble a lot?

Rosemont Still Fighting The Odds

Why doesn't Rosemont get it? After they were caught in cahoots with the mob no one would be dumb enough to give them a casino - not even the brain trust in Springfield. Nonetheless, Rosemont mayor Bradley Stephens has lobbied state lawmakers to bestow his Village with the state's 10th casino license. He proposes a state-run land-based casino be built near at Rosemont Theater. According to Stephens, if awarded the license he could get a casino up and running in six months.

An article in the Chicago Tribune points to Springfield's lax rules around casino gambling as an invitation for corruption - and gives recent evidence to gaming misgivings. So, even if Rosemont is now squeaky clean (ha!) the tarnish from Organized Crime ties will keep them out of the gambling game for a long, long time.