It’s good to be a casino industry lobbyist or attorney New that is representing Jersey gaming, in line with the latest reports (Image: thepublici.com)
Everybody else knows that whenever it concerns gambling, the house always wins. In the case of online gambling in New Jersey, it seems that the lobbyists and lawyers do pretty well for themselves, too.
Help Services Make Bank
Based on disclosures posted by the nj-new Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, the online gambling industry has resulted in $50.3 million in payments to lawyers, lobbyists, and other professionals since mid-2009. The numbers came just days before the first revenue figures are scheduled to be released for brand New Jersey casino web sites, and are element of an unusual requirement in New Jersey that demands disclosures for all expert re payments.
‘Many states have statutes requiring public disclosure of profits by lobbyists, including New Jersey, but here is the time that is first have ever been aware of a gaming regulatory agency requiring disclosure of payments to lawyers,’ stated Nicholas Casiello Jr., a lawyer because of the Fox Rothschild firm’s gaming group in Atlantic City.
This first report covered everything from July 2009 through December 2013, with future reports being made public for a quarterly foundation.
The biggest ‘winner’ in terms of legal services was Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, L.L.P., which made $1.89 million in legal costs. That’s in addition to another $2.83 million from activities described as a mix between lobbying, consulting and appropriate services, bringing their total haul to $4.72 million.
However, the disclosures also showed so how site that is unclear had been about what exactly they had to report. A few of the reports featured payments related to lobbying outside of Internet gaming issues, while others included expenses that came from on line gambling efforts in other states.
The particular level of detail into the reporting varied greatly since well. The Borgata merely reported two categories of payments: anyone to a law firm, plus one with a lobbying group. Having said that, Amaya Gaming Group and Ultimate Gaming included everything that might possibly be relevant, down to a payment of $19,380 to a mathematician to help develop online games.
Lobbying businesses did rather well, gathering a complete of $3 million from firms in the market since 2009. The biggest chunk of that money went to Public Strategies Impact, which took in $37,500 every quarter from Caesars Entertainment. Some individuals had been reported to have received payments that are large too: TV poker character Mike Sexton took in between $100,000 and $300,000 per year from Bwin.Party so as to be their brand name ambassador.
Not Absolutely All Were Revealing
Perhaps the more surprising aspect of the disclosures was which and how many companies involved in New Jersey’s online gambling industry really complied with the requirement to disclose payments. According to reports, only about 40 percent for the companies that should happen needed to register ‘Internet Gaming Disclosure Statements’ actually bothered to do so. However, that number is really a bit misleading, as every one of the players that are major the industry submitted their statements, while additional companies included in the industry were spottier in their involvement.
‘Each of the state’s 11 casinos has filed and all sorts of seven of their state’s licensed Internet platform providers have filed the division’s disclosure type,’ said Lisa Spengler, spokesperson for the Division of Gaming Enforcement. ‘The unit intends to follow up with licensed vendors that have actually not yet submitted a reply.’
Unlucky descent that is seven-Year Atlantic City Falls Below $3 Billion
It is been a seven-year run of bad luck for Atlantic City’s casinos, revenue-wise. (Image: Moonbeam 13)
It’s amazing just what an improvement seven years make. Atlantic City which was going strong and winning $5.2 billion from gamblers in 2006 has seen seven straight years of declining revenues, culminating within the city’s 12 (now 11) casinos bringing in less than $3 billion in gambling revenues for the time that is first 22 years in 2013.
The figure that is exact was released recently by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement came to $2.86 billion, or near to a five % drop from the $3 billion the casinos brought in during 2012.
Triple Whammies
There have been many contributing factors over the years that have actually held the losing streak going for Atlantic City’s casinos. But as the 2008 recession while the damaging ramifications of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 certainly harmed the gambling resort, the true number one basis for the decrease has been increased competition from nearby casinos.
In reality, the downturn coincides exactly with the year once the area began getting more competitive for casino operators overall. In 2006, the very first casino ended up being built in Pennsylvania, providing gamblers especially casual casino site visitors a location closer to home. Nowadays there are 12 Pennsylvania casinos, so that as of 2012, they were bringing in more money in total than their Atlantic City counterparts.
The decline had real-world implications at the beginning of 2014, as the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel turn off mid-January, leaving the town with only 11 operating casinos.
Can Web Gambling Save the Day?
However, industry insiders state that they expect this trend to reverse itself in 2014, as the introduction of online gambling should offer a much-needed boost in revenues during the year ahead.
‘Obviously it’s disappointing to see another year where it’s a decrease,’ said Tony Rodio, head of the Casino Association of nj-new jersey and president of this Tropicana Casino and Resort, which snatched up a little bit of the Atlantic Club and certainly will be taking the majority of the casino’s gaming gear. ‘But hopefully with the help of Internet gambling, I think you’re going to see an increase in 2014.’
The 2013 figures that are annual the first-ever to include on line gambling revenue in brand New Jersey, as their state’s Internet casino market opened in late November. Overall, gambling enterprises took in $8.4 million in winnings during that time. The lion’s share of the revenue was split between the Borgata and Caesars Interactive, which combined to bring in $6.1 million of that total.
The winner that is largest of all was the Borgata, which won $3.7 million on its PartyPoker-branded online gambling sites.
‘ Our network has attracted the pool that is largest of players in the brand new Jersey online market, allowing us to provide our clients a wide selection of games and table stakes at all times,’ stated Keith Smith, president of Boyd Gaming (a firm that owns half of the Borgata). ‘This gives our system a significant competitive benefit and positions us for further success.’
According to Smith, there was clearly also evidence that the online casinos were bringing in additional revenue, in place of simply money that is shifting land-based operations towards the Web.
‘When matching our online and land-based databases, we discovered that 60 percent of on the web casino customers wasn’t to Borgata in over a year, and over 75 percent had made fewer than two trips to Borgata within the year that is past’ said Smith. ‘And on a combined foundation, online and land-based poker revenue at Borgata was up more than 40 percent from our land-based play in December 2012. Clearly, online gaming is complementary to our land-based business, maybe not competitive.’
Nevertheless, it’s not yet certain whether online gambling will be the city’s economic savior. Overall, casinos took in $222 million in December 2013 including their websites which was still down slightly from the $223.5 million they took in during December 2012.
Poker Site 888 Wants Hakeem Nicks to include an 8 to His Jersey
NY Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks will have an extra ‘8’ on his team jersey, if poker site 888.com gets their means (Image: BSO.com)
In the overcrowded arena of ways to get your title available to you, sometimes you just need certainly to think outside the box. This is the thinking, apparently, for the marketing geniuses at 888.com https://myfreepokies.com/indian-dreaming-slot-review/, an online poker website now licensed into the newly launched nj-new Jersey Web casino market, when they offered New York Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks $88,800 to legally change his name to 888.com.
Anything for Attention
While pretty clearly just a publicity stunt to have shmucks like us to write up the story, it is unlikely that a look for under $89K is going to obtain a pro football player all that excited; heck, these guys spend that much on bottle solution on any given Las Vegas week-end. But it’s a catchy news release and an amusing concept. More than that, it looks at least in part in reaction to week that is last first-time-ever marketing alliance between an on-line poker site partypoker.com and two major pro sports teams: the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.
Game on.
Of course, ya gotta have a gimmick, as Gypsy Rose Lee once said ( at the very least in the musical about her), which means this is 888’s.
‘We’re excited that 888.com is up and running in nj-new jersey,’ said 888 Holdings CEO Brian Mattingley. ‘As we consider 888 to end up being the premier gaming site in the Garden State, we thought it absolutely was appropriate to align ourselves along with other area notables. We’re able ton’t think of a more fitting athlete that is local Big Blue’s very own number 88, Hakeem Nicks. We are additionally conscious that Hakeem’s contract is up, so we hope which he sees this as being a motion to remain so that as an opportunity to benefit a local charity he supports.’
Never ever hurts to put in a few community feel-good elixir either, does it.
Nicks Not Biting
Additionally not too surprisingly and vaguely reminiscent of a recent cryptocurrency launch that used Kanye West’s name despite the fact that he had no real involvement with the product Nicks has not responded, allow alone said yay or nay. It’s been a year that is tough Nicks; he caught 56 passes for 896 yards, giving him on average 16 yards per catch, and also had 14 catches for 20-plus yards along with his longest going for 57 yards. However, he went the whole season without reaching the end zone.
While no one actually believes he will simply take 888 up on this imaginative offer at least not only at that cost if he did choose to go ahead, there’s a whole bunch of paperwork to be careful of, as anybody who’s ever gotten married or divorced can attest. Another one to the Social Security office, passport office and any and all banking institutions, Nicks would have to get a papal blessing from the NFL besides the usual trips to the DMV to change his license.
Then trade in his current team jersey for a new one saying ‘888’ which would be a publicity victory worth a whole bunch more than $88,800 for the poker site if that were to happen and there is the precedent of Ocho Cinco, who changed his name from the more mundane Chad Johnson back in 2008 Nicks would.