New York Southern Tier Gets Another Look from Casino Licensing Board today

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo urged a state board to reconsider a Southern Tier casino, but the board’s president states the final decision will not be affected by the Empire State’s frontrunner.
The latest York Southern Tier is waiting on pins and needles for the outcomes of a casino licensing meeting with the State Gaming Facility Location Board tonight.
Tonight’s meeting shall see the Board pay attention to reopening the putting in a bid procedure for the resort in the Southern Tier.
That part of the state is lobbying everyone up through ny Governor Andrew Cuomo in a effort to make its case that the area, situated near the Pennsylvania edge, is deserving of the fourth and last license reserved for upstate New York.
Even the undeniable fact that the Southern Tier is still into the game is a little bit of a success for neighborhood politicians and residents. The region was partnered with the Finger Lakes as a solitary region in the casino bidding process, and between the two, were only guaranteed a license that is single. That one ultimately went to the Lago Resort and Casino, a Finger Lakes proposition that was larger compared to the bids coming out of the Southern Tier.
But people in the region felt that they’d been passed over in the casino procedure, when in the same day they were denied licensing, a hydraulic fracturing (or ‘fracking) ban was put into place in hawaii, which could leave the Southern Tier in dire economic straits. That generated appeals to the state Gaming Commission and Governor Cuomo to give the area another chance.
New Meeting Could Open Bidding for Fourth License
That led Cuomo to interest the Gaming Facility Location Board, which often decided to hold a meeting on night in New York City to consider reopening the bidding in the Southern Tier tuesday.
Because the board originally only recommended three casinos for upstate New York, there was still a license that is fourth could potentially be awarded. While that license was originally up for grabs in all three upstate regions, however, the board will simply be considering offering it to the tier that is southern this meeting.
That doesn’t sit well with many lawmakers and other observers throughout the state. Some think that other aspects of New York should also provide the opportunity to bid for that fourth license if it becomes available, while others question how much impact Governor Cuomo has in the casino process.
Hudson Valley Officials Want a Shot
At one point into the bidding procedure, it seemed likely that the 4th casino would find yourself in the Catskills/Hudson Valley area, which was the absolute most profitable area and saw the interest that is most from major casino firms. Given its proximity to New York City and the fact that regional competition could be fierce there, Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus thinks that the region should be part of any conversation over the casino license that is final.
‘Given the possibility that is distinct casino gambling in nj-new jersey could expand outside of its current Atlantic City location, such as the Meadowlands, it makes sense for New York jobs and revenue that the most productive regions in southern New York be included in this discussion,’ read a statement from Neuhaus.
Cuomo’s Influence Questioned
You will find also issues that Cuomo, who pledged to permit the board to get results independently, has received too much influence in the licensing process.
‘Every time he says one thing, he does the contrary when it doesn’t turn the way out he wants it to come out,’ stated Assemblyman James Tedisco (R-Schenectady). ‘If you will say something is independent, keep it independent.’
But members of the facility location board state they have been able to act independently, without any pressure from the governor’s office, and that the decision regarding the Southern Tier comes from them, not from Cuomo.
Washington State Gets its Online Poker that is own Bill
Washington State’s current on-line poker laws are draconian, which has prompted the push for legislative change. (Image: livingmylifeaway.wordpress.com)
A Washington State on-line poker bill has arrived unexpectedly during the opening of this state’s brand new legislative session this week.
The bill to legalize and control poker that is online known as HB 1114, is sponsored by Representative Sherry Appleton (D), and comes as a complete shock to industry observers.
While all eyes have been on the ongoing legislative efforts in Ca, and the occasional debate in Pennsylvania about the possibility of regulation, Washington’s bill ambushed us out of nowhere.
The fact that Washington State is the state that is only of Union in which the actual act of playing online poker is illegal makes the headlines even surprising.
Lawmakers managed to get a course C felony in 2006, with Section 9.46.240 of this state’s gambling law declaring that whoever ‘knowingly transmits or gets gambling information by phone, telegraph, radio, semaphore, the Internet, a telecommunications transmission system, or means that are similar is breaking the law.
This implies that, theoretically at least, playing online poker could secure you a jail sentence of up to five years and a $10,000 fine.
Even Utah, where all kinds of gambling are strictly illegal, including lotteries, does not go quite this far, although we should point out that nobody in Washington State has ever been prosecuted for the act of playing internet poker.
Washington Web Poker Initiative
It could very well be the draconian nature of part 9.46.240 that has driven the push for legislative change in this state that is relatively liberal.
Certainly, the primary crux associated with the new bill is that prohibition fails, and neither does it adequately protect citizens of the state, a lot of ladbrokes bonus casino whom carry on to play on-line poker illegally in unregulated offshore markets.
This can be the crusading message of Curtis Woodward, of the Washington Internet Poker Initiative, whoever tireless efforts in opposing prohibition have helped make the proposed legislation a truth.
‘It did actually me that Washington State had just been written off online that is regarding, which I came across unsettling to say the minimum. Someone had to intensify and raise the issue or we could be a forgotten corner that is little the Northwest,’ Woodward told PokerNews this week. ‘I had reached out to every single candidate that is legislative towards the 2014 elections.
Representative Appleton is a cosponsor on a few tries to reduce or take away the penalty that is criminal players, and she was initially receptive of the idea and was one of a number of legislators I focused on. I got in contact with her again after the election, and she easily took on the bill for all of us.’
A Blueprint for future years
The bill it self believes that many regarding the legislative details should be fleshed out by the Gaming Commission and so doesn’t propose a degree of taxation, nor does it make no reference to bad actors.
It can, however, suggest that there ought to be two levels of licensing, one for community operators and one for consumer-facing online poker rooms, and it might also leave the hinged door open for interstate pool sharing, at the governor’s discretion.
Moreover, there is additionally a hope that the bill may one day act as a blueprint for other states looking to legalize online poker in the long term.
‘ Having the big operators serve as networks, with regional skins competing for players, creates the maximum opportunity for wide participation, without splintering player liquidity. The more neighborhood interests able to participate, the fewer opponents there will be among them,’ stated Woodward.
Caesars Entertainment Goes for Bankrupt, While Creditors Decry Restructuring Arrange
Caesars Palace is run by Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, Inc., which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. However, all Caesars properties will remain open during the procedure, says CEO Gary Loveman. (Image: lasvegas.se).
Caesars Entertainment Corp. (CEC) announced the filing of voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week for its main running unit, Caesars Entertainment Operating business Inc. (CEOC).
The move had been a bid to ease some of its astronomical $23 billion debtload, nearly all which can be held by the device. CEOC listed around $12.4 billion in assets and $19.9 billion in liabilities in Chapter 11 documents on Thursday.
The subsidiary and its own affiliates employ about 32,000 individuals across the US and run 44 gaming and resort properties in 13 states, as well as in five other countries, including the flagship Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
However the core message from the parent business is the fact that its ‘business as usual’ for many of its casinos.
‘The properties across the complete Caesars Entertainment network are available and will run without interruption throughout CEOC’s reorganization process,’ said Gary Loveman, the CEO of CEC and chairman of CEOC, within an formal statement on Thursday.
‘Our guests will stay to make advantages through the Total Rewards loyalty program, and all of us remains entirely concentrated on delivering the same outstanding service and unforgettable entertainment experiences guests came to expect from Caesars Entertainment. Going forward, we will carry on to develop and deliver brand new, revolutionary hospitality experiences to our guests.’
We Come to Bury Caesars…
But Caesars isn’t away from the woods yet, it has worked out with its major creditors of unjustly protecting the company’s interests at the expense of their own as it faces a revolt from its lower-level creditors, who accuse the debt restructuring plan.
This group of lower-level creditors will be in a federal court in Delaware attempting to call a temporary halt to the Chicago case and to stop the restructuring plan from going through as drafted while CEOC files for bankruptcy in Chicago. The move this follows months of negotiation and litigation between Caesars and its bondholders week.
Caesars countered why these creditors are trying ‘to wreak havoc on the orderly procedure the debtors, their professionals, plus the many consenting stakeholders have actually been preparing for months.’
Good Caesars / Bad Caesars
Caesars acquired most of its debt whenever it went private in 2008, following a $30.1 billion takeover by Apollo worldwide Management and TPG Capital, simply round the start of the global downturn that is economic.
As the recession hit the land-based casino industry in the usa, the group, along with its 50 casinos across the US, suffered.
Caesars has lost cash every year since 2009, and has struggled to pay for the attention on its enormous debt. It recently posted 2014 Q3 losses of $908.1 million and last month defaulted on a $225 million repayment.
‘We think this restructuring is in the desires of CEOC’s stakeholders and can result in a capital that is sustainable for CEOC and value creation for many stakeholders,’ said Loveman.
‘The restructuring of CEOC is the culmination of an effort that is years-long improve the health of CEOC’s balance sheet, which has included significant investment in brand new and upgraded assets, especially in Las Vegas. I am extremely confident as time goes by leads of our enterprise, which will combine a capital that is improved with a system of lucrative properties.’
However, Caesars’ disgruntled creditors have accused Apollo and TPG of attempting to develop a ‘good Caesars,’ that will have its famous and properties that are valuable and a ‘bad Caesars’ to put up the debt.
