Toxic Fool’s Gold, anyone? I
When one of the most powerful men in gaming gets behind banning something, you know you’re in trouble. Matt Broughton prepares for a plague.
think downloading music is a DREADFUL idea. It’s the road to ruin; it’s a musical train wreck waiting to happen (and by that I don’t mean a train wreck that sounds quite tuneful as it derails and smashes into
a mountain). I mean there’s nothing to look at with mp3s, nothing to hold. If you buy music in MP3 format, how do you leave it to your kids? Does little Derek get his dad’s immaculate Beatles 45s collection? No, he gets a USB memory stick and a pat on the head. Pah. So, to conclude, downloading music is the
devil’s own game, and you should stick to buying cassettes, vinyl and CDs. Oh, and did I happen to mention I am the largest supplier of cassettes, vinyl and CDs in the world? AHA! Gotcha.
Thanks for waiting
Yes, as always, eventually there is a point. This time I’m all over Sheldon Adelson, who kindly referred to online gambling as a “Societal Train Wreck”. I mean everyone is allowed an opinion, but the fact Sheldon happens to have created the largest gaming company in the world makes you wonder if there could – perhaps – be an underlying motive to his opinion. I don’t even know how to spell hypocrisy, but as CEO of Las Vegas Sands, it’s hard to imagine that a man as influential as Adelson just happened to burp out this honed attacked because he had nothing better to do. “’Click your mouse and lose your house’ isn’t a slogan for advocates of legalized online gambling, but it should be,” belched Adelson. “As an industry leader and, more importantly, as a father, grandfather, citizen, and patriot of this great country, I am adamantly opposed to the legalization and proliferation of online casino gaming,” he added. The Sands CEO called online gambling “fool’s gold” and went further by stating that online gaming in any form is a “societal train wreck waiting to happen.
Adelson argued his case, pointing out that the Sands Corporation makes twice as much money from non-gaming operations as it does in the pits. Adelson believes that while online gaming would have no impact on his or other major casino operations in the United States [yeah, suuuuuure], it would have an impact on “other commercial casinos, Native American casinos, and racetrack casinos” across the country. Adelson foresees that online gaming would lead to 200,000 direct gaming industry jobs lost, and an additional 200,000 in “indirect” employment in the casino industry hit.
Ctrl Alt Forget
Mark Blandford – founder of online gaming company Sportingbet – pointed out in a statement replying to Adelson’s gaseous discharge that Sheldon appears to have forgotten his previous attempted ventures into the online gaming realm. “[Adelson has] tried to look like a modern day King Canute while wiping the history of Venetian Interactive,” Blandford said, referring to the fact Venetian Interactive, which is owned by Mr Adelson, was granted an online gaming licence by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission back in 2003. Despite this, the company has never launched an online gaming service but it does show the company was, at least at some point, very interested in the industry. Various other figures from within the online gaming industry have also stepped forward to criticise Adelson, including Poker Players Alliance’s Rich Muny, who said: “Online poker is actually a great way for bricks and mortar casinos to market their properties. We saw a huge boom in online poker in the last decade that was nothing but beneficial to B&M casinos. Imagine how much more so it would be for them if they ran the sites.”
Human sacrifice
Adelson got all red-faced, saying: “The plague (that online gaming) could bring to our society is even more far-reaching. The possibility of underage children finding ways to place online wagers and the potential of people betting under the influence of drugs or being coerced are all scenarios that can happen. When gambling is available in every bedroom, every dorm room, and every office space, there will be no way to fully determine that each wager has been placed in a rational and consensual manner.” He did however (no, honestly) offer up a solution: “I strongly urge Congress to either rewrite the Federal Wire Act or pass new legislation making internet gaming illegal nationwide. Additionally, I encourage greater enforcement of the laws currently prohibiting offshore internet gaming companies from engaging in transactions with U.S. citizens.” Adelson closed his piece saying: “No, online gambling is not a threat to my business… it is a threat to our society – a toxin which all good people ought to resist.”
Swallow
Obviously the hard thing to keep down here is that a man who refers to online gambling as a “toxin” a “plague” and “fool’s gold” is quite happy to have made millions from gambling and indeed has a history of interest in launching his own online gambling empire. Clearly if it’s done in a casino it’s fine, but take it up to your hotel room and YOU ARE SATAN. The Venetian’s Facebook page has been
clattered with opinions, as people vow to never visit again, but more interesting will be to see the effect this has on the Republican support of any federal bill to legalise online gambling. Doesn’t sound good, does it?
JULY/AUGUST 2013 57
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