North Jersey Casino Expansion Ad Campaign Comes Down, Amid Growing Sense It Ain’t Gonna Happen

Backers of a North Jersey casino expansion ad campaign, the one which supported a referendum vote to take gaming to the part that is north of Garden State, have thrown in the towel.
Investor and real estate mogul Jeff Gural (right) with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (left) claims that general public mistrust of politicians is just a major reason why nj’s casino expansion proposal is doomed to failure. Gural was a backer of the expansion push.
OUR Turn NJ, that has been backed by billionaire investor Paul Fireman and property mogul Jeff Gural, pulled its media advertising campaign, apparently reluctant to plow more income into exactly what appears like a lost cause. Fireman and Gural had hoped to build one casino apiece, into the north associated with state near the border with New York.
The OUR Turn NJ (OTNJ) group said that polling showed little appetite among voters for the proposal to split Atlantic City’s longstanding monopoly on casino gaming and produce two new licenses in the north. Voters are set to pick the issue on a 8 ballot, but otnj now appears resigned to the idea that residents will likely vote overwhelmingly against expansion november.
Blindsided by Media Blitz
OUR Turn NJ said on Thursday said that an internal poll found just 37 percent of New Jersey residents supported amending the constitution to pave just how for the new casinos. Meanwhile, an external poll released this week by Rutgers-Eagleton place the quantity even lower, at just 35 percent, while noting that 57 percent had been contrary to the concept.
The pro-expansion group admitted that it been blindsided by the news blitz launched by the opposition campaign, ‘Trenton’s Bad Bet,’ which concentrated very nearly completely on the observed untrustworthiness of the state’s politicians, rather than the casinos themselves.
‘Trenton political bosses are as much as their old games,’ proclaims one TV spot, which goes on to declare that politicians will use the new casino revenue nevertheless they want, ‘just they bailed out Donald Trump’s failing gambling enterprises. like they did whenever’
Mistrust of Trenton
The campaign has been markedly effective in experiencing general public distrust of lawmakers. Polling by OTNJ discovered that just ten percent of voters believed politicians would deliver on utilizing the revenue for the purposes promised. Voters were additionally worried about the lack of details, such as precisely where the casinos will be built, or the rate that is exact of they would likely pay.
‘We believe deeply that gaming expansion to Northern New Jersey is a remarkable opportunity that shouldn’t be squandered,’ Gural and Fireman said in a statement that is official.
‘ We now have committed $4 billion in private investment to this state to create resort that is world-class with video gaming. The benefits include 43,000 new jobs and vast sums of dollars in recaptured revenue, an opportunity that is rare nj.
‘The data, however, speaks for it self,’ the investors noted. ‘The present political weather in brand New Jersey and voters’ issues about the shortage of details relating to the effort have proved overwhelming.’
United States Gaming Association Recommends Repealing Sports Betting Ban
American Gaming Association boss Geoff Freeman, left, wants sports betting legalized, but that could hamper DraftKings CEO Jason Robins’ daily dream recreations market. (Image: Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
The American Gaming Association (AGA) is recommending to Congress that it repeal the nearly quarter-century old federal ban on sports betting.
The expert and recreational Sports Protection Act (PASPA) passed in 1992 prevented states from offering gambling lines on sports. Nevada, Oregon, Delaware, and Montana were issued special exemptions, as all four of these states were offering some variation of sports lotteries in 1992.
Now 24 years later, the AGA believes it’s time to annul PASPA.
Last year, the AGA formed its Illegal Gambling Advisory Board (IGAB) led by former FBI Deputy Director Tim Murphy. This week, the board issued five conclusions as to the reasons PASPA should be revoked.
Murphy’s IGAB consists of former law enforcement officials now attempting to expose the massive illegal gambling market that is black the United States.
‘ The approach that is current sports wagering in the United States is not working,’ Murphy stated this week in a statement. ‘It’s fueling criminal enterprises. The time has come to repeal the existing sports betting ban and replace it with rigorous laws that benefit states, protect consumers and keep the integrity of the games.’
PASPA Strikeout
In its ‘Law Enforcement Summit on Illegal Sports Betting,’ the IGAB opines that PASPA did precisely the reverse of what it designed to accomplish.
‘Instead of curbing illegal betting, the law has driven activities betting underground, developing a thriving, $150-$500 billion black market with no consumer protection,’ the IGAB reports.
The IGAB thinks illegal sports betting fuels unlawful syndicates, and that an available, transparent, and regulated sports industry that is betting deliver a blow to those rogue gambling rings.
The leagues are slowly easing their hardline stances though the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL, along with the NCAA, recently won a federal appeals court decision against New Jersey to block the state from offering sports gambling.
The NHL is bringing a franchise to Las Vegas for the 2017-18 season, and NFL owner Mark Davis is trying to bring his Oakland Raiders to Sin City. Leagues have typically opposed Las Vegas due to its legalized sports gambling.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is additionally on board. ‘We have no concept what’s going on and there’s no transparency,’ Silver said in May. ‘it is thought by me should be legal; I think it ought to be managed; it should be transparent.’
Canada Fighting Too
Sports betting in Canada is still unlawful, but that was nearly changed recently, almost.
Unfortunately for people looking to place wagers lawfully on sporting occasions in Canada, a bill to authorize single-game wagering was refused in the House of Commons this week.
The ‘Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act’ legislation failed 155 votes against to 133 in support.
Much like the AGA, the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) has been campaigning for a governed activities gambling industry.
‘I regret that I don’t have better news for Canadians,’ CGA President Bill Rutsey stated in a declaration. ‘ Those who understand what exactly is at risk, and the benefits that could occur by implementing regulation, are frustrated and dissatisfied by the vote.’
The CGA estimates over $10.5 billion is wagered illegally on sports by Canadians every year.
Maryland Lottery Controversy Over-Inflated $262 Million Tech Contract
Maryland Lottery Director Gordon Medenica was a senior executive for a business venture that ended up being partially owned by Scientific Games. (Image: Kaitlin Newman)
The Maryland Lottery deliberately inflated the price tag on a $262 million technology contract, wasting an incredible number of dollars that would otherwise have been spent on general public training and wellness programs, according to the losing bidder, London-based IGT.
An eight-year deal to provide central monitoring and a control system for ticket sales, by including forms of internet gambling that are not legal in the state in a letter of complaint seen by the Associated Press, IGT complains that lottery officials overstated the value of the contract.
The contract was ultimately awarded to incumbent provider Scientific Games, the bidder that is highest by $50 million.
Flawed Assessment
IGT says lottery officials later told them that they bloated the contract to consist of online gambling in order ‘to avoid future review and approvals by the [Board of Public Functions,’ in case that on line gambling is legalized. The Board of Public Functions, is needed to approve all contracts over $200,000 by state law.
But this amounted to ‘materially flawed evaluation,’ said IGT, particularly for a continuing state facing an $800 million budget shortfall.
Curiously, Maryland has not been making any noises about regulating online gambling in the near future. Senator Edward Kasemeyer (D-Baltimore and Howard counties), the Senate’s chief spending plan writer, told the Baltimore Sun recently that the legislature is ‘strongly opposed’ to legalizing online video gaming.
Concerns over Lottery Directors’ Links to Scientific
IGT noted that as the incumbent provider, Scientific Games should have been in a situation to produce a lower offer because it currently has staff and infrastructure in place.
And now, conservative news blog RedState.com is questioning whether Lottery Director Gordon Medenica’s past professional association with Scientific has such a thing to do with the matter.
It quotes an anonymous ‘industry insider’ who said: ‘ The multiple bid protests and legislative scrutiny will really be uncomfortable for Gordon Medenica. Medenica had been an executive that is senior a nj-new jersey business that was partially owned by Scientific Games. Given this direct and well-known relationship, it is curious that he didn’t recuse himself from the whole putting in a bid procedure.’
But Scientific Games’ senior vice president of worldwide Lottery Systems, Patrick McHugh, said his company won the bidding process square and fair as it outperformed its competitors in testing. He additionally noted that in 2016 the lottery created record admission sales of $1.9 billion creating $570 million to be used for good reasons.
‘ Our high score reflects Scientific Games’ investment in services and services created to continue the lottery’s sales and profitability momentum for the beneficiaries of the state of Maryland,’ he said in a statement.
Wisconsin Gambling Addict Gets Probation for Delivering a huge selection of Pounds of Marijuana
Gambling can be business that is risky but a Wisconsin gambling addict discovered that paying for your wagers by delivering cannabis is a bet that surely doesn’t pay back. Thanks to Judge James Peterson, pictured above he will be getting a chance that is second. (Image: Scripps Media/rightwisconsin.com)
Wisconsin gambling addict Kongsaden Khammanivong is being given a second chance by a Madison judge.
In July of 2015, Khammanivong ended up being indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiring to circulate more than 50 kilograms (100 pounds) of marijuana between January 2014 and their arrest in July of 2015.
Khammanivong admitted he turned to delivering drugs to fuel their gambling addiction. During their September sentencing that is 20th Khammanivong sobbed to the judge as he explained how gambling took over his life.
Khammanivong revealed he’s attended Gamblers Anonymous and contains prevented casinos since his arrest 445 days prior.
In total, Khammanivong faced as much as 25 years in jail. But this week District Judge James Peterson in the Western District of Wisconsin went easy on Khammanivong in hopes that the gambling addict can change his life around.
Instead of sending the 49-year-old behind bars, Peterson sentenced Khammanivong to 11 days in prison. With credit for time served stemming from 2015, Khammanivong left the courtroom a free of charge man.
‘He hasn’t relapsed. He’s doubled down on helping his family. He gets exactly how serious this is,’ Khammanivong’s attorney Marcus Berghahn told the Wausau Daily Herald.
Khammanivong’s casino addiction reportedly cost him his wedding, though it is confusing where or how much cash he lost gambling. The court was told by him he was free pokies dolphin treasure compensated several hundred dollars for each marijuana transport.
Pretty Peterson Please
The Western District of Wisconsin estimated Khammanivong delivered as much as 176 pounds of marijuana during the 17-month period.
According to Narcotic Information, a lb of marijuana is currently selling for upwards of $4,000 in Wisconsin. Which means Khammanivong helped transport over $700,000 worth of marijuana.
Needless to say, marijuana just isn’t heroin. Peterson apparently thought Khammanivong’s claims that he didn’t play a role that is integral the drug ring, but merely served as a transporter.
Regardless, Peterson’s sentencing is undoubtedly light thinking about the amount of cannabis Khammanivong was moving.
Simply month that is last a former steel company CEO in Alabama was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison for using insurance coverage funds to cover off gambling debts incurred at Wynn Las Vegas.
Also in August, a story that is bizarre about two similar yet separate incidents involving female gambling addicts. Both women had stolen precisely $1.7 million from their employers that are respective Connecticut and Minnesota, and both lost all the money gambling.
Diane Eiler of Minnesota ended up being sentenced to 42 months in jail and three years of supervised probation. Patricia Meehan of Connecticut, who had been first charged in 2010 and served 46 months behind bars, violated her parole in 2016 and was handed one more 8 weeks in jail and two years of supervised home release.
Like Brother, Like Brother
The feds still have full case against Khammanivong, yet not Kongsaden Khammanivong but their younger sibling Khongkha Khammanivong.
Khongkha, 43, is facing more serious charges. A total of nine counts for distributing methamphetamine, cannabis, and cocaine have actually been levied on younger Khammanivong, and he’s also being accused of assisting cash laundering.
He’s dealing with a total of 60 years in jail and $5.5 million in fines.
Kongsaden Khammanivong is just another instance of a Vietnamese or Thailand living that is migrant the US who is promoting a gambling addiction. The problem that is rampant recently gained much unwarranted attention as Little Saigon communities struggle with illegal gambling houses.
