With all the focus on expanding into international markets, there is little attention paid to the effect of this type of expansion on the domestic market, already suffering from a downturn in the real estate market and a nationwide recession.  As the continuing downturn in the economy spells fewer returns on the domestic market for Las Vegas, more and more organizations such as the Las Vegas Sands Corporation look to the international community to to prop up Las Vegas establishments and hotel operations companies with additional income from the overseas market.  While this is a healthy attitude for any business to have, the neglect of the local market can lead to stagnation and elimination of a strong domestic revenue source.

While it remains to be seen what type of effect the overall emphasis on advertising and promotion efforts in the foreign market will have on the local domestic market, it is plain to see that the returns from the depressed American economy will continue to dwindle until the real estate market and property housing makes a comeback and begins to regain some of its value.  Without a strong real estate market, the rest of the American economy, basically a house of cards, begins to crumble and cannot support itself.  Until the local economy is built back up, the local gambling and gaming industries will be unable to effectively leverage the market in their favor, an important factor in the monetization of the gambling industry.  Without a strong economy supporting the local area economic engine, the United States-based gambling industries in areas such as Las Vegas have little choice but to focus on foreign markets to expand their Las Vegas shows and Las Vegas attractions in attempts to continue earning on the same level as they have in previous years.

With all this international expansion, while establishment proprietors certainly benefit from increased business, whether from international sources or domestic, it remains to be seen what type of advantages or disadvantages might exist in this type of business model for local smaller gambling establishments and venues who lack the resources to expand in this same method.  Without the ability to compete in the international arena, the smaller, locally based Las Vegas hotels and casinos and the ubiquitous Las Vegas shows and attractions have little choice but to struggle along with the reduced revenue being generated from the domestic market.

No Comments »

While the recent passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act has done its job of basically ending the heyday of the extremely popular online poker rooms and casinos such as Fulltiltpoker.com by removing a large portion of their American audience due to the restrictive laws passed involving making transactions between American banks and online poker rooms and casinos illegal, there are many smaller and quieter legal battles going on all across the country in bars and establishments that have been prevented from providing free and legal gambling, which features no actual money changing hands from their patrons. Despite the no money approach to these types of legal gambling and drinking and dining establishments across the United States, many attorney general’s have decided that gambling is gambling, regardless of the amount of money that changes hands, even if it is zero. Considering that the cash free tournaments and Texas Hold’em events are cashless events and don’t involve any type of losses at all for the players, it is difficult to see where the harm can be in such events that are organized by publicity seeking casinos from nearby areas at no cost to the local proprietor.

While everyone else would seem to consider this a win-win situation, as the Casino receives free publicity, the dining establishment receives additional customers and everyone has a good time, the authorities in many states have begun to crack down on the practice of playing Texas Hold’em poker and other types of gambling while not actually putting any money at risk. With this baffling display of ineptitude, lawmakers have focused on an absolutely pointless enforcement of a largely nonexistent law. Considering that gambling is considered to be legal at the federal level, there is little precedent for the excessive effort at criminalizing the cash free Texas Hold’em poker tournaments that occur in these types of establishments largely aimed at providing publicity. For whatever reason, local law enforcement in many states such as Louisiana and California have made it their goal to eradicate this type of seemingly harmless gambling in an effort to set some form of example or other hard to decipher law-enforcement goal. Making sense of officials and their activities is not always easy, and in this case, is even more difficult. The possible harm of gambling that does not involve the exchange of money has to be minimal, at worst.

Despite the legal nature of this type of cash free Texas Hold’em poker tournament, lawmakers continue to crack down on proprietors who offer the fun and exciting alternative to illegal varieties of gaming.

No Comments »