Let your mouth speak archive

Gov. Steve Beshear's inaugural day push for a constitutional amendment to allow more kinds of gambling in Kentucky drew immediate opposition from church leaders who are promising a fight.

The Rev. Jeff Fugate of Lexington, a nationally known evangelist and pastor of Clays Mill Road Baptist Church, said Wednesday that gambling would bring only brokenness to Kentucky families and shouldn't even be considered by lawmakers.

"We've got plans in place to fight against it, and we believe that, if legislators are going to vote for it in the majority of districts, they'll be gambling their seat away," Fugate said.

Kentucky has a long history of betting on horse races but doesn't allow casino-style gambling.

Beshear, in a speech on the first day of his second term, said he wants voters to decide whether to expand gambling beyond horse races, lotteries and charitable bingo games. He didn't say specifically what kinds of gambling he is endorsing, though over the past four years he has been a proponent of casinos and of slot machines at horse tracks. So far, lawmakers have refused to approve either option.

Gambling proponents argued that slots at horse tracks would generate money to increase purses. That, they said, would bolster the state's struggling thoroughbred industry and allow Kentucky to keep its designation as "the horse capitol of the world" while also generating needed revenue for the state's General Fund.

Beshear made his support for gambling a key issue in each of his last two gubernatorial elections, and he won them both.

One of the state's best-known gambling foes, John-Mark Hack, is planning to take a lead in the upcoming battle. Hack is the volunteer coordinator for the newly formed Stop Predatory Gambling — Kentucky. He helped to derail efforts early in Beshear's first term to legalize casinos.

Hack said his opposition isn't to Beshear, but to gambling.

"As Kentuckians, we encourage everyone to support the governor's efforts to create more and better jobs, more effective job training, and a state that creates opportunities and promise for every single one of our children," Hack said. "We just don't believe we can accomplish those goals by pursuing the failed policy of predatory gambling."

Lawmakers are scheduled to return to Frankfort on Jan. 3 for the start of the 2012 legislative session that is expected to last into early April. They will have several high-profile chores, including the politically sensitive task of redrawing boundary lines around legislative and congressional districts, and the adoption of a two-year state budget.

Beshear said his gambling proposal, if passed, would be a revenue generator for the state budget. His idea is to also pass a gambling tax.

"Kentucky's future will be better if we improve the revenue picture for essential services through tax reform, as the governor's inaugural speech offered to do," said the Rev. Marian McClure Taylor, executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches. "But our future will not be better if we turn to expanding gambling, and the Kentucky Council of Churches will continue to speak against an approach proven to be harmful to families and communities."

Fugate, whose radio programs are aired across the nation, said he's hopeful lawmakers will reject the proposal.

"Here's what the populace needs to understand," he said. "When the governor says let the people decide, that's a misnomer. The legislative body has to vote for or against gambling. The constitutional amendment then goes on the ballot to either ratify or reject their decision."

Martin Cothran, a spokesman for The Family Foundation, said he expects lawmakers will face strong pressure to vote for the gambling proposal or risk losing funding for projects in their districts.

"Kentuckians should strap themselves in again for the corruption of our political process that always accompanies these efforts," Cothran said.

A veteran public official who has worked for both Democratic and Republican office-holders in Massachusetts will lead the state's venture into casino gambling. Stephen Crosby has been tapped as the first chairman of the Massachusetts Gambling Commission. WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.

The 66 year old Crosby has accepted a job that comes with high pressure, stress and intense scrutiny. It will be up to Crosby and the other, as yet un-named, members of the gambling commission to guide the development of a potentially multi-billion dollar industry in Massachusetts and to insure it is not infected by the corruption that has accompanied casino projects in other places.
Colleagues are quoted describing Crosby as analytical and open minded. He has worked in politics, business and most recently academia. In the 1970s, Crosby was campaign manager for a Democratic mayor of Boston. He worked for two Republican governors, budget chief for Governor Paul Cellucci and chief of staff for acting Governor Jane Swift. He was a member of Democratic Governor Deval Patrick's transition team in 2007.
Patrick, in appointing Crosby to head the gambling commission, praised his integrity
Crosby will leave his current post, as dean of a policy center at the University of Massachusetts Boston to become the full time chair of the gambling commission with an annual salary of 150 thousand dollars.
Crosby's views on legalizing casino gambling in Massachusetts have evolved, he concedes. As budget chief for Gov. Cellucci he thought casinos were a bad idea, but a few years later, in a Boston Globe op-ed he wrote that casinos would deliver more money to communities than the state lottery.
The new head of the gambling commission says he is not much of a gambler. Crosby said he buys an occasional scratch ticket and has gone with his step-daughter's family to a casino in Colorado. He said he does not own stock in any casino companies.
He said he's formed no opinions on the casino projects that have been proposed in Massachusetts so far.
The gambling commission will draft regulations for the casino industry in Massachusetts, decide who gets the lucrative casino licenses, enforce the rules, and assure the state and its cities and towns get the share of the proceeds the gaming companies are obligated to deliver.

State Representative Joseph Wagner of Chicopee helped write the new casino law

The other members of the gambling commission will be appointed by Attorney General Martha Coakley and State Treasurer Steven Grossman, who get one appointment each. They're currently accepting applications on line. The final two members will be chosen by a majority vote by the governor, attorney general and treasurer. A search firm is being hired to recommend finalists.

If you thought the words "reality TV" and "Clint Eastwood" didn't go together, think again. The famous actor/director's wife and kids are airing their dirty laundry - or just laundry - on the E! network.

Bovada has all your reality TV betting. Think you know who will win X-Factor? Get your odds now.

Sources say that Eastwood's wife Dina and his daughters Morgan and Francesca (an aspiring actress) want to show the world what it's like being members of "Hollywood royalty."

And just like Kelsey Grammer made cameos on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (which turned out well*), Clint has agreed to make some cameos, although he won't be a regular castmember.

The show is being produced by reality powerhouse Bunim/Murray the powerhouse production company behind Keeping Up With the Kardashians and the world's inagural reality show, The Real World. Eastwood's latest flick, J. Edgar, has recieved 42% on rottentomoatoes and is currently playing nationwide.

You are so right....

The US media is having a field day with a recent betting offer made by Republican presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney to his rival Rick Perry in a debate on Saturday. Romney, a practicing Mormon, offered Perry a $10,000 bet on whether he had called for a ‘national individual mandate’ in his book, No Apology.

Perry declined the bet; nevertheless it has sparked incredible criticism from all fronts, including the Democratic National Committee, Republican presidential candidates and the Mormon church itself, which preaches ‘no gambling’ as a core principle of the religion.

Even the pan-Washington DC website, The Hill, jumped on the bandwagon, bringing in the psychological element of Romney’s bet and quoting an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, Timothy Fong, as saying that Governor Romney probably lost his cool in the debate, which triggered the bet offer.

“The thing that really troubles me is really the timing of it all, the framing of it all, again in this very troubled economic time and he’s randomly tossing it out there like it’s a gentleman’s bet,” said Fong.

However, Fong hastened to say that he did not see this as “the dark side of Romney” and that making bets wasn’t unusual for Americans.

“To me, he was getting emotional on a subject matter right there in the debate and he was being pressed like he was wrong,” he said. “It tells me this guy, you know, lost his cool.”

Romney’s wife, Ann, however, had the lost word on the matter. After the incident, his loving spouse said: “There are a lot of things you do well. Betting isn’t one of them.”

In the last few days there have been different types of news about online gambling in different countries in Europe.

The news from Belgium is not good for online casino players. The country is pressing ahead with its draconian and inequitable new online gambling regulation, disregarding all criticisms. From January 2012 Internet service providers like Telenet, Belgacom, Base and Mobistar will be required by law to block online gambling web sites that do not have a license to operate in Belgium. The Belgian Gaming Commission has already provided Internet service providers with preliminary black lists of online gambling sites that are active in Belgium but not licensed under the new Belgian regulations. The black list will be regularly updated. A white list has also been prepared recording the online gambling sites that have been licensed by the Belgian Gaming Commission. The Gambling Commission will target those illegal sites with the largest player bases first. It has been estimated that about 40,000 Belgians wager on licensed online casinos and other gambling sites, but four times this number wager on unlicensed foreign sites offering more competitive terms. By enforcing the blocking of these sites, the authorities hope to steer players to the licensed operators. It is expected that the foreign online gambling companies will respond by initiating litigation that will eventually end up at the European Court of Justice.

On the other hand, reports from Greece indicate that it is facing difficulties in tackling unlicensed online gambling operators. Greek members of parliament were briefed on this by Evgenios Giannakopoulos, the president of the Committee of Surveillance and Control of Gaming. Giannakopoulos pointed out that companies involved in unlicensed gambling in Greece earn about €7 billion a year in revenues that are not taxed. This results in the loss of millions of euros for the government's treasury. He said that tracking down the illegal gaming was a very difficult and time consuming task and the committee will begin getting results only in about six months time.

Georgia is a Eurasian country where online casinos are flourishing. It has been reported that the growth of online casinos in Georgia is double that of the global rate. This has been attributed to increasing Internet access in the country. Launching an online casino in Georgia is much easier than getting a license in any other jurisdiction according to the Georgian news site The Financial. The gambling laws in Georgia require that a license for establishing a land casino be obtained as a prerequisite to operating an online casino. This license costs a little under £2 million. The first online verticals to enter the Georgian online gambling market were casino and poker. Now new products like totalizators are being introduced, which are intellectually high-level games.

Germany has taken another step towards regulating online gaming, including poker, as 15 of the 16 federal states approved a new law today.

The law will allow for up to 20 sports betting licences and a gambling sales tax of 5 percent will be introduced.

One state, Schleswig-Holstein, has gone its own route and introduced a more liberal set of regulations.

Despite being urged to accept the Schleswig-Holstein proposals the other 15 states declared they would write their own legislation.

The law now needs to be approved by the European Commission but companies such as Betfair are expected to lobby against its acceptance on the basis that it is too restrictive.

Time to take a punt on the gambling sector? There has been a theory that gloomy economic times might encourage gaming. A few quid punted provides a momentary escape from the gloom and offers the hope of a payout to make the world look more cheerful.

It sounds terribly sensible. But it doesn't always hold water. Punters will still take a punt, but during the downturn they often reduce the size of their stakes. More bets, less money gambled. Like any consumer industry, gambling is not immune from the squeeze on its customers' pockets.

And that is not the only threat. The Government is reviewing the flight offshore of bookmakers' "remote" gaming operations, which allows them to duck the 15 per cent gross profits levy that replaced betting duty.

The aim is to find a way of recouping that tax. So is this sector one to avoid, like the 100-1 shot in the Derby that just can't win? Not necessarily, because there are one or two bargains to be found.

Betfair is not one of them. The exchange looks a better bet than it did six, or even three months ago, having prized Breon Corcoran away from Paddy Power to be its chief executive. It has also installed City veteran Gerald Corbett as deputy chairman. He ought to be able to keep the company's investors from going off the rails.

That said, Betfair still faces considerable challenges and rival bookies have stopped moaning about it and started competing. Trading at 25 times forecast earnings for the year ending April 2012 with a yield of just 1 per cent, it is overpriced.

Also in the online space, bwin.party continues to cause concern for the simple fact it has two chief executives. If the company can make this unusual situation work, it will be a first. At about 10 times 2011 earnings, with a prospective yield of 2.8 per cent, the shares come at a slight premium to Ladbrokes and William Hill, having lost much of the ground they gained in April when rival websites (which offered poker illegally to US players) were shut down. It has positioned itself smartly if the US market reopens. But we wouldn't be buyers based on something that is more a hope than an expectation.

Sportingbet shares are lightly rated (just above 7 times 2012 earnings) and yield well (5 per cent), but legal worries killed a deal with Ladbrokes and there are other, more attractive places to invest. 888, another candidate for a deal with Ladbrokes, has a similar rating but no yield. Again, its proposition just doesn't look that compelling.

Those looking for a punt could do worse than Probability, which specialises in mobile phone gaming. Viewers of cable or daytime TV will have seen its stomach-churning ads. A look at its results, however, show they work.

The new generation of smartphones has helped no end, and it should turn a profit this year. While the company is tightly held, and the shares can be volatile, the probability is Probability will eventually get bought for a substantial premium. William Hill had a look this year. Take note and buy.

A company that does deserve a premium is Paddy Power. Despite the difficulties in its home market it has charged into Britain, loudly proclaiming itself "the punter's pal" and indulging in all sorts of PR stunts and Paddywhackery. But behind all the blarney are some very sharp businessmen. Mr Corcoran's loss is a blow, but Paddy has the strength to recover. The shares are now very highly rated (20 times forecast 2011, yielding 2.2 per cent). All the same, given the way this company is growing outside Ireland and its past outperformance, it is one to be on the right side of. Hold.

Ladbrokes is looking a bit like the Grand Old Duke of York, having marched its troops to the top of the hill and marched them down again with 888 and Sportingbet. The "magic sign" will now have to sort out its online offering on its own.

All the same, trading on 8.6 times 2011 forecast earnings with a 5.9 per cent yield, it is not over priced. We'd, just about, be buyers.

If Paddy Power is worth holding despite a lofty rating, what of William Hill? It is growing footfall fast, expanding cautiously internationally and improving its use of racing content. It also has a decent online business, even if it does face a tax hit.

Hills is no longer racing to have the biggest chain of betting shops if those shops aren't profitable. Debt is manageable and the shares trade on just eight times forecast full-year earnings with a solid yield of 5 per cent. This is far too cheap. Hills is a strong buy.

Online poker and gambling site Bodog is no longer operating in the United States market and has rebranded as Bovada for Americans.

The decision for Bodog to leave the U.S. market was actually announced earlier this year. On Wednesday, Bodog announced that the company that operated Bodog in the United States, the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, would now service Americans at the website Bovada.lv. That website currently accepts American customers, and it appears that all American accounts at Bodog have been transferred to Bovada.

From a press release on the move:

The Bodog brand is confident MMGG’s customer account information and funds will continue to remain safe and secure, as it has done since MMGG entered its original agreement with the Bodog Brand in 2006 and we would like to wish MMGG the greatest success in its new venture.

And according to the Bovada web site:

Bovada.lv offers its customers pre-eminent sports betting opportunities across all major leagues, tournaments and events in North America, a thriving and dynamic poker community, and a full Vegas-style casino with web-based and downloadable games.

Bovada.lv is licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, which operates out of Canada.

888 Poker and PokerStars are among 38 operators to be given Danish Gambling Authority licences to run online gambling websites in the European country when an “orderly” regulatory framework is introduced on January 1 next year.

Danish minister of taxation Thor Möger Pedersen believes granting these licences should be welcomed by the operators – with many of the biggest names in online poker prominent among the applicants – and the country’s people, with the nation having no current regulations governing online gambling.

However, that will all change in just over two weeks when the new legislation – which was approved this year by the European Commission and Danish parliament – comes into effect, ensuring regulatory controls are in place.

Certainly, the granting of licences will ensure that the government’s coffers show improvement as each of the operators will shell out a 20% tax on gross income from their presence in the online market.

Pedersen said: “From January the gambling market will be orderly and we will ensure that holders of a betting and online casino license to operate on the Danish market also contribute to the society.

“Danes, as well as the many associations supported by the gambling market, can be joyful.”

But Pedersen also had a warning for operators who have failed to secure a licence, hinting strongly that the Danish government will almost certainly follow the US pattern of shutting down gambling websites – as happened back on April 15 when the Department of Justice (DoJ) came down hard on sites such as PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker.

He said: “The orderly market means, among other things, that all gambling operators without a licence from 1 January 2012 risk that their website or payments will be blocked.”

The Scandinavian nation is just the latest European country to introduce new online gambling laws, following on from the likes of Germany, France and Spain.

An official press release from Pedersen is listed further down this report.

Meanwhile, Spanish news website Poker-Red has reported that Groupe Bernard Tapie, the French investment company, are among 61 firms to make applications to be awarded online gaming licences from the Spanish government.

Spain’s freshly regulated market comes into effect in January of next year as the applications for licences apparently continue to rise above the five-dozen mark.

It would appear that the investment firm – which seem certain to work out a deal that will see them buy Full Tilt Poker – is prepared to repay all the under-pressure online poker room’s Spanish customers after players’ assets were frozen as a result of the company’s troubles.

This is a requirement that must be met before the poker website can be resurrected in Spain, according to Poker-Red’s report.

The Iberian nation is to enforce laws that will segregate the gambling market, in a similar fashion to Belgium, Italy and France.

While no official applications list has been released, numerous big players in the online gambling market – and again some of the largest online poker rooms in the world – have shown great interest, including the likes of 888, the dominant PokerStars, the UK-based Ladbrokes and bwin.party, ahead of Wednesday’s deadline.

However, Unibet has withdrawn their application, with the firm’s Spanish-language website posting a message that they are to “suspend…activities in Spain on Dec. 20, 2011.”

Although the website’s Spain-based clients will be blocked next Tuesday from wagering and bonuses will be terminated on the same day, customers will still be able to withdraw funds.

But it should be noted that Unibet have only just reappeared on the French online gambling market following a short stint on the sidelines over what has been described as a temporary protest or break – depending on who you listen to – in relation to the compulsory taxes paid by licensees to the French government.

So, there could well be future poker news to report on Unibet’s withdrawal here at Poker News Report after the first round of licences are handed out by Spain.

Back to Scandinavia, and here is the full press release from minister of taxation Thor Möger Pedersen that was originally published at skat.dk, the Danish Tax and Customs Administration (SKAT), which is the government body responsible for collecting taxes and duties:

1 January 2012, Denmark opens for the new gambling market, providing gambling operators the opportunity to offer betting and online casino. A total of 38 applicants have received 55 different licences to legally operate in Denmark.

The full list of approved licence holders is now published on the Danish Gambling Authority’s website.

The Minister of Taxation, Thor Möger Pedersen, says:

“From January the gambling market will be orderly and we will ensure that holders of a betting and online casino licence to operate on the Danish market also contribute to the society.

“Danes, as well as the many associations supported by the gambling market, can be joyful.

“The orderly market means, among other things, that all gambling operators without a licence from 1 January 2012 risk that their website or payments will be blocked.

“The new and open gambling market in Denmark has been underway since the Parliament’s decision in 2010.

“On Tuesday next week the Danish Gambling Authority will hold an information session for the new licence holders to inform about upcoming activities on the gambling scene.

“Licence holders will, among other things, be briefed on how the Danish Gambling Authority will monitor the Danish gambling market and how the Danish Gambling Authority cooperate with gambling authorities in other countries.”

Now that Piers Morgan is officially too good for America's Got Talent, apparently Howard Stern is taking his place, much to the chagrin of parents everywhere.

Marketed as a "family show," parents are up-in-arms that the shock jock, who tends to have porn stars on his show, will now be judging the talent America has to offer. NBC has been looking for a replacement who could clash with other judges as well as offer contestants the bitter pill of truth. And who else better to do that than the King of All Media?

The Parent's Television Council is arguing against having Stern on the show, saying of NBC, "The once-proud broadcast network has lost its way and has made it clear it holds no concern whatsoever for children and families."

America's Got Talent judge Howie Mandel called the Parent's Television Council is "ignorant" for attacking Stern, arguing, "It's ridiculous to think that he's bringing the Sirius show to 'America's Got Talent'."

Mandel adds, "I couldn't be happier. As my Mom always says, you can never have enough Howies."

Reportedly, Stern will rake in a whopping $20 million - however - since he sealed a deal with Sirius Radio for $400 million, many speculate that he will be pulling in a hell of a lot more. With Stern shocking America by taking over their favorite reality TV show, think you know who will take over the nation?

Attack all you want at that pay who cares,lol. i think the dude is cool personally.used to watch his show all the time.havent heard the the radio show yet.but can understand how peeps might be upset.get over it .

Before long, your favorite casino could be as close as the phone in your pocket.

Apps from casinos, slot machine manufacturers and other developers allow users to play games while they're away from the casino. In the United States, where online gambling is illegal, players risk no money. In countries that allow it, players could win a slots jackpot or play a table game for money while waiting in line or riding a train.

"It's definitely the next frontier for gaming," says Louis Castle, chief strategy officer for Shuffle Master Inc., a Las Vegas-based company that markets shufflers, slot machines and proprietary table games to casinos around the world.

This month, the company will launch Shuffle Interactive, which will offer online versions of its games for phones, mobile devices and computers. Castle says the company's first online offering will be Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em, followed by Three Card Poker and other Shuffle Master games.

All will play exactly as they do in a brick-and-mortar casino but will be modified visually to work on whatever device a player is using, says Castle, who helped developed computer games such as "Command and Conquer" and "Blade Runner" before joining Shuffle Master.

Shuffle Interactive will be available through www-shufflemaster-com; the company also will market its games to other operators for use on their sites. For now, games will be free to play for U.S. customers, giving them a chance to learn a game without risking money. However, Shuffle Master has licenses around the world and will be able to offer online gaming in countries where it is legal.

Casino games account for about a quarter of the games played online around the world, Castle says.

"We're going to be working with other people's sites as well, and ultimately applications for mobile and social networks," he says.

Slot makers Bally Technologies, IGT and Aristocrat all offer play-for-fun slots apps on iTunes.

Bally Technologies, whose products include Playboy Hot Zone, Cash Spin and Vegas Hits, partners with casino companies to combine marketing and gaming, says Mike Daly, who leads Bally's recently established Interactive Division, the company's first new division in 50 years.

"Bally is taking the approach of: 'How do we bring the casino to players, wherever the players may be, and the players to the casino, wherever the players may be?'" says Daly, Bally's director of business development.

The brick-and-mortar casino remains an "entertainment destination," but mobile apps that can be used before, during and after a visit will enhance players' enjoyment, Daly says.

"Your entertainment experience doesn't end when you're at the casino, and it doesn't start when you get to the casino," he says. "It becomes a fully immersing, embracing experience."

For example, a casino might notify its app users of a new slot machine being installed. The users can play the machine online to see whether it appeals to them. When they get to the casino, they can use the app to locate the machine on the floor.

"I can see where it is in relation to the restaurant that I like. And, by the way, what special is that restaurant running today?" Daly says.

With casino apps, gamblers could check their players club points or apply them to comps. A table-game player at a casino resort could order room service and have the delivery timed to his return to the room. A property could use the technology to set up a casino scavenger hunt for patrons.

"It's not just gaming. It's a casino destination experience," Daly says.

In Nevada, some sports books already allow bettors throughout the state to place wagers via smartphone apps without having to go to the property. The service is not available to anyone outside Nevada.

Daly says the concept of "geofencing," or establishing an electronic boundary in which an app works, can be refined within a casino. He says some areas of the state allow "on-property not-at-the-device" gaming. For example, a customer can play slots electronically for money from his room or by the pool without actually sitting at the machine.

He cites studies indicating that by 2013, more than half the people accessing the Internet will do so through a mobile device.

"These are cutting edge technologies not just for gaming but for the entire world," he says. "Casinos are moving into that space as well. We're not ahead; we're keeping pace with what is going on in the world."

The on-again/ off-again push for casino gambling in Kentucky is on again tonight -- but with a new wrinkle. State Representative Dennis Keene of Wilder has a different plan.... it would make gambling a local option in the state's biggest metro areas. Local 12's Joe Webb has more on the odds this bill faces.

Keene's bill would allow voters in Kentucky counties with more than 90-thousand people the chance to vote on casino gambling in their county. That affects just 8 counties. It would also give cities that have an existing horse track a chance to vote on a casino at the track. With that in mind, if the bill passes, and people vote for them.....Northern Kentucky could conceivably end up with four casinos.

All three Northern Kentucky counties have more than 90,000 people in them so riverfront casinos could come from this. The governor is pushing for a statewide vote to amend the constitution and allow casinos. Dennis Keene's notion is to keep it local...and use the local option often used for tax and liquor issues. "Rather than the constitutional amendment, we deal with it directly with the people it effects. It's simple and it's something the legislature's able to do."

And someone in Paducah wouldn't have a voice on a casino in Covington....and vice versa. If it passes, the casino money would bolster the horse industry, schools and state pensions. It's potentially a lot of money. "The licensing fee will be $50 million. If you have 6 casinos,that's $300 million that would go to the general fund."

The state would also get a $6 million annual fee and 31 percent of the casino's gross. But that goes to the state. Cities like Florence that have a horse track can also vote for a casino. But here's the rub. "What I see as a potential problem is there's no funding allocated for the jurisdiction that would actually host the casino."

"If we have an additional 100,000 people a day, a week coming into our community we're going to need additional police officers, firefighters, paramedics to respond to emergencies as well as wear and tear on local roads."

That said, mayor Whalen says she thinks the bill is a good start. Dennis Keene says he has support in the Kentucky House for his bill but doesn't know how it will fare in the Senate. He filed the bill this morning.

RIVAL AMAYA Gaming is offering €25 million to buy out Irish online gambling specialist Cryptologic.

Amaya already holds a seven per cent stake in Cryptologic, which it built up through a series of share purchases this year. Yesterday it announced it has agreed a preliminary cash offer with the Irish company’s board of $2.50 (€1.92) a share for the outstanding 93 per cent.

The offer represents a premium of 52 per cent over Cryptologic’s $1.64 closing price on New York’s Nadsdaq exchange on Wednesday.

It values Cryptologic at a total of $34.5 million, while purchasing the outstanding 93 per cent of the company will cost Amaya just over $32 million, or close to €25 million.

Both parties yesterday stressed that the offer is preliminary and is subject to preconditions, including the unanimous support of the Cryptologic board and confirmation by Amaya that it has the resources to complete the offer.

Takeover rules require Amaya to announce by 5pm on January 12th that it either intends to make a firm offer for the company or that it does not intend to make an offer for Cryptologic.

On the basis of the preliminary offer, the Irish company’s board has agreed to allow Amaya to carry out due diligence of Cryptologic. Amaya also reserves the right to vary the offer’s terms or reduce the amount of the offer.

Amaya itself is in the process of being sold to Canadian investment bank Canaccord for €15 million through the exchange of a series of Canadian dollar-denominated warrants.

Cryptologic develops superhero and movie-themed slot machine-style and casino games and licences them to other operators such as Paddy Power, Ladbrokes and Betfair. It employs 24 people in Dublin, mainly in corporate HQ roles. It has staff in centres in Canada and Malta involved in software development.

Last August, it reported that it made profits of $500,000 in the second half of this year, the first such surplus it recorded since 2008.

“Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast,” Oscar Wilde quipped.

Ha. I ran into the Irish bad boy’s words in a photograph I took earlier this year of the picaresque tribute to Wilde at Dublin’s Merrion Square Park.

Looking through photos of my favorite moments of 2011 is a sort of consolation move after I read that the euro has fallen against the dollar to its lowest levels in almost a year, and I wonder, what am I doing in Miami?

Oh, the 305, home sweet home for the holidays, there’s no avoiding it, and the 954, too, because that county line is pretty blurry when you hang your fortunes along the northern border.

If you don’t think so, I refer you to how, facing formidable resident opposition, on the eve of the Miami Beach vote to reject mega casino gambling resorts in the city, those who insist on bringing major gambling operations to South Florida quickly moved to push their luck in Sunrise.

This time — surprise, surprise — it was the Panthers announcing that putting a destination casino gambling resort on the land surrounding the BankAtlantic Center is a great idea and would end talk of the hockey team leaving South Florida.

That old familiar threat again from a sports team. Ugh.

Adiós, sayonara, bon voyage, hasta la vista, baby, good-bye.

Alas, we end the year with somewhat better news and small but steady signs that the economy is improving in our state.

Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity reports that Miami-Dade’s unemployment rate fell yet again in November to 10.2 percent, down from October’s 10.7 percent and down 2.4 percent from a year ago. In Broward, the unemployment rate remained flat, at 8.9 percent, but still lower than the state’s overall unemployment rate of 10 percent, the lowest since May 2009.

Not that I want to sugarcoat the picture with seasonal optimism. The growth, after all, is predictably in the retail sector, and there are still a lot of people who need jobs. Florida’s unemployment remains higher than the national jobless rate of 8.6 percent.

That’s what’s driving most people’s support of the risky casino gambling proposals, but the average salary of a casino worker is estimated at $33,000 a year. That kind of job might help someone who feels any job is better than no job, but limited, dead-end jobs won’t fix what ails South Florida.

Ultimately, it could very well up-end the economy.

Bringing in the problematic industry is a game changer and a major gamble.

“We need to focus on diversifying the economy, not trying to change the entire economic base,” Frank R. Nero, president and CEO of the Beacon Council, the county’s economic development partner, told me this week.

Stay tuned, be patient and resilient; the threat of Las Vegas-style casino gambling mega resorts will haunt us well into 2012.

But for now, I take Wilde’s words as a sign that I should lighten up a little in this, my last column of the year before I go on a holiday staycation.

And so, I raise my cafecito in a toast.

May we survive the holidays with more blessings than stress, more joy than bills to pay, more satisfaction from giving than receiving (indeed, ask the man who anonymously donated $100,000 to the Palm Beach Post’s Season to Share charity campaign).

Here’s hoping that your one (or two or three) Grinch of a relative behaves at the table, that Santa knows that you’ve been as good as you can be (maybe), and that when we light the tree or the candles on the menorah or the kinara, we remain graceful and grateful.

Until we meet here again next year, happy holidays.

While online poker regulation has gained a higher profile in American politics this year, it still hasn’t made much of an impact on the presidential campaign trail. Neither President Barack Obama nor (by and large) the candidates running for the Republican nomination have made online poker regulation part of their campaigns, and it seems unlikely that it will be an important issue in the race for the White House.

But this week, gambling has become an issue at the Republican debates – at least in one sense. On Saturday, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney challenged Texas governor Rick Perry to a $10,000 bet over the truth of a statement made by Perry. The “bet” concerned Perry’s claim that Romney had made revisions to a book he had written – No Apology – to remove a section that showed support for individual health insurance mandates.

In response, Democrats in Nevada decided to have a bit of fun over the controversy. The state Democratic Party send a box with $10,000 in mock poker chips to the Romney campaign office in Las Vegas – a “gift” designed to allow Romney to make his wager with Perry.

The prank was just one in a long line of moves by Romney’s opponents in both parties that have been designed to paint him as out of touch with common voters. In this case, the claim is that the size of Romney’s proposed bet was significantly more than most Americans could afford to make – in fact, more than most make in two months of work. Of course, among professional poker players, bets of this size – and much larger – are commonplace, but that’s more the exception than the rule among the general public.

Despite the gaffe and other attacks against Romney, he appears to be the favorite to ultimately walk away with the Republican presidential nomination and challenge President Obama in the 2012 elections. However, several other candidates are still running credible campaigns, including Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, and Perry, among others. The first vote in the Republican primary season will take place at the Iowa Caucuses, on January 3, 2012.

Someone is again polling Kentucky voters on the question of expanded gambling in the wake of Gov. Steve Beshear’s call for allowing voters to decide the issue in his Tuesday inaugural speech.

Lowell Grubb, 49, of Manchester said he received a call Tuesday evening from a woman who asked him “35 to 40 questions” about his feelings on expanded gambling. Grubb said the woman wouldn’t identify the polling firm or its client but said she told him she was calling from Washington, D.C.

“They wanted to know what I thought about casino gambling,” said Grubb, a registered Republican. “They asked if an individual senator or representative voted for it, would that make me more or less likely to vote for that individual.”

Some other questions Grubb answered were:

• When was the last time he attended a horse racing event;

• Had he ever attended an event at Churchill Downs;

• How he feels about money spent on gambling from Kentucky residents going to other states;

• If the money were devoted to education and health issues, would that affect his position on gambling;

• How did he evaluate the job performance of Beshear;

• What is his party registration;

• How he voted in the last presidential election?

“They asked me a lot about the horse industry and I told them the horse industry doesn’t have a lot of impact on us in this area,” Grubb said. “They also asked how important coal is in this area.”

But no one will own up to being behind the poll. The state’s two largest horse tracks didn’t comment while the chairmen of the two major political parties, the executive director of the Kentucky Equine Education Project, and Beshear’s press spokeswoman all said they knew nothing about the polling.

Brett Hale, senior vice president for Corporate and Government Relations for Churchill Downs was out of town and unavailable for comment.

“We’re not going to comment,” said Julie Balog, director of communications for Keeneland.

Patrick Neely of KEEP, which has lobbied for expanded gambling to boost purses and breeding incentives, said his organization isn’t behind the polling.

“KEEP has not decided if we are going to poll in the short term,” Neely said. “Based on the public polling, our past polling and the bits and pieces we pick up from other polls, we continue to be very confident that a large majority of Kentuckians support expanded gaming and an even larger majority supports putting the issue on the ballot.”

Most polling has indicated voters want to decide the question themselves, even those who say they oppose expanded gambling. In 2007 Beshear campaigned on a promise to offer voters that chance but his proposed amendment couldn’t pass the Democratic-controlled House. He later got behind a bill which would have authorized slots at horse tracks – without a constitutional amendment – but that bill died in the Republican-controlled Senate after winning House passage.

David Williams, R-Burkesville, who is Senate President and who lost to Beshear in this year’s governor’s election, has said there may be enough votes in the Senate to pass a constitutional amendment, depending on how it is worded.

Michael Goins, spokesman for the House Republican leadership, said House Republicans are getting feedback “from both those for and against the issue. They are ready to vote on this, they want to get this issue behind us, one way or another.”

On Tuesday, Beshear said he has concluded a constitutional amendment has the best chance of passing because he thinks more lawmakers are “comfortable” with that approach.

But Kerri Richardson, spokeswoman for Beshear, said late Wednesday that Beshear hasn’t conducted any polling on the question and Daniel Logsdon, chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party, said KDP hasn’t either.

“We’re not doing any polling right now,” said Steve Robertson, chairman of the Republican Party of Kentucky. He said he hadn’t heard of any polling and didn’t know who might be behind the calls.

Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at [email]rellis@cnhi-com[/email]. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at Twitter cnhifrankfort.

Today Bowl season will start with New Mexico Bowl in which Wyoming vs. Temple will fight to prove their supremacy.

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Idaho Potato Bowl is going to be the 2nd bowl of the night.

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The main bowl event is New Orleans bowl between Louisiana-Lafayette vs. San Diego State and will air at 9:00 PM EST.

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After reading about Australia’s gambling issues it’s not that difficult a leap to see what other countries are having to deal with in their own jurisdictions.

South Africa has been struggling with legalizing online gambling and have finally come down to a situation where they are trying to regulate with little concrete results. This situation brings much dismay to the punters in South Africa who want to wager on the sports they love so much.
Just like other jurisdictions such as Canada and Australia there is a provincial aspect to regulating in South Africa. The Western Cape is leading the charge there and mostly European facing firms have been looking at the opportunities the hardest. Ladbrokes was the latest to sign a joint venture, with Kairo International Group in an attempt to bring the issue to some resolution.

The Chief Compliance Officer at South Africa’s National Gambling Board, Themba Marashi, commented on the slow progress, explaining that regulation would take place for a variety of reasons, “Generate tax revenues, protection of problem gamblers and improving player security are some of the reasons the country may decide on regulating gambling.”
Plans to regulate have been proposed in the 2008 Interactive Gambling Act but nothing is carved in stone or ratified as Marashi pointed out that in relation to licenses, “What has been articulated in the present act and draft regulations will be revised and a revised number articulated.”

A Department of Trade and Industry presentation in 2009 identified that licenses would run for five years and Application fees would be set at R500,000 with a proposed gambling levy of 6% to be administered by the National Gambling Board.
When asked a real question as to when regulation may happen, Marashi commented that “no time scale” has yet been determined and the government will have still have the last word.