Get mad and get even

Little bits and pieces keep popping up in this Internet Gambling Bill that make me wonder just who is on our side. Yesterday’s piece addresses this issue.. This piece brings in fellow travelers in the preamble to the passing of the legislation.

Harrah’s has the WSOP. Blogdom has criticize their operation for two years. They fix a bit and break two others. Part of the reason they bought Binnion’s is the WSOP. They have a very profitable working arrangement with ESPN. At first glance you might think the new law will cost that franchise and make it less valuable. But, think about it. The room holds about 2000. They must run multiple first days. Next year, with all the gambling site stopped in their ability to directly buy in their clients, the early estimates are that there may only be 2200 or so playing the main event. My guess is that it will be exactly 2000 or whatever adjustment they can make to seating to sneak in a few more tables. (You might want to bet on the under, if a wagering site is still optimistic on count.)

”˜Wow’, we say. Won’t that really cost them something? But look at it in a pure business sense:

• ESPN is more likely to get star quality professionals at their final table

• Harrah doesn’t have to cater to carping players with extra amenities.

• Harrah won’t be sending tons of players to the competition’s poker rooms

• Harrah can run the same sloppy operation””the pros know it is the only game and will give them the rake.

• Fewer players means the Bellagio and other competition won’t prosper in a dead month and it is a good thing when your Casino competition is less profitable.

• The Internet has added casino sites. That competes with the sites owned by Harrah’s that are spread across the country. They own a boat about 20-minutes from my house. Does the Internet cut into the amount of action I might give that casino?

• Bloggers won’t have the incentive to bad mouth Harrah’s–with fewer from the net around.

• Harrah loses some suite rentals that are replaceable by ”˜real’ advertisers which they got and gouge well this year. Another one or two big accounts and they are more profitable than before.

• Harrah is going private and may be eyeing getting into online play. What better way to create a fire sale and not have to start building the brand from scratch.

So, we get to politics. Harrah gave Senator Frist 50K for his war chest. Casinos are big donors to politicians. They do it to have a voice and get their calls answered. What do you now think Harrah’s called their buddy Bill to talk about? Harrah’s was almost instantaneous in announcing they would not accept buyins from Internet gambling sites. Looked like they were just waiting to make such an announcement.

FullTilt just sent a letter to the winners of seats for WPT events. They are getting the money instead. Now we’d all love a seat at the next WPT event and often will play a qualifier or satelite to get their on the cheap. Ok, you win a seat. Now you have to go. A few sites allow you to auction off the seat but it is still a paid seat from the Net. You now get cash. That $12K looks pretty nice in a pile. Are you going to haul that pile of cash off to Foxwood, Rio, or wherever and plunk it down at the buy-in booth or run by Best Buy for that HDTV you’ve been drolling on?

With Harrah going private there is a lot of talk about the advantage in overseas markets that has. So, look to see lots of expansion in to markets where they can grow their income. With online companies on the exchange they can see the huge potential for their brand in Internet gambling too. What better way to get involved than this law and then its repeal? Give you a chance to buy distressed stocks at 35 or 40 cents on the dollar that quickly return to their true value under your helm.

WPTE has made some strange comments about the bill. They almost sound happy. The very first sentence in the article uses the term ”˜oddly optimistic’ in reporting WPTE’s view. Well, refer up to the Harrah look. Isn’t the WPT going to be more exciting with the name pros being at the final table? And isn’t that more likely without those weirdo Internet players knocking our ”˜a living legend’ or ten? Do they want Doyle Brunson or ”˜21 year old Internet dork Billy Clumpuffer from Wattaberg, Idaho’ at their final table?

So, we now see the Internet Gambling Bill has now benefited the people who want us to view the ads that pay for the production or take a nice rake when we come to their B&M sites across the country. Lets look at the loser””the sites that have your funding.

First, they were probably sold a bill of goods by the very people that broke it off in them. That sales rep probably told them, “We’ve got the contacts. Don’t worry about that bill. It is dead as we speak. You folks are good for us and we’ll handle it.” Bridge selling time! The Onliners got snookered.

Second, what can we do?

• If you have a Harrah player’s card, mail it to them and tell them to put it where the sun don’t shine and tell them why.

• Do the same with any WPT sponsoring casinos and add that their rake will suffer when the tournament draws so many fewer players.

• And throw in those Indian casinos I covered yesterday.

• Send an email to the other casinos you have a card at asking them to get behind the repeal and tell them why it is to their interest.

• If your funded site advertises, tell them you’re ready to move if they support these guys. They can advertise on real networks in other sports shows. The gamblers are watching them as much or more than the WPT””who’s viewer ratings were on the decline anyway.

• It is election year, call or write your Congressman and Senator and say his vote was the straw that broke the camel’s back and sadly you must vote for another””even if you couldn’t stand the S.O.B before.

Be ready to vote with your feet and pocketbooks, folks.

Maybe we can be “Mad as hell and not going to take it any more.” without the threat of blowing our brains out on the air.

If you think I’m turning into a ‘Grassy Knoll’ type author, there are those coming to this view. Check out the video on Bill Rini’s site or a better version here. It goes a long way in supporting my thoughts.

I wrote this early last week and every time I turn around more is coming to light. 

Addendum:

If you aren’t using the site’s info page on poker sites, you are missing some good info. Not only do they update for sites that remain comitted to U.S. clients but you’ll get special freeroll info and info about sites that support Macs and Linux. It is an extensive checklist of other sites. You’ll also see the new player bonus availibility. Nice way to keep an eye on a very fluid situation. If you click on a site you can add a review to help out the rest of us or read existing user reviews. It is a nice asset and one I missed in the first couple of months. Don’t be as dumb as me.