Midwest Gaming Journal

No Dice For Ohio Casino But The Sky's The Limit In Missouri

The proposed Ohio casino, which would have been the largest in the Midwest, was shot down on election day by nearly a 2-1 margin. But that doesn't seem to have dampered developer's hopes to build Ohio's first gambling hall.

Meanwhile Missouri voted down the $500 loss limit in the state's casinos. Which could ultimately hurt Illinois casinos in the same market as the St. Louis casinos. Illinois casinos lost gamblers across state lines when the smoking ban kicked in at the beginning of the year. Missouri casinos still allow smoking.

Breaking News: "Casino" Protagonist is a Pidgeon

For my money, the best movie about Las Vegas is Casino. It's the fictionalized story of Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal (played by Robert DeNiro) and Anthony Spilotro (Joe Peche's character). Both of whom got their real-life mob careers started in Chicago. The only thing that's true about the movie is Spilotro and his brother getting beaten with baseball bats and buried in a field in Indiana. Little else is accurate, but it's still a great movie.

Rosenthal died two weeks ago, and now law enforcement officers are coming forward saying he was a top level informant. That's right, he was one of the biggest snitches in history. I sure hope they make a movie about this part of his career.

Seinors United For Gambling

From GreenfieldNOW.com:

United Seniors of Wisconsin, a nonprofit group that raises money by holding bingo games, wants to add video poker machines to help improve its fundraising abilities.

The article goes on to say some nights the bingo games make $10, and partially blames Potowatomi Bingo Casino in Milwaukee for the financial woes. It's true, the bingo hall at Potowatomi is normally busy - filled with menthol smoke and blipping devices for those that don't like to keep track of their numbers with a giant red pen. Backed by a full blown and recently improved casino, I can see how they'd cut a bit into their business. But bingo ain't the money maker it used to be. A handful of video poker machines could buy them a truckload of hip-replacements and portable oxygen tanks - every week. I kid, but seriously, those things make a lot of cash.

Aces Up in Hammond

Even though I bubbled out on a bad beat, I had a really good time playing in Event #7 at the WSOPC at the Horseshoe in Hammond. The event is being held in the Venue (the casino's main theater). I felt the event was run very well, and smoothly. The tournament directors squashed petty quibbles quickly, and the dealers were top notch. The competition was good, too.

The only local tournament of this magnitude run locally is the Heartland Poker Tour's stops at the Majestic Star, and they're worlds apart. To compare the HPT on the Gary boat to the WSOP in Hammond would like comparing watching the elephant parade at Ringling Brother's Circus to watching your uncle Melvin making his coon hound lap beer from his cavernous belly button.

Voting on Loss Limits

Gambling in Missouri can be a pain in the ass because of their screwy loss-limit rule which attempts to prevent gamblers from losing $500 in a 2-hour period. Yes, "attempts" because crafty gamblers can easily skirt this silly and ineffective rule.

Coming up on the Missouri ballot in the upcoming election voters can repeal the law, but not if Illinois has anything to say about it.

The dichotomy the casino industry presents - supporting their own gaming interests while aligning with anti-gambling groups squash competitors - is confusing. This attitude has also crossed the tribal lines. The Milwaukee Potowatomi casino is lobbying against a Kenosha casino that would apparently really help the Wisconsin tribe. The Menomonees have even started their own blog about the issue.

Penetration!

Now that I have your attention, you're probably disappointed to know I'm talking about blackjack.

Most good or advantage players will never play cards in the Midwest because there are no good games to be found. Trying to make money off the typical Illinois-Iowa-Indiana-etc. blackjack tables is like getting water from a cactus - You'll get a little of what you came for, but it's not worth the pain and hassle. But I do have some good news.

Most smart players know the only places to get decent action playing 21 is at the Potowatomi casino in Milwaukee and at the Grand Vic in Elgin. I hadn't been to either in quite a while and was surprised at what I saw: The Potowatomi now has their favorable double deck pitch games on the main floor with $25 minimum bets. But in the Elgin high limit salon the 2-decked game has Vegas style rules (much more favorable than the game in Elgin) and has dropped their table minimum to $100.

Mistakes On the Lake

The casino industry has fought for years to assuage those that think gambling halls are run by thugs and crooks. Then stuff like this pops up.

The Indiana Supreme Court has been called in to find out if $16-million that the Ameristar casino in East Chicago, IN paid to a private business is legit.

Millions of dollars intended goes missing in corporations all the time because of nefarious activities. But the casino industry has been in a long battle to prove it is a legitimate business. It's funny though: Getting rid of the mob and gangster run casinos from the Vegas olden days and turning them into tightly run corporate organizations that now blanket the country has made them more suspicious. Gone are the days of back room beatings and tables that can't be beat, replaced with  6-5 blackjack and $150 tickets to see mega-douche Chriss Angel. Which is worse?

Get Out To Vote

Among the important issues to be decided this November, Ohio residents will vote on whether or not to allow the Midwest's biggest casino to set up shop near Cincinnati.

There's a lot of stuff out there to help you make your mind...or just find out more about the sometimes thorny issue:

Cincinnati.com says, among other things, analysts may be off in projecting how much a casino in Southwest Ohio will make with competition from Indiana.

Vindy.com does a nice job laying out the players in the pro-/con- casino movement.

The Akron Beacon Journal shows how the politics of the region are playing into the battle for the state's first casino.

Smoke On The Water

Gambling revenues have been down on Illinois riverboats since the smoking ban went into effect last year. In this crappy economy some say the smoking issue at casino should be revisited.

While I don't mind the smoking ban, I do think it's silly, but many of the laws pertaining to gambling are. I actually kind of like the smell of smoke and chilled air blown out of a 1,000 vents.

For Cheap Rooms Go To Vegas

If you're looking to spend a few non-stop nights at a casino, you may be better off heading to Las Vegas that staying around here.

Over the past week, I've been bombarded with cheap-o room offers from the Strip to Freemont Street. I wondered if these rates were industry wide so I decided to compare what it would cost to stay a few nights in Vegas as opposed to a casino with a hotel in the Midwest.

These are the rates (minus tax, of course) for a stay from October 28th (Tuesday) to October 30th (Thursday):

Las Vegas Hotel     Room total
Bally's                     $100
Golden Nugget        $99 (this is actually 3-day rate due to a promotion)
Wynn                      $508

Midwest Hotel       Room total
Isle Of Capri (IA)     $140
Majestic Star(IN)     $198
Four Winds  (MI)     $500

The Four Winds is nice, but not Wynn nice. I know casinos here are far less room conscious that Vegas joints, but the price to stay out in the desert is so low it's silly. Besides, I don't think you could pay me $200 to stay overnight in Gary.

Setting The Line For the 10th License

 It's a little strange because gaming companies - especially the big ones - are not doing well on Wall Street right now. I know, everyone's suffering, but casino stocks have been among the biggest losers. But rumors of the Green Giant entering the Chicago market have been circling for a while. There was a lot of speculation MGM would buy Don Barden's barges in Gary, hopefully resurrecting the no-longer majestic Majestic Star boats to what they once were. Now they've offered the state $435 million to build a casino in Illinois.

MGM outbid 6 other groups, the next highest offer was $225 million coming from a group lead by the former owner of Sportsman's Park. Even that bid is higher than expected.

MGM's Kirk Kekoiran and his right-hand man Alex Yemenidjian are no dummies. Even as their company's value has plummeted, they've done a good job staying out of debt. Their most masterful move was selling off part of their City Center project to investors from Dubai long before the market showed weakness.

Apparently they feel the Chicago market is largely untapped. Most of the  area casinos are still making money, albeit at a slower pace than last year. The more dilapidated boats aren't doing so well (read: Ameristar), while the newer joints are making lots of cash (Horseshoe/Four Winds). Putting a fancy casino near the Indiana border should keep a lot of Chicagoans off the Skyway.

With a big corporation willing to dump this much cash into a new venture, is this a sign our economy is on an up-swing? Or do people in Chicago just like to gamble a lot?

Tales from the Felt

"Why do I always sit next to this guy?" I asked myself, sidling up to the $10-$20 limit table at the Hollywood casino in Aroura, IL. For a while, it didn't matter when or where I'd play poker I'd sit next to the strangest or smelliest (often both) person at the table. This time was no exception.

They guy looked 90, but was probably in his 50's or 60's. He had shoulder length dirty white hair that was matted in patches. He was wearing a filthy powder blue down jacket, and it was 85 degrees outside. He smelled of vinegar and bile.

I knew he was in worse shape than it first appeared when he picked his cards up off the table and held them centimeters from his bulging, cloudy blue eyes. 

"I can't see anything anymore, Tony." he said to the dealer as he squinted at his plain to see Jack-duce. "My eyes are blown out." He tossed his cards into the muck and continued talking to no one in particular.

"Last month I was at the Majestic Star, and I won two grand. Two grand! I was pretty pleased with myself leaving there," he laughed a little at his fortune. "When I was pulling out of there I had a stroke. Right there on the Skyway. Blew my eyes out. I can barely see. I can't drive, I can't dress myself, I bump into stuff trying to go to the bathroom. And at my age I don't always make it."

His hazy gaze turned downward as his chin sunk into his bony chest. There was a weird silence at the table, we were all contemplating our health and mortality I assumed.

Finally, the dealer spoke: "Did you win that money in a cash game or a tournament?"

A few of us laughed, but what was Tony supposed to say? Besides, we were all wondering the same thing.

"Cash game," the old, smelly, blind guy responded as he folded pocket 8's.

Tourney Time

The battle for lakeside tournament poker players has begun, and it looks like the Horseshoe has the early advantage.

At the end of the month the Horseshoe will hold the area's first World Series of Poker Circuit event. Starting tomorrow the Majestic Star will fire up their Deep Stack Challenge, running through the 26th.

The main event for at the MS conflicts with the WSOPC. Obviously, the newer Horseshoe has a huge advantage - especially with the World Series of Poker branding, but the standards for success at each poker room is different. It will be interesting to see who wins this round in the battle between the two biggest poker rooms in the Chicago area.

Ohio Not Ready For Gambling?

The people in the Midwest are a only a few hours drive from a casino - unless they live in Ohio.

That could change in a November vote that allows a casino in Clinton County (myohionow.com calls the location in the middle of Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati the “Golden Triangle". It's just down the road from the Cleveland Steamer.) Yet commissioners have given the plan the thumbs down. Their reasoning sounds more naive than informed.

"Somebody's lying," [commissioner] Olson said, reporting he collected an inch-high stack of information from both sides of the proposed amendment..."I think this whole thing is a sham."

These "commissioners" need to stop reading propaganda and start looking at facts. Paraphernalia from the pro and anti gaming groups will make you think gambling is the savior or the devil, when it's clearly neither. Instead, the commission should talk to city officials from towns like Gary, IN, the Quad Cities, and Council Bluffs, IA. Communities that have experienced both the the good and the bad - or the reality - of casino gambling.

Healthy Gambling

There's something about the combination of booze and cigarettes mixed up in the blaring air condition I like to smell entering a casino. I automatically associate it with gambling. Many people frantically wave hands in front of noses and make mock hacking sounds. I just breathe it all in and smile.

It wasn't like that when I visited the Hollywood casino this winter. Strangely, I could breathe easy. It was then I remembered that Illinois is a smoke-free state. State casinos are suffering:

The Casino Queen is dealing with the negative impacts of a struggling economy.

Their new $92-million land-based facility officially opened on August 2nd, 2007 and casino officials say business has changed since January 1st due to the statewide smoking ban in Illinois, as well as high gas prices and the slowing economy.

I learned to shoot craps at a tiny casino on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip called Silver City. That was when I was 21. When I returned as a 22 year-old the place had been closed. Well, at least they tried. Unfortunately for Illinois it doesn't look like it's any better of an idea here.