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Wynn Boston Harbor still dealing with scandal fallout

Wynn Resorts is in full damage-control mode following allegations of sexual misconduct by Steve Wynn. Wall Street Journal broke the story. The subsequent fallout has been steep.

Wynn announced his resignation on Feb.6 but has denied the allegations.

In a statement, Wynn said, “As I have reflected upon the environment this has created — one in which a rush to judgment takes precedence over everything else, including the facts — I have reached the conclusion I cannot continue to be effective in my current roles.”

Wynn is the company’s namesake and now former CEO and Chairman of the Board. While his resignation has taken some of the heat of the company, it wasn’t enough to completely insulate the company from further scrutiny.

The company is being investigated in multiple jurisdictions. Moreover, in Massachusetts, its gaming license could even be on the line.

“There are still concerns whether Steve Wynn has control, stock ownership, and those types of things,” said Ed Bedrosian, executive director of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. “We’ll have to find out what the resignation actually means.”

That would be an unprecedented development, considering Wynn Resorts is in the process of building a $2.4 billion casino just outside Boston.

Massachusetts faces big test

Massachusetts is a new player in the casino industry. However, the Bay State already has a reputation as a serious regulatory regime. The state’s gaming board set the gold standard on several fronts, most notably for its transparency and responsible gaming policies.

Beyond that, the state has been lauded for its measured approach to casino expansion, including the awarding of licenses.

The Wynn project is shaping up to be the first major test for the state’s gaming commission. Major outlets like the Boston Globe are calling on the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to consider revoking Wynn Resorts’ license.

But doing so could wreak havoc on the state’s fledgling casino industry. The fallout could include lawsuits and injunctions that would stall the project indefinitely.

Even if the MGC is justified in revoking the Wynn license at this point in time, it might not want to. Construction is well underway. The MGC would not only have to find a new company to take over the license, it would have to find a company willing to take over the ambitious project.

Few casino corporations are in the habit of building multi-billion dollar casinos. The ones that are capable of tackling such a major building project aren’t in the market for reclamation projects. Any company interested in a multi-billion dollar Boston casino is going to want to design it from the ground up. Taking over a half-complete project would be a tough sell to stockholders.

Who knew what, and when?

How the MGC responds will depend on what its investigation turns up.

The MGC has been blindsided by the allegations against Wynn, particularly the $7.5 million settlement with a former employee that wasn’t disclosed to the MGC during the suitability investigation.

MGC Chairman Stephen Crosby made it clear, Wynn Resorts’ license will depend on what and when the Wynn board knew about the allegations and settlement. The board will also need to explain why it wasn’t disclosed to the MGC.

“A central question is what did the board of directors and central staff know, and when did they know it,” Crosby told local press.

The post Are Wynn’s Casino Days Numbered In Massachusetts? appeared first on Play MA.

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Online poker on indefinite hold in CA

2018 is the end of an era. For the first time in a decade, the California legislature will not place online poker on the legislative menu.

According to Online Poker Report, a contingent of politically powerful California tribes “plan to oppose sports betting and other expanded gambling in the state unless and until their concerns about cardroom games and other issues are resolved.”

“There’s some other issues with tribes and cardrooms that probably need to be resolved before we can move forward with this thing [sports betting],” California Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer told OPR in a separate interview. “I’m hoping we resolve some of that this year.”

According to Jones-Sawyer, sports betting legislation is also unlikely in 2018. “If we have a favorable ruling in June, we’ll have the fall to work on any legislation beginning in 2019,” Jones-Sawyer said, adding that online poker legislation would come at the same time or after.

 Victory cigar continues to elude California

To say online poker is California’s white whale is putting it mildly.

Since 2008, California lawmakers have tried 16 times to legalize online poker:

  • 2008: The California Gambling Control/Intrastate Online Poker Legalization Act (AB 2026) is introduced by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine.
  • 2009: Draft legislation for the California Online Poker Law Enforcement Compliance and Consumer Protection Act is floated.
  • June 2010: The Internet Gambling Consumer Protection and Public-Private Partnership Act of 2010 (SB 1485) is introduced by Senator Roderick Wright.
  • December 2010: Internet Gambling Consumer Protection and Public-Private Partnership Act of 2011 (SB 45) is introduced by Senator Roderick Wright.
  • February 2012: Internet Gambling Consumer Protection and Public-Private Partnership Act of 2012 (SB 1463) is introduced by Senator Roderick Wright.
  • December 2012: Internet Gambling Consumer Protection and Public-Private Partnership Act of 2013 (SB 51) is introduced by Senator Roderick Wright.
  • February 2013: Authorization and Regulation of Internet Poker and Consumer Protection Act of 2013 (SB 678) is introduced by Senator Lou Correa.
  • February 2014: The Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2014 (SB 1366) is introduced by Senator Lou Correa.
  • February 2014: Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2014 (AB 2291) is introduced by Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer.
  • December 2014: The Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2015 (AB 9) is introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto.
  • January 2015: The Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2015 (AB 167) is introduced by Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer.
  • February 2015: An untitled shell bill (AB 431) is introduced by Assemblyman Adam Gray.
  • February 2015: An untitled shell bill (SB 278) is introduced by Senator Isadore Hall III.
  • January 2016: A full version of AB 431 is introduced by Assemblyman Adam Gray.
  • February 2016: The Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2016 (AB 2863) is introduced by Assemblyman Adam Gray and Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer.
  • February 2017: The Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2016 – even though it was introduced in 2017 – (AB 1677) is introduced by Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer.

No light at the end of the tunnel

The biggest problem the state faces is its size and the breadth of its gaming industry.

California has:

  • In the neighborhood of 100 licensed card rooms overseen by a bifurcated regulatory system.
  • More than 60 tribal casinos, some in major population zones and others in far-flung locales, and each with their own regulatory body.
  • A strong racing industry aligned with politically powerful unions.
  • A state lottery.

Complicating matters is the need for a 2/3 majority vote in the legislature to legalize online poker. That is tough given the deep-seated resentment and bad blood within this menagerie of stakeholders.

Whether it’s centuries-old inter-tribal grievances, built-up animosity between tribes and card rooms; or racing’s role in the online poker universe, there are so many moving parts, and so many longstanding feuds that getting all of these interests on the same page is akin to herding cats.

Basically, California’s online poker dreams might be dead well past 2018.

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The post Online Poker Will Not Be California Dreamin’ In 2018 appeared first on Play USA.

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Unibet Poker will host its first tournament series

Live and Online: The Unibet Online Series will start at the end of the month.

The Unibet Online Series (USO) is the first online poker tournament series from the independent operator. The premiere online poker series comes four years after the company parted ways with its former online poker poovider MPN.

The UOS will have €300,000 guaranteed over a total of 84 tournaments. 28 events—each with three separate buy-in tiers—have been designed to make the events accessible to players with just about any size bankroll.

Read the full article on pokerfuse →