U.S. Government Still Chasing Its Tail

So a huge crackdown has once again sent shock waves through the online gambling industry. The FBI sent this release out yesterday and it is apparent the US government continues to chase its tail when it comes to the issue of online gambling.

In 2006 the crackdown was one that I unfortunately had a front-row seat for. The Department of Justice got the blood it wanted out of that proceeding but other online sports books still operated and only slight changes were felt with online casino and poker sites (a few of the major players in those sectors stopped taking "action" from US-based consumers). There were plenty of other options for US consumers to still get action online.

Behind the scenes it did force most executives from these companies from traveling to the US and most of their vendors (if they were smart) were also outside of America. The once exception was Full Tilt Poker who brazenly had offices in California for the last several years.

Fast forward to April 15, 2011 and once again charges have been filed and arrest have been made. The three largest poker sites that accept play from US consumers have been forced to stop doing so, but once again others still remain (BoDog just to name one).

Reports project that US consumers spend $6 BILLION a year gambling online. In a "free market" system if there is a demand of that size, there will always be someone, somewhere, who will take the risk to ensure that the demand is met.

The government can decide if they want to get serious about dealing with this growing industry and license and regulate it (i.e. tax the hell out of it), or continue to make headlines every couple of years by indicting and charging executives and getting million dollar judgments from the companies.

As long as there is $6 billion in play, operators, banks, software companies, and others will ensure they get Americans to hand over their money to them so they can gamble online. Does the government want that money going into the hands of thugs and mobsters as they will no doubt get more and more of the pie now? Or do they want to have it go to legitimate businesses with well-schooled executives leading them who are more than willing to pay heavy taxes and give the government a huge influx of needed revenue?

So far the answer is clear, they are perfectly content to keep chasing their tale.

People Watching in NASCAR

So one of my favorite endeavors is going to NASCAR races.

Between my professional work and just being a die-hard racing fan, I have had the pleasure of seeing NASCAR races at some of the finest tracks in the country (Talladega, Bristol, Atlanta, Miami, Indy, just to name a few).

One of the best things about going to the races is the people watching. The Fox station in Dallas did a great job of capturing some of the people watching. Do your self a favor and watch the video here:

Kenseth wins Texas Sprint Cup Race: MyFoxDFW.com

Another Great Cardinals Headline

So we have had Cardinals headlines talking about two-shit shutouts, we had another one that said the Cards were "done in by wet balls," but today's Cardinals headline mine take the cake and be the best of them all.

Funny thing is that I had tweeted a few weeks ago, while listening to the radio broadcast of a spring training Cardinals game, that Zack Cox was my new favorite player on the team. Of course those that know me well know I enjoy juvenile humor and mainstream references to genitalia. But of course my main reason for saying that Cox was my new favorite player was because of seeing headlines like this.

Now I just can't wait to hear Mike Shannon say things like "Cox hit that hard," or "Cox goes deep," and of course the inevitable "Now Cox steps in and COME ON BABY, GET UP, GET UP, GET UP, OH YEAH."

Post Dispatch FoD 3.8.11

This one doesn't need much commentary, I will let the screen shot and comments on it speak for themselves.

This does beg the question though, do they have a single person in the Lee operation that is even looking at the content that is put out on the pages?

Bursting Bubbles

Well here we go again.

If there is an award for the biggest snubs in the NCAA men's basketball tournament not only would Missouri State have won it far to many times, they might just have to re-name it in the programs honor.

This is the same program I covered in a variety of different journalism roles from 1994-2004 and one in which I still hold near and ear to my heart.

To this day Missouri State's 2006 campaign remains the biggest "snub" in tourney history, and the proof is in the numbers not just a impartial opinion.

It was in 2006 that then head-coach Barry Hinson's squad was left without an invite to the big dance after having an RPI of 21. In 1997 I had a front-row view on selection Sunday as coach Steve Alford's team was standing without a dance partner after finishing with 24 wins, back then a near record high number of wins without getting an invite. Hinson also had snubs in 2000 and 2007 when his teams reached RPIs of 34 and 37. This long list of snubs means Missouri State holds the honor of having 3 of the top 5 rated RPI teams to not make the NCAA tourney, enough to make a Bears fan sick.

Each one of these teams though had valid strikes against them as reasons for being snubbed. The degree to which those strikes should have mattered is another point. In 1997 the general consensus from selection committee members (of which I had interviewed one) and the bracket "experts" back then was that the team's strength of schedule was weak and the number of wins was somewhat watered down.

Mo State started scheduling better, didn't get as many wins in 2000 but had that killer RPI in which everyone knew they were going to get in only to be told, "no sorry, you didn't win enough." Some of the experts also said that year that Mo State's inability to win the conference title hurt their at-large chances.

So now here we sit, less than a week before selection Sunday. The 2011 version of Missouri State has won the regular season Missouri Valley Conference title, amassed a record of 25-8 and currently sits 42 in the RPI.

If the Bears are left again without a ticket to March Madness it might be the most drastic snub in the long-history of snubs for the program, and a low water mark for the Missouri Valley. It would mark the first time since 1992 that the conference regular season champ isn't in the tournament and the 4th year in a row and a far cry from the four that made it in 2006.

This isn't about who should be in or out (Big East gets 11 teams?), but the NCAA would do well to at least give consistent guidance to programs and coaches so they know what they have to do to get in. Let Cuonzo Martin know what he can do better next year (outside of course from winning the conference tournament and getting the automatic bid) to ensure his program isn't snubbed once again.

And if that answer is "win more games," then he knows. If it is "get a better schedule," then he knows. But you can't move the goalposts next year after you use one set of guidelines to pick your tournament field this year using a completely different set of standards.

Unless of course, your corrupt as all hell and just want to ensure the "right" kind of teams are "invited" to your dance. Can anyone else say "BCS."

Has "Its Time" Finally Come?

In the late summer of 2000 I walked into an office among the quaint and busy historical district of Historic Main Street in St. Charles Missouri that would forever change my life.

I walked into the world headquarters of River City Group for an initial job interview, one that was followed up with an offer and subsequent 5 years of work at the company. It changed my life because while I was hired as a staff writer for an online trade publication (www.IGamingNews.com) it was a clear step away from the print newspaper world I had gone to school and trained for.

Not only was the shift away from traditional media a big one, it was a larger shift into the specific world of online gambling and the general sector of web operations that would set the course for the rest of my professional career.

I only give you that brief background of my professional journey during the first half of the last decade to point out the fact that I have been around the block for a little while when it comes to online gambling (the "it" referenced in the headline above) specifically and the web in general.

I won't bore you with a lengthy history lesson on the industry or its lobbying efforts for the last 15 years, some of which I played a small but direct role in and had a front row seat as they played themselves out. But anyone who has had any discussion with me about how the industry is regulated/prohibited in the United States knows my mantra has always been that "it" will happen some day.

As states and jurisdictions deal with tightening budgets and massive cutbacks the online gambling industry offers a revenue producer that could be taxed at over 20%. The industry has always offered to pay hefty taxes as the benefit of being able to operate freely within the United States far outweighs the risk of having to operate covertly from a foreign jurisdiction.

New Jersey took a major step today when its governor approved a bill allowing for the state's 11 current casino operators in Atlantic City to create an intrastate system that would make it possible for Garden State citizens to log on and play black jack, roulette and other table games. The bill was approved after passing both the State Senate and the House.

Even though the system is "intrastate" only it is projected to inject the state with $100 million in tax revenue (the casinos agreed to be taxed at 23%) and create 500 jobs, something every state I am sure would embrace right now.

This bill no doubt will be the proverbial breaking of the dam and you can expect other states to follow suit in order to a) stay competitive and b) keep jobs and money in their state. Similar bills have been introduced or reached various stages in states like California, Nevada, and North Dakota and looked for these to pick up steam again or be revisited and for many of the other states (28 in all) who have casinos already to study this issue.

It may not seem like much right now, but the steps taken today in New Jersey were of the Neal Armstrong variety, one small step for a state but one massive leap for an industry.

Respecting our Veterans, in life and death

So I posted the above video a few days ago on my FaceBook page but felt that it was worth posting here again too.

This video is about a 30 minute interview of a friend's father about 9 months before he died of cancer last week.

Our country has been thrust into wars and battles we don't all always agree with. In the Vietnam era this had a direct effect as to how our soldiers were treated upon them returning home, regardless of how they actually felt about the war from a political prospective as well.

Certain sects of our society have brought vile hate towards troops have have died in battle while in Iraq or Afghanistan. Luckily there "protests" are started to be thwarted as groups around the country are answering these pickets by peacefully blocking them from the view of mourners and the families of the troops.

I was thinking about all of this yesterday as I watched current members of the United States Navy fold the American flag with the utmost precision and hand the perfectly folded stars and stripes to my friend as his father was laid to rest.

This video is part of a project to get the voices heard of World War II veterans before they are all gone (we lose more than 1,000 of them a day). If you are a fan of history you will love the clarity and vividness that Paul Rothermich shares in this video.

And if you're like me you will be happy that our society, for the most part, has made huge strides in how we deal with our veterans and ensuring they are given the proper respect upon returning home after battle and eventually when they leave the Earth for good.