Okay, let’s take a look at the world of real world casinos for a moment. Well, at least part of a blog. The part inspired by the news that the annual Asian Casino & Gambling Congress just recommended that Singapore casinos target more high rollers. Apparently economic growth isn’t expected to be very high next month and so the casinos may need to target the high stakes gamblers because they’ll be the only people who still have money. The rest of us will be eking out a living writing blogs and trying to scrap together enough money for the penny slots machines.

Okay, the situation may not actually be that desperate, but the truth remains — the real world casinos want the high rollers and they work to bring them in. How? Well, let’s look at how most of us would plan a vacation to Las Vegas. We’d go online and check out the hotels and the rates to see where and when we can get a discount. Then we’d debate a night at the Luxor versus a night at a discount hotel. Then we’d check the flights out and the airfare. We’d figure out a budget for food and transportation and maybe for souvenirs. Sounds like typical vacation planning.

And here’s how a high roller plans a trip to Vegas - they pick up the phone and call their concierge and say “I want to come these days and see these shows.” Then everything is arranged for them. And if they really are high rollers, the tab is picked up by the casino. Nice, huh? Well, these are the people the real world casinos want.

For me, online casinos are the casinos for the rest of us. Yeah, that Vegas vacation can be great (it really can be) but how often can you afford to go? Most of us can’t afford to gamble enough to be treated like a high roller. But with a click of a mouse, we can visit our favorite online casino and gamble — even if we are only playing for pennies. In fact, we can play for free. Great if you want to try out a new game or two. So, gambling, it’s not just for high rollers. Join the online revolution.

Coffee Quote: As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.  ~Author Unknown

Okay, so it’s the newest trend in online casinos — the live dealer. Of course, this is opposed to computer dealt games, not zombie or vampire dealers. Though actually, Zombies and Vampires have lots of fans if anyone is looking for the next new casino trend. But back to the live dealers. Casinos going for this option aren’t trying to make every game a live play game. After all, you don’t have a live dealer for video poker or slots even in a real world casino. So play on those remains the same. But Party Casino offers a live dealer option for blackjack, roulette and baccarat.

Now, why the live dealer option? Well, if you know any blackjack pros, you’ll know that card counting doesn’t work with the online game. Now, this doesn’t mean that Party Casino wants online blackjack players to start card counting. But the random number generator used to generate or deal blackjack cards in an online casino is not exactly the same as cards dealt from a real deck. So I can see blackjack players being attracted to the live dealer game. The same with any other game that uses cards, such as baccarat.

But then there’s roulette. Okay, roulette amuses me because I don’t see any reason to play it either online or in the real world casino. It’s visually appealing and there’s always the lure of putting a chip down on one number and winning a fortune. But in the long run, roulette odds aren’t in your favor. And having a real live croupier spin that wheel doesn’t really change that. But some people do believe that they can watch the live wheel and predict the most likely numbers. (Honestly, gang, if a wheel is that badly off alignment, the casino will replace it.)

Now Party Casino is adding another enticement to its live games. The cards are dealt by a staff of attractive female dealers. Players will be able to communicate with their dealer using a live chat window. Now, when I see this, I always wonder how many people send the dealer messages like “wave your left hand” just to see if they really are reading the messages. Well, we can always head over to Party Casino to find out.

Coffee quote: I believe humans get a lot done, not because we’re smart, but because we have thumbs so we can make coffee.  ~Flash Rosenberg

Despite the European Union and the supposed promise of unified gambling laws throughout Europe, every country has been off pursuing its own specific gambling legislation. And without much opposition. In Holland, the Dutch Ministry of Justice had a committee review the country’s online gambling laws and report back. The report supports the legalization of online poker, but states that other online gambling, such as casino games and sports betting should be illegal in the country.

While this is good for online poker, or maybe if the country does pull what France did and restrict players to only playing on sites operating within the country. Since poker is essentially a social sport where players are expected to compete against one another, restricting play affects poker players more than it would slot players or blackjack players.

But this proposal to legalize poker but not other gambling games isn’t sitting well with those in Holland. Sports betting and lottery are already allowed in the country under existing laws and managed by the state owned monopoly DeLotto. So, the report would have the country restricting sports betting which is currently legal and which I’m sure has as many fans as poker. Since it seems that sports betting would still be allowed and controlled by DeLotto, this is criticized by some as offering the state a monopoly on the popular form of gambling.

So, once again, online gambling comes under debate in Europe. Though right now there’s no indication that anyone will act quickly on the committee’s report. After all, politicians elsewhere have proven that they’ll ignore a committee report in favor of gambling if the politicians aren’t in favor of gambling.

Coffee Quote: A morning without coffee is like sleep.  ~Author Unknown

Now, let me start this off by saying that I like Las Vegas. It’s a great city that provides wonderful vacation experiences for adults. And where we don’t have to worry about hoping the kids will like it. Frankly, Las Vegas lets us indulge in a little adult greed now and then and we need that. Because then we can go back to work and kids and school drop offs without going insane.

But I also enjoy online gambling. Because it’s convenient. All I do is turn on my computer and it’s right there. I don’t see online gambling and a trip to Las Vegas as the same thing. Just like watching the Travel Channel isn’t really the same as going to Disney World. But casinos in Nevada have this fear that if we can all gamble online, we’ll stop visiting them all together. (Disney meanwhile just buys lots of ad space on the Travel Channel.)

But Nevada casinos are worried because Nevada senate leader Harry Reid has said he’s in favor of Barney Frank’s gambling bill HR 2267 (Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, how’s that for a name). Now Reid has said that he’s only in favor of the bill as far as legislating online poker. Online poker rooms are just a tad less controversial in Las Vegas since the casinos only make a profit on the “rake” (a percentage of the pot) rather than on a house edge. A poker game takes up more space and time than other games and just aren’t as profitable as say a floor filled with slot machines. Also, there is debate that poker is more a game of skill than luck and therefore doesn’t fall under the same gambling rules as slots.

But none of this is reassuring Nevada casinos who see any form of online gambling as a way to open the door for full fledge online gambling. But supporting the desires of the brick and mortar casinos means offering fewer choices to the American public. Who, frankly, are already gambling at online casinos. Which no one in Vegas or Washington seems to be able to figure out.

Coffee Quote: I’d stop drinking coffee, but I’m no quitter.  ~Author Unknown