In the United States (because the rules are different here), there’s beginning to be a thaw between brick and mortar casinos and one specific group on online casinos. Well, not exactly casinos, but online poker rooms. Now, these brick and mortar casinos are still opposed to legislation supporting general online gambling. But online poker rooms may gain their approval and I want to talk about why. (This is the cool part about having a blog, I can talk about why.)

So, let’s take a look at brick and mortar casinos for a moment. They offer a variety of games and some of those games make more money for the casino than others. For example, slots can make a ton of money. You can squeeze in a lot of players and a lot of machines for a very fast paced game where the casino sets the odds. Poker, not so much. Poker games take more room and move more slowly. But add to that is the problem that the only money casinos make from poker games is the rake - a portion of the pot. There is no house advantage in poker. The players contribute the money and the winning player takes it away. Of course top casinos still devote some space for poker players and poker tournaments can be good business. And here’s the trick with that.

Most big poker tournaments are sponsored by online poker rooms. The tournaments are a chance for the best players to get together and battle it out in a real world game. They provide advertising for the poker room and for the casino. So, opposing online poker could actually put real world casinos in danger of losing some tournament action. So, don’t be surprised when you hear the brick and mortar casinos are in favor of online poker rooms, but not online casinos. It’s all about the money.

Coffee Quote: Everybody should believe in something.  I believe I’ll have another coffee.  ~Author Unknown

Yeah, I know, people tell me that they’re against online gambling because they want to protect me from my uncontrollable need to gamble because apparently online gambling is so addictive, it’s amazing I can stop long enough to write this blog post. And I’m spending money I can’t afford to lose because these kind people apparently have access to my bank account. Look, all money you spend on “entertainment” is optional money that could be spent elsewhere. How much would you save if you dropped your cable TV subscription? Aren’t you spending money you can’t afford to lose for cable TV shows that run when you aren’t even in the house? I may watch a couple of hours of TV a day. But cable doesn’t give a discount for that. But online casinos don’t take my money when I’m NOT playing on them. Besides, I have a basic philosophical problem with people trying to control what I do. Next they’ll be insisting that I drink decaf!

But let’s look at a little online gambling legislation debate coming out of California, where I think there might be a state tax on breathing. The Commerce Casino in California is the world’s largest real world poker room. But the casino refuses to support federal gambling legislation that would allow for legal online gambling. Because they want to protect me. Nah, because they want state legislation instead of federal legislation. That way the Commerce Casino can become the online poker room for California players. If you live in California, you’ll only be able to play on California casinos and only against California players. Who does this protect? The casino. Not the player. Don’t let them fool you.

Coffee Quote: Decaffeinated coffee is the devil’s blend.  Author Unknown