Casino Mogul Bows Out Of Online Casino Action
Added: Oct. 5, 2015
At least for the time being. What’s this all about? Well start with a big name you most certainly are familiar with. The name of Steve Wynn. Yes, that Steve Wynn. The Steve Wynn who is the CEO of Wynn Resorts. As you know, Wynn Resorts is a public company that owns and operates high end hotels and casinos.
And for those of you that have been paying attention to the news over the last year or so with respect to online casino action you might remember that Wynn Resorts was actively interested in getting into online casino action. So much so, that the company figured out a way to get a piece of the online casino pie out in New Jersey.
In case you did not know this, the current law in New Jersey is worded so that online casinos are in fact legally authorized as long as there is some sort of tie-in to a local New Jersey based land casino. You may not be aware that even now, Wynn resorts does not have any sort of land based casino in New Jersey.
However, that turned out not to be an obstacle after all. Wynn Resorts took the time to setup partnership deals with both Caesars and 888 Casino. This allowed Wynn Resorts to receive what is referred to as a transactional waiver. This waiver would have allowed Steve Wynn’s company to begin online casino action in the very near future.
Well, that was then and this is now. For whatever reason or perhaps no reason at all, Wynn Resorts suddenly and without warning just slammed the brakes on New Jersey online casino plans. In a surprise letter sent to the New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement, the company politely requested to withdraw its application. The wording was brief but to the point stating: “At this time, Wynn does not wish to proceed with its application. Therefore kindly accept this correspondence as a formal request to withdraw such application”.
Huh? So what happened here? Why has Steve Wynn completely reversed his position with respect to online casino action? In short, he is saying it doesn’t make sense. And make sure you understand that Wynn has taken a pretty strong position that until the business opportunity is completely understood, Wynn Resorts wants no part of this sort of thing.
In fact, he spoke about it by saying: “Where’s the business opportunity? You have all these states miserably hungry for revenue. They all have lotteries…You think they are going to let private enterprises get the money? Baloney.”
Well there you go, Straight from the horse’s mouth so to speak. If a casino magnate such as Steve Wynn sees online gambling this way what does that mean for online gambling proponents?