MGM's "phases" to internet gambling....article from 2001......

[hollaballa]

This is an interesting interview from back in the early 2000's.

MGM CEO Terry Lanni mentions 3 phases for MGM's approach to internet gambling.

Phase three is basically "internet gambling being banned and then the country realizing all the tax dollars missed, etc, etc."

He says that america will eventually wake up.....

"When that happens I don't know, but I'm convinced it will happen, and that's only if the Kyl Bill becomes law here in the United States."


Read the interview for more details.

I just think it's interesting how he pretty much layed things out how they needed to happen, and although he's a big proponent of internet gambling, his vision of how things would go were for it to be banned first. Not for lobbying, a study, then legalize.

He basically says the only way the US will wake up is if they try to ban it first.

Interesting. Makes you go, hmmmm, for sure.

http://www.casinogaming.com/features/profiles/lanni.html

[oldbookguy]

Without even reading the story, I am familiar with the premise and I have stated before that somehow I feel like I am being slow played by someone holding the NUTS.
Ban then we beg for regulation giving congress everything it wants without a fight. Take my chips, PLEASE!

obg

[hollaballa]

things going just as planned for some people /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Skallagrim]

Although its NOT the only factor in modern US politics, there is more than enough back-room money in D.C. for this to definitely be part of a plan.

And its the main reason I like the Wexler "skill-games" bill most of all: it leaves all the poker sites currently out there who stood by us US players in place, and makes all the conspirators and scaredy-cats play catch up.

Skallagrim

[TheEngineer]

[ QUOTE ]

Without even reading the story, I am familiar with the premise and I have stated before that somehow I feel like I am being slow played by someone holding the NUTS.
Ban then we beg for regulation giving congress everything it wants without a fight. Take my chips, PLEASE!

obg

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know. I guess two things that come to mind are that Congress could have regulated this whenever they wanted, and the main "ban" proponents don't seem to want Internet gambling in any form.

It may work for the domestic B&M casinos after all, but they may be in a tougher situation now than they were before. After all, groups like FoF are only getting louder.

[Grasshopp3r]

Lanni was on the study commission in 1997. They produced a report.

http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/ngisc/reports/fullrpt.html

Internet gambling is discussed in section 2-14 through 16. They also cite a Clinton statement where he calls the internet a free trade zone. That would support the WTO arguments, though.

[oldbookguy]

I agree the Wexler bill is the cure and the simplest at that.

What I have a sneaking suspicion may happen is congress will take a wait and see attitude.
Wait and see how far the WTO goes along with the negotiations by the USTR with all parties.

This way, they will have cover. They will be able to sanction and regulate Internet wagering while stepping forward and saying how GREAT this is since it will be the BEST way to protect families (FoF) while raking in billions as well while still saying we do not condone this, however.

One thing I learned about politicians long ago, NEVER, NEVER underestimate them. They are conniving and as crooked as dog’s hind legs.

obg

[Grasshopp3r]

Lanni has a background in racing.

http://www.ntra.com/stats_bios.aspx?id=2175

He is also making some major coin at MGM.

http://www.forbes.com/static/execpay2005...datatype=Person (http://www.forbes.com/static/execpay2005/LIRR4HH.html?passListId=12&passYear=2005&passListT ype=Person&uniqueId=R4HH&datatype=Person)

[oldbookguy]

More importantly, he was a member of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission who made the report to congress in 1999 so often cited and out of date by FoF, Kyl and others.

obg

[MiltonFriedman]

Next thing I'll hear is that Terri Lanni purposefully flushed $5 million or so down the drain in written off losses on Wagerworks' site, just so it would look good.

(By the way, you might want to look at what company IGT bought into last year before the ban, if you want to bolster your theory. However, you would still be barking up the wrong tree, historically.)

Jesus, get your head straight. Gut-the-US market was NOT a preferred M.O. for MGM.

That having been said, it is clear that the "study"/tax/regulate approach IS favored by entrenched US gaming interests. That does not mean they backed the UIGE Act.

[jonyy6788]

[ QUOTE ]

Jesus, get your head straight. Gut-the-US market was NOT a preferred M.O. for MGM.


[/ QUOTE ]

couldn't agree more....

Now, you have a bunch of Party Poker fish that are afraid that poker is illegal and hear all about the bad rep. of online poker and shiz. Once something gets a bad rep, it's tough to get its feet back on the ground.

[MiltonFriedman]

... not to mention the hundreds of millions of dollars MGM could not compete for in the interim.

But, hey, let's connect ALL the dots into one BIG conspiracy picture, even if they do not fit.

Terri Lanni wanted, and still wants, legal online gambling for MGM... the sooner the better..... He wants ALL casino gambling legalized for US online play, not just poker or skillgames.

[DrewOnTilt]

[ QUOTE ]
Jesus, get your head straight. Gut-the-US market was NOT a preferred M.O. for MGM.

[/ QUOTE ]

Who ever said that was preferred? Read the article. Lanni clearly states that he believes that will happen, not that he actually wants it:

[ QUOTE ]
Internet gaming is operating in some 22 countries around the world right now, quite legally. I think at some point, when they see the money that's being shipped offshore which is not being taxed, not being regulated and is not benefiting anyone other than people operating in Antigua, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar and other places, there'll be levels of frustration and a hue and cry that will say, "Wait a minute, this is wrong."


When that happens I don't know, but I'm convinced it will happen, and that's only if the Kyl Bill becomes law here in the United States.

[/ QUOTE ]

[TomVeil]

I agree that it wasn't a B&M conspiracy, but you can bet when it all went down, they were all getting ready to move into the online market. They'd have to know any sort of ban or repeal of the Frist law would take a year or so, plenty of time to dump a bunch of money into creating good software (or better yet, negotiating with an already existing site for a merge if/when the US market was totally open). You can bet that the moment that legislation passes that makes online poker clearly 100% legal, (because the fishies are who we have to convince) the US sites will be all set to go with nice fat signup bonuses. (Or better yet, comps for a 2 or 3 day stay in the hotel...........)

[hollaballa]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Jesus, get your head straight. Gut-the-US market was NOT a preferred M.O. for MGM.

[/ QUOTE ]

Who ever said that was preferred? Read the article. Lanni clearly states that he believes that will happen, not that he actually wants it:

[ QUOTE ]
Internet gaming is operating in some 22 countries around the world right now, quite legally. I think at some point, when they see the money that's being shipped offshore which is not being taxed, not being regulated and is not benefiting anyone other than people operating in Antigua, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar and other places, there'll be levels of frustration and a hue and cry that will say, "Wait a minute, this is wrong."


When that happens I don't know, but I'm convinced it will happen, and that's only if the Kyl Bill becomes law here in the United States.

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

exactly drew. This is just how he thought it would go down.

I can also tell you that poker is the least of Lanni's interest. He wants the table games.....doesn't care about poker, although mgm would still have poker i'm sure.

[drbi]

If the current law is repealed, Internet gambling is not declared illegal by Washington, and the B&M's get into the game, what happens at the state level. I know that some states have already declared internet poker illegal. The George Will article about all of this last year brought up the point that the states are strongly against internet poker so that the only form of local gambling available will be their state lotteries. Will very many states allow their citizens to play online? If we are honest about winnings we will have to report gambling income on our state tax returns.

[oldbookguy]

You should already be honest and reporting income.

Legal or not, income is taxable now.

Doubt it, see Al Capone. He went to jail not for murder and crime, tax evasion.

obg

[Cactus Jack]

Here's the funny part...it may not matter.

In the next year, while the legal wrangling and lobbying are straightened out, if a poker site and a funding for poker only site get it together, and make it easy for people to fund their poker, it won't matter whether it's "legalized" because it will be de facto legal.

If many people are doing something, and no one is being prosecuted for it, then it's a fait acompli and the "legalized" sites will have to compete. They will have to give people a better reason to switch, and those who bow to the power of the government will never have an advantage over those who don't have to perform for the govt. like trained dogs.

We've got Pokerstars and Full Tilt going pretty strong. If there was an easy way to get money from bank card to site, game over. No one has yet to be prosecuted for playing poker or for online hosting of poker. The government is afraid to prosecute, because there's a very, very good chance they'd lose. That's an outcome they will not chance if at all possible.

Poker has gotten caught up in other gambling, esp sports betting. That connection has been broken by the UIGEA. Now, it's time for the poker sites to step up and show some balls. Frankly, they should have done this from the get-go.

[CountingMyOuts]

[ QUOTE ]
...Poker has gotten caught up in other gambling, esp sports betting. That connection has been broken by the UIGEA...

[/ QUOTE ]

Perhaps you would be kind enough to explain this to the NFL, which seems hell bent on keeping poker down.

[yahboohoo]

Politicians have played the B&M side of this issue to its full extent. They've milked it for all it's worth. Now they can hold out their hands to the online gaming industry. So, in a sense, everyone wins. B&M's got online gaming banned. Online sites will eventually get legalized. Politicians rake (yuk, yuk) in the dough for the better part of a decade. Everyone wins. Except us, the players, that is.