Mr. Casino Chips Goes to Washington and The Kids are Alright

by Jack Prophet | Aug 18 2011

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All Teens Go Through a Casino Threatening Phase
Most kids get a summer job in high school. The jobs often aren't glamorous or well paid but usually are character forming and remembered years later with a certain amount of affection. Not so for 18 year old Zachary Jackson of Simi Valley, California. Zachary decided to take a shortcut and bypass after school jobs and most of college by extorting money from Las Vegas casinos- by threatening to blow them up. Yet one more reason to play at an online casino  if you needed one.

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At any rate it appears that the enterprising young lad has been studying the titans of Wall Street over the last couple of years and decided it was easier to rip off people then earn a living legitimately. As such he and a friend decided to roll the dice  by purchasing voice distorting equipment and telephoning Las Vegas casinos over the weekend. They demanded large amounts of cash and if the casinos wouldn't pay they faced getting all blowed up. Perhaps Jackson and his compatriot should have looked for softer marks in the end. Nevada casinos have a long history of getting shook down by way scarier people than a random caller with that cool electronic voice sound effect.

Predictably the casinos called the police, who called the FBI, and it was pretty straightforward from there. Jackson it appears will be charged by both the state of California and the state of Nevada which seems excessive for what is ultimately a bored high school kid prank. However, one side benefit is that Zachary Jackson and his colleague have no doubt been "scared straight" for life and pose no further danger to society.

Some Day My Casino and I Might Ask You for a Favour in Return
It is a busy time in Washington, D.C. these days what with the near collapse of the U.S. economy etc. Congress however always finds time to meet with lobbyists. The American Gaming Association, who represents the major casino operators, got the chance to present its concerns to lawmakers for the mere sum of $641,621.09. To be clear this number represents only lobby spending for the second quarter of this year.

A top level issue was visa reform with the presumable intention being to legalize most of the current work force of Las Vegas including those guys that hand out the rather risqué flyers on the sidewalk. Additional topics included online gaming  and the concerns of the casino industry in tough economic times. No word on whether there was much back slapping, chortling and cigar smoking although one would presume there was.

New York State Gets Casino Revenue Fever
New York joins an ever growing group of states that are looking at either introducing gaming for the first time, or expanding their current gambling offerings. New York is no stranger to state sanctioned gambling as it has had legalized gambling on horse races for many decades. In addition it currently has a total of eight "racinos", or racetracks that are also casinos, which have mostly slot machines. Further it also has five Indian casinos which are spread across the state. As such the question of whether gambling should be allowed in the Empire State is certainly moot.

However, expanding casino gambling will be much easier said than done. To expand gambling will require an amendment to the state constitution which is a long and complicated process. Add to this furious anti-expansion lobbying from the racino operators and the various Indian bands that currently have casinos and it certainly will be a fight for Governor Cuomo.

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