“Free” online gambling in Delaware starts today (free is in quotes because the multi-million dollar bail out can’t be far behind)
UPDATED WITH MY REVIEW BELOW – Don’t get me wrong. I like playing poker (for money) online. Or I should say, I did like playing online when it was less illegal than it is now. I’m not an anti-gambling prude, but the idea that the mewling welfare cases and tax cheats that run the Delaware casinos can run a decent online poker room makes me laugh. It also makes me a bit nauseous to see that”online” gaming in Delaware will include virtual slot machines. Wouldn’t it be cheaper for the state to simply rob people at gunpoint?
DOVER — Delaware’s three casinos launched the first phase of the state’s online gambling operation this morning, opening Web portals for free slots, poker, blackjack and roulette games.
So I just logged on and this looks like a pretty horrible place to play online poker. Feeling like something my kids did math practice on 10 years ago, the interface is clearly built for beginners. The emphasis seems to be on getting people to play slots and roulette – which is probably immoral in addition to being just fucking stupid.
Locked into the facebook interface, the poker has a very cheaply done feel to it. There aren’t some of the basic things online poker players expect, like “sit out next hand,” and multi-table options. I’d have to play a bit more to see if the level of play conforms to the jokey appearance of this thing. I suppose there is a chance that the players themselves could redeem this, although that is probably a long-shot.
I’m disappointed. Not just for me, but for Delaware. We had a chance to be on the forefront of bring a multi-billion dollar business back into the US where it could be regulated and taxed. Instead we got an amateurish mess.
Basically, it sucks.
If 100 people play a slot machine something like 30% have to win legally. What’s not fair about rigging bets to pay out specifically a percentage that allows the casino to make money? And an overwhelming majority lose?
It’s a brilliant business model and I think you are jealous you aren’t in on it. Casinos will save the Delaware economy just like it saved Atlantic City!
Not only are enormous casino profits locked in, if for some reason they fail to make their projected numbers – they are made whole by the state. That’s the really brilliant part.
The free market… huzzah!
While the free games will be open to players anywhere in the world, the coming real-money games will be available only to players within Delaware’s borders, in accordance with federal law.
Is it just me, or is this really stupid? For us — a small state — that means that the casinos get one more opportunity to juke their stats on revenues and losses in order to get more “partnership” money from the state.
And WTF would you do this through Facebook?
One reason for the ongoing half-assedness of our ‘casinos’ has been the perpetuation of the myth that they are video lotteries.
If the state is serious about gaming, then get the amateurs from the Delaware Lottery Office out, and get capable gaming people in.
Even Tony Soprano’s mob could do better than this if put in charge.
And more good news for Delaware casinos — Maryland Live! table games go live today.
Prophetic — Atlantic City’s losing streak, as more states compete for gambling revenue and jobs
Gambling like this is just a tax on the weak and the stupid. The people who are targeted to pay this tax are often the least able to pay, or pay at high personal cost.
…and that is what makes gambling morally wrong.
…and that’s what makes this whole thing an example of the abject evil that government can facilitate.
“Gambling like this is just a tax on the weak and the stupid.”
I think if I was one of the weak and stupid I would resent this remark. It’s as if this is a permanent disability and society must paternalistically look out for those unfortunates who are weak and stupid by treating them as little more than children. The solution for the weak and stupid is to help them become strong and smart, not prohibit them from exercising their right to do stupid things.
Learning and growth takes place in an environment that relies upon the experiental versus the didactic. Prohibition is the genesis of desire. Desire is the fuel that powers the engine of invention, which will be to find a way to engage in those activities which are prohibited. Under no circumstances are you to touch that hot stove! Works every time doesn’t it?
I sense that there is a view of a safety net that keeps one off the tightrope as opposed to the safety net that catches them when they fall. To me, that which some call a safety net is what I would call a barrier.
There is a difference between a government that is neutral with regard to protecting the the weak and a government that preys on the weak.
@D “I sense that there is a view of a safety net that keeps one off the tightrope as opposed to the safety net that catches them when they fall.”
And one is a heck of a lot cheaper than the other. Which would you rather pay for?
And we taxpayers do pay for it (either way)…
You cannot build a great nation (or a great state) on the gambling industry. It is nothing but a parasite that serves to weaken us all.
I would rather pay for the cheaper one of course. However, where do you draw the line in prohibiting individual actions because of the cost to society? For you, gambling is clear. But what if it was for something else, like driving (an inherently dangerous activity with a high cost to society) or teen pregnancy, or alcohol consumption, or smoking, ad nauseam. These and others all have a high cost and society has put in place some forms of a safety net for each of these. Yet, you choose gambling as an activity to prohibit. Presumably it’s because of the “weak and stupid” aspect. Yet all of these other events/activities also affect the “weak and stupid.” I wonder if it’s more a victim vs predator paradigm, where the big gambling interest prey on the weak and stupid victims with an easily identifiable predator and easily identifiable victim class.
I don’t care about gambling online, offline or in person but my Mom, who is 88 dearly loves playing quarter poker machines and as she approaches the time when her mobility is constrained, I bet she would love to play on her PC or even on her Kindle. It bores me, but gives her great amount of pleasure. Why would anyone want to deny her that small measure of fun? (BTW she may be weak, but she cannot be called stupid in any manner plus she lives within her means). Sometimes when you protect a class you constrain other classes (my Mom). Can’t you find a solution that doesn’t have to affect the strong and smart?
And here is the nut- graph:
“If the state is serious about gaming, then get the amateurs from the Delaware Lottery Office out, and get capable gaming people in.”
And that says it all…..
The Dover Downs CEO is already telling everyone that internet gaming won’t help his industry.