
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has given a directive permitting activities betting to maneuver ahead within the Garden State. (Image: Lucas Jackson, Reuters)
New Jersey activities wagering may not be this type of pipe dream after all. Even though the state has lost in federal court over its plan to regulate and license activities betting at casinos and racetracks throughout the nj-new jersey, some officials point to a glimmer of hope in the rulings: the actual fact itself that would stop those venues from offering bets on their own that they found that there’s nothing in New Jersey law.
On Monday, that’s just what Governor Chris Christie utilized to issue a directive allowing racetracks and casinos to start providing activities betting without anxiety about civil or criminal liability. Governor Christie cited the previous court rulings to say that such actions were not prohibited under New Jersey law, and that federal law only forbids the state from regulating the activity.
Christie Changes Tune on Federal Ruling
‘Based on the arguments of the sports leagues additionally the United States Department of Justice, the 3rd Circuit has already ruled that New Jersey can execute recreations wagering as described in today’s statewide directive,’ stated a statement from the Governor’s office. ‘The motion simply would clarify and formalize that authority and give clear guidance to casinos and racetracks waiting to start a recreations pool in New Jersey.’
The decision appears to mark a turnaround that is sudden Christie on the issue. Initially, while clearly disappointed using the court ruling, the governor showed up ready to offer through to the issue as soon as the US Supreme Court refused to hear the actual situation. Last month, he even vetoed a bill that would have worked to circumvent the ruling and allow for betting to go forward.
In addition to the directive, Christie and the state of New Jersey have additionally filed a motion in federal court seeking clarification over the ruling that blocked the certification program that New Jersey had tried to place into spot for recreations betting. That program ended up being put into destination after voters in their state showed strong support for activities betting in a nonbinding referendum right back last year.
Supporters Thrilled with Choice, Sports Leagues Not Much
The directive will allow wagers on all contests that are sporting except for collegiate contests that either take place in New Jersey, or which feature teams from colleges in nj irrespective of where those games are played.
‘Victory at last,’ said Democratic State Senator Raymond Lesniak, who has been one of the prominent supporters of bringing sports wagering to the state. ‘People should book their hotel rooms in Atlantic City for the Super Bowl now because there won’t be any available in February.’
However, not everyone is carrying out a dance of glee; it is most likely that the move will once again be challenged by most major American sports organizations. All four major professional leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL) oppose the spread of sports betting, as does the NCAA, which governs collegiate recreations.
Some of this resistance may be starting to fade, however. New NBA Commissioner Adam Silver recently stated that legalized sports betting in more states is ‘inevitable,’ and that the league will probably find ways to embrace it in the long run.
‘If you have a gentleman’s bet or a tiny wager on any type of recreations contest, it makes you that much more involved in it,’ Silver said during the Bloomberg Sports Business Summit. ‘That’s where we will view it spend dividends. Then it is much more likely you’re going to stay tuned in for an extended time. if people are viewing a casino game and clicking to bet on their smart phones, which free slot machines quick hits is really what people are doing in the United Kingdom now,’
Sports betting has been unlawful in most states with the exception of Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon because the passing of the 1992 pro and Amateur Sports Protection Act. At the time, nj had a possiblity to legalize activities betting before what the law states went into effect, but failed to take action inside the time parameters permitted.
Ray Rice Loses Baltimore Ravens Contract Over TMZ Video
A brand new video that is TMZ-released Ray Rice striking his then-fiancée-now-wife in a Revel Casino elevator. (Image: Robert Mayer-USA Sports today)
Ray Rice was already the main topic of plenty of scorn after he had been charged with felony assault for an incident with then-fiancée Janay Palmer (the couple has since married) at the Revel Casino in Atlantic City in February. Finally, Rice was only suspended by the National Football League for two games, a choice that also sparked outrage among many fans, ultimately causing Commissioner Roger Goodell admitting that harsher penalties were needed for domestic violence going forward.
Both the NFL and Rice are now going to manage a round that is new of in the occasions in the future. a second movie of the event ended up being posted by TMZ early Monday morning, and it included footage that was much more visual than what had formerly been seen by the public. The Baltimore Ravens have terminated Rice’s contract as a result.
New Video Reveals Knockout
In the initial video, Rice had been seen dragging a presumably unconscious Palmer away from an elevator at Revel. But the new video also shows what happened inside the elevator moments before. Inside it, both Rice and Palmer are seen getting into the elevator. Seconds later, there clearly was a scuffle, which ends with Rice throws a punch to Palmer’s face that knocks her head into the back railing of the elevator, after which it she falls to the floor. The video then continues to show Rice drag her out of the elevator, a scene that also played down within the video that is first to the public months ago.
In a statement from the NFL, officials claimed that the video was as new to them as it was to the general public.
‘ We requested from law enforcement any and all sorts of information about the incident, including the video from within the elevator,’ the declaration read. ‘That video had not been made open to us. With no one in our workplace has seen it until today’
Questions Raised About Just What NFL Knew
But that statement seems to contradict the reporting from numerous NFL reporters into the wake of the incident. Both referenced NFL officials having seen the video in July, reports from prominent NFL writers such as Sports Illustrated‘s Peter King and ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.
‘There is certainly one other thing i did so not write or refer to, and that is the other videotape the NFL and some Ravens officials have actually seen, from the security camera inside the elevator the altercation that is physical Rice and his fiancée,’ King composed at the time. Mortensen’s report mentioned details of the video clip that appear to accurately match those through the movie released today.
According to reports that have been reiterated considering that the latest video was leaked, several NFL reporters said that they certainly were told in private that the video revealed Palmer being violent towards Rice, and so it may well have mitigated Rice’s punishment. Infamously, the Baltimore Ravens tweeted a message that is controversial ‘Janay Rice says she deeply regrets the part that she played the nights the incident.’
Considering that the episode, Rice and Palmer married, and Palmer has publicly expressed support for Rice february. The couple also met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell before Rice’s punishment was established, with Goodell saying that the brief suspension was simply because that Rice showed up remorseful for his actions and because the costs against him had been dropped.
Trump Taj Mahal Faces Mid-November Closure in Atlantic City
The Trump Taj Mahal could be the next casino, and the second Trump-branded home, to shut down in Atlantic City. (Image: wikipedia.org)
The Trump Taj Mahal could possibly be the latest in a string of Atlantic City casinos to shut down for good. Parent company Trump Entertainment Resorts (TER) filed for bankruptcy this week, and claims the Taj Mahal will join sister property the Trump Plaza, which is closing in just seven days, with a possible november 13 closure as well. TER says that without some union income cutbacks, the house cannot continue to operate beyond that date.
‘Absent expense reductions, particularly concessions from their unions, the debtors expect that the Taj Mahal will close on or fleetingly after November 13, 2014 and that most operating units is going to be ended between November 13, 2014 and November 27, 2014,’ stated TER in its petition that is own filed the United States Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday. TER noted that while its assets had been little more than $50,000, the business’s liabilities stand somewhere between the $100 million and $500 million mark. Having skipped out on its tax that is quarterly payment was due in August, TER now says it simply has no method to continue having to pay creditors with debts which will be due in September.
Meanwhile, critical online gambling alliances with Betfair and Ultimate Gaming are being severed by the world wide web operators, who now desire to find new land casinos to call home to enable them to continue steadily to operate, which is a regulatory must in New Jersey.
Ironically, Donald Trump has nothing at all to do with some of this. In a declaration through the billionaire’s attorney, it was noted that ”Mr. Trump brilliantly left Atlantic City more than seven years ago and has not been right back. Mr. Trump has definitely nothing regarding Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc.’
More Unemployment Unwelcome News
Six thousand people have already lost their jobs following the closure of Revel, the Showboat, and, earlier in the 12 months, the Atlantic Club, and this week hundreds of ex-casino workers waited in line to apply for unemployment at a crisis session at the Atlantic City Convention Center. With the expected closure of the Trump Plaza in mid-September, Atlantic City could be considering 8,000 people out of work, fuelling fears for the various social ills engendered by mass unemployment, such as for example a crime rate that is rising.
Regional 54 of Unite-HERE Union President Bob McDevitt was quick to blame TER plus the Trump Taj Mahal for the failure, noting that the casino had maybe not made use that is good of $130 million in 2014 video gaming intakes to date. ‘If our people had been to work with minimum wage with no advantages, it wouldn’t be adequate to help keep this home in the hands of its current owners for a year,’ McDevitt stated.
Falling on Hard Times
These are a down economy for the company, which had evidently been wanting to sell the Plaza for years before announcing its closure month that is last. Last 12 months, TER tried to sell the property for $20 million to the Californian-based Meruelo Group. The deal dropped through when Trump Entertainment was not able to obtain a release on its home loan, with the senior lender refusing to accept the sale at such a price that is low.
Nevertheless, the business may have more luck finding a buyer for the Taj; while the Plaza is definitely Atlantic City’s poorest performing casino, the Taj is an improved prospect, with only a slight operating loss in the 1st six months of the year.
Wrath of The Donald
The Taj Mahal was the third casino to be obtained by Donald Trump during his Atlantic City empire-building of the 1980s. Trump bought the property that is unfinished Resorts International for $230 million, and also by the time it was completed in 1990, it had cost $1 billion to build. In 2009, Trump left the casino industry once and for all, retaining a 10 percent stake in Trump Entertainment, but using no component into the operation of its two gambling enterprises.
Last month he announced his attention to sue Trump Entertainment for the continued usage of his name. Trump has said he ended up being incensed during the way that his previous business has handled the two staying properties, complaining that it has permitted them to fall into ‘disrepair,’ tarnishing the Trump brand name name of which he is fiercely protective.
‘we want it off both [casinos],’ he snapped. ‘I been away from Atlantic City for a long time. People think we operate (the ongoing company), and we never. It’s not us. It is not me.’