Gambling Current Events
No Action in Maine
- Breaking news, casino openings and closings, plus news concerning legislation and legal issues surrounding both land casinos and online gambling. Casino News Casino openings, closings, expansions and project updates as they come along. New Hotels; World Casino News Major international gaming news and updates from around the world, organized.
- Although parimutuel wagering on horse racing, a state lottery, and casinos are all part and parcel of the state’s gambling landscape, wagering on sporting events remains taboo thanks to the governor’s red pen.
Welcome to the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling. Whatever your need, We’re Here to Help! The Nevada Council on Problem Gambling is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to generate awareness, promote education and advocate for quality treatment and support resources for problem gambling in Nevada. Unlike other sporting events canceled by the coronavirus, the World of Series of Poker, and its millions in prizes, went online. But borders are tricky when it comes to internet gambling.
In betting legislation news, if you are a resident of Maine with an affinity for sports betting then you won’t be fond of Governor Janet Mills’ decision to veto a bill proposed by State Senator Louis Luchini to regulate sports betting in The Pine Tree State. Although parimutuel wagering on horse racing, a state lottery, and casinos are all part and parcel of the state’s gambling landscape, wagering on sporting events remains taboo thanks to the governor’s red pen.
The Maine Senate tabled addressing the governor’s veto of sports betting bill, which could be a good thing in giving more time to acquire override votes. The sponsors say they are working hard trying to get the votes. https://t.co/sk97SahiYa
— Matthew Kredell (@MatthewKredell) January 14, 2020
Hell’s Kitchen Slots
Whether or not you have enjoyed a sumptuous repast of Lobster Crudo, followed by an American Wagyu filet, and topped off with a Sticky Toffee Pudding at one of Gordon Ramsay’s fine dining establishments, the Scottish born firebrand would like everyone to take a spin at one of his potentially even more lucrative endeavors – Hell’s Kitchen slots!
If you have ever wondered a casino floor and ventured into the sprawling rows of slot machines, then you have no doubt seen Playboy, Michael Jackson, Elvis, and the ubiquitous Wheel of Fortune machines wooing you to play. Well, if Gordon Ramsay has his way, he will be the latest entrant into the world of one-armed bandits. According to The Sun, Ramsay has filed paperwork and applied for a trademark with the UK Intellectual Property Office for computer software which will be used for “playing casino, gambling and betting games.”
Although Ramsay has not commented, it is assumed his brand will be an integral part of what could be online and/or casino games with the most notable, Hell’s Kitchen, being the most prominent. Stay tuned, there will be more to come!
Do As I Say, Not As I Do
One would think that a man who has made a fortune from the gambling habits of his patrons would be the last person to express moral outrage concerning the gambling habits of those who are not. Well, in that case, you haven’t met Sheldon Adelson and his lobbying group, the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling. The crux of the matter is that online gambling is bad for business unless you’ve got a piece of that rather expansive pie.
To wit, Adelson’s mouthpiece, Jon C Bruning, has jumped aboard the US Department of Justice’s bandwagon in protecting the Wire Act from being rendered impotent, vis a vis online gambling, in state’s that have given the green light to its legality. If Adelson’s proxy railed that internet gambling would potentially erode business from the brick and mortar gambling palaces built by Adelson and his contemporaries then that would be fair. But according to Bruning, the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling is doing it – and I paraphrase – to protect the children.
The last time we checked Las Vegas hotel/casinos have no such prohibition against welcoming guests under the age of 21 into their opulent establishments. And although the casinos themselves are verboten for these underaged patrons the allure of the bright lights beckoning from the slot machines and high rollers tossing dice is within plain view for all to see…including the children. It’s a straw man’s argument but one that is being waged to stymie the efforts of internet gambling throughout the United States.
Sports Betting Thrives in Pennsylvania
There’s plenty of action in The Keystone State as evidenced by the latest report on sports gambling which reveals that overall wagers have topped one billion dollars since it became law. The Hollywood Casino in Grantville was the first location that accepted sports wagers but the sports betting scene has exploded with a whopping 80 percent being effectuated through online apps. You don’t have to be a resident to wager but you do have to be physically within state lines in order to do so.
Online sportsbooks like DraftKings, FOX Bet Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook PA, SugarHouse Sportsbook, Unibet Sportsbook, BetRivers Sportsbook, to name a few have been licensed to accept wagers in Pennsylvania and the early returns appear to be reflective of the nation’s insatiable appetite for betting on the games instead of simply watching them. There are few who doubt that these numbers won’t continue to soar in Pennsylvania, and in other legal jurisdictions, which bolsters the state’s revenues and is a win-win all the way around.
- What Is an Addiction Intervention?
Positive and negative reinforcements are not as simple as they seem, and are often misunderstood. Usually mistaken for a system of reward or punishment, these terms refer to psychological processes that cause certain behaviors to be repeated. In the field of substance abuse, positive and negative reinforcements can be helpful at encouraging desirable behaviors or substituting new behaviors for unhealthy habits.
When considering treatments, therapists should carefully understand how positive and negative reinforcements function – especially since research suggests people who abuse drugs or alcohol to avoid negative feelings are more likely to have lifelong problems with substance abuse than people who use drugs for the pleasurable feelings they provide.
Reinforcement is any action that causes a behavior to be repeated more frequently. For example, a mouse will travel a maze over and over if he smells cheese at the end of the tunnel. Also called positive reinforcement, the subject receives a reward for good behavior and is likely to repeat it.
Negative reinforcement also causes a behavior to be repeated, but in this case, the action causes a bad feeling or situation to go away. For example, some people repeatedly self-medicate with prescription drugs, alcohol or other substances because it removes unpleasant feelings of stress or anxiety.
For people with substance abuse problems, the perceived rewards of drug abuse were probably learned long ago: taking a drug or consuming alcohol brings a feeling of pleasure or euphoria, however brief.
Sports Betting Current Events
Experts warn that when the good feelings wear off, the user is likely to keep abusing the drug because it brings relief from bad feelings – such as stress, anxiety or withdrawal. Unfortunately, this can create a difficult pattern of negative reinforcement and cause a patient to abuse substances for longer periods of time.
Sometimes negative reinforcements cause a person to remain stuck even when the consequences aren’t likely to take place, which can open the door to compulsive behaviors. One example is if a person avoids social situations even as an adult because he received repeated embarrassment or ridicule as a child. The mind feels compelled to rely on old mechanisms or behavior patterns, even though they aren’t necessary anymore.
Some patients with behavior disorders say they self-medicate with illegal substances because they provide quicker relief or escape from depression or pain than prescribed drugs. Referred to as “bait and switch,” the good feelings associated with drugs are the initial bait, but then the patient continues the substance abuse because it becomes the way bad feelings or bad situations are removed.
There are treatment options for applying negative and positive reinforcements in substance abuse cases. Therapists can try eliminating the stressful situation that causes the patient to need to escape. This may mean counseling family members on how to be a positive influence on their loved ones, instead of berating them and causing more stress.
Another strategy is to allow the patient to encounter the stressor, or literally face their fears, and then not permit them to resort to their escape strategy – but instead find new ways to cope.
Teaching tolerance skills for dealing with a range of emotions may also be helpful, especially when people self-medicate. Positive and negative reinforcements can both bring success in substance abuse cases, especially when the substance problem is accompanied by anxiety or depression.