Friday, July 29, 2016

AGA Responsible Gaming Week



This week is the American Gaming Association Responsible Gaming Week. It runs from August 1st thru 5th. Responsible Gaming Education Week (RGEW) was created by the AGA in 1998 to increase awareness of problem gambling among gaming industry employees and customers and to promote responsible gaming nationwide.

The AGA and the entire gaming industry realize that education is essential to promoting responsible play and increasing awareness of gambling disorders, and RGEW provides gaming companies with an opportunity to expand on work they do every day educating employees and patrons about the issue.


In preparation for RGEW the AGA and the  (NCRG), released new responsible gaming videos. The video by the NCRG, “What is a Gambling Disorder?” , “explains in simple language the science that informs our understanding of gambling disorders.” The AGA’s video, “What Are the Odds?”, is meant to “illustrate the house advantage inherent in all casino games and demonstrates how America’s favorite game – the slot machine works.

I support this initiative. My app is indicative of my commitment to this endeavor.  The best practices are the preventive ones. Who better to provide this information than the companies and the employees that work in gaming.  They know the warning signs that lead to the onset of problem gambling.   Keep it fun!

                   Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for updates!
                   Check out my app, Smart Responsible Gaming at thegamingguym.com/

                                                        58 days until #G2E2016



Saturday, July 23, 2016

Best Things to do in Philly during the Democratic National Convention

The Democratic National Convention is coming to Philly.The next 5 days will have at least 40,000 out of town guests in Philadelphia.This includes delegates, media and lobbyists. They will be looking for places to go and eat. They will also want to enjoy the city.  So I'll share some of the top places they will have memorable experiences that they will savor.



I 'll suggest South Street. This is our answer to Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Not quite as festive or risqué but multiple places to eat and drink. Parking is expensive so take a taxi or public transportation.



The next place on the to do list is Chinatown. You will be in the heart of center city. Public transportation is the best means of access.

If you are looking for the best deals and places that are catering to the DNC, look no further. I would tend to stay in center city and in group of two of more. While most of your encounters will be civil and friendly, every major city has an element that preys on the naïve. Don't be naïve.

Philadelphia Magazine

The Reading Terminal Market is a can't miss stop on your to do list. This is a reflection of Philadelphia with it's diversity and assortment of food under one roof. It is located in the heart of center city across from the convention center.


If you want the best that Philadelphia has to offer, I will share the best of Philly from Philadelphia Magazine. This is the list of winners from 2016 that covers everything. This includes where to get the best cheesesteak to water ice. It's going to be hot everyday so you may want to keep that thought in mind.




If you want gaming and convenient, you can have both at SugarHouse Casino. The recent expansion  and the breathtaking view of the river are the lasting memories that you can take back home.  If you win that will be the icing on the cake.

                                                      Enjoy your self and enjoy Philadelphia!

The links for Chinatown and the best deals are courtesy of Philly.com. Read the Inquirer and the Daily News for things related to Philadelphia while in our city.



                   Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for updates!
                   Check out my app, Smart Responsible Gaming at thegamingguym.com/



Friday, July 22, 2016

Pennsylvania Gaming Expansion could lift off at Philadelphia International Airport



When you arrive in Las Vegas, you know as soon as you depart the plane that you are in a gaming town. The sounds of the slot machines greet you through out McCarron International Airport. That same sound could vibrate in Philadelphia International Airport within the next 18 months.




If a gaming expansion bill in Pennsylvania includes slots in airports, this would generate a pipeline of revenue for the state. It would consist of jobs and gambling revenue. It would require oversight by the PGCB.No one under 21 would be allowed to play. The rules involving any jackpot that exceed $1200 would be applicable.

Philadelphia International Airport


The logistics that make this a winning proposition are the amount of daily flights to and from Philly.
Ironically, that number is approximately 1200. Philadelphia is also the 20th busiest airport in the nation and serve more than 30.4 million people a year. The airport is within an hour drive time of the brick and mortar facilities. A boost for the City and the Commonwealth. 



                   Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for updates!
                   Check out my app, Smart Responsible Gaming at thegamingguym.com/

                                                        65 days until #G2E2016.

Friday, July 15, 2016

Interview with Chris Sheffield: Penn National Gaming




Mr. Chris Sheffield has been Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Interactive Gaming at Penn National Gaming Inc. since January 2015. Mr. Sheffield is responsible for setting the Company’s strategy as it prepares for the launch of online gaming initiatives across its portfolio at Penn National Gaming.





1). What is your role at Penn National Gaming?  What did you do prior to this position?

"My role is Managing Director / Senior Vice President i-Gaming at Penn which is a new role created this year .  Previously I was managing Director of digital for Betfred in the UK who are a very large betting and gaming business which generates over $ 15 Bn in revenue per year from retail and online operations.  Prior to Betfred, I had an entrepreneurial career and most notably developed Million-2-1 into the largest mobile gambling business in the UK which was eventually acquired by International game Technology (IGT)."

2). Tell the readers the things in the I Gaming platform  that you feel could be implemented here?

"The UK is the World’s most advanced online gambling marketplace and every form of gaming and gambling online for real money is legal and regulated.  This creates a huge amount of tax revenue for Government,  tens of thousands of jobs,  consumer protection for players and drives innovation as operators race to deliver the next great product.  Sports betting is also legal via all channels,  and nowadays in the UK mobile and betting “In Play” as the action happens is the most popular betting activity with $ billions wagered every weekend on soccer, horse racing and other sports.  I see no reason why a similar model could not be implemented across North America and consumers here given the chance to wager legally rather than off-shore with all of the protection and additional tax revenues a regulated model would generate."

3). What would work best in the perfect I Gaming regulatory format?  A federal structure or the current state by state initiative.

"From an operator’s standpoint,  of course a federal position would work best as would be one size fits all and a lot easier to support from a single infrastructure.  However,  given land based gaming businesses are regulated state by state, this is more likely the way things will happen with each state being able to determine its own path and regulations."

4). In Europe, what games are the most popular in the I Gaming environment?  What are the demographics of the players?


"In the UK, sports betting is huge but it is quite a low margin and very competitive business.  The most commercial aspect of i-gaming is casino games (slots, roulette, blackjack e.t.c.),  live dealer casino games,  virtual sports, bingo and poker which is currently in decline.  The customer demographic depends very much on the brand and product and typically a sport-book operator would appeal more to the younger male whilst gaming / bingo focused would appeal more to the older female type audience.  However,  mobile gaming now has overtaken the PC and other devices and this is skewing to a younger more tech savvy customer who is able to play games or wager from anywhere."


 5). Online Gaming does have fears associated with it. The two that immediately come to mind are cannibalization of brick and mortar casinos and an up surge of compulsive gambling. Are these concerns valid?


"As can be seen from Europe,  there appears to be very little cannibalization from bricks and mortar to IGaming and the two channels can be used to help customers become more loyal to a single brand and increase lifetime value and wallet share.  This is also being seen in New jersey with operators such as Golden Nugget being able to report a very positive impact on land based customers  visitation and spend since the advent of IGaming in the State."


"I would also point to Europe regards compulsive gambling and again there is no evidence that there is a link between increased gambling problems and new technology.  At the end of the day,  technology allows the implementation of better controls to protect the customer than the land based environment."

6). Fantasy Sports Betting is the talk of the US. What would it take to bring Online Gaming to this level?

"The biggest challenge that igaming faces is that it is not currently legal in most states whilst fantasy sports for the time being is allowedin most states  across the country.  iGaming needs to prove volume and scale in New Jersey which is improving month by month and issues such as banking (high decline rates for transaction) need to be resolved. Once the model is proven I am sure other States will introduce bills to legalize igaming as a way to raise tax revenue, protect the consumer and bring illegal offshore business back to the US."

                   Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for updates!
                   Check out my app, Smart Responsible Gaming at thegamingguym.com/

Friday, July 8, 2016

Las Vegas Entertainment: Michael Jackson Cirque Du Soleil

If you are in Las Vegas, this is the show. A evening of the greatest entertainer of this era best songs. The show is at the Mandalay Bay Casino and tickets start at $69.

                                                                      

                                                                 Enjoy the magic.

                   Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for updates!
                   Check out my app, Smart Responsible Gaming at thegamingguym.com/

Atlantic City Entertainment: New Edition

If you are looking for something to do in AC this weekend, your best place is Caesars Palace. New Edition is performing on Friday at 8PM. This R&B group that started as boy crooners has been together for three decades. Their latest song is a collaboration with group member Johnny Gill titled "This One for Me and You".  Here is the video. They perform the following night at the Barclays Center in New York. They conclude their area tour at the Sands Bethlehem Event Center sponsored by Sands Casino on July 14 at 7PM.


New Edition



                   Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for updates!
                   Check out my app, Smart Responsible Gaming at thegamingguym.com/

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Venus & Serena: Serving the Pursuit of Greatness

The Williams Sisters accomplished another milestone yesterday in winning their quarterfinal matches at Wimbledon. They are the 1st two women over the age of 34 to ever reach a semi final round. This is amazing. It must be pretty awesome to do something that has never been achieved and your little sister does it too on the same day.
This is happening in a sport where the average starting age is 17 and a career span a decade. Venus and Serena have defy father time and the odds. They are not just great tennis players. They are business women that are minority owners of the Miami Dolphins.


They have written books. They have been on the covers of Vogue, Glamour, ESPN the Magazine ,Sports Illustrated and the Wall Street Journal. For the past 2 decades!



This journey is attributed to hard work and dedication to their craft. It is a perserverance thru adversities. Venus suffered with of Sjögren’s syndrome, a little-known autoimmune disorder that causes fatigue and joint pain Serena struggled with nagging physical ailments. The Williams Sisters embody strength, beauty and confidence.

 
They have philanthropic efforts, like the schools in Kenya and Jamaica. They have a tennis foundation that funds programs that address learning problems for youth who are experiencing academic failure. Its mission is to ensure that every child is provided the opportunity to reach his or her full potential.
All of this while impacting the world thru fashion and social media. They are brand that embraces the power of being a woman with the charm of a Mona Lisa. The Williams are the blue print for any successful person to follow. Live and captivate your dreams. Have fun while doing it.

                   Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for updates!
                   Check out my app, Smart Responsible Gaming at thegamingguym.com/

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Kevin Durant signs with the Warriors

Lebron James is happy this morning. He is not the number 1 player that NBA fans love to hate on today. Kevin Durant moves into that spot by signing with the Warriors for two years at 27 million per season. He has a clause to opt out after 1 year.


The Warriors are happy this morning. They just sign the best free agent available and improved a championship team coming off consecutive NBA Finals appearances. They just won 73 regular season games. Could that record be challenged? Daily Fantasy Sports just got more exciting.
Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut are not happy this morning. They will in all likelihood not be re-signed by the Warriors. The money is not there under the salary cap. They both may wind up in Dallas.



Russell Westbrook is not happy this morning. He no longer has his scoring partner that made for one of the best backcourts in the league. He is counting the days until he is a free agent.

The rest of us are somewhere in the middle. Love or Hate the deal. Like or Loathe Durant. We will watch intently. I just want to see the Warriors again when they come to Philly.

After Kevin Durant's announcement that he will join Golden State, the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has moved the Warriors' odds to win next season's title from 3-2 to 4-5, making them an overwhelming favorite.
The Thunder's odds dropped from 8-1 to 30-1 at the Westgate.
The SuperBook also opened the Warriors' season win total for the 2016-17 campaign at 68.5.
Kevin Durant is Happy.  Click and See.

In case you missed it, @KeshisCuties and I discussed if Kevin Durant would fit with the Warriors.
This is in part due to Warriors not winning the title and Barnes lack of production in the close out games.  Follow us for more #HisandHers Talk this coming Friday at 8PM on Twitter.

Read about the Problems with NBA Free Agency here.

                   Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for updates!
                   Check out my app, Smart Responsible Gaming at thegamingguym.com/

Monday, July 4, 2016

Problems with NBA Free Agency

We should never knock another man's hustle. However, I think Jay Z would do a double take on the salaries that some of the current NBA free agents are getting. While the marquee players are deserving of large monetary compensation, players that are mid level are getting overpaid. The current collective bargaining agreement allows the rookies to be paid at a certain level based on how high they are drafted. This allows the veteran players to get more money until the rookies prove themselves. At the end of the rookie contract agreement they have the option to become a free agent.
The owners know have a body of work and will bid accordingly.
So why not do this with a veteran? As oppose to speculating on the worth of a player, pay them with a 70% guaranteed contract with 30% based on incentives. Performance would dictate earnings. Analytics of how the player's production affects the success of the team are available. Use the plus /minus ratio of how well the team does when the player is on the court. Did he win certain awards? Is the player durable? This would make the mid level player put in the work to train harder during the off season with conditioning and strength coaches.


Imagine yourself as an owner of a NBA team. Let's make it more real and now it's the business of your choice. You have a budget increase of 10,000 dollars. Would you spend the entire amount or part of it. If you spent all of it, would you over spend on any one area?  My point is that just because you have it does not mean you should waste it. Spending wisely is always the order of the day. Unless you are in the NBA.  Mary and Jay are up.

/


Happy 4th of July!


                   Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for updates!
                   Check out my app, Smart Responsible Gaming at thegamingguym.com/









































































































































































A.