| The Philadelphia Inquirer gambling column |
NFL RULES THROW VEGAS' SUPER BOWL PARTIES FOR A LOSS: The National Football League is full of menacing characters ferocious about protecting their turf. Usually, they're fearsome linebackers, defensive tackles and safeties intent on keeping the opposition from crossing the goal line.
However, it seems some of pro football's most intimidating defenders don't wear helmets and shoulder pads, but rather pinstripe suits.
Just ask Las Vegas' biggest casinos.
Those Super Bowl parties that had become a Las Vegas tradition -- the ones featuring theater-sized screens, chafing dishes piled with chicken wings and, of course, the opportunity to bet on almost anything from the coin toss to which team scores last -- were thrown for a loss last January by stern warnings from NFL lawyers and officials. Some parties, the league contended, violated NFL copyright on the broadcast of the game.
This year, a letter from the NFL -- occasionally referred to as the No Fun League -- to the American Gaming Association, a casino umbrella group, further outlined the league's prohibitions.
As a result, casino-hotels are forced to piece together Super Bowl soirees that won't draw a penalty flag.
Possible infractions, the NFL wrote, include screens that are too large, too many screens or TVs, and charging admission.
So, the question for fans considering going to Vegas for the Super Bowl on Feb. 6 is, well, what exactly will there be in Sin City to enjoy?
For starters, betting on the game is unaffected. And NFL officials have said businesses that show sports events on TV as part of their normal operations will be allowed to present the Super Bowl. That includes casino sports and race books where wagers are taken year-round on every imaginable sports event, and the games are shown on jumbo TVs. The same broadcast allowance applies to your neighborhood sports bar.
The NFL makes one further concession, called the "homestyle exemption." It means a business can set up in a bar or ballroom a single television no larger than one commonly used in homes, provided no admission is charged.
So for time being, it appears those mega-parties that charged $50 or so for wings, beer, and a relatively comfortable seat from which you could root for your money as well as your team are finished.
The letter the NFL sent on Nov. 10 has had such a chilling effect on casinos that some gambling operators have been reluctant to discuss what, if anything, they have planned for the hundreds of thousands who show up in Vegas expecting a Super Bowl party.
Last January, the trendy Palms Casino-Hotel altered its arrangements for a Super Bowl bash when the league objected to its huge screen. The Palms hustled to round up smaller TVs and returned customers' money. This year, Palms officials won't discuss whether they have anything planned.
Spokesmen for some of the largest gaming companies said their casinos would offer Super Bowl festivities but stay strictly within the league's guidelines.
"Previously, the MGM Grand showed the game in the Hollywood Theater," MGM Mirage's Alan Feldman said. "That's not going to happen." Feldman said MGM Mirage, whose Vegas casinos include the MGM Grand, Mirage, Bellagio, New York New York and Treasure Island, will keep the Super Bowl action in sports books and bars.
Caesars Entertainment casinos -- Caesars Palace, Paris Las Vegas, Bally's and Flamingo -- will do the same.
"We'll have very exciting events in our sports books that will conform to the rules set up by the NFL," Caesars Entertainment's Robert Stewart said. "And we're confident that people will come and have a great time." Perhaps, but it seems that pro football's biggest day just won't be quite as super in Vegas.
And now, the World Series. Lots of gifts that showed up under the tree yesterday reflected the recent infatuation with poker. Sets of playing chips, video games featuring Texas Hold 'em, and poker tables were ubiquitous this holiday gift-giving season.
That mean lots of wannabe rounders will be practicing for a run at the World Series of Poker No Limit Texas Hold 'em Championship, which is sure to make another exponential leap when they shuffle up and deal next summer. The most recent WSOP finale in May saw participation nearly triple, to more than 2,500 players, from the year before. When the next championship event is played, the field could reach 6,600 -- limited only by seating capacity.
In May, Connecticut patent lawyer Greg Raymer won $5 million, about 20 percent of the total prize pool. Assuming a sold-out WSOP finale and a conservative estimate that the winner will take home at least 15 percent of the pot, the 2005 champ will collect nearly $10 million. Harrah's Entertainment, which operates the tournament, has not announced an official prize schedule.
The tournament has outgrown its birthplace, the downtown Horseshoe Casino in Vegas, and will be played mostly at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, just off the Strip, in 2005. The last two days of the final event will be held, probably for the last time, at the old Horseshoe as a nod to the city's centennial.
The full run of events for the 36th World Series of Poker will begin June 2 and include more than 30 tournaments. The championship starts July 7 with three days of first-round elimination, and finishes July 15.
The Rio's new convention facility will be crammed with 200 tables allowing 2,000 players to start on each of three opening days. The first 200 players knocked out on each first day will be replaced by an equal number of alternates.
For those who can't wait until next summer, Harrah's has announced a circuit of five tournaments bearing the World Series brand. The first one is scheduled for Harrah's Atlantic City, Jan. 7-18.
The buy-in for July's championship event in Vegas is $10,000, and players have already started preregistering at full price and qualifying in satellite tournaments in which players pay a lesser amount to enter but must beat out many other competitors.
Casinos unaffiliated with Harrah's who want to hop on the bandwagon have inquired about holding qualifying tournaments that would earn the winner a seat in the WSOP finale, but the interest hasn't stopped there, Harrah's officials say.
"We're getting calls from everything from women's clubs to (car) dealers," said Howard Greenbaum, Harrah's vice president for specialty gaming. "For instance, they're telling people to come in and take a test drive and they'll enter them in a raffle." The raffle prize? A seat in the World Series of Poker.
For more information on the WSOP, see www.worldseriesofpoker.com.
Source: Hotel Online
Friday, 31 December 2004
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