It’s been a tough few years for Atlantic City. Attendance at the city’s casinos has waned and constant cost cutting measures are taking their toll, making the casinos even less of a draw for players. Atlantic City has been looking for something new, something exciting to bring in money, even if it couldn’t bring in players. And there has been hope that the new exciting thing will be online gambling.

Or maybe not. Or perhaps at least not as soon as expected. See, all signs were leading those working on online gambling legislation for New Jersey to believe that Governor Chris Christie had finally agreed to pass their bill if a few technical details were worked out. The happy news was that New Jersey was going to have online gambling before the end of the year. Some were even suggesting that the state would be able to take bets from players in other states, provided those other states would agree to the online gambling. But now it looks like they may have hit a snag.

Really, I don’t see how they weren’t expecting it.  See, there were rumors last year that Christie was dragging his feet when it came to online gambling because he might be part of the 2012 Republican presidential ticket and a good Republican doesn’t support online gambling. But Christie didn’t jump into the presidential battle. Did that mean they thought they were safe? Because see, now Christie is a strong possibility for the VP spot. And to add to the problems, one of the GOP’s top donors is a Vegas casino owning millionaire who has a strong position against online gambling.

So, it looks like Christie may be having another change of heart when it comes to online gambling. Apparently his aides are hinting that he’s not sure it’s the best thing for Atlantic City to become the first major gambling location in the US to have online gambling. Maybe Atlantic City can check for some financial bailout  information at www.consumerfinance.gov

Nevada, the ball is in your court now.

It’s a question I wouldn’t have thought of a couple of years ago. After all, Facebook is a social network. Okay, really it’s a marketing tool that sells people to advertisers. That’s what the whole thing is built around. Facebook collects data about you, then lets advertisers access that data to try to target ads just at you. Not just from your profile, but where you logged in, what you posted, who your friends are, what your friends like. There’s a whole evil empire behind the site that most people visit to play Farmville.

But now there seems to be more interest in online gambling in connection with Facebook. Zynga, the people who brought you Farmville and Zynga Poker (not for real money), are said to be looking in to offering real money poker. But they seem to want to break away from the Facebook landscape as part of their growth. They figure they’re big enough now people might visit Zynga without needing to be prompted by Facebook.

However, now IGT is looking into the possibility of using Facebook to reach players for real money games. Oh, we won’t see it soon because there would have to be some sort of broader federal legislation in the US before Facebook would risk real money gambling in the country. But it still brings up some interesting questions. One being – do I want Facebook to connect in any way to my online gambling activities? So far over at the Yahoo Games Blog, they seem to be staying out of the online gambling market. Maybe that’s the best choice.

Look, I gamble online. I’m okay with that. Go ahead, play and have fun. Just do so wisely. But I’m not sure letting Facebook know what I do as far as online gambling is wise.  Mostly because they sell information about me to companies. Okay, so they know my age and where I meet friends for dinner. Do I want them to know I play video poker and slots and what limits I gamble at?  Not really. I’m still not sure I want them to know where I eat dinner.  With online gambling comes a larger need for privacy and Facebook has already shown when it comes to privacy they don’t get it, so neither do we.

Remember the big push for online gambling in New Jersey? It took place last year and would have brought online casino games like blackjack and roulette out of Atlantic City and into the homes of people in New Jersey who need some escape from Snookie.  Well, Governor Christie caused plenty of controversy when he vetoed the proposed legal change last year because he had concerns about its constitutionality. And many watching the news develop felt that Christie might have more of a concern about his potential standing as a Republican presidential candidate should he support such a liberal idea as online gambling. Well, Christie isn’t running for president. Fortunately, neither is Snookie.  And now New Jersey is taking another look at the online gambling question.

Christie’s concern was that moving from gambling within Atlantic City to online gambling was such a major change that it required a voter referendum before it could pass. But now a law professor and expert on the New Jersey constitution has taken a look at the situation and offered reassurance that the measure can be put through without requiring residents to vote on it. So, now Christie is reconsidering.

Of course, it might be noted that this reconsideration also comes after the Department of Justice’s change in the interpretation of the Wire Act of 1961, a move that has opened up the online gambling question at the state and national level. Now Nevada is working to establish itself and the potential gambling hub for the United States if online gambling moves to a national level. New Jersey would rather they be in that position and now Christie’s concern may have caused them a lead over Las Vegas.  But they still have Snookie.

Have you been keeping up on the online casino news?  If not, don’t worry. that’s what I’m here for. So, let’s get down to the uproar of the week. The State of Maryland seized Bodog.com. And by that I mean they seized the domain name, not the company. Which is why there’s very little panic going on over this.

See, Bodog had a little hint this might be happening. Well, little as in back in 2008 Maryland filed charges against two men who were payment processors for Bodog.  But online casinos and online poker rooms have been dealing with that issue for years.  Then the FBI shut down four online poker sites. Bodog wasn’t one of them but right after that, they changed their name from Bodog.com to Bodog.eu. So, the domain name Maryland seized? Well, it wasn’t used for anything other than a site redirect to the new domain.

Oh, and Bodog took another step. Last year they got their license for the UK and decide to pull out of the US market.  Bodog had been licensed by Morris Mohawk and that expired in December. But rather than leave US players without at top online casino to play at, Morris Mohawk decide to create their own casino brand for US players. They launched Bovada.lv (again – not a .com domain) for US players who had accounts at Bodog.  Both Bodog.eu and Bovada.lv are still open for business as usual despite the seizure of Bodog.com.

Also, it should be noted that no funds were seized in the action by the state of Maryland. So no money is in danger. Also, while charges were filed against Bodog’s Calvin Ayre, there’s every indication that as long as the Canadian doesn’t enter the US, he’s in no danger of arrest.   I’ve set up a Google alert to track the story, so I’ll bring you an update if anything happens.

If you play slots, you’re probably looking for tips and strategies to help you win while at the same time realizing that not much can really change the odds at slots. Well, I have a tip for you that actually does work.  Now, I’m not promising miracles but this will tilt the odds just a bit towards you. And if you think “yes, but how do I know this is true?” consider this – it’s the same math that makes a difference when determining video poker odds.

There are times when you’ll be told not to play a certain game at the casino unless you can afford to make the maximum bet. Video poker is one of these games and it’s easy to explain why. In video poker, the royal flush is the jackpot pay out, but it only pays out a big jackpot if you make the maximum bet for the winning hand. So in video poker, if you plan to be a dollar a hand, you want to play a quarter machine for the full five coins or $1.25 a hand, not the dollar machine for a minimum bet of $1 a hand.  This way, you can win that royal jackpot. And it’s when the royal payout if figured in that video poker odds tilt in favor of the player.

So, take a look at slots. Many slot games have a jackpot these days, not just the progressives. But the amount that jackpot pays out is determined by the amount you bet. Just like in video poker.  You can only win the full jackpot if you place the maximum bet, just like in video poker.  And the ability to win the full jackpot affects  the potential payout you can win, which affects the odds.  All of this is just a complicated way to say – you’ll do better at slots in the long run if you play the game for the maximum wager.

Now, fortunately this doesn’t mean you have to be the largest denomination or none of us would be able to play. Many machines let you bet $10 or more a hand and have 25 or more lines. I don’t know about you, but I can’t bet $250 a spin, even if it improves the odds.  But like video poker, you want to chose a machine with a denomination that allows you to bet the maximum number of coins per spin. I’ve used this to my advantage, even at the smallest betting level. If you doubt me, give it a try. Find a nickel machine and bet a single nickel a spin. Now find a three line penny slot machine with a bonus game and bet 3 cents a spin.  That bonus round is going to make a difference and it only triggers if you make the maximum (3 penny) bet.

If you like to play slots and are looking for more slots advice, check out http://playslotmachinegames.info

Well, it looks like Congress will have to work for their money by passing bills and such. Online poker in Washington DC isn’t likely to happen in the near future. The news has hit Rueters in this article http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/01/us-gambling-online-dc-idUSTRE81027T20120201  Now the online poker effort wasn’t killed by Congress or by controversy, though it stirred up a lot of the latter by outsmarting the former.  See, since Washington DC isn’t actually a state but rather the nation’s capital, all changes there must be approved by Congress. But since Congress tends to get a bit busy and Washington DC has to continue existing, there is a rule that if Congress doesn’t act on DC legislation in a specific time frame, the proposed legislation goes into effect by default.  So, how do you sneak something past Congress?  Well, DC sent the proposed bill to allow online poker in the district to Congress right when the Dems and Republicans were engaged in a heated budget debate. Apparently no one noticed or reacted to the poker legislation and the next thing DC knew, online poker was approved for the district.

But then they had to stop and take a realistic look at what they’d approved.  Plans were for poker to be allowed in specific hot spots, which wouldn’t include places like colleges and universities. Though I never say any info on whether or not Congress would have a hot spot.  It would have made a change from CSpan catching senators playing solitaire on their computers.

But then DC had to face the big problem — it’s small population.  The Committee of Finance and Revenue has voted to repeal the program because it really just won’t be cost effective for such a small population. So, it looks like Nevada will be the first location to get legal online poker in the US.

Today I’m dealing with the reality of those terms and conditions that restrict you when it comes to online casino bonuses. Now, I always advise people to know what the terms are and make sure that they are happy with those terms when they accept a bonus, so I have no one to blame but myself. And the truth is, I’m not actually unhappy with the situation since the offer was — here have $30 absolutely free and come play at our casino.  So, this wasn’t a deposit bonus and absolutely none of my own money is tied up in the casino.  I had a practice play account before they offered me the free money.

But this does mean that at this casino, I have to play by their bonus rules, and that means restrictions. First, there is a play through requirement. Now, when it comes to bonuses, people always talk about play throughs as if they’re a terrible burden to bear. Sure, they give the casino a fair chance at winning back that bonus money, but if you’re a dedicated player, you may be surprised at how fast you work of a decent play through offer. But then there is the game restriction. I want to play video poker, but that means each dollar I bet only counts as 20 cents when it comes to calculating the play through. And since the starting play through requirement was 50 times the bonus, well, I’ll be playing video poker for life to earn the money.

But here’s the restriction that I find does chafe. I can only win double the bonus amount.  So, with $30 free, I can only cash out $60 worth of winnings.  Okay, in this case I didn’t put any money into the casino, so I can’t fuss too much. But it’s a lesson to consider when looking at casino bonus offers. The one potential restriction that will drive me batty isn’t the play through.  It’s the restriction on how much I can win. Because I like to win.

Hey, if you like to play with casino bonus money, check out onlinecasinoswithbestbonuses.com

One of the online casinos that I play at gave me a $20 free bonus as a Christmas present. I decided to use it as a video poker experiment. Now the play through requirements for the bonus mean that I’ll have to spend the rest of my life playing video poker at the casino to earn the bonus. So the odds are that I’ll lose all the money. But since it wasn’t my money to begin with, that doesn’t really bother me. I figure it’s a good way to observe the way the odds at video poker work over time. Now, to do this and make the twenty bucks last, I’m playing at the minimum per hand – which is 10 cents a deal.  But I at this casino, I can still win the Royal Flush jackpot at that amount.

Now, my first observation is that I’m still playing on that same twenty bucks.  I’ve been playing on and off since Christmas at ten cents a hand, I’m still in the game. Oh, the game is a basic Jacks or Better 9/6 game.  Now, perhaps you aren’t surprised that I still have money. After all, video poker is one of those games where the odds are almost in the player’s favor if you have a good strategy.  But the odds are calculated over time and in this case, take the potential winnings from a royal flush into account. The problem is that the odds of hitting a royal flush are about 1 in 40,000 hands.  I’ve been playing since Christmas and haven’t yet hit a royal flush on the game.

See, to win big at video poker, you really do have to be prepared to play forever. Okay, maybe not forever, but for a substantial time. And as you play, you’ll slowly lose money. I’m down to $10 now and haven’t made it back to $20 since I started. I’ve been down a far as $5 and up in the $16 range – sometimes in the same day.  But the amazing thing to consider is that I’m still playing on the same $20 and I have half my money left. I could still potentially hit that royal flush. Want more advice on video poker? Check out Video Poker 365

When you hear Trust Fund, poker probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Which is why we need to pay even more attention to what Poker Stars is doing over in France. In fact, it could be influential in the debate over legal online poker in the US and the controversial online poker bill that was passed for Washington DC. You can read about the Washington DC poker bill and the opinions it’s generating in this Washingtonpost.com article.

Now, Poker Stars is one of the top online poker rooms out there and they were available to US players until April 15^th of this year. That was the day of the big Black Friday Poker Shutdown when the FBI seized the domain names and funds of 4 online poker rooms operating in the US. For those of us writing about gambling, it was one of those shocking days when we kept checking websites to see who’d been shut down because no one knew what was happening.

But what happened afterward was where the gambling world learned some tough lessons.  Poker Stars quickly worked with the Department of Justice to establish a process to pay out money owed to US players. And those players were the first to receive money from the affected sites. And so far, the only players. See, Poker Stars had the money in trust funds, so it was available to use to pay players. Full Tilt Poker unfortunately mixed player funds with operating funds, and they are stills struggling to recover and offer play again. Players are still waiting for about $300 million in owed funds.

This may bring about a change in the requirements on how sites manage player funds. Should the money a player places in their account be available for the casino to use to manage the site? Well, think about it. When you visit a Las Vegas Casino, they don’t take the money out of your wallet and hold onto it until you’re ready to leave.  When you deposit money at a casino, it should be your money until you play it and lose it in a game.

Recently the online poker room Bodog introduced a new feature that’s being debated by poker players on blogs, news sites and even Facebook.  Yes, poker folks are a sociable lot. And that’s part of the debate.  See, what Bodog did was add anonymous poker tables. These are tables that use software that supposedly keeps the player’s identity a secret.

Now, there are reasons an online poker room would want to offer this practice. Bodog wants to bring in more recreational players as opposed to poker pros and the idea is that the anonymous tables will offer more a sense of fair play for those recreational players. See, there is a little trick to online poker. Many professional players use data mining sites to study the playing styles of their opponents before they even sit down at the table.  Now, in  a real world gambling situation, players would of course know each other’s styles from playing at the same tables in the past or learn them while at the table.  But with online poker and data mining, players can access massive amounts of information about a player they have never played against.

Bodog is attempting to give players a way to escape the data mining squads by letting them play anonymously. The idea is also that while playing at these tables, none of the player’s information can be gathered and used for future games.  Now, some in the poker world are saying that this destroys the social aspect of poker where part of the challenge of the game is interacting with others.  And another group is claiming that they’ve been able to hack the software that sets up the anonymous tables so that they aren’t that anonymous anymore.  But if you want to try the anonymous tables, they are available at Bodog Poker.