Every few months it seems there's a revival of hope that online gaming will be legalized in the United States. Usually the rumors quickly die down, but right now there's something of an arms race going on in the gaming world as casino giants scramble to prepare for possible regulation.
Wynn Resorts
The Fertitta family, who controls Station Casinos, bought CyberArts Licensing through Fertitta Interactive and a huge hammer dropped yesterday. MGM Resorts
Boyd will own 10% of the venture, and it's unknown exactly what the contribution of bwin.party and MGM would be. At the very least, this is a plus for Boyd, which could never build the kind of scale that will be possible in this partnership by itself.
Many unanswered questions
This doesn't really mean that online poker is any closer to becoming a reality for players at home. But it does mean that companies think there's a good enough possibility that online poker will be legalized to start getting a business ready to go.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) recently said of his bill to legalize poker, "If you've got a bill that Barney Frank, Joe Barton, and Ron Paul are all for, who can be against it?"
Now that the game of musical chairs is being played, who will be left standing when the music stops? Las Vegas Sands
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