More Bad News for Online Poker, Wynn Dealers Going Union?
Online gaming stocks took another hit on Monday after it was announced that the US Department of Justice had issued subpoenas for more than a dozen gambling site operators across Europe. The companies said the subpoenas were received the week after Christmas 2006. Still reeling from the almost $10 billion stock hit the online gambling companies suffered as a result of the Frisk Bill banning money transfers involving online gambling sites and US players makes this latest event even more troubling.
The recent USDOJ probe into the activities includes some of the banking interest with British based Neteller Financial Services suspending operations in the United States. Bodog.com, PokerStars.com and FullTiltPoker.com continue to provide US players a place to play claiming the ban doesn't cover poker since it is a game based on skills instead of chance.
British Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has been highly critical of the US government's efforts to outlaw online poker for US citizens and compares the gaming ban to the 1920's Prohibition on alcohol which drove the liquor business underground and fueled a rapid growth in organized crime.
On the Las Vegas front the Wynn Resort continues to fight the fallout from the dealer tip fiasco it created when management decided to tap dealer's tips to pay line supervisors wages that were competitive with dealers. The resulting action meant a $20,000 annual cut in pay for many of the dealers and left most angry that they are forced to subsidize the operation of the multi-billion dollar Wynn Resort. The latest set of problems for the Wynn Resort is the possible unionization of dealers with a decision for a National Labor Relations Board conducted election for unionization coming as early as this weekend.
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