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Archive 2001 *
Archive 2002 *
Archive 2003/4
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Dec. 20, 2000: At last, a columnist for Forbes sticks up
for Nevada in the current fracas over sports betting. "Is wagering on college
sports under attack?" writes Daniel Seligman. You bet. But why?...In recent
years Congress has repeatedly threatened to ban all betting on college
events...but the bills appear to have a lot of muscle behind them now...and
could well pass in 2001. So why are such proposals simplistic? Mainly because
millions of Americans love to bet and quite plausibly see it as perfectly
harmless entertainment. Seligman goes on to cite statistics that show
point-shaving scandals are trivial in relation to total betting on college
games. "The legal betting Congress is talking about outlawing is a sliver
of total betting," says Seligman. |
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Dec.
11, 2000: Gambling Times Magazine is making a comeback. Publisher Stanley
Sludikoff told your faithful reporter his magazine would begin publishing
in late February, 2001, for newsstand and subscription distribution (The
magazine already is online at
www.gamblingtimes.com.) Sludikoff
said his magazine will publish every three months to start, then gradually
become a monthly. In the 70's and 80's, Gambling Times was the one and only
consumer gaming publication in the marketplace. It ceased publication in
the early 90's. The comeback effort is pointing for a subscription base of
125,000. |
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Dec.
1, 2000: The Wall Street Journal got an overdue scolding in a November
Letter to the Editor from Frank Fahrenkopf, president and CEO of the American
Gaming Association. Fahrenkopf objected to the Journal's recent front page
story that implied free drinks handed out by riverboat casinos caused death
and injury. Fahrenkopf accused the newspaper of "selective reporting
and anecdotes," and claimed the incidents of drunk driving on which the story
was based were "the exception rather than the rule." He also cited a National
Institute of Justice story that found no pattern of increase in DUI offenses
in new casino jurisdictions. Bottom line, said Fahrenkopf, is that there
is a point at which individuals must take responsibility for their own actions.
A refreshing viewpoint. |
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Nov. 18, 2000: The privacy war heats up. In an upcoming column
in IGWB magazine I write about threats to the future of database marketing
on the Internet. Organizations such as the Electronic Privacy Information
Center, the Privacy Foundation,the Center for Democracy and Technology, the
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and the Privacy Forum currently direct their
anger at marketers who abuse personal data. But my hunch is that their aims
go deeper, and that any company that collects personal data for any reason
is suspect. It behooves casino marketers to pay close attention to this important
and ever-changing arena. |
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Nov.
1, 2000: The gambling business took a battering from the Wall Street
Journal on Oct. 23. A page-1 piece carried the headline, "Riverboat Casinos,
The Free Drinks Come With a Tragic Toll." A subhead read, "Drunken Patrons
Hit the Road and Cause Fatal Crashes; The Lawsuits Pile Up." The story consumed
an entire column on page-1, and a full page inside. The Journal used nine
specific cases of death and destruction to backbone its charge that casinos
serve intoxicated players and rarely get sanctioned for it. Riverboat casinos
that depend on drive-in traffic took the worst beating. |
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Oct. 23, 2000: Oh, no! For years we’ve been warned of
newspaper and magazine “clutter” by ad agencies. Now warnings of
“clutter” are hounding the Internet. Albert Lopez, writing in
iMarketing News, says, “Today’s consumers are already inundated
with up to 5,000 marketing messages a day...440 of these messages in the
form of online banners. Jupiter Communications projects the number to more
than double in the next five years...a real danger for online advertisers
and publishers. |
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Oct.
11, 2000: Online gaming newsletters are proliferating. Regina Naslund’s
CasinoWire, heavy on Internet gaming, is one of the best. Write her at
editor@casinowire.com. Victor Rocha’s “Daily E-News Digest”
gets the prize for sheer volume, and Rocha himself is a kick, signing each
one with lines such as “in touch with my inner mensch.” He also
has the most interesting address, wstsidela@mediaone.net. Good old west side
Los Angeles--I remember it well. Did I mention that both newsletters are
free? |
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Oct 2, 2000: Want to get a better click-through rate on
your banners? Pray for a catastrophe. The Ford Motor Company says its Internet
banners announcing the Firestone tire recall recorded a 22% click-through
rate on America Online. On MSN.com the rate zoomed to 37%. The statistics
came from Ford banners running Aug. 11 to Sept. 15. The headline read, “For
official Ford news on the Firestone recall, click here.” Bottom line:
good click-through rate, lousy image for Ford. As we go to press, Ford and
Firestone are still arguing about who’s responsible for the tire failures.
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