I’m posting unexpectedly late today, because my servers apparently had some problems. I’m glad I waited because I got some more info on the story of the day.
In recent years, online gambling companies have become increasingly integrated with the rest of the business world. Several have their stocks traded publicly. Some buy iconic grilled cheese sandwiches. While there are relatively few terrestrial casinos with online operations (Sun International and MGM Mirage both had highly-restricted online casinos, but these soon closed; to my knowledge Lassetter’s casino in Alice Springs, Australia is the only terrestrial casino with live online gaming today), some online gaming groups have been looking to diversify into bricks-and-mortar casinos.
Monkeybet.com, an online casino/sportsbook/poker room, has announced that it is getting into the Las Vegas casino game, with the intent of buying land on Paradise Road and opening a casino there. From the press release:
MonkeyBet.com, a leading online poker, sports betting, and online casino gambling destination is making a move into Las Vegas. Tentatively scheduled for a grand opening in early 2008, MonkeyBet has completed negotiations to buy a parcel of land at 4600 Paradise Road to build its Las Vegas resort and casino. This event is historic, as this will be the first online casino to open a casino in Las Vegas.
Jeff Fuller, VP of Business Development for MonkeyBet.com stated, “I spent 15 years working on the strip, and the location we have chosen is very hot as we’re right next to the Hard Rock Casino. Both the Hard Rock and the Palms have proven that serious adults, looking for the best gambling, restaurants, nightlife and entertainment prefer this type of location.â€
Mr. Fuller continued, “MonkeyBet’s Las Vegas location with cater to the young and middle aged adult. We will have the biggest clubs, the largest sportsbook and the largest poker venue in Nevada. We will host our own major poker event to compete with the World Series of Poker. Our casino will take the best aspects of culture and urban living from London, Tokyo, New York and San Francisco, and combine these elements to make a unique Las Vegas gambling destination.â€
Mr. Fuller concluded, “MonkeyBet is really a brand that will expand to many business spheres. With over 100,000 customers in less than two years in operation, we know that this brand has legs. In parallel with the Las Vegas location, we are also investigating the development of the first truly national chain of sports bars and sportsbooks in the UK, where punters will be able to watch sports from around the world while betting on sports from terminals located in the pub. Stay tuned.â€
I was a little skeptical of this for a few reasons. First, the wording is ambiguous–negotiations have been “completed,” but has the property been purchased? I could announce that I have completed negotiations to buy a controlling interest in MGM MIRAGE from Kirk Kerkorian, and be entirely truthful, if I ask him if I can buy his company and he says no–the negotiations are over. Plus, there is the regulatory issue. Online gaming is illegal in the United States, and the Nevada casino companies that haltingly entered into the online arena severely restricted their customers to countries where it was unambiguously legal. If these long-established companies get no leeway from regulatory authorities, it isn’t likely that a newcomer, whose entire business to date is based on online gaming, will.
So I emailed the company’s PR contact and received a reply. I’ll reprint my email and the reply here, and you can judge for yourself:
DGS: “It was not clear from the press release–has Monkeybet.com applied for a Nevada gaming license? If so, what is the disposition of the application?”
MB (a few hours later): Our legal team is working on it. It all looks good. We have a few options as we are 10% owned by an established gaming company in the UK(that owns casinos in Blackpool).
Thanks for the interest, and tell your friends about MonkeyBet.com
According to Google Maps (enter the address “4600 paradise road las vegas NV 89109”), the site isn’t exactly next to the Hard Rock, but is instead a low-rent commercial complex down the block and on the opposite side of Paradise–coincidentally, a few hundred yards or so from my office.
I’ll keep you posted as this develops. But of course, if it does develop, mainstream media outlets will pick it up and keep you even better informed. So what I mean to say is that, if this story is legitimate and an online casino company truly does build a licensed Las Vegas casino, I’ll post the articles describing it and add in humorous references to Planet of the Apes (even though I know chimps, orangs, and gorillas are not monkeys) and asides on whether an infinite number of monkey pit bosses supervising an infinite number of dealers would be able to devise an equitable system for early outs.