Video Game / eSports Video Site Gets High Score from Amazon

Pithy headline aside, the amount of money Amazon is paying for Twitch.tv is ginormous - like to the tune of $970 million IN CASH.  Definitely a high score!  The site is a live streaming site, where users can watch uploaded videos of people playing video games.  Users can upload their game videos, to include commentary, as well as create "programming" in the form of scheduled live podcasts and/or content.

A huge score for Twitch and again shows indirectly the value of eSports as well as documenting the shift from traditional broadcast content toward user-generated, web- and mobile-delivered content.  The Business Insider story reports that in February, Twitch was fourth in peak internet traffic, behind Netflix, Google and Apple.

For more on this story, see the Business Insider article here.

Atlantic City "Bust" For Revel Casino

You know your property isn't that attractive when you can't attract buyers at fire sale prices. That's what happened last week when Atlantic City's Revel Casino didn't attract any qualified bidders at its bankruptcy auction.  Bad bad news.  According to Caesars Entertainment's CEO, not attracting a bidder, "suggests that even at a de minimis price, people are finding it hard to imaging they can make money operating the Revel." That about sums it up for the Revel and likely for a good portion of the current crop of Atlantic City casinos.  As stated in previous posts, here and here, Atlantic City is in big trouble.

As a result, the Revel is scheduled to shut its doors on September 10th.  Stories on this topic can be found here and here.  RIP Revel, it was nice to know you...

Idiot Politician Thinks Internet Gambling a Bigger Issue Than Securing US Border

The Sacramento Bee reports that Senator Dianne Fienstein (from San Francisco), wrote Attorney General Eric Holder, asking him to support a bill to ban online gambling.  This is the same politician that thinks the Second Amendment should be stripped away, so your right to keep and bear arms would be removed, although she would still be able to keep hers. 

Somehow in her weird view of the world, internet gambling is a huge threat to the US, but all those hundreds of thousands of invaders streaming in to the southern US, with their gang members and diseases aren't.

What is wrong with these people?  Oh, that's right, she's from San Francisco.  Never mind. 

California - truly the land of fruits and nuts...

Atlantic City Casinos Biting the Dust

It appears the Atlantic City gambling establishment is reacting to Governor Christie's warning to shape up quickly.  As was predicted in an earlier post, how Atlantic City will deal with this warning is to retrench and close up some properties.  That is now happening.  The Atlantic Club casino closed in January and the Showboat casino will close in August.  It is reported that the Trump Plaza casino will close in September.  If the Revel casino can't find a buyer to rescue it and it closes, that would leave Atlantic City with just two-thirds of the major casino properties it started the year with.  Losing one-third in two-thirds of a year is a huge hit to the Atlantic City economy.

To save Atlantic City, a game changer is needed immediately.  Sports betting may be that game changer.  Now the raw revenues from sports betting will not be sufficient, but the fact that something new and unique to Atlantic City is in play will help draw casino patrons from competing jurisdictions like New York, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.  It also helps New Jersey compete with sports betting that is currently underway in Delaware.

Can casino gaming in Atlantic City survive?  Time will tell.