If you are a fan of the slots then no doubt you have worked with plenty of them. The biggest element of fun to the slots game is the theme. You will find that developers are working with about every theme they can think of right now and bringing it to the market. They know that if they can continue to develop the amount of themes out there they can attract that many more gamblers. They know full well that gamers are fickle right now. A good gambler is going to spend some time finding the perfect game to try. They know what to look for in terms of bonuses and payout, so all that is left is finding a theme that they like. Themes come in every form imaginable—from food to movies and sports figures to shopping. You are likely to find the game of choice with a little searching. Gambling companies know this and they are going to expand on it accordingly. The market right now is one that is growing and that means to maximize their revenue they have to work with as many gambler’s preferences as possible. Themes are also very well integrated into a game too. All you have to do is play a few games and you are going to see how well the company integrates full theme into the game. It all starts likely with the background where you are going to find some backdrop directly related to the game. Then the reels are going to be fixed with a number of theme-related elements.

You also are going to find games that have bonus games directly relating to the theme. For example, let’s say you are wagering on a game with a theme of fish. The bonus game could offer you ten fishing pole and depending on which one you choose, you get a special bonus. This is how the casino company is going to keep the game relevant to the overall theme going along with it. You also are going to get games that have good theme integration into their soundtrack and sound. This is another way to make you feel like you are truly surrounded by the theme and add to the richness of the overall slots game.

West Virginia is a state whose residents are not happy with the latest slots news. They are concerned about a new bill just passed called SB550. The bill approved casinos to keep some of the revenue they make from slots to put back into their casinos. The purpose of the money is to help casinos to continue to grow and get better. The world of gambling is highly competitive and to remain viable in the option, casino operators asked for the money. They realize that to compete with neighboring casinos they have to keep on building their casino floors. The state legislators of course are all for this. They want gamblers from neighboring states to come into their location for gambling because they bring more money in with them. This is a sign of how prolific the slots gambling market is right now due to how hard people are fighting for it. This is not sitting well with all voters though. They believe that casinos make huge amount of money and should be responsible for their own remodeling and upgrading. They believe that the money put to build up casinos could be much better spent on public programs or things that would directly benefit the community, rather than just the casinos. This is an issue for gambling companies because they love having the authority to hold off some of their revenue to put directly back into their businesses. But how much does that benefit others?

The reality is that casinos have to remodel themselves periodically to stay competitive with casinos in neighboring states and the online market. They traditionally make plenty of revenue to do so though on their own. If they create budgets the right way, they have plenty of money left to make sure that they are going to be that much more viable to the gambling world they have access to. Public programs may be relying on the money that is put towards the state thanks to tax revenue dollars. People may be relying on the tax breaks they get thanks to the money too. This is an interesting way to remodel casinos and most likely it is going to continue to get a lot of criticism from the voting public.

Whether or not those in support of smoking in public have an argument health-wise has been sharply up for debate. The issue has been on the table for years though. If you look at the different options, you are going to find that getting a ban on public smoking was not an easy one to move ahead with. It was a multi-year proposal and then standoff. Illinois was a state that eventually did succumb to the ban and decided that public smoking should not be tolerated. There was an additional issue though. Now, it is the casinos that have been targeted. Casinos have always been open to smoking and not suddenly they had to shut the door to that activity. This was a problem because casino operators want their establishments open to as many people as possible—it only makes sense. They want to be able to attract as many gamers as they possibly can and that includes the smoking ones. Plus, smokers who have been going to casinos for years have always seen them as a place where they could comfortably find solace from other non-smoking locations. This was all about to change though when Illinois instilled their ban on smoking for all public locations- including casinos. Operators were not happy, but they had to work within the bounds of the law to make sure that they were up to code. Now there are more debates on the issue though and it looks like casinos are going to get a new law to work with.

Casinos in Illinois now have been told that they once again are going to not be under the ban for smoking. The reason, experts are citing, is because they believe that the state wants to maximize its own revenue. By closing out the smoking population, casino numbers are down. If the state lifts the ban on casinos, then they can bring in that many more gamblers and elevate their own revenue streams as a result. Remember that the state takes huge percentages of revenue that casinos bring in due to their tax revenue. If they can maximize the patrons, they can maximize their own income.

Illinois legislators made headlines as of late after lifting a smoking ban that formerly was on their casinos. This has been a long-debated issue for many states and Illinois is just one more that has been faced with the decision. It all began years ago when casinos were seen as locations of decadence and minimal of rules. There is a reason why games are often affiliated with crime, mobsters and money laundering. Not that it is always the case, but over the history of the gambling games there have been ties to the world of illegal activities. This is something that casino operators have had to fight against, but now they are coming up with another issue. In past years, casino operators were able to offer a place with smoking and alcohol freely accepted too. Alcohol isn’t going anywhere, but smoking is now in question for the casinos. This is where state legislators are stepping in. Illinois made a change a few years ago stating that smoking in public locations was banned. If you were a smoker, you had to be a certain distance away from a public building to do it. There was no longer such a thing as smoking inside a restaurant or bar. It was not welcomed by all parties, but medical circles and medically-concerned organizations were more than happy with the ban. They believed that it would help people’s collective health and save them from problems that smoking brings to the world. Though they had an argument, there still were some naysayers.

In the world of smokers there is a group that wants to have their smoking freedom. They believe that if they are risking their own health, then they should be able to do so at their own decision and not at a public ban. They also have an argument that the belief on “second hand smoke” has been highly exaggerated to the public. Whether or not this is the case still brings up the fact that there is a part of the market that wants smoking in public places to remain in effect. They want to be able to decide on their own whether or not they can smoke.

Part two coming next.

One thing that is bringing in millions of dollars are the slots. No matter where the games are put, they are performing well for their owners. Just consider that a recent survey done by Las Vegas casino operators showed that the slots are bringing in over sixty-percent of their overall revenue on the gambling floor. This was a huge surprise to the city because it was formerly thought that the table games were the big money makers. Little did they know that it was the unassuming slots that were taking the market by storm. Now that it is common knowledge what the slots are doing, more and more developers are putting their money into building up the games to perform more than ever for them. If you look at states in the US right now, they are pushing too for more games to bring in tax revenue dollars needed. The states are coming together in that common goal of expanding their revenue streams thanks to slots games. Pennsylvania officials are looking to do just that now that they are convinved that the games are money makers. So far the games have been used to bring millions of dollars successfully. Considering that the state is under the same financial stressors that the rest of the US is under, this is a time when there are plenty of reasons to look into gambling as a means of revenue generating.

The increase though in legal gaming opens the door for illegal activities. One state after another is noting this…they are seeing just how tempting it is for criminals to try to get a piece of their own pie in terms of the revenue coming in from the games. They know how much money is involved with slots and want their part of it. PA officials are coming down on criminals, but not soon enough. There is more illegal activity for the state to deal with- just like anti- gambling activists once said. They believed that they could come up with proper regulation, but that has yet to happen. There are still growing number of criminals who think they can get the better of the system.

The state of Ohio is now in the midst of some issues in regards to illegal gambling. There have been elevated levels of illegal gaming throughout the country, just like anti- gambling activists first predicted. They believed that once people and business owners got wind of how much money is involved in the market of gambling, they inevitably would want some way to take advantage of it. Ohio legislators are seeing just that with illegal slot machines around the state. The games are being promoted as just “harmless games” but they are actually illegal slots. Normally it is the internet cafes that are setting the games up and then managing them for additional money. There is no other game that operators or business owners can set up to bring in the same amount of money. Consider that a good slots game can bring in hundreds of dollars every hour of operation. The added bonus though is that the games are worry-free. You don’t need to man them in any way so operators can set them up to work in a side corner and never think about them again other than emptying their hoppers of money. It is a great way for them to attract more gamblers and bring in more money. What business wouldn’t want the opportunity to make hundreds of additional dollars with no extra effort?

Ohio suspects that cafes throughout the state are doing just that- setting up the illegal games under the guise of “bingo” or “video games”. They are then benefitting from the revenue coming in without being taxed on any of the money. They know that there are huge dollars to be had and want privy to them…even if it is illegally. State Attorney General Mike De Wine though is trying to come up with laws to handle the situation. Though the games in these cafes are not technically “slots games” they are still bringing in revenue and the state needs to regulate them as if they were slots games because of that. The bottom line is that the state wants its cut of any revenue coming in. This is what the new arguments are all about and why new legislation is going to be put into place.

Right now there is huge debate over what to do with casino gambling in the US. Thus far the only bill that’s dictating what happens in the country is the UIGEA, or Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, of 2006. The purpose of this bill was to prohibit people from going online to wager in the US. As with other things though, prohibition for the US has never worked. There’ve been many times when legislators have tried to step in and stop activities by creating laws that make them illegal. Unfortunately, this is never worked effectively to people of always found ways to carry out the activities that they wanted to. The same happened with the UIGEA. Though the bill came down people merely shifted their gambling to offshore gaming companies. Of course the repercussion was that the fuel their money completely out of the country and now legislators are first seen how ineffective their bill of 2006 really was. They are trying to make sure that doesn’t happen again so now they’re considering reworking the laws regarding gambling in coming up the way that they can protect people but still benefit from the huge gambling dollars that are available. If there’s one thing that the definite growth market in the US it is gambling. The market is a $3 billion business right now and that’s projected to more than double by the year 2014. That means that if states in the US put together a viable way of monitoring and regulating gambling they could bring a huge portion of that money directly into their economy – and this is a huge priority for legislators right now because they’re so sorely need of money to turn around the post-recessionary financial condition of the US.

In coming months you are going to see more and more legislators are working to come up with bills that amended the ineffective UIGEA of 2006. The new bills are going to most likely capitalize on the fact that the US gambling market is huge. With the right legislation their dollars can be used to build up state coffers and turn the market around. Right now that’s a priority for legislators throughout the US – to make a turn for the better in terms of their financial situations.

The other benefit of allowing racetracks to have slots machines is for the state. Slot machines bring in huge dollars per state economies. If they can be placed in that many more locations, it will only increase the number of games generating revenue. If a racino has say 100 slot machine games and each one brings in $95 a day in additional revenue, that means the racino will be bringing in almost $300,000 thanks to their slots per month. If you look at that revenue throughout the entire year the racino will be bringing in about $3.6 million part of which of course is going to go directly back to the state. State legislators have to negotiate the percentages they want but traditionally they take between 5 to 12% of revenues that gambling centers produce. That means if Pennsylvania officials allow one racetrack 100 slots games they can increase their own revenue by anywhere from under $180,000 to about $400,000. State courts are not quickly discounting new methods of bringing in money because they know that they are currently operating with less than opportune budgets as it is. The possibility of bringing in a couple hundred thousand dollars more passively is a lot to pass up for most state legislators. They understand that every dollar counts right now especially with the huge deficits they are burdened under.

There is another side to the argument though. Gaming companies that have already established a gambling presents in states are worried about the change. If racino’s are allowed to bring in slots gaming then what does that mean for their own slots parlors? If you introduce that many more games than customers can be a lot more selective and spread their dollars around dinner for businesses. Gambling centers ready understand that slots gaming brings in about 60% of their overall revenues and that means that the graphite hard to keep it to themselves. Sure slot games most likely would benefit racetracks but there’s a lot more to the question. If they are allowed into race tracks, what kind of additional strain may that put on other gambling entities? What does it mean for the state and their revenue? All of these questions are being debated right now to see what the best option is.

There are changes going on in the market of gambling right now. Most states in the US are debating the issue out it’s proving to be a difficult one, with a lot of layers to the arguments. Legislators are trying their best though to come up with laws that could adequately regulate gambling. They are prioritizing gambling because of the huge tax revenue dollars that are involved. In addition, there are few other options that could even come close when producing the same amount of money for the market. Right now states are under a huge budget strains in trying to manage equally as large deficits. It’s no wonder that legislators are so eager to find ways of implementing a gambling strategy into their economy. Pennsylvania is right up there with the debates and legislators have made considerable change that’s going to help the state in generating tax revenue dollars that they sorely need. The Valley Forge Convention Center is the location being approved for slots gaming. No one can debate how prolific slot machines are in the market and what a great showing they have made to casinos all over the world. Casino operators recognize the power of slots gaming and are trying to capitalize on it as much as they possibly can. Now the Valley Forge Convention Center is going to have the opportunity to see what exactly the games can do for their business. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has decided to allow both slots games and table games into the location to see how much they can do for the overall economy.

The interesting thing about this decision is that by all accounts it was a landslide with the huge number of legislators being in favor of the move. The state ruled at 3-to-2 for the games coming. The entire issue is not without controversy though because neighboring casino Greenwood Gaming earlier made an argument that allowing Valley Forge to have slots would considerably cut into their own revenue. It seems that the state is not concerned with Greenwood Gaming’s consistent revenue, but rather is more concerned with the state’s tax revenue dollars that are desperately needed.

There are a lot of debates revolving around slots gambling in today’s world. Right now there is an argument going on in Maine over distance. It seems that the casino market in the state has a ruling that slots can be brought in, but they have to be installed a minimum of 100 miles from other slots parlors. This normally would be easy enough to calculate, but the market has two sides. There of course is the pro- gambling faction and the anti- gambling one. On the pro- gambling side the rules seem to be much more black and white. This group says that they want the slots parlor in the state to be 100 miles— in terms of roadways—apart from each other. They believe that calculating a route via the existing highways and roads is good enough allow space for each slots parlor to operate. On the other side though is the anti- gambling group. They believe that the distance should be based on the circumference of 100 miles. Though it may not sound like a big issue, in reality it is becoming a sore spot for movement forward with gambling initiatives. The ruling of “100 miles” is based on a ballot decision passed back in 2003 where spacing was decided upon. It was not visited for a while though but now is a huge sticking point for gaming companies to deal with. Whether or not casinos are built is going to be a big change and it will take time for both sides to continue debating the issue out and eventually come to a conclusion.

This is just one more thing that is holding up gambling right now. Sure the slot machines are lucrative, but they also come with a big debate that states have to take on. Once they are approved, then there are other issues to sort through. Finding a way to keep everyone happy is probably impossible, so legislators are trying to find the best option for their particular state to work with. As time moves on, there are going to be more and more debates, but hopefully there also will be more resolutions within state legislatures.