Daily Kos Profiled in Today's SF Chronicle

Rob Morse, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, profiles Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, host of The Daily Kos.

Lately, Moulitsas has been trapped in his bungalow off Sacramento Street handling a record number of postings because of Monday's Iowa caucuses. He constantly posts polls and analysis, written in "skeletal" style so members of his community, known as "Kossacks," can contribute their own analyses, cracks and rants. Political insiders are among the most avid fans.

"I'm a reader. I think Markos has done an incredible job," said the president of the New Democrat Network, Simon Rosenberg, a centrist who worked in Bill Clinton's famous "war room" during the 1992 campaign and continued working for Clinton throughout his presidency.

"Kos is one of the places I go for full-time information every day," Rosenberg said. "If people like me do that, you know it's having an impact."

What a Man!

Here's the Washington Post's Mike Allen writing yesterday on the Summit of the Americas

Besides exercising, Bush's biggest release from his job is chain sawing branches into huge piles in the summer, with Secret Service agents hovering nearby to protect him from falling limbs as he trims. In the winter, Bush and his heartiest alpha aides burn the towering pyramids of cedar.

A chainsaw?? Compare this to Ronald Reagan, who, relaxing on his ranch, chopped firewood with an axe.

Not only is George W. Bush an unelectable, miserable failure, he's a pathetic wimp. Chainsaws. Feh!

(via Eschaton)

Harrah's to Buy, Reopen Binion's Horseshoe

It appears that there is hope for Binion's Horseshoe, the casino in downtown Las Vegas that has been the home of the World Series of Poker. Adam Goldman reports via AP that:

Harrah's Entertainment has signed an agreement to buy the financially strapped Binion's Horseshoe hotel-casino, two days after the legendary downtown property shut down and federal agents seized money to pay for unpaid employee benefits, a Harrah's spokesman said Monday.

Harrah's spokesman Gary Thompson declined to say how much the deal was worth, but said his company agreed to assume all the landmark property's liabilities. The deal includes the rights to the lucrative World Series of Poker tournament and the casino's legendary name in Nevada. Thompson couldn't say when the deal would be completed.

The purchase must be approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission.

This is an interesting development. Harrah's Entertainment is in my opinion the single best-positioned operator of gambling casinos in the United States, with solid positions in the gambling centers of Reno, Las Vegas, and Atlantic City, as well as the Mississipi riverboat and Gulf Coast markets. In addition, Harrah's manages a number of Indian casinos.

The Horseshoe would be Harrah's first entry on Fremont Street, a difficult niche in the casino market in which to prosper. But other casinos do prosper there, notably Boyd Gaming properties such as the Fremont, the California, and Main Street Station.

What will Harrah's do with the 'Shoe? I imagine that they will continue to develop and promote the World Series of Poker; but will they try to preserve the casino's dilapidated Old West charm? Or will they try to make it over into a more modern casino?

My own take on other Harrah's properties is that very little sets them apart from other casinos. The Harrah's casino experience is very much a generic one. What I call the Horseshoe's "dilapidated Old West charm" is what sets it apart from other casinos and gambling halls. Without it's cachet as the place "where legends are made and millions are paid" the place would be scarcely a cut above the El Cortez, down the street. But if Harrah's cleans up the dinge and makes the place a copy of its other properties, it could discover that it has cleaned up its identity, its branding power, as well. Why would a gambler choose Harrah's over the Four Queens or the Golden Nugget?

Some poker players, like the one who runs Love and Casino War, are concerned about Harrah's past experience with casino poker, notably the fiasco of the Carnivale of Poker in 2000. I'm not so worried. The World Series of Poker is a strong franchise, and it is managed by a strong team led by Matt Savage. Personally, I'm hoping that this year's WSOP will be the best one yet.

Binion's Horseshoe Closed

Water always flows downhill. It looks as if it has reached bottom for Binion's Horseshoe, home of the World Series of Poker, grandfather of all poker tournaments. The Las Vegas Sun reports:

Agents shut down gambling at Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas

By ADAM GOLDMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAS VEGAS (AP) - U.S. marshals and agents from the Internal Revenue Service shut down gambling at Binion's Horseshoe hotel-casino Friday, enforcing what authorities said was a federal court judgment for nonpayment of union benefits.

The hotel remained open and guests were being allowed inside the downtown property, known widely as the host of the World Series of Poker.

But roulette wheels stopped, blackjack games ended, slot machines were silenced and gamblers were told to cash in their chips about 7:30 p.m. Agents seized money from casino cashiers and sent at least some employees home.

Gaming Commission suspends license of Horseshoe

By Cy Ryan

SUN CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY - The state Gaming Commission Saturday signed an emergency order suspending the operation of table games and slot machines at the financially troubled Horseshoe Club in downtown Las Vegas until it posts the required bankroll to pay off winners.

The commission said owner Becky Behnen, daughter of the founder Benny Binion, must continue to pay the taxes and license fees due during the closure of the casino, a landmark in the downtown.

Dennis Neilander, chairman of the state Gaming Control Board, said Behnen has agreed to the condition. He declined to say how much of a bankroll Behnen must put up before the casino is reopened.

"What Goes On Here ... Goes On Your Record"

From a report in Casino City Times:

Casinos, Airlines Ordered to Give FBI Information

31 December 2003

by Rod Smith

Las Vegas Gaming Wire

LAS VEGAS – Las Vegas hotel operators and airlines serving McCarran International Airport are being required by the FBI to turn over all guest and passenger names and personal information, at least during the holiday period, several sources said Tuesday.

FBI spokesman Todd Palmer confirmed the federal action and said the requirement that the companies surrender customer information is a "normal investigative procedure."

However, Allen Lichtenstein, general counsel for the Nevada Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the program "clearly is not part of a normal investigation.

"What we seem to be witnessing at this point is a move on the part of the government to keep tabs on what everyone is doing all the time, which has serious civil liberties implications," Lichtenstein said.

"It's one thing to have some specific security concerns and a targeted investigation with some basis in fact, but to ... try to follow everyone goes beyond what is called for."

Hotel operators who asked not to be identified said the information being provided to federal officials includes guest and passenger names, addresses and personal identification information, but not casino records or guest gambling information. ...

President Bush signed legislation earlier this month expanding the authority of the bureau and other U.S. authorities conducting counterterrorist intelligence. The law authorizes them to demand records from financial companies including casinos without seeking court approval.

Previously, casino companies generally released such private information only under subpoena. But under the new law, they will be required to release it if national security letters are issued by federal investigators.

The information is being transmitted electronically to the FBI on what could amount to 300,000 visitors to Las Vegas daily.

(via Eschaton and TalkLeft)