It's long been said that the law is an ass. Is there a God? If so, would God agree with gambling? Is there something about gambling or casinos in the Seven Deadly Sins? Is the God that is said to be in The Guardian Angel Cathedral the same God that Steve Wynn may believe in? Las Vegas is known as "Sin City" right. I think it's a good thing that the city, therefore the government, via the local government, didn't shut out God completely and that the church is still there. Everyone is competing for punters, an audience and square metres of prime real estate. So many questions, yet not enough answers. This may warrant a follow up story from the Las Vegas Sun. Both mainstream media and casino news media could have a field day with this matter... just as long as it doesn't turn into a media beat up (on anyone).

Edmund Ho is smart and diplomatic. He's seen the ups and downs of the casino, resort and tourism business before. One would certainly think that there is enough money in the Chinese bank and government reserves to put together some sort of rescue package, but whether they do it is another matter entirely. It's interesting that both James Packer and Donald Trump are now investing in The Philippines. Packer of course has his Crown Macau. Packer and Trump are involved in a number of projects of which gaming and casinos are only part of the equation. Trump's new Philippines project is a consortium effort, so the risk is shared amongst the group of investors. All of the action may present a great opportunity for an airline or two to fly the punters and high fliers alike around between the worlds top casinos and resorts. There's still a few "whales" around who like to play. You can bet that the likes of Richard Branson's Virgin Airlines will be eyeing this off, as Virgin are also involved in online casinos and have Virgin Hotels and health retreats well on the way. It's all a competition for the consumer and tourism dollar. As Charles Darwin said, "In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed". Sheldon Adelson, your throw of the dice.

Congratulations to Peter Eastgate. He earned it. Eastgate is going to need a stage name now. How about Mr WSOP? Phil "The Brat" Hellmuth took a grand spanking from Eastgate, and word on the street is that the sponsor of "The Brat" is potentially going to cop a hiding in both the news media and regarding some legal matters. Eastgate's backer, PokerStars, is a very professional and well run operation I hear. The WSOP is great for the sport, or pastime, whatever one's perception. This news will also be hot on the lips of those attending the CAP Down Under in Sydney, Australia, coming up later this month. With huge prize money up for grabs in poker, and government regulation changes well on the way for land based and online casinos, the stakes have never been higher. Good on the Las Vegas Sun for bring this news to the world.

And there's also a trend for many punters to try their luck in online casinos. I think that the traditional casinos that don't get with the times and also offer something enticing online are up for a challenge. Even Australia's gaming and news media king pin, James Packer, lost a packet overseas trying to get a few casinos off the ground, some a few folks much be hurting even at the big end of town. Here down under in Australia a few insiders are going to check out the Australasian Gaming Expo in Sydney on the 24th of this month. The gaming sector continues to be shaken up all over.