A New Twist On Daily Fantasy Sports

Sometime last Fall, the Nevada Gaming Commission issued a ruling that Daily Fantasy Sports (Draft Kings and FanDuel) classified as sports betting under Nevada law and that meant that the two companies needed to be licensed by the Gaming Commission. The two companies stopped taking wagers from Nevada residents – or as the companies would say they stopped allowing Nevada residents to play. I have seen nothing to indicate that the Gaming Commission has in fact licensed either of these entities and so I assume that Daily Fantasy Sports as represented by Draft Kings and FanDuel remains off-limits in Nevada.

However, the Gaming Commission is considering a proposal to allow people to bet on fantasy sports through the casinos. US Fantasy is a company that claims to have a system that allows for fantasy betting in a pari-mutuel environment. Please do not ask me for details here because it is not clear to me how all of this would work, but US Fantasy asserts that it could provide Nevada casinos with a “turnkey operation” soon after the receipt of an approval from the Gaming Commission.

There is also something in Nevada called the Nevada Governor’s Gaming Policy Committee. This body is comprised of state legislators, present and former members of the Gaming Commission and “industry leaders” from the gaming industry. That Committee is solidly in favor of adding fantasy sports betting to the menu of offerings in Nevada but they have made it clear in previous statements that they do consider fantasy sports to be gambling and therefore should be subject to regulation to protect the public.

Here is a link to an article from about a week ago that will give you an idea where all of this is now and where it might be heading. One of the things I find interesting here is that in addition to maintaining that Daily Fantasy Sports is not gambling, the folks at FanDuel and Draft Kings have also said that regulations would hinder innovation in that industry. Well, while they have been standing still and fighting “regulation” around the country, it would seem to me that US Fantasy has done a bit of innovating on its own and just may elbow its way into the mix as a competitor in the Daily Fantasy Sports wagering “industry”.

Aaron Hernandez is serving a life sentence as a result of his conviction on charges of murdering Odin Lloyd. Nonetheless, he still faces a double murder charge in a separate incident. He must not have been fully satisfied with his previous representation because he hired a new attorney recently. He hired the man who defended Casey Anthony in her trial involving the death of her 2-year old daughter. Anthony was convicted on charges of lying to the police but was acquitted on the murder charge. Her acquittal at trial determines the fact that she is not guilty of the crime; her status in the court of public opinion is very different; I would estimate that she finds herself somewhere between “Vile Hominid” and “Loathsome Creature” on the social spectrum.

I only mention Casey Anthony here because Aaron Hernandez hired the lawyer who got her off those murder charges to represent him in his double-murder trial. The Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees anyone charged with a crime the right to “… the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.” One consequence of that phrase is that some attorney somewhere has to assist Aaron Henderson in that case just as someone had to assist Casey Anthony in hers.

Let me now say something that will clearly disqualify me from ever serving on any jury in any matter involving Aaron Hernandez – – and/or Casey Anthony for that matter.

I do not think there has been enough soap manufactured in the history of mankind to wash off the sleaze and the slime one would obtain from “assisting in the defence” of Aaron Hernandez.

Back in the 50s and 60s, Mao Zedong declared the Chinese Great Leap Forward. The idea was to change China rapidly from an agrarian subsistence economy to a more industrialized socialist economy that would be part of the international trade picture. I am not here to provide history lessons or economic analyses but let me just say that it did not work even a little bit. I mention this because it seems to me as if the Detroit Lions have just taken the Great Leap Sideways. The Lions have made a decision to do something different from anything they have done before – – and I doubt that it matters a whit.

The Detroit Lions – for the first time in franchise history – will have sideline cheerleaders.

When I read that, this is exactly what I typed on my clipboard:

“Whoop-dee-damned-doo!”

Naturally, such a “momentous” change requires a statement from team execs to put all of this in perspective. Lions’ team president, Ron Wood, stepped up to that responsibility with this pabulum:

“The Ford Family is unwavering in their commitment to improving the Detroit Lions fan experience on and off the field … After thorough consideration and receiving input from our fans through season ticket member surveys and focus groups, we believe that this is an opportunity to elevate our game day entertainment.”

If the Lions want to elevate the game day entertainment, they might start by improving on the team record since 2000. Cumulatively that would be 87-169; that means the Lions only win 34% of the time in this millennium. Forget the cheerleaders; I do not need focus groups to tell me that Detroit fans would prefer better teams on the field.

Finally, Greg Cote had these two comments in the Miami Herald recently. They will tell you all you really need to know about these topics:

“Florida Gators are renaming their football field as ‘Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.’ Not wordy enough. Throw in a ‘Ball Coach’ reference, too.”

And …

“Will Power won last week’s IndyCar race. Who was second? Dee Termination?”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………