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The gambling market has come far. In past times gambling casino employees had little to look forward to other than pay. It was a job, but offered little of the benefits that other jobs enjoyed. When people are looking for jobs in any other market they look at a lot of things—pay, benefits, vacation and overtime. It is standard in other markets that workers are aware of the benefits package that should come along with their salary workup. Unfortunately in the past employees of gambling casinos were not privy to the same benefits. They in fact could hope for minimum wage and then have to work their ways up to a decent salary. That is all starting to change. The biggest contributor to the differences in salaries for gaming workers has been the growth in gambling. Now that gambling is considered to be a viable career choice and bringing in billions of dollars, it is gaining a lot of attention. Rules and regulations are changing quickly because of the sheer growth of the market.
In a lot of areas gambling casino workers are seeking to form unions. It is the single most important thing they can do to fight for their rights and equality in the market. For example, workers in Illinois formed UNITE HERE Local 1. They recently reached an agreement that changes how casino workers are compensated. It brings their revenue streams to the structure that other workers have received for years.

UNITE HERE Local 1 pushed Ameristar Casino company to institute a retro-active pay scale. They also have to include retirement plans for their employees. This is of particular note because in prior years it was unheard of for casino employees to have any kind of retirement benefit. This is a groundbreaking advance in the market that most likely will pass on to other locations and generations of gaming employees. As of now this deal is going to last until 2012, on October 31st. Throughout that time however, most gaming companies expect that the Unions involved will renegotiate for new contracts beyond that time. UNITE HERE Local 1 currently represents 200 employees at Ameristar in East Chicago but their negotiating will no doubt influence a much larger circle of people by 2012.

Now Chicago is in on the debates over gambling. This time it is the City Council that is considering a change in the city’s gambling laws. They like other areas see the value in bringing in gambling and expanding it. The market is huge—it is a billion dollar industry—and that is something that cities everywhere want to take advantage of. They know that there are few other activities that could possibly bring in the same amount of tax revenue dollars. A good casino can bring in a consistent multi-million dollar revenue stream every month! Those are huge numbers to pass up for any city council, much less areas where the recession hit the hardest. Now in Chicago City Clerk Miguel del Valle is backing a proposal to put a referendum vote onto the ballot in February of 2011. Voters will be asked whether or not they believe that gambling should be under prohibition throughout the coming years. It will be telling of what the Chicago market thinks and if gambling is positively perceived by the voting public, it could change the gambling laws within the large city.

It was a year ago that the state of Illinois decided that video gambling should be legalized but every city had an individual right to ban or allow the games. Of course once the state allowed them, they had to be legalized, but cities were given a window of time where they could still keep the machines out of their markets. One of the biggest draws of allowing gambling now is to help businesses along with revenue streams. Namely bars and pubs would take advantage of the gambling machines and bring in new customers as a result. So far gambling has proven lucrative for all the markets it has entered and Chicago is next in line to possibly go that route. We will see what the February vote tells about online gamblers and what they decide. This is the first step in moving towards legalizing gambling throughout the state, but it shouldn’t take long to come up with laws that can regulate gaming for the public. No longer will they have to travel to Indiana for gambling, but Illinois could become a hub for the games.

Mayor Richard Daley quickly turned away the idea of a casino on the site of what would have been the 2016 Olympic Village. Aldermen Richard Mell, 33rd, and George Cardenas, 12th, suggested the plan Thursday, but on Friday, a week after Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Games was denied, and Daley said he expects new homes to replace the old Michael Reese Hospital on the 37-acre site. The city recently bought it for $91 million. “I don’t know why everybody is going around thinking casinos are the answers to all the problems of society,” the mayor said.  Mayor Daley is completely against such a proposal. Without the Mayor’s support the proposition will not pass.

Illinois is just one of the states hoping to bring in slots and casinos to increase revenues to the state. Many states are suffering now that the recession is over. Budgets are big and deficits are bigger. The problem started with the recession when cities were hit hard by the economic downfall. The unemployment rate skyrocketed, throwing consumers into a frenzy. They all wondered how to make ends meet and stopped spending altogether. That made matters even worse. Without spending, businesses were hampered and started lay-offs and cutbacks. That made matters unbearable. The market continued its downfall. Experts cited the past year’s recession as the worst economic time since the Great Depression of the 1940s. It was a hard time for everyone and it’s first now that nascent signs of a turnaround are being seen.

Though many states are eager to incorporate gambling into their market as a means of bringing in money, Illinois is not one of them. Mayor Daley has been a strong opponent of bringing gambling into the city of Chicago. When the proposal was first made to make the Michael Reese Hospital a location for a new casino, backers were excited. They believed it would be a lucrative move for the state to embark on. They touted the millions of dollars in tax-revenues that would be brought into the state via gambling as a huge advantage. Unfortunately, the mayor and other legislators disagreed and quickly shot down the proposal. They vowed to nix the plan and that seems to be what is fleshing out.

A Chicago radio talk show host has introduced a “citizen’s ordinance” that would attempt to lift the Chicago ban on video gambling.  The ordinance is assisted by Chicago’s mayor’s former campaign manager.  On January 13, 2010, while scores of cities and counties across Illinois were “opting out” of video gambling, McGill introduced an ordinance that would do the opposite in Chicago, where video gambling is currently illegal.  McGill said he exercised the right any private citizen has to introduce legislation to the City Council to help some of his friends who own bars and are struggling to keep them open. Many businesses are looking to slots and video gambling as a way to bring in added funds. It’s similar to the industry’s “racino” creation, which is a race track that opted to bring in slots. They used the added revenue from slots to maintain business.

“I’ve got one friend who’s back behind the bar because he was forced to let his bartenders go. Bar owners — especially in the African-American community — are laying people off,” McGill said. The Chicago Sun-Times reported last month that Daley’s former campaign manager Greg Goldner was spearheading his own campaign to convince the City Council to lift the Chicago ban, paving the way for as many as 15,715 video gambling machines across the city.  After reading the story, McGill said he called Goldner to get “logistical assistance” on how to proceed.  “Whenever you’re trying to create a movement, you get people with common interests together and pool your resources,” McGill said.

“We didn’t want to just fight against an opt-out ordinance. We wanted to fight for a funding source for the capital bill. We considered all of our options and, when Matt presented himself to us, we decided it was a good option to have a citizen introduction of the opt-in ordinance.” The Goldner-led company known as Back to Work Illinois also armed McGill with political arguments to counter those who claim the African-American community would be hurt the most by, what some have called the “crack cocaine” of gambling. Ordinances introduced by private citizens rarely get hearings, let alone pass the City Council.  “At the appropriate time, I’m sure there’ll be a vote in the City Council. But right now, it’s very remote.. It will be quite a while before the Gaming Commission [even] establishes rules,” License Committee Chairman Eugene Schulter said.

Throughout the event instructors led participants through two days of intense instruction and held numerous question and answer sit downs.  There was a video analysis of step-by-step WSOP footage, live demonstrations and private mini-table events.  The great thing about the Academy was that it offered something for every player. Whether it was a player with their eye on the professional circuit or the stay-at-home dad wanting to wow at his next home-based poker game, the result was the same—real life instruction and valuable tips for playing poker. The events at the Academy included all aspects of No-Limit Texas Hold ‘em tournament strategy, including playing position, calculating pot odds, post-flop strategy, concealing tells, identifying types of players, the importance of aggression and changing gears.

This was the first appearance of any sort of instructional poker event in the Chicago area and the first time Annie Duke and Joe Navarro came to the city for instruction. Annie Duke is a poker professional who first made headlines on the scene in 2004. She won a bracelet at the WSOP in the $2,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Event. She also won the 2004 WSOP Tournament of Champions where she earned a winner-take-all prize of $2,000,000.  Joe Navarro is a top authority in the art of lying. He worked for the FBI for 25 years in the areas of counterintelligence and counterterrorism. His strength is being an expert at non-verbal clues to gaming. He quit his job at the FBI and channeled his know how into the world of poker by using his understanding of detecting and interpreting tells among players. Prior to the event, Navarro stated, “I look forward to working with WSOP Academy students to help them see inside their opponents and change the way they view the game. I plan on spending time working with players individually and spotting tells that they are giving off at the table. I truly believe that this type of personalized attention can save a player a lot of money in the long run.”

The WSOP Academy was more than just a live poker instructional video. It gave students the opportunity to rub shoulders with professionals from the industry who have made groundbreaking strides.  It offered them the opportunity to completely immerse themselves in the game for two days and walk away with practical and usable knowledge. Its success means that it surely will be repeated throughout the country and worldwide.

In a testament to the growth in poker playing and its mainstream acceptance, the World Series of Poker Academy is reviewing its successful performance in Chicago.  The WSOP created an instructional program for hopeful gamblers to join in on gaming fun by learning from the best.  This past August 29^th through 30^th Chicago-land’s Horseshoe Casino was the location that hosted the successful event. It was two days of comprehensive schooling for any gamer interested in learning more about the game, or make a move to the professional market.

Poker was once thought of as an underground game played by mobsters, criminals and other unscrupulous misanthropes. In all honesty it was a favorite game of this group, but slowly but surely it made its way into the life of an average law-abiding citizen. Soon people were gathering for friendly poker games in the privacy of their own homes. They played for money, but mostly just for fun and shared in a night of socializing and enjoyment. It was a great pastime. Soon the game moved even further when about two decades ago the World Series of Poker first began. Back then it was hard-pressed to find participants. It was a stretch to even call it a “world series”, but organizers pressed on. Soon it gained steam and now it is an event that has worldwide appeal. It is broadcast via ESPN and has mainstream corporate sponsors to help fund the notable event. The WSOP has built itself up as the premiere event in the world of poker play and pays out millions to the main event winner. Almost more importantly than the cash prize, however is the much-coveted WSOP bracelet that winners of individual playoff games walk away with.

The WSOP Academy welcomed many notable players as teachers. Annie Duke, WSOP bracelet winner, two-time WSOP bracelet winner Matt Graham and poker profession, author Bernard Lee and poker expert Joe Navarro all made appearances and spoke at the event. They shared their experiences and offered a comprehensive tutorial for all participants. Brandon Rosen of Post Oak Productions, which is the company producing the WSOP Academy event, stated, “The WSOP Academy just finished an amazing summer at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, and we were excited to offer our first academy experience in the Chicago area with an amazing line-up of instructors. From live hand demonstrations with Annie Duke to our groundbreaking seminar with poker tells expert Joe Navarro, our event at the Horseshoe Casino gave players the confidence and skills they need to be a threat at the table, whether they’re playing in a home game with friends or at the World Series of Poker against the best in the game.”

Part two coming next.