New Harm Minimisation Suggestions from The Greens

As Sky City and Prime Minister John Key continue to finalize the terms of their convention centre deal, responsible gambling advocates are becoming increasingly concerned about its effect on problem gambling rates. To help prevent a rise in problem gambling spending, The Greens have proposed some harm minimisation measures for SkyCity.

“The Green Party intends to implement sensible and pragmatic measures that reassert the role of public health as the primary driver of gambling regulation, rather than economic development and convention centres,” says Greens Co-Leader Metiria Turei.

One of the proposed measures is the introduction of pre-commitment cards. Since there will be 230 new pokies at the casino, The Greens believe that pre-commitment cards would help poker machine players limit their spending. Players can set limits before they begin playing, and they will receive regular updates on their spending before being locked out once they have exceeded their budgets.

The Greens are confident that this measure would be effective but Mr Key is not convinced. He has spoken out against pre-commitment cards, starting that the measure would discourage players from visiting the casino altogether. There will certainly be a fierce debate on the issue, as we are certain that The Greens will not give up easily.

Greens To Stage Protest of SkyCity Deal

It is no secret that The Greens are opposed to the SkyCity convention centre deal. For months, the political party has argued that the deal is not only harmful to the local community but also that it was carried out in an unethical manner. This week, they will stage a protest of the deal by building a cardboard casino in Aotea Square.

From 7am to 6pm on Monday, October 14th, a life-sized casino made of cardboard will be located in the square. It will consist of 510 pokies, the total number of games that will exist in SkyCity Auckland if the convention centre deal is passed. The Greens encourage residents to visit the casino and write a message on the cardboard voicing their concerns to the government.

The idea of the protest is to show residents the scale of the SkyCity’s potential expansion. The gambling operator will be receiving an additional 230 pokies, and The Greens argue that this is the size of the average casino.

“SkyCity gets a whole new casino without having to go through any of the regulatory process required in law to set up a new casino,” says Greens co-leader Metiria Turei. “We want to show New Zealanders the scale of what the Government has gifted to SkyCity”.

SkyCity To Purchase Wharf Casino

SkyCity is expanding all over New Zealand’s gambling market. Last week, the casino operator introduced a bill that would expand SkyCity Auckland’s gambling license for another 20 years and is now making plans to purchase Lasseter’s Wharf Casino in Queenstown.

The Commerce Commission has recently granted SkyCity permission to purchase the gambling venue, which is currently owned by Otago Casinos. The acquisition of the casino will mean that SkyCity will own both casinos in Queenstown, but the Commerce Commission states that this will not negatively affect competition in the local gambling market.

SkyCity will further encourage competition by converting the Wharf Casino into a high roller venue. While SkyCity Queenstown caters to all types of gamblers, the new Wharf Casino will be targeted at players who are more interested in playing high-stakes games. This is a common business strategy for many local gaming operators, as VIP gambling is quite a lucrative market.

”We are focusing on upgrading our VIP offering in Queenstown, so we have an offer to complement our Horizon VIP offering in Auckland,” says CEO Nigel Morrison said.

The transition is still in its initial stages. There is no word yet on when SkyCity will begin renovating The Wharf Casino.

Sky City Convention Centre Bill Passes First Reading

Last week, SkyCity and Prime Minister John Key finalized their plans for the Auckland convention centre deal. The proposal was presented as a bill to the local senate, and passed its first reading – but not by very much.

The deal will see SkyCity build Auckland’s new convention centre, investing $402 million into the project. In return, the casino operator will receive an additional 230 poker machines for its Auckland location, a number of new table games and an extended gambling license.

Local residents have been sceptical of the deal since it was first revealed. The Greens and other political groups tried their hardest to lobby against the deal, but it was no use. The project’s negotiations continued and its legislation has passed its first read by a vote to 59 to 61.

SkyCity CEO Nigel Morrison believes that the bill has not been well-received due to supposedly slanderous media attention. He claims that his company’s reputation is being tarnished, despite the economic benefits that the convention centre will bring into the community.

The bill will be presented to senate for a second time in November 2013.

Winston Peters Called Auckland a ‘City of Sin’

NZ First leader Winston Peters is outraged at the leniency that New Zealand politicians are exercising with regards to gambling laws in Auckland. Last week, he made a speech condemning the city for its relaxing gambling laws and the new potential for crime in the city.

Peters stood before Grey Power, and spoke out against Sky City’s new deal with China Southern Airlines. The deal will fast-track the visa process for high roller casino players, and Peters believes that will encourage more crime. It is likely that it will make it easier for criminals to launder money and conduct other illegal business at SkyCity.

He is also outraged that a 15-storey brothel will be opening up across the street from the casino. He believes that the new venue, combined with the lenient visa laws, will make it easier for human trafficking and other sex crimes to take place.

“What is really happening to Auckland?” Peters asks. “The seven deadly sins are apparently alive and well here”.

Residents are also upset about the new developments but few other politicians have spoken out. It is a worrying state of affairs, but it seems that locals can only hope for the best at this point.

Final Sky City Convention Centre Deal Angers Locals

Sky City and Premier John Key have finally come to a settlement with regards to the terms of their convention centre deal. In return for Sky City spending $402 million to build Auckland’s new convention centre, the casino operator will be granted permission to install nearly 300 new games and will have its license extended.

The deal will go ahead as planned, even though the Auditor General confirmed that the deal was not entirely fair to other bidders. After the Auditor General weighed in, local residents requested that the deal be abandoned – but neither party would be deterred. Now, they have settled on a final plan – and residents are still incensed.

Sky City will spend $315 million on the construction of the centre and $87 million on land costs. In return, the casino will receive 230 new pokies and 40 new table games. The casino’s license will also be extended from 2021 to 2042.

“Sky City has been given preferential treatment from whoa to go and the Government has even bent the immigration visa rules to deliver rich gamblers to the casino,” says Rt Hon Winston Peters. “We can see little good coming from this shabby, seedy, money grubbing deal”.

It is likely that residents will protest the deal. Kiwis are not at all impressed with the terms of the deal, and they will fight to ensure that it does not go forward.

Auditor General Clarifies SkyCity Report

This week, Auditor General Phillippa Smith came forward to offer some clarification about her report concerning the SkyCity convention centre deal. She initially reported that neither the casino operator nor the local government acted inappropriately – and Prime Minister John Key announced that the report vindicated the deal. Unfortunately for him, this was not the case.

The Auditor General’s assistance was requested by the Greens in 2012. The political party felt that the deal (which would see SkyCity build the $350 million convention centre in return for 500 new pokies) was not entirely above board, and Phillippa Smith was brought in to investigate the deal.

She determined that SkyCity had been given an unfair advantage, especially since the casino operator was the government’s last choice. However, the group was willing to pay for all of the construction costs for the convention centre, so the government worked with SkyCity to improve its proposal. Although John Key claims that these findings vindicate the deal, Smith states otherwise.

As such, The Greens and other political groups feel that the tender process should be repeated. Many other groups were interested in building the convention centre, and they feel that they should be given a fair chance to bid on the project.

SkyCity Auckland Player Faces Fines for Cheating

In casinos, millions of dollars are passed from player to player on a daily basis. So, it is no wonder that some casino staff and players feel the urge to take more than their fair share. Fortunately, New Zealand casino operators like Sky City are equipped with the sophisticated technology required to catch cheaters and their accomplices.

These sophisticated systems threw a wrench in the plans of Bo Du, a casino dealer that had worked at SkyCity for more than six years. She was only allowed to scam $50 000 from the casino by the time the casino operator discovered that she had been accepting cash gifts from patrons in return for manipulating the outcome of roulette games. She ensured that the ball dropped just before the betting ended, allowing her accomplices to wager on the correct outcome.

It did not take long before management discovered the operation. Du and several casino patrons were apprehended for their crimes. The former casino dealer was placed on house arrest and has been ordered to pay SkyCity $20 000 in damages. She has also been blacklisted from working at any other casino venue in the world. The penalties that the patrons received have yet to be announced.

Authorities Suspect Money Laundering Took Place at SkyCity Auckland

Authorities normally keep a watchful eye on local casinos, as they suspect that criminals congregate at these gambling venues. Their reason for this is that criminals often choose to launder money at casinos, since there is already so much money passing hands between players, dealers and the casino itself. This week, it was discovered that a local meth manufacturer may have been playing at SkyCity casino in order to launder money, and local police are investigating the issue.

Roy Allan Duncan, well-known drug manufacturer, is a VIP player at SkyCity casino in Auckland. Over the years, he and his wife have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at the venue – and police have reason to doubt that their winnings were genuine.

According to police reports, Duncan used a popular method for money laundering. He would deposit money into a poker machine and cancel the transaction before wagering on the game. As a result, he would receive his money back; however, it was not his money that he would receive. Since he received a cash out ticket, his ‘winnings’ consisted of other players’ deposits – successfully laundering his own money.

Duncan disputes these claims. He states that he is simply an experienced gambler who knows how to win at pokies. Unfortunately for him, this defence is unlikely to hold up in court, as new digital technology makes it impossible to predict the outcome of modern-day pokies.

Delay for SkyCity Convention Centre Report

Ever since Prime Minister John Key announced that he would allow SkyCity to install 500 new poker machines in return for building Auckland’s new convention centre, his planned has been criticized. Residents and politicians have taken up arms against the initiative, with The Greens requesting that an audit be performed before any decisions can be finalized – unfortunately, the process has not been simple thus far.

Firstly, the audit has taken twice as long than the average Auditor General investigation. The Office of the Auditor General has stated that most cases take up to 3 months to investigate; this case has taken twice as long, as the process has been more complex.

Now, the release of the report has been delayed by weeks. Originally, the audit was to be published before Christmas, giving residents a chance to give the investigation the attention it deserves. Now, the Auditor General has announced that the report will not be released until the new year – but The Greens are okay with it.

Party Co-Leader Metiria Turei believes that it is better for the report to take longer than anticipated than for the Office of the Auditor General to rush the publication. She hopes that the audit will shed some much-needed light on the nature of the SkyCity convention centre deal, providing answers to some of the many unanswered questions that members of the general public have posed.