Not sure about you, but I’m just getting over the hangover from last month’s elections. The long run-up to election day was agonizing, and now that it’s over, we can reflect on the “changes” that have indeed arrived.

Nevada has undergone a huge change as a result of the election. A previously “safe” Republican state, Nevada had become a “battleground” state in the past two presidential election cycles, but today Nevada, like many other once-red states, has turned a solid blue.

Once again, our viewpoint at Casino Connection is totally shaped by concern about the gaming industry, so the change from red to blue really doesn’t make much of a difference.

The election of Barack Obama as president is a historic moment for the country. We hope it means that race is no longer a major issue in the United States. The wide range of support for Obama demonstrates that Americans truly weigh candidates by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin.

Obama’s election should not impact the gaming industry. For one thing, he’s got many more pressing issues to consider before worrying about gaming. And even though gaming has more employees nationwide than the auto industry, we’re not expecting a bailout.

The federal government usually (and correctly) considers gaming a states’ rights issue. The only bump in the road was the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, which began under the Clinton administration. This was a federal study group designed to find wrongdoing in the gaming industry, but actually affirmed much of the good things we knew existed.

The only impact we can see right away is a possible loosening of the prohibition on internet gambling. Several bills that would legalize online poker are expected to advance, which puts the “camel’s nose under the tent.” Once government realizes how much tax revenue could be gained by an online gambling industry, all bets may be off.

The loss of Rep. Jon Porter was damaging for the gaming industry. Porter was a champion of the industry in Washington. While the victor, Dina Titus, is from Las Vegas, she has yet to demonstrate that she truly understands our business, so there is a nervousness about her term. Hopefully, Congresswoman Shelley Berkeley, gaming’s best friend on the Hill, will take Titus under her wing and explain the facts of life to her.

On a state level, Democrats now control both houses of the legislature. Fortunately, most legislators of both parties in Nevada understand the importance of the gaming industry to the state, so we’re hopeful that the “tax-and-spend” reputation of national Democrats will not translate to our state representatives.

But we do need more revenue to fix some of the major problems facing our still-growing state. If there is a tax increase, we will favor a broad-based increase that places the burden on everyone, not just one segment—the gaming industry.

On a local level in Las Vegas, there is no longer any party difference on the Clark County Commission. Democrats now fill all seven seats. But, as Chairman Rory Reid says, the decisions made by the commission are mostly non-partisan, so party affiliation should not matter here. At least we hope so.

A non-election related change we recently witnessed is last month’s resignation by Terry Lanni as the chairman and CEO of MGM Mirage. Since MGM Mirage is largely focused in Nevada, so was Lanni’s interest. His understanding of the needs of the state was demonstrated this year by his support of a broad-based tax increase to benefit education that would impact all businesses, not just the gaming industry. His reasoning was that all Nevadans use the schools and all Nevada businesses benefit from an educated workforce. Makes perfect sense to me.

Lanni was a great representative for the gaming industry. He was a member of the aforementioned federal gambling commission and helped to steer the research to objective, competent agencies rather than biased anti-gamers, thereby providing impartial results that have bolstered the industry.

While Lanni will be missed, Jim Murren, Lanni’s replacement, is already an involved and committed Nevada citizen, so we’re sure MGM Mirage and the state won’t miss a beat.

So, changes are coming. We’ll see if they are all positive, but for those who want to live in exciting times, your wish has been granted.

By Roger Gros

Roger Gros is publisher of Casino Connection and editor and publisher of Global Gaming Business magazine, the industry’s leading gaming trade publication. Prior to joining Global Gaming Business, Gros was president of Inlet Communications, an independent consulting firm. He was vice president of Casino Journal Publishing Group from 1984-2000, and held virtually every editorial title during his tenure. Gros was editor of Casino Journal, the National Gaming Summary and the Atlantic City Insider, and was the founding editor of Casino Player magazine. He was a co-founder of the American Gaming Summit and the Southern Gaming Summit conferences and trade shows. He is the author of the best-selling book, How to Win at Casino Gambling (Carlton Books, 1995), now in its third edition. Gros was named “Businessman of the Year” for 1998 by the Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce.