I am happier this morning my self-imposed beer hiatus is over tomorrow.  Even though technically I had a lot of trouble sleeping this week and found I cleared four pints around 0200 yesterday.  So I guess I ended it yesterday.

This is my review of Orkney Skullsplitter(H/T:  Swiss Servator):

This weeks bit of insanity come from the State of New York.  Due to the slow economic recovery several states legalized online sports betting.  New Jersey being the first meant it was only a matter of time before New York gets in on the game.  Of course New Jersey did that two years ago.  One would think it wouldn’t be that difficult for a legislature to draw up simple language stating you may ____, provided x% is collected as a tax.  SLD:  I am not advocating this as a  arrangement for online gaming; taxation is still theft.  If you frivolously wagered money in a game against an opponent that knows the absolute statistical likelihood they will win and somehow managed to beat them, you should be able to keep everything.

Except perhaps for a tip to the dealer, that’s just good manners.

Fuck you, pay me.

However that arrangement as described above is still better than what they have planned:

Each casino could license up to two online sports betting skins under the Assembly and Senate proposals, bringing a potential maximum of 14 different online sportsbooks to the Empire State. Gov. Cuomo advocates a lottery-operated sports betting model, and he’s sticking to that outline, according to Buffalo News Albany Bureau Chief Tom Precious.

Precious announced in a Wednesday Twitter post that a source revealed that Cuomo is committed to the lottery-based operating model. Precious posted that Cuomo’s plan would involve one vendor and four skins.

By limiting the number of licenses and “skins” each licensee is able to hold within the state excludes several small betting platforms.  The article quoted above speculates betting houses large enough to currently have brick and mortar gaming within the state are most likely to receive a license.  After a princely license fee of $12 million (of course), New York state is projected to receive $156 million in revenues under a proposed 14 skin model.  Gov. Cuomo’s four skin model (snicker) is projected to bring in $650.

Compare this to neighboring New Jersey with 20 skins currently, received $359.4 million in tax revenues last year, suggesting the benefits of increased competition.  Which brings to mind the question of why limit licenses at all?

But wait, there’s more!

No, fuck you, pay me.

Due to concerns of falling revenues from an existing agreement with multiple Indian Nations a “geofencing” proposal is under consideration.  This scheme in essence is barring residents of ten counties in central New York from participating on the mobile betting platforms because the agreement specifically grants exclusivity in those counties to Indian Casinos.  Should one of the mobile betting servers be placed at an existing brick and mortar casino, this exclusivity can be waived but would undermine the lottery system outlined above by Indian casinos claiming at least one of the licenses. Likely because the one licensee Cuomo has lined up is not an Indian Casino.

Once again, they seemed to find new and inventive ways to kill the goose that laid the golden egg.

Orkney Skullsplitter is a Scottish Ale I’ve looked around for years, after hearing it described in college as, “the thickest beer ever, like even thicker than Guinness.”  I disregard his opinion to a degree because I don’t find Guinness thick at all but it still piqued my interest.  Oddly enough, it happened to be sold in a part of town I normally don’t drive to.  Prior to meeting him at Glibfest, Swiss had purchased them at a local Total Wine.  Which is funny how he managed to find it where I live in spite of being in town for less than a day.  It is a traditional Scottish Ale made in the islands off the coast of the northern most tip of Scotland.  I found it quite enjoyable but then again I am a fan of the style so disregard my opinion as needed.  Orkney Skullsplitte:  4.1/5