Betfair has said it will deliver “tens of millions of dollars” to the racing industry and significant jobs, as well as “tens of million of dollars worth of investment”, if it is licensed in Tasmania.
Betfair, which will have a joint venture with Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd if a licence is obtained, has offered to pay […]

Three college games have been cancelled this upcoming weekend as teams in the Gulf Coast region try to collect themselves and fish their floating blocking sleds out of the water in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. That means bettors with money on LSU-North Texas, Tulane-Southern Miss, and Nicholls State-Utah State will have to settle for the never any fun NO ACTION. But stop whining, it’s a tragedy, yo. Hurricane Katrina Forces Postponement of Three Games [Covers]

Come September, all of these types of stories will be gone. Hopefully. However, right now, until every fantasy sports reporter goes through their 897th draft, we’ll have to read about their scintilating draft strategy. And today’s is a doozy. Yahoo Sports’ lead band geek Brandon Funston pulls together a gaggle of his bestest fantasy boobs and has them dissect round-by-breathtaking-round of Funston’s Yahoo Experts and Family League draft.

One of the lasting images we’ll have from the aftermath of Katrina is seeing the Grand Casino well off her moorings, sitting askew a couple hundred yards from where she should be. Maybe we’re not seafarin’ folk, but aren’t boats supposed to float on water, no matter how high the water gets? Can’t they just drive it back? Where’s Captain Stubing? Anyway, the gaming industry down there is going to take ages to get back to full strength:

Gary Loveman, chairman of Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., the world’s largest gambling company, told CNBC its Grand Casino, which is built on a floating barge, was "probably ruined." Aerial footage showed the ravaged casino had washed ashore and landed on the other side of a busy highway.

Poker Padz [Poker Padz(via Love and Casino War)]

2:10 p.m. Minnesota Twins (70-62, K. Lohse) at Kansas City Royals (42-88, M. Wood) Best Line: KC ROYALS +153, MINN -156 We love Mike Wood. Even though he got dinged by the Yankees his last time out–before pitching 5 inning shutout ball going head-to-head with Randy Johnson–he’s still the man who stopped the Royals miserable 19-game losing streak. Let’s just say he’s pitched well enough in the last few weeks to conceivably be the Royals staff ace. The Twins are making a wild card push right now, but they offer up girlish Kyle Lohse whose been running through a streak of hard-luck losses his last 10 starts after almost being demoted to the bullpen. Plus he has a vagina. We believe we mentioned that already.

"I feel strongly that people should be able to choose how they spend their entertainment dollars," said Governor Ventura, "It’s none of the government’s business." Jesse Ventura Named New BetUs.com Spokesperson [PRIMEZONE] BetUs [BetUs]

Beverly Martin, executive director of the Mississippi Casino Operators Association, said many casinos did not carry business interruption insurance. For every day they are closed, the state loses $400,000 to $500,000 in tax revenue.

And, of course, the casinos lose millions. One bright spot for the gaming industry though…

A new Hard Rock Casino, built to the latest hurricane codes and set to open next week, was crushed, although the giant guitar marking its location stood upright.

Not exactly a raised-fist-in-defiance sort of symbol, but we’ll take it. Rock on Hard Rock Guitar, rock on…

2:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox (80-50, O. Hernandez) at Texas Rangers (63-69, K.Loe) Best Line: TEX +100, CHISOX +100 So, these lines are kind of all over the place. Obviously some of the books think that Texas’ hot hitting at home–with their clandestine light-flickering sign-stealing operation–is paramount to anything else at this point. Some are giving El Duque and the Sox the respect of a first place team and a late season pitcher. However, bear in mind that Texas is trotting out middle relief pitcher Kameron Loe. He’s 6′8, been better than average, and made one solid start, but let’s not make him out to be Chris Young just yet. And anybody not named Diaz with a first name of Kameron is a notorious shlub.

Via Muk Report: