luishinton: Nevada roused into online gambling action by New Jersey ...

Nevada appears to be in no mood to let New Jersey get a leg up in the offering of online gambling, judging from the swift reaction last week by state legislators and Governor Sandoval.

Sandoval?s request to the legislature 30 days ago was passage of a bill that would allow for interstate online gaming was met with a done deal in just 18 days. Nevada?s online poker base, for instance, would not be that large due to population and residents? accessibility to real casino poker rooms. So the state will be looking to link up with other states to pair its regulatory expertise with other state?s customer bases.

New Jersey legislators, meanwhile, will meet tomorrow in Trenton to approve an amended version of their own online gaming bill ? just 19 days after Governor Christie?s unconditional veto:

Christie has said he might sign the amended bill as soon as tomorrow, though I wouldn?t be surprised if it takes a day or so to be vetted.

Mitch Fox, host of Nevada Week in Review, tweeted this picture and noted a colleague?s quip to the Governor at the bill signing ceremony was ?Are you going to give a pen to Gov. Christie??

In case there was any doubt of Nevada?s intent, Assembly Majority Leader and bill sponsor William Horne, D-Las Vegas, removed it at the bill signing ceremony.

?As to our competitor New Jersey, they should be accustomed to following Nevada,? Horne said, referring to New Jersey?s status as the second state in the U.S. to legalize brick-and-mortar casino gambling in the 1970s.

Delaware is in this race, too, with hopes of having its infrastructure in place by Sept. 30. It will be interesting to see who ?wins? the race.