Source: /www.delawarepark.com

It may soon be possible to gamble in Las Vegas, without entering a casino.

I'm not surprised that this idea cropped up since so many people are conducting all sorts of activities by remote control these days.

I conduct as much business as possible over the Internet now that it's reasonably safe to do so. I shop; bank, pay bills, and order my meds through a mail-order pharmacy. But my activities pale by comparison to the fully wired techno freaks, who, with their palm tops, lap tops, and full featured cell phones practically control their entire lives remotely.

For a while now the gambling industry has been attempting to offer a safe method for people to place bets, and even play table games, by remote control. The big stumbling block has been confirming the identification of the gambler.

It now appears that this hurdle has been overcome as reported in "Financial News USA" so people may soon be able to gamble while on the run.

Although the idea is to have people gamble regardless of where they are, I can foresee a time when people lounge around the lavish outside areas of a casino, sipping drinks at poolside, for example, while they place bets or play poker via wireless devices.

People will still want to come to Las Vegas for everything else it has to offer, and while the die hard gambler will gamble online from afar, there's still nothing like the ambiance of a casino.

All this reminds me of the start of "Off Track Betting," or "OTB," as it came to be known, in New York City, many years ago.

At that time I was a fan of the ponies, and frequently made donations to Yonkers Raceway, Aqueduct, Roosevelt Field, and Belmont.

Not once did I place an "OTB" bet.

I preferred to lose my money at the track, in full view of the horses, so the nags I bet on could feel bad when they saw me tearing up my pari-mutuel tickets.

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