At long last, a good news story.

On Thursday night, the House of Representatives in the state of Delaware, that little postage stamp in the Northeast, overwhelmingly passed a bill allowing sports betting.

The bill would allow sports betting at the state’s three slot machine casinos, likely starting in February, just in time for hoops madness.

According to state gaming officials, sports betting could bring an additional $70 million in revenues to the cash-strapped state. The state’s budget office believes that number is inflated and is likely closer to $30 million.

Regardless, it’s a lot of clams, especially if you consider the thousands of players from neighboring states who will be drawn to Delaware to get down some action.

Many of the poor schmucks who tried to jump into the real estate gold rush in the first half of last year have likely seen foreclosure signs hammered into their lawns during the past few months.

These wannabe millionaires waited too long to cash-in on the new century’s first nationally-syndicated Ponzi scheme, and now they’re left cashless, if not homeless.

The Don sympathizes with these unfortunate souls, who were no doubt hoodwinked by fast-talking mortgage brokers, dim-witted investment advisors, clued-out media types, and recently-canceled reality shows.

If sports gambling weren’t so loathed by the bible thumpers and bleeding hearts in Washington, The Don and his colleagues might have been able to steer some of these folks into a more honest type gambling that has less risk and better odds.

Well, maybe next time.

My guess is that the next big investment bubble will develop around green technology. Over the next few years we’ll see plenty of snake oil salesmen trying to steal investors’ money while touting harebrained machines that will save the world.

Had to stop at the 7-Eleven this morning to pick up the local news rag and fill up the Caddy.

It was not a pleasant experience.

The Caddy was running on empty and the low-gas indicator was lit up on the dash. So, The Don had to fill ‘er up. Poured almost 18 gallons of the sweet-smelling juice into the old boat.

When all was said and done, nearly 65 of The Don’s hard-earned dollars were sent to the Arabian desert. It was the most The Don has ever paid for a tank of gas.

There aren’t as many people coming to this here desert town these days, and no doubt the high cost of getting around is starting to have an effect.

A few weeks ago, there was an article in the local news rag about a possible high-speed train between Vegas and Southern California. According to the report, the train could travel 300 mph.

One of the first big casualties of the softening economy in Vegas could be the old Tropicana.

The owners of the decrepit 51-year-old hotel and casino filed for bankruptcy protection this week. The owners try to put a positive spin on the filing.

“I know the ‘B’ word sometimes scares a few people,” said John Sevilla, general manager of the Tropicana, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “This is really a good thing for us. We are doing this from a position of strength, and it will be business as usual.”

Unfortunately, Sevilla fails to realize that “business as usual” is part of the reason why the Trop is in trouble. The Don stayed at the Trop a few years back when The Strip was roaring. It was one of the few places where you actually get a room without having to book weeks in advance.

The Trop was once called the “Tiffany of the Strip”. At one time that nickname might have been a reference to its opulence; today it might as well be referring to the has-been pop star whose star faded years ago.

Only a few days before The Don returned to action, some major news broke in the online betting business - Bodog founder and Forbes billionaire Calvin Ayre announced he was calling it quits.

Ayre’s decision to throw in the towel came as a surprise to The Don. Love him or hate him, Ayre brought a colorful personality to the biz, a personality that was carefully contrived by a team of marketing slicksters in Vancouver.

Ayre’s extravagant parties at swank Vegas night clubs over-flowed with booze, hired babes, carnival freaks, retired sports superstars, stumbling SEO wizards, half-snapped handicappers and high rollers.

Using an assumed identity, The Don had the privilege of crashing a couple of Calvin’s parties. It was quite a surreal sight to see aging egomaniac Reggie Jackson mingling with madcap midgets and broads wearing paint for clothes.

Ayre made a point to sell himself as a party animal tycoon complete with private jets, mansions in Costa Rica and smokin’ hot models on either arm. The Don once visited that Bodog’s betting operations in San Jose. Calvin wasn’t there at the time, but I got a tour of the facility.

Is it just me, or is everyone sick and tired of the Democratic leadership race?

Up until a couple of weeks, before the Pennsylvania Primary, The Don and his 11-year-old son would hunker down every night in front of the big screen and flip back and forth between ball games and coverage of the historic political drama that was unfolding.

During the Tuesday primaries, I would wager with the kid on who would win the states that were up for grabs.

I got off to bad start taking Edwards to win Iowa. The young lad, however, swiped some of the old man’s cash when he took a longshot, Obama, to win the Hawkeye state.

Like kids across America, Don Jr. was inspired by Obama, a man whose message was unlike anything he had ever heard from one of our nation’s leaders.

Of course, the kid also thought it was pretty cool that Obama was an admitted roundball addict like himself.

It was an offer they couldn’t refuse.

On Tuesday, Liberty Media officially transferred ownership of Don Best Sports to Vancouver-based Big Stick Media.

The terms of the deal are a little too complex for The Don, a simple fella. So, those who wish to read about the details, can find them here.

The ownership change effectively ends the real-time odds war by bringing together the two most most respected line services in the biz – Don Best Sports and Linetracker.

The joining together of the two families will create a powerful force in the delivery if sports betting information.

And the biggest beneficiary will be sharp sports players, who will now get real-time odds information from all the top books online and in Mecca (a.k.a. Las Vegas).

Big Stick Media’s shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (BSM). Among the properties in BSM portfolio is JimFiest.com, a legendary name in American sports betting.

The Don is looking forward to working with the boys at Big Stick, who remind everyone on their website to “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”

They’re speaking The Don’s language.

Salut!

Ah, it’s nice to be back.

As some of you may know, I’ve been in exile the last few years, sipping umbrella-garnished drinks on the topless beaches and fancy golf courses of the Caribbean. I know, doesn’t sound too rough, but hey, after a while you start to miss steak dinners with the boys.

So, why am I back now?

Well, the bible-thumping oil thugs are coming to the end of their reign in DC and they’ve wracked up so much debt they’ve turned China into the world’s largest loanshark. The next knucklehead crazy enough to take the White House is going to be so starved for cash, she’ll be begging for the bookies and wiseguys to help her bail out the nation, which we’ll happy to oblige.

Of course, even when we finally get Big Brother Bush off our backs, it could take a while for the players to return to the tables. They’ve been fleeced so bad by an army of real estate grifters that the Florida swampland scams of the 60’s and 70’s look quaint by comparison.