High Times Looks to Open Establishment for "High" Rollers

What does the term “high roller” mean to you? To me it means someone who has been fortunate enough to either have enough money already or someone who wins enough money to play the nosebleed stakes. We all know, however, that there is another meaning of the word “high”. And I do not mean high like an aeroplane. Or do I?

High Times is not an obscure niche website but a high traffic community that has over four million unique visitors every month and is completely associated with the news and usages of Marijuana. Recent management changes at High Times have resulted in a change of emphasis for the company which has seen plans put into place to shift the brand from a top shelf entity known only to its core users to a major lifestyle brand.

Their magazine “High Times” has been in print for 40 years and offers everything from anecdotes submitted by their readers to serious political features about lobbying to legalize Marijuana. High Times have launched a new website which is very professional looking and obviously cost a few bucks to make. Currently in its BETA stage, the website is split into sections such as “Grow”, where information about how to grow your own Marijuana (which is illegal in many countries) can be accessed, and “Edible”, which gives recipe ideas to help you add Marijuana to your food. There is also the more standard news section which is updated on a daily basis.

This is all quite an educational for me as my only experience with drugs are the legal ones I get prescribed from my Doctor. I suddenly feel like a bit of a bore.

Medical Marijuana usage has been a political football for years and recently actress Whoopi Goldberg launched a range of marijuana-infused products designed to assist women who suffer from pain and cramps during menstruation. Legal marijuana is huge business and in May 2016, The Tax Foundation in America said that:

For cash-strapped governments around the world, this type of income from legalized marijuana is (brace yourself) not to be sniffed at *zing*. OK, so marijuana isn’t technically sniffed, but you get the joke.

But what has this got to do with poker? Well, High Times are ambitious and they are looking at different ways that they can dramatically expand their business. One of their more ambitious plans is to move into nightlife and offer clubs and casino services. The company's partners have secured a gaming license and a cabaret license, even acquiring permission for dispensary premises just off the Las Vegas strip. This could eventually pave the way for a future High Times Hotel and Casino, which would really be quite an addition to the already colorful strip, but this is some way off at present.

High Times will have to overcome a number of difficulties to bring these ambitious plans to fruition. Anyone who has ever dealt with planning knows about the endless bureaucracy, and the red tape associated with local government and this is before you add the political uncertainty that would arise from High Time’s open links to drug use. They can also expect opposition from other properties who may object to their plans due to a High Times property likely to attract customer support from the many marijuana users out there.

The politicians of Nevada will be keen to control the image of the city and they will be unsure about implicitly promoting recreational drug use, which, by approving the plans to build a High Times Hotel, they would be facilitating.

Drug use is commonplace in poker and there have been suggestions that drug tests should be used at poker tournaments. It is unclear whether Las Vegas, the original sin city, might see the sins of High Times as a step too far in what are now changing times. You cannot deny, however, that a High Times Hotel and Casino property would have no better a home than in the bright lights of Las Vegas.

As we speculate on the potential for such a property in Vegas, our minds wander to what the reality of the property would look like. The potential of not being able to access the club unless you have failed a drugs test, or passed it, however you look at it, how everyone would be completely chilled out no matter how big the pot gets, no pun intended, and the prospect of it being the only place in the world where you get high as soon as you walk through the door.

This could only happen in Vegas and we at PokerTube will keep you updated on this quirky and interesting story as it continues to develop.