What I'm seeing is some of the lowest gas prices of many years, at least I have not seen it below what I paid for it last night after of the year 2000 anyway. $1.11a gallon.

Pictures of the pump 2 days ago.

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As far as the store shelves, as of this morning with two major retailers just about everything was back in stock and well stocked up with exception of about half of the paper goods isle and some specialty products like Lysol disinfectant and those sanitizing wipes in single service containers and a very few other select items were either very low or not in stock.  But I would say 90% of the store is back. I do not believe there was ever a problem with the supply chain, it was with the the trucking of it, the manpower and the labor including the packaging to deliver it and get it into the stores, which takes some time to do.

Pictures this morning of what was about the number one complaint from most everybody was the paper goods aisle.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

This morning the transaction was announced.

25 million dollars has to be to buy of the century in my opinion for this property on the boardwalk. Yes it was older and needs some renovation.   I know the property well but with a little bit of money, it can be a Premier Property once again on the boardwalk, when the business comes back. Never thought I'd see something sold for 25 million dollars with this kind of value.

https://www.hotelbusiness.com/twin-river-acquires-ballys-atlantic-city-other-resort-casinos/

I have written about baccarat tournaments in the past.  Everything since around the beginning of the removal of the big table bac (the 14 seat players 2 sided tables with the 3 dealers and the players dealing the shoe, etc.) has changed for the favor of the casino.  All of this started in the early 2000s and really picked up speed to curtail and change it all in favor of the casino probably around 2007 to 2010 or so. 

Attached is a claim against the Venetian in Las Vegas regarding one of their baccarat tournaments.  I will not comment of the validity of it or the plaintiffs merits cited within.  However, I will about the tournaments and how they have changed.  This all happened just prior to and along side of the entire comp/points awarding issue al changing for the casinos favor also, which was right around the same time and extending up to 2014/2015 or so. 

Back to tournaments.   Prior to what I mentioned above the way tournaments were handled were no-charge to the player.  Simply an invite status based upon their hosts and their play records, points.  There were no entrance fees and if there were, those would have been at some of the smaller casinos outside of the larger gaming jurisdictions. From the mid 80's, through the entire 90's and the early 2000's I never seen an entrance fee or anything of the likes of today with qualifying with points, etc., etc.  It was strictly an invite, upon arrival the player always was given a nice gift of some type, like Baccarat Crystal or other worthwhile items, a private buffet set-up in a near-by convention room just for the baccarat players with an absolute over-the-top assortment of foods.  The gift always having a value of $300.00 to the $600.00 range easily, if not greater. There also was never a required play demanded prior to the tournament itself.   

Most of the tournaments were a "Winner Take All", or if not that they were awarding the cash prizes to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.  Then after a while, probably the latter part of the 90's even into the early 2000s, instead of cash prizes came the awarding of promotional chips in place of the cash.  Still okay, not as good but decent.  Those promotion chips were usually lay until you lost the promo chip hands you were wagering.  Not one time use chips lke so many casinos have today.  Another change that enormously favors the casino.

IMO, this claim is right up to par with the Venetian and its Hosts/Marketing Department.  I went there many times when they first opened around 2000 up to 2005 or so.  Each time their Hosts became more and more skimpy with their comps as well as sitting down with the player after the visit and scrutinizing every aspect of his play, etc.  Compared to the other properties, a huge difference in comping RFB&I, etc.

The Overview of the Claim:

https://www.courthousenews.com/the-venetian-runs-a-crooked-game-baccarat-player-says/

The Court Filed Compliant:

http://files.courthousenews.com/2007/10/22/Markowiak.pdf

So many people, I am certain to say the clear majority of players, do not understand the game of baccarat and at the same time are unwilling to make trade offs regarding the actual presentments the shoe is producing. 

A blanket policy or schedule of pre-set wagering is detrimental to winning the majority of your hands.  The presentments of the bac shoe will never match what you desire or want it to produce, except on a rare occasion.

Once you gain an understanding of events, the numbers, the Sections of a shoe, and the numerous other items that are present throughout a typical bac shoe, you can win nicely with positive progressions never risking anything more than a flat bet unit.  You must recognize false positives to keep any winning going.  As well, you must have an absolute understanding as well as control of your emotions. And thus, that is where a good Money Management Method will be your best partner and your best chance.

Reality and Fallacies of Money Management Methods

M.M.M.'s are probably the most important thing a player must be conscious of during play, master the use of and consistently use throughout his sessions.  Without the use of a M.M.M. that suits the player, the player will only be guided by his desires, his emotions and the rest of the players and people present.  The latter will be a disaster to the player more than it helps him and that has been proven over and over again, countless times. 

M.M.M.'s must be pivotal.  Very important!  They must adjust to your play with the winning or losing you are experiencing, NOT DESIRING.  You will automatically adjust by adhering to the M.M.M.  And that is where most players go wrong with their M.M.M. or their understanding of one.

M.M.M. is procedure, not scheduling of what to wager.  Do not confuse it with Bet Selection.

M.M.M. will allow you the ability to keep winning while you set aside certain portions of those wins.

M.M.M. will allow you to cash out your wins without giving it all back and falling prey to the casino, when you lose a certain amount, if you follow a proper M.M.M.

"Nowadays, researchers can access a wealth of software packages that can readily analyse data and output the results of complex statistical tests. While these are powerful resources, they also open the door to people without a full statistical understanding to misunderstand some of the subtleties within a dataset and to draw wildly incorrect conclusions.

Here are a few common statistical fallacies and paradoxes and how they can lead to results that are counterintuitive and, in many cases, simply wrong."


https://getpocket.com/explore/item/paradoxes-of-probability-and-other-statistical-strangeness?utm_source=pocket-newtab

You can say it is not a problem or a concern, but it is a fact of what is happening in the highest majority of casinos where the losing customer is sought out by his/her instantly available 'credit line advance'.

"According to the PNP-AKG, Chinese nationals look for gamblers losing big in Manila casinos. Agents approach the target and offer to lend them casino chips in exchange for the individual signing a promissory note. The victim is often required to surrender their passport at this stage.

If the victim wins, the lender requires a 20-30 percent cut of the money. If the victim loses and cannot pay the loan, he is detained in a nearby hotel, where they're often beaten and tortured on camera, images then sent to his family."

"Lim, who was a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) employee, reportedly went to the casino with a friend to gamble last Monday. After losing much money, the Chinese suspects allegedly offered to lend him P500,000 worth of casino chips in exchange for 20 percent of his winnings.

The victim also lost that money and this led to his alleged kidnapping. The suspects reportedly told him to contact his family in Malaysia to pay his ransom."

"Once victims lose anew, they would be abducted and the syndicate will demand their relatives to pay a huge sum of money. The group would even go to the extent of filming the victims while being tortured to force their relatives to pay".


https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1095017

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/06/19/malaysian-rescued-3-chinese-arrested-in-another-casino-linked-kidnapping

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1825039

https://www.casino.org/news/mafia-also-clobbered-by-coronavirus-sports-cancelations-cops-say/

On-Line Gambling versus Practice Only, Same Website

My friend did a test over the past few weeks, to be exact the past 16 days he said.  He ran the same wagers for 64 sessions of 3 things:

1)   Practice on-line with Free Wager game only, without using the free chips;
2)   Practice on-line with Free Wager game with the free practice chips in play;
3)   Real money on the website game.

  #1 and #2 are different.  I already talked to several people about this and it sure took a lot of explaining!  Why?  I do not know why it was so hard to understand, but like most things people either do not want to believe or have reason to ignore, it makes it that much tougher for them to grasp.  But there is a huge difference.  Please understand. 

He used the exact same amount of wagers as well as the exact same units for each and every wager.  He varied his wagers at times, following patterns as well as the total opposite.  But, he always did the exact same thing, for the exact same amount of hands and in the exact same order.  He also clearly used series of alternating wagers.  Again, all wagers were the exact same for all three types as listed above and for every single shoe.  He wagered exactly 25 hands per shoe with four shoes of each type.  All three types were with the same website. 

He won a total of 390 units with Type #1
He won a total of 2,840 units with Type #2
He lost a total of 355 units with Type #3

Lets talk about #3 first.  I will not assume or claim that the website monitors any of its on-line wagers and rigs anything.  I would have to have him conduct at least 50 of these to get that assumption.  While I do not gamble on-line, I have talked with many people that have.  Some do win, while numerous people do loose.  Some of those that do loose, I know they are very conservative gamblers and very short session length players.  What they do on-line, I am not witness to.  I just know what they tell me.

Now #1 and #2.  I have done both on-line and at the same website my friend did the above test.  I have clearly noticed over the years, that I have been able to easily win on their practice Bac game.  I mean, without keeping stats myself, I would assume I win at least 75-80% easily of my practice sessions using the Type #2, with the free chips producing a running total, etc.  I have lost considerably lost more of the Type #1 games in comparison to the Type #2 games as well.  Again, I have never played for money on-line, so I cannot comment with any personal experiences regarding that.

I do know with the amount I have played at practice on the websites, I am pretty confident that they slant it towards the player/consumer, to entice him into playing for real money on their site.  I will not go so far as to say, that they cheat or rig their real money games in favor of the website/casino, but I am pretty sure that the ratios of the consumers win on the practice types without real money are higher than that of the real money Bac games. 

And after all, it would not be illegal by any means to rig a free game towards the consumer/player would it?  Be careful with the on-line stuff, even believing what you are calculating with their free games. 

Personally I would not use their free chips for those of them that offer an option to play betting free chips versus just running the hands and watching.  If you do the latter, just run the hands and watch and keep notes, you will see you might just win more when you do wager with their free chips, which would be completely contrary the reality of the game.

There are hundreds of them.  This press release will outline an overview.  The emails and the calls from the boiler rooms are in full effect without a doubt.  Just about every U.S.A.O. District has a task force formed and in place.  There has already been numerous indictments and arrests in reference to this.   

https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtx/pr/us-attorney-and-irs-criminal-investigation-warn-covid-19-economic-impact-payment-scams

Money, Money, Money. 

I can only imagine how brilliant these people thought they were.  Bet they were hip, had all the clothes and bling jewelery and everything else that they always wanted to buy.  LOL. 

"Fourteen men are charged in federal grand jury indictments with participating in a sophisticated bookmaking ring that used the Lucky Lady Casino and Card Room on El Cajon Boulevard as a legitimate front for the illicit operation."

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/fourteen-men-charged-illegal-gambling-operation-based-out-lucky-lady-casino-and-card

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/story/2019-04-05/federal-probe-against-card-room-closes

Cyber crime and the Lottery Scam.  Spelled out and detailed. 

I saw a documentary on American Greed and another news show the other week.  Personally I have never fell prey to any scam on the internet as far as buying or falling for something where direct money is rendered.  My only actual experience was having to completely bring down my business computer system due to clicking on an email that I assumed was from a major credit card company of mine and having malware installed on my computer and then finding out, that it was all false and thus, my education in malware, etc.   The only other thing I learned about the internet fraud field was in reference to purchasing things with a credit or debit card and how valuable it is to use a separate card for internet purchases so your high limit valuable cards cannot be compromised by hackers or small internet companies selling your information, etc.

I receive numerous emails as well as phone calls and texts each and every day regarding all the scams, the lower interest rates, the $500 or $1,000 dollar gifts from all the major credit cards-hotels and assorted other scammers pretending to be the national well known company.  As well as the insurance company, the free vacation specials, the IRS tax calls, and all the other creative threatening scams. The list is huge.  I delete each and everyone of them, each and every day.  As well, I compare all of them to most all the promises of 100% money making, multi thousand dollar per day gambling systems. 

But after watching those two TV new shows that were extremely well put together, I finally seen the inside to the whole lottery scam field and it is not a little thing by any means. If you have wondered anything about this lottery thing, read the following.  There are so many key points in its success and those are explained.   

Try and catch the TV show on American Greed, the trips to Jamaica mad by the show and the US Law Enforcement officials will show you the actual mansions the people putting on the scams were living in as well as other things that went along with all of it.  But like the gambler, greed got them and landed them in prison.  Just about the same as a casino gambler that starts to win and cannot control himself, greed will get you and control you just about every time.

https://news.vice.com/en_ca/article/595498/jamaica-lottery-deadly-scam-fbi

https://www.justice.gov/usao-nd/pr/jamaican-man-sentenced-prison-involvement-international-lottery-fraud-scheme

https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/minneapolis/news/press-releases/jamaican-dj-arrested-in-florida-in-connection-with-north-dakota-telemarketing-lottery-scam

The strong will survive (maybe), the weak will be tremendously hurt (with some permanent closures), everything's going to change and it'll be bare-bones operations for quite some time. Like it or not.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/las-vegas-strip-to-come-back-with-major-differences-analysts-say-2009472/amp/

I agree with and endorse everything said in this city council video made last night. We need to reopen the whole country, maybe some certain sections or some certain areas that have extremely high infection rates and fatality counts happening  but 90% of the country's geographic area needs to be reopened and there's no reason why it should not be.

Page down when you load the link, it's not at the top of the page it is down in the middle it's an 8 minute and 25 second video and you'll see it down the page.

https://www.newsweek.com/las-vegas-mayor-calls-shut-down-total-insanity-demands-nevada-governor-reopen-state-now-1498434

The ultimate Washington Insider.  Had all the connections in the world, messed up went to federal prison, got out and he's right back in Washington. He was a huge player for the Indians, for their Casino advantages and things that made them a lot of money and of course, he made tons and tons of money!

Abramoff's lobbying and the surrounding scandals and investigation are the subject of two 2010 films: the documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money, released in May 2010,  and the feature film Casino Jack, released on December 17, 2010, starring Kevin Spacey as Abramoff.

Arguably one of the world's most famous lobbyists and former Washington power players, Jack Abramoff's rollercoaster life story might as well be a major motion picture. In fact, it is. Already two major motion pictures based on Abramoff's story have hit the silver screen. Dubbed on the cover of Time Magazine as the "Man Who Bought Washington", Abramoff rose to become the nation's most successful and prominent lobbyist, before becoming enmeshed in the most harrowing political scandal since Watergate.

Having served 43 months in federal prison, Abramoff is out and ready to speak. Few know more than he about how Washington really works. Abramoff once labeled the dysfunctional and Byzantine system which has become our federal government as the 'favor factory'. None can better show why this factory needs to be shuttered, so good government and democracy can prevail.

Born in Atlantic City, raised in Beverly Hills, California, Abramoff was graduated from Brandeis University with a degree in English Literature and Opera. At Brandeis, Abramoff commenced his political career, heading the state-wide College Republican group and was credited with delivering Massachusetts to Ronald Reagan in 1980, the first time since Eisenhower that a Republican would win the Bay State. Abramoff was soon elected as the national chairman of the College Republicans and built that organization into the largest student political organization in the free world.

His next position foreshadowed his rise to national prominence, as he was chosen to head President Reagan's grassroots lobbying organization. In this role, Abramoff honed the lobbying skills he would later deploy to become the nation's top legislative advocate. Under his leadership the organization moved major Reagan administration initiatives through the Congress and sponsored the world's first convocation of anti-Soviet forces in the bush of Southern Africa.

As the Reagan era wound down, Abramoff moved from the world of politics to the world of cinema, becoming a motion picture producer, making action adventure films, including 'Red Scorpion'. His international experience in structuring motion picture finance made him a popular lecturer at Georgetown University Law Center, where he had been graduated in 1986; but the siren call of politics drew Abramoff back to his roots, and in 1994, he joined the lobbying division of the law firm headed by Bill Gates' father.  Abramoff set to work and, within a few years, built one of the nation's most prestigious and profitable lobbying practices. As Abramoff continued to build, his political base expanded and soon he found himself at the top of his profession.

When a corporation, Indian tribe, or foreign nation needed to win, they went to Team Abramoff, the eclectic hand-picked team of lobbying guns he assembled. Their clients rarely were defeated, and reaped billions of dollars of benefit.

Abramoff's arsenal included his Signatures restaurant, one of the Capital's finest, some of the best sports tickets in the nation, and an unlimited capacity to raise funds to fuel the political system which made his influence possible.

Abramoff had it all. And then it was gone. In an instant, his world collapsed and Abramoff fell into the abyss, eventually landing in federal prison, his name becoming synonymous with corruption and what's wrong with our government.

The fall from grace changed Jack Abramoff and woke him up. And now, Abramoff is determined to do all he can to rectify the wrong he did and to identify and help end the corruption of the system he so well played. His orations will not only serve as a cautionary tale, but as an historic platform for reform of the system.

Read and learn:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Abramoff

https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/12109-us-indicts-co-founder-of-onecoin-ponzi-scheme

Recently announced store closures on March 10th and a few in between then and now.  The closures currently taking place or most all of them by the end of the year.

Payless 2,500 stores
Gymboree 800 + stores
Charlotte Russe 594 stores
Shopko 70% by May, remaining by June, 120 stores
Marshalls 1061 stores
GAP 230 of its stores
H&M 160 stores this year
Starbucks 150 of its most under performing stores
The Children's Place 400 stores (at least)
Performance Bicycle 104 stores
Sears 89 stores
Vera Bradley 50 stores
Abercrombie & Fitch 40 stores
Christopher and Banks 30 to 40 stores
Victoria's Secret 53 stores
Chicos 250 stores
Lowe's 51 stores
Family Dollar 390 stores
JCPenney 27 stores
Z Gallerie Home Furniture 17 stores
Destination Maternity 42 to 67 stores
Things Remembered 250 stores
Ann Taylor, Dress Barn, Lane Bryant, Loft 667 stores
Winn-Dixie, Harvey's, Bi-Lo supermarkets 107 stores
Footlocker 165 stores
Macy's 8 stores
J.Crew 30 stores

So now on the Google main pages and I guess on the Yahoo and all the rest of them, whatever you got your computer or tablet or phone set to when you click on the news you see all these commercial advertisements inserted in between the actual news stories now.  Which is getting to be big money for those main pages of the internet providers. Now all of a sudden the gaming applications are popping up and they're going to have the major cities featured, where if it is Chicago, Chicago woman wins so and so, if it is New York or Miami and so and so in this city or state on large, etc.  However, it is actually only an advertisement that looks like a news story with the current date on it and it changes every day. They are all coming about especially because the lockdown and the C19 with the casinos being closed.

Copy and Pasted a sample below:


Woman Was Playing on This Free Slot Machine App, When All Of A Sudden She Won Big
by Dave FreemanApril, 2020

Using popular Caesars app, 32 year old Donna Martin won the progressive jackpot.
Smartphone Slots Go Viral! Legally!

Casinos are beside themselves over a free smartphone app that's allowing everyday people to win huge progressive jackpots. People like Donna Martin, who won the progressive jackpot after just a few spins, using free coins.

"I Downloaded the Caesars, and I won on something like my 25th spin. This is amazing, like a dream!"

Caesars is an Android and iPhone social casino app where you can play the best social casino slots and win big jackpots, for free!

**note: if the timer at the end of this story is still counting down, you are in if you download it in time. If it's not counting down, you can still get the app, but no free coins.

The cool part is, this is 100% legal. It's 2020, sports betting just became legal, and Social casino style slot games like Caesars are legal as well. It's a great time to be alive!

There's no subscription, deposits, or monthly fees. It's the ultimate social casino slot app, and with a chance at big progressive jackpots, you'd be silly to not at least give it a try, especially if you like slots.

Hit the progressive jackpot & play over 100 slot machines with Caesars!

FREE COINS ENABLED FOR ANOTHER 56 seconds
Download Caesars Now

Disclaimer: Caesars Is Not a Real Money App.

THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT AND NOT AN ACTUAL NEWS ARTICLE, This product is intended for use by those 21 or older for amusement purposes only. Practice or success at social casino gaming does not imply future success at real money gambling.

On the way to pick up a neighbor of mine that finished a shift at a public service sector job ending at midnight, it was 12:05 am when i snapped this picture.  This is a major commercial section in a good sized city. I have never witnessed this road empty of vehicles as far as one can see, even at 3 or 4 am.

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The absolute reality of opening casinos and the possibility of what can and cannot happen.

https://news3lv.com/amp/news/local/what-does-a-gaming-reopen-look-like-in-las-vegas

The Lucky Dragon, a failed Chinese venture on the Las Vegas Strip Revisited.

Now do not forget, it is a stones throw from that long long long time eye-sore, long-term failed after failed project now looks to be reopening under the name of Resort World and  opening was for 2021, but of course we had the new Las Vegas problem that coincides with C19.

Of course the Lucky Dragon was doomed from the start, that is the way they catered only to the Asians and left out the predominant amount of people in Las Vegas  that gambles and spends money.  They should have made it the reverse way around but they did not do it.

I am also wondering why would all those investors, with all that kind of money want to leave China and get permanent residency in the United States, if China was such a great country?  Does not make sense but that is not the point of this video.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=hCktIJAYwGI

Great article with factual reality.  Not many will like.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/04/09/why-re-open-the-las-vegas-strip.aspx

Seriously!  F#@$ing seriously!  I walked into the restaurant this morning, H-Money slept in my office on his homemade couch pull out, he brought his own blankets and pillows LOL.  He's been here for a few days and he made me breakfast. I walked over from my house. MSNBC news was on and he's listening to some politician talking about this C19 event is mostly caused by climate change and lack of green fields. And the politician that was on, is nearby my state and I know who the politician's spouse is.  Here is the punch line,  the politicians spouse is involved with an environmental company so it doesn't get any better than that!!!!

Seriously doesn't get any better than that.   I'll drop it, just wanted to express that while I'm waiting on my fresh cup of coffee here from my waiter H-Money, 

Gambling in the great chinese territory of #1 revenue producing Macau.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimdobson/2020/03/22/las-vegas-is-closed-but-casinos-in-macau-china-have-reopened-pandemic-wary-gamblers-are-now-offered-cash-cards-to-show-up/#2f1f1dd25cfa

I highly recommend the following links.  Take a trip without leaving your your living room, the confines of your home or wherever you're lockdown at!

Get a cup of coffee or a beer, whatever floats your boat and remove yourself from the confines.

https://artsandculture.withgoogle.com/en-us/national-parks-service/parks

Started October 2011.

A few years old, but people that make deals to get money for a high-stakes gambling and then it blows up in their face, do get prosecuted. Here's one article I came across:

https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/bad-check-triggers-five-felony-counts-for-man/