36 Casino Gambling Tips: Ivey's Baccarat Edge Sorting Case with Crockfords

REBLOG> 36 Casino Gambling Tips: Ivey's Baccarat Edge Sorting Case with Crockfords:
SavySeph's Original Blog

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Professional Gambler's Tips

Three Tips from a Professional Gambler is base on quotes taken from Ivey versus Crockfords. Phil Ivey sued London casino Crockfords Club for denying him £7.7m which he won in 20-21 August 2012. The casino withheld the money on the grounds that Ivey cheated.

Edge Sorting

Ivey used a system known as edge sorting to win the money at the baccarat table. The casino claims that this method is not a legitimate strategy because it defeats the premise of the game to nullify the gaming contract.

Kelly Cheung

Cheung Yin Sun (Kelly) assisted Ivey to edge sort the cards by asking the dealer to turn the key cards for baccarat upside-down. The casino referred to Cheung as the unidentified woman.

Casino's Case Unsustainable

Justice Mitting was impressed by that professional conduct Ivey maintains that he said the casino's case was "plainly unsustainable". The case is still on going. At this juncture the case points favorably to Ivey.

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My Comments

There will be a trail today at 10:00 London Time.

Jack of All Trades: Non-smoking Policy Chokes Macau's Casino

REBLOG> Jack of All Trades: Non-smoking Policy Chokes Macau's Casino:
Jack Omnitrade's Original Blog

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Smoking Complements Gambling

The Ravel Casino in Atlantic City did not believe that smoking is a complimentary product for gambling. Macau is following this footstep to put this consumer preference to test. Market Watch warns investors in their 3 Oct 2014 report that strict curbs on smoking laid out in a recent statement by Macau's government information bureau will have a negative impact on share prices for casinos in Macau.

No Smoking Ruling

This recent announcement would completely ban all smoking in "mass areas," although some VIP lounges will still allow it. According to Barclays Research's latest forecasts the smoking rules are stricter than most economists had expected. Barclay initially interpreted the ruling to allow smoking at partitioned premium mass areas on the mass floor. "While previously we had expected just a low-to-mid-single-digit percentage impact to overall gross gaming revenue from the smoking ban (if premium mass areas can still smoke), we would now expect a higher mid-to-high-single-digit impact to overall Gross Gaming Revenue if smoking is not allowed in all premium mass areas as well," the firm said.

The Ravel Story

The Revel Casino opened in April 2012 and had struggled since it started operations. It started out by trying to achieve its niche market by branding itself as an upmarket resort-class casino. This posh concept of no smoking, expensive food and drinks did not appeal to the typical gambling crowd of Atlantic City. The $2.4 billion resort suffered badly from poor patronage. After operating for 10 months, it incurred a debt of $1.5 billion. It filed for bankruptcy on March 2013. In May 2013 the casino got out of bankruptcy by clearing $1.2 billion of debt in exchange for an 82% equity to its lenders. It is unfortunate that Macau had not learned from Ravel.

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My Comments

Going against well establish consumer studies is suicidal.

Light and Easy Talk: Casino Regulators Ruled Unshuffled Cards in Mini-baccarat

REBLOG> Light and Easy Talk: Casino Regulators Ruled Unshuffled Cards in Mini-baccarat...:
Veronica Glowsome's Original Blog

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Golden Nugget Casino

An unshuffled card game for mini-baccarat at the Golden Nugget Atlantic City on 30 April 2012 was ruled illegal under state casino rules because the cards had been unshuffled. Superior Court judge James Isman had vindicated the Golden Nugget in his ruling on 14 June 2014. It should be noted that the New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement fined the Golden Nugget for the unshuffled cards.

The Incident

Gamblers capitalized on it by increasing their bets from $10 to $5,000 per hand after seeing the same sequence of cards being dealt over and over again. Gamblers rode on a forty-one consecutive winning streak on this day. They were surrounded by casino security that was eager to find evidence to show that they were cheating. The security personnel was unable to spot the unshuffled cards because they were all focused on the wrong thing.

New Jersey’s Consistency

The New Jersey casino regulators recently ruled that the game in which gamblers won $1.5 million did not violate any rules or laws, the Associated Press reported on 24 Sep 2014. The consistency with the New Jersey casino regulators and the Division of Gaming Enforcement should be applauded.

Timely Ruling

The call by the New Jersey case had been timely as the case had been reinstated the CBS Philly reported on 4 Sep 2014. Isman recently retired and a different judge granted a motion to reconsider the decision. Judge Allen Littlefield said that the gamblers can continue the discovery process and argue their case at trial this fall.

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My Comments

We need judges like Littlefield to stand for justice.

Time Is a Thief: The Disappearing Thief of Las Vegas

REBLOG> Time Is a Thief: The Disappearing Thief of Las Vegas:
Amenda Steels' Original Blog

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Unsolved Crime

Gambling Tales had a good collection of gambling stories. All the tales - such as, gambling addiction, violence in the casino, crimes against gambling outlets - were not mysterious. They were reported cases in which lawbreakers were brought to justice. This story about stealing from the casino published by 8 News Now on 27 Sep 2014 had an uncanny twist. It took place at the Stardust Hotel and Casino 22 years ago and the whereabouts of the thief remains unknown today.

Bill Brennan

The thief was an staff of the casino named Bill Brennan. He worked for the casino as a sports book cashier. After being on the job for four years he decided it was time to leave. On Sep 22, 1992 Brennan simply walked away with $507,361 in cash and chips in the morning. He did not use force or violence. “It appears he left the casino without being filmed by the surveillance cameras,” Metro Police Lt. Joe Greenwood said in an interview in 1992.

Brennan’s Character

Race and sports writer for "Gaming Today," Richard Saber said, “He was basically a total complete loner. He lived alone with his cat.” Saber was former sports book manager at the Stardust when Brennan worked there. Judy Pope, manager of Brennan’s apartment said during a 1992 interview that he was “just a nice kid, that’s all.” When police got to the apartment, Brennan and his cat was long gone. “They never found a trace of Bill Brennan anywhere. Never a trace,” Saber said.

Bad Company

Being found with bad company could be the reason this “nice kid” undergone a change of character. Brennan was known to be hanging out with a big bettor. “This was a bettor that we didn’t trust. He was a shady character. He disappeared from the face of the earth too just a few months after Bill had gone,” Saber said. Scotty Schettler, who hired Brennan during the boom years, said, “He got influenced by outside sources, and his attitude changed, and he wanted desperately to be a supervisor, but with his change in attitude, I couldn’t put him in charge of all that money.”

Tracking Brennan

Being on the FBI’s most wanted fugitive list never turned up leads. Authorities said they never saw any sign of Brennan show up in his native Pennsylvania. Metro Police Sgt. John Sheahan said if new leads come in this cold case could be reopened. Perhaps after 22 years someone knows something and Crime Stoppers is taking tips. “Nowadays, we’re able to track someone with their cell phone down to within feet of where they’re standing,” Sheahan said.

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My Comments

He steals all the money but he can't spend it lavishly or he will risk detection.

Pest in Midst: Mosquito Virus That Walloped Caribbean Spreads to USA

REBLOG> Pest in Midst: Mosquito Virus That Walloped Caribbean Spreads USA:
XingCai's Original Blog

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Chikunganya Virus

After infecting hundreds of thousands of people in the Caribbean and Central America, Chikungunya had spread to the United States. Like Dengue fever, the Chikungunya virus is carried by the aedes mosquito. The initial symptoms is an acute fever phase for the duration of two to five days. The next stage is a longer period of debilitating joint pain. This pain may last for years in some cases. Chikungunya is an African word meaning "to become contorted". The illness was first identified in Tanzania in 1952.

American Threat

Bloomberg reported on 1 Oct 2014 that 11 cases have been confirmed as originating in Florida. Medical and environmental experts were concern that this may be the beginning of the type of explosive growth as the disease has no vaccine or cure. They are debating methods to contain the outbreak before it takes off. The disease is not known to fatal but more than 100 people have died in the Western Hemisphere since December, according to the Pan American Health Organization.

Outbreak Statistics

According to Walter Tabachnick, the director of the Florida Medical Entymology Laboratory, it could infect 10,000 people in that Florida alone. His estimate is based on the exponential growth of other outbreaks. According to the Pan American Health Organization more than 700,000 people were suspected of being infected with the virus in South America, Central America and the Caribbean in since it appeared. "Ten thousand cases would be a disaster in the terms of, these are people that are sick enough that they’re reporting to their doctors in the hospital," Tabachnick said by telephone. "So even our medical facilities could be overwhelmed."

Divided Opinions

"In a way it's surprising it hasn't been here yet," said Scott Weaver, a professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Weaver expected the small focal outbreak. Other medical experts suggest that any outbreak will lessen during the Florida winter when mosquitoes disappear. Durland Fish believe that disease spread through the Caribbean and Central America because many countries in that region partly due to lack the financial resources or sophisticated mosquito killing systems. However, he warned that even with money and insect-killing expertise, Chikungunya may be hard to contain. Fish is, a professor of epidemiology at Yale University who studied Chikungunya's spread on the Caribbean island of Dominica.

Prevention Techniques.

Since there is no cure for this disease, prevention is the only method to combat it. The best means of prevention is overall mosquito control. Standing water containers are the known breeding ground for these mosquitoes. Water buckets at yards or clogged gutters are conducive for the mosquitoes to lay eggs. No specific treatment is known. Rest and fluids may also be useful. Treatment includes hydration, rest and medicine that reduces fever or pain such ibuprofen or acetaminophen.

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My Comments

Mosquitoes containment is not easy. I wont count on winter lessening the effect as Florida winter is not that cold.

States Use Gambling to Save Economy

Gambling Addiction

Policymakers in USA is starting to see gambling as a panacea to be the cure for all economic ills but gambling addiction it the ugly side of the coin. USA Today is in the view that gambling states are addicted to easy money in its report dated 25 Sep 2014. The Editorial Board cited New Jersey are the prime example of the worst offenders in the world of gambling. "They are both addicts and pushers. They throw temper tantrums and upset settled policy when their fix of gambling revenue runs low."

Save the Economy

New Jersey began offering online gambling last year to bring in more tax revenue as Atlantic City casino revenue took a sharp dive. Since the revenue from the online gambling was not much of a help, the state will come up with more gambling products. Governor Chris Christie has given the green light for casinos and racetracks to offer sports betting. A federal judge will hear Christie's argument on Oct 6 as a 1992 federal law banned the practice in all but four states where it previously existed.

Gambling Expanded Widely

The good days are gone. Christie can't expect gambling to be the savior. New Jersey is no longer the gambling mecca of the East Coast. Adjoining states - Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware - have all opened casinos recently. As of 2012, America had 513 state-licensed casinos, plus 466 on tribal lands. With more players, it is obviously going to be less share for the same pie.

Gambling Destroys Lives

There is a deadly social cost for gambling. Compulsive gambling habits from 1% to 2% of gamblers are known to destroy lives. People lose their jobs, families and self-confidence due to heavy losses. A study done by Baylor University in 2011 estimated the cost of gambling ill at $9,393 per compulsive gambler per year. The state should explore alternatives instead of always relying on gambling to bail them out.

Anything Under the Sun: China Corruption Blitz Hits Macau Junkets

REBLOG> Anything Under the Sun: China Corruption Blitz Hits Macau Junkets:
SavySeph's Original Blog

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Laundering Money

Rotten gamblers, especially the whale bettors, could be mistaken for money laundering. This may be the assumption of Chinese President, Xi Jinpin. His crackdown on corrupt officials and tycoons is starting to drain China. This almost 2 years blitz had caused the sale of luxury good to dwindle and the VIP rooms at Macau casinos to slow down. It had driven rotten gamblers to other gambling destinations. This is like sending away the goose that laid the golden egg to your fellow neighbors. The claim of coming by a windfall from the casino is not that easy to justify with the generous amount of surveillance camera covering the casino. Coming up with the bankroll to make the amass the extraordinary win would be a great question mark.

Macau's Casino Junket Squeeze

The prolonged crackdown is now starting to squeeze the junkets in Macau. As the Chinese economy dragged its feet, the whale gamblers shy away. In Macau, whale gamblers will punt HK$1 million without second thoughts. Junkets who lend them money and settle their debts are not longer as flexible as debt recovery is not as easy. Authorities are digging junkets for information on Junkets are had left the industry. Chinese officials suspected of corruption who may be laundering money through Macau. The pressure is too much that, "I can't sleep at night. There are just too many problems," said one 54-year-old junket operator who didn't want to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. "I'm not optimistic for the future of the VIP junket industry here." Of Macau's 220 licensed junket firms, at least 15 have shut up shop in the big casinos this year the Reuters reported on 24 Sep 2014.

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My Comments

China's determination is great cause for concern for Macau's gambling industry.