Daily Archives: July 31, 2020

Those of us who grew up in the 1980s and 90s will remember our parents and grandparents looking on in puzzled bewilderment at the technology encompassed by a Commodore 64 or later a Sega Saturn. Today, these are museum pieces.

If there is one thing that can drive change even faster than evolving technology it is a competitive market. Spend a couple of minutes watching those late night TV ads, and you can see we certainly have that in the casino gaming sector. High competition and amazing technological advances mean this area of gaming is moving even faster than the rest. There are new online casinos appearing on the scene every week, and every one of them has to offer something a little different to the rest. Here are five areas that are evolving before our very eyes.

Live gaming is when the player interacts with a real dealer via webcam instead of just watching a computer generated deck of cards or roulette wheel on the screen. It makes for a more immersive experience and brings the atmosphere of a real casino into cyberspace, something that has become even more important in recent months for obvious reasons.

Depositing money safely into a casino account and being able to withdraw winnings quickly are two areas that can give the site a competitive edge. Choice is key here, as there are so many online payment platforms available. A vital area of development is in the area of cryptocurrency. Digital payment is the perfect fit for money gaming in a digital casino, and we should expect Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to be a standard option with most new casinos.

When products like the Oculus Rift hit the shelves a couple of years ago, it seemed that virtual reality had finally hit the mainstream. It has not quite taken off as expected, but VR is still one of the most exciting forms of gaming technology at the cutting edge. The casino environment is the perfect place for VR, thanks to the relative simplicity of, for example, a spinning wheel or a turning card.

When the Nevada Gaming Commission introduced new rules on skill-based games, it opened up a world of possibilities. Now, new casinos can offer games that go beyond the standard slots, card games and so on. From platform games to driving simulators, the sky is the limit, and all with real money payouts for the top performers.

For all that innovation, however, the classic games like blackjack and roulette are still the most popular. Expect new casinos to find ways to repackage these and offer new twists. We are already starting to see this in games like Lightning Roulette where a lightning strike on random numbers adds a route to extra bonuses.

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5 things to expect of new online casinos - Business MattersBusiness Matters

Umphreys McGee keyboardist Joel Cummins presented a 70-minute set livestreamed from his home for the Live From The Living Room series on Wednesday night. Cummins mixed UM originals with classical compositions, a jazz tune and covers of songs by Journey, Wilco and Elton John.

Joel kicked off the performance with a jam that led into Bachs Prelude In C Major #2. The pianist then played DeBussys Serenade For The Doll and jazz artist Lee Morgans Sidewinder. Cummins first vocal offering of the evening was Dont Let The Sun Go Down On Me, a song Elton John originally released on his 1974 studio album, Caribou.

Dont Let The Sun Go Down On Me led into Mamu, an Umphreys McGee original the band has only played three times since 2002. Joel then jammed UMs Wife Soup into the Wilco classic Sunken Treasure. From there, Cummins fit Roulette within Higgins before Hajimemashite bled into Journeys beloved Dont Stop Believin. The set came to a close with the end of UMs own All In Time.

Donations were split between Team Umphreys McGee and the National Civil Rights Museum. Watch Joels set below:

Set: Improv > Prelude In C Major #2, Serenade For The Doll, Sidewinder, Dont Let The Sun Go Down On Me > Mamu, Wife Soup > Sunken Treasure, Higgins > Roulette > Higgins, Hajimemashite > Dont Stop Believin > All In Time Coda

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Joel Cummins Covers Journey, Wilco & Elton John 'Live From The Living Room' - JamBase

(Reuters) - Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:

10,000 deaths in 11 days

U.S. deaths from the novel coronavirus were approaching 150,000 on Wednesday, the highest level in the world and up by 10,000 in 11 days, a Reuters tally showed.

This is the fastest increase in fatalities since the United States went from 100,000 cases to 110,000 cases in 11 days in early June.

Nationally, COVID-19 deaths have risen for three weeks in a row while the number of new cases week-on-week fell for the first time since June.

A spike in infections in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas this month has overwhelmed hospitals. The rise has forced states to make a U-turn on reopening economies that were restricted by lockdowns in March and April.

Wrangling resumes in Washington

Top Trump administration officials and Democratic congressional leaders will try on Wednesday to narrow their differences over a coronavirus aid bill, with no guarantees they can craft a compromise before some jobless benefits expire at the end of this week.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows were expected to resume negotiations with the two senior Democrats in Congress - House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

An hour-long meeting of the four broke up on Tuesday with no sign of progress.

Senate Republican leaders are pushing for around $1 trillion in new aid, on top of more than $3 trillion enacted since early this year. Democrats see a far greater need as they back $3 trillion in new spending.

'Quarantine roulette'

Heathrow Airport, once Europe's busiest, called on Britain to urgently back a passenger testing regime, warning that without one, the country's strict quarantine rules will stop travel, stall the economy and lead to more job losses.

Heathrow said that to avoid losing a game of global "quarantine roulette", the government should change its rules to cut quarantine from 14 days to around eight for passengers who take two tests over the course of a week.

The worst public health crisis since the 1918 influenza outbreak has wrought economic turmoil across the world and just as the travel industry restarted there are fears of a second wave of shutdowns after Britain hastily imposed a quarantine on travellers from Spain.

The cost of having a coronavirus test at the airport would be about 150 pounds ($195) per person and the passenger would be expected to pay.

Aged care home crisis in Australia

Australia has sent defence and emergency medical teams, usually deployed to disaster zones, to aged care homes in Melbourne to help contain the country's worst outbreak of the virus. There are 804 active COVID-19 cases linked to the homes, including workers, state premier Daniel Andrews said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison described as "very distressing" the situation in 13 care facilities in the state of Victoria, of which Melbourne is capital.

The outbreaks have largely been due to transmission from workers at the homes, many of whom might have been unaware they were carrying the virus. "When it rains, everyone gets wet. And that is what we're seeing with broad-based community transmission in Victoria," Morrison said.

Melbourne, Australia's second-most populous city, is in the midst of a reimposed lockdown that has stalled the reopening of businesses, forced other states to shut borders with Victoria and held off reopening travel with New Zealand.

Brink of large coronavirus outbreak

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam warned the city is on the brink of a large-scale outbreak and urged people to stay indoors as strict measures to curb the spread took effect on Wednesday.

The new regulations ban gatherings of more than two people, close dining in restaurants and make the wearing of face masks mandatory in public places, including outdoors. These are the toughest measures introduced in the city since the outbreak.

The government has also tightened testing and quarantine arrangements for sea and air crew members. The measures will be in place for at least seven days.

(Compiled by Linda Noakes and Karishma Singh; editing by Barbara Lewis)

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What You Need to Know About the Coronavirus Right Now - The New York Times

BetConstruct has enhanced its live casino offering after launching Hi-Lo, an adaptation of the once viral web game The Higher Lower.

Hi-Lo will give players the chance to predict whether the next card dealt by a dealer is of a higher, lower or equal value to the one lying face-up on the table.

To deliver fair gameplay and dynamic odds, BetConstruct will use the ShuffleStar Continuous Shuffler hardware system to create real-time non-stop shuffling action for all eight decks.

In addition to making a prediction on the card value, players will also be able to place a number of side bets which BetConstruct emphasised will liven up the game and add up revenue figures.

BetConstruct highlighted that the straightforward nature of the Hi-Lo game has a clear and major potential of attracting mass audiences, giving BetConstructs operators the opportunity to roll out the quick-to-play game for their players.

Earlier this month, Betconstruct rolled out its Swift Roulette title, introducing new rules for what it lauded as a fan-favourite game.

Swift Roulette combines eight different roulette tables in one view which allows players to choose their betting amount, or save their favourite bets, and play the game immediately without waiting for other players to join in. Once a player makes a bet, the payout is determined by the roulette game which is the first out of eight games to announce the winning result.

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BetConstruct strengthens live casino offering with Hi-Lo addition - Casino Beats

MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. -"Stolen" After Enochs sacrifice propelled them out of the time storm, the team arrives back in 1983 where Nathanial and Kora are hard at work building an army of hand-selected anarchist Inhumans at Afterlife. When the agents split up to cover more ground, Daisy is tasked with protecting Jiaying and is compelled to confront her mother for the first time since her death; while the others quickly learn theyll need to face yet another supercharged former enemy in order to stop Malick on "Marvels Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," airing WEDNESDAY, JULY 29 (10:0011:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. - (ABC/Jessica Brooks)THOMAS E. SULLIVAN

DearMarvels Agents of SHIELD, will we see Fitz in this weeks episode? Probably not? Lets get to it!

Nathaniel Malick is recruiting John Garrett. I was wondering how wed bring him back into the picture! Malick brings him to Afterlife and introduces him to Sibyl and the process of transferring Inhuman powers to normal humans.

Roxy actually made it into SHIELD! Shes been holding down the fort at the Lighthouse, ready to meet up with the rest of the team at the Triskelion (which exists ahead of schedule). Whats the plan of attack? They bring in Gordon and Jiaying and send Coulson and Gordon in to do some recon.

MARVELS AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. -Stolen After Enochs sacrifice propelled them out of the time storm, the team arrives back in 1983 where Nathanial and Kora are hard at work building an army of hand-selected anarchist Inhumans at Afterlife. When the agents split up to cover more ground, Daisy is tasked with protecting Jiaying and is compelled to confront her mother for the first time since her death; while the others quickly learn theyll need to face yet another supercharged former enemy in order to stop Malick on Marvels Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., airing WEDNESDAY, JULY 29 (10:0011:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (ABC/Jessica Brooks)FIN ARGUS, CLARK GREGG, HENRY SIMMONS

Too bad Jiaying shows up and drops the bomb about Daisys sister before May and Elena can warn her. Cora killing herself in the original timeline led Jiaying to leave Afterlife and do charity work, meet Calvin Zabo, have Daisy

Gordon and Coulson are discovered immediately because Malick has the time stream. Of course Garrett is going to get Gordons teleporting powers. This is going to go poorly. They come into the Lighthouse.

Sousa gives Daisy some insight on talking to her mom. The time streams are screwed anyway, so whats one conversation? Its a very heartfelt scene, one thatAgents of SHIELD is always stellar at. Telling Jiaying that theyre from the future fills in some blanks for Jiaying. Chloe Bennet steals the show.

Of course Malick ruins it by blowing Daisys cover and starting on a tangent about their future and everything Jiaying will put Daisy through. Theres a head-to-head with Daisy and Malick, but the shocking moment is when Malick snaps Jiayings neck and kills her.

They were afterSimmons! The twists keep coming! They steal her and the Zephyr (with Deke onboard).

MARVELS AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. -Stolen After Enochs sacrifice propelled them out of the time storm, the team arrives back in 1983 where Nathanial and Kora are hard at work building an army of hand-selected anarchist Inhumans at Afterlife. When the agents split up to cover more ground, Daisy is tasked with protecting Jiaying and is compelled to confront her mother for the first time since her death; while the others quickly learn theyll need to face yet another supercharged former enemy in order to stop Malick on Marvels Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., airing WEDNESDAY, JULY 29 (10:0011:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (ABC/Jessica Brooks)HENRY SIMMONS

Malick tells Simmons the one thing that stands in their way of succeeding in every single timeline: Fitz.

May kicking the crap out of Garrett was very satisfying. He was a fun villain of season one, thats for sure.

Clever. Digging up our greatest hits, Coulson says as he meets young Garrett. Touch, Coulson.

Kudos toAgents of SHIELD for using Bill Paxtons real-life son to portray young John Garrett. And a double kudos to theGuardians of the Galaxy Easter egg of Deke listening to an awesome mix on a tape player with orange headphones.

Simmons also has her breakdown moment. Daisy asks what she remembers before wiping her memories, recalling how she was inconsolable. Simmons breaks down to Deke, wondering if Fitz isnt dead and the time jumps were pre-programmed. Well, based on that post-credits stinger, we should be seeing him very soon.

Next weeksAgents of SHIELD looks like the team might fall for Cora wanting to become part of SHIELD. Or maybe she actually means it. Well have to find out.

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Marvels Agents of SHIELD season 7 episode 10 review: Inhuman roulette - Culturess