Monthly Archives: February 2021

Look who is hearting the Koo app as Twitter eats its heart out – The Times of India Blog

Posted: February 18, 2021 at 2:44 pm

Will you be my Valentine, Modiji? Waise toh I will be hearting every post that features you. Valentines Day makes most of us mushy. Thank God your government has not banned itremember that clumsy attempt by some out-of-work local politician in Maharashtra who tried and failed a few years ago? You are far more progressive and romantic by nature, Modiji we have all seen and admired your kinder, gentler side. We also wiped a tear when we watched you cry for your friend Ghulam Nabi Azad in Parliament this week. Pyaar-vyaar always triumphs over nafrat. Thats what these Twitter bosses have to realise. We in India are very emotional people. But when someone upsets us, we hit back hard hai, na? See how quickly Twitter fell into line, kissed and made up? It was like a lovers quarrel that was amicably patched up. Most issues in life can be amicably settled as Lataji and Sachinji and Akshayji tweeted. Amicable is a good word, and your PR people made wonderful use of it during that faltu controversy with some Barbadian entertainer whose name hardly anyone in India knows. Big big international companies and personalities are scared of India that much is certain. Look at Twitter! Quietly agreeing to pull down accounts of trouble-makers identified by your administration. Darr gaye! These firangi companies only understand tough talk and you, sir, excel at it!

Aur phir, you quickly came up with a challenge round also! What an idea, sirji Koo is a coup! No doubt about it. I am also thinking of joining Koo and chirping away. If Piyush Goyal, Ravi Shankar Prasad and other mahaan folks can abandon Twitter and start new handles on Koo, so should all other hyper-loyal patriots. Lets show those Twitter-wallas hum kisi se kam nahi! More than a million active users within days on Koo though I am still not sure how it sounds if you say, Did you Koo this morning? Or, Hey, my Koo went viral, My Koo was taken down just now, I just Koo-ed. I dunno. It sounds a little errrm obscene?

Koo needs a little getting used to. Fans of Koo (launched in March last year) insist it has a nice ring to it. My generation associates Koo with a certain Koo Stark, who shot to fame as Prince Andrews girlfriend. Randy Andy, as the tabloids dubbed him, had presented the luscious Koo (allegedly an adult films performer) a message tee shirt that read, Here comes trouble. Ummm Im not saying anything, baba

Well in the current face off, it looks like Twitter blinked, blocking 97% of handles on the government list, with due process being followed for the rest. This is a climbdown that was unexpected and inevitable given how the screws were being tightened. IT Secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney met with Twitters Monique Meche and Jim Baker to amicably sort out the tricky issue before it escalated. Inflammatory content has been blocked for now. Lets be honest Twitter cant afford to be shut out of Indias vast market.

BJP leader Vinit Goenka had filed a petition last May asking for a mechanism to check fake news, stating that there were hundreds of fake Twitter handles and Facebook accounts in the name of famous people. Well, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde has issued notices on the matter. Mission Social Media Regulation is under way.

The implications are vast, complex and innumerable. Social media is the hungriest monster known to mankind. Insatiable too. I tweet, therefore I am is the new Descartes. If eminent people are not on some platform or other, they do not exist. Staying relevant on chosen platforms is not as easy as it looks. Twitter is ganja. Dope. Coke. Morphine. Addicts plead utter helplessness when it comes to staying away. Withdrawal symptoms start kicking in within twenty-four hours.

Twitter is intrusive, potentially dangerous and also horribly irresistible.

Tame this beast and another beast will promptly raise its ugly head! Fake news, fake accounts, fake profiles hey welcome to the Republic of Fake. Everything is kinda fake out there, anyway people, politics, policies. Choose the fake that suits you and get on with life. Go ahead and block 1,398 handles buy time, buy peace. Chances are 10,000 more will come up. Jaaney bhi do yaaron tweet and be damned. Tweet and face the consequences. Tweet and hit the headlines.

So, how about billing and Koo-ing on Valentines Day, guys? Eat your heart out, Twitter!

Views expressed above are the author's own.

END OF ARTICLE

The rest is here:
Look who is hearting the Koo app as Twitter eats its heart out - The Times of India Blog

Posted in Politically Incorrect | Comments Off on Look who is hearting the Koo app as Twitter eats its heart out – The Times of India Blog

Liberal democracy will be the biggest casualty of this pandemic – Telegraph.co.uk

Posted: at 2:44 pm

The biggest casualty of the lockdown will not be the closed pubs, restaurants and shops and the crippled airlines. It will not be our once-thriving musical, theatrical and sporting culture. It will not even be the wreckage of our economy. These are terrible things to behold. But the biggest casualty of all will be liberal democracy.

Liberal democracy is a remarkable but fragile achievement. It is an attempt to meet the challenge of making governments answerable to the people, while protecting personal freedom. This is hard to do. People crave security and look to the state to provide it. To do this, the state needs extensive powers over its citizens. This is why, in democracies across the world, the power of the state has continually increased. It is also why liberal democracy is the exception rather than the rule. Democracies are easily subverted and often fail.

What makes us a free society is that, although the state has vast powers, there are conventional limits on what it can do with them. The limits are conventional because they do not depend on our laws but on our attitudes. There are islands of human life which are our own, a personal space into which the state should not intrude without some altogether exceptional justification.

Liberal democracy breaks down when frightened majorities demand mass coercion of their fellow citizens, and call for our personal spaces to be invaded. These demands are invariably based on what people conceive to be the public good. They all assert that despotism is in the public interest.

The problem is perfectly encapsulated in a recent interview with Professor Neil Ferguson, whose projections were used to justify the first lockdown last March. Before that, as Prof Ferguson related in that interview, Sage had concluded that the Chinese lockdown had worked but was out of the question in Europe. Its a communist, one-party state, we said. We couldnt get away with it in Europe, we thought. And then Italy did it. And we realised we could If China had not done it, the year would have been very different.

China is not a liberal democracy. It is a totalitarian state. It treats human beings as so many tools of state policy. There is no personal space which the state cannot invade at will. Liberal democracies have good reasons of political morality for not wishing to be like China. Considering this issue only in terms of whether lockdowns are effective against pandemics, and whether governments can "get away with it", serves to reduce liberty from a major principle to a mere question of expediency.

We have to assume, since the Government took his advice, that ministers agreed with Prof Ferguson. Certainly that was the position of the senior minister who recently told me that liberal democracy was an unsuitable model for dealing with a pandemic. Something more Napoleonic was needed, said he.

Many people believe that it is OK to be like China for a time, because when the crisis ends we can go back to being like Britain again. These people are making a serious mistake. We cannot switch in and out of totalitarianism at will. Because a free society is a question of attitude, it is dead once the attitude changes.

A society in which oppressive control of every detail of our lives is unthinkable except when it is thought to be a good idea, is not free. It is not free while the controls are in place. And it is not free after they are lifted, because the new attitude will allow the same thing to happen again whenever there is enough public support.

Covid-19 is not unique. There will be other epidemics. Some will be worse. Other issues will pose similar dilemmas, from terrorism and climate change at one extreme to obesity and censorship of politically incorrect opinion at the other. A threshold has now been crossed. A big taboo has gone. Other governments will say that the only question that matters is whether it works and whether they can get away with it. In a world ruled by the empire of fear, the answer will usually be yes.

We already have a striking example. The vaccine, which was supposed to make the lockdown unnecessary, has become a reason for keeping it in force. Because there is now an exit route, we are told that it doesnt matter how far away it is.

Infections, hospitalisations and deaths are plunging, but millions who are at virtually no risk are being kept in house imprisonment. This is being done mainly because a selective regime of controls would be too difficult for the state to enforce. Coercion quickly becomes an object in itself.

Liberty is not an absolute value but it is a critically important one. Of all freedoms, the freedom to interact with other human beings is perhaps the most valuable. It is a basic human need, the essential condition of human happiness and creativity.

I do not doubt that there are extreme situations in which oppressive controls over our daily lives may be necessary and justified: an imminent threat of invasion, for example, or a violent general insurrection. Some health crises may qualify, such as a major epidemic of smallpox (case mortality about 30 per cent) or Ebola (about 50 per cent).

Covid-19 is serious, but it is not in that category or even close. It is well within the range of perils which we have always had to live with, and always will. According to government figures, more than 99 per cent of people who get Covid survive. The great majority will not even get seriously ill. The average age at which people die of Covid-19 is 82, which is close to the average age at which people die anyway.

The Prime Minister claims to believe in liberty and to find the current measures distasteful. Actions speak louder than words, and I am afraid that I do not believe him. He is too much of a populist to go against public sentiment. He lacks the moral and political stature to lead opinion rather than follow it.

I hope that I am wrong about this. But we shall soon know. In the next week Boris Johnson has an opportunity to show that he has some principles after all.

See original here:
Liberal democracy will be the biggest casualty of this pandemic - Telegraph.co.uk

Posted in Politically Incorrect | Comments Off on Liberal democracy will be the biggest casualty of this pandemic – Telegraph.co.uk

Disney’s newest platform gives people access to hidden places in Disney World and Disneyland – SFGate

Posted: at 2:44 pm

When someone told Disneyland Editor Julie Tremaine the official Disney Parks TikTok was worth checking out, she was skeptical. But, she caught a glimpse of something she'd been dreaming about for years: the secret suite inside Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World.

Access like this to the suite hasnt been available before this. Its very rarely accessible to the public save for a handful of invitation-only tours there are rumors Disney has turned down upwards of $40,000 for just one night in the room

The video convinced her that unlike the corporate and polished Disney content on other platforms, the Disney Parks TikTok is doing something very different.

More:

Disneyland finally reopens huge, long-empty Rainforest Cafe as Star Wars store. The over-the-top jungle is a natural fit for the space. Read more.

Disney drops trailer for live-action Cruella film starring Emma Stone. The film is set to release May 28. Read more.

'Wizard of Oz' remake planned with 'Watchmen' director. New Line said it will be a fresh take and a reimagining of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Read more.

Disneyland recalls 1,400 employees as dining and events return to California Adventure. In March, the park will offer an all new, limited-time ticketed experience focusing on food and wine. Read more.

'So inappropriate': This Calif. man is calling out some of Disney's politically incorrect videos. Jack Plotnick is editing himself into old Disney videos from the 1960s and adding commentary, akin to Mystery Science Theatre 3000. Read more.

Dispatches from Disneyland is curated by Jasmine Garnett and Disneyland editor Julie Tremaine. Contact Garnett atJasmine.Garnett@sfgate.comor Tremaine atJulie.Tremaine@sfgate.com.

See the original post here:
Disney's newest platform gives people access to hidden places in Disney World and Disneyland - SFGate

Posted in Politically Incorrect | Comments Off on Disney’s newest platform gives people access to hidden places in Disney World and Disneyland – SFGate

How to Win at Blackjack – Best Blackjack Strategies and Tips – BestUSCasinos.org

Posted: at 2:41 pm

Most gamblers and casino players spend their entire life looking for a way to win when the answer is right in front of them. Blackjack is one of the best choices for gamblers who are willing to do what it takes to win.

Learning how to be a winning blackjack player is 100% possible. This makes it special in comparison to other casino games because most of them cant be beaten.

In this article, youre going to learn step by step how you can be a winning blackjack player. Be prepared for hard work, but you can do it.

Playing winning blackjack requires doing many things correct, but one thing is more important than anything else. To be a winning blackjack player, you have to play every hand the right way.

The number of possible hands you can have and the card the dealer shows is limited. It might seem like there are 1,000s of combinations, but in truth, there are only a few dozen. This is because theres no difference between having a ten, jack, queen, or king in your hand.

Also, theres no difference between a 5 and 7, a 4 and 8, a 3 and 9, or a 2 and 10 through king. All of these hands form a hard 12, so they all need to be played the same way.

The correct way to play is a mathematical equation. Each total you have with the card that the dealer is showing has one way to play that has the highest rate of return. If you dont play each hand this way, youre not winning as much as you can.

You dont have to worry about running the math on each hand, but you do have to make sure you know what the math says. You can learn what the best play is for each blackjack hand when you use a strategy card.

Now you know the importance of playing every blackjack hand the right way and how to do it, the next step is learning how to use the rules at the table to your advantage. Every blackjack rule does one of two things. The rules either help you win more or make you lose more.

One blackjack rule stands above the rest. If you make a mistake with this rule youre never going to be a winning blackjack player. You cant ever play blackjack at a table that pays 6 to 5 for a blackjack. This rule kills your profits.

Other rules that you should look for include tables that offer surrender, being able to double down after splitting a pair and the dealer stands on a soft 17.

The final thing you can do when you play blackjack in a land based casino is to use a trick to offset your losses. This is a simple trick that anyone can use.

Get a membership in the rewards club that is offered by the casino, so you get casino comps when you play blackjack.

Whether you play blackjack in land based casinos or online at one of the best mobile casino apps, the rules are important. The blackjack table with the best set of rules is always going to give you the best chance to win.

Its easier to find blackjack tables with good sets of rules when you play in mobile and online casinos. This doesnt mean that you cant find good rule sets in land based casinos, but each individual casino has a limited number of tables. You can access 100s of casinos online and on your mobile device quickly.

Online blackjack play offers some advantages and some disadvantages when compared to land based blackjack.

The main advantage beyond finding good games easier is that you can get a bonus at some casinos. You also have control over how fast or slow you play. Most online and mobile blackjack tables have lower table minimums than land based tables, so you can risk less and play longer.

On the other hand, online and mobile blackjack eliminates the ability to use advantage play like card counting. How fast you play can also be a disadvantage. When you play too fast, you risk more money, and without an edge, this means that youre going to lose more money.

When you play every blackjack hand the best way and only play at tables that have good rules you get the highest return that you can. But even when you do everything right, the casino still has a small house edge. And with a small edge, youre still losing money.

But there are a few special strategies that you can use to turn the small edge around and play with an advantage over the casino. Card counting is the best advantage play method you can use when you play blackjack.

Most blackjack players dont even try to count cards because they think that its going to be too hard. But you dont have to be a genius to use card counting. You can start with a simple system that you can learn to use quickly.

I recommend learning about the ace five count. This system only uses the aces and fives, and is easy to track. More importantly, this system gives you the confidence you need to start using a more advanced card counting system.

A beginning counting system can give you a small edge, but if you want to win as much as you possibly can, you eventually need to move up to an advanced system. The good news is that if you can win using a simple system, its easy to advance to a more profitable system.

The only differences between a simple blackjack counting system and an advanced system is that you track more cards, and in some systems, you have to make a simple conversion from the running count to the true count.

Nothing about blackjack counting is too hard to learn. You simply learn how the system youre using works and then practice until you can do it perfectly.

The most commonly used counting system is called hi lo or high low. Its easy to keep track of the count and is a powerful system. The only downside is that this system requires a conversion. This isnt the end of the world, but it is an extra step.

If you want to use a system that doesnt require a conversion and is almost as powerful as the hi lo, you can use either the knock out system, called KO, or the red seven system.

Before getting into the meat of this section, you should know that the things in this section arent something to focus on until you become a winning card counter. Card counting is the best blackjack advantage play, and thats where you need to focus until youre winning.

Just like counting, these techniques only work when you play blackjack in land based casinos. They dont work when you play online or mobile blackjack.

The first advanced technique is called hole carding. This is a technique that you can use with some dealers. Some blackjack dealers are lazy when they deal the cards and let you see a flash of the value of cards. This can be particularly profitable when you see the value of the dealers face down card.

Another advanced technique is called shuffle tracking. When the blackjack game is hand shuffled, you might be able to track where sections of good cards are located. This lets you bet more when the best cards are likely to be dealt.

The final advanced blackjack technique is ace sequencing. By keeping track of where aces are placed in the discard pile and the order theyre in, you might be able to predict when aces are going to be dealt.

Its going to be hard, but if you do things the right way, you can be a winning blackjack player. You have to do several things the right way 100% of the time. This is challenging, but with enough knowledge and practice, you can do everything you need to do to win.

You cant afford to play blackjack at a table with poor rules, whether you play land based blackjack or real money online blackjack. And you need to learn exactly how to play every hand you play a certain way. You cant afford to guess or make a mistake.

When you do these things, it puts you in a position to start using advantage blackjack techniques that deliver long range profits.

Read more:

How to Win at Blackjack - Best Blackjack Strategies and Tips - BestUSCasinos.org

Posted in Blackjack | Comments Off on How to Win at Blackjack – Best Blackjack Strategies and Tips – BestUSCasinos.org

Are you better Suited to Gala Casino’s Table Games or Slot Games? – Critical Blast

Posted: at 2:41 pm

Feeling like you need some gala experience to relax and have fun playing slots and card games? Sign up for an account at Gala Casino. Its name says it allthis is a place to loosen up as you play exciting video slots, jackpots and table games like roulette and poker.

For the best experience, consider specializing in either slots or table games. You can always both types of games. But find out which category suits you better below.

#1: You Like Simple GamesSlots

So, you love to play simple mobile games like Candy Crush Saga, Sudoku and Mini Metro? Youll love slots. These arcade-style games feature a video screen that does most of the work. Your only job is to place a bet and press Play.

Depending on your bet size, a slot game can take anywhere from a few seconds to five minutes. Then the video screen stops to show you whether youve won or lost. With todays video slots, the chances are much high.

The games feature higher payout rates than the classic slots designed before 2005. Whats more, they have loads of in-game features like bonus rounds and free spins, which ensures you win something even though its just free spins.

#2: You Like to Stay in ControlTable Games

When playing slots, RNG software does most of the work. Some people like it that way. If you prefer to play more involving games, however, then you should check out the table section of Gala Casino. Also, read a review of the website at bestonlinecasinos.org.uk. This will help you understand everything about the operator before you create an account.

Gala Casino is one of the biggest gambling brands in the UK. As a result, it offers nearly every table game in the world. The best part: you can play these games against RNG software or with real human players. RNG Software is great when you want to play a game like roulette or blackjack quickly.

But if you want a social experience and are in no rush, try out live casino games. With poker, roulette and even blackjack, you can participate in tournaments featuring hundreds of players. Depending on the number of people involved, you can see and interact with your competitors.

#3: You Dream of Becoming a Millionaire OvernightSlots

One of the beauties of playing slots is that they can make your wildest dreams come true. Jon Heywood, a British soldier best amplifies this statement. At 26, the Afghanistan veteran was dealing with an ailing father and being broke.

Then one day in 2015, he got onto his favorite casino to play Mega Moolah, a progressive slot that pays out from 10 to millions of pounds. After betting 25p, Heywood hit the games jackpot worth 13.2 million, instantly setting a Guinness World Record for the biggest amount of money won at an online slot machine.

Needless to say, Heywood got his sick father the treatment he deserved, bought a Bentley Continental and turned his life around. Heywood aside, over a dozen more people have won over 1 million from online slot, including a new record of 18.9M set in 2018.

#4: You Believe in LuckBoth

Almost all casino games at Gala Casino are based on pure chance. The degree of luck differs, though. For slots, youre 100% assured the likelihood of winning or losing is based on luck. With table games, the dependance on luck varies from one game to another.

Take Texas Holdem as an example. You receive random cards from a dealer or a shuffling machine. For this reason, you can be lucky and get a pair of aces. Or you could be unlucky and receive a pair of two-value cards. Without considering all other cards, a pair of aces wins always.

Fortunately, Texas Holdem isnt a game of two cards alone. Your opponent could get a pair of aces while you have a pair of two-value cards. But since they dont know your hand, you could bluff by increasing the stakes and force them to fold (concede). In that case, you would win with a lesser hand.

#5: You Like Skill-based GamesTable Games

Theres a reason why millennials prefer table games to slots. Poker, blackjack and baccarat are the closest things to skill-based games they can find at Gala Casino. Texas Holdem, in particular, is so reliant on skill that a New York-based court once dismissed a case because it didnt believe the game should ever have been categorized as a game of luck.

As we mentioned earlier, Texas Holdem relies on luck to a small extent. But its more reliant on skills. Thats why some people win consistently while others lose even when they have better hands. The best poker players in the world win high-level televised tournaments every year, winning millions of dollars in the process.

#6: You Love Social GamesLive Casino

Do you avoid online casinos because you would rather play games with real players? You should check out todays online casinos. A decade ago, it was fair to stick to land-based casinos because of their social atmosphere.

But in 2021, you dont need to leave your house to play a few hands of blackjack with a human dealer. Instead, you need to check out the live casino section of Gala Casino and choose your favorite blackjack variant.

The website provides blackjack variants like Royale blackjack, Lounge blackjack and Grand Blackjack. They all follow the same rules of blackjack, except they differ in betting limits and the number of players per session.

#7: You have no FavoritesBoth

Specialization is a great thing when trying to win casino games consistently. But if you only visit casinos to have fun, theres no point of limiting yourself to one type of games. Casinos allow you to play all their games, anyway.

So, test various video slots. Then move over to jackpots, video poker and live casino games depending on what you want to play. The goal is to have fun, so enjoy all types of games as much as possible.

Read more here:

Are you better Suited to Gala Casino's Table Games or Slot Games? - Critical Blast

Posted in Blackjack | Comments Off on Are you better Suited to Gala Casino’s Table Games or Slot Games? – Critical Blast

Michigan casino revenues bouncing back with record-breaking online gambling launch – WSYM-TV

Posted: at 2:41 pm

Michigan casino revenues are bouncing back from pandemic lows thanks to online sportsbooks and gaming options launched in late January.

There was already hundreds of millions of dollars being gambled here in Michigan every year. It was just being gambled illegally without any protections for people. And now when you make a bet on the Lions or, unfortunately, on the Spartans like I did last night your money can go towards our schools, towards firefighters that have gotten cancer, said state Sen. Curtis Hertel, of East Lansing.

Online and retail sportsbooks across the state brought in $150 million in just 10 days. Bets made after the Jan. 22 launch date yielded almost $112,000 in state tax revenue for the month of January. Online casino gaming like poker and blackjack yielded $4.4 million in state tax revenue.

The launch of online gambling has also been an opportunity for poker buddies to keep the game going under the pandemic.

Its given a lot of my friends that I would typically play with a reprieve from just the lockdown. Its been a welcomed addition to our personal lives, online poker player JR Miller said.

Miller and his friends are among the millions of Michiganders flocking to online casinos for table favorites like poker and blackjack as well as sports betting.

I have a couple of friends who have won a lot of money. Theyve been doing a lot of side bets more bets on games, golfers, and you know whatever they can bet, Miller said.

For Miller online gambling requires a certain level of restraint.

Its the dynamic of any time you get into a situation where youre betting. Its understanding theres got to be a limit that you have, unless you have unlimited resources, and then being able to ride out the ebbs and flows of winning and losing in any kind of sports betting or poker or whatever it is, Miller said.

Which is something the legislators who supported making online gambling legal here also thought about.

The gambling hotline numbers are required to be on all the apps while theyre going. So, if you feel like you have a gambling problem, we want people to call but people are taking advantage of it in a responsible way, Hertel said.

Richard Kalm of the Michigan Gaming Control Board says internet gaming operations are off to a good start. The taxes and payments from these services are expected to provide funding for K-12 students, the states tribal communities, and the state firefighters cancer presumption fund.

Want to see more local news ? Visit the FOX47News Website.

Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.

Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.

Select from these options: Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines and Daily Forecasts.

Follow us on Twitter

Like us on Facebook

More:

Michigan casino revenues bouncing back with record-breaking online gambling launch - WSYM-TV

Posted in Blackjack | Comments Off on Michigan casino revenues bouncing back with record-breaking online gambling launch – WSYM-TV

UFC chief Dana White says he is a degenerate gambler and admits losing staggering $1million boxing bet – The Sun

Posted: at 2:41 pm

DANA WHITE said he is a 'degenerate gambler' and admitted to losing a staggering $1million boxing bet once.

The UFC boss is a notorious blackjack player but opened up on his love for betting on sports.

2

Things did not go so well for him in 2007, though, when he lost $1m after Jermain Taylor was knocked out by Kelly Pavlik.

White told ESPN: Oh my god. What was the kids name? Jermain Taylor.

"And who did he fight? I know this for the ass-whooping I took. He fought the tall, lanky, white kid from Ohio, Kelly Pavlik.

"I bet $1million on Taylor and he got destroyed.

"It was the first time I ever bet $1 million dollars because I was so confident Taylor was going to win that fight."

White grew up in Boston but in the early 90s he left for Las Vegas after a run-in with crime boss Whitey Bulger.

Living in Sin City, where he later became UFC president, was how his love for betting started.

White said: Id say its about time. I like it. Its obviously a thing people love to do.

2

DANCING SHOESUsman wants to emulate Paige VanZant by going on on Dancing with the Stars

Exclusive

KHOMEBACK KIDKhabib's 'competitive' nature will one day lead UFC return, ex-champ insists

Pictured

PAIGE TURNEREx-UFC star Paige VanZant poses naked before teasing fans with bikini walk

GRAVE CALLOUTUsman vows to put Masvidal 'in a coffin' with UFC rivals in talks for rematch

UF-SEE YAUFC release eight fighters from roster as Dana White continues clearout

Pictured

GOING SWIMMINGLYUFC's Rachael Ostovich drops jaws in plunging swimsuit on Hawaii beach

"It makes whatever youre watching a lot more fun, a lot more interesting, so Ive always been for it. But Im from Vegas.

I play table games too much. Im a degenerate if youre not getting it. Im a degenerate, yes. I love to gamble."

Astonishingly, White has been banned from the Palms Casino Resort TWICE due to the success of his blackjack playing.

The first occasion in 2012, saw White retaliate by refusing to put on UFC events at the casino, where The Ultimate Fighter bouts had been staged.

But under new owners, the promoter was invited back in 2014.

It did not lost long, however, as between March 1 and May 21, White claimed to have won $2MILLION.

He found himself again barred from betting there, but this time he was awarded a BELT for being the 'undisputed blackjack champion'.

His childhood friends Frank and Lorenzo Feritta bought the UFC in 2001, and White was immediately named the promotion's president.

The Feritta brothers sold the UFC for $4.4BILLION to entertainment company WME-IMG in 2016.

White, who stayed on as president, is said to have pocketed $360m after the sale due to his shares in the company, according to Darren Rovell.

The promoter, who has an estimated net worth of $500m, denied in a 2014 Las Vegas Review-Journal interview that he had a gambling problem.

He said: Has it affected my personal life? Has it affected my professional life? Have I lost all my money?

"Theres nothing negative about what Ive been doing lately.

Visit link:

UFC chief Dana White says he is a degenerate gambler and admits losing staggering $1million boxing bet - The Sun

Posted in Blackjack | Comments Off on UFC chief Dana White says he is a degenerate gambler and admits losing staggering $1million boxing bet – The Sun

Did the Casino Heist in the 21 Movie Actually Happen? – Film Threat

Posted: at 2:41 pm

There are many casino-themed movies, but not many become blockbusters like 21 did back in 2008. The movie is based on a novel by Ben Mezrich titled Bringing Down the House, about a group of card-counting university students that take millions of dollars from Vegas Casinos. Despite the world of modern online casinos, 21 is all about the glitz and glam of playing at a real Blackjack table.

The movie made $160 million at the box office, and wasnt short of stars, with Kevin Spacey casted for one of the lead roles. After watching, you may be left wondering about the true story that the movie claims to be based on. Weve done the research, and in this article we separate the fact from the fiction.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is one of the leading universities in the USA, and so its no surprise that this is where the card-counters studied. Its an incredibly difficult thing to do, and requires a significant amount of mathematical knowledge, as demonstrated in the 21 Movie. The group operated between the late 1970s and early 2000s.

Jeff Ma is the real name of the main character in the movie, Ben Campbell. He actually made a cameo in 21 as a Blackjack dealer, and had a real involvement in the film adaptation of his story. Following his controversial success in the Blackjack team, hes gone on to have a very successful career in tech and analytics. Bill Kaplan is also one of the founding members of the MIT Blackjack Team, and his character is depicted by Spacey as a University Lecturer.

The movie makers were heavily criticized for their casting decisions. Although most of the MIT Blackjack Team were Asian-American, they were played by white actors. Despite this, the movie was a success, and given the approval from the team itself.

Every movie needs a good plot, and so of course, there are some added extras in the storyline that didnt happen in real life. The most notable being Ben Campbells (Jeff Mas) reason for joining the club in the first place. There was no desperate need for tuition money or the chance of not graduating this was added for entertainment.

The real MIT Blackjack team was formed of six students, and there was no university lecturer involved, despite playing a huge part in the movie. The whole thing was run like a business, including smart planning and calculations of probabilities and profits.

The 21 movie maintains the same cast throughout, but this isnt what happened in real life. The MIT Blackjack team changed many times, as people left, moved on, or formed their own groups. The most recent group of players in the late 90s looked very different to the original founding members.

At the end of the movie, the fictional university lecturer and ringleader tries to steal $600,000 from the team after he is caught. This is also just part of the 21 plot, and didnt happen in real life.

The MIT Blackjack team that the movie is based on had a long and successful history of making money from casinos. So yes, the heist really did happen, and these people really did outsmart casino operators for many years.

Very little is known about the real numbers, such as how much was originally invested and how much they actually walked away with. The financial history is kept very private, and casinos in Vegas dont exactly want to talk about their losses to the group either.

Some sources claim that the MIT Blackjack Team made 10s of millions of dollars during their playing years, but its impossible to know for sure. But these guys were good, and operated for over 30 years, so its very likely that they made an awful lot of money before disbanding.

View post:

Did the Casino Heist in the 21 Movie Actually Happen? - Film Threat

Posted in Blackjack | Comments Off on Did the Casino Heist in the 21 Movie Actually Happen? – Film Threat

Resident Evil 7: How To Beat Hoffman In 21 | TheGamer – TheGamer

Posted: at 2:41 pm

While there is a fair degree of luck at play, Resident Evil 7s version of 21 rewards smart players who play Lucas' game.

No character in Resident Evil 7 suffers quite as much as Clancy Jarvis, the Sewer Gators trusty cameraman. Clancy manages to survive an encounter with Jack Baker first hand, even outwitting Marguerite in the Bedroom DLC, only to end up cooked alive during Lucas Happy Birthday game. Unlike Ethan who at least has a chance of getting a happy ending out of Resident Evil 7, Clancy lives to die and the Banned Footage DLC puts into perspective just how much he actually struggled.

RELATED:Resident Evil 7: How To Find The Clown Key In Not A Hero

Before Clancy got a birthday party all to himself, Lucas Baker forced him to play a high stakes game of 21 against Hoffman a fellow prisoner. Unlike other DLC in Banned Footage, 21 features no conventional gameplay, instead playing out like a full fledged version of Blackjack (albeit with its own set of rules to add a layer of strategy to the game).

Lucas version of 21 features a single 11 card deck that both Clancy and Hoffman share, with no cards overlapping with one another. Lucas also doles out Trump Cards which can be used either by or against Clancy to take cards out of play or even raise an opponents bet. While there is a fair degree of luck at play, Resident Evil 7s version of 21 rewards smart players who hold onto their Trump Cards and dont make unnecessary gambles.

The first round of 21 features no Trump Cards, simply requiring players to plan out their hits carefully and utilizing some degree of card counting. The goal of Blackjack is to get as close to 21 as possible without going over. Since there are no doubles in the deck, its not difficult to piece together which cards are still in play. Always play as if Hoffman has a better hand than Clancy, because he realistically does. Dont hit

RELATED:Resident Evil 7: How To Beat The Final Boss In Not A Hero

If Hoffman ever stays only to hit later in the same round, it means Clancy is currently winning. Be smart and keep track of Hoffmans card cout to spot if/when he goes over 21. The loser of this phase has their fingers sliced off with blades. Ties result in both Clancy and Hoffman losing their fingers. Canonically, Clancy makes it to Resident Evil 7s main story with his hand intact, but expect to lose some digits.

After getting through the first phase of 21, Lucas will up the stakes by electrocuting the loser. The voltage increases with each round, burning the loser alive on contact. Lucas introduces Trump Cards into play here. The key is to use these cards strategically while also saving the best ones for the final round. Keep in mind that Hoffman has Trump Cards as well, many of which are designed to specifically counter Clancys.

RELATED:Resident Evil 7: How To Complete The Daughters DLC

Trump Cards like 3 Card, 5 Card, or 6 Card are especially useful, allowing Clancy to pull cards out of the deck without needing to take a hit. Smart players can use this to build to 21 (while keeping in mind that Hoffman can potentially return Clancys last flipped card back to the deck). Hoffman also has a tendency to play Go For 24, which raises the target number from 21. Try to save any Two-Ups for the final phase. Play resourcefully and only hit when absolutely necessary.

Before the final phase of 21, Lucas will slide Clancy the Love Your Enemy Trump Card, granting Hoffman the best card in the deck on use. While deliberately designed to give Clancys opponent an advantage, the key to winning the final round of Blackjack is saving Love Your Enemy for the absolute last possible round. Once Hoffman is at his limit, Lucas will force a 21 against Clancy that players wont be able to naturally beat. The last round of 21 places a saw between both Clancy and Hoffmans faces, inching closer to the loser every round.

Make sure to use any Two Ups to raise the stakes against Hoffman and get to the final round sooner. As soon as Hoffman has 21 (in the final possible round), use Love Your Enemy to force him to hit. Hoffman wont be able to retaliate and Clancy can comfortably stay at any number under 21. For his loss, Hoffman has his face violently gorged open with a rotating saw. As a reward for his victory, Clancy gets to go star in the main games Happy Birthday puzzle.

Next:Resident Evil 7: How To Complete The Bedroom DLC

Genshin Impact Lantern Rite Riddle Answers

The rest is here:

Resident Evil 7: How To Beat Hoffman In 21 | TheGamer - TheGamer

Posted in Blackjack | Comments Off on Resident Evil 7: How To Beat Hoffman In 21 | TheGamer – TheGamer

Trump Plaza implosion – 19 things to know – News 12 New Jersey

Posted: at 2:41 pm

News 12 Staff

Feb 17, 2021, 2:41pm EST

Updated on:Feb 17, 2021, 2:41pm EST

Here are some facts about the casino:

The property opened asHarrah'sat Trump Plazaon May 14, 1984.

Donald Trump himselfwas no longer an owner at the time of its closure.

Billionaire CarlIcahn assumed ownership of Trumps former casino company from bankruptcy courtin 2016.

The 10.5-acreproperty where the Plaza sits is owned by Icahn.

The property sits atthe center of the Atlantic City Boardwalk, at the foot of the Atlantic City Expressway.

Once cleanup iscomplete, city officials hope the property can be sold or leased and thendeveloped.

City officials hopeanother casino wont be built, and are pushing for more family entertainment.

Demolition wassupposed to take place in January, but a series of delays pushed the event to Feb. 17.

Bids reached as highas $175,000 to push the detonation button, but the auction was cancelledfollowing a lawsuit.

During its heyday, the Plazahosted Mike Tyson fights and WrestleMania IV and V.

Theformer casino once housed over 80 table games and 2,000 slot machines.

MayorMarty Small says demolition has nothing to do with politics, as the buildinghas been closed since 2014.

DonaldTrump lost a legal battle in effort to build a parking area over a home of awidowed mother of 5.

ThePlaza sits at Boardwalk and Mississippi Avenue.

ThePlaza stands at 321 feet tall, with 32 floors overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Thelast game ever played in the casino was a game of Blackjack on September 26,2014.

The East Tower opened in twophases, in October 1995 and February 1996.The expansion continued withthe May 1996 opening of Trump World's Fair. The renovation cost is $48 million.

View original post here:

Trump Plaza implosion - 19 things to know - News 12 New Jersey

Posted in Blackjack | Comments Off on Trump Plaza implosion – 19 things to know – News 12 New Jersey