Category Archives: Roulette

In response to the rampaging vulture capitalism that was threatening to destroy their newspaper, union employees at the Hartford Courant last year launched a campaign to find a nonprofit organization that would save their jobs and the journalism their community depends on.

Not only did they fail, but the situation at the Courant, the oldest continuously published newspaper in America, just got infinitely worse.

Meanwhile, 300 miles to the south, a similar effort was under way to save The Baltimore Sun. It paid off big-time, as the Sun and several sister papers are now on the verge of being acquired by a nonprofit foundation that will operate them in the public interest.

No doubt youve read a lot here and elsewhere about the local news crisis, and about the role of hedge funds and corporate chain owners in hollowing out once-great newspapers that were already struggling.

Yet what we dont talk about often enough is the sheer random nature of it all and why we assume theres nothing that can be done about a hedge fund destroying a paper here or a nonprofit or benevolent billionaire saving a paper there. We have been so conditioned to thinking that the untrammeled forces of the market must be allowed to play out that weve lost sight of what were losing. It shouldnt be this way.

Last week was a particularly fraught moment in the collapse of local journalism.

First we learned that the hedge fund Alden Global Capital, the most avaricious newspaper owner in the country (dont just take my word for it; as Margaret Sullivan of The Washington Post puts it, Being bought by Alden is the worst possible fate for the newspapers and the communities involved), was making a $630 million bid to increase its share of Tribune Publishing whose holdings include the Courant from 32% to 100%.

The announcement came with at least a little bit of good news: Alden would spin off The Baltimore Sun to a nonprofit. Even better, Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times and The San Diego Union-Tribune, was in a position to block Alden if he so chose.

Rick Edmonds of Poynter speculated that wouldnt happen. But hope springs eternal or at least until last Friday. Thats when Lukas Alpert of The Wall Street Journal reported that Soon-Shiong himself might be looking to get out of the newspaper business less than three years after he got in. Worse, Soon-Shiong was said to be looking at offloading his papers to a larger media group. Though neither Alpert nor his soures said so, Alden would be the most likely buyer.

Soon-Shiong, fortunately, denied hed lost interest in newspapers. But Alpert is a good reporter, so its hard to believe that there isnt something to it.

Call it Mogul Roulette.

So lets survey the landscape, shall we? Tribunes papers, which include the Chicago Tribune, New Yorks Daily News, the Orlando Sentinel, the Courant and others, will be gutted if the Alden deal goes through. In fact, the Courant is already operating with neither a printing press nor a newsroom.

On the other hand, The Baltimore Sun has been granted a new lease on life. We dont know whats going to happen in L.A. or San Diego. And, here and there, large regional papers with either strong private ownership (The Boston Globe, the Portland Press Herald, the Star Tribune of Minneapolis, The Seattle Times) or nonprofit control (The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Salt Lake Tribune, the Tampa Bay Times and, soon, the Sun) are providing their communities with the news and information they need, even if they still face challenges.

This situation is unacceptable. Reliable news is vital to democracy, and though we dont necessarily need legacy newspapers to deliver it, they remain the most widespread and efficient means for doing so. As the media scholar Alex Jones has written, newspapers continue to produce the overwhelming share of accountability journalism that we need to govern ourselves what Jones calls the iron core. We shouldnt be dependent on whether the newspaper in our community is owned by someone who believes in journalisms civic mission or who simply sees it as a piggy bank to be depleted before moving on to the next victim.

Several years ago I had a conversation about newspaper ownership with Victor Pickard, a scholar at Penns Annenberg School; he would later go on to write Democracy without Journalism?, a call for (among other things) greatly increased funding for public media. Why, I asked him, should communities have so little control over who owns their local newspaper?

We didnt come up with any answers that day, although Pickard did suggest that antitrust laws be used more aggressively. These days, unfortunately, we are dealing with the antitrust legacy of Robert Bork, who developed a theory that any amount of monopolization is just fine as long as it doesnt drive up prices.

The Bork doctrine makes no sense in the shrinking newspaper business. At one time Tribune Publishing, then known as tronc, proposed uniting the L.A. Times, the Union-Tribune and, in the middle, the Orange County Register, whose previous owner, Aaron Kushner, had steered into bankruptcy. Soon-Shiong could have been the savior of all three papers instead of just the two he bought from tronc. Instead, a federal judge ruled that such a combination would violate antitrust laws because it might drive up the price of ads. (Your honor, we need to drive up the price of ads.) Yet, paradoxically, Bork's theories say nothing about giant chains stretching across the country and destroying local newspapers.

What comes next? Maybe Soon-Shiong will step forward and outbid Alden for the rest of Tribune, placing the entire chain in much better hands. Or maybe hell sell to Alden. In any case, its unacceptable for the fate of local journalism to be left to the whims of unbridled capitalism. We need to start thinking about what alternatives to that model might look like.

GBH News contributor Dan Kennedys blog, Media Nation, is online at dankennedy.net.

Visit link:

'Mogul Roulette,' Or The Totally Random Destruction Of Local News - wgbh.org

UNITED STATESToday, multiple online casinos are present on the web in order to satisfy a wide range of players. Practical, with a pleasant design, online casinos are sites that allow you to play under the same conditions present in a gaming room. Unlike land-based casinos, online casinos offer the advantage of not having to wait your turn on your favorite machine. Enjoyment is just a click away on your computer or smartphone.

The advantages of online casinos

Want to play roulette? To test yourself in video poker? You can play roulette in the most known online casinos such as Betway or have a new experience with the new online casinoBetiton. Indeed, this online casino is one of the best existing on the net. In general, in order to please the players, a casino must have a colorful, bright and worked graphical interface. With a careful design, recent and realistic games, a fluid navigation, an online casino offers the opportunity to try your luck, to play exciting games, in your living room or in your office. Serene and quiet, without the hustle and bustle around, a player enjoys being able to play his favorite casino game over and over again. One of the big advantages is the fact that every new player gets a nice starting bonus when registering. This way you are sure to start of on the right foot in your journey in the world of online gambling.

How to choose the best casino to play online?

Currently there are more than 2000 online casinos. To be sure to make the right choice, it is advisable to:

Choose a casino that accepts players from your country. In some countries, online casinos are banned from operating in the country. Although this does not apply to all countries, it is still important to check this before playing and spending money. Nobody likes having the tax service sniffing around their private funds.

Choose a casino that has a good reputation. In practice, you will only know whether an online casino is reliable after you have won money and received the transfer. Unfortunately, there are many documented cases, where casinos have directly scammed players There are many documented cases where online casinos have directly scammed players. These scams can take the form of refusing to pay out money, with the winnings being marked as a software error. It can also involve unlicensed gambling offers that are manipulated with a very low payout rate. Fake games are difficult to discern because they are made by real game developers.

Choosing a casino thatcomplies with regulations.All online casinos are operated from one country, so each online casino must follow a jurisdiction specific to that country or fiscal region. The country in question must have a favourable policy on online gambling or betting. These licences are issued by the state that regulates and taxes online gambling and betting or by a jurisdiction that allows online casinos to do business abroad. This is for example the case of Malta or Gibraltar. These countries have a favourable stance on the export of online gambling.

Choosing a casino with your favorite games This advice is fundamental before you start playing. You will also have a better chance of winning with a game you know well. Not every online casino, much like land based casinos, offers the same amount and variety of games.

Choose a casino with fast and reliable customer service Check that the customer service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to make sure you get a quick response if you have any concerns. The best ones offer online chat or even a multi-language helpdesk that can be reached by phone.

See the rest here:

Find The Best Online Casino In The USA - LA Canyon News

"Resurgence will happen really fast, so this is the time to be vigilant against the variants. We need to really be very cautious about easing public health measures at this time while vaccination is just beginning to accelerate."

Canadas Chief Public Health officer Dr. Theresa Tam

Mixed messages continue to plague governments across Canada as public health officers caution on variants of COVID-19 while government officials set out to ease restrictions.

Provincial governments need to get behind the data its public health officers are bringing forward from around the globe where the variant is concerned.

With at least three provinces confirming community spread of the variants as of last week and more than 450 cases of the COVID variant in Canada to date, it would seem that public health officers are correct in stating that its not the right time to be easing up on restrictions.

Some provinces, such as British Columbia, are extending restrictions indefinitely, while in other provinces public health officers are urging caution on opening up more businesses or relaxing measures that are in place.

On Tuesday, Dr. Theresa Tam warned of relaxing restrictions too quickly as we start to see variants outpacing the original novel coronavirus in infection rates.

"Though we may feel tired and have all sorts of losses, collectively we cannot afford to take the brakes off," she said.

Canada shouldnt be playing Russian roulette with the virus, and need only look to countries such as Denmark or the U.K. when deciding the best course of action for Canadians.

The Winnipeg Free Press reported on Friday that just last week, researchers in Finland had discovered a variant they believe may evade conventional testing unless labs modify genetic protocols.

And we are seeing more and more mixed messaging as more businesses open up across the country while public health officials update what we understand about exposure times for variants.

Ontario had previously defined exposure as anyone whod been within two metres of an infected person for at least 15 minutes who wasnt wearing a mask. That province is now counting exposure for contacts with or without a mask and, with variants on the rise, some individual Ontario public health units are counting any contact of any duration as a possible exposure.

Torontos top public health official, Dr. Eileen de Villa, said Wednesday that she has "never been as concerned about the threat of COVID-19 to your health as I am now.

"By the time the confirmed case counts are big enough to shock us, it will be too late."

Over the past month, the science has shown that the variants are more infectious and spread faster than the original SARS-COV-2. However, there doesnt appear to be much of a change in the symptoms or death rates.

The world isnt unfamiliar with mutations in viruses. Each year, theWorld Health Organization co-ordinates globally to determine which influenza immunization will be distributed to vaccinate against a particular strain, and the same will likely happen as vaccines are adjusted for COVID-19.

It is of utmost importance that countries across the globe co-ordinate to ensure outbreaks are controlled through restrictions, and continued adherence to health recommendations such as mask wearing, hand washing, social distancing and limiting the amount of time in public spaces.

However, federal warnings dont seem to be making a difference to how the Manitoba government is making decisions.

Dr. Jazz Atwal, Manitobas deputy chief provincial public health officer, insisted at Fridays COVID-19 update that Manitobans were doing a great job respecting the rules, even though it was reported that an international traveller infected with the B117 strain had 27 contacts to be traced.

"Just like our first cases of COVID-19, we need to learn to live with the virus and the variants of concern," Atwalsaidon Friday, warning that if a variant did take hold, measures would be ramped up.

The province is doing some of the right things in response to the variant. It has strengthened isolation rules for suspected variant cases with a 24-day isolation for all household contacts.

We are all growing tired of the restrictions that have held us hostage this past year. However, Manitobans need to be prepared for the long haul while Canada plays catch-up with rapid testing should the variant take hold in the province.

Excerpt from:

Playing Russian roulette with restrictions, variants - The Brandon Sun

The 49ers are 22-8 with Jimmy Garoppolo as their starting quarterback.

From the moment he took the field in a lost season in 2017, he injected the franchise with hope. There was excitement for the 49ers because of how he led the team to five consecutive wins to close out the year. Ever since Garoppolo did that, there has been this notion that he is the 49ers' best option at quarterback.

That could not be further from the truth.

The reality is that the 49ers need to upgrade at quarterback.

Garoppolo is serviceable. He is not terrible, but isn't relatively profound in anything as a quarterback. Garoppolo cannot do anything better Ryan Fitzpatrick, and I mention Fitzpatrick because he is a free agent. The 49ers could cut Garoppolo and sign Fitzpatrick without much of a drop off.

If anything it will be an improvement because Fitzpatrick can maneuver around in the pocket unlike tap-dancing Garoppolo. Not to mention all the massive salary cap relief the 49ers would get to take care of their other players.

Actually, scratch that. I'd like to amend a previous statement. There is one thing Garoppolo is profound at and that is missing games. Garoppolo has missed more regular season games (23) than he has won (22).That should make any sensible person who pays attention to the NFL pause.

Why is it whenever his glorious winning record as the 49ers' starter gets thrown out that his games missed gets coincidentally left out?Availability is crucial for a quarterback. A team can overcome time missed from other positions, but once the quarterback starts consistently missing games, being successful becomes almost impossible.

When Garoppolo is healthy, the 49ers' offense starts to function. But therein lies the issue -- "when Garoppolo is healthy." Anytime that needs to be said about any player, especially the starting quarterback, the team has a MAJOR issue. When the quarterback misses time, all of a sudden a lot of flaws start to emerge around the team. The quarterback is supposed to help mask those flaws.

Unfortunately, it is Kyle Shanahan that has to cover up for Garoppolo.

Then again, in order for Shanahan to cover up for Garoppolo, he would need to be healthy. And the odds of that happening feels like winning a round of roulette. The 49ers need to upgrade at quarterback because Garoppolo is only a part-time starter. And even when he is out there, he does not uplift the team around him.

That is just the reality and given how his contract is holding the salary cap hostage, he is hurting the 49ers more than helping. When the draft comes around, you can bet your bottom dollar the 49ers are going to have their fingers crossed that a top prospective quarterback such as Justin Fields falls so that they can trade up for him.

Otherwise, Garoppolo will undoubtedly be the starter in 2021, and everyone will cringe when he gets hit.

Follow this link:

Why the 49ers Need to Upgrade at Quarterback - Sports Illustrated

Manchester is famed for being one of the most diverse cities in the UK. But one place where MCR can sometimes be overlooked is when it comes to casinos. With the bright lights of London and the legendary nightlife of Birmingham to compete with, many would assume that bigger always equals better. However, when it comes to clubhouses, Manchester comes out on top for many reasons.

Some may say this northern powerhouse is the second city but it is certainly first when it comes to roulette, poker and blackjack. Here is why.

Casinos have been around in the UK since the 19th Century. And with Manchester being the buzzing hub that it is, its no stranger to betting and gambling throughout its time. However, the scene only really grew in popularity during the mid-2000s when the Gambling Act of 2005 changed things up in the UK. Despite Manchesters excitement over a super-casino at the time in 2007, unfortunately, the casino didnt work out. That said, other land casinos managed to stay.

Today, however, Mancs play poker, roulette and blackjack all through their phones. Thanks to a rise in popularity of theonline casino, Mancunians can now remember their rich history of betting through playing games on the internet instead. It doesnt matter if they are chilling at home in Didsbury or hanging out in The Northern Quarter, they can still be playing slots and games online for the full Las Vegas-style experience in Englands north-west.

As Manchesters nightlife is definitely something to write home about, it makes it the perfect place to also enjoy the casino scene. The city contains a venue for just about everyone for every taste. You could be fine-dining one minute and seeing a live punk band the next. And where do casinos come in? Well, right in the middle of it all. Because they truly reflect on the individuality of MCR and mirror the electric atmosphere of a night on the town.

The great thing about casinosin Cottonopolisis that whilst in other cities, people may feel the need to dress up, there isnt so much pressure to do that here. Of course, if people want to stick on a tux or cocktail dress they can, and they would be just as welcome as others in smart casual attire. Casinos in Manchester are just that sort of place.

Compared to other big UK metropolises, MCR isgreat for pedestrians. This means that when youre exploring the casinos it has to offer, you can easily get from one to the other without exhausting yourself. Or you could just hop on the handy tram to find your next destination.

In general, compared to other big places (cough cough, London, heres looking at you), getting around doesnt cost an arm and a leg. Giving you an extra bit to use in the slots and on the roulette tables of MCRs casinos.

Whether its remembering Manchesters casino history, seeing them come to life at night, or even just realising how accessible the city is, there are so many reasons why Manchester is great for casinos.

Read the original here:

Why Manchester is the best place in the UK for casinos - About Manchester

If you are interested in playing roulette online from one of the leading casinos in your country, then stop for a second and ask yourself what kind of roulette will you be playing? In fact, more importantly, what should you be playing?

In the realm of online casino gameplay, there are two types of gaming formats and they both started around the same time in the mid to late 90s.

You have digital gameplay that offers players a simulated digitalized game, kind of like slot machines, but played out on a table because thats roulettes natural place. Then you have the live gaming format played inside the live casino platform with a live dealer as gaming host.

So, which of these should you be playing? Is one really better than the other? Well, we are here to justifiably explain why you should only ever be playing live casino games and, in this instance, live online roulette.

Why roulette first of all? Well, its a table game that comes with the most basic of rules.

1: Predict where the ball is going to land within the roulette wheel.

2: Place your bet or bets on the table.

3: Spin the Wheel and await the outcome of your bet.

The game of roulette is for many new players the go-to-game when they want to experience traditional gaming. If slots seem less challenging, then roulette at least allows you to call the shots.The game is, therefore, popular amongst first-time players and because of this fact, we what to share the reasons as to why players will benefit more from playing online roulette in its live gaming format, rather than opting to play a more standardized version of the table game.

Roulette is a gaming classic and is housed by every online casino you can find. Its a game that has stood the test of time and even Albert Einstein once said of the game: You cannot beat a roulette table unless you steal money from it.Roulette is a gambling feature that holds many positives, however, these come more into light as a live gaming format than one which is produced as a simple digital game.

Digital gameplay, be it roulette, blackjack, or even poker, their gaming construct is identical to that of a slot machine.

The layouts are the same in a programming and instructional sense within the gaming mechanics.

So, firstly, what is a slot machine? You have 3 to 5 reels; they will spin at random and will pay out when 3 or more matching symbols align.

How is this even close to roulette?

The mechanics of the reel rotation is exactly the same as that of the roulette wheel, chance is being created through this random even.

The symbol of the wheel, like that of the reels, in this instance, is the number, and the colour and the odd or even value of the number. The alignment is that of the wheel and the table bet matching.

Now, why do we say that it is all random? Well, it is not, not entirely. Digital roulette is a program and for it to know when to trigger or generate wins, the program needs an algorithmic calculator or solution. Now, there are two types of algorithms out there in the industry, Return to Player (RTP) which 90% of online slots use. And then you have the Random Number Generator (RNG) which accounts for 100% of online card and table games i.e. Online Roulette.

The RNG algorithm uses a 30 billion numerical code to generate the concept of chance. This is how roulette and all other online games in their digital format determine who wins and losses. Now, this goes for all roulette variants also.

Roulette is a game that is especially loved in Ireland and for players wanting to get a full measure of what roulette variants there are, then we advice you to head over to a professional comparison site, such as betinireland.ie. You dont need to be from Ireland to appreciate the detail this webpage goes into.

We reached out to Shane Hennessy, which is a casino games reviewer at BetinIreland.ie, to see how online roulette on their dedicated page betinireland.ie/casino/games/roulette/ fares when compared to the live table version, and he confirmed that player reaction to live roulette tends to be stronger, especially among veterans of the game.

Judging by the data gathered from our site, players do believe that if you want to experience the best of roulette, then only in a live gaming format will you actually play the game how it was intentionally designed.

We can now look into the process of play with the live casino features of roulette.

For many players online, their experience of live gaming will be developed by Evolution Gaming. They were the first developer to create the live streaming content for online casinos and have since dominated the market, with no real competitors trying to challenge an already perfect live service.

So, let us briefly discuss live gaming. From the confines of Evolutions Studios, real casino games are being played. Roulette tables hosted by model-like dealers are broadcast to hundreds of international online casinos, which are then streamed on the casino platform for users to access, watch, and play.

The defining thing is that the equipment is real! There is no programming or coding to decide If you should win or lose. The answer is that simple, have full control over the roulette you play by playing roulette live online. With it, you will get a better experience for it. You get to converse with the live dealer via the chat option embedded into the game which allows for a greater immersive gaming experience.

You still get to play the many variants that appear online, you will have access to Live European Roulette, Live American Roulette, even specialist titles like Double Ball Roulette and Lightning Roulette, specially created by Evolution Gaming.

Plus, you have the future of the format to look forward to. As you can see with traditional console gaming, it is now providing the option for a VR gaming experience. Soon and not too long into the future, live casino gaming will implement the technology of VR programming so that players can assume avatars and play inside a virtual casino online.

Live roulette provides a greater profitable plater of games, if you imagine the digital games as the coin machines you find in amusement arcades, not to say they are rigged per-se but, they are there as quick profit-making games for the casino. Play live and you are not playing into the hands of the casino.

See original here:

Why Live Roulette is a Better Experience than Digital Roulette - Gameindustry.com - GameIndustry.com

The trend continues and shows no changes in the future. Online roulette is one of the games most chosen by users, not only in Spain, but worldwide among those who want to spend time and win money in the game rooms offered by the cybernetic world of fun.

888 online roulette is without a doubt the one that offers the greatest variety of gaming options for those players who choose one specific variety over another.

Roulette comes from the French term roulette which means small wheel. The ultimate goal of the game is to place real money bets where you think the ball will land.

Roulette has a wheel of 37 slots numbered from 0 to 36 (there are exceptions in variants that we will see later). The slots alternate between red and black, except for 0 which is green. Players can place bets on the number, color or a series of numbers. After the bets placed by the users are concluded, the wheel spins until the ball lands on a randomly determined number. There are outside or inside bets.

The types of bets are:

Simple full: Bet on a number. If the ball lands on that number you win 35 times the value of the bet. Double: Bet on two numbers. You win 17 times the bet.Tro or Calle: Bet on three numbers. You win 11 times the bet. Angle and Quad: Bet on four numbers. You win 8 times the bet. Line: Bet on six numbers. You win five times the bet. Dozen: Bet on twelve numbers. You win twice the bet. Higher, lower, red, black, even or odd: In these three variants of bets with two options, in case of being a winner, you get the equivalent of your bet.

Roulette modes

888 online roulette offers, as we discussed earlier, several modes for those users who prefer one over the other. We will explain each modality below.

European roulette: Players place bets on both single numbers and a variety of numbers, color, odd or even, higher or lower, columns, or dozens. Then the croupier turns the wheel and throws the ball in the opposite direction. This variant has an advanced panel in which special bets arise such as: neighbors (up to four numbers at a time according to the order of the roulette), hot and cold numbers and automatic play.

American Roulette: One of the differences with the European one, which is that it has a number plus 00. If the player makes an odd / even bet, low / high and the ball lands on 0 or 00, the player loses his bet.

French roulette: It has 37 numbers. One of the exclusive rules of this modality is La Partage whereby if the ball lands on the number 0, the player will only lose half of his bet of 1 to 1 payouts: higher / lower, even / odd and red / black.3D Roulette: It is the version of the European roulette, but with 3D graphics that give a different visual experience.Low Stakes Roulette: It is an option of European roulette, but with lower stakes on the table.

What is the live roulette experience like?

It is the perfect combination of sensations that are experienced when playing with a real dealer in a perfect visual experience both on PC, Mac, iPhone, Android and smartphones and they can also choose between an immersive, classic or 3D view.

The dealers are prepared to entertain and interact with users in conversations in different languages where they respond to what the players write from the chats.

In live roulette there are also different options. Immersive Roulette features high definition at over 200 frames per second with camera shot changes. Dragonara Roulette transports players to Maltas Dragonara Palace, one of the most luxurious casinos in the world. And an autoruleta is also available.

Specifically, the options are adapted to the tastes of the different players and 888 is distinguished by the variety, quality and attention to its customers, an experience that without a doubt you cannot stop living if you like online games.

Originally posted here:

Online roulette: one of the most sought after games - Explica

St. Paul weekly fish fries are

happening with many changes

WEIRTON The St. Paul Holy Name Men and Christian Mothers will once again have their fish fry every Friday during Lent and featuring Coleman fish.

But because of COVID-19 restrictions, this year will bring many changes, according to organizers.

We will only offer fried fish dinners (fried fish, bun, french fries and coleslaw) for $10. All orders will be takeout, a spokesperson explained.

Orders can be called in to (304) 797-1182, which is the preferred way to order. You also can order curbside from your car in the circle in front of the school. All orders will be paid for here cash only and delivered to your car.

The hours are from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Friday during Lent.

We need to close curbside ordering and pickup from 2:15 p.m. to 3 p.m. to allow parents to pick up their children from school, the spokesperson emphasized. Please plan accordingly. Phone orders can still be placed during this time for later pickup.

There will be no deliveries available this year pickup only.

We are sorry for the inconvenience and hope to be back to normal next year, the spokesperson added.

Brooke County Library plans

to show Race on Feb. 26

WELLSBURG Provided Brooke County isnt at level red for COVID-19 cases, the Brooke County Public Library will show the PG-13 rated film Race, about African-American Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens, at noon Feb. 26.

Seating will be limited. Call (304) 737-1551 or visit wellsburg.lib.wv.us/newsletter2.htm to reserve a seat for the free screening.

Chamber: Restaurant Roulette supporting local eateries

WEIRTON The Weirton Area Chamber of Commerce is asking area residents to take a chance while supporting their local eateries.

Restaurant Roulette is a contest, which Chamber President Brenda Mull explained is a new way to show support for area restaurants.

When you go out to eat, save your receipts and drop them off at the chamber, Mull said, noting residents should write their name and phone number on each receipt.

Receipts mailed to the chamber also will be accepted but not those e-mailed, faxed or photocopied. For those stopping by the chamber office located at 3174 Pennsylvania Ave., Suite 1 outside of business hours, or not wishing to go inside, a blue bag has been placed under the offices mailbox.

Each week of the contest, chamber officials will draw a name, and the winner will receive a gift card to a local restaurant.

Well post the winners on our Facebook page, Mull said.

The contest runs through April.

Bergholz Foundation offers scholarship application news

BERGHOLZ The Bergholz Community Foundation will offer scholarships for the 2021-22 school year with applications are now available.

Students eligible for consideration for the scholarships are 2021 high school graduates who reside in the Edison Local School District.

Scholarships also are available to nontraditional students. These applicants must be past graduates of Edison High School or one of the Edison School Districts consolidated high schools, who are seeking a first-time associate or undergraduate degree or technical training.

Edison High School students may obtain scholarship applications from the Edison guidance office. Scholarship applications can be obtained from the foundations website at http://www.bergholzfoundation.org or by forwarding a request and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Bergholz Community Foundation, P.O. Box 201, Bergholz OH 43908.

The application deadline is April 2.

Completed applications can be returned to Bergholz Community Foundation, c/o Scholarship Committee, P.O. Box 201, Bergholz OH 43908.

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

Read the original:

Community news from around the area | News, Sports, Jobs - The Daily Times

There is a long relationship between gambling and science. Woven together, mathematics, psychology and science breathe life into a game of chance.

Since the Renaissance scientists and mathematicians have earnestly studied the science in gambling and attempted to take luck out of the game, some have been more successful than others, paving the way for the optimists to continue to try to beat the dealer.

Welcome to a world where computer science presides over the roulette wheel, artificial intelligence meets poker, and nuclear Science predicts race times and sports-field goals.

Royalty-free stock illustration ID: 1566728512

Quantum Physics and Beating the Dealer

Einstein boldly declared that God doesn't play dice, but, in saying this, he failed to apply the same edict to scientists. He didnt like the fuzzy world of probabilities and proposed quantum physics is fundamentally predetermined. He stated that you could predict an exact result with precise knowledge of all the contributing factors.

According to John Bell, Einstein failed to consider that said contributing factors possessed an unavoidable, built-in degree of randomness. Over some time, these two scientists battled it out, both stubbornly sticking to their theories. Ultimately, as other scientists entered the fray, Einstein and Bell found company in each other to have independently credible ideas.

And so, the dealer lives another deal another day as there is no way to predict the unpredictable and it might be said after all that God does play dice.

The Dice is Always Rolling

The toss of dice is, interestingly, considerably more predictable than science would have us believe. Isaac Newton interjects, suggesting that if one were to record the precise height, velocity and direction of the toss, one could easily predict a pair of sunflowers (double fives) or a tutu (double twos).

The challenge is time, of which there are virtually none and the unpredictability of the conditions surrounding the toss. These factors guarantee the impossibility of a solid guess and therefore, the safety of the game of chance.

Royalty-free stock vector ID: 658586575

A game of chance at the wheel of fortune

The roulette - meaning the little wheel was invented in 1655 by a French physicist, inventor and mathematician, Blaise Pascal. Ironically, he wasn't trying to create a casino game, but rather a perpetual motion machine.

It is often said that roulette is a perfect world, a game of chance with absolutely predictable results. In said perfect world scientific calculations, using conditions and forces, guarantee the players an inevitable outcome and thus a big-time win.

However, In the real world, where time waits for no man, physics has no seat at the roulette table. The outcome predictability is clouded by tiniest variations in the conditions leading up to the final chancel.

Scientific Ideas Developed into Betting Strategies

1940:- Exploiting the biased wheel

In 1940, Albert Hibbs, a mathematics student, and Roy Walford studied medicine and took time out from their studies to visit casinos in Reno and Las Vegas.

Interested in the possible existence of science in gambling, they studied the roulette wheel. The wheel design was basic in 1940, and the pair observed that the wheels had flaws. These flaws offered degrees of predictability, so they set about exploiting these findings by creating formulas for the various wheels they studied.

On hearing about their success, the casinos replaced the old biased roulette wheels for new smooth-spinning models.

1955:- Counting on your toes

Edward Thorp, inspired by Hibbs and Walford, devised a handheld computer to process the information observed while studying the now smooth-spinning roulette wheels. The little computer was quick enough to use the throws trajectory and the wheels speed to predict and transmit a result to the player at the table.

Joining forces with mathematician Claude Shannon in the late 1950s, Thorp invented the first wearable computer designed to fit into the bottom of an, specially designed shoe. By manipulating the toes to capture the variables, the predicted result was sent via musical notes to an earpiece worn by the player.

This method was only effective while late betting was allowed. So as not to become evident by always placing late bets, i.e. betting once the wheel and ball were in motion, the pair mixed up the timing of their bets thereby ultimately reducing their profitability.

In 1966, Thorp went public with his methods and published books on the Science of Gambling.

Royalty-free stock photo ID: 244195468

1970:- Eudaemonism

In the 1970s, J Doyne Farmer and Norman Packard and a group of savvy students, collectively known as The Eudaemons, fine-tuned Thorp and Shannon's shoe computer.

The device was made even smaller with limited wiring and no earpiece. The result was sent as a vibration to the other foot. This discreet method was highly successful, earning the group a 44% profit on each dollar spent.

1980/1990:- Bringing Down The House

In the 1980s, Casinos prohibited the use of computers and upgraded their equipment. This effectively brought an end to sciences winning streak. While in the 1990s, A MIT Blackjack team beat the odds again by implementing an extremely profitable system.

Through these remarkable men, the proof has been revealed that the science in gambling exists and while it is no longer legal to apply, on the roulette wheel of life, these men went on to hit the jackpot, and good for them.

Stories of successful gambling go against the grain and the notion that casinos and bookmakers are unbeatable. They plant the idea that there are flaws in games of chance and open to exploitation by anyone sharp enough to spot them. Employing science to test the notion that randomness can be reasoned with and formulae control fortune is the best money-making scheme to date - except its nothing new.

These thoughts are so appealing that people have tried to find ways to beat the dealer since the history of gambling has been reported. Yet, the search for the perfect wager has not only influenced gamblers throughout history, but the investigation has also transformed our entire understanding of luck and will continue to do so. So lets hear it for science after all its only half the story.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes

Read this article:

The Science In Gambling - EconoTimes

TALENTED and fun-loving with celebrity friends including Amy Winehouse, Pete Doherty and Kate Moss, Louise Cattell had an incredibly bright future ahead of her.

But it was taken away when, at the age of just 21, the 5ft 1ins student overdosed in her bathtub after taking ketamine.

19

Now, on the 10th anniversary of her death, her mother Vicky Unwin is sending a stark warning about the dangers of the popular party drug.

Figures released this month show that one in 10 teenagers admit to taking hard drugs including ketamine which is commonly used as a horse tranquilliser or anaesthetic - as it has become the cheap, lockdown drug of choice.

As one 25-year-old told a newspaper: These days everyone does ketamine.

In an exclusive interview, writer Vicky, 63, says: One of the things thats worrying about lockdown is that teenagers are taking drugs in the secrecy of their homes and you just dont know what they are buying on the dark web.

19

These kids are getting depressed because they cant go out and have a good time and the parents often have no idea what they are getting up to."

Vicky says: Ketamine has become one of the party drugs of choice because its cheap, but its also very dangerous and there is still a lack of education about its effects.

Everyone wants to experience this so-called 'K-hole' where you get into a catatonic state and have a psychedelic trip.

19

But people do really stupid things on ketamine because theyre half asleep they fall off buildings, fall under buses, choke on their own vomit.

Louise took too much and fell asleep in a bath and drowned.

You cannot stop yourself from falling into this deep coma and that part is incredibly dangerous because you are completely out of control.

Young people have been warned they are playing chemical Russian Roulette by taking ketamine, which is also known as Special K or Super K.

Senior coroner Timothy Brennand spoke out after apprentice plumber Matthew Dutton, 22, fell into a canal and drowned having mixed ketamine with two pints of lager and three alcopops at a pub in Wigan, Greater Manchester, on August 23 last year.

19

Other recent casualties include Cardiff University law student Megan Pollitt, 18, who died on November 16, just days after she was found motionless by a flatmate at her halls of residence.

The teen, from Rugby, Warwickshire, was one of two people to die from a suspected overdose on the same weekend, with police blaming a rogue batch of ketamine.

Her family later released a statement, saying: We will miss her beautiful bright smile and positive energy that would lift the spirits of anyone.

19

19

Former deputy head girl Jeni Larmour, 18, collapsed and died after it's feared she took ketamine at Newcastle University, where she was studying architecture and urban planning.

Tragically, she was one of four suspected drug deaths in the city on the same weekend.

Her heartbroken mum Sandra Foster Larmour, of Newtownhamilton, County Armagh, paid tribute in the days that followed, writing on Facebook: My beautiful Princess my best friend x.

19

19

Her friend Piper Hebditch, 18, insisted: I don't believe she would willingly have taken drugs and TV presenter Eamonn Holmes described her death as "every parent's worst nightmare".

Customer services agent Joe Robinson died on June 14 last year after attending an illegal rave at Daisy Nook Country Park in Oldham.

The 20-year-old collapsed in the early hours of the morning after mixing ketamine with MDMA and shouting: Zombies are chasing me, just leave me to die," according to the Manchester Evening News.

19

His brother Dean Robinson, 28, told the inquest at Stockport Coroner's Court: "He was a much-loved member of the family."

Model Madalyn Davis, 21, plunged to her death in the early hours of the morning of January 11 last year after taking a cocktail of drugs including ketamine while backpacking in Australia.

The talented make-up artist, with thousands of Instagram followers, is believed to have been watching the sun rise and taking photographs at a beauty spot in Dover Heights near Sydney when she became disorientated.

19

19

19

Her grandfather Paul Davis, 76, told of the family's devastation afterwards, revealing: She was intelligent, very stylish and had a magnetic personality. Everybody liked her. She had it all. It has broken our hearts.

Vickys daughter was similarly loved.

Known as Little Lou to her friends in north London, she moved with a fast crowd that included the late singer Amy Winehouse, the heroin addicted musician Pete Doherty, now 41, and his then girlfriend, model Kate Moss, 47, and other members of the Primrose Hill set.

A talented singer, dancer and photographer, she got through to the second round on X Factor in 2009, two years before she died, and was planning on going to arts college.

19

Louise had just returned from travelling in Australia and was staying with her unnamed best friend in Clapton, east London, when she took a lethal dose of ketamine on March 2, 2011.

Speaking from her home in Belsize Park, north London, her mum recalls: Louise was tiny, 5ft 1ins, but she was feisty and beautiful and used to wear the most amazing clothes and make-up with different hair colours.

She was such an attractive personality that people were drawn to her.

We did have conversations about drugs because I knew what teenagers do.

The really sad thing is she said, Dont worry mum, I know about drugs and I see what a mess Pete (Doherty) has made of his life with heroin'.

19

19

She promised, I will never take anything like that, I am much wiser'. But because there wasnt much education about the dangers, she had little idea how dangerous ketamine was.

She thought she was being smart. The night she died she weighed out the ketamine on a scale to check the dosage.

But she hadnt had any drugs for two or three months so her body wasnt used to taking the same amount as her friends.

Louise and her flatmate were watching something on TV and she decided to finish it in the bath when the other girl crashed out asleep in bed.

She promised, I will never take anything like that, I am much wiser'. But because there wasnt much education about the dangers, she had little idea how dangerous ketamine was.

When the friend woke up, she realised Louise wasnt there and she went and found her - she was already dead.

Despite the dangers, ketamine use by young adults aged 16 to 24 has almost doubled in the decade since Louises death, with 3.2 per cent admitting taking it the highest number ever recorded by the Office for National Statistics compared to 1.7 per cent in 2010.

Use of the drug in the general population is also at the highest on record, at 0.8 per cent, despite the fact that ketamine can cause respiratory failure and is particularly deadly when combined with alcohol.

Dangers of ketamine

Professor Owen Bowden-Jones, Consultant Psychiatrist, CNWL Club Drug Clinic says:

"A very unexpected harm of regular ketamine use, which we often see at the clinic, is bladder damage. While no one knows exactly why this happens, people describe intense pain over their bladders and when they urinate.

"They will often see blood in their urine and this is a sign that the bladder has been seriously damaged. Fortunately, with treatment, most people are able to reduce and stop using ketamine and the bladder usually recovers.

"Ketamine is attractive to some users as an emotional anaesthetic, taking away difficult or unwanted feels and replacing them with an emotional numbness.

"While this may feel good in the short term, it means that the person needs to keep taking more and more ketamine to control their emotions, putting them at risk of becoming dependent."

If you are experiencing problems with your use of ketamine and would like more information please see talktofrank.com/drug/ketamine or call Club Drug Clinic on 020 3317 3000 for advice.

19

19

University College Londons Millennium Cohort Study recently showed that 10 per cent of children have tried hard drugs by the age of 17.

There has also been a sharp rise in people being referred to hospital with ketamine-related bladder issues and long term users often end up needing bladder transplants.

Government statistics show 445 people were treated for ketamine-related health issues including addiction in 2018, the last time the figure was recorded.

Nearly one in five ketamine users end up addicted to the Class C drug, according to the Global Drug Survey.

Vicky is now a Trustee of the Transform campaign group and, on the 50th anniversary of the Misuse of Drugs Act, she is calling for substances including ketamine to be decriminalised so they can be labelled and regulated.

19

She said: Louise was part of that east London set at the end of the noughties and ketamine was the party drug of choice.

In those days I think it cost just 12 a bump and because alcohol was so expensive and these were young people with arty jobs, they would stay in and take ketamine.

Louises death was a big wakeup call to her friends.

Some of them told me they were already steering away from ketamine because they had such bad experiences with it and being out of control.

One in particular, a musician, said he had a really scary experience and stopped taking it.

19

The ones that were addicted had to be locked in a room and were sick as they went cold turkey.

"Im not angry with her friends but its such a stupid waste of life. As a bereaved parent you learn to live with the loss, but the feeling is always there.

Some people cant bear it but we made the decision to continue living our lives.

ROYAL GRUMBLEHarry told dont disrespect your gran amid 'Megxit clashes with William'

Exclusive

SOAP OPRAHOprah boards 57m jet after filming bombshell interview with Harry and Meghan

LOTTO LUCKSaturday's Lotto numbers as 4.6million jackpot up for grabs

FLU WHATRussia records worlds first ever human infection of H5N8 bird flu

Latest

'huge blow'Publicans furious after Martin indicates hospitality closed until mid-summer

FAMILY'S AGONYGirl, 9, dies of blood clot on heart days after GP sent her home with Calpol

We have a lovely son Tommy, who is 33 now, and we have to keep on living and we have to try to make sure others dont die unnecessarily.

Thats why I joined Transform and started campaigning to get some form of decriminalisation.

If gangs were taken out of the equation and people know what they are buying and can get advice from someone like a chemist, lives will be saved.

If you are experiencing problems with your use of ketamine and would like more information please see talktofrank.com/drug/ketamine

Read the original here:

My beautiful daughter took ketamine and drowned in her bath its become Russian Roulette drug for teens in - The Irish Sun