Broomfield’s Bal Swan preschool blasting back to age of disco at annual Ball

February 19, 2012

UPDATE: Bal Swan on Thursday announced the early-bird ticket rate was extended until Feb. 24. Break out your bell-bottoms, it’s almost time to get down for Bal Swan.

The annual Bal Swan Ball, which each year raises money the preschool, the first in Colorado to integrate children with special needs with the general population in a “blended learning environment,” arrives on March 3.

“We bring in about half our fundraising dollars at this event,” said Brian Conly, executive director of Bal Swan.

The annual gala, now in its 47th year, always has a theme. Last year it was the ’80s, and some attendees showed up dressed as David Lee Roth and MC Hammer.

This year, supporters can break out the bell-bottoms and oversized wigs for a time warp back to the age of disco for Saturday Night Fever.

Conly said about half of attendees show up in costumes, and half show up in everything from tuxedos to business casual attire. He’s heard talk of an electric cowboy and an Austin Powers or two making appearances this year.

Kim Christiansen of 9 News will emcee, during dinner there also will be a presentation, including slides and video, to let people know what the school does, as well as hear from one of the families helped by the school.

This will be Christiansen’s third or fourth year at the mic for Bal Swan. Christiansen, who participates in many such events each year and does not charge a fee for her appearances, said she is glad to give back.

“I love everything about this school,” she said via e-mail Tuesday. “This is an environment every child and every adult should have the opportunity to be a part of — in doing so we’d learn about acceptance, compassion and possibilities.”

That model for not just preschoolers, but all of us evolved after the school that originally only served children with special needs brought in “typical” children, because kids naturally want to emulate their peers, said Bal Swan development director Sunny Justice. Preschool is a particularly good time to integrate, because kids are so non-judgmental, she said. In fact, having a prosthetic “robot” arm might make you cool, Justice said.

“One kid came in a wheelchair, and the mother was really apprehensive,” Justice said, but another student took one look at the wheelchair and said, “that thing’s so cool,” and all the kids asked to take turns riding it.

“There are so many anecdotes like that,” Justice said.

Students without special needs also benefit from the smaller class sizes and learning acceptance and tolerance, Justice said. As an example, she told a story of a teacher at another school calling Bal Swan to relay how a child in a wheelchair was being teased, but a Bal Swan student stood up against the teasing.

That team spirit extends to the ball, too.

The theme each year is decided by a committee of moms and dads at the school. Next year will be a ’60s gala, followed by the ’50s for the school’s 50th anniversary.

The ball also features live and silent auctions of items provided by a team of generous donors. Some donated items include “bucket-list” vacations, such as a California ocean-front retreat in Mendocino, Disney Land and an African safari for two. Attendees also can bid on honeycomb shades from Hunter Douglas, dining certificates, a round of golf and spa packages.

The gala raises money for programs benefiting about 500 children annually (about 40 percent of the school’s population) from infancy to age 12.

The evening will include dinner, followed by gambling for funny money at poker, craps, blackjack and roulette tables, and dancing to the music of the Nacho Men.

“It’s a great party,” Justice said.

Broomfield’s Bal Swan preschool blasting back to age of disco at annual Ball

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Golf Course Review – The Greenbrier (Old White TPC)

February 17, 2012

FACTS AND STATS: Course Architects: Charles Blair Macdonald, with Seth Raynor (1914), Lester George (2001-06, restoration), PGA Tour Design along with McDonald and Sons (2010-11). Year Opened: April 1914. Location: White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Slope: 141. Rating: 75.7. Par: 70. Yardage: 7,274.Hole-by-Hole:1 – Par 4 449 Yds 10 – Par 4 385 Yds2 – Par 4 488 Yds 11 – Par 4 493 Yds3 – Par 3 205 Yds 12 – Par 5 568 Yds4 – Par 4 427 Yds 13 – Par 4 492 Yds5 – Par 4 388 Yds 14 – Par 4 401 Yds6 – Par 4 471 Yds 15 – Par 3 217 Yds7 – Par 4 430 Yds 16 – Par 4 444 Yds8 – Par 3 234 Yds 17 – Par 5 616 Yds9 – Par 4 404 Yds 18 – Par 3 162 YdsPar 34 3,496 Yds Par 36 3,778 YdsKey Events Held: The Greenbrier Classic (2010-present).Awards Won: Ranked #1 by Golfweek – Best Courses You Can Play in WV (2011), #5 by Golf Digest – Best in State Rankings in West Virginia (2011), Ranked #3 by Golfweek – Best Public Access Course in WV (2010), Ranked #7 by Golf Digest – World’s 50 Best Golf Hotels (2010), AAA Five Diamond Award (1976-2012).Golf Professional Emeritus: Sam Snead (1994-2002 – Head Professional in 1936), Tom Watson (2005-present).Course Record: 59 (Stuart Appleby, 2010).Website: greenbrier.comHISTORY: Although the course was built in the early 1900s, The Greenbrier really dates back to the late 1700s, as many a traveler made the trek from far and wide after hearing about the amazing healing and medicinal waters of the sulphur springs.Communities were springing up in and around the region and by the mid 1800s, the Grand Central Hotel was built. Commonly known as the Old White Hotel, it stood on the grounds from 1858 to 1922.For the not-so-paltry sum at the time of $150,000, the C&O (Chesapeake and Ohio) Railway purchased the property in 1910 and began to transform the land into a world-class resort.Soon after, famed architect Charles Blair Macdonald, along with Seth Raynor were brought in to design the first golf course at The Greenbrier.Macdonald, the first winner of the U.S. Amateur Championship by a record 12 & 11 over Charles Sands, began designing courses, including Chicago Golf Club, Yale Golf Course and, what some believe his finest, the National Golf Links of America.How important was Macdonald to the game of golf, legendary journalist Bernard Darwin referred to Macdonald as the "first great American golf course architect."With plenty of fanfare, the Old White, named after the hotel, opened in 1914, as none other than President Woodrow Wilson was not only the first president, but one of the first golfers to play the course.Macdonald crafted the layout in homage to some of the great holes and venues in European golf, such as North Berwick, Prestwick and St. Andrew’s. The original course was laid out to a par of 70 and stretched to 6,395 yards, pretty long for its time.By the mid-30s, dignitaries galore were coming in droves to The Greenbrier. In all, 26 presidents and thousands of celebrities have descended upon the shamrock fairways and rejuvenated their spirits over the years.During this time, Sam Snead was signed on as the head golf professional. Snead, who passed away in 2002, was said to have made his final hole-in-one on the Old White’s 18th hole in 1995. In addition, Snead also carded a 59 at the course, albeit in a non-tournament setting. He served as head professional for 40 years and was Golf Professional Emeritus from 1994 until the day he died.During World War II, the U.S. Army purchased The Greenbrier from C&O for $3 million, using the hotel as a hospital, as soldiers were able to recuperate. Following the war in 1946, the government sold the property back to C&O for the same price.The years of weather took its toll on the Old White and in 2001 Lester George was brought in for a revitalization and restoration of the course, a project that took five years. George reinstated many of the original design features of Macdonald and lengthened the course to over 6,800 yards.In some eyes, The Greenbrier had slipped in stature over the years and in 2009 West Virginia native Jim Justice purchased the resort from CSX (formerly C&O Railway), a resort which it had owned for 99 years.Justice was dedicated to bringing The Greenbrier back to world-class prominence. Not only did Justice create a whole new atmosphere around the resort, he began construction of a casino, shops and restaurants to re-establish The Greenbrier back to its elite status.Another part of his plan was to coerce the PGA Tour to bring an event to the hollowed grounds of the Old White, and so it came to pass that The Greenbrier Classic would be part of the PGA’s schedule.Although history for the Greenbrier Classic dates back to just 2010, the inaugural tournament was an epic event.Stuart Appleby stormed back from seven shots behind thanks to a remarkable 59 on the final day to defeat Jeff Overton by one shot. In doing so, Appleby became just the fifth player in PGA Tour history to reach golf’s magic number and he was the first player to accomplish the feat on a par-70 layout.The victory enabled the Australian to snap a four-year winless drought for his ninth tour title.After parring the opening hole, Appleby recorded eight consecutive 3s for a front-nine 28. He made his only eagle of the tournament at the par-five 12th, hitting his 237-yard second shot to within 12 feet and holing the putt. That moved him to 19-under for the tournament — and eight-under for the round — for a share of the lead with Overton.Following three straight pars, Appleby birdied No. 16 from 14 feet, moving a step closer. Then he laid up from a bunker to 100 yards at the par-five 17th, the perfect distance for a sand wedge shot. He knocked it to 10 feet and converted the birdie to move one shot ahead. At the par-three 18th, Appleby knocked his tee shot 11 feet from the cup and then holed the putt for his miracle 59."We spend so much time trying to have rounds like this," commented Appleby after the round. "Forget whether it’s a 50 something, you’re just trying to have rounds where you’re scaring the hole. And when you do and they drop, it’s a pleasant feeling. You just never seem to get enough of them."The numbers at the inaugural event were quite low and players were critical of the layout, so the PGA Tour Design team, along with McDonald and Sons, came in after the event to make several changes. Nine new tee boxes, bunker work and the reseeding of the bent grass greens to name a few.For the 2011 tournament, the course was lengthened 243 yards to combat some of the easy scoring conditions from the previous season. Current Golf Professional Emertis Tom Watson was full of comments prior to the event."First, there’s not going to be any 59s shot," he said."I went out and saw the greens, and the greens are a lot firmer," he added. "They are like this (knocking on wood table). The ball is not going to stop. It’s going to take a lot of skill to get the ball close to the flag positions on these greens. It’s like playing the links greens where they really are hard and they release. The ball really releases, with every club in your bag. It’s going to be a tough go this year with getting your eyes close to the hole."It worked, as the winning score was 12 shots higher, as not one player carded four rounds in the 60s, compared to 46 the preceding year.Watson continued, "The difficulty in this golf course for a guy like me is that the fairways are really soft. They are not running. And the greens are really hard and you have a big difference in transition to land the ball on the front edge and really release."Trailing by as many as five shots during the final round, Scott Stallings birdied the final hole from four feet, one of six birdies on the final nine to force a playoff with Bob Estes and Bill Haas. The trio completed regulation at 10-under-par 270, as they headed back to the 18th.After all three players found the green on the first extra hole, Haas was first to putt. Haas, who closed with a three-under 67, had 23 feet for birdie, but he two-putted for par. Estes, who was the first to 10-under thanks to his six-under 64 and a birdie on the 18th in regulation, ran his 12-foot birdie putt past the hole and then tapped in for par, leaving the heroics to Stallings.Stallings’ tee shot was in nearly the same spot he was in regulation. And like that putt, he drained the seven-foot birdie effort in the playoff for his first career win.The fact that Stallings was in the hunt for the title was truly remarkable, as he posted four bogeys on the front nine without a birdie. In contrast, his back nine started with three straight birdies and five of the first seven. His lone blemish was a bogey on the easy 17th after knocking his tee shot in the water."The Greenbrier has been absolutely incredible," Stallings said. "The fans, volunteers, everybody that came and put the tournament together has been absolutely phenomenal. One of the best, if not ‘the’ best tournament on Tour."The Old White course became part of the TPC network of courses in 2011."We are thrilled to add this legendary layout to the TPC Network and look forward to continuing The Greenbrier’s tradition for superb golf, remarkable amenities and personalized service," said David Pillsbury, PGA Tour Golf Course Properties President and EVP."I am confident The Old White TPC will regain its position as one of the most iconic golf layouts in the world and help restore The Greenbrier to its original glory as one of the most exclusive resorts on the globe," Justice added.HOLE-BY-HOLE REVIEW: The opening hole is a picturesque view of the surrounding mountains, as you stand upon the elevated tee. A slight dogleg to the right, the fairway is devoid of sand, but trees stand guard on either side. Despite its length of 449 yards from the gold markers, three metal should suffice due to the elevation change to the fairway. A medium to short iron should remain to a fairly simple green that slopes from back to front. Bunkers on either side of the putting surface could make for a difficult up and down.A new tee has been added to the second hole, turning this relatively simple par four into a 488-yard monster. From the back marker, the hole actually plays to a slight bend to the right. Over 300 yards to reach the bunker on the right, the real difficulty here is the length, as you’ll be left with a long iron or fairway metal into a well-guarded green. Although just 32 paces in depth, the putting surface is very undulated and slick.The problem on the third is not hitting the green, as it’s the longest on the course at 64 paces. It will be two-putting for par. Aptly nicknamed Biarritz for its design, this par three features several deep bunkers on either side of the surface, so if you happen to miss the green, you virtually have no shot at saving par. With the size of the green, you might need a three metal off the tee if the pin is back left. Although I’m not a big fan of this style of design, it’s slope is not as severe as others around the country, so you’ll have a fighting chance. Do not take the third lightly, even though it rates as the 17th-easiest hole on the course. During the 2011 Greenbrier Classic, this hole played to a stroke average of 3.107, ranking eighth for the week.The fourth hole is all about position off the tee. Avoid the U-shaped bunker down the right and the deep fairway bunker on the left 50 yards further out and you’re almost home free. A step down from driver should be the play; however, if you can blast your drive over 250 yards in the air, then bombs away and all you’ll have to contend with is the thick rough lining the fairway. The landing area at the 150-yard mark is less than 20 paces, so choose wisely off the tee. Your approach to the green with a medium iron needs to be precise, as the green is just 30 paces in depth and slopes hard from back to front and to the right. Any shot above the pin will have little or no chance of staying on the green and forget about two-putting.A new tee on the fifth now lengthens this par four to 388 yards. Not a big deal by any stretch, but it plays uphill with a pair of angled crossing bunkers in the fairway at the 240-yard mark. Your approach to the green will need to carry a burn, just a few paces from the putting surface. Mounding to the left will repel any shot off-line, while a deep bunker right will capture additional errant shots. The green is fairly benign, but missing long could end up out of bounds if you’re not careful.It comes as little surprise that the sixth hole is one of the most difficult on the course. In fact, on the scorecard, it’s rated the No. 1 handicapped hole on Old White. During the 2011 PGA event, it scored to a 4.174 average rating fourth for the week. The second-longest par four on the front nine at 471 yards, it features an undulating fairway that runs down and toward the left with a deep bunker that protrudes into the landing area. Your approach will be slightly uphill to a mid-sized green that’s protected on the left by two deep bunkers that sit well below the surface. A back-left pin can be scary, so play toward the center, stay below the hole, two-putt and move on.At 430 yards, the seventh is fairly simple, but it still requires accuracy off the tee, as sand, which is strategically placed on both sides of the fairway, needs to be avoided. The real challenge comes with your approach, as the putting surface is 42 paces in depth, so get out your SkyCaddie and get a precise yardage. Your depth perception will be challenged by the fairway bunkers near the green, so be careful. The putting surface is long and narrow with traps on either side. So what started out as a simple par four ended up being quite difficult.The longest par three on the course, the eighth, is a wonderfully crafted hole with a beautiful mountain backdrop. The key to making par or better is making sure you don’t cut off more that you can chew. The putting surface is quite large and swings sharply from right to left, so a sweeping draw should get the job done, as long as you play toward the center of the green. Any shot attacking the flag will finish long and left of the green. In addition, any tee ball short and left will end up in a Sahara-type bunker, filled with sand moguls and mounding, 10 feet below the surface. The eighth is a perfect example of a redan style hole, one of which Macdonald frequently used in his designs.With an undulating fairway that tilts to the left, you’ll be wise to play down the right side on the ninth. Just 404 yards from the back tees, a three metal is the best play, as your tee ball will bound down the fairway for a few extra yards. Not only is the left side of the landing area the flattest spot, it also gives the player the best angle to attack the green. A short iron should be enough to pin hunt, but be wary of the deep trap left of the green. The putting surface, elevated from the left side, is long and fairly flat and does not run with the exacting speed of the previous surfaces, but still requires careful thought. A real birdie chance, as evident from the 2011 Greenbrier Classic, as it proved to be one of the easiest holes on the course.The back nine starts out with the shortest par four on the course and just one of two under 400 yards. At 385 yards, the 10th is aptly nicknamed, Principal’s Nose. To fully appreciate its moniker, one would need an aerial view of the hole to realize its meaning. The best play here would be down the right side, avoiding the large fairway bunker on the left and playing short of the "Nose." Just a short pitch will remain to a green that slopes away and to the right. With a tee shot in the left or center fairway, your view to the green will be partially blocked and can be most difficult to stop on this canted green. It’s one of the few birdie chances on the back side.Originally, the 11th played as a medium-length par four, easily reached in regulation. Over the years, new tees have been added, included the most recent that stretches this behemoth to 493 yards. Two bunkers frame the fairway on this dogleg left on either side. Play down the right with a draw to give yourself the best chance of getting home. Don’t be deceived by the bunker short of the green, as it stands 30 yards short of the putting surface. Listen to your caddie or trust your range finder, otherwise, you’ll end up short of the green. A ridge in the center will provide little resistance to your stroke, allowing for an easier chance to save par. During tournament week, only 32 birdies were made out of 460 rounds.The first par five on the course rings in at the 12th. It’s a sweeping dogleg right, 568-yarder with thick trees and rough down the entire right side. A large, 15-yard wide bunker guards the corner of the dogleg, and although a blast of 260 yards will clear the obstacle, don’t try this from the back tee, as you’ll lose the fight. It certainly is possible to get home in two if successful off the tee, but you must now clear a stream that runs diagonally across the fairway and take enough club to reach the elevated putting surface. It would be easier and safer to play down the left side of the fairway with a medium to long iron and leaving 125 yards for your approach. Remember to take an extra stick, as the green is raised and an enormous bunker lays in waiting on the left side. No question, it’s a birdie-fest.If you thought the 11th was difficult, the 13th is no slouch, either. New tees have been added to grow this monster to 492 yards, as it swings to the right. Trees and deep rough, which sit above the fairway to the right are a no-no if you want to make par. The left portion of the landing area is the play. Although it will leave a longer approach, you’ll have a clear shot to the green, while the right side will be hindered by a mound on the right. The green is one of the quickest on the course as it runs hard from back to front. Miss long and you’ll be hard-pressed to keep your chip on the putting surface. The final round of the 2011 event produced only four birdies in 75 attempts.Another realistic birdie chance presents itself on the short, dogleg left 14th. There are two options of thought here: lay up short of the extremely wide fairway bunker with a long iron, or crack a three metal or more over the trouble. Either way, you’ll be left with a downhill approach to a fairly long green, guarded on both sides with deep bunkers. A couple words of caution. Tug your tee ball to the far left and a snake-shaped, 80-yard trap will swallow you whole, so be alert and do not miss the green to the right, as any shot wide of the target will bound down a hill, well below the putting surface. Other than that, piece of cake.Par threes are generally rated as the easiest on the course, rarely producing any difficulty. This is certainly not the case at the 15th. It’s not overly long at 215 yards, but is completely exposed to the elements. The stream that dissects the green and the tee area should not come into play, but the bunkers front and rear will. The putting surface is of average size, but is quite quick from back to front. This hole proved to be the hardest on the Old White during the final round of the 2011 Greenbrier Classic.And you thought Swan Lake was a ballet. Not at the Greenbrier. It’s the body of water that must be cleared in order to gain entrance to the 16th green. With additional teeing grounds added in recent years, this former pushover is now 444 yards long. Take an aggressive line and you’ll be left with a short iron, not so easy when the wind is blowing. Your other option is to play over the left side of the water and now you have a 200-yard approach over the corner of the left, greenside bunker. Regardless, you’ll be hard-pressed to make par at the "Cape."The 17th and 18th holes on the Old White are one of the easiest finishing duos in tournament golf. The numbers don’t lie, as the par-five 17th played to a scoring average of 4.735 and the short 18th at 2.972, finishing with 166 and 100 birdies, respectively.The par-five 17th, although the longest hole on the course at 616 yards thanks to another new tee, is all about placement. Several fairway bunkers are strategically placed down both sides of the short grass, just enough to give you angst. Avoiding the trough-like trap off the tee down the left is key. From the back tee, it will be difficult to reach, but for the mortals who don’t play from the tournament buttons, it is in range. Laying up to a likeable yardage will require a medium iron, so don’t be greedy. You can make birdie the old-fashioned way. With your wedge approach, you’ll have to negotiate one of the smaller greens on the course, just 30 paces in length with some undulation. If I can, you can.Certainly not the norm, the Old White finishes with a short par three. You’ll be hard-pressed to name some of the higher profile courses that have this feature. Westchester Country Club (West Course), Pasatiempo Golf Club, The Homestead (Cascades Course) and East Lake Country Club (site of the Tour Championship) are the most notable.Playing slightly uphill, a short iron should be plenty of club to reach the green, but be careful, as a deep ridge dissects the putting surface and when the pin is up top, you’ll need to be spot on to reach the right level. Deep bunkers around the green see plenty of action. What a wonderful finishing hole, especially with the crowd of resort guests looking on. Who can forget Stallings’ back-to-back birdies on the closing hole, first in regulation and then in the playoff to win for the first time.FINAL WORD: It’s always fun to play a historic golf course that some of the greatest players of all time have graced its fairways. This is certainly the case with The Old White TPC at The Greenbrier.Let’s start with the conditioning and difficulty of the layout. When Mr. Justice and the PGA Tour agreed to host an annual event, they knew that the persnickety and spoiled players would only play a venue that was up to their standards.Lester George had just spent over four years restoring the Old White to its original glory, so now it was up to the PGA Tour to tweak the venue even further.Boy, did it.The scores at the Greenbrier Classic in year one averaged 68.536, with a whopping 362 rounds of par or better. In 2011, with new tees added and firmer greens, 70.593 was the norm and just 231 rounds of par or better.Lush conditions, slick greens and thick rough can do that to anyone’s scorecard.Although the course is tournament tough, The Old White TPC is a venue for all levels.Why?Just look at the five sets of tees, ranging from 5,019 yards to the 7,200-plus tournament markers. That’s what makes a course great. So everyone can enjoy it.In addition to the wonderful golf, The Greenbrier is a world-class resort with every amenity possible. For goodness sake, presidents have stayed here.Speaking of presidents. Most of today’s youth know little about American history, and The Greenbrier was certainly an enormous component of the Cold War.Suffice to say, the U.S. government, planned by the Eisenhower Administration, commissioned The Greenbrier to build a top secret relocation facility for Congress in the event of nuclear fallout. Affectionately known as "The Bunker," it was built in conjunction with the addition of the West Virginia Wing of the hotel.It took over three years to complete the project and, once developed, it included a power plant that would provide enough power for 1,100 people for up to 40 days, a communications briefing room, an in-depth security system, 18 dormitories, which slept 60 each, a full clinic, which included a full staff of doctors and nurses, and a cafeteria that could feed 400 people at once.Three entrances into the facility were protected by massive doors of steel and concrete, able to withstand a modest nuclear blast and prevent radioactive fallout from entering.Incredibly, the secret of the facility was kept quiet from the public for more than 30 years until 1992, when the Washington Post broke the story.Today, The Bunker is open to the public for tours and is worth every minute of time spent away from the golf course.Additionally, the resort features a full-fledged casino, complete with blackjack, poker, baccarat, craps and, of course, plenty of slot action.How classy is this adult entertainment? The men need to wear a sport coat after 7 p.m. just to get in.There is the usual outdoor activities for the family – horseback riding, mountain biking, hiking, hunting, boating, tennis, paintball and rafting to name a few, not to mention a 40,000-square-foot spa. But it’s the golf on the four courses that brings everyone to this regal resort.The Meadows, The Greenbrier, which hosted the 1979 Ryder Cup and The Solheim Cup in 1994, and The Snead Course, which is open to private residents only, take a slight backseat to the main component at The Greenbrier, The Old White TPC.Now part of the PGA Tour’s TPC package of great golf courses, Old White represents all of the wonderful things that make a layout such as this, a great one. It’s first class all the way from top to bottom, so it’s no wonder why the resort has been named a five Diamond Resort by AAA for 35 straight years, and counting!This is what legends are made from.Aces, pars or bogeys, send your thoughts to .

Golf Course Review – The Greenbrier (Old White TPC)

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Gold Procrastinators: The Endless Agony – GoldSeek.com

February 15, 2012

It happened again on Wednesday, January 25. Gold shot up by $50.

Across the nation, a band of perpetual procrastinators thought to themselves: “I knew! I knew! Why didn’t I buy?”

This is the never-ending cry of the perpetual gold procrastinator, year after year. “I knew! I knew!”

It is immediately followed with: “I’ve learned my lesson this time! The next time gold’s price falls, I’ll buy.”

Why not? Because, when gold falls, he’ll say this: “The decline is just getting started. It will fall even more. I’ll wait.”

He will wait patiently until gold’s fall reverses. He will then say to himself: “This is temporary. It will fall back.” Then comes the explosive move upward. Then he will say: “I knew! I knew! The next time gold’s price falls, I will buy. I mean it this time. I really mean it.”

Year after year after year, this is the pattern.

There is a page you can go to and find exactly what gold sold for, stretching back for over a decade. It’s here. Here we learn this: on September 5 and 6, gold peaked at $1,895. Then it fell. It bottomed on December 29 at $1,531.

It had moved back up to $1,600 by January 3. That should have sent a “buy” signal to every gold procrastinator. But gold procrastinators do not respond to buy signals. Ever.

They know. But this does them no good financially.

They live in agony. They never buy, and gold moves up. It has for over a decade. They do not learn. They prefer agony to profits.

But this does not make sense. No one prefers agony to profit.

Some people do. We call them masochists. “It hurts! It hurts! Don’t stop!”

My father-in-law was a missionary to the Western Shoshone Indian tribe in Nevada/Idaho from 1945-1955. He and an alcoholic physician with the Indian Health Service were the only full-time white men on the reservation.

There would occasionally be visitors on vacation. He told me about one of them. The man worked for one of the casinos in Reno. He worked at the craps table. He told my father-in-law about a man who had made $11,000 at the table. In the late 1940s, that was a lot of money. “He was drunk. He passed out just after he won. We put his chips in his pocket and put him in his room. He left the next day. That was the only man I ever saw who came out that far ahead.” My father-in-law asked him why. “They gamble to lose” was the answer.

GOLD’S HATED MESSAGE

That describes gamblers. But what about investors? Do they invest to lose? I think a lot of them do.

Yes, they want to make money. But they want to make it conventionally. They want to make it as upstanding defenders of the American dream.

On March 23, 2000, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index peaked at 1527. Today, it is around 1320. But the dollar has depreciated by over 30%. Anyone who took the standard advice to buy and hold a no-load index mutual fund of the S&P 500 has lost 12 years and 40% of his investment. He still believes the story. He will believe the story until an hour before he reaches room temperature.

Why? Because that’s the American dream. It confirms the story of American industry, American ingenuity, and American know-how.

It is also the story of Keynesianism, Federal Reserve monetary policy, and federal regulation.

If you call into question the American dream, you call into question Keynesianism, Federal Reserve monetary policy, and federal regulation. That is unAmerican.

Most Americans would rather lose all of their wealth than call into question the American dream, as promised by Keynesians, Federal Reserve economists, and Civil Service-protected federal bureaucrats.

Most Americans are like that guy at the craps table in Reno. Their only hope is to pass out in front of their chips.

Gold sends a message. Here is the message: “You should not put your hope in Keynesianism, Federal Reserve monetary policy, and federal regulation.”

This is why gold as an investment has had a bad reputation in the media ever since 1965, when Charles de Gaulle told the Bank of France to start handing in dollars to the Federal Reserve System in exchange for gold at the guaranteed price of $35 an ounce. This is also why there is no discussion in history textbooks or economics textbooks of price stability under the international gold coin standard from 1815 to 1914. This is why there is no discussion in history textbooks or economics textbooks of all central banking as a government-licensed cartel.

In February 1967, my first article in a national publication appeared: “Domestic Inflation Versus International Solvency.” It was published in the free market magazine, The Freeman. It was a defense of the traditional gold coin standard, which ended with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. I ended the article with these words.

A full gold coin standard would unquestionably solve the problem of international acceptance and solvency. Gold has always functioned as the means of international payment, and there is no reason to suppose that it will not in the future (assuming that prices and wages are permitted to adjust on an international free market). The opposition to gold in international trade is based upon ideological assumptions which are hostile to the idea of the free market economy. Gold would insure monetary stability, if that were what the economists and legislators really wanted. It would insure too much stability to suit them, and this is the point of contention. As the late Professor Charles Rist once wrote:

In reality, those theoreticians dislike monetary stability, because they dislike the fact that by means of money the individual may escape the arbitrariness of the government. Stable money is one of the last arms at the disposal of the individual to direct his own affairs, whether it be an enterprise or a household. It is certain that nothing so facilitates the seizure of all activities by the government as its liberty of action in monetary matters. If the partisans of [unbacked] paper money really desire monetary stability, they would not oppose so vehemently the reintroduction of the only system that has ever insured it, which is the system of the gold standard.

I wrote that 45 years ago. My views have not changed. What has changed is the consumer price level. An item that cost $1,000 in 1967 would cost $6.735 today.

Of course, this does not apply to gold. To buy as much gold (which was illegal for Americans in 1967) today as $1,000 would have bought in 1967 would take $48,570.

Did I buy gold in 1967? No. I was a graduate student. Instead, I had my parents buy U.S. double eagles, which were collector coins. They were legal.

Why did I tell them to do this? Because I did not believe in the following: Keynesianism, Federal Reserve monetary policy, and federal regulation.

Earlier in that ancient article, I wrote this:

The nation which indulges itself with an inflationary “boom” inevitably faces the economic consequences: either runaway inflation or a serious recession-depression. If the inflation should cease, unemployment will increase, and the earlier forecasts of the nation’s entrepreneurs (which were based on the assumption of continuing inflation) will be destroyed. Since no political party is anxious to face the consequences at the polls of a depression, there is a tendency for inflations, once begun, to become permanent phenomena. Tax increases are postponed as long as possible, “tight” money (i.e., higher interest rates) is unpopular, and cuts in governmental expenditures are not welcomed by those special interest groups which have been profiting by the state’s purchases. The inflation continues.

I have not changed my mind. Nothing that has taken place since 1967 has persuaded me that my analysis was incorrect.

THE FED’S LATEST PRONOUNCEMENT

On Wednesday, January 25, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which sets monetary policy, made an announcement. Every Austrian School economist had said it would make this announcement at some point.

To support a stronger economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at levels consistent with the dual mandate, the Committee expects to maintain a highly accommodative stance for monetary policy. In particular, the Committee decided today to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and currently anticipates that economic conditions ? including low rates of resource utilization and a subdued outlook for inflation over the medium run ? are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014.

For over a year, the FOMC had said that it would keep the Federal Funds rate at the low rate until 2013. So, this announcement was a major change: late 2014. This sent a signal: the FOMC thinks the present slow economy will last until late 2014. In other words, QE2 was not enough to goose the economy. Therefore, the FED will inflate. Anyway, that is what the language indicates.

Let me remind you one more time: the FOMC has had nothing to do with the Federal Funds rate for well over three years. The FedFunds rate today is low because commercial banks have over $1.6 trillion on deposit at the FED as excess reserves.

The FedFunds rate is a very limited rate. It is the rate at which commercial banks with excess reserves lend overnight to banks that have fallen below their legal limit. Why do they need money? Because there is high demand for loans by the public.

There has been little demand from the public for new loans ever since 2008. The banks are risk-averse to the few businesses that are ready to borrow. So, banks have piled up excess reserves at the FED. The FedFunds rate is almost zero because every bank in America is loaded to the gills with legal lending capacity. They are not lending to the public. They lend to the FED, which pays basically nothing.

So terrified of this economy are bankers that they are willing to lose money on their FedFunds accounts at the FED. The revenue received does not come close to covering the costs of servicing commercial bank deposits. This is why banks are trying to find ways to stick depositors with fees. Depositors are rebelling. Bankers are stuck, not their depositors.

So, the FOMC has zero to do with the present low rate. All that these pronouncements do is to convey a false picture: We are still in charge of interest rates. We are the bulwark of low rates.” It makes it look as though the FED is running the show. It isn’t.

The statement did have the effect of running up the price of gold by $50 in one shot. The pronouncement seemed to guarantee QE3. “The Committee expects to maintain a highly accommodative stance for monetary policy.” But the FedFunds rate has remained close to zero under the FED’s contraction of the monetary base in the first half of 2010, which was reversed by the policy we call QE2. Look at this chart.

Whatever the FED did in 2010, it had no effect on the FedFunds rate, which did not change. Fear of the economy, not the FOMC, has set the FedFunds rate.

The FOMC spoke of a highly accommodative stance on monetary policy. Yet the FOMC has vacillated between high accommodation and outright deflation for two years. The FOMC cannot make up its bureaucratic mind.

BUMPER CAR BEN

The FOMC is like a young child in a kiddie-car ride at the county fair. The car is on a track. It has a steering wheel. The wheel is not attached to the car’s wheels. It just spins when turned. The child turns the wheel wildly, this way and that. The car follows the track. He is smiling. He is in charge!

At some point, the kid moves up to bumper cars. There, he really is in control. But the car can do no damage. It is inside a confined space. It has rubber bumpers.

Then, at 16, he gets his driver’s license.

Ben Bernanke is like a teenager who has been given his driver’s license and the keys to his father’s car, but who has spent years in bumper cars: Princeton University. He and Paul Krugman had a great time racing around the track and bumping into one another. Nobody outside of Princeton paid any attention to them. Occasionally, Alan Blinder joined in the fun. They were known as Blind, Blinder, and Krugman. No permanent harm was done.

Then Bush appointed him chairman of the Board of Governors. That was his license. That was his keys to the car.

He has already caused on massive pile-up: 2008-9. There will be another one soon enough.

CONCLUSION

You and I are all in the back seat. Bernanke is in the driver’s seat. We have two choices: buckle up or not.

If you want to buckle up, you buy some gold bullion coins. If you want to live dangerously, you buy and hold a no-load fund of the S&P 500 and a no-load fund of U.S. Treasury bonds.

President Obama is in the passenger seat. He is hoping that Bernanke knows how to drive.

He had better pray that the air bag works.

Gold Procrastinators: The Endless Agony – GoldSeek.com

Online Casinos News · Filed Under Craps News

Revved up crowd helps open Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway

February 14, 2012

With the call of “Gentlemen, start your engines,” the ceremonial first craps shoot was thrown Friday, and the doors of the Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway opened to the public.

Within 30 minutes, there were few empty seats at the 52 table games and 2,000 electronic machines. Julie Rich of Ottawa was among the first through the door, deciding to head to the bar for some video poker.

For Rich, her husband and two friends they brought along, checking out the casino on its opening day was worth taking the day off work. Rich and her husband worked in the gaming industry when they lived in Black Hawk, Colo., and she said they wanted to see what Hollywood Casino had to offer.

“We’re mainly here to have fun,” she said. “How exciting is this, to have something this close to home that looks like Vegas?”

A ribbon-cutting ceremony preceded the opening of the doors. Amidst bright lights, showgirls and special guests — NASCAR drivers Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne — the ceremony included state and local dignitaries and officials from casino operators Penn National Gaming and the International Speedway Corp. (See video from the casino’s opening day.)

Lesa France Kennedy, International Speedway Corporation CEO, spoke first, saying the combination of a sports facility and casino would make for a major tourist destination.

“I think it’s one of a kind; I think it’s going to be the envy of everyone in the business,” she said.

Peter Carlino, Penn National Gaming chairman and CEO, said combined with the Kansas Speedway, The Legends, Nebraska Furniture Mart and Livestrong Stadium, the casino was set to outperform its competitors in Kansas City, Mo.

“You know that the Unified Government has realized a hugely bold vision in bringing this all together,” Carlino said. “I believe this is the premiere gaming facility, not just in Kansas, but in this market — including across the river where those other guys are. This sets a new high bar.”

Dennis Wilson, executive director of the Kansas Lottery, said the casino was the “crown jewel” of the western Wyandotte County entertainment district and would further boost tourism.

“It’s not just a local destination, not just a regional destination, but a national destination,” Wilson said. “There is no need to travel any farther west than this.”

Bob Sheldon, general manager, announced a charity gambling event at the casino Monday had raised $25,000, and the casino was going to match that total to give that amount to both Sunflower House and the Kansas City, Kan., School Foundation of Excellence.

Bowyer and Kahne then threw the ceremonial first dice, and the doors opened to the public.

Janet Bimer took the opportunity to get a good look at the lights, games and layout.

“If you’ve ever been to Vegas, it looks like Vegas,” she said, nodding her head in approval.

Mary Summers of Tonganoxie said she begged her daughter-in-law, Cecilia Summers of Basehor, to bring her to the casino’s opening day.

“If we can win, it’ll be really fun,” Mary Summers said.

“We thought we might win,” Cecilia Summers added. “We thought they’d have some loose slots.”

Both agreed the casino was impressive and said it was worth it to brave the opening day crowds.

Alan Thompson, table games manager, stood back and took in the scene as he kept his eye on the games.

“I was here at 6 this morning and there was almost no one here,” he said. “And I thought, ‘This is the last time we’ll ever see this place empty.’”

Thompson spent the last year going through almost 1,500 applications for dealer positions, conducting interviews and running a dealer school for more than 100 inexperienced dealers — 93 of whom were hired on at the casino. He said he was happy to get back to the business of running the games.

“All the build-up leading up to it is important, but this is what we’re good at,” he said, motioning to the craps, blackjack and roulette tables. “It was a good learning experience opening a new facility, but once the cards start throwing and the dice start rolling, that’s when I’m at home.”

Revved up crowd helps open Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway

Online Casinos News · Filed Under Craps News

What Do You Think of These Craps Strategies? – RGT Online

January 31, 2012

What Do You Think of These Craps Strategies? 28 January 2012 By Frank Scoblete

The following letter is from Michigan Mike and since it has several questions I have decided to answer them as they are given. — Frank

Where do I begin? I hope you are doing well. I have been an admirer of the game of craps since 1991,and have appreciated your first craps book over the years, never reading it all at once, just a chapter here and there, bits and pieces at a time. With all do respect, I learned the game from a friend, and will eventually do a straight read through, however, I have not read an entire book since I graduated from college in 1988. That year, I read my entire Asian Religion textbook the night before my final exam and did get a B for the course. To date, I have very little knowledge of Asian Religion, but do have exceptional knowledge of craps,(or at least perceive that I have exceptional knowledge of craps).

Start reading books, right now (well, at the very least, my books). A brain is a terrible thng to waste as the old commercial goes.

I have had many successful craps outings in the past, enough stories and crazy characters to write about, however life of course came in the way of fun and craps, with job/career, marriage, children, divorce (ouch, that one was a doosey), child support, or the divorced dad story, and the poster child for divorce. The divorce had nothing to do with gambling, as a matter of fact, I didn’t play craps much during my marriage, just different choices people make during the cruise ship of life. You can control what you do, just not what other people do.

Having been through a divorce myself many, many years ago, I know how awful that can be. It sometimes feels like the ultimate seven-out.

Now that a casino has opened close to home, the old flame has been rekindled, except I am on “The Child Support Limited Bankroll” so I have to be careful. The 5-Count is by far one of the best tools to use at the table, and now I have some interesting strategies that I would like your feedback on.

The 5-Count will eliminate 57 percent of the random rolls. For Golden Touch controlled shooters, it is a major weapon in our arsenal.

EX. 1 If you are waiting for the 5-Count, why not put your bet on the Don’t Pass, and hedge with an any seven bet to offset? Once the 5-Count hits, you can pick up the Don’t, then place the six and eight, ( most people at the table don’t even realize that you are even using the don’t), and continue on the Pass Line. If the point is hit, play the Any Craps to offset Pass Line bet. Yet you make money during the horrendous roles of seven-out in less than the 5-Count on the Don’t, instead of just buying time at the table.

The best way to understand how the house edge eats away at your bankroll is to analyze each bet separately, as if each bet were being made by different players (in fact, each bet you make is indeed a different game against the casino, even if all those bets are made at the same time).

So let us say you are a $10 “line” bettor. Before the 5-Count, you decide you want to go up on the Don’t Pass. You put your $10 down. It is that very first roll where the house establishes its edge over you. You only win three times (2, 3), push one time (12) and lose eight times (six times on the 7; two times on the 11). So using the Don’t Pass before the 5-Count is completed negates the positive effect of the 5-Count. The house has its edge over you and that edge is about 1.36 percent or a loss of about 14 cents.

Now, the point is hit and you decide to throw out an Any Craps to “protect” your line bet. The edge on Any Craps will range between 5.56 percent and 11.11 percent, depending on how the bet is paid off. So you want to protect your Pass Line bet and you bet two dollars on the Any Craps. As a one roll bet, you will lose between 11 cents and 22 cents every time you make this bet. Instead of protecting your Pass Line bet, you are merely adding losses to your bankroll. Your Pass Line bet doesn’t need any protection on the Come-Out roll as it has eight ways to win and only four ways to lose. Why throw out more losing money?

You are much, much better buying time at the table than wasting money on extra bets.

EX. 2 Play don’t, hedge with any seven bet, pick up the don’t if the point is a 6 or 8, after the five count, place the 6 and the 8( pass line/odds whichever one is point). If the point is 5,9,4,10, leave the don’t, place and take 2 hits on the six or eight, then bring them down, wait for seven to win on your don’t. If a point is hit (after 5 count of course), hedge pass line with any craps bet and continue on with hot roll playing point, plus placing the six and eight. The pass line bet, hedged with an “any craps 7-1 bet” has really worked well for me. It is amazing how many times 2,3,12, 7, 11 show up on the come out and I am guaranteed to win no matter which one shows up. I’m only on the pass once the 5-count is complete of course.

Again, playing the Don’t costs you 14 cents on a $10 wager. Throwing an Any Seven bet out there now adds to your overall loss since the bet comes in with a whopping 16.67 percent house edge. To “protect” your Don’t Pass Bet, you will have to bet $3 on the Any Seven and that will cost you (hold onto your hat) 50 cents each time you make the bet. A true waste of your money. Throwing out a “whirl” bet on the 2, 3, 7, 11, and 12 will come in with a house edge of 13.33. So you bet $5 and your expected loss is about 67 cents.

Now your thought that a hot roll will continue is a total misunderstanding of the real world of craps. There had been hot rolls but there is no future guarantee the rolls will continue to be hot and there is also no guarantee that the rolls will not continue to be hot. There is no predictive value in a random game except this: Going off numbers will lose you less so always feel free to go off numbers on random rollers.

I ask you this: why add so many losses to your play? Your strategy is doing just that.

These strategies don’t use the Come Bet as a tool, but why wait when you can Place the six and eight after the 5 Count? With the 6 and 8 placed, I am now in the power position.

The Placing of the six and eight are relatively good bets but they are not as good as Come bets. You place $12 on the six and $12 on the eight. The house edge is 1.52 percent so your loss on that $24 wagered will be about 36 cents. A $10 Come bet’s expected loss is 14 cents — a big difference. Sadly, you must bet in multiples of $6 for the Placing of the six and eight but you do not have to do that with the Come bet.

So, instead of being in a “power position,” your strategy just loses you more money.

I know it takes money to make money, but I did buy your book and would be extremely grateful to receive any feedback that you are able to offer. Fortunately, I have enjoyed the results of your book more often than not, and am humble knowing that we all can learn something new each day.

Let me recommend my newest and most complete work on craps, Casino Craps: Shoot to Win!

Sincerely in the sport of craps, Michigan Mike

Michigan Mike, I just put you on my private web site for 30 days free of charge at goldentouchcraps.com. You will get another email with your user name and password. These you can change if you like. Should you not receive it, check your spam file.

Please feel free to post. We have over 5,000 members and the conversations are great. Any future questions will be answered by our instructors and elite players on those message boards.

This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network, John Robison managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network.

What Do You Think of These Craps Strategies? – RGT Online

Online Casinos News · Filed Under Craps News

22nd Blues Harmonica Blowout honors Little Walter

January 26, 2012

Somewhat like such other musical innovators as Bix Beiderbecke, Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix, blues harmonica virtuoso Little Walter Jacobs checked out early – dead at age 38, in 1968, from a head injury sustained during a drunken back-alley craps-shooting dispute – but left behind an indelible imprint on the way his instrument has been played by countless musicians ever since.

“He’s been my biggest influence for years and on all harmonica players who play the blues – not all, but 90 percent,” Mark Hummel says over a Mexican lunch in Healdsburg with fellow harmonica blower Charlie Musselwhite. Musselwhite and Billy Boy Arnold, both of whom knew and played with Little Walter, are participating in Hummel’s 22nd annual Blues Harmonica Blowout, this year billed as a tribute to Little Walter. The two-week West Coast tour, also featuring harmonica men Curtis Salgado and Sugar Ray Norcia, stops at Yoshi’s in Oakland on Friday through next Sunday and at Moe’s Alley in Santa Cruz on Jan. 30.

“What Little Walter did on the harmonica is very similar to what B.B. (King) did on the guitar,” Hummel, 57, adds. “He made it into something totally new and different.”

Arnold was 16 in 1951 when he first heard Walter playing on Muddy Waters’ recording of “Gonna Need My Help” and on Jimmy Rogers’ simultaneously released “That’s All Right.” After hearing them on the radio, he immediately went out and purchased both.

The Chicago-born musician had earlier taken two lessons from John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson, the most popular harmonica player in the blues world prior to Walter’s ascendance. Williamson, much as Walter would two decades later, died in 1948 from being hit over the head while being robbed of his gambling proceeds.

“Walter’s style derived from John Lee’s style,” Arnold, now 76, says by phone from his home in Chicago. “Little Walter was younger and he was faster and his music had a beat. That’s what made him successful. He became my hero because he was the greatest and the most creative of them all.”

Marion Walter Jacobs was born in 1930 in rural Marksville, La. Between the ages of 12 and 16, before settling in Chicago, he played for tips on street corners and in bars throughout the South and as far north as St. Louis, often with guitarist Honeyboy Edwards. They traveled from town to town by hopping freight trains.

He was a member of Waters’ band from 1948 until 1952, when “Juke,” a rocking harmonica instrumental recorded that year during a Waters session, was issued under his own name and became a national smash, spending eight weeks at the top of Billboard magazine’s “Most Played Juke Box Rhythm & Blues Records” chart. Walter was suddenly a major blues star, toured widely with his own band and scored 13 more Top 10 R&B hits through 1958, including “Blues With a Feeling,” “Last Night” and “My Babe.”

Walter’s career and life went into rapid decline during the ’60s. His playing and behavior had become erratic because of chronic alcoholism. His once-handsome face was noticeably scarred from frequent fistfights. While some of his imitators where appearing at festivals in Europe, he was working in Chicago juke joints with hastily thrown-together bands.

“It seemed like he had somebody different with him every night,” recalls Musselwhite, 67, who often hung out with Walter during the mid-’60s. “Some nights it was like, ‘Man, that’s the s-.’ The next night it might be, ‘What the f- happened to Walter?’

“Sometimes he’d just hand me the mike and his harp and say, ‘Here. Play, boy,’ and go and talk to some lady at the bar.”

“People talk about him like he was such a troublemaker,” Musselwhite adds. “That wasn’t my opinion of him. To me, he was a guy who just wanted to have a good time. He loved to laugh, but he wouldn’t back up from you. They didn’t call him Little Walter for nothing, but pound for pound he was one tough little guy.”

Mississippi native Musselwhite was 13 the first time he heard Walter on a record he’d bought for a nickel at a Memphis junk shop. It struck him as being much different from the Williamson blues records in his collection.

“To me, Little Walter sounded real modern, like rock ‘n’ roll,” he explains. “He didn’t sound as bluesy and down-home as Sonny Boy did. Now it doesn’t sound that way, but it was almost jarring to hear Little Walter at that time.”

Musselwhite moved to Chicago at age 18, not to play music, but in hopes of landing one of those good-paying factory jobs with benefits that his friends in Memphis had been telling him about. He soon discovered, however, that many of his blues heroes lived and regularly performed in the Windy City. He got to know and sit in with Waters and a year later met Walter.

Before relocating to the Bay Area in 1967, Musselwhite saw Walter for the last time, sitting in a chair in front of a stage, staring at the floor, not playing or singing, while the band was playing.

“I pulled up a chair next to him,” Musselwhite remembers. “I said, ‘Walter, what’s wrong?’ He just went, ‘Baah.’ That’s all he said. I couldn’t get him to talk. He just seemed real disgusted.”

Musselwhite has fonder memories of the time he and his musician friends Paul Butterfield and Michael Bloomfield were walking down a Chicago street scatting all eight choruses of “Juke.”

“The three of us were snapping our fingers and going, ‘Bah-ba-da-dah-dop.’ Me and Paul were really drunk, and back then Mike didn’t drink. We were happy, we were young, and the world was full of possibilities. Life was great, and we all knew ‘Juke.’ ” {sbox}

Tribute to Little Walter: 8 and 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 and 8 p.m. next Sun. $20-$30. Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero W., Oakland. (510) 929-7849. yoshis.com. Also 8 p.m. Jan. 30. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $27-$30. (831) 479-1854. moesalley.com.

This article appeared on page Q – 32 of the San Francisco Chronicle

22nd Blues Harmonica Blowout honors Little Walter

Online Casinos News · Filed Under Craps News

Shuffle Master acquires Fire Bet

January 25, 2012

Shuffle Master acquires Fire Bet 11 January 2012 LAS VEGAS, Nevada — (PRESS RELEASE) — Shuffle Master, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Select Market: SHFL) (“Shuffle Master”) today announced it has acquired Fire Bet, a craps side bet, from HopBet Inc. With over 330 installs in the U.S., Fire Bet is the most popular proprietary side bet for craps. “This is truly one of the elite products in table games,” said Roger Snow, Executive Vice President of Shuffle Master. “You can count on one hand the number of side bets that have ever demonstrated the popularity and longevity that Fire Bet has. This acquisition is a continuation of our strategy to build our intellectual property portfolio. We are pleased to add Fire Bet to the Shuffle Master suite of brands.” Players win the Fire Bet if the shooter makes at least four distinct points before he or she Sevens Out. If the shooter makes all six distinct points, bettors can win up to 1,000 to 1 odds.

Shuffle Master acquires Fire Bet

Online Casinos News · Filed Under Craps News

Strip casinos post 9 percent gain in gaming win

January 24, 2012

Buoyed by strong play in baccarat, casinos along the Las Vegas Strip won $495.2 million in November, a 9 percent gain from a year ago.

It was the second straight month the Strip has enjoyed good numbers, as the October win registered a 13.2 percent increase.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported today that statewide, casinos won $880.1 million, a 7 percent gain. The increase was especially healthy compared to figures from a year earlier, when gaming win fell 5.8 statewide and 4.1 percent on the Strip during November 2010.

Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the board, said special events helped the Strip register the gain. Among events that attracted traffic to casinos were an Eagles concert, a Manny Pacquiao title fight and the World Series of Poker.

The win for the first 11 months last year was up 5.2 percent at Strip casinos.

Meanwhile, all other gaming areas in Clark County posted increased win except North Las Vegas and Laughlin.

Properties on the Boulder Strip registered a 12.4 percent increased win, the highest percentage gain in any area in the state. Winnings in downtown Las Vegas casinos rose 7.2 percent, while Mesquite was up 4.1 percent and the balance of Clark County rose 8.7 percent.

Gaming was off 4.7 percent in North Las Vegas and 1.8 percent in Laughlin.

The win in baccarat on the Strip reached $89 million, a jump of 29.3 percent. Lawton said there was more wagering in baccarat, and the casinos’ “hold” percent rose to 13.6 compared to 12.1 percent of a year ago.

One surprise was in roulette, where casinos won $25.4 million, an increase of 54.8 percent on the Strip. Winnings from blackjack fell 4 percent, craps increased 5.1 percent, sports betting was up 19 percent and slots increased 2.9 percent.

Lawton said the sports book win increase was due to a strong football betting month, with a 192 percent increase. But that large increase was due to a decline in November 2010.

The board reported gaming win rose 1.9 percent in Washoe County and declined 6.9 percent at South Lake Tahoe. Win was up 1.1 percent in Carson City and up 8.4 percent in Elko County.

The lack of snow prevented the skiing season from getting off at South Lake Tahoe and cut the tourist trade.

Strip casinos post 9 percent gain in gaming win

Online Casinos News · Filed Under Craps News

Book Review: Wall Street Craps: How To Play Today’s Hot & Cold Stock Market For Fast Money With Less Risk by Steve Nakamoto

January 21, 2012

Author Steve Nakamoto spent five years on iVillage, the world’s largest women’s online community, serving as their Mr. Answer Man relationship advisor. Not surprisingly, the two-time Writer’s Digest Award-Winning author’s recent books have been in the personal development/relationship genre. But his newest book, a guide for independent investors seeking counsel in today’s difficult stock market, may surprise some people. In Wall Street Craps, Nakamoto writes about his nearly 40-year love affair with Wall Street and his fascination with the game of craps. Although he earned a degree in business administration/finance, the “only things that interested me at the time were making money and investing.”

The author’s varied business endeavors over the years led him to Las Vegas on multiple occasions and it was on one such trip that he was struck by the notion that playing craps was the perfect metaphor for playing Wall Street. Given this revelation, “Wall Street Craps’ was simply something that I felt destined to express and create.”

In his Introduction, Nakamoto simply and clearly lays out what the reader will take away from his book: “In my book, you’ll learn a simple, yet sophisticated approach to playing the stock market. This approach uses an innovative ‘crap game’ metaphor to help investors quickly grasp the nuances of this challenging investment arena.” With that, the author leads the reader through ten, easy to read and follow chapters that explore what he considers to be the ten most critical areas to understand in order to accelerate one’s success in the market.

The content of Wall Street Craps is solid. It includes interesting background on the modern evolution of trading and investing, varied philosophies and approaches to “the game,” and a few new twists on proven, effective strategies. I found the ideas in Chapter 3, “Money Management,” to be especially relevant to that subject beyond the stock market. While I felt confident overall in the book’s content, a notable distraction for me as a reader was the book’s inconsistent manner of content presentation. While lists such as “8 New Rules For Playing Today’s Market” make it quick and convenient for the reader to process Nakamoto’s approaches, his frequent use of this method began to impart the feeling to me that some of the chapters were long on hype and short of substance. For me, Wall Street Craps was most engaging when the author was writing in his approachable, “let me be straight with you” advisor mode.

I like Steve Nakamoto’s tone and manner in writing about trading and marketing in Wall Street Craps. He makes “the game” entertaining, fun and fairly easy to follow and understand. Despite some instances of heavy hype, there is plenty of savvy substance to contemplate and empower individual investors to take a shot at the market, even if they’ve not fared well in the past. Since most of Nakamoto’s audience will likely already perceive that Wall Street is a crap game, the book’s title should play nicely to them.

Wall Street Craps: How To Play Today’s Hot & Cold Stock Market For Fast Money With Less Risk by Steve Nakamoto Java Books (Jan. 1, 2012) ISBN 9780967089386 Available at Amazon.com.

View the original article on blogcritics.org

Book Review: Wall Street Craps: How To Play Today’s Hot & Cold Stock Market For Fast Money With Less Risk by Steve Nakamoto

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Deficit, Taxes, Gay Marriage to Busy Md. Lawmakers

January 19, 2012

In what promises to be a challenging session, Maryland lawmakers will focus on continuing budget problems and the return of divisive legislation that stalled last year, including same-sex marriage, expanded gambling, offshore wind development and limits on septic systems.

Ethics also will be an early highlight of the session that begins Jan. 11, as a joint panel of lawmakers weighs potential sanctions for a prominent state senator who was acquitted of federal bribery charges in November.

Financial issues will be a top concern. Maryland faces a $1.1 billion budget hole, and Gov. Martin O’Malley has been talking about the need for tax increases to support transportation infrastructure and maintain sewage treatment upgrades. Although he hasn’t spelled out the details, the governor has alluded repeatedly to some form of raising the 23.5-cents gas tax, which hasn’t been increased since 1992. O’Malley also has mentioned raising the state’s “flush tax,” an annual $30 fee on sewer bills.

“A modern economy requires modern investments in order to create jobs,” O’Malley, a Democrat, said last week.

Maryland Republicans are pouncing on talk of new taxes, which they say will hurt job creation by chasing businesses out of the state.

“The national economic cycle is still in the doldrums, and taking more money out of the citizens’ pockets into the state coffers does not make sense at this time,” said Sen. Edward Reilly, R-Anne Arundel, the Senate minority whip.

While there will be tough spending reductions to consider, O’Malley also will call for accelerating borrowing on the first two years of a five-year construction plan in hopes of spurring construction jobs quickly.

House Speaker Michael Busch, D-Anne Arundel, said the plan is to take advantage of low interest rates and low labor costs now to maximize work on needed schools and roads, while also stimulating the economy.

“What you’re trading off is the fact that you believe you’re going to get lower costs and better leverage on your borrowing dollar to accelerate it and, on the back-end, you’re not going to be able to invest as much,” Busch said.

Lawmakers also are expected to consider tax credits to encourage employers to hire people.

A push to expand gambling from slot-machine-only casinos to include table games like blackjack and craps will stir debate. There’s also talk of trying to allow a casino in Prince George’s County, either at Rosecroft Raceway or National Harbor, near the nation’s capital. Both proposals would have to be approved not just by the General Assembly, but also by voters on the 2012 ballot.

Busch said he believes expanding gambling opportunities to table games would find support, but he said a proposed new site will complicate the debate. That’s because people who have already invested in three casinos — with plans for two more — made their decisions based on the market share of five casinos in the state.

But Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said Prince George’s County is prime casino territory, due to its proximity to the nation’s capital and Virginia.

“I’m not interested in table games unless Prince George’s has a site,” Miller said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the governor plans to try again with high-profile legislation that failed last year.

Legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in 2011 passed the Senate but stalled in the House by a few votes. Although O’Malley supported the bill, he did not make the measure an administration priority. That changed after New York approved gay marriage not long after Maryland’s legislative session adjourned. In July, O’Malley held a news conference to declare he would make same-sex marriage a top priority of his legislative agenda.

Busch said there were probably six to eight delegates who felt uncomfortable about the bill last year, even though they were open to discussing it. While he believes a strong push by the governor will help, the speaker said he still believes it will be a close vote.

“I don’t think you’re going to see a windfall of people change their minds, but there were legitimately six to eight people last year that lacked a certain comfort level to fully embrace the issue, and it’s a question of whether that’s going to change over the interim as they’ve gotten more information,” Busch said.

House Minority Leader Anthony O’Donnell, R-Calvert, said same-sex marriage and tax proposals will prompt major debates in what’s brewing to be a significant session.

“It’s shaping up to be loaded with major decisions that will have ramifications for decades,” said O’Donnell, who opposes both proposals.

O’Malley also plans to try again to move Maryland toward offshore wind development. In the last session, an O’Malley-backed measure requiring utilities to enter into long-term contracts failed due to questions over how much the power would cost ratepayers. O’Malley has been tight-lipped about what he plans to propose this year, but he said his administration will do something to advance offshore wind.

Another O’Malley-supported measure that did not pass last year would limit septic systems to fight pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.

“I’m more convinced than I’ve ever been, and I hope that other legislators are increasingly becoming aware of the long-term damage that could be done to the bay,” O’Malley told reporters last week.

This session is on track to have high-profile action early. The General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics is expected to hold a hearing on whether Sen. Ulysses Currie, D-Prince George’s, should be sanctioned for failing to disclose work he did for a grocery store chain that paid him more than $245,000 between 2003 and 2008.

“My prediction is that there will be consequences for the senator’s actions or inaction in not filling out disclosure forms,” Miller said.

Sen. Jamie Raskin, D-Montgomery, said he plans to focus on ethics reform.

“We could do a lot better in terms of disclosure on the Internet, and we can do a lot better in terms of putting real teeth into the laws,” Raskin said

Lawmakers also will grapple with legislative redistricting for 188 seats in the General Assembly. O’Malley will send a final map to lawmakers on the first day of the session. They will then have 45 days to approve it or pass an alternative plan. If lawmakers don’t approve an alternative plan, the governor’s proposal becomes law.

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Deficit, Taxes, Gay Marriage to Busy Md. Lawmakers

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Book Review: Wall Street Craps: How To Play Today’s Hot & Cold Stock Market For Fast Money With Less Risk by Steve Nakamoto

Deficit, Taxes, Gay Marriage to Busy Md. Lawmakers

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