Paris Hilton vs. Dogs
Thanks to ESPN’s Page 2, we get this great matchup in an NCAA-inspired tournament whose exact nature is, for me, rather vague: Poker Playing Dogs vs. Paris Hilton.
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gambling & culturegambling & culture
NCAA troubled by betting
In case you missed ESPN’s hyperbolic exposition of “bracketology” this weekend, the berths for the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament have been announced, beginning one of bookies’ favorite times of the year, March Madness. And the NCAA is shocked, yes, shocked that people gamble on the tournament, and suggests that the best way to end
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gambling & cultureGA to be funded by ESPN?
You can’t help but notice that poker is ubuquitous on television these days. New Jersey assemblywomen Joan Voss has, and she thinks that those who profit from the Hold’Em craze should pitch in when it comes to helping those with a problem.
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gambling & cultureThe Honey Bun Gang
I found this headline strangely intruiging, as you might as well: Las Vegas SUN: Three convicted in ‘honey bun’ heist at Tunica casino. This made me think of the erstwhile HBO series OZ. I don’t think that Adebisi got sent up for anything like this, though. This seems like more like something Busmalis would have
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gambling & culture, haphazard worldHuh?
I’ve seen two news reports this morning that seem contradictory. On one hand, online gaming is booming in Britain. On the other, Harrah’s has just pulled the plug on its online gaming site.
Crime and Litigation
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, in my estimation, might have been the best novelist of the 19th century. Sure, people in his novels have an unfortunate tendency to give chapter-long monologues on “the mission of Russia,” but from what I understand he got paid by the word. For much of his life his compulsive gambling kept him in
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gambling & cultureKindergarten gambling
At last, gambling has come to kindergarten! Seriously. Kindergarten students are going to have to play the lottery if they want a seat at a Virginia elementary school.
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gambling & cultureQuestion of the day
Today the Birmingham News asks, Is there a problem gambling can’t solve? Read the article to find the answer.
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gambling & cultureCool Art
I’ve got plenty on my desk today, so I don’t have time to really post on anything. In the meantime, take a look at this cool online art site, the Olea Nova online fine art gallery.
Big prize gone, tix still for sale
The odds of winning the lottery are bad enough, but Michigan is adding insult to injury by selling tickets for the Golden Pack, long after the top prize was won. This is the kind of thing that, if a person tried to do, would be called fraud, but because a state does it is called
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gambling & cultureGambling or investing in the future?
I read an article about the president’s proposed changes to Social Security that got me thinking about the great debate over whether investing in the stock market is or isn’t gambling. Within the past week, I’ve written a draft of the section of Roll the Bones covering several stock bubbles of the 18th and 19th
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gambling & cultureDaily Quote for 2/7/05
“I don’t want to be the one to call it the dumbing down of Britain, but I think its the dumbing down of Britain.” –Warren Lush, chief oddsmaker at Ladbrokes, on the huge upswing in novelty betting on everything from televised talent shows to whether someone will live to be 100. You can read the
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gambling & culture, writingA super flip
It was nice to see an actual football game in the midst of all the commercials, but as a lifelong Eagles fan I’m naturally downcast at the outcome. Still, can anyone from the Delaware Valley honestly say that they expected any better? I think Philly has just internalized low expectations, and that losing is now
Cuddly bears to go away
When I saw the headline Ministers to kill off cuddly gambling bears, I had to read the article. It turns out that prize toys are the latest political football to be kicked around in the British casino debate.
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gambling & cultureInhibited no more
I’m hard at work on chapter 3 of Roll the Bones, finishing up my section on gambling in Venice. I ran across this on the website of the Venice Casino, and it was too good to pass up: “By writing to the following e-mail address: assistenza@casinovenezia.it or by phoning 041-5297266 one can receive information on
GSN is GONE (from LV preferred basic, anyway)
GSN shows lots of casino-related shows, including poker. Come to think of it, I could substitute a few other channels (ESPN, Travel Channel, Discovery, and probably Lifetime too) in there, and it would read just as well. But if you like to watch GSN, live in Las Vegas, and are too cheap to spring for
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gambling & culture, life in vegasDaily quote, 01.13.05.
“Is it logical to believe in any form of luck? Before an event–no. After an event and the result is known–yes. In other words, there is no way to predict whether you will be lucky or unlucky before playing a game of chance, but after you have finished, the result will only then show whether
Daily quote, 01.13.05. Read More »
gambling & cultureWhat a gift!
Want to get a gift for that special someone? Why not hop on the latest commodity bandwagon and get them something with the World Series of Poker logo on it?
Quote of the day, 12/23/04
“Don’t give me that addiction crap. Your generation’s always passing the buck, looking for excuses. If only you learned there’s no free lunch in this world.” –Some old guy in a gym responding to a columnist’s contention that gambling leads to addiction which “leads to embezzlement, bankruptcies, family problems, domestic violence and other social ills.”
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gambling & cultureQuote of the Day
“I think this country is rapidly embracing various forms of gambling. It’s not the NCAA’s business to be cultural critics or a cultural task force. Our job is to make sure it doesn’t influence college athletics.” –NCAA President Myles Brand, explaining why he continues to fight legal sports betting in Nevada, but has no problem