Special Message From Jennifer Goodwin

This last blogger entry of this year will seem strange and out of character for those of you who read my ramblings every week. That's because this coming Sunday December 27 is a very, very special day for me, and I want to share my happiness with all of you who visit my site.  No talk about slots or other forms of gambling this week, no reminders about taxes and how to stay out of trouble with the IRS, no YouTube videos to watch.

This week Jennifer confesses that she may be just a bit older than most of you think, and that she is celebrating her 50th Golden Wedding Anniversary with her husband and family in Las Vegas this coming holiday weekend. We'll renew our vows, feast with family and friends, and finish with The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil. No comped rooms at Caesar's Resorts this visit! Our kids have reserved a suite at the Cosmopolitan. But, with luck, we may manage to work a little gaming time into our itinerary.

The photo is from our wedding ceremony 50 years ago. We may have changed just a bit in that time. I'm not posting our current pictures, because I want to pretend we still look like we did back then half a century ago. I wish you all could share in our remembrance celebration, and I hope you all will find someone to love and share your hopes and dreams with as long as I have. There are few joys in life to match being married to your best friend for 50 golden years.

Pala and Pechanga Expanding -- Again

I guess it’s a sign I’m getting older…or maybe just a sign I’m getting old. But when my husband and I make our weekly visit to our local Native American casinos, which are almost all now housed in large, elaborate resorts, I find myself missing the good old days when we first moved to Southern California.   The days of small, friendly casinos housed in tents, with non-wagerling games and give-aways to lure us in, and hot seat give-aways every day to keep us there. And every few months, something really big like a car or cash that you felt like you actually had a chance to win. 

Bigger is not always better. But the people who manage our local casinos don’t seem to understand that. Our Los Angeles and San Diego newspapers reported this week that Pechanga and Pala are expanding again. Why do they need to do this — and who is going to pay for this I wonder.

Even if you don’t live in Southern California, you’ve probably heard of Pechanga. Pechanga is the casino that was ranked number one in casino/resorts by US Today this year. Pechanga, is the casino whose lands 500 Nations claims are larger than the properties of any of the Las Vegas behemoths, Pechanga is the casino whose reservation lands are not located far away on some lonely deserted mountain road but are at the edge of Temecula/ Murrieta, towns of over 200,000 residents who can even take a RTA bus to the door. Pechanga is the casino that is already part of a popular tourist destination, Temecula, a city of that attracts visitors to Old Town and Wine Country each year.  Why does Pechanga need to expand? 

Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro says they want to meet the needs of people who want recreation, not just gambling. He says the demand for hotel rooms at the resort has been surging and they recently celebrated 365 straight days of 100 percent occupancy. The expansion project, which is expected to be completed near the end of 2017, will include a 568-room hotel wing, a two story spa and salon, a fitness center, two restaurants, and 67,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space. And what will this cost us? An estimated $285 million. 

When one resort expands, the others have to follow suit to remain competitive. So another popular casino on State Rd 76, just off Highway 15, handy for gamblers from Riverside and Northern San Diego counties and cities along the corridor from Escondido to Oceanside, Pala, has an expansion plan of its own for this winter.

The casino recently announced that construction is underway on a new 10-acre recreational vehicle resort. They expect the project to be completed in May 2016. The $5.6 million project will even have 24 hour shuttle service to the casino floor and its restaurants for campers’ convenience. Configured with 100 full-service (electric, water, and sewer hookups) site, plans are to accommodate RVs with trailers ranging from 55 to 70 feet. Six luxury spots and 17 premium pull-through spots will be included.

Amenities will include the resort clubhouse, complete with heated swimming pool and two spas, a laundromat, and flat screen televisions. Free wi-fi and and cable TV will be available. A separate building will house the showers and restrooms. A fenced dog park is included.

Pala’s CEO Bill Bembenek was quoted as saying the RV market is growing. The average age of an RV owner is 49 and he has above average household income. One in twelve households that owns a vehicle owns an RV. More importantly, though he doesn’t address this, their chief competitor Pechanga already has 168 spaces in its RV facility. It seems the real purpose of the RV facility is to expand its customer base and compete with the neighboring casinos. Currently Pauma, Harrah’s Resort Southern Califormia, and Valley View do not have RV facilities. How much do you want to bet that they will be following suit in the next few years.

Bottom line: The casinos will derive some income from renting these RV sites and hotel rooms - but how many years do you think it will take to recoup Pala’s $5.6 million and Pechanga’s $285 million expansion expense? Tribal income from gaming is down. Gamblers already feel the machines have been tightened and are not paying like they used to. These new visitors staying at the new hotel and new RV site will contribute to restaurant revenues and hotel and RV fees, and they will play some money through the machines. Will it be enough cover almost $300 million in expenses?  What do you think? 

Marketing Slots to Millennials

It's time to talk again about skill-based slots and gambling and what the manufacturers and programmers hope will resonate with the younger players who find luck-oriented games boring. 

I picked up a magazine called Gambling Insider at G2E this fall that reported that Las Vegas welcomed 41 million visitors in 2014, although just 12% came to gamble. In fact, only 4% of first-time visitors came to gamble. The younger crowd comes to Vegas for the pool parties, restaurants, and nightclubs, not for the slots and table games. The big question at G2E this fall was, how can the casinos attract these younger players with games that appeal to the Candy Crush Crowd.

Eric Meyerhofer of Gamblit Gaming of Glendale, CA, is trying to do just that. You may have heard him speak at G2E. If not, Random $$ Slots has a channel of films from the Gaming Expo you can watch on YouTube. Eric Meyerhofer’s goal is twofold. He wants to bring real money wagering to mobile gaming. He also wants to put the company’s touch-controlled surface tables into casino bars and nightclubs offering social gambling games for gamers and their friends. “Gambling should be about entertainment,” he says, and the idea is to bring a product to players that they already know and understand as entertainment rather than expect them to shift their taste to a more passive experience. Skill gaming and Social gaming — that’s where we’re headed. 

One Gamblit game that attracted a lot of attention at G2E was the company’s Grab Poker game. HERE is a video of an interview with a representative of the company explaining the game which basically involves swiping a table-top screen to grab the best set of cards first.  The company expects the game to be a road-ready reality next year after final regulations are passed by the state and the games are tested.

For the big brands like Scientific Games, skill-based gaming mostly meant adding bonus rounds to their traditional slots, such as actually playing SPACE INVADERS.

For the SIMPSONS, it meant  physically scratching a lottery ticket or catching donut sprinkles during a virtual trip to the Kwik-E-Mart.

I’m sure all of you who attended G2E made a trip to Konami’s booth to see the historic favorite FROGGER.

IGT’s CENTIPEDE has been in the casinos for a while now. There’s a video you can see in the February 19  blog entry: Slots for a New Generation. I haven’t been able to find a slot for Guitar Hero yet, but G2 Game Design plans to come out with the game as a skill-based slot according to AP articles.

Nevada’s governor Brian Sandoval has signed Senate Bill 9 that paves the way for slot machines in Nevada to incorporate skill-based, arcade-like aspects into games. There may be variable payback to these slots. “The payback on a slot machine is currently around the 88% mark, but this could rise to 98% for a skill-based slot if a player is especially proficient at a game, ensuring the house still turns a profit. If a game is a pure skill game, only the most skillful will win and that’s not a mass-market product” says Meyerhofer. “Hybrid games have a blend of skill and chance in the way that poker does. You won’t win every single night, but you can win often enough to take a chance.” Maybe so, but 98% payback seems very high to me. Even if few players will have the skill to win these games.

Dyed in the wool casino players probably will not like the prospect of casinos eventually resembling an amusement arcade. They will need to achieve a balance between traditional and new.  Meyerhofer foresees chance and skill based games spread across the casino floor and into the bars and other areas designed for lounge style gaming. Some casinos may have e-sport zones where you can speculate and wager on various sports or players.  My question is, will there still be banks of slots for those of us depending on luck, not skill, to play?

Skill-based slots are expected to begin appearing in Nevada casinos sometime in 2016. That’s when we’ll get to see whether these machines do captivate the Playstation and mobile gaming generation. And whether the blue-haired ladies and the silver foxes can still find enough double/triple diamond games to entice them to play in their grandsons’ gaming houses.  I hope so. But you probably won’t see me there!

Don't Gamble With Your Taxes

Okay, so here's your commercial. I apologize in advance.

Taxes aren't the most popular topic for bedtime reading, I suppose, but hopefully (hopefully? more like definitely) you won some money this year. If so, you're going to need to know about this in order to stay out of trouble with the IRS at tax time.

My new book should make filing your slot wins in April a little less stressful. If you want to read some of what I've written before on this subject (and read it FOR FREE), you can read my earlier blog posts here:

Gambling and Taxes Part 1

Gambling and Taxes Part 2

Gambling and Taxes Part 3

In “Don't Gamble With Your Taxes,” I discuss everything that Recreational (Casual) and Professional Gamblers need to know when filing their tax returns.

Topics covered include: How to report wins, deduct losses, and create a tax journal with records that comply with IRS requirements. Also featured are key future developments and upcoming changes in the law that every gambler needs to know about.

Buy your copy today!Available at Amazon on Kindle and in Paperback.

AZ New Class 2 Casino

Usually when I write something on my blog, it is related in some way to gambling in California. Today our travels are taking us to Arizona instead. 

If you are a slot fanatic, you might have seen a thread on one their forums about a new Class 2 Native American casino opening this December in Arizona. If you haven’t heard about AZ’s West Valley Casino, check it out HERE. For another view, take a quick look HERE. You’ll find some bias in the presentation of the issue depending on which article you read. You might even need to visit a couple sites to see what all the fuss is about. It’s more than whether the games are Class 2 or Class 3.

The Tohono O’odham Nation has been trying to open a Class 3 Vegas style casino just west of Phoenix, near the borders of Glendale and Peoria for the past 6 years. They have offered, without success, to pay the State and Glendale to license Class 3 machines even though the Tribe could operate Class 2 machines much more cheaply. The State has rejected these offers. So now the tribe plans to bypass State licensing and open its West Valley Casino without State approval. That means it must operate all Class 2 gaming machines. 

We’ve talked a lot about Class 2 slots over the past year. I have four posts earlier in this blog about the difference between Class 2 and Class 3 games. Random $$ Slots has a YouTube channel where you can watch and learn about 25 of these Class 2 games if you are interested in seeing them played. You might know Class 2 and Class 3 games are not the same, but many people can’t tell the difference. 

The biggest difference to the tribe and to the state is a financial one. State compacts require large payments from the tribes to license Class 3 slots, but not Class 2 ones. The principal difference to the player is in how the machines play. Class 2 games are like electronic bingo games with a central server where there are at least two players competing for a jackpot. Class 3 Vegas style games have set odds and results determined by a random number generator with the players competing against the casinos. 

When completed, the new Arizona Class 2 casino will have 1,089 gaming machines, but no blackjack or other table games. Currently there are only 40 Class 2 machines in use in the entire state of Arizona, according to Andy Asselin, CEO of the tribe’s Desert Diamond Casinos and Entertainment. Ground was broken on West Valley on August 28, 2014. Construction is expected to be completed in early 2016. West Valley will be a 1.2 million square-foot casino located on 78-acres near the sports and entertainment district of western Maricopa County and will include a spa, hotel, events center, bars and restaurants, retail space and a convention center. It has the potential to generate a lot of income for the tribe and for the state. You would think they’d be anxious to come to an agreement.

The casino’s problems all stem from Indian Gaming Regulations, and how they are applied to Trust Lands. The property owned by West Valley was not part of the original reservation. It is replacement land held in trust for the Indians by the US government. 

Under the Indian Regulatory Act of 1934, tribes are allowed to obtain additional land and convert it into trust status. This is land held by the federal government for the benefit of tribal members. It must be contiguous to the existing reservation land or it must be from federal surplus lands. When approved by both the Department of the Interior and by Congress, this land legally becomes part of the tribe’s reservation and can become gaming-eligible under state and federal law.

IGRA prohibits gaming on lands acquired for Indians in trust after its enactment date October 27, 1988. There are exceptions, however. The exceptions include (1) land contiguous to the reservation, (2) land acquired in the best interest of the tribe and not detrimental to the local community which meets the governor’s approval, (3) land acquired for tribes that had no reservation when IGRA was enacted, (4) land acquired as part of a reservation for a newly recognized tribe or the restoration of lands for a restored tribe. Section 20(b)(1)(A) of IGRA allows gaming establishments of such land held in trust if a gaming establishment would be in the best interest of the tribe and not detrimental to the surrounding community, and the governor concurs. This is known as “Two Part Determination.” Once done, any land subject to the determination is essentially excised “out of state” and off the tax rolls without legislative consultation. Excising land off the state tax rolls is not something states want to do.

Here’s what happened to the Tohono O’odham Nation: 

During the 3 year period from 1957-1960, the United States Army Corp of Engineers constructed the Painted Rock Dam to help control seasonal floods on the lower reaches of the Gila River. Things did not go as planned, and water impounded by the Painted Rock Dam caused the flooding of about 10,000 acres of the Gila Bend Reservation. The flooding destroyed a 750-acre tribal farm and several communities. Residents were relocated to a 40-acre parcel called San Lucy Village, Arizona. 

In 1986, the federal government and the nation approved a settlement in which the nation agreed to give up its legal claims in exchange for $30,000,000 and the right to add up to 10,000 acres of newly purchased land to its reservation. This was authorized by the Gila Bend Indian Reservation Lands Replacement Act, Public Law 99-503. In 2003 the nation purchased 135 acres of unincorporated land near Glendale, AZ, for replacement land for the purposes of economic and community development. Some claim the tribe did not make its intentions clear when it acquired this replacement land.

The nation asked the Secretary of the Interior to take the land into trust allowing them to build a casino per IGRA. Lawsuits have challenged the qualifications of these 135 acres as replacement land. They have also accused the tribe of deceptive behavior and misrepresentations as to the nature of the planned casino.

The tribe has also sued state officials alleging the department of gaming has exceeded its authority interfering with its efforts to open the casino. AZ and rival gaming tribes claim the 2002 compacts prohibit additional casinos in metro Phoenix. Courts have ruled this is not true, and that ruling is now under appeal.

So, will Arizona have a new Class 2 casino for the new year? Maybe. Maybe not. The tribal chairman Edward Manuel says the tribe will operate as a Class 2 casino until its issues with the state are resolved and then will convert to Class 3 gaming. So, if you are planning a trip to Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day you may or may not be able to get in some gambling time at West Valley before or after the game. Or, as my son jokes, you can always visit the Grand Canyon and throw your money down that hole instead. Stay tuned. 

Gambling in Southern California

Those of us who live in southern Riverside or northern San Diego counties in California, have  a lot of choices where to play when we want to gamble: Pechanga, Pala, Pauma , Harrah’s Rincon, Valley View, Sycuan, Viejas, or Barona to name a few. There are even more casinos to the north and to the east of us. When I have the urge to share my retirement checks with the local Native American tribes — which is way more often than is really wise I’m afraid — I can choose either a short 11 mile drive from where I live to Pechanga - or I can make a long drive 67 miles from my home to Barona or one of the other SD casinos 70 or 80 miles away. Or I could decide to try someplace entirely new 40 or 50 miles the other direction such as Soboba or Morango or San Manuel or something near Palm Springs. Living  in Southern California is both a blessing and a curse if you like to gamble.

Because Pechanga has not been lucky for us in the past, my husband and I usually pass on the short trip to Pechanga and set out on the 40 mile trip toward Valley View instead: south down HWY 5, then east on HWY 76, and finally a short jaunt farther to Valley Center Road. Why? Because along HWY 76 we also pass Pala (19 miles), Pauma (24 miles), and Harrah’s (29 miles) on the way to Valley View (40 miles.) There are comps to collect at them all, and if the machines at one casino are cold, they may be warmer at the one 10 miles farther down the road. 

Gambling on the reservations is not as convenient as gambling in Vegas or Reno or Atlantic City where there’s another gambling hall just down the street, but it’s better than being at the mercy of just one tribe that is not required to publish or regulate its payback percentages because of tribal sovereignty. The tribes all try to give back as much as they can. They know Vegas is just a short plane ride away. But they have to keep as much as they can too to have the money fulfill their compacts with the State and their contracts with their managing companies. 

There was a lengthy article on a recent slot-hold study in one of the magazines (Casino Journal) that I picked up at G2E. And, not surprisingly, there was a lot of praise in the article for the Barona experience.

First the study results. Analyzing payout percentage trends in 15 states, the study found that that the slot hold percentage increased by 6.2% from 2007 to the present. I’m sure that doesn’t surprise any of you. We’re all playing more and winning less. But not only are we losing more of our money, we are losing it four times faster. The speed of play would cause players to deplete their bankroll quicker ---- even if the hold percentages were to remain constant…which they haven’t. According to the Casino Journal article, “when you had to pull the handle and wait for the coins, it was about one play every 10 or 12 seconds. Now it’s one play every three seconds, or sometimes every two seconds. If its three seconds, that’s 20 pulls per minute. If it’s $3 a pull, you’re going through $60 per minute.”

UNLV’s Center for Gaming innovation says the cost of playing quarter slot and video poker machines was $20 per hour 20 years ago. Today it’s $125 per hour, a six fold increase. So, putting two and two together, most of the rising cost of game play has to do with speed of play, but tight machines are making things worse than they otherwise would be.

Another factor is higher max bets. Some gamblers believe you have to bet the max to trigger the features a game offers. Once the only bet higher than 3 coins was video poker, with 5 coins. Now players are playing faster and they are spending more money to do it. The worst change is the number of coins required to play. You can play a 50-line game with one coin per line, which is 50 cents, or you can bet max and 10 coins for $5 a pull. And they call these “penny games!” When we first played penny games, bets were 12, !5, 20, or 25 cents a pull, and we thought long and hard before raising our bet to a quarter. 

Today there are holds of 10-12 percent on these lower denomination “penny” games. Higher denomination games might hold only 3%. When you’re playing penny games you’re paying 12% to play that same title. You make your bets and suddenly your money is gone. Sometimes it’s gone because you decide to bet max thinking it will improve your wins. Sometimes it’s gone because you are low rolling but the casino is keeping a bigger percentage of your money. Sometimes there is no way to win it seems. The casinos don’t think the player can tell the difference when they tighten their machines. But we can. And we will talk about it, write about it, blog about it — and there will be a slow and steady exit from the tighter property to the looser one — if there is a looser one.

What’s a casino to do? How can they win back these decliners and defectors? One way would be to let us win more often.

The CJ article talked about the successful result of revamping a video poker experience at a Vegas bar to film the reality show Bar Rescue. At the time the bar was selected, its best offer was a terrible 6:5 pay schedule, a 96% game. Immediately the bar rescuers put in a couple of 100%+ games, and they put them on quarters and 50 cents rather than dollars. They chose two of the most difficult games to play correctly Loose Deuces and 10/7 Double Bonus.  An expert player might be able to make a average of $12 an hour on those games. The rest of the games - Bonus Poke, Double Double, Keno - were set at 95%. There were also some middle games like 9/6 Jacks or Better. The machines were advertised as the loosest video poker machines of any bar in Vegas - and within a week, volume had doubled, within a month volume was up 5 times. Structure some games so there’s a chance to win, and players will come they found. The games don’t all have to be winners - just enough loose machines that players think they might pick the lucky VP game to play. The same is true of slots — they don’t all have to be winners. But there have to be enough winners that we have a chance to pick the lucky machine to play sometimes.

I always smile when I read articles on gambling, and they suggest playing at the banks marked 95% payback. It makes me wonder sometime if these bloggers have every gambled in a California Native American casino. In the decade or more that my husband and  have gambled at the locals close to where we live, we have never seen a sign advertising any payback percentage. Sometimes a machine will have a handmade sign on it advertising a good jackpot the machine has recently paid - but never a percentage figure.

The Barona Experience

Dennis Conrad concludes the discussion in the October issue of Casino Journal by sharing some of what Barona has done to earn the title of Southern California’s best casino with the area’s loosest slot in local gambling papers. None of this information is based on my personal experience - my husband does not like to drive 67 miles each way to gamble, and I gave up driving when I left Indiana. I have only played at Barona once, for close to an hour. But when you hear the same praise for the same casino where ever you turn, you feel there must  be something to it — where’s there’s smoke there’s fire they say. 

How did Barona get its reputation as the best place to play in Southern California? First, Conrad says, Barona reduced the hold percentages on its machines. Not on all of them. But they have great video poker schedules. They have “manufacturer’s bests” where they have asked manufacturers to verify for customers that the game they have on Barona’s floor is the best pay table they offer. They promote the fact that they’re been voted “Loosest Slots in Market.” And they have no ATM fees.

They have created a value package without any general brand advertising. That provides about $10 million in savings that they have to spend on their customers.  One example is having executives walk around with $20 vouchers going up to strategically identified players saying “I see it’s your  birthday,” of “I see you haven’t been winning in the last hour,” or “You haven’t been here in a while.”  I get e-mails from Barona based on the single visit I made there one Mother’s Day telling me the casino is giving out 5x or 10x points because it’s raining or the temperature is is the 90’s  or some other excuse to come and play. I watched a slot video posted by Beam Me Up Slotty filmed at Barona last year where the staff was celebrating the filmer’s birthday with song and chocolate cake.  That’s a little different from those casinos who make you feel like a felon if you even film your game on your cell phone.

A lot of you gamble in Southern California. What do you think? Does Barona live up to its hype? Do you find its machines are noticeably better to you than its competitors’ slots? What would it take to get you to drive the extra distance to check it out?

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Here’s an oldie to help you celebrate the holiday.

Turkey Shoot

Superheroes and Robots Invade Las Vegas

If you attended G2E, you know that after the expo ends, you start finding news releases in your email every day alerting you to coming attractions in the gaming world. Too many to keep up with really. Today CDC Gaming Reports tells us that Treasure Island, former home of the pirate battle Buccaneer Bay and later Sirens of TI, is planning a new attraction for Vegas: superheros based on two popular themes: Marvel Comics’ Avengers and robots based on Hasbro’s Transformers. The venue, which is expected to open this coming March, will offer customers an interactive, theme-park-like experience geared toward the family crowd. 

The superheroes will not be occupying the TI casino. Treasure Island will be turning over the second and third floors of its recently completed 40,000 square foot retail area along the Strip to developers Victory Hill Exhibitions. (The property currently houses a CVS Pharmacy on the first level.) Victory Hill  has similar interactive experiences in other cities, but expects Vegas to be its marquee attraction according to Nicholas Cooper. Cooper is the chief creative officer of Victory Hill which owns the licensing rights for the brands.

The tours are expected to take about 50 minutes and will be self-guided, with characters and aspects of the story lines. Superheros Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America, and Thor will staff the Marvel Comics facility on the third floor. The three-story Optimus Prime on the second level will surely be “more than meets the eye!” 

(Are you surprised someone my age is familiar with transformers? It’s because my three sons had transformers as kids; I bet a lot of you did too! I wasn’t a fan, but my children were, and they spent a lot of TV time watching the show and had a lot of transformer toys on their birthday and Christmas lists.)

The cost of developing the attraction was not given in the news release, but Treasure Island owner Phil Ruffin said the resort will advance Victory Hill $2 million for tenant improvements. Victory Hill will pay rent for the space, and the hotel-casino will also receive $1 for every ticket sold. Ruffin estimated the retail space, once the attractions are completed, will bring in $8 million a year to the resort. He also expects marketing incentives for Treasure Island’s hotel guests. Ruffin did not want to lease the space to restaurants, he said, because it would hurt the casino’s other food establishments’ business.

I haven’t find a casino slot game to link you readers to yet - I’ll keep looking - but there are online casinos with Marvel comic themes you can watch on the internet, some for money, some for free. I don’t know enough about online gaming yet to recommend one, but I’m sure most of you do. I bet you play these games on your phones and other electronic devices already. Maybe you can teach me something about apps and on-line games. I hope so. There’s a lot I don’t know. In the meantime, we’ll all be watching for our favorite comic book and TV heroes to see how they expand and transform our Vegas fun.

Update: I just got a reminder from Slot Traveler that Iron Man by WMS is a Marvel slot game. Thanks for the info.

WSOP and Verbivores

The best thing about writing a blog is you can write whenever you want about whatever strikes your fancy. If you look back over the entries I have posted in mine this past year, you will see articles about a variety of topics, mostly relating to gaming of some sort. New slots at G2E and films of slots on YouTube, various aspects of sports and sports betting, California Native American casinos and tribal sovereignty issues, the differences in Class II and Class III slots, news articles about gamblers and gambling, the tax implications of winning or losing when you play, money laundering and title 31 (money laundering) concerns. Whatever is on my mind at the time I sit down to write is what you get to read when you visit spinning2win.blogspot.com. If you don’t find a particular entry is something you care about, that’s okay too. The next week I’ll be talking about something entirely different, and that may be something you want to know about. This week the game is Poker.

Today the finals of the 2015 World Series of Poker begins. Nine players are left, each hoping to win $7.6 million and the title of World Series of Poker champion in the event’s annual no-limit Texas Hold’em tournament. The group of 9 pros, retirees, and software developers have outlasted 6,410 other players each of whom paid $10,000 for the chance to take home the big prize. 

The favorite is a 24 year old from North Wales, Pennsylvania, with a degree in mathematics from Arcadia University, Joe McKeehen. He enters the finals with 63,100,000 in chips. His earnings before the Main Event total $2 million. Sitting comfortably at the top of the pack, he has more than twice the number of chips as his closest competitor. Not bad for a 24 yr old!

In second place with 29,800,000 in chips is a relative unknown in the tournament world, Ofer Zvi Stern, age 37 from Israel. He is a software developer and owner of multiple tech companies and the only one of the November 9 with a day job. Prior to this competition, this relative unknown player’s poker tournament earnings totaled only $152,818. Before this match he placed no higher than 18th in five World Series of Poker events and earned no more that $22,318 total since 2006. I guess Stern is the dark horse favorite. 

In third place Neil Blumenfield with 22,000,000 in chips is a former tech company founder and executive originally from Chicago, now San Francisco, and soon Ft. Lauderdale. At age 61 he, along with Pierre Neuville age 72 with 21,075,000 in chips, are the oldest players to reach the final table in its modern era. Blumenfield  is a UC Berkeley grad with a degree in political science. Neuville is a retired executive with board game maker Hasbro’s European division. 

The remaining 5 players are young. In 5th place is Max Steinberg, age 27, who has daily fantasy sports and DraftKings to thank for his foray into poker’s premier event. Tom Cannuli, age 23, is the youngest player and has skyrocketed from 691st place last year to 6th today. Joshua Beckley, age 25, who has played in 15 events this year and won cash in five of them is ranked 7th. Patrick Chan, who has entered the Main Event every year since 2012 and never cashed until now is in 8th place. He turns 27 at the end of the week. The final 9th competitor is Federico Butteroni age 25 from Italy, who also has played in 13 events and cashed in three this series.

I have not been following the World Series of Poker, so you may wonder what about WSOP caught my attention today. It was a column by my favorite local writer Richard Lederer, a well known linguist who writes for the San Diego Union Tribune each Saturday. Lederer also has a site on the web verbivore.com where you can read his previous columns and order his books. 

What’s a verbivore, you may ask, and what does that have to do with poker?

Carnivores eat meat. Herbivores eat plants and vegetables. Verbivores devour words. If you love puns, word origins, metaphors, and the evolution of language usage - you may well be a verbivore too. Visit Lederer’s web site and read some of his columns and see. His most recent one deals with the origins and usage of various poker phrases. Why poker? Well, Richard Lederer is also the proud parent of two world-class poker players. 

His son, Howard “The Professor” Lederer and his daughter, Annie Duke, have together won $11.5 million in poker championships. Lederer proudly tells us that they are the only sibling pair to reach the final day of a World Series of Poker event, and both have earned World Series bracelets. Between 1993 and 1999 Howard Lederer made eight final tables at WSOP events before winning his first WSOP bracelet in 2000  and his second in 2001. You can read more on Wikipedia. He was also a founding member and onetime president of Tiltware LLC, the company that handled marketing and software development for Full Tilt Poker in 2004.

His daughter, Annie (Lederer) Duke, holds a World Series of Poker gold bracelet from 2004 and formerly was the leading money winner among woman until dethroned by Vanessa Selbst. She has written a number of instructional books for poker players, and co-founded a non-profit Ante Up for Africa. She has also been involved in advocating for the legality of online gambling. Wikipedia can tell you much more about Annie also

.

The Lederer siblings no longer play in the WSOP, but proud parents don’t need much excuse to talk about their children’s achievements. And it inspired Mr. Lederer's column this week all about “laying cards on the table” and other poker-related phrases. Take a look at his site. You’ll enjoy it, I bet. As for the WSOP, pick your favorite of the November Nine and watch and see who wins. Don't count on Jennifer to know and tell you. 

Halloween Fun - Week 2

More Ghosts and Goblins and Gruesome Games

October 25: Better Off 'Ed

video by Albert's Slot Channel

Better Off 'Ed

This title is a double treat.

That’ll have you trembling in your seat.

Locking wilds with ten free spins,

Or Tombstone picks for ghostly wins.

Play them both if you dare.

Albert really will not care.

Click Here  then come back and  Click Here

October 26: Trick or Treat Halloween Edition 

Trick or Treat Halloween Edition

video by Casinomannj

Trick of Treat - What will it be?

Watch all four games and you will see.

Why Casino man is number one

At filming slots and YouTube fun.

He’s got almost 19 million views! That is really scary!

Click Here for the video

October 27: Wizard of Oz

Wizard of Oz:
Ruby Slippers
Flying Monkey Bonus

Ruby Slippers video by DProxima 

Flying Monkey Bonus video by DianaEvoni

Ignore the man behind the curtain

He can’t help you, that is certain.

Witches, munchkins, a wizard too

You’ll meet them all before you’re through.

Lions, scarecrows, tin woodsmen

Flying monkeys, You just can’t win.

To get you where you want to go,

You’ll need a lucky spin, you know.

Trust in Glenda. She’ll show the way.

Then click your heels three times and say,

“Good players never more will roam

Because there is no place like home.”

But once we’re home, we’ll want to play.

So we won’t have too long a stay,

You want to win, well I do too.

Let's go to Vegas. Let’s take Toto too.

Click Here for the Ruby Slippers video

Click Here for the Flying Monkey Bonus video

Three Days of Halloween Hijinks with Batman and Robin

October 28: Classic TV Batman. The Joker is Wild   

video by Beam Me Up Slotty

October 29: Dark Knight Trilogy, Villains  of Gotham City   

video by Random$$Slots

October 30: Batman: Rogues Gallery   

video by Brent's Lucky (and Gay) Slot Channel

Halloween is scary in Gotham City.

So many villains. It’s really a pity.

It wouldn’t be safe to trick-or-treat

Without Batman and Robin on your street.

The Dark Knight always wears a mask,

Bruce Wayne is equal to the task.

Dick Grayson helps if there’s a fight

When villains and heroes share the night

Put on your costume, have no fear

The Dynamic Duo’s standing near.

The Caped Crusader will save the day,

Make sure Halloween is here to stay.

He won’t let the Joker steal your candy.

(Knowing Batman sure comes in handy.)

I bet the Riddler has nothing to say,

And Catwoman runs off the other way.

Win big and take home a huge bag of cash,

It’s better by far than a candy stash.

Play it safe, Citizen. Have lots of fun.

Halloween’s a great night for everyone.

Click Here for the Classic TV Batman. The Joker is Wild   

Click Here for the video Dark Knight Trilogy, Villains  of Gotham City

Click Here for the video Batman: Rogues Gallery



To go back to

Halloween Fun - Week One
Click Here

October 31: Wicked Winnings III

video by Random $$ Slots

A special “great job” to eleven great guys,

And one classy gal. Thanks for sharing your game.

I subscribe to you all; you know you’re the best.

Without you to watch, it would not be the same.

I can’t do what you do, and put games on film

For others to watch and replay.

So I hope everyone who had YouTube fun

Subscribed, liked, & commented today.

We’ve  seen Monsters and Witches. We visited Oz,

Found Ghosts in the Graveyard and Vampires that bite,

Explored Haunted Houses, and went Trick-or-Treat

With Batman and Robin one night.

We’ve overcome Zombies, and killed Walking Dead,

Busted Ghosts and the Marshmallow Man.

Elvira gave us a thrill, Count Dracula a chill.

Now we’ve had all the fun that we can.

October has ended, so take off your masks,

Put your Halloween costumes away.

There’s just one thing to do, and then we are through,

Just one more SPECIAL game you must play.

An April film, in October disguise.

So clever that you, can not trust your eyes.

If you’ve seen it before, you know what’s in store.

An outstanding edit, a remarkable spin.

If you haven’t a clue, watch what Random can do,

Lets all just pretend,
his amazing great spin....

.... is  JENNIFER’s GOOD WIN

Click Here for the video

Two Weeks of Halloween Fun

Lucky Count

October 18: Lucky Count

video by Vegas Low Roller

If you count the days till Halloween,

You’ll find they number just fourteen.

Come back and visit everyday.

You’ll find new spooky games to play.

You’ll find no tricks, just treats in store.

Enjoy the win - come back for more.

“Count” on Vegas Low Roller getting our Halloween fun off to a “Lucky” start.

Click Here

October 19: Hauntsworth House

video by Random$$Slots

Hauntsworth Housevideo by Random$$Slots

At Hauntsworth House when you trick-or-treat

You could get something good to eat

Choose the right ghost, and find the key,

Pick the right chest, and you might see

A trunk of credits, and not candy.

“Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t.”

Click Here

October 20: Ghostbusters

video by Shamus

If there’s something strange in your neighborhood

Ghostbusters

Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters

If there’s something weird, and it don’t look good

Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters

If you can’t seem to win - though you really try,

If you always lose - and you don’t know why

If you’re all alone, pick up the phone

Help’s on the way. Shamus’ll save the day. 

Call Ghostbusters

Shamus ain’t afraid of no ghosts… 

…and he ain’t afraid of the StayPuft Marshmallow Man either! 

Click Here and watch how he does it.

October 21: Midnight Matinee

video by NYPhinix13  

The Midnight Matinee tonight,

Midnight Matinee

Could give viewers an awful fright

With monsters lurking out of sight.

Don’t be afraid, they will not bite.

The Graveyard Ghosts are friendly too

Pick five tombstones, see how you do. 

The pink ghosts give you extra spins

Green ghosts can multiply your wins
Click Here and all your fun begins

       Great Halloween editing, Rob!

The Walking Dead

October 22: Walking Dead

video by ShinobiYT

A hoard of zombies, Walking Dead.

You’ve got to shoot them in the head.

“Cause if you don’t, and they bite you,

You’ll turn into a zombie too.

Shinobi’s Wakizashi or Ninjato blades might also do the trick.

Click Here

October 23: Vampire’s Embrace

Vampire's Embrace

video by SlotTraveler

He casts no shadow on the floor,

Ne reflection in the glass

He drinks no wine or water

He dines on no repast

He cannot cross your threshold

If you don’t invite him through your door

And if you do, you’ll surely rue

What the vampire has in store.

'Cause when you’re caught in his embrace,

His bloody fangs close to your face,

Wrapped in his cape, you can’t escape,

HE’S ABOUT TO DRINK YOUR BLOOD!

SlotTraveler, get us out of this fright-mare!

Click Here 

October 24: Elvira’s Secret

Elvira's Secret

video by Random$$Slots

Elvira is a buxom vamp

Inspiring lusty dreams

Seducing you with ribald camp

But nothing’s as it seems

For the Mistress of the Dark

Has hidden one small fact.

The sexy show is just a lark.

Her secret is: it’s all an act.

Guess she doesn’t REALLY “tingle all over when you win like that.”

Click Here 

More Halloween Tricks-n-Treats

Click here for: TWO WEEKS OF HALLOWEEN FUN - PART 2