With the kids in the backseat buckled up tight, you’re headed for grandma’s house, an all-day drive. The great American family vacation road trip–a time for bonding and sharing each other’s interests. A time for pulling your hair out one by one. As long as Americans pile the kids in the car for a family vacation, they are doomed for the anxieties that come with the mind-numbing boredom of a very long road trip. After a short while into the trip, the fidgeting starts. The inevitable discussion about who hit whom first is under debate. Good feeling’s gone. As it happens, once the kids have seen a couple grazing cows and a horse pasture, they pretty much don’t want to see it again. Rolling hills and scenic mountains served their purpose a great many miles back, but now, who really cares? And who really gives a hoot what they’re growing in those widespread fields anyway! So here you are, only a couple hours into the trip, with the whole day ahead of you, and the whining starts. “Are we there yet? “ Never fear! Remember those awesome car trip games we used to play as kids? The age-old “I Spy” game where the other player tries to guess your object. Then, of course, the license plate game options: See if you can spell all 50 states, make a phrase out of the plate letters or see who can add up the numbers correctly. Car trip games are really terrific entertainment for the kids, but when 20 Questions suddenly turns into 20 reasons why you’re bothering me, then it’s time to move on before the scuffling accelerates. Unlike past generations, today there is a simple solution. Put in a DVD movie. Just slide that little disc boldly into the slot, and suddenly the family road trip takes on new scenery–Shrek, Nemo, Woody and Buzz. The whining stops. Restless little bodies settle down, and the car mercifully becomes surrounded by contentment. Suddenly, the trip becomes much easier. Okay, so now you’re thinking enjoyment of the journey is lost. The family vacation is a bust. Relax, already! True, the countryside is becoming just a faint flicker in the background, but consider the fact that if you make the most of getting to your destination, you will bring home good memories of the entire trip. In reality, TV provides a welcome sanity for today’s long road trips. So, let modern technology take over. Enjoy it! If you’re still having a hard time accepting defeat to the state-of-the art, consider days gone by when fidgety children were free to move around. Perhaps you can recall sitting in the back of the station wagon or hatchback playing board games or working on little paper projects. Can’t do that today. For safety, the little ones are strapped into their special seats and the older ones are buckled up tight. Not much freedom there. The great American road trip has forever changed. So next time you hit the road, throw in those DVD movies. Your sanity may depend on it. A word of warning I must add. As parents come to rely on DVDs as their survival against hours of back-seat whining and clashing, DVD players won’t solve all problems. There may be fewer “are we there yets,” but eventually new squabbles of “it’s my turn to pick” or “I don’t want to watch that” will erupt. Isn’t modern technology great?
Have you ever been drawn to a roulette table because of the display board? The one that says black has come up 6 times in a row? Ever have the urge to put your money on the table in that situation? If so, what do you do? “Bet red, because it’s due to hit this time! “ That answer, while it is a very popular one, is absolutely wrong! You should always bet with the streak, or not at all. Betting red in this situation is wrong for two reasons. The first reason’s mathematical: no matter how many times a color comes up in roulette, there’s still (roughly) a 50/50 chance that red or black will come up on the next spin. It doesn’t matter if black came up 5 times in a row, 500 times in a row or 5 million times in a row. Every spin in roulette is an independent event; what happened before or after the spin doesn’t change the probability of a certain outcome. The idea that an event can become ‘due’ over time is known as ‘the gambler’s fallacy’, and has contributed to the demise of many a player’s bankroll. The second reason’s psychological. What happens if you bet red, and black comes up again? Do you increase your bet on red? After all, it’s even more due now, right? Sure, you may luck out and red comes up on that next spin, but if black comes up once more, how would you deal with it? If you bet against the streak and lose, and get in the trap of pressing up your bet hoping the streak stops, the casino’s got you right where they want you! If the streak keeps going you’ll be broke, wondering to yourself “what’re the odds of THAT happening? “ If you bet with the streak, worst case is you lose your base bet as the streak comes to an end, universal balance and order is restored and you can play your game as normal. Until next time, take care and best of luck in the casino.
The house edge, which is the commission that a gambling agent such as a casino, a sportsbook (bookmaker), or a lottery administrator charges, is a yardstick that measures how a specific gambling game is fair and reasonable. It is one of the most important factors that every player should consider whenever he/she is engaged in any type of gambling, inasmuch as it indicates how much of the money wagered goes to the gambling agent’s pocket and how much is redistributed to the winners. Indeed, a house edge cannot be zero since casinos, sportsbooks, and lottery administrators have to make some money in order to cover their expenses, and to make some profit as well. Yet, a high house edge simply means that the players are unecessarily being ripped-off, and as a result, any gambling game with a high house edge should certainly be avoided by a knowledgeable gambler. In this article, we shall compare, in the simplest way possible, the house edges of a roulette, an evens-odd betting, and a Cash 3 lottery game as representatives of the three major gambling categories. The Equation The easiest way to compute a house edge is to compare the actual winnings that are paid by the respective agents to the winnings that would be paid in a fair game or bet. A fair game or a fair bet is one in which no commission is involved; an obvious model is a game between friends. Therefore, in percentage form, the house edge is obtained by subtracting an actual game winning from a fair game winning and dividing the result by the fair game winning, finally multiplying by 100. Thus, House Edge = [ (fair game winning – actual game winning) / fair game winning ] * 100 Roulette Because of its simplicity and popularity, we shall consider the roulette as a representative casino game. A European roulette wheel has grooves marked by the numbers 0 to 36; the American wheel (also called Las Vegas wheel) has an additional groove marked as ’00’. So, the European wheel has a total of 37 numbers, while the American wheel has 38. Internet casinos usually make available the option to select the type of wheel the customer prefers, but the brick and mortar casinos normally offer only one type. The winning number in a roulette game is the number corresponding to the groove where a spinning ball lands. Now, consider a fair game in which 38 friends are playing the roulette at home, and each one selects a number and places a $1 bet on the number (no two or more players wagering on the same number). When the ball is spun and lands in a groove, the number marking that groove will be the winning number. The person who has selected this winning number collects all the money on the table thus making him win $37. On the other hand, if the game were conducted in a casino, the winner would be paid only $35. The difference between the two winnings applied in the above equation gives us the house edge of a roulette game as ( 37 – 35 ) / 37 * 100 = 2 / 37 * 100 = 5.4% This means that every time you spend a $100 on an offline or online casino roulette, $5.40 goes to the casino and the rest is redistributed to the winners. Evidently, there are quite a number of casino games and the house edge varies from game to game, many of them having a house edge less than that of the roulette. For obvious reasons, a good gambler always prefers games that have low house edges, while the casino itself loves those games with high house edges. For example, the house edge of craps is 1.4% which makes it one of the most preferred casino games by the players. Even-odds Sports Betting Again, because of its simplicity, we shall consider an even-odds betting as a representative of this category of gambling. By even-odds we mean that the event (usually a sports game) has equal chances of going either way. An example is a tennis match between two competitive players each of which has an equal chance of winning the match. A fair bet, in this case, is just a simple bet between two friends who just pick one of the tennis player as winner. If these two friends wager $1 each, the winner will collect $2, thus winning $1. If instead the bets are placed through a sportsbook, the winner will collect only $1.91, since the odds of an evens game at most bookies and online sportsbooks is 1.91. If you are not familiar with the decimal representation of odds, 1.91 is the same as 10/11 in UK notation and -110 in US odds notation. Odds of 10/11 mean that you’ll win $10 when you wager $11; and odds of -110 mean that you have to wager $110 in order to win $100. Anyway, since the winnings paid by a sportsbook is only $0.91, the house edge of an even-odds betting will therefore be ( 1 – 0.91 ) / 1 * 100 = 0.09 * 100 = 9% So, this is how sportsbooks make a living. Since several internet sportsbooks offer odds higher than 1.91 in order to lure bettors, the house edge could be smaller than 9%, which is one of the things that the bettor should be looking for when searching for a sportsbook. On the other hand, if the bettor is wagering on parlays the house edge would be significantly higher than 9%; for big parlays, it could go as high as 40%. It should be apparent by now that the gambler is better off with casino games than sports betting. It should also be noted that while the house edge could be a major factor to consider while selecting a gambling game, it is by no means the only one. For instance, one should consider the fact that casino games are mostly games of chance, while sports betting also involves a learned decision in selecting a pick, consequently leading to a higher probability of winning a bet. Cash 3 Depending on the state you are in, this lottery game may be known by a different name such as Pick 3, Play 3, Daily 3, etc. In this game, the player selects a three-digit number from 000 to 999, and plays the number as a straight or as a box. A straight play is a prediction that the number will come exactly as selected while a box is a prediction for the number to come in any order. For instance, if a player selects the number 672 and plays it straight, he/she will win if the number drawn is exactly 672. Instead, if the player plays 672 as a box, he/she will win as long as the drawn number contains a 6, a 7 and a 2, in any order (276, for example). Obviously, a straight game pays much more than a box game for the same amount wagered. Now consider 1000 friends (maybe in a club) selecting a number as a straight, each for $1, so that all the 1000 possible numbers are covered. When the winning number is drawn, the person who has selected that lucky number will be deemed a winner and will cash in all the $1000 collected, so making him win $999. This is a fair game. In the case of state lotteries, however, the winner will be paid only $500 in most states. Some states may pay a little bit less, others may pay a little bit more, but $500 is more or less the standard. The winner therefore wins $499. The house edge for a Cash 3 game will therefore be ( 999 – 499 ) / 999 * 100 = 500 / 999 * 100 = 50% This house edge applies not only to the Cash 3 game but also to all state lottery games such as Play 4, Cash 5, Mega, Fantasy 5, Lotto, Power Ball, etc. So, whenever you are playing the state lottery, remember that you are wagering only half of your money on the actual lottery; the other half, you are just giving it away. Where this other half goes is not the gambler’s concern, since his/her main objective is to win some money in order to pay the ever present bills, or to get out of a miserable life, or to change his/her 20-year-old car. As regards contributing to education and other noble causes, there are other means of collecting money called taxes and charities. Unfortunately, many states do not allow casino games, and furthermore, sports betting is illegal in the United States. The player is therefore left with no choice but to cross state borders in search of a casino, or more recently, to engage in online sports betting through the several offshore internet sportsbooks. Nowadays, there is a plethora of trustworthy online casinos and sportsbooks operating from Canada, the UK, Antigua, Costa Rica, and so on. The Conclusion As far as the house edge is concerned, it has been shown that casino games are the best choice for the gambler. On the other end, any state lottery is a pretty miserable game to play. Nevertheless, besides the house edge, there is also the possibility of winning to consider. Casino games, like lotteries are mostly games of chance; the player just selects a number or numbers and waits to see what luck brings him/her. There is absolutely no basis to prefer one number to others. Some people try to analyze previously drawn numbers in order to see the trend and predict the next numbers. This strategy may work a few times, but not always. Keep in mind that it is the players, and not the machines, who remember the previous numbers. In short, the possibility of winning a roulette or the lottery entirely depends on luck. While there is little or nothing that a roulette or a lotto player can do to initially select a possible winning number, the situation could be quite different in the case of betting. With a lot of information and some assistance from sports handicappers, it is possible to predict the outcome of a sports event with more certainty than predicting a Cash 3 number.
In the Bond film ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ we see James Bond confidently approach the craps table, call out a few choice bets, roll the dice, and collect his winnings under the admirering eyes of Lana Wood. ‘Hey’, she says, ‘You handle those dice like a monkey handles coconuts. ‘ It’s great to appear the winner in a casino. Anyone can always win. Here’s how: Set a gambling budget just the same as you would set your hotel, food, and show budget. That money you set aside for the casino is already gone in your mind, just like your hotel and food money will be gone. If you stay on or under your gambling budget you’re a winner. After all, you’re in the casino to enjoy the games, not try to win money to pay your rent. Bond doesn’t make money gambling, he makes it from his job. If you enjoy the ‘gaming’ on a budget you’re a winner, win or lose. If you’re trying to change your financial situation, then you are really gambling and may end up a loser. So entertain your date with assorted games at various casinos, every once in a while slipping a twenty dollar bill into her slot machine to get her started. She’ll tell everyone back home about you doing that. Now that’s inexpensive PR. Also be sure to get your date on the craps table at least once. Girls love to throw dice. And save your multiple bets for only when you or her are throwing the dice to conserve money when others are throwing and to increase her excitement and show off your expertise when you and her are rolling the bones. Learn to play the hard ways because you don’t have to place the minimum $5 bet on them. You can bet a dollar and get back 7 to 1 or 9 to 1 making you really look like a 007 skilled player. When you call out your ‘hard way’ numbers, toss your chips into the center of the table where the ‘hard ways’ are with a quick flat spin, making it stop cold near your number instead of bouncing and rolling all over the table. After you finish, let the dealer at the table change over your chips and then toss a five dollar chip on the table with a ‘Thank you, gentlemen.’ like Bond did. When your date sees you do all this she may repeat Lana Wood’s line of ‘Hey, you know what? You’re a great guy.’
Most Florida Marlins fans never expected another repeat of the 1997 season when management completely gutted the World Champion Marlins but that is exactly what happened during the 2005 off season. Despite finishing tied with the Mets for 3rd place with an 83-79 record, Florida decided it needed to dramatically reduce payroll in the hopes of focusing on a new stadium plan. In just 12 short days between November 24-December 7 the Marlins dumped millions off their payroll by moving six everyday starting position players, two frontline pitchers, a closer and a setup reliever. When the dust finally settled only superstars Miguel Cabrera (.323 33 116) and Dontrelle Willis (22-10 2.63) remained.
The 2005 offense was led by Cabrera who posted almost identical numbers to his 2004 season ending totals. Cabrera was joined by newly acquired 1st baseman Carlos Delgado (.301 33 115) and outfielder Juan Encarnacion (.287 16 76) while pesky leadoff hitter Juan Pierre (.276 in 162 games with 57 stolen bases), 3rd baseman Mike Lowell (.236 8 58) and newly signed catcher Paul Lo Duca (.283 6 57) rounded out the rest of the starting lineup.
Willis simply dominated in 2005 by starting the season off with a 5-0 record with a 1.29 ERA. Dontrelle managed to enter the all star break with an impressive 13-4 record and 2.39 ERA. Starters Josh Beckett (15-8 3.37), A.J. Burnett (12-12 3.44) and newly acquired Brian Moehler (6-12 4.55) joined reliever Todd Jones (1-5 2.10 40 saves in 45 save opportunities) to complete the rotation.
Off Season Moves:
New appointed manager Joe Girardi and be surrounded by fresh, new faces in his 2006 debut. Hanley Ramirez is a top rookie prospect who was obtained in the Beckett trade from Boston, Ramirez has only played in two major league games and spent most of the 2005 season at AAA, where he batted .271 with six home runs, 52 RBI, and 26 stolen bases. Baseball America ranks Ramirez 10th on the Top 100 prospect list and he will likely get the starting shortstop position moving Cabrera to third base, his natural position.
The Marlins are also excited about outfielder Jeremy Hermida, who was the team’s first-round pick in the 2002 draft as well as Eric Reed and Chris Aguila who are expected to get consideration in center and left field. Former New York Met Mike Jacobs (.310, 11 home runs in 30 games), obtained in the Delgado deal, and Wes Helms (.298 4 HRS in 2005) are expected to platoon at first base, while Josh Wilson (.257 17 82 in 143 games at Triple A Albuquerque in 2005) will compete for the starting job at second base.
2006 Analysis:
The Marlins will start 2006 with a bunch of fresh new faces. The fire sale provided the team with a bunch of untested talent which will make the 2006 roster look more like a AAA minor league team then anything else. New Manager Girardi will need to carefully evaluate who is ready to step into a full time role the team. Starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis is coming off his best year ever, so he will be expected to shoulder the load once again with Yusmeiro Petit, Sergio Mitre, Jason Vargas, Anibel Sanchez, Josh Johnson and Scott Olsen all getting consideration for a slot in the starting rotation. Scouts have recognized Johnson as a No. 2 starter and Olsen, a lefthander, is also highly regarded.
Aladdin Hotel and Casino has risen out of the rubbles of the imploded landmark. The new Aladdin Hotel and Casino is remarkably beautiful resort. The 34-acre hotel claims more features than any other resort in the city. Although that is subject to debate but the new Aladdin Hotel and Casino indeed offers an amazing 100,000-square-foot of gaming area with a four-story high ceiling. All of your favorite table games take place at the 87 gaming tables provided. More than 2,800 slot machines cater to your gaming pleasures.
Aladdin Hotel and Casino is located at Las Vegas Nevada at the famous South Las Vegas Strip. Aladdin Hotel and Casino adopted the Ali Baba and the forty thieves theme. Aladdin Hotel and Casino was built in the year 2000. Aladdin Hotel and Casino has around 2,600 guest rooms. From the metro city center, Aladdin Hotel and Casino is a few minutes away. Aladdin Hotel and Casino features free parking, handicapped accessible rooms, heated pool, saunas, shops, tennis courts, bar/lounges, fitness center and other amenities. Aladdin Hotel and Casino has 130 gift and retail shops. Aladdin Hotel and Casino also provides a 7,000-seating capacity theater for concerts or televised award show. Aladdin Hotel and Casino has the exclusive ‘casino within a casino’ called London Club that is open for high stakes rollers. London club is 35,000 square foot of gaming action. Aladdin Hotel and Casino has two rooftop swimming pools and an indoor desert attraction called Desert Passage. The Desert Passage has been dubbed by many as the rival to the Forum Shops at the Caesars. It offers variety of choices for the shoppers and it is certainly a good place to visit. You can choose a variety of goods sold in this place. Choices range from toys, gadgetry, novelty items, North African goods, clothing and souvenir T-shirts. Every once an hour, a rainstorm will occur at one part of the shopping mall which is very realistic.
Dining at Aladdin Hotel and Casino is another wonderful experience you should not miss. It is probably the best buffet this side of town. With a very large selection of main courses, fish dishes and the tasty desserts, Aladdin Hotel and Casino indeed is a diner’s haven. Customer service is excellent. The upper market atmosphere of the posh Aladdin Hotel and Casino is well-maintained. The dining area is very clean and the cost of the buffet about $18 for dinner is reasonable considering the number of delectable choices available for your dining pleasures. Another good dining place to go to at Aladdin Hotel and Casino is the food court. Coffee shops, pizza, burger and hot dog concessions abound in this area. The Aladdin Hotel and Casino gaming area is the most superb feature of the place. Slot machines are not cramped which leave ample room for player’s movement. Customer service and cocktail service is very prompt even if you are playing with the nickel machines only. Aladdin Hotel and Casino offers the ultimate shopping, dining and entertainment experience to every guest that visits the place.
Round and round and round she goes, and where she stops, nobody knows.
Growing up, I always loved roulette. It was something that fascinated me — watching the ball spin around and around and around, and knowing that if it landed in the right slot, there was a lot of money that could be made.
Of course, when I got older and I went into a casino for the first time, I discovered that it was a whole lot harder to make money at it than I had thought, at first. Luckily, I’m a pretty fast learner and I quickly found a way that I could minimize my losses and maximize my profits.
Well, times change and suddenly, I find myself spending time at online casinos, and playing online roulette.
Guess what?
You can use the same strategies that will help you minimize your losses and maximize your profits with online roulette.
Now, before you get all excited, I’ve got to put in a disclaimer here. Some casinos are better than others and I’m only going to be discussing the good casinos, which you can find located at the end of this article.
One of the benefits to playing at one of the good online casinos is that they want to get you to try their site and they’ll give you some really nice incentives. What kind of nice incentives?
FREE MONEY.
That’s right — you log on, you sign up, and you get some really great offers. Some of them will match your initial deposit with double and sometimes triple what you’re bringing to the table. Now, I don’t know about you but I sure like the sound of that.
Okay, so you find a good online casino and you want to play roulette.
Do you have a strategy?
If you don’t, I can give you some pointers right now that will help you out.
First of all, keep in mind that there are the odds are always the same — no matter what. You might spin the wheel a thousand times and not have the number “15” come up but that doesn’t mean that you’re “due” for it to show up. (If you go into a real casino, you’ll see some casinos actually give out little cards for you to keep track of the numbers — because they want you to pick numbers that haven’t come up in a while, even though those numbers are no more likely to show up than any other. )
Now, here’s a little trick that I’ve learned through the years, playing both online and real-world casinos.
First, you want to figure out how much you’re prepared to lose — in my case, I’ll start off with $100 as my loss figure.
Then, you want to have a “win” number — how much you want to win before you walk away from the table. I usually make it half how much I can afford to lose. So that means that I’ll usually have $50 as my “walk-away” number.
Next, you’ll want to bet 10 percent of your money on either red or black.
Now, keep in mind that casinos (online and real-world) always have a slight advantage. However, when you play what’s known as “rock solid,” you make the odds work in your favor.
The way that this works is to basically make sure that you stay the course. Instead of jumping back and forth between red and black, there are many professional players who constantly play one color — no matter what.
What they’re doing is playing the odds — which are random. At times, they’re down slightly and other times, they’re up slightly. With a little bit of common sense and a “feel” for the various tables, there are players out there who are doing extremely well.
Of course, I’m not an idiot and neither are you. So whenever I gamble, I make sure that I’m not gambling more than I can afford to lose — and I make sure that I never get in over my head.
Tropicana Casino is located in Las Vegas Nevada. Lovingly called the “Trop”, Tropicana Casino is on the South strip at the junction of Tropicana Avenue. This is dubbed as the busiest junction not only in the whole of Nevada but in the United States as well. Tropicana Casino is close to New York New York, MGM and Excalibur. Tropicana Casino provides foot bridges that connect it to MGM and NY NY.
Tropicana Casino main theme is the South Sea Island. It is evident in the pool outside the casino and inside the hotel rooms. The main attractions in Tropicana Casino are the small amusement arcade by the entrance to the swimming pool. Another important attraction is the “Casino Legends Hall of Fame”. This feature shows lots of chips used from past casinos. Majority of those casinos have been imploded. Videos of Vegas casino history as it evolve from the implosions, mafia connections and trials and the showmen in the Vegas entertainment industry. A wildlife walk is also provided for visitors. Stores at Tropicana Casino vary from gift store to liquor store and a cigar store. Tropicana Casino is not exactly a shopper’s paradise. But it is close to some great shopping destinations if you really need to get to shopping. Food is not bad but the long queues in order to get food are not so appealing at all. You can order a doughnut and latte in your own room if you want to avoid the long queues. Tropicana Casino has more than 1,800 hotel rooms.
There are a great number and variety of gaming machines in Tropicana Casino. Games at Tropicana casino include slot machines, wheel roulettes, craps, three-card poker, blackjack, Caribbean stud poker and let-it-ride. For low rollers, a number of nickel slot machines are spread in the place. Roof above the casino is made up of glass and looks very attractive. Craps lessons are provided free of charge. And you are not required to bet after the craps lesson. You get freebies even if you don’t join the clubs. Tropicana Casino has a special promo that allows you to pay $20 and get $40 of play on special machines. You get a valuable gift if you don’t win a jackpot. Unfortunately, these special machines in Tropicana Casino are not as loose as the standard machines. Drinks service is not exactly exceptional. The Tropicana Casino is a bit stuffy, noisy and filled with smoke. If you want to play high stakes you can go the Crystal Room and the High Limit Rooms for more exciting gaming actions. You can apply for credit if you want to increase your money. If you join Tropicana Casino Winner’s Club you could avail of a number of rewards and benefits exclusive to the club including cash back, fabulous gifts and comps. The more you use your card the more points you accumulate and more free gifts you will receive.
Tropicana Casino is still worth your money. Tropicana Casino offers great location and a colorful past. A great way to spend your vacation. Tropicana Casino makes your gaming experience worthwhile.
Recently I got invited by my daughter to visit her and her family in Las Vegas and watch her husband at work. Well..Las Vegas, who could say no to that invite. Under ordinary circumstances that would have been enough. But not this visit! ! You see my son-in-law Steve goes by another name- “Dallas”. Steve is Major Steve Horton the #4 slot pilot for the United States Air Force Flight Demonstration Team-“The Thunderbirds”. The occasion was the Approval show-the very first show of the season but open to only friends and family of the whole team and several high ranking Generals with pen and paper taking notes on every move. Approximately 1000 got the honor of seeing the new 2006 team do their stuff over their home at Nellis AFB under overcast skies. The crowd is so small by comparison to a normal show of 200,000 attendees that it feels like a private audience with the Pope. The biggest ever crowd was at Coney Island on 4 July1987 -a mere 2.25 million watched in awe that day. And if that wasn’t enough the following night it was the annual show season kickoff dinner, which at least partially celebrates the end of a grueling training schedule. This year the dinner was held at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in beautiful downtown Las Vegas. That gave me the opportunity to meet some of the new team members “up close and personal” including LTC Kevin Robbins Commander/Leader, aka “the boss”; MAJ Ed Casey, Opposing Solo; CPT Nichole Malachowski, Right Wing aka “FiFi”; and CPT Tad Clark, Narrator. “FiFi” is the first female Thunderbird flight team member-a tribute to her ability as a pilot-was the subject of a “Good Morning America” story that very morning. As you might imagine this very elite group of 6 flyers, 6 other officers and a support team of 135 outstanding young men and women are, simply put, the very best in the world. All that talent, energy, dedication, teamwork, pride in what they do and how they do it-I am humbled to be in their presence but so proud to be an American. In a nutshell the Thunderbird mission is primarily to support recruiting and retention programs and as you might imagine public relations. The team probably spends as much time at meet and greets as they do flying. They are a PR machine-and not a bad machine at that. The Thunderbirds have a very demanding schedule that runs from March to November every year with usually 65-75 shows in upwards of 30 states. Check out www.nellis.af.mil for more information and a show near you. It is an experience you won’t forget and well…it is AWESOME! !
Many roulette systems have been tried out over the years, most failing miserably – a classic example would be the ‘Martingale’ system, which expects you to continue ‘doubling up’ on losing bets with the only certainty being that at some point it will clean you out. The ‘Supabets’ (TM) method though, relies on 2 things for its success. First, the existance of online casinos, where there are no pit staff to notice what you are doing and throw you out, and second, the fact that the standard roulette table has an inbuilt flaw that is easy to exploit. Groundwork – aside from the 0 or 00, each roulette number is either black or red, and if you bet on black or red, you win evens. The house edge in this case is the gree 0 or 00. So far so good. The roulette table, however, is split into 3 columns, each of which holds 12 numbers (i.e. a third of all numbers, ignoring the 0 and 00). Now this is where it gets interesting – the first column has 6 red and 6 black numbers, while the second column has only 4 red and 8 black. The third column, of course, has 4 black and 8 red numbers. You can probably already see where this is going, can’t you! If we ignore the zeros, then red and black have a roughly equal chance of turning up. It’s like the toss of a coin, half the time it will be heads, half the time tails. To use the ‘Supabets’ (TM) system, choose red or black as your target in this session. If you choose to bet on red, you bet $X on the color red, and THE SAME AMOUNT on the second ‘column’. If you bet black, bet $X on the color black and an equal amount on ‘column 3’. Whatever color you chose, you are now covering 26 numbers out of a possible 38, for only 2 x $X. If your chosen color comes up, you get back even money – i.e. the spin didn’t cost you anything. If you only win on your column selection, you will make half of what you bet in pure profit. If both the color and the column come up you will win 1.5 times your initial bet. Of course, in a real world casino, the pit staff will spot this pretty quick, and ask you to leave, because they aren’t charities! Online, it’s not a problem, and you can bet away to your hearts content. To summarise – bet equally on (a) red and the 2nd column or (b) black and the 3rd column. Make sure that you set a limit for the day beyond which you won’t go, and stick to it. NEVER get tempted to ‘double up’ or try to recoup losses – remember that losses are your ‘business expenses’, and should be expected from time to time. When you get ahead, either take your money off the table, or raise your bets (because you are now effectively playing with someone elses money!). That’s all there is to it – good luck!
