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Playboy going public: Porn, Gambling, and Cannabis
NEW INFO 5 Results from share redemption are posted. Less than .2% redeemed. Very bullish as investors are showing extreme confidence in the future of PLBY. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/playboy-mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-120000721.html NEW INFO 4 Definitive Agreement to purchase 100% of Lovers brand stores announced 2/1. https://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Playboy+%28MCAC%29+Confirms+Deal+to+Acquire+Lovers/17892359.html NEW INFO 3 I bought more on the dip today. 5081 total. Price rose AH to $12.38 (2.15%) NEW INFO 2 Here is the full webinar. https://icrinc.zoom.us/rec/play/9GWKdmOYumjWfZuufW3QXpe_FW_g--qeNbg6PnTjTMbnNTgLmCbWjeRFpQga1iPc-elpGap8dnDv8Zww.yD7DjUwuPmapeEdP?continueMode=true&tk=lEYc4F_FkKlgsmCIs6w0gtGHT2kbgVGbUju3cIRBSjk.DQIAAAAV8NK49xZWdldRM2xNSFNQcTBmcE00UzM3bXh3AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA&uuid=WN_GKWqbHkeSyuWetJmLFkj4g&_x_zm_rtaid=kR45-uuqRE-L65AxLjpbQw.1611967079119.2c054e3d3f8d8e63339273d9175939ed&_x_zm_rhtaid=866 NEW INFO 1 Live merger webinar with PLBY and MCAC on Friday January 29, 2021 at 12:00 NOON EST link below https://mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/press-release-details/2021/Playboy-Enterprises-Inc.-and-Mountain-Crest-Acquisition-Corp-Participate-in-SPACInsider-ICR-Webinar-on-January-29th-at-12pm-ET/default.aspx Playboy going public: Porn, Gambling, and Cannabis !!!WARNING READING AHEAD!!! TL;DR at the end. It will take some time to sort through all the links and read/watch everything, but you should. In the next couple weeks, Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp is taking Playboy public. The existing ticker MCAC will become PLBY. Special purpose acquisition companies have taken private companies public in recent months with great success. I believe this will be no exception. Notably, Playboy is profitable and has skyrocketing revenue going into a transformational growth phase. Porn - First and foremost, let's talk about porn. I know what you guys are thinking. “Porno mags are dead. Why would I want to invest in something like that? I can get porn for free online.” Guess what? You are absolutely right. And that’s exactly why Playboy doesn’t do that anymore. That’s right, they eliminated their print division. And yet they somehow STILL make money from porn that people (see: boomers) pay for on their website through PlayboyTV, Playboy Plus, and iPlayboy. Here’s the thing: Playboy has international, multi-generational name recognition from porn. They have content available in 180 countries. It will be the only publicly traded adult entertainment (porn) company. But that is not where this company is going. It will help support them along the way. You can see every Playboy magazine through iPlayboy if you’re interested. NSFW links below: https://www.playboy.com/ https://www.playboytv.com/ https://www.playboyplus.com/ https://www.iplayboy.com/ Gambling - Some of you might recognize the Playboy brand from gambling trips to places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Cancun, London or Macau. They’ve been in the gambling biz for decades through their casinos, clubs, and licensed gaming products. They see the writing on the wall. COVID is accelerating the transition to digital, application based GAMBLING. That’s right. What we are doing on Robinhood with risky options is gambling, and the only reason regulators might give a shit anymore is because we are making too much money. There may be some restrictions put in place, but gambling from your phone on your couch is not going anywhere. More and more states are allowing things like Draftkings, poker, state ‘lottery” apps, hell - even political betting. Michigan and Virginia just ok’d gambling apps. They won’t be the last. This is all from your couch and any 18 year old with a cracked iphone can access it. Wouldn’t it be cool if Playboy was going to do something like that? They’re already working on it. As per CEO Ben Kohn who we will get to later, “...the company’s casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth.” Honestly, I stopped researching Scientific Games' sports betting segment when I saw the word ‘omni-channel’. That told me all I needed to know about it’s success. “Our SG Sports™ platform is an enhanced, omni-channel solution for online, self-service and retail fixed odds sports betting – from soccer to tennis, basketball, football, baseball, hockey, motor sports, racing and more.” https://www.scientificgames.com/ https://www.microgaming.co.uk/ “This latter segment has become increasingly enticing for Playboy, and it said last week that it is considering new tie-ups that could include gaming operators like PointsBet and 888Holdings.” https://calvinayre.com/2020/10/05/business/playboys-gaming-ops-could-get-a-boost-from-spac-purchase/ As per their SEC filing: “Significant consumer engagement and spend with Playboy-branded gaming properties around the world, including with leading partners such as Microgaming, Scientific Games, and Caesar’s Entertainment, steers our investment in digital gaming, sports betting and other digital offerings to further support our commercial strategy to expand consumer spend with minimal marginal cost, and gain consumer data to inform go-to-market plans across categories.” https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tMDAA1 They are expanding into more areas of gaming/gambling, working with international players in the digital gaming/gambling arena, and a Playboy sportsbook is on the horizon. https://www.playboy.com/read/the-pleasure-of-playing-with-yourself-mobile-gaming-in-the-covid-era Cannabis - If you’ve ever read through a Playboy magazine, you know they’ve had a positive relationship with cannabis for many years. As of September 2020, Playboy has made a major shift into the cannabis space. Too good to be true you say? Check their website. Playboy currently sells a range of CBD products. This is a good sign. Federal hemp products, which these most likely are, can be mailed across state lines and most importantly for a company like Playboy, can operate through a traditional banking institution. CBD products are usually the first step towards the cannabis space for large companies. Playboy didn’t make these products themselves meaning they are working with a processor in the cannabis industry. Another good sign for future expansion. What else do they have for sale? Pipes, grinders, ashtrays, rolling trays, joint holders. Hmm. Ok. So it looks like they want to sell some shit. They probably don’t have an active interest in cannabis right? Think again: https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/09/24/playboy-gets-serious-about-cannabis-law-reform-advocacy-with-new-partnership-grants/?sh=62f044a65cea “Taking yet another step into the cannabis space, Playboy will be announcing later on Thursday (September, 2020) that it is launching a cannabis law reform and advocacy campaign in partnership with National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Last Prisoner Project, Marijuana Policy Project, the Veterans Cannabis Project, and the Eaze Momentum Program.” “According to information procured exclusively, the three-pronged campaign will focus on calling for federal legalization. The program also includes the creation of a mentorship plan, through which the Playboy Foundation will support entrepreneurs from groups that are underrepresented in the industry.” Remember that CEO Kohn from earlier? He wrote this recently: https://medium.com/naked-open-letters-from-playboy/congress-must-pass-the-more-act-c867c35239ae Seems like he really wants weed to be legal? Hmm wonder why? The writing's on the wall my friends. Playboy wants into the cannabis industry, they are making steps towards this end, and we have favorable conditions for legislative progress. Don’t think branding your own cannabis line is profitable or worthwhile? Tell me why these 41 celebrity millionaires and billionaires are dummies. I’ll wait. https://www.celebstoner.com/news/celebstoner-news/2019/07/12/top-celebrity-cannabis-brands/ Confirmation: I hear you. “This all seems pretty speculative. It would be wildly profitable if they pull this shift off. But how do we really know?” Watch this whole video: https://finance.yahoo.com/video/playboy-ceo-telling-story-female-154907068.html Man - this interview just gets my juices flowing. And highlights one of my favorite reasons for this play. They have so many different business avenues from which a catalyst could appear. I think paying attention, holding shares, and options on these staggered announcements over the next year is the way I am going to go about it. "There's definitely been a shift to direct-to-consumer," he (Kohn) said. "About 50 percent of our revenue today is direct-to-consumer, and that will continue to grow going forward.” “Kohn touted Playboy's portfolio of both digital and consumer products, with casino-style gaming, in particular, serving a crucial role under the company's new business model. Playboy also has its sights on the emerging cannabis market, from CBD products to marijuana products geared toward sexual health and pleasure.” "If THC does become legal in the United States, we have developed certain strains to enhance your sex life that we will launch," Kohn said. https://cheddar.com/media/playboy-goes-public-health-gaming-lifestyle-focus Oh? The CEO actually said it? Ok then. “We have developed certain strains…” They’re already working with growers on strains and genetics? Ok. There are several legal cannabis markets for those products right now, international and stateside. I expect Playboy licensed hemp and THC pre-rolls by EOY. Something like this: https://www.etsy.com/listing/842996758/10-playboy-pre-roll-tubes-limited?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=pre+roll+playboy&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&organic_search_click=1 Maintaining cannabis operations can be costly and a regulatory headache. Playboy’s licensing strategy allows them to pick successful, established partners and sidestep traditional barriers to entry. You know what I like about these new markets? They’re expanding. Worldwide. And they are going to be a bigger deal than they already are with or without Playboy. Who thinks weed and gambling are going away? Too many people like that stuff. These are easy markets. And Playboy is early enough to carve out their spot in each. Fuck it, read this too: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimosman/2020/10/20/playboy-could-be-the-king-of-spacs-here-are-three-picks/?sh=2e13dcaa3e05 Numbers: You want numbers? I got numbers. As per the company’s most recent SEC filing: “For the year ended December 31, 2019, and the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s historical consolidated revenue was $78.1 million and $101.3 million, respectively, historical consolidated net income (loss) was $(23.6) million and $(4.8) million, respectively, and Adjusted EBITDA was $13.1 million and $21.8 million, respectively.” “In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Licensing segment contributed $44.2 million in revenue and $31.1 million in net income.” “In the ninth months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Direct-to-Consumer segment contributed $40.2 million in revenue and net income of $0.1 million.” “In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Digital Subscriptions and Content segment contributed $15.4 million in revenue and net income of $7.4 million.” They are profitable across all three of their current business segments. “Playboy’s return to the public markets presents a transformed, streamlined and high-growth business. The Company has over $400 million in cash flows contracted through 2029, sexual wellness products available for sale online and in over 10,000 major retail stores in the US, and a growing variety of clothing and branded lifestyle and digital gaming products.” https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF Growth: Playboy has massive growth in China and massive growth potential in India. “In China, where Playboy has spent more than 25 years building its business, our licensees have an enormous footprint of nearly 2,500 brick and mortar stores and 1,000 ecommerce stores selling high quality, Playboy-branded men’s casual wear, shoes/footwear, sleepwear, swimwear, formal suits, leather & non-leather goods, sweaters, active wear, and accessories. We have achieved significant growth in China licensing revenues over the past several years in partnership with strong licensees and high-quality manufacturers, and we are planning for increased growth through updates to our men’s fashion lines and expansion into adjacent categories in men’s skincare and grooming, sexual wellness, and women’s fashion, a category where recent launches have been well received.” The men’s market in China is about the same size as the entire population of the United States and European Union combined. Playboy is a leading brand in this market. They are expanding into the women’s market too. Did you know CBD toothpaste is huge in China? China loves CBD products and has hemp fields that dwarf those in the US. If Playboy expands their CBD line China it will be huge. Did you know the gambling money in Macau absolutely puts Las Vegas to shame? Technically, it's illegal on the mainland, but in reality, there is a lot of gambling going on in China. https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/10/19/magic-johnson-and-uncle-buds-cbd-brand-enter-china-via-tmall-partnership/?sh=271776ca411e “In India, Playboy today has a presence through select apparel licensees and hospitality establishments. Consumer research suggests significant growth opportunities in the territory with Playboy’s brand and categories of focus.” “Playboy Enterprises has announced the expansion of its global consumer products business into India as part of a partnership with Jay Jay Iconic Brands, a leading fashion and lifestyle Company in India.” “The Indian market today is dominated by consumers under the age of 35, who represent more than 65 percent of the country’s total population and are driving India’s significant online shopping growth. The Playboy brand’s core values of playfulness and exploration resonate strongly with the expressed desires of today’s younger millennial consumers. For us, Playboy was the perfect fit.” “The Playboy international portfolio has been flourishing for more than 25 years in several South Asian markets such as China and Japan. In particular, it has strategically targeted the millennial and gen-Z audiences across categories such as apparel, footwear, home textiles, eyewear and watches.” https://www.licenseglobal.com/industry-news/playboy-expands-global-footprint-india It looks like they gave COVID the heisman in terms of net damage sustained: “Although Playboy has not suffered any material adverse consequences to date from the COVID-19 pandemic, the business has been impacted both negatively and positively. The remote working and stay-at-home orders resulted in the closure of the London Playboy Club and retail stores of Playboy’s licensees, decreasing licensing revenues in the second quarter, as well as causing supply chain disruption and less efficient product development thereby slowing the launch of new products. However, these negative impacts were offset by an increase in Yandy’s direct-to-consumer sales, which have benefited in part from overall increases in online retail sales so far during the pandemic.” Looks like the positives are long term (Yandy acquisition) and the negatives are temporary (stay-at-home orders). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921006093/tm213766-1_defa14a.htm This speaks to their ability to maintain a financially solvent company throughout the transition phase to the aforementioned areas. They’d say some fancy shit like “expanded business model to encompass four key revenue streams: Sexual Wellness, Style & Apparel, Gaming & Lifestyle, and Beauty & Grooming.” I hear “we’re just biding our time with these trinkets until those dollar dollar bill y’all markets are fully up and running.” But the truth is these existing revenue streams are profitable, scalable, and rapidly expanding Playboy’s e-commerce segment around the world. "Even in the face of COVID this year, we've been able to grow EBITDA over 100 percent and revenue over 68 percent, and I expect that to accelerate going into 2021," he said. “Playboy is accelerating its growth in company-owned and branded consumer products in attractive and expanding markets in which it has a proven history of brand affinity and consumer spend.” Also in the SEC filing, the Time Frame: “As we detailed in the definitive proxy statement, the SPAC stockholder meeting to vote on the transaction has been set for February 9th, and, subject to stockholder approval and satisfaction of the other closing conditions, we expect to complete the merger and begin trading on NASDAQ under ticker PLBY shortly thereafter,” concluded Kohn. The Players: Suhail “The Whale” Rizvi (HMFIC), Ben “The Bridge” Kohn (CEO), “lil” Suying Liu & “Big” Dong Liu (Young-gun China gang). I encourage you to look these folks up. The real OG here is Suhail Rizvi. He’s from India originally and Chairman of the Board for the new PLBY company. He was an early investor in Twitter, Square, Facebook and others. His firm, Rizvi Traverse, currently invests in Instacart, Pinterest, Snapchat, Playboy, and SpaceX. Maybe you’ve heard of them. “Rizvi, who owns a sprawling three-home compound in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a 1.65-acre estate in Palm Beach, Florida, near Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg, moved to Iowa Falls when he was five. His father was a professor of psychology at Iowa. Along with his older brother Ashraf, a hedge fund manager, Rizvi graduated from Wharton business school.” “Suhail Rizvi: the 47-year-old 'unsocial' social media baron: When Twitter goes public in the coming weeks (2013), one of the biggest winners will be a 47-year-old financier who guards his secrecy so zealously that he employs a person to take down his Wikipedia entry and scrub his photos from the internet. In IPO, Twitter seeks to be 'anti-FB'” “Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia looks like a big Twitter winner. So do the moneyed clients of Jamie Dimon. But as you’ve-got-to-be-joking wealth washed over Twitter on Thursday — a company that didn’t exist eight years ago was worth $31.7 billion after its first day on the stock market — the non-boldface name of the moment is Suhail R. Rizvi. Mr. Rizvi, 47, runs a private investment company that is the largest outside investor in Twitter with a 15.6 percent stake worth $3.8 billion at the end of trading on Thursday (November, 2013). Using a web of connections in the tech industry and in finance, as well as a hearty dose of good timing, he brought many prominent names in at the ground floor, including the Saudi prince and some of JPMorgan’s wealthiest clients.” https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/technology/at-twitter-working-behind-the-scenes-toward-a-billion-dollar-payday.html Y’all like that Arab money? How about a dude that can call up Saudi Princes and convince them to spend? Funniest shit about I read about him: “Rizvi was able to buy only $100 million in Facebook shortly before its IPO, thus limiting his returns, according to people with knowledge of the matter.” Poor guy :( He should be fine with the 16 million PLBY shares he's going to have though :) Shuhail also has experience in the entertainment industry. He’s invested in companies like SESAC, ICM, and Summit Entertainment. He’s got Hollywood connections to blast this stuff post-merger. And he’s at least partially responsible for that whole Twilight thing. I’m team Edward btw. I really like what Suhail has done so far. He’s lurked in the shadows while Kohn is consolidating the company, trimming the fat, making Playboy profitable, and aiming the ship at modern growing markets. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-ipo-rizvi-insight/insight-little-known-hollywood-investor-poised-to-score-with-twitter-ipo-idUSBRE9920VW20131003 Ben “The Bridge” Kohn is an interesting guy. He’s the connection between Rizvi Traverse and Playboy. He’s both CEO of Playboy and was previously Managing Partner at Rizvi Traverse. Ben seems to be the voice of the Playboy-Rizvi partnership, which makes sense with Suhail’s privacy concerns. Kohn said this: “Today is a very big day for all of us at Playboy and for all our partners globally. I stepped into the CEO role at Playboy in 2017 because I saw the biggest opportunity of my career. Playboy is a brand and platform that could not be replicated today. It has massive global reach, with more than $3B of global consumer spend and products sold in over 180 countries. Our mission – to create a culture where all people can pursue pleasure – is rooted in our 67-year history and creates a clear focus for our business and role we play in people’s lives, providing them with the products, services and experiences that create a lifestyle of pleasure. We are taking this step into the public markets because the committed capital will enable us to accelerate our product development and go-to-market strategies and to more rapidly build our direct to consumer capabilities,” said Ben Kohn, CEO of Playboy. “Playboy today is a highly profitable commerce business with a total addressable market projected in the trillions of dollars,” Mr. Kohn continued, “We are actively selling into the Sexual Wellness consumer category, projected to be approximately $400 billion in size by 2024, where our recently launched intimacy products have rolled out to more than 10,000 stores at major US retailers in the United States. Combined with our owned & operated ecommerce Sexual Wellness initiatives, the category will contribute more than 40% of our revenue this year. In our Apparel and Beauty categories, our collaborations with high-end fashion brands including Missguided and PacSun are projected to achieve over $50M in retail sales across the US and UK this year, our leading men’s apparel lines in China expanded to nearly 2500 brick and mortar stores and almost 1000 digital stores, and our new men’s and women’s fragrance line recently launched in Europe. In Gaming, our casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth. Our product strategy is informed by years of consumer data as we actively expand from a purely licensing model into owning and operating key high-growth product lines focused on driving profitability and consumer lifetime value. We are thrilled about the future of Playboy. Our foundation has been set to drive further growth and margin, and with the committed capital from this transaction and our more than $180M in NOLs, we will take advantage of the opportunity in front of us, building to our goal of $100M of adjusted EBITDA in 2025.” https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company Also, according to their Form 4s, “Big” Dong Liu and “lil” Suying Liu just loaded up with shares last week. These guys are brothers and seem like the Chinese market connection. They are only 32 & 35 years old. I don’t even know what that means, but it's provocative. https://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/1832415.htm https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-ii-002600994.html Y’all like that China money? “Mr. Liu has been the Chief Financial Officer of Dongguan Zhishang Photoelectric Technology Co., Ltd., a regional designer, manufacturer and distributor of LED lights serving commercial customers throughout Southern China since November 2016, at which time he led a syndicate of investments into the firm. Mr. Liu has since overseen the financials of Dongguan Zhishang as well as provided strategic guidance to its board of directors, advising on operational efficiency and cash flow performance. From March 2010 to October 2016, Mr. Liu was the Head of Finance at Feidiao Electrical Group Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese manufacturer of electrical outlets headquartered in Shanghai and with businesses in the greater China region as well as Europe.” Dr. Suying Liu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp., commented, “Playboy is a unique and compelling investment opportunity, with one of the world’s largest and most recognized brands, its proven consumer affinity and spend, and its enormous future growth potential in its four product segments and new and existing geographic regions. I am thrilled to be partnering with Ben and his exceptional team to bring his vision to fruition.” https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company These guys are good. They have a proven track record of success across multiple industries. Connections and money run deep with all of these guys. I don’t think they’re in the game to lose. I was going to write a couple more paragraphs about why you should have a look at this but really the best thing you can do is read this SEC filing from a couple days ago. It explains the situation in far better detail. Specifically, look to page 137 and read through their strategy. Also, look at their ownership percentages and compensation plans including the stock options and their prices. The financials look great, revenue is up 90% Q3, and it looks like a bright future. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF I’m hesitant to attach this because his position seems short term, but I’m going to with a warning because he does hit on some good points (two are below his link) and he’s got a sizable position in this thing (500k+ on margin, I think). I don’t know this guy but he did look at the same publicly available info and make roughly the same prediction, albeit without the in depth gambling or cannabis mention. You can also search reddit for ‘MCAC’ and very few relevant results come up and none of them even come close to really looking at this thing. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gOvAd6lebs452hFlWWbxVjQ3VMsjGBkbJeXRwDwIJfM/edit?usp=sharing “Also, before you people start making claims that Playboy is a “boomer” company, STOP RIGHT THERE. This is not a good argument. Simply put. The only thing that matters is Playboy’s name recognition, not their archaic business model which doesn’t even exist anymore as they have completely repurposed their business.” “Imagine not buying $MCAC at a 400M valuation lol. Streetwear department is worth 1B alone imo.” Considering the ridiculous Chinese growth as a lifestyle brand, he’s not wrong. Current Cultural Significance and Meme Value: A year ago I wouldn’t have included this section but the events from the last several weeks (even going back to tsla) have proven that a company’s ability to meme and/or gain social network popularity can have an effect. Tik-tok, Snapchat, Twitch, Reddit, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter. They all have Playboy stuff on them. Kids in middle and highschool know what Playboy is but will likely never see or touch one of the magazines in person. They’ll have a Playboy hoodie though. Crazy huh? A lot like GME, PLBY would hugely benefit from meme-value stock interest to drive engagement towards their new business model while also building strategic coffers. This interest may not directly and/or significantly move the stock price but can generate significant interest from larger players who will. Bull Case: The year is 2025. Playboy is now the world leader pleasure brand. They began by offering Playboy licensed gaming products, including gambling products, direct to consumers through existing names. By 2022, demand has skyrocketed and Playboy has designed and released their own gambling platforms. In 2025, they are also a leading cannabis brand in the United States and Canada with proprietary strains and products geared towards sexual wellness. Cannabis was legalized in the US in 2023 when President Biden got glaucoma but had success with cannabis treatment. He personally pushes for cannabis legalization as he steps out of office after his first term. Playboy has also grown their brand in China and India to multi-billion per year markets. The stock goes up from 11ish to 100ish and everyone makes big gains buying somewhere along the way. Bear Case: The United States does a complete 180 on marijuana and gambling. President Biden overdoses on marijuana in the Lincoln bedroom when his FDs go tits up and he loses a ton of money in his sports book app after the Fighting Blue Hens narrowly lose the National Championship to Bama. Playboy is unable to expand their cannabis and gambling brands but still does well with their worldwide lifestyle brand. They gain and lose some interest in China and India but the markets are too large to ignore them completely. The stock goes up from 11ish to 13ish and everyone makes 15-20% gains. TL;DR: Successful technology/e-commerce investment firm took over Playboy to turn it into a porn, online gambling/gaming, sports book, cannabis company, worldwide lifestyle brand that promotes sexual wellness, vetern access, women-ownership, minority-ownership, and “pleasure for all”. Does a successful online team reinventing an antiquated physical copy giant sound familiar? No options yet, shares only for now. $11.38 per share at time of writing. My guess? $20 by the end of February. $50 by EOY. This is not financial advice. I am not qualified to give financial advice. I’m just sayin’ I would personally use a Playboy sports book app while smoking a Playboy strain specific joint and it would be cool if they did that. Do your own research. You’d probably want to start here: WARNING - POTENTIALLY NSFW - SEXY MODELS AHEAD - no actual nudity though https://s26.q4cdn.com/895475556/files/doc_presentations/Playboy-Craig-Hallum-Conference-Investor-Presentation-11_17_20-compressed.pdf Or here: https://www.mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/default.aspx Jimmy Chill: “Get into any SPAC at $10 or $11 and you are going to make money.” STL;DR: Buy MCAC. MCAC > PLBY couple weeks. Rocketship. Moon. Position: 5000 shares. I will buy short, medium, and long-dated calls once available.
A Cliff Notes Summary of the First One Out Interviews
If you haven't had time to listen to seven hours of podcast interviews, or you didn't retain everything you heard, here are some key points. I didn't think to do this until just now, so I'll be posting it as a work in progress and updating it throughout the afternoon. That way more people will have a chance to read up before the premiere. Karishma Patel, 37, Personal Injury Trial Lawyer, Houston, TX -First generation Indian-American Her mom was as a legal assistant, and got her a filing job at her law firm when she was 14. "I didn't have other options. I was basically told I was going to be a lawyer and I didn't disagree."She has watched every season and regularly listens to RHAP. She sits close to the TV to study the inflections on people's faces when something is said to them, so that she can think about what that means. But, her parents and husband don't share her enthusiasm for the show. Asked if it's her dark pleasure she says, "It is completely bright. It is a beautiful pleasure of mine, but it is mine and mine only. I haven't been able to find people to share it with." -Doing the show has caused her conflict. "Not only is it not expected, it's not allowed. It's kind of like being a disobedient Indian girl. You're not supposed to be doing this. What you're supposed to be doing is having babies. But I don't care. I'm a risk taker. I'm here to prove to myself that I don't need to listen to anybody else. I don't need permission from anybody else. This is my journey and I'm going to take it. I hope that people watching out there can see that an Indian woman's value does not come from doing what she's told." -She doesn't currently have children, and she says she has some decisions to make as she enters a crossroads and the next stage of her life. -Her law firm told her they'll replace her if they're able to find someone, and she can have her job back if they don't. "I didn't flinch." -Her strategy is to be non-threatening and play a social game. She doesn't look 37, and she wants to use that youthfulness to be disarming. She wants to build relationships other people believe in. She defines success by other people vouching for her loyalty when they go off and have private conversations with one another. "That means I got 'em, because it's actually the other way around." Asked if she wants to find someone she can trust, "I'm not going to be capable of it. I'm too skeptical for that. I overthink things, so I'm not going to be able to trust somebody the way I want to be trusted... If I do, that's the end of my game." My take: Oh my God. Poor Karishma. Her story hurts my heart. She reminds me so much of myself in her isolation, her defiance and her deep feelings. I worry that her fear of trusting people could get in the way of her forming genuine bonds. But, there's nothing she can do. Society has made her the way she is. I hope she gets a lot of screen time so she can be a star of her favorite show. Missy Byrd, 24, Military Veteran/App Developer, Tacoma, Washington -Originally from Georgia. Her family was 'decently poor.' She played basketball for the Air Force Academy because she thought it was her ticket out. -She had a brain tumor. She stopped menstruating for a year and two quarters. "I'm not dating anyone but I have breast milk. I'm a literal cow... I would look down and my shirt would be wet, and I thought, 'Dang you're clumsy. I knew you were clumsy, but you're clumsier today than you were yesterday. But it was - it was - uhh - milk." She had crying fits. She developed a stutter and couldn't look at people. Doctors told her she was just stressed. When her dad died she couldn't process emotions normally. She was about to go to the French version of the Air Force Academy, École de l'air, after graduation but because of her mental instability she was removed from school. The military shipped her to the same Air Force base as Sandra (Fort Lewis.) "I don't want to be there. Super sad. Check into the post office - fuck this. Check into the dorms - hate that." The doctor there found the tumor. She got an MRI and all weekend she believed she might have cancer. Over the next year and a half she eliminated the tumor and the symptoms using vitamins. She enlisted and worked logistics. -She made a list of the things she wanted to do now that she was going to live. "The first thing was go see Beyonce. Beyonce costs way too much money for a normal person to go see, but if you've just almost had a near death experience you go see Beyonce, bro!" She was feet away. She drove across the country. She tried weed. -She had an idea for an app, but didn't even have the computer literacy to use social media. She found a veteran's association and asked if she could intern. "They said, 'No, you should build this out yourself. We want to work for you.' I said, 'No, the fuck you don't. Okay, lemme call my grandma.'" She wrote a grant proposal and won a $1,500 office space in the center of Seattle. "Just to do whatever I want. It was like a laboratory for a child. I had Play-Dough up there. I had a white board... Just mind blowing shit when I could have been dead." -She'd seen every episode of Survivor at least three times. She started watching because her Air Force Academy basketball team was getting decimated, and she related to Foa Foa getting decimated in Survivor: Samoa. She added the show to her list. Josh suggests, "The bugs are eating you because they want some of that magic." -She isn't going to tell people her story until she's in the Final 3. "That's that Final 3 magic." She doesn't want to overly rely on strategy. She doesn't want to win individual challenges. She to build a social game and find ways to relate to everyone. My take: She's so full of exuberance. There's not a negative bone in her body right now. She's too young and her life experience is too necessarily limited to talk around three years of her life. If she shares her story, the beauty of her perspective will cause everyone to fall in love with her and want her to do well. If she doesn't, people will sense that she's hiding a lot. I think she'll figure that out and course correct within the first day. Since she was at the same Air Force base as Sandra and she was a massive fan, does that suggest she knows her? Ronnie Bardah, 35, Professional Poker Player, Henderson, Nevada-Born and raised in Brockton, Massachusetts, 20 minutes south of Boston. They were the only Israeli family in town. 50% of the people in Brockton were from Cape Verde, and he considers himself an "honorary Cape Verdian." A couple of his friends were shot and killed at a young age. -He was a good kid and had a good heart, but he was always hustling. In Junior High he was flipping Oatmeal Cakes and Fudge Rounds for a profit. Slinging baseball cards. Both his parents gambled. They were always at the dog tracks or Mohegan Sun. He had his friend make him a fake ID and got stuck with the name Alaja Jones. He went by Al and started playing the casinos. Quit his job at Sears Automotive to play poker full time.-He played Atlantic City, Vegas, then internationally. He had his first big score in 2010 when he took 24th place in the main event for $320,000. Got to keep $150,000 after taxes. "Poker's a hard way to make an easy living. Lots of people try. We risk every day. You have to get to a point when you can manage your bankroll and I've never gone broke in the 16 years I've played." -In one of the most viewed poker hands of all time, he was bluffed out of a million dollar pot by a supermodel on a poker TV show filmed in Monaco. "She made a sick play. She had no idea what she was doing but all the stars were aligned."-He watched Borneo when it aired and got back into it when fellow poker player Anna Khait was on. He calls Jean-Robert, "kinda a lazy guy...He's really good at befriending multi-millionaires." "Anna Khait... is probably the least poker player out of all of us. She played for a couple years." "And then Garrett - He's a very, very smart, smart kid... Self-made millionaire. One of the very, very few." -He only drank water for 7.5 days and lost 25 pounds for his health and to get an idea of the conditions of the show. He thinks he'll thrive in the survival situation. "People like being around me. I like to fucking bust balls and joke." He thinks old school alliances are a good plan, but you have to adapt. He says that like in poker, Survivor players can have every advantage, but they have to really smell it. -He wants Vince out. "There's an Asian Zeke in there. What value does he bring besides ruining people and getting in people's heads? He's a liability in challenges. He looks like a little corn puff. We gotta get him outta here. Sorry to sound so mean but it's the truth." My take: Ruuuuude. He has no way of knowing how other people on the cast are talking in their interviews, and may assume the trash talk is standard. If he were playing on some seasons it would be. But, in this particular season it sets him apart in an unflattering way, and it seems a part of the tough persona he's built up to escape a scary situation growing up and enter a fantasy career. We'll see whether his tribe thinks he's a straight talking character or a jerk. Tom Laidlaw, Former NHL Player, Brampton, Ontario, Canada -He was with the New York Rangers for 7 years and the LA Kings for 4. Now he has his own podcast, True Grit Life (truegritlife.com). Does it with a friend, Kevin Allen, who writes for USA Today. Does motivational speaking. -Growing up on a dairy farm outside Toronto there was a pond to water the cows. It froze over in the winters and he'd play hockey because there wasn't much else to do. Went to Northern Michigan University - four year hockey captain, ranked #1 team in the country. Drafted as a 20 year old. "My buddy had a horse farm. We were cleaning horse shit out of the stalls. There were no cell phones back then. This is 1978. My father got a call at our farm house from the New York Rangers at the draft. Back then nobody went to the draft - it was just teams. They said I'd been drafted in the sixth round. He calls the farm house where I'm working. They bring me up. He says, 'Son, you've been drafted by the Rangers.' I said, 'Great. What do I do now?' He says, 'Finish cleaning the shit out of the stalls.'" -When he played intimidation and fighting was strategy. There were guys tougher than him, but he could fight and he could also play. Problem was, he fought a guy once, and from then on the guy wanted to fight him over and over. -Jerry Bruckheimer, big hockey fan, called the NHL and wanted to get some players on the Amazing Race. Tom had kept himself in shape, he had his passport. They ended up asking him about Survivor. He'd watched it before but not for a while. He wasn't so sure he wanted to play a game where you hurt other people, but friends helped him get his head around it. He was very impressed by Christian's toughness in the endurance challenge. To prepare for the show he studied how he reacted to different situations, how to control his heart heart, etc. He wants the mental challenge. My take: Tom really ticked me off when he spoiled a couple of outcomes of this season. That's a betrayal of the producers, his cast and the viewers. But, if that hadn't happened I would like him. He's an easy-going, charming guy. His life experiences are a bit different than anyone else who's been on the show, which is what you want. Vince Moua, 27, Admissions Counselor, Merced, CA -His family is Hmong. His parents lived in Vietnam in the destruction left by the war - dead bodies, guns, people who wanted to kill them. They went to refugee camps in Thailand. Then his dad became a Montana farm hand. He met Vince's mom in the US, but she came from the same place. -Vince is from small town Merced, California - the 209. Few people he knew went anywhere but the UC system and community college. He went to Stanford, one of only 7-10 Hmong. He realized the significance someone can bring to people from the same community. He tried to be pre-med but realized "no, not today." The issues of access he cared about came well before people got to the hospital. He ended up going with education. His mom was a teacher, "But when I was growing up she said, 'Yo, if you become a teacher Imma disown yo ass.' To all of us. But, that's always kinda been my jam." -He lived in South Korea for five years. He taught English in a town. Then in Seoul ahed worked with low and middle income students who wanted to study outside of Korea. -He's a Survivor superfan, who even mentions on his Tinder account that he plans to be on Survivor. His parents were worried about him doing TV because he's not out as gay to his extended family. He comes from a clan where his dad is the "top dog" and Vince is "the next top dog." In the Asian American/Pacific Islander community when you come out, it's your family who faces - in a sense - dishonor. For a long time he distanced himself from his family, hoping they'd all be less hurt if they found out and disowned him. He always tried to find friends who would be there for him should his parents not be. A year ago his mom asked him rhetorically if he was gay. "I was try'n to go around it. I was like, 'Gurl, you don't wanna know! Yo ass keeps asking!' But she kept asking, asking. So finally I told her 'Yeah, I am!' and she was crying. My dad was like, 'Oh, my son!'" But, Vince is fine with who he is and wants to show kids like him that "let's hope that it gets better." Now his parents just want him to win. -He'd like to play an old school strategy but "I'm not afraid to cut a bitch." With the tribe he's going to be Homeboy Vince from the 209, but when he talks to the camera he's going to tell people "Don't underestimate your narratives." This past year with Crazy Rich Asians, he wants people to know that there are some Crazy Hood Ass Asians. My take: What a character. Vince has a clear point of view - Hmong, blue collar, gay - which is unique to him in Survivor lore. Even though double minorities have sometimes had trouble fitting in socially on Survivor I think somehow he's going to pull it off. As unlikely as this sounds I could even see him being a Cochran-esque winner. Aaron Meredith, 36, Personal Trainer, Warwick, Rhode Island -He's very keyed up at Ponderosa. Rambling so fast it sounds like you're listening to 1.5x. He's read four books so far - Relentless by Tim Grover, Can't Hurt Me by Dave Goggins, Iron Cowboy by James Lawrence, Harry Potter. -He was an engineer at a building insulation plant. He was miserable, too antsy sitting at a desk. Couldn't focus. So, he drove up and down the East Coast popping kettle corn - from Maine to Florida - traveling with carnies. Bartended for a while. He'd played college football and baseball, lifted since high school, and he and his friends wanted to get "huge and jacked and ripped." The owner of the gym suggested he become a personal trainer. He ended up working mostly with middle aged women and it taught him empathy. Now he owns two women's-only fitness studios. He puts supportive women around one another and offers them the positivity to seek self-growth. -He's also a party boat emcee. Lights, DJ, bar, drinks. He's an extremely social person. -He'd first applied at 23 - 6 or 7 times over the years. He was in the mix for Cook Islands and David vs. Goliath. -He's been married 7 years and has a 5 year old son. His son is a huge fan of Survivor. Libby Vincek is his favorite player. Kara Kay was his next favorite. Aaron is already sure Molly will be his son's favorite. "He has a type. He He likes the attractive blondes. He says, 'I like them because they have a nice face.' I like mommy because she has a nice face too." The boy was very concerned about his dad going on the show. He said, "Dad, I don't want anyone to laugh at you and make fun of you." Aaron said he wanted to win. His son said, "But you might not win." When they watch the show he'll always ask, "Do they like him? Do they like her?" If Aaron is portrayed in a negative light he'll have to sit down with his son and talk. He doesn't want to play a deceitful game, but he will, because he doesn't care how he's portrayed. My take: His story about his son is one of my favorites from all these interviews. I hope he gets to work with Molly. His adrenaline is too high. I hope he calms down a lot when the game starts. But, someone so social and sweet hearted who can win challenges and take themselves to the end has got to be a contender to win. Chelsea Walker, 27, Digital Content Editor, Los Angeles, CA -Chelsea just took the cast photo and they put her in the third spot from the bottom, a good omen because a weird number of winners have been in that position. "Your girl's number three. I got this!" -She's a Jersey girl. She went to the University of Maryland. "I didn't do Survivor: Maryland or anything." She studied Broadcast Journalism. She knew the generic emails for NBC Universal and emailed random people until someone replied. Now she's been in LA a year. She did coverage of award shows. Now she works at IMDB, where she helps Kevin Smith with his show. She just interviewed people at SXSW. -She's been watching Survivor since she was 8. She's cried in every interview because this means so much to her. She's trying to explain that at the point she starts crying again. "It's been such a dream of mine and To be told no year after year after year - these past six years have been a total mindfuck. I've basically been called every single year. I've been to finals three times. Survivor is my one true love, but the one year they didn't call me I got really pissed off so I tried out for Big Brother. I ended up becoming the alternate and got my key being filmed and all of that crap. But I don't like that show anyway." -In September 2017 she was at a WeHo bar for her friend's birthday when, "Oh shit that's Jeff Probst." Her girlfriends all know she's obsessed, so she pulled the waiter over and asked what that guy was drinking. So, Chelsea sent another one over. "I told my friends, 'Take my credit card. Split the bill, because I can't come back after I do this. As soon as the waiter drops off the drink I'm like, 'Jeff, this one's on me. You can buy me the next one at finals.' And I just walked out of the restaurant... That was a big move!" They didn't call her again that year, but Jeff still remembered when they talked this year. -She's been working out at four different gyms - weights, pilates, yoga. Push ups. Memorized puzzles. Reading How to Win Friends and Influence People, which she keeps in.a Bible sleeve so people will think she's religious. She also carries Harry Potter because she would trust someone who read HP. She wants to keep it cool. Make one on one connections. Eventually find idols - and not tell anyone she has one - and make calculated moves. "I don't want to be a Jacob. No offense." My take: Hearing this girl cry from joy because she's so happy to be on the show makes me emotional. She's a real go getter. I wish I were that damn fearless. Truly, I wish I were more like her. I hope her pure zest for life comes across on TV and she doesn't get stuck with a purple edit just because of her age and gender. I also hope no one decides to get threatened by her as a competitive girl and vote her off premerge. I think she'll go far. Hope so. Dean Kowalski, 28, Account Executive, New York, New York -Referring to himself in the third person, "Dean is 28 years old. As we mentioned, he lives in New York and he prides himself on being a well rounded person when it comes to interests, abilities, personalities... If I'm listening to Drake and Lil Wayne, I gotta go home and cry to This Is Us.. I can play basketball but also think about our place in the universe." He likes to tag basketball courts with a peace symbol with a ball on it which he makes using a stencil. -He structures most of his interview with Josh around an Outwit, Outplay, Outlast format, explaining why he excels at each. -He grew up in an affluent suburb. His dream was to play in the NBA. He was 5"9 3/4, so he set his eyes on college basketball as a realistic alternative. In order to get looks from colleges he went to a school 30 minutes away - top five in the country, Nike would fly them around for games and give them free Jordan sneakers. He was one of only 4 white guys in the whole school and the only one on the team. He played with Kyrie Irving, the #1 overall draft pick. "My friend said you look like the Make a Wish Kid who just wants to be on the team for a day." He played at Colombia University, where he was co-captain his senior year despite averaging two minutes a game. He became a teacher, then did sales for a tech startup in New York. He now sells ads for Google. -He's a fan, but far from a superfan. He started watching Brenda's season. (He thinks it was Nicaragua, but it was actually Carmoan.) He works with a superfan who freaked out when they had a meeting at H&R Block with Carolyn Rivera and they went out to Bourbon Street with her. He kept watching for five years and thought he could do well. He hates when people are all talk, so he sent in a tape. For the video he interviewed random strangers on the street, who had never met him or seen the show, and asked them, "Why am I going to win it?" A barber, a construction worker. He's going to tell people he's in marketing, not sales - people have sales. My take: I'm just not that into him. Elaine Stott, 41, Factory Worker, Rockholds, NY -When Josh asks her not to touch the table she asks him, "You seen that Bart Simpson commercial, right? Don't touch my Butterfinger? I'm already hungry thinking about it." -"I had a pretty rough way to go growing up." Her single dad raised her and her three brothers. She was the youngest. "I was raised like one of the boys. Know what I mean? Daddy didn't know how to raise no little girl." He worked 16-17 hour days. The kids raised themselves. "When little children make their own decisions, they make poor ones." She was a hellion. -She's originally from Woodbine, Kentucky, Nick Wilson's hometown. Her god sister went to school with him and she knows him through the grapevine. "We rode on different sides of the track. 20 years ago he coulda been my lawyer, because I was on the other side of the law. I'm not bad. I've just done some things." Public intoxication several times. "I come from a dry county. It's like Footloose. We cross the state line to get a beer and when you come back you're in trouble." She stole a newspaper stand once and had to do community service. "I was a little bit mean." -She went to live with her grandpa and cleaned her act up, by which she means that she started smoking a little weed and playing sports - basketball, softball, track. She played softball and judo in college. "I couldn't do nothing real technical. We had Brazilians on the team who could do flying arm bars. But if I got these claws on you and got ya on the ground I'd waller you to death." In casting she put this guy Will in an armbar. She was gonna choke him but didn't know if she should. -When she graduated, her girlfriend was a college Freshman so she went to all the same parties and ballgames for four years. Then she realized she needed a job. Now she drives a Ford truck for a factory. She's been there 15 years. She works 12 hours, 7 days a week. -Growing up her mom "was always in my life in some sense. She'd never miss a birthday. She'd be homeless, but she'd still call." Elaine and her brothers bought her cars, and places to live, and got her jobs. "In a sense I've been mourning the loss of my mom my whole life." Once Elaine was homeless herself and there was snow on the ground. It was cold, and her teacher took her in. Gave her Christmas presents. Made her go to prom. Survivor was a thing they shared, and the teacher was gonna be Elaine's loved one. But within a one year period the woman lost her daughter, her husband, her dog and then had a stroke. Now "she walks like Frankenstein" and can't go. Elaine got Probst to talk to her, and she can't wait to watch. In October Elaine's biological mom went into a coma. She was on life support, but Elaine wouldn't unplug her. Her mom came out of it and seemed to be doing a lot better only to die very suddenly of a heart attack. -Her girlfriend and her girlfriend's two sons are gonna be watching. The 18 year old doesn't know because he can't keep a secret. The 13 year old helped her lose 20 pounds doing crossfit to come out here. She wants the money, but she really wants "some of that soul searching, that life adventure, that life changing - some of that. You know what I mean? Gimme some of that soup! Lemme eat some of that up! I want this show to build me up, because I feel like it can. I sure hope to hell it don't tear me down." My take: About 12 sobbing emojis in a row. She's my favorite. If she gets voted out premerge I'm going to go into mourning. And how can you not sort of expect that? I am going to be so upset if they just dismiss her because she's older and looks out of shape and sounds country. If that happens, I want another Second Chance season next year. Elizabeth Biesel, 26, Olympic swimmer, South Kingstown, Rhode Island -Josh says that Elizabeth was outright identified by one of the other contestants because they'd been watching YouTube videos about how to be a better swimmer. Others guessed she was an Olympian based on her rings tattoo. -She's from the Ocean State. They lived a block away from the beach, so they wanted her to take swimming lessons. She was a rambunctious child and swimming was the only way they could calm her energy. She started breaking records when she was 7 or 8. When she was 13 she made her first national team. At 15 she went to the Olympics. She got good early. Women peak around 22-23, and she ended her career at 24. You couldn't make much money doing it. She swam one of the longer, more grueling races, and her body said "no more." She listened to her body and retired. Some athletes lose their love for swimming because they're embittered by losing by 1/100th of a second, or they leave injured. She left on a good note. Still, if she could swim competitively for the rest of her life, she would. Now she doesn't know who she is or what she's going to do with the rest of her life. Every hour of the day used to have a purpose. Now her days are wide open. She can't keep eating 5,000 calories a day. "It's sort of like I'm mourning the death of Elizabeth Biesel the swimmer." -She was a Survivor fan as a kid because Richard Hatch was from Rhode Island. In her area "Every single household that had a television set was watching Survivor." When they asked her if she'd do the show, she felt pure joy. She said absolutely right away. She's excited about the competition of Survivor. No heated Olympic pools. You're stripped down to your core. She's amazed by the scope of the production apparatus. She's not a schemer. She wants to be a challenge beast - not the best woman but the best overall. She'd love to have a Wendell and Dom relationship with another woman. But, she wants to avoid the drama as long as she can. My take: Could Chelsea be Wendell to her Dom? She's so wholesome. She's just so "Olympics." I love her and everything she represents. I'd love to see her rocket through the swimming competitions, lapping everyone else. Go Elizabeth.
Hey folks! Today I returned to the US after a week aboard the Oasis of the Seas gambling at the single zero roulette table. If you're interested, you can read the original story here where I kept day by day notes in the comments about my winnings and observations. Finished ~$2500 ahead Martingaling for a week. Cruise Background I wanted to vacation in Vegas this fall, my wife wanted to cruise again, so I spent a few months searching cruise lines, looking for a single zero roulette table with at least an 8-bet min/max spread. As it turns out, there are thirteen cruise ships in the world that fit that profile (that I discovered), and after checking all of them against NovembeDecember departure dates from CONUS, I downselected to the Oasis of the Seas from Royal Caribbean for a 7-Day Caribbean cruise, booked it, and thus it was so! The Game For the duration of this cruise, I played single zero roulette and nothing else. The casino on board the Oasis of the Seas has four roulette tables; two American roulette tables on the smoking side, and one each American/European on the non-smoking side. I use the word "European" loosely because while it was single-zero, it had no European rules on it. All four tables were $5 - $100 on the inside, and $5 - $1000 on the outside. I attempted to make arrangements before the cruise as well as with the casino manager during the cruise to raise the limits for my gambling to no avail since I didn't have an established play history with Club Royale. I also requested La Partage be put into effect during my session play without luck - but that was a long shot anyway; the only single zero table I know of in the US with a minimum bet lower than $25 is the $10 - $3000 La Partage table at the Soaring Eagle in Michigan (sorry guys, terminal games don't count!) Single zero roulette tables have a 2.7% house edge; down from the scandalous 5.4% house edge of American roulette (let alone the scammy triple zero crap that Carnival Cruise lines and the Venetian in Vegas are doing); La Partage lowers it to a magnificent 1.35%, but alas - I was destined to go without. My Bets Most of you are probably familiar with a martingale) series bet. For anyone else; on a $5 - $1000 table, $2,000 can bankroll a 8-bet sequence where I double my bet each time I lose, restarting my bet sequence each win. Due to chip denominations, my martingale progression is $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1000, which I find more reasonable than 5/10/20/40/80/160/320/640 due to the typical chip denominations 1/5/25/100/500/1000. In a tip of my hat to superstition, my increases from $10 to $25, $100 to $250, and $1000 to $2500 where applicable are my way of "punishing" the casino for making me leave the comfort zone of the outside minimum bet. Mock me if you must; its my personal flair - if my bets grow that high I "deserve" to win more than my base bet for the stress of having to bankroll the roll. The chances of heads or tails on a coin flip are 50% for either outcome. On a single-zero table without La Partage, the equivalent bets - black/red, even/odd, 1-18/19-36 is ~48.6%, with the other 2.7% representing the green zero, or house edge - creating a theoretical loss probability of 2.7% of your bet per bet over time. While the probability of an individual spin being black or red in my case is ~48.6%, the martingale betting progression ties your bets into a session, such that on the table I'm playing on, as long as I don't guess wrong 8 times in a row, I always win. On the off-chance that any newbs are reading this, this is NOT a "strategy" or "guaranteed way to make money." Martingale betting is a low risk, low reward means of using a large sum of money to win a little sum of money - pretty much the opposite of what people go into casinos to do. In statistical terms, the chances of me guessing wrong 8 times in a row in an 8 spin series is three tenths of one percent...but no one sits down for 8 spins and leaves - so my gambling is that when the house spins my losing sequence...I'm not there. =D Such is gambling. Goals! I've learned over the years that if I don't sit at a table with a fixed goal of when to leave, I will get bored and start making side bets (other even money bets or thirds) - more ways to win also mean more ways to lose, and when I am gambling, I am heavily socializing and drinking; I can't keep track of all of it at the same time. My goal is thus to always leave with 120% of my bankroll. This trip was a bit confusing for me because I couldn't reconcile what my bankroll was. Not knowing whether the table limit would be fixed to $1000, or be able to be raised to $10,000 I brought $5,000 in cash with another $35,000 available as credit - I'd wrongly assumed the casino would at least double the table min/max to $10-$2000, and had been hoping they would leave the minimum and double the maximum, adding a one-bet buffer to my 8-spin series. With a $1,000 bet maximum, I stopped bringing more than $2,000 to the casino. If my bankroll is $2,000, I aim to leave with $2400. If my bankroll is $5,000, I aim to leave with $6,000. With $10,000, I aim to leave with $12,000. I initially hoped to turn $2,000 into $2,400, but after doing that the first night gambling and the prospect of the rest of the cruise being bereft of gambling, I decided that since I'd brought $5,000 to gamble with, even if I could only play with $2,000 of it, my 120% goal meant I wanted $1,000 in winnings or bust. On day two when I realized how stingy Club Royale was, and that I'd be buying my own drinks, I shelled out $360 for the liquor package, and adjusted my winning threshold to also cover the liquor package. Then there was a $300 spa treatment. Then an $1800 studio photography session since my wife wanted some nice pictures - something we've not done in a decade. With these confusing inputs leaving me unsure of how to decide if I was up or down, it came down to the fact that while the casino was generally open 8-12 hours a day, the lone roulette table with the single zero didn't open until 8:00 PM - about when the cruise shows started. I did some begging and pleading to have it opened earlier every day to mixed success - a bit on the first day and on the last day, with nothing in the middle. They really wanted people on the American tables - which I had to resist, since for much of the cruise, it was American roulette or nothing. I contented myself during those periods with drinking, socializing with other gamblers, watching, drinking, and trying to find people who didn't have the booze package so I could buy them drinks. Fun Facts
Over 6 days of gambling, averaging 4 hours per day, I hit the $1,000 table maximum bet twice. Both were heart-attack inducing. The first was at 0100 on day 5, I was the last gambler at the table, $1,000 on red didn't screw me, and I took it as a sign to go to bed. The second happened on Day 6; since a $2,000 loss would have left me break even at that point, I took a short break, stretched my legs, and came back.
In the same period, I hit the $250 bet mark in my progression 4 times (resetting from $250 back to $5), and the $500 bet limit zero times. $100 and below bets were too numerous to count.
Total winnings were probably closer to $2800, but I tip freely when its free money.
Despite my "follow the house" betting method of deciding to bet red or black (which capitalizes on streaks), and I never choose which to bet on, there was one dealer would occasionally call a color, and she was only wrong once. I started switching bets when she'd call a color because it was spooky. If I asked her, most of the time she'd say, "I don't know" - but out of 20-30 "calls" over a week that I saw her spinning for me, she missed one.
If I had the balls to play numbers or neighbor bets, I'd have made tens of thousands; I don't believe in ball control; not on modern wheels, but one dealer put out four 28s in 8 spins, three of them in a row, 7 of the others were neighbor bet winners, and he just kept doing it. He's been a casino dealer 44 years...and kept telling people what number to bet on, and no one would listen to him. God, I wish I had.
I learned to play craps as a backup in case the single zero table was closed, but the craps tables were $5 - $300 with 1x odds, shifting to 3-4-5x with $50 minimum bets. I need to ease into craps, and didn't want to have to track different odds systems, nor did I want to play on a $300 limit table - all my practicing on craps was with 3-4-5x odds on a $5 - $2,000 table, and I have a tendency to double down on everything in every game. And in life too; Losing a 5/15 bet makes me put $20 on the pass line. It gets expensive quickly, so I'm not playing craps with less than $5k, $10k to be comfortable, and I need at least a $2k table.
Actually, all the games were a bit ...less competitive. 6:5 blackjack, 1x craps odds, no Euro rules on the Euro table, crappy slots payouts - I get it; I really do. Captive audience, no need to compete with other casinos. Once they're on board, you've got 'em for a week; they're gonna gamble or they're not.
Club Royale has terrible comps compared to Casinos at Sea with NCL. It takes 2500 points with Club Royale to earn comped drinks while gambling. Not only did Club Royale not buy my drinks this cruise, at the rate of my point earnings, it will take me 4 more cruises gambling at the same rate to earn free drinks. That's right; $10,000+ to get free drinks. I did however come away with an amazing $100 off my next cruise voucher.
Assuming total winnings of $2,800 (before tips), being right 48.6% of the time, I gambled through ~1200 roulette spins in a week.
Anyway; it was a blast - but I'll probably go to Vegas for my next vacation instead of cruising. I want to gamble during the day, and go to shows in the evening, not wander around during the day, then have to decide whether I want to gamble or watch shows in the evening. edit And here's a picture of me at my remote office aboard the cruise ship in case anyone was wondering what your mean old /gambling moderator ShelixAnakasian looks like.
A week of degenerate gambling on the Oasis of the Seas comes to a close!
Hey folks! Today I returned to the US after a week aboard the Oasis of the Seas gambling at the single zero roulette table. If you're interested, you can read the original story here where I kept day by day notes in the comments about my winnings and observations. Finished ~$2500 ahead Martingaling for a week. I called out 14 crew members that I thought were exceptional; 11 of them in the casino - the crew were amazing everywhere. The ship itself is probably due a refit. Elevator buttons broken, chairs broken, everything looking a little run down and scuffed. I won't dig into the ports because everyone in here probably knows their way around the Caribbean by now. =D Cruise Background I wanted to vacation in Vegas this fall, my wife wanted to cruise again, so I spent a few months searching cruise lines, looking for a single zero roulette table with at least an 8-bet min/max spread. As it turns out, there are thirteen cruise ships in the world that fit that profile (that I discovered), and after checking all of them against NovembeDecember departure dates from CONUS, I downselected to the Oasis of the Seas from Royal Caribbean for a 7-Day Caribbean cruise, booked it, and thus it was so! The Game For the duration of this cruise, I played single zero roulette and nothing else. The casino on board the Oasis of the Seas has four roulette tables; two American roulette tables on the smoking side, and one each American/European on the non-smoking side. I use the word "European" loosely because while it was single-zero, it had no European rules on it. All four tables were $5 - $100 on the inside, and $5 - $1000 on the outside. I attempted to make arrangements before the cruise as well as with the casino manager during the cruise to raise the limits for my gambling to no avail since I didn't have an established play history with Club Royale. I also requested La Partage be put into effect during my session play without luck - but that was a long shot anyway; the only single zero table I know of in the US with a minimum bet lower than $25 is the $10 - $3000 La Partage table at the Soaring Eagle in Michigan (sorry guys, terminal games don't count!) Single zero roulette tables have a 2.7% house edge; down from the scandalous 5.4% house edge of American roulette (let alone the scammy triple zero crap that Carnival Cruise lines and the Venetian in Vegas are doing); La Partage lowers it to a magnificent 1.35%, but alas - I was destined to go without. My Bets Most of you are probably familiar with a martingale) series bet. For anyone else; on a $5 - $1000 table, $2,000 can bankroll a 8-bet sequence where I double my bet each time I lose, restarting my bet sequence each win. Due to chip denominations, my martingale progression is $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1000, which I find more reasonable than 5/10/20/40/80/160/320/640 due to the typical chip denominations 1/5/25/100/500/1000. In a tip of my hat to superstition, my increases from $10 to $25, $100 to $250, and $1000 to $2500 where applicable are my way of "punishing" the casino for making me leave the comfort zone of the outside minimum bet. Mock me if you must; its my personal flair - if my bets grow that high I "deserve" to win more than my base bet for the stress of having to bankroll the roll. The chances of heads or tails on a coin flip are 50% for either outcome. On a single-zero table without La Partage, the equivalent bets - black/red, even/odd, 1-18/19-36 is ~48.6%, with the other 2.7% representing the green zero, or house edge - creating a theoretical loss probability of 2.7% of your bet per bet over time. While the probability of an individual spin being black or red in my case is ~48.6%, the martingale betting progression ties your bets into a session, such that on the table I'm playing on, as long as I don't guess wrong 8 times in a row, I always win. On the off-chance that any newbs are reading this, this is NOT a "strategy" or "guaranteed way to make money." Martingale betting is a low risk, low reward means of using a large sum of money to win a little sum of money - pretty much the opposite of what people go into casinos to do. In statistical terms, the chances of me guessing wrong 8 times in a row in an 8 spin series is three tenths of one percent...but no one sits down for 8 spins and leaves - so my gambling is that when the house spins my losing sequence...I'm not there. =D Such is gambling. Goals! I've learned over the years that if I don't sit at a table with a fixed goal of when to leave, I will get bored and start making side bets (other even money bets or thirds) - more ways to win also mean more ways to lose, and when I am gambling, I am heavily socializing and drinking; I can't keep track of all of it at the same time. My goal is thus to always leave with 120% of my bankroll. This trip was a bit confusing for me because I couldn't reconcile what my bankroll was. Not knowing whether the table limit would be fixed to $1000, or be able to be raised to $10,000 I brought $5,000 in cash with another $35,000 available as credit - I'd wrongly assumed the casino would at least double the table min/max to $10-$2000, and had been hoping they would leave the minimum and double the maximum, adding a one-bet buffer to my 8-spin series. With a $1,000 bet maximum, I stopped bringing more than $2,000 to the casino. If my bankroll is $2,000, I aim to leave with $2400. If my bankroll is $5,000, I aim to leave with $6,000. With $10,000, I aim to leave with $12,000. I initially hoped to turn $2,000 into $2,400, but after doing that the first night gambling and the prospect of the rest of the cruise being bereft of gambling, I decided that since I'd brought $5,000 to gamble with, even if I could only play with $2,000 of it, my 120% goal meant I wanted $1,000 in winnings or bust. On day two when I realized how stingy Club Royale was, and that I'd be buying my own drinks, I shelled out $360 for the liquor package, and adjusted my winning threshold to also cover the liquor package. Then there was a $300 spa treatment. Then an $1800 studio photography session since my wife wanted some nice pictures - something we've not done in a decade. With these confusing inputs leaving me unsure of how to decide if I was up or down, it came down to the fact that while the casino was generally open 8-12 hours a day, the lone roulette table with the single zero didn't open until 8:00 PM - about when the cruise shows started. I did some begging and pleading to have it opened earlier every day to mixed success - a bit on the first day and on the last day, with nothing in the middle. They really wanted people on the American tables - which I had to resist, since for much of the cruise, it was American roulette or nothing. I contented myself during those periods with drinking, socializing with other gamblers, watching, drinking, and trying to find people who didn't have the booze package so I could buy them drinks. Fun Facts
Over 6 days of gambling, averaging 4 hours per day, I hit the $1,000 table maximum bet twice. Both were heart-attack inducing. The first was at 0100 on day 5, I was the last gambler at the table, $1,000 on red didn't screw me, and I took it as a sign to go to bed. The second happened on Day 6; since a $2,000 loss would have left me break even at that point, I took a short break, stretched my legs, and came back.
In the same period, I hit the $250 bet mark in my progression 4 times (resetting from $250 back to $5), and the $500 bet limit zero times. $100 and below bets were too numerous to count.
Total winnings were probably closer to $2800, but I tip freely when its free money.
Despite my "follow the house" betting method of deciding to bet red or black (which capitalizes on streaks), and I never choose which to bet on, there was one dealer would occasionally call a color, and she was only wrong once. I started switching bets when she'd call a color because it was spooky. If I asked her, most of the time she'd say, "I don't know" - but out of 20-30 "calls" over a week that I saw her spinning for me, she missed one.
If I had the balls to play numbers or neighbor bets, I'd have made tens of thousands; I don't believe in ball control; not on modern wheels, but one dealer put out four 28s in 8 spins, three of them in a row, 7 of the others were neighbor bet winners, and he just kept doing it. He's been a casino dealer 44 years...and kept telling people what number to bet on, and no one would listen to him. God, I wish I had.
I learned to play craps as a backup in case the single zero table was closed, but the craps tables were $5 - $300 with 1x odds, shifting to 3-4-5x with $50 minimum bets. I need to ease into craps, and didn't want to have to track different odds systems, nor did I want to play on a $300 limit table - all my practicing on craps was with 3-4-5x odds on a $5 - $2,000 table, and I have a tendency to double down on everything in every game. And in life too; Losing a 5/15 bet makes me put $20 on the pass line. It gets expensive quickly, so I'm not playing craps with less than $5k, $10k to be comfortable, and I need at least a $2k table.
Actually, all the games were a bit ...less competitive. 6:5 blackjack, 1x craps odds, no Euro rules on the Euro table, crappy slots payouts - I get it; I really do. Captive audience, no need to compete with other casinos. Once they're on board, you've got 'em for a week; they're gonna gamble or they're not.
Club Royale has terrible comps compared to Casinos at Sea with NCL. It takes 2500 points with Club Royale to earn comped drinks while gambling. Not only did Club Royale not buy my drinks this cruise, at the rate of my point earnings, it will take me 4 more cruises gambling at the same rate to earn free drinks. That's right; $10,000+ to get free drinks. I did however come away with an amazing $100 off my next cruise voucher.
Assuming total winnings of $2,800 (before tips), being right 48.6% of the time, I gambled through ~1200 roulette spins in a week.
Anyway; it was a blast - but I'll probably go to Vegas for my next vacation instead of cruising. I want to gamble during the day, and go to shows in the evening, not wander around during the day, then have to decide whether I want to gamble or watch shows in the evening. And here's a picture of me at my remote office aboard the cruise ship in case anyone was wondering what your mean old /gambling moderator ShelixAnakasian looks like.
The Ugly, The Bad, and The Good Hi, I’m skuwee. You may recognize me as someone who wrote a decent portion of the Facebanking guide that now resides on the sidebar. I’ve phonebanked, canvassed, translated, and donated Uber rides to the polls. I saw a lot of vague generalities last night and today about the race moving forward, so I wanted lay out the specifics, but stay concise. You can’t just say we need “58% of the delegates moving forward” – that’s not actionable at all. This post is meant to sum up the current state of the race as best I can, and my 2 solutions (which are co-dependent and must occur simultaneously; the first cannot happen without the second) on how to win this race. It’s a little long, but it plays out the rest of the race and provides actionable plans. TL;DR (but please take 5 min to read and digest) – It’s time to take risks and bet big on certain states. If we play small ball, we lose no matter what. More complete TLDR at the end. And one small point before I begin: every delegate matters, because they’ll be crafting the Democratic Party platform at the DNCC, and the more Bernie wins, the more progressive our platform no matter the nominee. The Ugly Clinton won all 5 states last night. That said, we effectively tied in 2 of them (MO, IL) and lost 2 that we knew were coming (FL, NC). Ohio felt, admittedly, like a punch in the nose. But it shouldn’t have. We actually outperformed expected results, but that Michigan win made us think that we would outperform like that in every state. We set expectations way too high in spite of polling, and we’ll learn from this mistake that we can never get complacent and expect a “Bernie bump.” Still, ugly. The Bad Prior to last night, Clinton was up by 219 pledged delegates (773 to 554). Today, including the Democrat Abroad vote that Bernie won 70%-30%, she is up by 329 pledged delegates (1,180 to 851). That’s a -110 drop for us. Thanks, FL (net -64, my home state). 2,031 delegates have been awarded. Clinton has taken 58.1% of them. 2,020 delegates are still up for grabs with 28 primaries to go, including 24 states and Puerto Rico (60), Guam (7), DC (20), and the Virgin Islands (7). Either candidate needs 2,026 to win. This means that, to win, Bernie needs 1,175 of the remaining delegates, or 58.17% of the vote. To win, HRC needs 846 of the remaining delegates, or just 41.89% of the vote. So, yes, this is bad. Not insurmountable, but undeniably bad. The Good I saw many posts prior to last night saying that if we were down by about 300 at this point, we’d still face an uphill climb, but there would be a path forward. That is currently the case. And struggles like this are the nature of fighting for an underdog; you’re the underdog ;p every win has to be come-from-behind. A quick reminder of where we were exactly one year ago. We have come a long way, have an army of experienced volunteers that grows daily (join), and are trending in the right direction every day. But make no mistake: this is due to hard work, and that work must be amplified if we are to win. And so, the good news is that we can win. But we have to bet big. Solution #1: Focus on 13 specific states to win the delegate math Having volunteered in several different ways, I’ve tracked our progress and have noticed that we have made a massive difference when we focus on a singular state at a time (e.g., MI). When we spread thin, we lose focus and effect. For example, FL was always going to be a 67-33 loss, but we made 43,000 calls there over the last 4 days (and probably tens of thousands more off of BerniePB). I’m sorry, but FL registration closed Feb. 16, it’s a closed primary, and has a massive elderly population. We never had a prayer and should have been more strategic in our time (i.e., maybe we moved the needle slightly, but we should have focused efforts on where we can move the needle the most: open and same-day registration states). The next 9 states have 620 total delegates:
March 22: Arizona (75), Idaho (23), Utah (33)
March 26: Alaska (16), Hawaii (25), Washington (101, I’ll be there kicking ass)
April 5: Wisconsin (86)
April 9: Wyoming (14)
April 19: New York (247)
Top 4 states (AZ, WA, WI, NY): 509 Crux of the strategy – We can cut into her lead deeply by doing one very important thing: stop caring about smaller states. I understand this is a gamble, but now is the time to take big risks; if we bet small, we lose. Period. If we bet big, we may still yet lose, but we give ourselves a shot. This isn’t a casino night: we can’t just pick up and walk away down a few hundred delegates if we just play responsibly. No offense to our brothers and sisters in these states, but that means ignoring HI, AK, WY, ID, and UT these next 4 weeks and concentrating volunteering efforts on AZ this week, WA the next, WI after that, and then after April 5, it’s 2 weeks of pure NY volunteering (WY’s 14 delegates on April 9 are inconsequential comparatively). The good news is we're already projected to win those 5 states I'm saying to ignore. If we win the top 4 states with 60% and simply split the smaller 5 at 50%, we gain 361 delegates, or 58.22%, and net +102 delegates. This is on pace, and it brings us to -204. After April 19, if we accomplish this, we will have 1,212 delegates and will be 219 delegates down with 1,400 to go. At this point, we will still need 814 delegates, or 58.14%, of the remaining delegates to win, so we are slightly above pace. And after the 19th of April, 1,199 of the remaining 1,400 will be from 9 primaries:
April 26: PA (189), Maryland (95), CT (55)
May 3: Indiana (83)
May 17: KY (55), OR (61)
June 5: Puerto Rico (60)
June 7: CA (475), NJ (126)
These are spaced out perfectly for focused volunteering! And the best part is that many of the unlisted primaries are favoring Bernie already. Those 9 states are 1,199 delegates. If we win 60% in these states, we pick up 719.4 delegates, leaving us with just 94.6 to clinch with 201 left in play! So we just need 47.06% of the primaries I haven’t mentioned yet!
April 26: Delaware (21), Rhode Island (24)
May 7: Guam (7)
May 10: WV (29)
June 4: Virgin Islands (7)
June 7: Montana (21), NM (34), ND (18), SD (20)
June 14: DC (20)
^ AKA, these are the primaries we don't care about at all, along with the 5 smaller states in the next 4 weeks listed above. For those 15 "small" states, we strictly limit our efforts to Facebanking to register voters and GOTV, and canvassing to GOTV from people who are already on the ground. Solution #2 (much shorter): Register new voters, don’t try to convince Dems Solution 2 is crucial, because Solution 1 cannot happen without it. If we try to win 60% by convincing Democrats to vote for Bernie, we’ve already lost. We consistently win by 70-30 with Independents and first-time voters, and we consistently lose by 15 points or more with registered Dems. We must focus our efforts on registering voters in the states we want to win by 60%, not convincing Dems to vote for Bernie. After calling Dem after Dem, I realized something backed up by exit polling: we’re just not going to win if we rely on already-registered voters and existing Dems. The facts are that we dominate with first-time voters, dominate with people under 39, dominate with Independents or non-traditional Democratic voters, and need to boost the volume of those voters. We can do this. I've laid out the registration deadlines and links for all non-same-day registration states in the comments, also found here. This must be (and thankfully is starting to be) incorporated into our phonebanking, Facebanking Mega-events, and ground efforts as the #1 thing we do. And it must start today. TL;DR2 – To win, we have to simultaneously mass register new voters via Face / phonebanking and canvassing / university registration drives, as well as gamble and bet big on certain states. There is no small ball anymore. The math to clinch means we must:
Focus all our efforts on and win with an average of 60% in 13 "big," spaced-out primaries (chronological order): AZ, WA, WI, NY, PA, MD, CT, IN, KY, OR, PR, CA, and NJ. This is similar to the "58%" goal on the front page all day today, except actionable.
Capture an average of 48.1% of the vote in 15 "small" primaries that we ignore completely (aside from Facebanking and ground game): ID, UT, AK, HI, WY, DE, RI, Guam, WV, Virgin Islands, MT, NM, ND, SD, DC.
Weekly Summary (Apr 21 - Apr 27, 2017) UNRESOLVED MYSTERIES Hi everyone, Hope you have a wonderful week. Thanks for the gold on last week's summary. Take care and stay safe. ✌ ♥ ☺ Last week's summary (April 14 - April 20, 2017) UPDATES
October 23, 1979 - Harry (53) and Mollie Schlesinger (54) were shot and killed in Austin, Texas (US). Harry and his wife Mollie ran a liquor store and had been preparing to close their shop for the night when an assailant(s) robbed the store and then shot the couple dead. Police later informed the victims’ family that serial killers Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole confessed to the murders. However, some of the family doubted the validity of these claims due to some glaring inconsistencies in the case. The case is personal to one Reddit contributor Bamont because his grandmother was one of the victims of this horrible crime. What happened on that night? (UPDATE:) Some commenter's from the Unresolved Mysteries community offered their assistance in helping Bamont. In particular, Hotblueglue researched the case and found...
December 1, 1981 - Virginia Freeman (40) was found dead beaten with stab wounds and a broken neck in College Station, Texas (US). Virginia was a real estate agent and mother, who was also actively involved in giving back to her community. Virginia was on her way to dinner when she received a call from work about a man wanting to see a house in a secluded area. The man had a southern accent and said he was carrying a large amount of cash. Hoping to make a sale, Virginia left alone to meet the potential client and was never seen alive. What happened to Virginia? (UPDATE:) National Geographic Explorers were contacted and agreed...Who did this to Virginia?
March 14, 2015 - Cristie S. Codd (38) and Joseph "JT" Codd (45) disappeared from their home in Leicester, North Carolina (US). Cristie was a respected chef, who provided catering services to film crews. She was five months pregnant and had recently appeared in the 8th season of the reality show "Food Network Star." Her husband, JT, worked as a key grip in filmmaking. FYI, a key grip collaborates with the director of photography in productions and supervises all "grip (lighting and rigging) crews" (Wikipedia). The couple had hired their neighbor, Robert Jason Owens, as a contractor to do some work in their home. "Owens robbed, assaulted and threatened the couple with weapons before killing them." He would later admit to dismembering their bodies to conceal evidence (CBS News). Robert J. Owens is still a person of interest in the disappearance of Zebb Quinn (UPDATE:) Robert Owens has accepted a plea deal in the murders of JT Codd and Cristie, and...Will this provide any new information on Zebb?
March 17 - July 11, 2016 - Maryvale (Phoenix) Serial Shooter - "an unidentified serial killer who has been linked to nine separate shootings resulting in seven deaths and two injuries across Phoenix, Arizona (US) in 2016, mainly in the Maryvale neighborhood" (Wikipedia). The shooter's attacks seem to be random, and he targets people who are walking outside or standing/sitting by their homes or cars. Who is the killer? (UPDATE:) Person of interest identified in this... The post originally stated that the Phoenix Serial Shooter was arrested; however, at this time he had only been publically identified by law enforcement.Maryvale Serial Shooter
THE MISSING
May 1, 1982 – Diana L. Munyon (16) disappeared from Fontana, California (US). Diana formerly lived in Mississippi but had left home at a young age and frequently hitchhiked with truckers. There isn’t very much information about her on the net; however… What happened to Diana?
May 26, 1982 - Yolanda Jean Maull (30) disappeared from Birmingham, Alabama (US). She was originally from Knoxville, Tennessee and had graduated from Knoxville College. Yolanda was in the middle of a divorce and had planned to be in court on the day she disappeared. On the morning she vanished, Yolanda spoke to her attorney and was never... What happened to Yolanda?
June 6, 1984 - Sherry L. Marler (12) disappeared from Greenville, Alabama (US). Sherry was a tomboy, who enjoyed farm life. She was last seen with her stepfather at a local First National Bank. Sherry had walked across the street alone to buy soda and never returned. There have been multiple sighting of Sherry with an older man... Never Posted
July 2, 1989 – Barbara Elizabeth Miller (30) disappeared from Milton, Pennsylvania (US). Barbara was a police informant, who had recently received anonymous threats before she went missing. She was last seen attending a wedding, and police believe she made it home safely from the wedding that day. Her live-in boyfriend reported her missing three days later… What happened to Barbara?
October 24, 1998 - Kristine Kupka (28) disappeared from Brooklyn, New York (US). Kristine was an honor student majoring in Philosophy at Baruch College in New York. Kristine was romantically linked to her former Chemistry instructor from school, Darshanand Persaud, who was recently married to another woman. Kristine was pregnant with his child, and Darshanand had not been supportive of her decision to keep the baby. Shortly before she vanished, Darshanand had a change of heart and Kristine was last seen with him... Where is Kristine?
December 7th, 2001 - Janine Vaughan (31) disappeared from Bathurst, New South Wales (Australia). Janine worked as a store manager and had a large group of friends. On the day she vanished, Janine took a cab to meet up with some friends at two different bar and grills. At some point in the night, she lost her purse with her phone and wallet. Janine didn't want to end the party on her bad luck. So while they were leaving the second establishment, she yelled something out to her friends about getting more drinks and then jumped into an unknown person's car before they could question her (Western Advocate). Janine has never...Discuss
February 23, 1999 - Shannon Clair LaBau (23) disappeared from Helena, Montana (US). Shannon was a father and a cook, who was close to his mother. On the day he vanished, he had planned to look into buying a car in the nearby city of Townsend. Shannon's friend picked him up that day and claims to have dropped him off later on the street in Helena that morning. Shannon has never been seen again. What happened to Shannon?
July 14, 2003 - Revell Jeeter (59) disappeared from McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania (US). Revell was a divorced father and an introvert, who preferred the company of his dog Bubba to most people. On the day he vanished, it appeared as though Revell had walked out of his home to do something but never returned. His wallet and cell phone were found inside, and his three cars were parked nearby. Revell's family and friends told law enforcement that he'd never leave his dog alone for an extended period. Police later found his ATV at a neighbor, Gregory Rouzer's, home. The neighbor had claimed he was fixing the... What happened to Revell?
July 5, 2007 - Monica Renee Bowie (34) disappeared from Atlanta, Georgia (US). Monica owned two different businesses and sometimes worked in accounting. Monica’s fiance was in prison on drug charges when she vanished. She was abducted from her apartment complex late at night. Witnesses heard her screams and then saw a maroon car drive off... Missing in Georgia
January 1, 2008 - Amy Fitzpatrick (15) is an Irish teen who disappeared from Riveria del Sol, Costa del Sol (Spain). Amy was last seen leaving a friend's home that night. She lived with her mother and stepfather, the latter who she despised. Amy's stepfather, Dave Mahon, had been accused and later convicted of stabbing her brother in an angry confrontation outside their home. What happened to Amy?
February 23, 2010 - Tameka Anderson (25) disappeared from Baton Rouge, Louisiana (US). Tameka was a working mom, who recently had received her income tax return. She had hoped to buy a car in a nearby community, so she withdrew all of her cash from the credit union and had an acquaintance pick her up from her home. She was never seen... Missing and Forgotten
June 2, 2011 - Siriyakorn “Bung” Siriboon (13) disappeared from Boronia, Victoria (Australia). Bung was last seen leaving her home to walk to school. Bung was born in Thailand, and police believe that her family there or someone else in the country can provide clues to her disappearance. Two years after she vanished, a man claimed he... Where is Siriyakorn?
April 2, 2016 – Sidney Taylor (35) and Krislyn Gibson (35) disappeared from Austin, Texas (US). Sidney and Krislyn had taken a road trip from Houston to Austin to attend a concert. The night before the show, the couple met up with one of Sidney’s friend and went to a night club. They were last seen in the early hours of the morning. Sidney’s car was later found abandoned in Houston… What happened to Sidney and Krislyn?
July 22, 2016 - Eric Pracht (25) disappeared from Lakewood, Colorado (US). Eric was a paramedic, who was planning to wed his fiancé. On the day he vanished, Eric was hosting a party at his home and got into some altercation with a guest. Eric decided to cool down by leaving his condo and taking a walk alone and barefoot at midnight. He was never... What happened to Eric?
UNRESOLVED (& UNUSUAL) DEATHS
June 25, 1968 - Robinson Family Murders (Good Hart murders) - This was the mass murder of a family who was shot and killed in their vacation cottage in Good Hart, Michigan (US). The home belonged to a prominent magazine publisher in Detroit, Richard and Shirley Robinson and their four children. In July of that year, a caretaker for the neighborhood had been alerted to an odor coming from that area. The neighbors had been told that the Robinsons would be out of town, so no one seemed alarmed and assumed the smell was a dead animal. However, inside the home, the caretaker found the decomposing bodies of the entire family. With the exception of their youngest daughter (7 years old) who had been beaten with a hammer alone, everyone else was bludgeoned and shot. The investigation into the deaths found that Richard's business was in trouble. An employee had been embezzling... What happened to the Robinson family?
June 25, 1974 - Maria-Luise Artmeier (25) died after she lost control of her car and struck another vehicle in Munich, Bavaria (Germany). However, Maria was not killed due to the impact of the crash. Instead, the medical team found that she had been viciously stabbed shortly before the accident and had suffered a mortal wound to her heart. Police never found the murder weapon, and there were very few clues left at the scene. Maria had spent the evening at a restaurant with friends and was most likely ambushed as she entered her car alone. Who could have done this to Maria?
February 26, 1977 - Barbara Jean Maclean (16?) was found dead in Calgary, Alberta (Canada). Barbara had recently moved to Calgary and was living with her boyfriend. The night before her body was found, Barbara had gone to a bar with friends, family and her boyfriend (who was intoxicated). Barbara had been arguing with her boyfriend that night, and he ended up leaving her stranded in the parking lot. Barbara was under the influence, so she decided to hitchhike from the outside of the bar to an after party, where she... Why does Canada have fewer missing/unsolved murder cases? Do you think 70s culture contributed to more deaths?
January 14, 1983 - Terri McClure (62) disappeared from Lake Tahoe, Nevada (US). Terri lived in Reno but had traveled to Lake Tahoe for her son Tim's wedding. Terri attended the wedding and reception but planned to return home that evening after the festivities. Tim told authorities that he walked his mother to her car before she left, and he never saw her again. After watching his mother depart, he claimed he went to a casino and gambled alone for two hours and then spent the rest of his night with his new bride partying until the early hours of the morning. Police were unable to confirm his alibi, and Tim made some strange statements... Trail Went Cold
THE UNIDENTIFIED
October 18, 1984 - Hot Spring John Doe was a male hitchhiker on his way to California, who was picked up in Louisville, Kentucky (US). The driver of the car remembers that the hitchhiker said he was from New Haven, Connecticut. After the two had stopped to get something to eat, the hitchhiker took over driving the car and then... Who is Hot Spring John Doe?
May 25, 2003 – Mammoth Lakes Jane Doe – A hiker’s dog found the remains of a petite, Asian, woman (30-40 years old), who had likely been killed around August 2002 in Mammoth Lakes, California (US). Police brought in a physical anthropologist to help them identify the woman, and he believed that this woman had been stabbed to death… Who is this Jane Doe and what happened to her?
HISTORICAL MYSTERIES
Vilvos posted some musical mysteries like none other I've seen in this sub. Frankly, I was unaware of one band but found myself fascinated nonetheless. When will Jimmy Hendrix acoustic album be released in its entirety? Ever heard of the Peanut Duck? What is Charles Manson's connection to The Beach Boys? Musical Mystery Tour
June 10, 1876 - James Moon (36) was believed to have committed suicide in a hotel room in Lafayette, Indiana (US). James had meticulously planned his death, and created a guillotine inside the hotel to serve this purpose... Why did James go through these efforts?
November 12, 1966 - The Mothman - Outside of Clendenin, West Virginia (US), a group of men preparing a burial saw a moth-like-creature emerge from the trees. It was manlike in structure and different from anything else they'd ever seen. Later more sightings were reported, and most of these seemed to be near the old West Virginia Ordnance Works. The WVOW is a well known, but abandoned munitions factory from WW II. It's in a highly polluted area, referred to as an 'environmental disaster.' One couple who saw the creature described it as... What is this creature?
January 7, 1970 - Aarno Heinonen and Esko Viljo were taking a break from cross country skiing when they saw something in the sky in Imjärvi, Heinola (Finland). It appeared to be an "elongated, fire colored object...with a 'flame' coming from behind." Within a few moments, they then saw a flying saucer and heard the sounds of buzzing. A strange man soon appeared... Do UFOs exist?
January 28, 1991 - Outside of Las Vegas, Nevada (US), a 23-year-old man was found walking alone in the Mojave Desert. He appeared lost, overdressed for the climate, and severely dehydrated. When he was taken to the hospital, he could not provide the staff with any information on his identity. The hospital would later name him "Tyler, " after he was diagnosed with psychogenic amnesia. After undergoing hypnosis, Tyler begin to remember more information about his past... Who is Tyler? Was this all a hoax?
THE ACCUSED
May 1918 - The Axeman - A mysterious monster emerged in New Orleans, Louisana (US) one who wielded an ax and killed at his discretion. He snuck into his victim's home, then gruesomely butchered a grocer and his wife but left without taking any valuables. Police had no suspects but found that these cases were noticeably similar to other crimes against Italian grocers, who had been attacked years earlier by a man with an ax. As the details leaked out to the public, grocers around the city reported their close encounter with this axeman. The city waited in fear until another family was attacked and killed. Then a local newspaper editor received an anonymous letter from the killer saying he would attack again but would spare the lives of those where a jazz band played... What happened to the New Orleans Axeman?
1982-1984 - The Brabant Killers (Nijvel Gang) are a group in Belgium, who committed violent attacks which resulted in 28 people's deaths and another 40 being injured. The notorious gang was known for their excessive use of violence (like killing innocent bystanders and children) and indifference to law enforcement. Their motive for their crimes is still unknown, some believe they were psychopaths, and others think they may have been politically motivated. The statute of limitations on the...Who were The Brabant Killers and why did they commit these crimes?
June 16, 1991 - Father's Day Bank Massacre - On a Sunday morning (which happened to be Father's day) in Denver, Colorado (US), a man showed up outside the building of the United Bank Tower claiming to be the vice president of the bank. When security went down to investigate, the would-be robber showed a handgun to the unarmed guard and forced his way into the bank. He then shot and killed four employees and made off with... Who was behind this massacre?
February 7, 2008 - Greg Rouzers (41) was accused and convicted of the attempted murder of Randolph "Randy" Walters. Greg held some grudge against Randy and his girlfriend Marian Wertz because Marian had once been engaged to Greg's brother (the brother tried to commit suicide at some point during that relationship). While in prison for the attempted killing of Randy, Greg failed twice at trying to hire a hitman to kill Randy. Greg's girlfriend and father were accused of assisting him in those plots. Greg's father was the former neighbor of Revell Jeeter. Greg has told police that he has information on Revell's disappearance Is Greg responsible for Revell's disappearance?
MYSTERY SERIES
1979 - 1986 The East Area Rapist (Original Night Stalker) – “an unidentified serial killer and rapist who committed 50 rapes in Northern California and murdered twelve people in Southern California” (Wikipedia). He is believed to have started his crime spree as the Visalia Ransacker. Some of the actions of the rapist are puzzling. His.. The East Area Rapist, Part 4
August 8, 2010 - Ben McDaniel (30) disappeared from Ponce de Leon, Florida (US). Ben was a gifted man with an unflinching sense of adventure. He had recently experienced some setbacks, and with the blessing of his family decided to take a sabbatical in Florida. While he was in Florida, Ben pursued his scuba diving passion and made use of the geographical landforms to explore underground caves in his area. Although these dives were considered dangerous, Ben remain undeterred. Ben McDaniel, the diver who vanished from 58ft below the surface of an Underwater Cave. Part 2.5
ASK THE SLEUTHS
Question on the intro sequence of Unsolved Mysteries Discuss
Thoughts about Backmasking? (Playing song backward, where it has a satanic message) Discuss
Looking for French mysteries/disappearances Discuss
What cases are you constantly checking on? Discuss
What mystery is the best case or has the best evidence for the supernatural/extraterrestrial? Discuss
What are some good unresolved WWII Nazi mysteries? Discuss
What subjects would you personally like to see more posts about on this sub? Discuss
Can anyone help me with a mystery from Calgary, Alberta (Canada)? Discuss
Anyone watch 48 Hours tonight? All about Michelle McNamara and EAONS. Discuss
Help remembering a case: Early 20s, possibly blonde hair, disappeared after a night out, may have been at university, specifically wearing black shorts (denim or yoga) Discuss
Argh, matey! Avast ye, do any o' ye landlubbers be knowin' o' any legends or stories about hidden booty? (I couldn't help but read this question in a pirate voice, "Do you know any legends or stories of hidden treasure?")Discuss
What is your relationship with your mysteries? Discuss
What's a mystery that has left you completely perplexed because of its weird circumstances? Discuss
Are there any real-life cases about [law enforcement] officers who are actually informants for FBI, CIA or even organized crimes? Discuss
Need help finding similar cases - Murder of Skylar Neese Discuss
Jane Doe drawn with her hand covering her face Discuss
Mysteries where multiple people disappeared? Discuss
What case has 'shattered' your mind because of its grotesque circumstances? Discuss
What are some good solved mysteries? The more puzzling the original mystery the better. Discuss
10th Anniversary of Madeleine McCann disappearance Discuss
What are the chances dollars spent abroad coming back to the USA? What if D.B.Cooper spent it in Mexico? Discuss
Missing Persons Cases Where You Think They're Still Alive? Discuss
How many 'mysterious' missing person cases can be explained by people getting lost in the wilderness and dying as opposed to foul play? Discuss
Lesser known cases of long-term captivity? Discuss
Help remembering a case! (request) - 20-30 something, young woman, had multiple siblings, helped kill father because her mother was cheating, eventually wanted to confess but then disappeared Discuss
Have you ever personally contributed to the solving of an open, unresolved case? Have you ever actively contributed to a case that remains unsolved? Discuss
Mystery Involving 20th Century Military Man - May have served in WWI or II, naval soldier or sailor. ID card issued in Britain, but he was American. The letter "C" was "figured prominently in his name." May be related to Tamam Shud case. Discuss
My reasons for writing this are purely my own, but I am choosing to share this story. Why? Because I am everyone and I am no one. I could be you, or your best friend, your parent, your sibling, your child. I could be the homeless man who has lost it all that you scoff at. I could be the billionaire that millions look up to. You are about to read things that may change how you feel about me, and I hope it's for the best. I am a human being, and this is a true story... this is my story. Robert W: 12/10/1981 - ???? Family I was a happy child, an only child. My mother had me when she was in her early 30s and then found out I would be the only child she would ever have. My family home was near an apartment complex where I met most of my early childhood friends. We lived in a nice house, but my family was not well off. My parents were two of the hardest working parents an only child could ask for. I was given almost anything I ever asked for that a child could want... even if it wasn't right away. I always had a roof over my head, and my parents stayed married right up until my mom passed away last year. I had the hand-me-down and thrift store clothes. All of this came at a cost. My father was often not around because he worked late night jobs for better pay to be able to provide for our family. I developed a very strong bond with my mother during my childhood. She taught me how to ride my first bike, gardening, simple home repair, cooking, cleaning, hunting, drawing, how to take care of animals, and so much more. I was highly encouraged to follow the arts and music by my mother. My father was the main provider, because he had to be. He wasn't big on the life lessons thing, mom taught me about girls, and about being a good person. We visited my grandmother and the rest of my mom's side of the family every holiday and it was always something to look forward to. My mother was my best friend, through the best of times and worst of times. I am grateful for the childhood that was provided to me. School K-8 I completed 2 years of nursery school and one year of parochial school because I was too young to start public schools. I learned math and writing at a very early age. I was not even in kindergarten yet and I had learned multiplication tables and writing. It was quite a shock to then go into public schools and alternate learning about colors of the rainbow and nap time. I started hating school around 1st grade. I was bullied for being different. I was bullied for not wearing nice clothes. I was bullied for how I breathed because of an issue with my tonsils. I was bullied for my weight. I was bullied because I couldn't afford the nice glasses. I once had masking tape put over my mouth by my first grade teacher because I talked too much to a female classmate. I was followed to the bus stop every day and punched on until I eventually walked back home to have my parents drive me to school. When I was on the bus, it consisted of the entire bus singing mocking songs about my childhood name all the way to and from school. When I complained about the attacks and tormenting and the being followed around, I was ignored by teachers and admin and called an actor or attention seeker. One day I was in the lunch room. I was having a bad day and kicked a stack of chairs. A random student I never had issues with before came up to me and asked me what my problem was. I ignored him. He slapped my glasses off my face, and they fell into my food. Him and his buddies laughed and went and sat down. When I left the lunch room and entered the hallway, he was waiting for me. He started by pushing me into a locker and saying something about my attitude. "I don't want to fight you" I said. Again pushed, and pushed, over thirty times by my count. A crowd gathered. "I don't want to fight you...." I pleaded. The last push bounced my head off of the locker and I came back swinging. I didn't stop punching until I was physically separated from him by two or more people. His face was cut and bruised and he was being tended to by the school nurse. The principal asked me if I did that to him, and I said yes, and I'd do it again. I was kicked out of school for a week and he was allowed to stay. School 8-12 I got zeroes on homework but I aced all tests. I violated their attendance policy because I refused to go most of the time, yet I held a B+ average. (Still counted as F due to their policy) I missed my junior prom and some of my final exams due to being kicked out of school when a student said I threatened to kill them after the shooting at Columbine happened. I wore a trench coat and had long hair, I fit the 'profile' and I was already generally thought of as a troublemaker. I was thrown out of school pending an expulsion while 6 police cars raided my childhood home with warrants where they confiscated every piece of personal property I owned, including my computer, cds, journals, books, bibles, sketch pads, and anything that could be considered a weapon or made into one. I was then taken 'down town' and questioned about why I made threats to people when I clearly hadn't. After my 2 week hiatus I returned to the school sort of the antihero. I had found out that the entire high school student body had passed around a petition to have me reinstated to class after the baseless accusations turned out to not be true. The 📷principal had the petition shredded. At age 17, I was forced to undergo an intelligence test as well as a psychological evaluation to be allowed back into public school. These tests determined I was a "slightly depressed albeit normal teenage male with a grade 19 comprehension level." This is what allowed me back into school to finish out a senior year where I was never apologized to by those who wronged me, but I was respected. I found out that no matter what I did, due to the complications of the previous year I would not be able to graduate with my class. I would be a half credit short. I showed up just to spite them and did what work I felt like until that year was over, and then I completed the rest of my credits in an alternative work at your own pace school in about 3 weeks over the summer. My diploma still has what I consider the wrong year on it. Guardian I didn't date in school, I never had a girlfriend. The concept didn't interest me. That's not to say I wasn't interested in girls, but I was in my world of computers and sports and pretty timid when it came to making the first move. I watched as every girl I started to have feelings for would date my friends and be happy for them. When things weren't so happy in their relationship, I could always be the one counted on for advice to keep them together. A girl that I deeply loved and cared for never wanted anything to do with me but was always asking me about the next cute guy she was after. I played my role well, despite how it made me feel, because it was the right thing to do. The one girl I did try to create a relationship with told the entire school the next day all of the intimate details about what happened between us which quickly put a stop to any further attempts. To this day I don't think she realizes that people made fun of me because I chose her. I met a girl from the trade school I went to and we hit it off really well. We only got to see each other a few times a week and went to some parties together. I fell very hard for her, and all we needed was more time together. 📷One night we were at a party together and she was very drunk and a friend of mine pulled me aside to brag he was going to "nail her tonight." I smiled and played off what he had just said to me, and proceeded to not leave her side the entire night. I carried her unconscious to my friend's own bedroom and locked the door, covered her up, and slept on the floor at the foot of the bed. The next morning she had already left. She told me later on the phone that if she hadn't been so drunk she would have spent the night with me. The night I would have asked her to be my official 'girlfriend' another girl at the party hovered very close by and continued to fill my cup with enough liquor to anesthetize a rhino. I was led off into the woods, one thing led to another, and when I returned she had bragged to the girl that she knew I loved what had just happened. Nothing was ever the same after that, and in my twisted sense of desperation I met with the other girl a few times and asked if she wanted to be with me, to which she replied that she had a boyfriend. I never saw either of them again. Future? I had a horrible school record, my GPA was awful, my dream of joining the military was dashed due to my now existing psych record. I started working at a great job at 18 years old for the same company my father worked for. It was hard work but the pay was good. I learned the value of a dollar. I was able to buy great things for myself. A nice car, an amazing stereo system for the car, whatever clothes I wanted. I fell in love around this same time. I enjoyed a few years of relative happiness, despite always feeling on edge and wanting to put my fist through walls. Slavery I My first experience with hard drugs was morphine. I acquired it because when I went to a doctor for the pain issues I was having they pretty much laughed at me. It was in my head they said... Physically, I was fine. The pain was still real. The medicine worked. Not long after this due to the company I kept, I jumped straight to being an IV drug user. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. I successfully hid my addiction from my partner, my family, and my friends, for over 6 years. Nobody knew how bad it was. You learn how to hide it, out of shame and fear. You also learn how to lie, cheat, steal, manipulate, and hurt others if necessary, to stave off the insanity that occurs when a chemical now dictates your every action and that chemical leaves your body. I was laid off from my job and quickly spiraled out of control. I went from almost $50k a year to unemployment. I started piece by piece selling off every material possession I could stand to part with in order to keep my head above water and make sure I could maintain some level of sanity. Vigilante I was walking with my friend home one night. It was cold outside and there was fresh falling snow. We heard a woman's muffled scream and turned to see a man strike his wife in the face through a large picture window. We knew what we had to do. We walked up to the front door and knocked very loudly. The man opened the door and I could see her bruised face cowering behind who I assumed was her husband. He said "What the hell do you wa..." and that's when I grabbed him and pulled him out of his own house into the snowbank. I hit him once in the face in the same spot he hit his wife, and then proceeded to knee him in the ribs until he begged me to stop. His wife came out to try and get me to stop but my friend held her back and said "If you don't call the police, I will." and they went in the house to call 911. I used my weight to hold the husband down until the police arrived. I remember him saying he wanted to press charges on me and the police just stuffed him into the car and gave me a look which meant I was free to go. Death I My mother found out when my girlfriend had to make a phone call to say that I had overdosed and I was on my way to the hospital. My girlfriend came home and found me with a needle still in my arm, not moving or breathing, and my face was blue. I had been dead for a few minutes. The first responder was a police officer who had known me my entire life and he was able to somehow revive me. I remember being very pissed off that I was woken up, and at the doctors who at first judged me, then showed compassion. They gave me antibiotics for my infected arm and sent me home. We never told my father. That night, I carved a line into my arm with a knife. Slavery II Sanity was an illusion. At this point I was not only selling things to maintain my addiction but also others'. I was involved with a few different people that would keep me hooked just so that I could supply them with money to feed their gambling compulsions and inability to pay for bills. It was made very clear that if I ever stopped I would be cut off. I was threatened often by these people, and even if not explicitly stated, I was made to believe that if I ever thought of quitting I would be accused of rape and be exposed as a thief and a distributor, meaning probably a life sentence in prison. So I did what I had to do. I also started combining drugs. I combined different types of speed with the high amounts (800-1000mg) of morphine I needed on a daily basis just to function. I combined different types of downers to counter-effect not being able to sleep. I vomited every morning I woke up and shook uncontrollably until I could manage to give myself enough to not look like a complete junkie all the time. Recovery I I checked myself into an inpatient detox. My only possessions with me were some clothes, and an engagement ring on a necklace that had been given back to me. I was very pissed off but open to trying anything. I felt that if nothing else I could at least get away from my life for a bit. I resisted all urges to go full inpatient for 30-90 days due to what my family and friends would think of me. After four days, I checked out against advice and skipped my follow up appointment. I called to ask for advice and they told me I shouldn't have left if I was still having these thoughts and issues but if I came back now I would have to pay for the entire thing myself. I lasted 9 hours before locking myself in a bathroom at a gas station to make the pain and anxiety stop. The Good Son I was living across town in a small house with my girlfriend. My parents had decided to go out to the casino and asked me to come by and check on the animals. My mom was quite the zookeeper. At my last count I believe they had 6 dogs, 7 cats, and over 30 exotic parrots. She hand raised and sold animals for fun and income. My affinity for animals comes from her. I've loved and lost more pets than I care to remember. I went over to the house and checked all of the cages, I held my favorite kitty, and even played with the kittens. I let the family dog out and she ran off... AGAIN! I waited around for her to come back and let her back into the house. I remember sneaking in to grab a few items of food from the pantry and a pack of cigarettes from my mom's stash, then letting the dog lick my face right before going home and laying on the couch. Catastrophe I was laying on the couch attempting to sleep. Whatever concoction I had put into my body worked enough to allow me about 2 hours... then the phone rang. It was my father and he was crying. I asked what was wrong, and he said "The house is on fire son... it's all gone.." I don't know if I even bothered to hang up the phone before I was in the car and I could see the flames and smoke from 3 blocks away. I stood with my mom and dad as I watched my entire childhood disappear. The firefighters were able to salvage a few photo albums and my parent's bedroom, but the entire house was a loss. This included the rest of my 'family' that was trapped inside, and I was the last one to see any of them still alive. When the smoke cleared... I couldn't handle recovering their little bodies. My girlfriend and mother spent days searching for every last one so they could be properly buried, and I wasn't able to be there for it. We had thought for a time that maybe the dog got out because nobody could find her... until it was discovered she was laying underneath the very door I closed and locked behind me on my way out. It didn't sink in until my girlfriend handed me the slightly charred collar and the tag that still had her name on it... Daisy. After this, I was able to return to the site and help with the cleanup. There was a lot of things that needed to be salvaged from my parents room and cleared out for insurance purposes. I will never forget the smell. Death II The details are fuzzy... but I remember waking up in a dark closet. I could still feel the effects of whatever it was I took. A broken rope laid at my feet... and wrapped around my neck. My throat was very sore and I couldn't speak. I slowly realized what had happened. I was alone... there was nobody in the house. I gathered myself and hid all evidence of what had occurred. I burned the rope. I told no one. I carved another line. Dissolution It was around 8:30 in the morning. I had been cut off for over 2 days. Insanity and desperation does strange things to the addict mind. I walked into a pharmacy and slid a note across the counter demanding they give me morphine and oxycontin. I held one hand in my pocket and did a lot of screaming. The old man behind the counter was afraid but resolute. "No, I'm not giving you anything" he said. I fled. I drove all the way home and locked myself in my room. The news reports started... describing what had happened and showing a very accurate sketch of someone who looked an awful lot like me. It wasn't me though... it was him. Reckoning I The man I had become had found himself in the back of a police car in handcuffs. After 2 months of lying and trying to hide it and being constantly questioned by the police I had finally confessed. I protected those I felt I needed to protect, and took it all on myself. The charges were staggering. I was told I would probably be in prison for 5-10 years. My father was finally informed of my situation and how bad I was because my mother and girlfriend hid it from him. He was there to bail me out. He was there to drive me to my first rehab. I knew I would be facing jail time. I knew it wouldn't really help my case. This was still the perfect time to check in. I had been in lockup for over 3 days and the worst of my withdrawal was over. Recovery II I checked into a rehab facility and it was determined intensive outpatient was best for me since I was living in a 'safe' environment. I was put on a replacement therapy drug called Suboxone, which curbed my cravings but little else. I was able to get a lot better, but due to the sensitive and complex nature of my involvement with those who kept me in check I lied a lot during my treatment. I was also not trusted with my own medication even after it was made clear it wasn't a medication I could really abuse. My very lifeline was controlled and held away from me. I went to court and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, due to my clean record and willingness to receive treatment. There's no need to discuss that time, it served nothing other than to remind myself how much of a criminal I'm really not. A bunch of guys sitting around in the same room telling me how I should have done it better and not got caught. Because you know they are obviously the experts at not getting caught. I sat around with people who were there for everything from assault to child rape. I sat with a former turnkey from the very jail we were incarcerated in. I sat with people so much different than me, yet the same. I got really good at ping pong, and read more books there than I ever had in my entire life... One thing I will always remember was the old man who I had tried to rob visiting me in jail. He told me "Young man, I knew you weren't a bad person, just in a bad situation, and I forgive you." So there was some good that came out of it. Routine I was released from jail and subject to further methods of control. "Are you sure you need 2 today? why not try just 1?" ... "You know how expensive this medication is? You should really try to get off of this, we can't afford to keep doing this" ... "Why won't you just stop? What is wrong with you?" ... "Maybe if you would just get a job instead of laying around on your expensive pills and going to those stupid meetings we could have a real life." I had 2 years of probation, to which I passed every test and goal set for me. I lived in a trailer with dog and cat excrement everywhere. Trash bags would pile up almost to the ceiling. I didn't eat a home cooked meal unless I made it myself or went to my parent's new house. If I didn't do it, it didn't get done, and I couldn't do it. I lived in a dungeon of my own design, because I deserved it. Ghost in the Shell I couldn't work in my condition. I sunk myself into the world of the internet. I didn't leave the house for fear of the outside world and not only what it had done to me but what I had done to it. I started playing online games again. I joined several online support groups and made friends with my gamer buddies. I told them enough, but not everything. I was able to help people with their own problems despite living in my own personal hell. I received updates, photos and emails from people that I was able to help through the worst parts of their detox, recovery, and pain management because of my fresh experience. I dared not tell them that for every personal victory they shared with me I felt more defeated. My friends and family became non-existent during this time. My friends online became my only real friends I had left. They were there for me when I needed them the most, and I became relied upon by them as well. I became the go to guy with all the answers. I solved problems, helped people, organized fundraising, and started to feel a little better about my life. Schism"WHO IS SHE?!" Was the scream I heard as I was shaken awake from my spot on the couch. A cell phone was being waved in my face. On the screen was a single message: "Thank you for your help Rob, I love you!" There was a perfectly logical explanation for it, but it really didn't matter what I said. It didn't matter that the reason a girl would tell me she loved me is because I helped her through a rough time in her life and provided her with resources to be able to get out of an abusive relationship. She lived half way across the country, and was a good friend of mine. "Nobody would tell you they loved you if you weren't screwing them." ... "Nobody could love you" I looked around at a destroyed home with nothing but garbage piled up and fresh dog urine by the door. "I guess you're right, and I guess this is goodbye." Exodus My parents still didn't really trust me enough to allow me to move back home, so I found a roommate. An older Native American woman who became a good friend and we had great discussions about spirituality and life. I found myself unable to pay the rent she asked me to pay, and so I began to search for a way out. I made the decision to leave Michigan, and my hometown. I had unemployment still, and had just enough cash to be able to make a one-way trip somewhere. I convinced my parents to let me stay in a spare office so that I could have internet access and organize my trip. My group of online friends raised over $300 for me to be able to fix my car that would not be able to make it very far in its current state. A good friend in Florida offered to let me stay on his couch while I looked for work. There was a recent oil spill, and any able bodied person would be able to get work. Buckeyed I packed everything I could possibly fit into my small convertible, and drove to my friend's house in Ohio to stay a couple days. Her and I met online, we gamed together. We had a good few nights of drinking and partying**.** I remember her telling me she couldn't have her boyfriend over since I was staying there so I was getting ready to continue my journey but a mix-up at the bank had left me with absolutely zero money and options. I ended up staying over 2 weeks which seriously strained our friendship. I remember her daughter asking her why I couldn't stay and how sad she was that I had to leave. My friend ended up finding me some roommates in the same building and I never really saw her again. Larry and Andrew, a lovely couple let me move in with them. Being from a small town, this was quite a culture shock for me, but a life altering experience. I developed a deep respect and admiration for homosexual people that never existed before this because I was simply ignorant. I remember them urging me to come out of my room and have dinner with them. I realized I had become quite the shut in... I moved in with them and only came out for meals. It was all I could really handle. When I finally moved out, I lost touch with them and now wish I knew how they were doing.
1st time in Vegas need gambling tips/casino etiquette
So for my 21st birthday my parents are taking me to Vegas! Exciting right. I have only gambled twice in my life (legally at 18+ casinos in Michigan) and I need some input on what the best bets to make at casinos are. I know how to play blackjack and craps but I have no idea about other table games. I would prefer to stay away from slots and all video gambling games. Correct me if I'm wrong but I was told that slot machines have the worst odds in the casino. Also, there seams to be a lot of unwritten rules about how you conduct yourself / what you can and can't say in a casino. I remember saying the number 'seven' while I was on the Craps table and everyone shot me a mean look an the boxman (is that a thing) told me not to say that again. I am staying at the Paris btw. Thanks in advance for your help!!
Mid-States Poker Tour resumes this weekend at FireKeepers Casino
Even though poker action has cooled down and everyone is waiting for the World Series of Poker to resume, there are plenty of interesting tournaments underway in the United States. Some of them act as satellites for upcoming events and major series, but there are just as many organized by the land-based casinos for loyal customers. Those who reside in Michigan, should know that starting on October 11, the FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek will host a Mid-States Poker Tour tournament. Players will get to warm up for that event over the weekend, with another tournament worth $1100 taking place at A Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells. Furthermore, those who prefer the convenience of online gambling, can round up their bankrolls by playing in one of the tournaments or cash game tables at Sky Poker. As for the upcoming tournament, FireKeepers representatives are overly optimistic, after the previous edition was a huge success. The winner took home a six digit amount and consolidated his position in the MSPT Season 5 Player of the Year race. May Zarlenga was the most successful player in 2013 and he is expected to return to Michigan for what promises to be a very exciting tournament. He didn't lose time and prevailed in another tournament against 487 players to win $120,000 and the coveted trophy of the MSPT Potawatomi Hotel and Casino in Milwaukee. Among those who are expected to participate this year are former champions, including Thomas Midena, Adam Lamphere and Jordan Townsend. The next tournament will start at noon on October 11 with a satellite, but if you want to know the full schedule, check it out below:Saturday, Oct. 11 12:00 p.m. Main Event Qualifier $250Saturday, Oct. 12 12:00 p.m. Main Event Qualifier $250Monday, Oct. 13 12:00 p.m. Super Satellite to $250 Qualifier $65Monday, Oct. 13 6:30 p.m. Main Event Qualifier $250Tuesday, Oct. 14 12:00 p.m. Super Satellite to $250 Qualifier $65Tuesday, Oct. 14 6:30 p.m. Main Event Qualifier $250Wednesday, Oct. 15 12:00 p.m. Super Satellite to $250 Qualifier $65Wednesday, Oct. 15 6:30 p.m. Main Event Qualifier $250Thursday, Oct. 16 9:30 a.m. Main Event Qualifier $250Thursday, Oct. 16 4:00 p.m. Main Event Day 1a $1,100Friday, Oct. 17 4:00 p.m. Main Event Day 1b $1,100Friday, Oct. 17 8:00 p.m. Main Event Turbo Qualifier $250Saturday, Oct. 18 4:00 p.m. Main Event Day 1c $1,100 from via Casinoreviews
what casinos can you gamble at 18 in michigan video
However, there are some specific exemptions for tribal casinos. While commercial casinos may only admit you if you are 21, a tribal casino may allow you to enter on 18, because they enjoy sovereignty. Presently, there are 35 states where you can only gamble if you are 21+ and 22 states that allow 18+ individuals to enter and gamble. An 18-year-old can gamble at the Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. There are probably others as well. States Where You Can Legally Gamble At Online Casinos At 18 Years Old This page is included as a gateway to accessing information on individual states that legally permit 18 and over casino gambling. This list reflects states that allow state-regulated casino gambling to be offered to 18-year-old players in some capacity. In Michigan, you first have to be 18 in order to begin exploring gambling. Almost anything is available at 18. Some land-based casinos in the state will require you to be 21, even if you can play at 18 by state law. You can safely join an online sportsbook at age 18, though you can wait until 21 if you feel more comfortable. Where to Gamble in the US at 18. In this overview we will quickly run through each one of those states, answering the question of what states you can gamble at 18 years of age, paying extra attention to the most popular gambling locations within these select locations.So without further ado, here are what states you can gamble at 18. Yes, MI residents and visitors can legally gamble at the age of eighteen, however, commercial casinos require players to be at least 21 or risk violating Michigan state law. While Michigan is one of the few states that permit eighteen plus casino gambling, this minimum age requirement applies to tribal casinos only, which can still require some players to be at least 21 years old if they so choose. What casinos can 18 year olds gamble in Michigan? In the state of Michigan, you must be at least 21 years of age to gamble in the commercial casinos in Detroit. You’ll find casinos throughout Michigan, in both urban and more rural areas. There are 26 casinos in total, with the majority being casinos built on Indian reservations. Check out our Michigan casinos map below to find the best casinos in MI near you. Can you gamble at 18 in Michigan? The minimum gambling age is 19 at all five Kewadin casinos, plus the Odawa casino resort in Petoskey. It is 21 at all other Indian casinos except for the following seven where it's 18 : Leelanau Sands, Turtle Creek, Island Resort, Ojibwa, Ojibwa II, Lac Vieux and Soaring Eagle. This Site Might Help You. RE: What casino's in Michigan have the gambling age of 18? I will be turning 18 soon and would like to go to a casino with my boyfriend. I know the casinos on Indian Reservations can choose what age (as long as it is 18 or over). Does anyone know what casinos I would be able to go to?
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