Gambler's Thread 01 (May 08 - Nov 10)

[Aspellian]

haha.. like what Winston mentioned before, we are all already playing in the BIGGEST casino of all, every Monday to Friday

Like you, I will only go to the Theme parks. Planning to buy a yearly pass for Universal Studios so that I can bring the boy there every month

wow! yearly pass!! that will be so much so much FUN!!!!!

[winston]

First new Russian casino opens under gambling plan

AZOV CITY, Russia (AP): Half a year after Russia closed all of it's gambling casinos and slot-machine halls, the first new casino opened Saturday under a plan to limit legalized gambling to four comparatively remote areas.

About 500 people showed up for the opening of the Oracle casino in Above City, a gambling zone in southern Russia. But only about 100 of them appeared to be actually placing bets. The casino, in a large shed-like building in a snowy field, has about 200 slot machines and 10 table games.

The zone is about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from Rostov-on-Don, the nearest sizable city, and 120 miles (200 kilometers) from Krasnodar.

It's unclear how many Russians will be eager to travel long distances for a gambling excursion, but the casino's operators say they're convinced there's a market and they plan to start building a four-star hotel for gamblers this summer.

"There's a lot of gambling people here" in the region, said Valery Saparin, marketing director for casino operator Royal Time. "We hope that a lot of people will be drawn to us in the near future."

Casinos mushroomed in Russia's cities after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and slot machines quickly spread beyond gaming halls to shops and malls.

The spread of gambling provoked distaste among many Russians over the flashy cars parked outside glittering casinos in Moscow and the harm that gambling can do to society.

All the gambling operations were closed July 1 under a law that was signed in 2006, but that many had expected never would be enforced.

The law limits legalized gambling to Azov City, the Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea, the Altai region of Siberia and the Primorsky region of Russia's Far East.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.as ... c=business

[Blackjack]

Amygdala

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People are afraid to lose money and an unusual study released on Monday explains why -- the brain's fear center controls the response to a gamble.

The study of two women with brain lesions that made them unafraid to lose on a gamble showed the amygdala, the brain's fear center, activates at the very thought of losing money.

The finding, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offers insight into economic behavior and suggests that humans evolved to be cautious about the prospects of losing food or other valued possessions.

Benedetto De Martinoa of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and University College of London and colleagues were studying why people will turn down gambles that are likely to lead to gain.

"Laboratory and field evidence suggests that people often avoid risks with losses even when they might earn a substantially larger gain, a behavioral preference termed 'loss aversion'," they wrote.

"For instance, people will avoid gambles in which they are equally likely to either lose $10 or win $15, even though the expected value of the gamble is positive ($2.50)."

They studied two women with a rare genetic condition called Urbach-Wiethe disease, which damages the amygdala, the almond-shaped center in the brain that controls fear and certain other acute emotions.

The researchers compared the women's responses to 12 people with undamaged brains. They noted this kind of study usually involves only a few people as it is not possible or ethical to deliberately damage a person's brain to see what happens.

The volunteers were asked to make gambles in which there was an equal probability they would win $20 or lose $5 (a risk most people will take) -- or would win or lose $20 (one most people will reject).

The two patients with damaged amygdalas fearlessly risked a $50 pot.

"We think this shows that the amygdala is critical for triggering a sense of caution toward making gambles in which you might lose," Colin Camerera of University College London, who worked in the study, said in a statement.

"A fully functioning amygdala appears to make us more cautious," added his colleague Ralph Adolphs. "We already know that the amygdala is involved in processing fear, and it also appears to make us 'afraid' to risk losing money."

The study could also help researchers understand why some people are more willing to take risks than others. Perhaps genetic differences in the DNA activated in the amygdala explain it, the researchers said.

I have a fully functional amygdala

[millionairemind]

Feb 17, 2010
8 face casino-linked offences
By Elena Chong
EIGHT people have landed in trouble within the first three days of the Resorts World Sentosa casino opening.

Two Mongolians were arrested on Monday at the casino entrance at Resorts World Sentosa for cheating by impersonation.

The pair, aged 45 and 18, are released on police bail and investigations are ongoing. The younger Mongolian, who is studying in a private school here, had allegedly used the passport of the 45-year-old's son to enter the casino as he is underage.

Meanwhile, five others, including Singaporeans and permanent residents, have been caught for trying to sneak into the casino without paying the $100 levy on Sunday - the first day the casino was opened to the public.

The day levy is $100 and the annual fee is $2,000.

Separately, an Indonesian gambler who claimed he lost all his money at the RWS casino, stole a mobile phone from an undergraduate at Changi Airport. Paulus Djohar, 49, unemployed, was jailed for four weeks on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to the charge.

[kennynah]

Separately, an Indonesian gambler who claimed he lost all his money at the RWS casino, stole a mobile phone from an undergraduate at Changi Airport. Paulus Djohar, 49, unemployed, was jailed for four weeks on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to the charge.

this is just a start..... rampant prostitution, drugs abuse, kidnappings, daylight snatch robberies, loan sharking, murders, and all things evil, will follow.... a matter of time... just you watch it unfold...

[millionairemind]

this is just a start..... rampant prostitution, drugs abuse, kidnappings, daylight snatch robberies, loan sharking, murders, and all things evil, will follow.... a matter of time... just you watch it unfold...

This comes with the turf.

You can't have a dance with the devil and think that you can get away unscathed.

Unfortunately, I think the gahmen most likely have done this kind of "economic impact". Perhaps they have secretly done the math: $7B in tourism receipts plus another $5B in gambling revenue vs 15,000 broken families per year. Worth a bet??

[iam802]

Not too sure if you guys noticed.

I think this is the first year I am seeing 'Maxi Cash' ads on CNY.

My wife comment, "This is so bad. Asking people to borrow money on first day of CNY. How to huat ....".

[kennynah]

i didnt notice...all i know and have learned the hard way is that such overdrafts are no different from borrowing from loan sharks...the only difference is just legality....

just so readers understand how wonderful our authorities are in the aspect of setting boundaries on such lending practices by banks; such as citi, maybank, dbs, etc...

in US, their govt prevents these overdrafts to attract any more than a X% annually on outstanding unpaid debts...that amount is mandated by law to be lesser than 20% (around 14%, IIRC) that can be levied on americans... but here, our super salaried officials couldn't care less that citi once upon a time charged singaporean customers 24% annual compounding interest rates on unpaid monies used...

reminds of the corrupt qing dynasty, where they allowed opium into china, knowing full well the disastrous effects this drug has on her society....

[winston]

Many years ago, one could withdraw Cash from one's Credit Card ( Diner's Club ) at Genting Highlands.

There's no charges as long as one pay off the amount by the deadline of the monthly statement.

Wonder whether they have the same facility at RWS ?

[kennynah]

they already said...no credit card advances in RWS singapore... whether this is applicable to singaporeans only, i duno