The following contains a transcript from a short radio broadcast that has been picked up by various listeners across the continental United States. Many have been perplexed by its sudden appearance and how it seems to preempt whatever song or radio program they are listening to at the time. It has even been known to appear on streaming programs such as podcasts or Spotify. Listeners have described hearing different episodes and there have been many situations and incidents.
A 23 year old college student named Yuvisela contacted me with her account of hearing the broadcast. She and her boyfriend had encountered the broadcast while driving one sultry summer afternoon from Austin, TX.
So I have this thing with waterfalls. I’m a little obsessed with them. In my free time and when I’m not paying attention in lecture, I like to look on the internet at pictures of them and daydream that I’m there: the roar of the splashing water, the white foamy spray, my bare toes dipped into the icy spring. I’ve got a Pinterest page with hundreds of falls that I would like to visit one day. Niagara, Havasu, Victoria Falls, Gullfoss, Iguazu; they’re all on there. I keep them all catalogued for my bucket list.
Yet, how many people go to the grave with their bucket list hardly finished? I bet a lot.
My boyfriend, Gabriel, likes to mess with me about my obsession. He’ll come up behind me while I’m on my computer or look over my shoulder at my phone and see that I’m looking at waterfalls.
“Don’t go chasing waterfalls, stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to,” he’ll sing when he catches me. It’s this old song he knows, TLC or something. He’s about six years older than me. I’ll joke with him to leave me alone and quit singing that old music, ask him if he used to listen to that on an 8-track or something.
“No, my older sister listened to it on CD. You know CD’s? Those little plastic things with the holes in them? That little slot in your car’s stereo, a CD goes in there. They don’t make ‘em in the new cars anymore.”
We’ve had a variation of this same conversation a bunch of times. It’s kind of a running joke between the two of us—him poking fun at my waterfall obsession and me making fun of how old he is—and while he thinks the waterfall thing is a cute little quirk of mine, he also has been supportive of my passion. That’s why he surprised me with the trip that summer. He knew that I was yearning to see some of these places. He knew that he wanted to make me happy. He knew that my resources were limited. He knew that we weren’t getting any younger; I was 23 and still had a semester to go.
But he also knew that we weren’t getting any richer, either. At least not anytime soon. I know I’m a little bit older for a college student, but it’s taken me a bit longer on account of having to work and stuff. I can’t take a full load every semester. Money’s always tight. I work full time and barely stay ahead, even sending some of my money to help my mom out. Gabriel offered to help me out some and we’d even talked about moving in together, but we had only been together a year at that point and I wasn’t quite ready.
Before my dad had passed, I’d promised him that I was going to get my college degree and I wanted to do it all on my own. While I loved Gabriel and could see myself marrying him, I didn’t want to deal with a transition like that so close to the finish line. Besides, we were getting along so well as it was. Why mess with a good thing?
And it was a good thing that kept better. Just when I thought that I couldn’t love Gabriel more, on my birthday he surprised me with the best present I’ve ever gotten. It was a little black notebook with this kind of leathery cover. While the notebook itself was nice, it was what was inside that was the true present. At some point, he had gone onto my Pinterest page and written down page after page of waterfalls, organizing them by country and state. He had put little squares beside them, boxes to check off. The last two pages were Texas and Oklahoma. He had written a note there. It read:

“Let’s start now...”
-Gabriel

* * *
So far, the trip had been a blast. We had started out in Abilene where we both lived and where I attended college. From there, we went to a place called Gorman Falls at this state park. It was one of the tallest waterfalls in the state and all of the foliage and moss around it was lush and green and for a while, if I crossed my eyes just right it was like I wasn’t even in Texas.
We couldn’t hit all the sites in a day. It was a road trip with multiple nights in hotels. After Gorman Falls and staying at a hotel, we headed towards Austin and stopped off at Hamilton Pool Preserve. The waterfall wasn’t as tall as Gorman, but I have to say I liked it better. The water formed a curtain as it poured off of a rocky shelf and into this sunken grotto of blue green water.
We stayed at this magical place for hours, swimming in the water and soaking up the sun. I could’ve stayed longer, but it was starting to get crowded, so we headed to Austin for a night on the town on 6th Street.
The next day we slept in and got a late start on the road. Lunch was at a Whataburger outside Waco. We sat and ate our food and looked at our phones. I browsed Instagram and my eyes skimmed over a gorgeous site. Yep, another waterfall. I slid my phone over to Gabriel.
“Look!” I said.
“Am I supposed to be looking at the butt or the waterfall?” he asked. An Instagram model was standing with her back to the camera, looking up at the water in awe.
“The waterfall, silly.”
“Seriously, that skinny white girl ain’t got nothing on you. Better let me take a look, just to be sure.”
I stood and twirled around quickly, teasing him. “Ok, so back to the waterfall. Did you look at it?”
“Yeah, it’s beautiful babe. Where was this one?”
“Iceland,” I sighed.
“Oh, right.”
“It’s not looking good for the time being. Maybe in a few years, yeah?”
“Just gotta see how the election goes. I ain’t holding my breath.”
See, neither of us were U.S. citizens. We were what you call DACA recipients. Both of us had wound up in America via illegal means on behalf of our parents, back when we were kids. This was when we were too young to have any say in the matter. I can hardly remember my life before, my life back in Mexico. I grew up here, went to school here. Texas and America is the only home I’ve ever known. Gabriel, he was originally from Guatemala. His situation is more or less the same.
If we were to leave the country, then we might risk not being able to get back in. You could apply for eligibility to travel if you had special circumstances, but they didn’t allow travel for leisure. We didn’t even have passports. Until then, our dreams of traveling—something we both wanted to do—were just that: dreams.
There was a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Obama and that DREAM act, I’m sure you’ve heard of it. You know, the dreamers or whatever? That’s what they call us. I guess they call it that because it’s just a freaking fantasy that disappears at the slightest thing—the sunrise, your phone alarm—out of your grasp as soon as you start your day.
Anyways, I applied for the DREAM act, but it hasn’t been a guarantee. We’re all stuck in a sort of limbo, waiting for the people in Washington to figure out what the hell to do with us, using us as a bargaining chip.
Not Gabriel though, he didn’t apply for the act. Part of it was that he was bad about procrastinating. The other part was that he was paranoid about signing up. I told him that he was an idiot and if he blew his chance to become a legal permanent resident, then I wouldn’t follow him to Guatemala if he got deported. He told me that he didn’t trust the program, that once they had you in the system they could track you easier, keep tabs on you. Said he knew a guy that got deported this way. I told him that the guy must’ve gotten into some legal trouble, a DUI or something, to have been deported.
“We’re all just one slip up from some legal trouble. Hell, some people consider us illegal right now,” he had said.
It was hard to argue against that, I guess. At least he knew where he stood, didn’t have that false hope. Sometimes I think it’s the hope that gets you, makes things worse.
Gabriel frowned and handed the phone back to me, looked out the window and took a sip of his Coke. I suddenly felt bad and ungrateful. Here was this amazing man that had planned out an awesome road trip just for me and I was busy looking at other far off adventures, not appreciating what I had right in front of me, the moment I was living in right now.
I leaned forward and kissed him. "I don't care where I'm at as long as you're with me," I said and he smiled.
What I told him just then, it was true. That didn’t mean I was going to grow complacent and quit dreaming.
They did call us dreamers after all.
It was one of those giant truck stops, the kind that was a little smaller than a Wal-Mart or Target, but just barely. We filled up and paced around inside and looked at the aisles and aisles of candy, the funny toys and souvenirs, and the tacky t-shirts.
“Hey Yuvi, whaddaya say? It’s your size.” Gabriel asked, holding up a black t-shirt with glittery letters. “PROUD TRUCKER WIFE” it read.
“Only if you get that one,” I said, pointing at a T-shirt with a semi-truck on it that read “I JUST DROPPED A LOAD”.
“Eww,” Gabriel said, laughing.
We both wandered around on our own. They had a huge candy section and I was looking to see if they had any vero elotes candy. I had just found a bag on a bottom shelf when Gabriel came skipping up.
“We are so getting this,” he said, holding up a plastic CD case.
“What is it?”
“Best of the ‘90s. It’s got your song on there, see? ‘Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls.’ Can we get it? It’s only 3.99.”
“Ha, ok. But only if you buy me this,” I said, handing him the candy.
There was traffic from hell just south of Denton on account of construction and a car wreck or two. We were stop-and-go for what seemed like an hour. I was passenger side and Gabriel idled along.
“Ok. I think now’s the time to break out this bad boy,” Gabriel said as he started tearing at the plastic wrap around the CD case.
“I think this is the first time I’ve even used the CD player in this car.”
“Aw hell yeah,” Gabriel said as the first song started playing. “Gettin’ Jiggy With It.”
“Getting what, now?”
“It’s your boy, Will Smith. Y’know the Fresh Prince? Betcha didn’t know he had a little music career.”
“That guy from I Am Legend and Aladdin?”
Gabriel rolled his eyes. “I guess. His older work is much better.”
“Well I don’t know. You act like you're this old and wise millennial. You’re not that much older than me, y’know.”
“I’m telling ya, my Gen-X sister raised me on all of this stuff. I think she was Gen-X. I don’t know the damn cutoffs. Anyways, she babysat me a lot growing up while Mama was working and stuff. She cultured my little ass. Ooh, here it is!”
A new song started playing. I couldn’t help but laugh at how it started. “It sounds like porn music!”
“Nah, shhhh. Shhh.” Gabriel bobbed his head along to the beat.
The chorus started to worm it’s way into my head. The song was ok, I guess. I still can’t really listen to it to this day.
“You gotta listen to this dope rap coming up,” Gabriel said.
There was the sound of hissing and popping, wet logs burning in a fire. Whispers intermingled with the sound effects. One of the voices rose above the others and said “Listen!” harshly in Spanish, you know, “Escuchen! Escuchen!”, several times.
We both looked at each other with wide eyes. The traffic crept forward slowly and Gabriel kept his hands on the wheel and I kept mine in my lap and that’s when he started to talk. It was this happy sounding older guy, talking right there on my car’s speakers.
Gooood afternoon folks, Buck Hensley here with a special rush hour edition of “The Rules of the Road”. Hope ya’ll are doing alright out there while you’re idling on the clogged arteries of America’s highways and byways, breathing in those delicious exhaust fumes. I know that good ol’ Mother Earth likes to take a big fat rip of that stuff from time to time, although as of late she seems to be getting quite a contact high from that delicious Co2 and starting to feel the effects just a little too much.
And yet you all keep puff-puffing and passing, never slowing down. What with your jet planes and your driving and your travel and your neverending consumption and your cow farts and whatnot. All I’m saying is that you folks might wanna slow down a bit on that stuff, because I’ve seen the end results and all I can say is that they are hilarious. But I understand if you wanna keep on keeping on and having a good time. All I can say is smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.
Speaking of good times, that reminds me of today’s special “Rule of the Road”. You’re gonna want to listen to this one as it’s all about good times. Why that was Carla’s favorite sitcom for a spell there, “Good Times”. She’d watch reruns on into the night, the TV casting a pale glow that was kinda comforting across the bed, and I’d wake up to live studio laughter and her snoring softly beside me, the serene look of slumber on her face and the years I’d wasted.
Gabriel and I both looked at eachother. He shrugged and reached for the stereo. I shooed his hand away. I wanted to listen to it. The voice continued.
But I digress...well now, on to today’s “Rule of the Road”. If at any point during your journey you stop off for a pitstop or a potty break and you enter a public restroom to do your business, take note of the writing on the stalls. You might notice some graffiti that reads, “For a Good Time, Call” and then a phone number listed after it. If you do notice this, then take the number down for later use. Whenever you are in dire need of a good time, then give that number a call.
Now before you go off with a bee in your bonnet and tell me how you ain’t gonna call no sketchy phone number taken off a lady’s or men’s room wall, let me just tell you that this will be worth it. You can trust me. When has old Bucky ever let ya down?
I know what you’re gonna say next though, you’re gonna say, “Buck, I don’t ever call no numbers on my phone. I’m deathly afraid of voices on the other line. If I can’t text and send little emojis and the like, then forget it. If I can’t use an app to order Thai food or a pizza, then I go hungry that night. I haven’t even made an appointment to a doctor since I’ve lived with my parents. What if since we can’t see each other’s faces we start talking at the same time and we talk over each other and then say, ‘oops sorry, no you go ahead’ and then we both say it again at the same time and then we both start trying to talk again and then get stuck in some sort of infinite loop?”
And to that I say, “fair enough.” Don’t use the phone. The consequences of not following this rule are a little less dire than previous rules you may have heard. If you don’t follow this rule then you will simply miss out on a good time. That’s it. But you wouldn’t want to miss out on anything, would ya?
Welp. That’s all I’ve got on this fine late afternoon. May the wind be always at your back, your picnic basket full of snacks, and your cheese ever be pepper jack. Ya’ll stay sane out there. Stay symbiotic. Stay lonely. I'm Buck Hensley and these are "The Rules of the Road".
The voice instantly stopped and the song returned playing. Gabriel had a dumbfounded look on his face.
"What the hell?" he said and tried to rewind the CD.
"Umm, was that part of the song? Maybe a different version?"
"No way," he said and kept rewinding and playing the song over. The little skit that we heard never returned.
“Weird,” I said.
“Beats the heck out of me.”
“Maybe the CD is haunted. That was pretty spooky, y’know? That voice telling us to listen.”
“Maybe it was like a hidden track or something. They used to put those on CD’s back in the day. And this CD was pretty cheap and has all these songs on it. Could’ve been like a pirated deal.”
We weren’t really scared by the broadcast or whatever it was, just more confused. It was only looking back that we saw the importance of what we had heard and how from there our path seemed to be led a certain way.. At the time it was just this weird little thing, a funny little mystery that was forgettable for the time being.
We crept along for a while without incident, the traffic slowly gaining momentum. The music on the CD played on as usual and we heard no extra voices. The songs played like they were supposed to. Everything was fine.
Of course, outside of Gainesville, it hit me. I had been trying to ignore it and power through until we stopped for the night, but I had the sudden urge to pee. All that slow traffic and iced tea and a bottle of water must’ve caught up with me. This was intense. Usually I could hold it pretty good, but I had to get Gabriel to stop at the first exit we saw.
It was this gas station kind of off by itself and it was all dingy and old and faded and didn’t look the cleanest. Gabriel parked and my lower stomach and bladder ached as soon as I stood up and got out of the car. I burst into the place and made a beeline towards the restroom, over in the corner past the ATM and the glass fridges down a hall with burnt out fluorescent lights.
They were singles that you could lock, one for men and one for women. The floor was sticky and paper towels piled out of a trash can and a strip of toilet paper floated in a pool of standing water. A condom dispensing machine was on the wall opposite the toilet.
It wasn’t the worst public restroom I’d ever used and I didn’t have many options; I was literally about to piss myself. I would have to do the hover move over the toilet seat. No seat covers in a joint like this and I didn’t have time to prep it with toilet paper anything.
So I was doing my business, my thighs burning from the squat, and kind of laughing to myself at the condom dispenser machine with its brands like the “FRENCH TICKLER” and that’s when I saw it, the graffiti written in Sharpie, right there on the vending machine. It said, “For A Good Time, Call 9xx-XXX-XXXX [Redacted]”.
After I finished and had washed my hands, I snapped a pic of the graffiti. I figured Gabriel would get a kick out of it.
“You’re supposed to call it. That’s the rule,” Gabriel said when I showed him.
“I’m too nervous. You call. You heard it, too.”
“Chicken.”
“Yep.”
“How many of those things do you even see? I’ve seen them all the time. I bet it’s just dudes pranking each other or fucking with their ex-girlfriends.”
“Well I found it in the ladies room, so hopefully it wasn’t dudes.”
“Okay, you enter it in your phone and I’ll dial. I’ll try to do a caller ID block or something. Let’s just see what happens.”
“Are you sure?”
“Eh come on. Maybe it’s fate.”
The Texas travel center appeared on the southbound side of the interstate and we were soon crossing the Red River on into Oklahoma as I transcribed the numbers from the picture to the keypad on my dialer.
A large casino came into view. It was ginormous with this sort of facade of all these famous buildings on its outside. I could see Big Ben and that Roman coliseum and all these other world architecture things. The casino just stretched on and on.
“Aw, not again,” Gabriel said.
I had just finished transposing the number into the phone. The crazy casino had distracted me. “What is it, babe?”
“Another jam.”
The traffic was veering into the right hand lane, but it was still moving at a decent clip, like 45 mph or something. After a mile of this, I could see a couple of highway patrol cars parked across the interstate, blocking both lanes of traffic. A state trooper stood out in the middle, waving a flashlight thing and directing traffic to take the exit. There was still about an hour of daylight left and you couldn’t even see the light. He was just using it as a baton. Somewhere off in the distance there was a thick wall of smoke filling the evening sky with this surreal haze.
“Wonder what’s going on?” I asked.
“Who knows? Grassfire, maybe.”
We followed the other cars and trucks down the exit ramp. Some turned right, some turned left.
“Right or left? Right or left?” Gabriel asked.
There seemed to be more cars turning left. Maybe they knew something we didn’t. But then, we would be stuck behind them and it was getting dark and we were already behind schedule. I wanted to get the hell out of the car.
“Um, right! Right,” I said, trying to pull up the GPS on my phone. It was lagging and my service had kicked over to 3G. “Freaking Verizon,” I muttered.
We drove down a highway past empty fields fenced off by barbed wire. There were houses and barns and oilfield pump jacks every so often, but not much else. No gas stations or a sign of a town or much else, really. After driving into all this nothingness for a while, my phone completely lost all signal. The cars around us thinned out and there was only a black SUV in front of us.
“Hey babe, I have no service and can’t pull up the GPS. Wanna turn back around?”
“Nah, let’s just keep going. We’ve come this far, yeah? We’ll hit a main road eventually, get some service.”
I sighed in response as he kept driving, let him know I didn’t approve.
“We’ll turn north soon, ok? All roads lead to Turner Falls.”
I checked my phone every fifteen seconds, looking for a signal.
“C’mon Gabe, we’re gonna get lost out here. Let’s just go back, follow the other cars or see if they’ve opened up the interstate again.”
“Look, this looks like a good road. We’ll cut north here and drive aways and then cut back west towards the interstate. It’s literally impossible to get lost out here. Just trying not to lose any more time.”
But it wasn’t so simple and the nervous feeling in my stomach was validated when the road we drove north on turned to gravel. The sun was long gone and our headlights cut a tunnel through the night as barbed wire whizzed by, separating us from pastures that were elevated above the road on grassy rises. I started to fear the worst, thinking of every horror movie I’d ever seen that had started out this way: the headstrong man refusing to admit that he was lost and didn’t know where he was going and the increasingly pissed off and worried girl that was with him.
“Babe, please just turn around,” I pleaded.
“Ok, ok. Still no signal, eh?”
I looked down at my phone. Finally, there was one bar of service. “Yes! Hang on.”
“Oh fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” Gabriel said, his voice growing louder.
My stomach dropped as what appeared in the rear view mirror was just as scary as any sort of Freddy or Jason or Leatherface from the big screen.
Part 2

40. Go Down Gamblin’ - Blood Sweat and Tears

Released in 1971, Go Down Gamblin’ by Blood Sweat and Tears is a song describing a gambler who is “born a natural loser.” He never wins, no matter what game he plays, but, he doesn’t feel like a loser. As the song goes – “Cause I've been called a natural lover by that lady over there, Honey, I'm just a natural gambler but I try to do my share.”

39. Gambler - Madonna

Gambler is a song written and played by Madonna, made for the film Vision Quest. Although the song reached the top 10 in the charts of the UK, Australia, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, and Norway, Madonna performed it only once on her 1985 The Virgin Tour. It’s a catchy song, we suggest you play it as you spin the reels of some of your favourite retro online slots.

38. The House of the Rising Sun - The Animals

Our list wouldn’t be complete without the 1964 hit song - The House of the Rising Sun by The Animals. Everybody knows the famous lines ”My mother, she was a tailor, sewed these new blue jeans, my father was a gamblin' man way down in New Orleans.” This single had a major success and made it to the top 10 songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the USA. Likewise, the hit was featured in the video game Guitar Hero Live.

37. The Winner Takes It All - ABBA

Whether we admit it or not, we all love at least some songs played by the very well-known Swedish pop group, ABBA. According to some sources, Bjorn Ulvaeus wrote the 1980 hit song The Winner Takes It All which was inspired by his divorce to his fellow band member, Agnetha Fältskog. The winner takes it all is a sort of a comparison to a divorce (especially the part ”I've played all my cards and that's what you've done too, nothing more to say, no more ace to play”), where one of them is the winner and the other one is left with nothing. And things are just the same when it comes to gambling, so we’ve decided to put the song on our list.

36. Shape of my Heart - Sting

We’re all aware of the fact that our gambling behaviour can be influenced by certain types of music and that's because online gambling and music go hand in hand. So, we suggest you start playing your preferred games with one of everyone’s favourite songs by Sting called The Shape of my Heart. It was released in 1993 and used for the end credits of the film Léon. In one of his interviews, Sting explained that the lyrics of the song tell the story of a card player who places bets not in order to win but to figure out something that’s been bothering him - “some kind of scientific, almost religious law.”

35. All I Wanna Do Is Play Cards - Corb Lund

“Well, I guess I really oughta be makin up songs but all I wanna do is play cards. I know it's dumb and sick and wrong but all I wanna do is play cards. Got the studio booked in Tennessee, and my record producer's callin me, the tape will roll in just three weeks and all I wanna do is play cards.” Does it sound familiar? It’s a 2005 hit by Corb Lund called All I Wanna Do Is Play Cards, once you hear it you’ll be playing it on repeat.

34. Gambling Man - The Overtones

When you’re falling in love, it’s perfectly normal to feel like you want to gamble everything just to attract that person’s attention to notice you and love you back. Well, Gambling Man is a lively 2010 song that tells a story of a guy fascinated with his love, so he places all his bets on her, as the song goes - “I played my hand, I rolled the dice, now I'm paying for my sins, I got some bad addiction.” This time, he feels that this love affair is different from any other – “Baby, it's you, yeah, yeah, that's right.” The song was released in 2010 and has been popular ever since.

33. Poker Face - Lady Gaga

Although the Poker Face song is more about the game of romance rather than the game of poker, the catchy refrain that starts with “Can't read my, no he can't read my poker face” kinda reminds us of winning at the tables, so we couldn’t skip it this time. Released in 2008, the song achieved worldwide success, topping the charts in the USA, the UK, Australia, Canada and several European countries.

32. Little Queen of Spades - Robert Johnson

Moving on to the Little Queen of Spades, a song title by the American blues musician Robert Johnson who recorded the song in 1937 and first released it in 1938. The first version of this gambling-themed song has a playing time of 2:11, whereas the second one lasts 4s longer (2:15), and is considered an alternate take and first appeared on Johnson's album The Complete Recordings, in 1990.

31. Train of Consequences - Megadeth

Another great song Train of Consequences is the title created by Megadeth, released as the first single from their sixth studio album Youthanasia in 1994. The song was later included on their compilation albums and its music video was the 26th most played video on MTV. There’s this part of the song “No horse ever ran as fast as the money that you bet, I'm blowing on my cards and I play them to my chest” – which is about a person’s gambling problem, who realises something’s wrong with this lifestyle, but it still hunts him down. Could be just the thrill, but he just can’t stop playing.
​

30. Gambler - Whitesnake

Released on the album Slide It In (1984) and appearing on the compilation album Gold (2006), Gambler is the song by the British hard rock band Whitesnake. These words may sound familiar - “No fame or fortune, no luck of the draw, when I dance with the Queen of Hearts, a jack of all trades, a loser in love, it's tearing my soul apart”. And in case you’ve never heard it, we think you should give it a shot, the chances are you’re going to love it!

29. Gambling Man - Woody Guthrie

Now here’s one single from 1957 - Gamblin' Man. The song was taped live at the London Palladium and published as a double A side, with Puttin' On the Style. Reaching #1 in the UK Singles Chart in the summer 1957, it was “the last UK number 1 to be released on 78 rpm format only, as 7' vinyl had become the norm by this time.” Written by Woody Guthrie and Donegan, this gambling themed song was produced by Alan Freeman and Michael Barclay.

28. Roll of the Dice - Bruce Springsteen

According to Songfacts, Roll of the Dice was the first Springsteen’s song he didn’t write by himself. In fact, E Street Band’s pianist Roy Bittan helped with the music, while Springsteen was in charge of the lyrics, starting with – “Well I've been a losin' gambler, just throwin' snake eyes, Love ain't got me downhearted. I know up around the corner lies, My fool's paradise in just another roll of the dice.” After he broke up the E Street Band in October 1989, Springsteen wrote lyrics for the Roll of the Dice (with two other songs) and liked them to the point where he began writing and recording more songs.

27. Queen of Diamonds - Tom Odell

Here’s one song about a gambling fanatic who’s trying to satisfy his own addiction but also someone else, hoping it’s going to save him. Released in 2018, Queen of Diamonds is Tom Odell’s song from the album Jubilee Road, based on the local characters that inspired this British songwriter to include the whisky-soaked gamblers who regularly visited one betting shop.

26. The Angel and the Gambler - Iron Maiden

Now, this song may divide Iron Maiden fans and it’s most probably because of its repetitive lyrics that can be a bit annoying. The release we’re talking about is The Angel and the Gambler. Truth be told, the melody in general is very catchy and, even a bit similar to The Who in some moments. As the song was released in 1998 while Blaze Bayley was its frontmen, it’s missing the well-known high-pitch vocals from Bruce Dickinson.

25. Ramblin' Gamblin Man - Bob Seger

We’re moving on to a rock single from 1978 - Ramblin' Gamblin Man by Bob Seger. The author meets an old acquaintance, a professional gambler who happens to be a swagger. As such, he attracts people’s attention whenever he bets. Putting so much of his faith in the cards (rather than in people), he walks away every time, just before avoiding loss. Along the way, the narrator realises that, if you scratch beneath the surface, you’ll find he’s a very cynical man, who will never change.
Another gambling-themed song worth mentioning by Bob Seger is Still The Same.

24. Blow Up The Pokies - The Whitlams

Blow up the Pokies is the next song on our list, played by The Whitlams. It is the second single by the group from their 4th studio album, Love This City. Released in the year 2000, the song became a hit and made it to number 21 on the ARIA Singles Chart. According to several resources, the lyrics written by singer Tim Freedman were inspired by the destruction he saw in original Whitlams bassist Andy Lewis's life, due to his gambling addiction.

23. A Good Run of Bad Luck - Clint Black

Now here’s one 1994-song packed with gambling-related terms. As you listen to A Good Run of Bad Luck, recorded by American music artist Clint Black, you'll have a bit of fun as you try identifying what all these gambling terms mean. The song is a bit fast and is about falling in love by using gambling metaphors. The main character is willing to spend a lot of money to win his special lady over and, although he has had a period of bad luck, he is not giving up – “I've been to the table, and I've lost it all before, I'm willin' and able, always comin' back for more.”

22. When You’re Hot, You’re Hot - Jerry Reed

Jerry Reed won a Grammy for the song When You’re Hot, You’re Hot which was released in 1971. Most people remember it as it was a major hit, ranked as number 1 in the country charts, also making its way up the Pop Top 40. It’s an enjoyable novelty song about the ups and downs of the gambling life, about one’s winning streak caught in an illegal game of Crap.
Country star Jerry Reed also came up with a version The Uptown Poker Club in 1973.

21. Lawyers, Guns and Money - Warren Zevon

Next one up - Lawyers, Guns and Money is a song by Warren Zevon, the closing track on his album Excitable Boy, released in 1978. An edited version of this song was distributed as a single and found itself on the A Quiet Normal Life best of compilation on the CD and LP. The song goes like this - “I went home with a waitress the way I always do, how was I to know she was with the russians, too? I was gambling in Havana, I took a little risk Send lawyers, guns, and money Dad, get me out of this, hiyah!”
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20. The Lottery Song - Harry Nilsson

According to the man in the 1972 pop-rock song The Lottery Song by Harry Nilsson, there's more than one way to get to Vegas. Addressing his lover, the narrator mentions a few different options for buying a ticket and going to Sin City – “We could win the lottery we could go to Vegas,” and “We could wait till summer, we could save our money” as well as “We could make a record, sell a lot of copies, we could play Las Vegas.”

19. Casino Queen - Wilco

Now here’s one black-humoured gambling-themed song, released in 1995 and titled after a casino. Featuring a dirty electric guitar, Casino Queen was composed by an American songwriter, Jeff Tweedy, who wrote this song after playing a game in a riverboat casino accompanied by his dad. Inspired by the event, the author wrote: “Casino Queen my lord you're mean, I've been gambling like a fiend on your tables so green.”

18. Have a Lucky Day - Morphine

Another song on our list that you simply must check out starts like this: “I feel lucky, I just feel that way, I'm on a bus to Atlantic City later on today. Now I'm sitting at a blackjack table and swear to God the dealer has a tag says, "Mabel." Hit me, hit me! I smile at Mabel, soon they're bringing complimentary drinks to the table.” Check it out yourself - it’s called Have a Lucky Day by Morphine.

17. Kentucky Gambler - Merle Haggard

Written by Dolly Parton and released in 1974, Merle Haggard’s Kentucky Gambler is another song on our ultimate gambling playlist that you should pay attention to. It’s about a miner from Kentucky who leaves his family to gamble, under the bright lights of Reno. Unsurprisingly, his winning streak comes to an end, and he loses all his winnings. All broke, he decided to return back home only when he arrived, he found out his wife was involved with someone else.

16. The Jack - AC/DC

The next song on our list will give you some adrenaline boost, for sure. It goes like this - “She gave me the queen, she gave me the king, she was wheelin' and dealin', just doin' her thing, she was holdin' a pair, but I had to try…” Sounds familiar? This song from the 1975s is called The Jack and is played by AC/DC and there’s no way you can skip it.

15. Blackjack - Ray Charles

Moving on to something a bit different - a melody that blackjack lovers can listen to as they play is Ray Charles’ Blackjack. Apart from being a good quality song from 1955, it carries an important message with an emphasis on how brutal the game of blackjack can be. Some sources say that Ray Charles wrote it after beating T-Bone Walker at a blackjack game session.
Yet another Ray Charles’ famous song about gambling is called a Losing Hand.

14. Ooh Las Vegas - Gram Parson

“Ooh, Las Vegas, ain't no place for a poor boy like me”... is a song-into for Ooh Las Vegas which was written by Gram Parsons and Ric Grech. It was first released by Gram Parsons with Emmylou Harris in 1974. Playing this song would be perfect for the beginning of the road trip (i.e. to Las Vegas), especially if you have the energy to sing along.

13. The Stranger - Leonard Cohen

Published in 1968 and performed by Leonard Cohen, The Stranger appears in the The Ernie Game movie about a man released from a mental asylum. More appropriately, it is the perfect opening song in the 1971 Western McCabe & Mrs Miller, in which Warren Beatty plays a gambler. As you listen to this song (without watching the movie), it makes you see fascinating images of card games, smoky dreams, and concepts of risk versus safety.

12. Desperado - Eagles

Written by Glen Frey and Don Henley, Desperado song is one of The Eagles’ greatest hits from their 1973 album of the same name. The song features a classic tune while the ballad tells the story of a lone wolf imprisoned by his loneliness. As for the lyrics, they have loads of card references mentioning the queen of diamonds, the queen of hearts, and so on.

11. Huck's Tune - Bob Dylan

The next song on our list is about the risks of poker, money, and relationships, which are precisely what the movie Lucky You is all about. Does it ring a bell? That’s right, this 2007 song is called Huck’s Tune and is performed by Bob Dylan. Each of us can all relate to lines "You push it all in, and you've no chance to win, you play 'em on down to the end." Play the song and you’ll enjoy more than 4 amazing minutes of Bob Dylan.
Likewise, Bob Dylan recorded Rambling, Gambling Willie and Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts, both excellent and both inspired by gambling.
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10. Four Little Diamonds - Electric Light Orchestra

A song by the British rock band Electric Light Orchestra Four Little Diamonds was released in 1983 and found itself on the album Secret Messages. The single wasn’t so popular in the US, being only 2 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, at number 86, and number 84 in the UK. This song refers to the singer’s cheating lover who tricked him out of a ring which had 'four little diamonds' on it.

9. You Can't Beat The House - Mark Knopfler

Moving on to our next choice for the day, You Can’t Beat the House. It’s the third song on the Get Lucky studio album released in 2009 by British singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler. The album and the songs received favorable reviews with the album reaching the top three positions on album charts in Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and Poland. The singer’s divine voice combined with beautiful music and lyrics goes like this – “You can't bear the house, you can't bear the house, tell the man somebody, you can't beat the house.”

8. Deck of Cards - Don Williams

Deck of Cards is a recitation song that tells the story of a soldier who gets caught while playing cards in church and then faces a sentence from a superior officer. The soldier defends his case, explaining he wasn't about to deal a hand of poker, but was rather confirming his faith with the cards. Performed by T. Texas Tyler, the song managed to become a major hit in the 1940s and 1950s. Also, Wink Martindale had an even bigger hit with his 1959 cover, with a successful version by Don Williams featuring Tex Ritter and Buddy Cole.

7. Gambler’s Blues - B.B. King

First recording of the song Gambler’s Blues by B.B. King was in 1966, and it was released in 1967. The song appears on the album Back in the Alley (1970). Some say gambling and blues go hand in hand, so if you (gambling fans) haven’t heard it, listen and see for yourself.

6. Tumbling Dice - Rolling Stones

One of our favourite songs on the list is Tumbling Dice, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. It tells the story of a gambler who can’t remain faithful to any woman. Being released in the 1970s and featuring a blues boogie-woogie rhythm, the song was and still is one of the greatest singles of all time.
Rolling Stones also recorded Casino Boogie, and it’s from their 1972 album, Exile on Main St.

5. Luck Be A Lady - Frank Sinatra

The next song on our list is about a gambler who hopes that he will win a bet, the outcome of which will decide whether he is able to save his relationship with the girl of his dreams. You probably know what song we’re talking about; it’s called Luck be a Lady released in 1965 and performed by one of the most popular musical artists - Frank Sinatra.

4. Deal - Grateful Dead

Next one up is the song Deal. It was first performed by the Grateful Dead in 1971, as a regular part of the repertoire through their 1970's tour. Although being less common to the fans during the 1990s, the band continued to perform it. The singer opens with the message: “Since it cost a lot to win and even more to lose you and me bound to spend some time wondering what to choose,” that later kicks off with a chorus: “Don't let your deal go down...”
Loser is another song first performed by the Grateful Dead in 1971 as well, heavily played during 1971 and 1972.

3. Ace of Spades - Motörhead

Ok, the next song is loaded with some great gambling verses like "The pleasure is to play, makes no difference what you say, I don't share your greed, the only card I need is the Ace of Spades" will definitely set you in the right mood for hitting some winning combinations. Released in 1980, the song was inspired by slot machines that the lead singer Ian Fraser “Lemmy” Kilmister played in London pubs.

2. Viva Las Vegas - Elvis

As soon as you start playing the second song from our playlist “Viva Las Vegas,” you’ll probably picture a huge casino and a great gaming atmosphere. Performed by the legendary Elvis Presley, the 1964-released song brings the glamour of the city, and its beat will get you in the mood for some serious gameplay. This song was written for the movie of the same name starring Elvis Presley, in which he plays a race car driver waiting tables at a hotel to pay off a debt. There’s this famous scene when he performs this song at the talent competition alongside many showgirls.

1. The Gambler - Kenny Rogers

Performed by the legendary country singer Kenny Rogers, The Gambler song is our number 1 - it's full of some betting advice that are relevant today, even though it was released more than 40 years ago, in 1978. Here’s how it goes… “If you're gonna play the game, boy you gotta learn to play it right, you've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run.” These classic chorus lines were told from the first-person perspective inspired by a conversation the author had with an experienced poker player on a train. Written in the form of poker metaphors, Schlitz wrote the tune in honor of his late father.
Johnny Cash is also among other musicians who recorded The Gambler in 1978, on Gone Girl.

What do you think? Which one is your favourite?

Now that we have finished up my breakdowns on the wide receivers and cornerbacks, we move back inside to the tight-end position. This class lacks a true alpha or that top-tier we have seen in recent years, but there's a bunch of guys I like quite a bit on day three and this is a pretty diverse group.
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1. Adam Trautman, Dayton

This guy looks like an NFL tight-end at 6’5”, 255 pounds with good density throughout his frame. Trautman spent 555 of 720 snaps in-line and over 70 out wide. He is an aggressive run-blocker, who rolls his hips through contact and takes some smaller defenders for a ride or lands on top of them. He shows highly active feet turning his putting his body in front of defenders to seal them on the backside of run plays and used a pretty good hook-technique when his guy tried to aggressively crash across the inside shoulder. The Flyers put him Trautman at the point of attack on off-tackle plays, let him secure the backside and asked him kick out the backside edge defender. But even when it was in the pass game and one of his teammates caught the ball, Trautman was actively looking for someone to block and usually did a great engaging with them.
Dayton’s all-time leading receiver uses some hop-steps and hesitation getting into his routes, while showing some explosiveness coming in and out of his breaks. He creates separation on dig and deeper out-routes by leaning into the defender and giving him that little chicken wing push-off. However, the Flyers used him vertically a lot as well on seam and wheel routes, as he brought in seven of 12 targets on passes that travelled 20+ yards, including three trips to the end-zone. Trautman also sat down a lot in the underneath areas against zone for easy completions. His physical advantage were obvious when he threw some linebackers to the turf, as they tried to press him. He received a lot of attention from opposing defenses, being bracketed from an in-line position or consistently forcing them into split safety looks as a split-out single receiver, with the guy to his side heavily shading his shading. Trautman actually ran some curl routes from that latter alignment and looked like an actual wideout by the way he snapped those off. He doesn’t let getting banged around a bit slow him down much as he is running his routes and he will draw some flags, as defenders grab some part of his large frame, plus he can high-point and pluck the ball out of the air in the middle of traffic.
Trautman slipped out late on a bunch of routes for the Flyers and made something happen as a checkdown option. He likes to drop the shoulder and run over defenders with the ball in his hands. Trautman was a load to bring down for FCS defenders, spinning out of wraps and bouncing off guys with a ton of power behind himself. Overall he forced 12 missed tackles in 2019 and that led to 2.71 yards per route run. Throughout Senior Bowl practices, I thought he showed off impressive speed and body control, winning several one-on-one battles against linebackers and safeties, despite many of them (illegally) draped all over him. He also convinced as a blocker against much superior defenders there. I thought he had a pretty good all-around combine, highlighted by an outstanding 6.78 time on the three-cone drill, which ranked third among all performers there regardless of positio. And while the 4.8 in the 40 certainly isn’t great, the ten-yard split of 1.57 absolutely is.
With that being said, Trautman won a lot at his level of competition due to being athletically superior, which will look a lot different in the league. He needs to do a better job contuining to work his hands to disengage from defenders trying to carry him down the seams with grabs and holds. Added to that, he is not overly creative after the catch, mostly running through smaller defenders, who seemed a little afraid to tackle him. NFL linebackers may turn the tables in that regard. His straight-line speed may not be as big a threat either.
Overall, Trautman hauled in 70 of 95 targets last season with only two drops on the year. While there is obviously a big jump in terms of talent he will face at the next level, what I saw at the Senior Bowl made the projection a whole lot easier. Trautman has all the tools be an excellent in-line tight-end, but also brings some flex value. At Dayton he was used on some shovel passes and even as a fullback running speed option once during my tape study.
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2. Cole Kmet, Notre Dame

At 6’5”, 262 pounds with 33-inch arms and 10 ½-inch hands, Kmet has all the prototype measurements you want to see. He was primarily used in-line as a tight-end and wing-man or even H-back (68.6 percent of the snaps), but also lined up in the slot and motioned around a whole lot – across the formation, back-and-forth behind the line or in and out of the slot. Kmet has experience with a multitude pro run schemes, being asked to create movement at the point of attack, seal the edge, kick out on the backside off sift blocks and even skip-pulls into the gap. He does a nice job locking out on the edge and he is an excellent second-level blocker, who breaks down and adjust according to the hips of his defender, as well as turning bodies appropiately. Kmet also creates plenty of angular movement as part of double-teams by continuing to bring his hips around and driving his legs. Then off that he slipped out to the flats on bootlegs or even through some gaps at times.
The Irish TE was asked to stay in protection a bit as well, where he showed good balance, active feet to stay square and kept his eyes inside the chest of the He also chipped and released plenty of times, where he showed a good middle ground between taking momentum out of the charging defender and not getting hung up before getting into his houtes. Kmet shows soft hands and consistently swallows the ball with his big palms. He is very physical on downfield routes, where he dictates the stem and doesn’t allow safety to throw him off his path. He was asked to run and also targeted quite a bit on seam and corner routes, but most effective on drag routes across the field. From an-line position, Kmet does a really good job widening his release and leveraging his man that way to open up space for himself over the middle, especially in the red-zone and I also like the way he makes himself a target sitting down routes in voids of zone coverage.
Kmet put up career-highs across the board against Georgia’s defense last year, who were one of the elite units in the nation. He is a hard-nosed runner once the ball is in his hands, who can bounce off tacklers and drag guys on his back for a couple of extra yards, with great contact balance to stay on his feet. Overall he put up a pretty good 1.55 yards per route run, considering the amount of underneath stuff he was used on. Kmet ran a really solid 4.7 flat weighing in at 262 pounds at the combine and caught the ball very well during on-field drills. He also was much more explosive than his tape would suggest maybe, putting up the top vertical and second-best broad jump at the position respectively.
However, Kmet doesn’t always run routes at full speed and has to show more urgency getting open. He is not overly dynamic coming out of his breaks either and rounds some of them off. He has to do a better job clearing the underneath coverage at times on out-routes, where he kind of leads the throw right into the flat defender. Kmet only came up with three contested catches on ten attempts and four passes that went at least 20 yards for the air in 2019. He is not overly dynamic after the catch either with only four missed tackles forced last season. Kmet loses his balance and falls to the ground on too many occasions in the run game, where he has a little drop of the head and wind-up with his arms at times, which allows some defenders to crash across his face on the backside.
This guy is clearly one of the better all-around tight-ends in this class, with the type of measurements and testing numbers you are looking for. While there are some balance issues, Kmet has executed a multitude of blocking techniques and schemes at Notre Dame, while bringing in 60 of 82 career targets. Overall I like his physical style of play, whether it’s as a route-runner, ball-carrier or blocker. I just don’t see him as this consensus top prospect at the position as he is made out to be.
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3. Brycen Hopkins, Purdue

Measuring in at 6’4”, 245 pounds, Hopkins is a superb athlete at the tight-end position. He split time pretty equally between in-line and the slot, but also lined up at H-back and fullback for the Boilermakers at times. Hopkins Shows wide receiver-type burst off the line and not only times fast with a 4.66 in the 40 (second-best among TEs), but actually plays that way. He made 17 catches when targeted 10+ yards downfield and went 10 for 18 in contested catch situations last year. There are only so many tight-ends you use as the primary target on trick plays like double-passes and Hopkins is one of them. He can really sink those hips and come out of those breaks with some explosiveness. The Purdue standout is dynamic on angle and short out-routes, while being dependable on hook and stick routes as well. Hopkins held on to a lot of passes, where the hit came right as he touched the ball. To go with that, he shows smooth adjustments to off-target throws, pirouetting to the back-shoulder or extending outside the frame to catch the ball at its highest point. He made some spectacular grabs going up in the air on throws that were up there seemingly forever.
Hopkins is a true threat to produce big plays with the ball in his hands, actually pulling away from a lot of defenders on the second level and extending for the final yard or two routinely. His YACability was used on shallow crossers and slipping out on the backside coming across the formation off play-action. It is nice to have a guy like that as a checkdown or hot-route option, when you know he can pick up first downs that way, without having to actually throw the ball downfield – even if he can obviously do that as well. Hopkins does a good job bringing those hips around as a run-blocker and re-positioning his base accordingly. His mobility was used quite a bit as a puller leading the way, as he came all the way across the formation at times. However, he was actually asked to just bind safeties on the backside of run plays by bursting up the seams (effectively) on several occasions as well. He also showed the ability to stay in front of some guys in pass pro with quick feet, even though you want a target like him in the pattern of course.
On the flipside, Hopkins dropped eight passes in 2019 and 22 of 152 catchable ones throughout his career, cradling some passes that he could certainly attack more with his hands. Most of his run after catch is a result of being fast instead of actually breaking tackles, with only ten of them in his career. Hopkins finished as one of the lowest-graded run blockers in the nation at his position according to Pro Football Focus and there are some pointers why that is. You see him get man-handled by some edge defenders in that area, in addition to lower his head too much in the run game, and he shoves defenders more than he engages with them on several occasions.
This young man improved his numbers every single year with the Boilermakers and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2019 over a guy, who might be the top prospect at the position a year from now in Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth. I’m not sure how much you can expect from Hopkins as an in-line blocker, but he can catch the ball underneath and create YAC as well as being a vertical threat, while having the size to come up with the ball even with defenders right around him.
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4. Hunter Bryant, Washington

Bryant is 6’2”, just under 250 pounds with more of a big receiver stature. I already had him as a top-ten tight-end coming into the 2018 season, as he flashed a dynamic skill-set as a true freshman. Even when he only appeared in five games and caught 11 passes as a sophomore, he showed that potential, averaging 21.6 yards per grab. He can play in-line, flexed out or as an H-back, Last season he split time pretty equally between in-line and slot. Washington straight up ran Bryant on a bunch of slant routes out of the slot and there are only so many guys at 240+ pounds, who offenses target on corner routes 30+ yards down the field – he is one of them. In 2019, he caught seven passes that travelled 20+ yards through the air, including a couple of stutter fades from the inside. The year before there were two plays that really stood out to me on third-and-long – a 59-yard catch-and-run versus Washington State off a scramble and that a ridiculous one-handed grab in the Rose Bowl versus Ohio State with a defender right on him. I will add another unbelievable back-shoulder catch on an inside fade route against Oregon last season here, to showcase his tremendous ability to adjust mid-air. He also drew a lot of attention from defenses in 2019, which opened up several shallow crossers and slants underneath him.
As much of a downfield threat as Bryant is from the tight-end spot and how he can run away from defenders on crossing routes, I have also seen him catch slip screens off play-action, take some jet sweep handoffs and the Huskies loved to send him out in the flats off play-action, as he came across the formation. He was even used as the target on a double-pass with one of the outside receivers catching a quick screen. Bryant is a wild horse after the catch, sustaining the speed he built through his route and then using the momentum he has to run over defenders and spin out of tackles. I don’t have any exact numbers on that, but from watching his freshman tape, I felt like he broke at least one tackle on pretty much every target he received. Overall he broke 18 tackles on just 85 collegiate touches. Last season in particular he forced ten missed tackles and averaged 7.7 yards after catch on. He will simply never go down without a fight. You also see the aggressive mindset and willingness to contribute as a blocker. He was asked to pin guys inside on toss plays, kick out edge defenders on sift blocks and lead the way on some touch pass sweeps, with the mobility to reach targets far off his spot. His 23 reps on the bench press at the combine were pretty impressive as well.
At only 6’2” with a pretty slender frame, Bryant barely counts as a tight-end and was more of a big slot anyway, For that I really hoped to see a better time in the 40 than his 4.74 at the combine, where he had seemingly bulked up quite a bit. He never actually established himself at some spot, while his hand-placement and footwork as a blocker aren’t very refined yet. He gets rocked backwards at the point of attack a few times. You also see some double-catches on tape and his hands may not quite as soft as the ones of other guys on this list. Knee injuries have limited Bryant to less than 1000 career snaps and he only put up five career TDs. At his height he doesn’t project perfectly as a red-zone target and he dropped five of 57 catchable passes last season.
I have been following Bryant’s career closely ever since I first watched him run through defenders as a freshman without a true position. While that tweener size and skill-set may not be everybody’s cup of tea, I think he is a dynamic pass-catcher, who can be used in a multitude of ways. I don’t see him being a true in-line player, but as an H-back, big slot and even wideout, who can create mismatches, he is very intriguing to me, as he averaged 2.73 yards per route run in his only full season.
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5. Albert Okwuegbunam, Missouri

This young man is big target at 6’5”, 258 pounds. Okwuegbunam spent about 60 percent in-line, but is also a speedy threat down the seams out of the slot, who routinely gets a step on linebackers and splits safeties downfield. He surprised a lot of people with how fast he actually ran at the combine, when he put up the top mark among all tight-ends with a 4.49 in the 40 despite being a cheeseburger away from that 260-mark. Okwuegbunam’ regression of numbers had a lot to do with a primary rushing quarterback in Kelly Bryant compared to a gunslinger in Drew Lock the year before. In 2018 he recorded a passer rating of 129.1 when targeted despite playing through a sprained knee and last season he caught four of seven targets that went for 20 yards or more, while converting all but one of them into touchdowns. Not only did he find success going vertical by letting the ball drop into the bucket beautifully, but he also quickly picks up chunks off drag routes, where he becomes a bowling ball as he turns up the field. Albert O uses his massive frame very well to shield the ball from defenders and has strong hands to catch the ball regardless of defenders swiping at it or jumping on his back. He plays above the rim and showcases good body-control when the ball is in the air.
While he does play a lot of traditional Y, wing-man and H-back, the Mizzou tight-end also puts in work detached from the line and split out wide at times, as they target him on goal-line fades. In his first two years with Tigers there were few sights scarier than big number 81 running down the field off play-action. If you want to see what the Mizzou tight-end is capable of, just watch him go off against Memphis in 2018, when he caught six passes for 159 yards and three touchdowns. As a blocker, Okwuegbunam is tough to get around when he puts his big body in front of defenders and shields them with good body-positioning. He was used as a lead-blocker off skip pulls and moving laterally on outside zone plays his way. Albert O doesn’t shy away from staying in pass-protection either, where he displays excellent footwork and can guide edge rushers around the QB. He actually went up some of the better edge rushers from the SEC and definitely held his own.
While Okwuegbnum certainly has the raw strength to be a physical blocker, he needs to be able to use it in a functional way and actually roll his hip into contact while going after defenders with aggressiveness. He leads way too much with his helmet and doesn’t stay under control by bringing his arms and keeping his legs underneath himself. When he’s trying to put hands on people in space, he looks kind of heavy-footed and struggled to hit his landmarks consistently. Albert O doesn’t have a lot of start-stop quickness and is more of a straight-line guy. He wasn’t asked to run a very diverse route-tree at Missouri and relied heavily on seam and out-routes. He also dropped four of 30 catchable passes last season and he does not play as fast as he runs when he gets timed – that number at the combine kind of shocked me as well.
While that drop-off in 2019 is kind of a head-scratcher for a lot of people, I can see the reason behind it, as the offense did not feature the dynamic big guy’s strengths appropriately. Albert O is not a super dynamic route-runner and he needs plenty of overhaul in his blocking technique, but he can really run and catch while having a huge frame. If you let him stretch the seams and get him the ball to where he can run with it, he can be a big-play machine, illustrated by the fact 23 of his 98 career receptions finished in the end-zone.
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6. Thaddeus Moss, LSU

At 6’3”, 250 pounds, Moss spent 489 of 831 snaps in-line last season and over 200 out wide. He might not have been super productive for LSU because of all the other receiving options on that offense, but the tight-end’s talent was always obvious and he had his flashes of brilliance. He hauled in 47 of his 57 targets last season and did not drop a single catchable pass, showing the natural ball-skills he inherited from his father and doing most with his opportunities. With as much vertical success as the Tigers had last season, it was Moss in combination with slot receiver Justin Jefferson, who worked the underneath areas. The move TE caught a bunch of square-in and -out-routes underneath, where defenders rarely could undercut or go through him to get to the ball, as his frame shielded the pass. He was also used on several whip routes and ran hitches or slants when flexed out wide. If you are looking for the ability to go down the field, check out his 62-yard catch-and-run on a seam route versus Oklahoma last year’s CFP semifinal, when the Sooners had a bust in coverage.
Moss is very physical against press, shoving guys out of the way with ease. He turns upfield after catching short out-routes as well as any receiver pretty much, quickly striding ahead for large chunks. As a blocker, he does a great job cutting off defenders on the backside of zone run plays and he lands those hands inside the chest of defenders consistently on the play-side. What sticks out to me is the fact he keeps those legs churning tirelessly. When going to work in space, he squares defenders up really well and made a lot of linebackers get the worst of their collisions. He also showed his power on a few occasions, when he got a chip from the side on an edge rusher and knocked that guy to the turf or at least off balance. While he was advised to not do anything at the combine after a long season, I think his testing numbers would have actually been better than a lot of people think.
With that being said, Moss only caught nine passes in 2019 when he was targeted 10+ yards downfield and he only had two receptions that went for more than 30 yards all year long. No player labelled as a tight-end was on the field for more pass plays (471) than Moss and his 1.21 yards per route is actually one of the lowest numbers in this entire class. You see him glide into several routes and not create as much separation as he could if he were a little more sharp with his breaks. He does not play particularly fast as a route-runner and lacks suddenness in his cuts. While I won’t talk bad about the effort he puts in as a blocker, there are plays where he gets pushed backwards because he doesn’t come off the ball with enough urgency and raises his pad-level too quickly.
This kid has a lot of the tools you want to see from a tight-end – size, ball-skills, power and leaping ability. However, he is not a great athlete and basically had just one season of any production to speak of. If you believe that you can continue to mold him and making him more of a vertical threat, I think he is definitely worth a day two pick in a tight-end class without a lot of prospects who have the size and catching ability of Moss.
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7. Devin Asiasi, UCLA

Asiasi’s length at 6’3”, 257 yards with above-33 inch arms and over an 80-inch wingspan is excellent. He spent 62.5 percent of last year’s snaps in-line, but moves more like a wide receiver. He can snap off his routes in a very sudden fashion for his weight and shows some burst on 90-degree breaks either way. The former Bruin bends dig routes for safe throws and holds on to the ball through contact. His speed on shallow crossers is also pretty good, as you just don’t see safeties being able to catch up him on the way to the opposite side. You can watch him put some safeties on their heels with little nods as he pushes upfield and breaks towards the post or corner. Asiasi does a nice job sitting down with excellent special awareness and finding throwing windows for his QB, while not getting hung up with defenders in the shallow areas by being quite slippery and making good use of his hands. Overall he dropped just one of 45 catchable passes last season and he really turned it on at the end of the year, with over 300 yards combined in the final three games.
This kid was also very effective with the ball in his hands, forcing six missed tackles and averaging 5.6 yards after the catch in 2019. He fights for extra yardage and carries some defenders trying to hold onto him, but he also showed off impressive athleticism on a hurdle over Utah safety Julian Blackmon – who is a pretty darn good tackler – and has underrated pull-away speed. The UCLA athlete has the fluid hips to swivel around and seal defenders on the backside of run plays and was involved in a heavy inside/outside zone rushing attack with the Bruins. However, he might be at his best at squaring up linebackers on the second level, either pinning them inside on plays out to the edge or quickly working up to them with nobody in the C-gap. Asiasi is not afraid of taking on challenges in the run game and doesn’t lack any effort in that area, which was obvious in games against a big Utah front. He is just looking for work as a blocker if he doesn’t have anybody right in front of him.
On the flipside, Asiasi put up just 58 receiving yards on two catches of 20+ air yards. He lets the ball into his body too much instead of extending for it and has it hit his stomach quite a few times. While he officially only had one drop last season, I also saw one pass that should have been secured already get knocked out of his hands versus Utah and he was not able to convert a fourth-and-short on a hook routes against Oklahoma, with a defender on his back. Asiasi doesn’t bring a lot of thump at initial contact or movement as a point-of-attack blocker. You see him slip off some defenders and he would benefit from adding some core strength, as well as finding better hand-placement. Before last season, Asiasi had been on the field for only 129 pass plays for his career and really only produced one year.
To me Asiasi is a natural athlete with a good feel for space and the speed to produce after the catch. He is not overly strong as a run-blocker at this point, but has the potential and willingness to grow in that area. He is still developing his game, but has already shown great ability in his only season with any starting experience basically. If you allow him to play more in the slot early on and progressively let him work his way into more of a traditional Y role, he is one of the guys I really like in the middle rounds.
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8. Harrison Bryant, FAU

The 6’5”, 243-pound Bryant went from spending more than two third of the snaps in-line as a junior to 58 percent in the slot last season and some snaps out wide as the single receiver even. He actually ran a bunch of slants and hitches out of the slot. Bryant is excellent at bending routes and not allowing defenders to undercut him by choosing the appropriate angles or slowing down on routes down the seam to not create situations where the pass leads him into the deep coverage. A yards per route run mark above three is just stupendous and Bryant went eight of eleven on targets of 20+ yards for 259 yards, which resulted in a near-perfect passer rating in those spots. He displays good burst off the ball and tracks the ball beautifully on seam and corner routes, while using his arms well to avoid contact. Bryant does not shy away from fully extending on catches over the middle, despite knowing he will most likely take a big shot because of it. He brought in 13 of 24 contested catches last year with strong hands at the point of the catch, which wasn’t hit best trait in prior seasons. Moreover, he has good flexibility to pick up balls from the turf when they come in low and then turn upfield right away. The Owls actually ran him on a bunch of double-moves like out-and-up, stick-nods and some whip routes.
Bryant was highly dangerous slipping over the top off linebackers off play-action, There was one play in particular in 2018 versus North Texas, where he kind of faked a sift block and then turned upfield for a completion right down the middle and scored a touchdown for 56 yards out. He had another 45-yard catch-and-run later on I that same game. Bryant instantly turns upfield once he catches the ball and shows a sudden burst grabbing passes underneath. He will quickly stride downfield if you don’t bring him down after the catch and I thought he looked much stronger as a ball-carrier last season, forcing 12 missed tackles and averaging 6.1 yards after the catch. While he might not be a devastatingly powerful blocker, Bryant puts in work to stay attached to his man and doesn’t stop running his feet. He is not afraid to mix it up as a lead-blocker from the wing or H-back spot either, while having the quick feet to reach defenders and seal the edges in combination with his tackle. Bryant does a nice job walling off linebackers on the second level in the run game and he can really get on the move to lead the way on jet sweeps or screen passes, plus he excels at breaking down in space. At the Senior Bowl, Bryant simply could not be guarded – especially early on – and impressed me with his pure speed and physicality once he turned upfield.
Unfortunately, Bryant gets bullied by some defensive ends from in-line splits and needs to add some core strength to contribute in the run game. He also dropped eight passes in 2019, mostly on balls that were thrown slightly behind him. You see him save himself some energy when he knows he won’t be targeted in the pass game or is just there to draw defenders with fakes to the backside. Bryant doesn’t actively go for the ball on longer throws, where opponents may have a chance to beat him to the catch point. He only has a 74-inch wingspan at 6’4” and had some bad leaping numbers at the combine, really limiting his catch radius and potential on 50-50 balls.
Bryant is probably more of a slot receiver than true in-line player, but he has experience with several running schemes and could be used for some H-back duty. With his sub-par testing numbers, Bryant’s production will certainly not translate fully to the next level and there are some areas I could definitely see him struggle. However, when used in the right role, he could be an effective producer and I really liked what I saw against Power 5 competition down in Mobile.
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9. Colby Parkinson, Stanford

Parkinson is the tallest of the group at 6’7”, just over 252 pounds. I believe he brings you more athletically than Kaden Smith and Dalton Schultz before him and he was used more in the slot or split out wide than those guys were during their collegiate careers. Parkinson had a really nice combine, running 4.77, looking like one of the best in the drive-blocking and catching every single ball thrown his way as far as I can tell. This year’s Stanford tight-end might have the most natural hands in this class, dropping just three passes on 165 career targets and none last season. He has an outstanding ability to box out versus defenders for the catch and position his body to where they can’t go through his body on in-breaking routes. Parkinson even ran a bunch of slants as the X receiver for the Cardinal. His 15 contested catches led all draft-eligible tight-ends last season. He ran several hook, stick and curl routes, where his large frame and dependable hands present an attractive target, while also working very well with his number one QB on back-shoulder balls down the seam.
Parkinson uses his hands very well to release and really understands how to take advantage of his big body to throw defenders off or create throwing angles in space. He also uses some head-fakes to set up his breaks and catches opponents on the wrong side. With his skill-set he projects as a highly effective red-zone target, who can be moved across the formation to create mismatches. Parkinson had to work with one of the most erratic quarterback plays in the country with K.J. Costello struggling early on and then being lost for the season in week five once he started getting his groove back. In college football a lot of grabs and other disruptions were allowed, which Parkinson will draw the yellow marker for at the next level. After the catch he works upfield right away and doesn’t leave free yardage on the field. Parkinson also quickly turns into a blocker once one of his teammates makes the catch, While he was detached from the line a lot, he does have experience in a pro-style rushing attack with different techniques required, where he understood his job.
However, Parkinson did not bring in any of his 15 targets on passes that travelled 20+ yards through the air last season. He fails to stack and free himself from defenders on vertical routes and does not stress defenses with his ability to go downfield against them. He is simply not a dynamic separator with the quick bursts to beat man-coverage by more than a step. The big tight-end does not offer much juice after the catch with only four broken tackles on 87 career catches and a measly average of 3.9 yards after the catch. Due to his height, he rarely wins the pad-level battle and is kind of a waist-bender when he tries to get low as a blocker, creating little vertical push in the run game. While his bod-type best projects for a true Y, he has spent less than 400 career snaps in-line.
If you are looking for a seam-stretcher or guy who can catch crosser and gain yards after the catch, this is not your guy. However, Parkinson’s combination of size, ball-skills and feel for the position are excellent, plus he tested better than I expected him to. He could be a great target for a QB who can win with ball-placement on the short and intermediate level. And at worst he should be a TE2 with flex-ability and who can be a weapon in the red-zone.
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10. Josiah Deguara, Cincinnati

A little undersized at 6’2”, 242 pounds, Deguara spent about 60 percent of last year’s snaps lined up at tight-end or wing, where he was motioned around from tackle-to-tackle or back-and-forth quite a bit. I really like the way the pushes upfield and then turns back towards the quarterback on hook routes. On posts he uses stutter steps to freeze the safety and then create plenty of separation out of his cut. Deguara uses subtle nods and head-fakes to get defenders leaning the wrong way, while following through with his arms to avoid any holds. He makes some smooth adjustments to passes with excellent body control and instantly turns upfield after making the catch. Tracking the ball on corner or seam routes is no problem for the former Bearcat TE. He also has experience flexed out wide and running hitches or fades at the goal-line. With only one receiving threat on the outside for Cincinnati, defenses actually gave Deguara a lot of attention, having somebody press and carry him down the field into the deep coverage quite a bit.
Deguara actually creates more vertical movement than a lot of guys who are 10-15 pounds heavier than him – especially as part of double-teams. He has some shock in his hands and really uncoils those hips. You see him lead the way on some pulls from the backside and he keeps moving laterally in the zone run game. Deguara is also really good at throttling down in space and putting hands on people in the screen game or longer-developing plays. Off those long pulls, he can also fake those and slip underneath the formation off play-action, where he is pretty dangerous if unaccounted for. In 2019 he averaged 5.9 yards after the catch, where he has some juice with the ball in his hands and uses his off-arm very well to keep defenders away from his legs. He made one of the best hustle plays I’ve seen in college football, chasing down a defender almost 70 yards down the field after an interception at the goal-line versus UCLA last season, which also showed off his speed.
With that being said, Deguara only brought in only three of his eleven targets in contested catch situations. At only 6’2” with a 75-inch wingspan, that will probably never be a big part of his game. I also think he leads some throws right into defenders, where he sits down and gives the opponent a path to undercut the route. While I’m actually a big fan of Deguara’s competitivneess as a blocker, he just isn’t very big and won’t blow 270-pound NFL edge defenders off the ball consistently, like he was able to at times with Pac-12 guys.
At the Senior Bowl, Deguara made a couple of linebackers look really bad on deeper routes and even ran away from some safeties while also winning with physicality. Then at the combine he led all tight-ends with 25 reps on the bench press and put up an elite 1.56 ten-yard split. So he has definitely helped himself during this pre-draft proces, while having put some good tape out there. He is an intriguing option as an H-back and movement piece, who can win on routes downfield but also has the RACability to quickly burn defenses that way.
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Notable mentions in the comments!
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If you enjoyed the original content, I would really appreciate if you could visit the original piece - https://halilsrealfootballtalk.com/2020/04/07/top-10-tight-ends-in-the-2020-nfl-draft/

Hi all. I'm looking for a little legal advice on working at a "game room" in Texas. Which means that I work at a hole in the wall, grey area casino. It's obviously best if I don't say where, so I'm not going to. What I'm trying to find out, is what charges can be filed against me for being an employee there. Is it just a Class C Misdemeanor, or is it more serious? All slot machines.
People come in, and they put their money in a machine. They play and if they win or want to cash out, they get a "ticket" made out to them. Instead of having the machine print one like they would at a big, legit place like Winstar. They then take this ticket up to the counter, where someone pays them out.
The slot machines are clearly just old models that some real casino somewhere, didn't want anymore. There's even video evidence because everything is recorded. There's a big camera system and everything is being recorded in the back. At least I think it is, unless the hard drive is disconnected inside that recording box they have back there. So all the employees will be on camera paying people out.
How does this place even exist? According to the other employees, some of them have been told by the owner that the county essentially turns a blind eye to it. There's supposedly 5 other ones that he (the owner) knows of, just in this county. I've seen one other one for myself. It's nearby. The reason the law turns a blind eye to it, is supposedly because they have an easier time "cleaning up the streets" as it were. Supposedly, the fuzz will go check these places and very often find the dregs they're looking for. More hearsay is: When the next county over had a problem with these game rooms popping up like weeds, they learned of this little benefit. This ease of finding people they needed to arrest, people that the police are looking for. They're known to frequent these kinds of places. Anyway, I've yet to see anything like that happen. I have my doubts, but that's what the fellow employees say that the owner told them.
I find it much more likely, that this "grey area" the owner finds himself in, exists because he "supports the community" if you know what I mean. He greases a few palms or some such. This is all pure speculation on my part, but I do know that gambling is illegal in Texas. So something odd is going on. Word of mouth would have that place already shut down, if the right people wanted it shut down. Obviously they don't. Or they don't want it all that much. But then, maybe one day those people change their minds.
And if I may, please, don't clog the thread with replies saying "Just quit" or "Why risk it" and all of that stuff. All I'm looking to learn here, is the real penalty for working there. Then I'll make my decision on whether or not to quit, based on that. Does anyone know what the actual law is? Keep in mind I'm not gambling myself.

Myra Kindle is an independent investigative reporter.
Her other reports:

• What does Google want with male sex workers?
  
• A Tyson Foods board member was held ransom for $87,250 in December, 2018. Now released, he says Tyson is suppressing police investigations into finding his captors and threatening legal action if he speaks about his abduction.
  
• Google’s Algorithmic Decay - A Report on the Lenoir, North Carolina Bombing
  
• In 1979, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow was losing more than 120 informants a year to Russian KGB. by 1981, that number had dropped to just 10. Now, a former intelligence agent is raising alarm that the wildly unorthodox methods once used to protect Russian sources could pose a devastating new threat
  
• For Two Years a Former University Student Has Set-Up Unusual Protest Demonstrations in Buffalo, New York - No One Is Still Quite Sure What He’s Protesting
  
• Nearly Two Months After a Terrorist Attack in China Killed 337 People, Investigators Have Gotten No Closer to Determining How the Attack Was Carried Out
  
• A Report on the Grey Men of 327 Cedar Lane -- This was part of a collaborative project with nslewis, who wrote the incident that takes place prior, "The grey men of 327 Cedar Lane"
  

Boardwalk Attraction

What drives a person to cover themselves in gasoline and drop a match by their feet?
That was the question that ran through the minds of many in a crowd outside the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey on March 23rd, 2019.
At approximately 7:45PM on that cold spring eve, a Mr. James Ferdini, age 47, covered himself in gasoline and was prepared to drop a match in the fuel.
As the crowd shouted for him to stop and several witnesses called the police, Mr. Ferdini reportedly stood unfazed, simply grinning and appearing to revel in the crowd’s shock.
“It was a suicidal action but it didn’t look like a suicidal person,” says Sam Kenset, an eyewitness to the incident. “I guess I don’t really know what a suicidal person looks like, but his movements and the way he was talking -- he just didn’t seem like a man down on his luck.”
Ms. Kenset is quite astute in her observation -- Mr. Feredini was certainly not down on his luck. In fact only moments before covering himself in gasoline, Mr. Ferdini had cashed out more than $1.3 million in winnings from the Borgata Hotel and Casino, making his suicidal action all the more puzzling.
However dangerous, Mr. Ferdini’s gasoline soaked stunt would not lead to his death on March 23rd, but his life was not long for this world either. Three days later on March 26th he would be found dead from an entirely different cause.
In Mr. Ferdini’s incredible winnings and suicidal tendencies leading up to his unusual and grizzly death on March 26th, many questions remain. Who was James Ferdini? What happened to his more than million dollars in winnings? And what was the lead up of events that caused his demise?
Based on interviews with management at the Borgata Hotel and Casino, local police and investigators, and corroborated with eyewitness accounts, independent investigative reporter Myra Kindle, for the first time, brings you a report on the man who nearly bankrupted a casino, and whose luck seemed to make him invincible until his highly improbable death.

What are the Odds?

As the match fell to James Ferdini’s feet outside the Borgata Hotel and Casino, the crowd stood agasp as they waited for the inevitable fire and horrible death of a gas soaked man. This moment would never come however, and the match reportedly landed in the puddle of gasoline meeting it as though it were water.
“The crowd started to look away the moment he dropped the match,” says Matthew Gershowitz, a witness to the event. “I couldn’t though -- I needed to see what would happen. I mean we all thought we were witnessing a suicide or something, but the guy was jovial, happy, making jokes with the crowd before he lit the match. And then when it hit the gas, it just burned out, and the man started laughing. We were all amazed. It was like a miracle -- we thought he’d die for sure.”
While it’s quite understandable that the crowd believed they had witnessed a miracle when James did not burst into flames, professor of organic chemistry at Villanova University, Marcy Li, says the odds of Mr. Ferdini’s death were far less than certain.
“Gasoline is certainly flammable, but not like in the way shown in movies and TV,” says professor Li. “It’s the layer of vapor above that gasoline that is most likely to combust. There could be a number of factors like wind, humidity and temperature that improved Mr. Ferdini’s chance of avoiding being burned alive. I would certainly say he’s lucky, but I wouldn’t say it’s a miracle he didn’t burst into flames.”
If Mr. Ferdini relied on luck that day to survive, it would appear to have been with him in spades for quite some time.
Having just come from the Borgata casino floor, James was reportedly on a ‘hot-streak’, winning tens of thousands of dollars an hour over the preceding two days.
“You have to imagine we were pretty happy when he left the casino,” says Richard Markelson, a floor manager at the Borgata. “Normally we want customers to stay as long as possible so the house can win our money back, but Mr. Ferdini never had a bad roll, spin, or lever pull the whole 40 consecutive hours he was gambling at the Borgata. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Mr. Markelson was able to confirm through cash-logs and casino surveillance that Mr. Ferdini had indeed won big at the Borgata, and records show his total winnings amounted to $1,348,427.
Mr. Markelson said of the winnings: “It was enough of a loss over a short period of time that the owners of the casino were worried our insurance premiums were gonna jump. A casino in Atlantic City simply doesn’t lose that much money in such a short time, at least not to a nobody, and Mr. Ferdini was certainly a nobody.”

A Career Loser

While management at the Borgata Hotel and Casino did not know Mr. Ferdini prior to his 40 hour lucrative gambling binge, many on Atlantic City’s boardwalk have been acutely aware of James for years.
For example after James’s stunt with the gasoline, he was arrested and taken to the Atlantic City jail and held on the possible charge of disorderly conduct, but was released after the charges were dropped. The reason? The police had a long record of interactions with Mr. Ferdini and thought of him only as a minor risk.
“We were more worried about the guy’s mental health than him causing a scene on the boardwalk,” says Atlantic City officer Paul Stevenson. “We’ve known James for years -- I mean he’s a loser. Is it a shock to me that he would try and commit suicide like that? Absolutely not.”
When asked why the police did not opt to commit Mr. Ferdini to a hospital on a psychological evaluation, officer Stevenson replied: “The plan was to have him committed, but some lawyer showed up and we didn’t want a legal fight, so we decided to release him instead. I felt a bit mixed about it. I mean the guy was clearly suicidal -- why else would you douse yourself in gasoline?”
When told that Mr. Ferdini was reportedly jovial and happy during the gasoline incident, and that he had in fact won more than a million dollars immediately prior to the event, officer Stevenson struggled with the narrative: “That doesn’t sound like the James Ferdini I know. He’s always been a depressed gambler, and never won a game in his life as far as I know. He couldn’t win a hundred bucks, let alone a million. I can’t even believe they let him into the Borgata in the first place, but I guess the cash winnings explains the lawyer.”
Officer Stevenson asked if I could confirm the details of the winnings and that Mr. Ferdini was in a jovial mood during the gasoline incident. When I showed documentation of Mr. Ferdini’s winnings provided by Mr. Markelson and relayed several eyewitness accounts as to his temperament, officer Stevenson replied: “I don’t get it. So, why’d he try to burn himself alive?”

The ‘Cooler’

Perhaps no individual has a better sense of who Mr. Ferdini is and what happened to him than the floor manager at the Borgata, Mr. Markelson.
For 40 hours prior to the gasoline incident, Mr. Ferdini bet heavily at the Borgata casino, and Mr. Markelson was in close proximity for much of his hot-streak.
“I was actually supposed to be on vacation that week,” says Mr. Markelson, “but I got called in because the other cooler was sick.”
A ‘cooler’ as Mr. Markelson explained, is a relic of old casinos that today is rarely used, however some establishments still invest in what could be called ‘charms’ to bring bad luck to high rollers.
“I got hired because I’m unlucky,” explains Mr. Markelson. “I can do the job of floor manager just fine -- don't get me wrong -- but it was my knack for bad luck that got me the job for sure.”
A cooler operates by simply being present around those that are on a run of good luck. In Mr. Markelson’s account, he says that being around him will bring such bad luck to any gambler that their cards will go cold, their lever pulls result in no winnings, and their wheel spins doomed to lose money.
“It’s a talent I’ve had since, well, forever,” says Mr. Markelson. “If I just stand near someone, they’ll start to have bad luck like me. I know it sounds crazy, and sometimes I don’t believe it myself, but it’s true. I mean, like I said, I think that’s why the casino hired me. They could count on me to go onto the casino floor and bring bad luck to anyone that’s winning a bit too much. Best part, since it’s based on superstition, it’s completely above board.”
With James Ferdini, Richard Markelson found that his power did not work however.
“I don’t know about before I showed up, but for when I was watching him, that man could not lose. The casino made me stay multiple shifts, I’m talking nearly 40 hours to watch him and were hoping I’d bring him bad luck, but it never happened. He just kept on winning no matter what game he played.”

An Escalation of Bets

In attempting to find James Ferdini’s state of mind prior to the gasoline incident, floor manager Richard Markelson provided unfettered access to video of the casino floor, even though he realized he could be breaking several state gambling commission laws by allowing a reporter to look at such surveillance. In fact, more than taking the risk, it was Mr. Markelson that called me and led me to this story in the first place.
“The police didn’t send him to the hospital after the gas thing I’ve been told. I figured the truth has to be somewhere and when police won’t do their job, I guess it’s reporters that have to step in,” says Mr. Markelson. “The most important thing to be me personally is finding out why he died just a few days later in that horrible freak accident -- the one on March 26th.”
When asked if Mr. Markelson had any interest in finding Mr. Ferdini’s still missing $1.3 million, he replied: “Of course, but that’s not my primary concern here. I just want to know what the fuck happened. How does a guy who should have felt on top of the world go to dousing himself in gasoline, and then ends up dead a few days later? I really want to know.”
In the video access provided by Mr. Markelson, I managed to find new clues that might be able to explain Mr. Ferdini’s downward spiral.
It could best be described as an escalation of bets that appeared to take place soon after Mr. Ferdini began his run of good luck. According to video of the casino floor, around the time manager Richard Markelson appeared, Mr. Ferdini started his miraculous winning streak.
The video shows Mr. Ferdini starting with craps, moving to baccarat, then slot machines, and followed by a long run at twenty-one. He continues to gamble for 40 straight hours, much of it with Mr. Markelson in close proximity.
“I was the only cooler around, so the higher ups at the Borgata made me stay the whole time. I got a lot of overtime that week,” says Mr. Markelson.
Curiously, the video shows that at around the 25 hour mark Mr. Ferdini attracts something of a crowd. While the video offers no sound, it appears as though Mr. Ferdini is making several wagers with his new found groupies.
At first a few in his new entourage gamble him directly in casino floor games like Texas Holdem, but it appears as though they make several bets outside of the casino games as well.
In one instance Mr. Ferdini appears to bet that he can drink boiling hot water. The video shows him drinking a scalding hot cup and immediately receiving a small payout from several people he was talking to before beginning the stunt.
It became clear to me after reviewing the video surveillance that for this story, I would need to speak to at least one of the people who witnessed Mr. Ferdini taking on these non-casino game bets. Thankfully, with Mr. Markelson’s help I was able to track down Maria Nowak, who in the video appears to spend several hours with Mr. Ferdini.
A resident of Atlantic City, Ms. Nowak was able to confirm that Mr. Ferdini was taking part in what she describes as “extreme behavior”, and that he was seemingly willing to bet on anything and everything. Even games that were clearly not of chance, like drinking boiling hot water.

”For $500, Right?”

Why did Mr. Ferdini cover himself in gasoline and drop a match? It’s a question essential to understanding his mindset, and one for which the answer appears to be quite simple.
After tracking down Ms. Nowak, a long time resident who often partakes in long gambling binges herself, she claims Mr. Ferdini covered himself in gasoline and dropped a match in the fuel simply because of a wager.
“We had been doing side bets for hours,” says Ms. Nowak, who agreed to meet me at Hayday Cafe, a local coffee shop. “I was with a group of friends and we noticed that this guy [Mr. Ferdini] had not been losing any bets for hours. The guy was pretty much throwing money around and that type of attitude attracts the crowd I was with. So, we started making small talk and then made a few bets, dumb, small ones to start.”
When asked what bets her group made with Mr. Ferdini, Ms. Nowak replies: “At first it was things like, how many casino chips he could fit into his mouth. But then it escalated pretty quickly, like soon we were betting on how much money he could win in an hour. Then a bit after that he did this really stupid boiling hot water challenge -- he simply bet he could drink boiling hot water without having to go to the hospital. The bet didn’t make any sense, but like everything else, he won.”
“The gasoline challenge was the craziest though,” she continues. “It was clearly a joke when my friend suggested it, but James took him up on it right away. The challenge was, like, ‘can you cover yourself in gasoline, drop a match, and survive?’ James said he would do it for $500, and we just assumed he was kidding, but sure enough he was dead serious.”
Ms. Nowak claims that she too was present in the crowd outside the Borgata when Mr. Ferdini made good on the gasoline bet, and that immediately prior to him dropping the match, he said to her and the rest of the gambling entourage, “This is for $500, right?”
“He said it but I’m not too sure how many people heard it,” Ms. Nowak says. “I mean the whole crowd was screaming for him to stop. They all thought the guy wanted to kill himself. I guess one of us nodded our heads to James’s question, and then he dropped the match. I’ll be damned, but he won that bet too. We gave him $500 alright, not that he needed it after making all that money at the Borgata.”
When asked if Ms. Nowak saw Mr. Ferdini after he was released from the police station, she responds: “Yea, we hung out for the next two or three days -- all of us -- the gambling group that had formed at the casino, James Ferdini, and then, oh yea, that guy Richard Makel-something. I think he worked at the Borgata but he hung around with us for a couple days while we partied at a different hotel. It was around the time Richard and the rest of us left that James was in that freak accident.”

Richard Markelson

The details of Ms. Nowak’s account have confirmed two things to this reporter.
One, Mr. Ferdini’s suicidal gesture to cover himself in gasoline was nothing more than a bet to earn more money. Feeling high from his good luck at the casino, it would appear Mr. Ferdini thought himself invincible and was willing to take on any challenge, even if it put his life on the line.
Two, Borgata floor manager and ‘cooler’ Richard Markelson has not been fully forthcoming in his account of what happened. For example, he never mentioned spending time with Mr. Ferdini after leaving the Borgata.
Confronting Mr. Markelson, I ask him for a more accurate account of what happened after Mr. Ferdini’s gasoline soaked stunt. Mr. Markelson is nervous in his reply, realizing he’s been caught withholding valuable information.
“You have to understand that James is not particularly good with money,” starts Mr. Markelson. “I know I’m saying that having really only met the guy at the Borgata casino, but you could just tell he was something of a loser. Maybe other people told you that too, I don’t know. My point is James was destined to spend that money on drugs and alcohol, and well, we all kind of just tagged along for the ride.”
Mr. Markelson goes on to describe a drug fueled binge that lasted from Saturday March 23rd until sometime before Mr. Ferdini’s death on Tuesday, March 26th.
“James and I had been awake for more than 40 hours when he left the casino, and I was going to go to bed, but somehow I got roped into his entourage he found at the Borgata when he was raking in cash. I would’ve gone home, but free cocaine is free cocaine. I’m not particularly proud of saying that, but it’s true -- I really like the drug.”
Richard Markelson says that in addition to drugs, Mr. Ferdini hired prostitutes and strippers for the group’s amusement.
“I’m not into all the seedy stuff, but we had been awake for a long long time and on so much shit. I mean we were taking meth rips and stuff. Yea, it’s weird now that I look back on it, but a binge can be like that sometimes.”
The most important question to this reporter is what happened in the final hours of Mr. Ferdini’s life. In this respect, Mr. Markelson claims to know nothing.
“I left before he died on Tuesday,” says Mr. Markelson. “It doesn’t surprise me that he died though. The gasoline bet was just the beginning of it. That girl, Maria Nowak, the one that told you I was hanging out with the impromptu entourage -- it was her boyfriend that really stepped things up in a pretty violent way in terms of betting.”
When asked what he means by “violent”, Mr. Markelson responds: “I mean they were actually gambling on Russian roulette in the hotel room when I left.”

That Other Roulette

Once again reaching out to Ms. Nowak, I ask her about Mr. Markelson’s description of partying and gambling in a hotel with Mr. Ferdini.
It was at this point that Ms. Nowak declined any further questions, only providing the statement: “I’ve said everything I’m going to say.”
While this seemed like a certain dead end to discovering what happened in the final hours of Mr. Ferdini’s life and also possibly to tracking down what happened to his $1.3 million in winnings, I by luck received a phone call shortly before I was ready to call it quits on this investigation.
The phone call was from one Mr. Samuel Howlser, boyfriend to Ms. Maria Nowak.
Mr. Howlser said he wished to speak with me to clarify a few details that Ms. Nowak had shared with me and to dispute any “lies” stated by Mr. Markelson.
“Me and Maria didn’t steal nobody’s money and we’re not gonna get in trouble for what Richard Markelson or anyone in that entourage might be telling you,” Mr. Howsler said to me in a phone interview.
When asked about details of the drug fueled gambling binge shared by Mr. Markelson and Ms. Nowak, Mr. Howsler mostly confirms their accounts, however his description of floor manager Makelson is less favorable than what Mr. Markelson told me himself.
“He was the craziest fucker of the bunch, definitely,” says Mr. Howlser. “He knew the hookups for the crystal and coke, got us ketamine too. But the nuttiest thing about him is what the fuck he’d bet on. Like if Ferdini thought he was invincible, doubly so for that manger from the Borgata. Markelson was the one that brought out a revolver for Russian roulette too, and they played like dozens of games.”
Russian roulette, a lethal game of chance that has the player hold a loaded pistol to their head and fire, is an extremely dangerous game that has been popularized in media and fiction for decades. The game requires a loaded revolver to have at least one bullet chambered before firing, with the odds of death usually being one in six.
“It was fucking crazy when Markelson said he’d play it, but the dude was having as good luck as Ferdini so he thought he could do it,” says Mr. Howlser. “So they load a pistol with a bullet and start playing each other cause they were the only two fuckers crazy enough to do it. They play one round, but no winner so they go again. Second round, no winner so a third. Eventually they play enough rounds where they figure they gotta up the odds. So instead of loading one bullet, they load two. They play round after round with two out of six chambers loaded with bullets, spinning the revolver cylinder each time before they pull the trigger. This goes on for a while right, and then they load another fucking bullet. Each round now these guys have a one-in-two chance of blowing their brains out, but they keep playing.”
In Mr. Howlser’s recounting over the phone, I hear he is deeply disturbed by this story and ask why him and everyone in the gambling entourage continued to sit in the hotel room. In response he says, “We had been up for days smoking crystal and doing other shit. We were fuckng zombies. It’s only looking back now, sober, that I can see how crazy it was.”
But the game of lethal roulette was not over yet. Mr. Howlser claims that Mr. Ferdini and Mr. Makelson continued to play round after round, occasionally loading another bullet until finally the revolver was fully loaded.
“With six out of six chambers loaded, the odds of them dying on the next trigger pull was 100%,” says Mr. Howsler. “And I’ll damned, but they both went, and they both fucking lived. Somehow, they both got dud cartridges. After that, they both just had huge laugh for a while. A little bit later, Richard Markelson leaves and James Ferdini and the rest of us stay doing drugs for a bit until the rest of us guests leave too.”
Before Mr. Howlser ends the phone call, he stresses again the reason for contacting me.
“What happened is a messed up story, I know, but the point is that me and Maria don’t know anything about James Ferdini’s death or where his money is. Once we were sober enough to leave that seedy hotel outside Atlantic City, we left along with the rest of the people that were following James. And when we left, he was alive, and he had his money.”

Bad Luck

While Mr. Markelson, Mr. Howlser, and Ms. Nowak all say they only know the most basic details of how James Ferdini died, his death has actually been well documented by investigators and the coroner's office for Atlantic City.
Prior to this report, it was the mindset of Mr. Ferdini that was previously unknown. Sill up in the air is the whereabouts of his $1.3 million. But from what I've found, the report on his death is fully accurate, and even clears any of the entourage that was following him from being involved in any possible wrongdoing related to James Ferdini’s death.
On Tuesday March 26th at approximately 4:30AM, it would appear Mr. Ferdini’s luck simply ran out.
In that early morning hour, someone on Mr. Ferdini’s floor had ordered room service. As the porter was delivering the food, he slipped and fell outside of Mr. Ferdini’s room.
The noise from the fall awoke Mr. Ferdini who opened his door to find the porter picking up a tray of food in the hallway.
Upset at the disruption and the clanging of silverware outside his room, Mr. Ferdini proceeded to yell at the porter, pushing him against the wall in the hallway.
The confrontation ended when Mr. Ferdini told the porter that he was so upset that he was going to go down to the lobby and speak to management about the disruption.
Heading to the elevator, the porter told Mr. Ferdini that it was out of service. Frustrated, he turned to the stairwell and began walking downstairs.
Mr. Ferdini would never make it to the lobby however.
What Mr. Ferdini didn’t know was that the porter had also used the stairs to walk up to his floor, and that along the way he had spilled a small dish of ketchup.
When Mr. Ferdini walked across the spot where the porter had dropped the ketchup, he slipped and fell, falling down the stairs and knocking himself unconscious on the ground floor.
While in bad shape, investigators say that Mr. Ferdini was still alive at this moment, but what came next would be the fatal blow, or series of blows.
With the elevator out, the stairwell was the only way up and down the hotel floors. While Mr. Ferdini was unconscious on the ground, he blocked the entryway to the stairwell from the ground floor. A guest a moment later would attempt to open the door to the stairwell, but found that it was blocked by some obstruction that he could not see. Bothered and wanting to get to his room, the guest then started slamming on the door, thrusting it open with all his energy. He did not realize it, but the door he was thrusting over and over was slamming into the left side of Mr. Ferdini’s temple. The heavy metal door banged away over and over again, causing Mr. Ferdini’s brain to hemorrhage, and eventually doing enough damage that it would kill him fully.
The guest only stopped thrusting as the porter came back down the stairs to see Mr. Ferdini with his head being repeatedly bashed in by the door.
The porter screamed and soon the guest was made aware that he had accidentally killed Mr. Ferdini.
In this unusual and grizzly death, a confluence of bad luck came together to end Mr. Ferdini’s life.
If the elevator had not been out. If a guest on Mr. Ferdini’s floor had not ordered room service. If the guest had not ordered a dish that came with ketchup. If the porter had not spilled ketchup in the stairwell or dropped plates outside Mr. Ferdini’s room. If Mr. Ferdini had not waken up. If he had not confronted the porter and decided to go down to the lobby. If he had not slipped in the stairwell. If a guest on the ground floor did not repeatedly try to enter the stairwell. If any of these things had gone slightly differently, Mr. Ferdini would still be alive.
It could be said that Mr. Ferdini had finally found a run of bad luck, and incredible bad luck at that.

Double Negative

I cannot speak to Mr. Ferdini. He died long before I came to Atlantic City. For this story I’ve had to rely on the video surveillance from the Borgata casino and several eyewitness accounts of the drug fueled binge at the seedy hotel outside Atlantic City.
In those accounts from Mr. Ferdini’s hotel room, I’m left with conflicting views and shattered narratives.
It is clear to me that Ms. Nowak, Mr. Howlser, and Mr. Markelson cannot be trusted to give a full accounting of what happened. In my mind, the clearest liar of them is Mr. Markelson, who both omitted his story of seeing James after the gasoline incident, and also whose story is in direct conflict with Mr. Howsler and Ms. Nowak. While Mr. Markelson claims it was Mr. Howlser that had a revolver to play roulette, Mr. Howlser and Ms. Nowak both say it was Mr. Markelson.
Embedded in these lies and less than full accounts is a still missing $1.3 million. Something I believe Mr. Markelson is desperate to try and find, and for which was his original impulse to contact this reporter.
Now with an understanding of James Ferdini’s mindset leading up to his death, I am left with the unanswered question of what happened to Mr. Ferdini’s missing money.
I head back to where this story started, the Borgata where the gambling binge took fold. I seek an interview with Bill Hornbuckle, President of MGM resorts and a majority stakeholder in the Borgata Hotel and Casino. He agrees to speak with me and provides a full record on floor manger Richard Markelson.
I start the interview by asking if he’s aware if Richard Markelson owns a handgun, and in particular a revolver. In response, he says: “Our records indicate Mr. Markelson has a concealed carry license from the state of New Jersey for a Ruger LCR Six-Shot revolver. We have this in our records because Mr. Markelson is authorized to carry the weapon on the premises.”
Mr. Hornbuckle asks if I believe Mr. Markelson was involved in Mr. Ferdini’s death, to which I tell him I do not believe he is. I give the accounts of Mr. Markelson, Mr. Howlser, and Ms. Nowak, and while Mr. Hornbuckle is disturbed by the story, he agrees that Mr. Markelson has done nothing strictly illegal outside of drug use. He does add however: “The story with Russian roulette, if true, would certainly make us reconsider allowing Mr. Markelson to carry a weapon in the casino.”
Confirming that Mr. Markelson was the owner of the revolver has led me to believe Mr. Howlser and Ms. Nowak’s account over Markelson’s. It seems likely now that like Mr. Markelson did indeed play a dangerous game of Russian roulette with Mr. Ferdini, and that it was he who provided the gun to use.
Before I leave the Borgata, I ask Mr. Hornbuckle about another detail Mr. Markelson told me that I am no longer sure is true. I ask if a ‘cooler’ is something casinos really use, and if specifically Mr. Markelson is designated as one at the Borgata.
His response is to laugh at first, but he goes on to say: “Yes, a cooler is a real term. I actually believe in them myself. Luck is real. It’s a tangible thing that follows people around -- good luck and bad luck. I believe coolers have saved my casinos a lot of money over the years, and Mr. Markelson certainly fits that role at the Borgata. He's terribly unlucky, couldn't win a game of cards if his life depended on it. Still, he's invaluable at cutting the luck high rollers short."
He pauses before continuing: “There is of course the problem of the double negative, or when two coolers are together. It happens when a cooler is around someone who has luck just as bad as him or her. Like two positive or negative charges on a magnet, they repel each other, and the cooler’s effect instead of bad luck is one of incredible good luck. I’ve never seen it myself, but I’ve heard that even the most unlikely people on earth can have incredible runs of good luck if someone as equally unlucky as them is near.”
I propose the idea that maybe Mr. Ferdini was as unlucky as Mr. Markelson, and that together they achieved this ‘double negative,’ bringing them good luck while they were together.
“Yes,” Mr. Hornbuckle says. “I suppose that’s possible. It’s a very dangerous situation though for an unlucky person to suddenly be met with non-stop good luck. It could make you think yourself invincible, unable to be defeated in any challenge. You might even start to take on bets on things that aren’t real games of chance, like harming yourself by drinking boiling water. There’s also the danger of what happens when the double negative effect is over. One cooler parts ways, then each would fall into their own run of terrible luck, not realizing that their hot-streak has ended.”
As the interview concludes and I leave the Borgata, I think about the good luck Mr. Ferdini and Mr. Markelson had. I consider the incredible odds that both survived firing a loaded gun to their temples only for each to find a dud cartridge. I ponder the unfortunate series of events that would kill Mr. Ferdini after Mr. Markelson left his hotel room.
Lastly, I think about Mr. Markelson’s own luck since March 26th. Maybe it hasn’t been as bad as Mr. Ferdini's, but I know he contacted a reporter and as a result management at his casino will be looking into his behavior. I consider and think, that is not too lucky.

Porter

What was meant to be a short report about an unusual death in Atlantic City has grown into something longer. This is now a meandering investigation with unreliable characters, newly discovered details, and a still missing $1.3 million.
Before I leave New Jersey and return to New York, I go to the seedy hotel where Mr. Ferdini and his entourage consumed drugs and played Russian roulette, and where he would eventually die. It is my hope that I can speak to the porter -- the last person to ever see Mr. Ferdini alive.
At the hotel I speak to the manager and ask her who was the porter in the early morning hours of March 26th. The manager tells me that the porter no longer works for the hotel, and that in fact he had quit the very same day Mr. Ferdini died.
“After the police left, he flipped us all off,” the manager says. “That son of a bitch quit in style, telling us he didn’t need to work here no more. He said he was set and that we can kiss his ass goodbye.”
I ask the manager if they knew where the porter could have gone, to which she replies: “No idea. After he was done talking to the police about the death in the stairwell, I think he was out of New Jersey for good. He used to live nearby so I saw him when he left. He was fully packed. Had all of his stuff with him and three really full duffel bags I’d never seen before. He really didn’t seem like he was coming back -- had everything with him.”
Like the porter, I load my bags and finally prepare to leave New Jersey. As I do a thought pops into my mind: Could the porter that night have discovered Mr. Ferdini’s $1.3 million in three duffel bags in his room? I consider and think, maybe, and if he did, maybe this porter is the luckiest man in Atlantic City.
Myra Kindle is an independent investigative reporter. She covers tech, law, politics, and other stories that would be impossible to write about in more traditional outlets.

There is a wide range of details on the web concerning gambling and also wagering. Just how to begin a gambling internet site, what do individuals bank on, is a wagering exchange much better than a sporting activities publication or gambling establishment internet site, or do customers favor wagering online instead of wagering offline? What is doing not have in most of these blog posts is not the details they give on beginning a gambling web site, however instead specifically where to begin. So Where do you begin, you ask? and also just how do you begin? Would certainly you need financing when thinking about beginning your very own slot deposit pulsa site? Exist lawful mistakes in running an on-line sporting activities publication or online casino gambling site?
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Asking these concerns is just a tip of the iceberg in understanding specifically what you are obtaining right into in running a wagering exchange or any one of the various other gambling sites, yet recognizing the solutions will certainly much better your opportunity or probabilities in running an effective online gambling website. So where do you begin? You can look and also look all over the world broad internet and also collect all the info (very advised) on beginning your very own casino site, running a correct wagering exchange, or on supplying a reasonable on-line sporting activities publication environment to your customers, yet recognizing precisely just how to utilize this info is type in running your clothing.
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Prior to we get involved in exactly how to utilize the info you collect effectively, you might wish to check out a few of these locations if you have actually not currently done so: gambling online forums, gambling establishment web pages, sporting activities site, information web pages on gambling, web pages on the "web gambling guideline act" as well as exactly how it will certainly impact your online internet site, legislations regulating gambling as well as paying very close attention to the days the nation each particular info relate to and more.
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Now you have to be believing this is a little bit to extreme. Yet ask on your own this: do you recognize what each casino player desire, do you recognize what will certainly make them utilize your website over the following Joe web site. Basically you require to recognize the important things that will certainly drive marketers, enrollers to your website (financing) as well as most notably what will certainly drive customers to your website. You can have the very best residence on the block yet otherwise one finds out about your residence or you, well you understand.
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If you have actually seen the recommended headings noted above and also study a little bit much more on gambling as well as the regulations regulating on the internet sporting activities publication, gambling enterprises, online poker spaces and also wagering exchanges and also still dream to proceed after that continue reading my friend, you have actually overcome the very first difficulty. Since we have you assuming outside package as well as have a far better understanding on what remains in shop for you allows deal with the initial as well as really crucial concern you would certainly initially require responded to "Is gambling lawful".
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Currently this is one of the most crucial due to the fact that if you are considering carrying out or running a gambling site in a nation, city, state, district, community, what ever before it might be as well as its illegal. Like syndicate you will certainly be fined or worst you will certainly go straight to prison. Sorry children and also ladies however we require to make one point clear right here being on the internet organisation does not indicate a point to the federal government and also the authorities. You will certainly require to sign up a service or obtain an organisation permit (not the like a gambling certificate), you will certainly require organizing and also you will certainly require a checking account to hold the cash produced from your sporting activities publication, wagering exchange, online poker or gambling enterprise internet site. So learning if gambling is lawful where will certainly be running your company is incredibly crucial.
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To offer you a far better image of points 9/10 preparing to run a gambling site have actually needed to select an overseas procedure. Why you ask? Well that apparent naturally. In position like Costa Rica there are regulations in position for gambling, however there are no legislation versus on-line gambling neither exists a demand for a gambling permit (extra on gambling certificate later on), yet you will certainly once again need to do your research study, if you are serious about running a sporting activities publication or any one of the various other gambling web sites, prepare yourself to collect info. Right here is Pointer # 1 - Talk to an Attorney (a credible one if you can) they will certainly drop a Great Deal Of light on your scenario and also factor you in the appropriate instructions.
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So this brings us to our following inquiry, licensing, and also no its not your chauffeurs permit. A gambling permit is called for to run a wagering exchange, sporting activities publication, gambling establishment, casino poker or any other gambling site a lot of the moment yet not constantly. This is why once more you will certainly require to do your study. However you recognize what they state, when unsure obtain one. That was a joke Joe. If you are truly unclear talk to that legal representative good friend that you spoke with in pointer # 1 regarding this and also any other files you might require to finish this procedure, ask your neighborhood gambling or video gaming authorities/associations in the territory where you intend to run your on the internet gambling internet site for encourage. So keep in mind a gambling certificate is suggested however might not be needed. Pointer # 2 See the neighborhood gambling authorities.
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Now you need to have collected sufficient details to obtain you on the right track and also maintain you out of prison or worst a state jail.
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Allow us discuss a couple of even more vital locations on running your very own gambling web site. You will certainly require some (the a lot more the far better) research study and also advertising to be done. However have not you currently collected sufficient of your very own research study? No Joe. That was simply info event, obtaining your feet damp, being familiar with just how the sector assumes. Do not presume anything. There are policies to every video game, as well as indeed there are policies to running an on-line company as well as specifically a sporting activities publication, wagering exchange, texas hold'em area or gambling establishment. Even if you recognize a little regarding running a site, the policies and also methods transform for every organisation, and also you will most definitely require to understand about these guidelines if you are also imagining coming to be effective in the on the internet video gaming as well as gambling sector. This does not imply seeing all those online forums as well as analyses were for nothing, they will absolutely assist when you prepare to run your marketing and advertising project, you will certainly be greater than pleased that you did.
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If you have actually not currently done a service and/or advertising and marketing strategy this will certainly greater than most likely cause the advancement of one. Being familiar with your target audience, patterns, place, sex, individuals' routines, desires and also disapproval etc will certainly all aid you to progress knowledgeable about your techniques as well as assist in your success. So work with a credible advertising and marketing business or talk to a pal or a person in the advertising area that can drop a little bit much more light on your precise scenario and also factor you in a far better instructions. You do not wish to learn by hand that the marketplace you were targeting does not care a lot for gambling. Suggestion # 3 Obtain correct study done.
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This brings us to our following location of passion "team or group". From your details celebration as well as research study you need to have recognized that ever before if you might intend to make this a one male reveal you will certainly require a group or some kind of team. Currently a group does not imply you need to employ on a full-time team. Also majorly titans like Microsoft, IBM, Logitech agreements of time to time. It simply indicates you will certainly require a bit greater than simply on your own in specific locations. Even if you understand the gambling globe it would certainly be important to get some specialists in crucial locations (even if its awhile) to reveal you some covert areas you have actually not yet covered. You would certainly require a technological a person or an advancement business that will certainly have the ability to take care of any type of issues you might come across, updates you might require for your site, shows you may need, layouts you might wish to offer you that look to establish you besides your competitors and so on. You will certainly more than likely require a bookmaker, bookie, (perhaps greater than one) that understands about bookmaking to establish, upgrade, prepare occasions, lines and also odds on your sporting activities publication, gambling establishment, wagering exchange or casino poker web site. So a group or private team is certainly a must, yet can be cost-effective if you intend appropriately and also think about having. Suggestion # 4 Created an appropriate group.
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Currently we have actually touched a little bit on your site, however what kind of internet site or software application will certainly you need. The following on our checklist will certainly be Software application. First ask on your own what type of gambling web site will this be; A complete Casino site, texas hold'em, Betting Exchange, sporting activities publication or even better why not all? This is where your research study as well as info celebration enters into play, evaluation ask inquiries, talk with your legal representative, as well as make a strong choice. What are the threat variables, that are my rivals, where do you obtain my line feeds from? Those are all concerns that must have been consisted of in your study and also addressed now.
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Afterwards is resolved it is currently time to pick an advancement firm that concentrates on the internet video gaming (even more details online gambling). The majority of otherwise all would certainly currently have items easily offered that have actually been examined and also will typically do alterations to fit your requirements, it is normally even more budget-friendly than having a site established and also created from starting to finish. Software application can vary in costs, anticipate to pay in between EUR 10,000 EUR to EUR 60,000 EUR. Some locations of passion might be: Playtech (Ranked for their Casino site software application), E-Prompt C's BetMore - BetMore Software Application (Ranked for its wagering exchange & sporting activities publication software program), Microgaming (Ranked for their casino poker software application). Idea # 5 Obtain excellent software program.
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Well that ought to be it. Yet allows not fail to remember the last and also among one of the most essential on our checklist "Funding". Sports publication, wagering exchange, casino poker, as well as online casino sites are without a doubt one of the most pricey service procedures you can ever before run, and also this does not alter the truths for an on the internet procedure. You do not require a structure, yet you will certainly require organizing, you do not require vending machine yet you will certainly require software program, you do not require cashiers yet you will certainly require settlement sellers and/or entrances. Talk to your attorney, talk with your advertising and marketing and also study group, they will certainly offer you tips to obtain financing, you will most definitely need cash to run this service continuously, so discover enrollers, capitalists that will certainly companion with you unless obviously you have the cash money and also agrees to utilize your very own cash, Below is a tip you will certainly require greater than simply EUR 500K EUR. Pointer # 6 Obtain financing.
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So you see it's not brain surgery yet it do without stating with my last Idea to you: "Do not stop working to strategy, it would just cause you intending to fall short".

http://shauntrain.blogspot.com/2019/10/aka-robert-beto-orourke-incredible.html
AKA Robert - Beto O’Rourke: The incredible shrinking empty suit
Three-term congressman Beto O’Rourke, who gave up his House seat to run against Senator Ted Cruz in 2018 and lost narrowly, was touted as a serious contender for the Democratic presidential nomination when he entered the race earlier this year.
He was given star treatment by the media, including the cover of Vogue magazine, dubbed a “co-frontrunner,” and initially placed as high as third in opinion polls. But his campaign has since floundered, his fundraising has virtually collapsed, and O’Rourke has barely qualified for the third Democratic debate, set for September in Houston.
The fundraising is a particular noteworthy shift from 2018, when O’Rourke raised more than $80 million, more than double that of any other candidate for Congress last year, half of it from small donations over the internet. It now appears that this outpouring of support had more to do with the repulsiveness of Ted Cruz than with the positive attractions of Beto O’Rourke.
In the 24 hours after O’Rourke formally declared his presidential candidacy in an online appearance, his campaign raised over $6 million. But since, his poll numbers have trended steadily downward, the media has turned hostile—panning his efforts in the first two Democratic debates—and financial backing has begun to dry up.
In the second quarter of 2019, O’Rourke raised only $3.7 million, less than his one-day total when he entered the race. During that same period, his campaign spent $5.2 million, an indication that the enterprise was hemorrhaging cash and might have to be liquidated, sooner rather than later. O’Rourke presents himself with an air of little-kid wonder, with an optimism and cheerful populism that stands in inverse proportion to his political substance. For those unfamiliar with his repertoire of banal truisms, the following quote is a representative selection: “The power of people is what is necessary for us to accomplish our priorities.”
Behind the hype, who is this young ray of sunshine?
(Theatre of the Absurd - Robert O'Rourke changes a tire on a truck - note: did not say it was his truck. Who flattened the tire? 1:28 min - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzlCBWArKzc )
“Beto” grew up in a 4,000-square-foot home, one of the first in the El Paso, Texas area with a swimming pool. He had a housekeeper. His mother owned a high-end store that retailed furniture, and his father, Pat O’Rourke, owned an apartment building, both on Stanton Street. His father ran two sweatshops staffed with labor from neighboring Juarez, Mexico. As a local social and political climber, he aspired to make El Paso the “Hong Kong of the southwest,” that is, a cheap labor haven. Both of the maquilas failed, however, and Pat O’Rourke was at best semi-successful in pivoting toward local politics, where he tacked to the left and right and back again as his career goals demanded.
The father supported the Reverend Jesse Jackson in his two presidential bids, and Beto has a photo of himself and the Democratic “civil rights activist” in his home. In a right-wing stunt, the same Pat O’Rourke, as county executive, sent then president Ronald Reagan an “invoice” for local hospital costs purportedly incurred as a result of illegal immigrants pouring into El Paso and straining social services.
Pat O’Rourke won election as county executive as a Democrat, left office after a single term, then ran again for the same position in 1998 as a Republican, aligned with the reelection campaign of Texas Governor George W. Bush, but he was badly defeated, since El Paso remained a Democratic stronghold even while Texas as a whole passed under Republican rule for several decades. According to the cover article of April’s Vanity Fair, his father put enormous pressure on Beto to make something of himself, shunning him for failing math, and ultimately shipping his son off to a boarding school in Washington, D.C. While studying at New York’s Columbia University, he wrote a research paper on the U.S. overthrow of Guatemalan president Jacobo Árbenz, founded an environmental club and frequented the punk music scene.
Throughout his twenties, Beto enjoyed a bohemian existence dotted with a drunk driving accident and a trespassing charge, before he moved back into the family home and opened a web design firm with $19,000 from mom and dad, “Stanton Street Technology” to wit.
In November 1999, he posted an article on Stanton Street Technology’s “City Talk Readers’ Forum” on a topic that would draw the attention of his future campaign financiers. “The big issue today is access to capital,” he wrote, “and whether or not banks are making credit available to the qualified small businesses in town who need it.”
Beto O’Rourke came into his own around this time, schmoozing with his father’s friends and business associates, making the rounds, joining the Rotary Club, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and “every organization that would have me,” as he said. “If someone had an open slot, I wanted to be on it.”
By 2004, after his father’s death at the age of 58 in a bicycle accident, O’Rourke was considering his first political campaign for El Paso city council. It was around this time that his mother arranged a date for him with Amy Sanders, the daughter of local real estate mogul Bill Sanders.
Mogul might be an understatement, as Sanders had made hundreds of millions of dollars in the Chicago real estate scene, pioneered the investment instrument known as a REIT, or real estate investment trust, and was described by Bloomberg News in 1999 as “the Warren Buffett of real estate.” He moved from Chicago to Santa Fe, New Mexico, before returning to El Paso where he had grown up.
Funded by several of El Paso’s richest businessmen, Beto won a city council seat in 2005 on a platform of tax abatements for business. He married Amy shortly thereafter and became the chief promoter for an eminent domain redevelopment scheme centered on bulldozing working-class neighborhoods to make room for eateries and high-end stores on the downtown riverfront. Meanwhile, Bill Sanders formed the Borderplex Realty Trust, a holding company that bought up real estate in El Paso speculating on steep value increases as a result of the city’s (and Beto’s) gentrification plans. His fortune was estimated at $500 million in 2018—a solid “base” for an ambitious son-in-law.
By 2011, Sanders was encouraging O’Rourke to run for the U.S. House of Representatives seat held by a fellow Democrat and eight-term incumbent, Silvestre Reyes. Sanders established a Super PAC that spent some $240,000 attacking Reyes as corrupt.
O’Rourke won the primary and the election, along with two more in 2014 and 2016. His congressional tenure is marked by the pay-to-play crookery that, in its totality, comprises much of everyday bourgeois politics. He received campaign cash from employees of companies run by major donors. Employees of his father-in-law’s former company, Strategic Growth Bank, along with Sanders himself, donated $57,400 to O’Rourke’s 2014 and 2016 House campaigns. Likewise, employees of El Paso-based Western Refining gave $10,600 in 2014.
The biggest investment came from employees of Hunt Companies: $60,300 for the 2014 and 2016 election campaigns. In return, O’Rourke opposed decreases in defense appropriations that threatened Hunt Companies’ bottom line as the nation’s largest builder and manager of private housing for military personnel and families. O’Rourke assisted House Republicans in protecting $2 billion worth of subsidies to these large-scale slumlords.
Between 2016 and 2018, a foundation set up and funded by Woody Hunt of Hunt Companies paid Amy O’Rourke (a one-time teacher and charter school founder) $146,085 in “consulting fees,” a euphemism for services rendered.
O’Rourke was the 97th-richest person in the last Congress according to Roll Call. Tax returns show that between 2008 through 2017, nearly 40 percent of the O’Rourkes’ $3.4 million in income came from dividends, interest, capital gains and rental revenue from entities their parents owned or gave to them, including $1 million from two entities established by Amy O’Rourke’s father.
O’Rourke challenged Ted Cruz in the 2018 midterm election for Senator from Texas. O’Rourke campaigned on a national scale, appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and winning endorsements from Beyoncé, LeBron James and former CIA director John Brennan. The campaign—Cruz won by a three-percent margin—served largely to stoke enthusiasm among Democratic donors in the 2018 midterm elections in which the Democrats captured two Texas congressional seats, in Houston and
Dallas, as part of the 40-seat swing that gave them control of the House of Representatives. Texas saw the highest voter turnout of any state, compared to previous midterm elections, as 3.7 million more voters cast ballots in 2018 than four years earlier. Voters in urban centers like Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio showed up heavily for O’Rourke, but Cruz prevailed thanks to voters in the rural areas and mid-size cities.
“I learned a hell of a lot during that campaign,” O’Rourke said. “And I think at a time that our politics is so heavily scripted and tested and safe, there was something that was new and maybe even dangerous or different about the way that we ran this campaign.”
The Democratic wing of the American financial oligarchy learned something during that campaign, too. Here was someone with a proven record of service to big business and whose relative youth and supposed charisma might prove useful in 2020, either in the presidential race or in a contest against the other Republican senator from Texas, John Cornyn, a more establishment figure than the ultra-right Cruz.
O’Rourke identifies as a capitalist, rejecting the label “socialist” and even “progressive.” To date, his most developed policy proposal is a business-friendlier version of the Green New Deal, itself a political charade peddled by the less openly right wing of the Democratic caucus. O’Rourke’s plan highlights the private sector, drops the Green New Deal plank of full employment, and sets the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero by … 2050! While it has a price tag of $1.5 trillion—what the U.S. military burns through in two years —the plan mostly avoids specifics, including the source of that funding, although O’Rourke has in the past called for raising the minimum age for Social Security eligibility.
In an interview with the liberal magazine The American Prospect, O’Rourke claimed that his father-in-law with a $500 million fortune exerted no influence over his political agenda or program. William Sanders “made it a rule that he religiously followed, never to talk politics,” he said. This was apparently said with a straight face.
During his six years in Congress, O’Rourke showed no inclination to challenge the political establishment. Far from it: during his third term, which coincided with the first two years of the Trump administration, he voted 30 percent of the time with Trump, according to one vote tracking estimate. Open Secrets reported that in 2018 he accepted more contributions from the oil and gas industry than any other congressional candidate in the country—except for his opponent, Republican Ted Cruz.
To the extent that O’Rourke can boast any liberal credentials at all, he supports cosmetic changes in the criminal justice system, including legalizing marijuana and ending the cash bail system. He has defended NFL players who kneel during the national anthem to protest police violence. This type of “left” politics has an attractive price tag for the ruling class: it costs nothing.
On immigration, he stands boldly to the immediate left of the extreme right, favoring a “legal path to citizenship” and other paltry measures that preserve undocumented workers as a source of cheap labor for American businesses.
O’Rourke does not challenge the for-profit health care system. While he voices support for increasing public school teachers’ pay, his own spouse founded a charter school in El Paso and works for an organization that promotes them.
Finally, on foreign policy, O’Rourke defends the McCarthyite fiction of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. In his 2018 Senate bid, O’Rourke attacked opponent Ted Cruz from the right for failing to condemn President Trump’s diplomatic meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
O'Rourke told The Dallas Morning News that Trump should face impeachment, saying he had “welcomed the participation of a foreign power into our election, that sought to sway that election in his favor” and “clearly obstructed justice in firing the principal investigator,” a reference to former FBI Director James Comey.
A great deal has been written about the style of Beto O’Rourke, his personal mannerisms and so on. He has a penchant for a stream-of-consciousness type of rambling one would expect from a motivational speaker or cult leader.
These are of course secondary matters. The point is rather, why does this veritable belt-fed machine gun of platitudes stand a chance at the most important political office in the world? The “Beto” phenomenon gives a political reflection to the hopeless impasse of American capitalism. A widening chasm separates the few haves and the countless have nots.
Unlike rivals Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Beto O’Rourke has not sought to demonize the billionaires or Wall Street when he feints to the left. Instead, he has sought to corner the market on liberal guilt, publicly disavowing his own “white male privilege.”
Most recently, in an effort to revive his flagging campaign—now on its second “restart”—this posturing reached a particularly grating climax. O’Rourke announced in mid-July that both he and his wife had traced their descent from slave owners. He wrote in a post on Medium that he had recently acquired documents showing that his paternal great-great-great grandfather listed two women, Rose and Eliza, as his slaves.
“I benefit from a system that my ancestors built to favor themselves at the expense of others,” he wrote. “We all need to know our own story as it relates to the national story, much as I am learning mine. It is only then, I believe, that we can take the necessary steps to repair the damage done and stop visiting this injustice on the generations that follow ours.”
O’Rourke said that since his family had benefited from slavery and the “ensuing forms of institutionalized racism,” he felt it necessary to support reparations for the descendants of slaves, and embraced the legislation offered by fellow Texas Representative Sheila Jackson Lee.
The candidate makes no apology for benefiting from the vast fortune raked in by his father-in-law from real estate speculation, one of the most predatory and socially destructive forms of capitalist plunder. He swallows this camel but strains at the gnat of a sixth-generation connection to the slave system, which was overthrown 154 years ago in one of the greatest and most liberating struggles in world history, the American Civil War.
The political purpose is transparent. O’Rourke hopes to curry favor with the black political establishment for a campaign that is in near-terminal condition. But the contrast between his breast-beating over a slave system that was destroyed long ago and his adamant defense of modern capitalism, which exploits and oppresses billions of working people today, is instructive.
(Flint Michigan - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE77U2pSQ8Q Robert O'Rouke cooks dinner 3:10 min)
https://web.archive.org/web/20191010165012/https://shauntrain.blogspot.com/2019/10/aka-robert-beto-orourke-incredible.html