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iShot Machine Shakes Things Up on the iPhone, the Shot Recipe App

August 31, 2013

Raleigh, NC (PRWEB) June 9, 2009

Once again, Oasys Mobile pushes the envelope and defines "What’s Hot" just in time for summer. Today, Oasys Mobile announces the launch of their latest iPhone application, iShot Machine, a shot recipe app on the iPhone App Store.

iShot Machine combines the fun of playing the slot machines with a expansive database of over 3,000 liquor shots and shooter recipes. Using the accelerometer in the iPhone or iPod touch, the user can shake their device, activate the slot machine and find a winning shot every time, whether at their favorite neighborhood bar or a party.

"Most people, at least once in their life, have wondered what shot they wanted to do next. Now, there’s an app for that. iShot Machine is a party application with fun features and thousands of great shot recipes. It offers people a unique and fun way to discover thousands of fun shots to do. We are very excited about the release of iShot Machine. It caters to a hip niche market of iPhone and iPod touch users, and we think they’re going to love it!" says Dean Sauls, Designer of iShot Machine at Oasys Mobile.

The user can cater their search to their individual liquor tastes, or search by other criteria such as mixers or garnishes. If desired, the user can simply scroll through the database to find a recipe that has an interesting name or sounds enticing. Just shake it, and take your chances on what comes up. With over 3000 shots, there’s something for everyone. iShot Machine will turn anyone into the life of the party. Just shake, make and shoot.

iShot Machine, shot recipe app can be purchased here for $1.99

About Oasys Mobile:

Oasys Mobile, Inc. is an industry leading developer as well as a publisher and aggregator of premium mobile games, mobile media applications, and services. Oasys Mobile prides itself in working with some of the top licensors in the entertainment industry by developing top-tier franchise games and applications based on the following well-established brands: 2K’s Sid Meier’s Civilization IV, Railroad Tycoon, and Pirates!, Phil Hellmuth, Nickelodeon’s iCarly, The Wall Street Journal®, Hooters® Calendar and Oasys’ own top-selling brand, Girls Gone Mobile™. With over 30 branded titles representing all major categories, they provide a broad and diverse product line which is distributed through an extensive international and domestic Carrier network. For more information, go to: OasysMobile

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Online Casinos News · Filed Under Slot Machine News 

Judge Orders Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Wachovia and American Express to Turn Over Miccosukee Tribe’s Massive Financial Records

August 31, 2013

Miami, FL (PRWEB) August 03, 2011

U.S. District Judge Alan S. Gold ordered Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Wachovia and American Express to turn over the Miccosukee tribe’s massive financial records to the Internal Revenue Service, a ruling that will shine a light on the tribe’s once secretive finances and profits from billion dollar casino revenues. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA, CASE NO # CV-GOLD [LEAD CASE]

“The financial consequences could prove to be enormous and the legal precedence ground breaking,” said Miami-Dade lawyer Ramon M. Rodriguez. Rodriguez and his clients have a special interest in the IRS’s case.

“The IRS is able to get financial records that my clients have been waiting for,” Rodriguez said. “The tribe owes a great deal of money and they’ve been using Wall Street firms to hide their wealth. It’s been a financial hide and seek that would make Swiss banks proud.”

On July 21, 2011, Miami- Dade County Judge Michael A. Genden ordered sanctions against Miccosukee Tribe members Tammy Gwen Billie, her father, Jimmie Bert, and their Miami lawyer Michael R. Tein and the Coconut Grove, Fla. law firm Lewis Tein, for their abuse of the discovery process during the post-judgment stage of a wrongful death case.

Rodriguez has been trying to collect a $3.177 million judgment against these two Miccosukee tribal members since obtaining a verdict in July of 2009. In the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida, General Jurisdiction Division, Case No # CA 20.

The judgment stems from a horrible 1998 head-on collision automobile accident that occurred on Tamiami Trail near the Miccosukee reservation in Miami, Fla. Miccosukee tribal member, Tammy Gwen Billie, crossed the centerline and struck the Bermudez vehicle head-on. Billie was driving a vehicle owned by her father, Jimmie Bert, who is also a Miccosukee tribal member.

The collision killed Gloria Liliana Bermudez and injured her husband, Carlos Bermudez, and their infant son Matthew. According to court documents, Ms. Billie was intoxicated when she drove her father’s vehicle and subsequently pled guilty to vehicular homicide, resulting in probation.

In July 2009, a jury awarded the Bermudez family $3,177,000 in damages for the fatal accident in which a husband watched his wife die on the side of a road. The defendants have failed to satisfy the judgment and close to ½ million dollars in interest has accrued.

“The defendants claim to be uncollectible, but Bert and Billie are members of the Miccosukee Tribe which engages in Class II gaming. Court records reflect distributions in excess of $160,000 a year to another Miccosukee tribal member. In addition, private attorneys from day one of the case, which has lasted more than a decade, have defended Bert and Billie. Their lead attorney charges $550 per hour and Tein doesn’t work for free.”

In a hodge-podge of secret record keeping involving Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Wachovia and American Express, the tribe puts money in banks but manages to hide what money goes to whom, says Rodriguez. To date the Miccosukees have been able to hide their gambling revenues and how they distribute profits to tribal members. Court records show they’ve even failed to file a distribution plan with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

During the tribe’s litigation with the IRS, an agent said the IRS learned of “allegations that the tribe regularly hired armored cars to carry cash, somewhere between $6 and $10 million per quarter, from its gambling operation for direct distribution to tribal members without reporting these distributions to the IRS.”

Judge Gold halted the Miccosukee’s’ numerous attempts to block the IRS from digging into financial records relating to the tribes 600 members. Judge Gold said the IRS’s right to financial records supersedes the tribe’s sovereign nation status. The ruling covers all internal financial operations of the Miccosukee and their payments of gambling profits from the tribe’s casino to members. The documents are held by Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Wachovia and American Express and cover the years 2006-09.

Rodriguez and his clients are relieved that the profits the tribe receives from its slots and other gambling revenues will finally be made public.

“The Bermudez family was robbed of a mother and a wife in a horrific accident,” Rodriguez said

Available for interview: Ramon M. Rodriguez, and Carlos and Matt Bermudez

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Online Casinos News · Filed Under Casino News 

The Purple Crayon Guide to the Financial Crisis

August 31, 2013

Everyone is discussing recent market volatility and the looming global financial crisis. Unfortunately, most of the conversations are misinformed.

Not to worry, I’m here to help. Here’s your quick and dirty guide to what’s actually driving the crazy market gyrations and what to do before it’s too late.

The Problems:

* Banking Contagion. Remember the financial meltdown of 2008? That’s pretty much what’s happening to the EU and, by extension, everywhere else.

* Recession. The U.S. is in a recession. It won’t be officially defined as such until about January of next year, at which we will be told that the recession began in the third quarter of 2011. I see no point in waiting that long.

* Global Leadership Void. (see: "debt-ceiling debate")

* Growing Panic. The Dow was down 5.6% on Wednesday and up 4% on Thursday. That’s panic buying and panic selling.

How to save yourself from the fallout:

* Be aware, not afraid. I’m not trying to scare you. I’m telling you what is and I’m being as blunt as I can. Trust me, you’d rather hear this from me than your broker a year from now.

* Take Baby Steps. If you sold your whole portfolio on Wednesday and bought it back Thursday, you’ve got it wrong. Going "all-in" on an attempt to call a bottom in stocks is akin to betting your life savings on the green slot in roulette. Las Vegas and George Soros’ fortune were both built on people who make such decisions. Buy and sell a little bit at a time.

* Sell until you can sleep. If you’re waking up in a cold sweat thinking about your portfolio, your body is panicking. Eventually your sleep-deprived mind will start panicking as well, leading to horrible financial decisions.

* Have an exit plan. You can try anything you want if you know exactly how you’re going to get out unscathed or only minimally damaged. If you try to "buy the dip" you have to know in advance when you’re going to "sell your losing position." There’s no shame in being wrong; staying wrong is unforgivable.

Let’s continue the conversation below. Leave a comment or write to us at Breakoutcrew.

Online Casinos News · Filed Under Roulette News 

How to Make Money With a Casino Chip – Without Ever Setting Foot in a Casino and Never Gambling

August 31, 2013

(PRWEB) September 5, 2004

A new ‘business brainstorming bible’ – 227 Unusual Business Ideas – is a collection of 227 "different", but true and successful, business ideas in an easy-to-read format.

The book features an article about Las Vegas entrepreneur Dave Herber, who started off brokering special edition casino chips, and now sells custom-made home poker sets to wealthy gamblers all over the world. He’s actually making money out of casino chips, and yet he never, ever gambles.

As well as the world’s wackiest business ideas, co-authors Ross Stokes and Kathy Crockett have included a Business Brainstorming Guide as part of their "entrepreneur’s manual" – a practical "hands-on" resource that shows readers exactly how to use this collection of other people’s ideas to come up with their own brilliant moneymaker. They’re promoting their ebook via a website 227unusualbusinessideas .

"Whether you want to dream up a big new idea, or simply improve a business you already have, this entertaining but business-like book contains the inspiration and practical tips you need," says Stokes, a businessman with a history of unusual marketing tricks. (He once ran a chimney sweep business, and wore a top hat to every job in a bid to ensure customers remembered himÂÂ… they did.)

Readers of 227 Unusual Business Ideas sign up via a website (227unusualbusinessideas ) to receive a complimentary subscription to The Unusual Business Review, an ezine described as a "must read" for anyone interested in starting a business or improving an existing business. The online newsletter showcases interesting, unique and different business ideas from around the world, and also gives practical tips about how to use other people’s ideas to stimulate your own entrepreneurial imagination.

Previous issues include an interview with the couple who started Angel Sleeping Caskets, a burial service for pets; and a story about the Trim Trolley, a standard supermarket trolley which comes complete with the sort of fitness attachments you’d find in a gym.

For a free review copy of 227 Unusual Business Ideas contact:

Kathy Crockett on + #     

or     

Ross Stokes + #

Website: 227unusualbusinessideas

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Online Casinos News · Filed Under Poker News 

NH Gambling bill amendment allows 4 casinos

August 31, 2013

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire gambling proponents are doubling down in an effort to avoid potentially losing revenue to Massachusetts.

Amendments to a bill in the New Hampshire House to legalize gambling include licensing four casinos with 14,000 slot machines and 420 table games, as well as lowering the business tax.

With Massachusetts approving licenses for three casinos in November, proponents say New Hampshire must act immediately to legalize gambling or else it could see a drain of tourism dollars and room and meal tax revenue towards its neighbor to the south. The amendment to authorize four casinos would make all the licenses available simultaneously.

The House delayed a vote on the gambling bill last week, saying the amendments first needed a public hearing and consideration. The Ways and Means Committee held the hearing Tuesday afternoon.

Gambling proponents told the committee legalizing gambling this session offers a window of opportunity before Massachusetts can begin building.

“What we have known as the ‘NH advantage’ — the advantage that bring Massachusetts consumers to our state — will rapidly become the ‘Massachusetts advantage,’” said Democratic Rep. Candace Bouchard from Concord.

Others touted casinos as job generators through their construction, continued operation and the cuts to the business tax that one of the amendments incorporates.

Salem, with its location over the Massachusetts border off Interstate-93, would be the most likely choice for one of two 5,000-slot, 150-card table casino according to many gambling proponents. One of the smaller, 2,000-slot, 60-card table casinos would go to an economically depressed area of the state such as Coos County or certain towns in Cheshire County.

This bill began as a bid to license two slot parlors.

While opposition speakers at the hearing mainly used arguments of social decay and the erosion of New Hampshire’s brand, there have been other concerns about the form of gambling the amendments would institute.

Republican Rep. Steve Vaillancourt from Manchester introduced his so-called “Your Honorable Compromise” amendment to allow six smaller slot machine state-owned facilities in lieu of what he called “mega complexes.” The plan was presented by Manchester Mayor, and former state senator, Ted Gatsas in 2009 but has never passed a legislative body.

Committee member Rep. David Hess is a longtime gambling opponent, but in his minority report against the committee’s amendment he focused his criticism on what he said was a low, fixed licensing fee for the casinos, low profit sharing, no minimum capital investment and no effective regulation. Though he told The Associated Press he also believed gambling in any form would erode New Hampshire, the Hooksett Republican said he was arguing the bill put in front of him.

“If you’re going to do this, don’t leave any money on the table. Do it the right way,” Hess told the AP.

Bill passage is in doubt, and both gambling supporters and opponents are scrambling to shore up votes. The House has never passed a gambling bill, and it would require a two-thirds majority if it hopes to override the promised veto by Gov. John Lynch.

Online Casinos News · Filed Under Slot Machine News 

It’s Cashmill Bingo’s Birthday and You’re the Guest of Honor

August 31, 2013

(PRWEB) June 26, 2004

Cashmill Bingo (CashmillBingo), one of the internet’s most popular pay-for-play internet bingo games, marked the start of its 1st Annual Birthday Extravaganza today, celebrating its first full year online. Visitors to the site can participate in site festivities beginning on Friday, June 25th and continue to party down until July 4th.

Among the many limited specials the site will be running will be higher minimum starting jackpot totals, surprise 100% bonus buck promotions, bigger penny jackpots and much, much more. "It’s our birthday here at Cashmill Bingo but it’s the players who will really clean up," said Karen Bliss Marketing Manager. "We have boosted the starting jackpots on all our games during this celebration and will be running special NICKNAME BONUS BUCK PULL TABS promotions for all players starting on Tuesday, 6/29 and running until July 4th."

Besides its bigger "Nickname BB Pull Tabs" contest, Cashmill Bingo will also be running several other themed game and jackpot promotions including the following:

Higher minimum prizes in all 3 halls during the promotion. The Minimum prizes for Birthday week in the Main Hall will be raised to $20, Ball Hall $10 and Family Hall $5.

Receive a 100% Deposit Bonus on all deposits made by new and existing players between 1am and 2am EVERY DAY during the 10-day Birthday promotion.

Play for bigger Bingolympics jackpots then ever before. Play Bingolympics starting on Friday, June 25th for $500 minimum jackpots. All the same patterns you love, but more to be won.

Try the great penny promotion for the frugal bingo enthusiast. The Family Hall cards will be only a penny starting at 12am EST and will continue all day Saturday until midnight Saturday night! Don’t miss your chance to play pennies and win a $200 Jackpot!

So many promotions they can’t all be listed here. Visit the siteÂÂ’s detailed birthday promotions page located here: cashmillbingo

With Cashmill Bingo now giving away over $1,000,000 a month in prizes there has never been a better time to stop in and try a game or two or just chat. Just visit CashmillBingo today, download the game, sign up for a free account and start playing for as little as $5 today. What are you waiting for?

ABOUT CASHMILL BINGO

Cashmill Bingo is an online bingo game featuring live bingo, progressive slots, pull tabs and video poker action. Launched live in July of 2003, Cashmill Bingo is one of the fastest growing bingo sites on the Internet and was recently named the #2 Best New Bingo Game for 2003 by industry site Which Bingo. For more information on Cashmill Bingo visit CashmillBingo

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Online Casinos News · Filed Under Bingo News 

IMF’s Lagarde says U.S. budget cuts ‘inappropriate’

August 30, 2013

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France (Reuters) – The U.S. federal budget cuts are an inappropriate measure that will weigh on potential growth, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said on Sunday, urging Washington to present “credible” fiscal plans.

Washington enacted across-the-board federal government spending cuts, known as sequestration, in March because Congress could not agree on an alternative.

It has meant everything from furloughs for air traffic controllers to fewer planes for the U.S. Navy to smaller subsidies for farmers.

“The budgetary procedure that is in place in the United States, which leads to a budgetary adjustment, seems to us absolutely inappropriate … because it blindly affects certain expenditures that are essential to support medium and long term growth,” Lagarde told an economists’ conference in Aix-en-Provence, southern France.

Her comments echoed those last month from the IMF itself, which said: “The deficit reduction in 2013 has been excessively rapid and ill-designed.”

In its annual check of the health of the U.S. economy, the IMF forecast economic growth would be a sluggish 1.9 percent this year. The IMF reckons growth would be as much as 1.75 percentage points higher if not for the rush to cut the government’s budget deficit.

While the budget cuts that took hold on March 1 do not appear to be hitting government payrolls directly so far, some economists said they were weighing on private employers and helped explained a sharp slowdown in hiring in the health care and social assistance sector.

Lagarde urged Washington – as well as Tokyo – to come up with fresh plans to cut their debt.

Japan has pledged to halve the primary deficit – the budget excluding new bond sales and debt servicing – by March 2016 and bring it to surplus by March 2021 to contain its ballooning public debt. It will detail how it wants to accomplish that in a medium-term fiscal plan expected in August.

“It is indispensable that these countries indicate for the long and medium term predictable, credible fiscal policies, anchored in legislation that will not be challenged, which will bring the deficit down in a way that will reverse the debt trajectory to a downward trend,” she said.

(Reporting by Ingrid Melander and Michel Rose; Writing by Elena Berton; Editing by Alison Williams)

Online Casinos News · Filed Under Bingo News 

Compulsive Gambling Increases as Gambling Opportunities Proliferate

August 30, 2013

San Francisco (PRWEB) January 2, 2010

As the gaming industry casts wider and wider nets with the proliferation of gambling opportunities– the net is catching more people with propensities towards gambling addiction.

“Compulsive gambling is the urge to gamble despite having harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop. It’s not how much time or money a gambler gambles, but the harm to the gambler or his or her partner or family that determines whether it is compulsive gambling. Compulsive Gambling, like drug and alcohol addiction, is a debilitating condition that wrecks havoc in people’s lives,” says San Francisco psychotherapist Michael Halyard.

Halyard is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and runs the websites sftherapy and sanfrancisco-psychotherapy .

Halyard says that anecdotally, therapists are getting more calls from compulsive gamblers. “My colleagues tell me that they have gotten an increase in those seeking treatment for gambling addiction, including underage teens that get hooked on Internet gambling.”

“It used to be that if you wanted to gamble, you had to go to Las Vegas or Atlantic City. Now days, people can gamble in the comfort of their own homes on the computer, or go to nearby card room or Indian Casino. Casinos offer slot machines, sports betting, card games, but there’s also the horse racing, greyhound racing, card rooms, bingo parlors, and state lotteries. Gambling is ubiquitous and one of the few booming industries. In 2006, Americans lost nearly 91 billion dollars gambling,” adds Halyard.

Casinos may bring economic development to some communities and help some Native Americans tribes prosper. Online casinos make gambling available anywhere. But the costs of the proliferation of gambling opportunities are significant to gambling addicts.

“There is always going to be a percentage of gamblers who will become compulsive gamblers. When the total number of people gambling is low, that means fewer compulsive gamblers. However, today with so many gambling opportunities–there are more people gambling that wouldn’t have otherwise–and some of those people will no doubt become addicted. Likewise, more gambling opportunities can mean that gamblers gamble more frequently –increasing the likelihood that they will cross that invisible line into addiction. Current estimates for compulsive gamblers are as high as seven percent of the population, and that number could go up even higher,” explains Halyard.

The difference between compulsive gambling (problem gambling) and pathological gambling are a matter of degree. Compulsive gambling is the urge to gamble–and inability to limit the amount of time or money spent on gambling–despite having harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop.

"Pathological gambling is more severe, and defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) published by the American Psychiatric Association. The DSM-IV classifies pathological gambling as an impulse control disorder that is a chronic and progressive mental illness. To be diagnosed with pathological gambling, a person have at least five of following symptoms: preoccupation with gambling, tolerance, loss of control, withdrawal symptoms when stopping gambling, escaping to relieve uncomfortable feelings, chasing one’s losses, lying, committing illegal acts, and asking for bailouts," reveals Halyard.

Halyard says despite being classified as an impulse control disorder, many psychotherapists who work with compulsive gamblers see it more as an addiction because the condition shares so many characteristics with drug and alcohol dependence, including tolerance and withdrawal.

"Like alcoholism or drug addiction, gambling addiction can create lots of wreckage–not only for the gambler, but their partner, spouse, or family due to the financial mess in the gamblers’ wake–and the effects can be devastating. For example, it’s not uncommon for the spouse of a compulsive gambler to find out the gambler has re-mortgaged their house and gambled all the money, says Halyard.

"Compulsive gamblers chase their losses–meaning they mistakenly believe they can win back the money they’ve lost. This can lead to disastrous consequences, including refinancing their home to have money to gamble, liquidating their assets, spending their life savings, only to end up penniless. It’s not uncommon for people to lose half a million dollars gambling," adds Halyard.

Compulsive gambling is detrimental to interpersonal relationships, with the friends and family sharing much of the pain that comes with the addiction. When a person is addicted, the primary relationship becomes the addiction. When gamblers are on a binge, they can stay up for a couple days gambling because they are on a high from gambling, leaving their family behind. Growing up in a family where a parent is a compulsive gambler can mean economic insecurity, neglect, and lots of conflict.

"Often as debts build up, compulsive gamblers become desperate and turn to other sources of money including theft, selling drugs. Without treatment, compulsive gamblers even get to the point of contemplating suicide," reveals Halyard.

Although the exact causes for gambling addiction are not known, it is clear that brain chemicals serotonin, dopamine, and norepinphrine play a role. Low serotonin levels may also contribute to compulsive behavior, including compulsive gambling.

Medications used to treat Parkinson’s disease called dopamine agonists have been linked to the development of compulsive gambling. This happens because these medications mimic dopamine levels in the brain, creating a rush for individuals who are experiencing a reward or excitement. This suggests that differing dopamine levels in different non-Parkinson’s individuals may explain why some people are more susceptible to gambling addiction.

"Some compulsive gamblers have lower levels of norepinphrine than normal gamblers. Pathological gamblers may gamble to compensate for their low levels of norepinphrine– which is produced when people are having a thrill, aroused, excited, or under stress. In one study, MRI’s even revealed that gaining money in a casino-like environment produced similar brain activation to that of cocaine addicts getting a fix," reveals Halyard.

"All this makes it clear that addiction is not a moral issue, it’s a brain issue. Science is now showing us that for addicts, the part of the brain that is in charge of decision making is broken, which is why addicts of all kinds continue the addictive behavior in spite of ever increasing negative consequences," argues Halyard.

Halyard says compulsive gambling is one of the harder addictions to beat, possibly due to the lack of awareness that it can be an addiction, and the individual and communal denial about how serious of a problem it is.

"The impediment to treatment is often denial, because people don’t want to think they have a problem and shame, because people don’t want others to know. In their head, the compulsive gambler really thinks they control their gambling. Unfortunately most compulsive gamblers don’t get treatment, or only get treatment when they’ve lost everything," says Halyard.

Treatment may include psychotherapy, medication, Gamblers Anonymous (GA), or a combination of these. Gamblers Anonymous is a mutual support approach, 12-step program based on Alcoholics Anonymous and is extremely effective for those willing to do the work.

"Therapy can help the compulsive gambler identify the triggers- those feelings and situations that make the person want to gamble. Triggers can vary, for some compulsive gamblers, it’s having cash, for others it’s uncomfortable feelings, stress, boredom or lack of structure. Most compulsive gamblers dealt with uncomfortable emotions by gambling, so therapy works on building new coping skills to cope with feelings, adversity, and stress. Therapy can also help the compulsive gambler learn to cope with urges, and help reduce urges by identifying gambling thought processes and cognitive distortions that increase an individual’s vulnerability to gambling. Urges come and go, but get shorter and less intense with longer periods of sobriety. Therapy can also help with skill-building techniques focused on relapse prevention, problem solving, assertiveness and gambling refusal, and reinforcement of non-gambling activities and interests," explains Halyard.

“GA offers tons of support for compulsive gamblers and gives them tools to cope with life. Like alcoholism, gambling creates lots of wreckages in the form of damaged relationships due to financial strain and neglect. The 12-steps offer a good way to take an inventory of your life and set things right with people who have been harmed,” argues Halyard.

The opiate antagonists Nalmefene and Naltrexone, medications used to treat substance additions, have been shown to help treat pathological gambling. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s) like Paxil have also been shown to be effective.

Once in treatment or GA, the gambler must take steps to avoid having a relapse. Cash is like crack for the compulsive gambler, and often compulsive gamblers need their spouse or partner to handle the finances for at least a while. Also, most casinos offer a voluntary exclusion program, so you can ban yourself from the casino if you are a compulsive gambler.

“If you think you have a problem, try taking GA’s online test and see how you do. If you do have a problem, get help. Try going to GA, see a psychotherapist, and think about getting on medication to help with cravings. In the past there were few opportunities for treatment, but today we are lucky to live in a time with lots of opportunities for treatment that work. People do recover from compulsive gambling, and have a much richer life. The only way a compulsive gambler wins is not to bet at all,” adds Halyard.

About Michael Halyard. Michael Halyard, MS, MFT is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and provides counseling and psychotherapy in his San Francisco private practice. He specializes in addictions, depression, anxiety, couples counseling and LGBT issues. He also runs the web sites sftherapy and sanfrancisco-psychotherapy

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Online Casinos News · Filed Under Slot Machine News 

Murray in Wimbledon SFs, with Djokovic, del Potro

August 30, 2013

LONDON (AP) — They sighed when Andy Murray faulted.

They stood and roared when he hit winners.

And when Murray dropped the first two sets of his Wimbledon quarterfinal Wednesday, the 15,000 Centre Court spectators were suddenly so silent that birds could be heard chirping.

By the time his five-set comeback was nearly complete, more than two hours later, the fans were greeting each point that went Murray’s way with celebrations of the sort normally reserved for a championship. It’s been 77 years since a British man won the country’s Grand Slam tennis tournament, and thanks to the second-seeded Murray’s 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5 victory over 54th-ranked Fernando Verdasco, the locals still can hold out hope the wait will end Sunday.

First things first, of course. Murray, who is from Scotland, will play in the semifinals at the All England Club for the fifth consecutive year Friday, facing No. 24 Jerzy Janowicz of Poland. The other semifinal is No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia against No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina.

There is no doubt who will be the recipient of the most boisterous support.

“Great atmosphere at the end of the match. … I love it when it’s like that. It was extremely noisy,” said Murray, who lost last year’s Wimbledon final to Roger Federer. “They were right into it, pretty much every single point.”

Murray needed to summon some pretty strong tennis, and plenty of grit, for his seventh career victory after facing a two-set deficit. He never panicked — no matter what all of his self-admonishing muttering and gesticulating looked like — and eventually figured out how to handle Verdasco’s 130 mph serves and high-risk, high-reward style.

Murray’s mother, British Fed Cup captain Judy Murray, called the match “one of the toughest to sit through.”

“When you play more and more matches, and gain more experience, you understand how to turn matches around and how to change the momentum of games,” Murray said. “Maybe when I was younger, I could have lost that match. But I think I’ve learnt how to come back from tough situations more as I got older.”

He’s only 26, but he truly has matured as a player over the past 12 months. After shedding tears following the 2012 Wimbledon final, Murray returned to the same spot four weeks later and beat Federer to win a gold medal at the London Olympics. Then, at the U.S. Open in September, he defeated Djokovic to win his first Grand Slam title.

Asked if his triumph in Flushing Meadows lessened the pressure to succeed at home, Murray said: “It’s pretty much the same. Not a whole lot’s changed.”

Murray tries to avoid reading the coverage about him, but he can’t help noticing newspapers left around the locker room.

Even British Prime Minister David Cameron took an interest, writing Wednesday morning on Twitter: “The sky over Downing St a little grey right now. Let’s hope it clears up for @Andy_Murray to win at #Wimbledon. Best of luck Andy.”

Wednesday’s other quarterfinals lasted a mere three sets each and the most compelling segments came at the very beginning of 2009 U.S. Open champion del Potro’s 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (5) win against No. 4 David Ferrer, and the very end of Janowicz’s 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 victory over 130th-ranked Lukasz Kubot in the first Grand Slam match between two men from Poland.

Janowicz, 22, reached his first major semifinal — the first for a man from his country — by pounding serves at a tournament-high 140 mph, compiling 30 aces, and saving all six break points he faced. When it finished, Kubot walked around the net to Janowicz’s side of the court and the pair of Davis Cup teammates and good pals enveloped each other in a warm embrace. Then they yanked their white shirts off and exchanged them, the way soccer players trade jerseys after games.

Janowicz sat in his sideline chair, covered his face and sobbed.

“It’s not easy to control all of the feelings inside my body,” he said. “I was never in (a major) quarterfinal before. I never had a chance to be in (the) semifinal of a Grand Slam. I never played against Lukasz before.”

Honest perhaps to a fault, Janowicz gave a succinct answer when asked for his thoughts about the semifinal between Djokovic vs. del Potro: “I don’t care.”

On the fifth point the 6-foot-6 del Potro played Wednesday, his left foot slid out from under him as he sprinted to reach a ball. Del Potro’s heavily wrapped left knee, which he hyperextended on a face-first tumble in the third round, slackened, then bent backward.

“Really painful,” del Potro said. “I was scared.”

He fell to the turf and rolled over twice, then stayed down until a trainer came out to check on him and dispense anti-inflammatory medicine.

“Magic pills,” del Potro called them.

After a 10-minute break, he resumed playing — and playing quite well.

He hasn’t lost a set en route to his first Wimbledon semifinal. Djokovic also has won all 15 sets he’s played, including in a 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-3 victory over No. 7 Tomas Berdych to reach a 13th consecutive Grand Slam semifinal, the second-longest streak in men’s tennis history behind Roger Federer’s 23.

Djokovic entered Wednesday with a 13-2 lead in their head-to-head series, but one loss came at Wimbledon in 2010, when Berdych was the runner-up, and the other came in their most recent meeting, at Rome in May. The first set was tight as can be, and Berdych led 5-4 in the tiebreaker before faltering. He sent a return long, badly missed what should have been a routine backhand, then pushed a forehand wide for another error.

That gave Djokovic the opening set, but Berdych responded strongly, breaking twice to lead 3-0 in the second. Not surprisingly, Djokovic awoke again, taking seven of the next eight games.

“I don’t know how I managed to turn the second set around,” said six-time major champion Djokovic, who won Wimbledon in 2011. “I managed to step in and just tried to be a little bit more aggressive. That brought me a victory.”

He’s 8-3 against del Potro. The last time they met, though, in March at Indian Wells, Calif., Djokovic lost. And the last time they played at the All England Club, in the bronze-medal match at the Olympics, Djokovic lost, too.

“He’s very tall, so he uses that serve as a powerful weapon. And of course (the) forehand, that is his signature shot,” Djokovic said. “You know, it’s semifinals, so everything is open, on the table.”

When the draw came out nearly two weeks ago, everyone pointed with interest at the potential quarterfinal between Federer vs. Rafael Nadal. Funny how things work out. Nadal lost in the first round, Federer in the second, and ever since, much of the media and sports fans here figured Murray had as good a chance as anyone to claim a trophy no British man has earned since Fred Perry in 1936.

That certainly seemed in peril when Verdasco grabbed a two-set lead.

“The second set,” Murray said, “was a bad set of tennis for me.”

But he broke to go ahead 2-0 in the third, which he wrapped up rather easily.

“Gave him a lot of confidence,” Verdasco said.

There were more difficult patches for Murray and his supporters in the stands and those watching on a giant videoboard across the grounds at a picnic area known as Murray Mount.

Trailing 3-2 in the fourth, Murray faced two break points. Said Verdasco: “The match wouldn’t have been over, but I would have been real close.”

Murray erased one break point with a 106 mph service winner, the other with a 111 mph ace. Then he broke in the very next game, during which Verdasco complained to the chair umpire about too much noise during the course of play — the “oohs” and “aahs,” the yelps of excitement, the groans of disappointment.

Quickly, Murray owned the fourth set, too.

In the fifth, Verdasco led 4-3 when Murray fell behind love-30 while serving. Again, Murray came through, taking the next four points to make it 4-all. Murray looked into the crowd, shook his right fist and yelled, “Come on, now!”

The voices urging him on grew louder.

“They gave him strength,” Verdasco said. “How much, you don’t know. But having the crowd’s support can help.”

At 5-all, a 21-stroke exchange closed with Verdasco dropping a backhand into the net to give Murray a break point, the last he would need. Murray came up with one of several superb returns, and Verdasco missed a forehand. That made it 6-5, and as Murray prepared to serve out the match, fans bellowed, “Let’s go, Andy! Let’s go!”

Four points later, it was over.

“Verdasco played very well,” said Murray’s coach, eight-time major champion Ivan Lendl. “Andy did what he had to do to win.”

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Peppermill Reno Hotel Casino Slot Tournaments in April

August 30, 2013

Reno, NV (PRWEB) March 24, 2005

"It’s Raining Cash" Slot Tournament.

Cash will reign during the Peppermill’s exciting $40,000 "It’s Raining Cash" Slot Tournament, Sunday and Monday, April 3 and 4. The entry fee is only $199 and includes three rounds of tournament play, a cake and champagne awards ceremony, free Danish and coffee in the tournament area Monday morning and a shot at the of $40,000 in cash prizes, including the $4,000 first place prize. Plus, everybody in the tournament wins; even the last place finisher will receive a cash prize. And our out-of-town guests will receive two complimentary room nights in a luxurious Peppermill tower room.

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Slot Contest number two: "Tax Break" Slot Tournament at the Peppermill

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