Nevada gaming win rises in July

CARSON CITY, Nev. - Nevada casinos won more than $931 million from gamblers in July, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

The July numbers represent a 0.65 percent increase from July 2013.

Clark County casinos fared better. Clark County casinos won more than $800 million in July - an increase of 2.2 percent from last year. Casinos along the Las Vegas Strip and in Mesquite posted the best results.

Despite the positive numbers, the state collected less money in fees as a result of the July gaming win. Nevada collected more than 52 million in taxable revenue - a decline of 14.7 percent from 2013.

Mosquitoes in valley test positive for West Nile virus

LAS VEGAS -- Mosquitoes found in southern Nevada have tested positive for West Nile virus, according to the Southern Nevada Health District.

The health district says mosquitoes collected in five zip codes around the Las Vegas valley have tested positive. The zip codes are 89103, 89107, 89129, 89138, and 89149

At this point, no human cases of the virus have been reported in Clark County. Last year, nine people contracted the virus and two people died.

The health district says because the infected mosquitoes have been found in several areas around the valley, it is likely that the virus is present through southern Nevada. The district advises people to take precautions against mosquitoes, including using insect repellants and eliminating standing water, which mosquitoes use for breeding.

"Rainy weather can be a pro and a con. It is a pro in that the wash channels that we have get a good flushing. They get irrigated out as that water goes to Lake Mead, so any standing water gets washed out. However, you also have swimming pools that may have been empty for a while that are now filled up with rain water that can breed mosquitoes." Vivek Raman with the health district said.

SMI -10/5/13

Still, for some reason, when it dawns on me that it is, in fact, Saturday morning, my thoughts go back to Alice Tuttle and her "Saturday House Cleaning." For those who don't know it, Alice is a name from my past, knew her in Reno, she was a friend, a friend of a friend, and she was a 21 dealer at Harolds Club.

Saturday was a day off and a day to visit, so we often ended up at her apartment for coffee in the morning. Saturday was her cleaning day. So, I have come to associate Saturday, with Alice, and a cleaning day. Funny the things we remember.

Speaking of Harolds Club, where is it. Torn down, nothing there,  how about the Nevada Club, torn down, now a plaza of some kind. I would cry, if I visited Reno. The Harolds, Lincoln Fitzgerald, Bill Harrah, built the state of Nevada, and Reno, later on Vegas, and they little to know credit for their contribution. Harolds "Reno or Bust" was seen on billboards around the world.

What recognizes their contribution in Nevada. Nothing.

Little to nothing of their history exists. Dwayne Kling has written books on the subject, but little else remains.

What people, have done so much, and gotten so little recognition? There are even more individuals who are "notorious" in Nevada history, whose names are not even known, but contributed much to the history of the industry and the state.

Harolds Club in Reno

There is a documentary being prepared on Harolds Club in Reno. I have spent many hours there, and some of these faces are quite familiar. Nevada and the entire casino industry can thank the Smith family for pioneering state and the entire industry.

It is difficult to explain a visit to Harolds Club. it was a world unto itself. There were fun collections, silver dollar bars, so many different "themes" in each area on the various floors. The Seventh Floor was unique, very intimate. I have seen Carl Ravazza entertain there often. He was a "matinee" idol  and a singer and a band leader from years past and lived in Reno.  The houselights would dim and he would enter from the back of the room and slowly make his way to the front singing some intimate lilting French song, and then for an hour captivate you with songs, stories and golf jokes. I have seen many well known entertainers while out there, but none as memorable as Carl Ravazza.

Anyway, this clip gives you a taste of Harolds Club. Notice she states that they all were taught to deal the same way. On my Nevada Club blog I have given my explanation and reason for them doing that. Harold was smarter than other owners, and I have never seen it stated before, but, in my opinion, we detected one of the reasons why they were so successful.

Be patient, it may take a while to download.

THE HAROLDS PROMOTIONAL DOCUMENTARY

Great Idea ....

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- Nevada has set up a hotline to combat fraud, waste and abuse of taxpayer money.

A memo distributed Monday by the Department of Administration urges state employees and contractors to report inappropriate use of state or federal funds by calling the fraud hotline.

Employees are being urged to watch for instances where proper procedures aren't followed; irregular work hours; and employees who don't appropriately account for leave on time sheets.

Other red-flags include excessive travel inconsistent with job duties; incomplete documentation when seeking reimbursement for supplies or travel claims; and unusual purchases not included in an agency's approved budget.

Flyers advertising the hotline are to be displayed at all agency offices as required under AB327 approved by the 2013 Legislature.

The hotline number is 775-687-0150.

Ah, hi, Hotline, well I don't know if it's my business or not, but, well, I read what you wanted us to do and, ah, well, I see where Obama and a whole lot of people and cars and trucks, and, well, a whole passle of folks, well, went to Africa, and well I heard it cost us, well, ah, around .... ah one hundred million dollars, and, ah, well thet seems like a whole lotta waste to me ..... hello, hello, hello ...... they hung up.

More than 700 firefighters lose ground to raging Nevada wildfires

Hundreds have been evacuated from their homes as deadly mountain wildfires continue to rage through parched woodland in northern and southern Nevada this morning.

A 24-square-mile blaze has forced more than 500 people out of homes in Mount Charleston some 25 miles Northwest of Las Vegas while other fires have broken out near Reno and Kearn.

More than 750 firefighters, including 18 elite Hotshot crews, today lost more ground to the raging wildfire fire named Carpenter 1 which was sparked by lightning striking dried woodland on July 1. It comes just 24 hours after the funeral of 19 firefighters who lost their lives battling wildfires just 700 miles away near Yarnell, in Arizona on June 30.

Smoke from the blaze near Mount Charleston created a towering white cloud that stretched northeast, visible from downtown Las Vegas.

The Clark County Department of Air Quality issued a health advisory that officials said would remain in effect today through Sunday.

An influx of firefighters and equipment including bulldozers, seven helicopters, four air tankers and a DC-10 jet fire retardant bomber arrived in the area as other fast-moving fires were reported across the state.

A 27-square-mile fire has burned through the Pine Nut Mountains southwest of Reno while further South salt cedar trees have caught fire along the San Pedro River bed outside the remote community of Kearn.

What is Nevada's BLACK BOOK and who is in it?

Nevada's Black Book (not actually black but silver) is an attempt to keep organized crime out of casinos. Officials add the names of known crime figures to the book, and then any book member commits a crime simply by setting foot in a casino.The casino also commits a crime if it fails to report gambling in its facility by a Black Book member.

The book is only 36 pages long but lists some of the most notorious names in gambling crime since its creation in 1960. It was born out of the fear that if Nevada couldn't keep organized crime out of gambling then Congress would eliminate the industry completely through high taxes.
Eleven names were drawn up in the original list, consisting of individuals defined as having a "notorious and unsavory reputation which would adversely affect public confidence and trust that the gaming industry is free from criminal or corruptible elements."

Current "Black Book" members and the year they entered the list:

Marshall Caifano, Chicago mob leader 1960
Louis Dragna, Mob leader,convicted racketeer 1960
Alvin Kaohu, Hawaiian organized crime member 1975
Wilford Pulawa, Hawaiian organized crime boss 1975
John Vaccaro, Slot cheater 1986
Sandra Vaccaro, Slot cheater 1987
Chris Petti, Mob associate, convicted book maker and card cheater 1987
Michael Rizzitello, Mob associate,convicted kidnapper 1988
William Land,Card cheater 1988
James Tamer,Mob skimmer,bank robber 1988
Frank Masterana, Convicted bookmaker 1988
Frank Rosenthal, Mob associate 1988
Harold Lyons,Slot cheater 1989
Joseph Cusumano, Mob associate, convicted racketeer 1990
Douglas Barr,Slot cheater 1990
Timothy Childs, Slot cheater 1991
Francis Citro, Mob collector, convicted racketeer 1991
Richard Perry,Convicted sports fixer 1992
Anthony St.Laurent, Reputed mob associate, convicted racketeer,bookmaker 1993
Dominic Spinale, Convicted illegal bookmaker 1994
Brent Eli Morris
Douglas William Barr, Convicted slot cheat 1994
William Dominick Cammisano Jr., Reputed mob figure, convicted felon 1997
Ronald Harris, Former Gaming  Control Board computer expert who rigged slot machines 1997
Anthony "Tony Ripe" Civella, Reputed Kansas City, Mo., mob figure 1997
Jerry Dale Criner, Convicted slot cheat 1997
Louis John Olejack, Convicted card cheat  1997
John Joseph Conti, Reputed mob associate 1997
Stephen Cino, Reputed  mob associate 1997
Charles Panarella, Reputed mob associate 1997
Michael DiBari, Slot cheater 1998
Peter Joseph "P.J." Ribaste, Reputed mob associate  1999
Fred Pascente, a former Chicago police detective who served time for his connection to an Illinois mail fraud ring. (1999)
Michael Joseph Balsamo, a six-time convicted slot cheat,who is in the North Las Vegas jail in connection with a nationwide slot cheating scheme.(1999)
Peter Jay Lenz--Convicted on  bookmaking charges three times and on federal charges of making false statements on a passport application.

I knew a few who made this book, it used to be called the Blue Book. Had a good friend who was a "rhythm slot man" which I never understood, but Bob made a considerable amount of money, invested in real estate, and did well. He had every make of slot in his basement and worked long hours to "perfect" his system. 

In reply to an email at joedooley@yahoo.com

Top right here is Hawthorne Hill, the home of Orville Wright. I only lived a few blocks from here in Oakwood, in Dayton, Ohio. This estate and the grounds took up quite an area. I have delivered newspapers to this house while Orville still lived here. I never saw him in this house, but saw him around town on a number of occasions. I delivered the paper to a door around the back, and collected from a housekeeper. I was not their regular paper carrier, I filled in for a friend when , he could not deliver the Dayton Daily News.

I remember on one occasion, mid 40's, a parade downtown, Charles Kettering, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Orville Wright, riding in the back of an open limo. Rather than taking him home, Orville got out and walked a few blocks to this house. I was farther down, actually in school, when the caravan went by and just got to see Kettering, who lived in Dayton, and FDR.

Dayton, Ohio is the home of a great deal of this nation's history. Not may communities can boast having the likes of Orville Wright and Charles Kettering as residents.

I remember this .............

The Chinese table tennis player who was instrumental in the pingpong diplomacy that paved the way for President Nixon's groundbreaking visit to China has died. Zhuang Zedong was 73.

Here's more from the BBC about the 1971 incident that led to pingpong diplomacy:

"The incident that triggered the invitation to the US table tennis team to visit China took place at the world championships in Nagoya, Japan, when [American table tennis player Glenn] Cowan missed his team's bus and was given a ride on the Chinese bus.

"In an interview with Reuters in 2007, Zhuang said his team mates had urged him not to approach the American, but he ignored them.

"Through an interpreter he told Cowan: 'Although the US government is unfriendly to China, the American people are friends of the Chinese. I give you this [a silk portrait] to mark the friendship from Chinese people to the American people.'"

Zhuang, a three-time world champion, was a major sporting figure in China. Photographs of him with Cowan created a stir because of poor relations between their two countries. Following the incident, Chinese leader Mao Zedong ordered the 15-member American team to be invited to China.

Nixon was in China less that a year later, a visit that led to diplomatic ties in 1979.

The Year of the Snake ................

Over 1.3 billion people in China and millions of Chinese around the world celebrate the first day of the Chinese New Year – February 10, 2013 – today. 

It’s the most important of Chinese holidays, kicking off a celebration that lasts for 15 days and culminates with the Lantern Festival.

Each year is associated with one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. 

For 2013, it’s the Year of the Snake. 

.

Reports of stampede at Hindu festival in India

By By BISWAJEET BANERJEE, Associated Press

ALLAHABAD, India (AP) — At least 10 people were feared dead and 30 more were injured Sunday after a stampede broke out at a train station in the northern Indian town where millions of devout Hindus gathered for a religious festival, television news channels reported.

New Delhi Television channel reported that the stampede broke out after a footbridge at the Allahabad train station collapsed late Sunday and said at least 10 people were feared dead. CNN-IBN news channel said at least 20 were feared dead and that 30 were injured.

There was no immediate confirmation from any local officials.

An estimated 30 million devotees were expected to take a dip at the Sangam, the confluence of three rivers — the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati — on Sunday, one of the holiest bathing days of the Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival. The festival lasts 55 days and is one of the world's largest religious gatherings.

The area is located at the edge of Allahabad in northern India.

The auspicious bathing days are decided by the alignment of stars, and devout Hindus believe a dip in the sacred river on one of these days will wash away their sins and free them from the cycle of death and rebirth.

The festival brings together millions of devout worshipers and thousands religious leaders and ascetics.

The most dramatic feature of the festival is the Naga sadhus — ascetics with ash rubbed all over their bodies, wearing only marigold garlands — leaping joyfully into the holy waters.

Dorner manhunt: Reward will be offered for ex-cop's capture

Authorities on Sunday will offer a reward for information leading to the capture of a former Los Angeles Police Department officer wanted in the killings of three people and the wounding of two others.

According to a statement, the news conference will be attended by law enforcement officials from Los Angeles, Riverside and Irvine. Officials from the FBI and U.S. marshal's office also will be there.

The reward will come a week after Christopher Jordan Dorner's alleged killing spree began.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck announced he was reopening the investigation into the firing of  Dorner from the Police Department, the event that apparently sparked his vengeful campaign.

Beck said he was reopening the investigation "not to appease a murderer" but to assure the public his department is fair and transparent. He said he wanted to protect an "increasingly positive relationship with the community" that the LAPD has developed over the last few years.

"I am aware of the ghosts of the LAPD's past and one of my biggest concerns is that they will be resurrected by Dorner's allegations of racism within the department," Beck said in a prepared statement. "...Therefore, I feel we need to also publicly address Dorner's allegations regarding his termination of employment."

Scary stuff

This is Route 25 in Suffolk County on Long Island where people had to be rescued from their cars. They received over 30 inches of snow with drifts over 4 feet. Over 900,000 people were without electricity.

 

Mail Service Suspended in New England Due to Snow

PROVIDENCE, R.I. February 9, 2013 (AP)

The U.S. Postal Service has suspended mail delivery and will keep post offices closed in all six New England states because of the blizzard that has dumped more than 2 feet of snow throughout the region.

Postal Service spokeswoman Christine Dugas says post offices in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island will remain closed Saturday.

She says it's an unusual move, but roads across much of New England have been closed or are impassable.

HP Directs Its Suppliers in China to Limit Student Labor

HONG KONG — Hewlett-Packard, one of the world’s largest makers of computers and other electronics, is imposing new limits on the employment of students and temporary agency workers at factories across China. The move, following recent efforts by Apple to increase scrutiny of student workers, reflects a significant shift in how electronics companies view problematic labor practices in China.
Related

Many factories in China have long relied on high school students, vocational school students and temporary workers to cope with periodic surges in orders as factory labor becomes increasingly scarce. Students complain of being ordered by school administrators to put in very long hours on short notice at jobs with no relevance to their studies; local governments sometimes order schools to provide labor, and the factories pay school administrators a bonus.

After early start, worst of flu season may be over

 NEW YORK -- The worst of the flu season appears to be over.

The number of states reporting intense or widespread illnesses dropped again last week, and in a few states there was very little flu going around, U.S. health officials said Friday.

The season started earlier than normal, first in the Southeast and then spreading. But now, by some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four weeks in much of the country. Flu and pneumonia deaths also dropped the last two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

"It's likely that the worst of the current flu season is over," CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said.

But flu is hard to predict, he and others stressed, and there have been spikes late in the season in the past.

The Super Bowl Blackout ....

The company that supplied electricity to the Super Bowl says the blackout that halted the big game was caused by a device it installed specially to prevent a power failure.

All of you who understand that, please raise your hands................

Friday Morning thoughts .............

Listening to old music from the 50's, Billy Eckstine is singing, and he is bringing back memories of the last time  I saw him, the mid-fifties in Reno, I forget which club. He made his entrance with a woman on each arm, "a white woman,"  and in those days, that was a "no no."  "Blacks" could not be in the clubs, unless entertaining. There were very few restaurants they could frequent ..... my point being, I never asked "Why?'

It was obviously wrong, there was no reason for it, but for some reason, I never asked that one question of anyone, "why?"

We allowed Indians, American Indians, orientals, everyone, but no blacks. And basically, we were in a business where we were doing nothing but taking their money away from them. I never heard anyone comment on it or ask why, it was just accepted, NO BLACKS.

"They" had the New China Club, I'm sure they had restaurants, but I don't know where they were. I became good friends with Billy Ward, a black entertainer, of Billy Ward and the Dominoes. I had to have them over to the house for dinner, and there was no place, out, that we could go together. And, I never questioned ... "Why."

It was just the "way it was" and just accepted. There are some courageous blacks that questioned it, and due to them, things changed. No "whites" come to mind though.

Makes me wonder what all is happening today,, and is anyone asking that same question or are we just complacent and walking around, veiled, accepting things as they are and not asking that why question.

I wonder how much of history would be altered if we had asked that one word question, more?

I remember the morning, late fifties, very early, probably around 6 am, that a woman walked in to the Primm and started playing 21. It did not take her long to lose a few hundred dollars. Then, her husband entered, he was black. Don got on the phone to Ernie Primm. The decision, get her even, and "back her off." They did, the couple was ushered to the bar and drinks were bought for them. The first black man at the bar in the Primm. Many phone calls ensued, probably all over Reno, if not the state of Nevada.

After a half hour or so, Ernie called back, "Open the doors." That was it, segregation in the casinos in Nevada was over. Still no "Whys," just the way it was.

We need more "Why'ers" today, and I don't hear any.

Water, water, everywhere.......................

I think it was '56, working at the Nevada Club in Reno, the Truckee River was over flood stage, water rising, in the club, policy was, keep dealing until the water gets to the "money drawer" on the table. People kept playing the slots though, something to see. As I recall,, the Truckee did that almost very year when the snow melted up on Mt. Rose.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Northern California is bracing for more stormy weather this weekend after heavy rain and strong winds knocked out power to thousands, delayed flights, tied up traffic and flooded some roadways.

After the second in a series of storms slammed the region Friday, scattered showers are expected Saturday before a third storm strikes Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

A flash flood watch will remain in effect for most of the San Francisco Bay Area and the Santa Cruz Mountains throughout the weekend. The storms could cause rock and mud slides in areas already saturated and affected by wildfires this summer, said NWS forecaster Diana Henderson in Monterey.

"It's not a super storm by any measure, but this is pretty significant," Henderson said. "We should see periods of moderate to heavy rains."

Saturday Morning Memories

Saturday morning, What a great day of the week. Early life, no school, day off, used to mean sleeping in late, then a bowl of Wheaties, and around noon, heading to the old Ohio Theater in Dayton, Ohio, and for a nominal amount, westerns all afternoon. Tim Holt, Gene Autry, Johnnie Mack Brown, all the good old cowboys. 

In those days, I wasn't too old, but allowed to walk a number of blocks, to downtown Dayton, see the movies and walk home, with no worries. How times change. I don't remember ever hearing the speech about "strangers," I just knew not to do it, and I don't recall any incidents ever happening. I think perhaps in those days we instinctively knew what was right or wrong.

Saturday morning at The Citadel meant SMI, Saturday Morning Inspection. Generally spent Friday night getting ready, a lot of polishing, moping, sweeping, arranging, re-arranging and bleaching the wood floor so it was good and white. Inspection and then to the Parade Ground for a Saturday Review, I think it was called. We marched, anyway, the whole Corp of Cadets. It was spectacular, and good training, at the same time.

Saturday morning in the Navy, I don't think meant much. Maybe an inspection or two, but at sea, just another day aboard the old USS William Mitchell, TAP114. She is no longer with us, sold for scrap, probably shaving with her now.

I guess, in reality, the early Saturday's had the most significant meanings, and it meant staying up late on Friday night. As I am typing this I am listening to music from the 40's and 50's, on the TV. Ironic, we now have a dish (another story there, if you are planning on getting one, get in touch with me first, A Day that will go Down in Infamy, the day we got ......... "the Dish" - but that is for another time) many channels, but I prefer the music ones. Amazing how Artie Shaw can take me back to that time in my life. Benny Goodman is now transporting me back. Memories are great things.