Strange But True
Q. Can you beat the odds at the casino? Maybe, maybe not, but can you at least name ways you might try?
A. Here are four to think about:
1. Exploit the laws of nature: Since roulette wheels are mechanical instruments prone to wear and tear, unbalances arise that steer the picks, says former casino floor manager Bill Zender, as reported by Jeff Wilser of Mental Floss magazine. “In 1873, Charles Jagger found a wonky wheel at Monte Carlo and bet on the biased numbers. He came away with $400,000—that’s $7.8 million in today’s dough!”
2. Stick to the drab side of the room. To see where the odds are the worst, look for the flashing lights and bright colors used to make those games more attractive, like craps with its crazy bets of “the Field” and “Any 7.”
3. Practice makes perfect. Overall, the house wins, but one exception is video poker, with its typical house advantage of only 0.46%, and even shifting in the gambler’s favor at times. The payoff is high but, to cash out, you need to play at an expert level and most players simply aren’t skilled enough. So study up.
4. Know when to say when. Even with the house’s 5% edge at roulette, you have a decent chance of winning that first spin, and the second, and the third. But if you were to play “forever,” eventually, all your chips would belong to the house. Advice: If you’re winning, stop playing.
5. Never, ever play Keno: At some casinos, the house edge is as high as 35%. No gambler has ever matched all 20 numbers on a 20-spot ticket. The odds of it ever happening are 1 in 3,535,316,142,212,174,336. (That’s 3.5 quintillion!)
Source: Bill Sones and Rich Sones, Ph.D.
The Happiest Fair on Earth
The 2014 Marin County Fair saw a 12% increase in attendance and revenue this year (its 73rd) over last. One-price admission included concerts, exhibits, entertainment, nightly fireworks and 28 free carnival rides. There were more than 13,800 exhibits, performing arts competitions and family attractions. It could not have been a more perfect ending for Director Jim Farley’s last fair.
2013 to 2014 Comparison
2013 2014
Admission revenues $1,216,284 $1,363,765
Paid attendance 80,166 84,252
Total attendance 114,220 116,000
Parking revenues $105,678 $122,213
Food and beverage sales $1,062,069 $1,218,507
Fine arts/craft/photography sales $24,903 (86 works) $43, 467 (115 works)
Entrants 7,116 7,420
Competitive exhibits 13,620 13,850
Source: marinfair.org
Fastest Growing Jobs
The projected percentage growth from 2012 to 2022 in the number of personal care aides is 49% (580,800). Analysts expect this occupation to grow much faster than the average for all occupations. Meanwhile, the occupation expected to add more positions over this period than any other is registered nurse (526,800).
Source: http://www.bls.gov/ooh
