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Fouad Al-Zayat
Fouad al-Zayat (1941 – 26 March 2018) was a Syrian billionaire businessman, investor and gambler. He founded various companies including Mortimer Off Shore Services Ltd. (now run by his son and son-in-law). al-Zayat requested the assistance of the U.S. Supreme Court in securing a payment of approximately $8 billion on German bonds that Adolf Hitler ordered into default prior to the Second World War. According to Reuters, during the Greece corruption trails al-Zayat was "tried in absentia and sentenced to life for bribery and 17 years for money laundering". Lobbying controversy In 2003, Fouad al-Zayat was commissioned by the Islamic Republic of Iran to help purchase a luxurious jumbo jet to be used by the Iranian president. However, the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) prohibited the sale. al-Zayat met with U.S. congressman Bob Ney and lobbyists Roy Coffee and David DiStefano. According to the U.S. Justice Department, during those meetings Ney accepted "thousands of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syrians
Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine Arabic, Levantine and Mesopotamian Arabic, Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The culture of Syria, cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indigenous elements and the foreign cultures that have come to rule the land and its people over the course of thousands of years. By the seventh century, most of the inhabitants of the Levant spoke Aramaic. In the centuries after the Muslim conquest of the Levant in 634, Arabic gradually became the dominant language, but a minority of Syrians (particularly the Assyrian people, Assyrians and Terms for Syriac Christians#Syriac identity, Syriac-Arameans retained Neo-Aramaic languages, Aramaic (Syriac), which is still spoken in its Eastern Aramaic languages, Eastern and Western Aramaic languages, Western dialects. The national name "Syrian" was originally an Indo-European corrupt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High Roller
A high roller, also referred to as a whale or cheetah, is a gambler who consistently wagers large amounts of money. High rollers often receive lavish " comps" from casinos to entice them onto the gambling floors, such as free private jet transfers, limousine use and use of the casinos' best suites. Casinos may also extend credit to a player to continue betting, and offer rebates on betting turnover or losses; and contracts of employees may also contain incentive arrangements to bring in high rollers. The definition of a high roller varies. At Crown Casino in Australia, for example, it involves bringing between AUD$50,000 and $75,000 to the table. High roller players often have very high table limits, allowing the high roller exclusive use. Casinos compete on bet limits. In Australia limits of AUD$300,000 are common, in Las Vegas they are between US$150,000 and $300,000, and in Macau they are up to US$500,000. Only richer casinos can accommodate high-stakes gambling due to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syrian Businesspeople
Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indigenous elements and the foreign cultures that have come to rule the land and its people over the course of thousands of years. By the seventh century, most of the inhabitants of the Levant spoke Aramaic. In the centuries after the Muslim conquest of the Levant in 634, Arabic gradually became the dominant language, but a minority of Syrians (particularly the Assyrians and Syriac-Arameans retained Aramaic (Syriac), which is still spoken in its Eastern and Western dialects. The national name "Syrian" was originally an Indo-European corruption of Assyrian and applied to Assyria in northern Mesopotamia, however by antiquity it was used to denote the inhabitants of the Levant. Following the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Arab id ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2018 Deaths
This is a list of lists of deaths of notable people, organized by year. New deaths articles are added to their respective month (e.g., Deaths in ) and then linked below. 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 Earlier years ''Deaths in years earlier than this can usually be found in the main articles of the years.'' See also * Lists of deaths by day * Deaths by year (category) {{DEFAULTSORT:deaths by year ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1941 Births
The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, was the deadliest such year. Death toll estimates for both 1941 and 1942 range from 2.28 to 7.71 million each. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Euthanasia Centre in Germany, in the first phase of mass killings under the Aktion T4 program here. * January 1 – Thailand's Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram decrees January 1 as the official start of the Thai solar calendar new year (thus the previous year that began April 1 had only 9 months). * January 3 – A decree (''Normalschrifterlass'') promulgated in Germany by Martin Bormann ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blackjack
Blackjack (formerly black jack or ''vingt-un'') is a casino banking game. It is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. It uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as " twenty-one". This family of card games also includes the European games '' vingt-et-un'' and pontoon, and the Russian game . The game is a comparing card game where players compete against the dealer, rather than each other. History Blackjack's immediate precursor was the English version of '' twenty-one'' called ''vingt-un'', a game of unknown provenance. The first written reference is found in a book by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. Cervantes was a gambler, and the protagonists of his " Rinconete y Cortadillo", from ''Novelas Ejemplares'', are card cheats in Seville. They are proficient at cheating at ''veintiuno'' (Spanish for "twenty-one") and state that the object of the game is to reach 21 points without going over and that the ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aspinall's
The Wynn Mayfair, previously known as Crown London and Aspinall's is a private members club, established by John Aspinall (zoo owner), John Aspinall in London since the 1960s. Crown London is currently at 27–28 Curzon Street, Mayfair, London. It was renamed on June 5, 2025, following acquisition by Wynn Resorts. History Club founder John Aspinall, known as "Aspers" to his friends, was a conservationist and the stepson of Sir George Francis Osborne, 16th Baronet, Sir George Osborne. He was a breeder of wild animals and funded his zoos, to a large extent, from house winnings. In the 1960s-90s, the building was known as the White Elephant Club, a dining destination. Later in 1992, Aspinall turned the property in to a casino named Aspinall's. He commissioned a bust of Richard Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, Lord Lucan, a close friend of Aspinall who disappeared in November 1974, after the murder of Sandra Rivett, the nanny of Lucan's children. It remains prominently displayed. The e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts in the world. The area was originally part of the manor of Eia and remained largely rural until the early 18th century. It became well known for the annual May Fair that took place from 1686 to 1764 in what is now Shepherd Market. Over the years, the fair grew increasingly downmarket and unpleasant, and it became a public nuisance. The Grosvenor family (who became Dukes of Westminster) acquired the land through marriage and began to develop it under the direction of Thomas Barlow. The work included Hanover Square, Berkeley Square and Grosvenor Square, which were surrounded by high-quality houses, and St George's Hanover Square Church. By the end of the 18th century, most of Mayfair had been rebuilt with high-value housing for the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iranian Military
The Iranian Armed Forces, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, are the combined military forces of Iran, comprising the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (''Artesh''), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (''Sepah'') and the Police Command (''Faraja''). Iranian Armed Forces are the largest in the Middle East in terms of active troops. Iran's military forces are made up of approximately 610,000 active-duty personnel plus 350,000 reserve and trained personnel that can be mobilized when needed, bringing the country's military manpower to about 960,000 total personnel. These numbers do not include Law Enforcement Command or Basij. Most of Iran's imported weapons consist of American systems purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with limited purchases from Russia in the 1990s following the Iran–Iraq War. However, the country has since then launched a robust domestic rearmament program, and its inventory has become increasingly indigenous. According to Ir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gambler
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elements to be present: consideration (an amount wagered), risk (chance), and a prize. The outcome of the wager is often immediate, such as a single roll of dice, a spin of a roulette wheel, or a horse crossing the finish line, but longer time frames are also common, allowing wagers on the outcome of a future sports contest or even an entire sports season. The term "gaming" in this context typically refers to instances in which the activity has been specifically permitted by law. The two words are not mutually exclusive; ''i.e.'', a "gaming" company offers (legal) "gambling" activities to the public and may be regulated by one of many gaming control boards, for example, the Nevada Gaming Control Board. However, this distinction is not univers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Ney
Robert William Ney (born July 5, 1954) is an American former politician who represented Ohio's 18th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 until his resignation on November 3, 2006, after he pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and making false statements in relation to the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal. Before he pleaded guilty, Ney was identified in the guilty pleas of Jack Abramoff, former Tom DeLay deputy chief of staff Tony Rudy, former DeLay press secretary Michael Scanlon, and former Ney chief of staff Neil Volz for receiving lavish gifts in exchange for political favors. A Republican, Ney's best-known congressional work was on the election reform efforts founded in the wake of the confused 2000 voting in Florida, and his support and backing for the "Stand Up For Steel" crusade and resulting laws. From 2001 to 2006, Ney was Chairman of the House Administration Committee. As chair of that committee, he oversaw operations in the Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iran And Libya Sanctions Act
The Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 (ILSA) was a 1996 act of the United States Congress that imposed economic sanctions on firms doing business with Iran and Libya. On September 20, 2004, the President signed an Executive Order to terminate the national emergency with respect to Libya and to end IEEPA-based economic sanctions on Libya. On September 30, 2006, the Act was renamed the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA). The Act was originally limited to five years, and has been extended several times. On December 1, 2016, ISA was extended for a further ten years. The Act empowers the President to waive sanctions on a case-by-case basis, which is subject to renewal every six months. As at March 2008, ISA sanctions had not been enforced against any non-US company. Despite the restrictions on American investment in Iran, FIPPA provisions apply to all foreign investors, and many Iranian expatriates based in the US continue to make substantial investments in Iran. Background In 1995, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
