Michael Shackleford
Michael Shackleford, (May 23, 1965 in Pasadena, California, United States), also known as "The Wizard of Odds" (a title taken from Donald Angelini), is an American mathematician and an actuary. He is best known for his professional analysis of the mathematics of the casino games. He is also an adjunct professor of actuarial science and mathematics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He became interested in the mathematics of gambling at a young age after reading '' John Scarne's Guide to Casino Gambling''. Shackleford discovered his affinity for mathematics when he began to study algebra in school at approximately 11 years old. He described how math had become something new and interesting. Before launching his websites, he was a government actuary in Baltimore. It took him approximately one year to convince his wife that going into business for himself within the gambling industry was the right thing to do. He then left his job as an actuary to work on his websites. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pasadena, California
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its population was 138,699 at the 2020 census, making it the 44th largest city in California and the ninth-largest city in Los Angeles County. Pasadena was incorporated on June 19, 1886, becoming one of the first cities to be incorporated in what is now Los Angeles County, following the city of Los Angeles (April 4, 1850). Pasadena is known for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade. It is also home to many scientific, educational, and cultural institutions, including Caltech, Pasadena City College, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Fuller Theological Seminary, ArtCenter College of Design, the Pasadena Playhouse, the Ambassador Auditorium, the Norton Simon Museum, and the USC ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Scarne
John Scarne (; March 4, 1903 – July 7, 1985) was an American magician and author who was particularly adept at playing card manipulation. He became known as an expert on cards and other games, and authored a number of popular books on cards, gambling, and related topics. Early life He was born Orlando Carmelo Scarnecchia in Steubenville, Ohio in the United States of America, and at some point anglicized his name to John Scarne. He grew up in the New Jersey communities of Fairview and Guttenberg.Cook, John"JOHN SCARNE, GAMBLING EXPERT" ''The New York Times'', July 9, 1985. Accessed January 16, 2008. When he left school after the eighth grade, he learned from a local card sharp how to perform such swindles as The Three Card Monte, and how to cheat in gambling card games by manipulating the cards. Scarne began practicing sleight of hand with the goal of becoming a card sharp, but his Roman Catholic mother dissuaded her son from gambling in general, and cheating others in part ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1965 Births
Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson, sworn in for a full term as President of the United States. ** Indonesian President Sukarno announces the withdrawal of the Indonesian government from the United Nations. * January 30 – The Death and state funeral of Winston Churchill, state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill takes place in London with the largest assembly of dignitaries in the world until the 2005 funeral of Pope John Paul II. * February 4 – Trofim Lysenko is removed from his post as director of the Institute of Genetics at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academy of Sciences in the Soviet Union. Lysenkoism, Lysenkoist theories are now treated as pseudoscience. * February 12 ** The African and Malagasy Republic, Malagasy Common Organization ('; OCA ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, the 32nd-most populous, and the 9th-least densely populated of the U.S. states. Nearly three-quarters of Nevada's people live in Clark County, which contains the Las Vegas–Paradise metropolitan area, including three of the state's four largest incorporated cities. Nevada's capital is Carson City. Las Vegas is the largest city in the state. Nevada is officially known as the "Silver State" because of the importance of silver to its history and economy. It is also known as the "Battle Born State" because it achieved statehood during the Civil War (the words "Battle Born" also appear on its state flag); as the " Sagebrush State", for the native plant of the same name; and as the " Sage-hen State". The name means "snowy" in Spanish, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Las Vegas Valley
The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area is coextensive since 2003 with Clark County, Nevada. The Valley is largely defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a basin area surrounded by mountains to the north, south, east and west of the metropolitan area. The Valley is home to the three largest incorporated cities in Nevada: Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas. Eleven unincorporated towns governed by the Clark County government are part of the Las Vegas Township and constitute the largest community in the state of Nevada. The names Las Vegas and Vegas are interchangeably used to indicate the Valley, the Strip, and the city, and as a brand by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to denominate the region. The Valley is affectionately known as the "ninth island ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Social Security Administration
The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that administers Social Security, a social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability and survivor benefits. To qualify for most of these benefits, most workers pay Social Security taxes on their earnings; the claimant's benefits are based on the wage earner's contributions. Otherwise benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are given based on need. The Social Security Administration was established by the Social Security Act of 1935 and is codified in (). It was created in 1935 as the "Social Security Board", then assumed its present name in 1946. Its current leader is Kilolo Kijakazi, who serves on an acting basis. SSA offers its services to the public through 1,200 field offices, a website, and a national toll-free number. Field offices, which served 43 million individuals in 2019, were reopened on April 7, 2022 after being closed for two ye ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Claims Adjuster
A claims adjuster, desk adjuster, field adjuster, or general adjuster (claim adjuster, claims handler, claim handler or loss adjuster in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, the Caribbean and New Zealand) investigates insurance claims by interviewing the claimant and witnesses, consulting police and hospital records, and inspecting property damage to determine the extent of the insurance company's liability. Other claims adjusters who represent policyholders may aid in the preparation of an insurance claim. Duties In the United States, claims adjusters typically: * Verify an insurance policy exists for the insured person and/or property. In general, these are written by the policy-holding insurance company. * Review the insurance policy to determine if coverage exists for the loss(es). * Assess risk(s) of loss(es), or damages to property, culminating in the loss of property and or bodily injury. * After completing the above investigations, evaluate the covered i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Anthony Curtis (writer)
Anthony Curtis is a blackjack player, gambler, author and publisher. He publishes the ''Las Vegas Advisor'', a newsletter founded in 1983 that covers discounts in Las Vegas, and Huntington Press, a publishing house that has released books about gambling, as well as true crime, including The Killing of Tupac Shakur, a ''Los Angeles Times'' bestseller by author Cathy Scott. Early life and education Curtis became interested in gambling at age 16 when he read ''How to Win at Blackjack'' by Charles Einstein. After dropping out of Duke University, Curtis moved to Las Vegas in 1979 shortly before turning 21 to pursue gambling professionally. Career He participated in a team run by Stanford Wong that engaged in tournament play in and around Las Vegas and is known to have won $72k after placing first at a Matchplay Blackjack tournament at the Las Vegas Hilton. Curtis has appeared on the Travel Channel, Discovery, NBC, A&E and BBC, as well as on televised blackjack events such as the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Max Rubin
Max Rubin is a gambling expert and author best known for his book ''Comp City: A Guide to Free Gambling Vacations''. The book teaches players how to maximize casino perks with little actual wagering. Rubin is also a gambling analyst for television; he served as commentator for the first two seasons of the GSN's '' World Series of Blackjack'', along with Matt Vasgersian, and co-hosts the '' Ultimate Blackjack Tour'' with Nick GAS' Mati Moralejo Matthew John Moralejo is an actor and was a recurring personality on the Nick GAS television network. He is regularly seen in 60 second featurettes highlighting lesser known sports from around the world called ''Global GAS''. Moralejo was also t ... on CBS. Rubin is a member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame and hosts the annual Blackjack Ball. Rubin has frequent speaking engagements across the country. Additionally, he has also done consulting work for many casinos including Harrah's, Hilton Casinos, and Mirage Resorts, and he now ex ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shuffle Master
SHFL entertainment, Inc. (previously named Shuffle Master) was a manufacturer of shuffling machines, table games, slot machines, and other casino products, based in Paradise, Nevada. Founded in 1983, it was acquired by Bally Technologies in 2013. Bally was itself acquired the following year by Scientific Games, now Light & Wonder, which continues to use the Shuffle Master name as one of its core brands. The company designed Deck Mate, one of the primary card shuffling devices used in casinos. The company's table game products included Let It Ride, Three Card Poker, Blackjack Switch, and Casino War. History Shuffle Master was formed by John Breeding, a former truck driver, in 1983. Inspired by a newspaper article about card counting in blackjack, he borrowed $30,000 to develop a mechanical shuffler that would allow every hand to be dealt from a fresh deck, nullifying the advantage of card counting, without losing valuable playing time. The device finally came to market ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Playtech
Playtech plc is a gambling software development company founded in 1999. The company provides software for online casinos, online poker rooms, online bingo games, online sports betting, scratch games, mobile gaming, live dealer games and fixed-odds arcade games online. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History Playtech was founded in 1999 by the Israeli entrepreneur Teddy Sagi in Tartu, Estonia, with partners from the casino, software engineering and multimedia industries. Playtech launched its first casino product in 2001, and since then it has grown to become the world's leading and largest international designer, developer and licensor of web and mobile application software to the digital gaming industry, whose customers are most of the blue chip companies in this industry (William Hill, Ladbrokes, Bet365 in the UK, Snai and Sisal in Italy, etc.), as well as governments and regulated agencies.; In March 2006, Playtech was fl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Realtime Gaming
Realtime Gaming (RTG) is an online casino company developing download-based casino software, licensed by various operators running their owbranded RTG-powered casino sites The company was established in Atlanta, Georgia in 1998, but moved all development to Heredia, Costa Rica in 2007-2008. The company was acquired in January 2007 by Hastings International, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, a company managed by a corporate services provider called HBM Group. Caribbean 21 controversy In 2004 the company hit the news when a player won $1.3 million from a $1,000 deposit, playing Caribbean 21 for high stakes at Hampton Casino. The same player also won $96,000 at Delano casino, another RTG-powered site. The player was accused of cheating by the casino, who said he used a robot (automated playing program), and that he would not be paid. Since the game has a casino advantage (albeit a low advantage, somewhere over 0.1%), the casino should still have held the edge, though good luck can over ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |