Why do you think a few members have an 'alcoholic anonymous' vibe towards the audiophile community? It seems a harmless hobby as far as things go?

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Not all gamblers are losers.

If you constantly win because you know how to buck the system, it’s not gambling.

 

[mhardy6647]

Your's partner?
The Great American Sound Company, Yea!
That Zilla sure looks to be in sweet shape!

I loved those old monster amps of the 70s.
I still miss my Flame Linear 700B
It just looked so Bad Ass sitting in the Audio Shrine.
View attachment 353853

The taken-apart one is here, yes. It's sort of in a foster home situation but it is non-functional. I have a friend with broad & deep experience in repair (and building audio electronics de novo) attempt to rehab it when one channel went south and it stymied him. The top photo's just a random web image, although the one here is cosmetically pretty good.

 

[egellings]

On average they are. More money is lost than won.

When you look at the opulence of some of the Vegas casinos (fools' paradise), a LOT of money has to be lost to them to afford that.

 

[antcollinet]

When you look at the opulence of some of the Vegas casinos (fools' paradise), a LOT of money has to be lost to them to afford that.

The woman who owns Bet 365 (online gambling) in the UK is building a house near me. I say a house - more an estate. Reportedly spending 80million.

Peanuts to her though - she has awarded herself a salary heading towards 1/4 billion a year. In 2020 she earned nearly 1/2 a billion. All pounds.


Every single penny lost by her punters.

 

[Timcognito]

I have been in a US Football pool since 2001. This year I lost $66 in 18 weeks ($3.67/ wk) but taken 1st place four times with wins of ~$225 - 300. So far I have netted $82 or $3.72 a year. One year I had 1st locked in but made real stupid bets on the last week, not even making 3rd place money and was the victim of some hilarious hazing. Playing the game in HS and being a rabid fan I was tough to beat in the early days of the pool but the internet has spoiled all that, because any one can easily handicap the games these days. Like all such things in life, booze, gambling and audio can be fun in moderation.

 

[Sal1950]

The taken-apart one is here, yes. It's sort of in a foster home situation but it is non-functional. I have a friend with broad & deep experience in repair (and building audio electronics de novo) attempt to rehab it when one channel went south and it stymied him.

I figured there might be something amiss, it wouldn't play very well with the line fuses missing. LOL

 

[Justdafactsmaam]

When you look at the opulence of some of the Vegas casinos (fools' paradise), a LOT of money has to be lost to them to afford that.

I live in LV. And yup. It’s built on two kinds of gamblers. Those who do it for fun and see the losses as an entertainment expense and those who think they can beat Vegas.

Professional gambling is a different beast. There are only two kinds. Poker pros and sports book pros. To be a true pro you have to develop skills, learn the math and develop a talent for reading people for poker and reading complex matchups and other analytics in sports. To be successful one has to make it a full time job

 

[JSmith]

To be successful one

... needs a save point outside the Casino, like in GTA SA.


JSmith

 

[Sal1950]

... needs a save point outside the Casino, like in GTA SA

Anyone looking for the real solid info on casino gambling, get a copy of the movie
Casino and just listen to Joe Pesci do the first five minute leadin, it's great and just about the absolute truth.

 

[rdenney]

When you look at the opulence of some of the Vegas casinos (fools' paradise), a LOT of money has to be lost to them to afford that.

Back in the 90’s, I was leading a public works project in Las Vegas and spent quite a bit of time there. During that time, Circus Circus Enterprises built the Luxor. They built it in a year, spent $100M doing so, and funded it from cash flow.

The house doesn’t always win, but it consistently wins. That’s the difference that attracts marks—marks believe in their special powers to be the exception.

Rick “doesn’t have special powers” Denney

 

[Mart68]

I used to have two weeks in Vegas every year, with a few pals.

Stay in cheap hotel downtown and use the money saved to rent a Cadillac Eldorado to cruise about in.

Great times, I'd go back but I can't handle those long-haul flights anymore.

Mostly played limit poker but did do some proper gambling too. Of course you will lose over time but it's fun, you're paying to be entertained, no different from going to the pictures, theatre, concert.

 

[mhardy6647]

Great times, I'd go back but I can't handle those long-haul flights anymore.

Well, you could go from LHR to Iceland to Boston, MA -- then take Southwest and get from BOS to LAS via three or four short flights in one three or four of Southwest's "cattle cars". It might take you a few days, but no long flights!

 

[Mart68]

Well, you could go from LHR to Iceland to Boston, MA -- then take Southwest and get from BOS to LAS via three or four short flights in one three or four of Southwest's "cattle cars". It might take you a few days, but no long flights!



View attachment 354164

lol - I think you can fly direct from MAN but back then you had to fly to ORD and change there.

I might get the Queen Mary 2 to New York. Then catch a train

 

[mhardy6647]

lol - I think you can fly direct from MAN but back then you had to fly to ORD and change there.

I might get the Queen Mary 2 to New York. Then catch a train

Even better!

PS many years ago (nearly 30) I used to fly to and from various places in the UK (albeit mostly LHR) and BOS rather frequently.

 

[Sal1950]

I used to have two weeks in Vegas every year, with a few pals.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

 

[rdenney]

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

What happens in Vegas: Money departs one's wallet.

What stays in Vegas: The money that departed one's wallet.

Rick "did see a few good shows" Denney

 

[mhardy6647]

I went to an ASBC/ASBMB (big biochem/molecular bio) meeting in Las Vegas in the late 1980s. I hated the place.
There was a highlight, though. While we were in the big convention center thingy, the Morton Thiokol PEPCON ammonium persulfate perchlorate plant in nearby Henderson, NV blew up. The whole building shook (several times) and we thought for a few minutes that the roof was coming down.

PEPCON disaster - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I - literally - had these two thoughts during those moments. 1) thousands of mid-career scientists are about to die. 2) there are gonna be so many great new job opportunities in academe and the then-emerging biotech business.

 

[Sal1950]

2) there are gonna be so many great new job opportunities in academe and the then-emerging biotech business.

Now that's KOLD LOL

 

[mhardy6647]

Now that's KOLD LOL

Hey, I (thought I) was gonna be one of the statistics!
I was just finishin' up my postdoc, though, so I was pretty much statistical noise in terms of life scientist employment at that point.

 

[Justdafactsmaam]

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Not since cell phones and YouTube.

There was a time when I would go to the Paris casino on a Saturday or Sunday morning around 7:00 AM have French pastries for breakfast and watch the walk of shame parade go down the boulevard