Children and Poker: One Theory

It's always great when one has a positive impact on young, warped minds. As you know, I err toward the side of introspection on poker, leaving strategy and hand analysis for those better qualified. I am, to put it mildly, greatly humbled that my exploration of poker and our relationships, as well as this current work on kids, has profoundly moved Jordan at High on Poker. Jordan has been compelled to scribe a stunningly insightful post: Pets and Poker. With thorough research and the profound knowledge that can only come from loving pets too much, Jordan bluntly confronts the hidden, murky world of the impact our poker play has on pets. If I had some small part in encouraging Jordan in this endeavor, well, that in and of itself is reward enough.

You've seen Gary Loveman, you may or may not recognize the name, but he is one of the key players in the world of the poker revolution as we know it. I'll try to stick to the facts then note where those facts end and where my speculation begins. Until 1998, Loveman was a Professor at Harvard Business School, excelling in his instruction of service excellence and customer understanding while also serving clients to assist them in their business improvement efforts. In 1998, one of his clients, Harrah's, tapped him to serve as their Chief Operating Officer. He became CEO in 2003. Loveman's impact on the gaming community has been profound, including Harrah's introduction of the first player reward program which moved the world of comps to the masses. His approach to gaming has been significantly different than competitors (although they are now in hot pursuit). While most casinos chased the whales, those critical few big gamers ready to drop six and seven figures over a weekend, Loveman felt like the emerging mid-market could be the way to greater profit. Focus on the non-flashy regular gamer, listen to them, serve their needs, increase their frequency to play, keep them in the Harrah's network.

Having said that, the Echo Boomer demographic has confronted the gaming industry with some very significant challenges. To put it bluntly, the twentysomething crowd has been exposed to gaming like no generation since maybe the Wild West days in the 1800's. The frustration that has confronted casino executives is that they have been much more difficult to rope into gaming. Slots, that money-printing cash cow, is something that has been fairly repulsive to the young crowd. The video game generation became bored quickly with slots, looking at this most lucrative gaming space as an old folks, blue haired pursuit. The younger crew would rather hit the nightclubs of Vegas than the craps table. More and more revenue is being derived on what previously were peripheral necessities for casinos: lodging, meals, and entertainment. For the hot spots, like the Palms and the Hard Rock, slots may only comprise less than 40% of the casino real estate.

Finally, the recipe of the weekend. This should again be very easy to knock out.

• Cut two pounds of boneless chicken breasts. Season with a pinch of cumin grains, oregano, crushed garlic, pepper, and Worcestshire sauce (fifteen shakes should be good). Cumin is very powerful, so less is more here.
  
• Chop bell peppers and onions separately
• Dump the chicken in a big skillet or pot on medium heat, stir regularly and cook for 15 minutes or so. You can cut the bigger pieces of chicken with a fork to see if they are done.
• Put some olive oil or vegetable oil in a skillet on medium heat, and brown the onions.
  
• Follow instructions for tortillas (get the small and large sizes; I wrap them in aluminum foil and heat)
• Cut whatever else you want: black olives, jalapenos, lettuce, cheeses; have salsa ready

That's it. Again, very easy to do on any day. You can also cut everything early on a Saturday so that you just knock it out over 45 minutes at the end of the day. Have a good weekend, and good luck if you're playing this weekend.

ADDENDUM: Some incredible stuff from Law School Dropout on his mother being accused of being a bot, including the closing of her account by Stars. 2+2 thread here followed by final resolution thread. Incredible stuff.