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Few areas of human activity are so immersed in superstition and myth as gambling. Many gamblers do believe in \”good\” and \”bad\” luck, playing a part in their gambling success or failure and often carry \”good luck charms\” or have rituals they perform before going to play. Unless the belief in \”luck\” becomes obsessive, it is usually harmless.

Far more insidious are the myths, some based on superstition, which surrounds gambling. The myths that even the most intelligent and realistic gamblers are willing to accept is often truly surprising.

The very fact that all gambling is a matter of luck and chance is itself a myth. If that were so, over a period of time most gamblers would break even. In that case where would the casinos, either real or online, get their profits from? While luck and chance do affect the outcome of each gamble, the odds are always stacked in favor of the casino. Complex mathematical formulae and probability calculations are used to set up the games so that the house always has a fixed advantage over the player. This is not cheating - it is business. Once these odds are established in favor of the house, the rest is left to luck and chance. But it is never a fifty - fifty chance. The house advantage is kept small. If it were too big, players would be discouraged. But even this small advantage totals up to huge sums because the volumes are so large.

There are some games like blackjack and poker that have a lot of myths about them. The biggest of them is the \”betting system.\” There’s always a story going around of someone, somewhere who has a fool proof betting system that guarantees success. Let us accept the fact that this is, and always will be, bunkum. There is no such thing as a foolproof gambling system. If there were, it wouldn’t be gambling. Gambling is a huge multi billion dollar industry with high internal standards and self checks. If any system that could beat the odds ever does appear, the first people to spot it and counter it will be the casinos. And they have all the resources needed to do it.

Card counting is a myth that has always hung around blackjack and poker tables. There are some mathematical formulae that could help to increase the chances of knowing the likelihood of the next card to be dealt. But it has never been proven that this offers any serious advantage to the gambler. Secondly, card counting in a fast moving card game would require a mathematical talent and mental computing genius that maybe one person in few million may have.

Slot machines have one major myth that has always surrounded them. And that is that the casinos are able to influence the results. This is done not to cheat the players but to ensure that too many big wins do not come too close together and, on the other hand, that a long period does not go by without a win. This is done to keep the players happy and encouraged. Beyond that, the casinos do not care who wins or loses. This is not possible with real slot machines or with online ones since, firstly, the control system would be detected sooner or later. And secondly and more importantly, it is not required. The odds are such that over a period of a month the spacing of the winnings and their volume will be what the casinos have planned for.

A myth that is applicable only to physical casinos is that of special treatment given to \”high rollers.\” Yes, high rollers do get complimentary rooms, along with food and drink. Yes they are given special treatment in the casino. But the myth that this is given only to those who win big, so that they are tempted to come back to play again and, hopefully, lose their winnings, is a myth. These facilities are provided to people who gamble with a large amount of money and it doesn’t matter if they have won or lost. In fact, providing these facilities to a loser is more important because it makes him feel compensated, at least to some extent, for his loss and creates a bond with the casino so that he will come back again, when he has the money.

Elton John and Billy Joel will once again go on tour together beginning March 2nd, 2009 in Jacksonville, Florida. You’ll be able to see the Rocket Man and the Piano Man performing live in venues across America.

Despite the down economy, promoters say sales for this upcoming concert tour are going well. And you have to ask yourself, \”How could anything, including a bad economy, affect these two icons’ tickets sales?\” This tour ought to be very special and fans can expect to hear classic tune after classic tune performed by both artists.

However, touring together isn’t all these two legends have in mind.

\”We’re thinking about recording three songs together,\” said John in a recent interview. \”Definitely not our own songs, or oldies, but we’re interested in getting some people to write new songs for us. I’ve got Raphael Saadiq and Nile Rodgers working on something, so we’re booking some time to go into the studio and record.\”

Why Joel and John need songwriters is a complete and utter mystery. Still, the prospect of them recording together is very enticing.

Joel and John first toured together in 1994. The \”Face 2 Face Tour\” was so successful they returned to the road in 1995, 2001, 2002, and 2003.

In 1998, the \”Face 2 Face Tour\” visited Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

Billy Joel and Elton John have quite a bit in common so joining forces made a lot of sense, both financially and artistically. The duo also has enough differences to remain interesting, as their strengths and weaknesses complement one another.

To begin the comparison, Joel and John are both skilled piano players and marginally good singers. They are both masterful songwriters (although John doesn’t write his own lyrics). And they are both hugely successful recording artists creating hits that have spanned decades.

According to the Record Industry Association of America, Joel is the sixth best-selling recording artist in the United States and John is 10th—although John has sold more records worldwide.

Joel and John both flourished in the 1970’s (Elton in first half and Billy in the second), lost their identities in the 1980’s and accepted their fates as \”has-beens\” in the 1990’s.

At one time or another, Billy and Elton suffered from drug and alcohol dependency and they’ve both battled depression.

Moving on to what makes them different, the Rocket Man is British, flamboyant, and embraces the celebrity lifestyle. From being godfather to many British children of famous parents to attending celebrity parties, galas and awards shows, Elton John relishes the lime light.

John has struggled with his sexuality. In a 1976 Rolling Stone interview, John announced he was bisexual. Then John married and divorced Renate Blauel, a sound engineer, in the mid-1980’s.

Eventually John denounced his bisexuality and embraced his homosexuality. In 2004, he entered into a civil partnership with Canadian-born filmmaker David Furnish.

Musically, John is quite a bit more theatrical (\”Bennie and the Jets\” and \”Goodbye Yellow Brick Road\”).

Despite John’s numerous hits, he also had a few clunkers: \”Sad Songs (Say So Much)\” and \”I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues,\” just to name a few.

Meanwhile, the Piano Man is a true New Yorker. He’s simple, confident, and a hero to the common man—except when it comes to women.

Joel has dated super model Elle Macpherson and married super model Christie Brinkley (they divorced in 1994). In 2004, Joel married Katie Lee, a woman 32 years his younger. Not exactly the love life of your average Joe.

Musically Joel is more soulful (the entire An Innocent Man album) and more romantic (\”Just the Way You Are\” and \”She’s Always a Woman\”).

Joel wasn’t afraid to tackle politics as is evident in the poignant \”Allentown\” and the somber \”Goodnight Saigon.\” And Billy’s lyrics are often catchy, memorable and poignant.

Like John, Joel can be cheesy too. For examples, listen to the ridiculous \”We Didn’t Start the Fire\” and the sappy \”The River of Dreams.\”

Suffice to say, their careers crossed paths and their careers diverged. They shared similar demons but had different loves. At times they sounded the same and at times they sounded completely different.

They seem to be a match made in music heaven. One can see how the two of them together collaborating musically makes a lot of sense, and at the same time one can also wonder why these two mesh so well.

You can say Billy Joel is the American Elton John and you can say Elton John is the British Billy Joel. However, they are both originals and they both transcend the cultural and political divide.

Yet through all their trials and tribulations, fans still continue to relate to their music and fans still enjoy watching them perform. And even though seeing Billy Joel and Elton John in concert is almost too much of a good thing, it’s well worth the price of the admission.

Phish is what music would sound like if there was no music business.

They are extremely creative, talented and fan friendly. While it may sound overtly sentimental, it’s safe to say that Phish is like four of your friends playing music on stage (and playing it very well).

That’s why in 1998, Rolling Stone said \”Phish has become the most important band of the Nineties.\”

Phish is comprised of Trey Anastasio (guitar), Mike Gordon (bass), Jon Fishman (drums) and Page McConnell (keyboards).

They began their career on the campus of the University of Vermont in 1983, and minus an over one year break, stayed together until 2004. Phish has recently announced a reunion tour for the summer of 2009.

Phish will play a hand-full of dates starting with three sold out shows at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia from March 6th to 8th. And they will continue to play shows all through June.

Rumor has it Phish will join the line-up at the Bonnaroo Festival sometime between June 11th and 14th.

Even Phish fans,who go by the name of phans, phriends, phamily, or Phishheads, claim the studio fails to capture the excitement they bring to the stage.

Their superior live performances and their cult-like following have garnered them comparisons to the Grateful Dead.

Both bands have legions of dedicated and loyal fans who often tour with the band by following them from city to city and show to show. They were \”going on tour\” with the band. Their shows would attract all kinds of people and things to buy and do. It was as if they were traveling circuses or fairs where a small city would be set up at each new show location. Both bands would often times play numerous nights in a row at a given location.

Both bands had liberal policies when it came to fans‘ recording their concerts.

And both bands concentrated on performing live rather than studio recordings and commercial appearances. Attending a live Dead or Phish show was like no other experience.

However, the bands differed in their musical approach. The Grateful Dead’s sound was centered in folk, rock and blues, while Phish’s music followed a jazz aesthetic.

In this era, where recorded music is nearly worthless, their live shows are well-worth the price of a Phish ticket. Not only does one get to see and hear masterful musicians perfecting their craft, they are also treated to a show like no other.

Here are some highlights from past Phish shows:

Late 1990, in an attempt to increase audience participation within their shows, Phish had the crowd verbally react to certain musical cues. For instance, if Anastasio played The Simpsons theme song, the audience would yell, \”D’oh!.\”

In 1992, Phish increased its collaboration with the audience with an experiment called the \”Big Ball Jam.\” Each member would throw a large beach ball into the crowd and play a note each time his ball was struck by fans.

Other experiments followed, like \”The Rotation Jam.\” In this jam, each member would switch instruments with the guy on his left. For select performances of \”You Enjoy Myself,\” Gordon and Anastasio would perform synchronized maneuvers on mini-trampolines.

For Halloween, 1993, Phish began a tradition of playing an entire album from another band at a live show. The first album, selected by fans, was the Beatles’ White Album. Phish has also performed The Who’s Quadrophenia, The Velvet Underground’s Loaded and Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon.

During a tour in 1995, Phish challenged their audience to two games of chess. Each show consisted of a pair of moves. Phish and their audience split the two games.

Phish’s first two day festival, called The Clifford Ball, was held at a decommissioned Air Force base in Plattsburgh, New York. Between 70,000 and 80,000 people flocked to Phish’s own makeshift city. Organizers added an amusement park, restaurants, a post office, playgrounds, arcades, and a movie theater to the grounds. Phish rode a flatbed truck through the campground and serenaded the audience through the night and early morning.

In 1997, at the festival called the Great Went, Phish and their audience collaborated on a large work of art. At the end of the festival, the mammoth piece of art was burned to the ground.

For the Millennium Celebration, Phish had the largest paid attendance of any concert on the globe. To conclude the festival, Phish played an extended seven-and-a-half hour set that began at midnight and ended at sunrise.

In a move reminiscent of the Beatles’ final performance, Phish performed seven songs atop the Ed Sullivan Theater during The Late Show with David Letterman.

Creative, funny, inventive and downright awesome, Phish plays music the way it’s supposed to be played and the way it’s supposed to be heard… live.

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, often called TSO, is a rock orchestra founded in the mid-1990s. The band’s style is very hard to describe, as it incorporates elements of classical musical, heavy metal, symphonic metal and progressive rock. While the Trans-Siberian Orchestra is based in New York City, it often tours around the world. That means that people in unusual and obscure locations may get the chance to experience this unique sound.

One of the things the orchestra is the most famous for is its renditions of traditional Christmas music. Some of the best known pieces include Wizards in Winter and their rendition of Carol of the Bells - Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24. Originally founded in Florida, the group’s name comes from Russia’s Trans-Siberian Railway. This railway connects many cultures that would otherwise be isolated, in the same way the band hopes to connect them with music.

Initially, despite the fact that members of the orchestra had produced and managed other well-known rock acts, the idea of a band playing Christmas music and other material in rock opera style did not go over well with the music industry.

Fortunately, fans felt otherwise, and the TSO quickly proved to be a success with people of all ages. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra tours with a band including fourteen musicians, two narrators and fourteen vocalists, and uses a full choir and sixty piece orchestra in the recording studio. Band members change periodically, and musicians used on tour may be local to the area the TSO is touring.

The debut album from the orchestra: Christmas Eve and Other Stories, was released in 1996. It’s still their best selling album, though they also released another themed Christmas concept album, The Christmas Attic, in 1998. This album contained one of the orchestra’s most recognizable songs - their version of Pachelbel’s famous Canon in D, called Christmas Canon.

Their first and so far only non Christmas album was released in 2000. Called Beethoven’s Last Night, this concept album is about the last night on Earth of Ludvig van Beethoven. Over the course of the album, he meets the infamous Mephistopheles, as well as Fate and her son. They toured for several years, then went back to the studio in 2004 for the album Lost Christmas Eve, as well as an accompanying three CD set containing all their Christmas albums to that point.

A non-Christmas album has been in the works for some time, called Night Castle. Originally projected to be released in early 2008, the album has still not come out. It’s expected to contain the TSO’s rendition of Carl Orff’s \”O Fortuna\” from Carmina Burana, which has been performed during tours in the past several years. Tours usually run during the winter each year, beginning in November and ending around the beginning of January. This matches up with the TSO’s primarily Christmas themed discography.

The band’s devotion to perfection has been blamed for the long delay in releasing the album, and previous albums have also been severely delayed, with Beethoven’s Last Night’s release delayed for two years and the Lost Christmas Eve delayed for a year. This tendency has caused the band to joke about whether or not Night Castle will ever come out - a joke usually followed up with a performance of O Fortuna.

Live shows by the TSO are known for use of extensive lasers, lights and pyrotechnics, all carefully synchronized with the band’s performance. Shows usually are divided into two halves, with the first half containing Christmas Eve and Other stories, and the second being a mix of albums which may also include covers of work by other artists. Trans-Siberian Orchestra concerts usually finish off with Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24, their most famous piece.

This unique musical group maintains a website and fansite devoted to their work, which includes information about album releases and the current tour, as well as general information about the current lineup and the music. Music, clothing and other merchandise can be purchased through the Trans-Siberian Orchestra site.

Anyone looking for an unusual and fascinating experience should take a few moments to listen to this amazing musical group. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra has a lot to offer, and mixes many different musical styles and backgrounds to create an experience like no other.

With rare exceptions, such as some of the Batman movie posters, most new release movie posters can be purchased for as little as $15-$20. With this knowledge in hand, most people look at movie posters with a sense of ho-hum when thinking about entertainment memorabilia and collectibles. But the big picture is much more enticing.

In a recent memorabilia sale, the rare and elusive 1933 Style B \”Son of Kong\” one sheet movie poster sold for a whopping $69,000! Another vintage movie poster, from the movie \”Citizen Kane\” by Orson Wells (1941), earned $57,500 at auction in the same year.

Money In The Attic

When was the last time you climbed into the attic to see what is in all of those boxes you have been hoarding for the future? Even the stuff you got from Grandma’s house when she passed on - have you opened those boxes to see what treasures may be in those boxes?

The reason I mention the boxes in the attic is because most people do not realize the value of the mementoes they may have in their possession. There may be things you have in your possession that have real value to others and little value to you.

Lessons About The Value Of Collectibles

Every now and again, a story will enter the news about some family who had a rock they used as a doorstop, only to learn many years later that the doorstop was actually a meteorite worth thousands of dollars. A gentleman in Saskatchewan, Canada discovered that his 1.3kg doorstop was actually worth $7,000.

The lesson is that what is one man’s doorstop may be another man’s treasure, just as one man’s $20 movie poster may be another man’s priceless piece of memorabilia.

The second lesson is that anything of value is only valuable to the person who is willing to buy that item for the stated price. Not everyone is going to be willing to pay you $69,000 for a movie poster or $7,000 for a meteorite. An item is not valuable, unless and until someone is willing to recognize real value in that item.

Home Improvement Project Surprises

Unbelievably, it is not uncommon for a homeowner to strip the plaster on the wall and discover old movie posters or concert posters on the inside wood structure of the wall. Sometimes the poster will have been covered over for decades, preserving it in essence for the generations.

If this ever happens to you, the first thing you should do is to take a digital snapshot of the poster and then find someone who appraises such finds. The collector who may be interested in purchasing such an item will be able to tell you how to safely remove the poster from the internal structure of the wall. If the poster needs a cleaning, it is often wise to let the collector do the cleaning him or herself, since the cleaning of valuable collectibles often requires very specialized cleaning products.

Hidden \”Framed\” Treasures

Every now and again, a classic painting or poster will be discovered in a frame, covered over by another print. For example, in 2005, a museum discovered an unknown painting by Norway’s Edvard Munch (1863-1944) called, \”Girl and Three Men’s Heads\”. It was underneath another classic Munch painting titled, \”The Dead Mother\”. Museum officials said that the newly discovered painting was \”absolutely priceless\”.

In the case of the Munch painting, the first was covered over by the painter himself. In other cases, people will simply cover a print that they find uninteresting with another print that they feel is more aesthetically pleasing to their own tastes.

Some of the greatest finds in history have been uncovered when a frame was opened to clean or do repair work on the frame itself.

Two Factors Determine Value More Than Any Other

When looking at the value of movie and concert posters, or any other entertainment collectibles, there are two factors that determine that value more than any other factors. Those two factors are: supply and demand.

In some cases, such as the aforementioned 1933 Style B \”Son of Kong\” one sheet movie poster, the poster is very rare and lots of people desire to own it. The \”Casablanca\” poster on the other hand is an item that is in greater supply, so its recent fetching price was $50,000 less than the \”Son of Kong\” poster.

After watching a few episodes of Antiques Roadshow, it is easy to recognize the value that an appraiser offers to owners of collectible merchandise. Every appraiser has their own specialty, and the Roadshow displays this in every episode, bringing in appraisers who specialize in the specific items seeking appraisal.

The subtleties in the collectible industry are the kinds of things that individuals would be hard-pressed to know. That is why the Antiques Roadshow has so many appraisers in their Rolodex, and if you have an item to sell, you should be seeking a specialist appraiser for your items.

When it is time for you to get an appraisal on a movie poster, concert poster, or any other entertainment type collectibles and memorabilia, then the only name that you will need to have in your Rolodex is Ralph Deluca. Ralph’s website and phone number are shown below, for when you are ready to contact him directly.

Since their latest album, A Weekend In The City, was released in February, Essex indie-rock superstars, Bloc Party, have enjoyed a year of major highs. They have followed up their success with a wide-ranging tour, performing at high-profile gigs such as Live Aid, Glastonbury, Reading/Leeds, SXSW, and the Austin City Limits music festival.

For a band that’s only been together for five years and released just two full-length albums, Bloc Party have managed to create a significant amount of fuss in the music press. Leveraging all the distribution and marketing tools available, the band made up of Kele Okereke (vocals/guitar), Russell Lissack (guitar), Gordon Moakes (bass), and Matt Tong (drums), have managed to place their songs in prominent video games, commercials, re-mix discs, movie, and television soundtracks. This exposure and viral marketing tactics appears to have paid off.

Silent Alarm, their 2005 debut CD, was met with considerable critical acclaim and was voted by NME as 2005’s Album Of The Year. It went platinum in the UK, peaking at number 3 in the album charts. Bloc Party made inroads in the American market as well, with a 4-5 star rating in Rolling Stone Magazine and hitting a respectable (for a previously unknown indie rock outfit) number 114 on the Billboard album charts, ultimately pushing worldwide sales for Silent Alarm past the one million mark.

Music journalists initially tended to lump Bloc Party in with other British new-wave inspired dance rock outfits like Franz Ferdinand, but soon agrees there was something more to them. Spin magazine had this to say about front man Okereke: \”there’s something so engaging about the urgent songwriting of Kele Okereke, the band’s irrepressible front man that hints at longevity beyond this particular British invasion. With his piercing emotional explorations and edgy political banter, Okereke possesses more charisma in one of his floppy dreadlocks than any number of feuding indie-rock singers put together.\”

There was a remix of Silent Alarm in 2005, as well as several EPs exclusive to Japan, but in February 2007 Bloc Party was back with a sophomore release that proved they weren’t going to go down as one-hit wonders.

A Weekend In The City made it to number 2 in the UK album charts and in the first week of sales, 48,000 disc sales notched them the number 12 spot on the American Billboard album charts, a significant improvement from the peak of 114 on their first outing!

Taking the band in a new direction, the new CD makes it more difficult to draw direct comparisons to previous bands (Gang of Four, The Cure and Blur were frequently brought up after the release of their first album), and shows a band more comfortable with itself, growing into its potential.

There were concerns that early leaks of the new album might impact sales - a copy made its way onto file-sharing networks three months before its official release - and the band took the unusual step of posting samples of the entire album on their MySpace site.

Expect to hear more from Bloc Party, and if you get the opportunity to catch them in concert during this tour, don’t miss it.

Discography (Original Releases Only)
2004: Bloc Party (EP)
2005: Silent Alarm (#3 UK)
2007: A Weekend In The City (#2 UK)

Forthcoming UK Dates
27/10 London Roundhouse
03/11 Dublin Big Top @ Phoenix Park
12/12 Glasgow SECC
13/12 Manchester G-MEX
14/12 London Alexandra Palace
15/12 London Alexandra Palace

Let’s play a game, it’s called the NBA head coaching carousel! This off season has been tumultuous in the league, and many teams find themselves with new coaches calling the plays. But there have also been lots of intriguing trades and free agent signings that have shaken up rosters and helped the fortunes of some teams. Last season the league was tied up in the revival of the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, but will be the stories this year?

The Boston Celtics look ready for another run at the title in the upcoming NBA season. They were dominant last year before their road struggles in the early rounds of the playoffs. On the positive side they have crucial playoff experience now. On the negative side is whether or not that same burning passion will be in the team, with coach Doc Rivers and stars Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce all having won their highly sought first NBA Championship.

The finalist from the West, the Los Angeles Lakers look to improve upon their surprising showing last year. A big boost will be received if Andrew Bynum is healthy and ready to play an entire year. Also, with Pao Gasol getting to go to training camp with the team, he should be better integrated into Phil Jackson’s system. Potential problems include Kobe Bryant’s lingering finger issue, and Olympic fatigue for both Kobe and Gasol.

Because of all of the off season drama, the other Los Angeles team, the Clippers, will also be closely watched. They lured Baron Davis into the fold and looked to be a stack team, until Elton Brand bolted to Philadelphia and Corey Maggette left for Davis’s former team, the Warriors. Then the Clippers somehow managed to steal away Marcus Camby from the Denver Nuggets, who look like they are conceding the 2008-2009 season and hoping to rebuild, with or without Carmelo Anthony.

The New Orleans Hornets are going to continue to improve, as Chris Paul and David West emerge as the best young duo in the league. The Spurs will always be in contention, but will be shorthanded with Manu Ganobli injured in the Olympics. The Houston Rockets hope to finally make a serious playoff push, with what they hope is a healthy pair of superstars in Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.

Meanwhile, two perennial contenders and always exciting watches, the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns have new coaches. Dallas got rid of Avery Johnson and brought in former Pistons and Pacers headman Rick Carlisle. The team is still trying to get out of a mental funk from blowing the NBA Finals against the Heat and then being ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the 8th seeded Warriors. The Suns parted with Mike D’Antoni and bring in former player Terry Porter, hoping to add some discipline and toughness to the run and gunners.

D’Antoni is now with the Knicks, who are once again without hope for being a real team and are treading water until they can clear some cap space. Larry Brown was brought in to lead the Charlotte Bobcats into the future, and Brown always has success turning bad, young teams into quality, playoff bound ones. The Pistons were sick of always being good, but never being good enough and so ousted Flip Saunders to bring in Michael Curry.

The Heat also have a new coach, in the completely untested Erik Spoelstra, who will have at his charge Dwayne Wade and superstar in the making Michael Beasley. In Chicago, Derrick Rose will be taking his instructions from Vinny Del Negro, while former Bulls coach Scott Skiles takes over for the Milwaukee Bucks Beasley and Rose will be highly dissected this season in their run for the Rookie of the Year. But the young player with the biggest impact should be Greg Oden, who missed his rookie year with a knee injury and comes into a young team that had a hot start to last season before showing their age. And the young team to watch out for, is the Philadelphia 76ers, who have a strong inside presence with Elton Brand in addition to their young studs including Andre Igoudala.

One of the biggest pieces of news this summer was from former Atlanta Hawks player Josh Childress signing a huge contract with a team in Greece. He was the biggest name NBA player to make the move to Europe, although many others made the move along with him. The move has left many NBA players, fans and teams wondering about their ability to maintain their midlevel talent when European teams, particularly with a strong currency, can offer up more loot for their services.