September 12,
2002 -
Warren Zevon has lung cancer
- Disease is untreatable;
musician says ‘I’m OK with it’
ASSOCIATED PRESS, LOS ANGELES,
Singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, best
known for quirky hits like
“Werewolves in London,” has been
diagnosed with inoperable lung
cancer, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
“I’m OK with it,” Zevon, 55, said in
a statement. “But it’ll be a drag if
I don’t make it until the next James
Bond movie comes out...”
September 12,
2002 -
'Blizzard' of Cheaters Banned
- By Noah Shachtman,
WiredNews, It's game over
for more than 14,000 players of
Warcraft III, the PC game
megahit. Warcraft developer
Blizzard Entertainment claimed
the gamers were using a hack
that enabled them to see into
their opponents' territories,
giving them a huge advantage in
Internet combat. The company
reacted by banning the cheaters
from online tournament play for
two weeks and resetting their
accounts, wiping out win-loss
records that can take months to
assemble...
September 11,
2002 -
Talking Tech with a Brady
- By Lance Ulanoff, PCMAG.COM,
I am a child of the 1970s.
What does that mean? It means
that banana bikes, "Welcome Back
Kotter," Converse sneakers, and
Pong all hold significance for
me. It also means that any time
I hear anyone say "Here's the
story, about..." my mind
automatically launches into "The
Brady Bunch" theme song. " The
Brady Bunch" was a sitcom that
ran from 1966 to 1974. You may
laugh, but the show is a
cultural icon for my
generation...
September,
2002 -
Hacking Las Vegas - THE INSIDE STORY OF THE MIT BLACKJACK TEAM'S
CONQUEST OF THE CASINOS - Wired Magazine, September 2002
print edition, By Ben Mezrich
The Back-Spotter
The Back-Spotter can count cards without even being seated at the
blackjack table. When the count gets hot — meaning the house is at a
statistical disadvantage — this player will signal for the team’s
bettors to swoop in.
The Spotter
The Spotter counts cards while playing at the table. Casinos screen
for counters by watching for dramatic rises or drops in bets — a sure
sign that a deck has gone hot or cold. A Spotter avoids detection by
resolutely sticking to the minimum bet on each hand. When it’s time to
start betting big to take advantage of a favorable deck, he tips off
his teammates.
The Gorilla
The Gorilla doesn’t count at all: He just bets big, all the time.
Typically, he adopts the pose of a drunken millionaire who has green to
burn. The Spotters ensure the Gorilla’s “luck” by steering him to
tables where he’s got greater than even odds of winning against the
house.
The Big Player
The Big Player appears to be a type well known to the casinos: the
high-rolling recreational gambler who’s content to slowly bleed his
money away through hours of competent play. In reality, he’s a Spotter
with a Gorilla’s bankroll. He’s not only counting cards, he’s tracking
the shuffle for the high cards that rob the house of its advantage. A
BP always plays a good deck, so he never has to lower his bets by much.
Fifty thousand dollars strapped to each thigh. A hundred
thousand dollars, in 10 bricks of hundreds, taped across my upper back.
Fifty thousand more Velcroed to my chest...
TOP
