The Celebrity Poker Showdown was a poker tournament on Bravo that pitted celebrities against one another in an attempt to discover who the best poker player is. The tournament garnered a large enough viewing audience to run for seven seasons, but Bravo has chosen not to continue the series.
As a tournament the Celebrity Poker Showdown epitomized the modern merging of poker and popular media. While poker has become a celebrity in a way, the use of celebrities in the game further brought attention to the fact that most of the American television viewers can identify with Texas Hold’em. It also served to contrast the idea of poker celebrity with entertainment celebrity and demonstrate how the two categories are merging.
Some of the key celebrities that have appeared in this tournament are: Ben Affleck, Nicole Sullivan, Coolio, Rosie O’Donnell, and Jason Alexander. The celebrities often receive intensive coaching prior to entering the tournament, most notably Ben Affleck. He was intensively trained by Annie Duke prior to entering the tournament. It is thought by many that this help was one of the main reasons behind his success.
The proceeds of the Celebrity Poker Showdown are donated to charity. Obviously, this is a sharp divergence from traditional poker games, where the individuals are allowed to pocket the profits.
One of the more influential figures in business Peter Sutherland believes there has never been a more perfect time to welcome back to the agenda the divisive topic of joining the Euro. When the case was explored previously and, with the publication of the Treasury’s Report on the Five Tests, effectively terminated, not joining the Euro was the more obvious choice. It’s accurate to say the case is now much weaker perhaps decisively so. A increasing amount of important factors have changed. As it is ever popular to quote Keynes, it is worth bearing in mind the reproof he directed at someone who criticised the apparent inconstancy of his expressed views: “When the facts change I change my mind. What do you do?” First and most important when the case for the Euro was last went over, British citizens could be excused for following the classic Americans saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
This attitude made perfect sense and was based on a long period of a sustained increase in the quality of living and moderate inflation. It was reflected in a long run of predominantly negative answers to the question, as administered by polling organizations, “if there were a referendum on joining the Euro would you answer Yes or No to the question ‘Should Britain join the Euro?’ It cannot be said this American saying holds true currently. Attitudes towards joining the Euro seem like they are definitely changing.
One of the ingredients in the long run of prosperity was without a doubt the high value of the exchange rate of the pound against the Euro (as well as other currencies). Once again, things have changed. Where the exchange rate was arguably higher than it should have been before, now it is arguably too low. It was difficult to recommend committing to the Euro at the rates prevailing in the late ’90s all the way through to 2007 and it would be prudent to await some appreciation before fully committing now – but that some fall in the exchange rate can be welcomed is hardly beyond debate. Still, while we are on the subject of the exchange rate, it is not just quibbles about whether the rate is correct or not at a particular time that should count. Rather, the lesson that might be learnt is that the recent behaviour of the exchange rate gives barely any ground for optimism about its role as a stabilizer when Britain’s exchange rate is floating. In fact there have been a number of studies which seem to show that the exchange rate may, for many countries, be as much of a detriment to the economy as it is something which stabilizes it.
Video commercials are a critical tool to promote your firm’s products & services. Sure, there are dozens & dozens of other types of marketing methods around which include editorial writing to blogging, from press releases to e-mail. However, nothing says “cool, connection, & creativity” like a video commercial.
Each week more & more businesses of varying sizes are generating Web videos about their products. They are not only just putting them on their websites, but they are adding them on their official blogs. To gain worldwide twenty four seven coverage, videos are being published to various video-sharing sites like that of You Tube & Metacafe. And why not ? it?s economical, easy to undertake, & can have a substantial impact, in a number of cases, on the traffic it sends to your businesses site.
There are a lot more reasons why promotional videos are a fabulous way to promote your company.
Short format videos enjoy an extensive distribution channel: Videos by their own nature are straightforward to “package” which makes them appropriate to go into a range of different distribution circulations. You can post them on your firm’s website or blog, on the other hand you can store them onto your computer & run them time and again at a chosen company show. You can add them to dozens & dozens of online video-sharing sites. You can burn them onto CDs & give them away or sell them. You can even distribute them via email.
Commercial videos are a superb way to advertise. As our use of technology evolves, so do the ways in which people like to interact with others. Most people are visually oriented meaning that is how they best understand & cooperate with their world. This makes promotional videos the perfect company strategy to communicate with today’s consumers.
These are just a number of the countless reasons why Internet videos might be a successful way to advertise your firm. Discover more about this topic to see how you could leverage your own time, money, & energy to talk with your target market in a pioneering & interesting way. Vidify provide corporate video production services and expertise for a range of online media engagements.
The range of vacations available in Belize is incredibly broad with those seeking an adventure holiday as well catered for as those seeking a romantic island getaway for example.
The appeal of Belize is also extensive because the country has such a diverse natural landscape and this allows vacationers to enjoy the best of the beach as well as the best of the rainforest.
In terms of the cost of affording a vacation in Belize this very much depends on the individual’s budget because a holiday can be tailor-made to suit almost any level of affordability. Backpackers are welcome in Belize and those in search of five star luxury are also well catered for.
For those hoping for something of an adventure in Belize a dual centre holiday could well fit the bill. How about starting off with diving the barrier reef from the Cayes and then doing some sea and river kayaking before heading inland and into the rainforest for caving, hiking and birding trips?
If you prefer a more laid back holiday and are searching for the perfect island retreat. Belize is also home to some world class five star resorts such as Caye Chapel Island Resort where visitors will benefit from some serious pampering.
Families en route to Belize can tailor make a holiday that combines rest and relaxation for the parents with fun and education for the children. A number of hotels in Belize run kid’s clubs and have babysitting services available so that mom and dad can have some time alone on the beach or by the pool. Then there are many interesting, educational and fun excursions that can be arranged when on the ground in Belize for all the family – excursions such as horse riding in the rain forest, snorkelling around the barrier reef or mountain biking in the jungle are all extremely popular.
Finally those who want to learn more about the history, biodiversity and culture of Belize can custom design a vacation that takes in the Mayan ruins, whilst learning about the rainforest and the unique flora, fauna and people of Belize.
Rhiannon Williamson is a freelance writer whose articles about travelling and living abroad have appeared in publications around the world. To find out more information about vacationing and shopping in Belize click here.
In the center of Paris is a charming area called the Marais. After the big sights such as the Eiffel Tower, it is one of the most popular area visited by tourists due to it’s narrow streets, old buildings and variety of shops, boutiques and bars. However, even despite the tourism, it has managed to fight off the forces of commercialism and is still a favorite area of the Parisiens.
The word Marais means ’swamp’ in French, and indeed originally the Marais area was a swamp. In the tenth century, while the city only occupied the islands on the Seine, the swamp was drained and reclaimed to extend the borders. However, it was another four hundred years before the area began to truly flourish when grand buildings such as the royal hotel des Tournelles and the hotel Saint-Pol were built (hotel in this sense doesn’t mean guests and mini-bars, but grand buildings built by the aristocracy). For another two hundred years the Marais continued to be an area of grandeur with beautiful areas such as the place des Vosges.
This period was not to last forever, and by the 18th century the Marais was neglected. The area had become a slum and a jewish ghetto, spurned by the rest of the city. However, the poor state of the Marais was ultimately to become it’s savior, when at the end of the 19th century Baron Haussmann started one of the greatest urban reconstruction projects ever seen in the world. Ironically it was not the reconstruction that created the Marais as we see today, but the lack of it in that area. Haussmann felt that the Marais wasn’t worthy of reconstruction, and the slum was left untouched while the rest of Paris was transformed with broad boulevards and grand buildings. As the rest of Paris flourished in grandeur, eyes gradually turned to the Marais as prime real estate. Fortunately, a man called Le Corbusier recognized the beauty of the ancient buildings, and decrees were made to prevent the demolition of the Marais and other old areas of the city.
It took a long time for the Marais to truly reach it’s present beauty. Even mid-20th century areas such as the Place des Vosges had a grim and neglected appearance. However, after the war and protected even further in the 1960’s by French law, the Marais has become a highly desired area. The buildings are now clean and well kept, magnificently glorious in all their ancient splendor.
Supposing you haven’t yet figured out betting hall wagering, feel free to read on… Typically, a betting saloon is a construction that offers gambling. Paying Customers will be encouraged to test their luck handling the slot-machines or trying out alternate pastimes. Gaming room games by and large include methodically derived odds informing them that promise the gaming organization secures its leverage against the betters.
Very many gaming room games encourage you to get addicted in no time. For instance the standard 1-armed-bandit, a cash operated machine with 3 plus reels spinning if an arm hitched to it is moved. The contraption consistently pays out with reference to a combination of motifs seen on the front of the appliance. Lamentably, betting establishment games offer a mirage of jurisdiction, effectively hoodwinking the customer — the participant is bestowed with judgments, but in reality they won’t ever really match the gamer’s longterm disadvantage. That is caused by the the betting room never paying the entire wager as hoped for. This systematic method is recurrently noticeable in famous casino games such as five-card stud poker, dice games, roulette or blackjack.
Five card stud poker is really a highly trendy casino pastime. The gambling buffs, playing with partially concealed cards, will wager in a central pot which is ultimately paid out to the prevailing gamer carrying the leading hand. (Of course, the coolest bluff may well prevail too.) Comparable to seven card stud poker, blackjack is likewise an incredibly trendy casino pastime. A lavish amount of its repute is due to the mix of chance and know-how and decision making, as well as a method called “card counting”. It is a pretty complicated strategy by which gambling buffs will significantly turn the arm of chance of the game in their interest both by wagering and procedural decisions corresponding with the cards shown.
“Craps” is a famous gambling hall pastime using the roll of a couple of dice. Patrons can make bets on the outcome of of one cycle, or on a string of spins of two dice. Dissimilar to blackjack, there is no viable winning system players could cash in on to ramp up the odds. Roulette is an incredibly popular gambling pastime — a croupier revolves a roulette wheel featuring a set of 37 (European roulette) or 38 (Vegas roulette) separately tagged pockets in which a white ball must settle, defining the winning number Assuming that the gamester wagers on a particular number which actually wins so it’s their lucky day, the benefit is going to be thirty-five to one, the initial bet proper is paid out. Hence, it’s increased by 36.
Do make a point of being emphatically vigilant for all that for many of those gaming hall betting games are exceedingly addictive. Indeed an incredible number of lives have indisputably been destroyed due to uncontrolled gambling + notwithstanding that it admittedly seems like a lot of fun, undertake to regulate your play.
There are loads of road trips people take in Australia that look like a snap when looking at the map, but surprisingly translate into many hours when actually on the road.
Sydney to Brisbane is one of those road trips. You could do it quickly – as long as you don’t mind strapping a brick on to your accelerator and spending the next 12 hours trying to avoid running into the other, more sedate drivers on the road.
The other, more road-safe option, is to meander your way up the Pacific Highway, and stop off at your leisure. There’s all sorts of nooks and crannies dotted up the coast that you can drop in for a quick visit and wander.
If you don’t have a car, you should think about booking a rental car online and saving yourself a bit of cash. Sites like www.vroomvroomvroom.com.au pool together all of the current prices and specials on offer from the most popular car rental companies in the country. You can directly compare all the prices available with one click of the button to make sure you get a brilliant car hire Sydney deal.
Once you’ve piled into your motorised transport of choice, one of the first popular places for a stretch of the legs would be by the Hawkesbury River, which flows into Broken Bay, and is surrounded by, not one, but three national parks. If you only have time to tramp around one, Ku-Ring-Gai Chase is the most popular – plenty of lovely walks and interesting Aboriginal paintings scattered about at various sites. Or there’s always a spot of fishing and sailing to be had at Broken Bay itself.
Just a little further up the road you’ll find the town of Terrigal. It has followed the tradition of the likes of Byron Bay where a residual alternative vibe has been frilled up to serve a relaxed and palatable mainstream holiday feel. Artsy-crafty shops and a good street-side café culture.
Newcastle will probably be your next stop – although if you’ve paid any attention to word of mouth, you may not be eager to stay very long. But that would be a shame – Newcastle has its attractions. Like what? Well, its got five beaches (try Nobbys Beach, it’s the most popular and it has a bad name – what else do you need?), a huge student population (ie: thriving music scene), some beautiful architecture lurking in colonial buildings and terraced housing – and after a long walk you can head to Darby street to satiate your food and coffee needs.
Ever onwards and upwards will find you pulling in to Port Stephens, which is barely an hours drive away from Newcastle. If you’ve ever dreamt of dolphin spotting, then this is one of the places to do it. There’s a local population of bottle-nosed dolphins which play in the waves near the coast. You can grab any one of the innumerable charter vessels available to take you out.
From here on in, there are plenty of little towns and laid-back cities – you’ll be passing by the beach-laden Port Macquarie, the tiny resort town of Nambucca Heads, the big banana near Coffs Harbour. But you’re now fast-approaching one of the most popular corners of NSW.
The farmers came for the soil, the hippies turned up and hugged the trees, and the yuppies – well yuppies always follow the hippies and make everything fashionable and launch the careers of many hundreds of professional barristas.
The north-east corner of NSW takes in the truly picturesque towns like Bangalow, Mullumbimby, and Byron Bay; the alternative vibes of Nimbin; and tiny villages like Mooball – where the telephone poles and local servo are painted in the pattern of dairy cows. There’s rolling hills, odd communes, pretty beaches, rainforest, spectacular bushwalks and enough chilled-out vibe to make you seriously consider investing in a comby and a didgeridoo.
The local pub scene is fantastic – try to check out Byron Bay’s Beach Hotel, the Nimbin Hotel (in Nimbin of course), and the Tumbulgum Tavern (Riverside Drive in Tumbulgum – just outside of Murwillumbah), just to name a few.
It’ll be a bit of a shock leaving the area and driving through Tweed Heads, Coolangatta and the Gold Coast. Don’t worry too much about the first two towns – not much personality – all fibre glass and concrete. But the beaches can be nice.
The Gold Coast – Surfers Paradise – is where the well-off go to spend money in Jupiter’s Casino, and the young dress in sparse clothing so they can congregate in the loud, vibrating clubs that muscle up against each other in Orchid Ave. Spend a bit of time here, and you’ll eventually be making your sorry way up to Brisbane penniless or hung-over, or both.
Don’t worry, laid-back Brisbane can soothe away your travel wrinkles. You’ve got Southbank, South Brisbane and West End to chill out in, watch the river and the traffic and the people roll on by (although you can’t see the river from West End – you’ll just have to content yourself with people watching).
Alyssa Betts has travelled around a bit (from Europe and the UK to parts of Southeast Asia and Australia) and very much likes the southeast QLD/northeast NSW part of Australia. She works for http://www.vroomvroomvroom.com.au
Crater Lake National Park is a gem of the Pacific Northwest. It is located in south central Oregon in a sparsely populated area and it truly is in the middle of nowhere.
That’s what makes visiting Crater Lake all the more an adventure. You are not going to get to Crater Lake unless you make it your purpose to get here. The closest airports are in Klamath Falls (60 miles from the park) and Medford (80 miles from the park).
But getting there is well worth your effort!
Few places on earth create such an overwhelming awe from observers, however Crater Lake National Park certainly does. Even in a region that boasts many natural and volcanic vistas, the only description for Crater Lake is incredible.
You may have heard about the deep blue color of the lake, but words can never prepare you for the first breathtaking look from the edge of this 6 mile wide crater or caldera which was caused by the eruption and subsequent cave in of Mt. Mazama a few thousand years ago.
My most vivid memory of Crater Lake is finding various overlooks along Rim Road that encircles the park. One spot in particular has an incredible overlook that you can walk out on that isn’t much wider than 3 or 4 feet. The thing that makes this spot so awesome is that the 3 foot wide path out to the overlook drops off steeply more than 1,200′ in some places.
Sorry Iwon’t tell you where this secret spot is, I’m going to let you find it all on your own. However, you will certainly know it when you get there!
Much of the year Crater Lake is snowed in. The area around Crater Lake receives some of the heaviest snowfall in the country, averaging an astonishing 533 inches per year.
For a brief time each year, Crater Lake National Park emerges from this winter freeze to bask in the summertime sun. If you visit early in the season you may be surprised by the amount of snow which remains long into months which are considered early to mid-summer in most parts of the nation. Because of these harsh and often unpredictable weather patterns, most park roads are closed even through the late spring.
Crater Lake is host to a vast array of activities. While enjoying the natural scenic wonders, park visitors may hike in old growth forests, participate in a variety of interpretive activities, camp out or stay in an historic hotel, or even cross-country ski during the very long eight month winters which are experienced here in the Cascade mountains.
If you are planning to visit Crater Lake there are only two campgrounds in the park that have a total of 216 tent sites. Spaces are available on a first come first serve basis as reservations are not taken in the park.
If you love the outdoors and are especially fond of our nation’s National Parks, you don’t want to miss the incredible beauty that awaits you in Crater Lake National Park.
Alan LeStourgeon operates a vacation rental web site where you can find comfortable cabin rentals, recreational and hiking vacation information and information about log cabin furniture.
Ninty some miles north west of Los Angeles lies the lovely beach city of Santa Barbara, California where you will find some of the cleanest and best tended beaches on the west coast.
The city of Santa Barbara which includes Hope Ranch and Montecito has a population of approximately 90,000 (not counting the students who reside at UC Santa Barbara.) yet it hosts millions of visitors each year. The residents of the city are, for the most part, friendly, courteous and helpful, the city is clean and thanks to a well enforced anti graffiti department, virtually free of graffiti. Crime rates are low and the police are courteous and willing to assist you in whatever you need. Whether you are a single traveler, traveling with a friend or spouse or taking the whole family, Santa Barbara is a great destination.
There is something for everyone in or near Santa Barbara. Relax on the beaches, enjoy the night life on State Street or in next door Isla Vista, drive past multi million dollar homes in Montecito or Hope Ranch, take in a symphony at the Arlington Theater, visit the Museum of Art, tour the Mission, go to the Zoo or enjoy the Botanic Gardens or the Natural History Museum, fish off Stearns Wharf, go sport fishing or whale watching, dine at one of the numerous excellant restaurants (many with outside patio dining), visit the outdoor Farmer’s Market and buy organically grown fruits, vegetables, flowers and plants, buy arts and crafts at the sidewalk art show which is right along the beach, rent a bicycle or a bicycle built for two and ride on the bike paths along the ocean, dine at one of the seafood restaurants or at the open air fish market on Stearn’s Wharf or shop at the Paseo Nuevo Shopping Mall.
There are accomidations in every price range, from inexpensive motels to bed and breakfasts to luxury hotels like the Four Seasons Biltmore and the Bacara Resort and Spa.
If the foregoing is not enough, take a wine tasting tour of the botique wineries in the Santa Barbara wine region, go boating and fishing at Lake Cachuma, visit and play poker, blackjack, bingo, keno or slot machines at the Chumash Resort And Casino, visit Solvang “the Danish Capital of America”, go skydiving or take flying lessons at the Santa Inez Airport, see the historic old west town of Santa Ynez, visit Pea Soup Andersen’s in Buellton or just take a long relaxing drive up the coast and enjoy the fantastic weather while viewing the beautiful scenery.
For more information about the city of Santa Barbara, California see http://santabarbara.usacitydirectories.com, a directory of links to city of Santa Barbara, California guides and directories listing hotels, attorneys, information, resources, services, things to do, places to go and more.
David G. Hallstrom, Sr. is a retired private investigator and is currently the publisher of several internet directories, including www.usacitydirectories.com a directory of national, state, county and city guides and directories listing local guides, directories, web sites and web pages providing resources, services and information about things to do and places to go.
Next to hitting a big enough jackpot to retire early, what’s the other secret wish of vacationing parents on the Strip? Freedom from ‘the kids’. Studies conducted by the Las Vegas Visitor’s Bureau show that over 5 million kids visit Las Vegas each year. Camp Las Vegas is the first of its kind to offer tours on the Las Vegas Strip specially designed for kids, aged 7 to 17.
The tours run by day (10am to 2pm) and evening (6pm to 10pm), seven days a week. Granted, this camp is not your average arts-and-crafts variety. It’s adventure with a capital “A”. Tour activities combine everything from shark sightings, safaris, mummy tombs, knight jousting, roller coasters, American Idol auditions, 3-D movies to arcade games.
You won’t find any sack lunches, here. All tours include a meal at hip restaurants like Rainforest Café, Planet Hollywood, NASCAR Café and more. Plus, kids go home with a free t-shirt and gift.
All Camp Las Vegas tour activities are rated “K” for kid-approved. Safety goes beyond screening entertainment content. Adhering to the highest security standards, the camp offers a secured check-in and check-out process of children at various hotels on the Strip where each tour commences and ends.
A ratio of one camp director for every six campers and a maximum limit of twelve kids per tour ensure a secure, supervised environment. Furthermore, all camp tour directors have passed local, state, and national background checks.
The best news? Parental peace of mind comes at a wallet-kind price. The adventure tours are priced at only $99. Since it’s inception, Las Vegas has always been known as an adult playground. Kids were never considered the target tourist market for the glittering jewel destination in the desert… until Camp Las Vegas.
About the Author
Eric Madsen is a frequent visitor to Las Vegas. In his early trips to Vegas, in the 70’s it was not a good idea to take kids. There simply was nothing to do for the kids. Now Vegas has become a family town. Eric is the webmaster of whynotvegas.com. You can view all the Vegas tours at http://www.whynotvegas.com/las_vegas_tours.html
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