A collection of offbeat gambling news stories including croupiers wearing flea collars, gambling in your second-life and the world's smallest potential offshore tax haven.
These carpets are really bugging me....
New Zealand News 24 reports that staff at a New Zealand casino are
wearing flea collars designed for cats and dogs around their ankles
this week.
The unusual apparel is to combat an infestation of the bugs in the
carpet, the newspaper The Herald reported at the weekend. Apparently
the fleas loved the warmth of the casino's carpet and the heat generated
by gaming machines made for ideal breeding grounds.
A casino spokesperson told The Herald said that the Sky City casino
in Auckland had an active pest management program to deal with flea
infestations, and had not been made aware of any recent problems [despite
the strange behavior of the croupiers!]
Second-life gambling
Computer giant IBM is attracting visitors to its exhibit at the International
Consumer Electronics Show with a bold consumer initiative entitled
"Second Life" - a subscription-based, 3-D fantasy world
devoted to capitalism, described as a 21st century version of Monopoly
that generates real money for successful players. More than 2.4 million
people worldwide have Second Life avatars.
IBM announced plans this week to build virtual stores for Sears Holdings
Corp. and Circuit City Stores Inc. in the popular online world. The
partnerships could help IBM expand its consulting services to corporate
clients interested in the growing number of people who belong to immerse
online environments, also called the "3-D Internet," reports
Associated Press.
At one point Monday afternoon, 22 000 avatars were logged onto Second
Life, socializing by instant messages or engaging in virtual pastimes
such as flying, dancing, gambling or watching adult videos, the news
agency claims.
The world's smallest country could be yours.
Reuters reports that "Sealand", a WW2 platform fort in
the inhospitable but international waters of the North Sea is up for
sale for an undisclosed price.
Owned for the last 40 years by retired army officer Paddy Roy Bates
aka "Prince" Roy the structure has 16 spacious rooms and
no urban noise problems.
Bates lives in Spain, and has said that his fort might make a good
offshore center for businesses like.....online gambling.