TL;DR: Man with too much time on his hands goes deep down the rabbit hole on a concept this sub already didn’t seem that enthusiastic about. If you really want to skip ahead, CTRL+F “verdict” and it’ll get you there.
Two days ago, u/MrPhillyj2wns made a post asking whether USL should launch a D1 league in order to compete in Concacaf. From the top voted replies, it appears this made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.
But I’ve been at home for eight weeks and I am terribly, terribly bored.
So, I present to you this overview of what the USL pyramid might look like if Jake Edwards got a head of steam and attempted to establish a USSF-sanctioned first division. This is by no means an endorsement of such a proposal or even a suggestion that USL SHOULD do such a thing. It is merely an examination of whether they COULD.
Welcome to the ~~Thunderdome~~ USL Premiership
First, there are some base-level assumptions we must make in this exercise, because it makes me feel more scientific and not like a guy who wrote this on Sunday while watching the Belarusian Premier League (Go BATE Borisov!).

All D1 teams must comply with known USSF requirements for D1 leagues (more on that later).
MLS, not liking this move, will immediately remove all directly-owned affiliate clubs from the USL structure (this does not include hybrid ownerships, like San Antonio FC – NYCFC). This removes all MLS2 teams but will not affect Colorado Springs, Reno, RGVFC and San Antonio.
The USL will attempt to maintain both the USL Championship and USL League One, with an eventual mind toward creating the pro/rel paradise that is promised in Relegations 3:16.
All of my research regarding facility size and ownership net worth is correct – this is probably the biggest leap of faith we have to make, since googling “NAME net worth” and “CITY richest people” doesn’t seem guaranteed to return accurate results.
The most a club can increase its available seating capacity to meet D1 requirements in a current stadium is no more than 1,500 seats (10% of the required 15,000). If they need to add more, they’ll need a new facility.
Let’s pretend that people are VERY willing to sell. It’s commonly acknowledged that the USL is a more financially feasible route to owning a soccer club than in MLS (c.f. MLS-Charlotte’s reported $325 million expansion fee) and the USSF has some very strict requirements for D1 sanctioning. It becomes pretty apparent when googling a lot of team’s owners that this requirement isn’t met, so let’s assume everyone that can’t sells to people who meet the requirements.

(Known) USSF D1 league requirements:
- League must have 12 teams to apply and 14 teams by year three
- Majority owner must have a net worth of $40 million, and the ownership group must have a total net worth of $70 million. The value of an owned stadium is not considered when calculating this value.
- Must have teams located in the Eastern, Central and Pacific time zones
- 75% of league’s teams must be based in markets with at a metro population of at least 1 million people.
- All league stadiums must have a capacity of at least 15,000
The ideal club candidate for the USL Premiership will meet the population and capacity requirements in its current ground, which will have a grass playing surface. Of the USL Championship’s 27 independent/hybrid affiliate clubs, I did not find one club that meets all these criteria as they currently stand.
Regarding turf fields, the USSF does not have a formal policy regarding the ideal playing surface but it is generally acknowledged that grass is superior to turf. 6 of 26 MLS stadiums utilize turf, or roughly 23% of stadiums. We’ll hold a similar restriction for our top flight, so 2-3 of our top flight clubs can have turf fields. Seem fair?
Capacity is going to be the biggest issue, since the disparity between current requirements for the second-tier (5,000) and the first tier (15,000) is a pretty massive gap. Nice club you have there, triple your capacity and you’re onto something. As a result, I have taken the liberty of relocating certain (read: nearly all) clubs to new grounds, trying my utmost to keep those clubs in their current markets and –importantly--, ensure they play on grass surfaces.
So, let’s do a case-by-case evaluation and see if we can put together 12-14 teams that meet the potential requirements, because what else do you have to do?
For each club’s breakdown, anything that represents a chance from what is currently true will be underlined.
Candidate: Birmingham Legion FC
Location (Metro population): Birmingham, Ala. (1,151,801)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Legion Field (FieldTurf, 71,594)
Potential owner: Stephens Family (reported net worth $4 billion)
Notes: Birmingham has a pretty strong candidacy. Having ditched the 5,000-seater BBVA Field for Legion Field, which sits 2.4 miles away, they’ve tapped into the city’s soccer history. Legion Field hosted portions of both the men’s and women’s tournaments at the 1996 Olympics, including a 3-1 U.S. loss to Argentina that saw 83,183 pack the house. The Harbert family seemed like strong ownership contenders, but since the death of matriarch Marguerite Harbert in 2015, it’s unclear where the wealth in the family is concentrated, so the Stephens seem like a better candidate. The only real knock that I can think of is that we really want to avoid having clubs play on turf, so I’d say they’re on the bubble of our platonic ideal USL Prem.
Candidate: Charleston Battery
Location (Metro population): Charleston, S.C. (713,000)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Johnson Hagood Stadium (Grass, ~14,700)
Potential owner: Anita Zucker (reported net worth $3 billion)
Notes: Charleston’s candidacy isn’t looking great. Already disadvantaged due to its undersized metro population, a move across the Cooper River to Johnson Hagood Stadium is cutting it close in terms of capacity. The stadium, home to The Citadel’s football team, used to seat 21,000, before 9,300 seats on the eastern grandstand were torn down in 2017 to deal with lead paint that had been used in their construction. Renovation plans include adding 3,000 seats back in, which could hit 15,000 if they bumped it to 3,300, but throw in a required sale by HCFC, LLC (led by content-creation platform founder Rob Salvatore) to chemical magnate Anita Zucker, and you’ll see there’s a lot of ifs and ands in this proposal.
Candidate: Charlotte Independence
Location (Metro population): Charlotte, N.C. (2,569, 213)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Jerry Richardson Stadium (Turf, 15,314)
Potential owner: James Goodnight (reported net worth $9.1 billion)
Notes: Charlotte ticks a lot of the boxes. A move from the Sportsplex at Matthews to UNC-Charlotte’s Jerry Richardson stadium meets capacity requirements, but puts them on to the dreaded turf. Regrettably, nearby American Legion Memorial Stadium only seats 10,500, despite a grass playing surface. With a sizeable metro population (sixth-largest in the USL Championship) and a possible owner in software billionaire James Goodnight, you’ve got some options here. The biggest problem likely lies in direct competition for market share against a much better-funded MLS Charlotte side due to join the league in 2021.
Candidate: Hartford Athletic
Location (Metro population): Hartford, Conn. (1,214,295)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Pratt & Whitney Stadium (Grass, 38,066)
Potential owner: Ray Dalio (reported net worth $18.4 billion)
Notes: Okay, I cheated a bit here, having to relocate Hartford to Pratt & Whitney Stadium, which is technically in East Hartford, Conn. I don’t know enough about the area to know if there’s some kind of massive beef between the two cities, but the club has history there, having played seven games in 2019 while Dillon Stadium underwent renovations. If the group of local businessmen that currently own the club manage to attract Dalio to the table, we’re on to something.
Candidate: Indy Eleven
Location (Metro population): Indianapolis, Ind. (2,048,703)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Lucas Oil Stadium (Turf, 62,421)
Potential owner: Jim Irsay (reported net worth of $3 billion)
Notes: Indy Eleven are a club that are SO CLOSE to being an ideal candidate – if it weren’t for Lucas Oil Stadium’s turf playing surface. Still, there’s a lot to like in this bid. I’m not going to lie, I have no idea what current owner and founder Ersal Ozdemir is worth, but it seems like there might be cause for concern. A sale to Irsay, who also owns the NFL Indianapolis (nee Baltimore) Colts, seems likely to keep the franchise there, rather than make a half-mile move to 14,230 capacity Victory Field where the AAA Indianapolis Indians play and expand from there.
Candidate: Louisville City FC
Location (Metro population): Louisville, Ky. (1,297,310)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Lynn Family Stadium (Grass, 14,000, possibly expandable to 20,000)
Potential owner: Wayne Hughes (reported net worth $2.8 billion)
Notes: I’m stretching things a bit here. Lynn Family stadium is currently listed as having 11,700 capacity that’s expandable to 14,000, but they’ve said that the ground could hold as many as 20,000 with additional construction, which might be enough to grant them a temporary waiver from USSF. If the stadium is a no-go, then there’s always Cardinal Stadium, home to the University of Louisville’s football team, which seats 65,000 but is turf. Either way, it seems like a sale to someone like Public Storage founder Wayne Hughes will be necessary to ensure the club has enough capital.
Candidate: Memphis 901 FC
Location (Metro population): Memphis, Tenn. (1,348,260)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Liberty Bowl Stadium (Turf, 58,325)
Potential owner: Fred Smith (reported net worth $3 billion)
Notes: Unfortunately for Memphis, AutoZone Park’s 10,000 seats won’t cut it at the D1 level. With its urban location, it would likely prove tough to renovate, as well. Liberty Bowl Stadium more than meets the need, but will involve the use of the dreaded turf. As far as an owner goes, FedEx founder Fred Smith seems like a good local option.
Candidate: Miami FC, “The”
Location (Metro population): Miami, Fla. (6,158,824)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Riccardo Silva Stadium (FieldTurf, 20,000)
Potential owner: Riccardo Silva (reported net worth $1 billion)
Notes: Well, well, well, Silva might get his wish for top-flight soccer, after all. He’s got the money, he’s got the metro, and his ground has the capacity. There is the nagging issue of the turf, though. Hard Rock Stadium might present a solution, including a capacity of 64,767 and a grass playing surface. It is worth noting, however, that this is the first profile where I didn’t have to find a new potential owner for a club.
Candidate: North Carolina FC
Location (Metro population): Durham, N.C. (1,214,516 in The Triangle)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Carter-Finley Stadium (Grass/Turf, 57,583)
Potential owner: Steve Malik (precise net worth unknown) / Dennis Gillings (reported net worth of $1.7 billion)
Notes: We have our first “relocation” in North Carolina FC, who were forced to trade Cary’s 10,000-seat WakeMed Soccer Park for Carter-Finley Stadium in Durham, home of the NC State Wolfpack and 57,583 of their closest friends. The move is a whopping 3.1 miles, thanks to the close-knit hub that exists between Cary, Durham and Raleigh. Carter-Finley might be my favorite of the stadium moves in this exercise. The field is grass, but the sidelines are artificial turf. Weird, right? Either way, it was good enough for Juventus to play a friendly against Chivas de Guadalajara there in 2011. Maybe the move would be pushed for by new owner and medical magnate Dennis Gillings, whose British roots might inspire him to get involved in the Beautiful Game. Straight up, though, I couldn’t find a net worth for current owner Steve Malik, though he did sell his company MedFusion for $91 million in 2010, then bought it back for an undisclosed amount and sold it again for $43 million last November. I don’t know if Malik has the juice to meet D1 requirements, but I suspect he’s close.
Candidate: Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Location (Metro population): Pittsburgh, Penn. (2,362,453)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Heinz Field (Grass, 64,450)
Potential owner: Henry Hillman (reported net worth $2.5 billion)
Notes: I don’t know a ton about the Riverhounds, but this move in particular feels like depriving a pretty blue-collar club from its roots. Highmark Stadium is a no-go from a seating perspective, but the Steelers’ home stadium at Heinz Field would more than meet the requirements and have a grass surface that was large enough to be sanctioned for a FIFA friendly between the U.S. WNT and Costa Rica in 2015. As for an owner, Tuffy Shallenberger (first ballot owner name HOF) doesn’t seem to fit the USSF bill, but legendary Pittsburgh industrialist Henry Hillman might. I’m sure you’re asking, why not the Rooney Family, if they’ll play at Heinz Field? I’ll tell you: I honestly can’t seem to pin down a value for the family. The Steelers are valued at a little over a billion and rumors persist that Dan Rooney is worth $500 million, but I’m not sure. I guess the Rooneys would work too, but it’s a definite departure from an owner in Shallenberger who was described by one journalist as a guy who “wears boots, jeans, a sweater and a trucker hat.”
Candidate: Saint Louis FC
Location (Metro population): St. Louis, Mo. (2,807,338)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Busch Stadium (Grass, 45,494)
Potential owner: William DeWitt Jr. (reported net worth $4 billion)
Notes: Saint Louis has some weirdness in making the jump to D1. Current CEO Jim Kavanaugh is an owner of the MLS side that will begin play in 2022. The club’s current ground at West Community Stadium isn’t big enough, but perhaps a timely sale to Cardinals owner William DeWitt Jr. could see the club playing games at Busch Stadium, which has a well established history of hosting other sports like hockey, college football and soccer (most recently a U.S. WNT friendly against New Zealand in 2019). The competition with another MLS franchise wouldn’t be ideal, like Charlotte, but with a big enough population and cross marketing from the Cardinals, maybe there’s a winner here. Wacko idea: If Busch doesn’t pan out, send them to The Dome. Sure, it’s a 60k turf closed-in stadium, but we can go for that retro NASL feel and pay homage to our nation’s soccer history.
Candidate: Tampa Bay Rowdies
Location (Metro population): Tampa, Fla. (3,068,511)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Raymond James Stadium (Grass, 65,518)
Potential owner: Edward DeBartolo Jr. (reported net worth $3 billion)
Notes: This one makes me sad. Despite having never been there, I see Al Lang Stadium as an iconic part of the Rowdies experience. Current owner Bill Edwards proposed an expansion to 18,000 seats in 2016, but the move seems to have stalled out. Frustrated with the city’s lack of action, Edwards sells to one-time San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr., who uses his old NFL connections to secure a cushy lease at the home of the Buccaneers in Ray Jay, the site of a 3-1 thrashing of Antigua and Barbuda during the United States’ 2014 World Cup Qualifying campaign.
Breather. Hey, we finished the Eastern Conference teams. Why are you still reading this? Why am I still writing it? Time is a meaningless construct in 2020 my friends, we are adrift in the void, fueled only by brief flashes of what once was and what may yet still be.
Candidate: Austin Bold FC
Location (Metro population): Austin, Texas (2,168,316)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Darrel K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium (FieldTurf, 95,594)
Potential owner: Michael Dell (reported net worth of $32.3 billion)
Notes: Anthony Precourt’s Austin FC has some unexpected competition and it comes in the form of tech magnate Michael Dell. Dell, were he to buy the club, would be one of the richest owners on our list and could flash his cash in the new first division. Would he have enough to convince Darrel K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium (I’m not kidding, that’s its actual name) to go back to a grass surface, like it did from ’96-’08? That’s between Dell and nearly 100,000 UT football fans, but everything can be had for the right price.
Candidate: Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
Location (Metro population): Colorado Springs, Colo. (738,939)
Time zone: Mountain
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Falcon Stadium (FieldTurf, 46,692)
Potential owner: Charles Ergen (reported net worth $10.8 billion)
Notes: Welcome to Colorado Springs. We have hurdles. For the first time in 12 candidates, we’re back below the desired 1 million metro population mark. Colorado Springs actually plans to build a $35 million, 8,000 seat venue downtown that will be perfect for soccer, but in our timeline that’s 7,000 seats short. Enter Falcon Stadium, home of the Air Force Academy Falcons football team. Seems perfect except for the turf, right? Well, the tricky thing is that Falcon Stadium is technically on an active military base and is (I believe) government property. Challenges to getting in and out of the ground aside, the military tends to have a pretty grim view of government property being used by for-profit enterprises. Maybe Charles Ergen, founder and chairman of Dish Network, would be able to grease the right wheels, but you can go ahead and throw this into the “doubtful” category. It’s a shame, too. 6,035 feet of elevation is one hell of a home-field advantage.
Candidate: El Paso Locomotive FC
Location: El Paso, Texas
Time zone: Mountain
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Sun Bowl (FieldTurf, 51,500)
Potential owner: Paul Foster (reported net worth $1.7 billion)
Notes: God bless Texas. When compiling this list, I found so many of the theoretical stadium replacements were nearly serviceable by high school football fields. That’s insane, right? Anyway, Locomotive don’t have to settle for one of those, they’ve got the Sun Bowl, which had its capacity reduced in 2001 to a paltry 51,500 (from 52,000) specifically to accommodate soccer. Sure, it’s a turf surface, but what does new owner Paul Foster (who is only the 1,477th wealthiest man in the world, per Forbes) care, he’s got a team in a top league. Side note: Did you know that the Sun Bowl college football game is officially, through sponsorship, the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl? Why is it not the Frosted Flakes Sun Bowl? Why is the cereal mascot the promotional name of the football game? What are you doing, Kellogg’s?
Candidate: Las Vegas Lights FC
Location: Las Vegas, Nev. (2,227,053)
Time zone: Pacific
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Allegiant Stadium (Grass, 61,000)
Potential owner: Sheldon Adelson (reported net worth $37.7 billion)
Notes: Sin City. You had to know that the club that once signed Freddy Adu because “why not” was going to go all out in our flashy hypothetical proposal. Thanks to my narrative control of this whole thing, they have. Adelson is the second-richest owner in the league and has decided to do everything first class. That includes using the new Raiders stadium in nearby unincorporated Paradise, Nevada, and spending boatloads on high profile transfers. Zlatan is coming back to the U.S., confirmed.
Candidate: New Mexico United
Location: Albuquerque, N.M.
Time zone: Mountain
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Isotopes Park – officially Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park (Grass, 13,500 – 15,000 with expansion)
Potential owner: Maloof Family (reported net worth $1 billion)
Notes: New Mexico from its inception went deep on the community vibe, and I’ve tried to replicate that in this bid. The home field of Rio Grande Cr---I’m not typing out the whole thing—Isotopes Park falls just within the expansion rules we set to make it to 15,000 (weird, right?) and they’ve found a great local ownership group in the Lebanese-American Maloof (formerly Maalouf) family from Las Vegas. The only thing to worry about would be the metro population, but overall, this could be one of the gems of USL Prem.
Candidate: Oklahoma City Energy FC
Location: Oklahoma City, Okla. (1,396,445)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (Grass, 13,066)
Potential owner: Harold Hamm (reported net worth $14.2 billion)
Notes: There’s a bright golden haze on the meadow and it says it’s time to change stadiums and owners to make it to D1. A sale to oil magnate Harold Hamm would give the club the finances it needs, but Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (home of the OKC Dodgers) actually falls outside of the boundary of what would meet capacity if 1,500 seats were added. Could the club pull off a move to Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma – home of the Oklahoma Sooners? Maybe, but at 20 miles, this would be a reach.
Candidate: Orange County SC
Location: Irvine, Calif. (3,176, 000 in Orange County)
Time zone: Pacific
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Angels Stadium of Anaheim (Grass, 43,250)
Potential owner: Arte Moreno (reported net worth $3.3 billion)
Notes: You’ll never convince me that Rangers didn’t choose to partner with Orange County based primarily on its name. Either way, a sale to MLB Angels owner Arte Moreno produces a fruitful partnership, with the owner choosing to play his newest club out of the existing Angels stadium in OC. Another baseball conversion, sure, but with a metro population of over 3 million and the closest thing this hypothetical league has to an LA market, who’s complaining?
Candidate: Phoenix Rising FC
Location: Phoenix, Ariz. (4,857,962)
Time zone: Arizona
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): State Farm Stadium (Grass, 63,400)
Potential owner: Ernest Garcia II (reported net worth $5.7 billion)
Notes: We’re keeping it local with new owner and used car guru Ernest Garcia II. His dad owned a liquor store and he dropped out of college, which is making me feel amazing about my life choices right now. Casino Arizona Field is great, but State Farm Stadium is a grass surface that hosted the 2019 Gold Cup semifinal, so it’s a clear winner. Throw in Phoenix’s massive metro population and this one looks like a lock.
Candidate: Reno 1868 FC
Location: Reno, Nev. (425,417)
Time zone: Pacific
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Mackay Stadium (FieldTurf, 30,000)
Potential owner: Nancy Walton Laurie (reported net worth $7.1 billion)
Notes: The Biggest Little City on Earth has some serious barriers to overcome, thanks to its low metro population. A sale to Walmart heiress Nancy Walton Laurie and 1.6 mile-move to Mackay Stadium to split space with the University of Nevada, Reno makes this bid competitive, but the turf surface is another knock against it.
Candidate: Rio Grande Valley FC
Location: Edinburg, Texas (900,304)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): McAllen Memorial Stadium (FieldTurf, 13,500 – 15,000 with expansion)
Potential owner: Alice Louise Walton (reported net worth $45 billion)
Notes: Yes, I have a second straight Walmart heiress on the list. She was the first thing that popped up when I googled “McAllen Texas richest people.” The family rivalry has spurred Walton to buy a club as well, moving them 10 miles to McAllen Memorial Stadium which, as I alluded to earlier, is a straight up high school football stadium with a full color scoreboard. Toss in an additional 1,500 seats and you’ve met the minimum, despite the turf playing surface.
Candidate: San Antonio FC
Location: San Antonio, Texas (2,550,960)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Alamodome (FieldTurf, 64,000)
Potential owner: Red McCombs (reported net worth $1.6 billion)
Notes: I wanted to keep SAFC in the Spurs family, since the franchise is valued at $1.8 billion. That said, I didn’t let the Rooneys own the Riverhounds based on the Steelers’ value and it felt wrong to change the rules, so bring on Clear Channel co-founder Red McCombs. Toyota Field isn’t viable in the first division, but for the Alamodome, which was built in 1993 in hopes of attracting an NFL franchise (and never did), San Antonio can finally claim having *a* national football league team in its town (contingent on your definition of football). Now if only we could do something about that turf…
Candidate: San Diego Loyal SC
Location: San Diego, Calif. (3,317,749)
Time zone: Pacific
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): SDCCU Stadium (formerly Qualcomm) (Grass, 70,561)
Potential owner: Phil Mickelson (reported net worth $91 million)
Notes: Yes, golf’s Phil Mickelson. The existing ownership group didn’t seem to have the wherewithal to meet requirements, and Phil seemed to slot right in. As an athlete himself, he might be interesting in the new challenges of a top flight soccer team. Toss in a move to the former home of the chargers and you might have a basis for tremendous community support.
Candidate: FC Tulsa
Location: Tulsa, Okla. (991,561)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium (FieldTurf, 30,000)
Potential owner: George Kaiser ($10 billion)
Notes: I’m a fan of FC Tulsa’s rebrand, but if they want to make the first division, more changes are necessary. A sale to Tulsa native and one of the 100 richest men in the world George Kaiser means that funding is guaranteed. A move to Chapman Stadium would provide the necessary seats, despite the turf field. While the undersize population might be an issue at first glance, it’s hard to imagine U.S. Soccer not granting a waiver over a less than a 10k miss from the mark.
And that’s it! You made it. Those are all of the independent/hybrid affiliates in the USL Championship, which means that it’s time for our…
VERDICT: As an expert who has studied this issue for almost an entire day now, I am prepared to pronounce which USL Championships could be most ‘ready” for a jump to the USL Prem. A reminder that of the 27 clubs surveyed, 0 of them met our ideal criteria (proper ownership $, metro population, 15,000+ stadium with grass field).
Two of them, however, met almost all of those criteria: Indy Eleven and Miami FC. Those two clubs may use up two of our three available turf fields right from the outset, but the other factors they hit (particularly Silva’s ownership of Miami) makes them difficult, if not impossible to ignore for the top flight.
But who fill in the rest of the slots? Meet the entire 14-team USL Premier League:
Hartford Athletic
Indy Eleven
Louisville City FC
Miami FC
North Carolina FC
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Tampa Bay Rowdies
Saint Louis FC
San Antonio FC
New Mexico United
Phoenix Rising FC
Las Vegas Lights FC
Orange County SC
San Diego Loyal SC
Now, I shall provide my expert rationale for each club’s inclusion/exclusion, which can be roughly broken down into four categories.
Firm “yes”
Hartford Athletic: It’s a good market size with a solid stadium. With a decent investor and good community support, you’ve got potential here.
Indy Eleven: The turf at Lucas Oil Stadium is no reason to turn down a 62,421 venue and a metro population of over 2 million.
Louisville City FC: Why doesn’t the 2017 & 2018 USL Cup champion deserve a crack at the top flight? They have the market size, and with a bit of expansion have the stadium at their own SSS. LCFC, you’re in.
Miami FC, “The”: Our other blue-chip recruit on the basis of ownership value, market size and stadium capacity. Yes, that field is turf, but how could you snub Silva’s chance to claim victory as the first division 1 club soccer team to play in Miami?
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: Pittsburgh sacrificed a lot to be here (according to my arbitrary calculations). Their market size and the potential boon of soccer at Heinz Field is an important inclusion to the league.
Saint Louis FC: Willie hears your “Busch League” jokes, Willie don’t care. A huge market size, combined with the absence of an NFL franchise creates opportunity. Competition with the MLS side, sure, but St. Louis has serious soccer history and we’re willing to bet it can support two clubs.
Tampa Bay Rowdies: With a huge population and a massive stadium waiting nearby, Tampa Bay seems like too good of an opportunity to pass up for the USL Prem.
Las Vegas Lights FC: Ostentatious, massive and well-financed, Las Vegas Lights FC is everything that the USL Premier League would need to assert that it didn’t intend to play second fiddle to MLS. Players will need to be kept on a short leash, but this is a hard market to pass up on.
Phoenix Rising FC: Huge population, big grass field available nearby and a solid history of success in recent years. No brainer.
San Diego Loyal SC: New club? Yes, massive population in a market that recently lost an absolutely huge sports presence? Also yes. This could be the USL Prem’s Seattle.
Cautious “yes”
New Mexico United: You have to take a chance on New Mexico United. The club set the league on fire with its social media presence and its weight in the community when it entered the league last season. The market may be slightly under USSF’s desired 1 million, but fervent support (and the ability to continue to use Isotopes Park) shouldn’t be discounted.
North Carolina FC: Carter-Finley’s mixed grass/turf surface is a barrier, to be sure, but the 57,000+ seats it offers (and being enough to offset other fully-turf offerings) is enough to put it in the black.
Orange County SC: It’s a top-tier club playing in a MLB stadium. I know it seems unlikely that USSF would approve something like that, but believe me when I say “it could happen.” Orange County is a massive market and California likely needs two clubs in the top flight.
San Antonio FC: Our third and only voluntary inclusion to the turf fields in the first division, we’re counting on San Antonio’s size and massive potential stadium to see it through.
Cautious “no”
Birmingham Legion FC: The town has solid soccer history and a huge potential venue, but the turf playing surface puts it on the outside looking in.
Memphis 901 FC: Like Birmingham, not much to dislike here outside of the turf playing surface at the larger playing venue.
Austin Bold FC: See the other two above.
FC Tulsa: Everything’s just a little bit off with this one. Market’s slightly too small, stadium has turf. Just not enough to put it over the top.
Firm “no”
Charleston Battery: Small metro and a small potential new stadium? It’s tough to say yes to the risk.
Charlotte Independence: A small new stadium and the possibility of having to compete with an organization that just paid over $300 million to join MLS means it’s best for this club to remain in the USL Championship.
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC: When a club’s best chance to meet a capacity requirement is to host games at a venue controlled by the military, that doesn’t speak well to a club’s chances.
El Paso Locomotive FC: An undersized market and a turf field that meets capacity requirements is the death knell for this one.
Oklahoma City Energy FC: Having to expand a baseball field to meet requirements is a bad start. Having to potentially play 20 miles away from your main market is even worse.
Reno 1868 FC: Population nearly a half-million short of the federation’s requirements AND a turf field at the hypothetical new stadium makes impossible to say yes to this bid.
Rio Grande Valley FC: All the seat expansions in the world can’t hide the fact that McAllen Memorial Stadium is a high school stadium through and through.
Here’s who’s left in the 11-team Championship:
Birmingham Legion FC
Charleston Battery
Charlotte Independence
Memphis 901 FC
Austin Bold FC
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
El Paso Locomotive FC
Oklahoma City Energy FC
Reno 1868 FC
Rio Grande Valley FC
FC Tulsa
With MLS folding the six affiliates it has in USL League One, the league is a little bit thin (especially considering USSF’s requirements for 8 teams for lower level leagues), but seems definitely able to expand up to the necessary numbers with Edwards’ allusions to five new additions this year:
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
Forward Madison FC
Greenville Triumph SC
Union Omaha
Richmond Kickers
South Georgia Tormenta
FC Tucson
Format of Assorted Leagues – This (like everything in this post) is pure conjecture on my part, but here are my thoughts on how these leagues might function in a first year while waiting for additional expansion.
USL Premier – We’ll steal from the 12-team Scottish Premiership. Each club plays the other 11 clubs 3 times, with either one or two home matches against each side. When each club has played 33 matches, the top six and bottom six separate, with every club playing an additional five matches (against each other team in its group). The top club wins the league. The bottom club is automatically relegated. The second-bottom club will enter a two-legged playoff against someone (see below) from the championship playoffs.
USL Championship -- 11 clubs is a challenge to schedule for. How about every club plays everyone else three times (either one or two home matches against each side)? Top four clubs make the playoffs, which are decided by two-legged playoffs. The winner automatically goes up. I need feedback on the second part – is it better to have the runner-up from the playoffs face the second-bottom club from the Premiership, or should the winner of the third-place match-up get the chance to face them to keep drama going in both playoff series? As for relegation, we can clearly only send down the last place club while the third division is so small.
USL League One – While the league is so small, it doesn’t seem reasonable to have the clubs play as many matches as the higher divisions. Each club could play the other six clubs four times – twice at home and twice away – for a very equitable 24-match regular season, which would help restrict costs and still provide a chance to determine a clear winner. Whoever finishes top of the table goes up.
And there you have it, a hypothetical look at how the USL could build a D1 league right now. All it would take is a new stadium for almost the entire league and new owners for all but one of the 27 clubs, who wouldn’t feel that their property would be massively devalued if they got relegated.
Well that’s our show. I’m curious to see what you think of all of this, especially anything that you think I may have overlooked (I’m sure there’s plenty). Anyway, I hope you’re all staying safe and well.

[EXPANSION] Arizona Ascendant II

[Monthly Roleplay] This year's list of Rapture import requests are in, and must be voted on by the council.

Rules

• Everyone who comments is seen as a vocal council member, sharing their opinion or idea on how to handle a matter.
• The debates will begin on Sundays, and the debates will be open until Friday, with Saturday and Sunday being when the council members will vote on how to proceed.
• Feel free to ask if you have any questions, and tell me if I need to clarify something, as I will act as the neutral mediator of the debates.
• I'll try to make these as realistic as possible, touching on some topics that the council may have encountered while acting as Rapture's governing body.
• Feel free to PM me any suggestions or ideas you have for topics, or how to improve everyone's RP experience.

This Month's case

Council members, as I’m sure you know, there some materials that simply cannot be made or found down in Rapture, due to our geographic location in the Atlantic, as well as being constrained within the confines of the sea. Therefore, it is up to you to sort through the disputed Import Request forms collected this year. If a business owner in Rapture is in need of a single product, or a reoccurring shipment of a product, it is up to the council to decide if the risk is justified, or if the product should be allowed in at all, if Rapture Administration is unable to reach a conclusion.
If any of you are unaware, Rapture uses a facade company known as Scarlet Sovereign: Import and Export to ship things here. This only works because we redirect the ships to Rapture instead of remote locations (on the manifests) with poor infrastructure or low development, which won’t attract much suspicion if a ship doesn’t arrive. When a boat full of textiles hasn't shown up in Santa Teresa or Kovalam, not many questions will be asked. But the more of these shipments we do, and the more diverse they become, the greater risk there is of being discovered. You may have to be quite utilitarian with what you will allow. The Rapture Administration offices near the Welcome Center have done a pre-screening, of sorts, and have removed all requests that wouldn’t even be physically or practically possible with our current means. They've also pre-approved other requests for basic materials, like more wood, rubber, etcetera. During the past year, they’ve also tracked down how the post-screened requests could be fulfilled, and given price estimates to the parties involved. The following are the, for one reason or another, undecided requests, and it is up to the council to decide whether a request should be allowed or denied.
Request Number: #027-R

Filed By: De Milo Cosmetics

Resupply Frequency: Yearly

Request Description: 200kg of Cochineal (Dactylopius Coccus) insect larvae.

Justification: The scales of these insects can be ground up to make the most exquisite red tones for our cosmetic products. It is a versatile coloring, and it mixes well with other artificial dyes. We intend to use it to release our new Feminine Industrialist product line. It will be used in our lipsticks, rouge, nail polishes, and others. If our estimates are correct, 200kg should be enough for the year.

Notes from Rapture Administration: It is very unlikely that Cochineal could successfully be re-cultivated in Rapture in a self sustaining way on an industrial level, due to the extremely hot and dry conditions in which they live, as well as the fickleness of their reproductive cycles, which will only take place in Nopal Cactus fruit. These are conditions Rapture could attempt to accommodate, but for the time and money it would take, yearly shipments from the surface would be more financially feasible.

Request Number: #041-R

Filed By: The Rapture Zoo and Aquarium

Resupply Frequency: Single Shipment

Request Description: A pair of adolescent Bengal Tigers, male and female.

Justification: Construction has just finished on the tiger habitat in the zoo, and the last thing needed will be the animals themselves. We were already assured the council would have no trouble with this, and that we should be cleared to receive the animals. They will also play a part in a Retractable Claws and a Reflex Boost plasmid promotion campaign. A compatible male and female are preferred, so a cub or two can also be produced later for the zoo’s own marketing purposes.

Notes from Rapture Administration: This may be a tricky situation. A Rapture citizen, who was big game hunter on the surface, put us in touch with a number of poachers to do the job and catch the tigers alive. It would be easiest to ship the animals out of Kuakata, Bangladesh. The issues, however, lie within the severity of live animal trafficking and transportation laws in Asia. We can’t put “two live Bengal Tigers” on the manifest without close scrutiny on the ship’s departure and destination. The only options would be to attempt to sneak the tigers out and lie on the manifest, or find a different, less risky, route to Rapture. However, finding another route could take more time than the zoo is willing to wait.

Request Number: #089-R

Filed By: Le Marquis D’Epoque Franchise

Resupply Frequency: Single Shipment

Request Description: 250kg of cocaine, as well as an industrial supply of coca seeds.

Justification: The LMDE Franchise would like to begin carrying cocaine and cocaine products in our stores. Due to the libertarian standards of Rapture this should be no problem. We would like to procure 250 kg of cocaine as a “sampler” for our current locations, to give the consumers a chance to try our future product. The seeds of Erythroxylum Coca will be cultivated in a rented space in Ceres Green Growers. The other ingredients for the product can be purchased in Rapture.

Notes from Rapture Administration: In a twist of irony, this may be one of the easiest requests to fulfill. The 250kg of cocaine can be legally purchased in Peru, as well as the seeds. They could be sent to Costa Rica on the manifests, and pass through the Panama Canal, and be on the way to Rapture. The only thing that kept us from approving the request was the infamous reputation of this drug. While, according to Rapture’s laws and regulations, there really isn’t anything that states cocaine is illegal here, we felt it was best to leave it up to the council to have the final say on this, considering you represent the people of Rapture.

Request Number: #134-R

Filed By: Anemone Publishing and Printing

Resupply Frequency: Yearly

Request Description: The following books from the surface:

The Parasites, By Daphne Du Maurer
The Wall, By John Hersey
The Naked and the Dead, By Norman Mailer
East of Eden, By John Steinbeck
Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
Horton Hears a Who!, Dr Seuss
Liberalism and the Social Problem, Winston Churchill
Giovanni’s Room, James Baldwin
Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Truman Capote

Justification: Due to the slow nature of book writing, the flow of new reading material in Rapture is but a trickle. As much as we rely on and appreciate our authors, the rate at which work is produced and consumed has left a gaping abyss for Rapture’s bookish types. We’d like to apply for this shipment of books from the surface, and have a test run printing and selling them to distributors across the city. If it proves to be a successful venture, we’d like to begin a yearly or biannual delivery to Rapture (Consisting of books which have been pre-approved by the council of course). We have compiled the list above by talking to new arrivals to the city about what they’ve read lately, and would prefer a more concrete source of information if the book shipments continue.

Notes from Rapture Administration: It was debated heavily wether this request should be rejected or not. In Rapture’s early days, there were book imports of this nature, but after a while, Ryan dissuaded book stores from carrying these imports, and to instead focus on Rapture’s local authors. Some have argued that this cutting of competition has lead to our authors growing languid and composite. Perhaps this addition of more competition into the mix could give their engines a bit of a jump.

Request Number: #209-R

Filed By: Langford Research Labs

Resupply Frequency: Single Shipment

Request Description: Several fertile samples of Neonothopanus Gardneri and Panelluses Stipticus

Justification: Langford labs would like to formally request these samples in order to further enrich the diversity of the Arcadia garden complexes. These collected species will be used as the last touches on Arcadia’s latest addition. Dr. Julie Langford has proposed an idea of a “Midnight Meadow” to act as a more engaging night time incentive to encourage late night trips (and more ticket sales) to Arcadia. The Midnight Meadow would contain a wide array of bioluminescent plant life, even more exhilarating than the aquatic flora outside our windows. The majority of flowers, shrubs, and grasses have been created, using our advanced botanical ADAM technologies. There is a hitch in the plan, however. The meadow would also make use of some rotten logs we’ve had laying around, and they were to be used as a food source for the bioluminescent fungi we were making. The problem lies in that the fungus samples we have in Rapture won’t take up the proper plasmids in order to induce the glowing visage we’re aiming for.

Notes from Rapture Administration: It may prove difficult to retrieve the samples requested by Dr. Langford. The bioluminescent Panelluses Stipticus can be found in most regions of the North Eastern of the United States. Collecting this samples should be easy, but Neonothopanus Gardneri may be a bigger challenge. It can only be found deep within the depths of the Amazon. We could pay for an expedition to regions they are found, but there’s no guarantee they’d find any, and not much is known about this fungus, other than that it glows, so it could present unforeseen consequences by bringing it to Rapture.

Those were the disputed request forms that must be voted upon by the council. When deciding on these requests, there are many things you must keep in mind, and many perspectives to consider. You must keep in mind Rapture’s national security, the needs and wants of Rapture’s consumers, the desires of Rapture’s businesses, the safety of the requests, and more. The choice is up to you, as the people of Rapture trust your representation of their best interests. If you disagree with another council member with their say on one of the requests, be sure to civilly explain why you disagree, and propose your opinion in an objective manner.

Voting

Voting is now closed.
Do what's right for Rapture!

Results

There were a few ties with the voting, so there was a tiebreaker made between the Rapture Administration and myself, and this is the conclusion:
Cochineal: DENIED
Rapture Administration would be happy to bring a one time shipment of the larvae to Rapture, but there will be no reoccurring shipments. DeMilo Cosmetics could commission one of Rapture's many esteemed labs to genetically enhance the creatures, or find some other method of producing their dye.
Bengal Tigers: APPROVED
According to the council, the shipment of these animals to Rapture should pose no significant threat to the city, and the council will be keeping its word to the Rapture Zoo and Aquarium.
Cocaine: APPROVED
The council has decided that cocaine will be allowed in Rapture, and the seeds and cocaine will be shipped from Peru to fuel a new line of cocaine products which will soon be for sale.
Books: APPROVED
Anemone Publishing and Printing will receive type set manuscripts ready to print in Rapture. They will also begin receiveing a list of popular books, to make more solid requests in the future. However, the council has the right to veto any books that has been labeled as not fitting Rapture's standards.
Fungus Samples: CONFLICTED
The fungus sample originating from Brazil will to be costly to obtain from the surface. The other sample will be provided, as well as a large expansion to Rapture's present fungal spore reserves, to allow greater diversity in the work Langford Labs can accomplish.
~
Remember, Rapture's secrecy is our best security! Don't let the parasite find our Eden!

FAO Devs: Concerns about FUNFAIR

Is it profitable to start an online casino in 2019?

Investment concerns - who can answer?

[Table] IAmA: I have worked in a illegal gambling ring and was eventually raided by the Houston Vice Division. AMA

Verified? (This bot cannot verify AMAs just yet)
Date: 2012-06-16
Link to submission (Has self-text)
Link to my post

Questions	Answers
What is the most fucked up thing you have ever seen in your gambling ring career?	There was a younger couple that used to come into one of my main rooms that i used to work all the time. They were happy, recently married, and the woman was pregnant with his child. They would come in to have a little fun and try to win some money. Well one day the husband left early to go to work and left the lady to herself to spend what she had left and go home, problem was she spent a lot more then what was "left" (always the case btw). Well, at this point i see she had spent more than her usual play, and i front her $20 so she could try and win some of that money back (that is common practice BTW). She didn't. So she came to me for more money and i gave her 20 more. Boom, gone in the matter of seconds. Then she comes to me and asks if she could do anything for more money. I tell her no and that she needed to figure out what she was going to tell her husband. well, 15 mins later i see her walking out of the mens restroom with some guy. I don't know what happened in the restroom but she suddenly had more money to spend on the games. She lost it all. Including her husband. Game rooms are full of regulars who gossip all the time. Word got back to her husband and her child was born a bastard..... Over video slots.
"I don't know what happened in the restroom" Back massage, his shoulders were really tense from all the gambling. It's a shame how gossip blows things out of proportion.	Awesome!
How pregnant?	She was about 6-8 months? i dont know but her belly was very round with a baby inside.
How'd she look?	She was cute.. really was.
120 outstanding warrants?!? How the fuck did you get it all (some of it?) dismissed?	Well i had gotten arrested because the lawyers that were hired for me that were supposed to handle my citations were trying to get out of all them with out the owners of the game room paying for them through some stupid loophole that ended up to be complete shit. I understand why they tried to do this because i think the total cost of the citations was upwards of $75,000, and nobody wants to loose $75k. However i ended up getting fucked because of it. I spent a couple days in jail before i was called in to see the judge personally, I was getting a lot of attention by the guards and the inmates because word had spread pretty quick that i had been one of Houstons most wanted list. The judge was a really nice guy and told me that it was in my best interests to plead not guilty in my initial plea, with out saying that directly. 4 days later when my hearing started up the cops never showed up, the judge called me up to talk to me and told me to keep my nose clean and reminded me of how luck i was.
What kind of hearing? I looked you up and I don't see any charges filed for gambling operations... And you wouldn't get cut lose because a cop doesn't show up for your initial appearance.	I never ever ever ever said gambling charges. and all my charges that i did have got dismissed.
So you became a snitch, then?	No, i don't get where you are getting that from.
Does the house always win? What was your best WTF experience?	Overall? Yes, we always won. However, there are people who have luck on their side that day or sometimes always it seemed. Take this guy named able (actual name) this motherfucker would come down drop like 1000$ on a machine loose it all come back the next day and hit triple 7's playing all lines and win 3k. He would do this multiple times on solid machines (which are machines that couldn't be cheated or chances are highly unlikely to be cheated i should say). Now it wasn't everyday or even every month, but the he did it consistently enough to where he was making some insane money doing this. If the bastard wasn't walking with jackpots he would at least walk out the a couple bills.. Crazy.
Thank you for doing this thread. Were there any moments where you thought that you were in the shits due to the police (apart from when you were caught)?	Yes actually, at least in my rooms. There was a false door to let you in that was completely barred up and had reflective tint to hide the interior which was still hidden by a false wall. To get in you had to ring the door bell which was hidden, i had cameras to see the people on the outside waiting to come in. Once inside you were in a fake store front, full of old ass cloths and useless shit hanging on racks that no one would ever want. If everything was cool and i knew you or had someone vouch for you i would let you in the second door at which point you would pick your poison and try your hand at luck. Funny thing, cops were always hanging outside of our joint because of this nice little restaurant next door down, so i would see cops all the time. At first it freaked me out but after a while you stop caring because I see them so much.
Any Scorsese-esque tales of gangster-brutality to tell?	Kinda. Shit never got really out of control because everyone knew that being in the room was a privilege and most didn't want to blow a chance at not being let back in. But you would have new people that would come in with regulars, which is how you get in to the room as a guest, and how the room makes new guests. Problem is, every one knows a few bad apples and chances are you are going to have to deal with them. Long story short we had a couple of younger guys, and its always the younger men who start shit, trying to cheat the machines. I saw what they were doing and i called it in. Not even 3 mins later i had a guy who i never met come in with out me letting him in, circled the room, spotted the dudes, sat behind them at another machine and scoped them out till he saw what he was looking for. Seconds later he pulled out a gun on them, had them empty their pockets and leave with him. Never saw em again. I do want to say the chances of the guys getting killed at that point were very unlikely because everything was done and every precaution was taken to make sure no heat was brought on the rooms. I imagine they got 86'd spooked by the guy.
What are the qualifications to be able to get in the room?	You have to know someone, or you have to know where the room is and you take a chance when you ring the doorbell. The doorbell was hidden and there was a false wall behind the initial storefront, so if you didn't know about the bell i wasn't going to hear you knocking over that and the bells and whistles of the slots going off. If i happened to catch you from the corner of my eye on one of my security cameras, the only way i would let you in is if you were a middle aged or older woman. other than that i wasn't going to take a risk.
Wow, I have always wondered if that was possible since I was a little kid and saw Donald Duck do this. The end result doesn't seem worth it though...	It works something just like that yes. I remember seeing that cartoon as well. And if you were doing that to a room.. your going to have a bad time.
How many grandmas did you have coming in monthly with their social security checks?	God,.... to many to count.
How did you prevent word getting to the police (before the bust up) about your illegal gambling ring? Did you only let in friends-of-customers? Did you have any way of advertising your business, or did you just let the customer base build up gradually?	Well initially you don't have to worry about police because most rooms are hidden in plain sight and people are excited to have found a new place to gamble so they keep it very hush hush. But as your business grows via word of mouth and gossip through other game rooms, the odds of the police finding out are very high, be it other game room owners ratting you out or a disgruntled player who lost all their money and felt they got cheated, which is all the time.
So did the owners pay off cops or how do they stay in business if the cops know?	The real idea is not to shut down the establishment but to leave it open so they can continue to raid it. Wait till the room recoups the costs and make some profit and start all over.
Sounds like what they do to MMJ dispensories in CA.	Havent been to one =* (
So the dept. needs a quick loan, they raid the den?	No, it the fines go to the county from my understanding, but that does not mean that the Dept. does not get a kick back. I don't know how that works. But having experienced that kind of corruption i don't see why that's not completely possible.
How much is seized in such a raid would you say? I mean in terms of assets and equipment.	Nothing. They (the police and county) want the operation running. to make more money in the future.
Can you spot someone out or their element, and try to take them for everything? Or do you wait for lady luck to do if for you?	Lady luck robs people blind who don't know what they are doing, but in the same hand will grace them with blind luck. We just spot the big spenders, take good care of them with any want within reason and let the probability do the rest.
I'd like to hear about the "Any want within reason" part.	"You want sushi from your favorite place downtown? Let me make that call! Ill have it delivered". No sex, no drugs.
Define "Big Spender" in terms of back-room gambling dens.	Oh its nothing compared to Vegas, but people that would pay 25 big blinds to buy into a hand. Which is pretty pricy, but no one would go crazy, you see pots get up to 3k-4k but that reserved for the REAL players, not people with just a lot of money. slots could get up to $20 a hand, once or twice its not terrible, but try sitting in front of a machine for 2 hours and see how deep your pockets really are lol.
Did you know your license expires in five days?	I was waiting for this comment, and yes i do thank you.
What the benefits of back room gambling over legit casinos other than lines of credit and throwin down tangeable goods as bets? (Or is that movie ttalk)	The number one benefit to our guests was convenience, gambling is illegal in TX and you have to make a 5 hour drive or so to cross state lines to Louisiana, and the casinos just over the border are as good as airport casinos (which will rob you blind with very LOW odds of winning). So if you want to really have a chance you are talking about an 9 hour drive to a REAL casino.
Lake Charles is less than 3 hours from Houston. Casino's in Oklahoma are a couple hours North of Dallas. Please clarify your generalizations.	Right, sorry. I never really cared about the time it took to get the lake Charles because it was such a money pit and my guests always complained about it. (not to dismiss your correction) still 6 hours to Oklahoma is a drag.
How much did you make off it?	Ah, Good question. I wasn't the owner of the operations, just a trusted employee. I made $30 an hour for running rooms.
That's it? I ran a poker room(I didn't own it, I just ran it) and I made more than $2500/week. You were getting screwed.	Yeah, i never said that was all i made, that was just my base pay.
When it was raided, what was your punishment? How did people in the casino react?	Well, the cops came in and told the guests they could go one by one after getting their ID's and making sure they didn't have any warrants. So once the guests seen that first guest walk out the door the calmed down pretty quick. Me on the other hand? not so much. The cops lined up 6 deep found a seat and literally opened a book of laws and citations concerning building codes and gambling and started writing tickets. It was like an assembly line for citations, i was forced to sign them all, yes forced, or i was going to have a very bad time. After i had signed off on all the tickets they left. Because the real idea is not to shut down the establishment but to leave it open so they can continue to raid it. Wait till the room recoups the costs and make some profit and start all over.
How many people were involved in the whole operation and for how long did your work there?	Well, I ran 3 different rooms, each with their own games and guests. There was 6 other room operators like myself and we all knew each other. I had to deal with 3 people for money drop offs, pick ups and other random crap like book keeping. The other operators had a couple other people that they had to deal with that i had no idea about. Of course this was by design and there were more people in charge of them, we just never knew how deep the rabbit hole went. I worked for these people for 1 1/2 years before i got stung and left 5 months after that.
Houston has a vice division?!?	Yes they cover two aspects of Houston underbelly, Game rooms and Asian spa's. So basically Gambling and prostitution.
I've been to the Asian spa's in Houston before. Better than going to a strip club.	Yeah, at least you get laid.
Dude, I know what Vice does. I was just making a Houston joke. Lol. Sorry...	Ok, i didn't know if you were serious or not, i was just trying to clarify.
How did you end up getting caught? What was the bust like?	My girlfriend had gone out drinking with a few friends and wanted to come home early, so she gave me a call to pick her up and i did just that. I had seen the blue and reds flashing behind me and i knew my gig as a free man was up, and that my future at that point was very uncertain. The cop came up to the car and had this really weird look on his face, like he was surprised, and scared with a half caulked smile on his face at the same time. He didn't ask me if i knew why he had pulled me over, only to simply step out of the car. He immediately handcuffed me and put me into his car. He was nice enough to let me call my girlfriend to come pick up the car and talk to her about it. When we were finally both in the car i asked him why was there such urgency to arrest me. He told me that when he had punched in my plates that he got a notice to arrest me before he even knew why. As we were sitting in the car he was talking to the dispatch or whatever, it was a lady and i remember her saying "I have never seen anything like this before" I laughed and arrogance swept over my body. He was loading all my warrants onto his computer as we were driving and from the point of my arrest to the jail the warrants were still loading in. Before we got out he asked me "Shit son, what the hell did you do?"
Why so many and what were they for? You mentioned below that you were at the casino when you got busted, but here you say that you were on the way to pick up your GF. What gives?	Ah, sorry about the hole there, I had addressed this but in another question. Ok so when i got raided i was basicaly forced to sign the tickets for the citations given. From that point i had a court date, the lawyers told me to not show up to court because they had "back doors" or whatever and would try to swing a deal. Looking back it was a fucked situation, yes you can say i was stupid for not going to court.. but i was looking at 120 fucking tickets i had to answer for... I didn't have that kind of money, so i didn't. That's where the warrants come from. So a year or two had passed and i was rolling around Houston with all the warrants as one of Houston's most wanted with out a felony charge. It was only a matter of time before i got pulled over. Things got real shitty with my contact after the warrants were issued and i was rolling solo. A big part of me thinks that i was sandbagged from the jump, and there was no "back door"..... or maybe there was, because i was summoned by the judge to talk to him personally.. I don't know.. I honestly don't.
How were you caught?	A raid, I had about 7 cops in uniform beating down on the storefront with 3 detectives waiting for them to do their job so they could do theirs. I was really freaked out because i saw them on the cameras and how many, which seemed like 100 at the time. I called my main contact and was told to hide or destroy the books and hide what ever money i could in the secret hiding spots. I had people inside gambling and they were freaked out as well, but they couldn't go anywhere because there was only one exit. It took me about 5 mins to hide the books and money (which seemed like an eternity when cops are beating down your door). I opened the door and said "can i help you gentlemen?" they yolked me up by my neck and slammed my head on the security bars. I still have the scar on my forehead.
Did they find the books and money?	No they did not, i hid the books in between the stacks of soda we had in the stock room for restocking the fridge. The money came up missing, they must have found it cough cough
Did they find the hidden money/books?	No they did not, i hid the books in between the stacks of soda we had in the stock room for restocking the fridge. The money came up missing, they must have found it cough cough.
Was there a distinct "illegal gambling culture" or did it just seem like a regular time at the casino?	Yes, there was and is an illegal gambling culture, and a very complicated one at that. Once you added in the police into the equation it gets really stupid because the police know you are there.
How did you get involved in such an operation? Was it through friends or completely by chance?	It was through friends i had grown up with.
What stuff did you deal with?	That's a vague question, but I'm going to assume you are talking about the types of gambling my rooms were involved in. Slots, Video slots, blackjack and poker were the main games, however i could always call in a bet if some one wanted some action.
How does an illegal gambling ring even work? Can you describe the setup?	Part of this answer was taken from another answer There was a false door to let you in that was completely barred up and had reflective tint to hide the interior which was still hidden by a false wall. To get in you had to ring the door bell which was hidden as well and i had cameras to see the people on the outside waiting to come in. Once inside you were in a fake store front, full of old ass cloths and useless shit hanging on racks that no one would ever want. If everything was cool and i knew you or had someone vouch for you i would let you in the second door. Once you got inside it was pretty sweet, bright red walls with all kids of action happening all around you.
Did anyone ever try anything from the Oceans movies?	No, we had too many money drops and pick ups to have a substantial amount of money to make it worth going through all that trouble. But I guess if you were desperate and needed money gun point robbery was always an option.
What is the biggest payout you've ever seen made? What's the biggest loss you've seen someone incur in one bet?	10k payout. I have seen some one loose their life in the matter of 5 hours. I think the total loss on his part was only $1200 but by the end of his run he was sweating buckets. A large part of that $1200 was to pay his back child support, and was to show the courts that he could make a good faith payment so he did not loose custody of his 5 year old daughter. His mind set was to win a little extra money so that he could take her do Disney Land after he got rights to see her again. He lost it all... and he lost custody and visitation rights to his daughter. He was crying the most heart wrenching cry ever. I gave the man a total of $100 to try and win some of it back (which was WAY breaking the rules) but i couldn't help it.... I'm crying right now as im typing this.... I felt so bad for him.. he just wanted to take her to Disney Land. so he could be a good dad in her eyes. But he was so wrapped up in his sickness that he wasn't of any kind of rational mind. From my understanding he killed himself... And that is the most i have ever seen anyone loose.
IM coming to houston in July, can we hang out?	Sure?
Did you ever go there to gamble personally? Or was it strictly for work?	When it was slow and no guests were their i would pop in a couple dollars in a crappy nickle machine and waste time. But i knew better than to come and waste my money. Funny thing, after i started to work in the game room i lost my luck. I couldn't win a friendly bet or otherwise. So i don't gamble at all anymore.
How does one get introduced into this type of situation?	Friends of friends when you are growing up.
Did you wear some sweet-ass black shades?	No, i needed to keep my eyes pealed at all times. couldn't really worry about looking sweet.
So what was the punishment for having that questionable odor in the toilets?	A fine. I will have you know, that my restrooms were very clean. They were writing tickets for anything they could. It's about making money for them, just like it was for us. I'm telling you, the HPD has the best racket in town.
Texan here. Do you think our state should legalize gambling like our neighbor, Louisiana? We already have a lotto system and some politicians think gambling would be a great income for the state. Also, how rampant do you believe or know gambling to be in Texas, and more especially Houston?	No, i don't like what gambling does to people and family's. In the end it destroys them. Its worse than alcohol, drugs and prostitution. Yes you can have fun with it, and it is fun to play, but it becomes a habit, a culture, people work just to dump money in casinos, when that money could be used for anything else and have more substance. That is my opinion. Really though, you have to ask, what do you really walk away with when you gamble? because i promise you, it certainly not coming out on top.
Why would anyone trust your organization? You could rig the games and no one could complain to any authorities. It has potential to be worse than a carnival.	Well, you are right to a certain extent we can and did tilt the machines. But we had to make sure people were winning money. If people don't see other people making money then your not going to make a lot of money. If a room is ran right, some one should win about every 5 mins, less if the room was full.
So as long as you can pay the fines, they don't fuck with you? How much are these fines?	Depends on what they can tag you for and what they think the establishment can handle with out going under. My fines were at about 75k which is pretty steep, but i ran a nice establishment.
Any colorful players/pimps? Any sad gambling addicts?	No pimps or anything of the sort, i wouldn't let them in if they wanted. That would only spell trouble for the room, and part of my job was to screen that crap out. Sadly yes, the addicts were what made my job so soul deadening at times. I had to keep them coming back by offering 20-40 bucks (depending on what they spent) so they could try to win some money back, but they always loose way more than they could afford because they are riding the high from gambling, some people experience that "High" more than others and they are always the most desperate and sad.
How do illegal gambling rings operate, with a decent amount of customers I assume, without coming to the attention of the police. How does security work in terms of cheaters or fights?	As far as security goes, on Fridays and Saturdays we would hire some one to sit in the false room, but that was just for show, i could make a call and in less than 5 minutes i would have a 100% bad ass walk thought my door strapped and ready to go. The police know about the rooms, thats the thing, people dont understand. For the HPD and Harris county, its a racket. You allow the places to operate, make money, then raid them and slam them with a shit ton of citations. anywhere from $75k-200K worth of fines would come down on their head (depending on how serious the room is) and the rooms have to pay it. After this happens they allow the rooms to recoup their money lost, allow them to make some profit and hit em again. This is the way of a TRUE racket.
While you were working did you ever have to call in the badass? Did you ever have to get physical yourself with a drunk/disorderly guest?	No, i never got involved with any one, 99% of the time every one was chill and 85% of my guests were middle aged folk with nothing better to do. If something did go down and i couldn't get the "bad ass" to get there fast enough i had a can of mace.. however i found out a little mace went a long way in a room with only one exit and OK ventilation when i sprayed the smallest amount out in the room. I think i was coughing for a good hour thanks to that.
Thanks for stating this, wasn't sure if you were gonna. not in that racket, but i'm well aware of the symbiotic relationship crime & law enforcement have, & have seen law enforcement and criminal culture dance around each other like that. they kinda...NEED each other.	Its very true.
What kind of amenities did your casinos have? Drinks, food?	Yes! We didn't server alcohol, because drunk people + Loosing all their money = a really bad time. But we had a refrigerator full of sodas, water, juice and we would have fresh food delivered throughout the day from our contacts. One of the perks of working there.
Were people allowed to have booze if they brought it in?	Nope, many people tried to sneak booze in, but i would just grab it up as soon as i seen it and throw it away.
Did you know the Donalsons?? The family's houses were raided last year and HPD walked out with over 1.5m in cash from illegal game rooms. Just curious as to how tight-knit the underground gambling community.	I might have been working for them for all i know.. i had contacts but i never knew who was really running the show.
Did you carry an handgun in case this went all Costa Rica?	No, i had a guy for that who would show up faster than any police would even in the whitest and richest of neighborhoods.
What does "running 3 rooms" involve? Differently stated, what was a typical nights' responsibilities? What kind of hours did you work?	40-70 shit sometimes 80 hour weeks. (yes i would get overtime) we had different rooms for different games running at different times. We had a slot room for primary slot machines obviously. That room ran from 11am-11PM. We had a blackjack room that was mostly blackjack tables and a few slots for the wifes to play on while there husbands played and that ran from 4pm-3am and finally the poker room. The poker room was small but full of big spenders. We had a few card dealers mostly ex-casino dealers that moved state. that ran from 8pm-4am.
I don't want to sound like a stalker, but according to your licence you're almost 32. I looked at your reddit history, a year ago you posted that you'd be in the restaurant serving industry for 8 years. So when did this all happen?	I have been in the restaurant industry off and on for 8 years. In between the 8 years i have worked with my mother opening an commercial A/C repair business, When i was 24 i was renting out clubs and throwing shows, I had started an independent record label with some really talented artists releasing 2 EP's and one LP (getting into the music industry was crazy in retrospect), oh and running illegal gambling rings lol. Bartending and serving is what i always fall back on its easy to get in and get out of.
You talk a lot about people offering blow jobs for money. Have you ever taken a blowjob? Any more stories like that? And were any of them some sexy broads?	No i never took a BJ, there were cameras everywhere and i had a pretty chill gig so i didnt want to jeopardize that. There were a few cute girls from time to time, But I had a girlfriend at the time and i am a faithful boyfriend.
Sorry if this comes off as dumb, but do people actually take babies as forms of payment nowadays? I'm completely serious in asking.	Sadly yes. I was half joking when i said that.
How much cash did you have to lay-in to be able to pay off all the potential winners? Was there ever a situation where you have several winners at once and got close to running out of cash?	All the time, I would just make a call and get more cash brought in. I would get a drop in the morning to start my day, lunch and around 7pm were my regular drops. Jackpots situations like the one that you mentioned were the exception to bringing in extra cash.
Where was your business located? What area? Did you have any located in the Alief district?	Thank you for your interest in the AMA =-)
How did you get let into the room in the first place? Referals? Did you have call girls working the room as well?	Nope, no call girls, you could go down the street to the hundreds of "spas" littered everywhere. Yes referrals are the primary way to get in. Some time you get people who hear about the joint when they are in other game rooms who come and see if they can get in with out some one i know or am familiar with.
How many hours a week?	I would work 40-70 hours a week
Does that mean parts of the police force were on the take?	Not the police themselves (well shit maybe i don't know) but it was making sure the joints pony'd up when they hit you with the citations.
What got you started in the gambling business and having an underground operation?	I needed a job, and had friends who knew people.
Any pictures of the inside? I'm finding it hard to visualise what an illegal gambling den actually looks like!	I have some on my old phone, but it i dont have the charger for it. Ill try here soon.
How do you feel about gambling being illegal?	I don't know that it should be legal it hurts people and lives..... but in the same hand, i have seen how people will always find a way to do something that they really want to do, and others will go out of their way to provide them with it.

Last updated: 2012-06-19 15:47 UTC | Next update: 2012-06-19 21:47 UTC
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[Table] I am a casino executive. AMA

Verified? (This bot cannot verify AMAs just yet)
Date: 2013-06-16
Link to submission (Has self-text)

Questions	Answers
What's you're best story about someone trying to con/steel from the casino?	I figure you're looking for some kind of crazy Oceans 11 story (of which there are several in the industry but none on my watch), but honestly the best ones are people trying to steal from the fucking buffet.
	Mom comes in with two kids and says they're not eating so she shouldn't have to pay. The cashier says OK.
	Fast forward 15 minutes and the cashier notices that the kids are missing.
	THE FUCKING MOTHER IS FEEDING THEM UNDER THE TABLE LIKE FUCKING DOGS.
Best AMA response ever. have an upvote!	We had set out in the foyer those bags for your umbrella so the floor doesn't get wet.
	Lady takes one, goes to the buffet, and starts filling it with food. Brazenly. Not trying to hide it.
	We stop her and she says "what? this is all you can eat?!"
"Sit down and eat the contents of the bag then..."	We found a HUGE ziplock bag of food by a table. The "customer" had obviously left it behind.
	She realized she forgot it and came back to get it about 30 minutes later.
You should hire me as a buffet monitor i can pose as a customer then obnoxiously call them out for stuffing their purses with chicken fingers and mashed potatoes w/gravy. "HEY FAT LADAYYY I SEE YOU STEALIN THEM CHIKKAN FINGAZ!"	Have a lady who consistently bitches about having to pay full price since she can't consume a lot because of her gastric bypass.
Do you actually have a policy to ask people to leave if you feel they lost more than they can afford? i watched a piece by loius theroux once where he asked this question to some of the managers of a casino and they all said "oh, i know they can afford it, of course we would ask them to stop if they couldnt". but obviously, from a business perspective, this is counter-intuitive towards making profits. so what is your take on this whole thing? and what is the overhead like for running a casino? what are some expenses you have which may be surprisingly high?	We never make judgment on whether or not they can afford it. We really only step in if they come to us or start doing something overt like begging for money or asking for loans, etc. In the macro view, it's very bad for business if we don't do something about problem gambling when it presents itself.
	Overhead... EBITDA margin of 30% is great.
	Expenses... I guess crab legs would be too obvious? Besides that, maybe table games labor. You have a 0.5% house advantage at blackjack and have to have a physical person here 24/7 plus a supervisor for every 5-6 games.
What games are the biggest money makers for the casino? and coincidentally, Ace, ever ran a sports book?	Penny slots by far.
	Ha. No. But have worked in casinos that have them.
But why do I always win/come out ahead max-betting on the fucking Sex and the City penny slot?	Google "law of large numbers"
1) How do you like the city? (So many people hate on it, and I don't understand why). Also, how did you like UNLV and when were you there?	1.) I actually just moved away for a job. I just think Vegas is OK. I moved there when I was in my mid-20s with a decent job so it was cool and exciting then. Fast forward a decade or so and the allure isn't there anymore. It's not "home" and I don't think it will ever will be because of how transient the population is.
2) to me it seems like a pretty small about of locals gamble (at least at the strip properties), do you guys keep tabs on those numbers? If so, what is the ratio of your gambling customers?	2.) I don't have the numbers in front of me, but we did a study one time and showed that Vegas has the highest incidence of regularly gambling activity in the nation. I always just felt that was a function of accessibility and self selection on the part of the residents. But you're right that locals don't go to the strip. The marketing offers are terrible compared to the non-strip properties and it's a pain to get to the strip just to get your gambling fix.
To what extent is organized crime still present in or around the casinos? Any personal encounters?	Virtually none AFAIK.
	The industry is very, very heavily regulated. When you get to the executive ranks you have to go through very, very thorough background checks. 5 years of tax returns, 5 years of all cancelled checks, explanations of all withdrawals > $200 and deposits > $500, in depth interview with an agent, etc.
	The last time I've heard of legit organized crime here in the states (places like Macau are an entirely different story) was in Rosemont, IL I think in the mid-90s.
	Link to casinoconnectionac.com
Damn, all withdrawals over $200? For the past 5 years? "Uh, I dunno, I don't really remember why I withdrew $300 from an ATM 3 years ago. Maybe I spent it buying some off of Craig's List, I dunno."	Yeah, it's really ridiculous.
Explain Macau?	The Triad are heavily influential there. Kind of like what you'd imagine in Vegas in the 50s.
Holy shit, I live in Des Plaines.	Des Plaines' only problem now is how to more quickly count all the money they're making
The scene from Skyfall comes to mind.	Yep.
Organized crime is the muscle of the casino, the security guards, the directors of security, the private investigators, the small business owners, the gamblers who launder money through the casinos. Of course the mob isn't like the movies anymore.	Well i'm going to have to respectfully disagree with you on everything except the money laundering despite the fact we have to live by Title 31 Link to en.wikipedia.org
It is true that if a person is on a helluva winning streak and is consistantly winning and you cant figure out why... you will demand that he take his winnings and leave and never show his face in the place again? (kick him out for winning).	It's possible but relatively rare. you have to have enough cash to really turn out our lights to get to that point. for the vast vast majority of people, we have more money than you so as long as feel like we can get you back in the door, go ahead and win away
So that scene in Rain man is totally bullshit then? Where they consistently win and make $80,000 from a couple of thousand... then are told to GTFO after the casino guys couldnt figure out how they were doing it.	Bullshit only in the sense that couldn't figure out what was going on
What gives a person the best odds when playing Blackjack-playing with more decks or less decks? i seem to win more with tables that use 6 decks and my friends do better with 4 decks..	It's a lot more than the number of decks and the casinos use that information asymmetry to their advantage (e.g., $5 SINGLE DECK BLACKJACK!!!) Everything being the same, the less amount of decks the better but we will change the payouts for BJ, rules for splitting and double down, etc. to our advantage. So you can have a 6-deck shoe with otherwise very liberal rules that have a lower house advantage than a single deck show with very unfavorable rules.
So with the same set of rules, less decks is more favourable?	Yes everything else being equal
Is that just because it's easier to count or is it fancy math stuff.	Fancy math stuff.
	USING FEWER DECKS.
	Six Decks: -0.02% Five Decks: -0.03% Four Decks: -0.06% Two Decks: -0.19% One Deck: -0.48%
	Link to www.onlineblackjack.com
Ever seen anyone get naked or have sex in the casino or bathrooms?	Boobs pop out of the cocktail waitresses' uniforms relatively often because they'll get tops 3 sizes too small in order to get bigger cleveage/tips.
	Saw chick blowing a dude at a slot machine at the entrance of a club.
	And Vegas has all of these European-style pools so if you're out there "inspecting the grounds" then all those girls are topless.
Sweet. What'd you do with the BJ couple? Pic of one of the pools please?	Security was running towards them so I just assumed they got the boot.
	Pools = just go to imagefap and look for topless beaches.
Do you ever feel guilty for all the money people lose to your business?	Of course.
Did you see the fictional series "Tilt" on ESPN about 5-7 years ago? Any opinions on it? Did you find it entertaining? Did you find any of it accurate at all?	Vaguely. And when I say that I mean I remember the series and watching a bit of it and that's it.
	To us, the holy grail of Casino movies is Casino and Rounders.
Thanks for the response! I love Rounders, but it seemed to focus more on the players, and more on non-casino-based games, whereas Tilt was as much about the casino management as anything else. I should watch Casino.	Yeah if you're interested in the casino management piece then Casino.
Does your casino make any efforts to stop problem gamblers from betting more than they can afford?	Every casino company has policies regarding problem gambling that are audited by the state. Each state also has its own minimum guidelines like mandating that brochures be placed in very visible areas of the casinos, hotline numbers printed on every ad, etc.
	It's a delicate situation when you think someone might have a problem because, well it might not be a problem. So we generally only do things if they specifically ask us to (e.g., they can ban themselves) or if they start doing something really egregious like asking players or employees for loans at which point we'd probably pull them aside and hand them a brochure and ask if there's anything we can do to help because what they're currently doing is unacceptable (the begging).
There's a casino near my house that keeps a full time car appraiser on staff. I've always felt that's a little shady. You ever run into anything like that?	No way.
Even though I believe casino gambling should be legal, I find the practice of casino's providing credit to be morally indefensible. What is your opinion on the practice? Would it be a reasonable compromise to allow for more casinos on the stipulation that gambling on a margin is banned?	So if I'm a high worth individual who likes to gamble, your expectation is that I just bring in a suitcase of $100s to gamble with?
No, a debit card.	Reasonable.
A debit card? not reasonable...a credit limit is the only feasible way some patrons can gamble...most people do not want to walk around with 50k in there pocket...and I'm not sure how you would go about withdrawing thousands of dollars from an ATM machine.	I was being sarcastic. It's a huge competitive disadvantage to not be able to offer credit (e.g., Missouri) because no high roller wants to play there. You'd have to physically go to the bank, withdraw 20K cash or whatever, somehow survive walking to your car, and then somehow survive walking to the casino from your car. TBF, there's also what is called front money which is where you can wire money to us and we will hold it for you but you have to pay the fees vs us offering you credit free. I did have a millionaire player who strictly got his money off of a variety of credit cards and would just do cash advances. We obviously never questioned it but he had apparently had a huge credit line (evidenced by the amount he was able to withdraw) and enough to pay it back (evidenced by him able to come often).
notjabba...no one cares if "you believe casino gambling should or shouldn't be legal"
How do you know if i am card counting, and do you care if i am not playing for big money?	Primarily odd fluctuations in your betting patterns. $5, 5, 5, 5, then $1,000, then $5, 5, 5, 5 would catch our eye big time.
, big money!	We care. Small wins add up.
What if i went 5,5,5,20? Would you care then?	At those low levels no one would be on the lookout for you.
How automated is the alerting system for this? Pit boss getting info from the sky I assume?	Not very automated. There are a variety of technologies out there designed to thwart this but they're expensive and casinos are too staid to invest.
	So basically it's just either surveillance or the pit supervisor noticing something odd then starting to keep track of the bets.
Might be a silly question, but does stuff ever go down like it does in the movies? Like, say some guy is cheating in one way or another or doesn't take a hint to leave. Is he going to get taken into a back room and get his ass kicked or just escorted out? Taking fingers, breaking knee caps etc. etc.	Nah, too highly regulated these days.
At what point do you start looking for card counters? If I'm playing with a $50-200 bet spread am I noticeable? Is the the spread (4:1, 8:1, 20:1) the dollar figure or a combination?	Sorry this isn't my area of expertise so I can't with this level of specificity. I'd think a 4X spread wouldn't be bad, though, but just an educated guess.
	You could buy a membership to the Green Chip forum (bj21.com), though and read up on the reverse engineering they've done.
I would venture a guess that electronic card games have pattern recognition built right in?	I don't know how they do the shuffle. I'd imagine it's a fresh shuffle before every hand like in video poker thus nullifying counting.
Well I understand that, but profits on a casino are through the roof, are they not? I assume that there is a relatively low amount of card counters , and that you still will make a very good profit.	Profits aren't as good as you'd think post 2008 economy.
	Bottom line is that it ain't ever gonna happen. Sorry.
What is the biggest amount you have seen someone lose?	I was working at Wynn when Andy Beal played "The Corporation" so that was like $16.5MM he lost to them I believe.
That's fucking cool, I read the book detailing the events of this, Link to en.m.wikipedia.org. Any cool stories etc from your point of view from then?	Honestly, everything I found out about it at the time was from 2+2. I didn't have direct access to the players so it wasn't really like I could analyze the session with Phil afterwards.
Urban legends of someone winning big at the slots but having it taken away to a glitch. Has this really happened to your knowledge?	Not urban legend. Many cases like this. The player never wins. Google it and you'll find tons of them. E.g.,
	Link to www.lasvegassun.com
	This one is international but I think is the funniest. Not only did you "win" $55MM on a machine that stated the max jackpot was $50K but after winning $55MM, you went ahead and played another spin... just in case...
	Link to www.thanhniennews.com
Damn that sucks. Well here is one for you. Did you know that in Panama you can double down at the black jack tables at any point. It gives you a huge advantage and you can win a lot of money that way.	I'd heard something like that. My best friend (avid gambler) went to Costa Rica and basically came back saying he had to totally re-learn BJ when he was down there because of all of their crazy rules.
	If that's true about Panama, I'm surprised there aren't people haven't just set up shop down there and pillaged that place until they went bust.
No i didnt have sex with the hooker but my friend did make out with her drunk.	As would I. What's up with fucking people who just make out? Fucking amateur hour. This isn't fucking 7th grade.
He didn't know that she was a hooker and was just putting the moves on her. He thought he was just really smooth with his broken spanish. What he didn't know what that I paid her to keep quiet about it. He looked REALLY sad when someone else bought her and he realized what she was.	I actually did something similar for my friend after he split up with his whore wife. We wanted to boost his spirits so gave a hooker $100 to go and flirt with him.
Shit man in Panama you can get a lot more than flirting for a hundo. Granted she won me a grand and i think i threw her 50 back. Well that and she got to make out with my friend...Worth it. Did your friend end up with the hooker hilarious movie style?	Nah, this was in Vegas, he's cheap, and we're not that generous.
How do Vegas casinos differ from Native American casinos? Or are they essentially the same?	Depends in the jurisdiction. in some there is no difference (e.g florida) while others are wildly different (e.g north Carolina)
I'm curious as to how they differ. I'm from NC but haven't been to any of the casinos around here.	In NC, for example, games have to be "games of skill" so like on the slot machines you don't just pull the handle and watch the reels go round and round, you have to physically touch the game to stop each reel.
That's not true (I've been there).	Admittedly it's been awhile since I've dealt with them (I used to work for Harrah's) but it was like that for awhile.
	Link to wizardofodds.com (scroll down a bit)
They might have some that are like that, but the handful I played (there are a shit ton) were not. Apparently they've got table games there now, too, which is new from when I was last there just a year ago.	Well the states quickly understand that they're leaving money on the table (no pun intended) but creating this arcane regulations.
Fastest growing casino region? AC? Vegas? Macau?	Macau.
	Absolutely nothing domestically.
Why? Distance to the large volume of middle and wealthy chinese?	Yes, and whose culture has a high propensity for gambling.
Why isn't counting cards allowed? Lets say I was a math genius, isn't it just part of the game then?	Because we reserve the right to serve whomever we please as long as we're not discriminatory against a protected class.
I see. It just seems like mocking people for being good. Maybe if I was a black math genius with down syndrome I could get along with it. No offense to either btw.	Perhaps but we're not particularly concerned.
	Btw, I'm a bit of an advantage gambler myself. I only play low house advantage games, maximize my coupons and promotions etc. so I'm sympathetic but there's just nothing that can be done on the card counting front.
Private business CAN discriminate based on protected classes, just bad business to do so.	Then don't come to my casino.
Semi-serious question: have you ever crashed someone's hand with a hammer because he/she was found cheating?	Boy do I wish, but no.
Could you explain why it is so difficult to get casinos in states that do not already have them? Im from Dallas, and it seems that the Oklahoma casinos are 70%+ Texans. It seems our state is losing a ton of $ to other states. (Oklahoma, Louisiana...)	In Texas it's because your legislature meets relatively irregularly. expansion since the 90s has been predicated on budget shortfalls and using gaming to patch up those holes.
	Texas' economy has been relatively good so combine that with a conservative legislature that doesn't meet often as we'd have have to have the perfect storm of you having a bad economic run at the same time the legislature is meeting.
	Trust me, we are ready to pounce when that happens.
Okay so a couple of years ago there was a show called "Las Vegas" and it was about a casino.	Hosts are basically your sales team to high worth players. The compensation structure is just like any other salesperson: base + commission.
Not sure if you ever saw it, but there was a character named Sam and she was a casino hostess and she was kind of a bitch but I always wanted to be that (casino host not bitch). How can I get into that?	So, if you've never done that kind of work before or sales at all for that matter, you just need to take anykind of remotely similar job and then just keep trying to plug along with the job search.
Well I cant wait until it happens. I will gladly donate my fair share for a free Paula Dean buffet.	We've owned land for decades in preparation.
	You see where companies like PENN have already bought stakes in racetracks there, taking a bet that racinos (adding slots to tracks) will be the states first foray.
The owner of Landry's (also owns the Nugget) has said repeatedly that as soon as the law is passed he can have working slots in Galveston overnight.	Yeah. His family (Fertitta) started Stations casinos in Vegas (and MMA) and really big shots in town.
Yeah, as a Houstonian and gambler, I am really hoping one day it finally happens. I hate hate HATE driving to Louisiana and I haven't been able to make it out to Vegas in 2+ years.	The folks in Lake Charles and Shreveport do not share your sentiment.
I'm sure they don't. Bud of mine wanted to make an ad campaign of just going to Isle of Capri and showing the license plates.	You mean Pile of Debris.
Highest progressive payout you've ever seen paid out? And what was the game? And any good stories about throwing out patrons?	That I've physically seen? Probably like a $75K Caribbean Stud.
I have been encouraged by many people to get a job there, but no one, even me, knows where I should start. Personally, I don't enjoy gambling and have only been in the Hard Rock a couple times, just to see the lobby and buy shirts with some out of town guests.	Probably on the non-gaming side. Not sure of your educational background but NA with degrees go very, very far very, very quickly.
So my question is where would you recommend someone to start in the casino industry, if they don't particulary like/understand gambling?	If you want to work the front line, then hotel front desk or something like that.
I don't have a degree yet, but I do have 10 years in B2B (business to business) sales in telephony, so I know a lot about circuits/phone systems/general telecom.	Native American.
EDIT: what does "NA" stand for?	So then in your case either work in IT or maybe some kind of sales position like convention sales?
Oh I didn't know there would be some sort of sales team with a casino. Sweet. I considered IT, but I assumed it would be in the realm of network security, which I know little to nothing about.	Who do you think maintains the phone switch, PCs, servers, etc.?
Proof?	What would suffice without outing me?
You would know best what you have, however this sounds like it would be easier to prove confidentially to the mods. Things such as work ID, paystub, business card, etc are acceptable forms of confidential verification.	I'll send a pic over to them. Never done this before so wasn't sure.
I have a BA in Accounting and am currently a Project Manager (Prior exp in Cost, Tax and Accural accounting, worked for the Big 4, Now I make Warheads for the Army). If I wanted to get into the Casino industry what jobs should I persue. What is the best way to persue them? Do people telecommute? Whats the pay range?	We always need good finance people. There are always other industries they can work in so it's hard to find good people.
	So I'd say just go be an accountant?
	We post on all the major job boards and casinocareers.com is the main industry-specific job board.
	Telecommuting is not a regularly accepted practice.
	For finance, it's just market rate salary.
How did you get your job?	Was in undergrad and needed a job. responded to ad in paper for entry level job. worked my way up.
I'm going to guess that wasn't a typo.	Not going to edit for the lulz.
You know what, why the hell not? Best way to make money fast?	Well, assuming you have one and only one bet to make, the math always says banker on baccarat.
Any tips/secrets for slot machine players? Which one's your favorite type/brand?	Learn to play video poker, blackjack, baccarat, or craps.
Anything video scares me..are there 'rules' in place for video poker or Bj blackjack to guarantee payouts or is it completely random? If random, how do we know the game isn't rigged in your favor?	Completely Random.
	Because it behooves the state not to let us rig the games so they employ strict regulations to prevent such.
	For example, many states mandate that this company verify the legitimacy of a game: Link to www.gaminglabs.com
	Those states that don't, do it themselves.
I accidently got my gf addicted to video poker but it paid well. Its a better chance and payoff than video slots IMO.	No opinion about it, it is true.
Does this only go for high roller tables? Or does it also go for some guy that hits a big jackpot on the slots?	Both.
Are security as horrible as people say in Vegas? I've heard from my relatives that purse snatching and such happens quite a bit and security shows up minutes after they were called (so pretty much useless). On the other hand, I've heard some amazing quick response time in Macau. Are these myths?	Need some reference point. Horrible as compared to what. You've got a 3-mile long street with literally a million people on it. There's gonna be crime.
Hmmm... how about relative to san diego or fort worth?	I'd say on par to Gaslamp but I'm no criminologist.
HOW DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT!? I'm serious, I want the gritty details... You use a sleep number? Memory foam? Standard matress with some box springs? And what kind of pillow to. Oh, oh, and what is the thread count of your sheets...	I'm a minimalist. Same mattress I've had for literally 15 years that I got at a department store. Hypoallergenic pillows from Target. 800 count. Also from Target.
Nice! Glad I registered my wedding at Target. Sounds like they got the good stuff.	Decent and reasonably priced. The girls can't tell the difference between it and the really nice stuff.
Counting cards actually means that you are playing the game very well and it isn't cheating. How can you justify kicking someone out of a casino for being too good at the game? Also as far as I'm aware it isn't illegal.	No it is not illegal but just like any other business we reserve the right to serve whomever we please (as long as we're not discriminating against a protected class, of course).
	In essence you are keeping track of how many 10s/face cards and low cards are in the deck because high cards help the player, low cards help the dealer.
	So if you know that the deck is rich in high cards you bet more and vice versa.
I will be attending UNLV for hospitality management in the fall. any tips?	For undergrad? Make the program what you want out of it. Just by graduating no one is going to hand you a huge job but if you do well the brand recognition can really work in your favor.
Yep for undergrad. thanks for the answer!	Go Rebels!
Does your business invest in gambling addictions or have employee training to prevent those who are gambling addicts from playing in your casino?	I take it you mean gambling addiction treatment... And yes, we do: Link to www.americangaming.org
	And every employee, at least in the majority of casinos, is trained on how to identify problem gaming.
How do you hire trust worthy people, meaning do you have some dude or gal that is like HR on steroids watching people? I imagine you have seen more than one case where there is employee theft or people who are running a front for money laundering?	Well everyone goes through a background check through the state with fingerprints and whatnot then executives go through an FBI-style background check where they check all of your bank records and stuff.
	But with so much cash floating around there is theft but it's basically like a bank so I can't imagine the incidence to be much higher than with tellers at banks.
How much do you make?	Six figures + bonus.
Awesome. What was your path to this career choice? Like education/jobs.	I just happened into it. Got entry level job during undergrad and worked my way up. Picked up master's while working.
Nice. Went to school for business I presume?	For my master's yes. Have doo doo lib arts degree for undergrad.
Awesome! So you managed to get the entry level job with just an arts degrees then worked your way up? Or was the MBA necessary for where you are at now?	I was in undergrad I got the job. It as entry level. $10/hr.
	Master's not necessary but very helpful to stick out of the crowd.
Just noticed your name...classic. At around what limits are you able to get comps for free rooms out in either AC or Vegas? I would assume that Vegas is easier due to the vast amount of rooms, but what are your tips to earning comps faster?	Depends on the property and depends on the game. And by rooms, do you mean like direct mail offers or the ability to walk up to someone and say "bitch, I'm a baller - hook me up!"
What do you know of online gambling?	I did a bunch of preliminary work when I was a corporate person.

Last updated: 2013-06-21 00:10 UTC
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What a USL D1 league might look like

[EXPANSION] Arizona Ascendant II

[Monthly Roleplay] This year's list of Rapture import requests are in, and must be voted on by the council.

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FAO Devs: Concerns about FUNFAIR

Is it profitable to start an online casino in 2019?

Investment concerns - who can answer?

[Table] IAmA: I have worked in a illegal gambling ring and was eventually raided by the Houston Vice Division. AMA

[Table] I am a casino executive. AMA

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