The James Bond Books by Ian Fleming Casino Royale
posted on 10th Feb, 2012
When Ian Fleming arrived at his Jamaican home for his annual winter vacation in 1952 he had a few things on his mind.
After a long-term affair with Anne Charteris the divorcee had fallen pregnant with Fleming’s child; in 1950s England there was only one thing to do and that was no longer postpone the inevitable and get married.
The pair had met while she was married to Lord O’Neill, a friend of Fleming’s who was killed in action during the Second World War. While married to O’Neill she had conducted simultaneous affairs with both Fleming and Lord Rothermere, whom she later married but despite this second marriage she continued to see Fleming.
To take his mind off the fact that his bachelor existence was about to abruptly end, Ian Fleming sat down at his writing desk and started what he had promised since the war – to write the spy story to end all spy stories.
Fleming had served the war as assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence with distinction, rising to the rank of Commander, and along the way met many inspiring characters and picked up many tricks of the spy trade.
After the war he used the extensive contacts he had built up to create a network – much like the spy network he had run inside Naval Intelligence – for Kemsley Newspapers, where he worked as Foreign manager for The Sunday Times.
In Jamaica he started to site at his typewriter every morning to write 2,000 words, correcting the proofs in the afternoon and in between swimming and entertaining guests. He dashed the first draft off in a little as six weeks and when he returned to London he carried the manuscript with him. With a little help from contacts, including elder brother Peter who was already an establish author, Fleming signed a publishing deal with Jonathan Cape.
Casino Royale was published in May 1953 and became an instant success. The first run of 4,750 books sold out and a second run was made the following month. Today a first edition copy of Casino Royale can run into thousands of pounds for a good copy and more if it is signed by Ian Fleming himself.
The plot concerns the attempt to bankrupt a French agent working for the Russians, Le Chiffre, who has lost Moscow’s funds after the chain of brothels that he invested in was put out of business following a change in the law. His plan is to win back those funds at the baccarat tables of Royale-les-Eaux.
When Bond arrives in Royale he finds he has company; Rene Mathis of the French Deuxieme Bureau; Felix Leiter from the CIA; and Vesper Lynd, who has been seconded to act as his assistant from Station S.
Almost immediately there is an attempt on Bond’s life. However, he makes it to the baccarat tables to face Le Chiffre, although he doesn’t have an easy ride. First he himself loses his entire funds. Refunded by the CIA, when Bond is close to breaking the bank he is threatened with a gun disguised as a walking stick, aimed at the base of his spine; however, he lives to complete the game.
Following the success of the mission Vesper is kidnapped; Bond gives chase but is ambushed and wakes up tied to a chair and tortured with a carpet beater; beaten to within an inch of his life he is only saved by an agent from SMERSH set out to kill Le Chiffre for his betrayal.
Following his recuperation, Bond and Vesper stay in a quiet hotel on the French coast. While the first few days go well and Bond is close to asking her to marry him, her behaviour suddenly changes when she sees a particular man.
On the final night Vesper returns to her old self. However, the hotel owner awakes Bond the next morning; Vesper has taken an overdose of sleeping pills and left a note for Bond in which she explains that she has been a double agent and betrayed him.
The book ends bitterly: “Yes, dammit, I sad ‘was’. The bitch is dead now”.
Important Steps to Follow in Hiring a Casino Party Company For Your Next Casino Fundraiser
posted on 10th Feb, 2012
important casino fundraiser steps and pitfalls to understand when planning your next casino fundraiser.
Having been in the casino party and planning business for many years I have heard from customers some very sad stories of what occurred at their casino fundraiser and I would like to pass to you the 7 steps you must follow to ensure you have a successful casino fundraiser and hire the BEST casino party company for your event.
Step 1. The planning committee. This is the most important step in your planning and you must assign a person to each of the specific tasks that must be accomplished for your event, which include the Law and getting the appropriate licenses, finding the location and catering for the event, getting sponsors to help with the costs, getting gifts donated, finding the correct casino company, and who will be handling the money. It is impossible for one person to handle all of the above items. The only successful way is to have one person responsible for each item, leave them alone to perform the task, but having them report their progress every so often to the person assigned in charge for the event. You will need plenty of time to accomplish all the tasks I a good time frame to start is 4-6 months before the event date.
Step 2. The Law and obtaining your fundraiser license and township permission. Always remember that gambling is illegal, and having casino games at your fundraiser is gambling. This is important because a casino fundraiser is not the same as holding a car wash to raise funds. Because gambling is illegal there are state authorities in charge of stopping illegal gambling which means your casino fundraiser will fall under an exception to the gambling laws. Let’s take New Jersey as an example. The state agency ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control)is responsible to find and prevent illegal gambling, unfortunately their own handbook does not say illegal gambling, or exceptions to the gambling laws, it only says gambling, and there has been an occasion where one of their investigators attempted to stop a casino fundraiser claiming it was gambling. The situation was resolved before the event date because of the second point I want you to remember. Even though your casino fundraiser is gambling and gambling is illegal, you fall under an exception to the gambling laws by state statute. In New Jersey the state legislature created a statute to allow casino gambling and created the Casino Control Commission to oversee the activity, they also created a statute to allow casino fundraisers and created the legalized Games of Chance Control Commission to oversee casino fundraisers. The point I want you take from all this would be to make your casino fundraiser legal, you must understand the law and get the proper licenses and township permission for the event. Just because you are a 501(c)3 non profit organization and used to having a car wash to raise funds doesn’t mean you can have a casino fundraiser simply because it sounds like a good idea. So at this point you should understand it is a good idea to call your states Office of the Attorney General to find out the laws in your state to have a casino fundraiser.
Step 3. The Best casino company. The licensing requirements needed for you state may also require the casino company to be licensed. There have been occasions in New Jersey where a non profit organization called a casino party company and neither of the parties knew the laws resulting in the event being stopped and fines. Each state is different and in New Jersey the casino company and all the dealers must have a casino fundraiser license. So the important point here is to first learn the requirement on your own by calling the state authorities, then you start calling the casino companies and ask them what is required to have a casino fundraiser. A good casino party company will ask you if you have your license and be able to email you the forms needed to obtain the license. They should guide you through all aspects to obtaining your license and getting the township permission. If they do not assist you or explain the rules then they may not understand them and that could be a disaster waiting to happen.
Step 4. Who is really doing your event? Understand there are casino party companies who advertise locally and some who do it nationally. In my experience the local companies are the best for you because the national companies may not know the laws for you state. Even worse is the national companies will not be doing your event. What they do is call the local companies, get a quote from them and add hundreds of dollars to the bill just for answering your phone call, and the local company is who will be doing your event and they will have given you a quote that is less than the national company. As you look at each company you will see some that have photographs of movie stars and people having fun in a casino on the front page of their website. Forget all that material designed to attract you because it is not important. When you receive price quotes from the casino party companies you may get 3 or 4 that are in the same general range and 1 or 2 that are much higher than the others. Let’s give an example and say you received quotes for $1000, $1100, $1200 and $2000. It doesn’t make any sense that 3 quotes were in the same range and one quote was much higher and that is because the very high quote is from a national company who will not do your event because they are going to call the local company who gave you the lower quote in the first place, then add the extra money to the bill.
Step 5. The casino tables. There is a general rule to follow which is you want approximately 70 percent of you guests to be able to play. You can modify this rule, but I would not go below 50 percent able to play. The casino company should advise you on this. They should also stay in constant contact with you in the week leading up to the event to revise the tables if needed. Let’s assume your event was 300 guests, but in the last week you realize only 200 will show up. A reputable casino company will suggest you reduce the number of tables. A poor casino company will want you to stay with the original suggestion because they will make more money. Simply stated, the BEST casino party company would rather you have the correct number of tables and not too many or too few, and they should not put their profit above your fundraising needs. Now let’s discuss the casino tables that will be used for your event. This is my opinion as a licensed dealer, but the best casino companies have new equipment which does not have folding metal legs and/or use skirting under the table to hide the metal legs. Ask yourself why a real casino doesn’t use metal folding legs on their tables. A craps or roulette table is very heavy with up to 14 people all leaning and shifting their weight on the table. Maybe that’s the reason you shouldn’t have metal folding legs on the table because you do not want to take the chance the table collapses. I will never deal craps or roulette on a table that has metal folding legs. The point I want you remember here is that you should have the casino party company put in writing that they will be the company doing your event and will not subcontract to another company. You should also require the casino company to provide photographs of the actual tables they will use at the event. It is fine if they can show you the tables on their website, but I would ask myself why a casino company does not have photographs of the tables on the website. Do not accept the company having a photo showing the top of the tables with people having fun because that does not show the legs of the table which I consider the most important part.
Step 6. Cost from the Casino company and suggestions. The casino party company should be making suggestions on the proper casino tables and the number of each table to have for your event. They will follow the general rule of 70 percent of your guests being able to play, but they should also be in constant contact with you leading up to the event and be willing to reduce or add tables if needed. Remember the casino company is there to help you but also want to make money. A great casino company will advise you if needed to reduce the number of tables originally suggested based on the number of guests, allowing them to be a great help to you and still make a profit. The Poor casino companies will want you to stay with the original plan because they will make more money. The point here is that if you have too few tables then your guests can’t play meaning they can’t donate money to the event, and if you have too many tables they will not be used and you are spending more money than you should, and you could run the risk of losing money for the charity because of it. The last point I want you to remember is some casino party companies that do fundraising want a percentage of your profits. Never hire a company that wants a percentage of the profits because that is your money. Look at the casino company as you would a caterer or DJ. They are being paid for their service a flat fee and not a penny more.
Step 7. Who is going to handle the money. There is a cardinal rule in casino fundraiser that you never allow the casino company to touch the money. Keep in mind there could be thousands of dollars out there and you want to remove all temptations and possible accusations. A great casino company will advise you how to set up a “bank” and how only your representatives will touch the money. There are certain aspects of the evening where the casino company pit boss will do things to help encourage additional donations by making chip specials to your guests if they donate more money at each table, but this should only be done one table at a time with one of your representatives standing next to them.
I hope the discussion will help guide you to having a successful casino fundraiser. If you ever have a questions you may always email me at or visit my companies website www.cardsordice.com and I will get back to you and answer your questions because I want to ensure you hire the BEST casino party company and make a lot of money for your charity.
How to Play Online Casino Slots
posted on 9th Feb, 2012
Playing online casino slots has become more accessible by making it easier and more exciting than playing at a real land base casino. Online and land-base slot machines both work in the same fashion and they’re not so difficult to figure out, all that needs to be done is to place a bet and press the spin button or pull on the level, and hope that the reels will line up with the same pictures or redeem a special prize by displaying a particular picture.
You have an advantage, when playing online casino slots, as they have the highest payout percentages and are set according to the Las Vegas highest payout slot machines, The difference is that when in Las Vegas you would need to go into a casino and begin to look for these specific slot machines, while playing online slots you won’t need to look for them because all of them carry extremely high odds, all you need to do is just familiarize yourself with the game.
Another excellent advantage when playing online casino slots is that the software is free to download you can just sign up on a play for fun account at mostly any casino so you can practice, but chances are that you will play for money as it is much more exciting to play online casino slots when earning cash. The play for fun is recommended just to practice new slot games that you never played before by give it a few free spins and then straight to thrilling exciting action of playing for cash.
You need to familiarize yourself with the payoff tables when playing online or land-base slots, as this explains to you the payouts of each combination of pictures and depending on how many coins you’re gambling with determines what you can earn as well.
Both land-base and online casinos utilize a Random Number Generator (RNG) which is audit by a third-party to assure fairness to the casino games at all times which is always 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, and every spin that is made is completely casual.
No need to be concern about being cheated as all these online slots machines as well as the entire casino games are fairly regulated by their software provider itself, and the same kind of algorithm than land-base slots are being used online as well. Online casino slots are not programmed to favor the house, and therefore will certainly not make any mistakes, if this was the case, high rollers would never play online and would have rather chosen to play at land-base casinos instead, but the truth of the matter is that online casino slots are actually being played more these days then land base casinos.
There is always a chance that you can win a progressive jackpot by any means if you’re lucky enough, which is an increasing quantity that usually go really high in numbers, you can also hit similar or multiplier bonuses.
Tips on Live Casino Poker Games
posted on 6th Feb, 2012
A lot of people play poker online because this is very convenient. You do not have to go out of your house and dress to play your favorite game. You will not be hassled by traffic or heat. Then again, if you’ve been so used to playing poker online, playing the real poker game in a real casino, for the first time, can be a very tedious, if not scary, task.
Once you enter the casino, you’re not entirely sure on how to sign up for games. You can’t just stand up and move to another table. Everyone was, of course, a beginner but not everyone wants to look like one.
Here are a couple of tips that will help you survive the jungle, if ever you decide to come out and explore:
1. Secure a player’s card. It does not matter where you play, in whatever casino you play in, the first thing that you should do always is get yourself a player’s card. The player card will help the casino track your play and how they issue comps. You can also put yourself in the waiting list for games using your card. Some casinos also require player’s cards for you to play in tournaments.
2. Check out what is out there. As soon as you enter the casino, you have to look for two things: boards and brush. The board will give you the list of games currently playing. Some casinos have huge screens, other have whiteboards. Smaller casinos have clipboards.
Brush is the person that will sign you up for the games. You can look for podiums where brush usually stands at, others simply have a desk.
3.Check your options. There are other options if you will not be able to sit immediately. A couple of casinos offer electronic sign up for waiting lists. This means that you can have your player’s card scanned and you will be given options to touch screen for your desired games. There are also casinos that allow you to call them before you actually go to the casino. You can have your name listed on the waiting list even before you arrive. But this does not apply to all casinos. Some only apply this rule to their ‘regulars.’
4. Get your chips and select your table. As soon as you are signed up for your game, you can go ahead and get your chips at the cashier. It is essential to buy your chips before you play so you can play right away as soon as you sit down. You do not have to buy your chips at the table and will not inconvenience other players.
When the brush calls your name, he or she will tell you the table where you can sit at. If there are multiple tables available, then you will be given the option to choose your own.
5. Moving tables or table changes. You do not have to stay in your seat for the rest of the night. If you want to change tables, you can call the floor person and request for a table change. You will be again put on a list for the game and they’ll have your name annotated for a table change.
INetBet Casino – Realtime Gaming – Established 1999
posted on 27th Jan, 2012
iNetBet is an online casino powered by Realtime Gaming software. Having been in the business since 1999, iNetBet has been paying players on time, every time since they opened their virtual doors well over a decade ago. One of the most trusted brands in the industry; they are registered in Costa Rica and are tested for fairness by a third party on a frequent basis. Owned and operated by Internet Gaming Services, iNetBet has proven time and time again why they deserve their spot at the top of the list of better online casinos. USA players are more than welcome to register an account and play for real money through the download client or the mobile version.
Software
The software behind iNetBet, Realtime Gaming, has been one of the industry’s leading software providers when it comes to home gaming. The platform provides Vegas style entertainment all at a click of your mouse. The layout, graphics and gaming quality are some of the best in the business; making your experience second to none.
The website is where it all begins and players will find a wealth of information including; promotions, FAQ’s and general gaming information about the casino. Once you are ready to get started, download the casino in minutes, complete the super easy registration and get ready to play. Players can even register a fun money account so they can try the games for free and maybe sharpen up on their skills at the tables.
There isn’t an instant play version of the casino, which is unusual for a casino from this software, however; there is a mobile casino that gives players the opportunity to play their favourite casino games in the palm of their hand 24/7. To find out the requirements for using this service, check out the mobile casino page on the website for full details.
Games
There are more than 120 games available 24/7 through the download client. No matter your gaming preference, Slot Machines, Video Pokers, Table Games, Specialty Games and Tournaments are available whenever you have that urge to play and win.
Slot Machines are by far the most popular games offered by this software and iNetBet has them all. Classic Slots, Real Series Video Slots with Random Jackpots and network wide progressives are all just a click away. The progressive jackpots are huge and ready to be won by the next lucky player.
Table Games such as Blackjack, Roulette, Craps and Baccarat are available and the payout potential of these games is Vegas style without all of the crowds. Specialty Games like Keno and Bonus Bingo give players a nice change in pace compared to the everyday gaming experience.
Tournaments are a fairly recent addition to the software. No matter if you are looking to buy-in to a modest tournament, or just want a chance to win something for nothing, there is something for you. Check the tournament lobby often for the full schedule.
Promotions
There is always a bountiful selection of welcome promotions just to say thank you for playing at iNetBet. It doesn’t end there as far as bonus offers go because the more you play the more free money you can earn. Every week, iNetBet will send a whole new set of promotions to you via email or the casino lobby. The promotions range between game specific bonus offers to challenges and a little something in between. The percentages are a nice boost to your bankroll and the wagering requirements attached are not impossible to clear.
Also, loyal players are given a “Managers Bonus” every single month. The amount of this bonus depends on a number of things including; deposits, game play and other important factors. This is something to look forward to, and just a little way for iNetBet to thank their players for choosing their casino.
Comp points are also earned for playing your favourite games. No matter which game you play, every real money wager will count towards comp point accumulation. Once enough comp points are earned, they can be redeemed through the cashier for real money without restrictions.
The cashier is easy to use and there are plenty of ways to deposit and withdraw. The methods differ upon location, but once you are ready to submit a cashout the monies are usually paid within 24 hours, including on the weekends. When it comes to lightning fast cashouts, nothing compares to iNetBet.
Support
This is perhaps the only aspect of the casino that could use some improvement. The support options are limited and can only be reached through email. Although most players are satisfied with this, there are numerous players that would appreciate real-time assistance. The support team can be reached through email or through the email web application via the website.
This information was accurate when it was written but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all information directly with the casino.
