1. The World Cup has become the premier sporting event for gambling, particularly illegal gambling which has soared compared to legal gambling. It seems Asia is the hotbed for degenerate gamblers with Hong Kong and Thailand leading the way. Illegal gambling proceeds for this year's World Cup is estimated to be around $50 billion to $100 billion rivalled only by the Champion's League final. And they are taking bets on everything from free kicks to corner kicks thus expanding the possibilities of match fixing. Serie A has always been the bastion of match fixing.
2. Dynamic pricing has been prevalent in the US for awhile, including the expansion into grocery stores. I call dynamic pricing legalized gouging. Any local event in an area will prompt the pricing of lodging to increase anywhere from 100% to 500%. Any motel or hotel within 100 miles of a NASCAR event will be a minimum of a 600% increase. Grocery stores, now even with Walmart, are trying to establish dynamic pricing. Shop on a Friday, shop between 5 and 7 PM and shop on Saturday will result in a increase of meat prices from 20-50%. Of course Walmart is claiming the increase of labor costs to handle customers during those periods but that is total bullshit because they operate on fixed labor schedules all designed to reduce labor costs at all times. Amazon Whole Foods is also a market of intense gouging.
3. Thanks for the shoutout Ioan and CrashOut is still one of the most important avenues to world events and problems
4. Scotland hung on and Netherland's and Spain's conservatism and arrogance cost them. Cape Verde's goalkeeper has been the player of the World Cup so far and Brazil is a long ways from the past.
A contextual aside here. During and after the England v. Croatia match the crowds at The Londoner, an English flavored pub style bistro, were told to hit the street at the rowdiest point. The Dallas Fire Marshall shut the doors due to crowd limit violations. I am sure the party continued on the sidewalks.
I visited a floating casino in Lake Charles, Louisiana that was actually floating in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Mostly to test the vibe. There were three decks on the boat. The top deck was easily seen as the most attended attraction. Packed with gamblers. Packed with smokers. And almost totally packed with the Vietnamese fishermen of the Louisiana coast. Almost a scene from Deerhunter and the rabid gamblers in the Russian Roulette scenes.
Thank you for all the great journalism as ALWAYS. I hope that at some point in my life I have the power to positively influence in some way or another fixing this mess. And right then I will for sure remember the nuances and learnings I got from CrashOut.
In the meantime, happy summer and enjoy the World Cup!
Well appreciated my friend and I join you with your hopes to make Mexico the country it deserves to be. In the meantime, yep let’s enjoy this football party. Come on England and Mexico!
Your introduction repeats what I have felt for a long time. The Swedish fans tipping the hat to the mothers of the disappeared. Rarely do you see in publications from Mexico just a little nod to those impacted by this atrocity. The relatives of the disappeared are described mostly as blockaders and disruptors of business and irritants in the discourse of their demands. A real hug and not the political nonsense of "Hugs, Not Bullets" campaign of the previous President of Mexico. Thank you to Sweden. The official turning of the backs to the mother's plight is duly noted. And Quack! Quack! for our feathered superfan. England v. Croatia taking the stage in my sister metropolis in Dallas. Thankfully, for the visiting Brits, a roof and air conditioning is being provided free with your $2,000 entry fee,
Dragon Cartel #10 in the Detective Emilia Cruz series set in Acapulco. The ebook rolled out first on all platforms with paperback on 30 June. Any mention greatly appreciated!
Hey, Ioan, always love your great reporting...and the heads up about the Swedish fans passing the mother of a disappeared son...who stopped and hugged her. Beautiful. We need more of this in this day and age.
Yeah, Iran have to bounce back and fourth over the border like a yo yo, which is pointless. I didn't get into the World Cup on that side of the river, which is a whole other kettle of fish.
I was having a none to complimentary chat with a grandson about Infantino very recently.
FIFA is not the most "clean" organisation in my opinion. Fancy a footie game with 4 quarters!!! Bizarre. When do we get 5 asides with best of three games to win a match?
Lovely that the players were so decent. It must have meant so much to that poor mother. Enjoying it here. ( on this blog).
1. The World Cup has become the premier sporting event for gambling, particularly illegal gambling which has soared compared to legal gambling. It seems Asia is the hotbed for degenerate gamblers with Hong Kong and Thailand leading the way. Illegal gambling proceeds for this year's World Cup is estimated to be around $50 billion to $100 billion rivalled only by the Champion's League final. And they are taking bets on everything from free kicks to corner kicks thus expanding the possibilities of match fixing. Serie A has always been the bastion of match fixing.
2. Dynamic pricing has been prevalent in the US for awhile, including the expansion into grocery stores. I call dynamic pricing legalized gouging. Any local event in an area will prompt the pricing of lodging to increase anywhere from 100% to 500%. Any motel or hotel within 100 miles of a NASCAR event will be a minimum of a 600% increase. Grocery stores, now even with Walmart, are trying to establish dynamic pricing. Shop on a Friday, shop between 5 and 7 PM and shop on Saturday will result in a increase of meat prices from 20-50%. Of course Walmart is claiming the increase of labor costs to handle customers during those periods but that is total bullshit because they operate on fixed labor schedules all designed to reduce labor costs at all times. Amazon Whole Foods is also a market of intense gouging.
3. Thanks for the shoutout Ioan and CrashOut is still one of the most important avenues to world events and problems
4. Scotland hung on and Netherland's and Spain's conservatism and arrogance cost them. Cape Verde's goalkeeper has been the player of the World Cup so far and Brazil is a long ways from the past.
- Price gouging is a perfect term for dynamic pricing in many cases. I'm going to use it (the term not the gouging).
- I see the Tartan Army of Scotland are getting a lot of love in the United States. Fair play to them.
- We are lucky to have you in the CrashOut community.
- England vs Croatia tomorrow. Hoping for a win. Ready for a slap in the face.
A contextual aside here. During and after the England v. Croatia match the crowds at The Londoner, an English flavored pub style bistro, were told to hit the street at the rowdiest point. The Dallas Fire Marshall shut the doors due to crowd limit violations. I am sure the party continued on the sidewalks.
That was quite a game - and result. I was drunkenly euphoric myself.
And the epitaph from the evening was the Brit was found arse up with empty pockets from the scopolamine slipped into his final pint.
Ha ha! (I am presuming that is a dry joke not a real incident!)
I visited a floating casino in Lake Charles, Louisiana that was actually floating in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Mostly to test the vibe. There were three decks on the boat. The top deck was easily seen as the most attended attraction. Packed with gamblers. Packed with smokers. And almost totally packed with the Vietnamese fishermen of the Louisiana coast. Almost a scene from Deerhunter and the rabid gamblers in the Russian Roulette scenes.
That sounds like a fun surreal scene I must admit.
Thank you for all the great journalism as ALWAYS. I hope that at some point in my life I have the power to positively influence in some way or another fixing this mess. And right then I will for sure remember the nuances and learnings I got from CrashOut.
In the meantime, happy summer and enjoy the World Cup!
¡¡Vamos, México 🇲🇽!!
Well appreciated my friend and I join you with your hopes to make Mexico the country it deserves to be. In the meantime, yep let’s enjoy this football party. Come on England and Mexico!
https://ianmcniff.substack.com/p/the-shirt-not-worn-the-revolution?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2lo6de
Thanks for the link and best there System on Trial.
Your introduction repeats what I have felt for a long time. The Swedish fans tipping the hat to the mothers of the disappeared. Rarely do you see in publications from Mexico just a little nod to those impacted by this atrocity. The relatives of the disappeared are described mostly as blockaders and disruptors of business and irritants in the discourse of their demands. A real hug and not the political nonsense of "Hugs, Not Bullets" campaign of the previous President of Mexico. Thank you to Sweden. The official turning of the backs to the mother's plight is duly noted. And Quack! Quack! for our feathered superfan. England v. Croatia taking the stage in my sister metropolis in Dallas. Thankfully, for the visiting Brits, a roof and air conditioning is being provided free with your $2,000 entry fee,
Indeed, quack quack from Merlin, or as ducks say in Spanish, "cuac, cuac."
appreciate your articles man. in other news, I really enjoyed your Cuba article in Unherd!
Thanks there Paul. Yeah, that was a tough thing to see on the the island. Best there friend.
Thanks for all the great reporting, you always capture mood and impact so well.
All best there Carmen. Happy summer months and summer writing.
Thanks, Ioan. The new book dropped yesterday so I'll be too busy to get into trouble for a few weeks at least!
Ah, what is the title? I would have mentioned in the newsletter.
Dragon Cartel #10 in the Detective Emilia Cruz series set in Acapulco. The ebook rolled out first on all platforms with paperback on 30 June. Any mention greatly appreciated!
Great. I can edit it into this piece.
Many thanks!
https://ianmcniff.substack.com/p/the-shirt-not-worn-the-revolution?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2lo6de
Yeah, what a crazy story of FIFA overreach.
Hey, Ioan, always love your great reporting...and the heads up about the Swedish fans passing the mother of a disappeared son...who stopped and hugged her. Beautiful. We need more of this in this day and age.
Appreciated and absolutely - there is still humanity in this confused crazy world. Best there BB.
Well told as always, Ioan! Wish I could be there.
Cheers there my friend. You have a World Cup too! But yeah, it's a good atmosphere for it here in the big smoke.
Yes, he survived Burma and the Spanish Civil War, but you have to wonder, how many times did someone take a swing at Orwell in a pub?
Ha ha. That would have been a funny scene. He certainly liked a pint. I wonder how hammered he got.
The Tucson economy took a big hit after the Orange idiot banned Iran from training here and Tijuana got a great economic boost.
Yeah, Iran have to bounce back and fourth over the border like a yo yo, which is pointless. I didn't get into the World Cup on that side of the river, which is a whole other kettle of fish.
That Orwell, hell of a writer but can come across not quite Reign of Terror, more like please shut the graduate student up.
Ha ha ha. Some other classic Orwell quotes on football:
"International football is the continuation of war by other means."
"Football, a game in which everyone gets hurt and every nation has its own style of play which seems unfair to foreigners."
I was having a none to complimentary chat with a grandson about Infantino very recently.
FIFA is not the most "clean" organisation in my opinion. Fancy a footie game with 4 quarters!!! Bizarre. When do we get 5 asides with best of three games to win a match?
Lovely that the players were so decent. It must have meant so much to that poor mother. Enjoying it here. ( on this blog).
Thanks much there Jeni - Yes, we have drug cartels and then we have the FIFA football cartel. All best over from Mexico.