1.
Las Vegas
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The city anchors the Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area and is the largest city within the greater Mojave Desert. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment and it is the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center for Nevada. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World and it is a top three destination in the United States for business conventions and a global leader in the hospitality industry, claiming more AAA Five Diamond hotels than any city in the world. Today, Las Vegas annually ranks as one of the worlds most visited tourist destinations. The citys tolerance for numerous forms of adult entertainment earned it the title of Sin City, and has made Las Vegas a popular setting for literature, films, television programs, Las Vegas was settled in 1905 and officially incorporated in 1911. At the close of the 20th century, it was the most populated American city founded within that century, population growth has accelerated since the 1960s, and between 1990 and 2000 the population nearly doubled, increasing by 85. 2%. Rapid growth has continued into the 21st century, and according to a 2013 estimate, perhaps the earliest visitors to the Las Vegas area were nomadic Paleo-Indians, who traveled there 10,000 years ago, leaving behind petroglyphs. Anasazi and Paiute tribes followed at least 2,000 years ago, a young Mexican scout named Rafael Rivera is credited as the first non-Native American to encounter the valley, in 1829. Trader Antonio Armijo led a 60-man party along the Spanish Trail to Los Angeles, the area was named Las Vegas, which is Spanish for the meadows, as it featured abundant wild grasses, as well as desert spring waters for westward travelers. The year 1844 marked the arrival of John C, frémont, whose writings helped lure pioneers to the area. Downtown Las Vegas Fremont Street is named after him, eleven years later members of the LDS Church chose Las Vegas as the site to build a fort halfway between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, where they would travel to gather supplies. The fort was abandoned several years afterward, the remainder of this Old Mormon Fort can still be seen at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Washington Avenue. Las Vegas was founded as a city in 1905, when 110 acres of adjacent to the Union Pacific Railroad tracks were auctioned in what would become the downtown area. In 1911, Las Vegas was incorporated as a city,1931 was a pivotal year for Las Vegas. At that time, Nevada legalized casino gambling and reduced residency requirements for divorce to six weeks and this year also witnessed the beginning of construction on nearby Hoover Dam. The influx of workers and their families helped Las Vegas avoid economic calamity during the Great Depression. The construction work was completed in 1935, in 1941, the Las Vegas Army Air Corps Gunnery School was established. Currently known as Nellis Air Force Base, it is home to the team called the Thunderbirds
2.
Los Angeles
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Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L. A. is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern California. With a census-estimated 2015 population of 3,971,883, it is the second-most populous city in the United States, Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States. The citys inhabitants are referred to as Angelenos, historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California. The city was founded on September 4,1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence, in 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4,1850, the discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city. The completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, delivering water from Eastern California, nicknamed the City of Angels, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, and sprawling metropolis. Los Angeles also has an economy in culture, media, fashion, science, sports, technology, education, medicine. A global city, it has been ranked 6th in the Global Cities Index, the city is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and is one of the most substantial economic engines within the United States. The Los Angeles combined statistical area has a gross metropolitan product of $831 billion, making it the third-largest in the world, after the Greater Tokyo and New York metropolitan areas. The city has hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984 and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics and thus become the second city after London to have hosted the Games three times. The Los Angeles area also hosted the 1994 FIFA mens World Cup final match as well as the 1999 FIFA womens World Cup final match, the mens event was watched on television by over 700 million people worldwide. The Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by the Tongva, a Gabrielino settlement in the area was called iyáangẚ, meaning poison oak place. Gaspar de Portolà and Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí, reached the present site of Los Angeles on August 2,1769, in 1771, Franciscan friar Junípero Serra directed the building of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the first mission in the area. The Queen of the Angels is an honorific of the Virgin Mary, two-thirds of the settlers were mestizo or mulatto with a mixture of African, indigenous and European ancestry. The settlement remained a small town for decades, but by 1820. Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the district of Los Angeles Pueblo Plaza and Olvera Street. New Spain achieved its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, during Mexican rule, Governor Pío Pico made Los Angeles Alta Californias regional capital
3.
World Series of Poker bracelet
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The World Series of Poker bracelet is considered the most coveted non-monetary prize a poker player can win. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP, even if the victory occurred before 1976, WSOP championships are now counted as bracelets. During the first years of the WSOP only a handful of bracelets were awarded each year, in 1990, there were only 14 bracelet events. By 2000, that increased to 24. As the popularity of poker has increased during the 2000s, the number of events has likewise increased, in 2011,58 bracelets were awarded at the WSOP, seven at the World Series of Poker Europe, and one to the WSOP National Circuit Champion. This brought the number of bracelets awarded up to 959. Five additional bracelets were awarded for the first time in April 2013 at the inaugural World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific in Melbourne, Australia. Since Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 Main Event, only two players have won and followed it up with a win in another event, Jonathan Duhamel. The 1976 bracelet looked like gold nuggets kind of hammered flat, the bracelet in 1976 cost approximately $500. In the 1980s, Las Vegas jeweler Mordechai Yerushalmi became the manufacturer of WSOP bracelets until Harrahs Entertainment bought the rights to the WSOP in 2004. According to 2003 WSOP Champion Chris Moneymaker, the design of the bracelet remained relatively unchanged under Yerushalmi, in 2005, Gold and Diamond International based in Memphis, TN won the bid from Harrahs Entertainment to manufacture the 2005 World Series of Poker bracelets. The company also manufactures the WSOP circuit rings, in 2006, Frederick Goldman, Inc. made the WSOP bracelets while luxury watch maker Corum introduced some commemorative watches as part of the prize package. In 2006, the Champions bracelet had 259 stones including 7.2 carats of diamonds,120 grams of white and it also used rubies to represent the heart and diamond suits, a sapphire to represent the spade and three black diamonds to represent the clubs. In 2007, Corum became the official bracelet manufacturer for the WSOP, some of the 2007 World Series of Poker champions received both a watch and a bracelet from Corum. Corum designed four variations for the 2007 World Series of Poker Bracelets, the standard version that is presented to 53 winners features 53 diamonds. The Ladies World Champion receives a bracelet that is adorned with four black diamonds, the $50,000 HORSE Champion Bracelet has 91 black diamonds and two rubies. The World Series of Poker Main Event Bracelet has 120 diamonds on 136 grams of 18 carat white gold, the value of the 2007 bracelets have not been released, but the typical price of a Corum watch ranges from $1, 500–$30, 000+. In 2008, the Main Event Bracelet had 291 diamonds, totalling 2.81 carats set in 168 grams of 18kt white gold, the other 54 event bracelets consisted of 55 diamonds, totalling 0.25 carats set in 80 grams of 14kt yellow gold
4.
Henderson, Nevada
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Henderson, officially the City of Henderson, is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about 16 miles southeast of Las Vegas. It is the second-largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, the city is part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which spans the entire Las Vegas Valley. Henderson occupies the end of the valley, at an elevation of approximately 1,330 feet. In 2011, Forbes magazine ranked Henderson as Americas second-safest city and it has also been named as One of the Best Cities to Live in America by Bloomberg Businessweek. In 2014, Henderson was again ranked as one of the Top 10 Safest Cities in the United States by the FBI Uniform Crime Report, the township of Henderson first emerged in the 1940s during World War II with the building of the Basic Magnesium Plant. Henderson quickly became a supplier of magnesium in the United States. The plant supplied the US War Department with magnesium for incendiary munition casings and airplane engines, frames, a quarter of all US wartime magnesium came from the Henderson Plant to strengthen aluminum, using 25% of Hoover Dams power to separate the metal from its ore by electrolysis. The British liaison officer sent to Henderson, Major Charles Ball, had a named after him. There was some concern that Ball St, would sound improper, although born in Americas defense, Hendersons future after World War II was uncertain. In 1947, magnesium production was no longer necessary for defense, enrollment in the school system was reduced by two thirds, and well over half the townsite houses, built to house plant workers, became vacant. In 1947, the United States War Asset Administration had offered Henderson for sale as war surplus property, in an effort to save the city, the Nevada Legislature spent a weekend visiting Henderson, evaluating the possibility of state administration of Basic Magnesium. Within days of the visit, the unanimously approved a bill giving the Colorado River Commission of Nevada the authority to purchase the industrial plants. Governor Vail Pittman signed the bill on March 27,1947, with the help of local industry, Henderson was incorporated on April 16,1953 as the City of Henderson. On May 23,1953, Henderson, with its population of 7,410, originally only about 13 square miles in size, the city quickly began to grow, reaching over 94 square miles in size today. In 1988, the Pacific Engineering and Production Company of Nevada rocket fuel factory, in the modern-day Gibson Springs neighborhood of Henderson and these sent shockwaves throughout Henderson and parts of the Las Vegas Valley, shattering glass and damaging buildings. The explosions also caused earthquakes, some of which measured over 3.0 on the Richter magnitude scale, two people were killed, and an additional 372 injured. The events of the PEPCON factory disaster spurred development in Henderson years later, there are now no signs of the explosion where it happened. Today, the site consists mostly of office buildings, Henderson is located 16 miles southeast of downtown Las Vegas at 36°2′23″N 114°58′52″W
5.
Texas hold 'em
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Texas hold em is a variation of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as the cards, are dealt face down to each player. The stages consist of a series of three cards, later a single card and a final card. Each player seeks the best five card poker hand from the combination of the community cards, if a players best five card poker hand consists only of the five community cards and none of the players hole cards, it is called playing the board. Players have betting options to check, call, raise or fold, rounds of betting take place before the flop is dealt, and after each subsequent deal. Texas hold em is the H game featured in H. O. R. S. E, in Texas hold em, as in all variants of poker, individuals compete for an amount of money or chips contributed by the players themselves. The game is divided into a series of hands, at the conclusion of each hand, the objective of winning players is not to win every individual hand, but rather to make mathematically and psychologically better decisions regarding when and how much to bet, raise, call—or fold. Ones pattern of betting may encourage opponents to bet or to fold, the winning poker players know how to enhance their opponents betting and maximize their own expected gain on each round of betting, to thereby increase their long-term winnings. Although little is known about the invention of Texas hold em, after the game spread throughout Texas, hold em was introduced to Las Vegas in 1967 by a group of Texan gamblers and card players, including Crandell Addington, Doyle Brunson, and Amarillo Slim. This is when ace high was changed from the form in which aces were low. Addington said the first time he saw the game was in 1959 and they didnt call it Texas hold em at the time, they just called it hold em. … I thought then that if it were to catch on, it would become the game. Draw poker, you bet only twice, hold em, you bet four times and that meant you could play strategically. This was more of a mans game. For several years the Golden Nugget Casino in Downtown Las Vegas was the only casino in Las Vegas to offer the game, at that time, the Golden Nuggets poker room was truly a sawdust joint, with…oiled sawdust covering the floors. Because of its location and decor, this room did not receive many rich drop-in clients. In 1969, the Las Vegas professionals were invited to play Texas hold em at the entrance of the now-demolished Dunes Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. This prominent location, and the inexperience of poker players with Texas hold em. After a failed attempt to establish a Gambling Fraternity Convention, Tom Moore added the first ever poker tournament to the Second Annual Gambling Fraternity Convention held in 1969 and this tournament featured several games including Texas hold em
6.
World Series of Poker
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The World Series of Poker is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment Corporation. The winner of each event receives a World Series of Poker bracelet, over the years, the tournament has grown in both the number of events and in the number of participants. Each year, the WSOP culminates with the $10,000 no-limit holdem Main Event, the victor receives a multi-million dollar cash prize and a bracelet, which has become the most coveted award a poker player can win. The winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event is considered to be the World Champion of Poker, as of 2014, the WSOP consists of 65 events, with most major poker variants featured. However, in recent years, over half of the events have been variants of Texas hold em, Events traditionally take place during one day or over several consecutive days during the series in June and July. However, starting in 2008, the Main Event final table was delayed until November, the 2012 Main Event final table commenced in October because of the United States presidential election. Since 1971, all WSOP events have been tournaments with cash prizes, in 1973, a five-card stud event was added. Since then, new events have added and removed. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP, later on, the tournament grew slowly for over a decade, reaching 52 participants in 1982. In the early 1980s, satellite tournaments were introduced, allowing people to win their way into the various events, by 1987, there were over 2,100 entrants in the entire series. At the 2006 World Series of Poker, there were 45 events, participation in the Main Event peaked that year, with 8,773 players. Currently, Texas hold em, Omaha hold em and Seven-card stud, H. O. R. S. E. has been played in the past and returned in 2006. Also, S. H. O. E. has been played in the past, other events played in the past include Chinese poker, Five card stud, and many others. Like most tournaments, the sponsoring casino takes a fee and distributes the rest. In the 2005 Main Event, US$52,818,610 in prize money was distributed among 560 players, with US$7.5 million as the first prize. The 2006 Main Event, won by Jamie Gold, is the largest single poker tournament by prize pool or by entrant numbers in history, in July 2010, it was announced that the winner of the 2010 Main Event would receive just under US$9 million. 11% of the went to Lalibertés charity, the One Drop Foundation. At the time of the announcement,15 of the maximum 48 seats had been taken
7.
Card sharp
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A card sharp is a person who uses skill and/or deception to win at poker or other card games. Sharp and shark spellings have varied over time and by region, the label is not always intended as pejorative, and is sometimes used to refer to practitioners of card tricks for entertainment purposes. A card sharp or shark may be a rounder who travels, according to the prevailing etymological theory, the term shark, originally meaning parasite or one who preys upon others, derives from German Schorke or Schurke, as did the English word shirk. Sharp developed in the 17th century from this meaning of shark, Card sharp and card shark are synonymous, although American English is somewhat, but informally, beginning to favor shark as a positive term versus sharp as a negative one. Card sharps who cheat or perform tricks use methods to control of the order of the cards or sometimes to control one specific card. Many of these methods employ sleight of hand, essential skills are false shuffles and false cuts that appear to mix the deck but actually leave the cards in the same order. More advanced techniques include culling, and stacking, dealing the cards can also be manipulated. Once a desired card or cards are located they can be controlled and this is called a false dealing, if a card is dealt from the bottom it is called bottom dealing and if it is second from the top it is called second dealing. Two cards could be dealt as one or the card from the bottom could be dealt, hence the Greek deal. Dealing may also be done from the middle of the deck, known as the deal or center deal. Gambit, fictional Marvel superhero Card sharps are common characters in caper films, in Friends season 2, episode 10, The One with Russ, Ross debates with his doppelgänger Russ about the correctness of the term card shark vs. card sharp. On Mission, Impossible, members of the Impossible Missions Force, in Prison Break, the character Theodore T-Bag Bagwell is an expert card sharp, who says, there are maybe five people in this country who can do what I do with a deck of cards. T-Bag uses this skill successfully in season 1, episode 18, sanford and Son featured an episode wherein card sharps defeated Lamont at poker. Fred was able to defeat the card sharps and win Lamonts money back, in the Japanese anime Cowboy Bebop, characters Fay Valentine and Spike Spiegel both exhibit card sharping skills, usually at the expense of their partner, Jet Black. In Arrow season 1, episode 21, The Undertaking, Felicity Smoak poses as a sharp, so that she. In Downton Abbey series 4, episode 3, Ediths love interest Mr. Gregson expresses his pleasure in beating a card sharp, Mr Sampson, who was a card snark of the first degree. In the British reality TV show The Real Hustle, co-host Paul Wilson is a card mechanic who uses his skills to demonstrate scams. The antagonist Luxord, of Organization XIII in Kingdom Hearts II, is a gambler who fights with dice and cards, in League of Legends, the champion Twisted Fate is a card sharp
8.
Antanas Guoga
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Antanas Guoga, more commonly known as Tony G, is a Lithuanian-Australian businessman and poker player, Lithuanian politician and philanthropist. He is a Member of the European Parliament for the Liberal Movement, in May 2016, Guoga was the temporary leader of the Liberal Movement following the bribery scandal that prompted Eligijus Masiulis to step down after potentially corrupt activities. Guoga spent his childhood in Kaunas and in the Alytus district in Lithuania, when he was 11 years old, he moved to Australia. Guoga lived in Melbourne where he graduated from school, and had various jobs, including repairing sewing machines, later, Guoga started working as an assistant to Australian Mortgage Brokers chief Bill Buchanan. He studied accounting and finance at college, in 1993, he was employed by an investment bank in Hong Kong managed by CitiBank. His responsibilities included attracting new customers and managing their investment portfolios, following that, Guoga successfully invested in a news portal, and in Rate Detective life insurance company in Australia. In addition, he developed a business in London. Guoga also owns a business in Australia. Today, more than 500 jobs have been created in the companies in which he has invested, over 300 of them are in Lithuania. Since 2014, Guoga has been married to Aistė Šlapokaitė, a psychology student. Guoga and Šlapokaitė met during her 30th birthday celebrations in a Vilnius night club, together they have a son and are expecting a second child in 2016. Guoga also has a son and two daughters from previous relationships, Guoga was a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats group in the European Parliament until 4th of October,2016. He became a member of the European Peoples Party which is the biggest party in the Parliament and he works on a range of digital policies in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee. Guoga is actively involved in a number of Digital Single Market topics, being an entrepreneur himself, Guoga works for better conditions for European businesses, especially in the technology sector. These conditions include smarter regulations, less red tape, and policies that encourage innovation, in 2015 Guoga was chosen as the Lithuanian representative in the POLITICO28 list. The European affairs weekly newspaper chose one person from each of the European Unions 28 member-states who is shaping, shaking and stirring Europe and he is also a substitute member in the Employment and Social Affairs Committee. Guoga is Coder Dojo and entrepreneurship education ambassador in Lithuania, in 2016, he plans to launch Coder Dojo movement in Lithuania and to organise more than 30 programming clubs for 7–17 years old youth in the country. In 2015, he organized #SWITCH, the biggest ICT and entrepreneurship event in the Baltics and this event attracted approximately 6000 participants, including 120 speakers from 16 countries
9.
Fox Sports Networks
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At the dawn of the cable television era, many regional sports networks vied to compete with the largest national sports network, ESPN. That same year, Fox purchased SportSouth from Turner and rebranded that network as Fox Sports South, on July 11,2000, Comcast purchased a majority interest in the Minneapolis-based Midwest Sports Channel and Baltimore-based Home Team Sports from Viacom. News Corporation, a minority owner in both networks, wanted to acquire them outright and integrate the two networks into Fox Sports Net, the company filed a lawsuit against Comcast ten days later on July 21, in an attempt to block the sale. Fox Sports Chicago ceased operations in June 2006, after losing the cable television rights to local professional teams two years earlier to the newly launched Comcast SportsNet Chicago. On May 4,2009, DirecTV Group Inc, despite Cablevisions sale of the networks, the channels continued to use Fox Sports Net/National Sports Partners in its copyright tag until 2008. On April 1,2011, DirecTV Sports Networks rebranded its FSN regional affiliates under the Root Sports brand, in 2012, FSN/Fox Sports Local relocated its headquarters from the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California to Houston, Texas. It was also in 2012 when FSN/Fox Sports Local was re-branded to its current branding, the FSN owned-and-operated networks were spun off along with most of News Corporations U. S. entertainment properties into 21st Century Fox on July 1,2013. FSN has often served as the ground for innovations in sports broadcast graphics developed by Fox. The Fox Sports Networks were the first U. S. sports channels to introduce a graphic to display the games score. Since FSN implemented with the banner graphic, many other major networks have abandoned the corner box graphic in favor of the bar. FSN first used the banner for most of its broadcasts beginning in 2001. For baseball broadcasts, a baseball diamond graphic was placed on the far left with the pitch count/speed on the right side. In mid-July 2003, Fox Sports Net adopted new graphics for its baseball broadcasts, Fox Sports Net would formally become known as FSN in September 2004. In mid-June 2005, the banner was given a cosmetic upgrade, the FSN logo at far right was also rendered in a black ovular shape with the region name rendered in white. It also phased in a package designed by Troika Design Group – however, in-game graphics still used the previous. From September 2012 to September 2013, Fox syndicated select college football games produced by the Fox Sports regional networks to broadcast television stations in some of these markets. Comcast Sports Net Mid-Atlantic resumed airing select Fox Sports-produced ACC games in 2013, however, as of 2015, most of Fox Sports Networks other programming is presently carried in the Baltimore and Washington, D. C. Fox College Sports also broadcasts high school and Independent Womens Football League games, Fox College Sports formerly partnered with Big Ten Network to provide programming
10.
Chai (symbol)
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Chai is a Hebrew word that figures prominently in modern Jewish culture, the Hebrew letters of the word are often used as a visual symbol. According to The Jewish Daily Forward, its use as an amulet originates in 18th century Eastern Europe, Chai as a symbol goes back to medieval Spain. Letters as symbols in Jewish culture go back to the earliest Jewish roots, in medieval Kabbalah, Chai is the lowest emanation of God. The Jewish commentaries give a long treatment to certain verses in the Torah with the word as their central theme. Three examples are Leviticus 18 וָחַי בָּהֶם Chai Bahem, and you live by. Deuteronomy 31,9 רְאֵה נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ הַיּוֹם, אֶת-הַחַיִּים וְאֶת-הַטּוֹב, וְאֶת-הַמָּוֶת, there is nary an ancient Jewish commentator who does not comment on that verse. The Shema prayer as well speaks of the importance of Chai, to live, two common Jewish names used since Talmudic times, are based on this symbol, Chaya feminine, Chayim masculine. The Jewish toast is lchaim, to life, the word is made up of two letters of the Hebrew alphabet - Chet and Yod, forming the word chai, meaning alive, or living. The most common spelling in Latin script is Chai, but the word is also spelled Hai. The usual modern pronunciation of word is, while a transcription of the Biblical. There have been various mystical numerological speculations about the fact that, according to the system of gematria, for this reason,18 is a spiritual number in Judaism, and many Jews give gifts of money in multiples of 18 as a result. The Chai symbol can be worn by Jews as a medallion around the neck, similarly to other Jewish symbols, such as the Star of David and the Hamsa. In Hebrew, the related word chaya means life or long life, Jews often give gifts and donations in multiples of 18, which is called giving chai. Mailings from Jewish charities usually suggest the amounts to give in multiples of chai rather than the usual multiples of 25 and it appears in the slogan ʿam yisraʾel ḥay. It is heard in a BBC recording from April 20,1945 of Jewish survivors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp five days after their liberation and this was the first Sabbath ceremony openly conducted on German soil since the beginning of the war. With people still dying around them, the survivors sung what would become the Israeli national anthem, at the end of Hatikvah, British Army Chaplain Leslie Hardman shouts out, Am Yisrael Chai. In the Eurovision Song Contest 1983, which was held in Germany four decades after Shoah, Israel was represented with the song Chai, performed by Ofra Haza, an English language Jewish radio station in Johannesburg, South Africa is called ChaiFM. Elvis Presley wore a Chai necklace while performing toward the end of his life, baseball star Rod Carew wore a chai necklace during his playing days, his first wife and daughters were Jewish, even though Carew himself never formally converted to Judaism
11.
High Stakes Poker
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High Stakes Poker is a cash game poker television program, which was broadcast by the cable television network GSN in the United States. The poker variant played on the show is no limit Texas hold em. It premiered on January 16,2006 and ended on December 17,2007 for the first 4 seasons, the participants on the show include both professional poker players and amateur players. The show was hosted by AJ Benza in the first five seasons, starting with the sixth season, Kara Scott replaced Benza as Kaplans co-host, with Scott conducting interviews from the poker room floor. Starting with the season, Norm Macdonald replaced Gabe Kaplan as Scotts co-host. The second season, taped at The Palms and consisting of 16 episodes, premiered on June 5,2006 and ended on September 18,2006. The third season, consisting of 13 episodes, was taped at the South Point Casino at 9, 00pm and premiered on January 15,2007 at 9, 00pm and ended on April 9,2007. New players for the season included Jamie Gold, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Patrik Antonius, Paul Wasicka, David Benyamine, Brian Townsend. Returning players from previous seasons included Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Sammy Farha, Phil Laak, Jennifer Harman, Barry Greenstein, Erick Lindgren, Mike Matusow, Brad Booth and others. On April 2,2007, GSN announced that High Stakes Poker would return for a fourth season, taping was completed in May, with the season premiering on August 27,2007 at 9, 00pm. Returning players included Patrik Antonius, David Benyamine, Doyle Brunson, Eli Elezra, Sam Farha, Jamie Gold, Barry Greenstein, Phil Hellmuth Jr. Jennifer Harman, and Daniel Negreanu. Newcomers for the season include Brandon Adams, Mike Baxter, Brian Brandon, Phil Galfond, Guy Laliberté, Bob Safai, Antonio Salorio. The later episodes of this season featured a $500,000 minimum buy-in, Season four finished airing on December 17,2007 and featured 17 episodes. The network cited the strong ratings performance in younger demographics. Season five, which ran from March 1,2009 to May 24,2009 at 9, 00pm, was taped at the Golden Nugget on December 19–21,2008 and featured a minimum cash buy-in of $200,000. The format for season 5 differed slightly from its predecessors by having Kaplan and Benza not appear on camera until after the first commercial break in the show, rather than at the outset. Season six premiered at 8, 00pm on February 14,2010 and ended on May 9,2010, with Gabe Kaplan and it was taped for a second straight season at the Golden Nugget. The sixth season aired with three different groups of players throughout 13 episodes, Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey bought in for $500,000
12.
Phil Hellmuth
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Phillip Jerome Hellmuth, Jr. is an American professional poker player who has won a record fourteen World Series of Poker bracelets. He is the winner of the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker and the Main Event of the 2012 World Series of Poker Europe, Hellmuth is also known for his temperamental poker brat personality. Since 1992, he has lived in Palo Alto, California with his wife Katherine Sanborn, who is a psychiatrist at Stanford University, as of 2016, his total live tournament winnings exceed $20,900,000. He is ranked seventh on the money list. Hellmuth is known for taking his seat at poker tournaments long after they begin. On October 18,2015, Hellmuth is ranked #119 on the Global Poker Index, Hellmuth holds the records for most WSOP cashes and most WSOP final tables, overtaking T. J. Cloutier. As of March 2015, Hellmuth has won over $12,000,000 at the WSOP and ranks fourth on the WSOP All Time Money List, behind Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel Colman, and Daniel Negreanu. Hellmuth also is tied for all time in number of times cashed in the WSOP Main Event. He has eight Main Event cashes, placing him behind Berry Johnston, and Humberto Brenes, Doyle Brunson, of those 22 events, Hellmuth has finished runner-up six times. At the 1993 World Series of Poker, Hellmuth became the player in WSOP history to win three bracelets in one WSOP. At the 1997 World Series of Poker, Hellmuth won his 5th bracelet of the decade, at the conclusion of the 1999 World Series of Poker, his five bracelets would stand to lead the decade for most WSOP bracelets won by one player in the 1990s. At the 2006 World Series of Poker, Hellmuth captured his 10th World Series of Poker bracelet in the $1,000 No Limit Holdem with rebuys event, at the time, it tied him with Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan for most bracelets. At the 2007 World Series of Poker, Hellmuth won his record-breaking 11th bracelet in the $1,500 No Limit Holdem Event, Hellmuths sponsor arranged for him to arrive at the 2007 WSOP Main Event in a race car. Hellmuth lost control of the car in the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino parking lot and he gave up the car for a limo, arriving at the Main Event two hours late. At the 2008 WSOP Main Event, Hellmuth verbally abused another player, after a private meeting with WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack the penalty was overruled and Hellmuth finished the tournament in 45th place. On June 11,2012, Hellmuth won his 12th World Series of Poker bracelet in the $2,500 Seven-Card Razz event, defeating Don Zewin, Zewin had finished third to Chan and Hellmuth when Hellmuth won his first bracelet in 1989. Hellmuth also collected $2,645,333 for his finish in the $1,000,000 buy-in Big One for One Drop tournament. This win also made Hellmuth the first player in WSOP history to win multiple bracelets in three different years, also, Hellmuth finished runner-up in the WSOP Player of the Year race for a record third time
