NEW TRAILER RELEASED ON DECEMBER 9TH!

Well, it's here, the official, full length trailer for the new DLC.
Link to Newswire post.
" Cayo Perico is not only the nerve center of El Rubio’s drug empire, but the island also plays host to his other great love: marathon dance parties on golden beaches, where everyone from jetsetters and heiresses to legendary music producers gather to rave until the sun comes up.
But away from the beach’s earthly delights lies an untold fortune in art, gold and drug money, scattered across the island. It’s the score of a lifetime for those who can find a way in.
The Cayo Perico Heist is the biggest GTA Online adventure ever and will be available on December 15th. Stay tuned for more details, and check out the lineup for The Music Locker, Los Santos’ hottest new underground club that’s opening soon."
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Information released on new radio stations and artists on December 10th!

Link to Newswire post
"Alongside the grand opening of The Music Locker and its new slate of resident DJs, GTA Online’s musical universe further expands at the launch of The Cayo Perico Heist with the addition of three new radio stations, as well as brand new mixes arriving on hit stations FlyLo FM and Worldwide FM, for a whopping total of over 250 new tracks, making this the biggest ever musical update to GTA Online."
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Link to Discussion Thread on the New Dance Club

Link to the Tweet
Link to Newswire Article
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We will be restricting all discussions of this DLC here, so as not to flood the sub with repetitive posts.
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Other important links:
Weekly Simple Question Thread
Weekly Update Thread
Wiki Guide Writers Needed!
NEW:
Upcoming Crew Event on December 15th!
Upcoming Charity Event!
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Important information about gtaonline on the Cayo Perico DLC release day.

On December 15th we will be locking the sub, and all posts will have to be manually approved by the moderators. The reason is to control the flood of posts regarding the new DLC.
We will have a new Megathread up that morning for posts regarding the DLC, and most posts regarding the new DLC will be removed and directed to the Megathread.
The Megathread will be regularly updated throughout the morning of the DLC release with links to official information, and any important info on the DLC that comes out, like when the update is live for each platform, the payouts, vehicles, costs, etc... and may have a sticky post dedicated solely to the cost of the new vehicles, properties, etc...
Expect the lock-down of the sub to happen around, or slightly before, 5AM EST on the 15th.
We expect there to be hundreds of posts or more per hour that morning, so it may take the mods a bit of time to go through and approve posts that aren't DLC related, so we ask for some patience that day.
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I want to preface that the contents of this post is for informational purposes. I do not condone or approve of any harassments or witch-hunting or the attacking of anybody.
 
Richard Lewis recently did a stream talking about the terrible state of CS esports and I thought it was an important stream anyone who cares about the CS community should listen to.
Vod Link here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/830415547
I realize it is 3 hours long so I took it upon myself to create a list of interesting points from the stream so you don't have to listen to the whole thing, although I still encourage you to do so if you can.
I know this post is still long but probably easier to digest, especially in parts.
Here is a link to my raw notes if you for some reason want to read through this which includes some omitted stuff. It's in chronological order of things said in the stream and has some time stamps. https://pastebin.com/6QWTLr8T

Intro

• "The last month has convinced me, that we are going to be heading into a dark place for Counter-Strike esports in 2021."
  • "I think I've seen the scene essentially kill itself."
• "For the past 5 to 6 years, we've basically been in a holding pattern of people coming into our game wanting to run it, wanting to run all of the esports and wanting to profiteer and its been sort of a concerted effort to drive them off and push them away."
  • "We're spread way too thin."
• "If Riot don't get involved and stop the scumbags that have moved over to Valorant from getting their feet under the table, Valorant is going to have real problems."
• RL thinks too much has happened all at once for us to do anything except watch it play out, like:
  • Recent CSPPA strike against BLAST
  • ESIC failures and them not being supported enough
  • Teams cheating i.e. coaches/bugs
  • Widespread match fixing
  • The Pandemic
    • "People who try to hold bubble events are so incompetent and fuck up and people get the 'rona and its their fault."
    • "People who say Flashpoint is a bubble is full of shit and is a lie and people are now suffering for that lie."
      • "To save money they let people go home and break the bubble for a week."
      • "Not just Flashpoint peoples decision, they have a partner that handles the production." (hinting FACEIT)
      • "People are trapped in hotels essentially under house arrest because of COVID restrictions and has fucked peoples lives up."
• "It's all too much, all of this incompetence, all of this greed, maybe we ride it out."
  • RL says he has talked to the Riot devs (the ones working on Valorant) and says, "They are so cognizant of all the fuck ups and all the problems we have in Counter-Strike."
    • He continues to say that this is factored into their business plan and that we never had a competitor, but just so happens to have one coincide, when we are at our worst.

CSPPA - Counter-Strike Professional Players' Association

"Who does this union really fucking serve?"

• RL believes that the CSPPA is a mockery.
  
  • He points out the hypocrisy that they wouldn't strike for the pros who were kicked out of ESL Pro League, or for Jamppi or dream3r.
    • He also says ESL paid CSPPA and are racketeering and many other TOs have to pay them to get their "seal of approval"
      • He says they would strong-arm TOs saying "well if you don't give us the money, these guys are so we'll just have to commit to playing their event."
    • Also points out that they will strike against a competitor they are not in agreement with (Flashpoint)
    • RL: "It's what it says about every other time you haven't done it and it's about every time you don't do it now moving forward." "The issues they've chosen to ignore this year alone are embarrassing."
    • Then he points out that there was no strike for Valve qualifiers even if we have no major but Jamppi and dream3r can't play in them.
      • "and Valve have said 'Oh yeah we know actually their stories are accurate, Jamppi didn't cheat, now in a legally binding document. Yep dream3r did have his account hacked in a LAN café', but they still can't play. Where is the fucking solidarity? Gone. Doesn't exist. It's not important [because] it doesn't affect you." "That's what the union does right now, it looks after all the tier 1 people."
• He says the CSPPA doesn't represent all players all the time and has driven a divide where you have the haves and have-nots
  
  • "We have a tier of players that operate with impunity and do not help their tier 2 or tier 3 players out at all." "If you are not a tier 1 player you do not matter, they don't event ask your opinion."
  • He tells chrisJ to admit and own the fact that the reason he didn't speak up during the ESL Pro League debacle is because it didn't affect him
  • "They are looking after some players at the expense of other players. How the fuck is that a union?"
• He says the BLAST situation is a reasonable dispute and supports the players but is not the right time for a strike and have not even identified the correct enemy
  
  • He thinks players are lashing out now due to previous incidents and are upset that BLAST are working with ESIC
    • He stated that CSPPA shouldn't beefing with ESIC and they should be working in harmony
  • He says what they need to do is talk with the teams/organizations that have sold that right to BLAST
    • RL: "Your employers, the people who pay you that massive exorbitant salaries, when you don't stream and you don't do interviews and you offer no value beyond your ability to click heads and you get 25k dollars a month." "Why don't you talk to them about it? Oh right. You're happy to take away BLAST's paper, but you don't want to risk your own."
  • "I am seeing such unbelievable cowardice from the players here with the battles you choose."
  • "Where was the strike action when in the qualifiers for the world championship, there were teams and players engaged in huge conflicts of interest?" "Where was the strike action when your image rights were taken and sold to every league you've ever been in every union type organization you've ever been associated with like, WESA, to your org every time you sign a contract, to the leagues you play in."
    • "Your image rights are essentially worthless now, there's about 10 fucking separate parties that have them, and how many of them are giving you anything for it? Not much pretty much your org by the way."
    • "That's a big issue. Your image is you, your image is your brand. What are you doing about that? Nothing."
• He is also angry at SirScoots who is "popping off" at people on Twitter who all want the same thing, which is 'A unified Counter-Strike scene for everybody, that works for everybody, that has a sustained ecosystem that nourishes everybody.' "We don't have that now."
  
• He also says their rankings are a joke
  
  • "Just so happened, oh look TACO, that very important prominent member of the board, we pushed his team artificially up when they weren't even in the fucking top 20, not by a long shot."
• He also says the ineptitude of the CSPPA cost Flashpoint a monitor sponsor
  
• "Is it really a player association or is it like a fucking agency at this point"
  

ESIC - Esports Integrity Commission

"They have been put in an impossible position."

• RL says that Ian Smith, the founder of ESIC and who was done work in mainstream sports, is a good and honorable man who has dedicated his life to integrity and sports. He takes on both sides, ensuring match fixers are punished, but also doing appeals and ensuring those punishments were fair.
• "ESIC is a tiny organization" and are in need of money, "They didn't run a grift like the CSPPA did."
  • "Saying 'you want our support and you want the players to turn up you better pay us.' They don't do that."
  • "Had startup seed money from MTG and since then they've been pecking shit with the hens."
    • Ian Smith made sure that the money given by MTG (Modern Times Group, parent company of ESL, ESEA, DreamHack) was nothing more than startup money and wouldn't be in debt to them
      • Ian Smith sat down with other TO's not part of MTG and wanted to partner with them. They declined and called ESIC "ESL spies and we will never align ourselves with you"
  • "They only were just able to afford, hiring a PR guy on a full time salary to deal with the press and send out those releases you've seen, this year."
    • "They have a tiny group of staff investigating these things and they have taken on the biggest problems in our scene: the cheating, the match fixing."
• ESIC have had "unprecedented levels of cheating to deal with, because there's something wrong with our scene ever since we went online. There's something wrong with it, everyone's lost their fucking pride and self-respect and they got no passion for it anymore, so they think fuck it, what's in it for me?"
  • He calls out coaches who are talking about players rights when they would rob and steal from them.
    • Also says more coaches being banned are coming
    • He also points out flaws in community's reaction to the punishments to coaches bans: "Half of the cunts still have jobs and some of the cunts got new jobs. We didn't even shun the cheating coaches."
• ESIC have "found I think another 2 or 3 exploits like that one and they are investigating them all right now, it's going on right now."
  
  • "I know that there are going to be more names getting banned, again."
  • "So they're doing that on a skeleton crew while, investigating 3 continents worth of match fixing in MDL and semi-pro level CS." "They're doing this with half a dozen people." "They don't have any money or any help. People barely even fucking cooperate with them, they are treated like pariahs. It's ridiculous."
    • "Why are the CSPPA popping off at ESIC on my Twitter timeline, when you should be working together." "because its all about what's in it in for me." "2020, the online era of CS: 'What is in it for me?' How can I cheat, how can I get my paper, how can I bleed this scene one last time before I fuck off and play shooty shooty bang bang Riot Games babys first fps."
• RL says that in the CIS region, teams have gone to tournaments and have been eliminated multiple times by the same team. We found out they were cheating and those players who lost, have been cut from their roster, careers ended because of cheaters.
  

Stream Sniping

"They're all at it in the online era, they're all at it, they're all cheating, they're all using exploits, probably that see through smoke bug got used a bunch of times"

• RL talks about how there is no integrity from dead (the player), always denying when caught doing something
  • On the topic of 'BLAST never said we couldn't stream snipe': "Lies, BLAST never said you could do that, they had to sort of retcon it." "because what happened after that they fucking started snitching and squealing"
    • "Suddenly you had like, 10 of the top 15 teams in the world, staring into the abyss of being banned for 6-12 months in line with ESIC recommendations."
      • He says that ESIC was put in a tough situation and couldn't enforce the bans because it would have resulted in killing CS. What resulted was, BLAST, ESIC, and teams came together and gave them a warning and told them, in RL's words "don't do this again or you're gonna get got."
        • He then says the top teams brushed this off and didn't give a fuck
        • The new MiBR team playing Flashpoint, that wasn't involved in the previous incidents are doing it again (stream sniping). He gave credit to Flashpoint for the quick resolution and punishment and respect for cogu's response to the situation.
        • "ESIC came out and said, once more, 'Guys, zero tolerance from now on.'" RL then got upset at community's reaction calling ESIC "pussies" for their non enforcement and said if we want competitive CS we cant ban the top 10 teams.
• He points out how players have no integrity and will do anything for an edge as long as they won't get detected or banned or it's within a grey area.
• "All of this shit was mad avoidable, even in the pandemic era."
  • He talks about why aren't we filming them. Why aren't there representatives for leagues and tournaments making sure players aren't cheating?

Match Fixing

"How many years have we let our scene be fucking pillaged by these greedy cunts?" "We just let it happen."

• RL says that gambling and skins betting which existed in moderation was "accelerated and blown up by the Call of Duty greedy fucks."
  • "Never forget TmarTn was on the board of EnVyUs." "His website, CSGOLotto, they had a bunch of off-the-books sponsorships." "NBK promoted them. People forget."
• "Those people who had access to the skins, go to the players" "Even people like s1mple, best player in the world, even he scammed knives and skins off fucking fans."
• Owners of skin casino sites would approach pros and lend them skins to use in tournaments and possibly keep them after reaching a deal
  • Players would tip off inside info about matches and teams in exchange for skins. Info such as: roster changes, how they played in scrims
    • They would use this info to bet and subvert the odds on their sites. "That happened religiously, I can't even tell you how many times it happened."
      • "I had access to the biggest database of information, from an inside betting circle in NA, and it would take information and screenshots from other pro players, who were feeding them info in exchange for money or skins."
        • "Some of these players are still playing." "Incredibly, there are players still in the CSPPA today, complaining about the BLAST recordings, that were embroiled in this murky shit back then."
• RL also says that there were tournaments where teams contrived with each other, who should throw, who should win.
• "There's a handful of people that are trying to fucking clean it up, and you think you get something over the line and you see something like the CSPPA and it's run by corrupt fucking chuckle heads, and now you've got another corrupt body you have to fight on a fucking daily basis, it's demoralizing."
  • "It's too far gone. Our entire semi-professional scene is compromised."
• "It's rife guys, I'm not going to lie any more. It's not just China, it's not just Russia, it's here, it's NA, it's Europe, it's Australia, so much more than you think, so much more than we can prove."
  • "I get sent chat logs all the time […] and they're morons, these players, short-sighted, amateur, morons and they're doing it on WhatsApp." People would get cut from the bets because they want to make more money, then they leak the logs. He says, from the chat logs, they spread "little" bets across every site they can (400 to 1k dollars) to prevent shifting odds
• He says the scumbags who've fucked off to Valorant will do the same there if Riot doesn't do something and says Valorant "is an esports scene heading for a very early fall based on the sheer volume of scumbags that are already there."
• "That's tier 2 CS in a nutshell these days. They know they're never going to play in a major, so what's the punishment?"
  • "All of these tier 2 fucks that are fixing games now they are like the fucking mafia compared to iBuyPower" "These guys are working with organized criminals to fix entire seasons worth of games. That's what's going on in your tier 2 CS."
• "I'm literally being told that there are players fixing games at all levels of Chinese esports and motherfuckers with guns are turning up to team houses and stuff."

North America

"Everyone in NA has left we've lost a continents worth of support during this pandemic and Valve haven't said a fucking word."

• RL says the Call of Duty "goblins" that destroyed CS for years are the same people who are now trying to leave CS. "The nerve to treat a game where the fans, and the community, and the TO's were nothing but good to you." "To just kick the players out now and go and leave and say 'It just doesn't make financial sense.' Oh you'll slither back when we have a major though for them stickers won't you."
• There's a cascading effect in NA where people don't bother with CS anymore and people like Chaos suffer.
• He says NA team owners are incompetent for always wanting it easy and always wanting a guarantee on their investment without skill or nuance.
  • RL says he would be able to market a team correctly and would have a good ROI and also points out how TSM wouldn't even be bothered to tweet that their team, which was one of the best in the world, was playing at the Major.
  • He also says not all NA owners are like that, compliments and respects Jason Lake who nearly lost everything to keep Complexity going.
• He then calls out the incompetence in Infinite Esports when they acquired OpTic Gaming and bought an Indian CS team.
  • He says HECZ is not to blame here and that they couldn't tell forsaken was cheating when it was so obvious.
    • They measured his reaction time to the likes of dev1ce and s1mple
    • When an enemy showed up on his screen he won that duel something like 44% of the time
    • "was like the number 1 player in the world statistically"
    • He brought a laptop to their bootcamp and refused to use the high end PCs that hey provided
• He respects Andy Miller (NRG CEO) and HECZ but says that the attitude of not being able to easily monetize their teams is "piss weak" and there needs to be a risk.
  • He says Chaos EC shouldn't be cutting their roster and should be competent enough to be able to figure out how to make money off their team.
• He says there are still opportunities in NA and people are panicking and pulling out, and says Valorant will be the same if not worse.
  • He also says "bums" who couldn't even get out of groups in NA competitions, are making crazy money in Valorant and says it will continue to inflate.
• He also said that he heard rumors that EG (Evil Geniuses) are done.
• He also thinks that the rumors of a Valve franchised league from before was sparked up from "these lazy fabled weak NA fucking team owners basically trying to see if Valve would bite at the hook if it was dangled and they didn't"
  • Slasher says NA team owners are really in favor of franchised leagues because they want to make more money. "Most of the powerful team owners right now are on board with ditching this third party organization structure, or they are trying to play this power politics with all the TOs, and that is contributing to a lot of the problems there"
• RL says that Riot has proved they can run a franchised league (LCS) and will be profitable in 2021 which is what a lot of team owners care about and says the competition will only serve to snatch people away from CS.
• RL continues to say, "I am so sick and tired of what we have done to this scene, I am just exhausted with it." "I think we have legitimately fucked it, I really think we have. I think we're staring into almost like a CGS (Championship Gaming Series) wasteland in NA." "Counter-Strike esports is a fucking joke."

Talent

"TO's have treated CS talent like absolute human garbage for years now."

• RL says that people like Sean Gares and ddk switching over to Valorant isn't for financial reasons because they are making less over there.
• He points out that TO's can't even give talent a 3 month in advance calendar.
• Because of the pandemic TO's won't hire certain people and some people are working more hours for the same money.
• He says we as a community don't respect journalists enough which is why we don't have good journalists.
  • He also says DeKay is leaving the scene soon and that Thorin is close to leaving also
• He says he had to talk a caster down from quitting and was struggling to find reasons.
• He says that DreamHack told Vince they would hire him but not if he wants to stick with dusT and says that this is the norm in esports. "Constant leveraging of people against each other." and says this is why we don't have a talent union.
• New gen casters are getting put into shit situations and the community's reaction to them is adding fuel to the fire
• He says the reason Moses left was because of the terrible conditions
• He says that Anders had to constantly leave his family and kid because someone fucked up or broke promises and had to constantly tell his kid to their face that "daddy can't be home this weekend."
• He says that esports has always been a lie to sell you this dream, "Meanwhile there's about 2% of the cunts getting all the checks."

Valve

"Anything that Riot does, is better than Valve's inaction"

• Slasher says that the larger aspect of esports as a whole compared to other entertainment mediums and Valve's lack of inattention are the bigger problems. He continues saying that the fact that Valve let their game be ran as an esport, they need to take on the responsibilities of it.
  • Both Slasher and RL wants Valve to take control but not on the level of Riot Games, there needs to be a balance.
• In case it was ever a question: Gabe Newell has been to 0 CSGO Majors.
• RL calls Valve out saying they could have done something during the gambling era.
• He says Valve used to come to the majors, but doesn't think they do anymore.
• RL had met with Valve at the Cluj-Napoca Major and had tried to appeal iBP's indefinite punishment and had also gave Brax's life story:
  • A recent family member passed away, they had lost a lot of income, they had to live in trailer, iBuyPower did not pay any salaries, and was pressured by family to make money who didn't support his career.
  • RL said that Valve told him, "How dare you try and make us feel guilty." "We shouldn't feel bad about enforcing the only thing that matters that we need to make players afraid of: cheating and match fixing"
  • RL also tried to share other info about match fixing and nothing came of it
• RL points out that Source 2 or a new engine is not something you will want based on the experience of transitioning from CS 1.6 to CS:S. "Valve's track record with brand new engines being launched, not fucking great from what I remember."
• Slasher says "If there is anything the community should do, is pressure Valve to hire a community manager."
  • They say that we need a commissioner, a community manager (not the person who runs the Twitter who posts memes all day), then we need to have a circuit
• RL reiterates that Valve doesn't care about CS esports and says they need to change the culture at Valve to make them care about CS esports
  • Slasher says a systemic problem is making it so working on CSGO would be a bad decision for you as an employee for Valve
• He also hasn't talked to Valve in ages and have sent over bugs and cheats and doesn't get emails back anymore
• Slasher says we should be directing attention at the developer leads, pointing out Ido Magal, if he even is still the project lead
  • RL thinks that Ido and Brian are the only people that "vaguely even give a fuck about CS" and were the only people that RL recalled that actually read Reddit and paid attention from time to time
• "It is really fucking precarious. Somebody has got to step the fuck up and start giving a shit"
  • Slasher suggests org owners, with CSPPA, with ESIC, with TOs have a concerted effort against Valve
• "Riot Games are doing better things than Valve in the esports space" which is something RL didn't think he'd say.
• "People who used to be talent, working with unions, arguing with other talent, when the unions fucked them over, can't understand their perspective, TOs fucking over broadcast talent, broadcast talent wanting to leave and go and work for orgs, orgs having no money, Valve might take coaches away because all the coaches are cheating, ESIC has about 4 people in a fucking call doing the investigations, everyone thinks they're spies for ESL, ESL are just the evil fucking overlords wanting to rule the scene and will just somehow, like cockroaches outliving a nuclear bomb, and Valve are in a fucking holiday in Hawaii thinking about the next Dota character because they don't give a fuck about us."

Closing Statements

"We've peaked. If we want to sustain and exist, now is the time to figure it out. No esports lasts as long as this, we've already done 8 years. We've already broke the records. We have got to figure out a way to coexist and drive the negative forces out and we need to do it as a collective and we're not doing that."

• RL compared the Counter-Strike scene to the people on the Titanic who ran around with guns robbing people while the boat was sinking.
• "We have given up on being a respectable esports scene." "We are now a conduit to make money for those who want to just milk it, just have one last ride, one last roll of the dice. It's done." "What a fucking mess. What have we done to our fucking scene?"
• "There's just too much self-interest driving all of this." "I don't see a way we stop the dominoes." "When it's that bad, when there's that many dishonest people that ESIC have to come out and say that if we punish them all there's no one left. What does that tell you?"
• "How many opportunities have we had to clean house? How many times have we said, 'this must never happen again', and another scandal." "The entire skins betting operations was the biggest criminal conspiracy in esports ever executed and no one has been punished for it." "The people who could be driving that don't want to."
• "Right now people are fans of those organizations because the scene has value. It is worth being a fan of Astralis because they are excellent at Counter-Strike. It is worth being a fan of s1mple because he is the best player in Counter-Strike, maybe the exception of ZywOo. If the scene is devalued, if the scene loses its meaning, those things lose its meaning too, and people will leave, people will stop tuning into the games. I have seen it happen in multiple esports, this is not my first time at the rodeo. I am getting big Brood War vibes right now and I don't like it."
• "The role you play in all of this as fans, as viewers, as listeners, as consumers of esports content, it's absolutely imperative that you know who the good guys are. It's absolutely imperative that you use your voice. It's absolutely imperative that when things are bad, you know who, at least, is trying to make them good, and you have to apply your criticism to the right targets."
  • He continues saying it's no good in continuing to attack ESIC and saying how they are bad, ESIC have it hard
• He says CSPPA are on the right side of the argument on BLAST but have been on the wrong side of many arguments many times.
  • "If you are not willing to stand along side the weakest member of the union, with the least amount of influence, and the least amount of power, then it is not a union at all and you shouldn't pose as one." "You wanna serve a bunch of special interest do it, everyone else in esports fucking does, but do not pose as something you are not." "We love the players. I've been fighting for players rights for as long as I've been able to, but the CSPPA is not what we needed."
    • "They are not applying the pressure to the right people, they are not fighting the right battles, they are not helping their weaker members."
• He says what orgs have done by keeping or hiring coaches is bad. "When you give up on holding an appreciable standard, you've lost the scene" "Competition matters, rules matter, punishments matter, achievements matter, excellence matters" "If you start stripping that away, you have nothing" "You guys need to take that knowledge and apply it sensibly."
• "Valve has sold you all down the river, they sold everyone in the esports scene down the river, tournament organizers are selling their talent down the river. Don't hate on them for sounding tired after a 16 hour day. Don't hate on them because the hype for a matchup they've seen for the 20th time in the past 3 months, they can't be as excited or it sounds contrived. Support your guys, they're there for you, these are your people."
• "This community has got to start acting like one for the first fucking time. Just put the petty shit away, let's try and fix this fucking scene while we still have one to save."
• "You can't rely on Valve, you can't rely on ESL, you can't rely on the CSPPA, you can't rely on anyone." "Once again, it's gonna be the likes of us, the amateurs, the people who give a fuck, rolling up our sleeves and grafting." "I'm old and tired and I don't want to have to do it again. People need to pick up the torch and do it."
  • "Like Michal did, like Dudenhoeffer did. You see something wrong, fix it. You see somebody doing something wrong, call it out. If you think something could be better, let people know."
• "Vote with your wallets if you're not happy with the direction Valve goes in. If when we do get to the Major, they serve up another subpar, same old bullshit stickers and signatures package again, do not buy it."
  • "You're a powerful block and if you use it correctly we can fucking avert this disaster."
• "I'm not doing another year in this broken, bust-up fucking scene, where everyone is miserable, everyone is broke, everyone is tired, and everyone is trying to fucking rob everyone else, blind, while the fucking people who are meant to be protecting you, are just fucking enhancing it and lining their own pockets."
  • "I'm not doing it anymore and you shouldn't want to do it either."
• "I stand by every fucking thing I said. I mean it, because this game fucking matters to me, this scene fucking matters to me. I put my life into this, my adult life, and to see it in this state is fucking sad."

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• Received modded money? Spend it, or wait for Rockstar to take it away. AT YOUR OWN RISK
• Received a random monetary gift from Rockstar? No one knows why, just enjoy it!
• Want to post YouTube content? Read this to see what's allowed on /GTAOnline

​
Screen Capturing

Platform	Method
PC	https://bit.ly/PcScreenshare
PS4	https://bit.ly/PS4ScreenCapture
XB1	https://bit.ly/XboxCapture

​
​
Solo Public Sessions

Platform	Method
Any	unplug router method
PC	port blocking method - task manager method
PS4	MTU method
XB1	MTU method - NAT method

Making Money

Weekly Money-Making Methods - Updated Weekly!

Any level of experience and money:

• Broke To Millionaire by L131 - Min. Level 1 /

I am a new player with low experience and money:

• Earn m and Level 40 For Brand New Players by u/Prizrak_Peruna - Min. Level 1 /
• Rags to Riches by K2Widowmaker - Min. Level 5 /
• Contact Missions FAQ by bleeps__ - Min. Level 5 /

I am a returning player with decent game experience and money:

• VIP Work by MaeBeWeird - Min. Level 1 /
• Host or participate in Heists - Min. Level 1 / to participate; Min. Level 12 / or own a high-end apartment to host

I'm a millionaire already, just give me a grind:

• CEO Import/Export Vehicle Work by Psychko - Currently most reliable and profitable money grind with high end only method - Min. Level 1 / if you already own a CEO office / if you do not own a CEO office
• Do an I/E sourcing mission, then do VIP work (Headhunter or Sightseer are a breeze with a Buzzard) in the cool down, then do an I/E delivery mission. Rinse and repeat!
• TIP: How to get high end vehicles only
• CEO Crate Work by Psychko - Min. Level 1 / if you already own a CEO office / if you do not own a CEO office
• Can be done hassle-free in a completely solo public lobby
• If you get a sell mission you don't like, just switch sessions to lose 3 crates and have a chance at a different sell mission type
• VIP "Wave" method for continuous money grinding by Psychko - Min. Level 1 / , requires Buzzard or Savage helicopter
• Money grind for advanced players using Coke, Meth, Counterfeit Cash, and Bunker businesses by u/Tonan

I'm a solo player, how can I maximize my profits?

• Solo CEO and MC Tips by RDS08

Leveling RP

• Be an Associate for a CEO - Min. Level 1 /
• Earn 2000-3000RP per source delivery, 5000RP per sale delivery. Buy 1 crate and sell immediately for maximum RP since the same RP is given whether you source/sell 1 crate or multiple.
• Earn 200-600RP bonuses when you stay near the CEO/VIP's location
• Participate in weekly 2X RP activities - Min. Level 1 /
• Leveling a second character from scratch by Sh-Apeshifter09 - Min. Level 1 / million

Further Money Making Info

• Money Wiki - a quick overview of the various ways to make money.
• Summary of major money making methods by Dreamex - includes Crates, Import/Export, MC businesses, hangars, bunkers
• Special Cargo Business Strategy by MrShyShyGuy
• Comprehensive Guide by TheNathanNS - details on every type of mission or work that earns money, and tips on maximizing your profits
• Money Making Notebook by SanshaXII
• Contact Missions Guide by GlassGoose45 - good for those who are just starting out or can't/don't want to do heists, CEO, or VIP
• CEO Work by MaeBeWeird - quick overview of offices, associates, and crate work
• CEO FAQ by bleeps__ - details on CEO crate work
• CEO Crate Profits Guide by _Caith_Amach - table of profit/crate ratios
• Import/Export Guide by ErregungHaus
• Import/Export Spreadsheet by Beltontx101 - keep track of vehicles you get in I/E missions
• Detailed I/E Guide for each type of sourcing mission by RDS08
• MC Biker Work and Business Guide by ErregungHaus
• MC Business Supply/Profit/Production Chart
• Diamond casino Heist Guide by /iiEco-Ryan3166

What's New? Recent Major Content Updates

• Rockstar Newswire

June 2017 - Gunrunning FAQ by L131
August 2017 - Intro to Smuggler's Run by Psychko

• Smuggler's Run FAQ by L131

December 2017 - Doomsday Heist FAQ
July 2018 - After Hours/Nightclubs FAQ | After Hours Guide by Dan6erbond
July 2019 - Diamond Casino FAQ

• Hidden Playing Cards Locations by u/dingogordy
• Gambling Guide by u/enderpiet
• Inside Track Odds Calculator by u/GarsantFAQs and Popular Topics
• Looking for friends or heist teammates? GTALFH | /HeistTeams | GTAOnline subreddit Discord

Vehicles and Properties

• All Vehicles Guide by Broughy1322
• GTA V Full Vehicles Database by TheSDHotel
• GTA V Full Properties Database by TheSDHotel
• Vehicle Trade Price Unlocks by howellq
• Combat Vehicle Guide by Dan6erbond

Tips and Tricks

• General Tips and Tricks by lBurnsyl and the users of /gtaonline
• General Tips and tricks x2 by what_it_dooo
• Heist Tips and Tricks
• Doomsday Heist Tips and Tricks

Just For Fun

• What to do when you're burned out on GTA Online by iosPixel
• Big list of fun things to do in the game by NextubeGameArena (original Reddit post deleted)
• Wheel of Fortune for stuff to do

Useful Tools

• A new and better: GTA Online Interactive Map, Timers, Import/Export Vehicle warehouse checklist, and guides by u/drafirus
• Business Supply/Stock Manager by u/elcihev_cnuf
• Merryweather All-Purpose Map by Oliqu - Pegasus spawn points, anti-griefer safe locations, weapon spawn points; More info here
• Interactive Property and Business Map by gtaboss_gg
• Event/mission/spawning timer by ErregungHaus
• All 200 Weapon Spawn Locations by smartergaming
• GTA Launcher Troubleshooting by PartyNachos
• Website to prepare your Casino Heist - calculator, training tool, guide... by u/Scorpyo5

If you know a post that should be included in this guide, message the moderators.

Looking for friends to play with? Join the GTAOnline Discord server!
READ BEFORE YOU MAKE A POST ON /GTAONLINE**:**

• The Rules
• Weekly Simple Question thread
• The Wiki - contact CausticPenguino for suggestions
• Just got the game today? Quick start guide for complete newbies by SanshaXII
• What time do new updates usually come out? Thursdays, 10AM GMT. Click for timezones
• What's in the latest update? Weekly bonuses, events, and discounts
• Received modded money? Spend it, or wait for Rockstar to take it away. AT YOUR OWN RISK
• Received a random monetary gift from Rockstar? No one knows why, just enjoy it!
• Want to post YouTube content? Read this to see what's allowed on /GTAOnline

​
Screen Capturing

Platform	Method
PC	https://bit.ly/PcScreenshare
PS4	https://bit.ly/PS4ScreenCapture
XB1	https://bit.ly/XboxCapture

​
​
Solo Public Sessions

Platform	Method
Any	unplug router method
PC	port blocking method - task manager method
PS4	MTU method
XB1	MTU method - NAT method

Making Money

Weekly Money-Making Methods - Updated Weekly!

Any level of experience and money:

• Broke To Millionaire by L131 - Min. Level 1 /

I am a new player with low experience and money:

• Earn m and Level 40 For Brand New Players by u/Prizrak_Peruna - Min. Level 1 /
• Rags to Riches by K2Widowmaker - Min. Level 5 /
• Contact Missions FAQ by bleeps__ - Min. Level 5 /

I am a returning player with decent game experience and money:

• VIP Work by MaeBeWeird - Min. Level 1 /
• Host or participate in Heists - Min. Level 1 / to participate; Min. Level 12 / or own a high-end apartment to host

I'm a millionaire already, just give me a grind:

• CEO Import/Export Vehicle Work by Psychko - Currently most reliable and profitable money grind with high end only method - Min. Level 1 / if you already own a CEO office / if you do not own a CEO office
• Do an I/E sourcing mission, then do VIP work (Headhunter or Sightseer are a breeze with a Buzzard) in the cool down, then do an I/E delivery mission. Rinse and repeat!
• TIP: How to get high end vehicles only
• CEO Crate Work by Psychko - Min. Level 1 / if you already own a CEO office / if you do not own a CEO office
• Can be done hassle-free in a completely solo public lobby
• If you get a sell mission you don't like, just switch sessions to lose 3 crates and have a chance at a different sell mission type
• VIP "Wave" method for continuous money grinding by Psychko - Min. Level 1 / , requires Buzzard or Savage helicopter
• Money grind for advanced players using Coke, Meth, Counterfeit Cash, and Bunker businesses by u/Tonan

I'm a solo player, how can I maximize my profits?

• Solo CEO and MC Tips by RDS08

Leveling RP

• Be an Associate for a CEO - Min. Level 1 /
• Earn 2000-3000RP per source delivery, 5000RP per sale delivery. Buy 1 crate and sell immediately for maximum RP since the same RP is given whether you source/sell 1 crate or multiple.
• Earn 200-600RP bonuses when you stay near the CEO/VIP's location
• Participate in weekly 2X RP activities - Min. Level 1 /
• Leveling a second character from scratch by Sh-Apeshifter09 - Min. Level 1 / million

Further Money Making Info

• Money Wiki - a quick overview of the various ways to make money.
• Summary of major money making methods by Dreamex - includes Crates, Import/Export, MC businesses, hangars, bunkers
• Special Cargo Business Strategy by MrShyShyGuy
• Comprehensive Guide by TheNathanNS - details on every type of mission or work that earns money, and tips on maximizing your profits
• Money Making Notebook by SanshaXII
• Contact Missions Guide by GlassGoose45 - good for those who are just starting out or can't/don't want to do heists, CEO, or VIP
• CEO Work by MaeBeWeird - quick overview of offices, associates, and crate work
• CEO FAQ by bleeps__ - details on CEO crate work
• CEO Crate Profits Guide by _Caith_Amach - table of profit/crate ratios
• Import/Export Guide by ErregungHaus
• Import/Export Spreadsheet by Beltontx101 - keep track of vehicles you get in I/E missions
• Detailed I/E Guide for each type of sourcing mission by RDS08
• MC Biker Work and Business Guide by ErregungHaus
• MC Business Supply/Profit/Production Chart
• Diamond casino Heist Guide by /iiEco-Ryan3166

What's New? Recent Major Content Updates

• Rockstar Newswire

June 2017 - Gunrunning FAQ by L131
August 2017 - Intro to Smuggler's Run by Psychko

• Smuggler's Run FAQ by L131

December 2017 - Doomsday Heist FAQ
July 2018 - After Hours/Nightclubs FAQ | After Hours Guide by Dan6erbond
July 2019 - Diamond Casino FAQ

• Hidden Playing Cards Locations by u/dingogordy
• Gambling Guide by u/enderpiet
• Inside Track Odds Calculator by u/GarsantFAQs and Popular Topics
• Looking for friends or heist teammates? GTALFH | /HeistTeams | GTAOnline subreddit Discord

Vehicles and Properties

• All Vehicles Guide by Broughy1322
• GTA V Full Vehicles Database by TheSDHotel
• GTA V Full Properties Database by TheSDHotel
• Vehicle Trade Price Unlocks by howellq
• Combat Vehicle Guide by Dan6erbond

Tips and Tricks

• General Tips and Tricks by lBurnsyl and the users of /gtaonline
• General Tips and tricks x2 by what_it_dooo
• Heist Tips and Tricks
• Doomsday Heist Tips and Tricks

Just For Fun

• What to do when you're burned out on GTA Online by iosPixel
• Big list of fun things to do in the game by NextubeGameArena (original Reddit post deleted)
• Wheel of Fortune for stuff to do

Useful Tools

• A new and better: GTA Online Interactive Map, Timers, Import/Export Vehicle warehouse checklist, and guides by u/drafirus
• Business Supply/Stock Manager by u/elcihev_cnuf
• Merryweather All-Purpose Map by Oliqu - Pegasus spawn points, anti-griefer safe locations, weapon spawn points; More info here
• Interactive Property and Business Map by gtaboss_gg
• Event/mission/spawning timer by ErregungHaus
• All 200 Weapon Spawn Locations by smartergaming
• GTA Launcher Troubleshooting by PartyNachos
• Website to prepare your Casino Heist - calculator, training tool, guide... by u/Scorpyo5

If you know a post that should be included in this guide, message the moderators.

Looking for friends to play with? Join the GTAOnline Discord server!
READ BEFORE YOU MAKE A POST ON /GTAONLINE**:**

• The Rules
• Weekly Simple Question thread
• The Wiki - contact CausticPenguino for suggestions
• Just got the game today? Quick start guide for complete newbies by SanshaXII
• What time do new updates usually come out? Thursdays, 10AM GMT. Click for timezones
• What's in the latest update? Weekly bonuses, events, and discounts
• Received modded money? Spend it, or wait for Rockstar to take it away. AT YOUR OWN RISK
• Received a random monetary gift from Rockstar? No one knows why, just enjoy it!
• Want to post YouTube content? Read this to see what's allowed on /GTAOnline

​
Screen Capturing

Platform	Method
PC	https://bit.ly/PcScreenshare
PS4	https://bit.ly/PS4ScreenCapture
XB1	https://bit.ly/XboxCapture

​
​
Solo Public Sessions

Platform	Method
Any	unplug router method
PC	port blocking method - task manager method
PS4	MTU method
XB1	MTU method - NAT method

Making Money

Weekly Money-Making Methods - Updated Weekly!

Any level of experience and money:

• Broke To Millionaire by L131 - Min. Level 1 /

I am a new player with low experience and money:

• Earn m and Level 40 For Brand New Players by u/Prizrak_Peruna - Min. Level 1 /
• Rags to Riches by K2Widowmaker - Min. Level 5 /
• Contact Missions FAQ by bleeps__ - Min. Level 5 /

I am a returning player with decent game experience and money:

• VIP Work by MaeBeWeird - Min. Level 1 /
• Host or participate in Heists - Min. Level 1 / to participate; Min. Level 12 / or own a high-end apartment to host

I'm a millionaire already, just give me a grind:

• CEO Import/Export Vehicle Work by Psychko - Currently most reliable and profitable money grind with high end only method - Min. Level 1 / if you already own a CEO office / if you do not own a CEO office
• Do an I/E sourcing mission, then do VIP work (Headhunter or Sightseer are a breeze with a Buzzard) in the cool down, then do an I/E delivery mission. Rinse and repeat!
• TIP: How to get high end vehicles only
• CEO Crate Work by Psychko - Min. Level 1 / if you already own a CEO office / if you do not own a CEO office
• Can be done hassle-free in a completely solo public lobby
• If you get a sell mission you don't like, just switch sessions to lose 3 crates and have a chance at a different sell mission type
• VIP "Wave" method for continuous money grinding by Psychko - Min. Level 1 / , requires Buzzard or Savage helicopter
• Money grind for advanced players using Coke, Meth, Counterfeit Cash, and Bunker businesses by u/Tonan

I'm a solo player, how can I maximize my profits?

• Solo CEO and MC Tips by RDS08

Leveling RP

• Be an Associate for a CEO - Min. Level 1 /
• Earn 2000-3000RP per source delivery, 5000RP per sale delivery. Buy 1 crate and sell immediately for maximum RP since the same RP is given whether you source/sell 1 crate or multiple.
• Earn 200-600RP bonuses when you stay near the CEO/VIP's location
• Participate in weekly 2X RP activities - Min. Level 1 /
• Leveling a second character from scratch by Sh-Apeshifter09 - Min. Level 1 / million

Further Money Making Info

• Money Wiki - a quick overview of the various ways to make money.
• Summary of major money making methods by Dreamex - includes Crates, Import/Export, MC businesses, hangars, bunkers
• Special Cargo Business Strategy by MrShyShyGuy
• Comprehensive Guide by TheNathanNS - details on every type of mission or work that earns money, and tips on maximizing your profits
• Money Making Notebook by SanshaXII
• Contact Missions Guide by GlassGoose45 - good for those who are just starting out or can't/don't want to do heists, CEO, or VIP
• CEO Work by MaeBeWeird - quick overview of offices, associates, and crate work
• CEO FAQ by bleeps__ - details on CEO crate work
• CEO Crate Profits Guide by _Caith_Amach - table of profit/crate ratios
• Import/Export Guide by ErregungHaus
• Import/Export Spreadsheet by Beltontx101 - keep track of vehicles you get in I/E missions
• Detailed I/E Guide for each type of sourcing mission by RDS08
• MC Biker Work and Business Guide by ErregungHaus
• MC Business Supply/Profit/Production Chart
• Diamond casino Heist Guide by /iiEco-Ryan3166

What's New? Recent Major Content Updates

• Rockstar Newswire

June 2017 - Gunrunning FAQ by L131
August 2017 - Intro to Smuggler's Run by Psychko

• Smuggler's Run FAQ by L131

December 2017 - Doomsday Heist FAQ
July 2018 - After Hours/Nightclubs FAQ | After Hours Guide by Dan6erbond
July 2019 - Diamond Casino FAQ

• Hidden Playing Cards Locations by u/dingogordy
• Gambling Guide by u/enderpiet
• Inside Track Odds Calculator by u/GarsantFAQs and Popular Topics
• Looking for friends or heist teammates? GTALFH | /HeistTeams | GTAOnline subreddit Discord

Vehicles and Properties

• All Vehicles Guide by Broughy1322
• GTA V Full Vehicles Database by TheSDHotel
• GTA V Full Properties Database by TheSDHotel
• Vehicle Trade Price Unlocks by howellq
• Combat Vehicle Guide by Dan6erbond

Tips and Tricks

• General Tips and Tricks by lBurnsyl and the users of /gtaonline
• General Tips and tricks x2 by what_it_dooo
• Heist Tips and Tricks
• Doomsday Heist Tips and Tricks

Just For Fun

• What to do when you're burned out on GTA Online by iosPixel
• Big list of fun things to do in the game by NextubeGameArena (original Reddit post deleted)
• Wheel of Fortune for stuff to do

Useful Tools

• A new and better: GTA Online Interactive Map, Timers, Import/Export Vehicle warehouse checklist, and guides by u/drafirus
• Business Supply/Stock Manager by u/elcihev_cnuf
• Merryweather All-Purpose Map by Oliqu - Pegasus spawn points, anti-griefer safe locations, weapon spawn points; More info here
• Interactive Property and Business Map by gtaboss_gg
• Event/mission/spawning timer by ErregungHaus
• All 200 Weapon Spawn Locations by smartergaming
• GTA Launcher Troubleshooting by PartyNachos
• Website to prepare your Casino Heist - calculator, training tool, guide... by u/Scorpyo5

If you know a post that should be included in this guide, message the moderators.

You're new to sports betting. You see a 2% arb on an NBA game. You hit it for $500. You made $10 risk-free 5 hours later. You buy an extra six pack of beers with that $10. That's great but....here's the issues with it.
Limits will come. I've been limited on various sportsbooks. I've been betting for many years, and when online sports gambling was legalized, it was like a field day. Arbs galore. Errors galore. Here's what I've learned. Because, trust me, there is not a casino or online sportsbook that is above giving you a max bet of $2.
1) Betting "massive errors" is the #1 way to get limited. A sportsbook accidentally posts Ravens +175 instead of Titans +175 and you max it out. That's actually very similar to how I got limited on Fanduel. I hit an error for thousands, and was immediately limited after the wager settled. Casinos aren't like other businesses - they can decide to just NOT take your money for a bet. I used to get thousands on Fanduel, now I can barely get $50. Consequently, when there is an error, you need to think about how valuable that error actually is. If they post Bucs vs. Washington as Bucs +400, then, sure, maybe it's worth blowing up an account over? Maybe? But think about all the great, +EV, profitable bets you could be making over the next few years. Is it worth risking that? Maybe it is, I don't know - obviously depends on the profit margin of the error and how much you care about your account. Is it worth not being able to bet Bills +76 points (or whatever that Fanduel promo was) and all those other absurd promos?
2) Arbing is often identical to betting errors. That's because, when you're arbing books, there is usually one "smart" book and one "dumb" book. Let's say Harden gets injured, every site updates the game, one site doesn't. You arb it. For the most part, all you are doing is taking a plus EV bet (a profitable bet) and a negative EV bet (an unprofitable bet). There are obviously books who have consistently "dumber" lines and more errors (Fanduel is of course one). That mean's you'll be winning more on the dumber books, and you'll get limited quicker on the dumber books, because usually when there's arbitrage, one book hasn't updated its lines yet to news (e.g. a player injury). But that's not what you want! As a sports bettor, you are hoping to create a little "hedge fund" for yourself - making a ton of profitable odds boost bets, taking advantage of promotions, betting on line moves, etc. to make tens of thousands per year. Getting limited by a dumb book will set you back massively - they are the ones you want to be able to bet on. Think about the future of your account before arbing a game for 2% or betting $200 on an error.
3) Am I saying you shouldn't bet on incorrect lines? No. Just the bigger the error, the higher the risk of getting limited, especially if you bet it really big. So also watch your sizing. It's tempting, I know, to max bet a major arb or massive error. But betting 5k on an error is, for obvious reasons, a lot more worrying for your account than betting $50. Also, if it's a "clear and obvious error," the sportsbook has the right to void the bet (happens very frequently in fact). So, ideally, keep your bet sizing in the triple digits, and avoid betting clear mistakes unless they're offering Chiefs +2000 to win the Superbowl or something that makes it worth it. You want to avoid bets that scream pick off. If the Chiefs line moves from -3 to -6, and you can still bet -3 on one sportsbook, then bet $950 on it. That's not a massive error, and you made a profitable bet. Will you eventually get limited for making money off the sportsbook? Probably, but it may take a few years. A lot of recreational bettors are betting -3 at the same time, so it's hard to determine who "thought" about the bet and who just bet it, because obviously the sportsbook wants bettors who just bet things without really considering the price they're getting.
4) Odds boosts/promotions have no effect on getting limited. You want to act like a normal, recreational bettor who, in the sportsbook's eyes, is just a little smart and running hot. From what I've heard talking to reps at major sportsbooks, they don't analyze user profit & loss statements when deciding who to limit. That makes sense. The guy who has a 1000% ROI because he just bet Chiefs Superbowl last year just ran hot - they still want his business. They look for people "picking them off" and have systems to determine who is. Betting all the promos / boosts that are good is perfectly fine.
Reach out with any questions. I've been around the block in sports betting, have been limited, have been banned.

I can't find the link on http://www.princepoker.com/accueil or http://princeofpoker.com/en/
Any help?

I grew up in a small mountain town named Eureka. It was founded in the late 1800s during the gold rush, but after the mines dried up the town began its slow descent into decay. Half the houses are empty or abandoned now.
You can see a picture of the kind of houses here in Eureka:
First house
Second house
When a massive construction project began nearby, it was the talk of the town for weeks. Why would they build something in a sleepy dying town like Eureka? It wasn’t until my sister Selene talked to a few construction workers that we discovered they were building a casino.
A casino up in the mountains, over two hours away from Denver. None of us could understand why they’d chosen here of all places. After a few months of work, the casino was done.
I took a picture of the town with the completed casino in the background to the right. The ten-story-structure sticks out like a sore thumb off in the distance.
Town+Casino
After the casino opened, they hired a few dozen members of the town, offering high paying jobs to work as dealers or cleaning staff. I was already employed as a firefighter, but my sister Selene got a job as a blackjack dealer. She’s a widow with two young kids, so the paycheck was a real lifesaver.
Still, something about the situation seemed too good to be true. The jobs over there paid far too well, and the management was far too accommodating. The fire station where I work is located high on a hill overlooking the town, so I began watching the casino from a distance each day.
I had initially thought that the casino was located in a terrible location, but I was apparently wrong. True, Eureka was hours from any major city, but despite that, a bus full of people arrived every morning and left every evening.
One night I was over at my parent’s house and had dinner with Selene and her kids. I asked her about her experience as a dealer.
“It’s Ok,” she said. “Just a little boring I guess.”
“Boring?” I asked. “I’m surprised you don’t have your hands full.”
“Why’s that?” she asked. “It’s like you said, Eureka’s too small. I never have people playing cards. The casino is almost always completely empty.”
I wasn’t sure what to make of that. If the place was always empty, what happened to the people who I’d seen arriving on buses? “I’ve been keeping an eye on the building,” I said. “A bus full of people typically arrives around 9 AM every day.”
“Really?” she asked, looking confused. “If that’s true, I’ve never seen them.
“I can see it from the fire station,” I said. “If you head out for a smoke break at 9 AM, you’ll probably see them arriving.”
“Interesting,” she said. “I’ll do that. If they’re being processed for their organs or something, I’ll let you know.” She laughed.
“Har har,” I said sarcastically.
The next night she sent me a text calling me over. When I arrived, she was nearly breathless with excitement.
“Orin, You were right,” she said. “A big group of people did arrive, but they didn’t walk into my part of the casino. Instead, they all walked into an elevator at the back of the building. I’m not sure where that goes.” She looked thoughtful. “It was weird. They looked… How can I say it? Desperate? Something about the whole situation was very off. I’m gonna check out the elevator tomorrow.”
I told her to be careful, though, to be honest, I was excited to hear about what she discovered. When I visited my parent’s house the next night, I found her two kids there alone. They told me that Selene had never returned from work.
I called all her friends, then all our neighbors, but no one had seen her since she left for work that morning. Our conversations regarding the casino flooded my mind, then a plan began to form.
Early the next morning I walked across town in my nicest pair of jeans and a button-up shirt. I pushed through the door to the casino and saw that Selene wasn’t lying. The place was all but deserted. Three dozen slot machines crowded the walls surrounding a few tables interspersed throughout the floor of the casino. The only players in the whole building were Bob and Donald, two locals.
I walked up to a nearby table where Bridget, a girl I’d gone to high school with, was shuffling cards. She broke into a grin when she saw me. “Hey Orin, you here for a few rounds of blackjack?”
“I wish,” I said. “No, I’m here to ask about Selene. She never made it home last night.”
Bridget’s expression darkened. “Really? Have you asked around?”
“I already called around. Have you seen her?”
She shook her head. “No, our schedules rarely line up. I’ll be sure to let you know if I--” Her eyes focused on something behind me, and she cut herself off.
I turned around to see the casino’s pit boss watching us both. He was a tall thin man in an impeccably clean black suit. When I turned back towards Bridget, she was looking down at the table and shuffling cards absent-mindedly.
“Well, if you hear anything, let me know,” I said.
She nodded, so I turned around and headed for the pit boss. I stuck out my hand. The temperature of his hand was so hot that I had to pull my hand away after a few seconds.
“Have… have you seen my sister Selene?” I asked. “She hasn’t been seen since her shift here yesterday.”
He smiled. “Sir, this floor is for players. You’re more than welcome to head to the tellers for chips, but barring that I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave.”
I stared at him for a long second before stalking towards the door. When I looked back, he was talking with Bridget.
I checked my watch. 8:55 AM, just as I’d planned. I walked around the back of the building and waited as the morning bus pulled around the building. I waited for the telltale hiss of the opening doors and the sound of people descending before I rounded the corner and joined the crowd. None of them paid any particular attention to me as I walked with them into the casino.
The crowd walked through a side door down a hallway to an elevator. Small groups of people entered the elevator as the rest of us waited for our turn. I shot a glance at the casino patrons, surprised at their diversity. There seemed to be people from all different countries and ethnicities. I heard one speaking Japanese and another speaking what sounded like an African language.
My turn came along with a few other patrons in the elevator. A sickly woman hobbled into the elevator beside me carrying an IV that was still connected to one of her veins. We piled in and rode up to the top.
The elevator rose for a few long seconds. I wasn’t sure what I would find, but I steeled myself for something horrible. The elevator’s speaker let out a TING, then the doors opened.
We all walked out onto what looked like a standard casino. Another few dozen slot machines ringed the walls, but on this floor, they were almost all occupied by customers. I took in the scene, confused at why they’d have a ground floor that was almost completely empty when this place was almost--
Selene was dealing cards at a nearby table.
I jogged over and sat down at an open seat. None of the players around me paid me much attention.
“Selene!” I said. “Are you OK? Did you spend the night here last night?”
Her eyes were glassy and confused. She looked up at me with a dumb expression and didn’t respond to my question.
“Selene?” I asked.
“What’s your bet?” she asked me. “This table is for blackjack players only.”
“I…” I trailed off, looking at the players around me. None of them were betting with chips of any kind. “What’s the minimum bet?” I asked.
“Three years,” she responded.
“Three years then,” I said, not knowing what that referred to.
Selene nodded, then began dealing cards. I shot a look down at my hand. King and a 9. Selene dealt out cards for herself, showing a 9. I stood, then leaned forward again. “Should I call the police? Are you--”
“Congratulations,” she said tonelessly.
An almost impossibly warm hand grabbed my shoulder. I spun to see the pit boss I’d spoken to earlier. He gave an impressed smile. “Orin, was it? I’m impressed, truly. Would you mind if I had a word with you?”
I shot a look back at Selene who was dealing the next round of cards. Then I got to my feet, balling my hands into fists. “What did you do to her?”
The pit boss clasped his hands behind his back. “Nothing more, and nothing less than what I’m going to do to you. That is, offer you the chance to play.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
The pit boss nodded his head towards a nearby slot machine. A woman in a wheelchair pulled a lever and watched the flashing numbers spin. They exploded in a cacophony of sirens and flashing lights. “WINNER WINNER WINNER!” The machine screeched.
The woman in the wheelchair put her feet on the ground and stood up on a pair of wobbly legs that had clearly never been used before.
“As in any other casino,” the pit boss said, “you must wager for the chance to win.”
“She... won the use of her legs?” I asked, feeling light-headed. “Wait,” I said. “I played blackjack just now. ‘Three years,’ Selene told me. What does ‘three years’ mean?” I asked.
“Three years of life, of course. Did you win?”
My mouth felt dry. “I-- Yes, I won.”
He smiled warmly. “Congratulations. I hope you enjoy them. I can tell you from personal experience that watching the decades pass is a bore. Give it some time and you’ll be back to spend them.”
I watched the pit boss’s face. He couldn’t have been more than a few years older than me, and I was in my early thirties. I looked around at the casino. No one was playing with chips of any kind. “So what?” I asked. “I won years of life. That woman won the use of her legs. What else can a person win here?”
“Oh, almost anything. They can win almost anything you can imagine.”
A cold feeling settled in my stomach. “And what do they wager?”
His eyes flashed with greed. “Almost anything. They can wager almost anything you can possibly imagine. Anything equal in value to the item they want in return.” He nodded towards a nearby roulette table.
A man stood by the table, cradling his hands. “Another finger,” he called out. He only had three fingers remaining on his left hand. As I watched, the ball came to a stop, and another finger disappeared from his left hand.
The pit boss extended his hands. “Feel free to try any of our games. Bet and win whatever you’d like.” He reached out and snatched my hand. A feeling of intense warmth passed up my arm to my chest. “There,” he said. “I’ve even given you some house money to get you started. An extra decade of life, on me.”
I ripped my hand away, staring at him in horror. Then I looked back at Selene. Something clicked in my mind. “You offered her the chance to play. What did she want?” I asked.
“Her husband,” the pit boss said. “Quite the sad story. He died two years ago. She wanted him brought back to her.”
“What did she wager?” I asked.
“She wanted the chance to win a soul, the most valuable object in existence. I’m sure you can imagine what she needed to wager for the chance to win it. What she wagered is unimportant. The important question is: What do you want, Orin?”
I stared at Selene with a flat expression. “I’m sure you can imagine.”
His eyes flashed with greed again. “How wonderful. The casino could always make use of another dealer. Feel free to make your wager at any one of our games; I’ll be eagerly awaiting the results of your night. Oh, and do take advantage of our waitresses. We always supply food and drink for ‘high rollers’.” He walked away.
I spent the next few hours trying to decide which game to play. I was going to be wagering my soul, so I wanted the highest chance possible. Slots and roulette were out. I’d done some reading online about counting cards, so I figured that blackjack gave me the best odds.
I walked up to Selene’s table and sat down. “Bet?” she asked with that same toneless voice. “Three years,” I said.
I spent the next hour or so doing my best to remember how to count cards. I knew that low cards added one to my count and high cards decreased it by one, but the casino used three decks. I had read something about how that was supposed to change my calculation, but I couldn’t quite remember how.
Every time I won a hand, I cursed myself for not putting everything on the line. Every time I lost, I breathed a prayer of thanks that I’d waited. And all the while, I kept track of the count.
I had lost fifteen years of life when the count finally reached +5.
“Bet?” Selene asked.
“I wager my soul so you can be free,” I said.
The table around me fell silent. Selene’s eyes flickered, but she showed no other emotion as she dealt the cards. I watched my first card, punching the air in excitement when I saw a Jack. My excitement turned to ash when my second card was a four. Fourteen.
I looked at her hand. One card was facedown, but the faceup card was a King. I swore loudly, staring down at my hands.
“Hit?” she asked. The entire table was silently watching me.
“Hit,” I said, not looking down. The table erupted in cheers. I looked down to see a 7 atop my two other cards. 21. Blackjack.
I looked at Selene who flipped over her facedown card to reveal a 9. 19. I won.
The glassy look left her eyes immediately. She looked around in surprise, then her eyes locked on mine. “Orin?” she asked, then almost immediately began to cry. The entire casino broke out in cheers.
I grabbed her hand and headed for the elevator. The doors had begun to close when the pit boss reached out with a hand to stop them.
“Congratulations,” he said, beaming. He seemed to be honestly excited.
“Shouldn’t you be upset?” I asked.
“Not at all. Casinos love it when we have big winners. It inspires the other players to make larger bets. I imagine I’ll gain two or three dealers before the night is through from your performance.”
“Great,” I said flatly. “Now let us go.”
“Not yet,” he said. “You didn’t just win, Orin. You got a blackjack. And blackjack pays out 1.5 times your bet. You won your sister’s soul and more.”
I stared, not sure what to say. “What are you saying? I won half a soul extra?”
The pit boss grinned wildly. “Just remember what I said. You’ll find living for decades and decades to be a boring experience. After a few centuries, you’ll be back to gamble that half a soul away. Congratulations!”
He removed his hand, and the elevator doors slammed shut.
I helped Selene back to her house. Her children were relieved. I watched them cry, then moved into the kitchen to start making dinner.
It’s been a few days since that experience. The casino is still out there, and buses full of people still arrive. I… I cut my hand pretty bad a few days later. When I checked it an hour later, it had already healed, no scar or anything. I’m not sure exactly what I won at that casino, but there’s no way I’m ever going back.
X

Data is taken from the Covid-19 portal and today's availability by Dr Deena Hinshaw, Premier Jason Kenney, Minister of Health Tyler Shandro, and Minister of Jobs Doug Schweitzer. Dr Hinshaw's next availability is tomorrow.
There are currently enhanced measures in effect for multiple regions of Alberta and have been enhanced as of today. This link provides a quick summary of which ones are in effect for different regions of Alberta.
Top line numbers:

• For values where "Current" and "Total" are the same, I have left results under Total

Value	Current	Change	Total
Total cases	—	+1,727	71,379
Active cases	20,388	+321	—
Cases with "Unknown source"	10,575 (83.9%) in last 7 days	+427 (+0.4%)	—
Tests	—	+19,071 (~9.06% positive)	2,410,675
People tested	—	+7,433	1,534,783 (~355,521/million)
Hospitalizations	654	+45/+35 based on yesterday's post/portal data	2,325 (+64)
ICU	112	+4	413 (+10)
Deaths	—	+9 (4x 70-79, 5x 80+)	640
Recoveries	—	+1,397	51,000

Spatial distribution of people tested, cases, and deaths (since yesterday):

• All other values are compared with respect to yesterday

Zone	Active Cases	New People Tested	Total	New Cases	Total	New Deaths	Total
Calgary	7,529 (+57)	+2,654	621,003	+583	28,946	+2	215
Central	1,526 (+53)	+1,005	134,204	+176	3,881	+1	20
Edmonton	9,383 (+193)	+2,664	513,626	+791	29,901	+5	304
North	1,212 (+65)	+739	143,747	+165	4,757	+0	51
South	646 (-8)	+307	97,153	+57	4,307	+1	50
Unknown	92 (-39)	+64	25,050	-45	236	+0	0

Spatial distribution of cases for select cities and regions (change since yesterday) (cities proper for Calgary and Edmonton):

City/Municipality	Total	Active	Recovered	Deaths
Edmonton	24,542 (+625)	7,586 (+151)	16,692 (+469)	264 (+5)
Calgary	24,245 (+507)	6,490 (+117)	17,562 (+388)	193 (+2)
Brooks	1,296 (+2)	24 (-4)	1,258 (+6)	14 (+0)
Lethbridge	1,175 (+22)	259 (+9)	909 (+13)	7 (+0)
Fort McMurray	906 (+20)	222 (-3)	682 (+23)	2 (+0)
Red Deer	832 (+45)	373 (+18)	449 (+27)	0
High River county	658 (+2)	49 (-6)	602 (+8)	7 (+0)
Grande Prairie	562 (+15)	106 (+10)	451 (+5)	5 (+0)
Mackenzie county	447 (+4)	19 (+4)	415 (+0)	13 (+0)
Medicine Hat	334 (+11)	89 (-3)	240 (+14)	5 (+0)
I.D. No 9 (Banff)	324 (+8)	109 (-14)	215 (+22)	0
Cardston county	200 (+2)	37 (-2)	157 (+4)	6 (+0)
Wheatland county	146 (+1)	6 (-1)	140 (+2)	0
Warner county	137 (+1)	30 (-2)	105 (+3)	2 (+0)
Wood Buffalo municipality	111 (+1)	8 (+0)	103 (+1)	0
Rest of Alberta	16,113 (+461)	4,981 (+47)	11,010 (+412)	122 (+2)

Other municipalities with 10+ active cases is given at this link
Schools with outbreaks are listed online.
Quick numbers (as of today):

• 108 schools are on Watch (+2)
• 141 schools have 2-4 cases (+10)

Spatial distribution of hospital usage (change based on yesterday's post):

• Hospitalization zone are where the patient is receiving care, not zone of residence

Zone	Hospitalized	ICU
Calgary	198 (+14)	34 (+2)
Edmonton	357 (+22)	66 (+3)
Central	50 (+3)	6 (+1)
South	18 (+4)	2 (-1)
North	31 (+2)	4 (-1)

Statements by Premier Kenney
Opening Statements

• Here to lay out additional health measures which are necessary to protect healthcare system and save lives
• Alberta has faced most of the year with lower levels of spread, hospitalizations, and fatalities
• Having said that, last few weeks are different
• Incredible work is being done by healthcare workers in face of this
• Delays in surgeries have occurred, which for some may result in a shorter lifespan
• Not doing anything now will result in continued growth of hospitalizations and further strain on healthcare
• On advice of chief medical officer, restrictions have occurred. Government realizes that this can impact businesses and cause adversities
• Knows many feed policies are unjust and why provincial government has stressed education first instead of using policy
• On the other hand, while space can be made, it will have further health impacts (e.g. running out of capacity in hospitals)
• If stronger action isn't taken now, hundreds or thousands more Albertans will die
• Data appears to suggest a stabilization (around a reproductive factor of around 1.2), but that isn't enough

New Restrictions

• As of today, all outdoor and indoor social gatherings are banned
• The mask mandate will expand to all indoor places, with exception of rental homes and farm operations
• As of December 13th, 12:01 AM:
• (1) Retail, grocery stores, and shopping malls are restricted to 15% of capacity, down from 25%. Kiosks are open for takeaway service only. Malls cannot be used for socialization and shopping only
• (2) Places are worship to 15% occupancy with previous restrictions applying. Online and drive-in services are still recommended
• (3) Restaurants, pubs, bars, lounges and cafes are restricted to takeout and delivery services only. This will open up their access to provincial and federal supports
• (4) The following will be closed:
• (4a) Gaming centres (e.g. - casinos, bingo halls, gaming entertainment centres)
• (4b) Recreational facilities
• (4c) Indoor entertainment (e.g. libraries, science centres, water parks)
• (4d) Trade centres
• The restrictions do not apply to service visits, healthcare, or childcare .
• (5) All Alberta employees must work from home unless employer requires physical presence for operational reasons (up from a recommendation)
• No changes to schools beyond what was previously announced
• These are all province wide and will be in effect for 4 weeks
• Goal has been to be targeted. However, the whole province is seeing significant spread

Christmas

• Knows the holidays are important for many people
• The hard truth is that the single source of spread is at-home gatherings
• If we let people gather for Christmas, we'll see a spike in cases
• We can't let that happen, so please follow the gathering restrictions previously noted (only in-household or with 2 close contacts if you live alone)

Increased Enterprise Support

• This isn't the fault of anybody who followed the guidelines
• Until the contact tracing system was overwhelmed, we didn't see it being the fault of business owners
• But we are seeing spread so widespread, it doesn't matter how careful you were
• These are decisions are a last resort
• Knows this impact will be real. So financial support for small and medium size enterprise
• 4x growth in small and medium enterprise relaunch grant, while lowering eligibility from 40% of revenue lost to 30%. This will also be retroactive to March

Closing Statements

• Thanks Albertans for their work for most of the past 9 months
• We are seeing the end with vaccination possibly beginning in weeks...the end is in sight

Q&A

• Why now, instead of two weeks ago?: Goal is to reduce contacts, assuming Albertans respond. This should be a very strong message and reduce transmissions. Measures have been increasingly harsh because each restriction creates harms, will hurt people who have sunk all their money in a business, and potentially increase self-harm. So this is a last resort
• Why keep retail open instead of just curbside?: Encourages curbside, but some people may not be able to live without basic goods. Even most stringent policies around the world have kept retail open in some capacity. Feels the designation of essential and non-essential businesses in spring was a mistake
• Why is cabinet being transparent about the reproductive value (R or Rt)?: Are preparing ways to publicly present this data, as well as healthcare capacity. Targeting next week
• Do you think the softer measures before will cost lives/make economic recovery more difficult?: Shutting down early would have had significant impacts. Thinks it'd be a huge mistake to draw correlations between strictness of restrictions and outcomes and that there is a reasonable balance being stuck
• Since you defined Covid representing "a tiny percent" of deaths, 300 deaths have occurred. There have been significant growths in hospitalization and cases. Do you take personal responsibility?: Rejects the premise of the question and calls it more of an "NDP speech". Feels the province has done more than other jurisdictions, especially early on. Also notes that BC, who has a government of opposite end of the political spectrum, has had a similar approach

Statements by Minister Shandro
Additional Details on Health Measures

• Goal is to limit in-person interaction
• Retail restriction has a floor of 5 people
• Ski hills can remain open, provided restrictions are followed
• Realizes that this is a lot to take in, but person-to-person exposure is fuelling the spread
• We need limit contacts and be aware of the situation around you (even outdoors or at the grocery store)

Q&A

• How does outdoor gathering ban even work?: Goal is to restrict social gatherings. So do not socially gather indoors or outdoors. If they gather in a park or on the sidewalk, that isn't allowed. Difficulty will certainly lie in enforcement and hopes it won't need to be used. It will be up to law enforcement to determine if they feel they need to use it
• (Additional comment by Dr Hinshaw: Intention is to prevent group social activities. Not prohibited is fitness activities provided distancing occurs)

Statements by Minister Schweitzer
Opening Statements

• Wants to make people aware that there will be significant impacts. This is not lost on anyone in government
• Knows many people are impacted because people have ignored public health orders.

Additional Details on Small Business Supports

• 40% may not be able to re-open after these closures without supports
• Small businesses may now qualify for $20,000 support (up from $5,000) with a decrease in revenue lost to 30%
• An additional 15,000 businesses should be able to qualify for this (totalling 500 million dollars)

Q&A

• How many people will be affected with these restrictions?: ~30,000 businesses will be affected. Will be seeing how many people

Statements by Dr Hinshaw
Cases

• 426 schools have active cases (~18%) with total of 1,701 cases
• 108 schools on watch list (5+ active cases)

Edmonton Zone

• The Royal Alexandra Hospital has decided to place facility on "Watch" status as a precautionary measure
• Hospitals are safe places to receive care, but be aware that staff are under extreme stress
• Edmonton Zone will enact additional measures:
• (1) Postponing up to 60% of non-urgent surgeries (up from 30%)
• (2) Diagnostic imaging may be reduced by up to 40%
• (3) Ambulatory visits and procedures may be reduced as needed
• AHS will contact those who are impacted
• This is why these measures are needed and a sign of how Covid may impact more than the ill

Scope of the Situation

• If you gathered all the people who have tested positive, it would be the 5th largest city in Alberta
• 1/3 people have been tested
• On October 8, positive rate was 1.34% with 184 cases in province
• Today, positive rate is 9% and 7 day average is 1,785
• Outbreaks in almost all group settings
• People from 1 to 108 have been infected
• Knows restrictions will impact many people
• The fastest way to get there is to embrace these restrictions
• Knows many people have embraced already, but everybody will need to do more

Q&A

• Why do we think these measures will work, after the last two rounds?: This is the most significant round of restrictions. Points to Israel as an example (who shrunk their cases faster than even their first wave). Target will be to bring the health system out of risk
• If someone is coming in from out of province, is that allowed?: If it's someone from out of province, it isn't allowed
• A follow up question noted an example of family members in Alberta were quarantining were 2 weeks before Christmas. Challenge is that enforcement of a "quarantine" will be difficult to control. Province is saying "gathering for Christmas" won't be allowed with people who don't live in the home. Knows it's a big imposition but any suggestions like in the question may cause a Thanksgiving-like increase in spread

Additional information will be logged below:

• One additional question was asked in French. I am unfortunately not fluent enough to translate it

Here’s a link to the first post with 10 other overlooked indie games.
Introduction
We're all familiar with the Hotline Miami's, Hollow Knight's, and Celeste's of the world. These are some of the indie games that hit the big time. Of course, for every one of these games, there's 100 other indie games that have been glossed over, relegated to a spot in a digital store few people will ever find themselves in. I wanted to bring attention to some of these lesser known indie games. I'm going to order them according to Metacritic Critic Ratings. Some of the games at the bottom have pretty low critic ratings. I personally disagree with the low scores of these games, but it's only fair that you hear from more than just me.
Price will include a link to the U.S. store page of the game. Price is in U.S. dollars.
1. Inertial Drift

• Price: $19.99
  
• Picture: Link
  
• Trailer: Link
  
• Genre: Racing
  
• Metacritic: 84% from 5 Critic Reviews, 80% from 2 User Ratings
  
• Description: Inertial Drift's distinguishing characteristic is its employment of the right analog stick for drifting. This takes a little getting used to, but it feels great once you get the hang of it, creating some exhilarating moments when perfecting corner turns. The game has 10 unique tracks + 10 reversed tracks, 16 vehicles, and four separate story arcs. Each story arc is only a couple of hours long and features a different protagonist with a different vehicle. Since you’ll be racing on the same track a few times, there are a few gameplay variations that differ from just reaching the finish line at the end, such as racking up a certain number of points that are acquired through longer drift times and other means. There's quite a bit of dialogue between races, and in the races themselves characters will frequently dish out positive commentary on your performance in the form of text in the top left hand corner of the screen. The game's aesthetics are a fusion of anime and synthwave. I've heard many fans liken the game to the manga Initial D, though I'm unfamiliar with that series myself.
  
• Completion Time: ~3 Hours (for 1/4 Story Arcs)
  
• Extra Content: There are a number of different modes including a Story Mode, Challenge Mode, Grand Prix Mode, Arcade Mode, two player Split-Screen, and Online, as well as a Tutorial. Completion of challenges in Challenge Mode allows you to unlock new vehicles for the other non-Story Modes. Grand Prix Mode allows you to race using different characters/vehicles through a connected set of challenges, while Arcade Mode is for one-off races. I wouldn't recommend this game for online play as the user-base is pretty small (hence it being overlooked) and you're unlikely to find a match. Getting all the achievements is fairly difficult.
  

2. Pumpkin Jack

• Price: $29.99
  
• Picture: Link
  
• Trailer: Link
  
• Genre: 3D Action Platformer
  
• Metacritic: 80% from 8 Critic Reviews, 60% from 10 User Ratings
  
• Description: This is a 3D platformer that reportedly takes inspiration from both MediEvil and Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. There’s about equal amounts of platforming and combat in this game. While the combat is relatively simple, you’re given a variety of weapons that all feel unique. The levels have a good amount of variety within them – you’ll jump between ships on a ferry ride, ride an undead horse through the sky, play a few mini games as a headless Jack, and fight a boss at the end of each of the six levels. Both the combat and platforming are relatively easy – platforms are typically large and Jack has an edge grab that helps tremendously, and smashing the many destructible objects around the levels increases your health. This game takes the linear adventure approach, with a number of collectibles sprinkled throughout the levels: crow skulls, presents, and gramophones. Some areas are more open and allow you to choose the order in which you do certain tasks. The game has a decent amount of dialogue in it, which does an effective job of giving some character to Jack, his two animal companions, and the rest of the cast. The visuals and soundtrack are particularly great, especially if you’re into Halloween themed media.
  
• Completion Time: ~4 Hours
  
• Extra Content: There’s collectibles to back for – I got about 2/3 of the collectibles on my first playthrough – skins to unlock – which are purchased with the collectibles you find in the levels – and you get to start a second playthrough with all the weapons already unlocked at the beginning.
  

3. Pato Box

• Price: $14.99
  
• Picture: Link
  
• Trailer: Link
  
• Genre: Punch-Out-like 3D Action Adventure
  
• Metacritic: 80% from 1 Critic Review, 80% from 1 User Rating
  
• Description: Pato Box follows an anthropomorphic duck boxer on an adventure through a stylistic noir comic book world. “Pato” is a Spanish word that translates to “Duck” in English (the game was developed by a Mexican studio). The boss fights are heavily inspired by Punch-Out’s gameplay, but there are levels outside of these fights to help differentiate it. Most of the levels can be selected in any order you choose and typically serve as a leadup to the boss fight. Bosses are usually introduced by a cutscene followed by some dialogue taunting Pato Box. The levels play entirely differently from the fights, but the themes of the level match those of the bosses. The levels will employ various elements of evasion, stealth, exploration, and a few time-based mini-games. The casino level, for example, will have you walk around the casino looking for chips and punching the slot machines to earn enough to pay entrance to the fight, while the food factory has you evading stompers, sawblades, and butcher knives as you work your way through the level. There are variety of things to find throughout the levels: tokens for decorations in Pato Box’s room, backstory on the boss of the level and the world, and tips on how to win the upcoming fight. The fights themselves lock Pato Box in the middle of the screen, allowing you to block, juke left or right, and perform a low or high jab to the left or right. The game foregoes a HUD in favor of a visual representation of your health via scars on your body, which I thought was a nice touch. While the levels and bosses play pretty differently from each other, they’re weaved together by a dark and intriguing story that follows Pato Box’s quest for retribution against an evil corporation.
  
• Completion Time: ~7 Hours
  
• Extra Content: There’s an Arcade Mode that lets you replay boss fights and some collectibles to find in the main campaign. The achievements are very difficult, and many ask you to beat a boss without taking a single hit.
  

4. Ultra Hat Dimension

• Price: $4.99
  
• Picture: Link
  
• Trailer: Link
  
• Genre: 2D Level-based Puzzle Game
  
• Metacritic: 80% from 1 Critic Review, 60% from 1 User Rating
  
• Description: Ultra Hat Dimension follows Bea through a series of rooms in a palace on a quest to undo the magical spell that has made the mythical Spluff creatures want to attack one another. There is a little bit of backstory via one sentence thoughts from Bea in between levels, but nothing major here. The gameplay revolves equipping four different types of hats and using them to evade or push Spluffs around to retrieve the key and reach the door. Each Spluff dons one of four different hats which effects their behavior towards other Spluffs and you. You will be punched one tile back by every Spluff unless you’re wearing the same hat as the Spluff. Spluffs interact with one another differently depending on what hat they’re wearing in a rock, paper, scissors kind of way – they may punch a Spluff back one space, get into a scuffle that allows you to get close to them without wearing a hat, or they may temporarily disable them in a way that allows you to access the space the Spluff consumes within eight moves. There are undo and reset buttons included that allow you to quickly rewind mistakes. There are some clever puzzles accompanied by catchy tunes and a charming pixel art aesthetic. The difficulty is about average.
  
• Completion Time: ~3 Hours
  
• Extra Content: Since this is published by Ratalaika Games, getting all the achievements can be obtained after only clearing 2/3 of the levels. There are a few custom maps on the PC version of the game but no additional content on consoles.
  

5. Penarium

• Price: $9.99
  
• Picture: Link
  
• Trailer: Link
  
• Genre: 2D Platformer
  
• Metacritic: 72% from 7 Critic Reviews, N/A from 0 User Ratings
  
• Description: This is a quirky carnival-themed 2D platformer. The premise of the game is of a young boy overcoming obstacles and traps for the amusement of a sadistic circus crowd. The whole game operates on a single screen and utilizes only a double jump and movement. Jump to the edge of one side and you pop out on the other. You're tasked with dodging hazards and overcoming obstacles while smashing barrels around the stage or executing some other task, like staying in a spotlight that moves around and shines in different spots. There are three cut-scenes in the game that total less than two minutes and about 10 minutes of dialogue. Even though the story is very brief, I still felt the ending was a satisfying conclusion and offered more than I expected.
  
• Completion Time: ~2.5 Hours
  
• Extra Content: There is an arcade mode where you can see how many barrels you can smash in a set amount of time. The achievements are pretty difficult but offer some fun challenges. There is also a competitive/versus local multiplayer mode for two players, but it's nothing special and probably won't entertain long.
  

6. SINNER: Sacrifice for Redemption

• Price: $18.99
  
• Picture: Link
  
• Trailer: Link
  
• Genre: Soulslike Action Adventure
  
• Metacritic: 66% from 11 Critic reviews, 53% from 11 User Ratings
  
• Description: SINNER: Sacrifice for Redemption is a Soulslike boss rush - there are no levels and only small area before each boss to practice your moves. There are eight bosses, the first seven allowing you to fight in any order, each representing the seven deadly sins. You are equipped with everything the game has to offer from the beginning (except for the New Game+ weapon they give you), and instead of becoming more powerful, you gradually lose things with each boss you defeat, hence the “sacrifice” in the title. It’s like a reverse RPG. Each boss has a different sacrifice associated to it – one may deplete your throwing items’ usage, while another will deplete your health and stamina. Picking the best order to fight them in adds a little strategic thinking to the game, as you may be more dependent on your large health and stamina bar more than your throwing items’ usage, for example. The game is fairly difficult, so your victories over each boss feel very gratifying when they do come.
  
• Completion Time: ~5 Hours
  
• Extra Content: There is New Game+ that offers you an additional weapon. The achievements task you with a few things you have to pull off in battles, and getting all the achievements is pretty easy to obtain.
  

7. Tamashii

• Price: $11.99
  
• Picture: Link
  
• Trailer: Slightly Graphic (Link)
  
• Genre: Puzzle PlatformeHorror
  
• Metacritic: 65% from 2 Critic Reviews, 70% from 1 User Rating
  
• Description: Reportedly inspired by obscure Japanese games from the late 1980s and 1990s, Tamashii blends puzzle platforming together with an oppressive atmosphere. The introduction starts with the character being willed into existence by a godlike character that tasks him with destroying the macabre forces that have taken control of and corrupted his chambers. Your character is able to spawn three inanimate clones of himself which is the primary source for most of the platforming and some of the boss fights – you’ll use them to trigger switches and open up new paths. There’s about an even mix of puzzle solving and platforming, and there’s a whole eight bosses in this short adventure (though one is a secret) that are probably the most visually interesting moments in the game. The creatures and backgrounds are effective in selling the dark presentation of the game. The difficulty is about average – maybe slightly easier than most indie puzzle platformers. There is a sequel currently in the works.
  
• Completion Time: ~2.5 Hours
  
• Extra Content: There are a few obscure secrets to discover. You can also play through the chambers again with a score meter, and there are certain achievements associated with getting a good score. Getting all the achievements isn’t too difficult, but you’ll probably need a guide for some of the secrets.
  

8. Daggerhood

• Price: $4.99
  
• Picture: Link
  
• Trailer: Link
  
• Genre: 2D Platformer
  
• Metacritic: 63% from 2 Critic Reviews, 70% from 1 User Rating
  
• Description: Daggerhood's main hook is the use of its sword teleportation mechanic. You throw your sword with a button, and you press the same button again to teleport to where the sword is. While this is a mechanic that has been seen in some Metroidvanias, I haven't seen a tight, linear 2D platformer make use of this mechanic before. Each level has a number of collectibles and some small side sections as well, but for the most part the path to the finish is clear - it's just the execution that's the tricky part. Add in teleportation portals to make things even trickier.
  
• Completion Time: ~2.5 Hours
  
• Extra Content: As this is a Ratalaika Games published game, getting all the achievements only takes about 1-1.5 hours to achieve. You can get it well before you even finish the game, which is a shame because the game had all the makings for a fun 100% achievement goal. There are tons of collectibles in each level, and each level records your time. So there is a lot here to extend to the playtime.
  

9. The Bunker

• Price: $19.99
  
• Picture: Link
  
• Trailer: Link
  
• Genre: FMV Point & Click Adventure/Horror
  
• Metacritic: 59% from 8 Critic Reviews, 55% from 11 User Ratings
  
• Description: The Bunker is an FMV point & click adventure, meaning it features real actors and environments just like a live action movie. Many of the actors involved have been in high profile movies/TV shows as well, including The Hobbit, Game of Thrones, Star Wars, and Penny Dreadful. The game takes place in a fallout shelter and follows the last survivor as he tries to find a way outside following the death of his mother, after living 30+ years in the bunker. The gameplay has you solving puzzles and finding ways to proceed to the next area. The story is the focal point of the game though, and it frequently switches between the past and the present to tell its story. There’s a good juxtaposition between the lively past and the lonely present that makes you question how the protagonist ended up as the last survivor. There’s only one narrative choice to make in the game, and it comes at the very end. The game also works in handheld mode with touchscreen functionality if you'd prefer to play it that way.
  
• Completion Time: ~2. Hour Completion Time*
  
• Extra Content: You can replay the game and try to find all the collectibles. Most of them give more background on the story. You can trigger the ending you did not choose the first time around by simply reloading the last checkpoint, so there is no need to play through the whole game again to unlock it. Getting all the achievements is fairly easy.
  

10. Cybarian: The Time-Traveling Warrior

• Price: $4.99
  
• Picture: Link
  
• Trailer: Trailer
  
• Genre: 2D Action Platformer
  
• Metacritic: 48% from 2 Critic Reviews, 75% from 2 User Ratings
  
• Description: Cybarian has an interesting yet simple combat system that distinguishes itself from most action platformers. Instead of mashing the attack button, you have to press it once, wait two seconds for the animation to complete, press it again, wait two seconds for the animation to complete, and then press it again to complete a full combo. It sounds like something that's easy to get down quickly, but I found myself still occasionally going too quickly in the intensity of a boss fight. The game punishes you by not fulfilling the attack if you button mash. After each boss fight, you unlock a new move that will be required to fell some foes in the next stage. Conversely, you can play Hard Mode which unlocks all moves right from the get-go, but you'll have to beat all four stages without dying. "Hardcore Mode" would've been a more apt description of this difficulty setting, I feel.
  
• Completion Time: ~1.5 Hours
  
• Extra Content: Just like with Ultra Hat Dimension and Daggerhood, this is a Ratalaika Games published game, so getting all the achievements can be achieved in under an hour. It would've been nice if they pushed you to beat Hard Mode, but you'll just have to settle for internal gratification instead.
  

Have you played any of these games? What are some other overlooked single player indie games?
If you’re looking for more indie games to play, see my post here:

• 200 Local Multiplayer Games from 40 Different Genres on Xbox One

Watch Here
WJAR Stream if issues with link above or WPRI
Gov. Raimondo is expected to announce new restrictions for high schools (announced by WPRI and WJAR last night) as well as discuss Thanksgiving.
Self-promotion: Yesterday I started graphing data in a few other threads. It's really ugly right now and far from finished (I'll make a separate post on this sub when it's done) but I did start a GitHub site to view the graphs

11/19/2020 Data

RIDOH Dashboard

• 921 new cases (5.8% positivity)
• 4 fatalities
• 298 in hospital

Gov. Gina Raimondo

Intro

• Press briefings will be on Thursday from now on (exception of next week, which is Wednesday for Thanksgiving)
• Good news: Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are 95% effective (data released Monday/Tuesday), RI will pilot Pfizer vaccine distribution - "there truly is light at the end of the tunnel"
• Until the vaccine is available (hopefully some availability by the end of the year, anticipating widespread availability by Spring), we must double down on following restrictions so as to not overwhelm hospitals

Data

• See numbers above
• 'Targeted restrictions' have not helped the situation
• Trending data is "alarming" - we have passed all three thresholds (5.9% weekly positivity, 247 hospital admissions, 535 cases per 100,000)
• "I have tried to avoid a lockdown" - targeted restrictions are NOT working
• "Severe restrictions" being laid out today

New Restrictions

Intro - Rationale

• With so much community spread, it's hard to pinpoint a single activity/location/group to trace source of infection
• Patterns among people testing positive: At-home social gatherings, people going to restaurants/bars, people with others outside household
• "Need to reduce mobility, reduce connectivity with people outside household"
• "We know that schools are not major spreaders" I can already guess what's staying open...
• High schools are more problematic than others

Path from now to end of the year

Current restrictions will be extended until the Sunday after Thanksgiving with two exceptions, effective immediately:

• Social gathering limit is lowered to a single household (No social gatherings with people you don't live with)
• All "big box stores" (>30,000 square ft) must have a plan for Black Friday crowds and cannot allow anyone without a mask cannot enter (stores should pass out masks)

Thanksgiving

• Please do not travel
• If planning to go to a restaurant, please use extreme caution
• Stay at home with the people you live with
• Rapid testing available at TF Green Airport Sat/Sun/Mon after Thanksgiving and Nat'l Guard to remind anyone who is returning from out-of-state to quarantine

Beginning 11/30 - "RI on Pause"

• "Two week pause" in effect until 12/13
• Hoping that this will ONLY be two weeks - if it does not work, total lockdown
• "RI ON PAUSE" restrictions (image)

Open

• K-8
• Childcare
• Manufacturing/construction
• Personal services
• Healthcare

Limited

• High schools will shift to limited/hybrid plan after Thanksgiving at discretion of superintendents
• Social gatherings limited to one household
• Indoor dining at 33%, outdoor dining/takeout not affected
• Retail at current capacity limits
• Houses of worship limited to 25% capacity with a max of 125 I understand distancing but that's insanity

Completely Closed

• Colleges will have NO in-person instruction after Thanksgiving and will test all students before they leave campus for the holidays
• All offices must move to remote work for everyone who can (521-HELP for technical assistance)
• Bars (drinks can be delivered to tables but no bar areas open)
• Bowling alleys, gyms, casinos
• Indoor sports, gyms, group fitness classes, all sports except college/professional

Stimulus grants announced next week for affected businesses

Comments on "pause"

• "This will only work if we do it" - threatening a full lockdown if this doesn't limit our numbers in 3 weeks
• "I have been utterly ineffective in getting people to follow rules in their own homes" - jokes about memes showing her arriving at people's houses (one of the few candid moments I've seen from her lately)
• Figuring out if it's working - reservation data at restaurants, test positivity, traffic data, enforcement data
• Hospitals are currently at 97% of COVID beds filled - we do NOT want to ration beds/limit care
• If COVID beds get filled, we may need to start cutting off other procedures incl. cancer screenings, important surgeries to make room for COVID patients
• We are on track to need Cranston field hospital by week after Thanksgiving
• Hospitals are working with colleges to hire medical students
• There will still be greater restriction after 12/13, but cannot comment on exactly what as it depends on how this goes

Improvements to testing

• 2,000 daily asymptomatic tests added
• 300 daily symptomatic tests added
• Expanding testing site at Wickford Junction
• New site at McCoy opened today
• New sites at Waldorf School and Stop & Shop in Greenville coming soon
• Contact tracing is behind but we are continuing to hire more staff
• Check results constantly and immediately isolate if positive (even if RIDOH has not called yet)
• Increasing hotels available to people who need to isolate
• Expanding food delivery services

Question Highlights

Q: CDC saying that in-person learning is dangerous (I'm glad someone asked)
A: "I believe that question is a mis-characterization of the data" - referencing Dr. Jha She sounds MAD about this question "we could argue about the risk, but children will suffer irreparable lifelong harm not being in school" She is trusting HS students to follow rules and "districts should keep kids in school if they can"
Q: "Wasn't the idea with PPE/testing that we wouldn't have to go back? What happened?"
A: "It turns out people don't follow rules very well when we have to do it for so long"
Q: What is the goal in terms of ease of scheduling/getting test results and do we need to scale back asymptomatic testing?
A: It isn't a perfect system (waiting to get tested) but we are working to fix it. "It's hard for me to believe you can't get a test at all" Personal note: I'm currently trying to get tested (possible exposure at work even though I have no symptoms) and I had to go online to CVS at 3:00 in the morning to get an appointment 3 days later
Q: Isn't distance learning with a teacher better than in-person with a substitute? Is there a percentage (like NY) where we would switch to full distance?
A: High schoolers work better with distance learning but younger kids really struggle. NY: We do not use a single metric to determine whether to shut down - "as long as schools can keep the environment safe" we will keep them open.
Q: Thoughts on a possible 4-6 week lockdown or advisory to governors to do so under President Biden?
A: "If congress would do their jobs" and send an appropriate stimulus, we could discuss a lockdown in RI
Q: Why is Twin River open until 11/30?
A: "If I could shut everything down immediately I would do that" but there is a need to be practical (restaurants who have increased inventory for next week will still be able to use it)
Q: Crisis standards of care?
A (Dr. Scott): Principles to help hospitals make difficult ethical decisions about care - we do NOT want to get here. (Gina): We cannot staff that many beds - patients may have medical students as nurses or not get checked on at all. We may have to "shut off" non-COVID procedures
Q: Nursing home staffing (can people volunteer to bathe their family members, etc)?
A: "Caregiver exemption" is in the works (allowing family to get certified to give care similar to CNA)
Q: Is RI still independently validating vaccine data despite Pfizer pilot program?
A: Yes.
Q: Will you get vaccinated?
A: I will not be first in line (not necessary), but yes.
My apologies, I missed a few questions
Q: General assembly?
A: They will need to meet before 12/31 to pass a 2021 budget - a space is being set up at the Vets to allow a safe in-person meeting or they may choose to do so virtually
Q: HS sports?
A: Winter season cannot start until January - no practices at all during pause

End of conference (2:25pm)