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Expect lots of temperature checks and one-way routes. ‘As we experienced in China, this will be a journey.’
Wearable social-distancing buzzers. Masked blackjack dealers. Drive-thru electronics purchases. From cubicles to factory floors, cafes to clothing boutiques, businesses around the world are dreaming up creative ways to reopen, attempting to start revenue flowing again while minimizing the risk to customers and employees.
The global economy is riding on their ability to pull off that delicate balance. A new flareup of Covid-19 cases could shutter offices, stores, restaurants and manufacturing plants once again, further choking off the flow of goods and services and threatening more jobs. Some governments, such as China, are providing rigorous oversight of the process. Others, including President Donald Trump’s administration, have offered looser guidance and are entrusting businesses to monitor their facilities. Scientists are still studying how the virus is spread, and whether keeping people six feet apart is enough, adding to the risks.
The companies’ plans rely on a steady supply of masks, gloves, thermometers and tests that is likely to strain budgets and manufacturers’ ability to keep up. Social distancing will be built in, with people divided by barriers and kept apart from colleagues and customers, a U-turn after years of movement toward open floor plans. Some companies will monitor employees more closely than ever before, while others will let workers choose how much protection they need. The way we work, shop, travel and eat in 2020 – and probably beyond – is being plotted out in boardrooms around the world.
Here are the changes companies are contemplating for their workplaces in the coming weeks.

The Office

Seats on the shuttle bus to Unilever’s Shanghai offices can be reserved using a chat group. Employees must be masked to board, and they sit on alternating sides, one person to each four-seat row. Upon arrival, each worker scans a QR code and fills out a health status report to get a daily pass to enter. Then comes the temperature check and the hand sanitizer.
Inside the office, movement is tightly regulated. Employees keep their masks on and are encouraged to use the stairs instead of the elevator, with spritzes of hand sanitizer before and after touching the regularly disinfected handrail. In the canteen, a single person is allowed at each four-seat table.
Such measures might seem predictable in a centrally controlled society like China, but some version of them is starting to appear in the West. At Britain’s former state phone monopoly, BT Group Plc, call center workers sit two meters apart, and walkways are designated as one-way to keep people from brushing past each other. Temperature checks are becoming routine at Sistema, the Russian conglomerate, which also says it’s developed its own two-hour test for Covid-19. Employees who come to the office have been tested in the past couple of weeks, though as many as half of the call center workers at MTS, the mobile network controlled by Sistema, are operating out of their homes.

More Room

Flexible space operator Knotel, which runs offices for corporations including Uber and Netflix, says workplace design has to change. Offices will likely be less densely populated, and altered to make them “antiviral,” according to Amol Sarva, Knotel’s chief executive officer.
“Things like ventilation, UV light, density screening, video monitoring, and temperature monitoring, cleaning protocols — those are all going to have to change,” he said. “Certainly there’ll be more space.”
In China, Cushman & Wakefield has helped move nearly a million workers back into 800 million square feet (74 million square meters) of office space. The company is creating a Recovery Readiness manual for landlords and tenants, based in part on its experience in China, that includes colored carpets to create visual boundaries around desks, plexiglass shields between desks that face each other and signs that direct walking traffic in a single direction.

Fewer Meetings

Even when people do come back to the office, meetings will be limited, and large gatherings are out of the question. This week, Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg canceled all physical events of 50 or more people through June 2021. The vast majority of employees are required to work from home through May, and those who need to carry on doing so will be able to work at home through the summer.
The road to normalcy may be much longer than that. At Abcam Plc, a British protein research company, 40 out of 300 China-based employees started returning to work in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Hong Kong on Feb. 14. Two months later, the company is running split shifts to maintain distancing for the roughly 50% of employees based in manufacturing, logistics and essential lab work.

The Factory

On Feb. 10, Winly Automotive (Wuhan) Ltd. was assigned a checklist from the government. To reopen, the company would be required to have a one-month stash of masks and sanitizer, take a photo of the supplies, and send it to officials before submitting to a detailed inspection. “The policy has been constantly changing,” said Wang Xuepan, one of the plant’s managers. “It’s very difficult for us to handle.”
In the Seattle area, Boeing Co. has worked with the Washington state labor department on a plan to reopen its factories. It will be doling out cloth masks to most workers, saving the gold-standard N95 masks for a select few in more hazardous conditions.
Unlike office drones, factory workers have to show up in person to get the job done. Figuring out what basic protections they’ll need is part of the challenge. At Boeing, industrial engineers are analyzing the sequence of work on its assembly lines to find ways to spread apart workers.

Taking the Temperature

Airbus SE has divided employees at its plants into red and blue teams, who don’t see each other because they use different routes to enter and exit buildings. Volkswagen AG is allotting more time between shifts and reducing expectations for production because it takes longer for people to move around each other at a safe distance. Ford Motor Co. is experimenting with wearable devices that would buzz workers if they get too close together.
While the virus can be transmitted by people with no symptoms, many manufacturers are doing temperature checks, whether with thermometers, thermal imaging cameras or — in the case of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV in the U.S. — reusable forehead strips.
Fiat Chrysler, whose CEO Mike Manley is one of the executives talking with Trump about reopening the economy, is requiring workers to fill out a health questionnaire two hours before reporting to work each day. They must bring either a hard copy, or scan a QR code with their phone, to prove they aren’t displaying signs of illness or exposure to the virus, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg. Workers can’t enter the plant without it.
Some companies are closing cafeterias in favor of vending machines. Dongfeng PSA in Wuhan is handing out prepared lunchboxes to employees, who must eat at least 1.5 meters apart with their backs to each other.
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. said Chairman Li Shufu wrote a song to keep workers motivated through such dreariness. “A world full of expectations/Turned to dust of yesterday,” the lyrics go. “Their sorrow flowing into the sea/But the flower of love is quietly blooming.”

The Airplane

When air travel resumes in earnest, it’s likely that hand sanitizers, face masks and thermometers will become standard at most major airports, said David Powell, medical adviser for the International Air Transport Association, a trade group. All three have shortcomings, but can also reassure passengers, he said.
The International Civil Aviation Organization, which sets global flying standards, wants to establish a “public health corridor concept.” Under such a plan, major airlines, airports, public authorities and other parties would adopt common protocols for screening, boarding, in-flight procedures, arrivals, customs and baggage.
“We cannot all just stop flying,” Ansa Jordaan, the group’s chief of aviation medicine, said during an April 15 webcast.
Emirates Airline said this week it was the first to conduct rapid Covid-19 blood tests, with results available in 10 minutes for passengers flying Wednesday from Dubai to Tunisia. It plans to extend the procedure to other flights, according to Chief Operating Officer Adel Al Redha.
Other carriers are attempting less invasive measures. Etihad Airways, another major airline in the United Arab Emirates, plans to deploy touchless self-service devices at its hub airport in Abu Dhabi to identify travelers with medical conditions, including the early stages of coronavirus.
In the U.S., American Airlines Group Inc. plans to continue spacing customers apart during boarding and flights, conducting extensive cleanings of aircraft and reducing food and beverage service to limit contact, CEO Doug Parker said in an April 15 video message.
“When you do fly, aircraft cleanliness and social distancing matter greatly,” he said.

The Store

In China, it’s become standard to have your temperature taken any time you want to go shopping. Visitors to the Wuhan International Plaza luxury mall are checked for a fever at the door, before they queue up to be served one at a time at Louis Vuitton.
Levi Strauss & Co. disinfects its Chinese stores three times a day and requires temperature checks for customers, who are expected to wear masks before entering the store. Fitting rooms and products that have been tried on are disinfected each time they’re used.
It’s unclear whether practices implemented in China will make their way to other parts of the world, though several companies said they’ll learn from their experience in Asia.

Drive-Thru Shopping

Another technique is to keep shoppers out of the store altogether. Dixons Carphone Plc, the electronics retailer, is considering plans for contact-free “drive-thru” style stores to limit the risk of coronavirus for staff and customers. Shoppers would park outside, call the store to select items to buy, use a contactless system to pay and then open their trunks so staff could deliver the products.
Salespeople at luxury retailers in China were already using social media to engage with customers before the outbreak, but they’ve stepped up the effort since, adding clients on WeChat and sending them information about the latest trends. Louis Vuitton tried showcasing its summer product line in a livestream show on March 26 featuring a social-media star, but was ridiculed for the quality of the video. Sometimes there’s no substitute for personal contact.

The Restaurant

Buffets and salad bars will be re-thought, and self-serve drink stations may be “a thing of the past,” said Taco John’s CEO Jim Creel, who added that other changes are afoot at the 387-store chain. Taco John’s popular salsa bar — around for the past 15 years — may be removed.
“We hope we don’t have to take them out — that we’ll be able to figure out a way to make them still work — but I’m afraid the fear factor our there will force us to go to a pre-packaged option.”
A test of self-ordering kiosks may also get pulled back. “It was a good idea three months ago, but not so good today,” Creel said.

Phone Pay

In China, restaurants and even bars have opened back up in Shanghai, with varying limits on seating arrangements – some allow six to a table, others only one. In Beijing, restaurants are doing temperature checks. In Wuhan, most places are still delivery-only.
“In the short run, as dining rooms open back up again, you’ll probably see many restaurants space their tables a little bit further apart,” said Jack Li, CEO of menu researcher Datassential. “You’ll see more restaurants try to adopt phone pay. So not having to hand your money or card to anyone. You’re certainly going to see more places continue to do things like contactless delivery.”
Starbucks Corp. is taking a store-by-store approach to resuming business activities in the U.S., with services limited to drive-thru, delivery and takeout via mobile orders and contactless pickup.
“As we experienced in China, this will be a journey,” CEO Kevin Johnson wrote in a memo to staff on Thursday.

The Menu

Chains are cutting back menus, focusing on products that sell best and are easy to make. Romano’s Macaroni Grill has pared down its menu to 70% of what it used to be, saying goodbye to pizzas and calzones recently. McDonald’s all-day breakfast menu is gone.
Fazoli’s Italian restaurant chain is trying to secure Purell sanitizing stations – four for each store — along with “millions” of alcohol-based wipes for re-opening the dining rooms of its 216 locations. The company is also re-thinking bathrooms and looking into touch-less soap dispensers. It’s an investment, but a worthwhile one, says CEO Carl Howard.
“I want to let the consumer know I’m doing everything I can to keep them as safe as possible,” Howard said in an interview.

The Arena

Large public gatherings aren’t top of mind yet in China, but Trump and the people who run the U.S.’s biggest sports leagues appear aligned in their thinking that live games, at least in some form, are a critical part of helping the country recover.
“The progression needs to be open outdoor sports first, golf, tennis, swimming so that we can start to test the waters — that I’m fine with,” said billionaire Mark Cuban, who owns the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.
One obstacle may be local politicians. When UFC floated plans to host an event this weekend on tribal land in California without spectators, it was pressure from politicians, including Governor Gavin Newsom, that led to its cancellation. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has reportedly discussed the possibility of prohibiting large gatherings like concerts and sporting events in the city for another year.

The Movies

That said, there’s billions on the line for sports leagues, sponsors and media networks if the games don’t resume soon. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious-disease expert, has said that that the only way to do that this summer is to close venues to fans and keep all the players, coaches and referees isolated from society.
Cinema owners are also waiting to see when health officials give them clearance to open up. Cinemark Holdings Inc., the third-largest U.S. movie chain, has been in discussions with major film studios about when to release blockbusters again. The chain’s management thinks they could begin bringing back staff starting in late June, then build up a marketing campaign for a broader re-opening on July 1.
The experience won’t be like it was before coronavirus hit. The chain will either have to limit the available tickets for each showing, leaving about half its seats open. Or it may eliminate reserved seating, so customers can voluntarily spread themselves out when they arrive. Cleaning will have to be ramped up, and opening hours may be limited to accommodate the changes.
“How long that will take? We’re not completely certain,” said Mark Zoradi, Cinemark’s CEO, on a call with analysts and investors on Wednesday. “But we’re planning on anywhere from one to three months to light up that engine again and then to begin with higher profile, new product.”

The Casino

Las Vegas casino executives have discussed opening with as little as one-third of their rooms available, with limited entrances where guests’ temperatures could be checked. Casino employees would wear masks and gloves, and gamblers would sit at least a chair apart at blackjack tables.
The moves are similar to what is already occurring in Macau, the world’s largest gambling market, where casinos closed for 15 days in February and reopened under tight restrictions.
The companies are also discussing enhanced cleaning techniques, something unions have requested.

Fun Parks

The $19.3 billion U.S. theme park industry is also making plans, though no one knows when gates will reopen.
When they do, employees may be wearing masks and temperatures may be checked not only at the entrances but inside as well, said Dennis Speigel, a theme park consultant in Cincinnati. Operators may also institute virtual queues, where guests snag a place in line through an app and come to ride when it’s their turn.
“The theme park of the future is going to have to take a much different turn, from distancing to wanding to cleaning,” Speigel said. “I’ve never heard the fear in the voices that I’ve heard. Nobody knows what they’re going to be doing.”
Bloomberg News - With assistance from Thomas Buckley, Thomas Seal, Dana Hull, Natalie Wong, Julie Johnsson, Charlotte Ryan, Christoph Rauwald, Kyunghee Park, Gabrielle Coppola, Shiho Takezawa, Tian Ying, Chunying Zhang, Keith Naughton, Mary Schlangenstein, Justin Bachman, Layan Odeh, Jordyn Holman, Deirdre Hipwell, Robert Williams, Kim Bhasin, Jinshan Hong, Claire Che, Leslie Patton, Kelly Gilblom and Christopher Palmeri.

Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words. For anyone interested, I highly recommend signing up for the actual site at f4wonline and checking out the full archives.
PREVIOUS YEARS ARCHIVE: 1991 • 1992 • 1993

1-3-1994	1-10-1994	1-17-1994	1-24-1994
1-31-1994	2-7-1994	2-14-1994	2-21-1994
2-28-1994	3-7-1994	3-21-1994	3-28-1994
4-4-1994	4-11-1994	4-18-1994	4-25-1994
5-2-1994	5-9-1994	5-16-1994	5-26-1994
5-30-1994	6-6-1994	6-10-1994	6-20-1994
6-27-1994	7-4-1994	7-11-1994	7-18-1994
8-1-1994	8-8-1994	8-14-1994	8-22-1994
8-29-1994	9-5-1994	9-12-1994	9-19-1994
9-26-1994	10-3-1994	10-10-1994	10-17-1994
10-24-1994	10-31-1994

Just want to brag for a second if that's okay. My favorite part about doing all these Observer posts is how much I've learned from reading them. Last night, it paid off as I participated in a Royal Rumble-style wrestling trivia competition at a bar here in Memphis and ended up beating 34 other people to win. And I owe it all to His Holiness, Lord Meltzer, praise be to the most high. Thanks Dave! (Also, shouts out to the guy at trivia who chose "Hepatitis O'Neil" as his gimmick name. Oh, how I laughed...)

• Preliminary numbers for Halloween Havoc show the PPV buyrate to be around 0.95 which is absolutely disastrous. WCW had been openly predicting that the show would do nearly double of what Bash at the Beach did and instead, it actually did less. Considering all the money they put into promoting this show, plus retiring Ric Flair, it's bad news all around.
  
• Hogan is currently negotiating extending his WCW contract but it's thought that he's angling for full, complete control of the company to stay, and at the very least, he won't settle for anything less than what he already has, which is complete creative control over his and his friends characters and storylines. The booking committee was also recently restructured, with Hogan and Jimmy Hart added so he has a say in everything in the company already. Hogan is obviously still a draw but he's not as big a draw as they hoped and now that the dream match storyline with Flair is done, the real test of how well Hogan can draw begins. Dave wonders if he's worth the money. They've built so much of the company around him and they're paying him truckloads of money, but he rarely works house shows and many of WCW's core fans resent him (as evidenced by him regularly getting booed). On the same hand, if WCW lets Hogan go, the company likely deflates like a balloon without him. Sting is the only other possible candidate and he's repeatedly proven to not be a significant draw, yet he's the best they've got. WCW doesn't have a star that can carry the company without Hogan but it might end up hurting them more to try to keep him.
  
• The AAA When Worlds Collide PPV next week is by far the most important Lucha Libre event ever in the U.S. and the success or failure of it will likely determine whether AAA can truly cross the border and become a legitimate promotion in America. Dave gives a long history of Lucha Libre's successes in America, dating back to the 60s and 70s with guys like El Santo, Mil Mascaras, Gory Guerrero and others and how it died off in the 80s and wasn't revived until AAA shocked the wrestling world in 1992 when they sold out several huge shows in California. Including selling out the same Los Angeles Sports Arena that WWF failed to sell out for 2 different Wrestlemanias. But crowds have fallen since then every time after. Now, WCW has financed this upcoming PPV, with English and Spanish commentary to try and cross it over to American audiences, but in typical WCW fashion, they totally dropped the ball by not promoting it at all. Dave spends over a page describing how WCW has screwed this up to the point of nearly sabotage and thinks it will likely flop on PPV because both sides failed to promote it properly.
  
• From here, Dave spends several pages explaining the differences in Mexican wrestling and then gives the background and storylines behind each match at the PPV. Dave seems to really want this PPV to succeed while resigning himself to the fact that it probably won't. He calls Rey Mistero Jr. the heart and soul of AAA and says he's the most incredible and creative high flyer in the world aside from maybe Great Sasuke. He notes that La Parka "wears a Skeletor costume" so it might be hard to take him as a serious worker at first glance, but don't make that mistake, he's awesome. Love Machine and Eddie Guerrero "are probably the best tag team in the world right now."
  
• New details on Missy Hyatt's lawsuit against WCW. During her employment, Missy alleges she was the victim of sexual harassment, discrimination, or retaliation by a number of people. The names included are Ric Flair, Jim Ross, Eric Bischoff, Mike Graham, Greg Gagne, Ole Anderson, Gene Okerlund and several backstage and office employees and range from people grabbing her breasts, continually asking her out for dates or sexual favors, making unwanted sexual advances, and threatening or intimidating her for reporting harassment. She also claims a full color photo of her, with her breast exposed when it popped out at Starrcade 93 was printed out and displayed around the office. Hyatt says she complained to Eric Bischoff, who did nothing, so she went above his head to Bob Dhue to report it. When Bischoff learned she went to Dhue, he fired her and Bob Dhue upheld her termination. She also alleges wage discrimination, saying she was paid less than men who did the same jobs and that WCW hasn't paid her for merchandising income. And finally, she claims that after breaking up with Eric Bischoff's friend Jason Hervey, he sent Missy's belongings to Bischoff. However, Bischoff refused to return the items to her until she signed over to Hervey the titles to 3 expensive cars she had in her name.
  
• UWA and AAA have restarted their working relationship, at least for now, which led to a couple of AAA stars working a UWA show last week and another joint show scheduled next week. Might be a little too late for UWA though.
  
• NJPW came close to getting a TV deal here in the U.S. but it fell through. They were negotiating with TNT to air a weekly show because TNT wants to break into the Asian market. However, TV-Asahi in Japan, which owns 50% of NJPW, is also trying to expand into Asia and they saw TNT as competition for that, so they refused to sign off on the deal.
  
• Atsushi Onita held a major party to celebrate passing the 1,000 stitches mark on his body. He's trying to get into the Guinness World Records book for person who has had the most stitches. Everyone needs to have a goal, I guess.
  
• Terry Funk recently cut ties with Onita's FMW and is planning to work for IWA, which is a smaller but similar deathmatch promotion in Japan. Funk challenged Onita to a winner-take-all $1 million dollar match. Onita responded saying that he has no animosity towards Funk for jumping ship and that he'd love to come over to Funk's house and eat a steak with him. Funk responded by making the challenge again and saying Onita lied to him because he promised Funk a rematch after Funk put him over in 1993 but never gave him one. Funk then said if Onita came over for steak, he'd make sure he poisoned the steak.
  
• Vince McMahon filmed another promo as a heel for USWA this week, but it was mostly just to hype a benefit softball game that Lawler is involved in. Vince strongly hinted that he would be in Memphis for the game, but never outright said it. Although Vince was great as a heel in promos he filmed last year, Dave says he was really over-acting in this one (can't find this one).
  
• Dave has finally seen enough SMW footage to declare that The Gangstas gimmick isn't working. Most times when a company tries to cross a line and be controversial, it usually turns off more fans than it turns on and that seems to be the case here. The crowds have dwindled and the Gangstas matches are mostly greeted with silence from the fans. New Jack cuts good promos, but nothing that sells tickets and in the ring, the team is awful, with Mustafa in particular not even being ready to work opening matches, much less main events.
  
• WCW settled the "When Worlds Collide" PPV name issue with ECW and as a result of the settlement, a couple of WCW wrestlers will work on an upcoming ECW show. No word on who it will be yet, although ECW has been desperately trying to get a Brian Pillman vs. Sabu match, but WCW has repeatedly refused to let them use Pillman. After this agreement is done, WCW has made it clear that they will no longer have any relationship with ECW.
  
• In a recent issue of Sports Illustrated, they listed "Muhammad Ali handing Hulk Hogan the belt at Halloween Havoc" as that week's Sign of the Apocalypse (a weekly feature in the magazine). In the same issue, someone wrote in to the letters section about SI's recent article about the 40 most annoying people in sports and wrote, "No list would be complete without including all pro wrestlers who dare to call their chosen profession a sport."
  
• Jim Crockett ran his first NWA show at the Dallas Sportatorium, with mixed results. Some people said it was better than the GWF shows ("what praise, huh?") but others said it was worse. It's expected that former GWF star Moadib (Ahmed Johnson) is going to be pushed as the promotion's top star.
  
• Cactus Jack and Sabu had a crazy match at a casino in Las Vegas, including a spot where they did a piledriver on a blackjack table in the casino in the middle of an ongoing game (this appears to be the match and at about the 8:50 mark, you see them heading into the casino, but then the video cuts back to the ring, so whatever happened on the floor of the casino apparently wasn't filmed).
  

WATCH: Cactus Jack vs. Sabu - Las Vegas, 1994

• Indie wrestling promoter Cliff Bartz was arrested by the FBI in Florida this week where he was living under a fake name. Bartz had a reputation as a snake indie promoter and was on the run from charges that he masterminded armed robberies and intimidated witnesses.
  
• Movie director Steven Spielberg is refusing to allow his new movie Schindler's List to air on PPV because he says he doesn't want it to be associated with things like pro wrestling.
  
• Vader was scheduled to face Hogan at Starrcade, but Hogan nixed the idea. Vader then filmed promos teasing challenging Hogan down the road at some later date, but somehow, those interviews got scrubbed from TV also and never aired.
  
• Speaking of Hogan politics, after Steve Austin lost the U.S. title to Jim Duggan in 28 seconds, Austin was reportedly promised that he would get the belt back at Halloween Havoc. But Hogan overruled the booking committee, so his friend Jim Duggan is still champion.
  
• On TV this weekend, Eric Bischoff was doing commentary and claimed the last PPV proves WCW is the #1 company. He then told fans to "check out the competition and when you're done laughing at the clowns, come back, we'll still be here." Dave mentions the rocks and glass houses saying.
  
• Brian Blair and Warlord, two more of Hogan's friends, may be headed in to WCW soon.
  
• Dave is hearing that Bob Backlund will be winning the title from Bret Hart at Survivor Series, "for better or worse," he says.
  
• Bull Nakano is expected to win the WWF women's title from Alundra Blayze at the All Japan Women's Tokyo Dome show later this month.
  
• Dave gives 4.5 stars to a Diesel/Shawn Michaels vs. 1-2-3 Kid/Razor Ramon match that aired on Action Zone and says it's the best WWF TV match in more than a year (yeah I think this match is kind of famous for being the first time the Kliq all got to work together on TV and they tore the house down on a throwaway Saturday morning show).
  

WATCH: Diesel/Shawn Michaels vs. 1-2-3 Kid/Razor Ramon
MONDAY: Randy Savage leaves WWF, Chris Benoit breaks Sabu's neck, AAA PPV fallout, and more...

This is an email recently sent to journalists, attorneys and others.
The two people addressed briefly at the beginning of this Email are a Paralegal at the Connecticut law firm of Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder https://www.koskoff.com who are suing gun manufacturers as part of their overall lawsuit strategy and doing the same in relation to Sandy Hook and independent journalist Mike Turber, one of the producers of the upcoming documentary Vegas Wrong, along with Ramsey Denison https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1774444/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1 , producer of the award winning documentary What Happened in Vegas https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6615426/?ref_=nm_knf_i2
Hi Lorena,
The following is a very good overview of what I know of what happened in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017 - and I venture to say I know way more valid information than 99% plus of the population about this subject.
It was originally sent to Mike Turber months ago. I have added comments where needed, but for the most part it was already very complete and well documented.
Please let me know you received this, there are many links and a few images so not all email systems will treat this as serious correspondence.
Thanks,
Rodney Peterson
​
Hi Mike,
A week before you posted the videos with Eric (Paddock, Stephen Paddock's brother), I posted roughly 120 to 130 posts on Twitter in succession with links to back up everything I say. These are the original writings I culled those posts from.
Eric Paddock interviews for Vegas Wrong:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPEmD5KKvb0
(Long)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diofrf4nwaE&t=9s
(Short)
On his last day on Earth, just hours before committing the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shootings in which he killed 59 people, including himself, Stephen Paddock won $860,000 playing video poker. Independent Journalist and Investigator Mike Turber has seen the official records. (while this is true, he LOST even more than that. This gives you an idea of just how fast paced and pressure filled becoming an addicted gambler playing video poker for up to 14 hours a day year-round can be).
There is more about that specifically and about Mike Turber later in this email.
Rodney Peterson
​
You can also find an extended interview with the shooters brother Eric Paddock, who is speaking through Mike Turber on this video, and myself on the You Tube page of Weg Oag, who has posted many videos about the Las Vegas shootings here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zR1rBjtwHI&t=5s
All of that is true. If you read my comments beneath, and there are many of them, you'll see that I've answered all the inconsistencies and reasonable objections anyone brought up.
All of the interview and all of my writing is first and foremost based on the following. Without this, it's very unlikely I would have remembered meeting Stephen Paddock, let alone what he said with regards to wishing to extract revenge on the casinos through extreme violence.
I did not remember it right away, it took several days after I read the comment below and it was not very clear at first. It took probably right around a week to actually remember everything accurately. Here it is copied and pasted from the Los Angeles Times website at which it was published on October 17, 2017 - two and a half weeks after the shootings where it was posted after an article about Jesus Campos appearing on the Ellen DeGeneres Show:
robert.roberts0361
1 year (s) ago
Quite a while back talked to that guy in an Edmonton casino about how the casinos cheat their patrons. Not a Muslim terrorist thing at all. Same guy Filipino girlfriend. Lived in a hotel in Vegas. Asked him why he came to an out of the way place like Edmonton. He said just to gamble. He mentioned he was a retired accountant. Talked about nothing you can do about the casinos cheating if you tried to sue they would bury you with their lawyers. He said he tried that once. He said he was going to do something about it. He mentioned something about a AR 15. I said I didn't know what that was (at the time) I'm retired military what would that be in military talk? He said M16. When I left I thought that guy is an American so he can't get guns in Canada. Can anyone figure out the dates he was up here. I recall he said he drove in from British Columbia and was on a 2 day stopover from a 19 day cruise when I met him. Maybe 30th September 2016???
Compare that with my conversation with him, which started as just being at the same Blackjack table where he and Marilou Danley were in the Excalibur, staring at me for half an hour or so while I played, then complimenting me on winning money as he noticed the mathematical progressions of my betting patterns, then his bizarre rant about the casinos cheating, and finally this exchange when talk of cheating became talk of revenge:
"How? How are you going to get revenge on the casinos? They'll have you before you get ten feet on the floor!"
"LOOK ALL AROUND YOU! WHADDAYA SEE?! WINDOWS!"
Couple that with having nearly the same set of mental issues as Paddock. The major difference is I became obsessed with music and movies, not guns and not gambling 14 hours a day. I'm sure there are other differences as well, my contact with him was limited, but in retrospect, there was a ton of common ground. The types of personalities he and I have are not in the slightest bit desirable or advantageous. Especially when every effort is made to deny a problem even exists, as is the case with him. Anyone with these same issues and real introspection abilities would never have carried this out, they would look inside themselves first. He couldn't even blame himself for his own gambling issues, let alone anything else.
How he even thought for a minute he would survive such a heinous act uncaught, unpunished and with impunity is probably pretty good proof he couldn't ever accept the reality of his predicament and mental disabilities. The reality is from what I know of him he didn't attempt to deal with problems in any constructive way and just let the anger keep building, it's toxic. Lots of people with these same issues snap violently and always will. Largely because of the introspection he apparently lacked, I know I would never get away with such an act, even if I wanted to, even on a much smaller scale, no matter how much I tried or wanted to.
I knew immediately that comment was very important, it literally checked many of the boxes of what I instinctively believed, as well as had been originally reported, and urged the writer to contact the FBI. I had no idea when I read it I would have a similar story to tell, to say that was shocking when I began to remember my own encounter with Stephen Paddock is a huge understatement.
You can find it at the comments posted underneath the linked Los Angeles Times article here. To find it click where it says Be the first to comment (I don't know why it's set up like that, but it is) when you do comments will open. Keep clicking until the comment above appears.
Here is the link to the article:
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-jesus-campos-20171017-story.html
It's extremely detailed as you can see, plus EVERYTHING FITS. A couple of important points - a retired military person would not have to know what an AR15 is, maybe they didn't have a huge interest in guns. And maybe they knew what it was but didn't know what it was called exactly. And the part about the two day stopover from Vancouver is irrelevant. ALL 19 day cruises to Alaska end with a two day stopover in Vancouver. That means Stephen Paddock had already disembarked, and did not have to go back to the ship at all.
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND SOMETHING THE FBI COULD EASILY DO IF THEY WANTED TO GET TO THE TRUTH OF THE MOTIVE
>>>>This would be easy to prove by checking passenger manifests for 19 day Alaska cruises that began in early to mid-September 2016 from the port of Vancouver.
My experience with Stephen Paddock was very similar and is written in detail, particularly at Instagram. Telephone, text or Twitter are the best ways to contact me directly.
I suspect he has aspergers as I do. That explains his obsession with numbers and math. That was why he wanted to talk to me - he saw I was using a mathematical system to win money. No one, before or since, has ever wanted to speak to me about using progressive math to win money, and that’s counting hundreds and hundreds of Casino Blackjack games. Very few people ever even notice it.
Being obsessed with activities and collecting stuff is part of the aspbergers, I believe, another part is the math. He collected guns and gambled 14 hours a day at times. My obsession is not about those things, it’s about collecting music, movies and television series, on every conceivable format at one time or another. But it’s part of the same pattern of aspbegers.
He’s unfriendly, he was annoyed I sat down at the same table he was playing at. He stared at me for a good half hour while we played, hardly saying a word. So he was both annoyed and studying the math I was using to place bets, which I didn’t know until after the game had ended for me, and he started talking about how I using math to win money. He thought that was smart.
He is incapable of blaming himself for his problems. He lacks introspection. Losing money at gambling is not his fault, the casinos are cheating him. That’s what he told me and I disagreed. The casinos don’t need to cheat.
He flies off the handle quickly. Disagreeing with him sent him into more of a rant about the casinos cheating, getting revenge, and finally when I asked how he was going to do that, yelling about shooting out of windows onto the Las Vegas Strip. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense, and even though he mentioned he lived at Mandalay Bay, which sounded like bullshit and I pretty much didn’t believe him, we were at The Excalibur which I’ve never thought of as a place with large windows, so it sounded even more ridiculous.
All in all, it sounded like a fantasy of revenge that would never happen. Yet, clearly, 15 months before he did it, he already had a clear plan of how to proceed. I believe that over the next 15 months it gelled from an insane idea to a workable plan.
But he still made a ton of mistakes. Otherwise, if he knew what he was doing when he shot at the jet fuel tanks, it could have been way, way worse. Just as an example of how inefficient the entire plan was.
It is extremely frustrating not to get real traction on this part of the story being reported, and it seems to be a deliberate decision possibly made by people in power at various institutions that have an interest in not divulging these details. These include MGM Resorts and other casinos, for certain, which in turn have a large degree of influence over the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, as well as media outlets, especially the Las Vegas Review Journal which is owned by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.
There are new stories being investigated and confirmed that concern other angles of this story that are not being disclosed by MGM Resorts. This includes MGM gifting security guard Jesus Campos with Real Estate in the form of Las Vegas condos to sign an NDA and not talk about the events, including that management knew there was a huge quantity of guns in the room but chose to ignore them because of Stephen Paddock's High Roller Status. This is according to his former brother-in-law, Luis Castro, and is partially documented in the article mentioned below.
See this article, one of many written by Doug Poppa. It’s important to note his background is in casino security, while my story revolves around my experience with Stephen Paddock, and examines both psychology and a very strong case of explaining the motive as revenge against the casinos, which is what he told me in person.
http://baltimorepostexaminer.com/exclusive-mgm-resorts-international-buys-mandalay-bay-security-officer-jesus-campos-silence-with-all-expenses-paid-trips-condos-in-exchange-for-nda/2018/12/09
Here are a couple of newer posts I’ve written at You Tube with relevant information about what Stephen Paddock told me:
Regarding what Paddock shouted “LOOK ALL AROUND YOU! WHADDAYA SEE?! WINDOWS!!” and Doug Poppa saying he’s never seen windows in the Excalibur, he wasn’t talking about that casino. He was talking about the entire strip. It was pretty obvious.
In fact, when he said it the image that came to mind was that he would shoot out of the windows of a central location, like Aria, not Mandalay Bay and certainly not Excalibur. Although he did tell me he lived at Mandalay Bay, which just added to how nuts I thought he was. People do not live at Mandalay Bay, and yet, he actually was very close to that, but I didn’t believe him.
Naturally, when I remembered all this I felt horribly guilty I never reported it. But now I know thanks to the efforts of Doug Poppa interviewing Luis Castro it wouldn’t have made any difference at all. Mandalay Bay knew about the guns in the room and ignored them. They weren’t about to take my word over his no matter what I told them on July 6, 2016. He was a high roller, I was not. I didn’t know he was a high roller, of course, I just thought he was a disheveled angry nut.
The interview also includes comments by Eric Paddock, who tries to negate my testimony in two ways. First, he claims Stephen Paddock didn’t play table games. Second, he tries to negate my memory of Stephen Paddock with a beard and mustache by saying he’s clean shaven. In both cases in the comments section I link to articles and photos that prove he did play Blackjack - for up to $2500 a hand. Photos of Stephen Paddock with a beard and mustache are easily found searching Google for images.
All reasonable objections and any time I misspoke during the interview are addressed in my comments - there are a lot of them. A lot of people asked questions, but some were redundant and others just will not accept that this tragedy was not a conspiracy, or that it didn’t happen. Of course, it happened. And it wasn’t a conspiracy.
Here is an early article from October 7, 2017 printed in the Las Vegas Sun confirming Stephen Paddock did indeed play Blackjack:
https://lasvegassun.com/news/2017/oct/07/dealers-lv-gunman-paddock-would-spend-long-hours-p/
Excerpts from that article specifically about Blackjack:
When one blackjack table dealer at the D Las Vegas first saw Stephen Paddock’s picture on television last week, she thought it was Paddock that had been shot — not the other way around.
Upon later finding out Paddock was responsible for the deaths of 58 attendees and the injuries of nearly 500 more at last Sunday’s Route 91 Harvest Festival on the Las Vegas Strip, the dealer said she was surprised that a man she knew to be calm yet reclusive was responsible for the largest mass shooting in modern United States history.
“He wasn’t the nicest guy, but he never came across as threatening,” said the dealer, who asked not to be identified. “Unpleasant in general, but he didn’t go out of his way to be rude or go after other people.” “I never would have thought he was capable of something like this, not him,” she added.
The dealer was one of several to speak with the Sun about Paddock, who owned homes in Mesquite and Reno but spent his retirement years and the final weeks of life frequenting the tables and machines of downtown and Strip casinos.
An avid blackjack player, Paddock also played video poker, interviewed dealers said. His girlfriend, Marilou Danley, enjoyed playing video slots when the two came to the casino together.
Another female dealer at the D Las Vegas, who requested anonymity, said Paddock had been a regular at the casino for “many years,” gambling as many as four days a week and sometimes spending an entire afternoon shift between gaming tables and the upstairs video poker room.
Despite betting up to $2,500 per hand on high-limit blackjack tables, Paddock was a poor tipper at first, she said. But he eventually came around when she gave him a hard time for “being cheap.” “I told him, ‘Steve, it would be nice if you started tipping me,’” she said. “From there on, he always left a fair tip.”
Three other dealers at the D Las Vegas said they last remembered Paddock at the casino on Sept. 26, just five days before he opened fire from his 32nd floor hotel room onto the 22,000 attendees of the country music festival.
SOME OF THE FOLLOWING IS REPEATED. THERE ARE OTHER AS YET NEW TO THIS EMAIL ANGLES OF THE STORY FOLLOWING THE REPEATED BACKGROUND INFORMATION.
Independent Investigator and Journalist Mike Turber has seen official records confirming Stephen Paddock won $860,000 on September 30, 2017, just hours before he committed the Las Vegas shootings. However, that figure doesn’t include losses for the day, which are right around $890,000.
Mike Turber, along with Ramsey Denison, who produced the documentary What Happened In Vegas, have interviewed me extensively on camera and in person. Mike Turber has stated that he observed my body language and other factors as a sort of lie detector test to determine if I was telling the truth without my knowledge which he states in that You Tube video. His conclusion is that either I am telling the truth or I believe I’m telling the truth.
Mike Turber can be contacted here:
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
I believe, based on behavior, both Stephen Paddock and I have similar mental illnesses and Asperger’s syndrome. I believe that’s why he instinctively talked to me and noticed I was using the same type of mathematical formulas he did and was familiar with. (It works too 98% of the time the problem is it doesn’t work 100% of the time and that’s what you need). So was he crazy? Of course he was crazy! So am I. But instead of guns, my obsessions are artistic – movies, music, media production, and the like. There’s nothing I can do about the Asperger’s or High Functioning Autism that’s part of this. Like him I’ve had it all my life. You cannot fake this.
I would never have even remembered meeting Stephen Paddock, let alone what he said to me about wanting revenge against the casinos if I hadn’t come across this post written after an article about Mandalay Bay security guard Jesus Campos appearing on the Ellen show. Everything here fits:
robert.roberts0361
1 year(s) ago
Quite a while back talked to that guy in an Edmonton casino about how the casinos cheat their patrons. Not a Muslim terrorist thing at all. Same guy Filipino girlfriend. Lived in a hotel in Vegas. Asked him why he came to an out of the way place like Edmonton. He said just to gamble. He mentioned he was a retired accountant. Talked about nothing you can do about the casinos cheating if you tried to sue they would bury you with their lawyers. He said he tried that once. He said he was going to do something about it. He mentioned something about a AR 15. I said I didn't know what that was (at the time) I'm retired military what would that be in military talk? He said M16. When I left I thought that guy is an American so he can't get guns in Canada. Can anyone figure out the dates he was up here. I recall he said he drove in from British Columbia and was on a 2 day stopover from a 19 day cruise when I met him. Maybe 30th September 2016???
You can find the original at the comments posted underneath the linked Los Angeles Times article here. To find it click where it says Be the first to comment (I don't know why it's set up like that, but it is) when you do the comments will open. Keep clicking until the comment above appears.
Here is the link to the article:
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-jesus-campos-20171017-story.html
It's extremely detailed as you can see, plus EVERYTHING FITS. A couple of important points - a retired military person would not have to know what an AR15 is, maybe they didn't have a huge interest in guns. Or maybe he knew what it was but didn't know what it was called exactly. And the part about the two day stopover from Vancouver is irrelevant. ALL 19 day cruises to Alaska end with a two day stopover in Vancouver. That means Stephen Paddock and Marilou Danley had already disembarked, and did not have to go back to the cruise ship at all.
AND HOW TO PROVE THE EDMONTON STORY IS TRUE:
Any FBI investigator or private investigator could prove if what Stephen Paddock told that commenter is true by checking passenger manifests for 19 day Alaska cruises that began in early to mid-September 2016. Unless Stephen Paddock and Marilou Danley were on that cruise, this person couldn’t have possibly known about it unless he was directly told by Stephen Paddock, as he says.
THE FOLLOWING IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT TO MOTIVE. THIS IS WHAT STEPHEN PADDOCK MEANT WITH REGARDS TO THE CASINOS CHEATING, NOT TRADITIONAL CHEATING. I don’t play Video Poker, so I had no idea what he meant by his talking about the casinos cheating that morning unless he had explained it to me, which he didn’t do.
Here is another recent You Tube post I’ve written which details more about Stephen Paddock and Video Poker with links to yet more relevant information. There are several posts by myself near the bottom of the thread. Just like on my Instagram page, Rodney4K, you can see how the details of the memory of meeting Stephen Paddock was not at that time completely clear and changed as I remembered more and more of what happened.
There are very rare video poker machines known as 9 over 6 Jacks or Better. If played perfectly they give the player 100.8% payout. But that's no guarantee. Someone figured out that in order to have a 90% chance of winning $140,000 you need at least a six million dollar bankroll.
There is a whole thread about this and Paddock in one of Anthony Curtis columns on the Las Vegas Advisor website. Of course, beating the house long term is close to impossible. Even the Sheriffs department admits Paddock had lost a considerable amount of wealth prior to the shootings.
There's also a report that he won $860,000 on the day of the shootings. But that figure doesn't include losses, which are reported to be some $890,000. Mike Turber knows the details of this.
I have several comments in that article. Just like on my Instagram page, if you read them, you'll see how they change more and more as I start to remember meeting Stephen Paddock and what he said about getting revenge on the casinos. It was a very bizarre few days as that memory returned:
https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/gambling-with-an-edge/the-shooter-gambler-steven-paddock/
Because that blog is about gambling, many of the posts are about how much Stephen Paddock did gamble, his odds of winning and related subjects. It is this post from the above thread that appears to be the most accurate about the level of Video Poker Stephen Paddock played nearly every day:
What everyone is forgetting is what kind of bankroll is required when playing 9/6 Jacks or Better at $125 a hand. According to Video Poker for Winners if you bet $125 a hand and you get 0.5% slot club return, which I think is generous for a strip club casino in 2015, you need over $6 million bankroll. And that is for a chance of going broke 10% of the time! If the average gambler can make this calculation so can a casino. There’s no way a casino is going to give you free rooms, food, shows, etc and at the same time let you win $5 million over the year!
You can see how complicated it gets. Did he win the $5 million? Sure, probably several times. But at a cost that probably was more in the neighborhood of after 6 million dollars of losses.
Another insightful commenter provided this information about changes in tax law under Donald Trump which would be something that could very much upset Stephen Paddock to the point of taking these drastic actions:
I am surprised nobody has commented on an obvious angle to the Shooter’s profile. He had millions in Royal Fushes each year. At Tax Time those wins were undoubtedly counter balanced by his losses. Anthony Curtis related in the latest issue of LVA that the last 2 books purchased were about Taxes and Gambling Law.
Under the Trump tax plan guess how much will be allowed to be written off as losses?? ZERO!!!!! That deduction dies and so with it will any AP (Advantage Play) play on VP. The Shooter was an accountant, he had to have knowledge of that reality. Anyone who plays VP, at any level above a $1200 Royal, would have to be an idiot to be in action under those conditions.
The winning sum of $5,000,000 has been used in previous posts, Can you imagine having won $5,000,000 and subsequently losing that back plus an additional $500,000? You would not only be stuck the $500,000 but also owe the IRS another $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 in taxes on your non deductible winnings.
How come nobody in the casinos is screaming about this? It will kill destroy $1 and up Slot and VP play.
According to Mike Turber, who says he has seen the records, Stephen Paddock won $860,000 on September 30, 2017, just before the shootings. But, he also very likely lost $890,000 that very same day, according to the full accounting.
This is also very important, in that besides my testimony of what happened when I met Stephen Paddock and when Robert Roberts met Stephen Paddock, here is a CNN article quoting his Caesars Palace host that says that when they switched out the high payoff machines, he stopped coming altogether.
This helps give credence to the motive of being angry at the casinos, wanting revenge, and his belief the casinos were cheating. They don't cheat in the traditional sense - they don't have to, and that's why I disagreed with him and why he became angry. But, in his mind, switching out the higher payoff Video Poker machines for the ones that gave the house a better edge after years and years of playing them-I can see how he would equate that with cheating:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/16/us/las-vegas-shooting-documents/index.html
This is an excerpt from that CNN article:
A man who worked for Caesars Entertainment who had known Paddock for years said Paddock was a regular guest for several years but Caesars took out his favorite video poker machines.
Paddock was a skilled gambler, the casino host said, and he stopped coming once those games were taken out.
The host said Paddock was an odd guy who either came to one of the Caesars properties alone or with his girlfriend, Marilou Danley. Danley was in the Philippines at the time of the shooting, and police said they don't think she was involved. Paddock, who killed himself, acted alone, police have said.
The host said there was one incident years ago in which Paddock yelled at him over late luggage, something the host thought peculiar. When asked to specify why he thought Paddock was odd, the host said: "He was just weird."
I'm also on Instagram where you can find more information. The Instagram account is not active, I can’t respond to it or anything anyone else chooses to write there, or edit or remove comments from others, but there are several posts there that are relevant. The top of the page explains which posts to look for by date that are relevant.
www.Instagram.com/Rodney4K/
I also have a Twitter page, which is active, with brief tweets and through which I can be contacted for communication or chat:
www.twitter.com/Rodney4KBluRay
Rodney Peterson

The two people addressed briefly at the beginning of this Email are a Paralegal at the Connecticut law firm of Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder https://www.koskoff.com/
who are suing gun manufacturers as part of their overall lawsuit strategy and doing the same in relation to Sandy Hook and independent journalist Mike Turber, one of the producers of the upcoming documentary Vegas Wrong, along with Ramsey Denison https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1774444/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1 , producer of the award winning documentary What Happened in Vegas https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6615426/?ref_=nm_knf_i2
Hi Lorena,
The following is a very good overview of what I know of what happened in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017 - and I venture to say I know way more valid information than 99% plus of the population about this subject.
It was originally sent to Mike Turber months ago. I have added comments where needed, but for the most part it was already very complete and well documented.
Please let me know you received this, there are many links and a few images so not all email systems will treat this as serious correspondence.
Thanks,
Rodney Peterson
​
Hi Mike,
A week before you posted the videos with Eric (Paddock, Stephen Paddock's brother), I posted roughly 120 to 130 posts on Twitter in succession with links to back up everything I say. These are the original writings I culled those posts from.
Eric Paddock interviews for Vegas Wrong:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPEmD5KKvb0
(Long)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diofrf4nwaE&t=9s
(Short)
On his last day on Earth, just hours before committing the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shootings in which he killed 59 people, including himself, Stephen Paddock won $860,000 playing video poker. Independent Journalist and Investigator Mike Turber has seen the official records. (while this is true, he LOST even more than that. This gives you an idea of just how fast paced and pressure filled becoming an addicted gambler playing video poker for up to 14 hours a day year-round can be).
There is more about that specifically and about Mike Turber later in this email.
Rodney Peterson
​
You can also find an extended interview with the shooters brother Eric Paddock, who is speaking through Mike Turber on this video, and myself on the You Tube page of Weg Oag, who has posted many videos about the Las Vegas shootings here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zR1rBjtwHI&t=5s
All of that is true. If you read my comments beneath, and there are many of them, you'll see that I've answered all the inconsistencies and reasonable objections anyone brought up.
All of the interview and all of my writing is first and foremost based on the following. Without this, it's very unlikely I would have remembered meeting Stephen Paddock, let alone what he said with regards to wishing to extract revenge on the casinos through extreme violence.
I did not remember it right away, it took several days after I read the comment below and it was not very clear at first. It took probably right around a week to actually remember everything accurately. Here it is copied and pasted from the Los Angeles Times website at which it was published on October 17, 2017 - two and a half weeks after the shootings where it was posted after an article about Jesus Campos appearing on the Ellen DeGeneres Show:
robert.roberts0361
1 year (s) ago
Quite a while back talked to that guy in an Edmonton casino about how the casinos cheat their patrons. Not a Muslim terrorist thing at all. Same guy Filipino girlfriend. Lived in a hotel in Vegas. Asked him why he came to an out of the way place like Edmonton. He said just to gamble. He mentioned he was a retired accountant. Talked about nothing you can do about the casinos cheating if you tried to sue they would bury you with their lawyers. He said he tried that once. He said he was going to do something about it. He mentioned something about a AR 15. I said I didn't know what that was (at the time) I'm retired military what would that be in military talk? He said M16. When I left I thought that guy is an American so he can't get guns in Canada. Can anyone figure out the dates he was up here. I recall he said he drove in from British Columbia and was on a 2 day stopover from a 19 day cruise when I met him. Maybe 30th September 2016???
Compare that with my conversation with him, which started as just being at the same Blackjack table where he and Marilou Danley were in the Excalibur, staring at me for half an hour or so while I played, Then complimenting me on winning money as he noticed the mathematical progressions of my betting patterns, then his bizarre rant about the casinos cheating, and finally this exchange when talk of cheating became talk of revenge:
"How? How are you going to get revenge on the casinos? They'll have you before you get ten feet on the floor!"
"LOOK ALL AROUND YOU! WHADDAYA SEE?! WINDOWS!"
Couple that with having nearly the same set of mental issues as Paddock. The major difference is I became obsessed with music and movies, not guns and not gambling 14 hours a day. I'm sure there are other differences as well, my contact with him was limited, but in retrospect, there was a ton of common ground. The types of personalities he and I have are not in the slightest bit desirable or advantageous. Especially when every effort is made to deny a problem even exists, as is the case with him. Anyone with these same issues and real introspection abilities would never have carried this out, they would look inside themselves first. He couldn't even blame himself for his own gambling issues, let alone anything else.
How he even thought for a minute he would survive such a heinous act uncaught, unpunished and with impunity is probably pretty good proof he couldn't ever accept the reality of his predicament and mental disabilities. The reality is from what I know of him he didn't attempt to deal with problems in any constructive way and just let the anger keep building, it's toxic. Lots of people with these same issues snap violently and always will. Largely because of the introspection he apparently lacked, I know I would never get away with such an act, even if I wanted to, even on a much smaller scale, no matter how much I tried or wanted to.
I knew immediately that comment was very important, it literally checked many of the boxes of what I instinctively believed, as well as had been originally reported, and urged the writer to contact the FBI. I had no idea when I read it I would have a similar story to tell, to say that was shocking when I began to remember my own encounter with Stephen Paddock is a huge understatement.
You can find it at the comments posted underneath the linked Los Angeles Times article here. To find it click where it says Be the first to comment (I don't know why it's set up like that, but it is) when you do comments will open. Keep clicking until the comment above appears.
Here is the link to the article:
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-jesus-campos-20171017-story.html
It's extremely detailed as you can see, plus EVERYTHING FITS. A couple of important points - a retired military person would not have to know what an AR15 is, maybe they didn't have a huge interest in guns. And maybe they knew what it was but didn't know what it was called exactly. And the part about the two day stopover from Vancouver is irrelevant. ALL 19 day cruises to Alaska end with a two day stopover in Vancouver. That means Stephen Paddock had already disembarked, and did not have to go back to the ship at all.
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND SOMETHING THE FBI COULD EASILY DO IF THEY WANTED TO GET TO THE TRUTH OF THE MOTIVE
>>>>This would be easy to prove by checking passenger manifests for 19 day Alaska cruises that began in early to mid-September 2016 from the port of Vancouver.
My experience with Stephen Paddock was very similar and is written in detail, particularly at Instagram. Telephone, text or Twitter are the best ways to contact me directly.
I suspect he has aspergers as I do. That explains his obsession with numbers and math. That was why he wanted to talk to me - he saw I was using a mathematical system to win money. No one, before or since, has ever wanted to speak to me about using progressive math to win money, and that’s counting hundreds and hundreds of Casino Blackjack games. Very few people ever even notice it.
Being obsessed with activities and collecting stuff is part of the aspbergers, I believe, another part is the math. He collected guns and gambled 14 hours a day at times. My obsession is not about those things, it’s about collecting music, movies and television series, on every conceivable format at one time or another. But it’s part of the same pattern of aspbegers.
He’s unfriendly, he was annoyed I sat down at the same table he was playing at. He stared at me for a good half hour while we played, hardly saying a word. So he was both annoyed and studying the math I was using to place bets, which I didn’t know until after the game had ended for me, and he started talking about how I using math to win money. He thought that was smart.
He is incapable of blaming himself for his problems. He lacks introspection. Losing money at gambling is not his fault, the casinos are cheating him. That’s what he told me and I disagreed. The casinos don’t need to cheat.
He flies off the handle quickly. Disagreeing with him sent him into more of a rant about the casinos cheating, getting revenge, and finally when I asked how he was going to do that, yelling about shooting out of windows onto the Las Vegas Strip. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense, and even though he mentioned he lived at Mandalay Bay, which sounded like bullshit and I pretty much didn’t believe him, we were at The Excalibur which I’ve never thought of as a place with large windows, so it sounded even more ridiculous.
All in all, it sounded like a fantasy of revenge that would never happen. Yet, clearly, 15 months before he did it, he already had a clear plan of how to proceed. I believe that over the next 15 months it gelled from an insane idea to a workable plan.
But he still made a ton of mistakes. Otherwise, if he knew what he was doing when he shot at the jet fuel tanks, it could have been way, way worse. Just as an example of how inefficient the entire plan was.
It is extremely frustrating not to get real traction on this part of the story being reported, and it seems to be a deliberate decision possibly made by people in power at various institutions that have an interest in not divulging these details. These include MGM Resorts and other casinos, for certain, which in turn have a large degree of influence over the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, as well as media outlets, especially the Las Vegas Review Journal which is owned by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.
There are new stories being investigated and confirmed that concern other angles of this story that are not being disclosed by MGM Resorts. This includes MGM gifting security guard Jesus Campos with Real Estate in the form of Las Vegas condos to sign an NDA and not talk about the events, including that management knew there was a huge quantity of guns in the room but chose to ignore them because of Stephen Paddock's High Roller Status.
See this article, one of many written by Doug Poppa. It’s important to note his background is in casino security, while my story revolves around my experience with Stephen Paddock, and examines both psychology and a very strong case of explaining the motive as revenge against the casinos, which is what he told me in person.
http://baltimorepostexaminer.com/exclusive-mgm-resorts-international-buys-mandalay-bay-security-officer-jesus-campos-silence-with-all-expenses-paid-trips-condos-in-exchange-for-nda/2018/12/09
Here are a couple of newer posts I’ve written at You Tube with relevant information about what Stephen Paddock told me:
Regarding what Paddock shouted “LOOK ALL AROUND YOU! WHADDAYA SEE?! WINDOWS!!” and Doug Poppa saying he’s never seen windows in the Excalibur, he wasn’t talking about that casino. He was talking about the entire strip. It was pretty obvious.
In fact, when he said it the image that came to mind was that he would shoot out of the windows of a central location, like Aria, not Mandalay Bay and certainly not Excalibur. Although he did tell me he lived at Mandalay Bay, which just added to how nuts I thought he was. People do not live at Mandalay Bay, and yet, he actually was very close to that, but I didn’t believe him.
Naturally, when I remembered all this I felt horribly guilty I never reported it. But now I know thanks to the efforts of Doug Poppa interviewing Luis Castro it wouldn’t have made any difference at all. Mandalay Bay knew about the guns in the room and ignored them. They weren’t about to take my word over his no matter what I told them on July 6, 2016. He was a high roller, I was not. I didn’t know he was a high roller, of course, I just thought he was a disheveled angry nut.
The interview also includes comments by Eric Paddock, who tries to negate my testimony in two ways. First, he claims Stephen Paddock didn’t play table games. Second, he tries to negate my memory of Stephen Paddock with a beard and mustache by saying he’s clean shaven. In both cases in the comments section I link to articles and photos that prove he did play Blackjack - for up to $2500 a hand. Photos of Stephen Paddock with a beard and mustache are easily found searching Google for images.
All reasonable objections and any time I misspoke during the interview are addressed in my comments - there are a lot of them. A lot of people asked questions, but some were redundant and others just will not accept that this tragedy was not a conspiracy, or that it didn’t happen. Of course, it happened. And it wasn’t a conspiracy.
Here is an early article from October 7, 2017 printed in the Las Vegas Sun confirming Stephen Paddock did indeed play Blackjack:
https://lasvegassun.com/news/2017/oct/07/dealers-lv-gunman-paddock-would-spend-long-hours-p/
Excerpts from that article specifically about Blackjack:
When one blackjack table dealer at the D Las Vegas first saw Stephen Paddock’s picture on television last week, she thought it was Paddock that had been shot — not the other way around.
Upon later finding out Paddock was responsible for the deaths of 58 attendees and the injuries of nearly 500 more at last Sunday’s Route 91 Harvest Festival on the Las Vegas Strip, the dealer said she was surprised that a man she knew to be calm yet reclusive was responsible for the largest mass shooting in modern United States history.
“He wasn’t the nicest guy, but he never came across as threatening,” said the dealer, who asked not to be identified. “Unpleasant in general, but he didn’t go out of his way to be rude or go after other people.” “I never would have thought he was capable of something like this, not him,” she added.
The dealer was one of several to speak with the Sun about Paddock, who owned homes in Mesquite and Reno but spent his retirement years and the final weeks of life frequenting the tables and machines of downtown and Strip casinos.
An avid blackjack player, Paddock also played video poker, interviewed dealers said. His girlfriend, Marilou Danley, enjoyed playing video slots when the two came to the casino together.
Another female dealer at the D Las Vegas, who requested anonymity, said Paddock had been a regular at the casino for “many years,” gambling as many as four days a week and sometimes spending an entire afternoon shift between gaming tables and the upstairs video poker room.
Despite betting up to $2,500 per hand on high-limit blackjack tables, Paddock was a poor tipper at first, she said. But he eventually came around when she gave him a hard time for “being cheap.” “I told him, ‘Steve, it would be nice if you started tipping me,’” she said. “From there on, he always left a fair tip.”
Three other dealers at the D Las Vegas said they last remembered Paddock at the casino on Sept. 26, just five days before he opened fire from his 32nd floor hotel room onto the 22,000 attendees of the country music festival.
SOME OF THE FOLLOWING IS REPEATED. THERE ARE OTHER AS YET NEW TO THIS EMAIL ANGLES OF THE STORY FOLLOWING THE REPEATED BACKGROUND INFORMATION.
Independent Investigator and Journalist Mike Turber has seen official records confirming Stephen Paddock won $860,000 on September 30, 2017, just hours before he committed the Las Vegas shootings. However, that figure doesn’t include losses for the day, which are right around $890,000.
Mike Turber, along with Ramsey Denison, who produced the documentary What Happened In Vegas, have interviewed me extensively on camera and in person. Mike Turber has stated that he observed my body language and other factors as a sort of lie detector test to determine if I was telling the truth without my knowledge which he states in that You Tube video. His conclusion is that either I am telling the truth or I believe I’m telling the truth.
Mike Turber can be contacted here:
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
I believe, based on behavior, both Stephen Paddock and I have similar mental illnesses and Asperger’s syndrome. I believe that’s why he instinctively talked to me and noticed I was using the same type of mathematical formulas he did and was familiar with. (It works too 98% of the time the problem is it doesn’t work 100% of the time and that’s what you need). So was he crazy? Of course he was crazy! So am I. But instead of guns, my obsessions are artistic – movies, music, media production, and the like. There’s nothing I can do about the Asperger’s or High Functioning Autism that’s part of this. Like him I’ve had it all my life. You cannot fake this.
I would never have even remembered meeting Stephen Paddock, let alone what he said to me about wanting revenge against the casinos if I hadn’t come across this post written after an article about Mandalay Bay security guard Jesus Campos appearing on the Ellen show. Everything here fits:
robert.roberts0361
1 year(s) ago
Quite a while back talked to that guy in an Edmonton casino about how the casinos cheat their patrons. Not a Muslim terrorist thing at all. Same guy Filipino girlfriend. Lived in a hotel in Vegas. Asked him why he came to an out of the way place like Edmonton. He said just to gamble. He mentioned he was a retired accountant. Talked about nothing you can do about the casinos cheating if you tried to sue they would bury you with their lawyers. He said he tried that once. He said he was going to do something about it. He mentioned something about a AR 15. I said I didn't know what that was (at the time) I'm retired military what would that be in military talk? He said M16. When I left I thought that guy is an American so he can't get guns in Canada. Can anyone figure out the dates he was up here. I recall he said he drove in from British Columbia and was on a 2 day stopover from a 19 day cruise when I met him. Maybe 30th September 2016???
You can find the original at the comments posted underneath the linked Los Angeles Times article here. To find it click where it says Be the first to comment (I don't know why it's set up like that, but it is) when you do the comments will open. Keep clicking until the comment above appears.
Here is the link to the article:
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-jesus-campos-20171017-story.html
It's extremely detailed as you can see, plus EVERYTHING FITS. A couple of important points - a retired military person would not have to know what an AR15 is, maybe they didn't have a huge interest in guns. Or maybe he knew what it was but didn't know what it was called exactly. And the part about the two day stopover from Vancouver is irrelevant. ALL 19 day cruises to Alaska end with a two day stopover in Vancouver. That means Stephen Paddock and Marilou Danley had already disembarked, and did not have to go back to the cruise ship at all.
AND HOW TO PROVE THE EDMONTON STORY IS TRUE:
Any FBI investigator or private investigator could prove if what Stephen Paddock told that commenter is true by checking passenger manifests for 19 day Alaska cruises that began in early to mid-September 2016. Unless Stephen Paddock and Marilou Danley were on that cruise, this person couldn’t have possibly known about it unless he was directly told by Stephen Paddock, as he says.
THE FOLLOWING IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT TO MOTIVE. THIS IS WHAT STEPHEN PADDOCK MEANT WITH REGARDS TO THE CASINOS CHEATING, NOT TRADITIONAL CHEATING. I don’t play Video Poker, so I had no idea what he meant by his talking about the casinos cheating that morning unless he had explained it to me, which he didn’t do.
Here is another recent You Tube post I’ve written which details more about Stephen Paddock and Video Poker with links to yet more relevant information. There are several posts by myself near the bottom of the thread. Just like on my Instagram page, Rodney4K, you can see how the details of the memory of meeting Stephen Paddock was not at that time completely clear and changed as I remembered more and more of what happened.
There are very rare video poker machines known as 9 over 6 Jacks or Better. If played perfectly they give the player 100.8% payout. But that's no guarantee. Someone figured out that in order to have a 90% chance of winning $140,000 you need at least a six million dollar bankroll.
There is a whole thread about this and Paddock in one of Anthony Curtis columns on the Las Vegas Advisor website. Of course, beating the house long term is close to impossible. Even the Sheriffs department admits Paddock had lost a considerable amount of wealth prior to the shootings.
There's also a report that he won $860,000 on the day of the shootings. But that figure doesn't include losses, which are reported to be some $890,000. Mike Turber knows the details of this.
I have several comments in that article. Just like on my Instagram page, if you read them, you'll see how they change more and more as I start to remember meeting Stephen Paddock and what he said about getting revenge on the casinos. It was a very bizarre few days as that memory returned:
https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/gambling-with-an-edge/the-shooter-gambler-steven-paddock/
Because that blog is about gambling, many of the posts are about how much Stephen Paddock did gamble, his odds of winning and related subjects. It is this post from the above thread that appears to be the most accurate about the level of Video Poker Stephen Paddock played nearly every day:
What everyone is forgetting is what kind of bankroll is required when playing 9/6 Jacks or Better at $125 a hand. According to Video Poker for Winners if you bet $125 a hand and you get 0.5% slot club return, which I think is generous for a strip club casino in 2015, you need over $6 million bankroll. And that is for a chance of going broke 10% of the time! If the average gambler can make this calculation so can a casino. There’s no way a casino is going to give you free rooms, food, shows, etc and at the same time let you win $5 million over the year!
You can see how complicated it gets. Did he win the $5 million? Sure, probably several times. But at a cost that probably was more in the neighborhood of after 6 million dollars of losses.
Another insightful commenter provided this information about changes in tax law under Donald Trump which would be something that could very much upset Stephen Paddock to the point of taking these drastic actions:
I am surprised nobody has commented on an obvious angle to the Shooter’s profile. He had millions in Royal Fushes each year. At Tax Time those wins were undoubtedly counter balanced by his losses. Anthony Curtis related in the latest issue of LVA that the last 2 books purchased were about Taxes and Gambling Law.
Under the Trump tax plan guess how much will be allowed to be written off as losses?? ZERO!!!!! That deduction dies and so with it will any AP (Advantage Play) play on VP. The Shooter was an accountant, he had to have knowledge of that reality. Anyone who plays VP, at any level above a $1200 Royal, would have to be an idiot to be in action under those conditions.
The winning sum of $5.000,000 has been used in previous posts, Can you imagine having won $5.000.000 and subsequently losing that back plus an additional $500,000? You would not only be stuck the $500,000 but also owe the IRS another $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 in taxes on your non deductible winnings.
How come nobody in the casinos is screaming about this? It will kill destroy $1 and up Slot and VP play.
According to Mike Turber, who says he has seen the records, Stephen Paddock won $860,000 on September 30, 2017, just before the shootings. But, he also very likely lost $890,000 that very same day, according to the full accounting.
This is also very important, in that besides my testimony of what happened when I met Stephen Paddock and when Robert Roberts met Stephen Paddock, here is a CNN article quoting his Caesars Palace host that says that when they switched out the high payoff machines, he stopped coming altogether.
This helps give credence to the motive of being angry at the casinos, wanting revenge, and his belief the casinos were cheating. They don't cheat in the traditional sense - they don't have to, and that's why I disagreed with him and why he became angry. But, in his mind, switching out the higher payoff Video Poker machines for the ones that gave the house a better edge after years and years of playing them-I can see how he would equate that with cheating:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/16/us/las-vegas-shooting-documents/index.html
This is an excerpt from that CNN article:
A man who worked for Caesars Entertainment who had known Paddock for years said Paddock was a regular guest for several years but Caesars took out his favorite video poker machines.
Paddock was a skilled gambler, the casino host said, and he stopped coming once those games were taken out.
The host said Paddock was an odd guy who either came to one of the Caesars properties alone or with his girlfriend, Marilou Danley. Danley was in the Philippines at the time of the shooting, and police said they don't think she was involved. Paddock, who killed himself, acted alone, police have said.
The host said there was one incident years ago in which Paddock yelled at him over late luggage, something the host thought peculiar. When asked to specify why he thought Paddock was odd, the host said: "He was just weird."
I'm also on Instagram where you can find more information. The Instagram account is not active, I can’t respond to it or anything anyone else chooses to write there, or edit or remove comments from others, but there are several posts there that are relevant. The top of the page explains which posts to look for by date that are relevant.
www.Instagram.com/Rodney4K/
I also have a Twitter page, which is active, with brief tweets and through which I can be contacted for communication or chat:
www.twitter.com/Rodney4KBluRay
Rodney Peterson
​
📷

Edward Thorp, the father of card counting and quantitative investing, fills you in on his mistakes so you don’t have to repeat them.
https://www.barrons.com/articles/the-stockpickers-burden-and-other-lessons-1521460800
By Leslie P. Norton and Dan Lam March 19, 2018 8:00 a.m. ET
In 1962, the young writer Tom Wolfe wrote a sympathetic profile in the Washington Post about a 30-year-old mathematician who had learned how to beat the house in blackjack. The mathematician, Edward Thorp, described how to figure out the sequence of the cards and how to bet accordingly.
The story went viral. And Thorp, who taught math at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then at the University of California, Los Angeles, became an instant celebrity who wrote best-selling books about his techniques. (In fact, Fischer Black and Myron Scholes used a key idea from one of those books for their formula to price options; they subsequently won the Nobel Prize.)
Thorp also invented a wearable computer that could beat the casino at roulette. Soon, he took what he knew and began applying it to the stock market and taking private clients. One early admirer was Warren Buffett, who having briefly shut down an early money management vehicle because stocks were too expensive, advised a client to sign on with Thorp. In 1969, Thorp opened Princeton Newport, a quant fund that returned 19.1% a year until 1988. A few years later, Thorp started a new statistical arbitrage fund using techniques he discovered in 1980.
“Ed is known as the father of quantitative investing, but his genius has really been the ability to identify inefficient areas of the market and figure out ways to take advantage of mispricings,” said Steven Friedman, founder of the Santangel’s Investor Forum, an investor conference. Thorp shut the second fund down in 2002, when returns “were down to the low teens. I didn’t want to work for the low teens,” he recalled.
All along, Thorp has been writing his books, including the entertaining and informative memoir A Man for All Markets, which comes out in paperback next month. We caught up with Thorp, now 85, just before he left for a hiking vacation in New Zealand. In this first part of the wide-ranging interview, he told us how stock markets are like casinos, and why index investing is worth it.
Barron’s: How did you become the father of card counting?
Thorp: In high school, it occurred to me that the roulette ball moves in a stately orbit like a planet. I thought it might be predictable. I did a lot of doctoral work in physics, and was convinced I could predict from the motion of the ball and the spinning rotor roughly where the ball would fall, and if I did so I would have a huge advantage. That’s what got me interested in gambling. I went to the casinos in Christmas of 1958, and while there I read an article from a statistics journal that showed how to play blackjack so you lost slowly. I decided the game was beatable essentially by keeping track of the cards. So I got all the information from the people who wrote the article, improved their calculations, and used those calculations to figure out how to count cards.
I was at M.I.T. at the time and [entered the data into] an early high-speed computer that was available to the faculty. After nine months, I had my results. I saw that indeed you could beat blackjack and do a nice job. I announced it at the American Math Society, which was attended not just by mathematicians but lots of other characters like Tom Wolfe, and then it went viral on the Associated Press wire.
Q: Why are some tables hot and cold?
A: If the game is honest, most of the time it’s just random fluctuations. Those random fluctuations are what I think of as luck.
Q: How are casinos similar to the stock market?
A: Imagine you are investing in an index fund. The casino is Mr. Market, who offers you a collection of bets. If you choose an index fund, say VTSAX [the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index fund], on a typical day it randomly fluctuates by 1%. But there is a long-term drift in your favor of about one twentieth of a [percentage point]. So if you had $1 million in your portfolio in such an index, Mr. Market will come to you each day and say, “Let’s flip a coin. If it’s 50/50, then you’ll win $10,000 or lose $10,000. But I’ll pay you $500 if you play that day.” If you play for one day, you’ll be at $9,500 or at $10,500. If you play for a year, the chances are moderately good that you’ll be ahead because those $500 payments add up and overcome the fluctuation. Maybe a third of the years, you’ll be down and unhappy. But if you play for 10 years or 20 years, then those $500 payments just keep adding up.
Warren Buffett has also devoted his life to compounding. So a similar process happens at blackjack tables. If you’re counting cards, you have a little drift in your favor. But in blackjack you play 100 hands an hour, and in a week you may play 4,000 hands. In a casino, you get to the long run fairly quickly.
Q: That stock market drift you’re talking about—are those the real numbers?
A: It is five basis points a day. [A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.] Multiply that by 250 days, and it’s about 12.5%. The historical geometric growth is about 10.5%, because of the fluctuations.
Q: Given that drift, is stock-picking even worth it?
A: There are three types [of investors]. One wants to do well and not spend a lot of time. Those should be passive investors, and they will beat most of the others who will be dragged down by fees and costs and punished by what I call “the scared-rabbit syndrome,” which is that they run out at the bottom and get back in at the top. The index investors who just buy and sit avoid all these issues.
Then there is the small group of investors who want to be professionals—hedge fund managers, people who work for endowments, universities, and so on. I might add that they haven’t done all that well. Then there are people who just enjoy messing around in the market and are willing to spend time to get an education. For them, I say, take a small amount of capital and learn. But put most of it in an index fund where it will grow while you are busy getting your education and paying for it.
I paid for my education and know it can be fairly expensive. My book talks about some big mistakes and also about the Kelly Criterion formula, which tells you how to allocate money between risky alternatives and gives you an idea of how much to allocate to each.
Q: But before applying the Kelly Criterion, as you’ve pointed out, you need to know how big your edge is. How do you do that?
A: At a casino, you can generally calculate your edge fairly precisely. In the stock market, it’s not so easy. For an index fund, the statistical numbers we’ve viewed are probably not too far off what you can expect going into the future, assuming the world stays something like the world we know and the U.S. is the successful country it is. It doesn’t have to be the only superpower. The historical experience in first-world countries goes back for centuries. So we have a pretty good idea what the statistics are going to be for equities going forward.
Then take those numbers and shade them somewhat conservatively, using [your assumption of] rates and tail risk. Then you can do a pretty good conservative calculation of how much to invest. But really, don’t borrow. You can make much more if you borrow when things are reasonably good, but every so often, something nasty happens.
Look at all those people who were in the VelocityShares VIX Short Volatility Holding exchange-traded note. For years people minted money and kept telling me how great it was. I studied it, couldn’t see their edge, and I could see the black swan downside. Sure enough, it was wiped out last month.
Read part 2 of our interview with Edward Thorp, “Why Edward Thorp Only Owns Berkshire Hathaway”
In the second part of our interview with card counter and mathematician Edward Thorp—the father of quantitative investing—he recalled an early brush with Bernie Madoff, described what’s in his portfolio, shared his solution to gun violence, and served up the secrets of a long life. He also shared his most recent list of what he does to promote healthy longevity, which we post in its lightly edited entirety below.
Barrons.com: All the way back in 1991, you were suspicious about Bernie Madoff’s returns.
Edward Thorp: I was asked to review the portfolio for a client, the pension plan of a large international consulting firm. I looked through their various managers. All looked fine except Bernard Madoff Investment Securities. The returns were exceedingly regular—1% or 2% a month no matter what was going on in the market, using an allegedly simple strategy of an options collar. Even when the market went down, they had magically guessed they should put on a large short in S&P index futures. It couldn’t be right. I asked the client for confirmations. For half of them, the trades never took place on the exchange that the tickets said they traded on. Then for another quarter of them, the volume didn’t match the exchange volume.
I called a friend at Bear Stearns and asked him, as a special favor since I was a large client, to get information on trading on 10 particular options on certain days. The 10 options they checked for me showed no evidence they were connected in any way with Madoff. So I told my client this was an absolute fraud and he needed to pull out. Of course, it didn’t blow up for 17 years. Some people were enraged that I never told them, but I had a fiduciary obligation to keep my mouth shut.
Q: What’s in your portfolio now?
A: One good stroke of good fortune was meeting Warren Buffett in 1968. It led me to realize that I needed to invest in Berkshire Hathaway (ticker: BRK.A), although I didn’t do it until 1982. It’s my single investment in the stock market. It’s like a broad value-stocks equity index. I hold it in lieu of VTSAX [the Vanguard Total Stock Market fund]. It does about as well with no current taxes to pay. VTSAX has dividends that are taxed annually. I also have some hedge funds, but I consider them not as good as Berkshire, so I use them to spend and finance other things I do.
Q: Why not go out and find better investments, as you did in the past?
A: When I was 35, I had lots of time and less money, so doing 10% or so better than the index, with little risk, was attractive and fun. At 85, the marginal value of time is higher and the marginal value of money is lower. These are strong disincentives when I can make a long-run 10% or so by doing nothing.
Q: There are a lot of quant funds in the market today. Is there so much competition that the inefficiencies, which at one time you would have exploited, are gone?
A: I don’t think so. The quant funds trawl through massive amounts of data. But there’s a lot of information about companies that aren’t in the available data, including strategic thinking. Take, for instance, the fact that some companies buy back stock intelligently and some do it very stupidly. The intelligent ones buy back stock when they’re getting their money’s worth, when it’s actually worth paying for the shares because they’re underpriced. Take an extreme case where the stock has liquidation value of $10 a share and the company can buy back stock at $8 a share. Many closed-end funds are in exactly the situation I just described. They just don’t happen to buy back their stock because they don’t want to reduce the amount of capital they manage and [thus] reduce their fees. There are a lot of things that involve thinking that artificial intelligence isn’t going to find.
Q: What do you think of stocks?
A: Stocks today are on the high side and will be hurt as rates rise. We are probably late in this cycle. We’re due for a slowdown and maybe another severe correction. If you’re a long-term investor, though, equities are the way to go.
NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP
Q: What lessons do you want people to come away with from A Man for All Markets?
A: That the best thing you can do for yourself is to educate yourself to think clearly and rationally. It helps to have math or science or logical training. The next is to be widely read and curious. If you are that way, you have so much more to use in terms of tools. [Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman] Charlie Munger has a collection of multiple mental models—shorthand ways to think of things. I also have my own, and one of my favorites is to understand externalities [spillover effects from other economic activity].
For example, if I buy fire insurance for my house, my neighbor is a little safer. That’s an externality benefit. If someone drives a polluting gasoline car and uses the atmosphere as a waste dump without paying any consequences, that’s a negative externality. Another one is guns. Gun dealers make a lot of money, their clients go out and kill people, and society pays huge costs. Gun dealers don’t.
Externalities are a good way to start analyzing problems. A lot of problems go away if you make people who distribute negative externalities pay the consequences. There’s a neat solution. Automobiles kill about 35,000 people a year. If you want to drive a car, you need a license, some training, and also insurance if your car does damage. People have to be accountable for their guns, just like cars. If your car is stolen, you are expected to report it. [What if it were the] same with guns? People wouldn’t be able to accumulate thousands of guns, because what insurance company will insure it? What do you think the insurance would be for an AR-15? It would be very high.
Q: You’re 85 and look like you’re in your early 60s. What’s your secret?
A: I think rationally and clearly about how to slow aging. I’ve been exercising since my 20s. I started running marathons when I was 47. I’ve run 22; my personal lifetime best is 3.17 hours. I spend five hours a week in vigorous walking or easy jogging. I work out with a trainer twice a week. I feel I should do more. I have a body-mass index of 22 and am comfortable there. I try to eat semi-intelligently. I have never smoked. It has got to be one of the stupidest things. I have never met Jim Simons of Renaissance, the greatest quant hedge fund guy ever, because he was a chain smoker and I didn’t want to go into his office. You should think about your overall health and fitness plan. You are your own best health manager. Get started by telling yourself: Some is better than none, and more is better than less.
Q: Thanks, Ed.

David Paul sits at a poker table in a dimly lit room
With starbound in less than a week away. I’m preparing for one of the biggest, if not exactly the biggest tag match in EWF history. And what better way to prepare is there then to tell a story.
My name is David Matthew Paul, and I know. Three first names make up my full name. I was born on December 12th 1985 in Paradise, Nevada to my mother, Leah Paul. And my Father, Vincent Paul. I had a sister, who sadly passed away 2 years ago, her name was Sara Paul. To people who don’t know, this might seem like the perfect family.
Wrong
Very, very wrong,
Thing is, daddy was never around, see. He preferred wasting thousands of dollars at casinos as apposed to being a father.
And mommy, mommy was a whore. Selling her body for money and drugs.
The only relationship I had was with my sister, and she’s gone...
But I bottled my pain. I eventually got a job at a cardhouse in Vegas, worked there for 12 years. Gained the nickname “The Dealer”. If you was there playing blackjack, and I was your dealer, there was no chance you’d win. I was the best, and I was rightfully the best.
But one day, there was this dude, name was Rickey De Santa, said i had a wrestlers look. Gave me his business card and said if I ever wanted to train to be a wrestler, I had his number.
And the pay at the cardhouse was terrible. I was barely making a living. So I decided why not, gave Rickey a call. Went to this building. There was around a dozen other guys training. It was overwhelming. But I knew the pay would be worth it. So I gave it my all, ended up graduating top of my class.
From there I worked as a freelancer, offering my skills to many Indy promotions. Until I got a call, a guy named royal ambassador, he refused to give me his actual name. Said he’s recruiting for his company, EWF.
So I agreed. Moved down from Vegas to Los Angeles. I was finally in the big leagues, and honestly. It was more overwhelming than wrestling school. I was scared actually. Didn’t know what to expect, but I knew i was the greatest when it came to gambling, and I knew i was one of the greatest when it came to sports entertainment. So I took the bull by the horns. Swiftly defeated a guy called nick Gemini in my debut. It was fun, but still scary.
Not long after, a fellow wrestler in EWF called Derek Gunslinger put out a recruitment tweet. Saying he was looking for a partner. So I replied, said I’d be happy to team with him. Man, a few months later. He became my best friend. Me and Gunslinger kick ass as a unit in the ring. And when we go out drinking. Like seriously, Derek can really drink.
And then our ranks grew, me and Derek became Me, Derek and Jordan. And Jordan is currently out due to injury but he knows fully if he ever returns, he’s welcomed with open arms back into DMH.
Then there was kaio, which was a mistake. He lost all of his matches and dipped on us, fuck him.
The DMH lineup was broken, me and Derek thought it would just be us for awhile. Until a guy named ace sanders debuted, he told us he wanted in. We obliged, the outlaw is one of the greatest talents in all of wrestling. You have to admit that.
Then one of Derek’s sworn enemies, gunner garret had a change of heart, and finally saw that DMH always had a spot for him open.
Needless to say, I’ve never known trust like DMH, these men are more than my tag partners, they’re my brothers. And me and Derek, we’re going to prove our brotherhood is stronger than all when we defeat the Brothers In Blood,
Paul Out.

Without taking his order, the bartender set a margarita on the rocks in front of Walter. “So, what brings you to beautiful Mexico, amigo?” asked the bartender, whose nametag read Eduardo.
Walter Raymundo looked up at the bartender and considered his answer. A 45-year-old widower, Walter had arrived at Playa de Sueños resort yesterday. He looked at his phone – 5 PM. Yesterday’s highlight was a group catamaran sailing lesson followed by a sedate dinner for one at the resort restaurant. Tonight, he was trying his luck at the pool bar; hopefully he’d make it past 9 PM.
“Oh, what you’d expect. I’m part of a Z Survivor group. Package deal – pay a little extra and the organizers promise a 2-1 ratio of women to men,” Walter admitted with a rakish smile.
Eduardo chuckled. “So, my friend, you’re like the rest of us - looking for love.”
Walter gave a grunt that might have been agreement but said nothing. He was looking for love, sure, but he couldn’t ignore his work, either.
It had taken him 5 years to talk himself into traveling from his home in Tucson, AZ, to the nearest “safe” resort in the West. Playa de Sueños, located in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico, was purpose-built to resist zombie attacks. Walter lost his wife, Evie, in the great West Coast Zombie Uprising of 2022 and he was uneasy. Not because of the zombies – by all accounts the Mexican government was far more ruthless in exterminating the living dead than the United States. No, the Mexican government didn’t care that the long-rumored zombie cure was, by all accounts, just around the corner, or that with the help of a powerful drug cocktail a small number of “remediated” zombies were currently being trained to complete menial jobs in some parts of the United States. The Mexican Guerreros contra los Muertos were known to shoot first and not ask questions. On top of that, the resort was on a manmade island with strict security protocols including lots of men with automatic rifles.
Walter was uneasy because he hadn’t been on a date since his wife died – hadn’t been intimate with another human being since Evie had been ripped from his arms by an angry horde 5 years ago. Now here he was, sipping a margarita by the pool, sizing up the female population. There were some beautiful women for sure, but as he feared he was 20 years older than most of the female guests. Middle aged women were in particularly short supply all over the Americas. For some still unknown reason, zombies attacked women more than men, and women over 40 most of all. Once attacked, older women were more likely to convert or die than any other demographic besides the very young and the very old. Solid numbers were hard to come by but something like 5% of the human population in America had been wiped out since the first flare-up in 2011. Some 15 million plus gone, and women over 40 made up 2/3 of that number.
The rarest commodity of all were survivors, those who’d been attacked but made it out the other side. It was believed that less than 1% of all humans attacked by zombies survived. Most confirmed survivors were secured at government sites being tested and studied. Most, but not all.
The west coast of America had taken the brunt of the zombie uprisings. Southern California alone lost 3 million to zombie attacks and another 2 million to outmigration. Zombies liked it hot but not too hot, dry but not too dry. They also appear to have a sense of humor as the government was now paying families to move into the few inhabitable neighborhoods in LA and San Diego. Houses that would have sold for millions were now being given away. Other than a few mild flareups in New York, Houston, and a handful of other cities, the middle of the country and the east coast were largely untouched. The average suburbanite in New Hampshire or Ohio watched the holocaust unfold across their TV screens, safe in their living rooms, while Los Angeles and San Diego nearly burned to the ground.
Walter came out of his reverie. “Thanks for the drink, Eduardo. Very good. But I didn’t order it – how’d you know I’d like it?”
“I took a chance – you seem like the tequila type,” said a woman’s voice.
Walter looked to his left just as a woman started walking toward him. Walter took her in. Not your typical beauty but interesting none the less. She was perhaps 5 feet 5 inches tall, brown skin the color of melted caramel. Eyes as black as anthracite, yet a bit jaundiced in the sclera. Athletic, bordering on muscular build, small perky breasts.
And not a day over 25.
“Hi, um, thanks,” said Walter.
“I’m America. You looked thirsty and lonely,” she said, in faintly-accented English.
Her face was radiant. Walter was intrigued.
“I’m Walter. Thanks again for the drink. Do you want to get a booth?”
As they walked toward the booth, America lost her balance, giving Walter an opportunity to be a gentleman. She laughed, blamed it on an irregular paving stone. Once in the booth, they talked, awkwardly at first, more comfortably as time wore on. America learned that Walter lived in Tucson but had moved there from San Marcos, a town in northern San Diego County. Walter left Southern California during the Uprising only reluctantly and only after losing his wife. He took the same package most SoCal refugees took five years ago, a $50,000 relocation credit plus a military escort for those willing to relocate to Arizona, New Mexico or a handful of places further east. Tucson was a popular choice, a major metro area relatively close to the Mexican border that was too hot and dry for zombies most of the year. Walter had been a tenured professor at UC-San Diego until the Uprising. Now the campus was a charred ruin and he taught at a community college.
As Eduardo delivered a second round of margaritas, the conversation turned to America. She was born in Mexico but immigrated when she was seven. She grew up not far from Walter’s hometown of San Marcos in Oceanside, a quaint, if somewhat gritty, beach town immediately south of the massive Marine base, Fort Pendleton. She graduated Oceanside High summa cum laude and did two years at Stanford. Then the Uprising. Her family called her and begged her to stay in the relative safety of Northern California. She refused and returned home to a warzone. Her mother, father, and younger brother dead, house and neighborhood burned to the ground by the Marines sent to help. Zombies, it turns out, really hate fire. Too bad humans do, too. Controlling zombies by fire had been euphemistically dubbed chemotherapy for the human population. It killed more zombies than people, but just barely. She was so distraught she didn’t wait for the government subsidy. She just started driving east and ended up, like so many others, at a refugee camp outside of Las Vegas. Eventually she got her head on straight, applied for the subsidy, and headed toward Mexico as soon as the check arrived. She had family in the state of Sonora. With no jobs on offer she couch-surfed with family and lived off the subsidy until she settled in Puerto Peñasco 2 years ago. Now she dealt blackjack at the casino part time. She knew the bartender, Eduardo, from the casino and he sometimes let her slip into the resort without paying the locals fee for a day pass. When their conversation hit an ebb, Walter signaled for two more drinks and suggested that they take them to the beach. Sunset was only 20 minutes away and what better way to end a perfect . . . what, first date? America took his hand in hers and his stomach flipped. He felt like he was 16 again.
As they walked, America took another chance to appreciate Walter. Though he was probably in his early to mid-40s, he hadn’t developed the typical pot-bellied middle-aged ‘dad-bod’. For a professor, he had a weight-lifter’s build, muscular and stout. Not tall, 5’ 6”, he had blond-brown hair fading to white at the temples. Barrel chested, well-tanned, beard cropped close, no earrings or visible tattoos. Beautiful baby blue eyes and a kind, rounded face that bore no malice. He wore a loud Hawaiian shirt and vintage board shorts without a trace of irony, the way only a Californian can. No jewelry except for a simple gold ring hanging from a chain around his neck.
The sunset came and went. An hour later, the couple continued to talk – about families, about politics, about loss, and about love. The bass drum of the Pacific Ocean beat out an ameliorative melody. Slowly, they got lost in one another and conversation turned to flirting. Their first kiss was soft, tentative, exploratory. The walk back to Walter’s room was full of giggles and high-pitched stream-of-consciousness jabbering. Walter offered her his arm to steady her. Walter, too, was a bit unstable, high on tequila and America’s attention.
Once they got to his room, though, Walter was filled with trepidation. America didn’t follow him back to his room to play chess. For some reason, the prospect of having sex with this beautiful young woman terrified him. Physically, he was sure it would be fine, perhaps even great. He felt a familiar swelling in his boxer briefs and knew he could do it . . . but should he? Was this a one-night fling, or was she the real deal? Why was he thinking of Evie instead of America?
America put her arms around his shoulders and kissed him. When she looked into his eyes, she saw fear rather than desire.
“Hey, no pressure. I like you and I’m down for whatever. We can talk, we can fool around, we can go get dinner, whatever,” said America.
Walter smiled and offered a compromise. “How about the hot tub? This is a suite, the hot tub on the balcony overlooks the ocean – great view.”
America’s face curled into wicked, mischievous smile. “You appreciate a great view, huh? Well get ready because I didn’t bring my bathing suit.”
Without another word, she shimmied out of her shorts and top.
She giggled and did a little pirouette, giving Walter a full 360-degree view. After shucking out of her clothes she was wearing only a pair of lacy white thong underwear. Her pert breasts, uncovered, shone in the moonlight like teak pearls. He’d seen all he needed to see. Suddenly, all other thoughts left his mind. He went to her and kissed her as if his life depended on it. She led him to the bed. Seconds later he was deep inside of her. They both found relief, if not love, in the gentle rocking of bodies. They did eventually make it to the hot tub, two hours later.
-----------------
The next morning, America woke to an empty bed. She spotted Walter on the patio sipping coffee and contemplating the mighty Pacific.
She called out, “Coffee smells good – got more on?”
“Yep. Pyrex on the counter. I splurged, its real Kona coffee.”
She sat next to Walter and took a sip.
“Wow – that’s good!” said America, a warm smile on her lips. “What’s the occasion?”
Walter offered a blank stare and said nothing for a minute.
“Just being alive. And missing Evie. She loved good coffee.”
America said nothing. She could sense Walter had something to get off his chest.
“We met in grad school. Boston. She was studying art history – Baroque paintings, Rembrandt, Rubens that type of stuff. Taught herself German, Dutch, and French. Mind you, she was from an insular New Hampshire WASP family, had never travelled further than New York City before college. Art wasn’t really my thing. I was a few years further along, on track to get a combined MD-PhD in public health and microbiology. My passion was, still is, epidemiology.”
Walter offered a sad smile. “Lot of good that’s done me.” He gestured aimlessly toward the sea.
“Her parents didn’t approve. They never said anything, but they didn’t have to. I share my Guatemalan grandfather’s surname and I tan easy in the summer, even in New England. In their eyes I was 25% too Hispanic for their Episcopalian angel. We got out of there as fast as we could. We got married in Las Vegas where I had a one-year postdoc at UNLV. Soon after I landed the job at UC San Diego. She struggled for a while, volunteered at several museums before an entry level position opened at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Not her area but she was smart, persistent, a sponge. She learned everything she cold about Franz Kline, Modigliani, Picasso, Pollock, you name it. She spent ever free minute either in the University library or learning the contemporary art scene in galleries all around Southern California. She dragged me to so many shows we started a modest art collection to decorate our equally modest home. Eventually transferred some credits from back east and with even more work she earned a PhD in Arts Management. Worked her way up to a junior curator position, then a senior position. Taught at the U part-time. We had a good life.”
Walter drained his coffee, put the cup in the sink, and then returned to the patio.
“Six months before the Uprising, the director of the museum was killed in a zombie attack in Los Angeles. Evie was named acting director. Two weeks before the Uprising, she got notice that the promotion was to be permanent. Los Angeles was burning by then and the Board of Directors thought continuity would be best. Frankly, it was hard to find anyone from east of the Rockies to apply for a position in Southern California. Outmigration had started, looting was on the rise. A few minor flares in San Diego County had killed off most tourism. It was bleak. We talked about leaving but with her new promotion we never seriously considered it. I made a few half-hearted inquires with colleagues back east about academic openings but nothing came of it. We upgraded our security system, 4-inch hardened steel shutters activated by phone app, an ugly but lethal fence system, and a bomb shelter with 2 years of canned food and batteries. We both learned how to use and maintain guns for the first time in our lives. Thursday night yoga was replaced by Thursday nights at the gun range.”
Walter paused and put a thumb and forefinger to his closed eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Silent tears gently rolled down his face. When he returned to his story, his voice was think with emotion.
“One day, Evie was called into the museum to respond to an emergency alarm. I drove her, stayed in the car. Evie went in with her Glock locked and loaded, escorted by an armed security guard. At the time, it seemed like overkill considering a similar alarm went off a week earlier when a homeless guy got stuck in a secure loading dock looking for shelter. This time it was a dozen zombies. No one saw it coming. Neither Evie nor the security guard came back out of the museum. I saw a few bloodied Zs emerge from the building. A security detail arrived too late for Evie but just in time for the first battle of the Uprising. All the noise drew even more Zs. This was ground zero, moment zero. I should have come with her into the museum. I didn’t. I got out. Sometimes wish I hadn’t.”
Walter was quiet.
America didn’t know how to respond. What the fuck do you say to that?
When America found her voice, she spoke in a soft sotto voce, trying to convey sympathy. “Sounds like you two loved the hell out of each other. She was lucky – you both were lucky – to find that kind of love.”
“Yes, we were,” Walter agreed.
“Do you want me to leave?” asked America.
“Leave, why?” confusion and hurt colored Walter’s voice. “I was sharing – I just thought I owed you the truth.”
America offered Walter a pained look.
“That’s just it – the truth. I haven’t been honest with you. I like you, but I need you, too. Six weeks after I got to Mexico, Ivanka was elected President. Soon after, the Trump Memorial Wall started going up fast. When they just thought Mexicans were taking their jobs, no funding. But Ivanka’s smarter than her dad, better deal-maker, too, and she embraced all that fringe conspiracy stuff – that the Mexican government engineered the Zombie outbreak and infected the US on purpose as revenge for her dad’s anti-immigrant policies. Last month they started work on the last segment of the Wall. Going rate for a coyote is a $100,000 and rising. I’m a Dreamer, so I was never fully legal in California. I must get back. You can bring me back.”
She pleaded silently with her eyes.
Walter looked at America in the harsh light of the Pacific morning. He smiled.
“You didn’t let me finish my story.”
“But . . .” protested America.
“Look, I get it. The bartender probably feeds you names of gringos here for the Survivor trips. You’ve been looking for a soft touch who will make a trade – sex and companionship in exchange for a ticket back to the States. Deal or no deal? If I’m not the first, so be it. I’m not one to judge. I had a great time last night no matter how or why it came to be. Be that as it may, I haven’t been fully honest with you, either. You need the whole truth more than I do. We’re both hunting. This is a work trip.”
America looked at Walter quizzically. “Work . . . for what, one of your community college classes?”
“No. The teaching keeps me sane but pays shit. I run a privately-funded lab in Tucson. A very well-funded lab. We’re researching a cure.”
“A cure?” said America, incredulous. “For Zombies?”
“Yes. And we’re oh-so-close.”
“What are you hunting for,” she demanded, but before Walter could say a word she said it. “A survivor.”
“A survivor. I picked up on a few markers immediately – slight jaundice of the sclera, increased musculature, especially of the upper body, rigid posture, poor balance when walking. But I needed to be sure. There are so few survivors out there not already working for a lab.”
“So, you fucked me not because I was so charming or hot but because you had to be sure . . . and you saw the bite marks on my back . . .” her voice faded away.
“Yes, I saw them. But no, I didn’t go to bed with you last night just to find out. I had to see if there was the possibility of love for me without Evie. Like everyone I secretly hope that the cure will work retroactively and that I can find Evie and cure her and have it all back like it was. But I know that’s bullshit. I’m not even sure if she was killed or converted. If the later, she’s been a zombie for 5 years. No one comes back from that. The cocktail they’re using now only works on those newly converted, and it’s only partial. My cure would be a universal inoculation, a vaccine, plus it would work retroactively on newer converts. Either way, Evie’s gone. Last night helped me see that there might be life, and maybe even love, after.”
“But you need a survivor to get over the line.”
“And you need me to get through the wall.”
America smiled.
“Is it painful? Risky?”
“Risky, no. Some pain. Not much. Bloodwork mostly. Some cognitive stuff. Bone marrow would be the most painful procedure but nothing you can’t handle.”
She considered the offer.
“What about the border crossing? The US is requiring a marriage certificate to enter as of last week in the case of a non-blood relative.”
“I know. Not a deal breaker. I need a partner in life as well as in the lab. If the romantic part works out, great. If not we’ll figure that out, too,” said Walter.
“Hmm. One last question.”
It was Walter’s turn to smile. “Shoot.”
America walked over to Walter. She was wearing only the white lace panties and a thin cotton t shirt. She straddled him and soon felt herself pushing onto a familiar, growing hardness.
“Can you keep up with a younger woman? I’ll need at least one more round this morning for you to convince me.”
“Hmm. Only one more? Let’s try for two, shall we?”
“You got yourself a deal.”
Walter carried America over the threshold to the suite. Two hours and two love making sessions later, the odd couple left the resort. An hour after that, they emerged from the Sweet Memories Wedding chapel, husband and wife. Walter drove his aging Tesla directly toward the brilliant Mexican light bouncing off the gold-plated Trump Memorial Wall. For the first time in a long time, Walter felt a glimmer of hope.
In the passenger seat America was hopeful but nervous, too. She was glad to be leaving Mexico, eager to be back in her namesake country. But she felt sure Walter wasn’t giving her the full truth yet. Like her, he had poor balance and a muscular torso. And those baby blues eyes . . . too good to be true? High-end contacts to hide jaundice? What about the unusual scars she’d seen on his body? If Walter was a survivor, too, he didn’t really need America as a test subject. Instead, she suspected he was in Mexico searching for a partner to help make the rarest commodity of all in their zombie-filled world – a child born of two survivors. She kept up with the news and knew the entire scientific community was searching for just such a survivor child, to no avail.
America hadn’t taken a birth control pill in three days and neither she nor Walter had even mentioned condoms. America imagined that perhaps, right now, a child was growing in her belly that would end the zombie apocalypse once and for all. If not now, soon. She put her hands over her abdomen protectively and offered Walter a radiant smile as the GPS welcomed them to the United States of America.

The descriptions are different in length and content dependant on the information your website offers. First purpose is to keep the descriptions short. Many websites delivered an own description which I partly quoted. If there is a need to change please let me know.
You'll find this list of merchants already accepting Vertcoin on Vertcoin homepage. In these shops you can pay with Vertcoin and maby with other cryptocurrencies. If you like to get added let me know and make sure that Vertcoin acceptance is apparent in your shop.

Debit Card

• Uquid, United Kingdom

Uquid Prepaid Debit Card "enables businesses to streamline commission, business, incentives, travel payments and control expenditures with enhanced convenience, flexibility, and security."

Fashion

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• Cyroline, Germany

Cyroline is on "the tireless hunt for the special in the fashion world, the perfect fusion of individual styles, quality and sustainability." In physical stores you can pay with Vertcoin in Germany: Lübeck, Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Stuttgart.

• Zazzle

Zazzle is a "marketplace, you'll find customizable products, art and create-your-own products just waiting for you. We're PhD's, professional artists, manufacturing gurus, patent holders, inventors, musicians, and more. Everything we do is an expression of love." As a nice special Z provides Vertcoin shirts.

Food

• PexPeppers, USA

PexPeppers is specialized in "finest chili sauces, jellies, salts, seeds & more." Based in Pueblo, Colorado, USA PexPeppers is selling all over the world.

Gambling

• Vertcoingames

Vertcoingames: "Play Roulette, Dice, Blackjack and Video Poker using Vertcoin. Great games with fair, casino level payouts."

Giftcards

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• Coincards, Canada

Coincards provides Giftcards and was created in July of 2014.

• Crypto De Change

Crypto De Change provides Gift Cards and Silver Buillons since July 2013.

• Giftoff, United Kingdom

Giftoff is a "digital gift card retailer with the largest range on offer in Europe. Since 2014 we’ve been enabling digital currency users to shop with major retailers like Amazon.co.uk, Steam and Marks & Spencer. We stock over 70 gift cards and accept over 40 digital currencies as well as UK credit and debit cards."

Goods

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• FastTech, Hong Kong & Guangdong, China

"FastTech is the techno-centric destination for all your geeky needs and more. FastTech is committed to become the most loved and trusted electronics marketplace by offering superior shopping experience, timely shipping, and stellar customer service."

• King Pen Vapes, Los Angeles, USA

KPV provides Vaporizers, "electronic devices that help you vaporize your material into vapor for cleaner inhalation. People looking to quit smoking cigarettes are the main reason behind vapes."

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• Overstock.com, Salt Lake City, USA

"We are a tech-driven online retailer located near Salt Lake City in the shadow of the Wasatch Mountains. Since our beginnings in 1999. Overstock has evolved from a fledging startup to a billion-dollar online retailer as a result of a hard-working and creative team."

• Red Bubble, Australia & USA

RB gives "independent artists a meaningful new way to sell their creations. Today, we connect over 400k artists and designers across the planet with millions of passionate fans." RB provides a huge sortiment of designed products like bags, wall art, home decor, apparel, stationary & more.

IT support

• GeekBox IT, Whitsett, North Carolina, USA

GeekBox "offers a wide variety of services including but not limited to basic computer setup, repair, virus removal, server setup, network setup, consulting, purchasing, cloud computing advice, gaming system and electronic repair." As a nice special GeekBox IT provides a Vertcoin T-shirt.

Merchandise

• Crypto Affect

Crypto Affect provides "Clothing for the hodler", crypto related fashion.

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• Crypto & Proud

C&P provides crypto related fashion and is "shipping worldwide with live rates and tracking."

• Crypto Compound

Crypto Compound provides "crypto-themed items" like fashion, mugs & more.

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• Cryptobird, Netherlands

"Cryptobird is a partnership to start a full crypto based webshop with high quality fashion to contribute to a wider cryptocurrency adoption around the globe."

• Cryptoble

Cryptoble provides "apparel and more". Here are crypto related shirts & mugs.

• Hodler Tees

Hodler Tees is a cryptocurrency centered t-shirt company based in Frisco Texas! (USA) We sell all things crypto related from hats to t-shirts and even posters!

• Nakamoto Clothing, USA & Canada

"At Nakamoto Clothing, we're passionate about designing and curating a selection of apparel to help grow this movement of change. And we're electrified AF!", international shipping.

• Official WikiLeaks Shop

WikiLeaks is a multi-national media organization and associated library. It was founded by its publisher Julian Assange in 2006. The shop provides shirts, posters and asseccoires.

• Spreadshirt, Greensburg, USA

Spreadshirt provides shirts and more. Based in Greensburg, USA, the owner comes from the Netherlands.

• Teepublic

Teepublic provides apparel, home goods, shirts, stickers, mugs & more.

• Shillshop, Netherlands

Shillshop provides stickers in outdoor quality and is "based in The Netherlands, all the products we sell are also produced in The Netherlands to make sure you'll receive the highest quality!"

• VTCmarket, United Kingdom

VTCmarket is founded by the Dunn twins Raf & Tom: "We’ve started off with T-shirts and are working on expanding with other products and merchants"

Multimedia services

• Richmond Drone Services, Virginia, USA

RDS is Central Virginia’s drone service specialists. From preparation to content delivery, we perform all work to perfection. We can act as both an aerial film consultant or as the remote pilot in charge on your next projects.

Printing, Graphic, Web Design

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• Catdi, Houston, USA

"Catdi is a commercial printing company with additional specialization in web design. Offering cost-effective commercial printing, direct mail, graphic design and web solutions to small businesses. Proudly Serving Houston and surrounding communities for over 10 years."

Professional Law Services

* NEW * NEW * NEW * NEW * NEW * NEW * NEW * NEW * NEW * 

• Bitcoin Tax, US and worldwide

Bitcoin Tax is "calculating capital gains/losses for any crypto-currency. Do you know the cost-basis of every coin you own? Are you tracking the profits and new basis when you spend or sell? Can you work out the best way to identify your trades to optimize your taxes? Let us do it for you."

• Burrell Law, New York City, USA

Burrell Law "Our New York City-based attorneys provide a broad range of transactional legal services" Every large business was once a small business. We are here to help you find a solution for your legal needs.

• The Crypto Lawyers, USA

The Crypto Lawyers - "we are a team of U.S. qualified lawyers dedicated to helping individuals, businesses, and organizations navigate the legal intricacies of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. We commit ourselves to strategically and aggressively represent our clients in their transactional and litigation matters."

Video Games

• Cavemen Studios

Cavemen Studios is a developer of video games. "Having over a century of combined experience on how video games tick, we've finally decided it's time to start creating our own products."

• Keys4Coins

"Keys4Coins is one of the first pc game stores who only accept cryptocurrency as payment. Our store is simple to use and you can shop anonymously. Only an e-mail is required so you can receive the license."

• XBL4BTC

"Our aim is to provide the fastest, easiest place to buy Xbox Live Gold subscriptions with cryptocurrencies"

Wallet & miscellaneous

• Vertcoin Medallion (metal)

Jzzsxm's Online Store provides a 1.5" diameter metal Vertcoin Medallion. Each medallion costs 2 VTC and comes with a metalized label containing a wallet address QR code of your choice affixed to the back.

• Vertcoin Medallion (wood)

LaserLightning provides one etched wooden Vertcoin with the Vertcoin logo burned into one side, and your custom QR code on the back. These coins are approx 1.5 inches in diameter.

• Paper wallets

Designed Vertcoin public and private wallets that can be used as paper wallets or given as gifts.

(NSFW) Adult shop

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• Toys4Sex, Australia

Toys4Sex is Australia's Online Adult store retailer intended for men and women. Toys4Sex comes with a specially selected range of products that has made its mark within the Australian adult market place.

Percy Jackson, Netflix Show
Season 1: The Lightning Thief
Episode 1: I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher
Percy is on a class field trip to the history museum, where Nancy Bobofit is bullying Percy’s friend, Grover. Percy tries to brush it off, but eventually snaps and “pushes” Nancy into a fountain of water. His substitute math teacher, Mrs. Dodds, takes him inside the museum to reprimand him, but transforms into a Fury and attacks him. Mr. Brunner, his latin teacher, appears and throws him a pen which transforms into a sword. With the sword, he kills the Fury, and when regrouping with his class is shocked to learn no one else, including Mr. Brunnner, has any recollection of Mrs. Dodds. At the end of the semester, Percy and Grover take a bus back to his home in Manhattan, where the bus breaks down and Percy sees the Fates cut a strand of rope. This freaks Grover out, and an uneasy Percy ditches Grover and goes back to his house. His mother Sally, suggests they take a vacation to the beach at Montauk, and he gladly accepts. That night at the beach, a distraught Grover approaches them and tells them that Percy needs to come with him. Percy is confused, but Sally seems to understand and tells them to get in the car. On the car road, Grover reveals himself to be a satyr, and has been watching over Percy for the past year, protecting him form monsters. His bizarre encounter with the Fury is proven true, and their car crashes in the storm. They continue to their destination by foot, but the Minotaur catches them. Grover and Percy make it up the hill to their destination, but Sally cannot enter, and is caught by the Minotaur and disappears in a golden flash of light. Enraged, Percy confronts the Minotaur, and manages to break of its horn and stabs the Minotaur with it. Percy passes out from his injuries as Grover drags him up the hill to a lodge, where the last thing he sees are Mr. Brunner and a blonde girl.
Episode 2: We Capture A Flag
Percy wakes up in the lodge, his injuries healed, and Grover, Mr. Brunner, and a raggedy alcoholic are waiting for him. Mr. Brunner explains that he is not a latin teacher, but actually the mythical centaur Chiron, and that the myths of Greek legend are real. The alcoholic is introduced as Mr. D, Dionysus, who runs the camp. The blonde girl, Annabeth, daughter of Athena, then takes Percy on a tour of camp, introducing him to the concept of gods and their children, demigods. Percy is taken to the Hermes cabin, where he will be staying as he has not been claimed by his heavenly parent, and meets Luke, the counselor of the Hermes cabin. He also meets Clarisse, the tough daughter of Ares, who forces Percy into an initiation by attempting to dunk his head in the toilets. However, the bathroom plumbing explodes, drenching Clarisse but not Percy, infuriating the girl. Percy gets adjusted to camp, meeting several people including Connor and Travis Still, sons of Hermes, Charles Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus, Katie Gardener, daughter of Demeter, and Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite. That night, the camp has an organized game of Capture the Flag, with it being essentially Athena and Hermes vs. Ares and Apollo. Annabeth has Percy patrol an out of the way part of the forest, and is ambushed by Clarisse and a few other Ares kids as revenge for the toilet incident earlier. Percy is overwhelmed and repeatedly hit by Clarisse, but falls into the river and is able to then beat her. This was all a ploy for them to distract and win CTF, but everyone comes to see Percy being healed by the river and are shocked to see a trident above him, meaning Poseidon claiming him as his son. The next day, Mr. D, Chiron and Annabeth call Percy to the Big House, where they reveal that no child of “The Big Three” have existed in over 70 years because of an oath they took to prevent a prophecy. They also reveal that someone has stolen Zeus’s lightning bolt, and Percy is the culprit. Mr. D allows Percy to go on a quest to prove his innocence and find the bolt from who he believes stole the bolt, Hades. Percy receives his prophecy from the Oracle in the attic, along with a gift from Luke, a pair of winged shoes, and then he, Annabeth, and Grover go out on their quest.
Episode 3: I Plunge to My Death
Percy gives Luke’s shoes to Grover, as he doesn’t have any magical equipment, like Percy’s sword or Annabeth’s hat. The three of them board a bus heading west, and a trio of old woman board with them. Percy initially thinks they are the Fates, but it is actually the Furies, who attack shortly after the bus takes off. They are able to escape the bus before it explodes, and run into the New Jersey forest. They walk for a few hours until they come upon Aunty Em’s Garden Emporium, a store on the side of a highway. They meet Aunty Em, who offers the children food, but realize that the stone statues in her store are actual people, and that she is Medusa. Using a mirror to be able the see Medusa without looking at her, Percy decapitates her, and mails the head to Olympus to be rid of it. Using the money in the store, they are able to buy train tickets as far as St. Louis. On the train ride we get a bit of backstory about Annabeth’s past, how she ran away from home, her relationship with her parents, and her being stuck at Camp Half-Blood for the past 5 years. They get off in St. Louis, and they transfer trains to Denver, but their is a layover. While waiting for the train to Denver, they decide to visit the Gateway Arch. They are attacked there by the monster Echidna and her pet the Chimera. Grover and Annabeth are able to make it down the Arch, but Percy is poisoned and cannot defeat the Chimera. He jumps through a hole in the side of the Arch, and lands in the Mississippi. He discovers that he is not dead, and that he can breath underwater. A Nereid appears to him, encouraging him to visit the ocean before he goes to the Underworld, and Percy is able to climb out of the river.
Episode 4: A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers
Percy regroups with Grover and Annabeth, and they get on the train to Denver. They are dismayed that their is no further train travel west, and that they will have to find another way to travel west to LA. They are approached by Ares, who offers them a trade of retrieving his shield from a nearby abandoned water park in exchange for transportation west. Percy and Annabeth go to the water park while Grover stays with Ares. While looking, the rivalry between Athena and Poseidon is explored, explaining why Annabeth has been a bit standoffish. They find the shield, along with Aphrodite’s Scarf, but are caught in a trap made by Hephaestus to trap his wife, Aphrodite, cheating with Ares. They endure the trap, and return to Ares with the shield, although angry that Ares didn’t warn him. Percy snarks at him and angers Ares, although he does provide transportation via an animal truck. He also tells Percy that his mother is indeed alive, being held hostage by Hades. On the truck ride, Annabeth’s reaction to the trap and spiders is explored. Grover also explains how he found Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth, and how he got them to Camp Half-Blood, although Thalia sacrificed herself and was turned into a tree to preserve her life. The truck ride stops in Las Vegas, short of their destination of Los Angeles, although they still have 5 days before their deadline. They stop at the Lotus Hotel and Casino, and are greeted warmly and given accommodation despite having no money to pay for it. After perusing the casino for a bit, Percy realizes that another boy there thinks the year is 1977. After a bit of investigating, they discover that there are people from various times there, and that the hotel makes time pass at an accelerated pace relative to the outside world. They immediately leave and are relieved that it is still the same year, but are dismayed to learn that several days have passed and they only have one day left before the solstice. Using a credit card from the hotel, they are able to pay for a taxi ride from Vegas to LA.
Episode 5: We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of
When they arrive in Los Angeles, they stop at the ocean like the Neried instructed. Percy enters the water and meets her again, where she gives him three pearls on behalf of his father, and advice to only use them when in great need. While he is in the ocean, Annabeth and Grover find the address to DOA Records, the entrance to the underworld. When they arrive, the attendant, Charon, will not allow them to pass because they are not dead and they cannot pay for passage. Grover produces a golden drachma, which Charon accepts and ferries them across the River Styx. They then come across the actual entrance to the Underworld, where the 3 Furies are patrolling along with Cerberus, the three headed dog. They evade the Furies, but are caught by Cerberus. Annabeth plays fetch with him, allowing the trio to pass. While passing by the entrance to Tartarus, Grover’s shoes, the gift from Luke, start dragging him to the pit. He is able to kick the shoes off before he is dragged into the depths, but the trio wonders if someone had cursed his shoes. They finally meet with Hades, and they are both under the impression the other is the thief of the lightning bolt and Hades’s Helm of Darkness. Percy realizes he has been set up by Ares when he discovers the bolt is in his backpack, given to him by Ares, in an effort to start a war between Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Hades tries to bargain for the bolt using Sally’s life, whom he currently holds. Percy refuses, and they use the pearls to escape the Underworld via the sea. When they return to the shore, Ares is waiting for them, surprised that they made it out alive. He reveals Percy was supposed to die, to kickstart the war. Percy duels Ares, and manages to wound him. Ares decides not to kill him after what seems like divine influence, and they secure both the bolt and the helm. Percy delivers the helm to Mrs. Dodds, who pursued them from the underworld to absolve him of the crime. The trio then risks a flight back to New York to deliver the bolt to Zeus on Mt. Olympus, and manage to due so before the deadline. Percy briefly meets Poseidon for the first time, and he says he is proud of Percy, and that Sally has been returned to New York by Hades. Percy returns to camp, and enjoys the rest of the summer with his new friends. At the end of summer, as everyone is preparing to leave, Percy and Luke hang out in the woods, where Luke lets loose a deadly scorpion on Percy, revealing himself to be the Lightning Thief on behalf of Kronos, and voices his frustration with the gods neglecting their children and asks Percy to join him. Percy refuses, and the scorpion stings him, leaving Percy to stumble back to camp before he dies. Chiron is able to cure Percy, and he, Percy, and Annabeth discuss Luke’s betrayal. Annabeth then leaves Camp Half-Blood for the first time in 5 years, going to try and reconnect with her step family. Percy then leaves camp, meeting his mom, and repeating his warning to any half-bloods who might be listening.
Season 2: The Sea of Monsters
Episode 1: I Play Dodgeball with Cannibals
Percy has a dream of Grover running from a cyclops in a wedding shop, and he hears an unknown voice taunting him. When he wakes up, he sees a shadow outside his window that disappears when he looks at it. Percy then goes to school, where he and his awkward friend Tyson are stuck playing dodgeball. Their opponents turn out to be Laistrygonian Giants, who summon explosive dodgeballs in an attempt to kill Percy. He is protected by Tyson, who is unaffected by the heat and lethality of the balls. Annabeth appears and saves the two by stabbing the last giant in the back. The gymnasium they were in has taken significant damage, so they flee the scene and call upon the Gray Sisters and their taxi. The Gray Sisters accidentally reveal crucial information about Percy’s future, and he blackmails them using their one shared eye. When they finally reach Camp Half-Blood, they discover it under attack by two Bronze Bulls. Annabeth explains that the tree that protected the camp from monsters, Thalia’s tree, had been poisoned and was dying, allowing monsters in. After being granted entry by Annabeth, Tyson is able to subdue one of the bulls with help of his heat resistant person, and Clarisse manages to subdue the other one with the help of Percy. Percy finally realizes that Tyson is a cyclops, which was why he was able to defeat the bulls and the giants earlier. Because Tyson is a cyclops, and Poseidon is the father of all cyclops, this makes Tyson Percy’s half-brother (although he is not a demigod, he is a monster).
Episode 2: Demon Pigeons Attack
After the fight, Percy learns that Chiron has been fired from his job at camp, because he is a prime suspect of poisoning Thalia’s tree because he is the son of Kronos. He has been replaced by a man from the Underworld, named Tantalus, who is cursed with hunger and thirst but cannot eat or drink because he served human flesh to the gods. Percy is embarrassed by his relation to Tyson, because while he is good meaning, he is rather awkward, childish, and a monster. Tantalus announces that a chariot race will be held instead of their usual capture the flag. Percy and Annabeth fight over including Tyson on their chariot team, and briefly stop talking to each other. During the chariot race, Stymphalian Birds attack the camp, and Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson are able to drive them away via Chiron’s collection of opera music he left behind. Although they drive the birds away, Tantalus hates Percy and ignores that, heaping favor on Clarisse for winning the chariot race. He punishes Annabeth, Tyson, and Percy with kitchen duty. While on kitchen duty, Percy and Annabeth reconcile while Percy explains the vision he had of Grover in the previous episode, and Annabeth deduces he is trapped by Polyphemus, Jason’s enemy, in The Sea of Monsters. She also guesses that he holds The Golden Fleece, and that it could save Thalia’s tree.That night, at the campfire, Percy demands that Tantalus send a quest, revealing the information about the Golden Fleece, and the information the Gray Sisters gave him. Tantalus relents, and sends Clarisse, alone, on the quest. Percy wanted to take the quest instead, and while walking on the beach, meets Hermes, who convinces him to go on his own quest. He also mentions that he wants him to try and save Luke, believing there is still good in him. He gives Percy several gifts, including vitamins and a thermos filled with wind. Annabeth and Tyson approach Percy after Hermes leaves, and he explains there visit. The three of the them decide to sneak off, and Percy summons some Hippocampi to traverse the water to a passing cruise ship, the Princess Andromeda.
Episode 3: We Hitch a Ride with Dead Confederates
Shortly after coming aboard the cruise ship, they discover that it is abandoned and that Luke is now using it to transport the fledgling Titan army. They are captured and brought to Luke, and discover that his true intentions are to resurrect Kronos using the Golden Fleece and help him overthrow Olympus. Percy and Annabeth again refuse his offer to join them, and they are able to escape the Titan army by jettisoning a lifeboat and using the thermos Hermes gave them as an engine. Tyson pilots them to Virginia while Percy and Annabeth sleep. When they wake up, Percy tells Tyson to go find them some food as a way to speak to Annabeth in private about her obvious animosity with Tyson. Annabeth explains that she has an aversion to all cyclops due to a bad experience in her childhood, but before she can expand Tyson returns with food. Percy is surprised, because they are in the middle of nowhere, but he discovers a convince store, Monster Donut. They are suspicious, and it turns out it is connected to the life force of the Hydra. Percy fights the Hydra, but is unable to defeat it as it keeps growing heads. They are saved by a Civil War battleship captained by Clarisse, who invites them on. Clarisse is obviously unhappy to see them, but accepts their help on her quest. They travel to The Sea of Monsters entrance off the coast of Florida, and have to choose between sailing into Scylla or Charybdis. Clarisse decides to try and sail through Charybdis, but sails to close to the cliffs of Scylla. Several crewmen and Percy are snatched, but Percy manages to free himself. The ship is unable to handle the strain of going through the whirlpool, and the engine breaks. Tyson volunteers to fix it, and while he is down there, the ship explodes. Percy is launched into the sea, through the entrance, but losing consciousness.
Episode 4: Annabeth Tries to Swim Home
Percy wakes up on a life raft, having been fished out of the water by Annabeth. Annabeth explains that she used the remaining wind in the thermos to guide them through the sea. She also managed to save a bag of supplies, including some food, some money, and the vitamins. She explains that she searched for Clarisse and Tyson but she couldn’t find them. The raft eventually washes up on an island, where they are greeted by a spa attendant. Annabeth and Percy are taken to separate rooms for a spa treatment, where Percy meets, Circe, the sorceress. Circe reveals that this is actually a prison for men, which she turns into guinea pigs. She turns Percy into a guinea pig, and then meets Annabeth, attempting to seduce her to abandon her quest and join the ranks of her sorceresses. Percy believes that Annabeth will be tempted by the offer, and she asks for some time to consider the offer, Circe and her attendant leave, and Annabeth deduces that Percy is one of the many guinea pigs trapped in the cage in the room. She finds the vitamins in the bag and pours them into the cage, and the guinea pigs rush to eat them. The vitamins turn all the guinea pigs back into humans, one of them being Blackbeard. The pirates rampage against Circe, and Annabeth and Percy use the distraction to escape aboard one of the ships docked there. After sailing for a bit, Annabeth expresses her desire to hear the song of the sirens, a famous monster that dwells in the Sea. Sailors who hear their song realize their deepest desires, but are killed upon searching for the song. Annabeth devises a plan to have Percy block his hearing and tie Annabeth to the mast, so that she can listen to the song without swimming to their death. As they pass by the Sirens, Annabeth begs Percy to free her, but he turns away from her. When he looks again, Annabeth has used a knife in her pocket to free herself and swim towards the shore. Percy swims and saves her from reaching the shore, and they return to the ship. Annabeth reveals that her fatal flaw is pride, and she relates the story of why she hates the cyclops. We flash back to a young Luke, Annabeth, Grover, and Thalia on the run to Camp Half-Blood, where they are kidnapped by cyclops who almost kills them all, and scarred Annabeth emotionally. As she finishes telling the story, they arrive at Polyphemus’s island.
Episode 5: Nobody Gets the Fleece
Percy and Annabeth land on the island, and discover another ship there, indicating that Clairsse or Tyson or both have survived and made their way there. They discover that Polyphemus kidnapped Grover because he thinks that he is a female cyclops and wants to marry him. They sneak inside the cave by hiding on the underbelly of Polyphemus’s sheep, and see that he has captured Clarisse and is preparing her as dinner. She reveals that Grover is not a female cyclops, and actually a satyr. Polyphemus switches his plan, intending to marry Clarisse and eat Grover. Percy and Annabeth confront him, and Annabeth uses her hat to become invisible and tricking him into thinking he was being attacked by Nobody. Tyson is able to remove the boulder that blocked the entrance to the cave, and help everyone escape. Polyphemus realizes Tyson is a cyclops, and explores him to kill the intruders and help his brother. He asks Poseidon to curse his enemy, like he did with Jason, but Percy is confident he will not. Tyson is seemingly torn, but does not help Polyphemus, and the five of them manage to escape with the Golden Fleece, leaving Polyphemus cursing Nobody for besting him again. They make their way back to Miami via Hippocampi, and everyone agrees to send Clarisse back to camp via plane, using the little money they had left. Clarisse is at first reluctant to do this, as she does not want to leave her friends behind, and that she does not deserve to succeed in her quest when Percy did a lot of the work, but she eventually does. Tyson and Percy have a discussion about Polyphemus, where Tyson reaffirms his brotherhood with Percy, calling Polyphemus fat and spoiled and arrogant, and that they are not brothers. As they start to head back to New York the long way, they are again captured by Luke aboard his cruise ship. Luke plans to let Percy due the heavy lifting and steal the fleece, then take it from him, but he is foiled when he reveals Clarisse is already on her way back with he fleece. Percy then creates an iris message to Camp Half-Blood and gets Luke to admit that he poisoned Thalia’s tree, not Chiron. The camp, including Mr. D, hears this, and banishes Tantalus back to Hades. Luke cuts the message, and duels Percy, severely injuring his leg, but are saved by Chiron and his centaur brethren. They all travel back to Camp Half-Blood, where they place the Golden Fleece on Thalia’s tree and recuperate. One night, they discover a girl lying at the base of Thalia’s true, with Chiron commenting that the Fleece did its job too well. The girl reveals herself to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus.
Season 3: The Titan’s Curse
Episode 1: My Rescue Operation Goes Very Wrong
6 months after the previous season, Percy, Thalia, and Annabeth are meeting Grover at a boarding school to collect two powerful demigods Grover had found there. Thalia demonstrates her ability to manipulate the mist to infiltrate the school, who are in the middle of a school dance. Grover meets up with them, and identifies the two demigods: Bianca and Nico di Angelo. He also points out Dr. Thorn, the vice principal who Grover suspects is a monster. Percy and Annabeth dance to blend in, and Percy notes that she has ages since their last meeting. Percy sees Dr. Thorn walk out of the building with the two, and he follows by himself, as the others are not readily available. Dr. Thorn transforms into a manticore, and stabs Percy with a thorn, poisoning him. Percy mentally calls out for Grover for help, and stalls Dr. Thorn, getting him monologuing about ancient monsters awakening. Grover, Thalia, and Annabeth show up, and Dr. Thorn attacks. They are saved by a volley of silver arrows fired from the bushes. It is the Hunters of Artemis, and they are about to kill the manticore when he grabs Percy and Thalia, who have both been wounded. Annabeth leaps on his back to rescue them, and the hunters shoot another volley at him. He falls from the cliff, taking Annabeth with him, and leaving no trace of either of them except Annabeth’s hat.
Episode 2: I Make a Dangerous Promise
Artemis appears and has the Hunters set up camp and meets with Percy. He is surprised to see that Artemis takes the form of a girl younger than himself. Percy conveys the message that Dr. Thorn had said about ancient monster reawakening, and decides that she is going to go alone to hunt a powerful monster. She places her lieutenant, Zoe Nightshade, in charge of the Hunters in her absence, but instructs them to wait at Camp Half-Blood until her return. Bianca also chooses to join the Hunters, instead of become a demigod at Camp, which Percy objects to but does not stop. Artemis calls her brother, Apollo, and has the demigods and the Hunters drive to Camp Half-Blood via the sun chariot. Apollo lets Thalia drive, being a daughter of Zeus, lord of the skies, but the ride is rough because Thalia is deathly afraid of heights. They crash into the lake at camp, and Nico is lead to the Big House to talk with Chiron and Mr. D, who forbid Percy and Thalia from going after Annabeth on their own. That night, Percy dreams of Annabeth being tricked into holding up the ceiling of a cavern by Luke, and Percy realizes that she is actually carrying the sky, the burden of the Titan Atlas. Percy confides this in Grover, who tells him that he overheard Annabeth and Thalia discussing joining the Hunters. Percy attempts to speak to the oracle, but the oracle is silent. While training with Thalia and the Hunters, Percy and Thalia get into an argument with subtext about Annabeth, and they come to arms when the oracle walks towards Zoe and gives a prophecy. A meeting of the Hunters and the Camp counsellors is convened, and it is decided that Zoe, Thalia, Grover, Bianca, and a hunter named Phoebe will travel on the quest. Percy protests, but isn’t allowed to go partly because the Hunters aversion to men, and party because his motivation is mostly Annabeth. Percy has another dream in which Artemis takes Annabeth’s place holding the sky to save her life. Luke chains Annabeth up and holds her captive, as bait for the demigods. Percy wakes up to a pegasus asking for his help to untangle a sea creature. Percy helps the sea creature, who he affectionately calls Bessie, escape, and when he returns, he finds Nico eavesdropping on the Hunters. Donning Annabeth’s hat, he joins and discovers that Phoebe has become bedridden and they will leave without her. He stops Nico from trying to join the quest, promising that he will go on the quest and protect Bianca, which Nico accepts. Percy then trails the quest on horseback with his pegasus Blackjack, when he is caught by Mr. D, who toys with him. Percy convinces him to let him keep following the quest, and he eventually relents with indifference.
Episode 3: I Learn How to Grow Zombies
After following the quest for several hours, they stop at the Smithsonian museum. Dr. Thorn and a man referred to as The General are there, using fossils to create skeletal warriors, who will track and kill the questers using a piece of fabric with their scent. While invisible, Percy steals the fabric so they cannot get their scent, but instead the warrior get his scent. Percy meets up with the others and fills them in on the Annabeth, Artemis, and the skeletal warriors. Zoe is furious that Percy is here with them, but resigned to the fact that he must be part of the quest.As they are debriefing, the Nemean Lion attacks, and everyone is unable to pierce his hide. Using astronaut food, Percy is able to get the Lion to open its mouth wide enough for Zoe to shoot it, killing it. Zoe gives the pelt to Percy, who devised the plan even though she dealt the killing blow. Percy offers to leave since the skeletons are pursuing him, but Zoe insists that he now part of the quest, and she will not leave anyone behind. The run away and share a fire with a homeless man in a train yard, who speaks in rhyme and is actually Apollo in disguise. They board a train and head west to New Mexico. Percy has another dream, in this one he is receiving Riptide from a girl he does not recognize. They are taking a small break when Grover passes out and the skeletal warriors attack again. Bianca is able to permentanly kill one, although no one knows why. Grover recovers, saying he felt the presence of the long lost Pan along with a gift from him, the Erymanthian Boar. They hitch a ride on the Boar who carries them further into the desert towards San Francisco. They disembark in the junkyard of the gods, where Zoe warns them not to take anything. Percy meets with Aphrodite, who has taken an interest in the relationship between Annabeth and Percy. Percy denis this, but Aphrodite insists. She also mentions that when they get to San Francisco, they should find Nereus, to give them important information. They walk through the junkyard without incident, although when they leave, a giant statue, Talos, comes to life and starts attacking. Bianca reveals that she had taken something, a little statuette as a gift for her brother. Bianca sacrifices her life in order to defeat the statue, entrusting the statue with Percy to give to Nico. The statue is defeated, and the four remaining lament their loss with realization as the prophecy given comes true.
Episode 4: I Have a Dam Problem
The group finds a truck in the junkyard and drive until they reach a river, and they steal some canoes to head upriver. They go as far as they can, reaching closer to the Hoover Dam. Grover and Percy lament the fact that Annabeth isn’t there to see it, as it is her favorite architecture. They visit the landmark in order to find some maps to get to San Francisco. Percy separates himself when he hears Bessie mooing, and he wonders what the creature is doing all the way up here. Bessie alerts him to the skeletal warriors, who are closing in on the group. As he tries to escape, he gets stuck with a tour group who descend lower into the dam. The tour guide seems to be Athena, who gives Percy cryptic advice on how to escape this situation. Percy manages to evade the skeletons, but is surprised by a mortal, whom he mistakenly attacks. Luckily, the sword cannot harm mortals, but she notices the oddity unlike all the other mortals. Percy tries to manipulate the mist like Thalia did earlier, but it does not work. The girl, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, sees the skeletons and throws them off Percy’s trail, allowing him to regroup with Thalia, Grover, and Zoe. He alerts them to the warriors, and Thalia prays to her father for a means of escape, and he sends giant metal statues of angels to carry them off to San Francisco. During their flight, Thalia confides in Percy that she is terrified of heights, which is why she has been hesitant to do anything involving the skies. When in San Francisco, they heed the advice of Aphrodite and visit Nereus, who tries to escape but Percy forces him to tell them whatever it is they need to know. He informs them of the powers of Bessie, who is the master that Artemis was hunting. Whoever burns the entrails of Bessie gains the power to overthrow Olympus. Dr. Thorn shows up, and tries to seduce Thalia to kill Bessie and take the power for herself, but she resists. They get a message to Camp Half-Blood, and Mr. D saves them by killing Dr. Thorn. Percy decides to send Grover and Bessie to Olympus, and sacrifices the Nemean Lion pelt to Poseidon to ensure they get there safely. After this, Zoe, Thalia, and Percy visits Annabeth’s father’s house, where they borrow his car to travel to Mount Tam to save everybody. He wants Percy to tell Annabeth that she will always have a home with him.
Episode 5: A Friend Says Goodbye
They reach the entrance to Mount Tam, the Garden of the Hesperides. Zoe reveals that she use to live there with here sisters until she helped Hercules steal from the tree protected by Ladon, a giant dragon, and that her father is Atlas. She was banished from the Garden, and told never to return. Zoe distracts Ladon while Percy and Thalia sneak past to Mount Tam. Zoe seemingly makes it, but is bitten by Ladon and is poisoned. They find Artemis holding up the sky, and are taunted by Luke and Atlas, who are holding Annabeth hostage there. Thalia engages Luke in a fight, while Percy and Zoe attack Atlas. Learning he hopelessly outmatched, he instead goes to Artemis and takes her burden while she fights Atlas. In the ensuing fight, Atlas kills Zoe by throwing her against the rocks, while Thalia defeats Luke when falls into a hole and disappears. Artemis forces Atlas into a position where Percy can foist the sky back on Atlas, forcing him to retake the burden. They rescue Annabeth, and everyone heads back to Olympus, but not before Artemis memorializes Zoe as a constellation in the sky. Annabeth, Thalia, and Percy are summoned to a meeting of the gods, where Thalia announces her intention to join the Hunters of Artemis, stopping her from reaching 16 and fulfilling the prophecy. Percy is relieved that Annabeth did not express interest in joining. Ares and Athena suggest killing Percy before he turns 16 so he cannot fulfill the prophecy, but Poseidon and Artemis convince them not to. They also allow Bessie to live and live on Mount Olympus. Percy has a brief meeting with Athena, who informs her of her disapproval of his relationship with Annabeth. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover return to Camp Half-Blood, where Percy realizes he needs to tell Nico that Bianca died on the quest.Nico is furious that Percy did not keep his promise, although Percy tries to give him the statue that she died for. The remaining skeletal warriors appear, still hunting Percy, and Nico in his rage opens a fissure in the Earth that swallows them. Nico leaves the camp, and Percy realizes that his godly parent is Hades, another of the Big Three. When he and Annabeth are talking about Nico later, Grover interrupts, excitedly telling them he has heard the voice of Pan, long missing.
Season 4: The Battle of the Labyrinth
Episode 1: I Battle the Cheerleading Squad
Percy is at his freshmen orientation when he notices that Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the mortal he met at the Hoover Dam, is there as well. Rachel tells Percy that two of the cheerleaders are monsters, and flees to the gymnasium, where Percy follows. Kelli and Tammi, two empousai, attack them, and Percy kills Tammi but Kelli gets away. Having caused damage to the school, Percy and Rachel flee when they run into Annabeth, who had come to meet Percy for a date. Rachel tells him that she will come up with a story to cover, and that he and Annabeth go on their way. They arrive at camp, and Annabeth leaves to talk with Clarisse about a secret mission. Percy meets the new sword master, Quintus, and his pet hellhound Mrs. O’Leary. Percy is wary of him, but Chiron vouches for him. Chiron, Percy, Annabeth, and Clarisse go to the woods where Grover is being accused of heresy for proclaiming that Pan spoke to him. He is given one week to find Pan, or he will be exiled from nature. Later, Tyson returns from his home under the seas and fixes Percy’s shield that was previously damaged. That night, he receives a message from someone, showing him that Nico is conversing with the dead, who are advising him the to bring someone back to life requires the taking of someone’s life. Percy thinks that Nico will be coming after him to kill him. The next day, while scouting in the woods, Percy and Annabeth are attacked by some scorpions, and they hide in some rocks, and fall into a dark cavern. Annabeth freaks out, and they quickly find their way out. Annabeth reveals that they fell into the labyrinth, and she has been working with Clarisse to discover it, as she fears Luke may use it as an invasion of camp. Annabeth receives a quest to find Daedalus to control the maze, and she takes Grover, Percy, and Tyson into the maze.
Episode 2: I Scoop Poop
The maze is dark and confusing, and they end up going in circles for a bit. When they come upon two diverging pathways, the Roman god Janus, who offers a key to one of the doors, but forces Annabeth to make a chance while trying to confuse her. Before Annabeth chooses, Hera appears and drives Janus away, saying she has only postponed Annabeth’s choice, but offers her a wish. Annabeth wishes for a way to navigate the maze, and Hera tells her she already has what she wishes for. The path they end up taking leads them to Alcatraz, where Brirares, a hundred handed cyclops, is imprisoned by the dragon Kampe. They rescue Briares, but he is so disheartened by his imprisonment that he refuses to help. The foursome fends off Kampe, and return to the labyrinth. They come across a cattle ranch ran by Geryon, a three headed monster. Nico is also there, trying to make a deal with Geryon, but bristles as he sees Percy. Geryon imprisons Annabeth, Grover, and Nico, and agrees to set them free if he cleans the stables. Percy succeeds by summoning the water from seashells in the stables, but when he returns Geryon does not let his friends go. Percy attacks him, but because he has three bodies and three hearts, he cannot be killed unless they are all taken out at the same time. Percy takes a bow from the ranch, and with a prayer to Hera, shoots all of his hearts out simultaneously. Geryon’s rancher, gives them a compass to find Hephaestus, who can guide them to Daedalus. Nico refuses to accompany the quest, and summons the ghost of Bianca, who reveals she sent the message about Nico to Percy. She tells him not to blame Percy and to remember not to hold a grudge. Nico forgives Percy, but still refuses to travel with them. Annabeth and crew follow the compass, a spider, deeper into the labyrinth.
Episode 3: I Take a Permanent Vacation
Traveling back in the labyrinth, the four run across the Sphinx, who instead off giving a riddle, attempts to administer a standardized test. Annabeth is upset that this is not a good proof of wisdom, and kills the Sphinx instead. Continuing onward, they reach the forges of Hephaestus, who agrees to guide them to Daedalus on the condition they find out who is using his forges in Mount St. Helens. They traverse the labyrinth, and at a juncture Grover senses the presence of Pan. The team splits up; Grover and Tyson follow the scent of Pan, while Annabeth and Percy continue on to the forges. They discover telekhines using the forges to make a weapon for Kronos. Percy is spotted and they start attacking the duo. Annabeth kisses Percy as he protects the retreat, and eventually releases a tidal wave of water to put out the fires of the forges. This causes the volcano to erupt, and the eruption sends Percy flying literally out of this world. He wakes up on the island Ogygia, where a young woman named Calypso has been healing him. They are instantly attracted to each other, but Percy insists that he must get back to the mortal world to help his friends. Calypso reveals that he must make a choice: he can either stay with Calypso on the island and become immortal, or he can leave Ogygia and never return. While Percy mulls his options, Hephaestus arrives and explains to him what has happened. Percy caused the eruption of the volcano which woke the ancient monster, Typhon, who slept there. He also helps Percy how to navigate the labyrinth, and Percy decides to leave. Calypso is not suprised by his choice, but it breaks her heart regardless. She gives him some moonlace to plant back in New York, so that he will remember her. As Percy leaves, he ponders if this will be his biggest regret in life.
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