Too often amazing talents are given to those people who are not able to handle them. Such was the case of poker legend Stu Ungar, who had skills at the card table unrivaled in history. Unfortunately, his ineptitude at every day life and self destructive behavior was equally legendary. Ungar would eventually succumb to his demons, and was found dead in his room at the Oasis Motel in Las Vegas in late’98.

The only way to accurately describe Ungar’s poker skills is to evoke a sports metaphor–Ungar’s skills at the card table were like those of Michael Jordan or LeBron James on the basketball court. Ungar’s greatest accomplishment was his three World Series of Poker victories, an accomplishment not far removed from Michael Jordan’s six NBA titles. While countless volumes have been written on poker strategy, Ungar’s understanding of the game was almost instinctive. Although he won millions playing poker, the amazing reality was that it was essentially a ‘plan C’ for him as a professional card player. He started as a Gin Rummy prodigy, but quickly ran out of willing opponents in his native New York. He then moved to Nevada, and cleaned out the gin players in the Silver State. He turned to blackjack out of necessity and was almost instantly successful, only to be barred as a card counter at a number of Las Vegas casinos. Needing a new way to earn money as a card player, he took up poker.

The problem, however, was that as masterful as Ungar was at life in the poker room, he was profoundly inept at existence beyond the casino walls. He fought a number of addictions-most notably to drugs and sports gambling. Following his WSOP victory in’97, the’98 tourney found him broke and almost wasted away from drug use. Though he had secured financial backing that would have enabled him to play, as the games began Ungar sat in the dark in his hotel room at Binion’s unable to compose himself enough to appear.

There are countless other Ungar stories that evoke the same theme: he once paid cash for a new Mercedes and drove it until it simply fell apart from lack of basic maintenance. He signed his mortgage paperwork at the table in the Dunes poker room and was taken aback that he couldn’t make his down payment in chips.

Sadly, Ungar’s death came as a ray of hope had entered his life. Noted casino owner and longtime friend Bob Stupak had stepped in to help Ungar pay off his debts, clean up his life, and provide the stake money to enter the major poker tournaments. Ungar was found two days after the two had formalized the agreement in a contract. Ungar also left behind an ex-wife and a teenage daughter, who still live in Las Vegas. The official cause of death was listed as “coronary atherosclerosis” and a mixture of drugs including cocaine, methadone and Percodan were found in his system.

Many of the famous gamblers of Las Vegas legend such as Puggy Person and Doyle Brunson have been tough, larger than life individuals with a healthier than normal dose of self-preservation skills. In this respect, Ungar was an anomaly among gambling greats-he was physically frail and almost completely helpless away from the poker table. At the table, however, he became an almost unbeatable adversary. His story is certainly not one that the modern day, publicity conscious Las Vegas will celebrate. He will be remembered, however, as part of the tradition that gives the city its unique character. From the mobsters that pioneered the city, to the Rat Pack that civilized it, to the corporations that cleaned it up, characters like Stu Ungar have provided Las Vegas with its unique character.

Ross Everett is a well known freelance writer specializing in travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and deep sea diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.

Though it is sometimes overshadowed by more famous tracks back East like Churchill downs and Belmont Park, Del Mar Racetrack in Southern California has a rich and fascinating history. Located 20 miles north of San Diego and known for its iconic slogan “Where The Surf Meets the Turf”, Del Mar has not only hosted the best horses and jockeys on the planet but a ‘who’s who’ of show biz elite.

The Del Mar Race Track was founded in the late’30’s by a group of business and show biz elite, including Bing Crosby, Oliver Hardy and Jimmy Durante. During much of the pre WW II era, horse racing ran a close second to baseball in mainstream popularity, so these racing enthusiasts were clearly at the right place at the right time in terms of market forces.

Additionally, the star power involved with the project also provided a trendy cachet that the tonier race courses back East lacked. Bing Crosby himself greeted patrons at the gate on opening day, and during the late’30s and early’40s it became a place to be seen for Hollywood A-listers and those who aspired for celebrity. In addition to known gambling enthusiasts like W.C. Fields, Edgar Bergen and Red Skelton, the Del Mar patrons during that time also included some of the top female stars of the era including Ava Gardner, Paulette Goddard and Dorothy Lamour.

Del Mar was the site of the’38 match race between Seabiscuit and Ligaroti. Seabiscut won the $25,000 winner take all challenge by a nose, and this race set Del Mar betting and attendance records and remains one of the most famous races in history. The racing at Del Mar continued to flourish until the start of WWII, when the track went ‘dark’ for racing.

After the war, Del Mar reopened with a bang. Following the surrender of Japan, President Harry S. Truman declared a national holiday for August 15,’45 and on that day Del Mar attracted over 20,000 fans through its gates who wagered what at the time was a record $958,476. The postwar prosperity was also a boon to Del Mar, which also benefitted from the Santa Fe Railroads daily Racetrack Special that brought bettors down from Los Angeles to enjoy a day at the track. During the latter part of the decade a new crop of Hollywood glitterati would flock to Del Mar, including Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Mickey Rooney and Jimmy Durante. Durante would become such a regular that the turf course at Del Mar would later be renamed in his honor.

Del Mar remains a viable part of the thoroughbred community to this day. Theyve updated their facility, with a state of the art grand stand and most recently a synthetic polytrack surface that was installed in 2007. The racing season at Del Mar begins in mid July, and hosts crowds of 20,000+ on a daily basis throughout.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

categories: horse racing,sports,recreation,travel,leisure,entertainment,celebrities,history,reference

Are the guys calling you pancake butt when you walk past? Do your jeans just feel baggy in the seat of your pants all the time? Don’t feel hopeless, you just need to toss out your old jeans and start shopping for booty enhancing pants.

Your flat butt’s best friend is going to be a good pair of jeans. Unfortunately, some women just view their butt differently in a pair of jeans and they do not buy jeans that flatter their figure. Instead, they buy jeans that have terrible pocket placement or too much detail on them, which makes the butt look even more flat.

Ok, so this is the part when you start to pay attention. The first step is to stop buying jeans that are baggy. I mean it. If they even show any slight “relaxed” or loose fit in the butt area, then forget them. Of course a simply solution is start buying jeans that are designed to specifically avoid baggy butt syndrome and that were actually designed to lift and shape a woman’s body how it should be. The top rated and favorite booty pleasing jean brand is J Brand Jeans.

If you are not familiar with J Brand Jeans or have never even heard the name before then you are truly denying your flat butt of true joy. J Brand Jeans embrace your curves or lack there of. They offer a pull here and lift there kind of fit to make your body feel and look sexy from all angles.

Skinny models that appear to have no junk in the trunk look bootylicious in a pair of J Brand Jeans. Some well known celebrity butts have been spotted all over wearing J Brand Jeans such as; Kim & Kourtney Kardashian, Brittany Snow, Kristen Stewart, Blake Lively, Katie Holmes, Drew Barrymore, Charlize Theron and Vanessa Hudgens.

Full details on J Brand Jeans with celebrity photos can be jeans for flat butt. You can get the full details on other jean designers for flat butts and more at Blue Jeans.

categories: blue jeans,pants,jeans,womens clothing,womens pants,shopping,apparel,fashion,style,celebrities

Any one who notices Dita designer sunglasses for the first time is most likely looking at a celebrity. These sunglasses capture the essence of both fashion and style. It is the retro style combined with modern aesthetics that is creating a growing popularity for sunglass wearers throughout the world.

The designers of the Dita sunglasses bring all of their skills and talents to creating sunglasses that provide a timeless style for anyone who wears them. Inspired by vintage frames from the’50s to the’80s, Jeff Solorio and John Juniper have created glasses that are not only fashion forward but functional and comfortable.

Many of the glasses they have designed have the fluid motion and soft curves that make them a visual delight. The floating lens hangs effortlessly within the titanium frame. When one looks at the sunglasses, they are entranced by the gradient lens that sits independently within the frame. The glasses look delicate and are lightweight, but are durable and will provide lasting wear to the user.

Dita designer sunglasses are hand made in Japan using the latest advances in technology. The vintage look belies the efforts to create glasses that are comfortable and durable. The traditional rivet frame of vintage glasses has been modernized and employs processes that include hex screws and modern materials.

There are titanium components in all of the sunglasses. In addition they have gold plated ball hinges and rivets. These additions to the design of the glasses adds beauty, flexibility, and durability in a light Japanese zyl acetate frame. The glasses are easily molded to the face of the wearer to make them unique and distinct for each individual who invests in the glasses.

The styles of the sunglasses give the wearer innumerable selections of frames, colors, and lens. A person may want to replicate the retro look of the 50s using standard black frames, or create an updated and modern twist with a swirl of color woven into the frame material. The lens are light and scratch resistance making the glasses even more effective for use in active environments.

The team of designers and manufacturers have avoided expensive advertising campaigns and selling in mass retail outlets. Instead, they have passed the savings onto you to make the glasses affordable and a unique addition to your collection. The ability to create a signature look that has a lasting effect has been made easier with these dynamic sunglasses.

Land based locations for Dita designer sunglasses can be found in Japan and the United States. But, you can easily find the glasses on-line through the Dita website. Dita designer sunglasses are also available from a number of on line websites at great prices.The glasses are easily to get, versatile, and affordable.

The choice of Hollywood celebrities from Jamie Fox to Angelina Jolie, Dita Fashion Eyewear are a must have for all fashion conscious people from coast to coast. When you wear DITA sunglasses, you start to look and feel like your own celebrity. For a great review of these fashion shades and for some of the lowest prices on the internet today, visit Dita Sunglasses today.

categories: eye wear,eye care,sunglasses,fashion sunglasses,designer sunglasses,product reviews,designer glasses,shopping,fashion,beauty,celebrities

Looking at the best rock band of the last decade as we near the end is a very difficult task. A lot of it will come down to a matter of personal preferences and musical tastes. After all, we could draw from the pop music charts, or we could go with a band that’s more indie in roots.

I’m going to list a few that I believe to be right at the top of this list, before choosing my ultimate band of the decade. Yours will very likely be different than mine, but that’s what makes music as great as it is.

The first band I’d like to nominate here is the White Stripes. The garage rock duo of Jack and Meg White is really important in the music world for a number of reasons.

This marked the beginning of a musical era that placed an emphasis on classic rock and the many great bands whose pure rock paved the way. With a handful of releases throughout the decade, the White Stripes definitely make my list.

Next on the list is Radiohead. Many might call them the band of the 90s, but they’ve been just as integral this past decade, further polishing and evolving their sound.

Each Radiohead album has been a unique experience, with innovation being the key factor here. Radiohead sounds absolutely nothing like the band did in the 1990s, and critics and fans have enjoyed every bit of the band’s music.

While the White Stripes and Radiohead have been hugely successful, Wilco has enjoyed its own success on just as large a scale. This band has produced a wealth of great music during the decade, and its story is just as interesting.

Just when Wilco’s record label was ready to give up on the band, Wilco decided to turn on its label and release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, their 2002 album, independently. Everything is history from there, as some of the decade’s best releases were crafted by Wilco.

It’s really hard to name just one band as the best of the decade, but Wilco gets it in my mind.

This author has a new blog that speaks about the Satellite TV for PC scam worries, and many other pieces of writing.

categories: indie,music,product reviews,celebrities,entertainment,society,social issues,hobbies,internet,electronics,culture,art,teens,awards

Ingemar Johannson died in a Swedish nursing home in January 2009 at the age of 76. He’d lived in the nursing home in the Swedish coastal city of Kungsbacka since the mid 1990’s when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia, and had suffered from a tough case of pneumonia immediately prior to his death.

Johannson rocketed to international fame and rock star like superstardom in Sweden by virtue of his 3rd round knockout victory over Floyd Patterson on June 26, 1959 to become only the 5th heavyweight champion born outside of the US. Johannson was considered the underdog going into the matchup, and due to the perception that he wasn’t training particularly hard entered the bout a 5/1 underdog. Johansson was frequently seen in Catskill nightspots during his training camp with his attractive young secretary in stark contrast to Patterson’s disciplined regimen in preparation for his title defense.

Despite his devil may care approach to training, he shocked the boxing world on that night in Yankee Stadium. After a lackluster first two rounds, Johannson knocked Patterson to the canvas with a right hand early in the third. Patterson never recovered and was knocked down a total of seven times before the ref waved off the fight and awarded the victory to Johannson.

Johannson would hold the title for just under a year before he lost it back to Patterson in a rematch at the Polo Grounds in New York City. Patterson was the aggressor from the opening bell, and would eventually regain his title as he knocked Johannson out cold in the fifth round with a looping left hook. Displaying the class for which he became famous, Patterson was less concerned about celebrating his victory as he was for the well being of his opponent.

The two men would fight again later in the year, with an exciting slugfest transpiring before the superior conditioning of Patterson took over. Patterson would put his opponent away for good in the 6th round. After that, Johannson fought only four more times against nameless opponents in his native country before retiring in 1963.

Patterson and Johannson remained lifelong friends, and would travel to visit each other yearly until Patterson’s death in 2006. Johannson made a number of film appearances in Sweden, and spent time in Miami every year. He enjoyed good health well into his 60’s, until a variety of physical ailments took their toll.

Johannson was married and divorced twice, and is survived by five children. Ingemar Johannson enjoyed rock star like status in Sweden during his title reign and remained a widely respected and admired sportsman throughout his life. He’ll be remembered by the international boxing community for the vital role he played in popularizing the sport in Europe and Scandinavia.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

After nearly a decade of prosperity, the indie music scene has shown no signs of letting up. Intelligent rock music is in, and the number of fans seems to be growing. The last two years have brought us an onslaught of new bands, and I’d like to discuss some of the finest debuts during this span.

While I could easily name 15 or 20 great debuts during the last two years, I’m only going to focus on three during this article. This will require a lot of thought, since so many albums are worthy of mention here.

I’ll be trying my best to choose the elite three that make the cut in my mind. These are all phenomenal albums that you’ll definitely take a liking to if you’re into the indie rock scene.

First one on my list is Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago. This is one of the best albums I’ve heard in a long time. The raw emotion conveyed on it and the slow, catchy hooks are truly unique.

They say that he wrote this isolated in a cabin through the course of the winter, and the loneliness and isolation genuinely shows in his music.

The next album in my trio of newer debut classics is the first release by Vampire Weekend, a New York band with influences that span the world. One of the most unique blends of music I’ve ever heard, the band successfully mends styles that you never thought could go well together.

The final album that makes the cut for me was a classic in my mind the moment I first heard it. The self titled debut by Fleet Foxes was unique, charming, haunting, nostalgic, and modern all at once. This great mix of styles has harmonies that happen to be some of the best I’ve ever heard.

If you somehow haven’t heard these, I envy you for the beautiful music you’ll be hearing for the first time.

The writer of this article also writes about colored clear acrylic tubes and the clear acrylic sheet.

categories: indie,rock,music,awards,product reviews,art,entertainment,celebrities,hobbies,teens,multimedia,free,internet,leisure

It may be a bit of a stretch to call Satoshi Ishii the Michael Phelps of Japan, but not by much. His victory in the heavyweight judo competition at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing was easily the defining moment of the games for his countrymen and was considered by most media outlets the #1 highlight of the year in all of sports.

Ishii himself is also a marketing dream. Hes especially big by Japanese standards with 240 pounds packed on his bulky 511 frame. Not surprisingly, hes tough as nails and a terror on the mat but away from the gym he comes off like an awkwardly cheerful overgrown boy. He definitely seems younger than his 22 years, but gives off the vibe of a nice neighbor boy who youd gladly pay to mow your lawn. Unlike his telegenic American gold medalist counterpart Phelps, who acts as if he spent as much time working on media relations as his backstroke heading up to the Olympic games, Ishiis demeanor is of an athlete who literally spent the bulk of his life in a gym only to emerge and find himself a national hero.

With the ability to offer him the most money and exposure, it seemed almost a fait accompli that Ishii would sign with DREAM and K-1 parent group FEG. Obviously its a good idea to keep your options open in negotiations, so he also reportedly talked to Sengoku parent World Victory Road and Antonio Inoki’s Inoki Genome Federation pro wrestling group. As expected, however, FEG reportedly presented Ishii with the most lucrative offer: 500 million yen (roughly $5.5 million US) to fight on DREAM and K-1 cards, with incentive bonuses based on his drawing power and performance. He would very likely become the highest paid mixed martial artist in the world before hed even stepped into the ring for the first time. The tentative plan was for Ishii to appear on the year end K-1/DREAM Fields Dynamite! joint show, if not fighting at least in a heavily hyped opportunity for FEG to unveil their investment.

Ishii then shocked the Japanese fight sport world by categorically rejecting FEGs offer, saying that it was his lifelong dream to fight in the UFC. While this rationale might sound plausible to a US based fan, its akin to a top college baseball player from a SEC school turning down a big offer from the Atlanta Braves saying that its his lifelong dream to play for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan Central League. It frequently comes a shock to US MMA fans when immersed in Japans culture for the first time just how low the UFC ranks in the countrys fight sport pantheon. In MMA, their profile is lower than DREAM and Sengoku, but even smaller groups like Shooto and DEEP. Overall, the interest in and prestige of the UFC is well below not only boxing but even Japanese pro wrestling (puroresu). The UFC is making some progress, and big fights like GSP/Penn and Lesnar/Couture now get higher profile coverage (Lesnar/Couture owed most of its interest in the Japanese press to Brocks run as IWGP pro wrestling champ) but by no means is the #1 US MMA promotion considered on par with any of the major Japanese fighting groups.

Ishii then travelled to Las Vegas for UFC 92, with the Japanese media in tow covering his every move. Upon his return to Japan, he appeared at the Sengoku card in January addressing the audience from the ring and wearing his ubiquitous UFC shirt; his message was that he was going to fight in America for awhile but would eventually return to Japan.

At age 22, Ishii’s got plenty of time to develop as a fighter. His biggest downside risk from signing with Zuffa is financial since hed be lucky to get a fraction of what FEG is willing to pay him. The competitive logic of learning his craft slowly notwithstanding, theres a huge risk in automatically assuming that he can fight for the UFC for a few years and then cash a big check when he returns to Japan as the potential of injury and changing market conditions could seriously impact his market value. On the other hand, it could be a risk hes willing to take given that hes got his celebrity both with the mainstream public and in the judo community to fall back on. Still, its a logical assumption that the goal of all professional fighters is to maximize their income while facing the best competition possible. For Ishii, a move to the UFC defies both components of that axiom.

Theres another very realistic scenario that it was all a negotiating ploy by Ishii. The UFC was likely willing to play along, figuring that their investment of a few plane tickets and hotel suites would be worth the resulting PR surge in Japan.

With the recent revelation that Ishii has broken off UFC negotiations to entertain offers from other parties thats starting to look like the plausible explanation for the once hot and heavy courtship between Ishii and Zuffa.

As a postscript to the Ishiis relationship with the UFC, it apparently opened the doors for his move to the US where hell be training with the Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. That alone is a positive for his future development as a fighter, as hell be training with a whos who of professional fighting including the gym’s namesake, Randy Couture. Training at a high level facility like Xtreme Couture among such an abundance of talent is a career move thats difficult to second guess.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

categories: UFC,sports,recreation,entertainment,celebrities,Japan,business,marketing

UFC 100 was a historic night for the sport of mixed martial arts, and Brock Lesnar used the occasion to avenge his previous loss to Frank Mir with a lopsided TKO victory. With the victory, Lesnar unified the promotion’s heavyweight championship. The Mir/Lesnar tilt was the main event on an epic card which culminated an insane week in Las Vegas.

The anticipation surrounding UFC 100 was unprecedented among the fight sport media and, more significantly, among mainstream sports media. The fact that every major outlet including ESPN, SI.com and Fox Sports featured UFC 100 as their top story of the day is downright amazing. The broader implications of UFC 100 remain to be seen, but it could very likely become a turning point for the sport where MMA transcended cult or niche status to burst into the mainstream consciousness.

Preliminary buy rates suggest that more than 1.5 million people purchased the event, which would not only make it the UFC’s biggest PPV ever but put it in the top five of *all* PPV sporting events. While it fell short of the all time PPV record of 2.4 million buys set by the De La Hoya/Mayweather fight, the unprecedented interest has put MMA on the map to stay. The event’s weigh in was a standing room only affair with over 2,000 fans turned away. A Fan Expo held in conjunction with UFC 100 counted over 30,000 visitors on Friday and an equal or greater number on Saturday. Even veteran fight media experienced in covering big boxing and MMA events worldwide have reported that the energy and general vibe around this event is like nothing theyve seen.

And the main event of the week was Saturdays UFC 100 fight card where Lesnar established not only his dominance of the promotions heavyweight division but his status as the biggest heel in MMA. To his credit, he had a perfect gameplan for Mir that allowed him to use his strength and power to maul his opponent on the ground while minimizing his exposure to submissions.

By contrast, Mir made a tactical mistake in allowing Lesnar to put him on his back so quickly and control him on the ground. He may have considered this his best opportunity to win”wait out Lesnar and look for an opportunity for a submission”but it never materialized and by the end of the first round hed already absorbed a brutal beating. Lesnar quickly took Mir down again at the start of the second round, ending the fight with a punishing ground and pound assault that prompted referee Herb Dean to call a stop to the contest at 1:48 of the second round.

Lesnar diminished his dominating performance with his postfight antics”he taunted Mir after the stoppage, prompting the crowd to boo him mercilessly. He responded to this with a double handed middle finger salute before a short and arrogant postfight interview that would have been much more at home in the WWE than in this setting. Mir was the consummate professional in defeat, giving credit to his opponent and generally displaying all of the class that Lesnar lacked.

Ross Everett is a staff oddsmaker for Sports-1 Sportsbook as well as a freelance sportswriter specializing in MMA, boxing and how to bet on NFL football. He is a well known authority on Internet sports betting, fine dining and fencing. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a pet wallaby.

I’ve been a huge fan of Ben Folds back since his days with Ben Folds Five. I still think that this band was one of the best of the 1990s and I was upset to see them break up when they did.

The band split up at the end of the decade, which led to the birth of Ben Folds’ solo career. While this has been great in many ways, I’m of the belief that they were better as a unit, as I preferred their music a bit more.

Ben Folds’ solo music isn’t as good without the bass and drums, and this threesome had some raw energy. To this day, I still regularly listen to their music as often as I can.

The band came out with three albums during their existence. A few others that consisted of unreleased material, EPs, and B-tracks, but these don’t really count for the sake of this conversation.

As far as their number one goes, this is a tough decision. The band’s self titled album was their first, and it certainly had the biggest impact at the time. A piano driven alternative rock band that had energy and soul, this was unknown to the music world.

Was it possibly Forever and Ever Amen? This CD brings back great memories and I think the sound was a bit more polished, but the amazing song writing was still there. Songs like Selfless, Cold, and Composed, Missing the War, the Battle of Who Could Care Less, and others were all great.

The band’s third and final album came in 1999. The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner was highly anticipated, but fell short of critics’ expectations. However, this album has picked up steam over time, as many people believe it’s gotten better with age.

My vote goes to the band’s second album, Forever and Ever Amen. I think the band was at its peak here, both creatively and energetically. This is one of my favorite albums of all-time and I know of many others who share the belief.

The author of this article also writes about cologne for men and Creed cologne.

categories: alternative rock,1990s,music,product reviews,entertainment,celebrities,advice,hobbies,teens,art,reference,education,free