Attention Saratoga Degenerates: Poker (with money!) Hits Town Next Month

We got a little advance notice of something you gambling degenerates in Saratoga (and there's a bunch of you) should be made aware of...

But let me get this one straight: it costs nada / zip / nuttin honey / zero to enter this poker tournament, but it has $1,000 in purse money? WTF, sign us up, bro!

Sunday, July 15th at The Parting Glass.  Full scoop for this baby is RIGHT HERE.

I'll see YOU at the final table!

FOLLOW-UP....

Here is a story that touches on the 'legality' of this event as well as the means in which business activity is enhanced by a simple loosening of government bureaucracy....



July 15: Free Entry
New Ruling Opens Way for Cash Prize Events and New Businesses

$1,000 Poker Tournament Slated for Parting Glass

(Saratoga Springs) …. After a full day of elimination play, the poker tournament is down to its final table. There, eight stern-faced card sharks are looking to outfox the others in successive rounds of Texas Hold 'Em, with a pot of cash on the line for the top finishers. Finally, the last round is won, a single player has all the chips and the onlookers burst into applause. A champion is crowned.

Where, now, might one envision the above scene unfolding? On late night cable television, possibly? Or maybe a Vegas, Atlantic City or Native American casino? All would be logical options.

Now, how about the possibility of this unfolding locally in a place that bills itself as “Saratoga's Original Irish Pub,” otherwise known far and wide as The Parting Glass? Well, not only is it a possibility, but reality, as that downtown establishment will be hosting the $1,000 DILLIGAF / Parting Glass Open Poker Tournament on Sunday, July 15 at 1PM.

With $400 earmarked for the tournament winner and purse payouts awarded down to the 20^th place finisher, the question becomes: how can such a scenario possibly be legal in New York, which is just now starting the long and complicated process of modifying the state constitution to allow poker and other cash card games in racinos and casinos as a legalized form of gambling? The answer lies in what is the player-friendly aspect of the Parting Glass contest: it is absolutely, 100% free to enter.

Using the standard risk /reward dynamic as a means of defining 'gambling' has long raised the issue of whether a Free-To-Play But Real Cash Prizes event is legitimate; a question that has remained unanswered as New York gave conflicting opinions on the matter. But that all changed in November, when the State Liquor Authority issued a Declaratory Ruling that, in essence, authorized such events in licensed premises under its supervision. Take away the risk (entry fees, cover charges, table cash), it stated, then all is legit – even if one is offering prize money.

Although several SLA-licensed venues around the state have since convened tournaments that offer soft prizes (point accumulations leading to a casino trip, etc), the July 15^th Saratoga event appears to be the first (in the Capital Region at least) to offer a substantial amount of cold hard cash.

“We've been running smaller poker sessions on Wednesday nights for a few months now,” said Linda DiBlasio of The Parting Glass. “But about a month ago, the people that bring music shows in here walked us through the complicated SLA rules and taught us how we could offer cash prizes.”

From there, all that was needed was a tournament sponsor who would help to fund the prize pool in return for the promotional publicity that would come with such a move. Enter the DILLIGAF lifestyle clothing line of Lake George, NY and Miami, FL.

“The poker demographic is perfect for our brand of in-your-face t-shirts, hoodies and caps,” related DILLIGAF principal Bill Massry, a Saratoga native. “This Parting Glass gig will help us launch our new poker-themed line of clothing.”

Making all these connections come together was the local music & events company 398Productions, which has since formed a spinoff called the Free 4 All Poker Tour to take this sponsored-tourney concept on the road to venues throughout the state.

A new entertainment option for the city's residents and visitors, a new clothing line introduced and a new company being formed --- all taking place right here in Saratoga Springs.

For full tournament info, rules, purses and entry, visit www.Free4AllPokerTour.com

 

Lake George Music Series Announced

Fridays at the Lake (Lake George Village) 
Max Creek, Jim Weider highlight 10-show rock/blues series 

Free live music will once again fill the air in Lake George on Friday nights this summer as organizers today announced the lineup for the third annual Fridays at the Lake concert series.

This year's edition, which takes place in the placid lakeside amphitheater setting of Shepard Park in the heart of the Village, serves as an upgrade from previous years as the emphasis shifts from local acts to regional touring artists. Highlighting the schedule are two dates featuring music heavyweights.

MAX CREEK

The classic and beloved jam band MAX CREEK opens the series on June 15. Recently seen in town celebrating their 41st Anniversary in a fan club takeover of the Fort William Henry Resort, the Connecticut-based group has performed thousands of shows around the globe and recorded over a dozen albums. Their signature boogie-jam style has made them favorites on both the club and festival circuits. Creek Heads are sure to descend on Lake George once again.

Jim Weider - The Master of the Telecaster

July 20th marks the appearance of Jim Weider's Project Percolator. Fronted by the lead guitarist of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame legends The Band and the Levon Helm Group – and including former members of Santana, Todd Rundgren's Utopia and Alicia Keys – this quartet brings to the party an instrumental, progressive rock style that has been compared to both Jeff Beck and Roy Buchanan. Attendees will leave knowing why Mr. Weider is dubbed as the Master of the Telecaster by Rolling Stone and others. He even has an amplifier named after him!

Filling-out the ten show lineup is fast-ascending Vermont rockers Twiddle, multiple Metroland Best Of winners Sirsy, the Berkshires all star combo Rev Tor Band, electronica keyboard wizard Jeff Bujak, the buzz worthy Wild Adriatic, Albany favorites Stone Revival Band, a themed Blues Night and a still-unfolding Season Finale celebration on September 7. All shows are free of charge and family-friendly.  The nearby Shepards Cove night club acts as the rain site.  Showtime is 7PM, with most headline acts slated for 8PM. Lawn chairs and blankets are welcomed; alcohol and tobacco are not.

Fridays at the Lake is a production of Dave Ehmann's Improv Records, with assistance from Robert Millis of 398Productions. Financial support is provided by local government entities and the generous and music-loving members of the local business community.

Concert series information and schedule is available at www.FridaysAtTheLake.com

SCHEDULE

Fridays At The Lake 

Shepard Park @ Lake George, NY 

June 15: Max Creek

June 29: Jeff Bujak 

July 6: Sirsy

July 20: Jim Weider's Project Percolator

July 27: Twiddle

Aug 3: Rev Tor Band

Aug 10: Wild Adriatic & Closer Still 

Aug 24: Blues Night

Aug 31: Stone Revival Band 

Sept 7: Finale Party: Capital Zen and more (tba) 

(Opening Acts TBA) 

Nanoburgh's Springtime Money Beg!

If that Alan Chartok guy can beg for money every two weeks on WAMC, why can't we do the same here at the 'burgh?

The winter version was such a success, let's do it again!

Support indelendent local journalism; donate to a Blogger today! Here or elsewhere ... (although we won't be expecting any $ from the folks at Siro's).

Saratoga: Heaven or Hell ? (part 1)

 Forming an opinion about something is all about 'perspective:' where you've been or where you're coming from is the key determinate. So it is when one looks at the current status of any given location which one chooses to live in  --  or is considering such -- in drawing an opinion on how that location rates when compared to others.

The city of Saratoga Springs is no different. Yet one can take note of an interesting divide between two segments when each one voices an opinion on the livability or state-of the Spa City. If one's perspective is that of a transplanted resident, with a lifelong perspective having been formed in the rat hole of New Jersey or Long Island, for example, Saratoga seems like an oasis in the desert, with a small town feel missing from those compared-to environs.

But the general consensus of long time residents -- not to mention those that lived in the city in years past but no longer do so -- is that the town has gone to hell, and is, in fact, starting to resemble those aforementioned rat holes than it is the vision encumbered in their nostalgic memories. 

So, where's the reality? As always, it is somewhere in between the two poles. 

But it is in this spirit of debate that Nanoburgh hereby launches a new feature, one which serves in each edition a specific example of one good thing about the current day Saratoga  and another specific example of one not-so-good thing.  This new feature is billed as:

Gone to Hell vs Slice of Heaven

 

Gone to Hell: Siro's

After serving for decades as the classy destination restaurant for the track crowd, an ownership change in the 80's brought with it the very bright idea of kicking the property's backyard space into an open-air/post-races hang --- and the party was on. Siro's became the August "see and be seen scene," with everyone in the region and beyond having a story to tell relating to a visit there. There is no doubt that it played a major role in the revitalization of Saratoga's track scene that kicked-in at that very same time frame.

Sure, the overpriced drinks were obscene, but what the hell? We're dealing here with a clientele that just got done tossing wads of $20's at horses galloping in a big circle. This is a celebration of the greatest racing meet in the world, goddamit; and for the dwindling few that still care about such a fact, that is important shit. Siro's supplied the perfect spot for just such rejoicing. There's just something about watching a hammered Wall Street punk slugging down a $400 bottle of champagne while doing the "woulda-coulda- shoulda" recap on his wagering follies that warms the heart. You just can't beat it.

But another ownership change a couple years back has Siro's on the fast train to shitsville. Whenever you hear the word "investment group," one can usually smell trouble; and the whiff here wasn't pleasant; This new group (mostly out-of-towners, of course) includes a couple minor league actor types along with a sprinkling of racing figures and others.

Right off the bat, this spelled trouble. The "we got great news" announcement of this changeover brought with it the remark that the yard's live musical entertainment would be "upgraded" to include "some of the best tribute acts on the east coast." The example of a Billy Joel act was even offered. We kid not.

The first casualty of this dumbing-down the masses philosophy was Saratoga's very own treasure, the legendary Commander Cody. For year, the pioneer of 70's western swing meets rock and roll boogie-woogie had the honor of kicking off the party season with the opening day performance slot. But the guess here is that no one in this new "investment group" even heard of our guy, and the Commander was unceremoniously booted from the lineup. His remarks from the stage at his recent Parting Glass performance, where he lead a crowd chant of "Fuck Siro's," tells us that he's not too happy about it either.

Siro's truly jumped the shark last August, when former heavyweight champ Joe Frazier was dragged into the joint and up on the stage to briefly front his old lounge act, the Knockouts. Just a few months away from his death, Smokin' Joe proceeded to deliver a few croaking sounds before being helped back down. For those of you who think that hearing one more rendition of Mustang Sally will make your head explode, this one might have done the trick.

Add to the mix the "you want your picture taken?" and other assorted hustles that are now a part of the scene, and there should be little question as to why the real party crowd has headed down the block to The Horseshoe in recent years.

But that doesn't concern this new Siro's ownership bunch. Can we say "expansion" or "extending the brand?" Yep, you guess it: they just opened up a NYC Siro's franchise, whereby they will attempt to recreate the Saratoga experience right in the 'hood of those downstate types for a year-round groove.

It's kinda like a tribute act in its own right, huh?

Slice of Heaven: The Parting Glass

Rocco's was where you got your pizza in town. Hell, it was automatic: whenever someone said “let's get a pizza tonight” anywhere within the Saratoga city line, it was an order for whoever was closest to the phone to ring up the joint down on Lake Avenue down near the Fire House and make it happen. But you had to go get it; I don't think they ever had delivery. That was fine, because that gave whoever was charged with pickup duty the chance to catch a quick pop at the bar, where one could always find the City Hall and Saratogian newspaper peeps at their constituent service posts on any given night.

1980 was the year Rocco's switched to the Parting Glass, with a motivated and hard-working family taking over the site. With an Italian food - meets - Irish beer and music mix, the Glass was an immediate hit and a welcome addition to the Spa City's social scene. The two back rooms were opened up and thus was born both a performance space and a large dart room. The locals and the tourists bought into the whole thing.

Somehow, this same family has kept it going all these years later, which is a major accomplishment when considering the wear and tear that is inflicted on the human psyche from being in just such a business. The Italian menu has given way to a more pub grub offering, but it's still good and that's all fine. It IS a pub, ya know? Likewise, the music has expanded a bit from the pure-Irish approach. The list of performers that have graced that stage over the years includes such international big shots as Alison Krauss and Union Station, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Tommy Makem and many more.

Nanoburgh's sister company 398 Productions has long been a supporter of the Parting Glass, having placed a number of shows and business affairs in there over the years. The music section is a gem, with great small-room sound and lights. The staff and management are top notch. We will surely continue that support. It is warming to see how the local business community continues to do the same, with a constant flow of business mixers coming through the doors.

Long may you run....

Ask Joe Bruno - There They Go Again

Dear Joe,

Any comment on the new indictment handed down today, which will result in your re-trial?

- Frank at the Bank


Dear Frank,

Those sorry @!** mother -*%**@**#@!((*&* sons of **&&%%#$# wait til I get a hold og their %%$#$&#*&# &#### sorry &^$$#R..((&&&**&%%$ !!!!!* I never heard such $**# -*(*^^%% bull**&*&@ @@ in all my *&&%$$ life.

Sure Things and the Role of Chance

RAM Chips? Snowmobile Rentals? Can't Miss!

If foxes are so sly, then why do so many get hit by cars?


In the early days of the Desktop PC era, a friend of mine thought he'd play the role of Mr Smart Guy. He owned a walk-in/retail computer sales and repair business at the time, one of the first half-dozen or so in the Albany area. Although he had revenue streams coming in from a couple different directions, he was making easy money --- as in making it without really trying --- in one flukey little aspect of the operation. That business was memory chips.

Here's how it was going down: he'd buy 1MB RAM chips, a dozen or so at a time at first. This was back when your typical new PC might come equipped with 64K or 256K or 512K of core memory, mind you. The power users were quickly hitting the wall with such configurations, and off they would skip to my bud's store to add a megabyte or two. His register rang up consistent and healthy sales as a result. So many people were doing this routine all around the USA that all the hacker publications published the weekly price of 1MB RAM chips in each new issue. A new and highly watched commodity market was suddenly upon us.

So, for example, our boy might pick up the phone and order 1MB chip sets for $25/MB each. Don't shake your head: that was the kind of pricing that existed back then. But by the time it got to his shop and onto his bench to get plugged into a customer's motherboard, the published price in those magazines might have risen $10+ at retail. He was making money just by sitting on inventory for a few days. Who said inflation is a bad thing?

This was all the result of a classic supply and demand dynamic at work: the global electronics supply chain was not yet ramped-up for this tsunami of RAM-hungry PCs now hitting both the business and consumer markets all at once. It was caught with its pants down. The manufacturing infrastructure was not in place, demand far outweighed supply, and it was getting more unbalanced by the day. Too much money was chasing a rare good. Prices went up, and up, and up – eventually to $100/MB. Some of the pen-equipped geniuses out there were even predicting $1,000 pricing.

That was music to the ears of one cetain forward thinker. It was at this very point that our hero decided to go all-in, just like the riverboat gambler he fancied himself to be during our week night poker games at his home alongside the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk. Yes, sir: it was time to spec-u-late!

He had family money, built up by the family's former eponymous business enterprise that had thrived locally for decades. Along with the cash, the family name also granted him easy credit. So, the next thing you know, the RAM chips weren't showing up at his back door in UPS trucks any more; they were coming by the tractor trailer lot. He stacked their boxes in the back room, plopped his feet on the table, lit a cigar and waited for this rocket ship to keep on course into outer space.

Well......., it didn't quite work out the way he had planned. The chip industry, especially Japan, Inc, preced him by a bit with their own all in moves and cranked up the factories to deliver the goods. The roll-up was incredibly fast, and when combined with parallel R&D breakthroughs which were increasing memory scaling by a factor of X, RAM pricing quickly plummeted – quite possibly at a rate not seen since the Amsterdam Tulip Crash of hundreds of years back.

It bankrupted our pal. Those $100 chips in the back were soon were worth $40, then $20, then $10, and then nothing. 1MB RAM sets? You got any 8" floppies to go with that, ha-ha? Today, RAM is as cheap as water. It likely won't give him much solace, but he wasn't alone. Heck, the Japanese industrial machine made the same bet-the-ranch mistake he did, and that simple fact played a major role in that nation's so-called Lost Decade. Intel, on the other hand, made the opposite bet: it clearly saw this burgeoining RAM commoditization trend and decided early-on that it wanted no part of that game. It thereby shifted its resources into central processing unit chips. It won that poker hand.

This old tale came to light in the past week upon my meeting a sad gent who had just made a similar all-in bet. His brainstorm: buy a fleet of snowmobiles in the Lake George area and get into the rental business. Take their credit cards, hand them a trail map and get out of the way before they run you over. Sure enough, he pulled that trigger last autumn, with a big bank loan delivering a dozen shiny new sleds to his rented garage and its attached properly equipped showroom. A P-G (Personal Guarantee) was required by the bank to make this all happen, of course. But what the heck: he couldn't go wrong. Right?

Well........., he could and he did. Apparently, Mother Nature wasn't on his payroll this winter, and the near non-appearance of the white stuff killed him. He related that he didn't even hit 5% of his revenue projections. When I mentioned the concept of weather insurance, he replied “how's that work?” He's now on the ropes, with his home's equity already eaten up and some real soul searching now taking place under its roof. I sensed his wife wasn't a happy camper, either.

Entrepreneurship is not a game that's played in short pants. Still. the thrill of the sport attracts many of us to it But just like other sports have some players that get washed-out in the low minors --- often for reasons beyond their control such as physical injuryg --- it's a game than many of us feel compelled to play, regardless.



"I'd rather fail at my own enterprise than succeed as the VP of someone else's."



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Broadcast This!

"To traditional corporations, networked conversations may appear confused, may sound confusing. But we are organizing faster than they are. We have better tools, more new ideas, no rules to slow us down." (Cluetrain Manifesto, Theses # 94)


Although pointing out the new rules of engagement between org's and their markets, this gem also highlights how Old Media was so confused by Occupy Wall Street, with their mis-placed clamoring of "what exactly are they demanding and who exactly is behindthis and in-change of it?"

It is no longer all about top-down, broadcast style messaging and command & control systems. But they don't get that.


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Like/Dislike

Great Band Names

Death Cab for Cutie
Dead Kennedys
Milk Carton Kids
Morning Wood
Widespread Panic
Drive By Truckers
Heartless Bastards
Butt Hole Surfers
Vanilla Fudge


Immaturity?
Artists that I disliked at first; but grew to appreciate

Springsteen/E Street Band
Thin Lizzy
Rush
Johnny Cash
Duke Ellington
Mahavishnu Orchestra
Modern Jazz Quartet
Louis Armstrong
Morrissey
Tori Amos
Michael Hedges
Los Lobos
John Fahey
Chet Atkins
Brian Eno
Franz Schubert
Gershwin Bros
WAR



Artists I liked at one time, then it became "WTF was I thinking?"

Grand Funk Railroad
Rare Earth
America
Chicago
Los Lonely Boys
Oasis
Humble Pie
Elton John


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Charter Change Vote is a Go

The Times Union's fine reporter Dennis Yusko seems to be the first to report today that the NYS Appellate Court has ruled in favor of the Saratoga charter change group known as Saratoga Citizen in its fight to get its proposal on a ballot.

Their stated mission now is to attempt a fast-track it and to make that all happen this year, in November.

If all of this REALLY has to happen, then 2012 would be the best year to do it. Being it is a presidential election year, the turnout will be far greater than if it were done in an off-year like 2013. An off-year would draw only the fanatics to the booth, thus giving the proposal a better chance than normal. Something tells me that, despite the bluster of "let's vote now", Saratoga Citizen would actually prefer 2013 for the above reasons.

So, let's put it on the November ballot. Let the war begin



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