Mastering the art of blackjack

Just as we all used to follow the form of horses – think the Great Depression and the success of Seabiscuit to see we all love a champion – the latest form book covers the race among US states to balance their budgets. Of course, everyone has been focussing on California with Arnold Schwarzenegger leading the charge to the winning post on getting the budget signed into law. He has enough strength for arm twisting and ‘gator wrassling to bulldoze the bill through. But Pennsylvania is just as interesting with the Governor’s office matching California’s use of IOUs by refusing to pay funds to the four state universities. Probably someone somewhere is running a book on which US state will be the first to declare itself bankrupt. These would be the front runners among an alarming number of states lacking initial prudence and the political will to raise taxes, to cut spending, or both.

Anyway, the real point of interest in Pennsylvania is the growing threat of litigation from the group of license holders who run slot machines. When the licenses were first issued, the state sold maximum exclusivity for a high fee (that’s $50 million a license). The enabling law is very clear. No other gambling outlet will be allowed to compete directly with the market for slot machines. At the time, this looked a good deal for both sides. Gambling was a popular activity and the state benefited from a generous input to its finances. Fast forward and the recession has forced people to cut back on their discretionary spending. This means less money to spend on trips to gamble. Ironically, the casino operators to benefit from this have been online. Had it not been for the changes in the law making it difficult to move money into and out of the online casino accounts, they would have cleaned up. So this leaves the current license holders under pressure with building work on some of the proposed casino and resort sites put on hold. While the government finds an expanding black hole eating up its cash reserves as tax revenue falls. The state’s answer is proposals to increase the number of slot machines allowed in the existing resorts and to license new resorts. To the existing license holders, this looks like plans to allow direct competition from new operators. They are up in arms with their attorneys slavering on the end of a short leash, just waiting for the chance to sue.

There’s no doubt slots still represents a pot of gold for both the license holders and the state. The machines are still a big draw even though the recession is biting hard. But this plan looks like an expansion too far. The average spend has dropped. If the state increases the number of machines, this will only spread the same amount of money around more machines. It’s not going to increase the size of the spend. This leaves the state with a growing hole in its accounts and the existing license holders with a good case in contract and constitutional law. With the online casinos introducing new slots games every month and keeping up player interest, this is no time to be fighting over a reducing market in the real world.

As the rivalry between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid more and more looks like a rivalry for world domination than “just” the Spanish League it makes sense to examine more closely what brought the current holders of the throne, FC Barcelona, to their place of prominence on the world football stage. When Barcelona tore down Real Madrid 5-0 at home in their fabled stadium Camp Nou on the 29th of November 2010 many commentators and fans alike started talking about the best football match of all time. When what is deemed the best team in the world knocks off the second best with style and nonchalance, big words tend to be used. No doubt, the Barca team of the season 2010/11 might have had more talent than most any team in football history, yet the word that occurs to explain the success it is; tradition. Tradition mixed with a sprinkle of innovation. The club was established 29/11 1899 by Swiss entrepreneur Hans Gamper, and won the first major trophy winning the Spanish league in 1929. Even though the club enjoyed a row of triumphs in decades to come, the tradition that today’s Barca style is rooted in, has its wellspring in the Dream Team when Dutch legend Johan Cruyff was skipper from 1990 to 1994. Cruyff teamed up with FC Barcelona as a player in 1973 winning the Spanish league on the first try. At his peak Cruyff was maybe the best European player of his generation and his name regularly features when considering the all time greats of football. While he was at the wheel as manager between 1988-1996 the club won four league titles and one European cup title. But, maybe his longest enduring heritage is the philosophy of football that he was instrumental in deploying. Cruyff was a product of the 70s Dutch school of Total Football. The central idea was to lose the traditional separations between defenses and attackers. All players had to be equally skilled with the ball. These days this includes the goalie who must be comfortable with the ball at his feet partaking in the elaborate passing game of the team Total football demanded that all players in all positions be equally skilled with the ball, and always seek to attack spaces the opponent leaves unguarded, and close down the space around attacking rivals. This philosophy was central to the success of the Dutch national team in the 70s, of the Barca dream team on the early 90s and of the Barca we see today. Today’s coach Josep Guardiola is a true product of the club’s youth academy, La Masia. This academy is another key factor in the club’s success, and the pivot of the new dream team was reared here with players like Xavi, Puyol, Iniesta, Valdes, Fabregas (a short while ago returned home from Arsenal) and even Argentinean Leonel Messi were all drilled in the Barca way of total football. Leo Messi is naturally another crucial factor. The tiny magician is breaking records (and opponents’ confidence) on a regular basis, and before reaching his mid 20s is already being hailed as one of the greatest footballers of all time. In a football team that accent the collective, the individual techniques of the one team player is still quintessential. FC Barcelona has always had extraordinary talent in the team: Cruyff, Maradona, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivario and Romario. And, many of these legends have been on top of their games during their years at Camp Nou. The FC Barcelona success formula is to have a framework and a pattern rooted in a sound tradition with years of training and education of their young talents. Far more importance is given to individual skills and compatibility with team-mates than to physical strength and height. This tradition and reputation are what draws in young talents (like Messi) from all over the world and lets the coach to pick and choose his team from the most promising local talent and some of the foremost talents from all over the globe. The foundation of FC Barcelona’s success is this; tradition, collectivism and individual inventiveness! As the season 2011/12 is on its way newbies Alexis Sanches, Cesc Fabregas, Thiago and Isaac Cuenca will add more talent and more innovation to the proud history of FC Barcelona!

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