Casino in Second Life? is Gambling Back?

[Persephone Emerald]

43 minutes ago, Paul Hexem said:

How do I get them without spending any L$, then?

You get 500 tokens for showing up the first time, then 120 each additional day that you show up. Play the low-stakes tables or slots so you lose money slower. If you really love the games, get some alts & rotate them.

Free play every day.

Edited May 12, 2023 by Persephone Emerald

[Eddy Vortex]

2 hours ago, Love Zhaoying said:

That's a shame, he looks like a lapdog.

Did you offer him a lap dance?

I tried to give him a lap dance. Still no dice. 

[Qie Niangao]

8 hours ago, Jaylinbridges said:

That [making everyone win] would sort of defeat the purpose of buying tokens with lindens.  I guess you mean until everyone gets hooked on winning coins that are useless.  I looked for the teller cashout window, and I think they forgot it

Blackjack is a game of skill and luck - you just have to pay attention, and not accept those free drinks while playing.

Right, but I'm not ready to assume that what's made to look like "blackjack" is really a game at all. Nor, for that matter, that this experiment (whatever it is) is really intended to bring in any L$s, its "casino" dress notwithstanding.

One thing that surely was intended to rake in the L$s, the original pre-gambling-ban casinos, were involved in a similar suspicion: there was no gaming commission overseeing anything about how they operated, including the randomness of play. It was widely suspected that the odds were "shaped" to maximize the Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect, the behavioral underpinning of gambling addiction. It was simply naïve to assume the cards were dealt (or the slots spun) with any actual randomness at all. Why would they be, when money is at stake and there's nothing to prevent dealing from the bottom of the virtual deck?

In this case, though, we really don't know what is at stake. Maybe money…

Edited May 12, 2023 by Qie Niangao
"it's" isn't possessive

[Ardy Lay]

I think it's a behavioral research experiment, so, all I am going to do there is search for the restroom and attempt to sit on the statuary.

[Love Zhaoying]

I am surprised we have not heard much (if anything) about concerted Griefer attacks on the casino.

[Paul Hexem]

10 hours ago, Persephone Emerald said:

You get 500 tokens for showing up the first time, then 120 each additional day that you show up. Play the low-stakes tables or slots so you lose money slower. If you really love the games, get some alts & rotate them.

Free play every day.

"No value"

[Love Zhaoying]

3 minutes ago, Paul Hexem said:

"No value"

Interesting to me is, that popup does not say you are paying for something in particular.

You are just paying them.

Of course, that is probably "normal" for Second Life transactions.

Since all these are going to SocialCasino Linden, that dawg must be rich by now!

Also interesting is, they "COULD" have set it up to buy Tokens and pay "nobody" (because they own the entire system of transacting) but that would take some effort so.."Let's just use the normal buy/pay scheme.  We'll just have all payments go to SocialCasino Linden."

 

[Paul Hexem]

1 minute ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Interesting to me is, that popup does not say you are paying for something in particular.

You are just paying them.

Of course, that is probably "normal" for Second Life transactions.

Since all these are going to SocialCasino Linden, that dawg must be rich by now!

Also interesting is, they "COULD" have set it up to buy Tokens and pay "nobody" (because they own the entire system of transacting) but that would take some effort so.."Let's just use the normal buy/pay scheme.  We'll just have all payments go to SocialCasino Linden."

Oh, we're paying somebody alright...

[Qie Niangao]

2 minutes ago, Paul Hexem said:

Oh, we're paying somebody alright...

Presumably "nobody" would be the usual "poof goes the money" way of implementing L$ sinks for Linden nuisance fees. Those don't get sold directly on the LindeX, but rather they create demand for L$s to (more than) offset L$ sources such as subscription stipends. Unless SocialCasino Linden burns all those L$s—if, god forbid, they're sold on the LindeX—there could easily be a currency crisis…

… except we have no evidence to suggest anybody has ever actually purchased any tokens at these "ATMs", do we?

There's one born every minute, but they don't all play Second Life.

[EliseAnne85]

1 hour ago, Qie Niangao said:

Presumably "nobody" would be the usual "poof goes the money" way of implementing L$ sinks for Linden nuisance fees. Those don't get sold directly on the LindeX, but rather they create demand for L$s to (more than) offset L$ sources such as subscription stipends. Unless SocialCasino Linden burns all those L$s—if, god forbid, they're sold on the LindeX—there could easily be a currency crisis…

… except we have no evidence to suggest anybody has ever actually purchased any tokens at these "ATMs", do we?

There's one born every minute, but they don't all play Second Life.

If they "burn" them wouldn't that reduce the supply of lindens, thus creating more value in the Linden because there would be less lindens?  

What do you mean by "burn" them exactly?  

[Love Zhaoying]

1 hour ago, Qie Niangao said:

Presumably "nobody" would be the usual "poof goes the money" way of implementing L$ sinks for Linden nuisance fees. Those don't get sold directly on the LindeX, but rather they create demand for L$s to (more than) offset L$ sources such as subscription stipends. Unless SocialCasino Linden burns all those L$s—if, god forbid, they're sold on the LindeX—there could easily be a currency crisis…

… except we have no evidence to suggest anybody has ever actually purchased any tokens at these "ATMs", do we?

There's one born every minute, but they don't all play Second Life.

Assuming paying "SocialCasino Linden" is just due to laziness, the money is going "poof" as if you were just paying LL.

I guess the difference is, you don't usually buy "stuff" from LL.

And the "Tokens" are "stuff".  Because LL says they exist. lulz.

[aht1981]

Clearly the regulatory environment has changed. If they do plan to bring back some kind of gambling they need a licence right? Best get checking the filings to see if they submitted anything, or if Waterfield have a licence.

[Qie Niangao]

16 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Assuming paying "SocialCasino Linden" is just due to laziness

Yes, as long as those L$s don't get sold directly on the LindeX without regard to exchange rate.

25 minutes ago, EliseAnne85 said:

If they "burn" them wouldn't that reduce the supply of lindens, thus creating more value in the Linden because there would be less lindens?  

Right, that's exactly what I was trying to say. By "burning" the L$s, I meant simply make them go away (same as L$-denominated fees for uploading mesh, paying Marketplace commissions, etc) thus creating the corresponding demand on the LindeX for the L$s destroyed in this sink. This is how the L$ remains so stable: there's a constant demand for new L$s to be sold by Supply Linden at the target exchange rate that cannot be satisfied at that rate by private supply.

The nightmare scenario is if the L$ sinks ever fail to keep up with sources. That could happen, for example, if residents bought more in-world rather than on the Marketplace (plugging that commissions sink) or if there was a surge in Premium++ memberships paying too many too high stipends (a L$ source flooding supply). Then the Lab would face the choice between the L$ weakening out of control or Supply needing to buy L$ on the LindeX. That would be a very difficult choice.

Edited May 12, 2023 by Qie Niangao

[Arielle Popstar]

Considering the references to both Greek and Egyptian gods, one could view the token purchases as a temple tax, so maybe the Lab should be issuing people who buy them, a receipt for charitable donations.

[EliseAnne85]

1 hour ago, Qie Niangao said:

Right, that's exactly what I was trying to say. By "burning" the L$s, I meant simply make them go away 

I think you hit "bingo".  I think that is probably exactly what they are trying to do with these lindens...make them go away.  

We just don't know the full reason why yet.  

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by EliseAnne85

[Istelathis]

It could have to do with inflation, to maintain the dollar value to linden.  If the Linden were to raise with USD who knows what sort of impact that would have.  Also some of the ways LL had previously used to potentially burn their linden such as uploads have been removed by making some uploads free for premium plus members.

Economics is not my thang, so I haven't a clue.  All I know is that Anubis still won't give me my dang long island iced tea.  

[diamond Marchant]

I went to apply for a cocktail waitress job but the bartender wouldn't even talk to me :: sobs :: I even got a new outfit on Fifty Linden Friday.

[diamond Marchant]

35 minutes ago, Istelathis said:

It could have to do with inflation, to maintain the dollar value to linden.

At 9:26am PST (SLT), the instant buy rate gives L$244 for US$1

I am unable to find a chart for this metric, but it appears that inflation of the Linden is less than the greenback.

[Katherine Heartsong]

27 minutes ago, diamond Marchant said:

I went to apply for a cocktail waitress job but the bartender wouldn't even talk to me :: sobs :: I even got a new outfit on Fifty Linden Friday.

I put drink orders in to him for the guests and he's never once filled one. best I can do is keep offering cigars and cigarettes, and try to keep some of the patron's hands off my tush. I'd fire the bar keep, but you don't want Anubis on your bad side.

Edited May 12, 2023 by Katherine Heartsong

[Love Zhaoying]

2 minutes ago, Katherine Heartsong said:

I put drink orders in to him for the guests and he's never once filled one. best I can do is keep offering cigars and cigarettes, and try to keep some of the patron's hands off my tush. I'd fire the bar keep, but you don't want Anubis on your bad side.

Since Anubis is "Egyptian god of funerary practices and care of the dead", perhaps either he's ignoring you because "you're dead to him", or perhaps because you're NOT dead.

[Love Zhaoying]

On 5/10/2023 at 5:20 PM, Ayashe Ninetails said:

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas, gimme.

If I go as Ernst Blofeld, will you go as my spoiled cat?

..just a theoretical scenario!

[Katherine Heartsong]

6 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

If I go as Ernst Blofeld, will you go as my spoiled cat?

..just a theoretical scenario!

Me me me!! Pick me!!!

[Rat Luv]

Anubis looks a bit like a depressed kangaroo 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Rat Luv

[Ayashe Ninetails]

16 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

If I go as Ernst Blofeld, will you go as my spoiled cat?

..just a theoretical scenario!

Sir, I'm a frog. Neko is as close as I get to a cat and that's about 20 avatars deep in the cycle.

But if someone wants to make an actual roleplay casino, I'm so there, in one humanoid form or another.

Edit: Wait, I forgot, I have a Sphynx cat, too. Forgot about that one.

Edited May 12, 2023 by Ayashe Ninetails
Added stuffs

[Love Zhaoying]

2 minutes ago, Ayashe Ninetails said:

18 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

If I go as Ernst Blofeld, will you go as my spoiled cat?

..just a theoretical scenario!

Sir, I'm a frog. Neko is as close as I get to a cat and that's about 20 avatars deep in the cycle.

But if someone wants to make an actual roleplay casino, I'm so there, in one humanoid form or another.

Edit: Wait, I forgot, I have a Sphynx cat, too. Forgot about that one.

There's always the Bond "Chick", who I shall refer to as "Puddytat Galore"..