diamond Marchant

Isn't this evidence that the region is intended to be a demo? Isn't the game play the same on all the tables/slots? Won't tire kickers just switch to lower stakes when their chips run low? Or switch to another platform/app that has similar free games? Aren't the ATM machines simply a working demo of an ATM machine (didn't actually try one... do they work?) Will anyone pay for something that is free? Finally, why do we assume that this is intended for Second Life? Linden Lab could deploy Casinos on another grid.

It is possible that Helios Casino is simply a demonstration of what Linden Lab could offer to casino operators in US states where online casino gambling appears to be legal. The fact that online gambling is legal anywhere in the US is news to me. I discovered this in a NY Post article dated January 9, 2023. As others have said, Helios Casino, perhaps, does not meet the definition of gambling that most use, as one cannot win anything. I speculate that Linden Lab might have some legal exposure for false or deceptive advertising, if one considers a Destination Guide entry or a tweet to be advertising. Also, "casino" is defined as "a public room or building where gambling games are played". Hey @Patch Linden, we think somebody has some 'splaining to do.

Protecting a skybox with an orb is prudent. My statement concerns empty airspace, typically well below skyboxes. I realize that some put skyboxes at low altitudes but I find that unnecessary.

I have found the houseboat rotation on square parcels to be challenging. It appears that all 8 houseboat designs are optimized for 16x64 parcels, that is, they have views and/or entrances that are convenient to the water. When put on a 32x32 parcel, the water view/access is typically compromised. For me, the Wallower works best on a 32x32 (and also well on a 16x64). Note also that all houseboats benefit from dock addons.

I was happy to learn about visibility in this thread as I didn't previously have a correct understanding. When you uncheck "Avatars on other parcels can see...", this works for you at ground level even if your peeper is directly above you but beyond the visibility range, which means you don't need an orb up there, just one at ground level (or banlines). About zero second orbs... in real life, people don't shoot down aircraft that fly over their property. Similarly, there is no good reason to put an orb in open airspace above your parcel, as this does not increase security or privacy.

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.

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.

Yup, no way to get absolute privacy from other residents on mainland. Best you can do is banlines plus zero second orbs at all altitudes plus disabling visibility. Others can always see your stuff.

That's more an also sentence. The first part basically they can do anything they choose to do with it. This is getting curious-er and curious-er. The TOS Section 2.3 says creators (residents) give Linden Lab a "Service Content License" which allows them to sell resident content. I had been distracted by other language such as "You retain any and all Intellectual Property Rights you already hold under applicable law". I have no evidence that Linden Lab is behaving badly in any way with respect to resident property. However, should the owners of Linden Lab (an investment group led by Randy Waterfield and Brad Oberwager) decide to sell Linden Lab, the new owner would have non-exclusive rights to all resident content. They could close Second Life (which may or may not be a good investment) and open some new thing that exploited the old Second Life resident content.

Tired of this diversion. Let's get back to our regular programming (or the next goofy thing that LL does).

Yes, found it, ty. They give themselves non-exclusive rights to your stuff and at the end, suggest that this is for debugging/support purposes.

Where exactly? I reread TOS and could not find that.

LL now has a nice inventory of quality botanicals, some even low LI, due to landscaping Bellisseria for four years.

Couple of things... 1. If you play Blackjack at the low stakes table, the minimum bet is 2 chips, so you would have to play 250 times without winning to lose all your chips. Seems silly to buy more chips. If you are running out and wanna keep playing, just go to the Low Stakes table. 2. The casino build needs to correct a few flaws... a) Casinos don't usually let you see outside (except for the CalNeva in Crystal Bay NV, former playground of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, now shuttered and banlined by Larry Ellison). b) Needs cushy rooms for high rollers c) needs a showroom... let people do shows there as if it were a community center d) bar should serve drinks 3. The build style is generally high class. The lower end casinos in Vegas or on Virgina St. in Reno generally have low ceilings and pack in the slots... could have a section like that in Helios Casino for authenticity. 4. I agree with those that think this whole thing is either just STUPID or is simply a demo region (maybe not so stupid). Back in the early 90s when only nerdy static web pages existed, Silicon Valley tech companies created demo sites for things like info portals, aggregated news, etc. in order to sell their gear and web serving software to media companies. This might be the same thing. Perhaps the customers are those residing in countries that allow internet gambling.

No parcel music stream, no media.

A few fun facts and photos... As a Premium member, you get 120 free chips per day. There are three types of blackjack tables. The tables beneath the dome have a 40 chip minimum bet. Those in the Low Stakes area have a 2 chip minimum bet. And those in the High Stakes area have a minimum bet in excess of 426 chips (I suspect 500). I could not even sit at that table. The bar is nice and, as Love has mentioned, has an anubis-like bartender. Unfortunately, no drinks are served as the bottles and glasses are decor. As others have mentioned, the build itself is of high-quality. However, I find it suboptimal as casino design. I would have put the High Stakes area in its own room, something more luxurious. High rollers like special treatment. And where is the showroom? You have to have one of those if only so the VIPs can cut in line.

Of course, this idiom means that one occasionally gets a right answer accidentally, but I find it odd, because you would need another correctly functioning clock to tell you when the broken clock is right.

Still on the gatcha topic... For me, it seems ironic that when gatcha got banned in Second Life, the thing that replaced it at The Arcade turned out to be less work and more pleasurable (more gambley) than banned gatcha. Let me explain. With gatcha, when I wanted a particular item, I would simply pay the machine until I got my item, then sell the items I did not want, which was work. I got minimal dopamine hit because it was all very transactional. With the current machines, I send in my alt army for as many days as it takes and eventually one of them gets the desired item, which they transfer to diamond. No reselling (the work part) and there is always the pleasurable dopamine hit that comes with anticipation. Unintended consequences? (Steer clear of me at Halloween cause I haz all the curses in my witchy wand.)

Two thoughts. The vehicle drivers I know like to operate their vehicles. We use nav tools but we expect to be the pilot/sailor/driver. Once you get off of protected water and roads, the grid is in constant flux, due to fact that residents build, terraform, make banlines, and deploy security orbs. Route maintenance is an issue.

To elaborate, 7Seas Fishing contests are not considered to be gambling because the contestants do not make bets. The contest pot is funded by the event host and/or donations by contestants. Bait expense is attributed to keeping that fishing service running and is not part of the contest.

I likey

They used "regulatory climate" as an excuse. Around that time, governments outside the US were cracking down on Loot boxes in video games played by children. That was "the climate". Of course, gatcha and Loot boxes are not the same thing and Second Life is not for children. I agree that gatcha is not gambling, at least when the usual definition is used.... betting something of value in a game of chance.

Sabine Hossenfelder confirms this in a recent youtube. The dopamine spike happens in anticipation of a reward.

https://www.gohelios.com/index.php (a division of New Sunshine LLC) Not likely that Linden Lab can use the Helios trademark

Looky! Looky! I got a Blackjack! YaY! Notice how prominent the "Buy Chips" dialog is. Whoever built this was not messing around. When playing black jack you are on a timer... you get auto-standed if you wait too long to decide on a hit and you get booted from your chair if you don't bet fast enough.