text:
Describe the interior of a massive star before a supernova
Explain the steps of a core collapse and explosion
List the hazards associated with nearby supernovae
Thanks to mass loss, then, stars with starting masses up to at least 8 MSun (and perhaps even more) probably end their lives as white dwarfs. But we know stars can have masses as large as 150 (or more) MSun. They have a different kind of death in store for them. As we will see, these stars die with a bang.
Nuclear Fusion of Heavy Elements
After the helium in its core is exhausted (see The Evolution of More Massive Stars), the evolution of a massive star takes a significantly different course from that of lower-mass stars. In a massive star, the weight of the outer layers is sufficient to force the carbon core to contract until it becomes hot enough to fuse carbon into oxygen, neon, and magnesium. This cycle of contraction, heating, and the ignition of another nuclear fuel repeats several more times. After each of the possible nuclear fuels is exhausted, the core contracts again until it reaches a new temperature high enough to fuse still-heavier nuclei. The products of carbon fusion can be further converted into silicon, sulfur, calcium, and argon. And these elements, when heated to a still-higher temperature, can combine to produce iron. Massive stars go through these stages very, very quickly. In really massive stars, some fusion stages toward the very end can take only months or even days! This is a far cry from the millions of years they spend in the main-sequence stage.
At this stage of its evolution, a massive star resembles an onion with an iron core. As we get farther from the center, we find shells of decreasing temperature in which nuclear reactions involve nuclei of progressively lower mass—silicon and sulfur, oxygen, neon, carbon, helium, and finally, hydrogen (Figure 23.6).
Structure of an Old Massive Star.
Figure 23.6. Just before its final gravitational collapse, the core of a massive star resembles an onion. The iron core is surrounded by layers of silicon and sulfur, oxygen, neon, carbon mixed with some oxygen, helium, and finally hydrogen. Outside the core, the composition is mainly hydrogen and helium. (Note that this diagram is not precisely to scale but is just meant to convey the general idea of what such a star would be like.) (credit: modification of work by ESO, Digitized Sky Survey)
But there is a limit to how long this process of building up elements by fusion can go on. The fusion of silicon into iron turns out to be the last step in the sequence of nonexplosive element production. Up to this point, each fusion reaction has produced energy because the nucleus of each fusion product has been a bit more stable than the nuclei that formed it. As discussed in The Sun: A Nuclear Powerhouse, light nuclei give up some of their binding energy in the process of fusing into more tightly bound, heavier nuclei. It is this released energy that maintains the outward pressure in the core so that the star does not collapse. But of all the nuclei known, iron is the most tightly bound and thus the most stable.
You might think of the situation like this: all smaller nuclei want to "grow up" to be like iron, and they are willing to pay (produce energy) to move toward that goal. But iron is a mature nucleus with good self-esteem, perfectly content being iron; it requires payment (must absorb energy) to change its stable nuclear structure. This is the exact opposite of what has happened in each nuclear reaction so far: instead of providing energy to balance the inward pull of gravity, any nuclear reactions involving iron would remove some energy from the core of the star.
Unable to generate energy, the star now faces catastrophe.
Collapse into a Ball of Neutrons
When nuclear reactions stop, the core of a massive star is supported by degenerate electrons, just as a white dwarf is. For stars that begin their evolution with masses of at least 10 MSun, this core is likely made mainly of iron. (For stars with initial masses in the range 8 to 10 MSun, the core is likely made of oxygen, neon, and magnesium, because the star never gets hot enough to form elements as heavy as iron. The exact composition of the cores of stars in this mass range is very difficult to determine because of the complex physical characteristics in the cores, particularly at the very high densities and temperatures involved.) We will focus on the more massive iron cores in our discussion.
While no energy is being generated within the white dwarf core of the star, fusion still occurs in the shells that surround the core. As the shells finish their fusion reactions and stop producing energy, the ashes of the last reaction fall onto the white dwarf core, increasing its mass. As Figure 23.2 shows, a higher mass means a smaller core. The core can contract because even a degenerate gas is still mostly empty space. Electrons and atomic nuclei are, after all, extremely small. The electrons and nuclei in a stellar core may be crowded compared to the air in your room, but there is still lots of space between them.
The electrons at first resist being crowded closer together, and so the core shrinks only a small amount. Ultimately, however, the iron core reaches a mass so large that even degenerate electrons can no longer support it. When the density reaches 4 × 1011 g/cm3 (400 billion times the density of water), some electrons are actually squeezed into the atomic nuclei, where they combine with protons to form neutrons and neutrinos. This transformation is not something that is familiar from everyday life, but becomes very important as such a massive star core collapses.
Some of the electrons are now gone, so the core can no longer resist the crushing mass of the star's overlying layers. The core begins to shrink rapidly. More and more electrons are now pushed into the atomic nuclei, which ultimately become so saturated with neutrons that they cannot hold onto them.
At this point, the neutrons are squeezed out of the nuclei and can exert a new force. As is true for electrons, it turns out that the neutrons strongly resist being in the same place and moving in the same way. The force that can be exerted by such degenerate neutrons is much greater than that produced by degenerate electrons, so unless the core is too massive, they can ultimately stop the collapse.
This means the collapsing core can reach a stable state as a crushed ball made mainly of neutrons, which astronomers call a neutron star. We don't have an exact number (a "Chandrasekhar limit") for the maximum mass of a neutron star, but calculations tell us that the upper mass limit of a body made of neutrons might only be about 3 MSun. So if the mass of the core were greater than this, then even neutron degeneracy would not be able to stop the core from collapsing further. The dying star must end up as something even more extremely compressed, which until recently was believed to be only one possible type of object—the state of ultimate compaction known as a black hole (which is the subject of our next chapter). This is because no force was believed to exist that could stop a collapse beyond the neutron star stage.
Collapse and Explosion
When the collapse of a high-mass star's core is stopped by degenerate neutrons, the core is saved from further destruction, but it turns out that the rest of the star is literally blown apart. Here's how it happens.
The collapse that takes place when electrons are absorbed into the nuclei is very rapid. In less than a second, a core with a mass of about 1 MSun, which originally was approximately the size of Earth, collapses to a diameter of less than 20 kilometers. The speed with which material falls inward reaches one-fourth the speed of light. The collapse halts only when the density of the core exceeds the density of an atomic nucleus (which is the densest form of matter we know). A typical neutron star is so compressed that to duplicate its density, we would have to squeeze all the people in the world into a single sugar cube! This would give us one sugar cube's worth (one cubic centimeter's worth) of a neutron star.
The neutron degenerate core strongly resists further compression, abruptly halting the collapse. The shock of the sudden jolt initiates a shock wave that starts to propagate outward. However, this shock alone is not enough to create a star explosion. The energy produced by the outflowing matter is quickly absorbed by atomic nuclei in the dense, overlying layers of gas, where it breaks up the nuclei into individual neutrons and protons.
Our understanding of nuclear processes indicates (as we mentioned above) that each time an electron and a proton in the star's core merge to make a neutron, the merger releases a neutrino. These ghostly subatomic particles, introduced in The Sun: A Nuclear Powerhouse, carry away some of the nuclear energy. It is their presence that launches the final disastrous explosion of the star. The total energy contained in the neutrinos is huge. In the initial second of the star's explosion, the power carried by the neutrinos (1046 watts) is greater than the power put out by all the stars in over a billion galaxies.
While neutrinos ordinarily do not interact very much with ordinary matter (we earlier accused them of being downright antisocial), matter near the center of a collapsing star is so dense that the neutrinos do interact with it to some degree. They deposit some of this energy in the layers of the star just outside the core. This huge, sudden input of energy reverses the infall of these layers and drives them explosively outward. Most of the mass of the star (apart from that which went into the neutron star in the core) is then ejected outward into space. As we saw earlier, such an explosion requires a star of at least 8 MSun, and the neutron star can have a mass of at most 3 MSun. Consequently, at least five times the mass of our Sun is ejected into space in each such explosive event!
The resulting explosion is called a supernova (Figure 23.7). When these explosions happen close by, they can be among the most spectacular celestial events, as we will discuss in the next section. (Actually, there are at least two different types of supernova explosions: the kind we have been describing, which is the collapse of a massive star, is called, for historical reasons, a type II supernova. We will describe how the types differ later in this chapter).
Five Supernova Explosions in Other Galaxies.
Figure 23.7. The arrows in the top row of images point to the supernovae. The bottom row shows the host galaxies before or after the stars exploded. Each of these supernovae exploded between 3.5 and 10 billion years ago. Note that the supernovae when they first explode can be as bright as an entire galaxy. (credit: modification of work by NASA, ESA, and A. Riess (STScI))
Table 23.1 summarizes the discussion so far about what happens to stars and substellar objects of different initial masses at the ends of their lives. Like so much of our scientific understanding, this list represents a progress report: it is the best we can do with our present models and observations. The mass limits corresponding to various outcomes may change somewhat as models are improved. There is much we do not yet understand about the details of what happens when stars die.
The Ultimate Fate of Stars and Substellar Objects with Different Masses
Initial Mass (Mass of Sun = 1)1
Final State at the End of Its Life
< 0.01 Planet
0.01 to 0.08 Brown dwarf
0.08 to 0.25 White dwarf made mostly of helium
0.25 to 8 White dwarf made mostly of carbon and oxygen
8 to 10 White dwarf made of oxygen, neon, and magnesium
10 to 40 Supernova explosion that leaves a neutron star
> 40 Supernova explosion that leaves a black hole
Table 23.1
The Supernova Giveth and the Supernova Taketh Away
After the supernova explosion, the life of a massive star comes to an end. But the death of each massive star is an important event in the history of its galaxy. The elements built up by fusion during the star's life are now "recycled" into space by the explosion, making them available to enrich the gas and dust that form new stars and planets. Because these heavy elements ejected by supernovae are critical for the formation of planets and the origin of life, it's fair to say that without mass loss from supernovae and planetary nebulae, neither the authors nor the readers of this book would exist.
But the supernova explosion has one more creative contribution to make, one we alluded to in Stars from Adolescence to Old Age when we asked where the atoms in your jewelry came from. The supernova explosion produces a flood of energetic neutrons that barrel through the expanding material. These neutrons can be absorbed by iron and other nuclei where they can turn into protons. Thus, they build up elements that are more massive than iron, including such terrestrial favorites as gold and silver. This is the only place we know where such heavier atoms as lead or uranium can be made. Next time you wear some gold jewelry (or give some to your sweetheart), bear in mind that those gold atoms were once part of an exploding star!
When supernovae explode, these elements (as well as the ones the star made during more stable times) are ejected into the existing gas between the stars and mixed with it. Thus, supernovae play a crucial role in enriching their galaxy with heavier elements, allowing, among other things, the chemical elements that make up earthlike planets and the building blocks of life to become more common as time goes on (Figure 23.8).
Kepler Supernova Remant.
Figure 23.8. This image shows the expanding remains of a supernova explosion, which was first seen about 400 years ago by sky watchers, including the famous astronomer Johannes Kepler. The bubble-shaped shroud of gas and dust is now 14 light-years wide and is expanding at 2,000 kilometers per second (4 million miles per hour). The remnant emits energy at wavelengths from X-rays (shown in blue and green) to visible light (yellow) and into the infrared (red). The expanding shell is rich in iron, which was produced in the star that exploded. The main image combines the individual single-color images seen at the bottom into one multi-wavelength picture. (credit: modification of work by NASA, ESA, R. Sankrit and W. Blair (Johns Hopkins University))
Supernovae are also thought to be the source of many of the high-energy cosmic ray particles discussed in Cosmic Rays. Trapped by the magnetic field of the Galaxy, the particles from exploded stars continue to circulate around the vast spiral of the Milky Way. Scientists speculate that high-speed cosmic rays hitting the genetic material of Earth organisms over billions of years may have contributed to the steady mutations—subtle changes in the genetic code—that drive the evolution of life on our planet. In all the ways we have mentioned, supernovae have played a part in the development of new generations of stars, planets, and life.
But supernovae also have a dark side. Suppose a life form has the misfortune to develop around a star that happens to lie near a massive star destined to become a supernova. Such life forms may find themselves snuffed out when the harsh radiation and high-energy particles from the neighboring star's explosion reach their world. If, as some astronomers speculate, life can develop on many planets around long-lived (lower-mass) stars, then the suitability of that life's own star and planet may not be all that matters for its long-term evolution and survival. Life may well have formed around a number of pleasantly stable stars only to be wiped out because a massive nearby star suddenly went supernova. Just as children born in a war zone may find themselves the unjust victims of their violent neighborhood, life too close to a star that goes supernova may fall prey to having been born in the wrong place at the wrong time.
What is a safe distance to be from a supernova explosion? A lot depends on the violence of the particular explosion, what type of supernova it is (see The Evolution of Binary Star Systems), and what level of destruction we are willing to accept. Calculations suggest that a supernova less than 50 light-years away from us would certainly end all life on Earth, and that even one 100 light-years away would have drastic consequences for the radiation levels here. One minor extinction of sea creatures about 2 million years ago on Earth may actually have been caused by a supernova at a distance of about 120 light-years.
The good news is that there are at present no massive stars that promise to become supernovae within 50 light-years of the Sun. (This is in part because the kinds of massive stars that become supernovae are overall quite rare.) The massive star closest to us, Spica (in the constellation of Virgo), is about 260 light-years away, probably a safe distance, even if it were to explode as a supernova in the near future.
Extreme Gravity
In this section, you were introduced to some very dense objects. How would those objects' gravity affect you? Recall that the force of gravity, F, between two bodies is calculated as
where G is the gravitational constant, 6.67 × 10–11 Nm2/kg2, M1 and M2 are the masses of the two bodies, and R is their separation. Also, from Newton's second law,
where a is the acceleration of a body with mass M.
So let's consider the situation of a mass—say, you—standing on a body, such as Earth or a white dwarf (where we assume you will be wearing a heat-proof space suit). You are M1 and the body you are standing on is M2. The distance between you and the center of gravity of the body on which you stand is its radius, R. The force exerted on you is
Solving for a, the acceleration of gravity on that world, we get
Note that we have replaced the general symbol for acceleration, a, with the symbol scientists use for the acceleration of gravity, g.
Say that a particular white dwarf has the mass of the Sun (2 × 1030 kg) but the radius of Earth (6.4 × 106 m). What is the acceleration of gravity at the surface of the white dwarf?
The acceleration of gravity at the surface of the white dwarf is
Compare this to g on the surface of Earth, which is 9.8 m/s2.
Check Your Learning
What is the acceleration of gravity at the surface if the white dwarf has the twice the mass of the Sun and is only half the radius of Earth?
Key Concepts and Summary
In a massive star, hydrogen fusion in the core is followed by several other fusion reactions involving heavier elements. Just before it exhausts all sources of energy, a massive star has an iron core surrounded by shells of silicon, sulfur, oxygen, neon, carbon, helium, and hydrogen. The fusion of iron requires energy (rather than releasing it). If the mass of a star's iron core exceeds the Chandrasekhar limit (but is less than 3 MSun), the core collapses until its density exceeds that of an atomic nucleus, forming a neutron star with a typical diameter of 20 kilometers. The core rebounds and transfers energy outward, blowing off the outer layers of the star in a type II supernova explosion.
1 Stars in the mass ranges 0.25–8 and 8–10 may later produce a type of supernova different from the one we have discussed so far. These are discussed in The Evolution of Binary Star Systems.
a compact object of extremely high density composed almost entirely of neutrons
type II supernova
a stellar explosion produced at the endpoint of the evolution of stars whose mass exceeds roughly 10 times the mass of the Sun
Previous: 23.1 The Death of Low-Mass Stars
Next: 23.3 Supernova Observations


2001-01-22 Assigned to IGT reassignment IGT ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: BAERLOCHER, ANTHONY J.
2014-01-24 First worldwide family litigation filed litigation Critical https://patents.darts-ip.com/?family=24730722&utm_source=google_patent&utm_medium=platform_link&utm_campaign=public_patent_search&patent=US6565436(B1) "Global patent litigation dataset" by Darts-ip is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The present invention provides a bonus scheme that has more than one and preferably at least three bonus games contained in one bonus scheme. Each bonus game provides excitement and enjoyment to the player via creative visual and audio displays. Each bonus game also has its own theme and may or may not be based upon schemes already known in the art of gaming devices. While the individual bonus games are not necessarily related to each other, the overall bonus scheme, preferably in the initial screen, ties the bonus games together in a master theme that provides flexibility for the individual bonus games to have their own themes. The preferred embodiment of the present invention automatically activates the bonus scheme upon a bonus triggering event. The game selects for the player one of three bonus games contained in the bonus scheme. The player plays the selected game and receives an award and the game returns the player to the base game.
The present invention relates in general to a gaming device, and more particularly to a gaming device with a bonus scheme, wherein the bonus scheme contains more than one bonus games, and the bonus scheme randomly selects one of the bonus games based upon a weighted probability of selecting the bonus game.
Gaming machines currently exist with bonus schemes in which a player has one or more opportunities to obtain bonus awards or credits. Typically, gaming machines employ a single bonus game such that whenever the bonus round begins, the gaming device displays the same bonus game. While playing these bonus games may last for a relatively short or long time and may provide small or large bonus awards, the variety provided by the bonus scheme is limited. Over time, player excitement and enjoyment begin to erode in part because the player may play the same bonus game several times. Therefore, it is desirable to have more than one bonus game contained in a bonus scheme of a gaming device to provide players with a variety of bonus games, displays and outcomes.
Known gaming machines include schemes that have a plurality of different games from which the player chooses a game to play. After playing each of the games, the player likely becomes accustomed to the games, prefers one or more of the games over the others, and selects to play only the preferred games whenever a bonus triggering event occurs. The player's control over the game selection and the preference of one or more games over the others negate the variety of having multiple games. Consequently, when the player tires of the preferred games, the player will in many cases discontinue playing the gaming machine altogether.
To increase player enjoyment and excitement, it is desirable to provide players with new bonus schemes in which the players have multiple opportunities to play different bonus games. In particular, as provided by the present invention, a gaming machine that randomly selects a bonus game for the player from a number games that have different features, payouts, and difficulty levels provides the player with a variety that increases and maintains player enjoyment and excitement.
The present invention provides a bonus scheme that has more than one and preferably at least three bonus games contained in one bonus scheme. Each bonus game provides excitement and enjoyment to the player via creative visual and audio displays. Each bonus game also has its own theme and may or may not be based upon schemes already known in the art of gaming devices. While the individual bonus games are not necessarily related to each other, the overall bonus scheme, preferably in the initial screen, ties the bonus games together in a master theme that provides flexibility for the individual bonus games to have their own themes.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the player receives a designated symbol during the base game operation of the gaming device, the gaming device automatically activates the bonus scheme. The bonus scheme provides a start bonus button, which enables the player to begin the bonus round. When the player presses the start bonus button, the gaming device selects for the player one of the three bonus games contained in the bonus scheme. The player plays the selected bonus is game and receives a bonus award or credit and returns the player to the base game.
For example, one embodiment of the present invention displays an initial screen on the video monitor of the gaming device, which contains a road, presumably leading to a place with gaming establishments, that has three billboards. Each billboard represents, describes the nature of, and discloses the maximum possible payout for each of the bonus games contained in the bonus scheme. The billboard master theme enables the scheme to employ games having individual and unrelated themes. This embodiment provides one bonus game that involves a gaming machine, one that involves building a hamburger, and one that involves a dancing character. The bonus round triggering mechanism of this embodiment is the appearance of a designated symbol on any one of the reels of the gaming device.
The gaming machine selects the bonus game randomly based upon predetermined probabilities that the implementor programs into the memory device of the computer of the gaming machine. The probability distribution may be any distribution that suits the above described themes and that maximizes player enjoyment and excitement. The probabilities could be "flat" for example a 1 in 3 probability across the board for each of the three individual bonus games. Preferably, the distribution excites the player by providing one or more desirable games that have a lower probability of selection. A game may be desirable by having a large maximum potential payout or by paying out a relatively large bonus in a relatively large number of instances.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a gaming device with a bonus scheme which provides more than one bonus game, wherein the player randomly receives one of the games based upon a weighted probability of selecting the bonus game.
FIG. 6 is a front plan view of the gaming device of the present invention showing a third bonus game of one embodiment of the present invention.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the player can use input devices as generally indicated by block 40 to input signals into gaming device 10. However, it is preferable that a touch screen 46 and an associated touch screen controller 48 are used instead of the conventional video monitor 32. Touch screen 46 and touch screen controller 48 are connected to a video controller 50 and processor 36. A player can make decisions and input signals into the gaming device 10 by touching touch screen 46 at the appropriate places. As further illustrated in FIG. 2, the processor 36 can be connected to coin slot 12 or bill acceptor 14. The processor 36 can be programmed to require a player to deposit a certain amount of money in order to start the game.
In addition to winning credits in this manner, gaming device 10 also preferably gives players the opportunity to win credits in a bonus round. This type of gaming device 10 will include a program which will automatically begin a bonus round when the player has achieved a qualifying condition in the game. This qualifying condition can be a particular arrangement of indicia on the display window 28. The gaming device 10 also includes a display device such as a video monitor 32 shown in FIG. 1. The display device visually displays images and produces sounds, enabling the player to play the bonus round. Preferably, the qualifying condition is a predetermined combination of indicia appearing on a plurality of reels 30. As illustrated in the three reel slot machine shown in FIG. 1, the qualifying condition could be the text "BONUS!" appearing in the same location on three adjacent reels.
FIG. 1 generally shows the bonus scheme of the present invention. The bonus scheme employs the reels 30 of display window 28. Upon obtaining the qualifying condition, such as "BONUS!" appearing in the same location on three adjacent reels, the player begins the bonus round employing the bonus scheme as shown generally in the video monitor 32. The bonus scheme preferably initially displays, in one screen and at the same time, each of a plurality of bonus games that the bonus scheme could select for the player to play. FIG. 1 also shows a general input device 40 (FIG. 2) that the player will select to start the bonus round after the gaming device 10 displays the initial bonus scheme screen in the video monitor 32.
FIG. 1 shows five games, G1 through G5, although the present invention contemplates having any number of games to increase player enjoyment and excitement. Showing the player a preview of the subject matter of the possible bonus games raises expectations and increases player enjoyment and excitement. To aid in the description of the invention, the remaining objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be discussed in conjunction with one embodiment having three bonus games. It should be appreciated the present invention can employ these objects, features and advantages with any number and type of bonus games.
FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of the present invention. If a player achieves a bonus triggering or qualifying condition while playing the game, the gaming device 10 automatically begins the bonus round of the present invention. In this embodiment, the bonus triggering or qualifying condition is a designated symbol such as a Las Vegas symbol 52 on one of the reels as shown in FIG. 3. It should be appreciated that the present invention could employ any symbol or combination of symbols.
To enhance player excitement and enjoyment, when the designated symbol 52 appears, the game preferably provides a bonus scheme initialization with suitable audio and visual signals to inform the player that a symbol or a combination of the reels 28 has invoked the bonus scheme. For example, the game could maintain a blank video monitor 32 until the bonus scheme begins, wherein the monitor flashes suitable video signals before presenting an initial bonus scheme screen 32(a) in video monitor 32.
The initial bonus screen 32(a) preferably has a theme. Using the theme, the bonus scheme preferably presents a player with a plurality of possible bonus games. The present invention contemplates displaying any number of games and any type of game. The games may be well known or have novel elements. In the preferred embodiment, the initial bonus scheme screen 32(a) shows a road and a plurality of billboards or signs. Each billboard or sign represents a separate bonus game, i.e.: (i) the slot coin bonus game 32(b); (ii) the burger flip bonus game 32(c); and (iii) the dancing character bonus game 32(d).
The bonus games can have any configuration, difficulty level, winning probabilities, and level of player interaction. The bonus games can be as simple as having the player press a single button. Alternatively, the bonus games could have multiple levels and/or multiple opportunities to win. The games can employ well known game sequences such as the pick-until routine. The games can also provide the player with a plurality of additional chances if the player does not fare well in the bonus game.
The plurality of bonus games, taken together, preferably provides a player with a range of potential winnings and also with a range in the difficulty of obtaining high payouts. From the point of view of the player, there preferably is at least one more and at least one less desirable bonus game within the group. For instance, as shown in the initial bonus scheme screen 32(a) of FIG. 3, the slot coin bonus game 32(b) enables the player to win up to 199 times the player's bet, the burger flip bonus game 32(c) enables the player to win up to 144 times the player's bet, and the dancing character bonus game 32(d) enables the player to win up to 182 times the player's bet.
The games can also vary the difficulty of obtaining high payouts, for example, the burger flip bonus game 32(c) preferably enables the player one opportunity to discard an initial burger and play for a second burger. It should be appreciated that the present invention contemplates providing any range of winnings and range of difficulty in accordance with a game theme and to increase player enjoyment and excitement.
The present invention assigns a probability to each displayed bonus game. When the bonus scheme is invoked, the processor 36 of the computer uses the game probabilities to select a particular bonus game from the total number of games. Preferably, the probabilities of the separate games add up to 100%. For example, the probability distribution of one embodiment could be: (i) 25% for the slot coin bonus game 32(b); (ii) 40% for the burger flip bonus game 32(c); and (iii) 35% for the dancing character bonus game 32(d). In this example, the game having the highest potential payout (32(b)) appears in the smallest percentage of bonus rounds (25%), and the game having the smallest potential payout (32(c)) appears in the largest percentage of bonus rounds (40%).
The implementor uses the probability distribution to create a character for the bonus scheme, wherein the scheme preferably either pays often or has high payouts. In the above example, the distribution is fairly equal among the games, but provides the highest percentage for the burger flip bonus game 32(c), which has lower payouts but gives the player a second chance. This distribution creates a bonus scheme that tends to pay well more often (i.e. pays above a 50% of max) rather than paying the maximum payouts.
The plurality of bonus games increases excitement and enjoyment by providing the player with a variety of bonus games within one gaming device 10. The bonus scheme provides an incentive to the player to play the gaming device 10 until the player views and plays each bonus game. For this reason, the implementor may decide to create a particular bonus game that has a particularly large payout or that pays well (i.e. above 50% of the game's maximum payout) a particularly high number of times and that has a small chance of being selected, for example 10%.
Referring to FIG. 3, when a player achieves a bonus triggering or qualifying condition while playing the game, such as when the reels 30 of the display window 28 show the Las Vegas symbol 52 on one of the reels. The gaming device 10 automatically begins the bonus scheme of the present invention, preferably provides a bonus scheme initialization to enhance player excitement and enjoyment, and presents the initial bonus scheme screen 32(a) in video monitor 32, which preferably includes a start bonus button 60. Alternatively, the start button may be electro-mechanical and connected to the processor 36 as an input device 40.
When the player pushes the start bonus button 60, the processor 36 selects one of the bonus games using a set of probabilities for each game stored in the memory device 38 from the group of 32(b), 32(c), or 32(d) and displays the appropriate game screen to the player as shown respectively in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6. The player plays the selected game, and the gaming device 10 adds the payout to the player's credit display 16 and returns the player to the base game.
In one example, the player plays the base game of gaming device 10 until one of the reels shows the Las Vegas symbol. The game displays the initial bonus scheme screen 32(a), and the player presses the start bonus button 60. The game randomly selects and displays the burger flip bonus game 32(c) (FIG. 5), which has a 2 in 5 or 40% chance of being selected. The player plays the burger flip game and receives a multiplier bonus of 70 times the player's bet which is 5 credits as shown in the credit display 22. The game adds 350 base game credits (not illustrated) to the player's credit display 16 and returns the player to the base game.
The bonus scheme of the present invention contemplates awarding a higher payout when the player bets more bonus awards (bet display 22 of FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 shows the player's bet). In this embodiment, the memory device 38 stores a set of factors that correspond to the amount bet. For instance, the memory device could store a 1.0 factor for a bet between 1 credit and 5 credits, a 1.25 factor for a bet between 6 credits and 10 credits, and a 1.5 factor for over 10 credits. In the above example, if the player bet 6 credits and received the same bonus game outcome, the game would reward the player 70×the player's bet (6)×1.25 or 525 credits. If the player bet 11 credits, the game would reward the player 70×11×1.5 or 1155 credits.
The bonus scheme of the present invention also contemplates enabling the player to have a second chance or a plurality of second chances when the bonus payout is below a predetermined level. The predetermined level is stored in memory device 38. In the above example, if the predetermined level is a 10× multiplier and the player plays the burger flip bonus game 32(c) and only obtains a 5× multiplier, the bonus scheme could automatically reset the bonus round or give the player the option of trying again. The bonus scheme contemplates enabling the player to have a second chance any time the player scores below the threshold or, alternatively, for only a predetermined number of consecutive times. The bonus scheme also contemplates setting any award or multiplier number as the threshold.
whereby after an occurrence of a triggering event, said controller selects one of said bonus games based on the probabilities and the display displays the image associated with the selected bonus game.
2. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the sum of the probabilities of all the bonus games equals 100.
3. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the probabilities are predetermined.
4. The gaming device of claim 3, wherein at least two of said predetermined probabilities are different.
5. The gaming device of claim 4, wherein each of said predetermined probabilities are different.
6. The gaming device of claim 5, wherein the predetermined probability associated with one of the bonus games decreases as a maximum payout of said bonus game increases.
7. The gaming device of claim 5, wherein the predetermined probability associated with one of the bonus games increases as a maximum payout of said bonus game increases.
8. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein each probability is in the range of 1% to 99%.
9. The gaming device of claim 1, which includes a start bonus input device connected to said controller.
10. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein each bonus game provides a different bonus award.
11. The gaming device of claim 10, wherein the display displays a maximum bonus award for each bonus game.
12. The gaming device of claim 10, wherein said bonus award for each bonus game increases when a bet by the player increases.
13. The gaming device of claim 10, wherein said bonus award is a multiplier.
14. The gaming device of claim 1, which includes a player input device connected to said controller for causing the controller to select one of said bonus games.
(d) enabling a player to play said selected bonus game.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the probability associated with each bonus game is predetermined.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein a different predetermined probability is associated with each bonus game.
18. The method of claim 17, which includes displaying a maximum bonus award for each bonus game.
19. The method of claim 18, which includes decreasing said predetermined probability for one of the bonus games as said maximum bonus award for said bonus game increases.
20. The method of claim 15, which includes enabling the player to start said bonus round after displaying the plurality of bonus games.
21. The method of claim 15, which includes awarding said player a bonus award after playing said selected bonus game.
22. The method of claim 21, which includes repeating steps (b) to (d) at least once when said player obtains a bonus award having a value less than a predetermined value.
23. The method of claim 21, which includes increasing a value of said bonus award based on a player's bet.
24. The method of claim 21, which includes awarding said player a multiplier.
25. The method of claim 21, which includes awarding said player a number of base game credits.
26. The method of claim 21, which includes awarding said player a series of free games.
27. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of bonus games are different.
28. The method of claim 15, wherein each of said plurality of bonus games are different.
29. The method of claim 15, wherein the bonus round is provided to the player through a data network.
a processor in communication with said display device, said processor operable after the occurrence of said triggering event in said primary game to randomly select one of said secondary games based on said probabilities associated with said secondary games and provide said selected secondary game to a player.
32. The gaming device of claim 31, wherein each of said secondary games are different.
33. The gaming device of claim 31, wherein the probabilities are predetermined.
34. The gaming device of claim 31, wherein at least two of said probabilities are different.
35. The gaming device of claim 31, wherein at least two of said probabilities are equal.
36. The gaming device of claim 31, wherein each of said probabilities are different.
37. The gaming device of claim 31, wherein each of said probabilities are equal.
38. The gaming device of claim 31, wherein the sum of the probabilities associated with all of the secondary games equals 100%.
39. The gaming device of claim 31, wherein each probability is in the range of 1% to 99%.
40. The gaming device of claim 31, which includes a player input device connected to said processor for causing the processor to select one of the secondary games.
41. The gaming device of claim 31, which includes a start secondary game selection input device connected to said processor.
42. The gaming device of claim 31, wherein said processor enables the player to play said selected secondary game.
43. The gaming device of claim 31, wherein said processor is operable to display at least one image associated with each of said plurality of secondary games prior to the selection of one of said secondary games.
44. The gaming device of claim 31, wherein said processor is operable to award the player a secondary award after providing said secondary game.
45. The gaming device of claim 44, wherein said processor is operable to randomly select another of said secondary games based on said probabilities associated with said secondary games if the player's awarded secondary award has a value less than a predetermined value.
a triggering event in the primary game, wherein after the occurrence of said triggering event in the primary game, a random selection of one of said secondary games based on the probabilities associated with said secondary games occurs, and wherein said selected secondary game is provided to a player.
47. The gaming device of claim 46, which enables the player to play said provided secondary game.
48. The gaming device of claim 46, wherein each of said secondary games are different.
a processor in communication with said display device, said processor operable after the occurrence of said triggering event in the first game to randomly select one of said second games based on said probabilities associated with said second games, and to provide said selected second game to a player.
50. The gaming device of claim 49, wherein at least two of said probabilities are different.
51. The gaming device of claim 49, wherein at least two of said probabilities are equal.
52. The gaming device of claim 49, wherein each of said probabilities are different.
53. The gaming device of claim 49, wherein each of said probabilities are equal.
a triggering event in said first game, wherein after the occurrence of the triggering event in said first game, a random selection of one of said second games based on the probabilities associated with said second games occurs, and wherein said selected second game is provided to a player.
55. The gaming device of claim 54, wherein the player is enabled to play said provided second game.
(d) providing said selected bonus game to a player.
57. The method of claim 56, which includes the step of enabling the player to play said provided bonus game.
58. The method of claim 56, which includes awarding the player a bonus award, if any, which occurs in the selected bonus game.
59. The method of claim 58, which includes increasing said bonus award for each bonus game based on a player's wager.
60. The method of claim 58, which includes repeating steps (b) to (d) at least once when the awarded bonus award has a value less than a predetermined value.
61. The method of claim 56, wherein the selected bonus game is provided to the player through a data network.
62. The method of claim 61 wherein the data network is an internet.
Jazzy Jackpots Advertisements written by Atronic, published in 2000.
Jazzy Jackpots Article published by Strictly Slots in Mar. 2001.
South Park Brochure published by IGT in 2000.


text:
D.C. District Court Says Marshals Service Lacks Authority to Comply with an ICE Detainer
Sets up higher court showdown on ICE's detainer authority
By Andrew R. Arthur on May 14, 2020
A D.C. federal district court judge concluded that an ICE Warrant for Arrest of Alien "is not a true warrant, as it is not issued by an independent judicial officer; instead, it is issued by an ICE agent, causing concerns about a lack of neutrality."
He held that an ICE detainer is merely a request that did not give the U.S. Marshals Service authority to continue to detain or to arrest an alien who had been released by a D.C. magistrate.
The court determined that the U.S. Marshals Service did not have the authority to continue to detain or arrest an alien for whom an ICE warrant and detainer had been issued, despite the fact that a statute governing the authority of that agency directs it to "execute all lawful writs, process, and orders issued under the authority of the United States."
On Thursday, Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order enjoining the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) from complying with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers for aliens who are not under final orders of removal. This interesting decision sets up a showdown on immigration detainers, and begs the question: "When is a federal cop not allowed to detain an alien sought by ICE?"
By way of background, the plaintiff in that case is identified only as "N.S." He was arrested on unspecified criminal charges on January 13, and brought before a magistrate at the D.C. Superior Court, "the trial court of general jurisdiction for the District of Columbia" (which is essentially like a state district or circuit court for D.C., but established by Congress because of D.C.'s unique status) on January 14.
The magistrate found that N.S. did not pose a danger or a flight risk, and ordered him released with an order to return. After he was ordered released, but before he could leave the courthouse, he was detained by the Marshals Service because ICE had placed a warrant and detainer on him, and was held for more than two hours before he was taken into ICE custody.
Again, because of D.C.'s unique status, the Marshals Service (a federal entity within the Department of Justice answering to the deputy attorney general) provides security at the D.C. Superior Court. The plaintiff had been in the custody of USMS throughout his hearing (authority that there is no question the Marshals Service possessed), but Judge Lamberth concluded that as soon as the magistrate ordered him released, USMS's justification for detaining N.S. ended.
The judge found that USMS needed a new justification to continue the detention of N.S. or to make a new arrest. He concluded that the ICE warrant and detainer did not provide such justification.
Specifically, he concluded that the ICE Warrant for Arrest of Alien (Form I-200) that accompanied the detainer "is not a true warrant, as it is not issued by an independent judicial officer; instead, it is issued by an ICE agent, causing concerns about a lack of neutrality."
Whatever concerns Judge Lamberth and others may have, he ignores three linked facts: (1) The I-200 itself states that the "Authorized Immigration Officer" who issues that warrant has "determined that there is probable cause" that the subject of the warrant is removable. (2) The Supreme Court determined almost a century ago that: "The presumption of regularity supports the official acts of public officers, and, in the absence of clear evidence to the contrary, courts presume that they have properly discharged their official duties." If an I-200 is issued, therefore, the issuing officer is deemed by law to have determined the requisite probable cause to issue that warrant. (3) The Supreme Court has more recently held that I-200s "are executed by federal officers who have received training in the enforcement of immigration law", reinforcing the foregoing conclusion.
Having made this finding, Judge Lamberth next found that the detainer that accompanied it was, itself, merely a "request" that does "not carry any inherent arrest powers".
With respect to this point, he focuses on the regulation governing immigration detainers, 8 C.F.R. § 287.7, and in particular on subsection (a) therein, which states in part:
Any authorized immigration officer may at any time issue a Form I-247, Immigration Detainer-Notice of Action, to any other Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency. A detainer serves to advise another law enforcement agency that the Department seeks custody of an alien presently in the custody of that agency, for the purpose of arresting and removing the alien. The detainer is a request that such agency advise the Department, prior to release of the alien, in order for the Department to arrange to assume custody, in situations when gaining immediate physical custody is either impracticable or impossible. [Emphasis added.]
The government, on the other hand, referenced subsection (d) in that regulation for the proposition that ICE detainers provided USMS the inherent authority to arrest those named. That subsection states:
Temporary detention at Department request. Upon a determination by the Department to issue a detainer for an alien not otherwise detained by a criminal justice agency, such agency shall maintain custody of the alien for a period not to exceed 48 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays in order to permit assumption of custody by the Department. [Emphasis added.]
Judge Lamberth was not, however, swayed, returning to his contention that subsection (a) of the regulation "defines an ICE detainer as a mere request" and subsection (d) "does not say anything about an ICE detainer somehow providing an independent basis of authority to make an arrest," concluding:
Section 287.7 pertains to ICE's authority to issue a detainer, not to another agency's authority to act on an ICE detainer. Although ICE may be within its authority to issue a detainer, that does not mean the recipient agency is automatically authorized to make an arrest.
While this court and others have focused on the fact that ICE detainers are "requests", I would posit that the use of the noun "request" in 8 C.F.R. § 287.7(a) was a simple expression of the respect that ICE, as a law-enforcement agency (LEA), shows toward its fellow LEAs, reflective of the general comity amongst U.S. LEAs generally. The mandatory language in subsection (d), on the other hand, is clear in its intent and mandatory in its language — certainly as it relates to a federal LEA.
In essence, Judge Lamberth modified that mandatory language in subsection (d) to fit the ostensibly precatory usage in subsection (a) of the regulation. Respectfully, he has that exactly backwards.
In fact, subsection (a) and subsection (d) refer to two very different scenarios. Subsection (a) is a request that the LEA provide information to ICE as to when an alien in its custody will be released. Subsection (d) is a directive to the LEA to detain an alien for not more than 48 hours when the alien is not otherwise in the LEA's detention — exactly the situation that Judge Lamberth describes.
That said, what difference does it make whether the detainer is a request or a directive, if the LEA is willing to comply with that request, as the Marshals Service was here? Taken to its logical conclusion, under Judge Lamberth's logic, ICE detainers have no effect at all, but I seriously doubt that the secretary of Homeland Security went to the effort to promulgate 8 C.F.R. § 287.7 as an impotent act. The court in fact notes that the government "expresse[d] its concern that under plaintiff's interpretation, ICE could issue detainers only to other immigration officers, 'a restriction that would ... eliminate the cross-agency cooperation that detainers are intended to facilitate.'" No doubt.
Moreover, a review of USMS's enabling statute shows that it had authority to continue to detain N.S. pursuant to the warrant and detainer it had received. In particular, 28 U.S.C. § 566(c) states:
Except as otherwise provided by law or Rule of Procedure, the United States Marshals Service shall execute all lawful writs, process, and orders issued under the authority of the United States, and shall command all necessary assistance to execute its duties.
Judge Lamberth attempts to limit this authority, finding (without attribution): "This directive has traditionally been understood to mean that the Marshals Service is authorized to enforce court orders."
The government argued, on the other hand, that limiting this authority to enforcement of court orders would render section 566(a) therein redundant. That provision states:
It is the primary role and mission of the United States Marshals Service to provide for the security and to obey, execute, and enforce all orders of the United States District Courts, the United States Courts of Appeals, the Court of International Trade, and the United States Tax Court, as provided by law.
Judge Lamberth asserts (highlighting the word "mission" above) that:
Section 566(a) lacks any commanding language and instead reads like a "mission statement," just as the "mission statement" found in the Judiciary Act of 1789 explained that the duty of the USMS is "to attend the district and circuit courts." ... Section 566(a) was thus never intended to confer any actual power — that is the purpose of Section 566(c).
Again, respectfully, such a reading of 566(a) reads out the word "primary" therein. It may be the "primary ... mission" of the Marshals Service "to obey, execute, and enforce all orders" of the courts listed therein, but that necessarily means that USMS has other roles and missions aside from "execut[ing] ... orders" of the enumerated courts. Judge Lamberth's reading would create a plain redundancy between "orders issued under the authority of the United States" (which would implicate all three branches of government) and "orders" of specific, enumerated courts. That difference in the language used should be deemed intentional.
In this regard, I note, as an aside, that the current iteration of section 566 was enacted by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 — a law that addresses the courts tangentially, but which is primarily focused on law enforcement generally and the prosecution of drug crimes in particular, bolstering this conclusion.
Were the agency in question a state or local LEA, perhaps Judge Lamberth's logic would hold more sway, given the federal nature of our republic (although given the federal government's "broad, undoubted power over the subject of immigration and the status of aliens", I doubt it). It is clear, however, that 8 C.F.R. § 287.7(d) is a directive, promulgated by the secretary of Homeland Security, that provides detention authority to LEAs throughout (at a minimum) the federal executive branch. And, 28 U.S.C. § 566(c) plainly gives USMS the authority to act on the warrant and detainer.
To put it more plainly, Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations is not simply a set of rules issued by the secretary of Homeland Security and the attorney general to apply only to immigration-enforcement agencies. They are laws that must be followed by the government as a whole (except where explicitly stated, which 8 C.F.R. § 287.7 plainly doesn't and logically wouldn't) and subsection (d) therein provides more than ample authority for USMS to act on the subject of a detainer.
Undoubtedly, the government will appeal the court's decision to the D.C. circuit court and, as necessary, the Supreme Court. The illogical nature of the court's decision (that an LEA of the federal government lacks the authority to hold an alien on an ICE detainer) in this case presents a unique opportunity for the federal government to settle, once and for all, questions regarding the nature of ICE detainers and, in particular, whether federal and local LEAs are bound, under the regulatory authority above, to comply with them.
The attorney general should seize that opportunity.
Topics: Criminal Aliens, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
New York Cathedral Shooter Had Been Given Immigration Relief
Chinese Intermediaries Launder Cartels' Drug Proceeds in the United States
Newsom's Pardons, Oregon Decriminalization, and the Border

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
College football, agents go way back
Roughly a month later, the same Heisman Trophy winner placed a call with another agent, this one promising a more lucrative contract, along with a $20,000 bonus, ownership of five gas stations, half-interest in an as-yet-unformed eponymous oil company and, just because, a Cadillac for his father.
The young man eagerly agreed.
Oh, and two days after that, he played his final college game.
Pop quiz: Is this part of a current college sports scandal, like the one at North Carolina, where a former assistant football coach allegedly introduced players to an agent?
Is it the story behind former Southern Cal running back Reggie Bush recently returning his stiff-armed statuette?
Is it one of the many unsavory revelations contained in former agent Josh Luchs' tell-all cover story in last week's Sports Illustrated?
No, nope and not even close.
The Heisman Trophy winner in question was LSU's Billy Cannon. (The alias in question? Peter Gunn). The first "agent" was Los Angeles Rams general manager Pete Rozelle, who later became commissioner of the NFL. The second "agent" was Houston Oilers (now Titans) owner Bud Adams, who tells the story in his own words in "Going Long," an oral history of the AFL. (The whole case ended up in court, and Adams won.)
The year this all went down?
"To me, if you're going to put a bookend on this, go back to [Cannon]," said Los Angeles-based trial attorney Michael Trope, a former sports agent. "At the highest level of professional football, when it was to their competitive advantage to look in the other direction from the NCAA rules, they didn't hesitate. Between that and now is everything else that has transpired. And the only difference between Reggie Bush and what was going on before is the mountain of dollars.
"It's the same system. When things get competitive, the early bird gets the worm."
Athletes on the take. Agents on the make. Cash changing hands, breakin' all the rules. College sports — that last bastion of wholesome, love-of-the-game amateurism — has a problem. Always has, really. And whenever that problem rears its head — as is the case with Luchs' exposé — the reaction is to call for a crackdown.
Mike Rozier
Malcolm Emmons/US PresswireMaybe the Heisman should come with an agent. Mike Rozier said he signed during the season while still playing at Nebraska.
More enforcement. More punishment. More extolling the system as we know it, and more sliming of the bad, bad people who work around it. Moral purification.
Only what if that's a foolish, self-defeating approach?
What if agents paying players isn't actually a problem?
What if the long, tangled, ongoing history of black market quid pro quo in college sports suggests that the real issue isn't bad people, but rather … bad rules?
Flash forward from Cannon. Consider Trope, a former super agent who once represented Lawrence Taylor, Tony Dorsett, Archie Griffin and more than 100 pro football players. Long before a 20-year-old Luchs allegedly gave $2,500 in cash to a University of Colorado linebacker before the 1990 season — the first time Luchs paid a player, according to Sports Illustrated — Trope was a 20-year-old senior at Southern Cal, getting a crash course on the difference between:
(A) The way the world works in sports columns and NCAA compliance manuals;
(B) The way it works in real life.
The year was 1972. Friendly with a number of athletes — they were, after all, his peers — Trope decided to become an agent. He quickly learned that college sports had an underground economy: coaches paid players under the table by selling players' game tickets to alumni. The same coaches then steered players to particular agents, ones who were friends and/or financial patrons.
Trope once recruited a college linebacker. The linebacker's father was learning toward another agent. Trope asked the linebacker how the two met.
A coincidence, said the linebacker. [The other agent] just happened to be sitting next to my Dad in the stands. They struck up a conversation.
Trope knew better. The meeting was anything but coincidental: the other agent was tight with a coach at the school, and the coach had the linebacker's tickets. He knew exactly where the father would be sitting.
On another occasion, Trope accompanied a wide receiver he was representing into a coach's office. Watch this guy, said the receiver. He tries to pimp me every time.
Trope introduced himself as a player on the school's tennis team. The coach bought the story. He then opened his desk drawer and produced an agent's contract, imploring the wide receiver to sign, right then and there.
"I started to realize that I was competing against every position coach employed by every team," Trope recalled. "If you decide to enter that cesspool and be a competitor, you have to make certain choices to be successful."
Trope jumped into the pool. Called himself a fish. Made certain choices. (To wit: Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier claimed he signed with and took money from an agent associate of Trope's during the 1983 college season). Trope was successful, too, negotiating record contracts and at one point representing four of the top six picks in the NFL draft.
When Trope left the business to take the bar exam and become a practicing attorney, he detailed his informal education in the 1987 book "Necessary Roughness" — a book that illuminates the winner-take-all competition for athletic talent that permeates sports, a competition that mirrors both on-field action and, well, life.
Trope's book tells the story of high school running back Kenneth Davis, who was offered a sports car by Oklahoma boosters, free use of a five-car fleet by Nebraska supporters and $38,000 in cash, clothes and other goodies — including a shotgun and a rifle — from Texas Christian backers.
Go figure: Davis chose the Horned Frogs.
The book quotes another high school running back, future NFL'er Eric Dickerson, recalling a University of Texas coach's recruiting pitch: "If you go to school in Oklahoma, I'll make sure you never get a job in the state of Texas in your life. If you come to the University of Texas, you name five of anything, and I promise you, you'll have them by tomorrow. Anything. Just five of anything."
Five. Of anything. And still Dickerson went to SMU. (A program, shockingly, that later received the NCAA's death penalty).
Of course, the inducements and incentives — in other words: the stuff the rest of us take for granted in our free-market economy — didn't stop on campus. In the book, Trope claims that former Rams owner Carroll Rosenbloom offered him $250,000 — in a cash-stuffed suitcase, no less — to convince the Oilers that Trope's client, star runner Earl Campbell, was somehow a problem … and that the Rams would be happy to take Campbell off their hands.
Two years after the publication of "Necessary Roughness," Trope was called as a witness in the trial of California State Sen. Joseph B. Montoya, who was convicted of racketeering, extortion and money laundering — in part because he solicited large campaign contributions from both Trope and the NFL Players Association in exchange for his vote on legislation involving sports agents.
At every level, there's recruiting.
At every level, the early bird gets the worm.
Agents. Players. Coaches. Owners. All playing the same game. Knowing the same rules. Flaunting them anyway. Does that make Bush, Luchs and everyone else corrupt?
Or does that make them rational actors in a lucrative marketplace in which an insatiable demand for talent meets a highly limited supply, even though amateurism rules pretend otherwise?
"Let me tell you what a big-time coach and program would have to do to be totally clean," Trope said. "You would have to know the name, address and phone number of every parent. The family of every parent. What kind of cars they drive. What their income is. Where they live. If they've changed residences.
"Then find out all of the players' girlfriends. Their backup girlfriends. Their backups' backups. Their cell phone numbers. What kind of cars they drive.
"Then you would have to have full internal investigations done of each assistant on your staff, because the easiest route agents use to get to players is by paying off assistants to make the introductions," he continued.
"It would just be an overwhelming, monumental task that would cost substantial sums of money. You would need a FBI: a Football Department of Investigations."
An entire department. To investigate … what, exactly? The same thing that wouldn't raise an eyebrow if football players were musicians and Luchs was a record producer? The same thing Billy Cannon did a half-century ago?
Maybe the issue in college sports isn't agents, athletes or anyone else.
Maybe it's human nature.


text:
Galloway News
Rare endangered monkeys stolen from Kirkcudbright wildlife park
The cotton-top Tamarin monkeys have been taken from Galloway Wildlife Conservation Park
Stuart Gillespie
Three cotton-top tamarin monkeys have been stolen from Galloway Wildlife Conservation Park at Kirkcudbright.
Police have been left with a monkey puzzle to solve in Kirkcudbright.
Three cotton-top Tamarin monkeys have gone missing from the Galloway Wildlife Conservation Park which closed to the public last year.
And police believe the animals – worth up to £5,000 each if sold as a pet – have been stolen.
The park's John Denerley said: "These are animals that require specialist diets and care. They will simply die unless they're returned; there's no benefit to anybody not having them with us.
Galloway Glens project secures £2.7 million in Heritage Lottery Funding
"This has been a difficult time for us and we sincerely appreciate all of the support we have received locally. We advise members of the public that if you come across the monkeys do not attempt to handle them and to contact us or Police Scotland in the first instance."
One male and two female monkeys were taken. They are dark brown and white, around one foot tall and have a distinctive white mane that tapers to a Mohawk above the head. The endangered, South American monkey needs heat to survive.
Constable Lee-Ann Hawker said: "The monkeys are small and friendly and eat things such a leaves, fruit, spiders and insects. They are no danger to the public.
Kirkcudbright historian David Collin launches new book looking at history of Little Ross Island
"We are keen to hear from anyone who may have seen any suspicious activity around the Wildlife Park, which is closed, over Thursday and Friday. We also want to hear of any sightings of the monkeys in the area.
"We are treating this matter as a theft at this stage as they were being kept under lock and key."
Anyone who has any information should contact police at Kirkcudbright on 101 and quote PDG 0003490118.
Police Scotland


text:
using System;
using Server;

namespace Server.Gumps
{
	public delegate void NoticeGumpCallback( Mobile from, object state );

	public class NoticeGump : Gump
	{
		private NoticeGumpCallback m_Callback;
		private object m_State;

		public NoticeGump( int header, int headerColor, object content, int contentColor, int width, int height, NoticeGumpCallback callback, object state ) : base( (640 - width) / 2, (480 - height) / 2 )
		{
			m_Callback = callback;
			m_State = state;

			Closable = false;

			AddPage( 0 );

			AddBackground( 0, 0, width, height, 5054 );

			AddImageTiled( 10, 10, width - 20, 20, 2624 );
			AddAlphaRegion( 10, 10, width - 20, 20 );
			AddHtmlLocalized( 10, 10, width - 20, 20, header, headerColor, false, false );

			AddImageTiled( 10, 40, width - 20, height - 80, 2624 );
			AddAlphaRegion( 10, 40, width - 20, height - 80 );

			if ( content is int )
				AddHtmlLocalized( 10, 40, width - 20, height - 80, (int)content, contentColor, false, true );
			else if ( content is string )
				AddHtml( 10, 40, width - 20, height - 80, String.Format( "<BASEFONT COLOR=#{0:X6}>{1}</BASEFONT>", contentColor, content ), false, true );

			AddImageTiled( 10, height - 30, width - 20, 20, 2624 );
			AddAlphaRegion( 10, height - 30, width - 20, 20 );
			AddButton( 10, height - 30, 4005, 4007, 1, GumpButtonType.Reply, 0 );
			AddHtmlLocalized( 40, height - 30, 120, 20, 1011036, 32767, false, false ); // OKAY
		}

		public override void OnResponse( Server.Network.NetState sender, RelayInfo info )
		{
			if ( info.ButtonID == 1 && m_Callback != null )
				m_Callback( sender.Mobile, m_State );
		}
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Strong growth in Automation Services continued. Growth in services was largely generated in the international market. The transaction volume processed by Automation Services was up 63.4%.
Service business strengthened growth in net sales during the third quarter. The transaction volume processed continued to grow in line with the objectives. An updated strategy until 2015 was published in September, emphasizing the objective of strong global growth.
Basware continued to support organic growth with acquisitions in its key markets. In 2012, Basware became the leading e-invoice operator in Germany with the acquisition of First Businesspost GmbH. The acquisition of Certipost's network and e-invoicing business made Basware the market leader of e-invoicing in the Benelux market in early 2013. Basware is also the market leader in the Nordic countries.
In 2012, Basware's full-year net sales amounted to EUR 113 699 thousand, up 5.5%, and full-year operating profit was EUR 8 308 thousand. The decrease in license sales is partly attributable to the significant migration to SaaS services. The Automation Services business grew by 44.1% during the year as a whole.
We have also connected an increasing number of suppliers and buyers to our open network with new products and delivery methods during the year. In 2012, the transaction volume was 34 million in total, up 63.5%.
Alusta, the unified cloud-based platform for Purchase-to-Pay that was launched at the beginning of the year, was an important milestone in Basware's strategic change and transition to service-oriented business. Alusta has been received well by our customers, and we will focus on migrating existing customers to it.
Basware's transition process was accelerated in the fall by publishing an updated strategy that emphasizes our target of strong global growth. Basware aims to become the world's largest network of e-invoices and other electronic messages for buyers and suppliers by 2015.
The key objectives include accelerated growth in the transaction volume, strengthening our market position in selected key markets, more accurate segmenting of services and products to companies of all sizes, with particular attention on small and medium-sized enterprises, developing customer loyalty, and improving the company's profitability.
Basware had 1,423 employees at the end of 2012. The growth in the number of personnel is mainly due to an increase in the number of personnel in the Indian unit and the acquisition of First Businesspost GmbH.
The development of profitability is particularly based on the adoption of a scalable sales and delivery model and launching a global efficient service production network at full steam.
= millions transactions. The volume of transactions grew by 63.5 procent in 2012.


text:
Home International News
Japan and Australia to talk trade amid farm sector row
in International News
Japan and Australia will hold talks in Tokyo on Monday aimed at securing Japan's first free-trade agreement with a major agricultural exporter.Negotiations fell apart last April over calls to open up Japan's farming sector.For years Japan has protected its inefficient farming industry, and has put high tariffs on imports.But Japan's sluggish economy could be causing a shift in policy and thinking, analysts said."There has been some change in attitude, even in the strong farmer lobby groups," said Akio Okawara of the Sumito Research Institute."There is a realisation that they have to be a little accommodating. Japan needs to change."Japan cites food security and cultural reasons for its protection of the farming sector.It has placed heavy tariffs on imported products such as grains. On rice the import levy is 800%, while on wheat it is 250%.According to the BBC's Phil Mercer in Sydney, one Australian farming representative said the position taken by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture during previous rounds of talks had reflected the sensibilities of many Japanese farmers.The representative said Japan's farmers were "old and very conservative".Estimates put about half of Japan's farmers at more than 65 years of age.Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has said he wants to prioritise trade to boost Japan's economy.Bilateral trade between Australia and Japan is worth about $60bn (£37bn) annually.Some analysts say that while Japan is still keen to protect its domestic markets, it has other needs that may prompt it to make compromises at the negotiating table.Roland Buerk, the BBC's correspondent in Tokyo, says Japan would welcome greater access to Australia's vast supply of raw materials, particularly uranium for nuclear power generation.Japan is also heavily dependent on other imports to meet its energy needs.
"If the talks don't result in an agreement it might not hurt Japan's economy in the short term but in the long run Japan needs to open up its markets," said Mr Okawara of the Sumito Research Institute. Analysts say the bilateral trade talks with Australia are a test-case for Japan.In June, Prime Minister Kan will have to decide whether or not to take part in a trans-Pacific free-trade agreement.The US has taken the lead on this pact and it involves eight other countries.But for Japan to take part, the government would have to agree to open up many more of its barriers to trade.Many of Japan's trade rivals in the region have been marching ahead with deals aimed at boosting sales and economic growth.Last year South Korea inked free-trade deals with the US and the European Union giving its electronics and car companies better access to those markets.Analysts said that this put further pressure on Japanese companies and had amplified the threat of them being left behind in a competitive global marketplace.Not least because China has also signed trade deals with the US and is expected to overtake Japan as the world's second-largest economy later this year – BBC
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Corporate Law Update
In this week's update: Long restrictive covenants in a bespoke services agreement were not restraints of trade, the European Commission consults on draft prospectus exemption documents and a few other items.
Long restrictive covenants in a bespoke services agreement were not restraints of trade (and so were enforceable)
The European Commission is consulting on a draft regulation setting out content requirements for the document replacing a prospectus on a takeover
The FRC's Financial Reporting Lab publishes guidance on reporting in times of uncertainty
The FRC Lab also publishes a report on going concern, risk and viability disclosures during the Covid-19 pandemic
Covid-19 is affecting the way people conduct their business, retain their staff, engage with clients, comply with regulations and the list goes on. Read our thoughts on these issues and many others on our dedicated Covid-19 page.
Restrictive covenants were not subject to restraint of trade doctrine
The High Court has held that the doctrine of "restraint of trade", which can render a restrictive covenant unenforceable, did not apply to restrictive covenants in a bespoke services agreement.
Quantum Advisory Ltd v Quantum Actuarial LLP [2020] EWHC 1072 (Comm) concerned a pensions advisory business formed by various individuals. Over time, the business came to be split across three different limited companies, which we will call the "old group". The individuals had originally intended to merge the activities of those three entities into a single company.
However, in due course, the interests of the individuals involved began to diverge. The largest shareholder in the business wished to diversify the group's activities, whilst the other individuals wanted to focus on developing its existing lines of business.
The individuals devised a plan to allow them to pursue their different interests. In broad outline, the business would be transferred to a new limited liability partnership (LLP), but the name, goodwill and existing client base would be retained by the old group.
The LLP would service the existing client base, but clients would be invoiced by, and pay, the old group. The LLP would invoice the old group a fixed percentage of amounts received from existing clients, designed to cover the LLP's costs but not provide it with a profit. However, the LLP would be free to pursue business with new clients, using the existing client base as a springboard. Meanwhile, the old group would continue with the original plan to merge the entities and diversify its business.
As part of this, the LLP would not pursue the existing client base for its own business.
The parties documented this arrangement in a "services agreement". The agreement contained restrictive covenants that prevented the LLP from soliciting or performing services for existing clients or persons the old group had identified as potential clients. The covenants lasted for a period of 12 months after the expiry or termination of the services agreement.
Among other things, the agreement stated that either party could terminate it on three months' written notice. However, it had an initial fixed term of 99 years, meaning the earliest it could be terminated by notice was 6 April 2106. In effect, this meant that the restrictive covenants would last for 100 years.
In due course, having become dissatisfied with the fee arrangement, the LLP attempted to remove itself from the arrangement by claiming that the restrictive covenants were unenforceable on the basis that they were an unreasonable restraint of trade. The original group brought proceedings to enforce the services agreement.
What is "restraint of trade"?
Under English law, any contractual provision that tries to prevent someone from trading or carrying on business is generally void and cannot be enforced. This is known as the "restraint of trade" doctrine.
Common restraints of trade include so-called "non-compete" clauses, where a person agrees not to run a competing business, and "non-solicitation" clauses, where someone agrees not to poach employees, clients or (sometimes) suppliers. These are more usually called "restrictive covenants".
However, a restraint of trade can be enforceable if it protects a legitimate business interest, it is no wider than reasonably necessary to protect that interest, and it is not in some other way contrary to the public interest. Common ways to limit restrictive covenants (and so make them more reasonable) including imposing a geographical or time limit, and including certain exceptions to the covenants.
However, there is no golden rule that states when a restrictive covenant moves from reasonable to unenforceable. The courts have flexibility to decide this on a case-by-case basis in light of the surrounding circumstances.
What did the court say?
The court said that the restrictive covenants were not subject to the restraint of trade doctrine.
The judge noted that there is a line between contracts in restraint of trade, on the one hand, and ordinary contracts that, although usually involving "some necessary restraint on the freedom of trade", merely regulate parties' commercial dealings.
In particular, he said that, although there is no rule stating that certain contracts are subject to the restraint of trade doctrine and others are not, it is possible for a contract, in the right circumstances, to fall completely outside the doctrine. This will depend on the facts in each case.
In this case, the services agreement was a "bespoke agreement, fashioned to address the competing needs and interests of a group of professional people and, in particular, the practical issues involved in permitting one part of the group enjoy the benefits of [a] brand and business when they were unable to afford a buy-out of the interest of the other part of the group".
In reaching this decision, the judge noted the following:
The LLP had been brought into being merely to carry out the business under the services agreement. It had no pre-existing business, and so the argument that the restrictive covenants restrained its trade "[lacked] the kind of traction" normally found where the doctrine applies.
In fact, without the services agreement, the LLP would never have been created. This showed that the agreement "was not, in any relevant sense, a restraint of trade but rather a means of providing the opportunity to trade".
The real purpose of the covenants was to set the ownership boundaries of the business' existing client base and any new opportunities whilst allowing the LLP to build its own book of business and operate independently.
Even if the doctrine did apply to the contract, the court said the restraints were reasonable. The judge said the covenants were the result of "free agreement between experienced, intelligent, articulate and highly competent business people, who were properly able to look after their own interests and who expressly agreed that the restraints were reasonable".
He said there was equal bargaining power between the parties, and the 99-year term, although seemingly long, was actually negotiated up from an original period of ten years on the basis that such a short period would have caused the LLP to suffer as clients withdrew shortly after it started trading.
This judgment is interesting because most cases concerning restrictive covenants and restraints of trade normally revolve around employment contracts and business sales, where the doctrine is much more likely to apply.
The decision shows that the courts will give significant weight to the commercial context of an arrangement before contemplating striking parts of a contract out. The services agreement in this case was very much a bespoke arrangement that, in many ways, preceded the person whose activities it supposedly restricted. It was clear that the restrictions formed part and parcel of the core of the commercial agreement.
However, that is not to say that services agreements, or indeed any particular categories of contract, fall outside the doctrine. The courts will consider the question on a case-by-case basis, and it is important not to become blasé. The mere fact that an arrangement is "bespoke" will not automatically bring it outside the restraint of trade doctrine.
In any case where a clause is trying to limit a person's trading activities, parties should ask themselves:
Are the restraints reasonable? Do they protect a commercial interest?
Could the restraints harm the interests of the public?
Have the parties taken professional advice when entering into the covenants?
Are the parties of similar or unequal bargaining power?
Could the arrangement have an anti-competitive effect? If so, the parties will need to tread carefully and take legal advice to ensure it is not unlawful under competition law.
Draft requirements for takeover prospectus exemption published
The European Commission is consulting on a draft regulation which would set out the information to be included in a document to be issued instead of a prospectus on a share-for-share takeover.
Under the EU Prospectus Regulation (2017/1129), an issuer must publish an approved prospectus whenever it proposes to offer shares to the public or to admit shares to trading on an EU regulated market (or both).
The Prospectus Regulation contains various discrete exemptions from publishing a prospectus in respect of the public offers and admissions to regulated markets "triggers". Under one exemption, an issuer does not need to publish a prospectus if it is offering securities in connection with a takeover (an "exchange offer") or in connection with a merger or division. This exemption applies to both public offers and admissions to regulated markets.
However, the exemption applies only if the issuer makes a document available to the public that contains information describing the transaction and its impact on the issuer. The draft regulation, which refers to this as an "exemption document", sets out the proposed content for this document. The regulation follows technical advice on the contents of the document published by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in March 2019.
In brief, the draft regulation provides as follows:
The exemption document would need to contain information necessary to enable investors to understand the prospects of the issuer and the target company, including any significant changes in their businesses and financial positions since the end of the previous financial year.
It would also need to allow investors to understand the rights attaching to the equity securities to be issued, as well as the transaction and its impact on the issuer.
More formally, the document would need to contain specific information set out in an annex to the draft regulation. This is a streamlined version of what would need to be included in a formal prospectus. It includes (among other things) a responsibility statement, an overview of the issuer's and the target company's business, financial statements for both entities, a description of the transaction (including its purpose, the price payable, any risk factors and any conditions) and a working capital statement for the issuer.
In certain circumstances, the document would need to contain pro forma financial information showing how the transaction might have affected the issuer's assets, liabilities and earnings if it had been undertaken at the beginning of the period being reported on or at the date reported.
The contents are further streamlined if the securities being offered are to be admitted to trading on a regulated market and are fungible with and represent no more than 10% of the issuer's equity securities already admitted to that regulated market.
The Commission has asked for comments by 14 July 2020.
Also this week…
FRC Lab publishes guidance on reporting in times of uncertainty. The Financial Reporting Council's Financial Reporting Lab (the FRC Lab) has published a report designed to assist companies with providing information to investors on certain areas it previously highlighted in March. The report concentrates on availability of cash, managing short-term expenditure and ensuring viability, and how decisions taken now can ensure the company's sustainability and might impact on its customers, suppliers and employees.
FRC Lab publishes report on going concern, risk and viability. The FRC Lab has also published a report to assist companies with reporting on going concern, risk and viability during the on-going Covid-19 pandemic. The report highlights key considerations for companies in each of these areas and provides links to examples. In particular the report notes that, for some companies, Covid-19 might not present a risk at all, whilst for others it may represent a significant risk in its own right.
Robert Boyle Partner
Dominic Sedghi Head of Knowledge