Legal Online Gambling - Canadian Gambling Laws

Thank you to everyone who has followed this series or voted for it's creation. I'm glad you've enjoyed it and I'm always happy to spread the important history of the amusement industry, especially pertaining to the place that inspired me to go into the industry. For parts 1-4 scroll back in this sub or click my profile.
In 1989, Welland Securities, who owned the entire south-west side of the Hill, would develop the final portion of unused land on Clifton Hill. They would become HOCO (Harry Oakes Company) and gain ownership of almost all the attractions on land they leased out. This included Movieland, The Space Spiral Tower and the Cliffside Motel. The only attractions that would continue being leased were Ripley's and Circus World, meaning HOCO not only owned all the land on the South-West side of the hill, they now ran everything between Circus World and Ripley's, as well as the Fudge Factory (in its original spot) and an ice cream stand immediately down the hill from Circus World. They planned to keep everything that was on the hill but build on it.
Movieland was remodeled and the outside was given a more noticeable Egyptian theme to match the lobby. This meant large lion statues and Costello's talking pharaoh. The lobby was remodeled as well. Rather than a cameraman and a director filming Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra, they would now be filming Costello's Indiana Jones figure, who lowered up and down on a rope above a fogging pit with a cobra rising out of it. Many of the early talkie-era stars in the hall immediately after the entrance (along with Elizabeth Taylor) were moved to 2 large display cases in the middle of the attraction with multiple figures, instead of each one having their own scene. In their original spot just inside the entrance an intentionally scary scene was created to match the popular Indiana Jones series. Many of the figures Costello had added since he became the museum's artist were slightly frightening, like a lunging alligator or a startling Joker scene with a machine gun sound effect. The museum had been expanded at the end, and a large horror section had been added, with many figures like the mummy being from the same mold as the House of Frankenstein/Castle Dracula mummys. Unlike when it would move to it's current location in 2005, the old location's chicken exit was placed before the horror section rather than the haunted house portion. In fact, there was no haunted house section, many of the figures that would end up in the haunted house section of the new location were simply scattered throughout the museum. Many of the figures in the horror section of the original museum were actually less scary and less animated than the Jurassic park scene or the alligator encountered earlier in the museum. To prevent unsuspecting parents who had no clue what kind of attraction this was dragging their children in and expecting static figures of washed-up movie stars, getting the living daylights scared out of them, then end ending up filing complaints with HOCO's customer service department, an intentionally scary scene was put at the beginning. This let people know what they were walking in to, an experience rather than a museum. Costello designed figures behind plexiglass such as a man upside down in a cocoon thrashing around, a skull that popped up from the floorboards in a scene full of snakes, a man on a bed of spikes that fell towards you, and a scene with spiders on fishing line "jumping" all over a rotting corpse.
The Cliffside Motel was amalgamated into a wing of the Quality Inn, and the driveway into it off the hill was removed as it was no longer necessary because it could be accessed from the Quality Inn parking lot. In the driveway's place was now a large empty space between Circus World and Movieland, with the Space Spiral Tower (with a relatively small footprint) stuck in the middle. HOCO called upon attraction design and layout firm White Hutchison Leisure Learning Group (WHLLG) to design an attraction around the Space Spiral that would use the final undeveloped land on Clifton Hill. And so WHLLG designed Dazzleland Family Fun Centre. Dazzleland was a courtyard of buildings arranged in roughly the same layout as the Great Canadian Midway (for reasons we'll get to later) that sits on the land now. The buildings around the outside of the courtyard were long and narrow, picture a courtyard of carnival game trailers but permanent, appealing buildings. These buildings included a Skee-ball building, a sports game building (basketball games, football toss etc.), a racing game building, a pinball building, a funnel cake shop, and the prize counter. In the back corner, roughly where the XD Theatre now is in the midway, was a larger building: an arcade housing video games and more pinball machines. In the middle of the courtyard was a small carousel, and a small building housing games that dispensed their own prizes (claw machines, prize egg games, etc.) and coin-op kiddie rides.
The Space Spiral was incorporated into Dazzleland, still being accessible directly off the hill. As mentioned in part 3, the tower was exactly where the Fudge Factory now is, as the circular store was once the loading area for the tower. At this time the snack bars beside the tower right on the hill were constructed: a pretzel/hotdog stand and an ice cream stand, both of which are still there. The Wendy's was built on top of Circus World, replacing the mini golf that had formerly been on the attraction's roof. Across the entrance to Dazzleland's courtyard from Wendy's was a Domino's Pizza, roughly where the photo booth just to your right is when entering the Great Canadian Midway now. Between the Space Spiral and the Dominos was a fortune teller machine built right into the wall: "Ask the Brain". The brain still lives on inside Movieland, except now he wants a loonie instead of a quarter. Just up the hill from the Space Spiral, on top of the hot dog and ice cream stand, a small sports bar was built. Very little is known about this sports bar, but obvious remnants of it still exists. The area of Boston Pizza closest to the hill (the back corner near the kitchen, the bar area, and the raised dining area) was the originally the sports bar. It featured a small coin-op bowling lane, arcade games, and food. The stairs in the Midway up to Boston Pizza beside Ghostblasters is the original stairs up from Dazzleland to the sports bar. Additionally, the Boston Pizza entrance closer to the hill (not the one with the big bowling pin, other one) was the main entrance to the sports bar. Little is known about the bar, including it's name. It may not have had one, simply being part of the Dazzleland complex. Many of the areas in Dazzleland didn't have a name, simply having signs heralding "Arcade", "Sports Games", "Skeeball" rather than naming the areas like the "Game Factory", "Sports Zone" or "Strike! Rock 'n Bowl" like in the Midway. For this reason, the bar may have been nameless, simply being part of the Dazzleland complex, but it's unlikely a dining establishment geared at adult nightlife wouldn't have a name.
Because the mini golf on Circus World's roof had been operated by the Cliffside Motel operators, HOCO acquired all the assets from it when they stopped leasing the land out. When the aforementioned Wendy's was built, the mini golf was moved just up the hill from the sports bar. It's entrance was right on the hill, but the course wrapped around the sports bar and ran back behind Dazzleland, between the back of Dazzleland and the parking lot of the Quality Inn. It would now be dinosaur themed and heavily landscaped. WHLLG designed the course and HOCO contracted Costello to build all the fiberglass dinosaurs. It's unknown what it's original name was, but in the early 90s, with the smash hit of Jurassic Park, it was renamed Dinosaur Park and given a similar logo. Up until the 2018 remodel, Boston Pizza had a patio. This patio was the exact location of the entrance to the mini golf, and the reason the restaurant's building curved in such a bizarre way surrounding the patio was originally to accommodate the course. Underneath the sports bar and mini golf and was an underground building accessible from a back corner of Dazzleland's courtyard. This area housed all of Dazzleland's miscellaneous ticket redemption games and 2 shooting galleries. The low-ceiling area of the Midway called the "Game Factory" is this original building. The Bonanaza Company shooting gallery is still there albeit heavily remodeled, but Blasteroids, an early project by arcade game company Lazer-Tron, was removed in 2016. Interestingly, the chase lights along the back wall of the Game Factory are Dazzleland holdovers. Between the shooting gallery and where what's left of the racing games now are is a bank of maintenance doors. If you get lucky and see them open, you'll see a stairs that was originally an entrance to Dazzleland from further up the street, beside Dinosaur Park. This now lets out somewhere in Boston Pizza's arcade (although I haven't been able to figure out where) and is used by staff to get from "a" to "b" faster.
Dazzleland has been the hardest to dig up information on in my research on Clifton Hill. Although I now know what was in each of the buildings around the outside of this "courtyard", I haven't been able to find which one was where. The only things I've confirmed is where the video game building was, what was in the building in the middle, and confirmed that the Game Factory was originally part of Dazzleland. The rest is beyond me and my memories of it have long faded. If anyone worked here or visited it frequently and has any answers, they would be greatly appreciated. Additionally there was a small pool near the front with a Costello dragon figure in it that spit water out it's mouth. I've heard conflicting reports that this was just a fountain, and others saying it was a small bumper boat or RC boat attraction, but my guess is it was just a fountain as it seems like a pretty small pool. The same year, fiberglass dragon waterslides were added to the Quality Inn pool. Although bearing striking resemblance to Costello's dinosaurs and Dazzleland dragon, at least one more of each of the dragon slides exist, all the way down in Texas. It was originally thought this Texas waterpark bought them off HOCO when Quality Inn closed, but one of the Quality Inn dragons appeared on an episode of shipping wars going to Kansas and the other was recently found abandoned on a private residential property in Niagara, proving they are in fact not the ones at the Texas waterpark. This is evidence they may have been mass produced.
By the time Dazzleland opened in 1989, it was the 8th arcade on the hill (after Circus World, Q-Balls Billiards Pub in Quality Inn, the arcade in Ripley's, the arcade in the Foxhead, the arcade in Castle Dracula, Funland in the basement of the House of Frankenstein, and an arcade that had recently opened in the Pilgrim Motel in their gift shop.) These were just the large-scale, dedicated arcades right on the hill. Many others could be found nearby in Maple Leaf Village, the Skylon, the Seagram, Pyramid Place and the Imperial Hotel as well as many mini golf courses and family fun centres along Lundy's Ln. and the QEW. Also, virtually every gift shop on Clifton Hill and Victoria Ave. had a game or 2.
The mix of arcades, haunted houses, fast food, nightlife and stores selling t-shirts and posters had started a well-known rock culture in Niagara Falls among Southern Ontario youth. The epicenter of this was "Rock World", a rock-themed gift shop that had opened in 1983 on Centre St. (the street Clifton Hill becomes just above Victoria Ave.) They would later add a second story and build Rock Legends Wax Museum above it, with all the figures sculpted by the store's owner Pasquale Rammuno. In 1996, Maple Leaf Village was replaced by Casino Niagara, and many of the attractions found new homes on Victoria Ave., including Screamers and Nightmares. The Elvis Museum, Antique Auto Museum, 50s diner nightclub, and arcade all moved to Pyramid Place adjacent to the IMAX pyramid. Screamers prospered on Victoria Ave., and 2 "sequel attractions" were built in the early 2000s: Creatures of the Night on Victoria Ave. and Horror Manothe Zombie Zoo Nightclub on Centre St. Another attraction, Alien Encounter, would open at the corner of Victoria Ave. and Clifton Hill beside the Criminals Hall of Fame. This slightly thematically darker "north of the hill" area with the Screamers chain, the Criminals Hall of Fame, Rock Legends, Nightmares and Alien Encounter became a "main strip" all in it's own.
As mentioned before, since the cabin courts were all town down in the early 50s, nothing had been torn down on Clifton Hill. The only exception was the Houdini Hall of Fame that burnt to ash in 1996. Some of Houdini's Last Words were claiming that anything revealing his secrets would perish in flame, and even though the fire completely leveled the museum, the plywood and fiberglass paneled House of Frankenstein only separated from it by a 2-foot wide alley was completely untouched, leading a lot of Houdini's fans to believe he was conducting some kind of post-mortem practical joke. The metal objects like handcuffs and the water tank could be saved, and were bought by David Copperfield. Ripley's Moving Theatre was built in it's place. Over the 30 years from Tussaud's opening in 1959 to Dazzleland in 1989, Clifton Hill had expanded and filled up the land. However that didn't mean it was time to tear things down. Things were simply moved around or remodeled to keep them fresh, not out of an unwillingness to change, but because these things had become ingrained in the landscape. Examples of this were Tussaud's moving to its current home in the old building of a restaurant that had since moved on Victoria Ave., rather than the attraction shutting down, or the Adventure Dome Theatre oepneing in part of the Honeymoon City's gift shop. In Tussaud's old place was built the MGM walkthrough/store, Pink Panther ride and 4D Ride in 2002. The beer garden beside it was replaced with the WWE building and the Piledriver ride, but the beer area was moved to between the 2 attractions. In 2004 the Foxhead's arcade was expanded and re-themed into the Marvel Superheros Adventure City.
Another great example of re-freshing an existing attraction was Dazzleland. A simple realization was made, more games = more money and higher guest enjoyment. The outdoor courtyard style with it's room for walkways between the buildings was re-designed, and HOCO again called upon WHLLG. WHLLG designed not only a remodel of Dazzleland, but an incredible 5-step plan that would have made Clifton Hill financially on par with a major theme park. Steps 1-3 came to fruition. Step 1 was remodeling Dazzleland into the Great Canadian Midway in 2002. The level, concrete foundation Dazzleland was built on was kept as the foundation of the Midway, hence why it has the same layout. The former video game building at the back became the FX Ride Theatre (now XD Theatre/Wild West Coaster) in the Midway. The funnel cake shop was kept where it was in Dazzleland except now it was in the Midway, between the FX Ride and the Prize Counter. The area housing Dazzleland's ticket redemption games became the Game Factory. The middle building housing the claw games and kiddie rides was demolished, as it was no longer needed because the Midway was fully indoors and there was now a massive space to put games. The sports bar was expanded and became Boston Pizza, so Dinosaur Park was moved to in front of the Comfort Inn. Under the expanded Boston Pizza, Sally Corp. was hired to build the interactive Ghostblasters dark ride. All of Dazzleland's old games made the transition into the Midway, however very few are still around.
With the Midway making serious buck, HOCO went ahead with phase 2 of WHLLG's plan. Movieland was moved to Circus World's former location in 2005, and Circus World's owners moved the attraction to what was then the popular Victoria Ave. area. In Movieland's old home, Cosmic Golf, a blacklight golf was temporarily set up. 2 years later in 2007, the golf moved to it's permanent home in the basement becoming Galaxy Golf and the gift shop that had been formerly in the basement was moved upstairs. Movieland retained all the figures and sets they had at the time of the move, moving them all into the new space. All the scary elements were put in the new "House of Horrors", a small optional haunted house at the end of the attraction.
Phase 3 involved beginning to demolish the only thing that WHLLG's 5 phase plan would have torn down: Quality Inn. In it's place an amusement park would have been built, anchored by Canada's largest ferris wheel. The wheel would be phase 3 and the amusement park phase 4. Though both WHLLG and HOCO recognized the historical value of the hotel, it had reasons to go. The hotel may have been full of your usual hazardous mid-century building materials (however Comfort Inn built by the same firm the same year was found to have no hazardous materials when it was torn down in 2015, so who knows) but the main issue was elevators and the amount of space it took up. Comfort Inn only had 2 wings, one on each side of the lobby, and only 2 elevators would have needed to be installed. This wasn't legally necessary, as no law states that buildings of age absolutely have to be 100% accessible, it was more something HOCO wanted to do. Quality Inn had multiple wings that weren't accessible from one another, so an elevator would need to be installed in each wing. In addition to the elevator issue, Comfort Inn was chosen as the hotel to keep because the building was integrated with Kelsey's, Rumors Nightclub, Ripley's, and Dinosaur Park, all of which wouldn't have been touched in WHLLG's 5 phase plan. Finally, Comfort Inn's land wasn't big enough for an amusement park whereas Quality Inn's was. 2 things would justify the demolition of Quality Inn. One, it's sister hotel, Comfort Inn, would have been kept. The other reason justifying the demolition would be phase 5: a skyscraper hotel and indoooutdoor waterpark in the field between Clifton Hill and the Skylon Tower. The dragon figures from Quality Inn's pool were kept in HOCO's storage for a time for this waterpark. The final vision can be seen here.
Phase 3 would go ahead in 2006, with the lobby, Golden Griddle and Q-Balls Billiard pub of Quality Inn being torn down and the Skywheel built in it's place. For the last year Quality Inn was open, you would need to register at Comfort Inn's lobby. The same year, the Space Spiral was torn down, as 2 observation attractions wouldn't be needed on the hill. However, a new spiral tower would have been constructed during phase 4 in the theme park. The reason the tower would be demolished rather than moved was because a tower manufactured by the same company in Wildwood, NJ, had begun to sway a few years earlier, resulting in it needing to be removed entirely for safety reasons. Phase 4 was set to go ahead in 2010, so in 2009 the remainder of Quality Inn was demolished. It seemed as though everything would fall into place, and with the exception of Quality Inn making it's sacrifice, everything on Clifton Hill that had been there for 20-60 years would be there forever, just greatly expanded on.
Unfortunately, this came at a turning point for Clifton Hill, when the recession was in full swing and tourism had declined since 9/11. Changing technology and interests, but no real nostalgia trend yet, created a perfect storm, and the idea was scrapped. Especially now that there would be no amusement park, a lot of area attractions closed. HOCO now needed to find a new design company to completely re-design the project. The problem was, Quality Inn was already torn down to make way for the amusement park. HOCO reluctantly found a new design company who had no projects under their belt yet, IDS. HOCO was hopeful the Canadian company could help give them a similar vision to their previous 5 stage plan, that would help them re-use many of the already implemented stages and despite scrapping the amusement park, would simply scale down and redesign the hotel. This was done in hopes that the city would be much more likely to approve just another high rise hotel than an amusement park as well. IDS' new plan was much different than what HOCO was looking for. It featured tearing down Ripley's, Comfort Inn, Kelsey's, and Rumours Nightclub and building a Titanic Museum shaped like the boat. It also featured building a large mall within the hotel rather than a waterpark and relocating and expanding Dinosaur Park into Dinosaur Adventure Golf on Quality Inn's old land. While HOCO thankfully chose not to go ahead with the mall and Titanic Museum, they would build Dinosaur Adventure Golf and work with IDS to make a more feasible plan that better suited Clifton Hill.
The new plan featured Dinosaur Adventure Golf and Strike! Rock 'n Bowl as phase 1. It also included removing a lot of the thematic brand identity elements WHLLG had implemented to coincide with their final amusement park vision and replacing Galaxy Golf with Wizard's Golf as phase 2. Phase 3 would feature tearing down Comfort Inn (that never got it's elevators due to it no longer being planned to be kept), building Niagara Speedway in it's place, and removing Rumors Nightclub to accommodate the new Kelsey's bathrooms and Zombie Attack. Phase 4 would feature remodelling Wendy's, Boston Pizza and Kelsey's. Phase 5 would feature a mall (no hotel) in the field between Dinosaur Adventure Golf and the Skylon, but this final phase will likely never come to fruition.
Multiple attractions have closed since the late 2000's, such as the entire Screamers chain, Circus World, The Criminals Hall of Fame, Funland Arcade and Alien Encounter. The Hilltop Motel became the current home of the Upside Down House, and the Pilgrim Motel became Captain Jack's. Ironically, the only part of the building that's not part of the entertainment centre is a Mini Mart at the back that was the original arcade in the Pilgrim. Virtually everything in the Falls. Ave. complex other than Rainforest Cafe and the 4D theatre is gone. Marvel Superheroes Adventure City lost its license after Disney bought Marvel, and it simply became Adventure City. The Hulk Mini Golf became jungle themed, Spider-Man references were (poorly) removed from the dark ride, and X-men referenced were (also poorly) removed from the bumper cars. References to Marvel can still be found in the arcade, such as Spider-Man's face on a tree that was only covered up a few years ago. The WWE Store, after being abandoned since 2012, was turned into the Niagara Brewery Beer Store in 2016, fitting considering the land's history as a beer garden. Planet Hollywood on Falls Ave. closed around 2014, and is still abandoned. The MGM walkthrough was abandoned for over 10 years before becoming a barbecue restaurant in 2019.
The changes in the Falls Ave. complex are an example of good change, replacing abandoned attractions with ones that if anything are closer to what used to be there, such as Adventure City becoming an unthemed arcade again or the Beer Store being where the Beer Garden once was. Another example of this good change would be the long abandoned (and burnt) Adventure Dome that had briefly held a Lego attraction being turned into the Amazing Big Top Mirror and Lazer Maze in 2017. However a perfect example of negative change is the Rock Legends Wax Museum being forced out of business because a YouTube video of the museum was flagged for copyrighted music by YouTube's algorithms. This lead Sony Music to investigate the museum and shut it down last year if it wouldn't pay ridiculous licensing fees, which it couldn't afford.
Another example is IDS' redevelopment plan. HOCO is now locked in a contract with them, even though they obviously have very different ideas on the direction of Clifton Hill. Phase 1 was implemented in 2011, with Boston Pizza expanding their arcade to include Strike! Rock 'n Bowl and Dinosaur Park moving to where Quality Inn was and being renamed Dinosaur Adventure Golf. All of Costello's original dinosaurs (with the exception of the original Pterodactyl) would "migrate" to the new location where they would be joined by dozens of new mass-produced dinosaurs. Interestingly, foundations were built back in 2011 for the original 2 Brontosaurs to appear as if they were coming out of the ponds, but they wouldn't show up until 2019 when they were brought back out of storage to be installed, only to lay on the ground for a few months before going back into storage. Although it didn't use new hand-made figures, this attraction was a change that fits the spirit of Clifton Hill and was a good replacement for the empty plot of land that had once housed Quality Inn, even if an amusement park would have been better. The same cannot be said about the rest of IDS' plan. Many thematic elements installed throughout the hill by WHLLG (especially in Movieland and the Midway) were removed in phase 2 in 2013 simply to fit with IDS's image better, costing HOCO a lot of money. Phase 3 went ahead in 2015, and the 60 year old Comfort Inn was demolished, along with the old HOCO offices in it that if you remember from part 1, was the original nearly 200 year old stable building for the Zimmerman estate. Niagara Speedway was built in it's place, and if you look at the prices to drive it, then watch how many people do, you realize just how much they're making off it. Rumors Nightclub, originally the Queen's Door Nightclub in 1956, was gutted and turned into Zombie Attack and the new Kelsey's bathrooms, as the old ones had been in the Comfort Inn building. Phase 4 in 2018 extensively remodeled Wendy's as well as Boston Pizza, removing the patio.
Ghostblasters is now the final untouched WHLLG era attraction on the land. This is made even more troubling by the fact the signs for it were just removed and replaced with temporary ones, as I said in the post that started the entire discussion on whether or not I should do this series. If the attraction does go, we can only hope that a new interactive dark ride utilizing artistry, dimensional scenes and props much like Ghostblasters does is built, however that likely won't be the case. Triotech is the lead designer of ride through shooting games, that feature a dark ride car that travels through a hallway with screens on each side of it rather than real props. Triotech has dealt with HOCO before, building both the Wild West Coaster and Zombie Attack, so all signs point to one of these attractions replacing Ghostblasters if it closes.
There is still hope that Clifton Hill can retain it's spirit, but it stands at a crossroads. The House of Frankenstein for example, while retaining many original scenes, has had many removed and replaced with nothing, and many areas of the museum taken out entirely. Castle Dracula on the other hand hasn't updated a thing, but hasn't cared for the original scenes either, leaving them to fall into disrepair and only having 7 or 8 of the original 70 still lit, and none of them still functional. There are 2 directions Clifton Hill can go. With many attractions like the ones on HOCO's side being demolished to make way for whatever is trendy and lucrative, and many hanging on by a thread like Castle Dracula or Ghostblasters, the Hill is in real danger of becoming an endlessly overturning and developing area. However, with money recently being poured back into attractions like the Haunted House, Ripley's, and Guinness and attractions being redeveloped like the Falls Ave. complex or the Big Top Mirror maze, there is hope. If people, including the companies that own them, can recognise the historical value of attractions like Castle Dracula, The House of Frankenstien, Movieland, Tussaud's, etc., this can be promoted and the recent nostalgia boom can create large profits if this is played up. Additionally, future developments can still be more in the vein of what WHLLG envisioned for Clifton Hill, or what the Burlands recently did with the well done Big Top Mirror Maze. This is both profitable and economically sensible, as repeat customers that make memories and come to the area for generations with occasional new updates/re-themings (like what Clifton Hill did from the 50s-2010s), is far more profitable than a constantly turning over wave of new developments that cost millions to build that changes with each generation.
Thank you to everyone who has followed this series. Sorry for the length of this, but I promised this would be the last installment, so it has to be longer. If you have any information pertaining to Dazzleland or anything you know that I didn't cover in this series, let me know. Additionally, if you would like me to dig up photos on anything that I mentioned in the series, let me know, as unless it's the Dazzleland dragon, I probably have a photo of it. I will likely post many of them here anyway in time. Thanks again.

I live in Ontario and it’s so stupid
Me and the boys wanna to Niagara Falls but we can’t go to any of the Casios because they serves alcohol
But we could sit at the gas station all day buying lottos and no one would bat an eye. I know why it’s done it’s just annoying. I feel like Ontario is losing a lot of revenue by having the drinking age at 19. thousands of students head to Quebec for a legal drink or casinos and clubs so what’s the difference.
Sure you can say that we would waste money but Manitoba isn’t dying because there age is lower. It doesn’t stop teens from getting alcohol. Literally you just need to have a friend a year above you. The people that are gonna mess up they’re high school lives with alcohol are going to do it anyways with or without the age limit.
Dumb

If you haven't had time to listen to seven hours of podcast interviews, or you didn't retain everything you heard, here are some key points. I didn't think to do this until just now, so I'll be posting it as a work in progress and updating it throughout the afternoon. That way more people will have a chance to read up before the premiere.
Karishma Patel, 37, Personal Injury Trial Lawyer, Houston, TX -First generation Indian-American Her mom was as a legal assistant, and got her a filing job at her law firm when she was 14. "I didn't have other options. I was basically told I was going to be a lawyer and I didn't disagree."She has watched every season and regularly listens to RHAP. She sits close to the TV to study the inflections on people's faces when something is said to them, so that she can think about what that means. But, her parents and husband don't share her enthusiasm for the show. Asked if it's her dark pleasure she says, "It is completely bright. It is a beautiful pleasure of mine, but it is mine and mine only. I haven't been able to find people to share it with." -Doing the show has caused her conflict. "Not only is it not expected, it's not allowed. It's kind of like being a disobedient Indian girl. You're not supposed to be doing this. What you're supposed to be doing is having babies. But I don't care. I'm a risk taker. I'm here to prove to myself that I don't need to listen to anybody else. I don't need permission from anybody else. This is my journey and I'm going to take it. I hope that people watching out there can see that an Indian woman's value does not come from doing what she's told." -She doesn't currently have children, and she says she has some decisions to make as she enters a crossroads and the next stage of her life. -Her law firm told her they'll replace her if they're able to find someone, and she can have her job back if they don't. "I didn't flinch." -Her strategy is to be non-threatening and play a social game. She doesn't look 37, and she wants to use that youthfulness to be disarming. She wants to build relationships other people believe in. She defines success by other people vouching for her loyalty when they go off and have private conversations with one another. "That means I got 'em, because it's actually the other way around." Asked if she wants to find someone she can trust, "I'm not going to be capable of it. I'm too skeptical for that. I overthink things, so I'm not going to be able to trust somebody the way I want to be trusted... If I do, that's the end of my game."
My take: Oh my God. Poor Karishma. Her story hurts my heart. She reminds me so much of myself in her isolation, her defiance and her deep feelings. I worry that her fear of trusting people could get in the way of her forming genuine bonds. But, there's nothing she can do. Society has made her the way she is. I hope she gets a lot of screen time so she can be a star of her favorite show.
Missy Byrd, 24, Military Veteran/App Developer, Tacoma, Washington -Originally from Georgia. Her family was 'decently poor.' She played basketball for the Air Force Academy because she thought it was her ticket out. -She had a brain tumor. She stopped menstruating for a year and two quarters. "I'm not dating anyone but I have breast milk. I'm a literal cow... I would look down and my shirt would be wet, and I thought, 'Dang you're clumsy. I knew you were clumsy, but you're clumsier today than you were yesterday. But it was - it was - uhh - milk." She had crying fits. She developed a stutter and couldn't look at people. Doctors told her she was just stressed. When her dad died she couldn't process emotions normally. She was about to go to the French version of the Air Force Academy, École de l'air, after graduation but because of her mental instability she was removed from school. The military shipped her to the same Air Force base as Sandra (Fort Lewis.) "I don't want to be there. Super sad. Check into the post office - fuck this. Check into the dorms - hate that." The doctor there found the tumor. She got an MRI and all weekend she believed she might have cancer. Over the next year and a half she eliminated the tumor and the symptoms using vitamins. She enlisted and worked logistics. -She made a list of the things she wanted to do now that she was going to live. "The first thing was go see Beyonce. Beyonce costs way too much money for a normal person to go see, but if you've just almost had a near death experience you go see Beyonce, bro!" She was feet away. She drove across the country. She tried weed. -She had an idea for an app, but didn't even have the computer literacy to use social media. She found a veteran's association and asked if she could intern. "They said, 'No, you should build this out yourself. We want to work for you.' I said, 'No, the fuck you don't. Okay, lemme call my grandma.'" She wrote a grant proposal and won a $1,500 office space in the center of Seattle. "Just to do whatever I want. It was like a laboratory for a child. I had Play-Dough up there. I had a white board... Just mind blowing shit when I could have been dead." -She'd seen every episode of Survivor at least three times. She started watching because her Air Force Academy basketball team was getting decimated, and she related to Foa Foa getting decimated in Survivor: Samoa. She added the show to her list. Josh suggests, "The bugs are eating you because they want some of that magic." -She isn't going to tell people her story until she's in the Final 3. "That's that Final 3 magic." She doesn't want to overly rely on strategy. She doesn't want to win individual challenges. She to build a social game and find ways to relate to everyone.
My take: She's so full of exuberance. There's not a negative bone in her body right now. She's too young and her life experience is too necessarily limited to talk around three years of her life. If she shares her story, the beauty of her perspective will cause everyone to fall in love with her and want her to do well. If she doesn't, people will sense that she's hiding a lot. I think she'll figure that out and course correct within the first day. Since she was at the same Air Force base as Sandra and she was a massive fan, does that suggest she knows her?
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Ronnie Bardah, 35, Professional Poker Player, Henderson, Nevada-Born and raised in Brockton, Massachusetts, 20 minutes south of Boston. They were the only Israeli family in town. 50% of the people in Brockton were from Cape Verde, and he considers himself an "honorary Cape Verdian." A couple of his friends were shot and killed at a young age. -He was a good kid and had a good heart, but he was always hustling. In Junior High he was flipping Oatmeal Cakes and Fudge Rounds for a profit. Slinging baseball cards. Both his parents gambled. They were always at the dog tracks or Mohegan Sun. He had his friend make him a fake ID and got stuck with the name Alaja Jones. He went by Al and started playing the casinos. Quit his job at Sears Automotive to play poker full time.-He played Atlantic City, Vegas, then internationally. He had his first big score in 2010 when he took 24th place in the main event for $320,000. Got to keep $150,000 after taxes. "Poker's a hard way to make an easy living. Lots of people try. We risk every day. You have to get to a point when you can manage your bankroll and I've never gone broke in the 16 years I've played." -In one of the most viewed poker hands of all time, he was bluffed out of a million dollar pot by a supermodel on a poker TV show filmed in Monaco. "She made a sick play. She had no idea what she was doing but all the stars were aligned."-He watched Borneo when it aired and got back into it when fellow poker player Anna Khait was on. He calls Jean-Robert, "kinda a lazy guy...He's really good at befriending multi-millionaires." "Anna Khait... is probably the least poker player out of all of us. She played for a couple years." "And then Garrett - He's a very, very smart, smart kid... Self-made millionaire. One of the very, very few." -He only drank water for 7.5 days and lost 25 pounds for his health and to get an idea of the conditions of the show. He thinks he'll thrive in the survival situation. "People like being around me. I like to fucking bust balls and joke." He thinks old school alliances are a good plan, but you have to adapt. He says that like in poker, Survivor players can have every advantage, but they have to really smell it. -He wants Vince out. "There's an Asian Zeke in there. What value does he bring besides ruining people and getting in people's heads? He's a liability in challenges. He looks like a little corn puff. We gotta get him outta here. Sorry to sound so mean but it's the truth."
My take: Ruuuuude. He has no way of knowing how other people on the cast are talking in their interviews, and may assume the trash talk is standard. If he were playing on some seasons it would be. But, in this particular season it sets him apart in an unflattering way, and it seems a part of the tough persona he's built up to escape a scary situation growing up and enter a fantasy career. We'll see whether his tribe thinks he's a straight talking character or a jerk.
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Tom Laidlaw, Former NHL Player, Brampton, Ontario, Canada -He was with the New York Rangers for 7 years and the LA Kings for 4. Now he has his own podcast, True Grit Life (truegritlife.com). Does it with a friend, Kevin Allen, who writes for USA Today. Does motivational speaking. -Growing up on a dairy farm outside Toronto there was a pond to water the cows. It froze over in the winters and he'd play hockey because there wasn't much else to do. Went to Northern Michigan University - four year hockey captain, ranked #1 team in the country. Drafted as a 20 year old. "My buddy had a horse farm. We were cleaning horse shit out of the stalls. There were no cell phones back then. This is 1978. My father got a call at our farm house from the New York Rangers at the draft. Back then nobody went to the draft - it was just teams. They said I'd been drafted in the sixth round. He calls the farm house where I'm working. They bring me up. He says, 'Son, you've been drafted by the Rangers.' I said, 'Great. What do I do now?' He says, 'Finish cleaning the shit out of the stalls.'" -When he played intimidation and fighting was strategy. There were guys tougher than him, but he could fight and he could also play. Problem was, he fought a guy once, and from then on the guy wanted to fight him over and over. -Jerry Bruckheimer, big hockey fan, called the NHL and wanted to get some players on the Amazing Race. Tom had kept himself in shape, he had his passport. They ended up asking him about Survivor. He'd watched it before but not for a while. He wasn't so sure he wanted to play a game where you hurt other people, but friends helped him get his head around it. He was very impressed by Christian's toughness in the endurance challenge. To prepare for the show he studied how he reacted to different situations, how to control his heart heart, etc. He wants the mental challenge.
My take: Tom really ticked me off when he spoiled a couple of outcomes of this season. That's a betrayal of the producers, his cast and the viewers. But, if that hadn't happened I would like him. He's an easy-going, charming guy. His life experiences are a bit different than anyone else who's been on the show, which is what you want.
Vince Moua, 27, Admissions Counselor, Merced, CA -His family is Hmong. His parents lived in Vietnam in the destruction left by the war - dead bodies, guns, people who wanted to kill them. They went to refugee camps in Thailand. Then his dad became a Montana farm hand. He met Vince's mom in the US, but she came from the same place. -Vince is from small town Merced, California - the 209. Few people he knew went anywhere but the UC system and community college. He went to Stanford, one of only 7-10 Hmong. He realized the significance someone can bring to people from the same community. He tried to be pre-med but realized "no, not today." The issues of access he cared about came well before people got to the hospital. He ended up going with education. His mom was a teacher, "But when I was growing up she said, 'Yo, if you become a teacher Imma disown yo ass.' To all of us. But, that's always kinda been my jam." -He lived in South Korea for five years. He taught English in a town. Then in Seoul ahed worked with low and middle income students who wanted to study outside of Korea. -He's a Survivor superfan, who even mentions on his Tinder account that he plans to be on Survivor. His parents were worried about him doing TV because he's not out as gay to his extended family. He comes from a clan where his dad is the "top dog" and Vince is "the next top dog." In the Asian American/Pacific Islander community when you come out, it's your family who faces - in a sense - dishonor. For a long time he distanced himself from his family, hoping they'd all be less hurt if they found out and disowned him. He always tried to find friends who would be there for him should his parents not be. A year ago his mom asked him rhetorically if he was gay. "I was try'n to go around it. I was like, 'Gurl, you don't wanna know! Yo ass keeps asking!' But she kept asking, asking. So finally I told her 'Yeah, I am!' and she was crying. My dad was like, 'Oh, my son!'" But, Vince is fine with who he is and wants to show kids like him that "let's hope that it gets better." Now his parents just want him to win. -He'd like to play an old school strategy but "I'm not afraid to cut a bitch." With the tribe he's going to be Homeboy Vince from the 209, but when he talks to the camera he's going to tell people "Don't underestimate your narratives." This past year with Crazy Rich Asians, he wants people to know that there are some Crazy Hood Ass Asians.
My take: What a character. Vince has a clear point of view - Hmong, blue collar, gay - which is unique to him in Survivor lore. Even though double minorities have sometimes had trouble fitting in socially on Survivor I think somehow he's going to pull it off. As unlikely as this sounds I could even see him being a Cochran-esque winner.
Aaron Meredith, 36, Personal Trainer, Warwick, Rhode Island -He's very keyed up at Ponderosa. Rambling so fast it sounds like you're listening to 1.5x. He's read four books so far - Relentless by Tim Grover, Can't Hurt Me by Dave Goggins, Iron Cowboy by James Lawrence, Harry Potter. -He was an engineer at a building insulation plant. He was miserable, too antsy sitting at a desk. Couldn't focus. So, he drove up and down the East Coast popping kettle corn - from Maine to Florida - traveling with carnies. Bartended for a while. He'd played college football and baseball, lifted since high school, and he and his friends wanted to get "huge and jacked and ripped." The owner of the gym suggested he become a personal trainer. He ended up working mostly with middle aged women and it taught him empathy. Now he owns two women's-only fitness studios. He puts supportive women around one another and offers them the positivity to seek self-growth. -He's also a party boat emcee. Lights, DJ, bar, drinks. He's an extremely social person. -He'd first applied at 23 - 6 or 7 times over the years. He was in the mix for Cook Islands and David vs. Goliath. -He's been married 7 years and has a 5 year old son. His son is a huge fan of Survivor. Libby Vincek is his favorite player. Kara Kay was his next favorite. Aaron is already sure Molly will be his son's favorite. "He has a type. He He likes the attractive blondes. He says, 'I like them because they have a nice face.' I like mommy because she has a nice face too." The boy was very concerned about his dad going on the show. He said, "Dad, I don't want anyone to laugh at you and make fun of you." Aaron said he wanted to win. His son said, "But you might not win." When they watch the show he'll always ask, "Do they like him? Do they like her?" If Aaron is portrayed in a negative light he'll have to sit down with his son and talk. He doesn't want to play a deceitful game, but he will, because he doesn't care how he's portrayed.
My take: His story about his son is one of my favorites from all these interviews. I hope he gets to work with Molly. His adrenaline is too high. I hope he calms down a lot when the game starts. But, someone so social and sweet hearted who can win challenges and take themselves to the end has got to be a contender to win.
Chelsea Walker, 27, Digital Content Editor, Los Angeles, CA -Chelsea just took the cast photo and they put her in the third spot from the bottom, a good omen because a weird number of winners have been in that position. "Your girl's number three. I got this!" -She's a Jersey girl. She went to the University of Maryland. "I didn't do Survivor: Maryland or anything." She studied Broadcast Journalism. She knew the generic emails for NBC Universal and emailed random people until someone replied. Now she's been in LA a year. She did coverage of award shows. Now she works at IMDB, where she helps Kevin Smith with his show. She just interviewed people at SXSW. -She's been watching Survivor since she was 8. She's cried in every interview because this means so much to her. She's trying to explain that at the point she starts crying again. "It's been such a dream of mine and To be told no year after year after year - these past six years have been a total mindfuck. I've basically been called every single year. I've been to finals three times. Survivor is my one true love, but the one year they didn't call me I got really pissed off so I tried out for Big Brother. I ended up becoming the alternate and got my key being filmed and all of that crap. But I don't like that show anyway." -In September 2017 she was at a WeHo bar for her friend's birthday when, "Oh shit that's Jeff Probst." Her girlfriends all know she's obsessed, so she pulled the waiter over and asked what that guy was drinking. So, Chelsea sent another one over. "I told my friends, 'Take my credit card. Split the bill, because I can't come back after I do this. As soon as the waiter drops off the drink I'm like, 'Jeff, this one's on me. You can buy me the next one at finals.' And I just walked out of the restaurant... That was a big move!" They didn't call her again that year, but Jeff still remembered when they talked this year. -She's been working out at four different gyms - weights, pilates, yoga. Push ups. Memorized puzzles. Reading How to Win Friends and Influence People, which she keeps in.a Bible sleeve so people will think she's religious. She also carries Harry Potter because she would trust someone who read HP. She wants to keep it cool. Make one on one connections. Eventually find idols - and not tell anyone she has one - and make calculated moves. "I don't want to be a Jacob. No offense."
My take: Hearing this girl cry from joy because she's so happy to be on the show makes me emotional. She's a real go getter. I wish I were that damn fearless. Truly, I wish I were more like her. I hope her pure zest for life comes across on TV and she doesn't get stuck with a purple edit just because of her age and gender. I also hope no one decides to get threatened by her as a competitive girl and vote her off premerge. I think she'll go far. Hope so.
Dean Kowalski, 28, Account Executive, New York, New York -Referring to himself in the third person, "Dean is 28 years old. As we mentioned, he lives in New York and he prides himself on being a well rounded person when it comes to interests, abilities, personalities... If I'm listening to Drake and Lil Wayne, I gotta go home and cry to This Is Us.. I can play basketball but also think about our place in the universe." He likes to tag basketball courts with a peace symbol with a ball on it which he makes using a stencil. -He structures most of his interview with Josh around an Outwit, Outplay, Outlast format, explaining why he excels at each. -He grew up in an affluent suburb. His dream was to play in the NBA. He was 5"9 3/4, so he set his eyes on college basketball as a realistic alternative. In order to get looks from colleges he went to a school 30 minutes away - top five in the country, Nike would fly them around for games and give them free Jordan sneakers. He was one of only 4 white guys in the whole school and the only one on the team. He played with Kyrie Irving, the #1 overall draft pick. "My friend said you look like the Make a Wish Kid who just wants to be on the team for a day." He played at Colombia University, where he was co-captain his senior year despite averaging two minutes a game. He became a teacher, then did sales for a tech startup in New York. He now sells ads for Google. -He's a fan, but far from a superfan. He started watching Brenda's season. (He thinks it was Nicaragua, but it was actually Carmoan.) He works with a superfan who freaked out when they had a meeting at H&R Block with Carolyn Rivera and they went out to Bourbon Street with her. He kept watching for five years and thought he could do well. He hates when people are all talk, so he sent in a tape. For the video he interviewed random strangers on the street, who had never met him or seen the show, and asked them, "Why am I going to win it?" A barber, a construction worker. He's going to tell people he's in marketing, not sales - people have sales.
My take: I'm just not that into him.
Elaine Stott, 41, Factory Worker, Rockholds, NY -When Josh asks her not to touch the table she asks him, "You seen that Bart Simpson commercial, right? Don't touch my Butterfinger? I'm already hungry thinking about it." -"I had a pretty rough way to go growing up." Her single dad raised her and her three brothers. She was the youngest. "I was raised like one of the boys. Know what I mean? Daddy didn't know how to raise no little girl." He worked 16-17 hour days. The kids raised themselves. "When little children make their own decisions, they make poor ones." She was a hellion. -She's originally from Woodbine, Kentucky, Nick Wilson's hometown. Her god sister went to school with him and she knows him through the grapevine. "We rode on different sides of the track. 20 years ago he coulda been my lawyer, because I was on the other side of the law. I'm not bad. I've just done some things." Public intoxication several times. "I come from a dry county. It's like Footloose. We cross the state line to get a beer and when you come back you're in trouble." She stole a newspaper stand once and had to do community service. "I was a little bit mean." -She went to live with her grandpa and cleaned her act up, by which she means that she started smoking a little weed and playing sports - basketball, softball, track. She played softball and judo in college. "I couldn't do nothing real technical. We had Brazilians on the team who could do flying arm bars. But if I got these claws on you and got ya on the ground I'd waller you to death." In casting she put this guy Will in an armbar. She was gonna choke him but didn't know if she should. -When she graduated, her girlfriend was a college Freshman so she went to all the same parties and ballgames for four years. Then she realized she needed a job. Now she drives a Ford truck for a factory. She's been there 15 years. She works 12 hours, 7 days a week. -Growing up her mom "was always in my life in some sense. She'd never miss a birthday. She'd be homeless, but she'd still call." Elaine and her brothers bought her cars, and places to live, and got her jobs. "In a sense I've been mourning the loss of my mom my whole life." Once Elaine was homeless herself and there was snow on the ground. It was cold, and her teacher took her in. Gave her Christmas presents. Made her go to prom. Survivor was a thing they shared, and the teacher was gonna be Elaine's loved one. But within a one year period the woman lost her daughter, her husband, her dog and then had a stroke. Now "she walks like Frankenstein" and can't go. Elaine got Probst to talk to her, and she can't wait to watch. In October Elaine's biological mom went into a coma. She was on life support, but Elaine wouldn't unplug her. Her mom came out of it and seemed to be doing a lot better only to die very suddenly of a heart attack. -Her girlfriend and her girlfriend's two sons are gonna be watching. The 18 year old doesn't know because he can't keep a secret. The 13 year old helped her lose 20 pounds doing crossfit to come out here. She wants the money, but she really wants "some of that soul searching, that life adventure, that life changing - some of that. You know what I mean? Gimme some of that soup! Lemme eat some of that up! I want this show to build me up, because I feel like it can. I sure hope to hell it don't tear me down."
My take: About 12 sobbing emojis in a row. She's my favorite. If she gets voted out premerge I'm going to go into mourning. And how can you not sort of expect that? I am going to be so upset if they just dismiss her because she's older and looks out of shape and sounds country. If that happens, I want another Second Chance season next year.
Elizabeth Biesel, 26, Olympic swimmer, South Kingstown, Rhode Island -Josh says that Elizabeth was outright identified by one of the other contestants because they'd been watching YouTube videos about how to be a better swimmer. Others guessed she was an Olympian based on her rings tattoo. -She's from the Ocean State. They lived a block away from the beach, so they wanted her to take swimming lessons. She was a rambunctious child and swimming was the only way they could calm her energy. She started breaking records when she was 7 or 8. When she was 13 she made her first national team. At 15 she went to the Olympics. She got good early. Women peak around 22-23, and she ended her career at 24. You couldn't make much money doing it. She swam one of the longer, more grueling races, and her body said "no more." She listened to her body and retired. Some athletes lose their love for swimming because they're embittered by losing by 1/100th of a second, or they leave injured. She left on a good note. Still, if she could swim competitively for the rest of her life, she would. Now she doesn't know who she is or what she's going to do with the rest of her life. Every hour of the day used to have a purpose. Now her days are wide open. She can't keep eating 5,000 calories a day. "It's sort of like I'm mourning the death of Elizabeth Biesel the swimmer." -She was a Survivor fan as a kid because Richard Hatch was from Rhode Island. In her area "Every single household that had a television set was watching Survivor." When they asked her if she'd do the show, she felt pure joy. She said absolutely right away. She's excited about the competition of Survivor. No heated Olympic pools. You're stripped down to your core. She's amazed by the scope of the production apparatus. She's not a schemer. She wants to be a challenge beast - not the best woman but the best overall. She'd love to have a Wendell and Dom relationship with another woman. But, she wants to avoid the drama as long as she can.
My take: Could Chelsea be Wendell to her Dom? She's so wholesome. She's just so "Olympics." I love her and everything she represents. I'd love to see her rocket through the swimming competitions, lapping everyone else. Go Elizabeth.

I am an 18 year old in the Province of Ontario Canada. I know that the legal age to enter a casino in Ontario is 19, but participating in the lottery is 18. So, I have been looking online, and I am yet to find a concrete answer on when I am allowed to set up an online poker account. Can I make one now, or should I wait until I turn 19?

Recreational cannabis is not legal yet, but many Canadians are taking advantage of it to make a fortune. At least 77 of them have accumulated millions of dollars in just a few months thanks to their investments in the industry, according to data compiled by our Investigation Bureau.
"I knew the pot was a good investment, but no one in the community thought it would pay so much," says Chuck Rifici, head of the Cannabis Wheaton investment fund and former chief financial officer of the Liberal Party of Canada. (PLC).
At 43, the one who is described as the "pot godfather" in Canada sits on a personal fortune that he himself estimates to "more than 100 million", including $ 47.7 million in potato producer shares , according to public financial documents.
He owns a Ferrari 458 red and a Tesla S.
It all started with a first investment of $ 70 in shares in his company Tweed, a pot producer (now Canopy Growth). "I thought I was rich when I made my first $ 500,000," jokes the Ottawa businessman.
Mr. Rifici said today that he continues to work only "for pleasure". "It's a lot less stressful."
Big risks
On the other side of the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Sébastien St-Louis, 34, has a fortune of $ 15.4 million. His company founded in 2013, Hydropothecary, is valued at $ 660 million on the stock market.
The path to get there was not easy. "I almost went broke at least four times. My credit card was used up to $ 30,000.
Stories like that of Rifici and Saint-Louis, who have become millionaires before even a single gram of recreational pot is sold legally, are in the dozens of industries.
Establishing the list of Millionaire Canadians in the pot helps to make the following observations:
The vast majority, 58% (45 out of 77), are from Ontario. Only 4 come from Quebec (5%). Out of 77 millionaires, there are only three women. Wealth is extremely concentrated Speculative bubble ?
The stock market value of pot companies exploded last year as a result of Trudeau government announcements on the upcoming legalization in 2018.
New Brunswicker Denis Arsenault bought a medical cannabis producer in 2014 for $ 1.7 million. Its acquisition, the company Organigram, is worth half a billion dollars today. "It was like going to the casino when I invested in it, at first," he laughs.
Although Canadians are still divided over the legalization of cannabis and the banks are very reluctant to invest in this industry, investors are now jostling to the gates to the point where there is fear of a speculative bubble.
According to several experts, the current frenzy is similar to the tech bubble in the late 1990s, because they are extremely volatile.
"There are companies that are not in cannabis, just saying that they are interested in the industry and boom, their shares are tripling," says portfolio management analyst Ken Lester, president of Lester Asset Management.

• With the collaboration of Marie-Christine Trottier and Andrea Valeria

They roll on gold thanks to their investments in the pot
THE GODFATHER OF THE POT
PHOTO ANNABELLE BLAIS Chuck Rifici has inherited the nickname "godfather" of the pot industry. And for good reason, this 43-year-old Franco-Ontarian estimates his fortune to more than $ 100 million (including at least $ 47.7 million in shares of pot producers, according to public financial documents).
He has two characteristics common to many millionaires in this industry: he is an entrepreneur and he has political connections, particularly with the Liberal Party of Canada (PLC).
In 2013, Mr. Rifici co-founded Tweed, now Canopy Growth, Canada's largest pot company.
Since 2017, he has been CEO of Cannabis Wheaton, an investment firm in pot companies, including producers or manufacturers of accessories. Wheaton has about fifteen partnerships, a huge spider web.
Two ex of the PLC
In parallel, the businessman was also CFO of the PLC from 2011 to 2016.
"Being treasurer of the PLC, it gives credibility when you meet investors for pot," he says. Wheaton's vice president of external affairs, Sarah Bain, was also vice president of communications for the LPC from 2010 to 2013.
Mr. Rifici even believes that the controversy provoked by this situation has helped him to talk about his businesses. "All press is good press," he says.
But this has exacerbated tensions between him and his partner Bruce Linton and Rifici left Tweed in 2014 (see other text).
He is now investing mainly in accessories such as vape. "I believe the future of this industry will be in these value-added products," he says. It's important to have a distribution and production network, but in a Starbuck coffee, it's not the coffee bean that pays the most, "he says.
THE SOCIALIST IN JAGUAR
PIERRE-PAUL POULIN PICTURES Wearing a three-piece suit and cell phone in hand, Bruce Linton, CEO of Canopy Growth, is the image of the successful businessman.
"Because I sell cannabis, people always expect to see a guy in a faded T-shirt," he jokes.
Mr. Linton now heads one of the largest cannabis producers in Canada. He first founded Tweed in 2013 (then joined Canopy Growth) with Chuck Rifici, former CFO of the Liberal Party of Canada.
When asked why there are so many Liberals in the industry, he replies, "I do not know why there are a lot of Liberals in the industry. I'm not. You know what I am? I am a socialist who likes to ride in Jaguar. "
And he has the means to pay for luxury cars. On paper, Mr. Linton's fortune is valued at more than $ 67 million.
Potty drink
In five years, Canopy Growth has acquired 13 cannabis production sites in eight Canadian provinces, including two in Quebec. The company has also developed partnerships to export or cultivate with Australia, Brazil, Germany, Jamaica, Denmark and Chile.
Bruce Linton does not want to stop there. He has a clear vision for the future: to sell a cannabis drink. Canopy has signed an agreement this fall with Constellation, which sells Corona beers.
Linton is already following in the footsteps of Seagram distiller Bronfman family, who made a fortune with alcohol at the end of the prohibition.
"I want to provide a bottle-like format with 12-13% that produces effects after 7 minutes," he says. This is the socially accepted way to be impaired. "
NOT YET MILLIONAIRES, BUT ALMOST
MARTIN ALARIE PHOTO Quebecker Philippe Depault is not yet a millionaire of the pot, but he is about to succeed.
The 26-year-old entrepreneur (left) and his partner Alexandre Lalancette, 23 years old (right) have just sold their cannabis accessories business, Maïtri, for $ 550,000 in addition to an amount of up to 1.2 M $ to be paid to the performance.
Pretty surprising when we know that Maïtri made his first sale in July 2017 only.
Mr. Depault was a cyclist with the Canadian team dreaming of the Olympics until fibromyalgia changed his life in 2013.
No medicine was able to relieve him, except cannabis. He then gave himself the mission to fight against the stigmatization of consumers.
Soon more Quebeckers?
The chemical engineering student started by blogging in the summer of 2016. Then in March 2017, he joined Mr. Lalancette to create neatly designed cannabis accessories with Quebec materials.
"Cannabis is still associated with stoners ," he says. But around me, almost everyone uses cannabis, either once a day or once a year. They are engineers, doctors, lawyers. It was to this clientele that he wanted to address himself. An investor has injected from $ 30,000 to $ 100,000, says Mr. Depault. And in July, the company was about to open a round of financing when Hiku, which owns the DOJA pot producer, made an offer to buy. The agreement was concluded in February.
Mr. Depault hopes to see more Quebeckers in the industry. "We start to feel the wave. "
A QUEBECER WHO SEES BIG
PHOTO ANNABELLE BLAIS When Sébastien St-Louis was younger, his idol was not a hockey player, but Alain Bouchard, the founder of Couche-Tard.
"It's the biggest company in terms of sales in Canada and it [Mr. Bouchard] started with only one store in Quebec. I recognize myself a lot in this story, "he says.
The 34-year-old is describing himself as an entrepreneur who seized the business opportunity of medical cannabis in 2013.
His firm, Hydropothecary, based in Gatineau, is the first licensed pot producer in Quebec. Recently, the company won an agreement to supply 22,000 kg to the Quebec Cannabis Company, the SAQ subsidiary that will market the substance.
With a market capitalization of $ 660,000 million for Hydropothecary, Sébastien St-Louis is sitting on a fortune of more than $ 15.4 million.
But this son of teacher parents has not changed his lifestyle so much, except that he travels more.
"I drove in Grand Am for 12 years. I changed to a 2012 Acura, he says. A Ferrari is not my style. "
Thanks to the family
It must be said that the path of the producer was fraught with difficulties and that the bankruptcy was avoided more than once.
At 16, he already had his own 3D simulation company and he was investing in real estate. With a master's degree in finance from the Université du Québec à Montréal, he later worked at the Business Development Bank of Canada.
In June 2013, at age 29, his friend Maxime Cyr, who worked for Health Canada, told him that the federal government would allow private producers to sell medical cannabis. Sébastien St-Louis had never seen a pot plant before, but he smelled the potential.
He embarked on the project his brother-in-law Adam Miron, a political enthusiast who became involved with the Liberal Party of Canada until 2009.
Unable to get finance from the banks, the two men appealed to friends and family for a first round of private funding in 2013. "With $ 10,000, we could put $ 1.5 million," he said. His parents even mortgaged their home to invest $ 100,000.
"If it did not work, I went bankrupt and lost my house, but there was no longer a couch of friends I could have slept on because I would have lost money to all those I knew, "he says.
Light appeared at the end of the tunnel when Health Canada authorized the company to sell medical pot in 2015.
Big names on the board
In 2016, he approached large families in Quebec looking for partners. Vincent Chiara, a Montreal businessman close to the Saputo family, has agreed to invest several millions in the adventure. He currently sits on the Board and his fortune in the company is valued at $ 25.5 million.
Sébastien St-Louis is also very proud to say that Nathalie Bourque, who serves on Couche-Tard's Board of Directors, has joined Hydropothecary's board since the fall. The convenience store chain has already announced that it wants to sell marijuana.
The boss of Hydropothecary believes that in the near future, there will remain only two or three companies that will be multinational cannabis. "I intend to be a leader from our platform in Quebec," he says.
MUSIC AND POT FOR THE TRAGICALLY HIP
PHOTO COURTESY DAVID BASTEDO Music and cannabis have always been closely linked. Newstrike understands it. For almost a year now, the company that markets Up Cannabis, a pot producer in Ontario, has developed a partnership with The Tragically Hip.
The Canadian rock band is a shareholder in the company and is involved in important marketing decisions.
Their managers, Bernie Breen and Patrick Sambrook, also sit on the company's advisory board. Up Cannabis can, for example, use the band's songs to promote its products or to name its pot varieties.
It is worth $ 20.9 million
"We've approached them because they can help us create a brand and they represent Canada," says Jay Wilgar, CEO of Newstrike.
The latter made a fortune with a wind energy start-up he founded in the early 2000s and sold it to the French multinational GDF Suez in 2010.
In 2013, he launched into cannabis by investing 1.5 million with a partner. Mr. Wilgar is worth about $ 20.9 million today. The Hips' fortune in the business is at least $ 2.2 million
"We did not expect such a large and fast growth in the last year, it's amazing," he says.
The strategy of Up Cannabis is to address Mr. Mrs. Everybody, like the Hips. The company will focus on the recreational and has no medical patient.
MORE PROFITABLE THAN CUCUMBERS
PHOTO COURTESY APHRIA For John Cervini, growing cannabis was a natural extension of his vegetable growing career in Ontario.
"I am the fourth generation of farmers. For 23 years, I ran the family business with my brother, "he says. The company was growing well, but John preferred to leave because the two brothers had different visions.
His friend Cole Cacciavillani, an industrial engineer in agriculture, told him about cannabis in August 2013. The company, Aphria, is one of six producers who signed an agreement to supply Quebec with cannabis through the subsidiary of the SAQ.
"As a farmer, we knew we had a good base for marijuana," says Cervini. It is our specialty to grow plants, we have experience in logistics and large-scale supply, "he says.
He seems to have won his bet. The best-performing stock on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2017 was Aphria, which rose 271%. The fortune of the two founders today stands at more than $ 200 million.
Thanks to Google translation http://www.journaldequebec.com/2018/03/03/au-moins-77-canadiens-millionnaires-grace-au-cannabis

When I was 18 or 19 I felt that being a virgin was still okay; one day I confidently stated this at work--a receiving/shipping air & truck terminal, blue collar work with older union guys who openly talked about sex all the time--and felt extremely shamed at the response I got. In retrospect they weren't judgemental but surprised, and two of them offered to "pay" for me, and I felt insulted and ashamed at that. As I went through my 20's I matured in many ways: I became completely financially responsible for myself, I moved out of Mom's house, I worked my way through college and built a successful career. I was a responsible, productive adult, but I wasn't dating. Although I felt shame from time to time about being a virgin I had an inner confidence that once I started dating things would go well for me; I was overweight but otherwise good looking, and I had the job and finances going my way [insert your own confidences and no-confidences here]; what wasn't to like? At age 27 I finally started dating but constantly got the "let's just be friends" and variants of that. Then I felt something was wrong with me; I was missing something. Here I am, 27, dating, but women aren't going for me. I suddenly felt like I was 14 again: just starting to like girls but clueless about them. It was a very weird feeling to feel so adult and so childish at the same time, and I felt that my lack of experience with women was a large part of why they weren't interested. I was 27 then and they expected me to know how to woo and seduce a woman. I don't know if that's what they all thought, but my 4-year woman date/friend (on and off) definitely has an issue with being my first sexual experience, and I've overheard other conversations of women my age indicating they vastly prefer experienced men. As the years went by into my 30's I became more and more shy and now am deathly afraid of a woman or my peers making me feel ashamed or juvenile if they find out I'm still a virgin. When I was 28 I dated 7 women in that year, but I've dated one in the past two years now.
I don't even talk to anyone about my virginity anymore; at one time I had a female email pen-pal with whom I felt comfortable sharing my feelings and getting her point of view but after a year quit learning from her and felt I was whining all the time, and briefly I shared some inner thoughts with my married sister but felt disrespected in her responses, and I no longer talk about sex or virginity with my 4-year lady friend because I know she would've slept with me by now if she ever wanted to, and conversing with her about sex feels like getting rejected all over again; I feel like she thinks of me as her girlfriend or a neutered guy; if she reinforces her unwillingness to have sex with me it's a direct rejection, but even if she tries to encourage me it's like she's saying "you're not good enough for me, but if you could find someone desperate enough to have sex with you...."
Of course, there are many parts of our society that encourage or even insist that men remain virgins until marriage. This site is not to debate that; if your values or beliefs lead you to stay a virgin I have no problem with that and respect you for it. This site is to help those who are adult frustrated involuntary virgins from feeling so bad.
It's Not As Bad As We Think
I'm about to stop composing for today, but I don't want to end on a whiny, shaming, "I feel bad" mood, because you had that before you read all this. I think a lot of our problem is self-shaming, and I don't think others think our being an older virgin is as bad as we think; I'm beginning to suspect there is a lot of understanding and acceptance available to us if we opened up a bit. Everyone is insecure about something. I am no longer just overweight but obese, yet when I take the time to pull my head out of my ass I realize that people--even women--react very positively to me, and I sense attraction from women. Some of you might think you're ugly or otherwise undesirable, but look around and some of the guys with women and you'll see there is always somebody uglier or less desirable with a woman. Our feelings of insecurity and desperation are self-feeding, and they show through to women; I'm sure of this. When I'm attracted to a woman is when it all falls apart for me. When I'm not feeling that way women are fine and warm with me. I'll bet you're the same way.
I believe that our insecurities sabotage our advances towards women. I think women are very accommodating, but they want us to drive. Some women don't want to deal with an inexperienced lover, but I believe if I approached my 4-year lady friend with straightforward statements of intention and my experience I would've had sex with her, but instead I approached her almost apologetically and almost begging; in retrospect it was like I was asking "please, mommy, can I have some sex?" or "will you teach me to have sex?" I think it would've been much more likely to succeed if I had confidently said something like "I'm a bit nervous about sex, but I want to rub your feet [she likes when I do that], massage your body and see where that leads." Or maybe it would've been better just to do it and not say it.
In short I think if we can accept our virginity and lack of experience yet still proceed with confidence the women will feel relaxed and accommodating and not feel like they have to teach us to be men. Much easier to say than do, of course, but perhaps if we can air out our insecurities here anonymously and get our heads (both of them) on straight we can finally feel confident, loved and accepted.
One of the first things I'm asked whenever I (rarely) tell someone I'm a virgin: "Do you masturbate?" I don't think it's funny when they ask, but it happens every time, and I think that's funny. Maybe that indicates that they aren't judging me but reflect upon their own insecurities and wonder how I can go for long without an orgasm?
I Got Laid!
Well, I got laid. And I'll give you my thoughts before and after, and describe as best I can the experience of losing my virginity to a paid escort in a hotel room in Windsor, Ontario (Canada). This is really long and rambling, and it changes subjects rapidly a few times, but that's what you get. I think I'm more apt to go try to get laid some more rather than refine this. I hope this helps! It's divided into three smaller headlines. If you want the Penthouse Forum fuck'n'suck details right away, jump to paragraphs 5 and 6 after the "Fuck and Tell" headline. I get pretty detailed. But a lot of my thoughts are in here too. In the third headline "Virgin No More" I try to provide encouraging and enlightening thoughts for adult male virgins to consider.
Before: Last Days of Virginity
I've been trying lately to get myself out of the apartment and be more social. I've been getting more and more hermit-like over the past two years, and I'm not getting any younger. Frankly I'm getting fatter, too; it's a cycle that feeds itself: I feel unwanted for being fat, so I stay at home and do less and get fatter. It's a hard battle with myself, and my lack of confidence doesn't help. I put an ad up on Yahoo! Personals and sent a few emails but got no responses!
In the past I never wanted a prostitute. I was mildly curious, but the stigma was too bad, and I didn't think paying a woman to have sex would increase my confidence. In fact I thought paying for sex would decrease it, and I figured I'd then think "gee, I can only get sex if I pay for it." And, of course, in most of the U.S. it's illegal. So the combined stigma, personal feelings, high risk of public embarassment if caught and fear of the scene (disease, drugs, possibly getting robbed) kept me from ever seriously considering it. But recently I started trying to learn more about it. It's really hard to find that sort of info! For a couple of weeks I had no solid info, then I found the World Sex Guide web site. It includes forums where guys post their experiences with prostitutes including prices, tips and such. I read and read and read and got a better idea of what the costs, procedures and risks would be for given areas. Many of these guys are "sex tourists" or "hobbyists" who regularly visit prostitutes. Some are single and some are married or otherwise in a relationship. Even here I found no info about losing your virginity to a prostitute, but you can't have everything, can you? For more general prostitute info and links, go to my American Prostitution freesite linked below.
Reading about the hows, wheres, costs and risks of prostitution took much of the fear of the unknown away. And I found out that outcall prostitution is legal in Canada, and in fact the escorts register with the state! I decided that since I'm not getting any younger, and I'm not making progress towards dating or having sex I would start seriously considering paying a prostitute. For various cost, referral and risk reasons, my three preferred options were to hire a local outcall girl to come to my house ($300/hr), drive to another state that seems to not be cracking down on some strip clubs offering sex in the back rooms ($90/half hour or orgasm, whichever first) and driving to Canada, getting a room and hiring an outcall escort (legal, $150-$300 per hour Canadian = $107-$214 US, plus gas, tolls and hotel, hotel rates vary, 2-3 hour rates available). I decided I wanted a girl who would not make me feel rushed or hurt my ego in any way, so I decided Canada was the way to go because the girls' contact information and reputation are fully public because they are legal and registered. I picked an independent escort (as opposed to an agency) that seemed well-recommended and relatively cheap to boot. I emailed her and told her where I was from, how I heard of her and that I was looking to lose my virginity in hopes of lifting my confidence and increasing my sex drive. I told her I'd like to come up on my day off. She emailed back and was pretty friendly but said she had a cold and was taking the weekend off. She did ask me to let her know if I could come up later.
Fuck and Tell: The Gory Details
By now I had pretty much psyched myself into doing it. I really didn't need to spend the $300 or so on the trip, but like I said I'm not getting any younger. I thought I might change my mind between days off, but I didn't. I made up my mind to do it. I emailed her a day ahead of time and told her I was coming up and asked if she was avaialbe. Unfortunately I didn't get an answer before I left the next morning, but I went anyway. If I were to do it over again, I would plan farther ahead, reserve a room ahead of time and reserve the escort's time ahead of time and make sure I left with several hours to spare. Food for thought if anyone follows in my tracks, but as you'll see it worked out okay for me this time. As I drove I realized it was a Friday and probably one of her busiest days. I had hoped to get there by early afternoon, but I left so late I'd be lucky to get there by 6pm. I called her from what I thought was three hours away and made the appointment. She sounded quiet and shy when answering the phone, and I wasn't quite sure how to handle the situation; I felt very self conscious sitting at a phone booth and making an appointment to pay for sex. Of course I was nervous too, and I got the feeling she was nervous bout meeting someone new. I identified myself and she recognized my name from the emails. Anyway I kept the call very short and we estimated that the appointment would be at 7pm. I decided to get two hours to be sure I wasn't rushed and in hopes of trying everytyhing out and having sex several times.
I was running it much closer on time than I thought and didn't have a cell phone. It takes time to get accross the US/Canada border, but not too much. I had decided on staying overnight, and she suggested the casino (Casino Windosr) hotel saying it was comparably priced to the rest. I found the casino, parked in the garage, walked in and tried to get a room. It was about 6:55pm and they were fully booked! I called the escort again and told her the situation and that I'd call her back in a few minutes when I found a hotel. She gave another suggestion, and I went to the Concierge and got some more suggestions, one of which was a 3-block walk. I walked instead of drove because I figured it would be much faster than getting lost and parking. I booked the room, went to it and called the escort; it was now about 7:15pm and we agreed that she'd come by in about 30 minutes. I told her I was going to shower even though I had already showered just before I left. I wanted to be super-clean. I used the restroom and the toilet clogged. Then I realized I broght shaving cream but no razor, a toothbrush but no toothpaste, no comb or brush and no underwear other than what I was wearing. Basically by this time I felt rushed and stupid, and everything was falling apart. I got a razor and toothpaste from the hotel and showered thoroughly and then called hotel maintenance to unclog the toilet figuring we would need it at some point over the next two hours.
The escort arrived; I'll make up a name for her because it's getting old typing "the escort" and it's very impersonal, and I'm about to describe fucking her. She's legal and registered so I could use her real name (or at least the name she gave me), but I'm not going to mainly to be sure my identity is protected. Her name is now Jane, okay? So, Jane arrives at 8pm, later than she said, but I was late, too, and the damn maintenance guy wasn't there yet. I had seen photos of her on the internet, but for some reason her face was erased in her photos; some of the escorts did that. I wasn't expecting a model face, but she was prettier than I expected. Most of the escorts aren't young and skinny, and the ones that are charged more. Jane wasn't skinny, but I wouldn't call her fat. She was in her mid 30's. Everything but the face I knew about beforehand. She had a yellow sun dress (I think that's what it was) on. I greeted her, asked her in and asked her to have a seat. I had read other reviews that she hugged guys when greeting, but she didn't with me. I told her that I was expecting the maintenance guy because the toilet was clogged; I called the front desk again and they said he'd be right up.
I apologized for being late and apologized because I was afraid I sounded curt on the phone. She started some "getting to know you" small talk, and we talked about my work, her work and some other things I can't recall right away. The maintence guy showed up during the small talk and fixed the toilet and left. I told her--in person this time--about why I hired her and how I felt little confidence with other women. Well, enough of that crap, let's get on with the Penthouse Forum part of the story. Suffice to say it took us a few minutes to get comfortable with each other an she expressed that she gets nervous meeting new clients because she never knows what to expect behaviorally. Okay, one more thing I haven't mentioned yet: She knew I was heavy and had seen pictures of me when I emailed her because I wanted to be sure that wasn't a problem, and it wasn't. One more "one more thing": I counted the money out and put it on the dresser because I read that's what you do. I had it out before she came but put it away until the maintenance guy left, then took it out before we got down to business.
I wasn't sure quite how to get started, but she must've sensed that becase she said "well, I guess we should get started". I stammered a bit and said "I'm all for that" but couldn't quite figure out what to say or do next. I told her "I'll let you start because I don't know how to." She said "lets take our clothes off" and started taking hers off. I took of mine and helped her with her zipper. She told me to lie down on the bed and I did. She was wearing a black lacey bra and panty combination and asked if I wanted them on or off; I was trying to decide and she took them off. She had a shaved pussy and had a pierced belly button. Her tits weren't as shapely or large as most strippers or porn stars, but I wasn't complaining.
I was somewhat nervous, but not so much that it paralized me. I had the knowledge that we were going to fuck and my looks and performance didn't matter and that took a lot of the anxiety away. She laid in bed next to me with her naked body against mine. She said "hi" and I said "it's nice to meet you." She laid on top of me and kissed me quite a bit. She then worked her way down by chest and belly to my balls, rubbing her hands and nails all over me and rubbing her tits on my cock while it got hard--that didn't take long! When I was hard she started licking my balls. Oh my God that felt great! (When masturbating I've never played with my balls much; this was quite a new sensation.) She put as much of her tounge as she could on my balls and licked up and around them. I could feel the texture of her tounge. She licked from the back of my sack near my anus up. Wow. You gotta try that...never felt anything like that when masturbating. She said she could taste the soap and I apologized, but she laughed and said that was fine and it smelled nice, and I figured better soap than shit. Make a note to rinse very thoroughly when bathing before sex. She licked my balls for a while and ran her nails over my lower belly and on my upper inner thighs near my anus. That area is quite sensitive and I've never stimulated it before...I gotta remember to try that on women in the future as it must feel good to them, too.
She got a flavored condom (she brought them) and put it on me. It was cherry flavored and I laughed and said that was appropriate. She laughed too because I don't think she planned it that way. She put the condom on me and went down on me. That felt really good; I felt her lips and tongue and even her teeth! I just barely felt her teeth gently gliding along and they felt very nice...I assume that was intentional, but maybe all blowjobs are like that. I kept finding myself closing my eyes and enjoying the pleasure then reminding myself to open them and look at this woman sucking my dick! It was nice seeing a woman there, ass up in the air so pretty and all real not imagined.
I had previously wondered how long I would last before ejaculating when having sex. I had read that many men only last 1-3 minutes. I could masturbate for 10-30 minutes, sometimes more, but I had read one guy somewhere saying that he could masturbate a long time but comes quickly when fucking. I didn't know what to expect, but she told me before we started that men she's been with before who've either been virgins or married and not fucking thier wives for years can't always come with her, and that they have to masturbate to finish. Sure enough, the blowjob felt great but I never felt close to coming. But it still felt great!
After a few minutes of her sucking my dick she sat up and said "are your ready for some screwing?" Hell yeah. She asked me what position, and I said lets start with her on her back. I'm fat and I knew I couldn't lie on top of her, and this was one of my concerns about sex with women, so I was eager to figure out how I'd manage to fuck. She laid on her back and spread her legs. I resisted the idea to play doctor and get a close look at what a real twat looks like up close, but I did rub my finger around her pussy lips a bit and between them. She liked that. I was slightly concerned about getting my dick in her because my belly was starting to look really big and in the way, but it wasn't a problem and I penetrated with a little hand guidance from her. (I'm fat enough where I can't quite see my dick go in.)
Wow guys, pussy feels great! I mean it really feels good! It's like it's made to please our cocks or something. (Oh yeah.) I've masturbated with various sex toys including a Cyberskin pussy, but there's no substitute for the real thing. It felt hot inside--not just warm--and it felt like there were muscles at the opening of her vagina squeezing my cock gently. I was very slow and gentle at first, trying to figure out how best to put my hips, hands and knees to support myself and get the deepest penetration. I can tell sex would be more fun without my big belly in the way, but it's definitely possible and pleasurable to fuck when you're fat. I'm not sure how to describe the feeling of my cock deep inside her. Squishy, warm and soft don't really seem to get the point across. It feels great, but I'm sure it would've felt better without the condom. (Would NEVER go condomless with a prostitute, though.) She seemed to enjoy the fucking and told me several times that felt good. I tried some shallow thrusts and some deep thrusts, but all fairly slowly. It felt really good but I still wasn't close to coming. Again I kept finding myself closing my eyes and savoring the feelings like I do when I masturbate, except that this time I don't have to pretend that I'm fucking a woman because I know it's real. I kept reminding myself to open my eyes and look at her. Her body below me, her legs out to the side and behind me, her tits bouncing gently as I thrust. A couple of times I pulled a bit far back and came partway out and didn't go back in smoothly. I asked her if that hurt and she said no.
I want to talk a bit about my frame of mind. It wasn't like "Yippee, yeehah I'm fucking, I'm getting laid!" like I thought it would be. It was kind of surreal. I frequently felt like I wasn't excited enough. I was telling myself (in my head) "hey, you're in bed with a naked woman fucking her just like you always wanted, shouldn't you be more excited?" And I'd answer myself "yeah? so? I like it. Big whoop." I mean I was excited, but not in the way you are at a football game when you're screaming for the home team. I don't think I'm getting the point across well. I guess it's more like when you're watching an X-rated film and get horny and masturbate. It's all exciting eye-candy before and during masturbation, but after I come I get bored and turn the movie off. When fucking her I wasn't bored, but I was enjoying the feeling of her pussy around my cock and the feel of her skin on mine and her hands and nails running over my body. So my sexual excitement while fucking was a more mellow thing than the "ride-em cowboy" porn films sometimes portray. But I'm not complaining or saying that's a bad thing. It compares more to enjoying great food. You don't jump up and down and scream "YEAH! Fuckin' great steak!" but you sit there and savor the flavors and the moment. That's what sexual excitement was like for me; it was being mellow enough to feel all the sensations of her pussy and body against me while being energetic enough to thrust in and out.
She told me ahead of time that there's no trick to it, just do what feels good and experiment with each other, and that's what we did as I pumped her and tried a few different adjustments and she moved her hips and legs here or there. After a while I told her I wanted to try doggie style. She got on all fours and put her legs wide. For some reason I had expected my legs to straddle hers, but she told me to put my legs closer together and said if I wasn't tall enough that I might have to stand. I was surprised since I'm a tall guy and she was a short girl. I expected that I'd be too tall, but nope. I put my legs almost together and she had to help me put it in again. We did that for a little bit, but I couldn't penetrate as deeply in that position and I didn't really have a place to lean because I figured I was too heavy to put my hands on her backside and lean.
We didn't doggie for very long, and I said I wanted to try something else but wasn't sure what yet. She told me to lie down on my back, and I said "oh yeah!" realizing that she was going to mount me and ride me. She said her legs were short and she wasn't sure if this was going to work, but it worked pretty well. I don't remember that part much for some reason; I don't think that lasted very long, but I can't recall how good the penetration was. (For me the deeper penetration feels better; I like her pussy grip as close to the base of my cock as possible, but it all feels good, really.)
I think I remember now. I think that's when I asked her about how long most guys last and if I was a tough customer. She didn't really answer directly but we acknowledged that my long-term hand masturbation made it difficult to come with her. I assured her I was enjoying everything very much though. She got off me and started sucking my dick and licking my balls again it felt great and lasted quite a while, and she was frequently bobbing her head up and down quickly. It felt great, but I still wasn't close to coming. Not really a problem for me since I was enjoying everything and getting my ego pumped up at how long I was lasting, but I started wondering if she was getting tired of bobbing up and down on me. I kept thinking about asking her if she needed a break or wanted to fuck some more but it felt good and I felt like I didn't want to interrupt her.
She finally sat up and said "I need a drink of water" and I told her I was wondering if I should give her a break. So we both drank some water. She sat cross-legged on the bed with a pillow in her lap, and I laid beside her and we talked some more. We talked a bit about our fucking and some other things. My cock was staying hard but finally started deflating a bit after a while. I said "uh-oh, I'm going down" and she started sucking it again and perked it right back up. She licked and sucked, but I really wanted to fuck her some more but was a bit shy about asking and couldn't figure out how to ask nicely, so I finally said "I'd like to screw you, but I can't figure out a nice way to ask." She laughed and said there really isn't a nice way and laid down.
I was able to put my dick in her myself this time, and I once again savored her pussy. I fucked slowly for a bit, and then went faster. I went deeper and faster, and she was into it and I was into it. I went what I thought was all-out, but I'm sure I could've pumped harder if I wanted to. She reached up an braced agains the headboard to keep from slipping, and I pumped and pumped away. I started feeling a tingling in my loins as her pussy muscles slid and gripped, and the base of my cock felt more excited and I realized I was probably going to be able to come. I had actually started worrying about not being able to come with her and briefly wondered about whether about my virgin status if I fucked her but didn't come, but that was a brief thought that went away because we were having too much fun. But it was good to know I could last long and still come with a woman. So I continued pumping quickly and firmly as deeply as I could, and her breathing changed and she moaned a bit. (When masturbating a woman moaning always gets me hotter, but it really didn't seem to affect me this time, but maybe that's because my dick was in her already and I was already fully stimulated.) Her moans and breathing got really erradic, and I wondered if she orgasmed, and I wondered if I should ask her and/or slow down and/or stop, but I just kept going because my loins and the base of my cock were tingling more and more and I wanted to fill that condom while pumping her. My breathing had been getting heavier and heavier and I was now grunting and moaning at times but just enjoying the animal pleasure of it. In the past when I've used a fake pussy to masturbate the head of my cock gets really sensitive and I have to stop thrusting as I come, but usally with the toy I'm not using a condom. I really wanted to fuck this girl and come while pumping but was afraid I'd have to stop or even withdraw. But I kept pumping and feeling and hoping as the tension rose and I could feel the orgasm coming. She wasn't as active now so I think she came but wasn't sure. The pressure built up and I pumped and pumped and came inside her (with condom on) and was able to thrust while coming and it felt terrific. I slowed a bit because I didn't want the condom to break or leak, and I sat there a few seconds inside her with the after-jerks of my orgasm slowing down and enjoying the warmth and sudden silence. I wanted to sit like that for a while, but I think you need to grab the condom and pull out in case your dick goes soft inside her and starts leaking jizz. So I grabbed the condom at the base of my cock and pulled out.
Okay, I did feel a bit triumphant at that moment. I was happy that I came, and I was thrilled that I went so long before coming. I think we fucked and sucked for an hour or more before I came, but it wasn't constant stimulation of course. Still, at that moment I felt like I could pleasure any woman. I'm sure we said something to each other but don't remember what. We both got up and got another drink of water, and I laid on the bed feeling very mellow and relaxed and not really wanting to move or do anything; it wasn't being tired from the physical activity or sleepy, but just a very mellow and relaxed feeling where I just wanted to lie there and space out and feel good. I was hoping to fuck her again, but at the time I couldn't imagine being able to get it up again before our time was up. She came out from the restroom and we talked a bit more, and it was now 9:30pm. She started getting dressed, and I thought it was a bit odd since she arrived at 8pm, but I was too happy, mellow, grateful and incapable of fucking to make an issue of it. I got dressed, too and helped her with her zipper. As we talked she got the money and made her way to the door. We hugged two or three times while talking, thanking and saying goodbye and she left.
I thought it a bit odd that she left after 90 minutes when I paid her for two hours, especially since many guys had posted that the Canadian women, and this one in particular, didn't "watch the clock" when servicing and frequently stayed a little longer. But then I realized the original appointment was for 7pm and I was the late one, so another point of view might say that she stayed 30 minutes extra, and it was a Friday night, and she was probably trying to make another appointment. So no hard feelings on my part.
After: Virgin No More
.........

Rapid City Journal (RCJ) - January 21st Edition
1965–1970: Early career Influenced by early-rock-and-roll and rhythm-and-blues artists, including groups such as The Beatles, The Drifters and The Four Seasons, he favored tightly-structured pop melodies and down-to-earth, unpretentious songwriting.[20]
After seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, Joel decided to pursue a career in music. In an interview he said of the group's impact, "That one performance changed my life … Up to that moment I'd never considered playing rock as a career. And when I saw four guys who didn't look like they'd come out of the Hollywood star mill, who played their own songs and instruments, and especially because you could see this look in John Lennon's face – and he looked like he was always saying: 'F--- you!' – I said: 'I know these guys, I can relate to these guys, I am these guys.' This is what I'm going to do – play in a rock band'."[21]
Joel joined the Echoes,[22] a group that specialized in British Invasion covers. The Echoes began recording in 1965. Joel (then 16) also played piano on several records released through Kama Sutra Productions and on recordings produced by Shadow Morton. Joel played on a demo version of "Leader of the Pack", which would become a major hit for the Shangri-Las.[23] Joel states that in 1964 he played on a recording of the Shangri-Las' "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" but he is unaware of whether he played on the demo or master version;[24] The released single included a co-producer credit for Artie Ripp,[25] who later was the first to sign and produce Joel as a solo artist after Michael Lang, who had given Joel a monetary advance, passed Joel along to Ripp to focus his attentions elsewhere instead.[26]
In late 1965, the Echoes changed their name to the Emeralds and then to the Lost Souls. Joel left the band in 1967 to join the Hassles, a Long Island group that had signed with United Artists Records.[27] Over the next year and a half they released four singles and two albums (The Hassles and Hour of the Wolf). All were commercial failures. Joel and drummer Jon Small left the Hassles in 1969 to form the duo Attila, releasing an eponymous debut album in July 1970. The duo disbanded the following October when Joel began an affair with Small's wife, Elizabeth, whom Joel eventually married.[28]
1970–1974: Cold Spring Harbor and Piano Man Joel signed a contract with the record company Family Productions (owned by Artie Ripp but backed by Gulf + Western[29]), with which he recorded his first solo album, Cold Spring Harbor (a reference to Cold Spring Harbor, New York, a town on Long Island). Ripp states that he spent $450,000 developing Joel;[29] nevertheless, the album was mastered at the wrong speed and as a result, the album was a technical and commercial disappointment.[30]
The popular songs "She's Got a Way" and "Everybody Loves You Now" were originally released on this album, but went largely unnoticed until being released as live performances on Songs in the Attic (1981). Columbia released a remastered version of Cold Spring Harbor in 1983.
Joel began his Cold Spring Harbor tour in the fall of 1971, touring with his band (Rhys Clark on drums, Al Hertzberg on guitar, and Larry Russell on bass guitar) throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico, opening for groups such as the J. Geils Band, The Beach Boys, Badfinger, and Taj Mahal. Joel's performance at the Puerto Rican Mar Y Sol Pop Festival was especially well-received; and although recorded, Joel refused to have it published on the Mar Y Sol compilation album Mar Y Sol: The First International Puerto Rico Pop Festival. Nevertheless, interest in his music grew.[31]
During the spring of 1972, the Philadelphia radio station WMMR-FM began playing a concert recording of "Captain Jack", which became an underground hit on the East Coast. Herb Gordon, a Columbia Records executive, heard Joel's music and introduced him to the company. Joel signed a recording contract with Columbia in 1972 and moved to Los Angeles; he lived there for the next three years.[1][32] For six months he worked at The Executive Room piano bar on Wilshire Boulevard as "Bill Martin". During that time, he composed his signature hit "Piano Man" about the bar's patrons.[33]
Despite Joel's new contract, he was still legally bound to Family Productions. Artie Ripp sold Joel's first contract to Columbia. Walter Yetnikoff, the president of CBS/Columbia Records at the time, bought back the rights to Joel's songs in the late 1970s, giving the rights to Joel as a birthday gift.[34][35] Yetnikoff notes in the documentary film The Last Play at Shea that he had to threaten Ripp to close the deal.
Joel's first album with Columbia was Piano Man, released in 1973. Despite modest sales, Piano Man's title track became his signature song, ending nearly every concert. That year Joel's touring band changed. Guitarist Al Hertzberg was replaced by Don Evans, and bassist Larry Russell by Patrick McDonald, himself replaced in late 1974 by Doug Stegmeyer, who would stay with Joel until 1989. Rhys Clark returned as drummer and Tom Whitehorse as banjoist and pedal steel player; Johnny Almond joined as saxophonist and keyboardist. The band toured the US and Canada extensively, appearing on popular music shows. Joel's songwriting began attracting more attention; in 1974 Helen Reddy recorded "You're My Home" (Piano Man).
1974–1977: Streetlife Serenade and Turnstiles In 1974, Joel recorded his second Columbia album in Los Angeles, Streetlife Serenade. His manager at the time was Jon Troy, an old friend from the New York neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant; Troy would soon be replaced by Joel's wife Elizabeth.[36] Streetlife Serenade contains references to suburbia and the inner city. It is perhaps best known for "The Entertainer", a No. 34 hit in the US. Upset that "Piano Man" had been significantly cut for radio play, Joel wrote "The Entertainer" as a sarcastic response: "If you're gonna have a hit, you gotta make it fit, so they cut it down to 3:05." Although Streetlife Serenade is often considered[by whom?] one of Joel's weaker albums (Joel dislikes it himself), it contains the notable songs "Los Angelenos" and "Root Beer Rag", an instrumental that was a staple of his live set in the 1970s.
In late 1975, Joel played piano and organ on several tracks on Bo Diddley's The 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll all-star album.
Disenchanted with Los Angeles, Joel returned to New York City in 1975 and recorded Turnstiles, the first album he recorded with the group of hand-picked musicians who became the Billy Joel Band. Produced by James William Guercio (then Chicago's producer), Turnstiles was first recorded at Caribou Ranch with members of Elton John's band. Dissatisfied with the result, Joel re-recorded the songs and produced the album himself.
"Say Goodbye to Hollywood" was a minor hit; Ronnie Spector recorded a cover as did Nigel Olsson, then drummer with Elton John. In a 2008 radio interview, Joel said that he no longer performs the song because singing it in its high original key "shreds" his vocal cords; however, he did finally play it live for the first time since 1982 when he sang it at the Hollywood Bowl in May 2014. Though never released as a single, "New York State of Mind" became one of Joel's best-known songs; Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett have each recorded covers (Bennett's a duet with Joel on Playing with My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues). Other notable songs from the album include "Summer, Highland Falls", "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)", "Say Goodbye to Hollywood", (a live version of which became a Top 40 hit), and "Prelude/Angry Young Man", a concert mainstay.
1977–1979: The Stranger and 52nd Street Columbia Records introduced Joel to Phil Ramone, who would produce all of Joel's studio albums from The Stranger (1977) to The Bridge (1986). The Stranger was an enormous commercial success, yielding four Top-25 hits on the Billboard charts: "Just the Way You Are" (#3), "Movin' Out" (#17), "Only the Good Die Young" (#24), and "She's Always a Woman" (#17). Joel's first Top Ten album, The Stranger was certified multi-platinum and reached number two on the charts, outselling Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge over Troubled Water,[37] Columbia's previous best-selling album. The Stranger also featured "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", an album-oriented rock classic, which has become one of his best-known songs.
The Stranger song "Just the Way You Are" — written for Joel's first wife, Elizabeth Weber[38] — was inspired by a dream[39] and won Grammy awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.[40] On tour in Paris, Joel learned the news late at night in his hotel room.[22] Rolling Stone ranked The Stranger the 70th greatest album of all time.[41]
Expectations were high for Joel's next album, 52nd Street, which he released in 1978, naming it after Manhattan's famous 52nd Street, which, at the time of its release, served as the world headquarters of CBS/ Columbia. The album sold over seven million copies, propelled to number one on the charts by the following hits: "My Life" (#3); followed successes from the album were "Big Shot" (#14), and "Honesty" (#24). A cover of "My Life" (sung by Gary Bennett) became the theme song for a new television sitcom, Bosom Buddies, which featured actor Tom Hanks in one of his earliest roles. 52nd Street won Grammy awards for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male and Album of the Year.
In 1979, Joel also traveled to Havana, Cuba, to participate in the historic Havana Jam festival that took place between March 2–4, alongside Rita Coolidge, Kris Kristofferson, Stephen Stills, the CBS Jazz All-Stars, the Trio of Doom, Fania All-Stars, Billy Swan, Bonnie Bramlett, Mike Finnegan, Weather Report, and an array of Cuban artists such as Irakere, Pacho Alonso, Tata Güines and Orquesta Aragón.[42] His performance is captured in Ernesto Juan Castellanos's documentary Havana Jam '79.
1979–1983: Glass Houses and The Nylon Curtain The success of his piano-driven ballads like "Just the Way You Are", "She's Always a Woman", and "Honesty" led some critics to label Joel a "balladeer" and "soft rocker". Joel thought these labels were unfair and insulting, and with Glass Houses, he tried to record an album that proved that he could rock harder than his critics gave him credit for, occasionally imitating and referring to the style of new wave rock music that was starting to become popular at the time. On the front cover of the album, Joel is pictured in a leather jacket, about to throw a rock at a glass house (referring to the adage that "people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones").
Glass Houses spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard chart and yielded such hits as "You May Be Right" (used as the theme song, covered by Southside Johnny, for the CBS mid-1990s sitcom Dave's World) (#7, May 1980), "Don't Ask Me Why" (#19, September 1980), "Sometimes a Fantasy" (#36, November 1980) and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me", which became Joel's first Billboard number-one single (for two weeks) in July 1980. "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" spent 11 weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and was the 7th biggest hit of 1980 according to American Top 40.
Glass Houses won the Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male. It would also win the American Music Award for Favorite Album, Pop/Rock category. The album's closing song, "Through The Long Night" (B-side of the "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me" single), was a lullaby that featured Joel harmonizing with himself in a song he says was inspired by The Beatles' "Yes It Is".[31] In a recorded Masterclass at the University of Pennsylvania, Joel later recollected that he had written to the Beatles asking them how to get started in the music industry. In response, he received a pamphlet about Beatles merchandise. This later led to the idea of Joel conducting Q&A sessions around the world answering questions that people had about the music industry.[43]
His next release, Songs in the Attic, was composed of live performances of less well-known songs from the beginning of his career. It was recorded during larger US arenas and intimate night club shows in June and July 1980. This release introduced many fans, who discovered Joel when The Stranger became a smash in 1977, to many of his earlier compositions. The album reached No. 8 on the Billboard chart and produced two hit singles: "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (#17), and "She's Got a Way" (#23). It sold over 3 million copies. Though not as successful as some of his previous albums, the album was still considered a success by Joel.[31]
The next wave of Joel's career commenced with the recording of his next studio album, The Nylon Curtain. With The Nylon Curtain, Joel became more ambitious with his songwriting, trying his hand at writing topical songs like "Allentown" and "Goodnight Saigon". Joel has stated that he wanted the album to communicate his feelings about the American Dream and how changes in American politics during the Reagan years meant that "all of a sudden you weren't going to be able to inherit [the kind of life] your old man had."[44] He also tried to be more ambitious in his use of the recording studio. Joel said that he wanted to "create a sonic masterpiece" on The Nylon Curtain. So he spent more time in the studio, crafting the sound of the album, than he had on any previous album.[44] Production of The Nylon Curtain began in the fall of 1981. However, production was temporarily delayed when Joel was involved in a serious motorcycle accident on Long Island on April 15, 1982, severely injuring his hands. Still, Joel quickly recovered from his injuries, and the album only ended up being delayed by a few months.[45]
In 1982, he embarked on a brief tour in support of the album. From one of the final shows of the tour, Joel made his first video special, Live from Long Island, which was recorded at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on December 30, 1982. It was originally broadcast on HBO in 1983 before it became available on VHS.
The Nylon Curtain went to No. 7 on the charts, partially due to heavy airplay on MTV for the videos to the singles "Allentown" and "Pressure". "Allentown" spent six weeks at a peak position of No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it one of the most-played radio songs of 1982, pushing it into 1983's year-end Top 70, and making it the most successful song from The Nylon Curtain album, besting "Pressure" which peaked at No. 20 (where it resided for three weeks) and "Goodnight Saigon" which reached No. 56 on U.S. charts.[46]
1983–1988: An Innocent Man and The Bridge Joel's next album moved away from the serious themes of The Nylon Curtain and struck a much lighter tone. The album An Innocent Man was Joel's tribute to R&B and doo wop music of the 1950s and 1960s and resulted in Joel's second Billboard number-one hit, "Tell Her About It", which was the first single off the album in the summer of 1983. The album itself reached No. 4 on the charts and No. 2 in UK. It also boasted six top-30 singles, the most of any album in Joel's catalog. The album was well received by critics, with Stephen Thomas Erlewine, senior editor for AllMusic, describing Joel as being "in top form as a craftsman throughout the record, effortlessly spinning out infectious, memorable melodies in a variety of styles."[47]
At the time that the album was released, WCBS-FM began playing "Uptown Girl" both in regular rotation and on the Doo Wop Live.[48][49] The song became a worldwide hit upon its release. The music video of the song, originally written about then girlfriend Elle MacPherson, featured future wife Christie Brinkley as a high society girl, whose car pulls into the gas station where Joel's character is working. At the end of the video, Joel's "grease monkey" character drives off with his "uptown girl" on the back of a motorcycle. When Brinkley went to visit Joel after being asked to star in the video, the first thing Joel said to her upon opening his door was "I don't dance". Brinkley had to walk him through the basic steps he does in the video. Their work together on this video shoot sparked a relationship between the two which would later lead to their marriage in 1985.[50]
In December, the title song, "An Innocent Man", was released as a single and it peaked at No. 10 in the U.S. and No. 8 in the UK, early in 1984. That March, "The Longest Time" was released as a single, peaking at No. 14 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. That summer, "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" was released and it hit No. 27 while "Keeping the Faith" peaked at No. 18 in January 1985. In the video for "Keeping the Faith", Christie Brinkley also plays the "redhead girl in a Chevrolet". An Innocent Man was also nominated for the Album of the Year Grammy, but lost to Michael Jackson's Thriller.
Joel participated in the USA For Africa We Are The World project in 1985, capping off a series of successful singles.
Following the success of An Innocent Man, Joel was asked about releasing an album of his most successful singles. This was not the first time this topic had come up, but Joel had initially considered "Greatest Hits" albums as marking the end of one's career. This time he agreed, and Greatest Hits Vol. 1 and 2 was released as a four-sided album and two-CD set, with the songs in the order in which they were released. The new songs "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" and "The Night Is Still Young" were recorded and released as singles to support the album; both reached the top 40, peaking at No. 9 and No. 34, respectively. Greatest Hits was highly successful and it has since been certified double diamond by the RIAA, with over 11.5 million copies (23 million units) sold. It is one of the best-selling albums in American music history, according to the RIAA.
Coinciding with the Greatest Hits album release, Joel released a two-volume Video Album that was a compilation of the promotional videos he had recorded from 1977 to the present time. Along with videos for the new singles off the Greatest Hits album, Joel also recorded a video for his first hit, "Piano Man", for this project.
Though it broke into the top ten, Joel's next album, The Bridge (1986), did not achieve the level of success of his previous albums, but it yielded the hits "A Matter of Trust" and "Modern Woman" from the film Ruthless People, a dark comedy from the directors of Airplane! (both #10). In a departure from his "piano man" persona, Joel is shown in the video playing a Gibson Les Paul. The ballad "This is the Time" also charted, peaking at No. 18.
On November 18, 1986, an extended version of the song "Big Man on Mulberry Street" was used on a Season 3 episode of Moonlighting. The episode itself was also titled "Big Man on Mulberry Street".
The Bridge was Joel's last album to carry the Family Productions logo, after which he severed his ties with Artie Ripp. Joel has also stated in many interviews, most recently in a 2008 interview in Performing Songwriter magazine, that he does not think The Bridge is a good album.
In October 1986, Joel and his handlers started planning a trip to the Soviet Union. He became one of the first American rock acts to play there since the Berlin Wall went up, a fact not lost on history buff Joel.[51] There were live performances at indoor arenas in Moscow, Leningrad and Tbilisi. Joel, his family (including young daughter Alexa), and his full touring band made the trip in August 1987. The entourage was filmed for television and video to offset the cost of the trip, and the concerts were simulcast on radio around the world. Joel's Russian tour was the first live rock radio broadcast in Soviet history.[52]
Most of that audience took a long while to warm up to Joel's energetic show, something that had never happened in other countries he had performed in. According to Joel, each time the fans were hit with the bright lights, anybody who seemed to be enjoying themselves froze. In addition, people who were "overreacting" were removed by security.[53] It was during this concert that Joel, enraged by the bright lights, flipped his electric piano and snapped a microphone stand while continuing to sing the current part of the set.[54] He later apologized for that incident.
The album КОНЦЕРТ (Russian for "Concert") was released in October 1987. Singer Pete Hewlett was brought in to hit the high notes on his most vocally challenging songs, like "An Innocent Man". Joel also did versions of The Beatles' classic "Back in the U.S.S.R." and Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are a-Changin". It has been estimated that Joel lost more than $1 million of his own money on the trip and concerts, but he has said the goodwill he was shown there was well worth it.[31]
1988–1993: Storm Front and River of Dreams The recording of the album Storm Front, which commenced in 1988, coincided with major changes in Joel's career and inaugurated a period of serious upheaval in his business affairs. In August 1989, just before the album was released, Joel dismissed his manager (and former brother-in-law) Frank Weber after an audit revealed major discrepancies in Weber's accounting. Joel subsequently sued Weber for $90 million, claiming fraud and breach of fiduciary duty and in January 1990 he was awarded $2 million in a partial judgment against Weber; in April, the court dismissed a $30 million countersuit filed by Weber.[55]
The first single for the album, "We Didn't Start the Fire", was released in September 1989 and it became Joel's third and – to date – most-recent US number-one hit, spending two weeks at the top. Storm Front was released in October, and it eventually became Joel's first number-one album since Glass Houses, nine years earlier. Storm Front was Joel's first album since Turnstiles to be recorded without Phil Ramone as producer. For this album, he wanted a new sound, and worked with Mick Jones of Foreigner fame. Joel is also credited as one of the keyboard players on Jones' 1988 self-titled solo album, and is featured in the official video for Jones' single "Just Wanna Hold"; Joel can be seen playing the piano while his then-wife Christie Brinkley joins him and kisses him. Joel also revamped his backing band, dismissing everyone but drummer Liberty DeVitto, guitarist David Brown, and saxophone player Mark Rivera, and bringing in new faces, including multi-instrumentalist Crystal Taliefero.
Storm Front's second single, "I Go to Extremes" reached No. 6 in early 1990. The album was also notable for its song "Leningrad", written after Joel met a clown in the Soviet city of that name during his tour in 1987, and "The Downeaster Alexa", written to underscore the plight of fishermen on Long Island who are barely able to make ends meet. Another well-known single from the album is the ballad "And So It Goes" (#37 in late 1990). The song was originally written in 1983, around the time Joel was writing songs for An Innocent Man; but "And So It Goes" did not fit that album's retro theme, so it was held back until Storm Front. Joel said in a 1996 Masterclass session in Pittsburgh that Storm Front was a turbulent album and that "And So It Goes", as the last song on the album, portrayed the calm and tranquility that often follows a violent thunderstorm.
In the summer of 1992, Joel filed another $90 million lawsuit against his former lawyer Allen Grubman, alleging a wide range of offenses including fraud, breach of fiduciary responsibility, malpractice and breach of contract[56] but the case was eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.[57]
In 1992, Joel inducted the R&B duo Sam & Dave into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. That year, Joel also started work on River of Dreams, finishing the album in early 1993. Its cover art was a colorful painting by Christie Brinkley that was a series of scenes from each of the songs on the album. The eponymous first single was the last top 10 hit Joel has penned to date, reaching No. 3 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and ranking at No. 21 on the 1993 year-end Hot 100 chart. In addition to the title track, the album includes the hits "All About Soul" (with Color Me Badd on backing vocals) and "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)", written for his daughter, Alexa. A radio remix version of "All About Soul" can be found on The Essential Billy Joel (2001), and a demo version appears on My Lives (2005).
The song "The Great Wall of China" was written about his ex-manager Frank Weber and was a regular in the setlist for Joel's 2006 tour. "2000 Years" was prominent in the millennium concert at Madison Square Garden, December 31, 1999, and "Famous Last Words" closed the book on Joel's pop songwriting for more than a decade.
1993–present: Touring Beginning in 1994, Joel toured extensively with Elton John on a series of "Face to Face" tours, making them the longest running and most successful concert tandem in pop music history.[58] During these shows, the two have played their own songs, each other's songs and performed duets. They grossed over US$46 million in just 24 dates in their sold out[59] 2003 tour. Joel and John resumed the Face to Face tour in March 2009[59] and it ended again, at least for the time being, in March 2010 in Albany, New York, at the Times Union Center. In February 2010, Joel denied rumors in the trade press that he canceled a summer 2010 leg of the tour, claiming there were never any dates booked and that he intended to take the year off.[60] Joel told Rolling Stone magazine: "We'll probably pick it up again. It's always fun playing with him."[61]
Joel performing in 2007 in Florida On August 25, 1994, Joel and second wife Christie Brinkley divorced, but they remained friends.
1997's "To Make You Feel My Love" and "Hey Girl" both charted from Joel's Greatest Hits Volume III album. Joel wrote and recorded the song "Shameless" that was later covered by Garth Brooks and reached No. 1 on Billboard's country charts. Joel performed with Brooks during his Central Park concert in 1997. To add onto his achievements Joel was inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Ray Charles made the induction speech and mentioned the duet Joel wrote for the two of them, "Baby Grand" (a track on Joel's album The Bridge released in 1986).
On December 31, 1999, Joel performed at New York's Madison Square Garden. At the time, Joel said that it would be his last tour and possibly his last concert. Two of his performances from that night, "We Didn't Start the Fire" and "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" were filmed and featured that night as part of ABC's special New Year's Y2K coverage. The concert (dubbed The Night of the 2000 Years) ran for close to four hours and was later released as 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert.
In 2001, Joel released Fantasies & Delusions, a collection of classical piano pieces. All were composed by Joel and performed by Hyung-ki Joo. Joel often uses bits of these songs as interludes in live performances, and some of them are part of the score for the hit show Movin' Out. The album topped the classical charts at No. 1. Joel performed "New York State of Mind" live on September 21, 2001, as part of the America: A Tribute to Heroes benefit concert, and on October 20, 2001, along with "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)", at the Concert for New York City in Madison Square Garden. That night, he also performed "Your Song" with Elton John.
In 2003, Joel inducted The Righteous Brothers into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, noting that his song "Until the Night" from the album 52nd Street was a tribute to the duo.
In 2005, Columbia released a box set, My Lives, which is largely a compilation of demos, b-sides, live/alternate versions and even a few Top 40 hits. The compilation also includes the Umixit software, in which people can remix "Zanzibar" and a live version of "I Go to Extremes" with their PC. Also, a DVD of a show from the River of Dreams tour is included.
Billy Joel with his band performing in California On January 7, 2006, Joel began a tour across the U.S. Having not written, or at least released, any new songs in 13 years, he featured a sampling of songs from throughout his career, including major hits as well as obscure tunes like "Zanzibar" and "All for Leyna". His tour included an unprecedented 12 sold-out concerts over several months at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The singer's stint of 12 shows at Madison Square Garden broke a previous record set by New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen, who played 10 sold-out shows at the same arena. The record earned Joel the first retired number (12) in the arena owned by a non-athlete. This honor has also been given to Joel at the Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia) (formerly the Wachovia Center) in Philadelphia where a banner in the colors of the Philadelphia Flyers is hung honoring Joel's 46 Philadelphia sold-out shows. He also had a banner raised in his honor for being the highest grossing act in the history of the Times Union Center (formerly the Knickerbocker Arena and Pepsi Arena) in Albany, New York. This honor was given to him as part of the April 17, 2007, show he did there. On June 13, 2006, Columbia released 12 Gardens Live, a double album containing 32 live recordings from a collection of the 12 different shows at Madison Square Garden during Joel's 2006 tour.
Joel visited the United Kingdom and Ireland for the first time in many years as part of the European leg of his 2006 tour. On July 31, 2006, he performed a free concert in Rome, with the Colosseum as the backdrop.[62]
Joel toured South Africa, Australia, Japan, and Hawaii in late 2006, and subsequently toured the Southeastern U.S. in February and March 2007 before hitting the Midwest in the spring of 2007. On January 3 of that year, news was leaked to the New York Post that Billy had recorded a new song with lyrics—this being the first new song with lyrics he'd written in almost 14 years.[63] The song, titled "All My Life", was Joel's newest single (with second track "You're My Home", live from Madison Square Garden 2006 tour) and was released into stores on February 27, 2007.[64] On February 4, Joel sang the national anthem for Super Bowl XLI, becoming the first to sing the national anthem twice at a Super Bowl. and on April 17, 2007, Joel was honored in Albany, New York, for his ninth concert at the Times Union Center. He is now holding the highest box office attendance of any artist to play at the arena. A banner was raised in his honor marking this achievement.
On December 1, 2007, Joel premiered his new song "Christmas in Fallujah".[65] The song was performed by Cass Dillon, a new Long Island based musician, as Joel felt it should be sung by someone in a soldier's age range (though he himself has played the song occasionally in concert.) The track was dedicated to servicemen based in Iraq. Joel wrote it in September 2007 after reading numerous letters sent to him from American soldiers in Iraq. "Christmas in Fallujah" is only the second pop/rock song released by Joel since 1993's River of Dreams. Proceeds from the song benefited the Homes For Our Troops foundation.
Joel with Mike DelGuidice in 2016 On January 26, 2008, Joel performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra celebrating the 151st anniversary of the Academy of Music. Joel premiered his new classical piece titled, "Waltz No. 2 (Steinway Hall)" arranged by Brad Ellis. He also played many of his less well-known pieces, with full orchestral backing arranged by Mr. Ellis, including the rarely performed Nylon Curtain songs "Scandinavian Skies" and "Where's the Orchestra?".
On March 10, 2008, Joel inducted his friend John Mellencamp into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.
Joel's staying power as a touring act continues to the present day. He sold out 10 concerts at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut from May to July 2008. The casino honored him with a banner displaying his name and the number 10 to hang in the arena. On June 19, 2008, he played a concert at the grand re-opening of Caesars Windsor (formerly Casino Windsor) in Windsor, Ontario, Canada to an invite-only crowd for Casino VIPs. His mood was light, and joke-filled, even introducing himself as "Billy Joel's dad" and stating "you guys overpaid to see a fat bald guy". He also admitted that Canadian folk-pop musician Gordon Lightfoot was the musical inspiration for "She's Always A Woman".[66]
On July 16, 2008, and July 18, 2008, Joel played the final concerts at Shea Stadium before its demolition. His guests included Tony Bennett, Don Henley, John Mayer, John Mellencamp, Steven Tyler, Roger Daltrey, Garth Brooks, and Paul McCartney. The concerts were featured in the 2010 documentary film Last Play at Shea. The film was released on DVD on February 8, 2011. The CD and DVD of the show, Live at Shea Stadium were released on March 8, 2011.
On December 11, 2008, Joel recorded his own rendition of "Christmas in Fallujah" during a concert at Acer Arena in Sydney and released it as a live single in Australia only. It is the only official release of Joel performing "Christmas in Fallujah", as Cass Dillon sang on the 2007 studio recording and the handful of times the song was played live in 2007. Joel sang the song throughout his December 2008 tour of Australia.
On May 19, 2009, Joel's former drummer, Liberty DeVitto, filed a lawsuit in NYC claiming Joel and Sony Music owed DeVitto over 10 years of royalty payments. DeVitto had never been given songwriting or arranging credit on any of Joel's songs, but he claimed that he helped arrange some of them, including "Only the Good Die Young".[67] In April 2010, it was announced that Joel and DeVitto amicably resolved the lawsuit.[68]
2011 marked the 40th anniversary of the release of Joel's first album, Cold Spring Harbor. According to Joel's official website, to commemorate this anniversary, Columbia/Legacy Recordings originally planned "to celebrate the occasion with a definitive reissue project of newly restored and expanded Legacy editions of the complete Billy Joel catalog, newly curated collections of rarities from the vaults, previously unavailable studio tracks and live performances, home video releases and more", although this never fully came to fruition.[69] The album Piano Man was re-released in a two-disc Legacy edition in November 2011.[69]
In 2012, Joel signed an exclusive worldwide publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), and its subsidiary Rondor Music International. Under the agreement, UMPG and Rondor replaced EMI Music Publishing in handling Joel's catalog outside the U.S. Additionally, the agreement marked the first time since Joel regained control of his publishing rights in the 1980s that he began to use an administrator to handle his catalog within the U.S. The agreement's focus is on increasing the use of Joel's music in movies, television programs, and commercials.[70]
On December 12, 2012, Joel performed as part of 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief at Madison Square Garden, a concert held for all the victims of Hurricane Sandy. He changed the lyrics to "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" to make it relate to all the damage caused by Sandy.
In May 2013, it was announced that Joel would hold his first ever indoor Irish concert at the O2 in Dublin on November 1. He subsequently announced his return to the UK for the first time in seven years to perform three dates in October and November. Joel played two arena dates in Manchester and Birmingham plus a very special show at London's Hammersmith Apollo. In October, Joel held a surprise concert on Long Island at The Paramount (Huntington, New York) to benefit Long Island Cares. The venue holds a capacity of 1,555 and sold out in five minutes. Joel headlined a solo arena concert in New York City for the first time since 2006 when he performed at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on December 31, 2013. In 2015, Joel performed 21 concerts (in addition to his Madison Square Garden residency) from January 7 to August 2 in various cities around the U.S. and Canada.
On December 3, 2013, it was announced that Joel would become a franchise of Madison Square Garden, playing one concert a month indefinitely, starting with a date on January 27, 2014.[71]
Joel performing at Madison Square Garden in 2016 On January 7, 2014, the Billy Joel in Concert tour began. Joel kicked off the 2014 New Year in the Amway Center (in Orlando, Florida) and performed several cover songs such as Elton John's "Your Song", Billy Preston's "You Are So Beautiful" (in tribute to Joe Cocker), The Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends", "Can't Buy Me Love", and "When I'm 64", Robert Burns' "Auld Lang Syne", and AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" (with Brian Johnson). Rufus Wainwright joined Joel during the concert to sing "New York State of Mind".[72] Joel also performed an unusual set, including the song "Souvenir" (from 1974's Streetlife Serenade) and excluding "We Didn't Start the Fire".[73]
On August 4, 2015 Joel played the final concert at Nassau Coliseum before the arena underwent a $261 million renovation.[74]
On April 5, 2017 Joel played the first concert at the newly renovated Nassau Coliseum.
On June 24, 2017, he returned to Hicksville High School fifty years after his would-be graduating class received their diplomas,[75] to deliver the honorary commencement address. It was also the 25th anniversary of receiving his own diploma from the same High School.

DATE: Friday January 24, 2014
LOCATION: Little Creek Casino Resort, Shelton, Washington
TELEVISION: ESPN2 (US) WatchEspn (US) DigiSport (Hungary)
TIME: 9:00 PM EST, 6:00 PM PST, 1:00 AM GMT

THOMAS WILLIAMS JR VS CORNELIUS WHITE

10 rounds

vacant WBO NABO light heavyweight title

Thomas Williams Jr	vs	Cornelius White
15(10)-0	RECORD	21(16)-2
26	AGE	32
? lbs	WEIGHT	? lbs
6'1"	HEIGHT	6'2"
72"	REACH	76"
southpaw	STANCE	orthodox
Fort Washington, Maryland	HOMETOWN	Houston, Texas
5(3)-0	LAST 5	4(1)-1

RICO RAMOS VS JONATHAN ARELLANO

10 rounds

featherweight division

Rico Ramos	vs	Jonathan Arellano
22(12)-3	RECORD	14(3)-2-2
25	AGE	?
? lbs	WEIGHT	? lbs
5'5"	HEIGHT	?
67"	REACH	?
orthodox	STANCE	orthodox
Pico Rivera, CA	HOMETOWN	Ontario, CA
2(1)-3	LAST 5	2-2-1

Online Stream
WatchESPN Legal, HD stream

LIVE ROUND BY ROUND COVERAGE

Rico Ramos vs Jonathan Arellano
Arellano looking to intimidate Ramos as they meet in the center. Arellano looks like a man possessed, but we'll see if he still has that same fire once he gets hit for the first time.
Round 1
The 2 come forward in a gigantic ring! This thing looks spacious enough for a family of 4. Ramos with a double jab. Delvin Rodriguez is on the spanish announcing team. Good for him. Arellano tries his hand at a double jab. Ramos keeping himself beyond where Arellano can reach him. Body jab by Arellano. They're both looking to land the step jab. Ramos lunges with a left and Arellano avoids and ties up. They trade lefts. The difference between these 2 and say a title fight in the same division is the speed at which the bout is occurring. They're throwing the same amount of punches, but the actual pace, the small little things that don't get noticed is drastically less and thus makes this round seem like an eternity. Arellano gets low, comes up and has his left hook blocked.

Ramos 10-9

Round 2
Interesting. Joe Cortez is on the spanish studio team. Arellano looks like a little Victor Ortiz circa-Berto fight. Arellano pushing forward, backing Ramos up. Arellano trying to land an uppercut when Ramos buries his head into his chest. Left hook from Arrellano. Ramos with a nice jab and now Arellano is backing up. They brawl in the corner. Nice uppercut from Ramos. Ramos is hurt by an uppercut from Arellano. The referee parts them after some nice activity in the corner. Arellano throwing hard shots now. Ramos counters with a couple of hard hooks. Good round for both.

Arellano 10-9, 19-19

Round 3
Ramos trying to establish his jab to the body. Sloppy straight right from Arellano is countered by a nice left hook. Arellano lands a left hook, ducks the return left from Ramos. Arellano needs to start feinting Ramos. Ramos is avoiding most of his attacks by simply bending forward. Nice lead right hand by Ramos catches Arellano by surprise. Ramos with the jab, Arellano rushes forward. Bell sounds.

Ramos 10-9, 29-28

Round 4
Ramos jabbing, landing, but there isn't too much behind the jab. Nice hard right hand from Ramos. Good counter from Arellano. Ramos with an uppercut. Arellano digs a couple of body shots. And another vicious left hook to the bodey. Ramos is throwing hard punches. Devastating left hook from Ramos drops Arellano!!!!!!!!! What a shot!!!!!!!! Arellano is up and he doesn't look hurt. Ramos just stood there and stared at him in the center of the ring. What a beautiful punch. I didn't know Ramos had it in him. Good jab from Ramos. The pace is definitely picking up. Uppercut from Ramos. Left to the body by Ramos. Arellano holding his gloves noticeably higher at times. Lunging left hook by Ramos catches Arellano by suprirse and down goes Arellano!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He rises at 9 and is ready to go but the round ends. Wow!

Ramos 10-7, 39-35

Round 5
Nice straight right from Ramos. Arellano holding those gloves high. Ramos misses the left hook. Arellano misses the jab to the body, Ramos counters with a proper jab to the body. Arellano still looks game, but he's falling apart I believe. Ramos doing a nice job with the footwork. He's got Arellano hurt again. I think it was a jab this time. Left uppercut by Ramos. Arellano's legs don't look completely there. Ramos eats a good right uppercut. Another left hook just like the other 2 and down goes Arellano. He just can't see that left hook. His corner needs to make a decision here. Give him some good advice or stop the fight.

Ramos 10-8, 49-43

Round 6
Arellano looking to cut off the ring and perhaps mount some sort of offense. He counters a jab with a beautiful left hook and Ramos stumbles. Maybe due to tripping, but Arellano's got some momentum here. Ramos positioning himself inside, not letting Arellano get any leverage behind his punches. Arellano is noticeably slower now. Ramos side-stepping along the ropes. Maybe just trying to get his energy back up. Right uppercut from Ramos followed by a left hook. A nice combination and a 1-2 lands for Ramos. Arellano timing him, lands a right, a left. Ramos letting Arellano back in here. A tough round to score.

Arellano 10-9, 58-53

Round 7
Arellano looks like he senses the urgency here. He's still trying to win, he just partially lands a straight right hand. A lot of guys will go into this mode where they just want to survive the fight, but Arellano still thinks he's got a chance. He must have seen something that has given him hope, either in videos or during the fight. Arellano tries a lead left hook, he leads off now with a straight right. Ramos double jabs, both find the mark. Arellano ducks the lunging left hook that put him down 3 times earlier. That's a good sign if Arellano is to survive this fight on his feet, if not make a big come back. Body shots from Ramos. He digs about 5 downstairs. Uppercut from Ramos. Arellano backs him into the corner, Body shots. Hooks upstairs. An uppercut. Another right hook, Ramos counters back and they're split by the referee. Arellano doing good work here.

Arellano 10-9, 67-63

Round 8
Arellano lands a left hook. My scorecard matches that of Delvin Rodriguez up to this point. Left uppercut by Ramos. They trade uppercuts. Uppercuts by Ramos. Ramos might be trying to win this round and not just be in prevent mode. Good left hook counter by Ramos as Arellano reached with a straight right. Very ugly clinching and wrestling inside. They trade hard left hooks. Hard body shots by Arellano. A close round.

Ramos 10-9, 77-72

Round 9
Right by Arellano. Arellano looks absolutely focused, except Ramos just jabbed him, but he does look focused like he's trying to win this fight. The problem is he's not active enough. Delvin gave Arellano the last round. Good left to the body by Ramos. Hard right by Ramos. Hard right by Ramos suprises Arellano. Good body shots by Arellano.

Ramos 10-9, 87-81

Round 10
Final round. I have this fight a done deal for Ramos. Ramos is playing to the crowd, he pops Arellano's head back with a jab. He's bouncing side to side. Lands another jab. Arellano is not throwing any punches. Nice hard body shots by Arellano. Ramos with a jab, then a 1-2, now a jab. Arellano giving this fight away by not trying to knock this guy out. Arellano drops his hands and stands there, Ramos does the same and waves to the crowd. Arellano looks like he's given up. He can't trap Ramos or mount any offense because Ramos is smothering him when he comes inside. Ramos now smiling at him. Arellano misses a right hand. They're trading at the bell, Arellano still doesn't get the better of it. Ramos eats a big left after the bell and he rushes forward to give Arellano a hug, and probably to tell him he's a tough mother.

Ramos 10-9, 97-90

OFFICIAL RULING: Rico Ramos by Unanimous Decision (98-88, 98-89, 98-89)
Noir Scorecard

Fighter	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total
Ramos	10	9	10	10	10	9	9	10	10	10	97
Arrellano	9	10	9	7	8	10	10	9	9	9	90

Thomas Williams vs Cornelius White
Round 1
They both come out and they're looking for their jabs. White lands a good straight right, White drills him with a hard straight left and down goes White!!!!!!!! 1-2 from Williams. Good left to the body by Williams. White returns the favor. A good left hook by Williams. Williams has heavy hands. Everytime he lands, White is moved left and right. Another body shot by Williams. White is going to be knocked out and quickly. Oh my god! Down goes Williams!!!!!!!!!!! Counter left hook as Williams was coming forward!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Williams is up and here we go. They trade lefts. Williams hurts White again with a right and a short left hook drops White!!!!!!!!!!!!! White is up but his legs aren't there. White is back up. He isn't there though, the referee looks at him, he's gonna let it continue. Williams rushes forward! Williams trying to finish the show! White is helpless in the corner! Williams pouring it on and the referee steps in to stop it!!!!!!!!! 24 days into 2014 and we have a new fight of the year leader!!!!!!!
OFFICIAL RULING: Thomas Williams by TKO1