Asian Casinos and Gambling in Asia

Disclaimer I want to thank everyone for the gilds, replies and suggestions. I just do not have time to reply to everyone, but I am reading everything. I am not sure how much bigger the thread can be, I already typed this but it vanished so I think I'm at the limit. I will try to keep updating, but I don't expect the thread to be up top for much longer and will likely vanish soon, so if you need anything save it.
Yes, it's hard, it sucks, it's depressing. It is something we all have to do if you want to see this virus go. Everyone knows the deal, too many think they're the exception but no one is. However, staying home is hard so maybe I can help at least one or two people with some incentives. I'll try to give links to some things that can help cure the boredom, and some support if you need it.
Most of this might be obvious to some, some might not even have internet and of course, money is a big issue, so I'll try to give some suggestions:
For streaming and on demand things such as Netflix et al, don't forget you can subscribe for free for your first month. This goes for most things in the list. If you are worried about putting in your payment details and forgetting to cancel a month later, don't worry! You can sign up and immediately cancel and you still get your free month!
For people who don't have a smart TV, you can buy a cheap Amazon Fire TV stick or a Roku box. The Fire stick can go as low as £20 often for 1080p. It will drop to £30 for 4k.
I picked up a 4k Roku device for £18 on Amazon once. It's fast and snappy. currently it's going for £33 for the 4k version. Having both, there is little difference between the devices. NowTV also do their own roku powered device.
Subscription based streaming sites that all offer 2-4 weeks free for first timers

Netflix *According to comments the second month is free.
Amazon Prime You can either get Amazon video on its own, or take prime with other benefits. I strongly urge those who use Amazon for buying off their store front to use [https://smile.amazon.co.uk/] as there is literally no difference except everything you buy amazon donates to a charity of your choice.
Now TV (I believe it's 7 days)
Disney+
Britbox
Amazon channels. I believe you can get all these individually but Amazon offers them as channels bound to your prime account, and they are again either free for a couple weeks (again, take them, cancel instantly) or very cheap. I recently subscribed to Starzplay for £1 for 3 months. It has some good shows on it like Fringe, doom patrol. It also has channels like Curiosity stream and shudder

If you have not subscribed to the any of the above, you can get a few months of free TV by signing up and cancelling instantly. I suggest waiting at least 5 minutes just to let it go through the system.
Some tips for Now TV. IF you already have a subscription, I've noticed you can get it cheaper by cancelling. When you cancel they will beg you to stay. Select "I can not afford it this month" and they should beg again, telling you what shows they have. If you say you still want to cancel, they'll beg one last time and offer you the subscription for cheaper. This won't work every month, but I've noticed they'll always offer it the first time, then again after a couple months. If you're subscribed to both films and entertainment do the most expensive one as it may not work both times (but it might!). You can also pick up passes from storefronts a lot cheaper sometimes, before I could pick one up on Amazon for £3 but, they seem to have cracked down on it. If you shop around (or if anyone knows of a legitimate store please let me know) you might be able to pick it up cheaper. Lastly, check their website and under your account they should have an "offers for you" section.
Completely free TV

If you do have a smart TV and/or device, there are some good free streaming apps. One I really love is called PlutoTV. I know this is on both Roku and the fire stick, as well as Ps4/Ps5 and xbox.
Pluto offers a bunch of live channels and now an on demand section, all for free. It has adverts but they are actually short (shorter than regular TV and fewer of them). Some of the channels are just streaming certain shows like Mythbusters 24/7 or Dog the bounty hunter, but it has a lot of old movie channels as well as 24/7 kickboxing and MMA. It also has a 24/7 poker channel I quite like.
Another one I like is Rakuten Viki however, I haven't watched it for a while as my fire stick is only 1080p and I have too many other devices attached. I believe it is on Roku but you have to jump through some hoops and have an account. The last I checked on the fire stick you did not. Viki offers a metric ton of Asian shows, mainly from Japan and South Korea but it does have chinese, Malaysian etc. It has subtitles. Some Japanese shows are hysterical, albeit weird.
Roku also do their own channels with free shows if you own a device.
For those who don't have a smart TV or a Streaming device, you can set up your own computer as a dedicated streaming device with Plex. It's been a while since I used it but I believe it now also offers free movies and TV.
Anime
If you are into Anime there is

The first 2 are free to watch, or offer premium without ads which you can have a trial with. Crunchyroll is the better of the two with more original choice for Japanese voice and subs, while Funimation has more Dubs. I don't believe HiDive is free to watch but you do get a 2 week trial. These are more exclusives than the previous two.
PC Centric software
If you are a gamer or like Audiobooks or anything that uses computers for things like music making, programming or graphic design

Humble Bundle offers, as per the name, bundles. A long running site that got bought out by IGN. It offers both single items and bundles you can buy individually/as a pack while also offering a separate monthly subscription for around £8-9. The subscription gives you 12 games on average per month. That's the simplest explanation but it changes somewhat as sometimes you get to pick 10 out of 14 games, or get all 12.
Humble bundle offers more than just games though. Every Tuesday they bring a new bundle of games, while Thursday (I "think) a new bundle of books. They very often have books from the Black Library giving you a ton of Warhammer books. Sometimes it's standard E-books, other times it's audiobooks. A few times a year they do bundles for graphic design, a typical bundle would include programs like Paintshop Pro Corel Painter etc, They usually go for £0.76 for tier 1 up to around £18 for tier 3, which would include 4-6 full titles with 10+ addons. They also often have Music making bundles or video editing software as well as Programming or video game development.
The bundles change often, they usually have around 11 bundles at a time that last for 20 days. Sometimes it's trash but they do often have some very good deals.
Fanatical offers the same as humble bundle except usually not as high quality, but sometimes they do have some incredible deals, and they are very very cheap.
Both humble and fanatical are safe, trusted and been around a long time, and they are NOT grey market key sites. They work with the publishers and developers. You can buy games both old and new for a lot cheaper than you would most other places. Unless it states otherwise, keys are usually for steam.
**BOTH HB and Fanatical (HB much more common) offer free games fairly often. The catch is linking your steam account to them (at least HB). It is safe however.
IndieGala is another site like above. Except, these are much much lower quality. However, they offer a metric ton of free games. Quality is low but it is legitimate, and a lot of free stuff.
Game Store Fronts

Steam This one is so obvious I didn't add it, but apparently many want me to. It is the best out there, and you can find almost everything, with fantastic deals.
Greenmangaming offers games cheaply. Again, not a grey market site (which are legal but unethical) and they sometimes do bundles.
GoG (Good old games) is a DRM free site run by CDPR, the makers of the Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk. They offer you games quite cheap and not needing DRM (such as Steam, Uplay etc which is less invasive versions of dodgy DRM from the olden days).
Epic Games Despite the controversy whether you care about their rivalry with valve, they offer free games ever week. Without ever having bought anything I have gained over 170 games. literally. Good games for the most part. They often give you £10 coupons as well.
Twitch Everyone knows twitch, but if you don't, it's a streaming service for watching gamers and girls with low cut tops accidentally bending over in front of the game. However, if you're signed up to prime, you get free games each month (and randomly between the set bunch).
Playstation Store Currently has January sales. Currently the free games for PS+ are for PS4: Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Greedfall. For the Ps5 it is Maneater
Games with Gold Bleed 2 and the King of Fighters XIII is available until Janurary 15th whilst little Nightmares is available until January 31st.

Gaming Subscriptions
Like the TV versions, you can sign up to these for a free trial (or very cheap). If you do sign up to only one at a time, it should keep you busy for a few months

Xbox Game Pass You can do this on both/either an Xbox or PC. If you sign up to the regular one, you can get a month (maybe three!) for £1. After you have done that, you can sign up to the premium version for 3 months at £1 a month. Most people know game pass, but you can download a large selection of games for free. The premium version gives you games with gold, allowing you to keep the games forever (but can only play with a subscription)
Ubisoft+ I'm not 100% sure if you get a trial or not. This allows a large collection of Ubisoft titles to play for £12.99 a month. Quite expensive but good if you like Ubisoft titles I guess.
EA Play EA's version. Goes by a ton of names I think, EA Access, EA Play, Origin Access etc etc. There's a couple of versions of this, and it is across all platforms (PS4/5, Xbox, PC) but not sure about the switch. I "think" the premium allows you to play on all platforms, while the cheaper one on a single platform, but I may be mistaken.
PS Now a once terrible service that is now actually very good. Allows you to download some Ps4 games to your PS4/5 and lets you stream a massive amount of Ps2/3/4 to your PC or playstation.

There's more like nvidia's service but you need the Shield device which is quite expensive. I'll leave it at that.
Audiobooks & Ebooks

Audible Not sure what the current deal is but if you are a prime member you can sign up for a trial and get a free Audiobook each month for 3 months. Some warhammer books are 48 hours long, 3 of those gives you a good 100+ hours of listening!
Comixology Another Amazon company, but lets you download some free comics I believe.
Marvel Unlimited No experience with this. ItFuckingWont wanted me to add it. A subscription service for Marvel.

Education

Sign Language BSL here No experience myself, suggested by n21brown and asked for a few times. Didn't know SL was so popular! Listed as "Pay what you can"
BBC's Bitesize here is apparently good for home learning. Again, no personal experience.

If you need some spare change
Okay, I don't generally bother with it, but maybe some of this could be useful to you. These are NOT a quick way to make a fortune. These are small things you can do over time for a bit of pocket change

If you have prime you can get a FREE FIVE POUND GIFT CARD by literally just streaming a song from Amazon music (which is included in prime) here is the details According to the comments it's only for select people, but it's worth trying If the link doesn't work for you just google "Amazon £5 coupon music"
Now, these sorts of sites have been around for years, I haven't used any other than talkInsights which I must have signed up to 10-15 years ago. Basically they send you surveys and you answer them. They are confidential and don't ask for personal details in the survey. You need 2000 points and you get £20. During the pandemic they've slowed down but I probably get around £40 a year. Not much I know, but it's an email followed by a quick survey ticking boxes. Depending on your answer sometimes you get screened out, I'm not telling you to lie but just be consistent with your answers and you should be able to work out how to not get screened. Some emails are only worth 20 points, others 200. It's slow to get to the 2000 but very quick to just answer a few questions.
Apparently beermoneyuk is a good sub to make some pocket change with.
There is also matched betting. I have never done this, I don't have the patience but from what I've read, it's legitimate, it works and you can make a fair amount of cash from it so long as you do it correctly, and there's a ton of guides. I mention this because people stuck at home could get into it and as long as you're careful (I.E not entering in the wrong numbers) it's risk free AND it pisses off the betting shops. It seems people in comments have had success with it. Disclaimer A couple have complained about gambling. This arguably is not gambling. If you are susceptible to addiction do not do it. However, it's argued that there is no fun or buzz in this, and it's a very tedious and time consuming thing. Others argue you can't make the same money anymore (People were making thousands, now only hundreds if that). It's risk free providing you know what you're doing, the risks are user error, such as entering the wrong numbers. Someone pointed out that due to the lockdown, bets could potentially be cancelled due to sport stopping. So use on a side of caution. We're (mainly) adults so I'll leave it up just because this doesn't have the excitement of regular gambling.
Microsoft Rewards This is an easy way to make pocket change doing very little. Most people have a MS account. The rewards program offers you numerous ways to grab points, by playing free to play games, answering small questions (you don't even need to answer most of the time, just open the link and shut it) and by using bing and searching on it. I've gotten 20k points JUST by answering questions over a couple months. There are many rewards but you can grab a £5 gift card for 6k for example, or a month of game pass (and AFAIK you can make points playing the games)
Google rewards Someone mentioned this in the comments. I have not used it, so can not give any input on it. Sounds similar to TalkInsights which I linked. Google states "Complete short surveys while standing in line, or waiting for a subway. Get rewarded with Google Play or PayPal credit for each one you complete. Topics include everything from opinion polls, to hotel reviews, to merchant satisfaction surveys. We’ll notify you when a survey is waiting."

That's it for now. I will try to update as I go along. A long post but I hope that it can help some of you with finding something good to do that's free, cheap or a bargain. I do suggest getting prime, especially since you get free music, free delivery, free TV and music and free video games each month. In fact, there's a ton of perks and I feel I've gotten way over the cost investment.
Hope it helps someone at least
PartTimeCrazy said if you bought an Apple product you get 3 free months of Apple Arcade and Apple TV free for a year
fakehunted is upset I didn't mention wanking. Tesco have 225 sheets of Tissue for £0.75!
tale_lost suggested Project Gutenberg for a collection of free E-Books
Learning Language
Unfortunately, I don't have time to check every link listed so I will link the comments:
Togtogtog Gives a lot of links for Spanish

Duolingo Numerous people have suggested this So I haven't used myself. Thanks to OhHiGCHQ StephanieMecredy & Allorie_95

Board & Tabletop games
Corporal_Anaesthetic has made a list of Board games
ilyemco suggested these
HEALTH
I'm not a doctor! But if you're a smoker, something I strongly suggest is to quit. I struggled for years but in the first lockdown I quit, technically. I haven't had a cigarette since, however, I do that silly thing millennials do. I vape, but, it made quitting extremely easy. I would not have been able to do it if it wasn't for 88Vape They sell extremely cheap liquids at £1 each. You can find these in B&M but you can pick up 25 for £20 or buy your own mix.
Vitamin D deficiency has been said to be a big problem for the virus. I'd suggest (again, not a doctor!) that you pick some up. Tesco do a 3 for 2 deal. So you can pick up 270 tablets for £7.
If you are vulnerable you MIGHT be able to phone tesco and get put on their delivery saver list (currently it's paused but phoning may help. At the very least they might give you a priority slot. I did this for my mum, we didn't shop at Tesco but I phoned for her, and they put her on with no hassle, so she can always get a delivery.
HELP & ADVICE
The lockdown Rules.
Reasons to leave home include:

Work or volunteering where it is "unreasonable" to work from home. This includes work in someone else's home, such as that carried out by social workers, nannies, cleaners and tradespeople
Education, training, childcare and medical appointments and emergencies
Exercise outdoors (limited to once a day). This includes meeting one other person from another household in an open public space to exercise
Shopping for essentials such as food and medicine
Communal religious worship
Meeting your support or childcare bubble. Children can also move between separated parents Activities related to moving house

I want to add, if you are in danger you are also allowed (and must!) to get away from the situation for some reason, BBC seems to have missed this very important thing (or I am blind)

To flee the threat of harm or violence.*
CoronaVirus Symptoms
CoronaVirus government site You can check your location and how many cases here.
Worldometers Shows cases around the world.
Interactive UK Map Another easy to read map with cases in counties and local area's.
World Health Organisation

Support

FOR THOSE SHIELDING YOU CAN CONTACT THE ROYAL VOLUNTARY SERVICE. These people helped my mother with picking up her medicine from the chemist. They were very helpful and went out their way to keep in touch and do it immediately. (It's the only experience I have with them though)
_riotingpacifist wanted these links added, but I simply just don't have the time to vet and check all the suggestions here, so I will link as is:

Update:
Digital Art
These are Free

Krita Arguably the best in my opinion. It has a load of options, brushes and a decent UI. It works fantastic with a tablet.
Gimp This is a decent program but last I used, the UI was a pain, and it isn't so user friendly while misses features, but it works, and it is possible to do some incredible creations on it.
Medibang Paint This is slightly geared towards Comics and Manga. I really enjoy using this with my drawing Tablet. As far as I know, it also for regular tablets for Android/Ipad and is free.

You can pick up a drawing tablet on Amazon quite cheap these days! Small ones that are just a black slate such as the wacom ones are good but takes some practice to get use to, but very worth it if you can't afford a dedicated drawing tablet with a screen.
Office suit software
A couple of free applications for word processing, spreadsheets etc.

LibreOffice This has most the average user would need to write their own books or to work from home. There's not a huge amount of difference between the two I'm linking (since I last used anyway) so it's more for preference.
Open Office You can pick this up here and again, like above it's just preference.

Music Making
I'm going to direct to matthewharris806 for some links as all the programs I've used like Reason are expensive, or cheaper stuff in bundles such as Magix software.
Games development
D_Dad_Default gives some links for that here

Playboy is going public, and CEO says potential ‘is endless’

Lockdown, things to do, help & advice.

Disclaimer I am posting this here because I got a message from the mods asking me to. I'm not from London so links aren't London centric (but hopefully still of help) and the main post is here so any updates will likely be there (I will try here but it's hard to keep up with the amount of suggestions)
Thanks.
Yes, it's hard, it sucks, it's depressing. It is something we all have to do if you want to see this virus go. Everyone knows the deal, too many think they're the exception but no one is. However, staying home is hard so maybe I can help at least one or two people with some incentives. I'll try to give links to some things that can help cure the boredom, and some support if you need it.
Most of this might be obvious to some, some might not even have internet and of course, money is a big issue, so I'll try to give some suggestions:
For streaming and on demand things such as Netflix et al, don't forget you can subscribe for free for your first month. This goes for most things in the list. If you are worried about putting in your payment details and forgetting to cancel a month later, don't worry! You can sign up and immediately cancel and you still get your free month!
For people who don't have a smart TV, you can buy a cheap Amazon Fire TV stick or a Roku box. The Fire stick can go as low as £20 often for 1080p. It will drop to £30 for 4k.
I picked up a 4k Roku device for £18 on Amazon once. It's fast and snappy. currently it's going for £33 for the 4k version. Having both, there is little difference between the devices. NowTV also do their own roku powered device.
Subscription based streaming sites that all offer 2-4 weeks free for first timers

Netflix *According to comments the second month is free.
Amazon Prime You can either get Amazon video on its own, or take prime with other benefits. I strongly urge those who use Amazon for buying off their store front to use [https://smile.amazon.co.uk/] as there is literally no difference except everything you buy amazon donates to a charity of your choice.
Now TV (I believe it's 7 days)
Disney+
Britbox
Amazon channels. I believe you can get all these individually but Amazon offers them as channels bound to your prime account, and they are again either free for a couple weeks (again, take them, cancel instantly) or very cheap. I recently subscribed to Starzplay for £1 for 3 months. It has some good shows on it like Fringe, doom patrol. It also has channels like Curiosity stream and shudder

Steam This one is so obvious I didn't add it, but apparently many want me to. It is the best out there, and you can find almost everything, with fantastic deals.
Greenmangaming offers games cheaply. Again, not a grey market site (which are legal but unethical) and they sometimes do bundles.
GoG (Good old games) is a DRM free site run by CDPR, the makers of the Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk. They offer you games quite cheap and not needing DRM (such as Steam, Uplay etc which is less invasive versions of dodgy DRM from the olden days).
Epic Games Despite the controversy whether you care about their rivalry with valve, they offer free games ever week. Without ever having bought anything I have gained over 170 games. literally. Good games for the most part. They often give you £10 coupons as well.
Twitch Everyone knows twitch, but if you don't, it's a streaming service for watching gamers and girls with low cut tops accidentally bending over in front of the game. However, if you're signed up to prime, you get free games each month (and randomly between the set bunch).
Playstation Store Currently has January sales. Currently the free games for PS+ are for PS4: Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Greedfall. For the Ps5 it is Maneater
Games with Gold Bleed 2 and the King of Fighters XIII is available until Janurary 15th whilst little Nightmares is available until January 31st.

Gaming Subscriptions
Like the TV versions, you can sign up to these for a free trial (or very cheap). If you do sign up to only one at a time, it should keep you busy for a few months

Xbox Game Pass You can do this on both/either an Xbox or PC. If you sign up to the regular one, you can get a month (maybe three!) for £1. After you have done that, you can sign up to the premium version for 3 months at £1 a month. Most people know game pass, but you can download a large selection of games for free. The premium version gives you games with gold, allowing you to keep the games forever (but can only play with a subscription)
Ubisoft+ I'm not 100% sure if you get a trial or not. This allows a large collection of Ubisoft titles to play for £12.99 a month. Quite expensive but good if you like Ubisoft titles I guess.
EA Play EA's version. Goes by a ton of names I think, EA Access, EA Play, Origin Access etc etc. There's a couple of versions of this, and it is across all platforms (PS4/5, Xbox, PC) but not sure about the switch. I "think" the premium allows you to play on all platforms, while the cheaper one on a single platform, but I may be mistaken.
PS Now a once terrible service that is now actually very good. Allows you to download some Ps4 games to your PS4/5 and lets you stream a massive amount of Ps2/3/4 to your PC or playstation.

There's more like nvidia's service but you need the Shield device which is quite expensive. I'll leave it at that.
Audiobooks & Ebooks

Audible Not sure what the current deal is but if you are a prime member you can sign up for a trial and get a free Audiobook each month for 3 months. Some warhammer books are 48 hours long, 3 of those gives you a good 100+ hours of listening!
Comixology Another Amazon company, but lets you download some free comics I believe.
Marvel Unlimited No experience with this. ItFuckingWont wanted me to add it. A subscription service for Marvel.

Education

Sign Language BSL here No experience myself, suggested by n21brown and asked for a few times. Didn't know SL was so popular! Listed as "Pay what you can"
BBC's Bitesize here is apparently good for home learning. Again, no personal experience.

If you have prime you can get a FREE FIVE POUND GIFT CARD by literally just streaming a song from Amazon music (which is included in prime) here is the details According to the comments it's only for select people, but it's worth trying If the link doesn't work for you just google "Amazon £5 coupon music"
Now, these sorts of sites have been around for years, I haven't used any other than talkInsights which I must have signed up to 10-15 years ago. Basically they send you surveys and you answer them. They are confidential and don't ask for personal details in the survey. You need 2000 points and you get £20. During the pandemic they've slowed down but I probably get around £40 a year. Not much I know, but it's an email followed by a quick survey ticking boxes. Depending on your answer sometimes you get screened out, I'm not telling you to lie but just be consistent with your answers and you should be able to work out how to not get screened. Some emails are only worth 20 points, others 200. It's slow to get to the 2000 but very quick to just answer a few questions.
Apparently beermoneyuk is a good sub to make some pocket change with.
There is also matched betting. I have never done this, I don't have the patience but from what I've read, it's legitimate, it works and you can make a fair amount of cash from it so long as you do it correctly, and there's a ton of guides. I mention this because people stuck at home could get into it and as long as you're careful (I.E not entering in the wrong numbers) it's risk free AND it pisses off the betting shops. It seems people in comments have had success with it. Disclaimer A couple have complained about gambling. This arguably is not gambling. If you are susceptible to addiction do not do it. However, it's argued that there is no fun or buzz in this, and it's a very tedious and time consuming thing. Others argue you can't make the same money anymore (People were making thousands, now only hundreds if that). It's risk free providing you know what you're doing, the risks are user error, such as entering the wrong numbers. Someone pointed out that due to the lockdown, bets could potentially be cancelled due to sport stopping. So use on a side of caution. We're (mainly) adults so I'll leave it up just because this doesn't have the excitement of regular gambling.
Microsoft Rewards This is an easy way to make pocket change doing very little. Most people have a MS account. The rewards program offers you numerous ways to grab points, by playing free to play games, answering small questions (you don't even need to answer most of the time, just open the link and shut it) and by using bing and searching on it. I've gotten 20k points JUST by answering questions over a couple months. There are many rewards but you can grab a £5 gift card for 6k for example, or a month of game pass (and AFAIK you can make points playing the games)
Google rewards Someone mentioned this in the comments. I have not used it, so can not give any input on it. Sounds similar to TalkInsights which I linked. Google states "Complete short surveys while standing in line, or waiting for a subway. Get rewarded with Google Play or PayPal credit for each one you complete. Topics include everything from opinion polls, to hotel reviews, to merchant satisfaction surveys. We’ll notify you when a survey is waiting."

Duolingo Numerous people have suggested this So I haven't used myself. Thanks to OhHiGCHQ StephanieMecredy & Allorie_95

Work or volunteering where it is "unreasonable" to work from home. This includes work in someone else's home, such as that carried out by social workers, nannies, cleaners and tradespeople
Education, training, childcare and medical appointments and emergencies
Exercise outdoors (limited to once a day). This includes meeting one other person from another household in an open public space to exercise
Shopping for essentials such as food and medicine
Communal religious worship
Meeting your support or childcare bubble. Children can also move between separated parents Activities related to moving house

I want to add, if you are in danger you are also allowed (and must!) to get away from the situation for some reason, BBC seems to have missed this very important thing (or I am blind)

To flee the threat of harm or violence.*
CoronaVirus Symptoms
CoronaVirus government site You can check your location and how many cases here.
Worldometers Shows cases around the world.
Interactive UK Map Another easy to read map with cases in counties and local area's.
World Health Organisation

Support

FOR THOSE SHIELDING YOU CAN CONTACT THE ROYAL VOLUNTARY SERVICE. These people helped my mother with picking up her medicine from the chemist. They were very helpful and went out their way to keep in touch and do it immediately. (It's the only experience I have with them though)
_riotingpacifist wanted this links added, but I simply just don't have the time to vet and check all the suggestions here, so I will link as is:

Update:
Digital Art
These are Free

Krita Arguably the best in my opinion. It has a load of options, brushes and a decent UI. It works fantastic with a tablet.
Gimp This is a decent program but last I used, the UI was a pain, and it isn't so user friendly while misses features, but it works, and it is possible to do some incredible creations on it.
Medibang Paint This is slightly geared towards Comics and Manga. I really enjoy using this with my drawing Tablet. As far as I know, it also for regular tablets for Android/Ipad and is free.

LibreOffice This has most the average user would need to write their own books or to work from home. There's not a huge amount of difference between the two I'm linking (since I last used anyway) so it's more for preference.
Open Office You can pick this up here and again, like above it's just preference.

[PSA] This whole Purito sinscreen fiasco doesn't make xenophobia okay

@TraceSafeTech and Why We Love it - written by @mrdotto5 @stockfamgroup $TSF $UTOLF

TraceSafe Inc. (TSF in Canada, UTOLF in U.S. with OTCQB listing in near future)
Industry: Real-Time Location Services (including Contact Tracing)
Notable Management:
Mr. Wayne Lloyd (C.E.O. of TraceSafe)
Dr. Dennis Kwan (C.E.O of TraceSafe Technologies),
Why We Love it:
By the time I finished my DD, and I did quite a bit of it, TraceSafe was an auto-buy for me and a pleasure to write about. But before diving in, I had questions; plenty of them. I believe that investors should enter every opportunity with skepticism. It gives you a clearer head and reduces potentially dangerous levels of FOMO (fear of missing out). FOMO can drive valuations of stocks to scary levels and it rarely ends well, as retail buyers like you and me buy the hype on a company while bigger players exit their positions.
Smaller growth-oriented companies can often have new, exciting technology that captures the imagination of the market, but smart investors, retail or otherwise, always look for one key milestone before buying in: validation. Without proof that a company is successfully penetrating their market, you’re buying the idea instead of the reality.
When I first looked at Tracesafe in the autumn of 2020, I was impressed by the technology they were bringing to market with an experienced management team. But I didn’t invest my hard-earned money because I needed to see real partnerships with big-market companies. Cutting edge technology, for all its impressiveness, isn’t worth much to a company without the means to monetize it. If you’re buying the idea, you’re making a leap of faith, and that is a little too close to gambling for me.
So much has happened since then that the leap of faith has become an open door to walk through. Validation is here.
But before we get to all that, let’s set the foundation, because none of this would have been possible without the management team, which is one of the most impressive parts to the story. The C.E.O., Dr. Dennis Kwan, and The C.T.O. Suresh Singamsetty, have been developing technology companies in the wearables space for years. Dr. Kwan co-founding Martian Watches, the first ever voice-enabled smartwatch. He was also V.P. of a Bluetooth company that was acquired for $160 million and he personally owns more than ten patents in wireless/bluetooth technologies. Mr. Singamsetty, the software expert, was with Dr. Kwan at Martian Watches. He owns more than 20 patents himself. The third member of the team, Gord Zeilstra, is another massive successful industry veteran. His specialty is driving companies’ global sales footprint. His success in the building of Monster.com and S.A.P. into global brands is an exciting indicator of where TraceSafe is headed.
So what about validation? Let’s begin with its partnership with Tritan Software. You probably haven’t heard of them, but I have no doubt you have heard of Carnival Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines, and Royal Caribbean. Tritan is the health and safety software provider for 95% of the entire global cruise line industry. I’ll put that in word form to give it the attention it deserves: NINETY FIVE PERCENT of the global cruise line industry.
Tritan is responsible for collecting, storing and securing the privacy of health information for all passengers, in addition to quality and incident management and a host of other software solutions. The CDC (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention) will most certainly have compliance requirements for resumption of sailing operations and Tritan knows this, which is why they are acting now, and acting swiftly. (Countless other companies approached Tritan, but they chose the experience and superior security of TraceSafe). The partnership was only recently announced and it remains to be seen how entwined the two companies will become, but contact tracing is only the tip of the iceberg (sorry, not the best cruise line analogy). For a clearer picture of the entire iceberg, we can look to Walt Disney’s iconic theme parks.
It is no secret that Disney theme parks have always placed a premium focus on customer experience, and one of the most effective ways they achieve this is through the “Magic Band”, which is essentially a wearable device that customers use to enter the park, unlock their hotel rooms, and buy food and merchandise. A one stop shop on your wrist.
This is where the cruise industry is headed. With a wearable on your wrist, you can enjoy all the same conveniences as the Magic Band combined with a contact tracing and safety monitoring device, all in one device.
So, that’s it? The cruise lines?
Even if it were the only partnership in the pipeline, it may have been enough to turn TraceSafe into a major global player, but it is just one of many projects, both ongoing and in the future. But even greater validation was announced just today (making me do some quick edits to this story)
TraceSafe, just today, announced a potentially game-changing purchase order. The agreement is to supply a global Tier 1 semiconductor manufacturer with 60,000 wearable units to be used across their enterprise. Professional services network Deloitte is managing the implementation of TraceSafe’s “next generation” of wearable products, which can be processed and paired within seconds, compared to about 3 minutes per device of other companies in the industry.
To give you an idea of the magnitude of this agreement, Dr. Kwan is quoted “This is one of the largest deployments of its kind anywhere in the world and we are very proud to be working with technology innovators to deliver a product so important in enhancing the health and safety of their workforce.”
I will forgive you if you stop reading now. The above agreement, combined with the cruise line partnership, is honestly enough for me and for many investors, but for those who stick around, the story actually gets considerably better.
The total wearable market is projected to reach $60 billion, and a large part of this will focus on corporate safety. In this way, Tracesafe has a bit of an advantage, as the company has a presence in Southeast Asia. You will remember that long before we realized the impact of the pandemic, several Asian countries were already scrambling to deal with the first wave. Since that time, we have dealt with each wave several months behind Southeast Asian countries. This time lapse has given TraceSafe a window into near-future conditions in the Western world. The best example of this is in Singapore, where they are closer to emerging from lockdown than we are in North America. Singapore has become the proving ground for TraceSafe technology., and it has gone perfectly. TraceSafe is being worn on construction sites for Boustead, a massive Singaporean construction company. This partnership has not only led to improvements in safety and security at Boustead, but it has also won TraceSafe the Singaporean National Innovation Award.
Closer to home, TraseSafe partnered with The World Junior Hockey Championships in Vancouver, Canada in December. The tournament was essentially a bubble-event that was completed safely using TraceSafe technology. T.T.G, the sponsorship firm that organized the event (and, incidentally, was instrumental in bringing The Winter Olympics to Vancouver in 2010) was impressed. So was Telus, the tournament sponsor. The future is very bright in venue tracing, with fans itching to return but needing a safe and proven way to do it.
There remains one incredibly large catalyst for growth, and some may find it the most interesting of all, but before we get to that (cough, Airbeam, cough), let’s quickly dispel any lingering doubts you may have:
Aren’t those wrist bands uncomfortable and a nuisance?
This is another part of the reason Tritan and others have chosen TraceSafe. Recall that two of the management team are pioneers of the wearable space with over 30 patents between them. The TraceSafe product has a battery that long outlasts any other in the industry and it is also incredibly lightweight and unobtrusive. Added to this is the
extended product line, with tags and credit-card style devices.
Discounting everything else in the pipeline, is anybody seriously going to get back on a cruise ship after all that has happened? Will the return to cruise lines be slow?
The high amount of bookings for the second half of 2021 says “no”, and so do experts in the field, who state that cruise line demand is higher than most other industry segments. Once people are vaccinated, the industry will return in a big way. Tritan understands this; hence the quick action.
But what about privacy? Isn’t this just another way for companies or governments to spy on us?
I honestly wondered about this because it seemed an obvious question, but the answer makes complete sense. If the TraceSafe software were downloaded onto your phone, perhaps there would be more skepticism on my part. We all value privacy and bristle when it is infringed upon. But these devices are only work-site specific, meaning that the wearables (and software embedded in them) are separate from your personal devices and they do not function once you leave the site. They only ensure health and safety through workplace tracking.
Aren’t margins higher on software than hardware? Will this make enough profit?
The answers to these questions vary, but they all begin with “yes”. Margins are indeed higher on software, and TraceSafe in fact is currently selling 50/50 between hardware and software (cloud computing), with a focus on moving to 20/80 in the coming months. The cloud-based real-time monitoring system does not, in fact, need an internet connection (which I’d say is important when you’re out at sea) as it is a bluetooth device. No user information is stored on the device and it has medical-grade privacy/security (remember the company’s origins). The administration functions are user-friendly.
What about the revenues?
Whatever exciting news you may hear about a company, it is always more reassuring to see actual revenues pouring in, even so soon after developing a contact tracing solution. TraceSafe could be forgiven for only being a quarter or two away from meaningful revenues, but luckily for investors, this isn’t the case. Based on video interviews in January, the company expects to continue their 100%-200% year over year growth, which puts them somewhere between a projection of $20-$32 million for 2021. Although it should be noted that I’m extrapolating these numbers by following growth patterns from previous quarters, this DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY NEW PARTNERSHIPS, INCLUDING THE AGREEMENT ANNOUNCED TODAY! (Oops, sorry. I seem to have left caps lock on there!).
And then there is the share float. Fully diluted, after all outstanding shares incentive-based options, the total share count will be under 70 million. This is a very small float, which appeals to most investors, as a company in a growth phase will have fewer obstacles to share price growth.
What about data? Data monetization is big business.
TraceSafe will have the ability to monetize data from their cloud-based software at some point in this process, although that shouldn’t be confused with personal data, which would never be shared, obviously. But corporations looking for trends in safety and efficiency would most definitely benefit from the analysis of general workforce data.
What else am I missing?
This is a bonus for the company that cannot be overstated. Airbeam. Ever heard of it? Before you read the bonus paragraph below, note that TraceSafe has invested into Airbeam and owns an impressive 9.9 million shares. Ok, go ahead and read about Airbeam now (Thanks to Stock Fam discord user “Aberdenov” for the assistance)
The 5G revolution is upon us. This revolution will be in the tens of TRILLIONS of dollars. Airbeam will be a player in 5G critical infrastructure. Their 5G micro cell network utilizing AI/ML with EDGE computing on the 60Ghz band will be a catalyst for smart cities enabling such things as autonomous vehicles.
Airbeam will also be deploying wireless cameras with unlimited storage and smart displays for advertising. The company is led by former executive and head of research and development at Qualcomm, Dr Karim Arabi, and along with Stockwell Day and his political connections, the future looks bright for the company. Airbeam's last private raise was back in 2019 with a valuation of 97 million. Since then they have gained traction with pilot projects in America, Qatar and the Philippines. An IPO is expected sometime in 2021 with a far higher valuation.
TraceSafe has openly talked about increasing shareholder value after the Airbeam IPO, including a potential dividend, which is unheard of for a growth tech company.
So you see how skepticism can lead to the DD that you need to uncover a company like TraceSafe. It has the management team, tech cutting-edge technology, the validation, the contracts, the blue-sky opportunity of an industry that will be a part of our lives, and an incredible piece of foresight to buy in early to a very hotly anticipated IPO.
Just another Stock Fam favourite! Thanks to expert poster Jethro and all the members of the TraceSafe channel for their relentless DD. Come join the discussion!
Follow me on twitter MrDotto5

Playboy going public: Porn, Gambling, and Cannabis

NEW INFO 5 Results from share redemption are posted. Less than .2% redeemed. Very bullish as investors are showing extreme confidence in the future of PLBY.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/playboy-mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-120000721.html
NEW INFO 4 Definitive Agreement to purchase 100% of Lovers brand stores announced 2/1.
https://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Playboy+%28MCAC%29+Confirms+Deal+to+Acquire+Lovers/17892359.html
NEW INFO 3 I bought more on the dip today. 5081 total. Price rose AH to $12.38 (2.15%)
NEW INFO 2 Here is the full webinar.
https://icrinc.zoom.us/rec/play/9GWKdmOYumjWfZuufW3QXpe_FW_g--qeNbg6PnTjTMbnNTgLmCbWjeRFpQga1iPc-elpGap8dnDv8Zww.yD7DjUwuPmapeEdP?continueMode=true&tk=lEYc4F_FkKlgsmCIs6w0gtGHT2kbgVGbUju3cIRBSjk.DQIAAAAV8NK49xZWdldRM2xNSFNQcTBmcE00UzM3bXh3AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA&uuid=WN_GKWqbHkeSyuWetJmLFkj4g&_x_zm_rtaid=kR45-uuqRE-L65AxLjpbQw.1611967079119.2c054e3d3f8d8e63339273d9175939ed&_x_zm_rhtaid=866
NEW INFO 1 Live merger webinar with PLBY and MCAC on Friday January 29, 2021 at 12:00 NOON EST link below
https://mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/press-release-details/2021/Playboy-Enterprises-Inc.-and-Mountain-Crest-Acquisition-Corp-Participate-in-SPACInsider-ICR-Webinar-on-January-29th-at-12pm-ET/default.aspx
Playboy going public: Porn, Gambling, and Cannabis
!!!WARNING READING AHEAD!!! TL;DR at the end. It will take some time to sort through all the links and read/watch everything, but you should.
In the next couple weeks, Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp is taking Playboy public. The existing ticker MCAC will become PLBY. Special purpose acquisition companies have taken private companies public in recent months with great success. I believe this will be no exception. Notably, Playboy is profitable and has skyrocketing revenue going into a transformational growth phase.
Porn - First and foremost, let's talk about porn. I know what you guys are thinking. “Porno mags are dead. Why would I want to invest in something like that? I can get porn for free online.” Guess what? You are absolutely right. And that’s exactly why Playboy doesn’t do that anymore. That’s right, they eliminated their print division. And yet they somehow STILL make money from porn that people (see: boomers) pay for on their website through PlayboyTV, Playboy Plus, and iPlayboy. Here’s the thing: Playboy has international, multi-generational name recognition from porn. They have content available in 180 countries. It will be the only publicly traded adult entertainment (porn) company. But that is not where this company is going. It will help support them along the way. You can see every Playboy magazine through iPlayboy if you’re interested. NSFW links below:
https://www.playboy.com/
https://www.playboytv.com/
https://www.playboyplus.com/
https://www.iplayboy.com/
Gambling - Some of you might recognize the Playboy brand from gambling trips to places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Cancun, London or Macau. They’ve been in the gambling biz for decades through their casinos, clubs, and licensed gaming products. They see the writing on the wall. COVID is accelerating the transition to digital, application based GAMBLING. That’s right. What we are doing on Robinhood with risky options is gambling, and the only reason regulators might give a shit anymore is because we are making too much money. There may be some restrictions put in place, but gambling from your phone on your couch is not going anywhere. More and more states are allowing things like Draftkings, poker, state ‘lottery” apps, hell - even political betting. Michigan and Virginia just ok’d gambling apps. They won’t be the last. This is all from your couch and any 18 year old with a cracked iphone can access it. Wouldn’t it be cool if Playboy was going to do something like that? They’re already working on it. As per CEO Ben Kohn who we will get to later, “...the company’s casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth.” Honestly, I stopped researching Scientific Games' sports betting segment when I saw the word ‘omni-channel’. That told me all I needed to know about it’s success.
“Our SG Sports™ platform is an enhanced, omni-channel solution for online, self-service and retail fixed odds sports betting – from soccer to tennis, basketball, football, baseball, hockey, motor sports, racing and more.”
https://www.scientificgames.com/
https://www.microgaming.co.uk/
“This latter segment has become increasingly enticing for Playboy, and it said last week that it is considering new tie-ups that could include gaming operators like PointsBet and 888Holdings.”
https://calvinayre.com/2020/10/05/business/playboys-gaming-ops-could-get-a-boost-from-spac-purchase/
As per their SEC filing:
“Significant consumer engagement and spend with Playboy-branded gaming properties around the world, including with leading partners such as Microgaming, Scientific Games, and Caesar’s Entertainment, steers our investment in digital gaming, sports betting and other digital offerings to further support our commercial strategy to expand consumer spend with minimal marginal cost, and gain consumer data to inform go-to-market plans across categories.”
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tMDAA1
They are expanding into more areas of gaming/gambling, working with international players in the digital gaming/gambling arena, and a Playboy sportsbook is on the horizon.
https://www.playboy.com/read/the-pleasure-of-playing-with-yourself-mobile-gaming-in-the-covid-era
Cannabis - If you’ve ever read through a Playboy magazine, you know they’ve had a positive relationship with cannabis for many years. As of September 2020, Playboy has made a major shift into the cannabis space. Too good to be true you say? Check their website. Playboy currently sells a range of CBD products. This is a good sign. Federal hemp products, which these most likely are, can be mailed across state lines and most importantly for a company like Playboy, can operate through a traditional banking institution. CBD products are usually the first step towards the cannabis space for large companies. Playboy didn’t make these products themselves meaning they are working with a processor in the cannabis industry. Another good sign for future expansion. What else do they have for sale? Pipes, grinders, ashtrays, rolling trays, joint holders. Hmm. Ok. So it looks like they want to sell some shit. They probably don’t have an active interest in cannabis right? Think again:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/09/24/playboy-gets-serious-about-cannabis-law-reform-advocacy-with-new-partnership-grants/?sh=62f044a65cea
“Taking yet another step into the cannabis space, Playboy will be announcing later on Thursday (September, 2020) that it is launching a cannabis law reform and advocacy campaign in partnership with National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Last Prisoner Project, Marijuana Policy Project, the Veterans Cannabis Project, and the Eaze Momentum Program.”
“According to information procured exclusively, the three-pronged campaign will focus on calling for federal legalization. The program also includes the creation of a mentorship plan, through which the Playboy Foundation will support entrepreneurs from groups that are underrepresented in the industry.” Remember that CEO Kohn from earlier? He wrote this recently:
https://medium.com/naked-open-letters-from-playboy/congress-must-pass-the-more-act-c867c35239ae
Seems like he really wants weed to be legal? Hmm wonder why? The writing's on the wall my friends. Playboy wants into the cannabis industry, they are making steps towards this end, and we have favorable conditions for legislative progress.
Don’t think branding your own cannabis line is profitable or worthwhile? Tell me why these 41 celebrity millionaires and billionaires are dummies. I’ll wait.
https://www.celebstoner.com/news/celebstoner-news/2019/07/12/top-celebrity-cannabis-brands/
Confirmation: I hear you. “This all seems pretty speculative. It would be wildly profitable if they pull this shift off. But how do we really know?” Watch this whole video:
https://finance.yahoo.com/video/playboy-ceo-telling-story-female-154907068.html
Man - this interview just gets my juices flowing. And highlights one of my favorite reasons for this play. They have so many different business avenues from which a catalyst could appear. I think paying attention, holding shares, and options on these staggered announcements over the next year is the way I am going to go about it. "There's definitely been a shift to direct-to-consumer," he (Kohn) said. "About 50 percent of our revenue today is direct-to-consumer, and that will continue to grow going forward.” “Kohn touted Playboy's portfolio of both digital and consumer products, with casino-style gaming, in particular, serving a crucial role under the company's new business model. Playboy also has its sights on the emerging cannabis market, from CBD products to marijuana products geared toward sexual health and pleasure.” "If THC does become legal in the United States, we have developed certain strains to enhance your sex life that we will launch," Kohn said. https://cheddar.com/media/playboy-goes-public-health-gaming-lifestyle-focus Oh? The CEO actually said it? Ok then. “We have developed certain strains…” They’re already working with growers on strains and genetics? Ok. There are several legal cannabis markets for those products right now, international and stateside. I expect Playboy licensed hemp and THC pre-rolls by EOY. Something like this: https://www.etsy.com/listing/842996758/10-playboy-pre-roll-tubes-limited?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=pre+roll+playboy&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&organic_search_click=1 Maintaining cannabis operations can be costly and a regulatory headache. Playboy’s licensing strategy allows them to pick successful, established partners and sidestep traditional barriers to entry. You know what I like about these new markets? They’re expanding. Worldwide. And they are going to be a bigger deal than they already are with or without Playboy. Who thinks weed and gambling are going away? Too many people like that stuff. These are easy markets. And Playboy is early enough to carve out their spot in each. Fuck it, read this too: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimosman/2020/10/20/playboy-could-be-the-king-of-spacs-here-are-three-picks/?sh=2e13dcaa3e05
Numbers: You want numbers? I got numbers. As per the company’s most recent SEC filing:
“For the year ended December 31, 2019, and the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s historical consolidated revenue was $78.1 million and $101.3 million, respectively, historical consolidated net income (loss) was $(23.6) million and $(4.8) million, respectively, and Adjusted EBITDA was $13.1 million and $21.8 million, respectively.”
“In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Licensing segment contributed $44.2 million in revenue and $31.1 million in net income.”
“In the ninth months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Direct-to-Consumer segment contributed $40.2 million in revenue and net income of $0.1 million.”
“In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Digital Subscriptions and Content segment contributed $15.4 million in revenue and net income of $7.4 million.”
They are profitable across all three of their current business segments.
“Playboy’s return to the public markets presents a transformed, streamlined and high-growth business. The Company has over $400 million in cash flows contracted through 2029, sexual wellness products available for sale online and in over 10,000 major retail stores in the US, and a growing variety of clothing and branded lifestyle and digital gaming products.”
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF
Growth: Playboy has massive growth in China and massive growth potential in India. “In China, where Playboy has spent more than 25 years building its business, our licensees have an enormous footprint of nearly 2,500 brick and mortar stores and 1,000 ecommerce stores selling high quality, Playboy-branded men’s casual wear, shoes/footwear, sleepwear, swimwear, formal suits, leather & non-leather goods, sweaters, active wear, and accessories. We have achieved significant growth in China licensing revenues over the past several years in partnership with strong licensees and high-quality manufacturers, and we are planning for increased growth through updates to our men’s fashion lines and expansion into adjacent categories in men’s skincare and grooming, sexual wellness, and women’s fashion, a category where recent launches have been well received.” The men’s market in China is about the same size as the entire population of the United States and European Union combined. Playboy is a leading brand in this market. They are expanding into the women’s market too. Did you know CBD toothpaste is huge in China? China loves CBD products and has hemp fields that dwarf those in the US. If Playboy expands their CBD line China it will be huge. Did you know the gambling money in Macau absolutely puts Las Vegas to shame? Technically, it's illegal on the mainland, but in reality, there is a lot of gambling going on in China. https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/10/19/magic-johnson-and-uncle-buds-cbd-brand-enter-china-via-tmall-partnership/?sh=271776ca411e “In India, Playboy today has a presence through select apparel licensees and hospitality establishments. Consumer research suggests significant growth opportunities in the territory with Playboy’s brand and categories of focus.” “Playboy Enterprises has announced the expansion of its global consumer products business into India as part of a partnership with Jay Jay Iconic Brands, a leading fashion and lifestyle Company in India.” “The Indian market today is dominated by consumers under the age of 35, who represent more than 65 percent of the country’s total population and are driving India’s significant online shopping growth. The Playboy brand’s core values of playfulness and exploration resonate strongly with the expressed desires of today’s younger millennial consumers. For us, Playboy was the perfect fit.” “The Playboy international portfolio has been flourishing for more than 25 years in several South Asian markets such as China and Japan. In particular, it has strategically targeted the millennial and gen-Z audiences across categories such as apparel, footwear, home textiles, eyewear and watches.” https://www.licenseglobal.com/industry-news/playboy-expands-global-footprint-india It looks like they gave COVID the heisman in terms of net damage sustained: “Although Playboy has not suffered any material adverse consequences to date from the COVID-19 pandemic, the business has been impacted both negatively and positively. The remote working and stay-at-home orders resulted in the closure of the London Playboy Club and retail stores of Playboy’s licensees, decreasing licensing revenues in the second quarter, as well as causing supply chain disruption and less efficient product development thereby slowing the launch of new products. However, these negative impacts were offset by an increase in Yandy’s direct-to-consumer sales, which have benefited in part from overall increases in online retail sales so far during the pandemic.” Looks like the positives are long term (Yandy acquisition) and the negatives are temporary (stay-at-home orders).
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921006093/tm213766-1_defa14a.htm
This speaks to their ability to maintain a financially solvent company throughout the transition phase to the aforementioned areas. They’d say some fancy shit like “expanded business model to encompass four key revenue streams: Sexual Wellness, Style & Apparel, Gaming & Lifestyle, and Beauty & Grooming.” I hear “we’re just biding our time with these trinkets until those dollar dollar bill y’all markets are fully up and running.” But the truth is these existing revenue streams are profitable, scalable, and rapidly expanding Playboy’s e-commerce segment around the world.
"Even in the face of COVID this year, we've been able to grow EBITDA over 100 percent and revenue over 68 percent, and I expect that to accelerate going into 2021," he said. “Playboy is accelerating its growth in company-owned and branded consumer products in attractive and expanding markets in which it has a proven history of brand affinity and consumer spend.”
Also in the SEC filing, the Time Frame:
“As we detailed in the definitive proxy statement, the SPAC stockholder meeting to vote on the transaction has been set for February 9th, and, subject to stockholder approval and satisfaction of the other closing conditions, we expect to complete the merger and begin trading on NASDAQ under ticker PLBY shortly thereafter,” concluded Kohn.
The Players: Suhail “The Whale” Rizvi (HMFIC), Ben “The Bridge” Kohn (CEO), “lil” Suying Liu & “Big” Dong Liu (Young-gun China gang). I encourage you to look these folks up. The real OG here is Suhail Rizvi. He’s from India originally and Chairman of the Board for the new PLBY company. He was an early investor in Twitter, Square, Facebook and others. His firm, Rizvi Traverse, currently invests in Instacart, Pinterest, Snapchat, Playboy, and SpaceX. Maybe you’ve heard of them. “Rizvi, who owns a sprawling three-home compound in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a 1.65-acre estate in Palm Beach, Florida, near Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg, moved to Iowa Falls when he was five. His father was a professor of psychology at Iowa. Along with his older brother Ashraf, a hedge fund manager, Rizvi graduated from Wharton business school.” “Suhail Rizvi: the 47-year-old 'unsocial' social media baron: When Twitter goes public in the coming weeks (2013), one of the biggest winners will be a 47-year-old financier who guards his secrecy so zealously that he employs a person to take down his Wikipedia entry and scrub his photos from the internet. In IPO, Twitter seeks to be 'anti-FB'” “Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia looks like a big Twitter winner. So do the moneyed clients of Jamie Dimon. But as you’ve-got-to-be-joking wealth washed over Twitter on Thursday — a company that didn’t exist eight years ago was worth $31.7 billion after its first day on the stock market — the non-boldface name of the moment is Suhail R. Rizvi. Mr. Rizvi, 47, runs a private investment company that is the largest outside investor in Twitter with a 15.6 percent stake worth $3.8 billion at the end of trading on Thursday (November, 2013). Using a web of connections in the tech industry and in finance, as well as a hearty dose of good timing, he brought many prominent names in at the ground floor, including the Saudi prince and some of JPMorgan’s wealthiest clients.” https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/technology/at-twitter-working-behind-the-scenes-toward-a-billion-dollar-payday.html Y’all like that Arab money? How about a dude that can call up Saudi Princes and convince them to spend? Funniest shit about I read about him: “Rizvi was able to buy only $100 million in Facebook shortly before its IPO, thus limiting his returns, according to people with knowledge of the matter.” Poor guy :(
He should be fine with the 16 million PLBY shares he's going to have though :)
Shuhail also has experience in the entertainment industry. He’s invested in companies like SESAC, ICM, and Summit Entertainment. He’s got Hollywood connections to blast this stuff post-merger. And he’s at least partially responsible for that whole Twilight thing. I’m team Edward btw.
I really like what Suhail has done so far. He’s lurked in the shadows while Kohn is consolidating the company, trimming the fat, making Playboy profitable, and aiming the ship at modern growing markets.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-ipo-rizvi-insight/insight-little-known-hollywood-investor-poised-to-score-with-twitter-ipo-idUSBRE9920VW20131003
Ben “The Bridge” Kohn is an interesting guy. He’s the connection between Rizvi Traverse and Playboy. He’s both CEO of Playboy and was previously Managing Partner at Rizvi Traverse. Ben seems to be the voice of the Playboy-Rizvi partnership, which makes sense with Suhail’s privacy concerns. Kohn said this:
“Today is a very big day for all of us at Playboy and for all our partners globally. I stepped into the CEO role at Playboy in 2017 because I saw the biggest opportunity of my career. Playboy is a brand and platform that could not be replicated today. It has massive global reach, with more than $3B of global consumer spend and products sold in over 180 countries. Our mission – to create a culture where all people can pursue pleasure – is rooted in our 67-year history and creates a clear focus for our business and role we play in people’s lives, providing them with the products, services and experiences that create a lifestyle of pleasure. We are taking this step into the public markets because the committed capital will enable us to accelerate our product development and go-to-market strategies and to more rapidly build our direct to consumer capabilities,” said Ben Kohn, CEO of Playboy.
“Playboy today is a highly profitable commerce business with a total addressable market projected in the trillions of dollars,” Mr. Kohn continued, “We are actively selling into the Sexual Wellness consumer category, projected to be approximately $400 billion in size by 2024, where our recently launched intimacy products have rolled out to more than 10,000 stores at major US retailers in the United States. Combined with our owned & operated ecommerce Sexual Wellness initiatives, the category will contribute more than 40% of our revenue this year. In our Apparel and Beauty categories, our collaborations with high-end fashion brands including Missguided and PacSun are projected to achieve over $50M in retail sales across the US and UK this year, our leading men’s apparel lines in China expanded to nearly 2500 brick and mortar stores and almost 1000 digital stores, and our new men’s and women’s fragrance line recently launched in Europe. In Gaming, our casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth. Our product strategy is informed by years of consumer data as we actively expand from a purely licensing model into owning and operating key high-growth product lines focused on driving profitability and consumer lifetime value. We are thrilled about the future of Playboy. Our foundation has been set to drive further growth and margin, and with the committed capital from this transaction and our more than $180M in NOLs, we will take advantage of the opportunity in front of us, building to our goal of $100M of adjusted EBITDA in 2025.”
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company
Also, according to their Form 4s, “Big” Dong Liu and “lil” Suying Liu just loaded up with shares last week. These guys are brothers and seem like the Chinese market connection. They are only 32 & 35 years old. I don’t even know what that means, but it's provocative.
https://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/1832415.htm
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-ii-002600994.html
Y’all like that China money?
“Mr. Liu has been the Chief Financial Officer of Dongguan Zhishang Photoelectric Technology Co., Ltd., a regional designer, manufacturer and distributor of LED lights serving commercial customers throughout Southern China since November 2016, at which time he led a syndicate of investments into the firm. Mr. Liu has since overseen the financials of Dongguan Zhishang as well as provided strategic guidance to its board of directors, advising on operational efficiency and cash flow performance. From March 2010 to October 2016, Mr. Liu was the Head of Finance at Feidiao Electrical Group Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese manufacturer of electrical outlets headquartered in Shanghai and with businesses in the greater China region as well as Europe.”
Dr. Suying Liu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp., commented, “Playboy is a unique and compelling investment opportunity, with one of the world’s largest and most recognized brands, its proven consumer affinity and spend, and its enormous future growth potential in its four product segments and new and existing geographic regions. I am thrilled to be partnering with Ben and his exceptional team to bring his vision to fruition.”
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company
These guys are good. They have a proven track record of success across multiple industries. Connections and money run deep with all of these guys. I don’t think they’re in the game to lose.
I was going to write a couple more paragraphs about why you should have a look at this but really the best thing you can do is read this SEC filing from a couple days ago. It explains the situation in far better detail. Specifically, look to page 137 and read through their strategy. Also, look at their ownership percentages and compensation plans including the stock options and their prices. The financials look great, revenue is up 90% Q3, and it looks like a bright future.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF
I’m hesitant to attach this because his position seems short term, but I’m going to with a warning because he does hit on some good points (two are below his link) and he’s got a sizable position in this thing (500k+ on margin, I think). I don’t know this guy but he did look at the same publicly available info and make roughly the same prediction, albeit without the in depth gambling or cannabis mention. You can also search reddit for ‘MCAC’ and very few relevant results come up and none of them even come close to really looking at this thing.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gOvAd6lebs452hFlWWbxVjQ3VMsjGBkbJeXRwDwIJfM/edit?usp=sharing
“Also, before you people start making claims that Playboy is a “boomer” company, STOP RIGHT THERE. This is not a good argument. Simply put. The only thing that matters is Playboy’s name recognition, not their archaic business model which doesn’t even exist anymore as they have completely repurposed their business.”
“Imagine not buying $MCAC at a 400M valuation lol. Streetwear department is worth 1B alone imo.”
Considering the ridiculous Chinese growth as a lifestyle brand, he’s not wrong.
Current Cultural Significance and Meme Value: A year ago I wouldn’t have included this section but the events from the last several weeks (even going back to tsla) have proven that a company’s ability to meme and/or gain social network popularity can have an effect. Tik-tok, Snapchat, Twitch, Reddit, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter. They all have Playboy stuff on them. Kids in middle and highschool know what Playboy is but will likely never see or touch one of the magazines in person. They’ll have a Playboy hoodie though. Crazy huh? A lot like GME, PLBY would hugely benefit from meme-value stock interest to drive engagement towards their new business model while also building strategic coffers. This interest may not directly and/or significantly move the stock price but can generate significant interest from larger players who will.
Bull Case: The year is 2025. Playboy is now the world leader pleasure brand. They began by offering Playboy licensed gaming products, including gambling products, direct to consumers through existing names. By 2022, demand has skyrocketed and Playboy has designed and released their own gambling platforms. In 2025, they are also a leading cannabis brand in the United States and Canada with proprietary strains and products geared towards sexual wellness. Cannabis was legalized in the US in 2023 when President Biden got glaucoma but had success with cannabis treatment. He personally pushes for cannabis legalization as he steps out of office after his first term. Playboy has also grown their brand in China and India to multi-billion per year markets. The stock goes up from 11ish to 100ish and everyone makes big gains buying somewhere along the way.
Bear Case: The United States does a complete 180 on marijuana and gambling. President Biden overdoses on marijuana in the Lincoln bedroom when his FDs go tits up and he loses a ton of money in his sports book app after the Fighting Blue Hens narrowly lose the National Championship to Bama. Playboy is unable to expand their cannabis and gambling brands but still does well with their worldwide lifestyle brand. They gain and lose some interest in China and India but the markets are too large to ignore them completely. The stock goes up from 11ish to 13ish and everyone makes 15-20% gains.
TL;DR: Successful technology/e-commerce investment firm took over Playboy to turn it into a porn, online gambling/gaming, sports book, cannabis company, worldwide lifestyle brand that promotes sexual wellness, vetern access, women-ownership, minority-ownership, and “pleasure for all”. Does a successful online team reinventing an antiquated physical copy giant sound familiar? No options yet, shares only for now. $11.38 per share at time of writing. My guess? $20 by the end of February. $50 by EOY. This is not financial advice. I am not qualified to give financial advice. I’m just sayin’ I would personally use a Playboy sports book app while smoking a Playboy strain specific joint and it would be cool if they did that. Do your own research. You’d probably want to start here:
WARNING - POTENTIALLY NSFW - SEXY MODELS AHEAD - no actual nudity though
https://s26.q4cdn.com/895475556/files/doc_presentations/Playboy-Craig-Hallum-Conference-Investor-Presentation-11_17_20-compressed.pdf
Or here:
https://www.mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/default.aspx
Jimmy Chill: “Get into any SPAC at $10 or $11 and you are going to make money.”
STL;DR: Buy MCAC. MCAC > PLBY couple weeks. Rocketship. Moon.
Position: 5000 shares. I will buy short, medium, and long-dated calls once available.

Sustainable gacha gaming for players new to gacha games

So, something that worries me about Genshin is that I see that its a very unique game that draws in many players who have never even heard the word gacha before. If that is you, here is some very important things to remember.
Let me preface this by saying, I'm still very interested in Genshin and currently I love the game. I will be frank here but do not consider it negative.
In the gacha world there are 3 kinds of players. F2P (Free to play) Dolphins (will spend a little on the game) and Whales (Someone who could drop $1000 a week and not even blink) Most players will fall into the first two categories. Games like this are built to at all times force you as often as possible to break your spending category into the one above you. So it is important to be careful, and to remain sustainable to avoid total burn out.
✧ The rule to rule them all:
The game developer is not your friend. At the end of the day, Your relationship is entirely transactional. Be careful to separate this from your emotional bond to characters in the game.
✧ On Summoning:
1) Always check the rates on the banner before you summon. NEVER just trust the banner graphic. What is pictured in the banner is not always on focus. Currently this especially applies to the non limited banner where Mona, Qiqi and Keqing are on the banner graphic. If you look at the rates page, in fact you have an equal (very low) chance to obtain any of the non limited 5* characters. And in fact a much higher chance over all to get a weapon instead. (I would recommend only pulling on this banner with free fates given to you by the game)
2) Even if you like a character, Try to wait till near the end of the banner to summon. There are three reasons for this;

Whales exist for the communities benefit also, thanks to them you will see the characters true colors in the real game very quickly. They often can differ wildly from beta. Debacles like Zhongli are very common in gacha games. This is just the first of many I assure you. Honestly half the fun of gacha is observing the drama. Just don't let yourself become the one getting burned financially. Let the whales do that they can afford it.
We receive official information about the next banner towards the end of the current banner. Information about the next 4* or 5* character may change your mind about summoning on the current one.
You absolutely cannot have every character. Abandon the idea of collecting everyone immediately unless you plan to whale. Look for strengths and weaknesses in the characters you have or save until you want to. Plan ahead a for your summons as much as possible.

✧ Best summoning practice for Genshin:
Currently the math suggests that the game calculates 10x rolls as 10 separate 1 roll. It will upgrade to at least 4* if there is not one at least every 10 rolls. there is no advantage to 10x rolls aside from speed. 10x rolls are okay for speed until 70/75 rolls where you hit a "Soft pity" mathematically. From this point it is recommended to summon in singles to get your best value until pity is broken.

Focus on the one banner. Unless you are spending big don't try to split your resources. Focus on one pity to break at a time.
I could probably never advise spending primogems on the non limited banner. It is simply not worth it ever the rates for characters are terrible. Plus the graphic changes but no one is ever on focus.

just for your mental sanity I kind of recommend saving at least a 10x before summoning and do single pulls. Stopping when you get a 4* or 5*. I think it makes you way less thirsty for more rolls to force yourself to wait and will definitely help you resist the urge to spend randomly.

✧ On Spending:
At the end of the day part of Genshin's play feedback loop is acquiring and spending currency to gamble. If you're wondering why you buy crystals to buy primos to buy wishes it's because by buying a second currency with an in game currency, allows a company to skirt around certain countries laws against gambling. Especially laws relating to gambling for minors.
Gambling can be very costly and very dangerous. If you plan on spending in the game, avoid doing so on impulse. Like any expense look at least one month in advance and decide on your maximum spending per week. Try and establish regular spending habits and be very strict about deviating from them except in very special occasions. Consider the average free primogems as a part of your monthly budget as well.
Vote with your wallet. If you don't like the game that month, don't spend. Let them know via in game feedback why. Even if the reason is just you are getting bored.
Be careful buying the Welkin moon. Remember buying it is a commitment to log in for 30 days. You can accidentally really burn yourself out forcing yourself to play just for these logins. I highly recommend buying only 30 days at a time. If you are happy with the game.
✧ On burn out:
Gacha games are designed to milk you of money. The degree of toxicity varies, exactly to the extent that Genshin will do this is yet to be truly seen. But the system is well designed and is indeed seeming aggressive at this point. Considered in gacha models is burn out. It is expected. Often games will have welcome back banners to help you catch up once you have been away.
But to my point, If you feel tired, take a break. Play another game. Don't let time investment dictate worth. Gacha games are built on this fact. I have spent x amount of time on this thing so its worth X dollars and Y amount of my time. In the end, this logic is false. It is just a game. They are just 3d models and 2d art. If you need to take a break, the game will be there when you get back. If you miss a unit there will always be another hype unit coming down the line.
If you don't take time to rest when you are feeling burn out, you will burn yourself out so hard you will probably quit. So, to truly enjoy a game like this, make sure you rest when you want to, and respect your own time. Do not let the game decide when you should play it. (Genshin needs to fix it's resin problem soon because this will soon become a real problem for long term players.)
✧ Be sure to use the feedback option in game!
This game is still new and needs to understand its audiences expectations. Written in game feedback is much more effective then complaining here. (Though understandably it feels good to be validated by others when there is a problem so still do that it is a part of avoiding burn out.)
✧ Lastly:
Genshin is very clearly not fully optimized for the international market with its business model. It does a lot right especially in regard to character growth, except for constellations (monthly universal unlock item please miHoYo??). They also honestly aren't being that stingy with primogems. Assuming 5* characters remain better than 6 Constellation 4* at a natural 5* with 0 constellations.
Asian market only gacha are very stingy and very expensive. Gambling is much bigger in asian cultures and more socially accepted as a pastime for fun. Also the general attitude to levelling characters is much more machoistic. You will typically find a international version of the same game is much more generous because the western market especially cannot stomach the risk/cost. Obviously the stingier model makes more money. miHoYo is still trying to find the balance here. You can clearly feel it with the last two releases of characters and the reluctance to allow more stamina. So DO let them know how you feel. It is very important to do so.
✧ Remember:
Your relationship with miHoYo is transactional. They are not your friend. Your enjoyment of the game is your own, but remember under all the characters it is a product/business you are purchasing.
These rules have worked for me, some of them were hard learned from mistakes. It is by no means the definitive way to play or think, everyone is different. But if you are completely new to gacha type games I hope this helps you begin to understand the best way to play for you.
- Dusk ✧
Edit: edited for some formatting. Also thank you for the positive feedback. I’m glad this was helpful.

The End: The problems with MassForTheDead

Overview

Well, I'm sure everyone has seen the news. The end of MassForTheDead is upon us. I started in early November. After doing all the story quests and some other things I ended up with only 3 5-star people, and sort of quit because the odds were horrible. I can't remember the exact number of rolls, but I saved every single Choas Stone.
I quit around Thanksgiving, it isn't that the game isn't fun, but the odds were horrible and the prices made no sense. I will get into the problems with this game later, but eventually, I started back up before Xmas. I had better luck this time, while I didn't get any xmas people, but I had decent luck getting other 5-stars.
It's a fun game, but it has many problems. As a developer, I somewhat expected it to fail, but I really was hoping that it wouldn't. I actually mentioned many of the reasons behind it in my review on google play. I shared my review with a few others, but I didn't actually make a post about it. However now I guess it's the last chance I get. I hope that the creators of MFTD see this... because many of these problems I feel almost anyone could come to the same conclusion as me.

NOTE: My language gets a little spicy, do forgive me for not being PC.

Online Only

One of the biggest problems with the game is it being online only. This means that if the game servers are shut down... simply the game doesn't work. Meaning if the game ends in 3 months (like now) everything you have to spend was pretty much wasted. It isn't like steam where you can buy and sell skins or items... you buy a digital product with the potential chance of it being taken away from you at any time.
No one likes this... I would like to blame the devs, but typically it isn't them who make this decision. It's almost always someone higher up, but either way to be honest it was retarded.
It should have been an offline game, are at least playable offline people wouldn't have felt so bad by buying stuff, since they could still use it after the servers are shut down.

Multiple Versions

Having multiple versions of the game is stupid. Simply stupid. It is already hard enough for developers to support Android, Apple, and say the web... but now they need to support Android (jp), Apple (jp), Android (globe), Apple (global).
You rarely see this in western games... However, it is pretty common for Asian games. Rpgs especially almost always get a special global version. My only guess is because of location and language... however you should have designed your app to work with multiple languages. This is web dev 101, you space things out or have scroll bars or cut it off with a popup to give the full name or details. There are tons of ways around this... It's the same story with locations, you should have designed the online game from the ground up to be usable with multiple servers.
I don't want to go on forever about this, but it's basic things. Just add multiple languages, that was it. All you needed to do, yet tons of games every year get a "global" version just for it to die a few years later. STOP IT. Make 1 version, with servers globally. Not enough people in Germany?... shut that server down and move them to another server.
Sorry for the rant on this part, I've played at least 20 games they forced you to play the global version and ended up shutting it down after a year or 2. Honestly, at as dev it drives me crazy they do this. People don't care you have a special ____ holiday or whatever... AWESOME, cool you have a holiday about some cucumber god, ok let us play it, we don't need a second version.
I guess what I'm trying to get at... Crunchyroll shouldn't have been involved in the first place. Maybe as translators, but AAAaaah fuck me dude, why do they keep doing this?

Worse than Gambling...

You buy "chaos stones", which give you a chance to roll for people in the game. Aka gambling, but instead of getting a chance for money, you get a digital item that could disappear at any moment when they shut the game down. At least with gambling, you have a slim chance of getting your money back.
There have been many countries trying to put regulations on loot boxes in games... I'm pretty sure this game would eventually fall into that category. If they are not forced to change it, at the very least they will probably make it 18+ or the local equivalent. Some countries have been trying to force similar taxes onto these types of apps that casinos have to deal with. Potentially they are going to run into an issue with this game because of the random aspect.
They continue to make it worse by having "free" Choas Stones mixed with "paid" Chaos Stones. Honestly, I'm surprised some mom hasn't created a Facebook group about how it's tricking their children. Anyway, I don't care about this, but it is something to note, that this will probably be brought up against them later on.
I know some people will probably argue saying baseball cards, or pokemon cards are similar... however you are getting a physical object. You have it forever, you can sell it, trade it, lick it. It's yours forever. Yes, they are both random chances, but as I explained above... at any moment you could lose it. I could go on with other things, but I'm ranting, so we will leave this here.

Price

... do I have to explain this. The prices are INSANE, let's just forget about it being something you could lose at any moment or the random chance. There are many packs and things for $32.99. Let's look at one. 515 paid stones plus some other stuff. That is 1 roll or ten items... WHAT?!?
Look at any other game, even the MOST money-hungry games like Clash of Clash or Fortnite are 1/4 of this price... and they are games that have been around for years, with tons of content, and tons of game play, and large player bases.
It's like paying $30 goto a movie... or $15 to goto another movie at a better theater, that also in 3d. Don't get me wrong... I LOVE OVERLORD. I love it, I read at least 2 novels a month... but the prices for MFTD are just crazy. Personally, I bought VIP, I think that it's a decent price to support the game and help them developed it... but to be honest for $20 you don't shit. I understand they need to make money, but I 100% guarantee if they cut the price in half, they would more than double their sales. Many of the people reading overlord are younger in high school or college... I can't imagine they are looking forward to throwing down $32 for a roll at 10 cards? (or whatever you call it)... however $16? it far more reasonable. How many of would have bought a "pack" for $16 yet didn't because it was $32?
I'm an old (not really old, 31), and I didn't because it's a ripoff. I just feel like I'm getting bent over around back.

Summary / Horrible

LMAO, guys... honestly this game I love it. I love Overlord, but some of the ideas behind it were horrible. It isn't just 1 of them... but when you add them up all altogether I knew it wasn't going to last long.
What is even worse... they announced they are closing the game down... YET you can still buy shit. YOU CAN STILL BUY DIGITAL ITEMS that will be gone in 2 months. WHAT THE FUCK?!? Am I'm crazy, or is this just me or is this a total douchebag move?
They don't force you to see the notification, nothing pops up... just a quiet little whisper "psst, the game ends April". I will admit, they are at least shutting it down in march... Do they are not a complete scumbag... However, it should have been locked the moment they announced the ending of this game. People love this game, they are dedicated to it. They have spent thousands of hours grinding just to save up for the new stuff coming out next week. I'm sure there are people who just bought stuff yesterday...
What is even worse, I'm pretty sure someone knew about this at least a week ago. I can't imagine some CEO just say, yea I'm done, lets tell them today the game ends. There were meetings, discussions, multiple companies involved... probably a public relations person who spend a day to come up with that announcement.
I'm going to end it here, while I wasn't surprised I wish it continued or was offline as its a fun little game to play throughout the day.

Comprehensive DD on $CTYX: The OTC Biotech Stock of the Decade That Is Being Slept On

[Connectyx (OTC-PINK: CTYX). Will change to Curative Biotechnology with ticker $CURB in Q1 2021.]
I posted this on pennystocks yesterday.
Full Disclosure: I have a $6k initial position in this stock at a cost average of $.06. The stock is now at $0.155 (as of 2/6/21) with my position at $15.5k and movement is just starting.
I am not a financial advisor. I am simply a broke graduate student interested in investing and fucking retiring early. This post represents my personal views and should not be taken as financial advice. Do your own damn research and stop pumping your hard-earned cash into trending stocks on Reddit posts that are nothing but hype, rocket emojis, and a mob chat jerking each other off. Also, not a doctor! The medical content below should never be a substitute for professional medical advice.
With that said, $CTYX is going to fucking Pluto 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 🌑
Price Target: $0.5 by May 1, 2021; $1.25 - $3.00 (~10x) within 2 years with credible potential to be listed on NASDAQ.
This company is absolutely solid on all sides: healthy financials, an experienced & reliable management team, favorable market conditions with a reasonable business model, a solid lineup of products in its pipeline, and many large announcements anticipated within the next 3 months. Simply put, there is extreme asymmetric upside.
$CTYX or Connectyx was taken over by its current team led by CEO Paul Michaels around Feb 2020. Within a year, this CEO has kept every promise he's made and established the infrastructure for growth. The company specializes in bringing orphan drugs (more on this below) through clinical trials and then to market. Paul and his team have decades of experience in big pharma, biotech research, finance, and drug licensing/development (in-depth description in the Management Team section below). They've vetted 3 promising drug candidates in under a year and promised to start clinical trials by mid-2022. If any one of these pass phase 1/2 trials, the market cap grows by hundreds of millions. They also have a reasonable chance to obtain a Priority Review Voucher (PRV) from the FDA that is worth $100-$300M from their strategic picks. They have a clean balance sheet, acquired non-dilute bridge financing while putting these drugs through trials, and have plans of additional deals in the near future.
Why orphan drugs? Orphan drugs are therapeutics that treat rare diseases (defined as illnesses affecting less than 200k Americans per year). From the Orphan Drug Act, there are multiple incentives given by the government to develop orphan drugs: (1) significant tax credits (2) longer market exclusivity after approval (3) waiver of certain FDA fees (4) easier & faster approval process. In 2019, the global orphan drug market is estimated to be valued at $151B. By 2027, this is projected to reach $340.84B (10% compounded annual growth). This the cornerstone of their business model. By gathering a group of experts, they can cheaply vet high potential candidates to add to their development pipeline and then commercialize them from reduced fees as well as fast-track benefits from the FDA.
So why the hell is it call Connectyx? It is just the old name of a software services company which the team acquired. The company has filed for a name change that will be granted within the next 2 weeks to Curative Biotechnology Inc. with a new ticker $CURB. In addition, the CEO himself has hinted at an uplisting to $OTCQB (a certification upgrade from current pink sheet status), mergeacquisition announcements, and $100M in non-dilutive funding. The official FINRA announcement of the name change will be the catalyst for the additional news.
Some quick notes about the charts. The 15x jump in the past couple of months is only the beginning. There is a clear trend of resistance breakthroughs and medium-term consolidation after each announcement. Volatility is low, the number of outstanding shares is small, and there is limited dilutive potential for an OTC.
Let's dive deeper into this hidden gem.
All-Star Management Team
CEO Paul Michaels
Curative BioTech lucked out with a CEO with 25 years of experience in investment banking with a focus on life sciences. Paul has an impressive record, starting as the Executive Vice President and board member of Global Capital Group (a Wall Street wealth management firm). He also got extensive experience in big Pharma through Inabata & Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of a large Japanese drug company, Sumitomo Chemical Group, which totaled $21.8B in revenue in 2013 and employs over 30k people. While serving as Inabata's CFO, Paul licensed American drugs (some from Gilead) for the Asian market. After, the guy helped create Nobelpharma, an orphan drug company, which licenses drugs for rare diseases and got over $35M in initial capital.
In February 2020, Paul took over Connectyx (a software services company at the time) and made it an orphan drug company. It is extremely rare for pink-sheet companies to have such high-caliber, established talent as a leader: decades of experience with finance and leadership positions in multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical companies. He helped build up Inabata and Nobelpharam (both thriving today), and I am confident in his ability to do it again with Connectyx.
VP Communications Pam Bisikirski
Recently, Curative announced Pam as the new Vice President of Communications. She previously served as the director of marketing of National Vision for 21 years. National Vision ($EYE) is a huge optical retail, eye care, and eye-ware company that is trading near a $4B market cap on NASDAQ.
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Michael Grace [news] - Ph.D. in Biochemistry and BS in Chemistry from the University of Nebraska. 30 years of experience in BioPharma with top roles in names like Procter & Gamble, Schering-Plough, Bristol-Myers Squibb, NPS Pharma, and Advaxis Immunotherapies. Lead 6 products to registration and commercialization.
Dr. Ronald Bordens [news] - Ph.D. in Biotechnology with over 26 publications and over 2000 citations. 40 years in biotech and big pharma in research & development. Had a fruitful 26-year career at Schering-Plough Research.
Richard Garr [news] - Serves as Director and CEO as well as President of Neuralstem Inc. (now Seneca Biopharma, Inc. which is listed on NASDAQ as $SNCA) for 20 years. Advocate for right to try treatments in the US and Europe. Founded Access Hope CRO (contract research organization) which dedicates itself to this cause. Was founder and current Board Member of the First Star Foundation Mid-Atlantic chapter which focuses on ill children (including pediatric brain cancer).
Robust Drug Pipeline
Keep in mind this company became a biotech firm in Feb 2020 and they already have 3 drugs in the pipeline along with exclusive rights licenses. Insane.
1) IMT504 immune therapy to treat late-stage rabies.
(11/23/2020 Announcement implies IMT504 rabies license deal is complete)
Strategic relationship with Mid-Atlantic BioTherapeutics, Inc. announced on 8/27/2020. Acquired all rights for development of this patented immunotherapy to treat late-stage rabies (a disease with 100% fatality rate after the treatable period, [kills 59k](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6613553/#:~:text=about this topic%3F-,Each year%2C rabies causes approximately 59%2C000 deaths worldwide%2C including approximately,of postexposure prophylaxis (PEP).).)) globally per year).
Now, the value of this may not be in the drug approval itself (although passing trials would be a huge asset of course). The value is the potential in CTYX obtaining a Priority Review Voucher (PRV). These coupons are handed out by the FDA each year to incentivize research into rare diseases. Exercising the coupon means diminishing the approval process from 10 months to 6 after trials. Further, you can freely sell these on a secondary market to other companies! Historically, these have been sold between $100M to $300M each. If obtained, this is an instant 2x-6x increase to its current $50M market cap. There's more.. notice that the FDA has added Rabies to its PRV-eligible tropical diseases list. Currently, there is only a handful of rabies therapies being researched. This means there's actually a good chance of CYTX getting rewarded a voucher, despite the relatively low count of vouchers distributed annually. PRVs are also possible for all other drugs in the pipeline.
2) CURB906 monoclonal antibody cytotoxic conjugate for the treatment of Glioblastoma.
(10/16/2020 NIH gives a grant of license for worldwide rights)
The second license was filed near July 2020 for a novel monoclonal antibody conjugate to treat brain cancer. Glioblastomas are aggressive brain tumors with poor survival rates in children. Recent studies (e.g. s1, s2) have shown different combinations of chemo-therapy and antibody-drug conjugate (ADCs) therapeutics were effective in both mice and human models. ADCs are innovative methods that attach a cytotoxic compound (one meant to kill cancer cells) to an antibody that specifically attaches to certain cancer cell receptors, thus delivering therapies to their targets. There is great promise and lots of potential in these therapeutics. Exclusive Evaluation and Commercialization Option License Agreement with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has been granted.
3) Metformin repurposed to treat retinal degeneration.
(2/4/2021 NIH gives a grant of license for worldwide rights)
This is probably the ace in the hole and the largest reason behind the recent stock surge. On 2/4/2021, CTYX announced they received an NIH grant for exclusive worldwide rights to adapt a diabetes drug, Metformin, to treat retinal degeneration. Not only is Metformin proven safe (it is a widely used drug to treat Type1 Diabetes since 1995), there are many studies (e.g. s1, s2, s3) that hint at its effectiveness for retinal diseases. The recently granted license not only covers pediatric retinal generation (in the form of Stargardt Disease), it covers treatment in adults as well and includes macular degeneration. This promising treatment potentially covers 2/3 of the US population (2/3 of Americans are pre-diabetic, 1/10 are diabetic, and 11 million have some form of macular degeneration; why care about diabetes? diabetes causes retinopathy).
Huge Upcoming Announcements
The announced name change is the opening of the flood gates for all upcoming news. Additional licenses, uplistings, and deals with be done under the new company name. Expect many of these announcements following FINRA approval. These are some forward-looking implications:

(Within 2 weeks) FINRA approval of name change to Curative Biotechnology Inc. and ticker $CURB.
(Within weeks of name change) Following the name change, there will be an uplisting to OTCQB. OTCQB is a tier up from Pink Sheets and must adhere to stricter management certifications, undergo annual audits, and are more stringent in their financial reporting. Connectyx is currently working to become fully reporting OTCQB; to that end, the Company appointed Jonathan D. Leinwand, PA as Legal Counsel.
(Within weeks of name change) Talk of multiple upcoming drugs (if the Metformin announcement was one of them, we should see at least one more).
(Within weeks of name change) Hints at $100M of non-dilutive funding for clinical trials.
(Within months of name change) Mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships with other firms for licensing and commercialization.

Downsides
Before we get ahead of ourselves and dream about retiring in 3 months while riding this into space, we gotta ground ourselves and discuss the downsides. Remember: in life, there are no solutions, only tradeoffs. There are always downsides and risks.
Risk 1) This is currently a pink sheet. That itself should make you more cautious because there is reduced regulation, more "flexible" rules, and less scrutiny/transparency.
Risk 2) High risk, high reward. If all 3 drugs flop (assuming no additional therapeutics are added) and they don't get a PRV (priority review voucher), then this company is worthless. Granted, the chances are low, but still a possibility to consider.
Risk 3) Share dilution and raising capital. Because clinical trials often require obscene amounts of capital (~$400M investment for normal drugs), there is a risk that managers might dilute the stock in order to raise money or to take profits in general. There are currently 322M outstanding shares with 1.1B authorized shares. Read the share disclosures, do the math, gauge the risks. Note that orphan drug trials are a lot less costly as well.
Risks and unknowns are certainly there. However, the upside potential is too big to ignore. Buy at pennies, sell for dollars. Do the research and take advantage of any dips that might come on Monday from 2 days of green explosions.
------------------------------------------------------------
TL;DR.

You should fucking read it, because this Phoenix has a high probability of rising from ashes to become the OTC stock of the yeadecade with effortless 10x upside in the short-term.
$CTYX will change to $CURB (Curative BioTech) soon. Business strategy: (1) bring together financial experts, veterans in big pharma, accomplished biotech researchers, and world-class grant writers to vet orphan drugs (2) make deals and obtain licenses for these drugs to help get them through clinical trials (3) take advantage of special FDA benefits for orphan drug approval (faster approval process, fee waivers, etc) and commercialize them after with longer exclusive rights.
Finance: company has no problematic debt, clean sheets, non-dilutive funding, and a small number of outstanding shares for an OTC (322M).
Products: 3 promising drug candidates in the pipeline within a year. Multiple exclusive license grants approved by the NIH.
Upcoming Announcements: (1) name change (2) uplisting to $OTCQB from pink sheets (3) more non-dilutive funding (4) additional drug(s) in pipeline (5) mergers, acquisitions, and deals with other pharma companies.
Current market cap: $50M. Upside: (1) +$100M - $300M if awarded a priority review voucher (PRV) (2) +hundreds of millions in market cap if any of the 3 promising drugs goes past phase 2 ~end of 2022 (3) +millions in speculative capital if new drugs are announced in pipeline (4) potential future merger with large pharma or uplisting to NASDAQ (other biotech companies are listed with half the number of products).

Resources
Again, these are just my thoughts. For your own research, I've linked some relevant forums, analysis, grant listings, company resources, insider profiles, and other sources. Happy digging.
Company
Company Website (new website coming soon w/ new company name)
Yahoo Finance (has all their press releases, financial summaries, and prospectives)
"Prospective" Grant Listings (all grants listed have been approved)
CTYX Financial Filings
CTYX Share Structure and Security Details
Insider Personel
CEO LinkedIn (Paul M Michaels)
CSO LinkedIn (Barry A. Ginsberg)
VP Communications (Pam Bisikirski)
Chairman of Audit Committee of Board (Michael K. Fish)
Forums / Discussions
https://stocktwits.com/symbol/CTYX (~200 followers right now)
https://investorshub.advfn.com/Connectyx-Techs-Hldg-CTYX-15134/ (warning: UI is god awful)

Ridiculous Impact! Know the vast world that you're stepping your foot into

Hello Traveler~ Nice meeting you here. Now this is gonna be quite a big post so I'll first give up table of contents and what'll be discussed so you can easily jump to your preferred section. I'll give you 20 resin(worth of upto 1 domain) if you read it all. This is a very big post and not much nicely formatted cuz I suck at it so just read it at your own pace.

TABLE ON CONTENTS:
1 Genshin vs Honkai
2 Some interesting opinions by community
3 Rewards in Genshin
4 Confirmation pop ups
5 Spiral Abyss is such a waste
6 One time challenge domains
7 Constellations
8 Events are bad
9 Why World Level is an absolute joke
10 Co-op aka the resource stealing mode
11 Resin and other issues
12 Should you spend money on Genshin
13 What should you do
14 Mihoyo
15 Final Words

1) GENSHIN VS HONKAI IMPACT 3
In this section let's look at some of things which Honkai did right, Genshin did wrong, and things which I presonally would love if Genshin inherits from Honkai. While the games are quite different from each other, what we'll look at is basic designs.
If you don't know Honkai Impact 3, it's a game developed by Mihoyo available on PC, Mobile platforms. For further info google is your friend.

Stamina vs Resin system:
Honkai uses a stamina system similar to Genshin which is used to play different content. There are some key differences with how it's implemented, let's look at those....

Honkai Stamina scales with Captain Level:
Captain level in Honkai is similar to Adventure Rank(AR). In Honkai your total stamina limit increases as you level up. You start at maximum limit of 80 stamina at Level 1, which doubles as you hit Level 80 increasing up to 160.

Daily Stamina refill twice a day:
Honkai provides 2 stamina refills a day where user can login and claim the stamina. If doesn't disappear till next day so you can login at night and claim both the stamina. Genshin has nothing of the sort.

Daily Login Bonuses:
Honkai had these from Day 1 and I don't even know why it isn't in Genshin in the first place. Sieze the day is not an event neither it should. There should be proper daily login rewards.

Stamina usage is very less in Honkai:
The stamina you use in Honkai to play content is very less compared to the usage in Genshin. Normal Story mode quests use 10 per run(normal difficulty), weapon exp and stigma exp(similar to artifact) use 16 per run and Character Exp use 12 per run. Money stage is the best as it uses only 5 per run. This is a lot better than Genshin's minimum of 20 everywhere.

Events use very little to no stamina in Honkai. This is something I'd like to point out here. Elemental Crucible event was bad imo, reward wise as well gameplay wise. The event used Resin to reward you AR exp as well as materials. This is quite different from Honkai where events are the ones which use the least stamina in the whole game. Most events use 5, 8, 10 or in some cases 0 stamina to play. Events also give stamina items as rewards. And tbh some events give more stamina as reward rather than using it.

Stamina refreshes costs way less in Honkai:
In Honkai you can refresh you stamina by using crystals(similar currency as primogems). The cost of refreshes is way less compared to Genshin. In Honkai first two refreshes cost only 25 crystals, next two cost 50 crystals and so on.
One pull in Honkai costs 280 crystals.
Effectively one refresh uses only 1/11 of a pull. Compare it with Genshin where one refresh costs you 1/3 rd of a pull and two refreshes costs you a full single pull.
In Honkai first 4 refreshes cost 150 crystals which is 1/2th of a single pull. So even refreshing 4 times you only use crystals about half of a single pull compared to the atrocious refreshes rates of Genshin.

Memorial Arena vs Weekly Boss:
In Honkai Impact you have something similar to Weekly Boss in Genshin where you fight 3 Bosses(boss changes per week), you defeat them and get rewards. This mode uses no stamina at all. While somehow in Genshin in addition to being only available once a week you need a whopping 60 resin for it.

Vending machine/Refrigerator:
It's a item in Honkai which automatically stores your excess stamina. Dunno why this isn't in Genshin. I know about the upcoming resin item but that's still you gotta login and do it manually. This will be a nice QoL change.

Abyss:
Honkai also has an abyss mode which resets twice a week. The reset is full meaning you start climbing from start. Abyss in Honkai is more rewarding than abyss in Genshin. In Honkai abyss is divided in groups namely sinful, agony, red lotus and myraid. Depeding on your score you either demote, promote or retain. We'll take the example of Red lotus since I feel like in terms of difficulty of clearing all the 12 Floors in Genshin, red lotus is a good comparison.
Retention in Red Lotus gives you a total of 420 crystals. This amounts to a total of 3360 crystals per month. Compare it with the 1200 primogems you get per month from Genshin abyss.
Genshin gives you 7.5 pulls per month from abyss while Honkai gives you 12 pulls per month.

Constellation and Ranking up in Honkai:
In Honkai there is a similar system to constellations where you can upgrade your character rank. It goes from Rank B -> A -> S -> SS -> SSS. Ranking up characters provide significant boosts to powers. Some characters are so that you can't even tell whether it's the same one of not. That's how high the boost Ranking up gives to units. The one saving grace in Honkai is that you can farm character fragments. Character fragments are what allows a character to increase the rank. You can farm them from story mode, events and if you get a same character from gacha then it is converted into fragments which you can use to upgrade your character.

Gacha Banners:
In Honkai you can get 3 things from Gacha namely Character, weapon and stigma(honkai's equivalent of Artificats). There is one other thing that is ELFs but we have nothing similar in Genshin and ELF is also a separate gacha from others.
The main point is that in Honkai all banners are separate. There is a separate banner for characters, weapons & stigma and lastly elf. Weapons & stigma banners don't have characters while character banners don't have weapons/elf etc. So if you hit pity on character banner then you are atleast guaranteed that you will get a character. This also makes ranking up characters quite affordable compared to genshin.
Another point to mention is that character banners in Honkai features only 1 UP rate character. Honkai equivalent of 5 star character is an S rank valkyrie. Character banners in Honkai have only one S rank character. The pity is 100 pulls for guaranteed character. So if you by luck hit the 1.5% chance of getting a S rank character then you are guaranteed to get the character on the banner. There is no ridiculous 50% chance of getting something you don't even want.

Grinding in Genshin is 10x worse than in Honkai:
The main reason why resin sucks even more. The amount of grinding you need to do in Genshin is 10x than in Honkai. Mora, Exp material for char, exp material for weapons, artificats, domains, bosses, weekly bosses. So yeah in the end what we got is
10x more grinding and 10x worse stamina system.
This is what we got. The materials you need for even one character are so ridiculous that you need to farm weeks just for that one character alone which is crazy.

Rewards for buying primogems:
This is not much of an issue and is only for whales but something I thought I'd point out. In Honkai there are rewards given to players when you buy a certain amount of crystals. The rewards include things like outfits, materials, frame, emblem, exclusive dorm set etc. They even recently revamped those awards and it gives even more now.
Genshin on the other hand has nothing like this.

Final words:
It doesn't take a genius to understand that despite having a lot of experience in the field and having better system in the past, Mihoyo went with ridiculous monetization as well as the stamina system for Genshin. Now I won't say Honkai is perfect. Hell it's quite a bad game with the number of faults it has of its own, but it's still better than Genshin. Honkai learned and improved over time, but it wasn't as bad as Genshin is at the start.

2) SOME INTERESTING OPINIONS REGARDING THE GAME
I've seen a lot of interesting opinions in various platforms including forums, reddit as well as youtube comments, and some I received on my previous post. Let's take a look at them.

Resin system is absolutely required because it is mandatory by law in China
This absolute bs of the excuse going around. I mean just one look at the game and you can clearly see how false it is. Firstly regarding the law, it is only for people less than 18 years old to regulate their playtime and money spending. It doesn't apply to others. Also going by the fact that you can play Genshin Impact straight for 24 hours throws this crap outta the window. So at least look into the things before making such statements.

I'm a working/family man. It's good that resin is there since it's perfect for me.
This has two types. One which say it's good for them but still want change and the others which just want it to stay as it is.
Okay this is good for you but what about others? Now I'm not talking bad here. I mean there's a lot of people here with jobs who don't have much time to play. BUT what about people who can play?
The ultimate meaning of this statement is that Since I can't play for much longer due to work or other things nobody else should also be allowed to play it longer than me.
This is absolute crap. I mean look at it in these two ways:
By being bound by resin you are happy but part of the community is not happy
BUT
With better resin system the other part will also be happy and you won't have anything to lose.
I mean if resin gets better what is bad for you? Another person can say farm 6 hours daily and can have better artifacts than you. But does it matter? As of now the game has 0 competitive mode and doubt it will even have any in the future considering how it's designed. You have your own world, your own abyss, your own resources. What the account next to you have impacts absolutely nothing for your play. By trying to say that resin is good due to this reason you may be having fun but you are actively trying to destroy the gaming experience of others.

Mihoyo is very generous. You should wait and see it'll be good
A very hard disagree with this statement and this is coming from someone who played Honkai from start till the release of Genshin. Mihoyo is farthest thing there is when talking about generosity. It's the mindset which the people have developed while playing Honkai. You get so little rewards that when you get something a little nicer it feels like a very big thing. This is what Mihoyo rolls with.
Let's look at Honkai. The game gave an item name S rank egg which had some S rank characters to choose from. This was done on the 2nd anniversary, that is after two years of playing the devs game a free character and people were like it's the best thing there is. Not to mention it contained all the characters released year before and none of the new ones. Other games give out way too much that people don't even know about. Hell they are usually so generous that even Mihoyo's Anniversaries don't even compare to their normal events.
Another thing people consider generous is the ability to farm S Rank characters. You can farm some S Rank characters in Honkai using the currency obtained from Memorial Arena. You need 80 fragments to unlock S rank characters and 100 fragments to unlock Awakened S Rank characters. You can only buy 6 fragments for normal and 8 fragments for awakened character per week. All in all you need 13 weeks to unlock the said character and it takes years to farm it all the upto SS or SSS Rank.
So yeah Mihoyo is far from generous. Look at other games who know what generous is.

This is a Gacha game
I feel like most of the people who use this excuse haven't even played any gacha games. It's very easy to see for any gacha game player just how bad genshin is even by gacha games standard. In terms of stamina alone I feel this game has the worst system in the entire gacha game market. I've played my fair share of gacha games and haven't ran into these problems. Hell I never really ran into stamina problem in Honkai.

You do not need gacha characters to clear the game. You can easily do so with the free characters.
The main point of playing games like Genshin which features a variety of characters is playing with the characters you like the most. Of course it may not be true for all but most players have a fav character and they do wanna play with them.
Also look at free characters. They're boring as hell. Kaeya, lisa, amber their moves and gameplay ain't even good. Literally every other character has more interesting moves and is stronger than them.

Genshin is Free-to-Play(F2P)
This is one of the naive opinions. Please know that just because a game is free to play doesn't mean anything flies. It doesn't mean they should be able to do whatever predatory crap they want and get away with it. These are carefully crafted tactics. There's a reason by this F2P game has earned more than Pay-to-Play(P2P) games. And honestly if you ask me F2P games throw more crap than any P2P game.

But FGO gacha is bad, it doesn't have pity.
Tbh it's a very fcked up mindset if for comparisons you always look at the worst things. This basically says you never want anything to improve.
Why even look at worse system!? Why not a good one!? Why you look at FGO, why not at Azur Lane!?
And look Genshin even by gacha standard is one of the worst games there is. Abysmal rates paired with abysmal primogems is just pure garbage. If there is one gacha game worse than Genshin then there are 100 better ones too. Stop using sh!tty excuses to defend such systems. In the end you're getting nothing out of it.

Resin is required for progression check. They don't want you to max out everything within week.
There are way better ways to do this. The first and very simplest one that pops up in mind is just limit the number of runs per day. Resin should've been extra in this game not the center of it.
For example, limit the number of each domains a player can do to say 5 per day. Then if players wanna do one particular domain more then they can use resin. Limit the amount of AR Exp you can do per day and let people grind leylines as much as they want. There's very little you can do with Mora itself you can do in the game. Everywhere you need additional items with Mora to do something. But even then it's still locked behind resin. Realize how fcked up this is.
Also the grind in the game is insane. With the amount of RNG slapped on artifacts, nobody's maxing them in a week or two.

Meh we are not the main market. Asian countries can sustain Genshin by themselves. It won't change anything even if we cry.
While this is true for almost all mobile gacha games, this imo is different for Genshin. Genshin has a lot of western audience and whales. Even according to latest data around 20%(45 million) of total revenue is from US. That is a lot. So yeah western audience is quite huge in genshin and has the ability to make impact. Also the main market ,that is, China are the ones which are revolting the most

3) REWARDS IN GENSHIN
Honestly one of the other bs things in the game is the rewards. Be it event rewards, achievements, chests, quests, spiral abyss. Literally every part of the game is very very low rewarding compared to the effort to you in. Look at Adventure Rank(AR), at higher levels above 40 you need more than 10k exp to advance to next level. That's is 5-6 days worth of grinding and what you get in the end. A measly two fragile resin, maybe 100 primogems, a crap 5 star artifact and 50k mora. Just wow, imo this game instead of rewarding you, actually punishes and spits in your face.
Spiral Abyss is currently the most difficult content in the game. You need 2 teams and a total of 8 characters to challenge upper floors. While not all should be maxed, at least some should be and others also at ok level. They should be better as floor goes on. So gratz you spent months building your teams and cleared the most difficult content in the game and what you get. A bs 1200 primogems. Not even 1600 for a fcking 10 pull but rather this petty amount.
Look at the discord event. Pfft 50 primogems and that too for only 50k people. Pathetic.
This is the case with literally every thing in the game. The amount of reward you get for clearing them is abysmal. You don't even get that feeling of accomplishment after seeing the pathetic rewards.

4) CONFIRMATION POP UPS
One of the very basic things that the game lacks is confirmation popups. Be it abyss, wishes, upgrading materials, characters everything. Don't even know why such a common thing is missing. I play with controller and wasn't used to controls yet due to the reverse O and X system and ended up hitting wishes which I didn't even wanna do.

5) SPIRAL ABYSS IS SUCH A WASTE
Honestly an awesome game mode whose potential is really wasted and badly implemented. Currently the most difficult content in the game. It has 12 Floors and Floor 8-12 reset twice a month. Now let's see how it's badly implemented....
5.1 -> Complete waste of 8 Floors and replay value
There is literally no incentive to play first 8 floors again once you've cleared them. Like why the hell is this even a one time thing. You've created those 8 floors so make use of them. Refresh the whole thing. It's such a waste.
5.2 -> Rewards should be reversed in terms of stars earned
Primogems rewards should be given out fully once you clear the floor regardless of how many stars you earned. The materials and artificats you get can be locked behind the star system even though it is also bad. What they're doing is effectively blocking players from earning even the free primogems. With how scarce the resources are in the game, it will take quiet a bit of time for most players to get to a level where they can clear abyss fully with all stars. This is again a very scummy move.
5.3 -> The timer to earn stars is complete crap
What abyss is now currently is just a dps check. If you have high dps build then you can clear it, otherwise ain't possible. This just limits the strats that players can use. There are tactics, defensive strats, chill strats but this timer just throws everything out the window.
Make it co-op. Make it difficult. There's so many possibilities. Honestly this can be such a good mode but once again is completely wasted.

6) ONE TIME CHALLENGE DOMAINS
Another waste of a thing, the challenge domains that are in the game. Despite having ridiculously low rewards this again is also a one time for Mihoyo knows why. Again very good level design, fun to play but no incentive to play again due to no rewards.
These should refresh every week.

7) CONSTELLATIONS

Realize the fact that every character you get is just 1/7 of his full potential. It is strictly not 1/7th of their power but what I mean is their abilities locked behind constellation. Add this to the fact that let's say you spend $200 to pull a 5 star character. Voila now you've got a character which is 1/7th of his power. Constellations are ridiculous. They provide very high buffs which sometimes completely transform the character.
Constellations should not exist in the game. Whether I pay to get a character or get it by luck, it should be the complete character and not locked behind some sh!t system that requires 6 more of the same thing.
also some people say that you do not need full constellation, he's already pretty strong as he is. See this is wrong. This mindset that you're compromising for something lower is wrong in itself. As I've already said above this constellation system is crap in itself.

8) EVENTS ARE BAD
For games like these events are one of things that are exciting and offer new content. But events in Genshin are a total joke.
The rewards are crap. You get a total of 210 primogems for an event that lasts one whole week. That's not even 2 Wishes. Also the additional rewards you get are just some negligible trash.
The gameplay of events is crap. Take a look at the ongoing event. Is there even anything interesting or worth doing in it. Atm it's just a daily login bonus with few extra steps. Similar was the elemental crucible event. You had to do that buggy crap 20 times to get what? 1 Wish!?
These are not events. It justs Mihoyo laughing at the players faces while giving away bread crumbs.

9) WHY WORLD LEVEL IS A JOKE
Almost nothing scales with good with world level. The things that scale, their scaling is very bad. Look at Mora Ley line, at AR 35 it gives 44000 Mora and at AR 40 it gives 52000 mora. That's just freaking 8000 increase for a week of grinding. 8k Mora is nothing at higher levels. Exp ley line gives 3-4 books which is not even enough for freaking one Level up. The stuff that doesn't require resin doesn't even matter, exp from mobs, mora from mobs etc. All World leveling does is just increase the stats of enemies and nothing else.
The resources requirement increases 10x while resources income increases maybe 0.5x

10) CO-OP aka THE RESOURCE STEALING MODE
Ah yes the resources stealing mode. What you can do in coop? Nothing except stealing resources cuz you ain't getting anything else if you don't have resin. Once again one of the crap rewarding mode. The only incentive to do coop is to imo clear domains easily if you do not have much stronger characters. If you have resin you can get the rewards otherwise another waste of time. Also the reward you get is nothing different. It's the same crap you'll get whether you solo or coop.
Without resin you're just doing carry service. In a game like Genshin which doesn't have competitive features and has a vast open world Coop can be one of the best things there is. But once again no thought was put into it.

11) RESIN AND OTHER ISSUES
Resin issue doesn't even need any introduction at this point. I've already made a post about it before.
Here are some other posts by users which are very good and worth every read. I'll update this as the time goes on. There are many others also. Make use of that search.
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/j7taod/everything_wrong_with_genshin_impact_community/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/j5lksg/to_all_the_players_defending_poor_design_in/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/jignnt/im_in_ar41_and_ill_be_polite_but_resources_in/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/jk9dbw/professional_western_game_designers_advice_on_how/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/jd1o98/mihoyo_seize_the_day_shouldnt_be_treated_as_an/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/jhmyep/lack_of_quality_repeatable_overworld_content_is/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/jabc4w/dont_forget_that_not_only_resin_here_is_a_badly/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/j741n3/dear_mihoyo_and_devs_please_please_dont_spoil/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/jgu30w/weekly_bosses_shouldnt_require_resin/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/j6qxwo/genshin_feels_like_an_open_world_rpg_that_become/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/jcjfcm/lets_talk_about_atrocious_primogem_rewards_and/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/j8o46b/reexploring_the_world_should_be_a_core_endgame/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/jbc64u/there_needs_to_be_a_way_consistently_earn/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/jd3gcl/character_exp_from_monsters_should_be_a_viable/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/jf8hqt/the_r_word_but_mostly_xp_mora_the_antiwhaling/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/jgbmum/a_short_and_long_term_solution_to_the_empty_world/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/jgl22l/resin_is_a_problem_but_the_lack_of_engaging_open/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/jcszfh/how_much_content_is_there_actually_in_genshin/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/jajhyl/to_anyone_saying_that_we_cant_complain_about/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/jbr57l/how_to_improve_genshin_and_its_open_world/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/j5xc74/a_gacha_veterans_opinion_on_genshins_gacha/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/j7pvqs/a_discussion_on_genshin_impact_from_a_chinese/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/j6kmoc/resin_in_genshin_impact_and_how_it_effects_the/

12) SHOULD YOU SPEND MONEY ON GENSHIN aka KNOW THE PREDATORY GACHA SYSTEM
It's your money feel free to use it however you want. But please keep few things in mind.
As long as Mihoyo's making bank changes ain't happening. It's a business and they won't listen or have no need to listen as long as they're making millions. The best way for these companies to get them to make changes is show your dissatisfaction in their revenue. Once the revenue goes down, changes will follow. It's as simple as that. Also keep in mind this is gambling so please be very careful.
The tip I follow is that $100 is nothing in Genshin. It's a lot of money and it doesn't guarantee you anything in Genshin. This keeps my mind in check.
Also for newer people or even the existing players to gacha games, know the system very well. It can get you addicted quite easily and can end in way worse situations. There's a lot of info on the internet and posts on this subreddit also, please search for them and read them. Here's are some of them....
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/j6smci/you_should_know_about_the_tricks_gacha_games_use/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/j6hlfa/i_assume_genshin_impact_is_the_first_gacha_for_a/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/j7gkep/a_little_bit_more_on_how_gacha_games_trick_you/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/je3uw4/before_you_spend_money_on_this_game_consider_this/
https://www.reddit.com/Genshin_Impact/comments/j6fto8/genshin_impact_dont_let_yourself_fall_victim_to_a/
There are many more. Google is your friend.

13) WHAT SHOULD YOU DO
First of all I'd encourage people to keep voicing their opinions and dissatisfaction with the game system. This is the very first step. Secondly this whole post provides lots of things which you can copy paste into the surveys/feedback that happen anywhere. Last is just to enjoy the game.

14) MIHOYO
So far my opinion of the company is absolutely worst. With the way they treat their players and their decisions I've yet to find anything good about this company at all. Let's look at some of the worst decisions made by them.

Nerfing of chest rewards as well as spiral abyss
One of the worst decisions and a spit in the face of the players. Players complained about the lack of primogems in the Closed Beta and Mihoyo's response to them was nerfing it even more. I mean look just look at greed the going is going to so that they snag some extra bucks from the players wallet. On top of being already low, they were nerfed even lower.

Censoring and deleting of posts
Another one of their crappy moves. On official forums they delete posts which criticize the game system.

The Joke known as Feedback
It's the currently ongoing joke in Genshin Impact. You get something which looks like a survey and you fill it to get some mora and nothing else.
So far Mihoyo has not given a single fck for the community. They've not even recognized that current problems, let alone fix them. The latest developer response was complete crap. It contained half of the things which nobody even asked for. A simpler response like "We know about the resin issue and are currently working on it" would've been 100% better than what we got.

The tone deaf bard
I'm appalled at Mihoyo's ability to ignore the feedback and their playerbase. Especially their western audiences. It's a no brainer that they're a company and want to make profits but hell it pisses me off that even after making so much they don't give a sh!t about the players.

15) FINAL WORDS
It no denying the fact that the game is very interesting and fun to play. BUT it has some of the worst type of designs I've seen in a game. These things should be changed and it'll make it one of the best games there is. Resin system, World Level, Bosses, Abyss, almost everything in the game is greatly flawed.
Hopefully it becomes better.

Thank you so much for reading this till the end. Now as promised go look at your resin, you'll have at least 20 resin stored up by now. Have a nice day~~~~

asian gambling companies video

Asian Casinos and Gambling in Asia. Asian Countries with Gambling Order by: Country Name. Armenia (5) Bahrain (1) Cambodia (31) China (3) Hong Kong (10) India (23) Iraq (1) Israel (6) Japan (25) Kazakhstan (13) Laos (3) Lebanon (2) Macau (49) Malaysia (5) Myanmar (5) Nepal (12) North Korea (2) Philippines (70) Saudi Arabia (1) Singapore (4) South Korea (23) Sri Lanka (8) Thailand (2) Turkey ... Visit the Far East Gambling Forum or click here for popular casinos in Far East Asia or online gambling in Asian countries. This section of World Casino Directory deals specificially with Far East Asian casinos and gambling. The continent of East Asia has countries with casinos in them and countries with pari-mutuel facilities in them, including horse racing and dog racing or the newer racinos ... This includes a mix of older companies who got their start in online gambling in the late 1990s as well as companies that have come up a bit later on the scene. Whether they're a part of the new breed like Canada's own Amaya Gaming Group, or if they're a part of the old guard, all of the largest top ten businesses in this industry have been through a lot of interesting developments over the ... Asian Gambling Companies, sbr casino, poker ev chart starting hands, riverboat casino savannah georgia. Over 400 Casino Games; Fast Payouts; Live Casino Games; €50. €200. Wager. Wager. 100% up to £500 + 20 Free Spins. Read rewiew Home » Casino Bonus » No Deposit Bonus. November 6, 2019. Amount, percents, number of free spins . Percentage-Where can I find the best online casino bonus USA ... Gambling is a well-loved pastime in many Asian countries and there are many great Asian betting sites willing to take your bets. Asian bookmakers are a prominent part of Asian culture and have been for many centuries. Asian bookies are not only great options for players from Asia but can also be a great alternative to European and UK bookies ... Southeast Asian Gambling Sites Reportedly Targeted by Online Espionage Plots. Posted on: February 19, 2020, 01:44h. Last updated on: February 19, 2020, 02:24h. 5. Apple To the surprise of some industry experts, Apple is among the most profitable gaming companies in the world. Its App Store gained immense popularity with the introduction of iPhone. Through the store, Apple commissions a royalty for the sale of every game app, like Candy Crush Saga and Clash of Kings. Net worth: US$526.82 Billion The global online gambling market is largely dominated by International Game Technology, GVC Holdings, Bet365, Scientific Games, Paddy Power Betfair, and William Hill. Based on the overall revenue of the top 10 online gambling companies in the world are: International Game Technology PLC : USD 4.83 billion GVC Holdings PLC (Ladbrokes Coral Group) : USD 4.14 billion bet365 : have clearly defined laws relating to gambling online, others still are lacking clarity. Have no fear, however! We’re here to help get you up to speed with everything that you need to know about Asian sports betting sites. On this page, we’ve packed in tons of information about Asian bookies. You’ll find Viewpoint: Inside the multi-billion-dollar world of Asia's illegal World Cup gambling dens - and the fight to shut them down.

asian gambling companies top

Top 10 virtual game drama Chinese - YouTube

10 Secrets Casinos Don't Want You to Know. Subscribe for more amazing videos! http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-Richest Casinos are multi-million dollar business... ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Rating: 5 - ‎1,059 Reviews Online casino Malaysia Singapore Online CasinoSign up now : https://funcity2.com/ Did you know in Japan, you can pay an actor to impersonate your relative, spouse, coworker, or any kind of acquaintance? In our previous video, we’ve showcas... EPIC FORTNITE PLAYER. Use code 'FRESH' 🥒Content Creator for Luminosity and Powered by GFUEL! -Infinite fight-To be with you-The three-body problem-Go go squid!-Game breaker:unawakened city-Fantasy westward story-The king's Avatar-Gank your heart-Love... Do Japanese women like foreign men? How are they perceived by Japanese women? Would they ever date or marry one? We hit the streets of Osaka and Tokyo to fin... We are a media company with a mission to bridge social and cultural gaps between Asia and the West. We deliver the most authentic insight on the latest news and trends from Asia and in the process ... Some teens in South Korea are so addicted to gaming, they can no longer distinguish what’s real and what’s not. Dateline follows them as they go through inte... After a long period of suspicious thoughts, a man finds his wife cheating on him. He found out this when he sneaked into the house and found the two in the a... From losing millions to billions at a plethora of casino tables, we count down 10 Biggest Gambling Losses Of All Time.Subscribe to MindChop by clicking here:...

asian gambling companies

asian gambling companies - win

@barronsonline: The gambling company is considering leaving its eponymous city as it shifts its focus to its larger Asian business. https://t.co/TENdcpOwc9

@nytimesbusiness: As major companies like Unilever, Procter & Gamble, L’Oreal and Johnson & Johnson have voiced their support for racial justice and equality, they have been criticized, especially by South Asians, for being hypocritical through sales of lightening creams. https://t.co/p5I9l8tKNK

@nytimesbusiness: As major companies like Unilever, Procter & Gamble, L’Oreal and Johnson & Johnson have voiced their support for racial justice and equality, they have been criticized, especially by South Asians, for being hypocritical through sales of lightening creams. https://t.co/aKnz3frXmJ

@business: Trump Organization company applies for 4 new trademarks in the Asian gambling hub of Macau https://t.co/zrj23JWP6g https://t.co/Jt1Nt2GRsA

@business: Trump Organization company applies for 4 new trademarks in the Asian gambling hub of Macau https://t.co/buj3Vo9VRY https://t.co/9BmcabRDqm

Lockdown 3.0 Things to do, plus help and support.