Thursday, March 26, 2009

11th CineVegas Fest to open with World Premiere of “Saint John of Las Vegas"

Artistic Director Trevor Groth has announced today that the 11th Annual CineVegas Film Festival will take place from June 10th to 15th at the Palms casino online Resort and Casino and Brenden Theatres. Groth also informed that “Saint John of Las Vegas” directed by Hue Rhodes, as well as eight other films will have their world premiere at the Festival. The world premier of “Saint John of Las Vegas” will be held at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on Wednesday, June 10th.

Eight other movies will make their world premieres in a narrative competition also known as “Jackpot Premieres”. The films featured UK online casinos in this completion are Rania Ajami’s “Asylum Seekers”; “Daylight”, from David Barker; Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s “Easier with Practice”; “Etienne!”, from Jeff Mizushima Robert Saitzyk’s Alaskan-set thriller “Godspeed”; Patrick Hoelck’s “Mercy; “Patriotville” from Talmage Cooley and Asiel Norton’s “Redland”. All these movies will compete for a $10,000 cash prize and the Grand Jury Award Winner for Feature Film.



“The independent film industry is going through a transitional period right now as innovative filmmakers must find new ways to get movies made and seen, which is why CineVegas is thrilled to open our 2009 Festival with "Saint John of Las Vegas". Not only is it a fantastic comedy with a phenomenal cast, including Steve Buscemi who is pound-for-pound the world's greatest actor, but it was made by a forward thinking company, IndieVest, whose revolutionary approach to film financing and distribution just might be laying casino game the groundwork for future generations.

Our narrative competition this year represents the kind of aesthetic and thematic diversity that is alive and well in the American independent arena. Ranging from an exquisitely bingo game rendered period piece to a subversive political satire to love stories between a man and a woman as well as a boy and his hamster, they represent the kind of uninhibited and adventurous filmmaking that CineVegas has long championed.” said Artistic Director Trevor Groth.

The 11th edition of the CineVegas Festival will also feature a selection of documentaries, advance screenings of high-profile films, independent films, and a special event featturing shorts directed and produced by promising Nevada filmmakers. CineVegas also announced that film fans will have the chance to win all access passes to the 11th Annual Festival by watching the Jackpot Premiere trailers online at cinevegas.com/jackpot. The contest will run until Monday, May 4th, 2009.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Nobody Knows Card Counting Like Rain Man

If you've seen the movie Rain Main before, your first thought is probably not going to be about gambling. Heck, your second and third thoughts probably won't be about online casinos gambling. And that's because Rain Man isn't a gambling movie at all. It's a movie that explores the relationship of two brothers, the notions of money and greed, and autism - a portrayal of which won Dustin Hoffman an Academy Award.

In fact, Rain Man took home four Oscars, including Best Picture, Screenplay and Director - and was nominated for a total of eight in the year 1989. So, besides the fact that Rain Man is obviously an excellent film, why on Earth are we including it in the casino news section at OCS? Well, for one, it's been doing the rounds recently on television stations around the world. I suppose it's been doing that since 1989, considering the movie has grossed well over $400 million worldwide. Not bad for a $25 million production cost, eh?

Secondly, Rain Man does actually offer some insight into the world of gambling. Specifically, it's at the Blackjack table where lots of card-counting action goes down. Historical in a sense, this particular UK casino scene shows how casinos fought against card counting back before the automatic shuffling shoe was put into service. And it also shows just how effective card counting and the basic blackjack strategy really are!

Basically, what happens is this: Charlie Babbit (played by Tom Cruise) and his autistic brother Raymond (played by Hoffman) go on a road trip together. Broke and not far from passing through Las Vegas, Charlie learns that Raymond has a razor sharp memory (he's memorized an entire phone book). This prompts Charlie to teach Raymond how to play Blackjack and put some card counting to use in the casino. Sure enough, the two hit the mother-load in the casino, and consequently get thrown out on the suspicion of, you guessed it - card counting.

While there certainly is some dramatization going on, the online casino scenes in Las Vegas offer the same thrill you'd get being at the blackjack table yourself. You can't help but cheer for the two brothers as their Las Vegas pit stop becomes something of a turning point. Rain Man is a definitely a great overall movie to watch - even if you've already seen it. So check you local television listings - It's doing the rounds once again.

Source: http://onlinecasinosuite.com/casino-news