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Does anyone know if they still have tournaments at the brantford casino? I went to one two years ago but can't seem to find any info.
Thanks!

Dr. Jordan B. Peterson
Faculty of Psychology
University of Toronto
JCT: John Von Neumann said: Economic questions arise in a
more elementary manner in the Theory of Games. After my
degree in Systems Engineering, I was Teaching Assistant of
Canada's only Mathematics of Gambling Course at Carleton
University for 4 years in the late 1970s and became a
professional gambler for over 42 years! Google for Great
Canadian Gambler and I come up. I was known as "The
Professor" at the Trump Taj Mahal Poker room of "Rounders"
fame in the 1990s. I hope to provide such elementary insight
into Pareto Distributions.
JP: Pareto Distributions https:youtu.be/TcEWRykSgwE
- Creative production in any domain, artistic, food
production, novels, money generated, companies generated,
goals in hockey, paintings, human productivity, follows
Pareto Principle that half the production is done by the
square root of players. With 10 employees, 3 do the half the
work. 10,000 employees, 100 do half the work.
JCT: It would not apply to non-human animals. Take bees.
Presume a bee brings back 1 gram of pollen per day on
average. Under a Pareto Distribution where:
P(e)= Elite Bee Production; P(l)= Lesser Bee Production
So P(e)*sqrt(n) = .5 = P(l)*(n-sqrt(n))
Elite Production is Factor: (sqrt(n)-1) bigger than P(l).
Hive of 4 bees:
2 bees bring in 2g pollen, other 2 bring in 2g: Factor = 1.
Hive of 9 bees:
3 bees bring in 4.5g, other 6 bees bring in 4.5g
Elite brings 4.5g/3=1.5g, Lesser brings 4.5g/6=.75g: F=2
Hive of 16 bees:
Elite brings 8g/4=2g, Lesser bee brings 8g/12=.67g: F=3
Hive of 25 bees:
Elite 12.5g/5=2.5g, Lesser brings 12.5g/20=.625g: F-4
Hive of 100 bees
Elite 50g/10=5g, Lesser bee 50g/90=.55g: F=9
Hive of 10,000 bees:
Elite 5000g/100=50g, Lesser 5000g/9,900=.505g F=99
Hive of 1,000,000 bees:
Elite 500kg/1k=500g, Lesser 500kg/999k=.5005g: F=999.
So in a hive of a million bees, the 999,000 Lesser bees
would bring in half a gram each rather than a whole gram
while an elite bee brings in half a kilo! Only because of
the size of the hive? Doubtful.
Though I accept a Pareto Distribution is observed in the
distribution of human productivity and other areas, I see no
reason for it to occur in production by non-humans.
- Pareto Distributions govern distribution of money. Why 1%
have the overwhelming amount and 1/10 of that 1% has almost
all of that. The richest 100 have as much money as the
bottom 2.5B. Across all creating domains. Something like a
natural law.
JCT: So an Elite human produces 50,000 times what a Lesser
human produces?
JP: Marxism is ignorant of the Pareto principle
https:youtu.be/i0iL0ixoZYo
- Pareto distribution as a function of some fundamental
force we don't understand!
- People compete to produce. Almost everybody produces zero,
they lose everything. Small minority successful, hyper-
minority insanely successful. 100 composers, 10 write music
that's played. Of their 1,000 songs, 30 are played 50% of
the time.
JCT: "Compete to produce" is key. It's not that so many
produce zero but that they could not or would not be able to
sell what they produced. In a game with not enough money,
who rates success in selling?
MATTHEW PRINCIPLE OF POSITIVE FEEDBACK "TAKEN FROM"
- It's expressed from the Matthew Principle: "To those who
have everything, more will be given, and from those who have
nothing, everything will be taken." A vicious statement.
This happens everywhere.
JCT: This is Christ's most quoted verse, 7 times. In 1)
Matthew 13:10 and 2) 25:29; in 3) Luke 8:10 and 4) 19:26,
again in 5) Marc 4:25, and twice more in the deleted but
newly-found Nag Hammadi scrolls in 6) Thomas 41 and 7)
Apocalypse of Peter (VII,3) 83:27. That's how important the
Matthew-Luke-Marc-Thomas-Peter Principle is.
In 1995, my post "Christ spoke in Differential Equations
suggesting this was a Differential Equation (which shows how
things change over time) offended the internet world so
badly that I was voted July Kook-of-the-Month!
The key word is "taken." How would pollen be taken from some
bees and given to others as money is taken from some humans
who have nothing and given to others who have abundance? How
do you take from those who have nothing? Only through
increased debt in a money system!
JP: - Winning increases chances of more winning. Spirals out
of control until a few have all the money. We don't know
what to do about that? Marx said: Capital tended to
accumulate into the hands of the fewer and fewer people, a
flaw in the capitalist system. That's wrong, it is not a
flaw, it's a feature of every system we've ever set up and
how it operates.
JCT: Even if Marx didn't understand what force was taking
from the poor to give to the rich, he still found that to be
a flaw. And even if it's been a feature of every system ever
set up by the rulers and how it operates, as Jesus defined
and named the problem in Matthew, he also explained what to
do about that in Paul Corr II, 8:14.
JP: As soon as you set up production, you set up a
competition and the spoils go disproportionately to a tiny
percentage of people. So the rest of the people starve.
Tendency is to be distributed inequitably. If you let a
monetary system run, all the money ends up in the hands of a
very small number. And any creative endeavour too.
JCT: You farm your land, I farm mine, where's the
competition? Sure, you may grow more than me but why would I
end up not having enough? Why should all the goods be given
disproportionally to you and be taken from me so I should
starve? It can only be because competition is in selling the
production for scarce money, not in growing it.
JP: Marxism is ignorant of the Pareto principle
https:youtu.be/i0iL0ixoZYo
- If you don't have any money, it's really hard to get some.
Once you have some, it's not so hard to get some more.
JCT: Because having some gets you more from positive
feedback with no work.
JP: But if you're at zero, Jesus man, you're in the reverse
situation. You're poor, you don't have anything, no one
wants to talk to you, you can't get out of it because you're
too poor to get out of it, You're penalized by the economic
system because you can't even afford to start playing the
game. You're stuck at zero. And you can't get out.
JCT: Jesus called when all has been taken away from you
living in the "alley where men weep and gnash their teeth."
- The revolutionary types tell the people stuck at zero, why
don't you burn the whole God-Damned thing to the ground?
Because, maybe in the next iteration, you won't be stuck at
zero. And for young men, that's a hell of a call. They're
already expendable, biologically, that makes them more
adventurous and risk-taking. Maybe why they wear the Che
Gueverra T-shirt. Hey, I'm stuck at zero, I'd rather be
with the romantic burning everything to the ground than stay
locked in my immobile position.
JCT: Thoughout all history people have been pushed to revolt
by their poverty through growing debts, not scarcity. But
Jesus did offer a better way used in his commune "The Poor."
Don't think when he said to the rich man "Give your money to
the poor and follow me" he meant give it to the drunks in
the street. He meant "give it to our commune Treasurer who
can buy others out of debt.
It is clear from your descriptions that Pareto Distributions
arise as a function of positive feedback on wealth and debt.
JP: Pareto Distributions https:youtu.be/TcEWRykSgwE
- Monopoly: One person ends up with all the money is the
inevitable consequence of multiple trades that are conducted
randomly. Get 1,000 people to play a trading game each with
$100 and they have to trade with another person by flipping
a coin, I win the coin toss, you win, I give you a dollar.
If we all play that long enough, 1 person will end up with
all the money and everyone else will stack up at zero.
JCT: Sure, Risk of Ruin flipping coins with no edge to
either player with "b" bets is exp(-2(0)b/s^2)= 1. Flipping
coins, or playing War, eventually a player will hit a streak
bad enough to break him. But there is no positive feedback
causing the guy with more cards or more bets to win faster
though the guy with more cards or more bets has lower risk
of ruin.
JP: So it's a deeply built feature of systems of creative
production and no one really knows what to do about it.
Because the danger is all the resources get funnelled to a
tiny minority at the top. A huge section of the population
stacks up at zero. To blame that on the oppressive nature of
the system is to radically underestimate the complexity of
the problem.
JCT: That's a positive feedback where those up now win
faster on account of their bigger bankroll. Winning faster
with a bigger bankroll, not surviving more. That's how the
mort-gage death-gamble contract works, all the resources get
funnelled to the tiny surviving minority in the banks.
JP: "Socialism will never work" https://youtu.be/rl-JYD7Ss8A
- How you got your success.. more opportunities..
Opportunities don't multiply linearly but exponentially.
- When you start moving up, it's faster and faster.. and get
to a point where you have so many you don't know what to do
with them. A non-linear improvement. Downside is the same.
Seems to be how the world works.. There's a center point
unstable, things improve, then they improve exponentially.
Or they fall and they fall off exponentially. That seems to
be what's driving inequality. You start to succeed and the
probability that you succeed starts to expand. We don't know
how to control it. Same with stars. A few stars in the Milky
Way have all the matter. It applies to height of the trees
in the jungle.
JCT: Exponentiality is caused by positive feedback, where
the rate of change is a function of how much you already
have. Stars experience the positive feedback of gravity.
Bigger stars exert more pull as a function of their size.
Taller trees experience positive feedback of more sunlight
as a function of their height.
JP: If we could come up with a way to flatten inequality,
that would be a good thing.
JCT: Jesus who wrote the Matthew Principle also offered a
way to flatten inequality. See Paul Corr II: 8:14 at the end
and won't give it away now.
JP: But the empirical evidence suggests, if you look at the
attempts to alleviate inequality over the last 200 years,
whether left- or right-wing governments, made absolutely no
difference. The only thing to flatten inequality are
catastrophes, wars, revolutions. The price of radical
redistribution is death. No one has come up with a system.
JCT: Without having defined the cause of the positive
feedback, of course, they all failed to stop or mitigate it.
But Jesus defined the cause and succeeded in alleviating it.
JP: It's not a function of our economic or political
systems, or if it is, it's at such a deep level that we
don't know what drives it and we certainly don't know how to
control it.
JCT: In the Matthew Principle verses, he did mention that it
is at such a deep level that "they will forever be hearing
without hearing and seeing without seeing or understanding"
what's driving it or how to control it. Jesus did. Paul Corr
II 8:14
JP: Pareto Distributions https:youtu.be/TcEWRykSgwE :
- No one actually knows how to effectively shovel resources
from the minority that controls almost everything to the
majority that has almost nothing in any consistent way.
Because as you shovel money down, it tends to move right
back up. And it's a big problem.
JCT: Jesus did. Forget shoveling it from the rich to the
poor, stop the shovelling from the poor to the rich first.
Until the force that makes money "tend to move right back
up" is identified, how can it be stopped? And then Paul Corr
II 8:14 even if there is no positive feedback.
JP: After the Ukrainian peasants were granted their land and
started to become farmers, a tiny minority of them became
extremely successful and those people produced almost all of
the food for Russia and Ukraine.
JCT: Who and what stopped the others from also producing
food so that only the successful ones keep could producing
and selling?
JP: Poverty causes crime? Wrong! - The Gini coefficient
https:youtu.be/M3XYHPAwBzE
- Gini Coefficient represents how much inequality of income
distribution in a geographical area.
- You hear poverty causes crime, a left-wing idea. It's
wrong, seriously wrong, importantly, definititely wrong.
- Relative poverty causes crime. Poverty is when you don't
have enough to eat. Relative poverty is when the guy next
door has a much better car
JCT: When you don't have enough to eat, that's not
poverty unless there's plenty of good and you can't afford
any, it's scarcity. Poverty is when you don't have enough
money to get into the game. What crime would be committed
when there's no poverty? Scarcity may not cause much crime
but poverty causes lots.
JP: Right wing thinks the spoils go to who deserves them.
JCT: If it were a natural risk of ruin function, sure, but
if it's a positive feedback from those who do not have to
those who have, getting more without work for having more,
it is unearned income.
JP: Every man can go for it and do his best and the winner wins
and the loser loses. Don't ask me to fix it, I don't want
to. I find it distasteful to attempt to fix it.
JCT: I would too if it were a natural force. But if it's a
man-made systemic force taking from the negatives to give to
the positives, I would end it. Risk of ruin in a fair game
is not exponential. If it is exponential, it's human-caused
taking from one to give to another.
JP: You shouldn't let income distribution become too unequal
because it tends to get out of hand, towards a few people
having everything and almost everyone else having nothing.
It's as natural consequence of economic progression.
JCT: A few having everything and everyone else having
nothing is not a natural consequence of economic progression
but of positive feedback on winning.
JP: The more unequal you let your society get, the higher
the probability of death through violent causes. If men see
status differences but have no means of moving forward, they
turn to aggression as a way of establishing dominance.
JCT: So if violence is generated by inequality, why not
crime too?
JP: The Fundamental Flaws Of Marxism And Postmodernism
https://youtu.be/HdN9RTo-9G8
- How can people be sane with all the brutality in life?
JCT: The force creating a competition to the death, your
having nothing and starving will engender brutal resistance,
is so ingrained, it's like playing musical chairs to the
death, a death-gamble, a mort-gage. All you can do is say:
There, but for the grace of God, go I too."
JP: Suffering is part of being, not a consequence of social
organization..
JCT: The force taking from the hungry to feed the full is a
consequence of social orgainzation. Jesus identified it in
the Parables of the Talents and of the Minas:
"The law is: "to those who have will more be given and
from those who have not, even what they have will be
taken away! You should have brought me what was mine
with interest! Take what is his and give to him who has
and throw him into the alley where men weep and gnash
their teeth."
Jesus says the Pareto Distribution caused by the Matthew
Differential Equation is the force taking from the negatives
to give to the positives: interest on loans.
And how would Jesus solve the inequality caused by either
lesser production rates or usury to have a Christian
Commune is given in Paul Corrinthians II, 8:14:
"Your abundance should at the present time be a supply
for their want to that later, their abundance may be a
supply for your want; in that way, he who gathers much
doesn't have too much and he who gathers little doesn't
have too little, that there be equality."
So he who gathers much has lots but not too much and he who
gathers little has less but not too little though later
trying to win and pay it back. That's the loveliest line in
the Bible, the ethos of a Christian Commune where the Pareto
Distribution can not arise whether natural or unnatural
inequality if the winners help the losers become winners
too.
From: http://SmartestMan.Ca/poembibl
HOW INTEREST ARISES
One tale to show how interest occurs quite easily,
Especially when humans find themselves in scarcity:
A father leaving his estate, his sons he has but four,
To each of them he gives a sac of seed to grow some more.
The first son had misfortune due to natural event,
The loss of crop to a tornado, the predicament.
The second son, he suffered too, with locusts in his field,
His children soon would starve after an insufficient yield.
The third son had a tiny crop, but it was touch-and-go,
He had eight kids who ate most everything that he could grow.
The fourth son's crop was bountiful, his granaries were full.
His brothers asked if some spare seeds might be available.
In his right ear he heard advice that he knew to be true,
"Do help them out and should you fail, they'll be there helping you."
But in his wrong ear he heard words so greedy in their tone,
"Don't risk security for your success was all your own.
But if you rent your seeds to them and gain from what they reap,
You soon won't have to work with interest to earn your keep."
At some point in man's history, a brother chose that way,
Enslaved with debt all of the others lasting to this day.
WHO THE LORD MUST BE
Ezekiel 34:27 says the poor will know,
When they've been liberated from those who've enslaved them so.
The one who breaks the evil bars of yoke of slavery,
He'll be their savior, that's for sure. No other can he be.
NEW TESTAMENT
Like Nehemiah, Jesus knew a Lord must set them free,
And fight the men who had imposed the yoke of slavery.
In Luke 4 verse 18 he says "Anointed by the Lord,
I preach the good news to the poor, a world they can afford.
The prisoners shall be set free, oppressed shall be released,
When comes the year of our Lord's favor, you will surely feast."
In Matthew chapter 13:10, it tells where he was asked,
Why did he speak in parables so meanings they were masked?
"The reason for disguise of message," note the words he said:
"It all comes down to interest, the theme affects the head.
To those who have abundance will be given even more,
From those without abundance will be taken from their store."
This mathematical equation states the function best,
This Biblical description of the function interest.
To those with spare, the positives, they'll get some extra perks,
And those with none, they'll have to pay, that's how the system works.
The rich get richer, poor get poorer. It's not brotherhood.
It's obvious that interest is Reverse-Robin-Hood.
This rule of more abundance was repeated down the line,
In Matthew 13:12 and 25 verse 29,
In Luke 19 verse 26, with 8:18 as well,
In Marc 4:25, five times Christ used these words for Hell.
In Thomas 41 from Nag Hammadi scrolls anew,
Apocalypse of Peter 83:27 too
Omitted from the Bible but in Gnostic Text is found,
The greatest of all Christian laws for economics sound.
St. Thomas in verse 95's where Jesus said it best:
"If you have money, do not lend it out at interest,
But rather give it to one from whom you won't get it back,"
Thus helping out the poorest saves us from financial lack.
So Paul to the Corinthians 2, Chapter 8, 14,
We find abundance matched to need with charity foreseen,
"Your own abundance now should be supplying for their need,
That their abundance later will supply you your own seed.
And in this way, who gathers much will not have over-fill,
And he who gathers little will be taken care of still.
And in this way there soon will be a rich equality,
Where people help each other with great productivity."
Abundance had two ancient laws from which he had to choose,
Abundance increase for the rich or loans for those who lose.
To those who have abundance will be given even more,
From those without abundance will be taken from their store, or
Your own abundance now should be supplying for their need,
That their abundance later will supply you your own seed.
JCT: In 1984, I financed the interest-free LETS timebank
software, in 1993, my 28-table Casino Turmel was shut down
in the biggest raid in history, the O.P.P. Project Robin
Hood Raid on Casino Turmel's 28-table underground game, I
spent the million I won before it was seized as Proceeds of
Crime to found the Abolitionist Party of Canada and run for
Prime Minister which then got me invited to the United
Nations Millennium Assembly where I gave the speech on the
banking system of the new millennium resulting in the
UNILETS Millennium Declaration C6 to "restructure the global
financial architecture" with an "alternative time-based
currency." Sadly, the Millennium Declaration has now been
corrupted to delete that.
I can only point out that the only character in fiction with
my credentials, Science and Game Theory, is Mr. Spock, which
could explain my accomplishments.
I live beside the Brantford casino and invite you for coffee
to about saving the world's poor from the Pareto
Distribution.
My latest poem:
1974: TRUDEAU'S DEBT SCAM
As Canada's Debt National had much stability
Til 19 7 4 starts exponentiality.
Same in Ontario, Quebec, debt doubling time and time,
Did debts all start to grow in big coincidence sublime?
The Bank of Canada made loans to Provinces and Fed,
Without the interest that causes budgets to turn red.
It funded major projects, made St. Lawrence Seaway be,
Trans-Canada was highway built from sea to shining sea.
Not only infrastructure, even paid for World War Two,
With interest-free cash, we almost nothing couldn't do.
The only tax was for depreciation and repair,
So easily affordable without the banker's share.
But in 1974, Pierre cut the money feed:
Said "No more interest-free loans for infrastructure need.
All governments must borrow now new funds from private banks,
And raise new tax to service interest with bankers' thanks."
But worse in 1968, Pierre Trudeau'd lifted cap,
On interest from 6 percent to 60, that's the rap.
In 12 years central bank rate rose to 22 percent.
More tax to service greater debt at higher rate was spent.
Pierre Trudeau is responsible for debts out of control,
By lifting rate cap, ending infrastructure loans, his role.
Though Canada sure could have offered all a living swell,
But Pierre in 19 7 4 turned Heaven into Hell.
I'll pay my tax for army and police to handle strife,
I'll pay my tax for doctors, nurses who protect my life,
I'll pay my tax for all engaged repairing road and sewer,
I'll pay my tax for social servants helping out the poor,
I'll even pay my tax for bureaucrats with no regret,
But I object to paying tax for interest on debt.
I'll gladly pay my tax for people's time at useful toil,
But taxing me for money's time will always make me boil.
While Justin could make loans again without the usury,
Can we expect but more bad fruit from father's crooked tree.
Like dad, a prostitute to power, doing what he's told.
A follower, a Beta-boy, no Alpha leader bold.
Our taxes disappear since over 40 years ago,
For interest on Trudeau's debt we didn't have to owe.
If Mr. Spock could at computer central all alone,
Debug bad code to save a planet, skill we too may hone.
No help he needed from the lo-tech slows who could not see,
What Spock can do, The Engineer says: "Also true for me."
To get back all $2 trillion taxed since Pierre helped banks, us, fleece,
Reversing algorithm gets back $60 Grand apiece!

Deal Link
Price: $9.99
Retailer: Elements Casino Brantford
https://www.elementscasinobrantford.com/dining/

I found it very difficult to source some scenic/quiet/fun roads around town so I would like to share my list. Never did I ever know the KW region had such a wide variety!!
​
Maple ON - Conestogo Dam

1. Could start from Union St in Elmira (where CrossRoad buffet, Esso and A&W is) -> Turn Left at the end of the road -> follow GPS to the dam

​
From Cambridge

1. Turn right onto East River Rd from Brantford Hwy and keep following it until you hit Paris
2. Follow East River Rd then take a left onto Scenic Dr -> You'll hit Brantford Hwy again -> make a right at the first light -> follow it and eventually you turn left onto East River Rd to Paris
3. Start from Conestoga College Cambridge Campus and go to Blair Rd
4. Start from Conestoga College Cambridge Campus and go find Dumfries Road

​
Erbsville

1. Go explore Kressler Rd

​
From Paris

1. Pinehurst Rd to Spragues Rd to St Andrews St
2. Pinehurst Rd then right at Glen Morris Rd W
3. Pinehurst Rd then left at Wrigley Rd then right at Dumfries Rd

​
Conestogo to Elmira

1. Sawmill Rd then right on New Jerusalem Rd

​
Conestogo to Elora Casino

1. Northfield Drive East -> Right at Line 86 -> Left at Katherine St N

​
Fergus

1. St. Andrews St W (start at the Fergus Library) -> follow it

​
Elora

1. Middlebrook Rd (start at Elora Lions Park()

​
St. Jacobs

1. Three Bridges Rd -> Right to Hemlock Hill Dr

​
Listowel

1. Fordwich Line

​
​
Enjoy!

BRANTFORD, ON: In a determined effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our community, on March 16, 2020, the City closed all community and recreation centres, including the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre, Civic Centre, Lion’s Park, Bell Homestead, the Sanderson Centre and all sports fields. Invariably, the lost programming and rental fees resulting from these closures, together with Brantford Transit service changes have significantly impacted the City’s 2020 budget. The provincial order to close the Elements Casino will also have a significant impact on the City’s revenue stream, and the various community organizations and reserves that benefit from casino funds.
Specifically, a staff report to be considered by Council at the April 28th Special Council Meeting estimates that closure of the Elements Casino, if extended until the end of June, would result in a shortfall to the City of approximately $1.5 million. To mitigate the impacts of lost revenue, Councillors will consider a staff recommendation to postpone intake of new applications to discretionary programs funded from Casino revenues.
“While these programs certainly have a positive effect on our community, given the uncertainty still surrounding this crisis, Council will need to make difficult, yet necessary decisions to mitigate these losses”, said Mayor Kevin Davis. “The City will make every possible effort to continue discretionary funding commitments, however, this could prove to be more challenging should the preventative measures and closures in place need to be prolonged beyond June.”
Also included on Council’s April 28th agenda is a second staff report prepared by the City’s Finance Department outlining financial impacts of City owned facility closures and cancellations and current/future efforts to mitigate related revenue losses.
Covid-19 Incremental Expenses As part of the City’s response to the crisis, necessary unplanned investments were made to fund the purchase of PPE for essential frontline service providers, including masks, sanitizer and gloves as well as laptops and other technology needed to support employees working from home. The City also hired two additional By-law Enforcement Officers to focus on required enforcement activities related to COVID-19 order violations and infractions.
Relief provided to ratepayers To help mitigate the negative financial impact of the current crisis, the City has provided tax and ratepayers relief as follows: 120-day waiving of late payment and interest fees on watewastewater utilities and miscellaneous Accounts Receivable bills Waiving of late payments and penalties on 2020 taxes until further notice Opportunity to extend due dates and waive rent and interest on real property leases
Financial Implications At this time, lost revenues on the tax supported operations of the City is estimated to be $1.4 million to the end of April, increasing by approximately $1 million a month in May and June, resulting in a total loss of $3.4 million to the end of June. Cost containment and mitigation measures to date are expected to reduce the impact of revenue loss by $1.2 million, reducing the forecasted net deficit to approximately $2.2 million to the end of June.
To mitigate the impacts of the estimated $2.2 million deficit, City staff are currently exploring: Use of contingency and disaster mitigation reserves ($1 million) Suspension of discretionary accounts to reduce or eliminate planned spending ($1.4 million) Deferral or elimination of capital accounts Reviewing and adjusting staffing levels required throughout the duration of the crisis
Results of these comprehensive reviews will be included in an update to City Council in May whereby staff will bring forward a report to estimate the further impacts should there be a need to extend closures. The May report will also outline and provide additional recommendations to mitigate the City’s current Covid-19 related deficit.

For Immediate Release
April 21, 2020
Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic response impacts on City Budget
BRANTFORD, ON: Municipal budget decisions have a profound impact on the daily lives of our residents. From how the City responds to an emergency such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, to essential services such as garbage collection, public transit and the safety of our neighbourhoods, city budgets sit at the heart of a community’s development and residents’ quality of life.
Strong fiscal management and financial stewardship guide the City’s decisions and actions as we continually renew and develop our community to keep pace with the needs of a growing population. In recent years, Brantford has seen the largest construction and investment plan in its history. Upgrades and repairs to the City’s infrastructure and assets such as our Transit System are essential as redevelopment ensures we are using the latest technology and knowledge to make improvements in a sustainable manner.
“Building a great city demands financial stewardship and leadership”, said Brantford Mayor Kevin Davis. “While this sometimes requires tough fiscal decisions to be made on behalf of the citizens we serve, our goal is that this process always occurs in an open and transparent way. Holding the public’s trust though inclusive, responsible, financial management, superior service delivery, and open, effective communications continue to be our hallmarks of good governance, especially during challenging times.”
Municipalities present balanced budgets on a yearly basis. The net expenditure (expenses less all available revenues) required to operate the City for the year is determined and used to determine a tax rate. This tax rate is levied on all properties to raise the net expenditures required and is set at the beginning of the year during the budget process. Unlike other levels of government that can run a deficit, municipalities are not able to run a deficit and cannot borrow money to fund operating expenses.
Mandated Essential Services It is important to note that nearly 80% of The City of Brantford’s expenditures are invested in legislated and/or required essential municipal/business functions. The City of Brantford holds the least amount of discretionary reserves per household amongst its comparators as provided by a recent KMPG analysis. Discretionary reserves are funds that have no specified use and are held to cover unexpected expenditure as the City cannot raise more revenues during the year. These reserves are the difference between the Budget Net Expenditures and the Actual year end results. The City has traditionally set budgets that are extremely close to the yearly actual expenditures and in fact, most years, the surplus has been below 1% of the approved net budget expenditure. This implies that the rate of taxation is very close to the amount required and over-taxation has not occurred. It is also important to note that the City of Brantford has the third highest residential home values (Current Value Assessment) of its comparators, as also noted in a recent KPMG analysis of City services.
Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on City Finances The City of Brantford obtains revenue from few sources including, property taxes, grants, transit fares and user fees for recreational services. In a concerted effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our community, in the past several weeks, the City has closed City Hall and all recreation centres, as well as cancelled all camps, and most fee generating programming. Furthermore, the Province has closed the Elements Casino in Brantford reducing revenues to the City by $100,000 per week. Invariably, these closures will have a significant impact on the City’s revenue stream and on the various community organizations and reserves that benefit from the Casino Legacy Fund. Additionally, financial markets have experienced turbulence in the past six weeks with interest rates seeing a large decrease, thus reducing investment income that the City had built into its original 2020 budgeted revenue stream.
City staff have reviewed the financial position of the City with respect to the significant impact that our response to the COVID 19 pandemic is having on revenues and expenses and will provide a comprehensive report of this review to City Council on April 28th. 2020. Various mitigation measures to address these revenue shortfalls will be taken. To help manage the potential financial downfall, the City will be reviewing all service offerings. As a result, thus far, 380 City of Brantford staff have been placed on unpaid leave.
Relief provided to date To help mitigate the negative financial impact of the current crisis the City has provided tax and ratepayers relief as follows: 120-day deferrals of water, sewer and miscellaneous Accounts Receivable payments with no late payment fees Waiving of late payments and penalties on taxes until further notice Opportunity to extend due dates and waive rent and interest on real property leases
Mitigation Efforts The City will continue to monitor this dynamically fluid situation to look at the most effective and efficient ways of delivering essential services and deploying staff in the most effective way possible based on current situation conditions.
More information regarding additional revisions recommendations to the City’s 2020 operating expenditures and further mitigation efforts will be shared publicly in tandem with the budget report that Brantford City Council will consider on April 28th, 2020.

it happened at Elements Casino in Brantford, ON about a week ago apparently.
2/5. Guy has pocket 8s, flop is
8 8 9
turn 9
River 9
other guy has Ace 9. jackpot!
... except he didn't get paid his $125k (50%) for losing with quads because the casino he was playing at had the "if you have quads, you must have a pair in your hand" rule. ouch.
worst part, both guys were pretty deep around $2800 effective on a $500 max (I think? if not, $1000)

Angela was the coolest supervisor I’ve ever had. At the time, we were working at a little advertising startup called Digital Marketing Technologies, or just DMT. She was a graphic designer and I was hired out of College to manage Google ad accounts. But to Brad, none of that mattered.
​
Brad was the owner and only salesman of our little startup. A balding, late thirties wannabe celebrity, he envisioned himself as the next Gary Vee. So much so that he regarded his LinkedIn self promotional videos as more important than his clients. He was a good salesman, but he had nothing even remotely approaching anything resembling knowledge on how to effectively run a business.
​
Case in point, almost all of the staff who wasn’t strictly video, were designated as ‘graphic designers’ whether or not they actually were one. That was the bucket I currently fell in.
​
Brad had tossed me into that position after jerking me around his company as an intern for the better part of a year, and treating me like absolute garbage.
At first, I took it with a smile, figuring that’s just how it was. While I was working under Angela though, she made it abundantly clear just how fucked up Brad actually was.
​
Being a young white man, with little experience, I didn’t see the rampant sexism, barely subdued racism and ethically dubious business practices that defined Brad. He hid it well for the most part under his fantastical razzle dazzle of technobabble and pompous self importance. He paraded around like a rock star, hosting $10,000 seminars in Toronto that no one came to, and uploading what he considered to be nuggets of marketing genius, most which were barely more than drunken ramblings. He was a sham and Angela saw right through him, and she made sure he didn’t try and fuck over his own employees.
​
Brad’s startup was already circling the drain. His VP, Craig had quit in a rage about a month ago, followed by his assistant Janice. With the structure of his upper management compromised, he’d made the crucial mistake of bringing in Jake.
Jake was Brad’s biggest fan. A mechanic by trade, who sold juice for a multi level marketing scheme on the side, his ‘job application’ had been an overlong fan letter that Janice had shared with us just before she left.
​
While Brad didn’t openly call him Craig’s replacement, that was basically what he was.I would have felt bad for him. An inexperienced Yes Man getting put into a role he couldn’t possibly fill. Maybe I could have even related, but Jake had one fundamental flaw.
​
He was every bit the asshole that Brad was, and something of a creep to boot. He stared at people too long, smiled too wide and acted so condescendingly friendly. He’d ask the stupidest questions in a tone that implied that YOU were the idiot who didn’t know what was going on, not the other way around. Like Brad, he fancied himself a Marketing guru. He even had his own website that was essentially a blank screen with a link to his merch store. Yes, he had a merch store. No, no one ever bought anything off of it. His one redeeming quality was that he was about as dumb as a box of rocks, and it was almost pathetically easy to slip stealth insults into casual conversation with him.
​
So, to put a lid on it all, DMT was already a rapidly sinking dumpster fire of a company, with more problems than I have time to list. Being the ‘genius’ that he was however, Brad had a fix.
Since the holidays were coming around, and I’m pretty sure it was impossible not to notice that his modest staff all hated him, Brad elected to throw the Christmas party early, and he wanted to pull out all the stops.
He booked everyone individual hotel rooms in Niagara Falls for a Thursday-Friday night of partying. To Brad, that meant enough alcohol to kill most living things and gambling away that years profits.
The idea was not a popular one… But, most of us stuck it out, hoping that maybe, just maybe it wouldn’t suck.
​
It did.
​
Angela and I had driven down together, and suffered through the disappointment together. I wouldn’t call that Thursday night much of a Christmas party, as much as a disorganized bender. We all watched Brad knock back drink after drink, getting louder and more obnoxious.
Given that it was a Thursday in November, very little was open late, and the evening barely lasted until around 10 before Brad decided it was time to hit the casinos!
I bowed out at that point. Gambling never interested me, and I had absolutely zero interest in watching Brad get hammered and waste more money that he probably didn’t have. He didn’t take that so well.
“Come on, Greg!” he slurred, just outside the Fallsview Casino. “Okay, I’ll tell you what. I’ll stake you. If you win, it’s yours man!”
“No thanks, it wouldn’t feel right to gamble with your money.” I said.
​
“Okay well… Okay… What about a years payroll, right?” He looked around at the others with us. I saw Angela’s brow crinkle in disgust.
​
“Let’s just pool it, and see where we get?!”
No one took him up on that offer, and he waved it off, enthusiastically going to feed another of his many addictions.
​
According to Angela when I talked to her the next morning, it had gone about as well as expected. Brad hadn’t gone broke, but he had needed Jake to carry him back to his hotel room. Angela herself had left shortly after I did and only got that information from one of the other ‘Graphic Designers’ Leanne.
As soon as we had the chance to leave, Angela and I were in my car and headed back to Hamilton.
​
“You know, you’d think he would’ve taken the hint that none of us wanted to go, but he did it, and then he wonders why no one had a good time. It’s Niagara Falls at midnight on a Thursday. Of course nothing was open!” Angela said as we drove.
“Well, least we got free food.” I said, it was just about the biggest and only positive aspect of the event.
Angela scoffed.
“Yeah… Funny how he ran out on the bill and made Jake pay.”
I hadn’t noticed that, but I still believed it.
She looked down at her phone, checking a game she was playing on it, before pausing.
“Oh shoot, hey, do you mind if we make a quick stop?”
“Not at all, why what’s up?”
“I figure we’re in wine country, right? I wanted to pick up some ice wine for my Mom, I didn’t really get the chance while we were in town.”
“I don’t really see why not.” I said, “Google it, lemme know if there’s a place nearby.”
She did, and sure enough there was a place a few exits ahead.
“Looks like the only one open today…” She murmured, “Greystone Winerys.”
She scrolled through their website for a bit, as the GPS told me where to go in a soothing British accent.
​
The exit led me to a narrow backroad. On either side of us, all I could see was empty farmland and sparsely populated trees. No sign of anything resembling a winery.
“How much further?” I asked, and she checked her phone.
“Says about fifteen minutes… I dunno, it’s acting up.”
I scanned the horizon for any indication of a driveway or something. But the road was just a straight unbroken line through empty lifeless land. The only sign of civilization was the phone lines on the side of the road.
“Up ahead!” Angela said, just when I thought I saw something past a patch of trees.
The turn she indicated led us to a worn out, empty parking lot. A skeletal gazebo sat in the middle of it, amongst patches of snow.
The building in front of that gazebo was old and looked almost Victorian. Behind it, I could see what a vineyard that looked strangely empty.
“This is the place.” Angela said, as I parked my car. I couldn’t help but admire that creepy parking lot. I snapped a photo of it, before following her to the building where she was trying the door.
“Locked.” She said, and frowned, “Maybe they aren’t open then.”
She checked her phone again, since there were no listed hours.
“Google probably just lists their summer hours.” I said, “This place has to be abandoned right now.”
“Yeah… Maybe I’ll stop off at a liquor store or something then. They might have some there.”
Angela seemed to shrug it off, and we headed back to the car after our very brief little adventure.
​
We were barely halfway there when I saw a familiar bright orange Corvette round the corner into the parking lot.
I actually felt disappointment upon seeing it.
The Corvette sped into a parking spot right beside my SUV, and Brad got out wearing the biggest grin on his face.
“Hey! What are you guys doing here!”
Jake got out of the passenger seat, as Brad approached us. Angela looked like she had to fight to keep from rolling her eyes and groaning in disappointment.
“Keeping the party going, huh, Champ?” Brad asked playfully, and punched me on the shoulder a little too hard.
“No… We were just stopping to-”
“Hey, we were gonna do a wine tasting! C’mon! Join us, it’ll be fun!”
That was the worst idea I had ever heard in my life, and I hated Brad even more for saying it.
“I really don’t feel like it.” I said, and Jake helpfully chimed in with;
“A bit of wine won’t kill you y’know, have some fun! It’ll be good for morale!”
He wore the sort of smile I imagine must have physically hurt to maintain. I also felt my eyes drawn to his shirt, which naturally came from his merch store, the one that no one on the planet knew existed except for him.
​
Shiitake Happens
​
Real original.
​
Brad was already pounding on the door of the winery as if the people who weren’t inside owed him money.
“HEY! COME ON! WE’RE HERE FOR A WINE TASTING!” He yelled. Amazingly, no one answered! Who’d have guessed?
“They’re closed.” Angela said, “We already tried.”
“But Google says they’re open!” Jake chirped.
“And no one’s here, so they’re closed.” Angela replied. Jake didn’t take the hint.
“But Google says-” He started to repeat, but he was thankfully cut off by a gruff voice behind us.
“We’re closed.”
A man had come around the side of the building. He looked gruff and wore wading overalls.
“Finally…” Brad murmured under his breath, “We’re here for a wine tasting!”
“Those are in the summer.” The man replied, “We’re closed for the season.”
“But you have wine, right?” Brad asked. The man frowned.
“We do… But we’re closed.”
“Well, obviously not entirely or you wouldn’t be here.” Brad said, and took out his wallet, “Look. We’re here for a wine tasting. For four…”
I started to protest, but Jake had to cut me off, to avenge the stupid sentence he didn’t get to finish earlier.
Angela sighed in exasperation.
“Yes sir, four please!”
Brad took a handful of bills I didn’t think he actually had, and offered them to the man.
“Come on, it’s fine!” He assured the man.
The Man just stared at him. He looked at Brad, then at Jake, then finally at Angela and I. He took the money and jammed it into one of his pockets.
“Come on then… I suppose I can arrange something since you came all this way. Lemme just call Mr. Greystone.”
He marched off towards the back of the building, fumbling with his cell phone and Brad followed him.
​
“I told you it was open!” Jake said smugly, as if Brad hadn’t just begged and bribed the man to give us a wine tasting.
Angela and I stayed put for a moment.
“Fuck it, let’s just go.” She said. Me, misconstruing that, took a weary step forward to follow. She hesitated for a moment, before going after me. She didn’t bother correcting herself.
The man led us to a long barn out behind the vineyard. Going through the empty grapevines felt a little unsettling, and as we headed out towards the barn, I heard the man and Brad talking.
“So, where abouts are you folks from?” He asked.
“Well, I’m from Texas originally, but I settled down here. Jake, you’re from… What, Oshawa? Hey Greg! What’s that town you live in again? Brantford? Our office is in Vaughan and this guy commutes from Brantford, can you believe that?”
I didn’t answer, even though he got it right. Angela trailed behind us, being ignored by Brad, but I could tell she was furious to be caught up in this.
“He’s supposed to be meeting with a client.” She said, once Jake and Brad were far enough ahead of us, “That’s where he said he was going this morning. Did you smell the booze on him?”
I hadn’t, but it wasn’t hard to guess that Brad was drunk.
​
“This is why he keeps losing business.” She said. We’d had conversations like this countless times before. I knew Angela had even brought it up with Brad, and he’d laughed it off.
The Man opened the barn door, letting us inside.
“I assume you’d like the tour first.” He said coolly.
“Hell yes we want the tour!” Brad said and immediately stepped inside, followed by the rest of us.
The Man followed us in, and closed the door behind us. As soon as he did, we heard another man speak.
“So, you’re the ones Archie found out front?”The speaker was a younger man in similar wading overalls. He had a full beard and sparkling blue eyes. His handshake was firm.
“I’m Isaac Greystone, I own the place. Archie tells me you were looking for a tour?”
“That and a tasting!” Brad said, and hastily introduced myself and Jake. He didn’t even bother introducing Angela.
“Well then, it’s a pleasure to meet you all. You just came at a really exciting time. We’re not open to the public right now, but I figure since you’re offering to pay for it, I might as well show you around, right?”
“Damn right.” Brad said, “A man after my own heart.”
Isaac tipped a thousand watt smile that almost rivaled Jakes.
“Well, let’s get started… I suppose you know how ice wine is made, right? How we freeze the grapes, and press them to make sure our wine is concentrated. It takes a little longer to ferment, but the final product is so, so worth it.”
​
​
He led us deeper into the barn. Massive machinery worked on the frozen grapes around us, and it was almost too loud to hear him speak clearly as he walked Brad and Jake through the process. I barely paid any attention, hoping we could just get this over with as soon as possible and looking for the earliest opportunity to make an excuse to leave.
“We just finished our harvest this year!” Isaac said, “So the wine we’re making now is going to keep us stocked for the next year or so. It’s not going to be ready quite yet, but we’ve still got some samples!”
“Well bring them out then!” Brad said, “Let’s taste these bad boys!”
Isaacs grin never faded, and he led us to a side room.
“I think you’re gonna love this.” He said, “We have a bit of a special fermenting technique, I can’t say too much about it right now. Trade secret and all, but it gives our wine just the right amount of body and personality. It’s why Greystone is one of the top selling ice wines in the world. We even have some exclusive labels, that we make special for some of our particularly discriminating clients…”
​
Isaac went behind a small bar, and fetched a couple of bottles of the ice wines from a fridge beneath it. He set out four glasses.
​
“So you do special blends?” Brad asked, and traded an approving look with Jake.“See that, that is branding. That’s what having a brand is all about!”
Jake nodded enthusiastically in approval.
“It’s amazing branding.”
I was pretty sure that had very little to do with branding.
“I’ve got some samples of those right here.” Isaac said, as if he hadn’t heard a word they were saying. He held up a bottle with the Greystone logo, and a stylized wolfs head on the label.
“This we manufacture for one of our best private companies. You ever heard of the Tallinn Corporation?”
“No, I don’t think I have, who are they?” Brad asked.
“Our best customers, that’s who. They’re Estonian, but they love us. Here. Try a glass…”
He filled all four glasses, and Brad immediately snatched one up. I saw Isaac set a bucket on the counter for us to spit the wine into after tasting it. I’d never been to a wine tasting before in my life, but even I knew you weren’t supposed to actually drink it.
​
Brad drank it. He drank it all in one big embarassing gulp. Isaac looked at him with a bit of surprise, as if he hadn’t quite expected that.
“Oh Jesus, that’s brisk!” Brad said, “Here, lemme have some more of that…”
Jake, for all his flaws, had the decency to drink the wine slowly. Angela didn’t drink at all. He did not however, have the decency to not make weirdly sexual moans as he enjoyed the drink. I hated it when he did that.
“Greg, try that!” Brad said, as Isaac filled up another glass for him. I took a sip. Never in my life had I ever had ice wine before, but it was delicious. Easily one of the sweetest things I’d ever tasted!
I spit it into the bucket.
​
“What? You don’t like it?” Brad asked.
“No, it’s delicious!” I said, “I just thought…”
“Well, here’s a toast then!” Brad raised his second glass, “Hey, Angela! Come on! Don’t be a spoilsport.”
Angela just glared at him, as if to ask ‘Do you know what the fuck you’re even doing right now?’ She set her glass down.
“No thanks.”
“Alright… Fine, whatever.” Brad said, shrugging it off. He tossed back the glass, and Jake attempted to do the same. I just took another sip and swallowed it. I guessed it would’ve been a shame to let it go to waste.
“That’s got kick…” Brad murmured. I watched as Angela headed towards the door.
“I think I’m just gonna wait by the car.” She said, and I understood that she wanted to get out of there. I did too.
“Greg, have some more!” Brad urged me. Angela was waiting by the door, before sighing and stepping out. I didn’t, and set my glass down.
“I think I’m good, actually. Angela’s got an appointment and we should get going.”
“Oh boo!” Brad said, “You can be a bit late, come on!”
“We’re already late.” Angela said, “Thanks for everything, Brad. Really. See you on Monday.”
She left abruptly and I followed.
​
“Who the hell does he even think he is?” She growled as she stormed towards the exit to the barn.
“Seriously, blowing off his meetings to go and get drunk? What an idiot!”
I tried to keep up with her, but was starting to feel a little woozy.
“Yeah, he’s a prick.” I murmured. Angela stopped in her tracks and looked back at me.
“Hey, you alright?”
“I think so.” I said. I could see the door to the barn, and the man who’d led us in, Archie, still standing out front of it.
“How strong was that wine?” I asked.
​
“It’s wine. There’s no way you’re drunk!”
I took another few steps forwards before my legs gave out from under me and I hit the ground. Angela was on top of my immediately.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Greg, Greg, are you alright?”
My vision was going hazy, and the last thing I remember was seeing Archie coming up behind Angela and raising something over his head.
​
​
I woke up to someone shaking me.
​
“Greg! Wake up, Goddamn you!”
I recognized the voice was Angela’s, and slowly as I came to, I could see her standing over me.
​
“Finally… I was beginning to think you weren’t waking up.”
​
“I’m awake…” I murmured, “What happened?”
​
“You passed out and someone hit me.” Angela replied, “We’re in deep shit, Greg… Look!”
My vision was groggy at first, but as I slowly pieced together my surroundings, I began to feel a creeping fear seep into my gut.
We were in a cell, and outside of those bars, was a sight I wish I’d never seen.
​
The machinery around us looked similar to what I’d seen before, but this was a completely different part of the factory. This looked more like a butcher shop.
​
I could see bodies, human bodies suspended from the ceiling. Their throats had all been cut, and I watched the blood dripping into one of six swimming pool sized mixing vats full of ice wine beneath them, and I suddenly felt sick. That was what I’d been drinking with Brad and Jake…
Just above the surface of the wine in each vat, a large propeller spun slowly, making sure that horrible concoction of blood and wine was evenly mixed.
I patted my pockets. No sign of my wallet, keys or cell phone. Of course they’d taken those.
​
“Angela? Greg?”Jake sounded like he was in the next cell over, and I’d never heard him so terrified in my life.
​
“What the hell happened!” I asked.
​
“I don’t know! We were drinking the wine, and then Brad was on the floor and… Jesus Christ, did they drug us?”
That was the most logical explanation, wasn’t it?
​
“Let’s just shut up, and figure a way out of here!” Angela said, “Jake, Brad’s in there with you, right?”
​
“No! They took him! I don’t know where! Jesus Christ, we need to get out of here! D-do you see the vat?”
Angela didn’t reply, but we’d all seen it, and we all knew that.
She reached up towards her hair, taking out a hairpin. Something that whoever had emptied our pockets had missed.
“I might be able to get this lock…” She murmured, and immediately set to work on it.
​
“Are you picking it? Come on, come on, come on…” Jake groaned, “Hurryyyyy.”
Angela worked diligently, before pausing suddenly, and putting her tools into her pockets. I heard the voices down the hall too.
​
“We’ll get them processed today and have this whole thing taken care of. Later on I’ll call our usual guy to get the cars... ”
I recognized the voice as Isaacs, and heard his footsteps getting closer.
​
“Ah, you’re awake!” He said. It sounded like he’d stopped in front of Jake’s cell.
​
“What the hell do you want from us?!” I heard Jake say, “You can’t just keep us here! Where’s Brad!?”
​
“Well, like I said you’ve come at an interesting time…” Isaac replied. His tone was even and calm. “Usually, we buy our secret ingredient from the Tallinn Corporation. They deal in that sort of thing mostly. People go missing in the old Soviet Union all the time and no one cares. So we don’t really hurt anyone and we get a better tasting product! But, we do care a lot about quality and we’d like to keep all our ingredients locally sourced, if you catch my meaning.”
​
“W-what the hell…?” It sounded like Jake was crying and Isaac chuckled.
​
“You’ll see soon enough… Shock him, let’s get him processed.”
​
I heard Jake scream as he was tased, and the sound of the cell door opening.
Archie and another worker carried Jake past our cell. As they passed, Isaac stepped into our view.
​
“Hey there.” He said smoothly, “I understand if you’re not excited to be in this position… I got the feeling you two didn’t really want to get dragged into this.”
​
“No shit!” Angela snapped, “Where are you taking him?”
​
“To become part of the Greystone legacy.” Isaac teased, and looked up towards the bodies hanging above the mixing vats.
“It’s a slow process, but quality takes time… Anyways, I wanted to say, before you get angry, that I am sorry you got dragged into this.”
He smiled, and walked away from us, following the others.
​
Angela was silent for a bit, listening to his footsteps fade. When she was sure he was gone, she got the hair clip out of her pocket, and worked on the lock with renewed vigor. It didn’t take long until we heard the click of the lock, but Angela didn’t open it. It didn’t take me long to see why.
​
Archie, his associate and Jake came into view again, this time on a catwalk above the nearest mixing vat.
Jake was still unconscious, which made it easy to bind his ankles and place a hanging hook through the rope.
“W-what…” Jake’s voice was faint and echoed from the distance, but he was starting to come to. He let out a startled yelp as the hook yanked him up just like the other bodies.
“Wait, WAIT, WAITWAITWA-”
He didn’t get to finish his pleasing. Archie pulled a knife from his overalls, and opened his throat. Jake squirmed and choked out his death rattle, blood pouring over his face and dripping into the vat below.
Shiitake happens.
​
The other worker took a long pole, and used it to push Jake out towards the other bodies, right over the center of the mixing vat.
We watched as they prodded the others, before choosing a few to pull towards them and take down.
As soon as they were gone, she opened the door to our cell.
“We’re leaving.” She said curtly. I didn’t argue. For a moment, I thought about Brad, but Jake had said they’d already taken him. He was probably dead, and I could have cared less!
​
​
Neither of us knew which way to go, but we opted for the way that Archie and the other worker hadn’t taken Jake. That way led to a hall that seemed impossibly long, and on either side were massive chilled vats of Ice Wine.
I tried not to think about just how many people had died to fill these… But the thought still came.How many people around the world were unknowingly drinking human blood in their wine? How many people did it knowingly?
​
Down the hall, I heard a voice, and paused.I ducked into the narrow space between one of the vats, and I saw Angela doing the same across from me.
​
“50% in under three months, now that is unprecedented growth, but it’s doable! I’ve done it. Not everyone can, but if you’ve got the product, you’ve got the brand, and you’ve got the know how, it’s already done!”
That was Brad’s voice!
I had to peek out from behind my vat, and I saw him and Isaac passing through the hall in front of us, side by side like old friends.
“It’s a bold claim.” Isaac said. I wasn’t sure if he was impressed or not, “But you sound like you can back it up.”
​
“Dude, if you just let me show you my numbers, gimme a phone, something. I won’t try anything! But I’m telling you, you’re making the right call. Those other guys? Fuck ‘em. They’re disposable, I mean, hell. I was honestly looking for a chance to get rid of Angela anyways. But me, I’m the one you wanna keep. I get it, this whole operation here, it’s about adding value to your brand. What you’re doing gives the wine it's signature flavor, and it’s honestly kinda hardcore! I dig that! But you and I both know, that I can give you more value right here, like this, then I would in a bottle of wine.”
Isaac and his workers were going to slaughter us for wine, and Brad was trying to fucking sell them on his service?
I sincerely hoped someone would show up to drag Brad off to the same fate Jake had met, but I didn’t get that wish.
​
“Well, if you’re half of what you claim… Maybe you’d be worth it.” Isaac said thoughtfully. He idly played with his beard. “Let’s say I kept you around, huh? I’m gonna need to make sure you don’t try anything. I’ll give you what you need to work. Just work. Nothing else. You let me down, and you’re going in with the next batch.”
​
“Hey, that’s A-okay with me! I just want the chance!” Brad said, grinning from ear to ear, “Trust me. You and me are gonna do some amazing shit.”
Isaac nodded slowly, and from my vantage point, I could see the rage on Angela’s face, but she stayed still.
“HEY! CELL’S EMPTY!”
Archie’s voice cut through the hall, and both Brad and Isaac looked up suddenly.
“They’re out. Find them.” He said, “They can’t be far!”
Isaac was coming towards us again, with Brad trailing behind him. I heard Archie coming up from the opposite direction, and I realized that sooner or later, one of them was going to see us. I think Angela knew it too.
She moved suddenly, running for her life, and I did the same, but I wasn’t as fast.
She slipped past Brad easily enough, but I didn’t get past Isaac.
​
He grabbed me, and I felt Archie grabbing me too. Both of them wrestled me to the ground, and the last thing I remember was a terrible jolt of electricity before everything went black.
​
​
I woke up in the hall. I don’t know how long later. Archie and another worker had me draped over their shoulders, and dragged me slowly. Ahead of me, I saw Isaac.
“Shock him again.” Isaac said. I hadn’t even given any indicator that I was awake, but Archie didn’t waste any time. I didn’t pass out this time, but I wasn’t in any condition to fight.
“I know you probably think this is barbaric.” Isaac said, still not looking at me, “It’s… well, an old family tradition. One gets desensitized to it. But as heinous as this all must seem, I need you to understand that this really does make it a superior product! The blood sweetens the wine, and the corpses do wonders for the vineyard. Every year, we have a bountiful harvest. It’s because of this that we’re the best, and if your friend Brad delivers on his promise, we might even be the biggest.”
Up ahead, I saw the hanging bodies… But now they were much closer to eye level.
“I wouldn’t take it personally.” Isaac said, and stopped, letting us pass him.
“Make it quick for this one!” He ordered, “Suffering taints the wine.”
With that, I heard him walking away.
We were at one of the vats, and Archie shocked me one last time. I felt his associate starting to tie my legs together. Archie pulled the knife from his overalls.
“It’s never personal, kid.” He said gruffly. I looked at the knife, my heart racing as I waited for what was coming.
Then I heard the worker behind me scream, along with a dull thud. Archie looked up, and I caught a glimpse of Angela behind us. She was holding a shovel, and swung it ruthlessly at Archie’s head. It bounced off his shoulder and he grunted in pain.
I didn’t have much time to react, but by God I made the most of it!
​
I grabbed him by the wrist, and jerked his arm towards me, then I sank my teeth into the skin. His grip on the knife loosened, and I tore it out of his hands.
Archie kicked out blindly at Angela when she tried to hit him with the shovel again. He uselessly slapped at me to try and keep me away from him, but I had the knife now, and I put it in his throat.
It was very personal.
​
Archie twitched, eyes looking up at me in surprise, but as the blood trickled out of his throat, his body went limp.
I was panting heavily, and looked over at Angela. The worker she’d hit lay on the ground, unconscious or dead. I didn’t care which.
“Are you alright?” She asked, and I absentmindedly nodded, before backing away from Archie’s body.
“I just killed this guy…”
“Yeah. I guess you did…” Angela replied, “Take the knife, we need to go and…” She swallowed, “We might need it.”
I didn’t want to touch that knife. I didn’t even want to look at Archie. I wanted to scream and cry and lose my shit, but I did what she said. It came out easier than I expected.
Angela started down the hall again, and I followed, still a little shell shocked from committing a murder!
“After I split off from you, I found what I’m pretty sure was Isaacs office.” Angela said, “Here, we needed these.”
I saw her reaching into her pocket for my car keys and wallet.
“Our phones were missing. Probably broken.”
“Shit… We can’t call for help then?”
​
“Which is why we need to focus on getting the hell out of here.” Angela replied,
We moved silently. For the time being, there was no sign of any other employees, but we didn’t want to risk it. We both knew there was more than Archie and his associate lurking around.
​
​
In a few moments, we’d made it back to the lower level of the mixer room.
“I think the door to the main factory is down that way.” Angela said, “We just need to find it, and-”
A gunshot cut her off. She ducked, and looked around for the source. I saw it before she did, and pulled her towards one of the vats. We ducked beneath it to avoid another shot.
“Found you!” Brad cried, “Ah shit… I guess you picked up Greg too, huh?”
He held the gun professionally as he crept towards the vat we cowered behind.
​
“Well, I’ve got enough ammo to do you both. I hope you know it’s nothing personal! But it’s honestly just me or you, and even with the… well, unusual recipe, this is still a big client! Do you have any idea what this is gonna do for DMT? Isaac gets me, man!”
He was drawing nearer, but even when he had us cornered, Brad was still an idiot. The second he got close to our hiding spot, I was ready. He came into view slowly, and I lunged at him when he did, catching him off guard.
​
The knife went into his shoulder, and I caught the gun across my face. Angela was on him next, tearing at the knife and trying to rip it out of him. Brad struggled against her, and frantically brought the butt of his gun down on her head, over and over again.
He shoved Angela off of him, and she hit the ground holding the handle of the knife. The blade poked out of Brads shoulder.He grinned through gritted teeth as we took aim at her, but he wasn’t watching me.
​
I was on my feet again and I grabbed his arm, forcing it upwards. He fired off a stray bullet, but it went harmlessly into the ceiling.
Brad may have had a gun, but I was bigger than him. Angela recovered and went with the age old trick of going straight for the groin. I went for the stomach. Brads grip on his gun loosened. I watched as Angela tried to rip it from his hand. But Brad saw that coming. With a jerk of his arm, he sent the gun flying across the factory floor. I didn’t see where it landed. His elbow caught me in the face, and I barely had time to see him drive his fist into Angela’s jaw. He grabbed her by the throat, and got ready to punch again.
​
I grabbed him from behind and tried to drag him off of her. Brad flailed helplessly, and I almost got him there, before his head slammed into my face. The first time just stunned me. The third time, I had to let go. Brad glared hatefully at us once he was free.
​
“I shouldn’t be surprised you two are the ones I have to deal with right now. You’ve always been a poison to MY company, Angela. Since I hired you you’ve been trying to cripple MY success!” His eyes shifted to me.
​
“And you? You’re just dead weight! I am DONE with you people! I am DONE with your disrespect!”
He probably had more to say, but Angela didn’t give him the chance. She’d noticed something that Brad hadn’t.
He was standing right in front of a vat.
​
As he opened his mouth to speak again, she lunged for him, pushing him back towards it. I caught on quickly and went to help her. Between the two of us, we were able to press him right up against the vat.
​
Angela and I traded a brief look, before I ducked down, grabbing Brad by the legs. She pushed him by the shoulders. Brad struggled, but he went into that vat of blood and wine. The mixers arm was coming around again. I know Brad saw it in the moment before it struck him over the head. I don’t know if it killed him, but the force of it pulled him into the vat entirely. Given how little of a struggle there was, I’d have guessed it just knocked him unconscious. The arm dragged him around the vat slowly, his head submerged in that disgusting mixture of blood and wine he’d been willing to murder us over.
​
We didn’t stick around to see if he was ever going to wake up, and as far as I’m concerned, he drowned in that vat.
I wish I'd said 'Cheers'.
​
​
The next room was more familiar territory. This was part of what Isaac had shown us, and we sprinted for the door, and through the empty vineyard. It was starting to get dark. Halfway through it, I let myself look back. I could see people coming out of that long barn, and I didn’t wait for them to start running after me.The gazebo was up ahead, along with my car and Brad’s ugly orange coupe. I didn’t waste any time getting inside my car, and as soon as Angela and I had our doors closed, we were speeding off down our driveway, as fast as we could go.
​
We drove until the next town over, and made it to the police station looking like hell. I’m pretty sure my statement came out as a rambling incoherent mess, but I didn’t care. I told them just about everything… except the part where I murdered Archie and helped drown Brad.
​
If the Police believed my statement… I never found out. I heard talk of an investigation, but from what I understood, they found nothing. Not even Brad’s ugly orange coupe.
​
DMT dissolved quickly without him. He and Jake were just considered to have disappeared. Brads so called ‘fans’ barely seemed to notice his absence.Our story never got out.
​
​
I still talk with Angela on occasion, but we don’t talk about Niagara. The unspoken agreement is that we did what we had to do, to survive. We both know that, and we don’t need to remember.
​
I almost wish we could talk about it though… I wish I could talk to her about the nightmares I’ve had of drowning in a vat of freezing cold wine. I wish I could talk to her about the anxiety I have whenever I’m alone. I wish I could tell her that I received a bottle of ice wine from Greystones Winery in the mail the other day.
​
Because I don’t know who else to tell.
​
I wish I knew if Isaac is congratulating me on my escape, mocking me for my inability to stop him… or warning me...

Turning 19 tomorrow and i have a choice I’m going between Elements Brantford and Casino Niagara: from what I’ve read Niagara charges 6/hh and not quite sure about Elements rake or other charges, so any advice is welcome since there is barely anything in Toronto and I live too far to drive to Scarborough to play at Aces

Niagara Falls has changed things up since I was last there. There are 2 casinos, Fallsview and Casino Niagara, and they used to each have a poker room. Niagara had 1/2, 2/5 and probably on up, I don't know because I am a low-stakes player. Fallsview had went up from 2/5.
Fallsview no longer offers Poker, only Casino Niagara. They have moved their tables to a newly constructed room. The old room was in the lower level, but open to the rest of the casino, where the bings and bongs of the slots were part of the soundtrack. The new room is off to the back, has 26 nice, new tables, comfy chairs, and is walled off from the bustle of the casino floor. Limit runs 3/6 to 50/100, and NLHE is 1/3 to 50/100. There are also some Omaha, I think.
Buy-in is maxed at 100BB.
One big difference is that they have disposed of the rake. Instead, every 30 minutes there is a dealer swap, and everyone throws in a $6 "seating charge". So it's $12/hr to play a rakeless table. There is a pull for the BBJ.
Speaking of the BBJ, it's 50/25/25, and according to the rules, a full house of Aces over Queens or better, must be beat by a higher full house, Quads, or Straight Flush. Both hole cards must play. Right now it's running at a shade over 100K CDN. Keep in mind that in Canada, gambling winnings are not taxable.
As far as play is concerned, there was lots of action, but none of it went my way. The players seemed to know their stuff, and were nowhere near as loose as I had hoped. There were some 100-200BB pots, but I wasn't in 'em. I think Niagara might not be as loose as some other places, as there are something like 7 million people in the Greater Toronto area, and this is the only casino within the 2 hour drive. As well, there were some out-of-towners, one from Texas and one from London at the table.
Shitty variance day. Had an OESD + 4 to the flush coolered at the river. One hand I had AQo, flop A84, turn A, called the guy all-in, and the motherfucker flips over pocket 8's. One hand I had the nut flush, bet 10BB into a 5BB pot and got ONE caller. Oooooo, a whole $42 payout for the nuts. It was just not my night. Stupid shit like folding 46 pre and seeing a 664 flop. Lady Luck was spitting in my eye at times. Eventually I busted out and headed home.
That's poker. I wasn't bringing money I couldn't afford to lose, I enjoyed my time there, the table was pretty sociable, and I had a good time. I actually had more money in my budget for the night, but the way things were running for me, I decided not to rebuy. Knowing when to pull the plug is a skill I am still learning. I've gone from "Where's the fucking ATM?" to "That's poker. Have a good night, gents."
Have a good night, gents.
EDIT: Sorry, there are other casinos within 2 hours of Toronto. There's Rama, with 10 tables, Brantford with 14, and Blue Heron with 7, but those numbers might not be accurate.
EDIT 2: If you are thinking of visiting, competition for the tourist dollar is substantial, and the off-season is coming up. Shop around, there are some really nice hotels, suites overlooking the Falls, that can be had in the $100 range mid-week, maybe a little more on the weekends.

Everyone has probably heard about this already but just incase you haven't. Wednesday January 16th 6:30pm-8:30pm - Waterdown High Thursday january 17th 6:30pm - 8:30pm - City Hall There will be a rally starting at 5:30pm before both meetings. Some more information can be found at http://nodowntowncasino.ca/

What are your thoughts on having a casino? Let's have an open, and honest discussion about the pro's and con's on having one in the city.
edit: Sorry about the poor grammar in the title. Kinda wrote it in a hurry.

I was listening to the radio on my way to work this morning and the discussion was centered around the pros and cons of putting a casino downtown. What does hamilton think about this?

Just wondering if anyone else plays there.

Title pretty much sums it up. I've only been to one and it was in Quebec. It was a nice casino though.