Icons of the 1970s - Janis Ian

13 May 2010

Singer, songwriter, science fiction author and syndicated columnist Janis Ian is one of those rare combinations of imaginative talent mixed with musical prowess that only comes along once every generation. For this reason, Ian is celebrated nearly five decades after she first started performing, and her iconoclastic status in sci-fi and folk is permanent.

Born as Janis Eddy Fink on April 7, 1951 in New York City, New York, a young Janis was almost certain to become a performer of some sorts. After moving to New Jersey as a child, Janis attended the New York City High School of Music and Art. With her father a music teacher and her musical influences including Joan Baez and Odetta, Janis wrote her first song by age 12.

At only 13 years of age, Ian wrote a moving song about society’s disapproval of interracial relations at the time titled Society’s Child (Baby I’ve Been Thinking). Impressed with the song, the label released it three different times in an attempt to force it to catch on. The first two being failures, Society’s Child finally became a hit on the third release.

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A short history on Indian Casino Gaming

28 April 2008

Indian casino gaming as we know it all began with the Seminole tribe of Florida. It wasn’t very long ago at all.

The Seminoles first opened a high-stakes bingo hall on their reservation in 1979. And just like anything in the United States, the government in Florida quickly moved in, attempting to close down the operation.

However, the courts interceded and stopped the attempts by Florida to overthrow the bingo hall. But despite the early victories in court by the Seminole tribe, the legality of Indian casino gaming was still very much in doubt.

There have been a few landmark events which sparked a flame of revolution in the Indian casino gaming venture. One important case took place in California.

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A Brief History of Foxwoods Resort Casino

18 April 2008

Foxwoods Resort Casino is a stunningly beautiful hotel-casino located in Ledyard, Connecticut. It is by far the largest casino in the world, as measured by sheer floor-space for gambling. With 340,000 square feet of gambling space, Foxwoods can hold more people than almost any two other Atlantic City casinos.

The entire resort comprises 4,700,000 square feet of space. The casino area has over 380 gambling tables which include blackjack, craps, poker, and roulette. There are well over 7,400 slot machines, and even a bingo room and keno parlor. There are several restaurants located there, including a Hard Rock Café. Foxwoods has 1,416 hotel rooms and a two-story arcade, which is mainly for children and teens.

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