
So interesting – Red Lake Nation College opening campus across from @usbankstadium

The many faces of Black Orchid
Slot machines are fascinating to me – there are literally thousands of different games available in casinos around the world (and online). There are games with licensed pop culture content, brands cultivated by companies like Aristocrat and IGT, infinite varieties of video poker and keno – heck, even YouTube slot celebrity Brian Cristopher has his own branded slot machine now. These games form the revenue foundation for most casinos, but they can be complex to analyze when you throw in multiple denominations, bet levels, volatility and progressive jackpots.
One game that touches on all of these variables, Black Orchid from IGT, also happens to be one of my personal favorites. Introduced around 2013, it spawned two alternate themes based on the same math and gameplay model (Silk Seduction and Vintage Love) and can still be found in a few Minnesota casinos (Mystic Lake has two, Grand Casino has a bunch in both of their locations, Black Bear had three and Fortune Bay used to have one before the pandemic, but it has not returned). I last saw Silk Seduction at Bellagio (since removed) and there used to be Vintage Love games at both Hinckley and Treasure Island (also removed).
Black Orchid appeals to me because of the high volatility gameplay, tropical soundtrack, dimensional graphics (glowbugs!) and the affordable bet levels. Of course the biggest reason is probably that the Orchid is the only game that I’ve won hand-pay jackpots: $3,992.54 in October 2016 and $3,247.79 in May 2017. These both happened on 40-cent bets at Mystic Lake, which resulted in returns of 9,981x and 8,119x. Let’s take a deeper dive into the complexities of this classic casino game.
Long before I met you darlin. Lord, I thought I had it all. I could have my lunch in London. And my dinner in St. Paul…
- Glory of True Love

The latest version of the @SaintDinette fried chicken is the perfect @StPaulSaints pre-game treat 🐔 ⚾️

I love this pic of @grayter1 on the TPT website – the Emmy, Prince tambourine and Cane’s stuffy are 💯
Some days are diamonds, some days are rocks. Some doors are open, some roads are blocked…
- Walls

Solid tech, 2/2: Apple Maps gave me accurate directions around a ramp closure today (and a realtime accident report)
The regular season opening homestand of Rangers, Kings, Avalanche and Canucks will be a fun week of hockey 🏒
After reading about “Kyber post-quantum TLS now supported in AWS KMS,” I think it’s time to step away from the computer for a bit
Never was the kind to do as I was told. Gonna ride like the wind before I get old…
- Christopher Cross
Exciting to have Centro (and burgers!) moving into the old Menchie’s spot in Highland Park