I travel for work a lot and I have worked on contract in 3rd world countries where poverty are very high. In most of these countries and specifically in the more rural areas, people are very poor and they lack the infrastructure and resources to have access to Banking services and/or the Internet.    (Some people even struggle to get electricity and clean water)

Now, most of these people rely on the land to provide them with an income... and they live in a constant "survival" mode.. where they live from hand to mouth.

Now, in Africa I have seen people using cellphones to make digital payments using a centralized payment method, called MPESA ...so even with very limited resources, people are still able to make transactions. (They charge cellphones with small solar panels and/or petrol generators for the community)

We (1st world countries) should find ways to make payments on Bitcoin easier and more user friendly, so that payment on ALL phones can be possible. (not just fancy smart phones)  

We should also find ways for people with those phones to execute tasks that will enable 1st world countries to pay those people with "cheap" micro payments. (Lightning Network) ...example : translation services / typing / spell checking / sorting of data etc...etc.

Let's brainstorm ideas to develop software that will tap into the opportunities that will enable micro payments on a global scale, so that we can pull in a forgotten section of the global economy.  

Do not give them fish... rather provide the hook ...line... sinker... and they will fish for themselves.

https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/11/mark-cuban-mavericks-face-lawsuit-over-crypto-voyager-ponzi-scheme/

Shark Tank star and the owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, is facing a class action lawsuit for promoting Voyager Digital’s crypto products. The plaintiffs claim that Voyager was “a massive Ponzi scheme” and Cuban “duped millions of Americans into investing.”

I reckon, the highest trees catch most of the wind... right.    Now it is news like this that taints the image of Crypto currencies in general, because Ponzi schemes use Crypto currencies as a payment option and then when it fails, people and mass media blame the payment option and not the Ponzi scheme that used it.

They do this with Crypto currencies, but when Ponzi schemes where FIAT currencies were used, collapse.... they do not blame the Banks and the government.  

People should never give investment advice to friends, if they are not financial advisors.... and definitely never have to convince people to buy bitcoins. I made this mistake once.. and the guy pulled out early, because he panicked when the price dropped with 30% and he lost money. 

You should rather tell them about your experience with Bitcoin and then wait for them to approach you for help to buy bitcoins. Let them make the choice... DO NOT force them into something that might spoil your friendship, IF it does not succeed. 

Everything is finalized.. because the site is up and running. This site cannot be preparation for a fully functional site in the future, because online casino legislation does not allow for it in most of the States. (Even now... some States do not even allow access to this US site)

I asked this question... "How is Stake making money on the Stake.us site" and one of the mods warned me not to talk about a site that are not owned by Stake. He said... no further discussion is allowed about this.... but when I visited the site, you could see the US chat channel... (behind the banner that pops up to say that only US citizens can play there).... and I saw this mod in that chat.

So I guess this is a sensitive matter.... and I asked the wrong question. So let's just leave it there.... and hope that we find out more in the future. 

Can anybody tell me how Stake.com is making money on their US site? So, from what I understand, the players are not paying to play..but it works on a sweepstakes principle. 

"Sweepstakes, also called giveaways, are a type of prize promotion in which promotion hosts give prizes at random to entrants who take a free-of-charge action. By definition, giveaway means the promotion host cannot require a purchase to enter. They also can't choose the winner based on merit." - Source ==> https://trustspot.io/blog/sweepstakes-meaning/

Who is paying for the gifts... if nobody is paying to play? ....and Why would Stake want to run a site that does not generate a profit?

Ps.. I see that they are part of the "Eddie" stream weekly giveaway now too...

This is something that worked for me and some of my friends :

Use "Cash" more than "Cards" - So most Banks wants us to move away from cash, because "Cash" is expensive for them to handle... and some Banks charge their customers per transaction.

I suggested to some of my friends to go to a Bank after they were paid and then to withdraw 80% of their money (depending on each of their circumstances) and to start using "Cash" again.

When you handle and see "Cash" physically.... you actually see how much you spend on things. Go pay your clothing account with cash and "feel" how much goes towards your clothing expenses. (or rather pay with cash for that pair of shoes of say $250)

People make "easy" dept... because they just swipe a card... but once you are counting out that $500 ....it makes you think twice, before you pay for it in cash. 

His claim to fame are the fact that he was best known for predicting the 2007–08 subprime mortgage crisis in the United States and the subsequent global financial crisis.    Something that everyone of us are capable of doing, if you just look at the data every day..or rather if you had access to the data.  

He is still teaching at a New York University .....and making his money from teaching people old school FIAT business strategies. People like him at 64 ....will not accept disruptive technologies like Bitcoin that are challenging their old school teachings.  

Gambling seldom brings "profits" to their players, because in the long run.. the house always win. So, your girlfriend might want you to stop because you are using money on something that she might consider as a loss. You have to remember.. all the money you spend on gambling for yourself, is money not spend on her.

I will change my attitude a little and try to get her to enjoy it with you, so that she sees that as time that you spend together. If she is not into gambling, then I might suggest that you spend some of your wins on her. (Take her for lunch or dinner.. every time you win something big) 

So, I browsed the site and I did not see any WOW factor... just a lot of in-house games.   The online Crypto casino scene are very competitive, so sites with only in-house games are simply not going to cut it. I reckon that you need that license to be able to sign deals with 3rd party service providers.

Then I browsed the thread and I saw issues with a VERY small amount that cannot be withdrawn over "system" issues... which raised a red flag for me.  

The domain extension used are also a bit... uhm, dodgy? (Also ..why are OP using that username? ....is he running several small businesses....?)  ....Exchange and Casino?

I think the "Chat" channels need an extra "Newbie" chat channel for "newbies"... where they can chill and learn the rules.    I know there are wager requirements to chat.. but a "Newbie" chat channel will help with a lot of things, like :

1. reducing Alt account misuse.
2. reducing Bot abuse.
3. reducing begging in main channel.
4. increasing the gaming experience for higher ranked players.
5. reduce spam & rain farming.

The suggestion is not to exclude "newbies" totally from the total experience... they can still enter other channels, but they can only "chat" in the "newbie" channel... until they rank up to say Bronze... then they get full access to all channels.  

Well, when I am very serious about my pseudo anonymity, I push my coins through 2 or 3 mixer services.... and then through some other "services" that gives some of the money back (if you know what I mean) ....and I feel relatively satisfied that 3 or 4 hops are sufficient to guarantee some degree of pseudo anonymity.

I have nothing to hide... so full anonymity is not my primary concern with whatever coins I have, but I do not know what happened with the coins I receive before I received it.  

Banks really do not care if you know people or companies like Grayscale or Micheal Saylor.   They care about profits and security for those loans, so you not going to get money from them, if you do not have that.

You might get somewhere if Grayscale or Micheal Saylor offers to sign for security on your behalf, but they have not become successful by providing "freebies" for high risk customers or "friends". 

You are talking about "Day traders" and speculators.... not true supporters of the Satoshi vision. The people that wants Bitcoin to succeed in the long-term..are those people who wants to see less volatility and a more stable Bitcoin price...so that it can be used as a currency and not just as a commodity. 

I do not wake up with the cellphone in hand.. to see what the Bitcoin price is, because I do not care.... I want to see Bitcoin adoption increase and I want people to use it as a currency. (That will push the Bitcoin price to much higher prices in the long-term future) 

Do not be discouraged by all the negative comments.... you are doing something that are outside the norm and there are a lot of scams that are doing the rounds, so people will be a bit apprehensive at the start. 

Just explain the "account" creation process over and over again ...and build trust and be honest... just look at Freebitco.in, because they function almost anonymous and they are very successful. 

DO NOT drop the ball.... that will raise red flags and break trust here..... people are over cautious here for a reason. 

I think a large amount of these people are going to dump there coins, because this whole Mt Gox thing..left a bad taste in their mouth. Yes, there might be some of them that might be waiting for the next All-time-high price.. but we will definitely see a sizeable sell off of some of those coins.

I hope a lot more of these people will hoard their coins, because they were some of the early investors that had the balls and the vision to invest in something when it was still unknown and a very high risk. (They deserve a good payday, when the price hits the next all-time-high price) 

If he does not know how to configure an Electrum Server, could someone not create a Server for him, with the "default" value turned off, so that he can access that Server to finalize the transaction?

Since that exploit with the malicious "Phishing Servers" ..... not everyone can create servers that are accessible to the public... right? How can anyone configure a Server.. and then make it accessible to someone else?

Poker players love online tournaments because there are chances to earn big amounts with relative low investment.  The spectators love to see these players battling it out, because the game is more based on skill.. and not so much on luck.

Also, Online poker tournament allows its players to compete for huge money from the comfort of their homes and the spectators are also watching them via live streaming from their homes. 

Watching someone battling it out against a Slot machine can become boring very quickly.... 

Something that are bothering me lately is the "depressed" feeling I get when I win something big. You expect that you should be very happy and relieved when you win something big, after you grinded for weeks for that win, but when you get that win, you feel "empty".

I think the RTP on most casinos are so bad lately, that the period between big wins are so long, that people start to feel "cheated" and "disappointed" when they eventually win something. (If I gambled and lost say $5000 over 7 days and then win $1000... that win will actually feel like a $4000 loss) 

Well, a post pandemic consumer reaction was expected. You had loads of people that were locked up for weeks, not earning a salary and then you lift the lockdowns ...and guess what happens. People do not have disposable income to celebrate their "freedom".. so they go on a spending spree with credit cards. 

Now add to that inflated prices for the things that they are buying... and the debt created are higher than usual. This will go on, until the inflation drop... or until people start buying with disposable cash... and not with their credit cards. 

Well, we all know that Iran are still being sanctioned by the US, as we can see from this article a week ago ==> https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/us-news/2022/08/01/us-slaps-fresh-oil-sanctions-on-iran-as-nuclear-talks-stall/  ....

We also know that countries are using Crypto currencies to evade sanctions and also SWIFT transfers that can be monitored and blocked. So this is nothing new.... they just made this public, to make a political statement that these sanctions will not stop them from trading with other countries.