Hot Zone

What is Hot Zone?

I concede, CEOs know much more about business than I do. That’s why they are business leaders and I am not, nor will I ever be. So who the hell am I then? I will say confidently, I absolutely know my place in this world. It is as clear to me as the sun. I may not understand much about doing business, but I know what money is, and I know what money is not. I know what happens to unbacked paper currency when governments shut down the world and blast currency from monetary firehoses all over the world until we are all drowning in it. It dies.

Are you listening, Oh you gaming industry execs? If you’re a CEO reading this, or a CFO, and you’re struggling with shut down casinos and mounting debt, I’m talking to you. You have only a few months at most to protect your companies from a hyperinflationary nuclear bomb that is about to go off and destroy everything in its path. The fuse is being lit as I write this. I will now describe the fuse.

About 18 months ago I wrote this weird, esoteric, wacky article. I made the case that once U.S. dollar interest rates went negative, all commodities would warp into backwardation. Meaning, the spot prices for all commodities would become more expensive than their futures price. This is now happening. Almost all commodities are now in persistent backwardation. All grains, sugar, lumber, and cotton; energy including natural gas and both Brent and WTI crude oil; base metals including copper, tin, and iron ore. They are all in backwardation now, and some have been that way for months now. The CRB commodities index is now climbing at its fastest pace ever, doubling since March.

How to play Hot Zone

In response to a query from local news outlet Patch, Republican Mayor Gary Grasso confirmed the existence of the donations from the Capri restaurant and the Are We Live nightclub, two Burr Ridge businesses owned by Filippo “Gigi” Rovito.    

Rovito, whom NBC Chicago previously reported has alleged ties to the Chicago Outfit, is facing federal charges of operating an illegal gambling business and conspiracy to collect extensions of credit by extortionate means.

He was among 22 people arrested in coordinated raids by the FBI April 29 following a long-running investigation dubbed “Operation Porterhouse Parlay,” which allegedly uncovered links between illegal gambling operations and restaurant networks spanning Northwest Indiana and suburban Chicago.

What is Hot Zone?

“At a break or at half time you see 10 to 20 [gambling] adverts,” he says. “It’s come to a point that oftentimes I even hear my kids singing [gambling adverts]. They’ll just keep asking, ‘But Daddy, what is this? What does this mean?’

“Our position is unequivocal. Betting is an adult activity. Operators must maintain effective age verification, marketing must not target or appeal to children and regulators; parents, schools and communities must reinforce the same message.”

As part of Africa Safer Gambling Week, the AiA has also focused on the illegal market, with Kesitilwe highlighting that offshore operators are harmful for player protection.