Yes, games played a central role in the recreational lives of ancient people just as much as it does today. The oldest record of games played in civilization is Backgammon which was played by ancient Babylonians. Chess was a game that came from Asia to Europe via the Silk Road and has undergone a huge transformation as it was passed on from people to people. A game, fascinatingly enough, that hasn’t undergone a huge change is the game of dice.

Now when it’s said that the game of dice hasn’t changed, we really mean to say the die itself has not changed. However, the way you use it, how many you use and other rules have formed spawning hundreds of different games you can play with dice. That means casino games and paper and pencil RPG games. We also use dice in the principle of probability in mathematics (that too, if you think about it, is a sort of game!). The die, generally 6-sided (although in more recent times we’ve created new types 4,8,10,12 and 20-sides!), hasn’t changed for over 2000 years.

Roman legions carried dice sets with them on their long journeys across the empire. They travelled, salted the earth to build roads and fought off attacks. At the end of the day they would unwind with drink, merriment and a game of dice. They would use these dice to play odds and make wagers. It took their minds off their troubles being so far away from home.

Most of the dice made back then were made from animal bone. Probably from the leftovers of animals they had consumed. Other dice were made of hardwood. Today’s dice are made from plastics but just a century ago dice were also made from ivory. With Roman soldiers spread throughout Britain, Northern Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, North Africa and Spain, they helped spread the use and growth of this game, and even picked up a few new games on their travels.

Whilst waiting for the result can sometimes be an excruciating pain, as everyone wants to know the result, guessing and betting can be a worthwhile distraction that can make the wait more bearable and fun. One solid week the entire world was wondering if the baby was a boy or a girl and the excitement was drumming up because of the added guessing game. George and James are the most likely choices for the royals as they are probably shuffling through a stack of baby names. Those who already put some money down on girl’s names can pretty much kiss away their chances of winning some extra cash, that is unless Will/Kate plan to throw us a curve ball and go with a feminine name for their son or some ultra hipster, non-traditional, obscure name like… Voldemort, or something like that. Odds on that would probably be a bajillion to one, but that sounds like some good action as Will/Kate seem like they’d make pretty cool and hip parents, a contrast to the stuffy stereotype image of the royals.

But now that we already know the gender of the baby, and the name could be revealed soon, what else is there left to find out about the possible future King of the United Kingdom and its Commonwealth of Nations? Other people are starting to get more specific, aiming for hair colour, with heavy odds in favour of a ginger-haired lad like his dad. Others are placing odds on whether the royal will be the first to be born with a full set of webbed fingers and toes, as crazy as that sounds. Some are even looking far into the future, taking wagers on how long the baby king’s reign will be. Considering that Prince Charles has yet to sit the throne, that day is a long way off! But of course the birth of a new monarch brings the whole family together and it’s not always just about the baby. People are also looking at the current reigning Queen Elizabeth II and wondering how much longer she will be on the throne and if she can beat Queen Victoria’s record as the longest reigning monarch in history.

These are indeed exciting times to be living in when there is so much happening in the world. Lots of positive things happening and it seems things are only getting more exciting. So what do you think about the new born royal’s name? Something traditional like “George” or is “Hashtag” the new Hamish, a sign of change and a new era for baby names and the world? Place your bets!

Bob Stuart, the douche charged with promotion of illegal gambling software licensed to online casinos and bookkeepers, is trying to take the blame off himself and his companies pointing fingers at all his clients who bought his software, which says a lot for his customer support effectiveness.

New York authorities say that roughly $2.3million that Stuart’s company Extension Software received as payment for licensing were derived from proceeds of the software’s excellent scamming prowess. “Hey, at least we know it works!” said a jovial Stuart who began to dance with himself at the knowledge that he isn’t a hack, just a rip off artist.

Even though Stuart’s clients are all overseas outside the United States in crappy countries like Australia and the United Kingdom, Panama, Jamaica, etc. Authorities say the software was used for illegal betting in his home state, New York. So the lesson here? Make sure to ban all players and gamblers that live in your states, hell, even your country for that matter.

Of course, it was always in Stuart’s plan to sell offshore so he can play dumb as to what his software will be used for while not having to take responsibility for the repercussions, but that will all come to an end as a hearing in the case has been scheduled in New York. In the meanwhile, Stuart is currently in a dungeon somewhere in the bowels of NYC being tortured Theon Greyjoy-style. If you’re a big fan of Game of Thrones, you’ll know those scenes!

Anyway, he’s out and although BetonSports has already folded (its cards! Zing!), no longer existing, Mr. Carruthers is probably already hatching some new sinister schemes. Gary Kaplan, BetonSports founder has also served time in jail (hopefully a real one) around the same time Carruthers had served his time confined to his home where he can…. eat ice cream in bed or watch pornography. Perhaps Carruthers can help Gary escape and they can form a new website that’s more upfront about taking all your money. Cheers.

But this guy, David Carruthers, the former executive of BetonSports, isn’t 27, practically twice that age at 52, meaning he’s has a nice fulfilled life having already lived off the stupidity of others. He’s not a rockstar but he sure as hell has lived like one. And he’ll continue to live like one once he finishes his sentence and gets back to running games. What are the authorities going to do? Give him a life sentence then? The guy will probably keel over and die soon, after all he’s 55.

His operations, which were based out of the tropical country Costa Rica (which means “rich coast” by the way, hint hint wink wink) were deemed by US authorities in violation of American anti-online gaming laws, which is also interesting since HIS GAMES ARE RUN IN COSTA RICA, where they speak Spanish and wear sombreros and are not very American-ish. Anyway, knowing that he’d be back soaking up rays in Costa Rica quicker than you can say “I totally ripped you off with my gambling site where you’ll never win”, Mr. Carruthers pleaded guilty to racketeering.

If asked if he regretted anything he did, Carruthers replied “I smoke Cuban cigars with $100 bills, sleep with random beautiful women every night, throw parties every night with that McAfee Anti-Virus guy, have a private jet plane and can take a shit on your father’s face if I wanted to. Of course I don’t regret a thing I’ve done since it allows me to do all that.” Okay, he didn’t really say any of that, but if he were given the chance to speak publicly, he would probably say that.