Wizard Recommends Cards

Gambling Trivia -- 5/16/2019

Last weekend was the annual Wizard of Vegas spring fling. This is a weekend full of as much fun as a bunch of well-behaved math and trivia geniuses can have. The excitement went from Thursday to Sunday, but the main event was a dinner and poker party on Saturday night. We had a huge two-bedroom suite thanks to the Golden Nugget, where we played past 2AM.

One traditional is the annual Wizard of Vegas trivia challenge. For the first time ever, the questions were written and asked by somebody besides me. It was a brutal test, I think even worse than mine. Here are the questions. Answers will follow.

  1. What Founder and CEO gambled with famous company's future in the early 1970's, using the game of blackjack as a way to save a sinking ship?
  2. What is oldest established online casino and what year did it go live? The Casino is still in operation today.
  3. This famous person dedicated this dam on September 30, 1935. Name the dam and the person.
  4. Patty Bigbee, claimed a $1 million jackpot on the Missouri Powerball in 2010. After quickly blowing through all that cash Bigbee notorious for trying to do this crazy dumb illegal thing?
  5. Which of the following stories are True, or both of them are true, or neither of them are true.
    • Lucky Dog paws his way to a jackpot. While playing at A California casino, Joseph Stellers companion dog named Sarsaparilla, (sassy for short) was being held by Joseph as he was guiding sassy's paw on the bet max-bet slot button when a winning jackpot combination came up in the amount of $1,462.50.
    • $1.3 Million Lottery Jackpot Goes to an Australian Hell's Angel in Prison. Reginald Roberts was able to buy a lottery ticket from his cell and win a $1.3 million jackpot.
    • Both of the above
    • None of the above.
  6. In the 80's She took the top prize of $74,000 at a seven-card stud tournament at the Golden Nugget. At the time this was the biggest tournament prize ever won by a woman. She also appeared in a Playboy article however she was fully clothed. Who is she?
  7. What local salesman came up with the idea and sold the famous welcome to Las Vegas sign to Clark County, Nevada. The sign stands at how my feet tall?
  8. Fill in the blank: _______ is a form of post-modern architecture, a subdivision of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Space Age, and the Atomic Age. The Starbursts in the famous Welcome sign are an ornament that is common with the style.
  9. What was name of the casino that had been imploded to make way for the original MGM Grand, and what year?
  10. What's the full name of the marijuana dispensary that sounds most like a gambling name?
  11. It was the first modern type VIDEO slot machine to be introduced into a brick and mortar casino? Give the name, date and location.
  12. What was the second book ever printed in the English language about?
  13. What is The fear of the number 13 called?
  14. What is the only sea without any coasts?
  15. This Eight-time Pro Bowl linebacker made appearance in 2004 with former "Survivor" contestant Jonny Fairplay. When the team officials discovered his extracurricular activities, they forced him to quit. What was the football players name and what activity were they engaging in?
  16. Where and what year did the first Greyhound bus route originate?
  17. Fill in the blank: National Open Las Vegas International _________ Festival.
  18. What month is Problem Gambling Awareness Month?
  19. In Casino 2013 The largest blackjack table built measures 2,226 feet and 6 inches in surface area, it is located at what casino in California?
  20. What famous person said, Imagination is more important than knowledge?
  21. In medieval and ancient philosophy the Rota Fortunae also mean what?
  22. In the beginning of the 20th century the swastika was widely used in Europe, the most common being a symbol of what?
  23. At what location was this picture taken? Image
  24. Cell phones, Not Foot ball. What does NFC stand for?
  25. What term is oftentimes used to describe an airplane that regularly flies a high-tech route such as between San Jose, CA and Seattle, WA, or between San Jose and Austin, TX.
  26. What is the name of the supposed Area 51 whistle blower who claimed he back engineered UFOs?
  27. An official NFL Football has one lace, and how many lace hole?
  28. In the HBO show Silicon Valley, what’s the name of the startup’s app?
 

Answers

 
  1. Frederick W. Smith
  2. The Gaming Club, mid-1994
  3. President Roosevelt, boulder dam
  4. Tried to sell her infant grandson on Facebook for $75,000
  5. A
  6. Cyndy Violette
  7. Ted Rogich, 25 feet
  8. Googi
  9. The Bonanza,1970
  10. Blackjack collective
  11. Fortune Coin machine, year: 1975., location: Hilton
  12. Chess
  13. Triksideskaphobia
  14. Sargaso Sea, but Sea of Tranquility was a commonly given answer that I feel is also correct
  15. Brian Urlacher, Pro Wrestling
  16. Hibbing, Minnesota in 1914
  17. Chess
  18. March
  19. Viejas
  20. Einstein
  21. Wheel of Fortune
  22. Fortune/good luck
  23. Nevada state prison
  24. Near-field communication
  25. Nerd bird
  26. Robert Scott Lazar
  27. 16
  28. Piedpiper

Written by: Michael Shackleford