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How to dress for a night at the casino

A night out may be a distant memory. With Covid sweeping the globe, nations the world over have been subjected to lockdowns of varying degrees. One of the consequences of these was the closure of land-based casinos. While online casinos were already growing in popularity, the pandemic sped this up as they became the only option. Many discovering online casinos have no desire to go back, but there may still be some who are looking for a return to the familiar.

Whether you are looking at attending a land-based casino for the first time or returning after a Covid enforced break, it is worth taking a look at what you should be wearing. The last thing anyone wants is to be standing out like a sore thumb or, worse, to be refused entry. Let’s take a look and make your casino experience one to treasure.

Dressing for an online casino

Yes, you’ve read that right. While we all think about what we should be wearing at land-based casinos, are there any rules or etiquette that should be followed when playing at an online casino? Although many will be joining the rush to get out to a brick and mortar site, others may not be so keen just yet. Those staying at home during the pandemic, but still looking for instant access to winning funds like at a land-based location could find alternative fast withdrawal casinos. You could have your winnings in your account in an instant.

It may seem ludicrous to think about dressing for an online casino, but for some, it is about feeling the part. Now, we’re not suggesting that you strut around home in your tux and bow tie, but is there anything wrong with a suit to give you a boost and get you in the right frame of mind? We’d certainly say not. 

The casual approach at land-based casinos

It was once the case that, regardless of the land-based casino that you visited, these were all rather formal affairs. There would be some that would expect businesswear as a minimum whereas others would be expecting the black-tie look, think James Bond and you’ll be doing well. While this was great for some players, for others it was off-putting and it saw land-based casinos losing even more ground to those online.

Due to this, you will now find that the casual look is no longer frowned upon at land-based casinos. Now, you shouldn’t be turning up in sports kits or your dirty overalls, but generally speaking, casual dress is universally accepted. Casinos have realised that overly strict dress codes don’t keep people coming back. 

Does your country make a difference?

As you travel around the world (now that we’re allowed to again!) visiting land-based casinos, you’ll see that the country that you’re in will have an impact on the dress code. Possibly the biggest differences come when comparing the UK with the US:

UK expectations

It is often the case that casinos in the UK set the bar fairly high. If you want to visit some of the finest casinos, such as the Hippodrome or the Grosvenor Casino, you’re going to need to make sure that you fit in. A big no no would be walking in dressed in workwear or sportswear. Where you may be fortunate and just be frowned upon, there is a real chance that you would be asked to leave. 

It is not unheard of for people to attend land-based casinos in the UK while wearing suits or tuxedos. This is certainly not a must, but you will find that a smartly dressed appearance will bring you a degree of respect from those around you. It would be highly recommended to avoid any outfits that have logos that have any offensive logos.

The home of land-based casinos

If you’re fortunate to be visiting Las Vegas then you’ll find that the dress code at land-based casinos here is a little different to what is expected in the UK. As amazing as this place is, you’ll find that come the summertime it is uncomfortably hot. Can you imagine dealing with the intense heat while swanning around in a tux? This would hardly lead to the most comfortable, or enjoyable, playing experience. Fortunately, no one expects this! Daytime sees the need to wear light clothing that allows you to feel on the cooler side.

The evening still sees dress codes being relaxed. You’re going to need to look presentable, but a casual shirt and some trousers will do the trick. For the women out there, they will find that they have an array of options and no one is excepting sleek dresses and expensive jewellery.

Why formal still has its perks

Just because land-based casinos have relaxed their rules, that doesn’t mean that you can’t go ahead and dress to impress. Let’s be honest, dressing up for a night out is all part of the experience and it is something that has long been associated with casinos and gambling.

Opting for the formal look may also bring other benefits. No one is suggested that you’re going to receive beneficial treatment, but it is reasonable to expect the house to view you in a different light when compared to those who have gone casual.

The biggest takeaway 

The most important point when you are looking at what you are going to wear to a land-based casino is comfort. You’re going to be sat at tables for quite a while and you want clothing that isn’t too tight and isn’t going to make you feel restricted. Yes, aim to look good but comfort is key.

Before you set off to your chosen casino, it is always worth making a basic check. If the casino has a website you will be able to take a look and see if there is a dress code in place. This simple check can save you from any potential embarrassment and only takes a matter of moments.

Watch Turnstile Perform ‘Mystery’ and ‘TLC’ on ‘Seth Meyers’

Turnstile made their late-night TV debut on Late Night With Seth Meyers last night (December 15), delivering a back-to-back performance of ‘Mystery’ and ‘T.L.C. (Turnstile Love Connection)’ (as they appear on their Turnstile Love Connection EP). Watch it below.

Turnstile are set to head out on a headlining tour in 2022, supporting their latest album GLOW ON. Check out where the LP landed on our 50 Best Albums of 2021 list.

Bruce Springsteen Sells His Masters and Publishing Catalog to Sony for $500 Million

Bruce Springsteen has sold his masters and publishing rights to Sony Music in a combined deal of around $500 million, Billboard reports. The sale will reportedly give the company ownership of the musician’s entire back catalog, which includes over 300 songs, 20 studio albums, 23 live LPs, 7 EPs, and more.

Starting with his 1973 debut Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., Springsteen has released his albums through Sony Music Entertainment imprint Columbia Records for his entire career. During the ’80s and ’90s, Springsteen was given ownership of his previous albums as an incentive to stay with Columbia. His most recent LP, Letter to You, came out in October 2020.

Last month, it was reported that Springsteen had been shopping his catalog around both Sonny and Universal Music Group since November, and was also looking to sell his publishing catalog, which was under Universal Music Publishing Group. The news comes one year after Universal Music Publishing Group purchased Bob Dylan’s publishing catalog for more than $300 million.

Waxahatchee Announces ‘El Deafo’ Soundtrack, Releases New Song ‘Tomorrow’

Waxahatchee has shared a new track called ‘Tomorrow’, which is set to appear on her original soundtrack to the animated series El Deafo. Listen to it below.

El Deafo is an adapation of Cece Bell’s best-selling graphic novel of the same name. “I’m so happy to finally announce an amazing project I had the honor of being a part of,” Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield said in a statement. “Last year I wrote some original music for a new show on Apple TV+ called El Deafo, based on the book of the same name by a true hero, Cece Bell. Myself along with Rob Barbato spent a few months arranging and recording these tunes and it was an amazing experience all around.”

El Deafo premieres January 7 on Apple TV+. Waxahatchee’s most recent album, Saint Cloud, arrived last year.

El Deafo (Apple TV+ Original Series Soundtrack) Tracklist: 

1. Up in the Sky
2. Up in the Sky (Main Title)
3. Trampoline Love Song
4. Mighty Bolt
5. Tomorrow

Nothing and Midwife Team Up on New Song ‘This Man’s Gift’

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Philadelphia band Nothing have shared a new song, ‘This Man’s Gift’, the latest entry in the Adult Swim Singles series. The song features additional vocals from Midwife, the moniker of Denver multi-instrumentalist Madeline Johnston, and was recorded during Nothing’s current tour with Midwife and Bambara. Give it a listen below.

Nothing recently released The Great Dismal B-Sides EP, following their latest album The Great Dismal. Midwife’s latest LP, Luminol, came out earlier this year. Check out our Artist Spotlight Q&A with Midwife, and read about the Luminol artwork in our 50 Best Album Covers of 2021 list.

George Harrison’s ‘My Sweet Lord’ Gets New Music Video Featuring Dozens of Stars

In honour of the 50th anniversary reissue of All Things Must Pass, George Harrison‘s debut single has received an official music video featuring dozens of stars from the entertainment world. Directed by Lance Bangs, the clip stars Fred Armisen and Vanessa Bayer as “metaphysical special agents tasked by the head of a clandestine agency, played by Mark Hamill, to search for that which can’t be seen.” It also features appearances from Ringo Starr, Jeff Lynne, Dhani and Olivia Harrison, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Jon Hamm, Tim & Eric, Patton Oswalt, Taika Waititi, Reggie Watts, Darren Criss, Tom Scharpling, Paul Scheer, Garfunkel and Oates, Shepard Fairey, and more. Watch it below.

Ela Minus Unveils New Video for ‘N19 5NF’

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Ela Minus has shared a new video for ‘N19 5NF’, the opening track to her 2020 LP acts of rebellion. The clip, directed by Losmose, was shot in Mexico City. In the video’s opening club scene, she also previews the opening section of a brand new track. Check it out below.

‘N19 5NF’ is named after the London zip code of a hospital where Minus gained consciousness after being in the ICU for two days. “It’s where I believe my life before this album ended and a new life began,” she explained in a press release. Of the video, she added: “I found that through the making of this song and video, reality was transfigured. It illuminated it and revealed its true grinning monstrous teeth. Through this transfiguration I was able to find a voice, not a discourse, but a personal voice looking for an ear or an eye to meet. This video is important because of my own story and the empowerment it can give to others through my way of telling it.”

The Evolution of Gaming Culture

When you look back to the early days of gaming, i.e., the early 1980s, gaming was a casual pastime for a minority. Most gamers would play their favorite games at arcades, with video games regarded as a novelty. 30 years later, and gaming has taken over the world. The rate of the cultural and technological changes taking place in the gaming world is accelerating. Today, gamers fill stadiums to cheer on their favorite League of Legends of Fortnite players. So, how did gaming culture evolve from the days of the arcade to the modern era?

From a Simple Part Time Hobby to a Social Nuisance

The gaming culture did not change a lot in the 1980s because it was still a niche activity, although many of the gaming franchises we love today were started in this era. Things started to change in the 1990s as the content of video games became more realistic and graphic. The mental health effects of video games were questioned – and are still being questioned to this day – with many people seeing games as a public safety issue. Fortunately, numerous studies have debunked these myths and ways of thinking.

LAN Gaming

LAN gaming became quite prominent in the 2000s as more people began understanding the power of networking and how to connect more than one computer together to form a Local Area Network. There was no shortage of games that players could play with each other, and the concept of LAN gaming was the first glimpse that people had of what e-sports and video game tournaments could look like.

Although many people have since switched to online gaming through online multiplayer games, smaller LAM gaming parties are still a viable option, especially in cases where the owner of the main computer only wants to invite a select number of people to the party. For this, they would need a VPN that allows them total control over their network.

Although built for business environments, a service like Barracuda VPN is a great option for LAN gaming, with much of the setup and usage being comparable to that of a business environment. Administrators can decide who to let into their gaming sessions, while privacy and security are assured because of the client-less nature of such a VPN connection. To see how the Barracuda VPN can benefit your LAN gaming and business use cases, you can read a detailed Barracuda review on the product’s review page via the Top10 site.

Explosion of Online Gaming

At the time LAN gaming was gaining popularity, the internet was too. The problem is that a lot of people still had slow internet connections, and so many still played alone or in a LAN setting. However, as the internet evolved and internet speeds improved, online gaming started taking off. Instead of gaming worlds built on computers, games like World of Warcraft and EverQuest built their gaming worlds online. Millions of players joined in on the fun as internet speeds, and computer capabilities increased.

In addition to this, we saw many classic games, typically played in person, develop online. Microsoft Solitaire is the most notable example, but other games were also introduced online like Cribbage and Hearts. Now these games are played more online than they were in person, and you can play and connect with people around the world.

Even with this increase in internet speeds, precise play was still challenging due to the lack of high-speed internet. Competitive and online gaming would explode again in the 2010s as new internet speed milestones were hit and more game developers embraced online gaming. At the same time, gaming communities on forums such as Reddit and 4Chan were up and coming. People would come together in these spaces to discuss their favorite games and find information on new games or games in the pipeline.

The Rise of Esports and Social Issues

Gaming went mainstream in the 2010s, with esports tournaments arranged for top professional players. A career in gaming became a viable option, but this brought some issues. A glaring issue is that over 60% of all gamers and gaming professionals are male. This statistic is not surprising, considering that male players have dominated gaming for more than 30 years. However, the perceived toxic nature of gaming as a whole and provocative marketing that uses female characters are going away, with issues of female players and those in the LGBTQIA community being addressed.

Massive Online Superstars

Once gaming went online, gamers started posting their gameplay online and streaming live. Both these options helped them build massive audiences. Platforms like Twitch took advantage of this, offering players an audience and a way to make some money from gaming. These online gaming superstars are a critical part of the gaming world as they are the bridge between players and game developers. Many of these gamers have millions of adoring fans, with many seeing great success in their streaming and gaming endeavors.

Gaming has come a long way, evolving from the days of simple 2D sprites to allowing people to make money streaming gameplay online. There is no telling where the gaming culture will go next, but it is bound to go somewhere exciting.

Pom Pom Squad Reimagines Nada Surf’s ‘Popular’ With Matthew Caws

Earlier this year, Pom Pom Squad‘s Mia Berrin tweeted her admiration for Nada Surf’s ‘Popular’, writing: “I’m gonna recreate the video for popular by Nada Surf but I’m gonna play every character.” Berrin has now followed through on her promise, enlisting Nada Surf’s own Matthew Caws for a cover of the 1996 track and entirely remaking its music video. The clip, directed by Aysia Marotta, was filmed at the same high school as the original video. Check it out below.

“Working with Nada Surf was such a dream,” Berrin said in a statement. “They’re such an incredible group of individuals and were so kind to everyone in PPS during our time out on tour together. It’s hard not to be inspired by their career, so to intersect with their legacy even a little bit is really special.”

“I think the video is amazing! I love how it feels like a shot-for-shot recreation at the start but quickly takes on its own totally new character,” Caws added. “The original was shot in 1996, looking back at previous decades, while this one feels set in the present day, looking inwards and towards the future… another really cool aspect of the video is that the cheerleader character feels more and more sincere and human as the story develops. By the end, she’s much more than a player in a high school creation, she’s a person in the world and the singer of the song. To me there’s a “closed film” sense about Pom Pom Squad. Meaning that even if you could trace influences in their music, it feels as if they’ve invented it all themselves. They are their own world. That’s a trait I’ve felt in all my favorite bands: they’ve created their own reality.”

Pom Pom Squad released their debut album, Death of a Cheerleader, earlier this year. Check out where it landed on our 50 Best Albums of 2021 list, and read our Artist Spotlight interview with Pom Pom Squad.

Watch the Trailer for Charli XCX’s ‘Alone Together’ Documentary

Charli XCX has shared the trailer for her forthcoming documentary Alone Together. Bradley & Pablo directed the film, which chronicles the making of the singer’s quarantine album, how i’m feeling now. Check it out below.

Alone Together arrives in select theaters and on-demand on January 28. Charli XCX is set to release her fifth album, CRASH, next March. This weekend, she will be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live.