as a part time malibu resident i was concerned because of a rumor of recurring santa ana winds which cause fires to spread. How relieved was i when i found out that the waft of hot air was merely our president and his remarks. first of all casinps are not taking machines out of the casinos because of crying and whiningg strikers---cmon ralph--do you really think the bellagio, the wynn, or the venetian listen to us. Answer is simple---IT IS NO LONGER ECONOMICALLY EFFICIEVT TO PRODUCE $10 STIKES AND MAINTAIN THE MACHINES---the slot manager at the orleans told me with production costs and overhead the strikes were running about 14-17 dollars.

second--lets not continue to put Shaun Webster and the 4 queens on a pedestal---WE ARE HIS CUSTOMERS NOT VICE VERSA---has anyone given any thought as to why we have not seen any new $10 strikes from the 4 queens (other than the redcaps). BECAUSE IT IS NOT ECONOMICALLY FEASaBLE AND SHAUN AND THE 4 qUEENS ARE IN BUSINESS TO MAKE MONEY. we told shaun in august we world like to see two or three new $200 stikes per year at most. they then proceed to issue 3 $200's in 4 months. WHY???? because they make money. why do they host slot tourneys???BECAUSE THEY MAKE MONEY. Lets face the economic facts as regards our hobby. the $10 strikes are a thing of the past as are the $7 strikes with silver hovering aroun $15.

what we need from our new president is some kind of unified effort to preserve our hobby whether it be $20 or $40 strikes and not chastize individual members for excercising their right to free speech. respectfully