Betting Pool

A betting pool, sports lottery, sweep or office pool if done at work, is a form of gambling, specifically a variant of parimutuel betting influenced by lotteries, where gamblers pay a fixed price into a pool from which taxes and a house take or vig are removed, and then make a selection on some outcome, usually related to sport. In an informal game, the vig is usually quite small or non-existent. The pool is evenly divided between those that have made the correct selection. There are no odds involved; each winner's payoff depends simply on the number of gamblers and the number of winners. True parimutuel betting, which was historically referred to as pool betting, involves both odds calculations and variable wager amounts.

Contestants predict the outcome of sporting events that take place at a later time. The concept was introduced in 1923 by Littlewoods Pools where it was known as totoclarification needed and based on football soccer matches. Today in England, sports lotteries are more commonly referred to as football pools. American sports lotteries often do not require contestants to purchase a lottery ticket or make an initial wager. Hockey pools are common in North America, and footy tipping in Australia.

Las Vegas Strip

The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately 4.2-mile 6.8 km stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester. Most of the Strip has been designated an All-American Road.

Many of the largest hotel, casino and resort properties in the world are located on the Las Vegas Strip. Nineteen of the world's 25 largest hotels by room count are on the Strip, with a total of over 67,000 rooms. One of the 19, the Las Vegas Hilton, is an off-Strip property but is located less than 0.5 miles 0.8 km east of the Strip.

One of the most visible aspects of Las Vegas' cityscape is its use of dramatic architecture. The modernization of hotels, casinos, restaurants, and residential high-rises on the Strip has established the city as one of the most popular destinations for tourists.

Historically, the casinos that were not in Downtown Las Vegas along Fremont Street were restricted to outside of the city limits on Las Vegas Boulevard. In 1959 the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign was constructed exactly 4.5 miles 7.2 km outside of the city limits. The sign is today about 0.4 miles 0.64 km south of the southernmost entrance to Mandalay Bay the southernmost casino.

In the strictest sense, the Strip refers only to the stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard that is roughly between Sahara Avenue and Russell Road, a distance of 4.2 miles 6.8 km.6 However, the term is often used to refer not only to the road but also to the various casinos and resorts that line the road, and even to properties which are not on the road but in proximity. Certain government agencies, such as the Nevada Gaming Commission, classify properties as Las Vegas Strip for reporting purposes, although these definitions can include properties which are 1 mile 1.6 km or more away from Las Vegas Boulevard such as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Phrases such as Strip Area, Resort Corridor or Resort District are sometimes used to indicate a larger geographical area.

The Nevada Gaming Commission considers the Strip's northern terminus as the Sahara Casino. At one time, the southern end of the Strip was Tropicana Avenue, but continuing construction has extended this boundary to Russell Road. Mandalay Bay is located just north of Russell Road and is the southernmost resort considered to be on the Strip by the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Because of the number and size of the resorts, the Resort Corridor can be quite wide. Interstate 15 runs roughly parallel and 0.5 to 0.8 mile 0.80 to 1.3 km to the west of Las Vegas Boulevard for the entire length of the Strip. Paradise Road runs to the east in a similar fashion, and ends at St. Louis Avenue. The eastern side of the Strip is bounded by McCarran International Airport south of Tropicana Avenue. North of this point, the Resort Corridor can be considered to extend as far east as Paradise Road, although some consider Koval Lane as a less inclusive boundary. Interstate 15 is sometimes considered the western edge of the Resort Corridor from Interstate 215 to Spring Mountain Road. North of this point, Industrial Road serves as the western edge.

The Nevada Gaming Commission defines the Strip gaming area as encompassing all resorts located on Las Vegas Boulevard South between Russell Road and Sahara Avenue, as well as several nearby properties not directly located on Las Vegas Boulevard. This includes The Rio, The Palms, and several other smaller resorts west of Las Vegas Boulevard and Interstate 15, but does not include The Orleans one block further west. Properties located east of Las Vegas Boulevard on Paradise Road, such as the Las Vegas Hilton, Terrible's Casino, Westin Casuarina Las Vegas Hotel, Casino & Spa, Hooters Casino Hotel, and the Hard Rock, are also included in this area. The Stratosphere, however, is not included in the Nevada Gaming Commission definition of the Strip which includes it in the downtown area. The Stratosphere and other properties not on the Strip are frequently shown on maps as being Strip casinos.

The famous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign is located in the median just south of Russell Road, across from the now-defunct Klondike Hotel & Casino; another similar sign is in the median at the north end of the Strip near the intersection of East St. Louis and south Main Streets.

Newer resorts such as South Point and the M Resort are on Las Vegas Boulevard South as distant as 8 miles south of the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. Marketing for these casinos usually states that they are on southern Las Vegas Boulevard and not Strip properties. However this area is frequently referred to as the South Strip.

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American Quarter Horse

The American Quarter Horse is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name came from its ability to outdistance other breeds of horses in races of a quarter mile or less; some individuals have been clocked at speeds up to 55 mph (88.5 km/h). The American Quarter Horse is the most popular breed in the United States today, and the American Quarter Horse Association is the largest breed registry in the world, with more than 4 million American Quarter Horses registered.

The American Quarter Horse is well known both as a race horse and for its performance in rodeos, horse shows and as a working ranch horse. The compact body of the American Quarter Horse is well-suited to the intricate and speedy maneuvers required in reining, cutting, working cow horse, barrel racing, calf roping, and other western riding events, especially those involving live cattle. The American Quarter Horse is also shown in English disciplines, driving, and many other equestrian activities.