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Wayne Gretzky’s Final Edmonton Oilers Jersey Sets a New Record: Most Ever Paid for a Hockey Jersey

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The sports memorabilia market is heating up at the moment, and the record-breaking amount paid for the last jersey iconic hockey hero Wayne Gretzky wore for the Edmonton Oilers is clear evidence of this.

Even if you don’t have huge sums available to snap up meaningful items once owned by your favorite players, it’s entertaining to see just how much wealthy fans are willing to hand over. Let’s discuss what makes this particular jersey so special, and what else people who are passionate about hockey can do to show their support.

A game-changing auction lot

When the hammer fell on the recent sale of Gretzky’s jersey, a jaw-dropping winning bid of $1.452 million had been made to secure this totemic piece of otherwise standard hockey gear.

This easily toppled the $1.2 million paid for another jersey, this time worn by Paul Henderson, to set a new high watermark for hockey-based auction lots.

This type of sale is always interesting, in the sense that it’s not just the historic value of the lot that’s at play, but also its investment potential. The buyer will no doubt hope that Gretzky’s legendary status will grow with time, along with the value of the jersey.

How to watch the Edmonton Oilers play at home

If you want to catch the amazing Edmonton Oilers in the flesh, you can find a ticket for their next game via the web, and plan your game day visit in advance as well.

There’s something unbeatable about attending a hockey game in person, and the atmosphere is simply not something you can recreate when watching coverage from your own home.

Why this jersey in particular?

There are quite a few genuine Gretzky-worn jerseys out there, so what makes this one so special, and so valuable?

Well, as mentioned, it comes from the last game he played prior to leaving the Oilers in favor of a move to the LA Kings. It also has the honor of being from a Stanley Cup playoff game which actually had to be replayed due to a power cut part way through the first attempt.

Gretzky’s stellar performance was crucial to his team’s victory, and the post-game celebrations included him having champagne poured liberally over his head, which led to stains that can be seen on the jersey that was sold.

Other auction highlights

Any association with Gretzky helps sports memorabilia to sell, and the jersey wasn’t the only item worn by him which went under the hammer.

A little over $204,000 was paid for gloves he briefly used for protection during the aforementioned playoff game, demonstrating that even seemingly anonymous objects can fetch a pretty penny if they’ve got the right pedigree.

Of course even the $1.452 million that the jersey commanded is not even close to being the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold, when you include items from every sport, and not just hockey.

The Guinness Book of World Records reports that the current frontrunner sold in May of 2022 for a sum of £7.142 million, equivalent to $8.823 million. In this case it was another game shirt, this time one worn by soccer stalwart Diego Maradona during the quarter finals of the World Cup all the way back in 1986.

The particular game in which the shirt got its outing was one between Argentina and England, in which Maradona’s notorious goal put his team on the track to eventually win the whole tournament.

This record will no doubt be broken eventually, although it’s hard to imagine ever being able to justify such an investment.

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Blackjack 101: The Basics of the Game and How to Play

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Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games in the world, and for good reason! If you’re looking to challenge your wits, test your luck, and perhaps even walk away with some winnings, then blackjack might be the perfect game for you. In this blog post, we’ll go through all of the basics behind this classic game, from what makes it unique to how bets are placed and how players can win.

Introducing the Game of Blackjack

Blackjack is one of the most popular and exciting games you can play at the Best online casinos in Canada and land-based casinos. In this dynamic game of skill and chance, you compete against the dealer to try to make twenty-one with your two cards.

Players are then given the option to hit or stand before the dealer’s turn comes up. When it’s time to hit, you can choose as many cards as you want until you reach twenty-one (without going over!).

If your hand total happens to be closer than the dealers’ without going over, you win! It sounds simple, but with its varied betting options – including splitting and doubling down – there are plenty of strategies involved in getting the best outcome when playing.

Understanding the Rules of Blackjack

Knowing when to hit, stand, double down, split, and surrender is an important skill that players need to understand in order to maximize their chances of success. Knowing when it is beneficial to take these actions can take some practice but can pay off significantly in the long run.

Doubling down and splitting pairs can be great options depending on the situation, while hitting and standing have different nuances based on your hand totals or the dealer’s face-up cards. Surrendering should only be used as a last resort, and a thorough understanding of the game will help you determine which decision is best for each hand.

Tips for Increasing Your Chances of Winning

If you’re looking to increase your chances of winning, there are some important things to keep in mind. To start, managing your bankroll is essential for playing any game responsibly. Allocate yourself a certain amount of funds and decide beforehand how much money you can afford to lose, if necessary.

Another tip is recognizing patterns in the dealer’s actions, such as where they stand on certain hands or what cards they choose to call/fold when faced with certain situations. It takes time and practice, but observing these tendencies can pay off in the long run!

Bottom Line

To sum it up, blackjack is an incredibly popular game with a long and interesting history. It can be enjoyed in land-based casinos, online casinos, or even at home among friends.. At the end of the day, understanding how to play and what strategies to use will ultimately help you become a better player and potentially walk away with larger winnings.

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Ontario sports betting market flourishing; other provinces closely monitoring

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If you reside in Ontario, it has been difficult to avoid mentioning sports betting. You’ve probably seen the advertisements and heard the hoopla since the province opened its regulated online gambling market a year ago, and at this point you know how to participate.

In 2021, Canada legalized single-event sports betting, but Ontario was the first province to implement a regulated sports betting system that would enable numerous operators to offer legitimate, online sports gambling services. Numerous Ontarians are enthralled by this more open world of sports betting, and as a result, more than twenty organizations are competing for this sports-related niche of the larger provincial online gambling industry.

However, as the product offerings develop and the market matures, industry analysts and operators predict more changes for sports betting in Canada in the near future.

High revenue

After a year, the Ontario government still seems pleased with the health of the regulated online gaming sector, which has operators providing sports betting services along with casino and poker activities as well as top betting apps. According to a Ministry of the Attorney General spokesperson, Ontario’s “safe, legal, and competitive online gaming market” fosters business possibilities, safeguards consumers, and generates income that “helps pay for government priorities.”

The first, second, and third quarters of the first year of the online gambling sector each saw billions of dollars in bets placed, according to data from iGaming Ontario (iGO), a division of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. The public does not yet have access to fourth-quarter statistics.

However, the percentage of these wagers that are solely from sports betting is not broken down in these totals. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), which keeps track of its own sports betting transactions, is not included in these totals either. In its annual report for 2021–2022, it states that OLG’s PROLINE+ brand handled $1 million in bets just days after single-event betting became available, months before the opening of the broader regulated market.

Other provinces are closely monitoring the Ontario market

Other provincial governments are interested in learning from Ontario’s experience, notably Alberta, which has just one legal gambling website operating right now.

The communications manager for Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC), Karin Campbell, told CBC News that PlayAlberta.ca “has witnessed tremendous growth since launching its sports offering” a year and a half ago. She attributed this to the associated betting activities as well as newly accessible online lottery services.

The regulator, according to Campbell, is “supporting the successful and legal implementation of an expanded sports betting market” and is closely watching Ontario’s market developments.

Single-event sports betting is also attracting many customers on PlayNow.com, British Columbia’s only legal, regulated gambling website, in which punters placed $170 million on sports wagers in the first year of legalized online gambling.

The bulk of sports wagers on the site are single-event bets, according to Matt Lee, a spokesperson for the British Columbia Lottery Corporation. Lee stated that the lottery organization “continues to evaluate what sports-betting experiences” may be provided in the future given the interest in these services.

The Atlantic Lottery Corporation is the sole authorized supplier of single-event sports betting in Atlantic Canada. Greg Weston, the spokesperson for the institution, stated that “sales have been strong since the option became available.”

As time goes on, Peter Czegledy, a partner at Toronto’s Aird & Berlis LLP and the head of its gaming division, believes that “Ontario will not be alone” in enabling private operators to compete with long-established government operators in online gambling, including sports betting. But he said that the strategy can vary depending on the jurisdiction.

The journey ahead

Some industry observers predict that over time, there will be fewer enterprises competing in Ontario’s market.

A core number of large enterprises will ultimately emerge, according to Michael Naraine, an associate professor in Brock University’s Department of Sport Management in St. Catharines, Ontario. He anticipates that there will be some consolidation and some failures.

Naraine predicted that there will eventually be seven or eight significant firms, citing Coolbet’s recent exit as evidence that the market’s current composition would not be long-term viable.

According to Czegledy, it’s conceivable that additional operators will enter and leave the Ontario market in the future. Nevertheless, according to him, a more pertinent query is “what categories of operators have or have not undergone regulation, and what proportion of the market they make up”. He concluded that, according to those metrics, Ontario has done well thus far.

 

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