Maryland Casinos Can Reopen June 19, State Loses $149M in

What is the latest news in the stock market? Aphria is merging with Tilray while the stimulus may be agreed on today after the latest developments. Also, the FED starts its 2-day meeting, let’s talk about this and everything happening in the stock market
~Very Long Post~
Hello everyone and Good Morning! So, let’s start with the recap of yesterday as we see a great day for the stock market, the best in December actually, as a one-two punch of stimulus and vaccine data helped the rally, with the broad market SP500 finishing up 1.29%, the Nasdaq Composite 1.25% and the Dow Industrial 1.13%. We also saw the VIX dropping more than 7% from the recent highs, as it was nearing the 25 levels which would imply more volatility ahead for the stock market.
We saw ¾ of the companies gaining yesterday on decent volume, with 145 new highs, as all 11 sectors finished in the green, with Utilities and Energy leading the way up almost 2%, while just 2 sectors gained less than 1% for the day, the Communications sector and the consumer staples. This rally was pushed by almost every type of company, especially small and mid-caps, as large-caps lagged a bit and were pretty much flat for the day, with the exception of Apple as you can see in this HEAT MAP, as I said in a previous post, I believe that Apple is ready for takeoff after more and more reports of great numbers in the new iPhone 12 lineup sales, and with the Fitness+ service launching this Monday this keeps increasing the number of services that Apple offers. I believe that the Apple One bundle will be a great revenue stream for them alongside the move to the 5G in the next years.
So here is the economic calendar for today as we start off early in the morning with MBA mortgage applications, followed but retail sales, PMI, inventories and finish up with the last meeting and decisions from the FED in 2020.
We also received news that as soon as the FDA & CDC give approval, which could and probably will happen as soon as this weekend, Moderna will be able to ship over 6M doses right away, more than double what Pfizer delivered in the initial shipment.
This is happening while the stimulus appears closer than ever, but it should be noted that it does appear it will not include any stimulus checks for citizens. As the Congress seems to be targeting a $750B relief package. This is very needed as the savings, especially for low-income households, has been substantially on the declin since May, just like always, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
This measures from the Government have been unexpectedly just been called upon from Warren Buffett also, as he emphasized that small businesses have become collateral damage, though he previously said he wouldn’t speak in public about this until May, the degrading situation probably made him change his mind.
We will also have the FED starting its meetings today, and follow up tomorrow, with most analysts expecting the FED to lay out the plans for additional asset purchases to provide additional support for the economy. And even if this is a temporary measure, it would be great for the economy if they keep this program going until the vaccine is more widely available and the reopening can come back in full force.
Yesterday we also got numbers on the Industrial Production, which beat the consensus with a .4% increase M/M while capacity utilization also increased with the manufacturing output way better than expected. This was led especially by motor vehicle and parts sales which were up 5.3%.
So, with some good news in the last period, a recent survey showed that fewer respondents believe that stocks are overpriced or overvalued right now. I think this is a fair opinion, as we have gone through a period of consolidation since the beginning of November, stocks have become more stable, some have lost ground, some have gained. This is very healthy for the broad stock market and may eventually start a new bull run very soon.
On some other stock market news, we saw the whole green energy sector getting a big boost yesterday, as the US Congress seems to have agreed to a package of tax incentives and extensions for both wind and solar projects. Some of the biggest gainers yesterday were SunPower, Enphase, SolarEdge, with most of the companies from the INVESCO Solar ETF trading way higher. As we also saw PENN national gaining yesterday after giving great news again to investors, as they have acquired a new casino in Maryland as they keep expanding their nationwide footprint.
Meanwhile, we will get Lennar Q4 earnings today after the close, and I expect them to have a great quarter, but this hasn’t helped many companies this quarter, as even great earnings results haven’t pushed most companies to have big gains, I think Lennar will post a terrific quarter as a result of the continuing strong housing market as more and more people flee big cities attracted by better tax implications while they also run from the growing poverty in states like California.
Some good news also came from the Eurozone this morning, as the PMI popped up to 49.8 which is still a contraction for the economy, but that is an improving view of the economy overseas, up from 45.3 in November.
We also have to keep an eye on what ABNB and Doordash will do, as investors are starting to get the chance to short this highly valued IPOs. So, this might hit the stocks even more after they have suffered in the last days as I expected.
And one last bit of news, Aphria is merging with Tilray, they will become an almost $4B market cap cannabis player, as they seek to also move to the US and grow its market share in the country, as the full legalizing of cannabis in the US seems to be approaching. This will help both companies to be able to have low-cost, state of the art cultivations alongside improved processing and manufacturing facilities. This will also position them for a better footprint in the EU, with Aphria having a footprint in Germany, while Tilray has a low-cost production facility in Portugal.
I think the pot and clean energy sectors alongside the EVs are the ones to watch in the next years.
Let’s hope for another great day in the market as the FUTURES seem to be pointing at a good open, hopefully some green action continues after that.
Thank you everyone for reading! Hope you enjoyed the content! Be sure to leave a comment down below with your opinion on the stock market!
Have a great day and see you next time!

What is the latest news in the stock market? Aphria is merging with Tilray while the stimulus may be agreed on today after the latest developments. Also, the FED starts its 2-day meeting, let’s talk about this and everything happening in the stock market
~Very Long Post~
Hello everyone and Good Morning! So, let’s start with the recap of yesterday as we see a great day for the stock market, the best in December actually, as a one-two punch of stimulus and vaccine data helped the rally, with the broad market SP500 finishing up 1.29%, the Nasdaq Composite 1.25% and the Dow Industrial 1.13%. We also saw the VIX dropping more than 7% from the recent highs, as it was nearing the 25 levels which would imply more volatility ahead for the stock market.
We saw ¾ of the companies gaining yesterday on decent volume, with 145 new highs, as all 11 sectors finished in the green, with Utilities and Energy leading the way up almost 2%, while just 2 sectors gained less than 1% for the day, the Communications sector and the consumer staples. This rally was pushed by almost every type of company, especially small and mid-caps, as large-caps lagged a bit and were pretty much flat for the day, with the exception of Apple as you can see in this HEAT MAP, as I said in a previous post, I believe that Apple is ready for takeoff after more and more reports of great numbers in the new iPhone 12 lineup sales, and with the Fitness+ service launching this Monday this keeps increasing the number of services that Apple offers. I believe that the Apple One bundle will be a great revenue stream for them alongside the move to the 5G in the next years.
So here is the economic calendar for today as we start off early in the morning with MBA mortgage applications, followed but retail sales, PMI, inventories and finish up with the last meeting and decisions from the FED in 2020.
We also received news that as soon as the FDA & CDC give approval, which could and probably will happen as soon as this weekend, Moderna will be able to ship over 6M doses right away, more than double what Pfizer delivered in the initial shipment.
This is happening while the stimulus appears closer than ever, but it should be noted that it does appear it will not include any stimulus checks for citizens. As the Congress seems to be targeting a $750B relief package. This is very needed as the savings, especially for low-income households, has been substantially on the declin since May, just like always, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
This measures from the Government have been unexpectedly just been called upon from Warren Buffett also, as he emphasized that small businesses have become collateral damage, though he previously said he wouldn’t speak in public about this until May, the degrading situation probably made him change his mind.
We will also have the FED starting its meetings today, and follow up tomorrow, with most analysts expecting the FED to lay out the plans for additional asset purchases to provide additional support for the economy. And even if this is a temporary measure, it would be great for the economy if they keep this program going until the vaccine is more widely available and the reopening can come back in full force.
Yesterday we also got numbers on the Industrial Production, which beat the consensus with a .4% increase M/M while capacity utilization also increased with the manufacturing output way better than expected. This was led especially by motor vehicle and parts sales which were up 5.3%.
So, with some good news in the last period, a recent survey showed that fewer respondents believe that stocks are overpriced or overvalued right now. I think this is a fair opinion, as we have gone through a period of consolidation since the beginning of November, stocks have become more stable, some have lost ground, some have gained. This is very healthy for the broad stock market and may eventually start a new bull run very soon.
On some other stock market news, we saw the whole green energy sector getting a big boost yesterday, as the US Congress seems to have agreed to a package of tax incentives and extensions for both wind and solar projects. Some of the biggest gainers yesterday were SunPower, Enphase, SolarEdge, with most of the companies from the INVESCO Solar ETF trading way higher. As we also saw PENN national gaining yesterday after giving great news again to investors, as they have acquired a new casino in Maryland as they keep expanding their nationwide footprint.
Meanwhile, we will get Lennar Q4 earnings today after the close, and I expect them to have a great quarter, but this hasn’t helped many companies this quarter, as even great earnings results haven’t pushed most companies to have big gains, I think Lennar will post a terrific quarter as a result of the continuing strong housing market as more and more people flee big cities attracted by better tax implications while they also run from the growing poverty in states like California.
Some good news also came from the Eurozone this morning, as the PMI popped up to 49.8 which is still a contraction for the economy, but that is an improving view of the economy overseas, up from 45.3 in November.
We also have to keep an eye on what ABNB and Doordash will do, as investors are starting to get the chance to short this highly valued IPOs. So, this might hit the stocks even more after they have suffered in the last days as I expected.
And one last bit of news, Aphria is merging with Tilray, they will become an almost $4B market cap cannabis player, as they seek to also move to the US and grow its market share in the country, as the full legalizing of cannabis in the US seems to be approaching. This will help both companies to be able to have low-cost, state of the art cultivations alongside improved processing and manufacturing facilities. This will also position them for a better footprint in the EU, with Aphria having a footprint in Germany, while Tilray has a low-cost production facility in Portugal.
I think the pot and clean energy sectors alongside the EVs are the ones to watch in the next years.
Let’s hope for another great day in the market as the FUTURES seem to be pointing at a good open, hopefully some green action continues after that.
Thank you everyone for reading! Hope you enjoyed the content! Be sure to leave a comment down below with your opinion on the stock market!
Don't forget to check out my YouTube Channel!
Have a great day and see you next time!

What is the latest news in the stock market? Aphria is merging with Tilray while the stimulus may be agreed on today after the latest developments. Also, the FED starts its 2-day meeting, let’s talk about this and everything happening in the stock market
~Very Long Post~
Hello everyone and Good Morning! So, let’s start with the recap of yesterday as we see a great day for the stock market, the best in December actually, as a one-two punch of stimulus and vaccine data helped the rally, with the broad market SP500 finishing up 1.29%, the Nasdaq Composite 1.25% and the Dow Industrial 1.13%. We also saw the VIX dropping more than 7% from the recent highs, as it was nearing the 25 levels which would imply more volatility ahead for the stock market.
We saw ¾ of the companies gaining yesterday on decent volume, with 145 new highs, as all 11 sectors finished in the green, with Utilities and Energy leading the way up almost 2%, while just 2 sectors gained less than 1% for the day, the Communications sector and the consumer staples. This rally was pushed by almost every type of company, especially small and mid-caps, as large-caps lagged a bit and were pretty much flat for the day, with the exception of Apple as you can see in this HEAT MAP, as I said in a previous post, I believe that Apple is ready for takeoff after more and more reports of great numbers in the new iPhone 12 lineup sales, and with the Fitness+ service launching this Monday this keeps increasing the number of services that Apple offers. I believe that the Apple One bundle will be a great revenue stream for them alongside the move to the 5G in the next years.
So here is the economic calendar for today as we start off early in the morning with MBA mortgage applications, followed but retail sales, PMI, inventories and finish up with the last meeting and decisions from the FED in 2020.
We also received news that as soon as the FDA & CDC give approval, which could and probably will happen as soon as this weekend, Moderna will be able to ship over 6M doses right away, more than double what Pfizer delivered in the initial shipment.
This is happening while the stimulus appears closer than ever, but it should be noted that it does appear it will not include any stimulus checks for citizens. As the Congress seems to be targeting a $750B relief package. This is very needed as the savings, especially for low-income households, has been substantially on the declin since May, just like always, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
This measures from the Government have been unexpectedly just been called upon from Warren Buffett also, as he emphasized that small businesses have become collateral damage, though he previously said he wouldn’t speak in public about this until May, the degrading situation probably made him change his mind.
We will also have the FED starting its meetings today, and follow up tomorrow, with most analysts expecting the FED to lay out the plans for additional asset purchases to provide additional support for the economy. And even if this is a temporary measure, it would be great for the economy if they keep this program going until the vaccine is more widely available and the reopening can come back in full force.
Yesterday we also got numbers on the Industrial Production, which beat the consensus with a .4% increase M/M while capacity utilization also increased with the manufacturing output way better than expected. This was led especially by motor vehicle and parts sales which were up 5.3%.
So, with some good news in the last period, a recent survey showed that fewer respondents believe that stocks are overpriced or overvalued right now. I think this is a fair opinion, as we have gone through a period of consolidation since the beginning of November, stocks have become more stable, some have lost ground, some have gained. This is very healthy for the broad stock market and may eventually start a new bull run very soon.
On some other stock market news, we saw the whole green energy sector getting a big boost yesterday, as the US Congress seems to have agreed to a package of tax incentives and extensions for both wind and solar projects. Some of the biggest gainers yesterday were SunPower, Enphase, SolarEdge, with most of the companies from the INVESCO Solar ETF trading way higher. As we also saw PENN national gaining yesterday after giving great news again to investors, as they have acquired a new casino in Maryland as they keep expanding their nationwide footprint.
Meanwhile, we will get Lennar Q4 earnings today after the close, and I expect them to have a great quarter, but this hasn’t helped many companies this quarter, as even great earnings results haven’t pushed most companies to have big gains, I think Lennar will post a terrific quarter as a result of the continuing strong housing market as more and more people flee big cities attracted by better tax implications while they also run from the growing poverty in states like California.
Some good news also came from the Eurozone this morning, as the PMI popped up to 49.8 which is still a contraction for the economy, but that is an improving view of the economy overseas, up from 45.3 in November.
We also have to keep an eye on what ABNB and Doordash will do, as investors are starting to get the chance to short this highly valued IPOs. So, this might hit the stocks even more after they have suffered in the last days as I expected.
And one last bit of news, Aphria is merging with Tilray, they will become an almost $4B market cap cannabis player, as they seek to also move to the US and grow its market share in the country, as the full legalizing of cannabis in the US seems to be approaching. This will help both companies to be able to have low-cost, state of the art cultivations alongside improved processing and manufacturing facilities. This will also position them for a better footprint in the EU, with Aphria having a footprint in Germany, while Tilray has a low-cost production facility in Portugal.
I think the pot and clean energy sectors alongside the EVs are the ones to watch in the next years.
Let’s hope for another great day in the market as the FUTURES seem to be pointing at a good open, hopefully some green action continues after that.
Thank you everyone for reading! Hope you enjoyed the content! Be sure to leave a comment down below with your opinion on the stock market!
Have a great day and see you next time!

Before the pandemic I was a regular poker room patron at MGM National Harbor. They shut down for months but just recently reopened, and more recently opened their poker room back up to the general public.
Now before the pandemic, MGM National Harbor was always packed pretty much 24/7. It’s one of their newer properties and definitely the nicest casino in the DMV area (only other options locally are shitty and older Maryland LIVE and some places in West Virginia you don’t want to go to).
I arrived there last night at 9 PM, which normally would be prime time. Definitely not hoppin’ like it used to be. High roller table games were mostly empty. The slots were operating at maybe 50% max capacity because every other one was turned off to allow distance between the players, but it was very noticeable that even with the reduced number operating most were not being used.
They installed hand washing stations throughout the property around all the games but honestly I barely saw anyone using them which was not good. Face masks are mandatory, but they make you pull down your mask when you enter the casino area and take a picture of your face. All dealers for table games and poker wear plastic face shields. There are plexiglass dividers between dealers and players on most table games, but the side effect of that is definitely less players per table than normal. Spectators are no longer allowed to hang around, you’re only allowed to be at the table if you’re playing. The lack of spectators will have a dampening effect on the enthusiasm of players at certain table games. In fact, the whole energy of the casino was low. Imagine playing craps with no spectators.
Didn’t seem like they could be selling as much alcohol, the lobby and casino bars had earlier closing hours and at 9 PM on a Saturday I was able to walk up to any of the open bars and get a drink immediately, no long lines like the good old days.
The only section of the casino that was more active than usual was the race book which was odd because usually that’s only at half capacity at best when I’ve been in the past.
As for my poker experience, it was interesting. They removed about 25% of the tables they used to have on the floor to allow for distancing, and it’s now maximum 7 players to a table instead of 9. You do the math, they are definitely not making nearly as much off the poker room as they used to be able to. Plus, with 7 players instead of 9 and the lengthy swap out process for players who get knocked out (an attendant has to come and sanitize the seat for you and it took a long time) there were more hands than usual that were played with a reduced rake because there were less than 5 players active.
On top of that, because of the reduced seat capacity the wait list for the 1-3 tables (the most popular) took hella long and people were giving up on the wait and leaving. Also it was very apparent that the higher blind tables were much less in demand, they barely had any waits and that would be unheard of pre-pandemic. That means that the poker players showing up there intend to put less money on the table now.
The poker playing experience is still good if it’s what you like, I was able to enjoy myself despite all the plexiglass alienation. However I don’t know how long they can run this poker room without a COVID-19 case eventually being traced to it, because despite all the effort of distancing and sanitization, they still don’t have a good solution for keeping the chips themselves clean. Unless you neurotically sanitize your hands every time you rake chips, which I guess you could but most people weren’t/won’t, you’re at risk. I played for at least three hours and never saw any type of sanitation of the chips. The only solution I can think for this would be if you had contactless betting where you are separated from your stack, you verbalize your bets and the dealer moves everybody’s chips for them. That would be a big hassle for the dealer and I don’t think players would like it at all but I don’t know how else you could otherwise reduce that risk.
TL;DR - I have no MGM position and don’t intend to open one but I think there’s going to be a rude awakening when ER comes around because people have been piling back into MGM like everything is back to normal. Just because MGM has reopened its properties does not mean it’s anything like it was before. They are operating with many handicaps that will make it literally impossible to achieve anything near pre-pandemic earnings, and this is not going to change any time soon. I also think it’s highly likely they will run into trouble when a COVID-19 case is officially traced to their properties from a gamer that handled chips.

Opens with remarks regarding protests and applauds how peaceful the demonstrations in Maryland
Public health officials "have serious concerns" regarding the size of the gatherings for the protests
Potential for a 250% increase in infections in mass gatherings per CDC
STRONGLY encouraging anyone who attended a gathering to get tested as soon as possible and to avoid at-risk groups
Multiple high volume COVID testing sites opening across Baltimore City
We have "Crushed the curve" in Maryland
Maryland has experienced the sharpest drop of positivity in the past 3 weeks in the country
EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY AT 5 PM INDOOR DINING WILL RESUME AT 50% CAPACITY WITH DISTANCING AND STRICT PUBLIC HEALTH REQUIREMENTS
ENCOURAGING SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO HAVE SAFE OUTDOOR GRADUATIONS
OUTDOOR AMUSEMENT RIDES, MINI GOLF AND GO KARTS MAY REOPEN
OUTDOOR POOLS TO REOPEN TO 50%
EFFECTIVE 6/19 GYMS AND STUDIOS MAY BEGIN TO REOPEN AT 50% CAPACITY
CASINOS ARCADES AND MALLS CAN BEGIN TO RESUME OPERATIONS

Superintendent Karen Salmon speaking:

Schools systems can bring in small groups of students and staff for summer school
10-15 maximum in a class (students and staff total)
Return to school buildings is focused on those students who struggled with distance learning
ALL CHILD CARE PROVIDERS MAY REOPEN AS LONG AS THEY STICK TO CLASS SIZE RESTRICTIONS
15 CHILDREN AND STAFF MAXIMUM PER PROVIDER
OUTDOOR HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS PRACTICE ACTIVITIES MAY RESUME FOLLOWING SAME OUTDOOR ACTIVITY GUIDELINES

Landcadia Holdings II (LCA) is Worth Your Investment, and Here’s Why…
Tilman J Fertitta, owner of Golden Nugget casinos and CEO of LCA, holds a net worth of $4.9 Billion according to Forbes. He entered a purchase agreement on June 28th, 2020 in an effort to merge both of these companies, here is the 8k sec filing. The merge is set to happen sometime in the 3Q changing ticker from LCA to GNOC, as stated in this article. Although there is no current price target on LCA, it had an enterprise valuation of $385.94 M on 09/30/2019, fairly close to its competitor DraftKings (DKNG) with a valuation of $392.86 M on 09/30/2019. However, it should be noted that these valuations were published before the actual merger of DraftKings and Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp.
We could have a similar scenario with LCA once the merger happens, potentially surpassing DraftKings' share price, since Golden Nugget has continued producing revenue throughout this pandemic. Golden Nugget is leading the New Jersey online casino market and was responsible for 33.8% of the state’s $85.9m gross gaming revenue in May alone, according to igaming. We could see an increase in revenue for GNOC given that the following states have active bills looking to legalize sports betting: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia. If California were to do so, it could generate them an approximate 700 million every year in tax revenue, according to the Los Angeles Times. Texas could potentially be open to online gambling as well, as Fertitta has joined Governor Abbott’s advisory council to safely reopen the state. Fertitta is not only looking out for himself, but his investors as well.

State Yesterday Today
NY 923 - - - - - - - 1036
Illinois 974 - - - - - - - 1614
Maryland 549 - - - - - - - 848
Tennessee 548 - - - - - - - 821
Texas 1130 - - - - - - 1484
Arizona 187 - - - - - - - 1127
If the trend continues, reopening stocks such as casinos will be affected in next few weeks. And stay home stocks will continue to rise.
Source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

May 22: Trump orders governors to reopen churches immediately, something he is not empowered to do (legal experts and the courts agree). Those governors that acquiesce endanger their congregants, as we have seen again and again and again that these houses of worship are super-spreaders.
May 22: Researchers find that 100 million+ Twitter bot-accounts are being used to push to ‘reopen America’ (source).
May 22: Half of Fox News viewers think Bill Gates is using pandemic to microchip them
May 22: Carnegie Mellon researchers discover much of the discussion doubting the pandemic and anti-stay-at-home orders is being fueled by misinformation campaigns using convincing bots. Of the top 50 influential re-tweeters, 82% are bots; of the top 1,000 re-tweeters, 62% are bots.
May 23: Trump plays golf, and whines over twitter in response to media coverage.
May 23: Betsy DeVos openly admits she's using the pandemic to impose her private school choice agenda (audio). Her opportunism is nothing new (source).
May 23: Alabama has reopened its beaches, casinos, bingo halls, museums, zoos and amusement parks – as its hospitals are running out of ICU beds.
May 24: White House predicts that US unemployment to remain in double digits until November election.
May 24: Coronavirus outbreak at high school pool party fuels ‘second peak,’ Arkansas gov says. Missouri probably isn’t far behind. For multiple reasons.
May 25: Trump calls Marine Corps veteran (and sitting Congressman) ‘an American Fraud’ on Memorial Day, mis-spells his name, claims he voted for Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the house (he didn’t.)
May 25: Trump issues a call for schools forced to close amid the coronavirus pandemic to be "opened ASAP" (tweet) after watching segment on Fox News.
May 26: Trump shares a tweet mocking Biden for wearing a face mask in public — in line with the CDC advice that he routinely ignores, for fear of “looking weak”.
May 26: Trump leaves GOP "completely blindsided" with threat to pull RNC convention out of North Carolina.
May 26: Spiking pneumonia deaths suggest the virus is killing far more than we know
May 27: Two weeks after court scraps Safer at Home, Wisconsin sets record for new coronavirus cases and deaths
late May: As Memorial weekend ends, the US has lost 100,000 people to the virus… more than combined combat fatalities in the three-year Korean War (33,686, source) and the 11-year US war in Vietnam (58,220, source), with very little collective grief.
May 30: Trump terminates the US relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO).
May 30: Trump demands Republican convention ‘with no masks or social distancing’ despite coronavirus pandemic
June 1: Dr. Fauci told states that Trump is no longer frequently meeting with top public-health experts to discuss the fight against the coronavirus. Two weeks later, Fauci will state he hasn’t talked to Trump once in the last two weeks.
June 1: States that reported all-time highest single-day new case totals in the last week: North Carolina, South Carolina (twice), Texas (twice), Arizona (twice), Mississippi (twice), Utah (twice), Virginia (twice), Wisconsin (twice) and California (three times)
June 3: Millions Of Americans skip payments as tidal wave of defaults and evictions looms
June 10: Trump: “We’ve made every decision correctly” - White House goes quiet on coronavirus as outbreak spikes; no briefings in over a month
June 15: Trump dismisses uptick in US coronavirus cases and suggests a 'stop' to testing. "If we stop testing right now, we'd have very few cases, if any,"
June 15: US national pride falls to the lowest level in the two decades of Gallup measurement.

Five days later another survey shows the majority of Americans say this is the lowest point in US history they can remember.
Two weeks after that another survey shows that 75% of Americans believe the U.S. is ‘Out of Control’ under Trump.

June 17: More Americans have died from the virus (116,963) than were killed in combat during World War One (116,708).
June 18: Trump says he thinks some Americans are wearing masks to show they disapprove of him and not as a preventive measure during the pandemic
June 18: Trump claims virus will ‘Fade Away’ – as U.S. Sees 20,000 New Cases a Day. Within a month this will increase to 70,000 new cases a day.
June 20: Trump holds rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma – his first large campaign event since the beginning of the coronavirus lockdowns

Trump’s request that masks be optional goes all the way to the Oklahoma Supreme court, where he wins a victory. Masks are not required at the rally.
Six members of the advance team (including two secret service officers) tested positive for the virus prior to the rally. Two more test positive afterwards, along with a local reporter.
The rally 'more than likely' contributed to a surge in coronavirus cases, according to the Tulsa Health Department Executive Director.
Afterward, dozens of Secret Service officers and agents are told to self-quarantine.
Two weeks after the rally, Herman Cain tests positive for the virus. In the weeks to come Cain is hospitalized, and dies on July 29.
Two weeks after the rally, Fox News alumnus / Donald Trump Jr’s girlfriend tests positive for the virus after attending the rally.
A week after that, Oklahoma’s governor (who hosted the rally) tests positive for the virus.
Trump boasted that a million people that signed up to attend, held the rally in a 19,000 seat arena, and built an outdoor overflow area in the parking lot, but only 6,200 people attended.
Trump was furious about the low turnout, and had a meltdown and yelled at aides backstage when he realized how empty his rally in Tulsa was
Trump said he tried to slow down COVID-19 testing to cover up America’s high rate of infection (video)
White House trade advisor Peter Navarro claimed Trump was “joking”, Trump responded 'I don't kid' and insists he meant it.
Trump unapologetically called the virus the “Kung Flu”, and proved he could awkwardly drink a glass of water with one hand.

Planned future rallies are cancelled, due to fears of low attendance and the virus.
June 24: Fauci: White House ordered NIH to cancel coronavirus research funding, because it is in partnership with scientists in Wuhan and Trump has pushed a conspiracy theory that Wuhan purposely created the virus.
June 25: White House official: Americans will “Just Have to Live With” massive virus surge
June 25: The largest medical complex in the world, Texas Medical Center reaches 100 percent ICU occupancy, then they stopped reporting data.
June 30: The European Union bans travel from the U.S. due to coronavirus, and extends the ban two weeks later as the US situation continues to deteriorate.
June 30: The US has 4% of the world's population but 25% of its coronavirus cases. Over 2.5 million Americans have tested positive, and over 125,000 have died.
June 30: Dr. Fauci tells Congress new cases could reach 100,000 a day without changes, and that recent coronavirus surge caused by reopening too quickly, not following guidelines
Late June: Republican governors begin holding secret conference calls to complain about Trump's chaotic coronavirus response
July 2: Trump: “I think we’re gonna be very good with the coronavirus. I think that at some point that’s going to, sort of, just disappear – I hope,” as US sees record number of new cases
July 4: Arizona Department of Health Services reports that ICU's are at 91 percent capacity and nearly a quarter of coronavirus tests conducted returned positive.
July 4: U.S. breaks another daily coronavirus record with more than 57,000 new infections
July 6: White House defends Trump's claim that 99 percent of COVID-19 cases are 'harmless' with chart showing 5 percent are fatal. Unsurprisingly, the head of the FDA refuses to back up this claim.
July 7: The virus is killing more in Florida, Texas in one month than 20 years of hurricanes
July 7: Trump and the Secretary of Education demand that schools reopen with fully operational in-person classrooms in the Fall.

Just a week earlier, a Federal assessment (69 pages, here) said fully reopening schools and universities remained the “highest risk” for the spread of the coronavirus.
This also contradicts the CDC’s guidelines around reopening schools. Trump dismissed these guidelines over Twitter as “tough and expensive” as well as “impractical”. The CDC refuses to revise their guidelines.
This demand came with threats: To cut off Federal funding (a mostly toothless threat) and lose international students to those that choose not to open fully.
Pressed on how schools can re-open during a pandemic, DeVos has no clear answers (video)
Some teachers are retiring, rather than returning to the classroom
Only 1 in 10 Americans think schools should reopen this fall without restrictions

July 8: 56 Florida hospitals hit 100% ICU capacity (and new daily cases rise above 10,000, to rise to 15,000 per day within five more days) as Governor DeSantis defends refusal to release virus data.
July 9: Dr. Fauci says states with coronavirus resurgences should consider shutting down again
July 10: U.S. breaks another daily coronavirus record with more than 70,000 new infections.
July 11: Japan is 'shocked' and furious at the US after a major coronavirus outbreak at 2 Marine bases in Okinawa — and says the US is not taking the virus seriously. "We now have strong doubts that the US military has taken adequate disease prevention measures,"
July 12: Dr. Fauci says COVID-19 cases exploding because U.S. didn’t completely shut down
July 12: CDC holds first press briefing in over three months of being silenced by the White House.
July 13: Trump complains Biden and Obama stopped coronavirus testing even though it didn't exist during their administration
July 13: Arizona is currently registering as many new cases as the entire EU, which has a population 60 times greater.’
July 13: Trump retweets game show host saying CDC and doctors are lying; the coronavirus task force pushes back: ‘None of us lie'. The game show host’s son tests positive for the virus one day later, the host suddenly changes his position, and deletes his Twitter account.
July 14: Nearly one-third of children tested for COVID in Florida are positive; that is over 11,000 children.
July 15: Administration removes control of coronavirus data from CDC, instead funneling it through the White House. Experts and scientists highlight why this is dangerous, and states begin to lose access to data.
July 15: Trump greenlights an op-ed attacking Dr. Fauci by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro. Fauci responds that they should be ashamed. Trump then says Navarro never should have written it.
July 17: White House blocks CDC from testifying on reopening schools next week
July 18: Trump administration pushes to block new money for testing, tracing, and CDC in upcoming coronavirus relief bill
July 18: 85 infants under age 1 have tested positive for the virus in one Texas county since March
July 19: Trump claims, incorrectly, that the U.S. has "one of the lowest mortality rates" for the virus
July 20: Trump: "I will be right eventually. You know, I said, 'It's going to disappear.' I'll say it again. ... It's going to disappear, and I'll be right," – part of a larger interview citing false and nonexistent data on the virus.
July 20: Trump calls masks ‘Patriotic’ less than two months after ridiculing Biden for wearing one. Just hours later, he hosts a fundraiser without a mask (at his own hotel, where he raised $5 million).

During the same press conference, Trump says "My administration currently has zero unfilled requests for… equipment or anything else that they need from the governors. No governor needs anything right now and we think we’ll have it that way until the end because frankly we are stocked up and ready to go.". Of course, this is a lie.

July 21: Denied permission to work from home, Maryland public health worker dies after COVID hits office
July 22: White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway accuses the states of being too hasty with reopening their economies

Caesars properties mandating masks as of about noon today. Onsite security personnel cited an order from NVGov, but I can’t find a source for that.
https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2020/06/24/caesars-entertainment-requires-all-guests-wear-masks-all-resorts/3252788001/
Guests at Caesars Entertainment Corp. properties will be required to wear masks while inside its properties, effective immediately. The only exception is when employees or guests are eating or drinking, according to a Wednesday news release.
The updated policy applies to all employees, vendors, contractors, guests, and passersby inside the properties. Those who refuse to wear a face covering will be directed to leave the property. Caesars previously only required staff to wear masks. “We are immediately requiring everyone in our properties to wear masks, because the scientific evidence strongly suggests that wearing masks and practicing social distancing may be the most important deterrents to spreading COVID-19 from person to person,” said CEO Tony Rodio in the release.
The policy applies to Caesars’ nine Las Vegas hotel casinos, as well as its properties in Arizona, California and North Carolia. It will also go into effect in properties in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois and Ontario, once they reopen. The announcement comes just hours before Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak’s 5 p.m. update on Nevada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Las week, the governor said he had asked his team of COVID-19 medical advisors to review enhanced face covering policies for the state. Nevada’s COVID-19 cases have been on the rise since it reopened casinos on June 4. On Tuesday, the state saw a record one-day jump of more than 400 new cases. As of Wednesday, there have been about 14,000 cases of the virus in Nevada and 492 deaths.
Policies in other states, including California and Washington, have recently been updated to require people to wear face coverings when out in public indoor venues.
On Monday, Culinary Workers Union Local 226 hosted a video conference to discuss casinos’ health and safety policies, saying the rules don’t go far enough to protect workers.
Diana Thomas, a union member and guest room attendant at Caesars’ Flamingo hotel casino, said Monday that she would feel safer at work if guests and patrons were required to wear masks. The union is demanding a handful of new health policies in casinos, including daily cleaning of all guest rooms, mandatory testing of all employees for COVID-19 before returning to work and regular testing thereafter and requiring guests to wear masks in all public areas.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Link to the petition
I really hated online classes.
I wanna be able to actually go back to campus in the Fall and at least have some in-person classes, but we won't be able to do that if Maryland gets a second wave of coronavirus. I don't think any of us really enjoyed our experience with Zoom University.
Governor Hogan recently announced that even more restrictions will be lifted between tomorrow and next week. This includes indoor dining, casinos, arcades, and gyms. Opening all of this up now is pretty much asking for a second wave. Florida, Texas, and Arizona all had similar situations and now all 3 states are experiencing massive case spikes. A second wave in Maryland will be more disruptive than holding onto restrictions for a little longer.
I have more details on the actual petition itself and in a letter I've sent out to Governor Hogan. Please take a minute to sign this petition and help convince the central government to revert to Stage 1 of reopening. This is for the sake of being able to see each other in class in person again, to save thousands of lives, and to lower the amount of time we'll need to spend social distancing.
If you're with me on this, sign the petition here. I'd appreciate it a lot.

A WBAL commenter on Facebook said this:

Gotta love how he dangles these little treats all week long like we are a bunch of grade school kids. Well this week you can dine inside and next week if your good you will get malls and casinos. Meanwhile people are being assaulted on the OC boardwalk...people have gathered in masses in cities...which was fine...unless it was Reopen Maryland...then well that’s just being selfish. 🤦🏼‍♀️ Give me a break!

Encapsulates the situation pretty well, don't you think?

Good Morning –
Today’s date is 3/11. Here is what you need to know today.
CORONAVIRUS
Public school systems and universities around the D.C. region are sharing their plans as concerns about the new coronavirus grip the U.S. and the world.
· Loyola University Maryland will be online until April 1
· American University and George Washington University both have put classes online until at least April 5
· University of Maryland and George Mason classes will be online until April 10
· Fairfax County Public Schools are taking off March 16, which will be designated as a staff development day for the school system to prepare for moving classes online
The Maryland congressional delegation spent yesterday talking about the next steps. “The good news is that we have capacity now in our private labs, in our hospitals,” Senator Ben Cardin said. “However, that is gearing up.”
WTOP is keeping a running list of all the cases in the D.C. area — You can get updated statistics here.
THE LOCAL PERSPECTIVE
While coronavirus grips the nation, a sentence came down for the D.C. bus driver that killed the mayor of a small Alaska town and her mother. Gerard James was sentenced to 6 months in prison after the sentence was suspended for three and a half years.
A man who is in prison for life, Lee Boyd Malvo, is now a married man. Malvo was a part of the 2002 sniper spree that terrorized the nation’s capital region. The 35-year-old had been looking to appeal his life in prison sentence up until last month, when the change in law made his appeal a failed effort, no matter the outcome.
In Annapolis, the Maryland senate voted 47-0 for sports betting in six casinos, horse racing tracks potentially at a Washington Redskins stadium. The bill now moves to the House.
A GOOD NIGHT FOR JOE BIDEN
Joe Biden decisively won Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary, seizing a key battleground state that helped propel Bernie Sanders’ insurgent candidacy four years ago. The former vice president’s victory there, as well as in Missouri, Mississippi and Idaho, dealt a serious blow to Sanders and substantially widened Biden’s path to the nomination.
The six-state contest Tuesday marked the first time voters weighed in on the primary since it effectively narrowed to a two-person race between Sanders and Biden. And the first four states on Tuesday went to Biden, a dramatic reversal for a campaign that appeared on the brink of collapse just two weeks ago. Now it is Sanders, whose candidacy was ascendant so recently, who must contemplate a path forward.
“We need you, we want you, and there’s a place in our campaign for each of you. I want to thank Bernie Sanders and his supporters for their tireless energy and their passion,” Biden said. “We share a common goal, and together we’ll beat Donald Trump.”
BEAL DROPS 39
Last night, the Wizards beat the New York Knicks 122-115. Bradley Beal dropped 39 points and 7 assists, while Shabazz Napier added 21 points in 38 minutes. The Wizards move to 24-40 and play the Celtics in Boston on Friday. The Capitals are off until tomorrow when they take on the Detroit Red Wings. Howard University pulled an upset by beating S.C. State 70-63, while Vermont beat UMBC 81-74 to advance to the AEC title game.
BUSINESS NEWS
U.S. STOCK FUTURES:
DOW: -538.00 / -2.17%
NASDAQ: -180.50 / -2.17%
S&P: -67.00 /-2.34%
THE WORLD VIEW
Russia passed a bill allowing President Vladimir Putin to stay in power past 2024. The death toll in Iran from the coronavirus climbed to 354, with a total of over 9,000 cases in the country. The epicenter of the virus, Wuhan, may soon be getting back to business after President Xi visited the city Tuesday and signaled the crisis may be winding down in China.
That’s the news to start your day. We’ll see you tomorrow.

Now closed and re-opened as "Senor Frogs", Carlos n' Charlie's has some very strange ties to disappearing blonde women. I've looked online and it doesn't seem like anything has been said of this before...so here we go.
Amy Lynn Bradley - 1999 Amy Lynn Bradley (born May 12, 1974) is an American citizen who went missing during a Caribbean cruise. She has yet to be found. Amy, her parents, and her brother were vacationing on the Royal Caribbean International cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas.
At 5:30am on March 24, 1998, Amy's brother left his sister sitting on the outdoor balcony and entered his cabin. She was seen a short time later by other passengers riding in the ship's elevator with a member of the ship's band, Blue Orchid, known by the alias "Yellow." The ship was en route to Curaçao, Antilles at the time she was last seen. The ship docked in Curaçao shortly after she was discovered missing. Extensive searches on the ship and at sea produced no signs of her whereabouts. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Amy_Lynn_Bradley]
The CC Connection
The last person seen with Amy during the early hours of that morning was a cruise ship band member, known as ‘Yellow’ from a group called ‘Blue Orchid.’ There were other crewmembers that had also had contact with Amy during the cruise… a girl who worked in the casino, and three cruise ship waiters who were stationed at our dining table. The waiters were very over-attentive towards Amy from the moment they met her. After dinner one evening, one of the waiters approached us while we were visiting with associates with whom we had been traveling and asked for Amy by name. *The waiter stated ‘they’ wanted to take Amy to Carlos and Charlie’s while docked in Aruba. When Amy and her brother, Brad, met with us a short time later, we told Amy about the waiter who had asked for her by name. She responded, “I wouldn’t go and do anything with any of those crewmembers. They give me the creeps.” * While docked in Aruba, Amy and her brother did not leave the ship that evening [http://www.internationalcruisevictims.org/LatestMemberStories/Amy_Lynn_Bradley.html]
Natalee Holloway - 2005 Natalee Ann Holloway disappeared on May 30, 2005 while on a high school graduation trip to Aruba. Holloway, an 18-year-old American, lived in Mountain Brook, Alabama , USA at the time of her vanishing, and graduated from Mountain Brook High School on May 24, 2005, shortly before the trip.[4] Her disappearance caused a media sensation in the United States.[5] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Natalee_Holloway]
The Connection Holloway, a straight-A student who had won a full scholarship to attend the University of Alabama, was last seen leaving the Oranjestad nightclub Carlos N' Charlie's about 1:30 a.m. May 30, in a car accompanied by three local men. [http://web.archive.org/web/20050901050823/http://edition.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/08/missing.teen/]
Robyn Gardner - 2011 Robyn Gardner was supposed to be in Orlando with her parents. At least that's what she told her boyfriend, Richard Forester.
Then she told Forester she actually had gone to Aruba on a surprise family trip.
In fact, the 35-year-old beautiful, blond Maryland woman with a radiant smile had traveled to the Caribbean with a man named Gary Giordano, a 50-year-old businessman also from Maryland with a disturbing past.
Now, Gardner is missing and presumed dead, Giordano is being detained, and questions are mounting about what happened during their island stay. [http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20520711,00.html]
The Connection This one is a bit more tenuous. Senor Frogs (the reopened Carlos n' Charlie's) was not the last place that Robyn was seen although there is speculation that she visited the area. She was last seen, at the Rum Reef bar and grill. The same town that the other two women disappeared. [http://abcnews.go.com/US/maryland-woman-disappears-aruba-town-natalee-holloway-vanished/story?id=14267156]
The similarities - All blonde women - All American - All last seen with foreign men that they did not know before Aruba - All visited the same bar, 2/3 being the same last bar
Senor Frogs has been in the news for extremely aggressive bouncers that have beaten tourists within an inch of their life. [http://scaredmonkeys.com/2008/08/23/aruba-tourists-beat-up-by-bouncers-at-senor-frogs-wasnt-joran-van-der-sloot-underage/]

Now closed and re-opened as "Senor Frogs", Carlos n' Charlie's has some very strange ties to disappearing blonde women. I've looked online and it doesn't seem like anything has been said of this before...so here we go.
Amy Lynn Bradley - 1999 Amy Lynn Bradley (born May 12, 1974) is an American citizen who went missing during a Caribbean cruise. She has yet to be found. Amy, her parents, and her brother were vacationing on the Royal Caribbean International cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas.
At 5:30am on March 24, 1998, Amy's brother left his sister sitting on the outdoor balcony and entered his cabin. She was seen a short time later by other passengers riding in the ship's elevator with a member of the ship's band, Blue Orchid, known by the alias "Yellow." The ship was en route to Curaçao, Antilles at the time she was last seen. The ship docked in Curaçao shortly after she was discovered missing. Extensive searches on the ship and at sea produced no signs of her whereabouts. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Amy_Lynn_Bradley]
The CC Connection
The last person seen with Amy during the early hours of that morning was a cruise ship band member, known as ‘Yellow’ from a group called ‘Blue Orchid.’ There were other crewmembers that had also had contact with Amy during the cruise… a girl who worked in the casino, and three cruise ship waiters who were stationed at our dining table. The waiters were very over-attentive towards Amy from the moment they met her. After dinner one evening, one of the waiters approached us while we were visiting with associates with whom we had been traveling and asked for Amy by name. *The waiter stated ‘they’ wanted to take Amy to Carlos and Charlie’s while docked in Aruba. When Amy and her brother, Brad, met with us a short time later, we told Amy about the waiter who had asked for her by name. She responded, “I wouldn’t go and do anything with any of those crewmembers. They give me the creeps.” * While docked in Aruba, Amy and her brother did not leave the ship that evening [http://www.internationalcruisevictims.org/LatestMemberStories/Amy_Lynn_Bradley.html]
Natalee Holloway - 2005 Natalee Ann Holloway disappeared on May 30, 2005 while on a high school graduation trip to Aruba. Holloway, an 18-year-old American, lived in Mountain Brook, Alabama , USA at the time of her vanishing, and graduated from Mountain Brook High School on May 24, 2005, shortly before the trip.[4] Her disappearance caused a media sensation in the United States.[5] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Natalee_Holloway]
The Connection Holloway, a straight-A student who had won a full scholarship to attend the University of Alabama, was last seen leaving the Oranjestad nightclub Carlos N' Charlie's about 1:30 a.m. May 30, in a car accompanied by three local men. [http://web.archive.org/web/20050901050823/http://edition.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/08/missing.teen/]
Robyn Gardner - 2011 Robyn Gardner was supposed to be in Orlando with her parents. At least that's what she told her boyfriend, Richard Forester.
Then she told Forester she actually had gone to Aruba on a surprise family trip.
In fact, the 35-year-old beautiful, blond Maryland woman with a radiant smile had traveled to the Caribbean with a man named Gary Giordano, a 50-year-old businessman also from Maryland with a disturbing past.
Now, Gardner is missing and presumed dead, Giordano is being detained, and questions are mounting about what happened during their island stay. [http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20520711,00.html]
The Connection This one is a bit more tenuous. Senor Frogs (the reopened Carlos n' Charlie's) was not the last place that Robyn was seen although there is speculation that she visited the area. She was last seen, at the Rum Reef bar and grill. The same town that the other two women disappeared. [http://abcnews.go.com/US/maryland-woman-disappears-aruba-town-natalee-holloway-vanished/story?id=14267156]
The similarities - All blonde women - All American - All last seen with foreign men that they did not know before Aruba - All visited the same bar, 2/3 being the same last bar
Senor Frogs has been in the news for extremely aggressive bouncers that have beaten tourists within an inch of their life. [http://scaredmonkeys.com/2008/08/23/aruba-tourists-beat-up-by-bouncers-at-senor-frogs-wasnt-joran-van-der-sloot-underage/]

Maryland Casinos Can Reopen June 19, State Loses $149M in

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LIVE! Casino in @ Arundel Mills, Maryland is going to be using plexiglass partitions on their poker tables when they Reopen post-Covid.

LIVE! Casino in @ Arundel Mills, Maryland is going to be using plexiglass partitions on their poker tables when they Reopen post-Covid.

Stock Market News Today | APHA & TLRY Merge | APPLE Rises | Stimulus & FED Meeting Today [12-16]

Stock Market News Today | APHA & TLRY Merge | APPLE Rises | Stimulus & FED Meeting Today [12-16]

Stock Market News Today | APHA & TLRY Merge | APPLE Rises | Stimulus & FED Meeting Today [12-16]

Stock Market News Today | APHA & TLRY Merge | APPLE Rises | Stimulus & FED Meeting Today [12-16]

Experiential DD on MGM

Gov. Hogan Press Conference - 6/10

Landcadia Holdings II (LCA) is Worth Your Investment, and Here’s Why… $LCA

Sizeable jump in coronavirus cases with large protests.

Trump Covid Timeline (May 22 - July 22)

Caesars properties mandating masks

Petition to Slow Reopening Down

Pretty good response to an article about Maryland's moving into "phase two"

Trucker's Guide to When Every State is Reopening

CORONAVIRUS [COVID-19] UPDATES AND ARTICLES

ABOUT TOPMARK FUNDING

The news to start your day 3/11

What's going on at Carlos n' Charlies?

The Week In Review: Suburban News of the Past Week (8/7/16)

What is it about Carlos n' Charlie's in Aruba?

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