The District Court of Eastern Uusimaa has issued a decision on the Counter-Strike top name Elias “Jamppi” in a dispute concerning Olkkonen's controversial major game ban.

The District Court of Eastern Uusimaa has no jurisdiction in the matter, which means that the action is inadmissible, the decision says.

Olkkonen, 19, filed a lawsuit against the German sister company Valve GmbH, instead of the American game publisher Valve Corporation, which has denied that it was the right party to handle the case.
Olkkonen brought an action as a consumer because the events that led to the ban on gambling took place at a time when he was not yet a professional. In 2015, Olkkonen set up a Steam game account, where he bought the CS: GO game and sold it to his friend the same evening.
The game account was later banned from VAC, which is usually given for cheating. As the original owner of the account, the ban has been combined with Olkkonen, who is not allowed to play in major major value tournaments due to a said ban.
Olkkonen demanded that the dispute be dealt with in Finland, because in his opinion it is a consumer dispute. Valve GmbH was founded in 2016, one year after the event.
According to the decision of the district court, Olkkonen cannot be considered a consumer in this matter, as he says that the ban on VAC has hindered her professional career and restricted her right to freedom of trade.

The District Court finds that the lawsuit is based on an agreement entered into in 2015 between Olkkonen and Valve Corporation. [...] The applicant has not shown that there is an alleged contractual relationship between Olkkonen and Valve GmbH, the decision states.

The decision of the District Court is not yet final. Olkkonen's lawyer, Hannu Kalkas of the law firm Teperi & Co Oy, tells Ilta-Sanomat that they will appeal the decision.
According to the lawyer, there may be a moment in the handling of the appeal, as the Court of Appeal has been severely congested due to the corona. Kalkas also said that they have not yet made decisions on the follow-up if the complaint does not produce the desired outcome.
In the present decision, Olkkonen was ordered to pay Valve GmbH 's costs in the amount of EUR 44 650. Olkkonen's own legal costs so far are EUR 33,854.
There's more text in the article, but it's only repetition of previous articles.
Source in finnish: https://www.is.fi/digitoday/esports/art-2000007611944.html
ARTICLE WAS UPDATED AFTER AND SOME IMPORTANT INFO WAS ADDED:
Olkkonen brought an action as a consumer because the events that led to the ban took place at a time when he was not yet a professional. In 2015, Olkkonen founded the Steam ID, for which he bought the CS: GO game and sold it to his friend the same evening.
The game account was later VAC-banned, which is usually given for cheating. According to Valve's policy, Olkkonen is not allowed to participate in major tournaments, as he is the original owner of the VAC-banned account.
According to the district courts decision, both sides agree that Olkkonen has bought, sold and handed off the VAC banned account in question to a 3rd party on the same evening it was created. Based on the decision, Olkkonen has not cheated with the account.
Thanks to joonzi & brapk

Hello there. I'm 32 years old male, been sober for 160 days. This will be a long story. As my first book is soon ready (with different subject than alcohol though) I have been thinking of writing a book about alcohol. Because I have so much to tell. Anyway, here's my story of sobering up. I hope it's worth your time.
I started drinking when I was 17 years old, mostly because all my friends turned 18 and were in legal drinking age. My birthdate is always at the end of the year so I was usually the youngest. So I was a bit underaged but went along. My first experiences with alcohol were this drink called "Black Cat", it was kinda liquorice liquor which is quite popular here in Finland (salmiakki, a type of salty liquorice they use in candy), nowadays people just drinki salmiakkivodka and equivalent. It tasted like a couch syrup and I remember liking both the taste and effects. Of course we passed out to our friends floor later in the evening. It was "fun".
Anyway, years went by and I was usually the one that could not hold his booze. When I was young and in my twenties I used to drink until I vomited and passed out. I rarely remembered anything in the morning. I took my hangovers like a man and never drank when hungover, I thought that as path to alcoholism. I mostly drank during the weekends like kids used to do here in Finland. Usually it was only one day of the week, Friday or Saturday. We gathered to a place and drank different kind of drinks, played games, laughed, goofed around etc. I was the introverted shy guy who never got along with anyone, least with girls, but with alcohol I had little bit more confidence. Never too much though. I passed out usually early at the point where others were just getting started and barely noticed my disappearance. In later life my drinking got more controlled but it was still crazy. I got really drunk most of the time.
In some point I got tired of strong drinks because they messed up my head so bad, but I never stopped drinking them. I never liked beer and never drank it but one time I bought this Murphy's can out of curiosity. It tasted like roasted coffee and I was amazed - how can a beer taste like this. So I got into craft beer. The scene was already starting to boom in Finland with new beers so I made it a hobby. I purchased all the new beers I could find. I started a beer review blog. In this point I tasted different kind of beers many times a week. Usually I wasn't even getting drunk, I just enjoyed the culture and taste. The binge drinking continued couple of times per year. Then I wouldn't care what I drank as long as it had alcohol in it.
It was year 2013. We went to summer festival to celebrate my best friend's and coworker's bachelor party for five consecutive days. We drank all that time, day after day after day. We had so much to drink, be it beer, vodka, soft drinks with alcohol, wine, didn't matter. It was crazy and it's all blur to me. I was missing days, didn't remember much of it. After I woke up that day we were meant to leave the festival area, I was so hungover I felt like being in hell. Somehow we got the tent and everything packed up. I remember our tent stick was so deep in the ground that it had been stuck in the root of a tree. We had to get the car and pull it out with a rope tied to the car. Our friend was drunk and high and I was lying in unnatural position in the back where all the seats where taken out and below me was all kind of stuff, I barely fit in the car. I remember watching to the horizont from the front window of the car and seeing how the driver was zigzagging in both ways from the centerline of the road... I was in terrible hungover, sweaty and paranoid and fearing for my life. Thank goodness cops didn't stop us and we got home safely but it was a very dangerous ride. I don't know why I agreed to even go.
When I got home to my family I was feeling like coming back from the war. I was seeing things, it was still blurry and I had both physical and mental symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. I wanted to take it easy but instead I was a wreck, I was panicking, depressed and anxious and felt like going nuts. I slept the day, the next day, the next day. The anxiety and "the feeling" didn't go away. I was going on loop to my friends and wife that "I feel funny in the head". You know the feeling that like you are drunk but are not? It was that but even worse, I didn't feel myself, I saw my hands doing things but I didn't feel them as mine. I watched me in the mirror but I didn't recognize my face, or kinda, but kinda not. I watched myself from behind. I didn't recognize my home. It was surreal and horrible, like a nightmare. I thought it was because I binge drank so many days, that must be it, it's just been a short time, these are just the effects of it. But after two weeks I still got that "feeling". After four weeks it was the same. It never went away. Every time I thought about it I got a really bad panic attack and it felt like I snap and go crazy or die soon. I screamed and cried. Weeks went by. A month. Two months. Three months. I tried everything. Started to eat and sleep well, lost weight, excercised, concentrated on work. I never drank during this period. Couple of times I had to go to ER because I thought I had a brain tumor. They didn't find anything. They said my shoulders were a bit tough so they recommended a massage or ciropractor. So I went to one acquaintance of mine who is a well known ciropractor and he got my back in order. Nothing was helping. I still felt terrible.
I was constantly googling my symptoms and listed them out to my blog. The blog bost grew to a multi page manifest about different kind of things it might be. Never found the definitive answer. After that summer I started therapy. After six months I still suffered from "that feeling". The therapist never did an official dianogis but she SAID that I have probably been having a generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) for a long time and the circumstances have caused me (and I quote) psychosomatic dissociative disorder induced by binge drinking of alcohol and enforced by anxiety and vicious hypochondriac thinking loop. We went over feelings and events from the summer festival all the way back to my childhood. The "cognitive therapy" as it was helped a lot. In some point I found "The Holy Grail of Curing DP/DR" post and it opened my eyes. After about one year it finally lifted of when my mind got out of the loop.
In 2014 I had started drinking again but I decided to keep it under control and drank mostly beer at that time. I wanted to avoid the thing in last year happening again. But in spring I went with friends to a town near Helsinki. We were attending to a black metal festival nearby as I'm a huge black metal fan. We had whiskey and spirits in the hotel room and I guess I didn't care any more and already forgot about the miserable event in the past. I drank for two days like I was young again until I passed out and lost my memory of the days. So the same thing happened again. I suffered half year of the dissociation, again. Only difference this time was that "that's it", I quit drinking spirits and wine and I no longer wanted to drink anything else than beer. I explained it to myself that spirits are no fun to me as I can't hold my liquor, I lose memory, vomit and pass out every time I get them, I simply get too drunk too easy. Wine was not good to me anyway since it triggers migraine. I remember one time we were attending to a fine dining meal and I had red wine that the waitress recommended. After we left by train my headache got so bad I had to pass out to the floor of the train (there was no space). My friends watched me and told the nearby family that he is not drunk, he just has migraine. It was horrible. After that time I never drank red wine again. Anyway, I stopped everything but beer. Craft beer was my thing and consuming it was slow and controlled. For some reason I didn't want to quit for good. From later life perspective I was already hooked, an addict.
We moved after I had gone through 2 years of therapy and the therapy stopped because of the new location. It was very helpful but I didn't want to search another therapist after moving and my dissociation had been long gone in that point so I didn't see any reason for that. I embraced my life as a snobby craft beer enthusiast as I had got a job from the nearby craft beer pub as a reviewer and connoisseur. People would ask my advice what's THE craft beer to drink and I would gladly tell them and taste with them. I would find pine and oaky notes in there, I would comment on mouthfeel and richness of the hops etc. It was just like wine tasters basically but with beer. That's how the scene evolved, there were no longer lagers and schwarzs, there were dozens of whole new beer styles and new ones were invented daily. From all the beer styles in the world I was most fond of dark imperial stouts. I hunted for them. The best ABV was from 10 to 20, the stronger the better. I liked beers like "Imperial Salty Caramel Cookie Dough Double Coffee Fudge Chocolate Milk Hazelnut Butter Vanilla Cocoa Crumble Brown Ale", they were crazy good and had lots of alcohol. Slowly and steadily my drinking habits grew from "just a two on Friday" to "couple of beers every other day". When the ABV was almost always 10%+ I got drunk most of the time. I didn't really suffer from hangovers much but I was always tired and anxious. It was taking a toll on my health, focus at work and so on. I often said to everyone I wouldn't drink if there was no craft beer and that was true. I drank because of the craft beer culture, people, social aspects and relaxing and of course being intoxicated and hooked.
Years went by. I tasted over 4000 different beers. The hobby evolved from rating every beer to the point I was started to get annoyed about the elitism and hobbyist culture where you need to have a certain recommendation, high enough ABV, certain admired style, or score of the beer to even consider drinking it. So I gave up reviewing beers and started "the old way" to drink any beer that had alcohol in it. It didn't even have to be craft beer. I mostly liked "easy to drink" beers and many breweries tend to make beers so that it's like orange juice. New England Pale Ales and Sour Ales were wonderful, it beautiful juice, and deceptive to say the least.
Fast forward to 2020. We went to celebrate summer to our friends' cabin in the middle of nowhere. We got couple of barrels of beer from the local brewery with taps and all. For two days we had fun, played games (it was a forest LAN event). I remember taking it as an experiment, I wanted to try how much I can drink "just beer" to have a bad hangover. As we paid the barrels together based on how many pints everyone were drinking we had a "logger bookkeeping" with lines in the potholder. I must have had like over 30 lines over two days of period. And it was high ABV new england pale ale. I vomited my guts out both days of the event.
It was a bad hangover on Sunday. I never got the dissociative effects from that but there in that day I was seriously thinking about this. I started to make a list of positive and negative list of using alcohol. The negative list got out of hand and I ran out of paper. The positive list had no points. Finally I made the decicion I had thought of so many days in the past. This time it was for good. I signed up for I Am Sober app and it currently says 5 months, 7 days, 13 hours, 11 minutes, 50 seconds sober.
First weeks sober were kinda hard because in Finland alcohol is everywhere. We have about 5 million people in this country and 90% of people drink. I was starting to learn we use alcohol by habit. We use it at work (yes, many jobs have beer in the fridge and it's free to take whenever you want), after work (it's actually called "afterwork" and can happen many times a week but usually on Friday), on weddings, on funerals, on gettogethers, on housewarming parties, during every national holiday, on christmas, new year, on any public holiday, when you assemble furniture (yes, there is even a saying "asennuskaljat" here which is "an assembly beers" to make assembling IKEA stuff more fun), when you go to sauna (in Finland we have millions of saunas and most saunas per capita, it's Finnish pride and invention to relax, almost every apartment has sauna here, myself included), when you celebrate, when you have fun and not have fun, when you eat, when you play computer games many people have beer instead of energy drink. We have many days in the year even MADE FOR consuming alcohol, like Vappu (Walpuri's Night) where it is socially acceptable to drink on the streets. There are so many examples where alcohol is present, I see it even on TV here, yes, some tv hosts drink beer on live TV and it's not even considered odd. Finnish alcohol link site says: "Use of alcohol has increased considerably in Finland over the last four decades. In 2008, statistics showed that annual alcohol consumption had risen to 8.5 litres of pure alcohol per inhabitant. The amount has quintupled since the late 1950's.".
After three weeks I didn't crave alcohol daily any more. Sometimes during Fridays I watched others drink and it kinda made me sad. I wanted to belong, I kinda missed it. It was like breaking up after a long time of abusive relationship. I recalled only the good times and had to remind myself of all the bad alcohol caused me. I rechecked my list of all the negative things alcohol caused me. There were loads of benefits in being sober from money to mental health.
Here's my list of positive things in alcohol: + Are there any? "Good" beers (NOT that good you want to ruin yourself) + Social life (Actually a negative thing as well because what kind of life is the life that needs alcohol? Can I get social without alcohol? Yes I can if I want)
Here's my list of negative things in using alcohol: - Tiredness in the morning - Can't eat breakfast - Uninterestedness (this is the worst for me). I'm not interested in new things, I can't read books, etc. - Mental health problems escalate, my anxiety gets worse, dangers of dissociation - Stomach problems - In general alcohol causes physically bad things, you just don't always feel them because it also numbs you. I had many headaches and muscle pains while drinking. You can ignore them but they are there. - Money and spending out of control. Alcohol costs a lot in Finland. One good craft beer in a pub can be easily from 15 to 20 €. So one night would cost 100 €. I lost from 500 to 1000 € per month during my craft beer habit. That's about 10000 € per year. I often bought fast food or things I didn't need when drunk. Not to mention irregular gambling while under influence. - General Anxiety Disorder. Doesn't do good. - No time for good things. Wasting time in pubs talking trash. And sleeping in. - Hangovers. Didn't have them much during "craft beer stage" but tiredness is also a hangover. Fatique, metal coma and anxiety could last for weeks and weeks without end. - Circadian rhythm. Didn't have any sleep patterns when used alcohol. I could stay up without much sleep or sleep too much. Alcohol messes up the system. - Risk of cancer. My father, grandfather and father's uncle died of cancer. - Risk of heart issues. My mom has some stuff with her heart. - Craft beer culture getting toxic and elitist - Most of the alcohol doesn't suit me (or anyone) anyway, already quit spirits back in 2013 and can't drink wine - Maybe more but here's the key negatives
So here's my story. Glad you made this far! After almost 6 months sober I have noticed some positive things:
- Better sleep - Better focus - No hangovers - Always time for my son and daughter - More time home - More time to do ANYTHING I want - More money, way more than I ever had, we had a wonderful christmas with presents - Found tea, coffee and artesan soft drinks like ginger beer again - Falling in love again with my wife - Less anxiety, GAD is controllable now - Lost some weight - Less stomach problems
Some negatives as well:
- No social life at all but I'm happy with my family

EDIT 7th December 2020: Charges pressed against Danish man!
In 1987, a West German national was murdered and another seriously injured in an attack on board Viking Sally, a cruise ship from Stockholm, Sweden to Turku, Finland. This was not the first disaster on the ship (another murder in 1986 was solved) and it would not be the last, as Viking Sally was later sold to Estline and renamed M/S Estonia, sinking in the deadliest maritime disaster in European waters.
A quick overview of the 1987 murder case can be found on Wikipedia. Many aspects of it are like straight out of a detective novel: a murder happens in the middle of the sea in an enclosed space, with the perpetrator still onboard as the investigators go around interviewing people. A bag of clothes is discovered on a nearby island, and a shoe is used to track down the city where the suspect lives.
About a month ago, the Finnish police announced that they have solved this 33-year-old cold case (source is the Finnish Broadcasting Company; available in Finnish and in Swedish). The case was passed over to prosecutors, who will now determine whether the available evidence fulfills the criteria of a first-degree murder charge. If it doesn't, and is only enough for a second-degree murder charge, the case will not be moved to prosecution because the statute of limitations has expired (20 years for second-degree murder). First-degree murder has no statute of limitations.
Now, there was another famous, old, unsolved mystery case in the Nordic countries that was purportedly solved this year, the murder of Olof Palme, so I thought it'd be good to underline the key differences between these two announcements.
In the Palme case, the conclusion was essentially “we have determined the person who is most likely the suspect, and that person is dead”.
In the Viking Sally case, however, the conclusion is that they know who did it, the person is alive and they can prove the person did it. The only unclear thing about this case, according to the police, is whether it fulfills the criteria of a first-degree murder and can still be prosecuted.
The YLE article linked previously contains a great long-form text of the events on the 28th of July 1987 for anyone interested in the events, people and the investigation process in detail. I took the liberty of translating it here, with linked pictures:

Background
The story involved three West German youths on an Interrail trip: Klaus Schelkle (20), Bettina Taxis (22) and Thomas Schmid (21). Schelkle and Schmid’s friendship went years back, having both played and enthusiastically supported football in Stuttgart. Schelkle and Taxis had met each other at a night club and had been dating for a little less than a year at the time of their Interrail trip. From the very beginning of the trip, they had their eyes set on visiting Finland: they traveled to Stockholm and spent only a single night there before boarding Viking Sally, intending to reach the city of Turku by the next morning. In Turku, they had planned on exploring the city, drinking beer and visiting Ruisrock, the second-oldest rock festival in Europe. The festival would be headlined by Peer Günt and Pretenders. From Turku, their trip was to continue towards Lapland and Norway.
Klaus Schelkle and Bettina Taxis in Stockholm the day before boarding Viking Sally.
In the 1992 book Poliisi kertoo (‘The Police tells’, essentially case stories from the police), a chapter written by criminal commissioner Eino Kivimäki is widely regarded as the most accurate and well-corroborated source on the events that transpired on the 28th of July 1987. The YLE article speculates that some of the information must have changed decisively to prompt the re-opening of the investigation in 2016. Nevertheless, the following description of events is largely based on Kivimäki’s text.
Fitting with the sense of youthful adventure an Interrail trip often involves, Schelkle and Taxis had decided to sleep outside on the ship’s deck in sleeping bags. Not wanting to bother the couple, Schmid had decided to stay indoors and keep an eye on everyone’s luggage.
Schelkle and Taxis were described as more sociable on the cruise than Schmid, who wasn’t particularly interested in the cruise ship experience in general. At one point during the evening, Schelkle and Taxis came to tell Schmid that they had met “a fun Finnish guy” who spoke excellent German. This “Finnish guy” was a businessman working in the automotive industry, while Schelkle himself was studying to become a car mechanic. Due to their common interests, they had tried to visit the car deck of the cruise line but found it to be locked. Having decided to try their luck again in the morning, the two men exchanged contact information during the night.

The attack
At approximately 1 in the morning, Schelkle and Taxis woke up the already-sleeping Schmid to retrieve their sleeping bags. The couple headed to the rear portion of the ninth deck, to the helicopter platform. The spot they chose for sleeping was shielded by a plexiglass and was dark due to a broken light fixture.
The West German youths were not the only international travellers on board. A group of international scouts headed to the Nordic LDS Jamboree (a camp for members of the church of the Latter Day Saints) had been wandering around the ship all night, reportedly to the annoyance of other passengers. At approximately 3:45, a trio of Danish scouts made their way to the helicopter deck. Initially not seeing anyone else on the deck, they eventually noticed movement in the dark and identified two persons by the air conduction vents.
Here is a crude reconstruction of the scene and location where the three Danish scouts found Schelkle and Taxis.
At first, the scouts thought the two people were incredibly drunk passengers - not an uncommon sight on Baltic cruise ships in the 1980s, and not an uncommon sight on Baltic cruise ships in 2020 either. One of the Danish people eventually decided to have a closer look at the two persons, only to find both of them covered in blood, with blood also covering large portions of the deck. Both Schelkle and Taxis were able to move but were seriously injured. The scouts were trained in first aid, but did not have adequate skills to deal with injuries of such a massive scale. They contacted the information desk of the ship who alarmed a security guard to the crime scene. The security guard has been heard as a witness in the re-opened investigation and did not want to be interviewed for the YLE article.
There have been conflicting reports over the years on the murder weapon and the condition in which Schelkle and Taxis were found: it was reported that they were found still in their sleeping bags, but this has not been confirmed. The murder weapon was confirmed as a blunt weapon, but media initially reported that the murder weapon was a fireman’s axe. Finally, it was initially reported that Taxis’ finger had been cut off, but the police or emergency responders did not report this. The confirmed fact is that they suffered blunt trauma to the head.
Schelkle and Taxis tried to communicate with the first responders, but they could not be understood. This could be because of their head trauma or simply because no German speakers were present. They were taken to the medical ward of the ship, and straight away their cranial injuries were deemed so severe that the sea emergency and rescue centre of Turku was contacted. A helicopter was sent to retrieve the couple. Taxis was reportedly delirious during the helicopter ride, constantly mistaking the emergency responders as attackers and attempting to shield herself from them. Schelkle had to be administered CPR during the ride. At 5:48 they arrived at the Turku University hospital, where Schelkle was pronounced dead. The helicopter team picked up three crime scene investigators and one technical inspector and headed back to the cruise ship.

The investigation
The investigators were unable to find any witnesses. Thomas Schmid had woken up to the sound of the helicopter during the night, but had falled back asleep. He was interviewed by the police early in the morning. The police did not tell him what had happened to his friends until he had been questioned over and over, and had grown so frustrated and worried that he refused to answer any more questions unless he was told what had happened.
A cruise ship is an atypical crime scene because the perpetrator was almost certainly still onboard. A murder had happened on this same ship the year before, and the passengers had already left the ship by the time the police were able to start their investigation. Learning from their past mistake, the police took a very thorough approach to the investigation: they decided to videotape and gather the contact information of everyone on board. While they did manage to videotape everyone, the task of collecting everyone’s personal information turned out to be so time-consuming that they eventually decided to not collect the information of elderly passengers, children, or people travelling with small children.
The initial onboard investigation determined a 26-year-old Englishman as the primary person of interest. He was found sleeping on the floor inside the ship with blood on his clothes. He claimed it was from a nosebleed. He was on his way to Finland to meet a woman he had previously met on a kibbutz in Israel. He had already been on a cruise ship from Stockholm to Helsinki, but had been denied from disembarking due to his “disheveled, drug addict-like appearance” and was returned to Stockholm. His presence on this cruise ship was his second attempt to enter Finland, which further contributed to him being considered a person of interest. During the night of the attack, he had had a wild night with a group of five Finns. Three of the five Finns had been gambling in Stockholm and lost all their money, and were given tickets back to Finland by the Stockholm social security services. This group of six - the Englishman and the five Finns - had spent the night on the ship enjoying meals at the restaurant and drinking alcohol in various places all over the cruise ship. When the cruise ship reached the harbour in Turku, the group of six were all taken directly to the police station.
The Finns were cleared of suspicion early on and were released. The Englishman was interviewed several times (the police initially had trouble finding a criminal investigator who spoke English well enough to conduct the interviews), but he maintained his innocence. He was kept in jail for two weeks during the investigation, the maximum time allowed without pressing charges. The criminal laboratory examined the blood on the Englishman’s shirt, and determined that it was his own - although it has later been noted that the technology in 1987 could not rule it with absolute certainty.
With no other evidence against the Englishman, he was released. He lived in Finland for several years after the event, but could not be reached by YLE for this article.
The investigation was exceptionally large and was allocated a great deal of resources, including the latest technology: the computer. Early on in the investigation, the police ruled out robbery and sexual assault as motives. Their best assessment of a possible motive was “an insignificant one”, committed by a mentally ill person or someone suffering from a severe personality disorder.
In 1987, the technology available to crime investigations was still relatively poor. CCTVs were relatively rare and image quality was poor. DNA testing only became a standard, systematic technique in the early 1990s. Blood sample analysis could primarily only determine blood group and whether the blood came from an animal or a human. Cruise ships did not properly collect and store passenger information. Passenger interviews remained the main source of information.
Bettina Taxis survived the attack. She was unconscious for weeks and did not regain consciousness until well after she was transferred to a West German hospital. After a year-long bureaucratic process, Finnish investigators were able to interview her, but she was unable to recall anything from the day of the attack.

Time passes
Over the next couple of years, the police were looking for several people. Two separate people, referred to as “beanie man” by media based on their description (both had worn beanie hats that stood out), were sought after by the police. One of them was reached in Western Germany and was ruled out as a suspect, but the other one was never reached. This particular “beanie man” was 30 years old, approximately 175 centimetres tall and dark-haired. His appearance, in addition to the beanie hat, was described as disheveled, and he spoke to himself in English. He had been seen carrying something canvas-y (unclear whether this refers to a canvas bag containing something, or some other object that was made of canvas).
A month after the attack, two fishermen landed on the small island of Lilla Björnholm along the cruise ship’s route. The island is uninhabited, surrounded by cliffs and covered in forest. The fishermen noticed a black trash bag on the shore and found clothes inside. Not realising a possible connection to the cruise ship murder, they left the bag on the island. Upon returning to the island in the summer of 1988, the fishermen noticed the bag still in the same place they had discovered it the previous August. This time, they took the bag with them and brought it to the police.
Here is an image of the island where the bag was found, as well as an image of the discovered clothes dressed on a mannequin.
Among the clothes was a Finnish-made Umberto Loofer shoe. The police discovered that the shoes had been sold by a shoe store in Turku, in the year 1985 or 1986. The other clothes found were beige shorts, a red sweater, and a grey working glove with the initials H.K.. The police concluded that based on the location of the trash bag as well as “certain technical investigations”, it seemed likely that the clothes had been on board Viking Sally.
The police investigated well into the 1990s. Passengers caught on the videotape were looked for all over Europe. Some people didn’t report themselves to the police because they felt they had nothing to contribute (this was said by two Swedish youths who didn’t report themselves but were found anyway), whereas some people avoided contacting the police because they considered their cruise trip “unsavoury” or embarrassing for personal, but non-criminal reasons. (The article does not give an example of such a reason.)
Eventually, the case went cold.

Recent developments
The investigation stayed cold until the year 2016. The police has not revealed what happened that prompted the re-opening of the investigation. Finally, in September, the lead investigator announced that the case has been solved. However, a legal problem presents itself: in Finland, homicides are classified as kuolemantuottamus, surma, tappo or murha depending on the premeditation and the act itself. Close enough approximations are the American classifications of involuntary manslaughter, voluntary manslaughter, second-degree murder and first-degree murder, respectively. Murha is equivalent to first-degree murder, while tappo is second-degree.
A tappo has a statute of limitations of 20 years, whereas a murha has no statute of limitations. In the 1990s, the case was considered a tappo, but in the early 2000s it was changed to a murha (i.e. a greater degree of premeditation was assumed). If currently available evidence can only support a tappo charge against the person the police have identified, he cannot be prosecuted anymore as the crime has expired in 2007. However, if there is enough evidence to support a murha charge, the police can and certainly will prosecute. The case is currently pending charge considerations to determine exactly this. However, until the charge consideration is finished, the police will not reveal the name, gender, nationality of age of the suspect. They confirm that the suspect did not know the victims beforehand, and has been interviewed several times, but has not been taken into custody. The suspect denies his/her involvement.
The prosecutor expects the charge consideration to be finished by the end of this year.
One thing we know for certain: no new crime scene evidence has been uncovered, because the cruise ship sank in 1994 in the deadliest maritime disaster in Europe.
The rest of the article concerns the life of Thomas Schmid after the attack. He was cleared of suspicion early on in the investigation (and re-cleared in the 2016 investigation), and now lives in Stuttgart with his family. He is hopeful about the result of the investigation, and hopes it brings some closure to Klaus Schelkle’s parents.

(Again, if you understand Swedish or Finnish and thought there was a poor translation or a misunderstanding in the text, please let me know!)

Personal thoughts

Man, I hope they have enough evidence to charge the person with first-degree murder. I don’t know what information they can reveal if they conclude the crime has passed the statute of limitations, but the YLE article says that criminal commissioner Kivimäki did not want to give an interview until the investigation material is published, out of respect to the current lead investigator. This would imply that the evidence, results and overall course of the investigation will be made public. To some degree, in any case. Maybe someone here knows more about this?
I’ll definitely post an update if and when this case gets an update, hopefully within the next couple of months!
And boy, was that cruise ship cursed or what? Two separate murder incidents and a deadly sinking?

Luckbox CEO Says Move is "Significant Boost" for the Betting Sector
Real Luck Group Ltd. (TSXV: LUCK) (the "Company") and its subsidiary companies doing business as "Luckbox" (the "Group"), a provider of legal, real money esports betting, has welcomed the news that gambling apps will be available for download in the Google Play Store in 15 countries.
Google's updated policy, which can be found at https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developeanswe10318510, states that starting March 1, 2021, gambling apps will be available for download on Android devices in the U.S., Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Spain, and Sweden. This expands the geographical reach of Google Play Store gambling apps beyond Brazil, France, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, countries where in-app gambling is already available through the Google Play Store.
Quentin Martin, Real Luck Group Ltd. CEO, said: "Google's addition of 15 nations (for a total of 19) that can now download gambling apps is a significant boost for the igaming sector. As an operator offering wagering on esports and sports via our Luckbox platform, this is a positive catalyst for the mobile betting sector, as it facilitates further player uptake in a responsible manner and signals the widening global acceptance of gaming."
According to the European Gaming & Betting Association, mobile betting was expected to account for 45.6% of online gambling revenue in 2020 and to reach 50.8% by 2022, surpassing the use of desktop for the first time. This trend is expected to continue, with mobile betting projected to reach a 58.2% share in 2025. Luckbox is a bespoke platform built to be mobile friendly with about 50% of our traffic coming via mobile users. The addition of a mobile app allows operators an improved connection with customers, such as real-time notifications, deeper integration with devices and additional security features.
Disclaimer: this is not investment advice, please do your own research!

Link to Previous Tales From 2+2: Poker player steals $1m+ chips and tries to sell it on 2+2 poker forums
More Tales From 2+2: A Very Controversial $70k prop bet
Tales from 2+2: Homelessness, Grinding and the Biggest Shot of a Grinder’s Life: The Jared Huggins Story

The Blossoming of TV Poker

The Year is 2006. Online poker is thriving. Partypoker has the highest traffic of any poker site but Pokerstars are gaining new players quickly with aggressive marketing strategies. Lots of poker sites are investing heavily into marketing and one key place to channel their advertising budget is TV. New innovations, improved graphics and increasing funding meant that poker TV is at an all-time peak of popularity.
40% of the the 2006 WSOP Main Event’s attendance is from online sites and poker sites are offering large amounts of cash for players on TV to wear an advertising patch. According to Dan Goldman’s blog, Pokerstars spent over $730,000 on WSOP players’ gift bags. The WSOP is seeing more TV time and this year the $50k HORSE event is added to the TV schedule alongside the WSOP main event. This year’s $50k WSOP HORSE final table saw some huge names including Chip Reese, Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius and Doyle Brunson.

The Path of a New Player

In Finland, Mikael Paisting is watching the 2006 WSOP on TV. He enjoys watching poker broadcasts and is fascinated by the game. It’s a very common story for players to catch an interest by watching poker TV and sign up with to one of the many poker sites available. He chooses to deposit on Partypoker. Mikael is a committed learner and player. He reads several poker books from well-known authors such as Dan Harrington and David Sklansky. He also watches many training videos. Like many players starting in online poker he begins at the microstakes cash tables.
Microstakes are a rite of passage for many online poker players. The limits range from 2nl to 10nl, so the standard buy in is $2-10. Some will play microstakes for weeks, months or even years improving their game and increasing their bankroll so they can move up to small stakes, 25nl and above. Some players see the microstakes as a job and play as many tables as they can to eke out a living wage. Some players have never played microstakes and skip it entirely for higher stakes. Mikael starts to play and doesn’t do well, this is normal for many beginners, even those who study. However, over the next few weeks Mikael continues to lose. Months go by and Mikael still hasn’t turned a profit. He discovers problems with tilt and often takes his frustration out in the chat box. An example of his rage:

Paisting:THAT IS NOT NORMAL OMG!! JUST UNBELIEVABLE

Mikael doesn’t play 10nl very often and spends the majority of him time playing 2nl and 5nl. He continues to multitable cash games on Partypoker but he just can’t win. He starts to lose big, thousands of dollars, mostly at 2nl which is known as the softest cash game on the internet.

Getting Noticed

Mikael continues to play long sessions over the next five years, he claims to play 5-7 days a week for 4-8 hours a day. By 2011 he had played 2 and a half million hands while playing 6 to 9 cash tables at one time. Mikael is still mostly playing 2nl and is down a colossal amount: $7000. Mikael has been suffering from major tilt problems and has a very wild and noticeable style of playing microstakes. He starts to get noticed on 2+2, a very popular poker forum. A player posts a link to his PTR graph, a site which tracks online cash games. They are shocked at his losses over so many hands:

yegor: wow such a massive fail
he played 2.5m hands at 2nl and 5nl and he's losing
Donkey111: I remember him from my 2NL days.
often goes on some massive tilt sessions and spews like 20 BI in 500 hands by shoving any 2 cards preflop.

He even gets hate from his PTR account where he is ridiculed on his profile comments, he also replies:

VELAir26: Spend your time with family, friends or other hobbies instead
Paisting: im fine with this you stupid idiot

Mikael continues to play his reckless and tilting style over the years. By 2014, he has been playing for 8 years and is down five figures at microstakes; he starts to look for excuses for how much he has lost. He posts a thread on 2+2 detailing how he feels that he wins at the start of the month and then inevitably starts to lose. He asks how he can take legal action against Partypoker. His fellow posters tease him:

5thStreethog: Did the thought ever cross your mind that it might be possible that the reason you cant beat NL2 in over a million hands might be because you arent very good at poker?

An Attempt at Redemption

2019 comes and Mikael Paisting has been playing microstakes for 13 years, and steadily losing a lot of money. He got a new computer in late 2018 and has been grinding away on it. Mikael is getting mentioned more on 2+2 and he is well known on the tables of Partypoker as he drops stack after stack. Many players on Partypoker furiously try to get on his tables to call his tilt shoves; when Mikael is present other player’s stacks can get as high as $100 at 2nl as he shoves buy in after buy in to button steals. Some were said to be using seating scripts to instantly be placed on a table with Paisting. At this point he is feeling very low. But despite years of losing money and insane tilting he is determined to improve. Mikael is aware of his losses and has a fierce desire to make back the money he has lost since he’s started tracking on his new PC.
He decides get help and he looks to 2+2, the very same forum that had mocked him over the last decade. He logs in as Paisting, his last name. He starts a new thread, types out a post and chooses a title: 'Biggest loser in online poker history wants to grind $16k'. He posts this thread in the sub-forum Poker Goals & Challenges, a place where players post their goals and try to update their thread with their progress. He posts graphs of his losses from his database on his PC. He starts the thread by posting some shocking graphs of $8700 lost at 2nl, $6000 lost at 5nl and $800 lost at 10nl. At 2nl he had an incredible rate of -170BB each 100 hands. The final graph of his microstakes losses posted show $15,000 lost over 365,000 hands. An average loss of $75 a day.
The 2+2 poker community are stunned by the graphs:

HorseofHell: I'm actually shocked it's possible to lose this much at 2nl
Mahsjdj: This can't be real can it?

Mikael posts about the hard work he’s put into poker and mentions that has watched videos, read many instructional books and is honest with his astounding losses:

Paisting: I've lost literally all my money including all my life savings to online poker. I want to try one last time to win those money back and little bit of extra. That's why $16k. What I need is support and guiding.

The community react to his plan to grind all the money back at microstakes:

Fodersneso: This is really disturbing.
Why on earth would you try to grind this all back? Losing at this rate is traumatizing. You're going to grind out 3000 BIs @nl5 now or what's the plan? Really curious how you think you can turn this pile of insanity around...

The community show disbelief and doubt that his story is real but several posters claim that what he says is true. He has been active in Finnish forums for more than 10 years and players starts to share hand histories and stories about his playstyle. He posts about his regret of picking the game up:

Paisting: Never had a winning week in 13 years.
If it were possible to go back ten years I would say to myself "Do not never play single one hand!"

He then goes on to tell 2+2 posters a disturbing source of his funds for his staggering 2nl losses:

Paisting: I've taken huge amount of fast loans.

He sheds a little light into his personal life:

Paisting: My age and relationships has nothing to do with this. But not working, no kids or wife and middle aged. What I have is time to play.
I get a little unemployment benefit that goes straight to the rent. My eating costs are very little because I'm only eating one meal per day. There are times when I must take more fast loans if need of clothes, unexpected bills, sickness etc. That's why getting back those $16k is so important to me.
No disability, never played anything else than poker or lottery when pots are bigger, maybe 5 times in year. Playing poker does not give me any excitement or I'm not cheering won pots.

Posters try to give him strategy advice, they try to persuade him time and time again that shoving 100+ blinds to a minsteal isn’t a good idea. Some others question his sanity and tell him to quit:

FazendeiroBH: Not trolling, I´m actually serious here. You lost an absurd amount of money playing the easiest stake in the world (nl2). You keep losing doing the same faulty strategy. No book ever said you should jam 100 bb preflop rfi. It´s quite obvious there is something wrong with you and your brain, and the more you delay seeking professional care for your mental problems, the worst it´s gonna be for you.

Paitsing updates his thread with highlight hands from his cash sessions. He seems to cherry pick hands to post and will only post hands where he loses all ins as a 70-95% favourite. He delusion leads him to blame the site, his luck and the other micro grinders. He often writes about specific players and gives his opinion on how badly they play. He often quotes their HUD stats and wide calling ranges while ignoring that they are probably adjusting heavily to his own playstyle. Some time passes and he discloses that he has lost almost $500 at 2nl since starting the thread three weeks ago.
He updates his followers with the first monthly graph of the thread from his 2nl play in April 2019. He plays for 90 hours in April and his average daily loss is $50, 25 buy ins each day. 2+2 players start to analyse the graph. They notice that there are several breakeven spots where he may be playing reasonable poker but also huge 150 buy in downswings, some drops in the graph are so steep that he is losing about a buy in every 5 hands for periods of hundreds of hands. He says:

Paitsing: Only trying to get my money back from guys who are playing nl2 forever and never moving up. When I started poker long time ago I tought it's exciting to read watch videos if it gives me more money. After 2 years figured out it's just sitting on computer like in work and if I'm someday +-0 never ever playing this stupid game. This is like war.

888 Poker - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
BTN: 250.5 BB
SB (Paisting): 425.5 BB
BB: 101.5 BB
UTG: 100 BB
MP: 106.5 BB
CO: 84.5 BB
Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) BTN has Ad Qs
fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to 2 BB, Paisting raises to 425.5 BB and is all-in, fold, BTN calls 248.5 BB and is all-in
Flop: (502 BB, 2 players) Kh 4s 4c
Turn: (502 BB, 2 players) 3h
River: (502 BB, 2 players) Jc
BTN shows Ad Qs (One Pair, Fours)

Paisting shows 5s Js (Two Pair, Jacks and Fours)

Paisting wins 471 BB<
Later in the thread Paisting would reveal his line of thinking during hands like these; a poster asked why he though 3 betting hands like J5 was a good idea. Paisting replies:

Paisting: If you don't want them to run over you, you must do something. Blind play is very important and you can't let them run over you. When 80+ habit stealer gets shoves straight to his face he must learn at some point that I'm not giving blinds.

Many tried to reason with him and show him clearly why this was wrong, he not only refuted their strategy but would argue against them, often citing his opponent’s HUD stats.
Later on in the thread Mikael posts horrifying news. He explains that he didn’t transfer hands from his old computer to his new computer. The graphs he posted at the start of the thread only showed the tip of the iceberg. He reveals that $16k loss from the graphs was from just 7 months of play!:

Paisting: That 16k is in 209 days and in about 1 year as you can see from the first post. Big part of my losings has left to hard drive of my old crashed computer. That's past and I don't wanna think about it anymore. Main goal is this database I have here in my computer. But yes what I have been repeating many times, moving to 888 poker has sky rocketed my losses although I can play only 6 tables compared to party's 9 tables.

Posters speculate that his lifetime microstakes losses probably amount to six figures:

SpinMeRightRound: I mean if he's lost $20k in the last year, and he's been doing this for more than 10 years, he may have lost $200k or more.

In late 2019, Paisting claims that there was a ring of players were colluding against him. He goes on to say that the new site he plays on, 888, were asking for hand histories from certain players. He showed emails of his communications and posted that 8 players had had their account frozen. He also shows screenshots that his account is temporarily frozen during the investigation. Posters speculated:

CrunchyBlack: Pretty sure they think you're chip dumping lmao
.isolated: They think you're chip dumping to him. Funniest. Thing. Ever. The irony here is nearly palpable.

2020: The Struggle Continues

At the end of the year Paisting posts his 2019 graphs. He says that he hasn’t had a winning week yet and he’s still committed to making back 2019’s losses. His graphs show down 12k from 320k hands of 2nl in 2019.
In January 2020 he continues to post regularly and makes comments about him hunting down players worse than him:

Paisting: When you hunt really bad player (yes enzet there are plenty of worst player than me on 888 look those hand histories really carefully) hours and hours and wait good hand just to site let them to suck out it is affecting your game really badly.

He posts about his continuing struggle to win back the $16k:

Paisting: I have years dedicated for this project and anything back from that amount is winning to me. At this point it’s impossible to make any profit because of horrible suckouts.

He also posts about the high interest loans he’s taken out:

Paisting: I have huge amounts of loans that are basically all taken for poker. I don't eat much and all my other costs are very low.
And because of those loans I must get back so much money that is possible and these suck outs must stop.

February 2020 arrives and he posts his January chart, the worst posted yet. He takes a gigantic loss of $1,550 at an eye-watering rate of 210bb/100 hands. Often when he posts monthly graphs he would highlight that he ran a few buy ins below EV when he would be down hundreds of buy ins for the month.
The months pass and the cycle continues. Paisting posts the usual bad beats, posters berate him and try to give him advice and Paisting resists their efforts. Here is one of many similar hands posted in February:

888Poker, Hold'em No Limit - $0.01/$0.02 - 6 players
UTG: $1.46 (73 bb) Paisting (MP): $7.45 (373 bb) CO: $15.44 (772 bb) BU: $2.00 (100 bb) SB: $3.47 (174 bb) BB: $2.00 (100 bb)
Pre-Flop: ($0.03) 1 fold, Paisting(MP) raises to $7.45 (all-in), CO calls $7.45, 3 players fold
Flop: ($14.93) 6c 7c 4d (2 players, 1 all-in)
Turn: ($14.93) Ts (2 players, 1 all-in)
River: ($14.93) 8h (2 players, 1 all-in)
Total pot: $14.93 (Rake: $0.93)
Showdown: Paisting (MP) shows 7d Tc (two pair, Tens and Sevens) (CO) shows Js Jc (a pair of Jacks) Paisting (MP) wins $14

March comes and the regular monthly graph is posted. The uploaded graph shows is he down $1900 or 950 buy ins for last month. Mikael refutes that he is a gambling addict:

Paisting: 888 has given many 10 dollar bonuses to me play slots. I have never played them and in fact my account has 20 dollars freeplay bonus to play their slots. I will not use those money now or in future. So that's gambling addict to you.

April and May roll by and the monthly graphs are posted. He played fewer hands than normal, 43,000. But is down $1,250, all at 2nl.
In June he posts the usual monthly graph with -$1900 and it’s the lowest win rate he’s posted before, a colossal -335b/100hands, the graph has some alarmingly steep downswings with one section where he loses $500 in 1000 hands. That’s a loss of one buy in every 4 hands. Getting these monthly updates shows how quickly he loses money at 2nl and collaborates with earlier estimations that he is likely down more than $100k at microstakes over the past 14 years. Approximations indicate that Mikael has paid over $20k in rake to poker sites over the years.

The End, for Now

Mikael is still playing microstakes to this day. His poker story isn’t over yet but so far it is a sad one. My previous two Tales from 2+2 stories had mostly happy endings but not this one. This story is like a car falling down a cliff and it hasn’t hit the bottom yet.
Let this story be a lesson that poker isn’t for everyone. Players with addiction or mental issues should reconsider if the game is best for their lives. Serious poker players should consider bankroll management and how tilt affects their winrate if they do choose to play.
Seek help if you think you or others need it.
Original thread (Still active)

Link to my online poker HobbyDrama posts: Poker player steals $1m+ chips and tries to sell it on 2+2 poker forums
A Very Controversial $70k prop bet
Poker Forum Help Homeless Player Attempt The Shot of a Lifetime

The Blossoming of TV Poker

The Year is 2006. Online poker is thriving. Partypoker has the highest traffic of any poker site but Pokerstars are gaining new players quickly with aggressive marketing strategies. Lots of poker sites are investing heavily into marketing and one key place to channel their advertising budget is TV. New innovations, improved graphics and increasing funding meant that poker TV is at an all-time peak of popularity.
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the biggest event in the poker calendar, it features many poker tournaments culminating in the prestigious $10k Main Event tournament. The Main Event is a popular televised tournament. 40% of the the 2006 WSOP Main Event’s attendance is from online sites and poker sites are offering large amounts of cash for players on TV to wear an advertising patch. According to Dan Goldman’s blog, Pokerstars spent over $730,000 on WSOP players’ gift bags. The WSOP is seeing more TV time and this year an extra event is added to the TV schedule alongside the WSOP main event.

The Path of a New Player

In Finland, Mikael Paisting is watching the 2006 WSOP on TV. He enjoys watching poker broadcasts and is fascinated by the game. It’s a very common story for players to catch an interest by watching poker TV and sign up with to one of the many poker sites available. He chooses to deposit on Partypoker. Mikael is a committed learner and player. He reads several poker books from well-known authors. He also watches many training videos. Like many players starting in online poker he begins at the microstakes cash tables.
The standard buy in for microstakes online is $2-10, if a player plays microstakes for an hour they would probably win or lose a few dollars. 2nl means the big blind is 2 cents and standard buy in is $2, the standard buy in at 5nl is $5 and 10nl is $10.
Microstakes are a rite of passage for many online poker players. Some will play microstakes for weeks, months or even years improving their game and increasing their bankroll so they can move up to small stakes, 25nl and above. Some players see the microstakes as a job and play as many tables as they can to eke out a living wage. Some players have never played microstakes and skip it entirely for higher stakes. Mikael starts to play and doesn’t do well, this is normal for many beginners, even those who study. However, over the next few weeks Mikael continues to lose. Months go by and Mikael still hasn’t turned a profit. He discovers problems with tilt (when players get angry and it negatively affects their play) and often takes his frustration out in the chat box. An example of his rage:

Paisting:THAT IS NOT NORMAL OMG!! JUST UNBELIEVABLE

Mikael doesn’t play 10nl very often and spends the majority of him time playing 2nl and 5nl, buying in for $2-5 at a time. He continues to multitable cash games on Partypoker but he just can’t win. He starts to lose big, thousands of dollars, mostly at 2nl which is known as the softest cash game on the internet.

Getting Noticed

Mikael continues to play long sessions over the next five years, he claims to play 5-7 days a week for 4-8 hours a day. By 2011 he had played 2 and a half million hands while playing 6 to 9 cash tables at one time. Mikael is still mostly playing 2nl and is down a colossal amount: $7000. Remember that he is mostly playing 2nl, with a buy in of $2, even losing $1000 at 2nl is unheard of. Mikael has been suffering from major tilt problems and has a very wild and noticeable style of playing microstakes. He starts to get noticed on 2+2, a very popular poker forum. A player posts a link to his PTR graph, a site which tracks online cash games. They are shocked at his losses over so many hands:

yegor: wow such a massive fail
he played 2.5m hands at 2nl and 5nl and he's losing
Donkey111: I remember him from my 2NL days.
often goes on some massive tilt sessions and spews like 20 BI [buy ins] in 500 hands by shoving any 2 cards preflop.

He even gets hate from his PTR account where he is ridiculed on his profile comments, he also replies:

VELAir26: Spend your time with family, friends or other hobbies instead
Paisting: im fine with this you stupid idiot

5thStreethog: Did the thought ever cross your mind that it might be possible that the reason you cant beat NL2 in over a million hands might be because you arent very good at poker?

An Attempt at Redemption

2019 comes and Mikael Paisting has been playing microstakes for 13 years, and steadily losing a lot of money. He got a new computer in late 2018 and has been grinding away on it. Mikael is getting mentioned more on 2+2 and he is well known on the tables of Partypoker as he drops stack after stack. Many players on Partypoker furiously try to get on his tables to call his tilt shoves; when Mikael is present other player’s stacks can get as high as $100 at 2nl as he shoves buy in after buy in in bad spots. Some were said to be using seating scripts to instantly be placed on a table with Paisting. At this point he is feeling very low. But despite years of losing money and insane tilting he is determined to improve. Mikael is aware of his losses and has a fierce desire to make back the money he has lost since he’s started tracking on his new PC.
He decides get help and he looks to 2+2, the very same forum that had mocked him over the last decade. He logs in as Paisting, his last name. He starts a new thread, types out a post and chooses a title: 'Biggest loser in online poker history wants to grind $16k'. He posts this thread in the sub-forum Poker Goals & Challenges, a place where players post their goals and try to update their thread with their progress. He posts graphs of his losses from his database on his PC. He starts the thread by posting some shocking graphs of $8700 lost at 2nl, $6000 lost at 5nl and $800 lost at 10nl. At 2nl he had an incredible rate of losing an average of $75 a day. The final graph of his microstakes losses posted show $15,000 lost over 365,000 hands.
The 2+2 poker community are stunned by the graphs:

HorseofHell: I'm actually shocked it's possible to lose this much at 2nl
Mahsjdj: This can't be real can it?

Mikael posts about the hard work he’s put into poker and mentions that has watched videos, read many instructional books and is honest with his astounding losses:

Paisting: I've lost literally all my money including all my life savings to online poker. I want to try one last time to win those money back and little bit of extra. That's why $16k. What I need is support and guiding.

The community react to his plan to grind all the money back at microstakes:

Fodersneso: This is really disturbing.
Why on earth would you try to grind this all back? Losing at this rate is traumatizing. You're going to grind out 3000 BIs [buy ins] @nl5 now or what's the plan? Really curious how you think you can turn this pile of insanity around...

Paisting: Never had a winning week in 13 years.
If it were possible to go back ten years I would say to myself "Do not never play single one hand!"

He then goes on to tell 2+2 posters a disturbing source of his funds for his staggering 2nl losses:

Paisting: I've taken huge amount of fast loans.

He sheds a little light into his personal life:

Paisting: My age and relationships has nothing to do with this. But not working, no kids or wife and middle aged. What I have is time to play.
I get a little unemployment benefit that goes straight to the rent. My eating costs are very little because I'm only eating one meal per day. There are times when I must take more fast loans if need of clothes, unexpected bills, sickness etc. That's why getting back those $16k is so important to me.
No disability, never played anything else than poker or lottery when pots are bigger, maybe 5 times in year. Playing poker does not give me any excitement or I'm not cheering won pots.

Posters try to give him strategy advice, they try to persuade him time and time again that his strategy isn't working. Some others question his sanity and tell him to quit:

FazendeiroBH: Not trolling, I´m actually serious here. You lost an absurd amount of money playing the easiest stake in the world (nl2). You keep losing doing the same faulty strategy. It´s quite obvious there is something wrong with you and your brain, and the more you delay seeking professional care for your mental problems, the worst it´s gonna be for you.

Paitsing updates his thread with highlight hands from his cash sessions. He seems to cherry pick hands to post and will only post hands where he loses all ins as a 70-95% favourite. He delusion leads him to blame the site, his luck and the other micro grinders. He often writes about specific players and gives his opinion on how badly they play. Some time passes and he discloses that he has lost almost $500 at 2nl since starting the thread three weeks ago.
He updates his followers with the first monthly graph of the thread from his 2nl play in April 2019. He plays for 90 hours in April and his average daily loss is $50, 25 buyins each day. 2+2 players start to analyse the graph. They notice that there are several breakeven spots where he may be playing reasonable poker but also huge 150 buy in downswings, some drops in the graph are so steep that he is losing about a buy in every 5 hands for periods of hundreds of hands. He says:

Paitsing: Only trying to get my money back from guys who are playing nl2 forever and never moving up. When I started poker long time ago I tought it's exciting to read watch videos if it gives me more money. After 2 years figured out it's just sitting on computer like in work and if I'm someday +-0 never ever playing this stupid game. This is like war.

The thread goes on like this for almost a year. The thread repeats itself over and over. He will post a few selective bad beats, ignore good advice and berate his microstakes tablemates. A fellow microstakes grinder makes his first appearance in the thread: 6betpot. 6Betpot would play at Paisting's tables and often win many buy ins, 6Betpot would go on to post highly contrasting hand histories to the unlucky hands that Paisting posts which shows the hands Mikael was not posting. Some players would criticize 6Betpot for predatory behavior but 6Betpot would maintain that he would try to persuade Paisting to stop playing in a crazy manner.
Many tried to reason with Mikael and show him clearly why this was wrong, he not only refuted their strategy but would argue against them.
Later on in the thread Mikael posts horrifying news. He explains that he didn’t transfer hands from his old computer to his new computer. The graphs he posted at the start of the thread only showed the tip of the iceberg. He reveals that $16k loss from the graphs was from just 7 months of play!:

Paisting: That 16k is in 209 days and in about 1 year as you can see from the first post. Big part of my losings has left to hard drive of my old crashed computer. That's past and I don't wanna think about it anymore. Main goal is this database I have here in my computer. But yes what I have been repeating many times, moving to 888 poker has sky rocketed my losses although I can play only 6 tables compared to party's 9 tables.

Posters speculate that his lifetime microstakes losses probably amount to six figures:

SpinMeRightRound: I mean if he's lost $20k in the last year, and he's been doing this for more than 10 years, he may have lost $200k or more.

2020: The Struggle Continues

Paisting: When you hunt really bad player (yes enzet there are plenty of worst player than me on 888 look those hand histories really carefully) hours and hours and wait good hand just to site let them to suck out it is affecting your game really badly.

He posts about his continuing struggle to win back the $16k:

Paisting: I have years dedicated for this project and anything back from that amount is winning to me. At this point it’s impossible to make any profit because of horrible suckouts.

He also posts about the high interest loans he’s taken out:

Paisting: I have huge amounts of loans that are basically all taken for poker. I don't eat much and all my other costs are very low.
And because of those loans I must get back so much money that is possible and these suck outs must stop.

February 2020 arrives and he posts his January chart, the worst posted yet. He takes a gigantic loss of $1,550 at an eye-watering rate.
The months pass and the cycle continues. Paisting posts the usual unlucky hands, posters berate him and try to give him advice and Paisting resists their efforts. Here is one of many similar hands posted in February, this hand shows him making an awful play and raising huge with a weak hand:

888Poker, Hold'em No Limit - $0.01/$0.02 - 6 players
UTG: $1.46 (73 bb) Paisting (MP): $7.45 (373 bb) CO: $15.44 (772 bb) BU: $2.00 (100 bb) SB: $3.47 (174 bb) BB: $2.00 (100 bb)
Pre-Flop: ($0.03) 1 fold, Paisting(MP) raises to $7.45 (all-in), CO calls $7.45, 3 players fold
Flop: ($14.93) 6c 7c 4d (2 players, 1 all-in)
Turn: ($14.93) Ts (2 players, 1 all-in)
River: ($14.93) 8h (2 players, 1 all-in)
Total pot: $14.93 (Rake: $0.93)
Showdown: Paisting (MP) shows 7d Tc (two pair, Tens and Sevens) (CO) shows Js Jc (a pair of Jacks) Paisting (MP) wins $14

March comes and the regular monthly graph is posted. The uploaded graph shows is he down $1900 or 950 buy ins for last month. Mikael refutes that he is a gambling addict:

Paisting: 888 has given many 10 dollar bonuses to me play slots. I have never played them and in fact my account has 20 dollars freeplay bonus to play their slots. I will not use those money now or in future. So that's gambling addict to you.

April and May roll by and the monthly graphs are posted. He played fewer hands than normal, 43,000. But is down $1,250, all at 2nl.
In June he posts the usual monthly graph with -$1900 and it’s the lowest win rate he’s posted before, the graph has some alarmingly steep downswings with one section where he loses $500 in 1000 hands. That’s a loss of one buy in every 4 hands. Getting these monthly updates shows how quickly he loses money at 2nl and collaborates with earlier estimations that he is likely down more than $100k at microstakes over the past 14 years.

The End, for Now

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This post would like addresses the Geographic restrictions involved with Overwath League Tokens.
This currency is used to get OWL skins and on other occasions some extra skins and that is pretty much everything that you can do with OWL Tokens.
If you connect your Blizzard account with your YT account and you watch OWL, you earn Tokens (currently 5 x Hour.) but you need to be a legal resident of:
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States

So if you are an OWL fan like me and many other people, but you do not live in one of the countries above you will not get any tokens.
I am not the only fan that enjoys OWL games, but knowing that you can get a few tokens as a "thank you" for watching the league is a nice way to feel appreciated.

Right now when i watch the games i feel left out because i cannot unlock the skins from my favorite team, like all the other players I keep seeing in the SR ladder.
The fact that i can earn tokens but don't really makes me wanna stop watching the games, since i feel kind of "cheated".

I was wondering if there are other people that feel the same way and if there is a way to attract Blizzard's attention in order to review / reevaluate the countries list in the rules.

I have heard that in some countries they cannot give out tokens because it is associated with gambling, but in this case there is not gamble, you watch you get tokens.

Thank you.

Ever since i started playing regularly, i've researched anonymity in places. Here is what i have for each state plus a bunch of other countries. If anything is outdated or incorrect, please comment.
United States
Alabama: No current lottery. Source: https://www.wtvy.com/content/news/Lottery-bill-other-legislation-is-likely-dead-in-Alabama-legislature-569059451.html
Alaska: No current lottery/Not Anonymous. "Unlike most other states, Alaska doesn’t have a state-sponsored lottery." Source: https://www.lotterycritic.com/lottery-results/alaska/ Alaska does permit charities to run lotteries, the largest one is Not Anonymous. Source: http://www.lottoalaska.com/
Alaska's governor has proposed a bill to create an official Alaska State Lottery. Source: https://apnews.com/78cacca5137f6b47e41be2de37600044
American Samoa: No current lottery. Source: https://simonsblogpark.com/onlinegambling/simons-guide-to-gambling-in-american-samoa/amp/
Arizona: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner for all wins of $100,000 and over. Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/arizona-becomes-latest-state-shield-lottery-winners-names-n995696
Arkansas: Not Anonymous/Other entities unclear. "Winner information is subject to disclosure under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A winner who receives a prize or prize payment from the ASL grants the ASL, its agents, officers, employees, and representatives the right to use, publish (in print or by means of the Internet) and reproduce the winner’s name, physical likeness, photograph, portraits, and statements made by the winner, and use audio sound clips and video or film footage of the winner for the purpose of press releases, advertising, and promoting the ASL". Source: https://www.myarkansaslottery.com/claim-your-prize
California: Not Anonymous/Only individuals can claim. “ The name and location of the retailer who sold you the winning ticket, the date you won and the amount of your winnings are also matters of public record and are subject to disclosure. You can form a trust prior to claiming your prize, but our regulations do not allow a trust to claim a prize. Understand that your name is still public and reportable”. Source: https://static.www.calottery.com/~/media/Publications/Popular_Downloads/winners-handbook-October%202018-%20English.pdf
Colorado: Not Anonymous/Anonymous via trust. “As part of the Open Records Act, we are required to release to the public your name, hometown, amount you won and the game you played. This information will be posted on coloradolottery.com and will be furnished to media upon request.” Source: https://www.coloradolottery.com/en/games/lotto/claim-winnings/ Source: https://denver.cbslocal.com/2016/01/15/in-colorado-and-other-states-lottery-winners-can-keep-names-secret/
Connecticut: Not Anonymous/Anonymous via a trust or LLC, "Certain information about our winners is public information: Winner's name and place of residence, date of claim, game played, prize amount won, and the selling retailer's name and location. While most winners claim prizes using their individual names, some winners come forward using other legal entities (i.e., trusts, business partnership) to claim their prizes. In those instances, the Lottery will promote the win using that legal entity's name. For more information about such instances, please consult your personal accountant or legal advisor.” Source: https://www.ctlottery.org/Content/winner_publicity.aspx
Delaware: 100% Anonymous if requested by winner. "Many winners have chosen to remain anonymous, as allowed by state law, but their excitement is yours to share!" Source: https://www.delottery.com/Winners and https://www.delottery.com/FAQs
DC: Not Anonymous/Anonymous via a trust or LLC. Anonymous question is not directly answered on lottery website. "In the District of Columbia, specific lottery winner information is public record." However, a Powerball Jackpot win was claimed via a LLC in 2009. Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/04/AR2009050402008.html
Florida: Not Anonymous/Anonymous via LLC. "Florida Lottery winners cannot remain anonymous. Florida law mandates that the Florida Lottery provide the winner's name, city of residence, game won, date won and amount won to any third party who requests the information; however Florida Lottery winners' home addresses and telephone numbers are confidential." Source: http://www.flalottery.com/faq
The Florida Lottery allows trusts to claim it, however winner information is still released in compliance with the law. A $15 Million jackpot was claimed by an LLC. Source: https://www.fox13news.com/amp/consumehit-the-lottery-remain-anonymous-not-in-florida Source: http://flalottery.com/pressRelease?searchID=199128
Georgia: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner for all prizes over $250,000. Source: https://www.stl.news/georgia-governor-signs-bill-allowing-lottery-winners-remain-anonymous/121962/
Guam: Anonymity appears to be an option. Source: https://www.kuam.com/story/11218413/guamanian-wins-big-in-sportsbingo-but-has-yet-to-claim-2m-prize
Hawaii: No current lottery. Source: https://www.kitv.com/story/40182224/powerball-or-mega-millions-lottery-in-hawaii
Idaho: Not Anonymous."By claiming a winning lottery ticket over $600, winners become subject to Idaho’s Public Records Law. This means your “win” becomes an offcial Idaho public record. Your full name, the town where you live, the game you won, the amount you won (before and after taxes), the name of the retailer where you bought the ticket, and the amount the retailer receives for selling the ticket are all a matter of public record." Can seek anonymity if you have specific security concerns (rarely granted). Source: https://www.idaholottery.com/images/uploads/general/winnersguideweb.pdf
Illinois: Not Anonymous/Anonymous if requested by winner for all wins over $250,000 however info will be released to a FOIA request. "However, Murphy also cooperated with the Illinois Press Association in adding an amendment that ensures that Freedom of Information Act, an act designed to keep government agencies transparent by allowing the public to access any public record by request, supersedes the privacy law, according to attorney Don Craven, the press association’s legal counsel." Source: https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/Hidden-riches-Big-lottery-winner-in-Beardstown-13626173.php
Indiana: Not Anonymous/Anonymous via LLC or trust. "Indiana law allows lottery jackpot winners to remain anonymous, with the money being claimed by a limited liability company or legal trust." Source: https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-indiana-mega-millions-winners-20160729-story.html
Iowa: Not Anonymous/Can use a trust to claim but information will be released. "When you win an Iowa Lottery prize of $600 or more, you have to fill out a winner claim form that includes your name, address and Social Security number before you can claim your winnings. Iowa law makes the information on that claim form public, meaning that anyone can request a copy of the form to see who has won the prize. We redact sensitive information, such as your Social Security number, from the form before we release it, but all other details are considered public information under Iowa law (Iowa Code Section 99G.34(5)." Source: https://www.ialotteryblog.com/2008/11/can-prize-winne.html.
For group play, "Prizes can be paid to players who play as a group. A check can be written to an entity such as a trust or to a single individual." Source: https://ialottery.com/pages/Games/ClaimingPrizes.aspx
Kansas: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. "Kansas is one of a handful of states that does not have this requirement. If you win a prize in Kansas, you may request that your identity not be released publicly." Source: https://www.kslottery.com/faqs#faq-8
Kentucky: Anonymity appears to be an option. Anonymity or who can claim is not addressed on lottery website. But multiple instances of winners claiming anonymously have been reported in the news. "Kentucky Lottery spokesman Chip Polson said the $1 million Powerball winner claimed the prize on May 15 and the Mega Million winner claimed the prize on May 12. He confirmed that both players wanted their identity to remain a secret." Source: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2017/05/19/two-1-million-lottery-winners-who-bought-tickets-louisville-want-privacy/101870414/
Louisiana: Not Anonymous/Anonymous via trust. "Under the Lottery's statute, all prize payment records are open records, meaning that the public has a right to request the information. Depending upon the amount won and public or media interest in the win, winners may NOT be able to remain anonymous. The statute also allows the Lottery to use winners' names and city of residence for publicity purposes such as news releases. The Lottery's regular practice is not to use winner information in paid advertising or product promotion without the winner's willingness to participate. Source: https://louisianalottery.com/faq/easy-5#35 Source: https://louisianalottery.com/article/1050/the-williams-trust-claims-share-of-50-million-powerball-jackpot
Maine: Not Anonymous/Anonymous via trust. "In the event that Maine does have a Mega Millions winner, he or she can opt to remain anonymous — but Boardman says that’s never happened. “What a winner could do in Maine is they could file their claim in the name of a trust, and the trust becomes the winner. So that’s how a winner could claim their ticket anonymously,” he says." Source: https://www.mainepublic.org/post/lottery-official-reminds-mainers-they-re-exceedingly-unlikely-win-16-billion-jackpot
Maryland*: Not Anonymous by Law, Anonymous in Practice. "However, the legal basis for this anonymity in Maryland is thin. The Maryland Lottery does not advertise that lottery winners may remain anonymous, but it posts articles on its website about winners and notes those winners who have “chosen to remain anonymous:” Source: https://www.gw-law.com/blog/anonymity-maryland-lottery-winners
*"Please note that this anonymity protection does not apply to second-chance and Points for Drawings contests run through the My Lottery Rewards program. Those contests are run as promotions for the Lottery. As such, they are operated under a different set of rules than our draw games and scratch-off games. The rules of participating in our second-chance and Points for Drawings contests state that winners' identities are published."" Source: https://www.mdlottery.com/about-us/faqs/
Massachusetts: Not Anonymous/Anonymous via trust "Lottery regulations state that a claimant's name, city or town, image, amount of prize, claim date and game are public record. Therefore, photographs may be taken and used to publicize winnings." Source: https://www.masslive.com/news/2018/05/lottery_sees_increase_in_winne.html
Michigan: Not Anonymous for Powerball and Mega Millions/100% Anonymous if requested by the winner for all other winners over $10,000. "Winner Anonymity. Michigan law requires written consent before disclosing the identity of the winner of $10,000 or more from the State lottery games Lotto47 and Fantasy 5. You further understand and agree that your identity may be disclosed, and that disclosure may be required, as the winner of any prize from the multi-state games Powerball and Mega Millions." Source: https://www.michiganlottery.com/games/mega-millions
Minnesota: Not Anonymous. Anonymity or who can claim is not addressed on lottery website but lottery blog states "In Minnesota, lottery winners cannot remain anonymous. A winner's name, city, prize amount won and the place that the winning ticket was sold is public data and will be released to media and posted on our website." Source: https://www.mnlottery.com/blog/you-won-now-what
Mississippi: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. "In accordance with the Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law, the Mississippi Lottery will not disclose the identity of the person holding a winning lottery ticket without that person's written permission." Source: https://www.mslotteryhome.com/players/faqs/
Missouri: Not Anonymous. "At the Lottery Headquarters, a member of the Lottery's communications staff will ask you questions about your win, such as how many tickets you bought, when you found out that you won and what you plan to do with your prize money. This information will be used for a news release. You will also be asked, but are not required, to participate in a news conference, most likely at the store where you purchased your winning ticket." Source: http://www.molottery.com/whenyouwin/jackpotwin.shtm
A Missouri State Legislator has submitted a bill to the State House to give lottery winners anonymity. Source: https://www.kfvs12.com/2020/02/25/mo-house-considers-legislation-protect-identity-lottery-winners/
Montana: Not Anonymous/Anonymous via trust. "In Montana, by law, certain information about lottery winners is considered public. That information includes: the winner's name, the amount won and the winner's community of residence. Winners may choose to claim as an individual or they may choose to form a trust and claim their prize as a trust. If a trust claims a lottery prize, the name of the trust is considered public information. A trust must have a federal tax identification number in order to claim a Montana Lottery prize." Source: https://www.montanalottery.com/en/view/about-faqs
Nebraska: Not Anonymous/Anonymous via LLC. Anonymity or who can claim is not addressed on lottery website but a winner created a legal entity to claim anonymously in 2014. "Nebraska Lottery spokesman Neil Watson said with the help of a Kearney lawyer, the winner or winners have created a legal entity called Carpe Diem LLC." Source: https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/m-nebraska-powerball-winner-to-remain-anonymous/article_a044d0f0-99a7-5302-bcb9-2ce799b3a798.html
A Nebraska State Legislator has now filed a bill to give 100% Anonymity to all winners over $300,000 who request it. Source: https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/anonymity-for-lottery-winners-bill-would-give-privacy-to-those/article_1cdba44d-c8bb-5971-b73f-2eecc8cd4625.html
Nevada: No current lottery. Source: https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/heres-why-you-cant-play-powerball-in-nevada/
New Hampshire: Not Anonymous/Anonymous via a trust. Anonymity or who can claim is not addressed on lottery website but a winner successfully sued the lottery and won the right to remain anonymous in 2018. Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/03/12/winner-of-a-560-million-powerball-jackpot-can-keep-the-money-and-her-secret-judge-rules/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.bec2db2f7d2c
New Jersey: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. Source: https://www.nj.com/politics/2020/01/win-big-you-can-claim-those-nj-lottery-winnings-anonymously-under-new-law.html
New Mexico: Not Anonymous. “Winners of $10,000 or more will have name, city, game played, and prize amount and photo on website.” Can seek anonymity if you have specific security concerns (rarely granted). Source: https://www.nmlottery.com/uploads/FileLinks/82400d81a0ce468daab29ebe6db3ec27/Winner_Publicity_Policy_6_1_07.pdf
New York: Not Anonymous/Anonymous via a LLC. Anonymity or who can claim is not addressed on lottery website but per Gov. Cuomo: "For the past 40 years, individuals wishing to keep their name and information out of the public view have created LLCs to collect their winnings for them." Source: https://nypost.com/2018/12/09/cuomo-vetoes-bill-allowing-lotto-winners-to-remain-anonymous/
North Carolina: Not Anonymous. "North Carolina law allows lottery winners' identity to remain confidential only if they have an active protective order against someone or participate in the state's "Address Confidentiality Program" for victims of domestic violence, sexual offense, stalking or human trafficking." Source: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article54548645.html
North Dakota: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. Source: https://www.kfyrtv.com/home/headlines/ND-Powerball-Winners-Have-Option-to-Remain-Anonymous-364918121.html
Northern Mariana Islands: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. Source: https://www.nmsalottery.com/game-rules/
Ohio: Not Anonymous/Anonymous via trust. Anonymity or who can claim is not addressed on lottery website but appears to have an anonymous option. "The procedure from there was a little cumbersome. I needed to create two separate trusts. One trust was to appoint me, as the trustee on behalf of the winner, to contact the Lottery Commission and accept the Lottery winnings. The secondary trust was set up for me as trustee of the first trust, to transfer the proceeds to the second trust with the winner as the beneficiary. This enabled me to present the ticket, accept the proceeds, and transfer it to the winner with no public record or disclosure." Source: https://www.altickcorwin.com/Articles/How-To-Claim-Lottery-Winnings-Anonymously.shtml
Oklahoma: Not Anonymous/Anonymous via trust or LLC. In accordance with the Oklahoma Open Records Act and the Oklahoma Education Lottery Act, the name of any individual, corporation, partnership, unincorporated association, limited liability company, or other legal entity, and their city of residence will be made public. Source: https://www.lottery.ok.gov/playersclub/faq.asp Source: https://oklahoman.com/article/5596678/lottery-winners-deserve-some-anonymity
Oregon: Not Anonymous. "No. Certain information about Lottery prizes is public record, including the name of the winner, amount of the prize, date of the drawing, name of the game played and city in which the winning ticket was purchased. Oregon citizens have a right to know that Lottery prizes are indeed being awarded to real persons. " Source: https://oregonlottery.org/about/public-interaction/commission-directofrequently-asked-questions Can seek anonymity if you have specific security concerns (rarely granted). Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3353432/Man-living-Iraq-wins-6-4-million-Oregon-jackpot.html
Pennsylvania: Not Anonymous/Anonymous via trust. Source: https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/trust-that-won-powerball-no-relation-to-manheim-township-emerald/article_29834922-4ca2-11e8-baac-1b15a17f3e9c.html
Puerto Rico: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/puerto-rico-powerball-winner-claims-prize-chooses-stay-anonymous-n309121
Rhode Island: Not Anonymous/Anonymous if requested but all info is subject to FOIA. "While the Lottery will do everything possible to keep a winner's information private if requested by the winner, in Rhode Island and most other states, this information falls under the Freedom of Information Act, and a winner's name and city or town of residency must be released upon request." Source: https://www.rilot.com/en-us/player-zone/faqs.html
South Carolina: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. Anonymity or who can claim is not addressed on lottery website but appears to have an anonymous option based on prior winners. Source: https://myfox8.com/2019/03/15/the-anonymous-south-carolina-winner-of-the-largest-lottery-jackpot-is-donating-part-of-it-to-alabama-tornado-victims/
South Dakota: Not Anonymous for draw games and online games/100% Anonymous for Scratchoffs if requested by the winner. "You can remain anonymous on any amount won from a scratch ticket game. Jackpots for online games are required to be public knowledge. Play It Again winners are also public knowledge." Source: https://lottery.sd.gov/FAQ2018/gamefaq.aspx.
Tennessee: Not Anonymous/Can use a trust but info subject to open records act. Anonymity is explicitly noted as not being allowed on the official lottery website. Source: https://www.tnlottery.com/faq/i-won
However if it is claimed via a trust then the lottery will not give out your information unless requested to do so. "The TN lottery says: "When claiming a Lottery prize through a Trust, the TN Lottery would need identity documentation for the grantor and all ultimate beneficiaries. Once we are in possession of these documents and information, records are generated. If a formal request is made by a citizen of Tennessee, the Trust beneficiary's name, city and state must be made available under the Tennessee Open Records Act." Source: https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/in-tennessee--can-a-lottery-jackpot-be-claimed-whi-2327592.html
Texas: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner for $1 million or more IF the winner claims it as an individual AND chooses the Cash option. Not Anonymous if claimed by a trust or LLC or if the winner chooses the Annuity option. Source: https://www.txlottery.org/export/sites/lottery/Documents/retailers/FAQ_Winner_Anonymity_12112017_final.pdf
Utah: No current lottery. Source: https://www.lotterycritic.com/lottery-results/utah/
Vermont: Not Anonymous/Anonymous via trust. “The name, town and prize amount on your Claim Form is public information. If you put your name on the Claim Form, your name becomes public information. If you claim your prize in a trust, the name of the trust is placed on the Claim Form, and the name of the trust is public information.” Source: https://vtlottery.com/about/faq
Virginia: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner for prizes over $10 million. "A new law passed by the Virginia General Assembly and signed by the Governor prohibits the Virginia Lottery from disclosing information about big jackpot winners." "When the bill goes into effect this summer, the Virginia Lottery will not be allowed to release certain information about winners whose prize exceeds $10 million, unless the winner wants to be known." Source: https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/virginia/new-virginia-law-allows-certain-lottery-winners-to-keep-identity-private/291-c33ea642-e8fa-45fd-b3a4-dc693cf5b372
US Virgin Islands: Anonymity appears to be an option. A $2 Million Powerball winner was allowed to remain anonymous. Source: https://viconsortium.com/virgin-islands-2/st-croix-resident-wins-2-million-in-latest-power-ball-drawing/
Washington: Not Anonymous/Can use a trust but info subject to open records act. "As a public agency, all documents held by Washington's Lottery are subject to the Public Records Act. Lottery prizes may be claimed in the name of a legally formed entity, such as a trust. However, in the event of a public records request, the documents forming the artificial entity may be released, thereby revealing the individual names of winners." https://www.walottery.com/ClaimYourPrize/
West Virginia: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner for prizes over $1 million and 5% of winnings remittance. "Effective January 1, 2019, House Bill 2982 allows winners of State Lottery draw games to remain anonymous in regards to his or her name, personal contact information, and likeness; providing that the prize exceeds one million dollars and the individual who elects to remain anonymous remits five percent of his or her winnings to the State Lottery Fund." Source: https://wvlottery.com/customer-service/customer-resources/
Wisconsin: Not Anonymous/Cannot be claimed by other entities. "Pursuant to Wisconsin’s Open Records law (Wis. Stats. Secs. 19.31–19.39), the Lottery is required to disclose a winner’s name, likeness and place of residence. If you win and claim a prize, the Lottery may use your name, likeness and place of residence for any purpose without compensation to you.
Upon claiming your prize, you waive any claims against the Lottery and its representatives for any and all liability which may result from the disclosure or use of such information." "The original winning ticket must be signed by a single human being. For-profit and non-profit entities, trusts, and other non-human beings are not eligible to play or claim a prize." Source: https://wilottery.com/claimprize.aspx
Wyoming: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. "We will honor requests for anonymity from winners. However, we certainly hope winners will allow us to share their names and good news with other players." Source: https://wyolotto.com/lottery/faq/
Other countries
Australia: 100% Anonymous if requested by winner. "The great thing about playing lotto in Australia is that winners can choose to remain anonymous and keep their privacy, unlike in the United States where winners don't have such a choice, and are often thrown into a media circus." Source: https://www.ozlotteries.com/blog/how-to-remain-anonymous-when-you-win-lotto/
Bahamas: No current lottery. Source: https://thenassauguardian.com/2013/01/29/strong-no-vote-trend-so-far-in-gaming-referendum/
Bahrain: Not Anonymous. Source: https://bdutyfree.com/terms-conditions1#.X8ru92lOmdM
Barbados: Not Anonymous. "No. Barbados Lottery winners cannot remain anonymous. The Barbados Lottery mandates the winner’s name, address, game won, date won and amount won be provided; however Barbados Lottery winners' home addresses and telephone numbers are confidential." Source: https://www.mybarbadoslottery.com/faqs
Brazil: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. Source: https://www.lotterycritic.com/lottery-results/brazil-lottery/
Canada: Not Anonymous. Every provincial lottery corporation in Canada requires winners to participate in a publicity photo shoot showing their face, their name and their municipality. Can seek anonymity if you have specific security concerns (rarely granted). Source: https://consumers.findlaw.ca/article/can-lottery-winners-remain-anonymous/
Carribbean Lottery Countries (Antigua/Barbuda, Anguilla, St. Kitts/Nevis, St. Maarten/Saba/St. Eustatius, and Turks/Caicos): Not Anonymous. "No. Caribbean Lottery winners cannot remain anonymous. The Caribbean Lottery mandates the winner’s name, address, game won, date won and amount won be provided; however Caribbean Lottery winners' home addresses and telephone numbers are confidential." Source: https://www.thecaribbeanlottery.com/faqs
China: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. Must appear in a press conference and photo but allowed to wear disguise. Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/01/22/china-lottery-winners-mask/22108515/
Cuba: No current lottery. Source: https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/society-cuba/cuban-traditions/lottery-the-national-game-infographics/
EuroMillions Countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and UK*): 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. Source: https://www.euro-millions.com/publicity
*United Kingdom: Excludes
*Caymen Islands, and Falkland Islands: No current lottery. Source: https://calvinayre.com/2018/11/02/business/cayman-islands-move-illegal-gambling-doesnt-address-real-issue/ Source: https://simonsblogpark.com/onlinegambling/simons-guide-gambling-falkland-islands/amp/#lottery-falkland-islands
*Anguilla, and Turks & Caicos: Not Anonymous. Source: https://www.thecaribbeanlottery.com/faqs
EuroJackpot Countries (Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands*, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden): 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. Source: https://www.euro-jackpot.net/en/publicity
*Netherlands: Excludes
*St. Maarten, Saba, and St. Eustatius: Not Anonymous. Source: https://www.thecaribbeanlottery.com/faqs
Fiji: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. Source: https://fijisun.com.fj/2012/11/08/3m-lotto-win-here/
Georgia (Kartvelia): Anonymity appears to be an option. "2.9.1. Prizes and Winners. Each Bidder shall provide details of:....how winners who waive their right to privacy will be treated;" Source: https://mof.ge/images/File/lottery/tender-documentation.pdf
Greece: Anonymity appears to be an option. "The bearer of the ticket shall keep the details of the ticket confidential and not reveal them to any third party." Source: https://www.opap.gen/identity-terms-of-use-lotto
Guyana: Not Anonymous. Source: https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2013/05/16/winner-says-he-was-too-busy-to-collect-78m-lotto-prize/
India*: Not Anonymous. Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35771298
*: Only available in the states of Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Sikkim, Nagaland and Mizoram. Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/lottery-mizoram-nagaland-sikkim-kerala-975188-2017-05-04
Indonesia: No current lottery. Source: https://apnews.com/45eb94ff1b1132470a7aa5902f0bc734
Israel: Not Anonymous by Law, Anonymous in Practice. “[A]lthough we have this right, we have never exercised it because we understood the difficulties the winners could encounter in the period after their win. We provide details about the winner, but in a manner that doesn’t disclose their identity,” Dolin Melnik, then-spokesperson for Israel’s Mifal Hapayis lottery told Haaretz in 2009." Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/why-the-israeli-lottery-gives-winners-masks/
Jamaica: Not Anonymous. First initial and last name of winner was released but winner was allowed to wear a mask for photo. Source: https://news.e-servicis.com/news/trending/lottery-winner-takes-prize-in-scream-mask.1S/
Japan: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/09/08/business/japans-lottery-rakes-declining-revenues-younger-generation-gives-jackpot-chances-pass/#.XRYwVVMpCdM
Kenya: Not Anonymous. "9.1 When You claim or are paid a prize, You will automatically be deemed to grant to O8 LOTTO an irrevocable right to publish, through all types of media broadcasting, including the internet, for the purposes of promoting the win, Your full name (as well as Your nick name), hometown, photograph and video materials without any claim for broadcasting, printing or other rights" Source: https://mylottokenya.co.ke/terms-conditions
Malaysia: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. Source: https://says.com/my/news/a-24-year-old-malaysian-woman-just-won-more-than-rm4-million-from-4d-lottery
Nagorno-Karabakh: Not Anonymous. Source: http://asbarez.com/120737/artsakh-lottery-winner-claims-car-prize/
New Zealand: 100% Anonymous if requested by winner. Source: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10383080
North Korea: Not Anonymous. Source: https://www.nknews.org/2018/11/north-korean-sports-ministry-launches-online-lottery/
Northern Cyprus: Anonymity appears to be an option. Source: https://www.pressreader.com/cyprus/cyprus-today/20181124/281590946615912
Oman: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. Source: http://www.omanlottery.com/
Philippines: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. Source: https://www.rappler.com/nation/214995-ultra-lotto-winners-claim-winnings-pcso-october-2018
Qatar: Not Anonymous. Source: https://www.qatarliving.com/forum/qatar-living-lounge/posts/qatar-duty-free-announces-latest-us1-million
Romania: Anonymity appears to be an option. Source: https://www.thelotter.com/win-lottery-anonymously/
Russia: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. Source: http://siberiantimes.com/otheothers/news/siberian-scoops-a-record-184513512-roubles-on-russian-state-lottery/
Samoa: Not Anonymous. Source: https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/191796/samoa%27s-lotto-winner-still-a-mystery
Saudi Arabia: No current lottery. Source: https://www.arabnews.com/police-arrest-lottery-crooks-victimizing-expats
Singapore: Anonymity appears to be an option. Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/did-you-win-here-are-results-of-136m-toto-hongbao-draw
Solomon Islands: No current lottery. Source: http://www.paclii.org/sb/legis/consol_act/gala196/
South Africa: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. Source: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/powerball-results/powerball-winner-r232-million-found-lottery-details/
South Korea: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. Source: https://elaw.klri.re.keng_mobile/viewer.do?hseq=38378&type=sogan&key=5
Sri Lanka: Anonymity appears to be an option. Source: http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2010/01/31/where-do-all-the-lottery-winners-go/
Taiwan: 100% Anonymous if requested by the winner. Source: http://m.focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201806250011.aspx
Trinidad and Tobago: Anonymity appears to be an option. Source: https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/student-wins-the-million-lotto/article_3f3c8550-570d-11e9-9cc3-b7550f9b4ad4.html
Tuvalu: No current lottery. Source: http://tuvalu-legislation.tv/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/1964/1964-0004/GamingandLotteries_1.pdf
United Arab Emirates: Not Anonymous. Source: https://www.ndtv.com/indians-abroad/shojith-ks-in-sharjah-uae-wins-abu-dhabi-duty-free-big-ticket-4-million-jackpot-rejects-calls-2032942
Vatican City: Anonymity appears to be an option. Source: https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2018/12/04/popes-white-lamborghini-up-for-raffle-winner-gets-trip-to-rome/
Vietnam: Anonymity appears to be an option. Source: https://ampe.vnexpress.net/news/news/vietnamese-farmer-identified-as-winner-of-4-million-lottery-jackpot-3484751.html
Windward Lottery Countries (Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines): Not Anonymous. "Prize winners asked to do so by Winlot must give their name and address, and satisfactory establish their identity. All winners of the Jackpot (Match 6) prize will be photographed. Note that Winlot and CBN reserve the right to publish the names, addresses and photographs of all the winners." Source: http://www.stlucialotto.com/snl/super6_rules_regs.php

(This is work in progress) Hope you enjoy inventive timelines ;)
The Heir Apparent: The Legacy of Henry Wallace

US and Soviet Leaders
Cold War Circa 2016
Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, 1st Man on the Moon
July 19-21, 1944: Under pressure from FDR, and the re-energized Left in the party, the DNC relents and Henry Wallace is renominated as Roosevelt’s VP for 1944 General Election.

July 21, 1944 - The United States military begins to retake the island of Guam after Japanese troops had occupied the island during World War II. The battle would end on August 10.

November 6, 1944 - The last campaign speech of Franklin D. Roosevelt, seeking his fourth term in office, is broadcast from his Hyde Park, New York home. One day later, Roosevelt would gain that fourth term by a significant, but smaller margin than any of his previous elections, especially in the popular vote where Thomas Dewey lost by only three and one half million votes. The Electoral College margin, however, at 399 to 132, ensured Roosevelt good footing in the final prosecution of World War II.

December 18, 1944 - The United States Supreme Court rules in the case of Korematsu vs. the United States, the wartime internment of Japanese Americans on the West Coast was valid during a time of war.

1945
February 4-11, 1945 - President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, and Premier Josef Stalin hold the Yalta Conference in the Soviet Union to discuss post-war Europe. Stalin meets with VP Henry Wallace many times during the conference, with FDR's health clearly failing, Stalin comes to believe that Wallace is someone that will be just as accomodating as FDR, if not more. FDR & Wallace want to prioritize the Pacific Theater and agree with Stalin to halt at the Wessen River in exchange for full Soviet commitment to routing the Japanese from the Asian mainland. This works out greatly to the benefit of the Soviet post-war position.

February 19, 1945 - Thirty thousand United States Marines land on Iwo Jima.

March 1, 1945 - American troops cross the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany. Two weeks later, on March 18, twelve hundred and fifty U.S. bombers attack Berlin, causing Adolf Hitler to announce the destruction of his own industries and military installations one day later in preparation for invasion. US forces advance eastward until they halted at the Wesser River as agreed at Yalta.

April 1, 1945 - American troops invade Okinawa, beginning the Battle of Okinawa, which would continue until June 21.

April 12, 1945 - President Roosevelt dies suddenly; Vice President Henry Wallace assumes the presidency and role as commander in chief for the duration of World War II.

May 2, 1945 – The Red Army captures Berlin following the suicide of Hitler and other Nazi leaders in a secret bunker. The Werhmacht continues fighting the Red Army east of the Wesser River.

May 17, 1945 - Wehrmacht High Command surrenders after their lines collapse allowing the Soviets to advance to the River Wesser. Soviet and US allies meet at Wilhelm Kaisen bridge in Bremen and fraternize with each other in celebration.

May 21, 1945 - The unconditional surrender of Germany at Reims, France concludes the military engagements of World War II in Europe. It is accepted by General Dwight D. Eisenhower in his role as the commander of Allied troops in the European theater of the war.

July 5, 1945 - In a surpise landslide, Labor wins the UK election. Despite the popularity of Churchill as a leader, the electorate did not want the Tories in charge of the recovery as they were for the previous depression recovery. President Wallace reaffirms America's special relationship with the UK and welcomes the renewed shift to the left.

July 16, 1945 - The first atomic bomb, the Trinity Test, is exploded at Alamogordo, New Mexico, after its production at Los Alamos.

August 2, 1945 - The Potsdam Conference concludes with the UK rather sidelined and the US, represented by Wallace, largely indifferent to Soviet expansion. The biggest change from Yalta, was the the abandonment of seperate zones of control for Berlin and Vienna while retaining the zones for Germany as a whole. Wallace was mosty focused on ensuring full Soviet cooperation with other allies regarding empowering the Allied Control Commission to make systemic changes in Germany. Within 5 years Germany would become more agrarian and lose most heavy manfucaturing capacity in favor of light manufacturing. Most significantly Potsdam established Denazification and the War Crimes Tribunal at Nuremburg.

August 6, 1945 - After much debate with the top brass, President Henry Wallace refuses to give the go-ahead for the use of the atomic bomb, citing such devastation would only harden the Japanese will to resist. He is also keen to keep the Soviets from discovering America’s atomic weapons project for both diplomatic and national security reasons. Operation Downfall is initiated instead as the official war plan to force the Japanese surrender by invasion of their home islands.

https://preview.redd.it/o2ae4vk2nps41.jpg?width=1100&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7eaa99954176e85336550eba11c7dbd40fc63520
September 4, 1945 – Soviet forces capture Sakhalin and Kuril Islands, and then commit their forces to pushing remnant Japanese forces out of Manchuria. Communist movements greatly benefit from Soviet patronage in Korea and China.

September 19, 1945 - Thomas G. Corcoran is narrowly confirmed a justice of the Supreme Court by the Senate.

October 4, 1945 - The Soviets begin a secret atomic weapons program of their own after discovering the success of the US atomic bomb project through the spy operation of Julius Rosenberg, Klaus Fuchs and David Greenglass. It would be decades before knowledge of the spy ring in the US would come to light.

October 30, 1945 - Soviets recruit Wernher von Braun and nearly a thousand other engineers and scientists into the Soviet rocket program greatly benefiting their long-sustained lead in the future Space Race.

November 14, 1945 – Operation Olympic begins with the invasion of Kyushu from the south coast by forces staged in Okinawa. Despite massive preparatory bombardment, the landings becomes the most deadly battle yet for American forces in WW2. Near total casualty rate is reported for the first wave of American troops.

1946
January 3, 1946 – Second Phase of Olympic is executed with a smaller invasion of the island of Shikoku. Aerial bombardment, staged from Kyushu and the fleet, intensifies across Japan.

January 10, 1946 - The first meeting of the United Nations general assembly occurs after its founding on October 24, 1945 by fifty-one nations, including the Security Council nations of China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.A.

March 18, 1946 – Operation Coronet begins with the amphibious invasion of the Kanto plain and setting the Siege of Tokyo. Concurrently, US forces invade the Honshu coast from Kyushu and Shikoku.

June 6, 1946 - The Basketball Association of America, known as the National Basketball Association (NBA) since 1949 after its merger with the rival National Basketball League, is founded.

June 12, 1946 – Tokyo falls to US forces. Soviet forces invade Hokkaido as US forces fight northward against hold-outs.

June 20, 1946 - Wallace's second appointment to the Supreme Court, Fred M. Vinson, enjoyed more support in the Senate, thanks to majority leader Harry S. Truman for appealing to the center of the Democratic Party.

July 4, 1946 - The island nation of the Philippines is given their independence by the United States. This ends four hundred and twenty-five years of dominance by the west.

1947
February 24, 1947 – Japan surrenders to the US by order of Emperor Hirohito, in return for protection, fearing Soviet control of a Post-War Japan. Days later US and Soviet forces meet at the 38th parallel and exchange diplomatic courtesies. Japan is divided by two occupation governments, Soviet-occupied "North Japan" (called the Democratic Republic of Japan) and US-Occupied "South" Japan.

190,000 Americans died in the battle. Millions of Japanese died during the fighting and resulting famines and guerilla insurgency during the post-war occupation.

March 1, 1947 - The Atomic Energy Commission is established.

March 12, 1947 - The Wallace Doctrine is announced to the U.S. Congress. When passed it would grant $700 million in humanitarian aid to liberal or socialist democracies. President Henry Wallace implements the act on May 22. During the bill signing ceremony, President Wallace argued for cooperation—not cold war—with the Soviet Union, setting the future course of US-Soviet diplomatic relations.

April 15, 1947 - Jackie Robinson breaks Major League Baseball's barrier against colored players when he debuts at first base for Branch Rickey's Brooklyn Dodgers.

June 5, 1947 - Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposes aid extension to all European nations for war recovery, known as the Marshall Plan, which would lead to Congressional approval of $14 billion over the following four years.

June 20, 1947 – Democrats in Congress, rallied by President Wallace, vote down the Taft-Hartley Labor Act that would have curbed strikes and sectoral collective bargaining.

December 30, 1947 - King Michael I, a westernized monarch, was forced to abdicate his throne at gunpoint by communist partisans. Romania was thereafter declared a socialist republic.

1948
January 1, 1948 - Five hundred thousand mine workers begin to strike, with other industries following their lead in solidarity, particularly the Railroad. This was a result of built up grievances that were suppressed by the wartime “No-Strike Pledge”. Wallace responds days later with an order to nationalize the nation’s iron and coal mines and then implement worker demands.

April 1, 1948 - US convinced UK to make assurances that the decision to replace the Reichsmark would be quashed after a diplomatic row erupted with the USSR that threatened the post-war cooperative order. The German debt crisis will remain acute for the next decade. Despite earlier threats by the Soviets the West-East German border remains open.

April 30, 1948 - The Organization of American States is founded by twenty-one nations to provide a mutual development pact after World War II. Founding nations were Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

May 15, 1948 - Arab-Israeli War commence after the declaration of independece by Israel.

June 2, 1948 - President Wallaces decision to nationalize coal and iron mines is ruled legal by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision, Peabody Coal Co vs US, expanding eminent domain power for "national security" purposes.

June 19, 1948 - Josip Broz Tito breaks with Moscow over growing Soviet interference over the Yugoslavian Communist Party. This tests the post-war unity amongst socialist nations and the USSR by starting the Non-Aligned Movement.

July 26, 1948 - Executive Order 9976, ending segregation in the United States military and federal civil service, is signed into effect by President Henry Wallace to the anger of many Southern Democrats.

August 12, 1948 - Infighting between Irgun and Soviet-backed partisans collapses the Ben-Guirion coaltion, and divides the IDF forces into separate militia factions. This causes the Israelis much delay in countering the Arab incursion.

November 2, 1948 - President Henry Wallace, and his VP Rexford Tugwell, rallies from behind, capturing his first president election from the presumptive winner Thomas E. Dewey, the governor of New York. Headlines in national newspapers had overtly announced a Dewey victory, only to be proven wrong. Wallace won the Electoral College vote with 283 to Dewey's 200, with Strom Thurmond, running as the States' Rights candidate, receiving 48 Electoral votes. Wallace won the election with 50.1% of the popular votes.

Wallace, in contrast to Dewey, saw unchecked private wealth as a threat to liberty. The “common man,” he argued, must “have the opportunity to form unions and bargain through them collectively.” Citing “Herr Thyssen, the wealthy German steel man” who “gave Hitler enough money to enable him to play on the minds of the German people,” Wallace warned of “wealthy men who sincerely believe that their wealth is likely to be safer if they can hire tyrants who lure the people back into slavery.”

Much throughout his campaign Wallace resisted Dewey's call for an American dominated post-war world order to counter the communist philosophy of the Soviet Union. Wallace's election was a rebuke to the concept of "American Exceptionalism". The implication was that global progress would flow from a partnership of nations, each of which boasted traditions of liberty, rather than domination by an America that would, as Wallace put it, “mold the world for such purposes as we see fit and by such means as we see fit.”

“Some have spoken of the ‘American century,’” he noted in his victory speech, but “I say that the century on which we are entering—the century which will come into being after this war—can be and must be the Century of the Common Man.”

December 15, 1948 - Alger Hiss, former State Department official, is indicted for perjury in connection to denials of passing state secrets to a communist spy ring. He would later be found not guilty in January 1950. It was perceived by the general public to be a partisan swipe at the Wallace administration.

1949
January 5, 1949 - The 1st Indo-Pakistani War concludes in a stalemate with Kasmir divided along the Line of Control.

January 8, 1949 - Council for Mutual Economic Assistance is founded by the Soviet Union to aid European nations still recovering from World War II to develop infrastructure, this is the Soviet response to the Marshall plan and generates much support among left-wing parties in Western Europe.

February 9, 1949 - The last confirmed resistance militia in Japan was defeated after a battle with US soldiers. This ends the small insurgency by Shintaisei diehards against US forces occupying Japan.

March 2, 1949 - Captain James Gallagher lands the B-50 Lucky Lady II in Texas after completing the first around-the-world non-stop airplane flight. It was refueled four times in flight.

April 2, 1949 - The United Nations Security Council unanimously approves the trusteeship of Pacific Islands formerly controlled by Japan to the United States.

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April 4, 1949 - ETO, the European Treaty Organization, is formed by the ten Western European nations (Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal). The treaty stated that any attack against one nation would be considered an attack against them all. Henry Wallace refuses to commit the US to a “post-war, Eurocentric, military alliance” and denounces it as a unnecessary provocation toward our Soviet allies.

May 8, 1949 - A stalemate ends the Arab-Israeli War, despite an energenic Israeli counter-offensive that regained control over most of the Jewish Mandate borders and the Gaza Strip. Much of Arab Palastine including the entire West Bank is annexed by Trans-Jordan and Lebanon. The USSR has gained much clout with both nations due to its generous aid during the war.

August 18, 1949 - Due to his impressive record at Nuremburg, and commitment to desegregation and racial justice as Attorney General, the Senate soundly confirms Henry Wallace's 3rd nominee, Francis Biddle, to the Supreme Court.

August 29, 1949 - the Soviet Union secretly conducted its first successful atomic weapon test in Kazahkstan. Stalin decides that this must be kept a secret to ensure good diplomatic relations with the United States.

September 22, 1949 - Mao Zedong's Communists are victorious over the Koumintang in the Chinese Civil War and the People's Republic of China is founded on October 1st. The US, UK and France refuse to recognize the People's Republic, and despite Soviet protest, the Republic of China will retain its seat on the UN Security Council indefinitely.

October 4, 1949 - Earl Warren is appointed to Supreme Court by President Wallace after the death of Justice Rutledge.

October 7, 1949 - Tokyo Rose, the femme fatale of Japanese war broadcasts, is sentenced to ten years in prison. She would be paroled in 1956 and pardoned in 1977.

October 14, 1949 - Eleven leaders of the United States Communist party are convicted of advocating a violent insurrection and overthrow of the U.S. government. The Supreme Court would overturn the convictions 6-3 on June 4, 1951.

October 16, 1949 - In a stunning reversal of fortunes, thanks to generous aid and support by the Soviet Army, the Communist Party of Greece wins the Greek Civil War. Markos Vafeiadis establishes the Democratic Hellenic Republic and purges the monarchy and royal family. This encourages Turkey to pursue closer ties with the West and actively surpress communist influence at home.

November 1, 1949 – President Wallace signs into law a program, modeled after the Montgomery G.I. Bill, to provide college tuition to any person who has been accepted to an accredited public university or trade school.
World of 1950

1950
January 14, 1950 - The United States recalls all consular officials from China after the seizure of the American consul general in Peking by communists. The Soviet Union intervenes diplomatically on behalf of the US to guarantee the safety of US citizens.

January 17, 1950 - The Brinks robbery in Boston occurs when eleven masked bandits steal $2.8 million from an armored car outside their express office.

April 1, 1950 – After President Wallace signed the Medicare Act into law, the US began implementing its first national health insurance program guaranteeing medical coverage for all Americans, subject to added premiums for wealthier citizens.

June 8, 1950 - Swedish scientists detect abnormal radioactivity in air samples, when shared with US government scientists the DOD begins to suspect that the USSR has been actively testing atomic weapons. This assessment is made Top Secret by the president and not released to the public until decades later.

1951
February 28, 1951 - Preliminary report from the Senator Estes Kefauver investigation that had begun in May 1950 into organized crime is issued, stating that gambling take was in excess of $20 billion per year. Estes Kefauver spurred a renewed effort at combating the Mafia by passing new federal racketeering and forfeiture laws.

April 16, 1951 - The Fair Labor Standards Act is expanded by congress to require overtime pay for work performed on federal holidays and also establishes election day as a paid federal holiday.
September 6, 1951 – President Wallace hosts Josef Stalin at the White House for the first ever state visit by a Soviet leader to the United States. The meeting was heavily criticized by Republicans as a tacit acceptance of global communism.

October 25, 1951 - Labor holds their majority in the UK parliment after snap elections, President Wallace made a public endorsement for Clement Attlee and his Labor Party and their platform of economic justice. Labor will hold this majority until 1970.

1952
February 14, 1952 - The 1952 Winter Olympics open in Helsinki, Finland with thirty participating nations. During these games, the first triple jump in figure skating history is performed by Dick Button, who won one of the four gold medals gained by U.S. athletes.

April 8, 1952 - President Wallace authorizes the nationalization of US steel mills in order to avert economic disruption by a another strike. Opponents deride Wallace as a “Socialist Tyrant”.

July 18, 1952 - Congress founds the National Airlines as a public-owned monopoly on commercial air service. Smaller air companies can still contract with the National Airlines to fill gaps in essential services between small airports. Air traffic control and airport ownership also fall under federal ownership.

September 4, 1952 - The inauguration of trans-continental television occurs with the broadcast of President Wallace's speech at the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference in San Francisco. The treaty would be signed on September 8 by the U.S., Japan, and forty-seven other nations. The conditions of the treaty allow the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy to continue within limits as counterweight to the Japanese People’s Army (JPA). The parties also sign the US-Japan Mutual Defense Pact assuring South Japan that the US will provide a defense gaurentee against any agression by the Communist North. It also preserves the Imperial Family’s role in government.

November 1, 1952 - At Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, a larger atomic bomb, named Able, is exploded. US atomic weapons continue to remain a secret to the general public and the vast majority of nations.

November 4, 1952 - General Dwight D. Eisenhower, popular due to his role in winning World War II as European commander, turns down an offer to be the Republican nominee. President Wallace announces that he will run for a third and final term in office, as the recently passed 25th amendment doesn't apply to the current president. Henry Wallace remains as extremely popular as his predecessor and eventually trounces Robert A Taft, securing an mandate for a third expansion of the New Deal and continued peace with the Soviet Union. The Electoral College vote was 349 to 182.

1953
June 5, 1953 – The first federal public education funding program is passed and signed into law. The Act will create block grants to support poor primary and secondary schools and provides extensive funding for science education.

June 17, 1953 - Food shortages, pay cuts and tensions over Soviet occupation lead to riots across East Germany. The uprising is swiftly put down by Soviet troops.

July 23, 1953 - Gamal Abdel Nasser takes power in a coup in Egypt and his Pan-Arab movement aligns itself with the Soviet Union after accepting foreign aid.

July 24, 1953 – The Atoms for Peace initiative begins to improve atomic power technology for civilian use by researching powerful atomic batteries, developing an emission-free nuclear energy economy, and improving agriculture through radiation-based gene manipulation. Henry Wallace successfully lobbied Congress to fund his initiative and to pass a law to indemnify atomic power plants leading to the Atomic Industrial Revolution in America.

August 19, 1953 - Operation Ajax is presented to Wallace and he admonishes the intelligence community for even suggesting something so damaging to US foreign policy. Mossadegh is not overthrown and continues to rule Iran on a social-democratic platform.

October 30, 1953 - President Henry Wallace approves a bill to reduce the size of the US military by 30% and to reduce naval tonnage in half. President Wallace also decided to secretly end US atomic weapons production by executive order. US stockpile was about 430 warheads.

December 30, 1953 - The first color televisions go on sale.

1954
January 26, 1954 - Bell Labs discontinues research into transistors in favor of miniturizing vacuum tubes and developing atomic-derived portable power sources.

February 23, 1954 - The first large scale vaccination of children against polio begins in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

March 4, 1954 - Henry Wallace appoints Senator Estes Kefauver as Justice to replace the late Justice Vinson, and is confirmed by his colleagues.

May 17, 1954 - Racial segregation in public schools is declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in Brown vs. the Board of Education. The ruling of the court stated that racial segregation violated the 14th Amendment's clause that guaranteed equal protection. The Monroe School in Topeka, Kansas had segregated Linda Brown in its classes.

July 18, 1954 - After protracted legal disputes with medical providers threatening to undermine the Medicare system, Henry Wallace rallies Congress to give him the power to nationalize for-profit hospitals under the National Health System.

August 19, 1954 - Another series of protracted disputes resulting from the Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Wisconsin case, which upheld federal price controls on oil and gas producers, the oil companies collude to restrict production and instigate lock-outs. This was met with an Act of Congress authorizing President Wallace to nationalize the oil and gas industry.

September 8, 1954 - In Bangkok, Thailand, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization is formed by the U.S., Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, France, the Philippines, Pakistan, and Thailand, creating a mutual defense pact against Red China.

In 1954, Ray Kroc founds the idea for the McDonald's corporation, agreeing to franchise the idea of Dick and Mac McDonald, who had started the first McDonald's restaurant in 1940 and had eight restaurants by 1954. Kroc would incorporate the entity on March 2, 1955 and open his first franchise on April 15 in Des Plaines, Illinois. He would buy out the McDonald's brothers in 1961.

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