Downtown

Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core (or center) or central business district (CBD), often in a geographical, commercial, or communal sense. The term is not generally used in British English, whose speakers instead use the term city centre.

The term is thought to have been coined in New York City, where it was in use by the 1830s to refer to the original town at the southern tip of the island of Manhattan. As the town of New York grew into a city, the only direction it could grow on the island was toward the north, proceeding upriver from the original settlement (the "up" and "down" terminology in turn came from the customary map design in which up was north and down was south). Thus, anything north of the original town became known as "uptown" (Upper Manhattan), while the original town (which was also New York's only major center of business at the time) became known as "downtown" (Lower Manhattan).

During the late 19th century, the term was gradually adopted by cities across the United States and Canada to refer to the historical core of the city (which was most often the same as the commercial heart of the city). Notably, it was not included in dictionaries as late as the 1880s. But by the early 1900s, downtown was clearly established as the proper term in American English for a city's central business district.

Downtown (Nevada gaming area)

"Downtown Las Vegas Area" is the name assigned by the Nevada Gaming Control Board NGCB which includes the Downtown Las Vegas area casinos and the Stratosphere Tower which is located 2 miles (3.2 km) from Fremont Street. The city of Las Vegas uses the term Downtown Gaming for the casinos near the Fremont Street Experience. The land is part of the 110 acres (45 ha) that were auctioned on May 15, 1905 when the city was founded.

Downtown competition

Currently downtown Las Vegas is the only place in Las Vegas where the casinos are clustered around an outdoor pedestrian zone. Caesars Entertainment has announced plans to build a similar venue with an observation wheel similar to the London Eye near the Flamingo.

In fiscal year 1988 the ratio of revenue for the Strip compared to downtown was less than 3:1. In FY2008 the ratio is over 10:1. However, downtown rode the massive increase in tourist spending from 2004 through 2007 that swelled the non-gaming revenue of the area. Non gaming revenue and income hit an all-time high in FY2006.

It's About Time (SWV album)

It's About Time is the debut studio album by American female R&B trio SWV, released by RCA Records on October 27, 1992 (see 1992 in music). It was certified triple platinum by the RIAA for more than three million copies shipped to store, and it spawned four hit singles with "I'm So into You", "Downtown", "Weak", and a remixed version of "Right Here/Human Nature." The latter two reached #1 on the R&B singles chart, with "Weak" being their biggest pop hit at #1. A remixed version of "Anything" appeared on the soundtrack of the film Above the Rim in 1994 and was released as the final single from It's About Time.

In 1993, the group earned 11 Billboard Music Award nominations for their debut album. In October 2004, I'm So into You appeared in popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on fictional new jack swing radio station CSR 103.9.

In 1996, the album was certified 3x platinum, for shipping over 3,000,000 albums in the U.S. alone.

Track Listing

*Initially issued without track 15, but was added to all subsequent CDs in April 1993
*Copies of the album with the catalog number BMG 66074 contain "Right Here (Vibe Mix)" (4:18), as the final track

Shuffling

Shuffling is a procedure used to randomize a deck of playing cards to provide an element of chance in card games. Shuffling is often followed by a cut, to help ensure that the shuffler has not manipulated the outcome.

Shuffling techniques

Overhand shuffle

One of the easiest shuffles to accomplish, the overhand or stripping shuffle is essentially a series of cuts. A group of cards on the bottom (or top) of the deck grasped between the thumb on one side and fingers on the other, lifted sideways out of the deck, and then placed on the top (or bottom). This process is repeated multiple times with random selections of cards in order to randomize them.

The overhand shuffle offers sufficient opportunity for sleight of hand techniques to be used to affect the ordering of cards, creating a stacked deck. The most common way that players cheat with the overhand shuffle is by having a card at the top or bottom of the pack that they require, and then slipping it to the bottom at the start of a shuffle (if it was on top to start), or leaving it as the last card in a shuffle and just dropping it on top (if it was originally on the bottom of the deck).

Shuffle (disambiguation)

Shuffling is a procedure used to randomize a deck of playing cards.

Shuffle or shuffling may also refer to:

In entertainment

Dance

Gaming

Music

Television

In mathematics

Boøwy

Boøwy (pronounced: bóui, stylized as BOØWY) was a Japanese rock band formed in Takasaki, Gunma in 1981. The best-known lineup of Kyosuke Himuro (vocals), Tomoyasu Hotei (guitar), Tsunematsu Matsui (bass) and Makoto Takahashi (drums) reached legendary status in Japan during the 1980s.

In 1988, they became the first male artists to have three albums reach number-one within one year on the Oricon charts. The 1990s "Band Boom" in Japan was credited to Boøwy as they popularized the formation of musical groups, which caused musical instrument sales to hit an all-time high during the 1990s and the record companies signed and debuted 80 bands during the 1990s in hopes of finding a new Boøwy. They were named Artist of the Year at the 3rd annual Japan Gold Disc Awards. In 2003, HMV Japan ranked Boøwy at number 22 on their list of the "100 Most Important Japanese Pop Acts". In September 2007, Rolling Stone Japan rated their album Just a Hero at number 75 on its list of the "100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time". In a 2012 poll by Recochoku, Boøwy were ranked the number one band that people want to see reunite.