SEA ISLE, N.J. -- The big stories here on the beach recently
were about sharks and gambling and Donald Trump and gambling.
In shark news, the prize money in this year's South Jersey Shark
Tournament was $336,005, plus side bets. The heaviest shark caught
was a 582-pound Thresher, winning the top prize of $113,536.
Even with the entry fee of $525 per boat and the burning of 250
gallons of gas, that's still a net profit of $112,000 for one fish.
My best fish in a half-century of angling was probably a 6-pound
fluke, worth about $15 at current whole-fish prices.
The second heaviest shark was another Thresher, weighing 347
pounds and winning $78,727 in prize money. Third place was a
308-pound Hammerhead, winning $26,443.
There were noticeable and numerous bullet holes in all three of
the heaviest sharks when they were raised up on the weighing hook.
With a tournament boundary of 60 nautical miles from Cape May, no
one wants to make the long ride back to the marina with a live and
annoyed shark as a sidekick.
There was no winner of the "$50,000 Monster Shark Bonus,"
awarded to the first angler who broke the New Jersey state record
for a Mako shark or Blue shark -- currently 856 pounds and 366
pounds, respectively, set in 1994 and 1996.
There were also no winners this year for the heaviest Mako or
heaviest Blue, with no sharks in either category coming up to the
contest's 200-pound minimum.
"Thresher" is derived from the upper fork of the shark's tail,
large and sickle-shaped, about equal in length to the rest of the
shark's body. Instead of being used on wheat, the Thresher shark's
tail is used to sweep small fish in front of the shark for easy
eating.
The largest Thresher shark ever recorded, 1,250 pounds, was
caught last year off the coast of Cornwall, England. The previous
record holder, 723 pounds, was caught off Hawaii in 2005.
Hammerheads can run up to 1,000 pounds and it's said that they
generally don't attack humans unless they somehow get it in their
strangely-shaped head that they're being cornered.
IN OTHER GAMBLING NEWS, The Press of Atlantic City had
photos of an estimated 3,000 union supporters marching down Pacific
Avenue, the main drag in Atlantic City -- illegally, i.e., without
a permit -- shouting "Negotiate" in support of casino dealers being
unionized by the United Automobile Workers.
Vowing that "we're gonna shut this town down," Roy Foster,
president of the Atlantic-Cape May County AFL-CIO Central Labor
Council, yelled "Let's get ready to rumble" to the protesters
before they headed down the street. "I say today it's an eye for
eye."
Stopping in front of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, the
protesters shouted: "Donald Trump, negotiate! Whose city? Our city!
No justice, no peace!"
Four days later, the headline in The Press of Atlantic
City was about something new at Trump Plaza: "No dealers, but
plenty of action at Atlantic City's new automated poker
tables."
Reporting that Trump Plaza is "the first gaming hall in town to
introduce electronic poker tables," The Press article
highlighted a satisfied customer's comments regarding no-dealer
tables of poker: "Perhaps the best thing about playing electronic
poker, Marc Zahra said wryly, is that you don't have to tip the
dealer."
Additionally, said the Press in its front page
coverage, "According to Zahra and his girlfriend, Rachael
Stalcoskie, who needs human dealers when a machine will do just
fine?"
The 10-seat computer-driven poker games have been "a great
success in other markets, including Illinois, Connecticut and
Canada," reported the Press in another article, adding
that the automation is good for people who "love playing poker but
don't like to deal with people and their sometimes intimidating
personalities."
The "beauty of the automation is that we can go ahead and
operate tournaments around the clock," said Trump Plaza general
manager Jim Rigot. "There are no concerns regarding staff."
Adding to the bottom line, the automated poker tables play 40
percent more hands per hour as human dealers. "It is also error
free," with "no worrying about pushing pots to the wrong
customers," explained Rigot. "It's just an all-around winner."
The UAW, reported the Press, had no comment regarding
the charge that the union's actions are producing a more automated
workplace that could cost its members their jobs, like in
Detroit.
