Josh Marshall, TPM re the Vegas shooter "What Did He Do?"

[NRaleighLiberal]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/what-did-he-do

By JOSH MARSHALL Published OCTOBER 3, 2017 4:34 PM

It’s probably just a detail in a horrific story, rather than something that will be critical to understanding it. But I wanted to flag one aspect of the story. What did Stephen Paddock do for a living? And where did he get his money?

There have been reports, though not really confirmed, that he was actually a wealthy man, perhaps a real investor. He wired his girlfriend $100,000 a week ago. He also reportedly rented a series of condos over another outdoor concert that he had apparently considered attacking before choosing this country music concert. Those certainly suggest a decent amount of liquid assets, though if you knew you were about to end your life a middle-class person could likely sell things and come up with that amount of cash.

The Washington Post says “He liked to bet big, wagering tens of thousands of dollars in a sitting. He owned homes in four states but preferred staying in casino hotels, sometimes for weeks at a time, as he worked the gambling machines.” Card counters and professional card players can win over time at casinos. But most people don’t. And it doesn’t sound like Paddock did the kind of gambling where you can win, over time.

There’s also this new AP story which seems to suggest he hadn’t been employed in almost thirty years. According to this timeline, he worked for the post office from 1976 to 1978. He graduated college in 1977. He worked as an IRS agent from 1978 to 1984. He then worked for a defense auditing job for a year and a half. The AP also says he “worked for a defense contractor in the late 1980s.”

snip - more at the link above

[gratuitous]

1. Did the silicone chip inside his head get switched to overload?

Hmmmm, lots of money, no visible means of support, like to gamble big, practically no social media presence, and a personal arsenal that a drug lord would envy.

Nah, nothing to see here. Let's get on to the inevitable yammering about regulating firearms, so we can all sadly conclude once again that nothing can be done.

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. His father was a bank robber and a con man. My guess is he had some money from him

and bought some real estate like his brother said. Those hotels "comp" small time weekend gamblers all the time, those rooms would otherwise would be empty.

Marshall would like to believe that there is some big conspiracy here, if so, why would anybody set this clown up to shoot at a stupid concert? This is all bullshit.

[tparrett62]

3. I disagree with one of Marshall's premises

He seems to feel that a professional gambler couldn't make a living at video poker. I disagree- if he has enough of a cushion to weather some dry spells, someone who has learned VP strategy could probably do pretty well. It also makes sense that a loner, as it appears this shooter was, would prefer gambling on a machine vs interacting with live players and dealers.

[GusBob]

6. 2 very good points

My wife likes to gamble and is good at cards/odds etc.

Me not so much. Since she hauls me to the casinos , VP is my game for 2 reasons you mention: of all the machines you have the most control ( drawing/ discarding cards vs pulling a lever). If you have a strategy you can win and I have. I play cheap but you can go large easily

The other reason is you can play solo, in my case no fear of making a blunder with the bet or cards and looking like a rube to the dealer and other players

[shraby]

4. It gets curioser and curioser. Not many besides the extremely rich can go years withou

working some sort of job to pay the bills.
Food, clothing, vehicles, rent or taxes on property, etc.
He had to have some source of income but none is showing?

[Shrike47]

5. In a thriller, he would be a professional hit man.

[renegade000]

7. Could have been part of a casino machine hacking ring...

The syndicate figured out some of the inputs of the random number generator, or RNG, of certain machines and manufacturers. That enabled the hackers to better determine when to hit the button to win.

The syndicate used an elaborate scheme with plenty of computer firepower, Carlson said. So-called scouts would initially troll the casino floor and send back video of slot machines the headquarters was familiar with. Hackers would then put the video on their computers and reverse engineer aspects of the machine’s RNG over the course of several weeks.

Next, foot soldiers would be sent back to play the machines. They would be armed with two phones, one in their shirt pocket that took video of the slot screen and one in their pants pocket. The phones had four applications representing four manufacturers, including Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. The pants pocket phone would buzz when it was time to hit the slot button.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/russian-slot-hackers-focusing-on-new-targets-group-told/

[librechik]

8. IMO, his lifestyle had all the earmarks of a professional assassin.

But don't pay any attention to me.I'm just being silly because nothing makes sense and this world sucks.