Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[Skippy]

I was always told that the top two employers in the world were the Indian railways followed by the NHS, but maybe enough of the NHS doesn't count these days as one employer.

[Doobs]

I got the NHS and army ones, and kind of gave up after that.

Just googled Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd as I had never heard of them.  I had heard of ipod factories, but some of these numbers...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn

Foxconn's largest factory worldwide is in Longhua, Shenzhen, where hundreds of thousands of workers (varying counts include 230,000,[19] 300,000,[21] and 450,000[22]) are employed at the Longhua Science & Technology Park, a walled campus[8] sometimes referred to as "Foxconn City"[23] or "iPod City".[24] Covering about 1.16 square miles (3 square km),[25] it includes 15 factories,[23] worker dormitories, a swimming pool,[26] a fire brigade,[8] its own television network (Foxconn TV),[8] and a city centre with a grocery store, bank, restaurants, bookstore, and hospital...   a quarter of the employees live in the dormitories, and many of them work up to 12 hours a day for 6 days each week

[mulhuzz]

There's some interesting reading to be done about Foxconn working conditions if you care to. Interesting stuff.

Quite a lot about how they've had to change to react to worker suicides and other such tragedies.

[Bad Beat]

 Obv couldn't resist clicking on the link immediately...also couldn't stop myself reading the words People's Liberation Army as People's Front of Judea...

 Splitters.

[Tal]

PepsiCo employs twice as many people in the US as the Coca Cola Company.

Anyone else find that surprising?

[tikay]

PepsiCo employs twice as many people in the US as the Coca Cola Company.

Anyone else find that surprising?

That is a result of how Coca-Cola is set up.

Essentially, Coca-Cola simply makes & sells the syrup concentrate to Bottlers across the US, & world, & acts as a central Marketing tool. Coca-Cola has just one USA Bottling Plant, but that apart, all Coca-Cola does is sell the syrup concentrate, others "make", bottle & distribute the drink. Coca-Cola also manage all the Marketing.

There are several very interesting books on both Pepsi & Coca-Cola, including their incredibly intense marketing wars.  Well worth a read. The later editions include the disastrous "New Coke" & "Coke Classic" debacles.

 

[tikay]

Incidentally, Diary fave Warren Buffett (he is right up there with Michael O'Leary of Ryanair) owns 9% of Coca Cola via Berkshire Hathaway. Warren recently stated.....

"Right now 3% of all the liquids people put in their mouths are Coca-Cola products, throughout the 7 billion people (in the world)."

And an observer noted.....

 "Coke constitutes 3% of global liquid consumption (making it a rival to water), and "Coca-Cola" is the second most-known phrase in the world behind "OK."


If Gatters were around, he'd probably call bs on much of that, & maybe rightly so. I'm a buyer though. Awesome stattage.

[tikay]

From Mr Wiki......


In general, The Coca-Cola Company and its subsidiaries only produce syrup concentrate, which is then sold to various bottlers throughout the world who hold a Coca-Cola franchise. Coca-Cola bottlers, who hold terrestrially exclusive contracts with the company, produce the finished product in cans and bottles from the concentrate in combination with filtered water and sweeteners. The bottlers then sell, distribute and merchandise the resulting Coca-Cola product to retail stores, vending machines, restaurants and food service distributors.
 
One notable exception to this general relationship between The Coca-Cola Company and bottlers is fountain syrups in the United States, where the company bypasses bottlers and is responsible for the manufacture and sale of fountain syrups directly to authorized fountain wholesalers and some fountain retailers.

[Bad Beat]

 One of the claims that Sammy George used to make on a regular basis was that he was the largest distributor of Coca Cola in Iran and that he had the franchise for production, bottling and distribution within the whole country.

 The regulars in the game generally thought that to be bullshit but one day a man sat down and splashed some money around. He seemed like someone we would like so we got chatting and somebody asked him what he did. He said he was in the sugar business. Sammy proceeded to ask him a bunch of questions about his business and a long to-and-fro ensued with detailed discussion of quality and price of various kinds of sugar, names were mentioned of mutual friends and Sammy went on to tell him about the Iranian arm of his operation.

 It turned out he owned a launderette and a dodgy strip club in Wembley.

 Do you think the guy was a plant?

[tikay]

One of the claims that Sammy George used to make on a regular basis was that he was the largest distributor of Coca Cola in Iran and that he had the franchise for production, bottling and distribution within the whole country.

 The regulars in the game generally thought that to be bullshit but one day a man sat down and splashed some money around. He seemed like someone we would like so we got chatting and somebody asked him what he did. He said he was in the sugar business. Sammy proceeded to ask him a bunch of questions about his business and a long to-and-fro ensued with detailed discussion of quality and price of various kinds of sugar, names were mentioned of mutual friends and Sammy went on to tell him about the Iranian arm of his operation.

 It turned out he owned a launderette and a dodgy strip club in Wembley.

 Do you think the guy was a plant?

Think I'm going to raise.

I think Coca-Cola was banned in Iran back in 2002 or thereabouts, as part of the wider boycott of American products & culture generally.

The locally-made substitute, of course, as I'm sure you already know, is Zam Zam Cola.

Zam Zam, the real thing


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zam_Zam_Cola

It seems they also make the world-famous Mecca-Cola, & Qibla-Cola.

Not sure what to think now, Sammy would never tell porkies, surely?

[Bad Beat]

 It is possible I've remembered it wrongly and it was Iraq...actually I think it was. Not saying I believed him obviously but it was pretty amazing. The two of them spoke for over an hour on the subject.

[tikay]

It is possible I've remembered it wrongly and it was Iraq...actually I think it was. Not saying I believed him obviously but it was pretty amazing. The two of them spoke for over an hour on the subject.

It was a cracking story, gotta love these spots where you have no idea who is bluffing.

Surprised The Honey Monster, Dear Albert, was not mentioned. I was chuffed to bits to see that Albert, with his unconventional style of playing, which exasparates & delights in equal measure, had another deep run at DTD last weekend.

I just love Albert.

Wonder how many times Albert has said "go on then, I call".

[tikay]

When I was first playing the circuit, in around 2004 or so, Albert broke my heart. Might have been my first ever £1,000 Event, & it was at Walsall. 

I'd got him in my mind as "not too good", & with the Blinds getting big, decided it'd make sense to attack his Big Blind. Easy game. 

I had 7-7, both black, &  I barrelled every street, but the Board was all paint, with 4 hearts, & really as wet as wet could be.

He check-called all the way, and come showdown, I felt I had no choice but to muck, face down, "you got me". So, tail between legs, & with my tight image to protect, I mucked, & did not show.

He tabled 4-4, both black. 

htdhcrtykmyssk5maancrdrtdc

[tikay]

We shared several Tables in Vegas last year.

He arrived 5 minutes late one day for the 2pm @ Venetian.

"Overlaid Albert?"

"No, I played the Noon @ Caesars & bust, then the 1pm @ Aria, & bust that too".

He then proceeded to play every single hand for the next 4 hours. The locals were going apeshit, as he bust them, one after the other. He's not as daft as he makes out.

He should be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, or somesuch. 

[AlunB]

PepsiCo employs twice as many people in the US as the Coca Cola Company.

Anyone else find that surprising?

Not to be a smart arse, but no not really. Pepsi co own a ridiculous amount of household drink and snack brands. It's about way more than just Pepsi. You must have seen that chart on the interwebs somewhere. Will see if I can find it.

Found it! http://urbanhonking.com/plazm/files/2012/05/brand-map3.jpg