Basel Poker Players Dealt Bad Hand...Again :: Basel Bucks Bland Beer Ban :: Round The Clock Kebap Stand to Close :: Sales Gluts Confuse Basel Shoppers

  In March of 2011 Police raided and closed a Basel Based Poker club oddly named Other Poker.  As is custom under such circumstances, the police seized everything - Tables, Gaming Chips, Cards, and computers without allowing players that were sent home to redeem their chips in play at the time of the bust.  Well, it seems the same players will have to endure a second, more substantial loss.  The police have been busy the last 2 years reconstructing tournament results records from the Hard Disk Drives of the computers that were seized in 2011.  Approximately 400 players out of the 1000 or so members of the poker club have been identified as winners and last week in a trial expected to set a precedent, a Turkish man that cumulatively won approximately 10000 francs according to the club's computer records will be forced to disgorge his illegal winnings.  The man did not dispute his winnings, claiming that he was not aware the club was an illegal operation.  The Judge was not swayed by ignorance as a defense nor the fact that officially licensed poker tournaments are expected to be legalized soon in the canton.  The Federal Gaming commission is now expected to pursue disgorgement efforts against the remaining 400 winners - no word from the losing 600 about recovering their losses!   ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++   Following a 2010 ban on serving anything but low-alcohol beer within St. Jakob's stadium during FCB home games, February will usher in a relaxation of these rules as part of a 1 year pilot program - meaning fans can once again expect to find their favorite alcoholic malty beverages during games. While other international cities continue in the direction of alcohol restrictions or outright bans, nation-wide, Switzerland's football matches will now allow for the sales of alcohol without restrictions on volume of alcohol percentages. Apparently, the Basel Justice and Security Department is the force behind the rolling back of rules.  They cite the 4 year reduction in home-game violence as the primary reason in addition to the fact that managing fans with the ban was difficult.  It seems attendees would arrive early and drink real beer outside the stadium, in anticipation of only having the light stuff available once inside.  Once the pre-game drinking was concluded, intoxicated fans would rush the entry gates confusing and pressuring ticket and security staff.  It is hoped that the relaxation of the ban will ease this pressure as fans will arrive in a more orderly and presumably more sober state.  The Department also hopes this will reduce the number of required security staff, police and cleanup crew.  At the end of the 1 year pilot period officials will review the success of program and warn that at matches deemed high risk (such as those with international rivals) the old rules will remain in effect.   ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++   Fans of the Kleinbasel franchise of Sam's Pizza Land will have to find another place to get their late night kebab fix.  It seems the operator of the franchise had not paid rent to the owner's agent for several months, accruing a debt of 10's of thousands of swiss francs.  As of January 1st, the landlord terminated the lease and has taken the operators of Sam's to court to recover the back rent.  In the meantime, the doors to Sam's have already been closed and the landlord claims to have an interested party in developing the retail outlet into an alternative bistro type food establishment which will occupy both floors that used to be Sam's.  It is hoped that the new store will be open by summer - In the meantime, for those of you who can't live without Sam's brand of kebab and other delicacies, the other franchises throughout basel will remain open.   ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++   Historically, Basel shoppers were attuned to the winter and summer sales that were coordinated by shop owners around the first of the new year and in July.  However, since 1995 such harmonization by retailers has consistently broken down, where, for competitive reasons, a growing group of retailers have started their sales offers earlier with each passing year.  The sales season - if it even exists any longer seems to occur the entire year, which from the retailers perspective is a problem as they can no longer motivate shopping with an ever-present sale or discount campaign.  Manor spokeswoman Elle Steinbrecher however points out that their pricing still adheres to the classic sales dates in the winter and summer, and that Manor has found that their clients appreciate the tradition. It seems the real winners are Swiss shoppers in general who can find an overall reduction in retail prices and the possibility of a bargain year-round.