Bill Reynolds - Life Real Loud - John Lefebvre, Neteller and the Revolution in Online Gambling

When he turns around and scans the horizon, looking north, maybe in his row boat, Ancylosserous II , with his sweetheart at the stern, he in the bow, rowing in tandem, calm indigo below, crystal azure above, he sees that he would have done everything exactly the same way. Exactly, that is, except for that sliver of recklessness, the urge to get more use out of his Malibu shacks and kibitz with the Nobu celebrity tribe, once he had “identified peril.” Oh, and one other thing: “moderating the gradual part of going broke.”

For the man who once stood at the top of a mountain, what he got out of it was an improvised thrill ride, love and appreciation from friends and strangers alike, innumerable disapproving looks from hardheaded business types, a piece of shoreline with a factory on the far side to remind him of his spiritual mission, a few rocks, some seagulls floating overhead, a mermaid, and quiet.

Thanks to Jack David for giving the green light (and not applying deep pressure). Thanks to Shelley Youngblut, who gave the original green light in Swerve magazine in Calgary. Thanks to Jeff Proudfoot, whose suggested title, Life Real Loud , won out over The Man Who Gave It All Away . Thanks to Geoff Savage, Jane McMullen, Steve Glavine, Meranda Glesby, Bob Edmunds, Louise Lefebvre, Rob Eltom, Anne Lefebvre, Mike Greene, Lyn Savage, Robb Lucy, Marian Bankes, Matteo Nicola Brancacci, Nathalie Carles, Mick Verde, Lynn Demers, Jim Hoggan, Katharine Armitage, Cecilia Garro (for coming to the gate), Harold Kirkpatrick, Lesley Hayes, Oscar Hansen, Pat Blocksom, Kyle Blocksom, Karen Fowlie, The Chauffeur, Hilary Watson, Luke Watson, Enid Marion, Pádraig Ó’Cinnéide, Emily Lefebvre, Neil Osborne, Ann Calvert, Roman Cooney, editors at the University of Calgary’s The Gauntlet , Grant Burns, Allen Baekeland, Michael Lipton, Terry Tompkins, Steve Bromstein, Brian Ahern (for letting me hang out in Studio D), Ricky Fataar, Billy Payne, James “Hutch” Hutchison, Greg Leisz, Patrick Warren, Barry Bookin, Simon Sidi, and Danny Patton. Thanks to Kevin Connolly, Nancy Foran, Ian Pearson, and Peter Norman for editing advice; to Jeff Day for showing me how they shoot news photos, New York — style; to Ivor Shapiro, Paul Knox, Lynn Cunningham, Kamal Al-Solaylee, Tim Falconer, Steve Trumper, and other colleagues at the School of Journalism, and to my students at Ryerson, for enduring their colleague/instructor going on (and on). Thanks to David Abrahamson, Ian Brown, Miles Maguire, Roberta Maguire, Norman Sims, William Langewiesche, Zsuzsi Gartner, and Kathleen Anderson for various bits of advice. Thanks to the folks at Out-of-Bounds B&B in Escazú and Costa Paraiso in Dominical for the hospitality in CR. Thanks to Crissy Calhoun, Rachel Ironstone, Troy Cunningham, Erin Creasey, and Jenna Illies at ECW. Finally, pt. 1: thanks to John Lefebvre for his good memory and for seeing both sides of most arguments. Finally, pt. 2: thanks to my wife, Laura Lind, who has heard it all so, so many times. Peace and love on the right-wing planet.

Bill Reynolds is graduate program director at the School of Journalism, Ryerson University, Toronto.