title: Cumulant

text: An advantage of —in some sense the function evaluated for purely imaginary arguments—is that is well defined for all real values of even when is not well defined for all real values of , such as can occur when there is "too much" probability that has a large magnitude. Although the function will be well defined, it will nonetheless mimic in terms of the length of its Maclaurin series, which may not extend beyond (or, rarely, even to) linear order in the argument , and in particular the number of cumulants that are well defined will not change. Nevertheless, even when does not have a long Maclaurin series, it can be used directly in analyzing and, particularly, adding random variables. Both the Cauchy distribution (also called the Lorentzian) and more generally, stable distributions (related to the Lévy distribution) are examples of distributions for which the power-series expansions of the generating functions have only finitely many well-defined terms.


title: Cumulant

text: The formula_5-th cumulant formula_6 of (the distribution of) a random variable formula_7 enjoys the following properties:


title: Cumulant

text: so that each cumulant of a sum of independent random variables is the sum of the corresponding cumulants of the addends. That is, when the addends are statistically independent, the mean of the sum is the sum of the means, the variance of the sum is the sum of the variances, the third cumulant (which happens to be the third central moment) of the sum is the sum of the third cumulants, and so on for each order of cumulant.


title: Cumulant

text: All of the higher cumulants are polynomial functions of the central moments, with integer coefficients, but only in degrees 2 and 3 are the cumulants actually central moments.


title: Cumulant

text: the above probability distributions get a unified formula for the derivative of the cumulant generating function:


title: Cumulant

text: Note the analogy to the classification of conic sections by eccentricity: circles , ellipses , parabolas , hyperbolas .


title: Cumulant

text: The cumulant generating function , if it exists, is infinitely differentiable and convex, and passes through the origin. Its first derivative ranges monotonically in the open interval from the infimum to the supremum of the support of the probability distribution, and its second derivative is strictly positive everywhere it is defined, except for the degenerate distribution of a single point mass. The cumulant-generating function exists if and only if the tails of the distribution are majorized by an exponential decay, that is, ("see Big O notation")


title: Cumulant

text: where formula_30 is the cumulative distribution function. The cumulant-generating function will have vertical asymptote(s) at the negative supremum of such , if such a supremum exists, and at the supremum of such , if such a supremum exists, otherwise it will be defined for all real numbers.


title: Cumulant

text: If the support of a random variable has finite upper or lower bounds, then its cumulant-generating function , if it exists, approaches asymptote(s) whose slope is equal to the supremum and/or infimum of the support,


title: Cumulant

text: For a shift of the distribution by , formula_33 For a degenerate point mass at , the cgf is the straight line formula_34, and more generally, formula_35 if and only if and are independent and their cgfs exist; (subindependence and the existence of second moments sufficing to imply independence.)


title: Cumulant

text: The natural exponential family of a distribution may be realized by shifting or translating , and adjusting it vertically so that it always passes through the origin: if is the pdf with cgf formula_36 and formula_37 is its natural exponential family, then formula_38 and formula_39


title: Cumulant

text: If is finite for a range then if then is analytic and infinitely differentiable for . Moreover for real and is strictly convex, and is strictly increasing.


title: Cumulant

text: Given the results for the cumulants of the normal distribution, it might be hoped to find families of distributions for which


title: Cumulant

text: The first cumulant is the expected value; the second and third cumulants are respectively the second and third central moments (the second central moment is the variance); but the higher cumulants are neither moments nor central moments, but rather more complicated polynomial functions of the moments.


title: Cumulant

text: The moments can be recovered in terms of cumulants by evaluating the -th derivative of formula_42 at ,


title: Cumulant

text: Likewise, the cumulants can be recovered in terms of moments by evaluating the -th derivative of formula_44 at ,


title: Cumulant

text: The explicit expression for the -th moment in terms of the first cumulants, and vice versa, can be obtained by using Faà di Bruno's formula for higher derivatives of composite functions. In general, we have


title: Cumulant

text: In the like manner, if the mean is given by formula_49, the central moment generating function is given by


title: Cumulant

text: The "prime" distinguishes the moments from the central moments . To express the "central" moments as functions of the cumulants, just drop from these polynomials all terms in which appears as a factor:


title: Cumulant

text: Similarly, the -th cumulant is an -th-degree polynomial in the first non-central moments. The first few expressions are:


title: Cumulant

text: To express the cumulants for as functions of the central moments, drop from these polynomials all terms in which μ' appears as a factor:


title: Cumulant

text: To express the cumulants for as functions of the standardized central moments , also set in the polynomials:


title: Cumulant

text: The cumulants can be related to the moments by differentiating the relationship with respect to , giving , which conveniently contains no exponentials or logarithms. Equating the coefficient of on the left and right sides and using gives the following formulas for :


title: Cumulant

text: These allow either formula_66 or formula_67 to be computed from the other using knowledge of the lower-order cumulants and moments. The corresponding formulas for the central moments formula_68 for formula_69 are formed from these formulas by setting formula_70 and replacing each formula_67 with formula_68 for formula_69.


title: Cumulant

text: These polynomials have a remarkable combinatorial interpretation: the coefficients count certain partitions of sets. A general form of these polynomials is


title: Cumulant

text: Thus each monomial is a constant times a product of cumulants in which the sum of the indices is (e.g., in the term , the sum of the indices is 3 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 8; this appears in the polynomial that expresses the 8th moment as a function of the first eight cumulants). A partition of the integer corresponds to each term. The "coefficient" in each term is the number of partitions of a set of members that collapse to that partition of the integer when the members of the set become indistinguishable.


title: Cumulant

text: Further connection between cumulants and combinatorics can be found in the work of Gian-Carlo Rota, where links to invariant theory, symmetric functions, and binomial sequences are studied via umbral calculus.


title: Cumulant

text: where runs through the list of all partitions of ,  runs through the list of all blocks of the partition , and is the number of parts in the partition. For example,


title: Cumulant

text: The joint cumulant of just one random variable is its expected value, and that of two random variables is their covariance. If some of the random variables are independent of all of the others, then any cumulant involving two (or more) independent random variables is zero. If all random variables are the same, then the joint cumulant is the -th ordinary cumulant.


title: Cumulant

text: The combinatorial meaning of the expression of moments in terms of cumulants is easier to understand than that of cumulants in terms of moments:


title: Cumulant

text: Just as the second cumulant is the variance, the joint cumulant of just two random variables is the covariance. The familiar identity


title: Cumulant

text: The law of total expectation and the law of total variance generalize naturally to conditional cumulants. The case , expressed in the language of (central) moments rather than that of cumulants, says


title: Cumulant

text: In statistical physics many extensive quantities – that is quantities that are proportional to the volume or size of a given system – are related to cumulants of random variables. The deep connection is that in a large system an extensive quantity like the energy or number of particles can be thought of as the sum of (say) the energy associated with a number of nearly independent regions. The fact that the cumulants of these nearly independent random variables will (nearly) add make it reasonable that extensive quantities should be expected to be related to cumulants.


title: Cumulant

text: A system in equilibrium with a thermal bath at temperature have a fluctuating internal energy , which can be considered a random variable drawn from a distribution formula_89. The partition function of the system is


title: Cumulant

text: where =  and is Boltzmann's constant and the notation formula_91 has been used rather than formula_92 for the expectation value to avoid confusion with the energy, . Hence the first and second cumulant for the energy give the average energy and heat capacity.


title: Cumulant

text: further connects thermodynamic quantities with cumulant generating function for the energy. Thermodynamics properties that are derivatives of the free energy, such as its internal energy, entropy, and specific heat capacity, all can be readily expressed in terms of these cumulants. Other free energy can be a function of other variables such as the magnetic field or chemical potential formula_49, e.g.


title: Cumulant

text: where is the number of particles and formula_98 is the grand potential. Again the close relationship between the definition of the free energy and the cumulant generating function implies that various derivatives of this free energy can be written in terms of joint cumulants of and .


title: Cumulant

text: Cumulants were first introduced by Thorvald N. Thiele, in 1889, who called them "semi-invariants". They were first called "cumulants" in a 1932 paper by Ronald Fisher and John Wishart. Fisher was publicly reminded of Thiele's work by Neyman, who also notes previous published citations of Thiele brought to Fisher's attention. Stephen Stigler has said that the name "cumulant" was suggested to Fisher in a letter from Harold Hotelling. In a paper published in 1929, Fisher had called them "cumulative moment functions". The partition function in statistical physics was introduced by Josiah Willard Gibbs in 1901. The free energy is often called Gibbs free energy. In statistical mechanics, cumulants are also known as Ursell functions relating to a publication in 1927.


title: Cumulant

text: More generally, the cumulants of a sequence , not necessarily the moments of any probability distribution, are, by definition,


title: Cumulant

text: where the values of for are found formally, i.e., by algebra alone, in disregard of questions of whether any series converges. All of the difficulties of the "problem of cumulants" are absent when one works formally. The simplest example is that the second cumulant of a probability distribution must always be nonnegative, and is zero only if all of the higher cumulants are zero. Formal cumulants are subject to no such constraints.


title: Cumulant

text: In combinatorics, the -th Bell number is the number of partitions of a set of size . All of the cumulants of the sequence of Bell numbers are equal to 1. The Bell numbers are the moments of the Poisson distribution with expected value 1.


title: Cumulant

text: For any sequence of scalars in a field of characteristic zero, being considered formal cumulants, there is a corresponding sequence of formal moments, given by the polynomials above. For those polynomials, construct a polynomial sequence in the following way. Out of the polynomial


title: Cumulant

text: and then generalize the pattern. The pattern is that the numbers of blocks in the aforementioned partitions are the exponents on . Each coefficient is a polynomial in the cumulants; these are the Bell polynomials, named after Eric Temple Bell.


title: Cumulant

text: This sequence of polynomials is of binomial type. In fact, no other sequences of binomial type exist; every polynomial sequence of binomial type is completely determined by its sequence of formal cumulants.


title: Cumulant

text: one sums over "all" partitions of the set . If instead, one sums only over the noncrossing partitions, then, by solving these formulae for the formula_103 in terms of the moments, one gets free cumulants rather than conventional cumulants treated above. These free cumulants were introduced by Roland Speicher and play a central role in free probability theory. In that theory, rather than considering independence of random variables, defined in terms of tensor products of algebras of random variables, one considers instead free independence of random variables, defined in terms of free products of algebras.


title: Cumulant

text: The ordinary cumulants of degree higher than 2 of the normal distribution are zero. The "free" cumulants of degree higher than 2 of the Wigner semicircle distribution are zero. This is one respect in which the role of the Wigner distribution in free probability theory is analogous to that of the normal distribution in conventional probability theory.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The Halifax Mooseheads are a Canadian major junior ice hockey club in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The team was founded in 1994 and began play in the Dilio Division of the QMJHL from the 1994–95 season. They have appeared in the President's Cup Finals four times, winning in 2013. The other three appearances were in 2003, 2005 and 2019. They hosted the Memorial Cup tournament in 2000 and 2019 and won the Memorial Cup in 2013. The team plays their home games in the Scotiabank Centre.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The Mooseheads were the first team from Atlantic Canada to join the QMJHL. With the Mooseheads' success, the QMJHL then expanded to several other east coast cities. The QMJHL's eastward expansion has been credited with elevating the skill level and the career opportunities for hockey talent from the region. In the 2018–19 season, three of the NHL's top seven scorers were QMJHL alumni from Halifax; two of them former Mooseheads.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: Halifax was home to professional American Hockey League clubs for 22 seasons; however, in 1993 the Quebec Nordiques-affiliated Halifax Citadels announced plans to relocate the team. Faced with the loss of its major hockey draw, brewery executive Harold MacKay proposed the city seek a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) franchise. Since its founding in 1969, the QMJHL consisted of almost exclusively Quebec-based teams. Expansion to Atlantic Canada was considered financially unfeasible by QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau and much of the league's executive committee due to the added travel costs for the existing franchises, but on 17 March 1994, the QMJHL Board of Governors unanimously approved the Halifax application.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: MacKay won the financial backing of Moosehead Breweries president and CEO Derek Oland. The company put up the $500,000 expansion franchise fee and secured the team's naming rights. Nine minority owners included auto dealer John Gwynne-Timothy, fuel company executive Laddie Farquhar, and National Hockey League players Wendell Young and Cam Russell.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The new club then had to create a team in less than six months. MacKay recruited as the team's head coach and general manager Clément Jodoin, then an assistant coach with the Quebec Nordiques and a former AHL defenceman who had spent seven seasons in Halifax. He added as an assistant coach Shawn MacKenzie, a former professional goaltender and university coach. With its first draft picks and free agent signings, the club selected four Maritimers. Among them was Jody Shelley, a towering forward from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, who would go on to a 13-year NHL career, and held the Mooseheads' record for most career penalty minutes (933) as of 2019. The team also signed goaltender Jean-Sébastien Giguère, a future Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy winner.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: With attendance averaging over 3700 per game, the Mooseheads finished their first season with a 24–42–6 record, earning a playoff berth despite finishing 11th overall in the 13-team league. The club lost in the first round, but took the first-place Beauport Harfangs to seven games. The Mooseheads continued to build over the next couple of seasons, finishing with a winning record and third place in their division in their third season. Fan support continued to grow, averaging 5349 during the regular season and reaching 9600 in the playoffs. The team reached the President's Cup semi-final for the first time in 1997, losing to the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in a seventh game. The club also continued to have success in recruitment, drafting winger Alex Tanguay, a future NHL all-star and Stanley Cup winner, 20th overall in the 1996 midget draft. Tanguay, Giguère, and Shelley are the only former Mooseheads to have their numbers retired by the club.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The Mooseheads underwent several changes prior to its fourth season in 1997–98. In addition to losing key players such as Shelley, the team's inaugural coach and general manager, Clément Jodoin, moved to an assistant coaching position with the Montreal Canadiens and the club's founder Harold MacKay stepped down as president. The organization recruited Denis Leblanc as general manager and Danny Grant, a former NHL 50-goal scorer and university coach, as the Mooseheads' new coach. The club struggled on the ice, finishing fifth in their division and losing in the first round of the playoffs in five games. Grant was then replaced as coach by Bob Mongrain.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: Aided by key acquisitions, including goaltenders Pascal Leclaire and Aleksei Volkov, and Slovakian forward Ladislav Nagy, the team rebounded to second place divisional finishes in 1999 and 2000, losing in the second round both seasons. Despite limited on-ice success, the Mooseheads still drew many fans; in 1998–99 cumulative attendance topped one million through the regular season and playoffs. It was the key factor in the Canadian Hockey League's awarding the 2000 Memorial Cup tournament to Halifax.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: Following the four-game sweep to the Rimouski Océanic in the second round of the 2000 QMJHL playoffs, and a month before the Memorial Cup tournament was to begin, the club released Mongrain, replacing him with assistant coach Shawn Mackenzie. Led by a 10-point performance by Ramzi Abid, the Mooseheads finished the Memorial Cup round-robin with a 2–1 record, but lost in the semi-final to the Ontario Hockey League's Barrie Colts.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: Following the team's strong Memorial Cup showing, Mackenzie was awarded the head coaching job to start the 2000–01 season, while Marcel Patenaude took over as general manager. After a slow 2–12 start to the season, the team improved and finished the season in first place in the Atlantic Division, only to lose to Rimouski in five games in the first round of the playoffs. A third place-overall finish the next season propelled Halifax into the second round, ending with a six-game second round loss to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: In 2002, Sidney Crosby, a skilled forward from the Halifax suburb of Cole Harbour, had attracted media attention from an early age and often played with older teammates. In early 2002, he was 14 and playing triple-A midget hockey when the Mooseheads approached the QMJHL for permission to sign Crosby for the 2002–03 season. The club asked the league to adopt a rule similar to one in the Ontario Hockey League allowing an underage player to play a season with his hometown club prior to draft eligibility. The QMJHL board of governors turned down the request. Crosby played a few games of junior A hockey in Nova Scotia before being selected first overall in 2003 QMJHL draft by the Rimouski Oceanic.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The 2002–03 season became the club's most successful at the time, marking its first appearance in a President's Cup final. With a regular season record of 44–15–10–3, the club secured first place in its division, before sweeping Cape Breton in the first round, then beating Acadie Bathurst and Baie Comeau each in seven-game series. The team then met the Hull Olympiques in the final, taking them to seven games before dropping a 7–2 decision in the deciding game.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The 2002–03 season was also significant as the city of Halifax played host to the World Junior Hockey Championship and original majority owner Moosehead Breweries disclosed the company was looking for a buyer for its 64 percent share of the club. Before the start of the 2003–04 season, the club announced that Bobby Smith, a Nova Scotia native and former NHL forward and general manager, had become majority owner. The club retained the rights to the Mooseheads' name and logo.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: After having brought in several older players for a run at the league championship, the Mooseheads iced a less experienced team for the 2003–04 season. Among players the team lost was the team's then-offensive leader, Brandon Benedict, who retired with a record of 303 points in 343 games played for the Mooseheads. Outscored 194–274 on the season, the team did not qualify for of the playoffs for the first time in its history. In addition, team owner Bobby Smith engaged in a public spat with the management of the club's arena, claiming the Mooseheads' lease was the worst in junior hockey. After threatening to leave for an older, smaller rink, the dispute was resolved after municipal government intervened.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The Mooseheads team that began the 2004–05 season was much improved over the previous year, going into the Christmas break eight games over .500, although the team was often undisciplined and plagued by suspensions. Among them was an eight-game suspension of winger Frédérik Cabana for a knee-on-knee hit that sidelined Rimouski's Sidney Crosby for two weeks. In response, Smith fired coach Shawn MacKenzie, replacing him with a former NHL linemate, Al MacAdam. Under MacAdam, the team ended the season in first place in their division and moving on to the league final for the second time in three seasons. The season came to an end when the Oceanic and Crosby swept the Mooseheads in the final.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: MacAdam returned as coach again in 2005–06, and the Mooseheads finished fifth in their division, while advancing to the second round of the playoffs. MacAdam then retired and was replaced by assistant coach Cam Russell, who was also a part owner of the club and 10-year NHL defenceman.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: Russell's best season as coach saw the club advance to the 2007–08 semi-finals, before losing in four games to the Olympiques. The next two seasons had the club finish out of the playoffs and in last place in their division. 2009–10 was the worst season in the team's history, finishing with just 13 wins and a .191 record while Russell insisted it was setting the stage for a complete team rebuild. The club went into the 2010 and 2011 QMJHL midget drafts and CHL import drafts with a number of early round picks. A few games into the 2010–11 season, Russell stepped away from the bench to become the club's full-time general manager, with Bobby Smith taking over the head coach's role. The Mooseheads finished the season with a divisional fifth-place finish, but were swept in the first round of the playoffs.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: In 2011, Nathan MacKinnon, a fast-skating forward from Dartmouth and had developed his skills in the Cole Harbour minor hockey system like Sidney Crosby, was attracting media attention. MacKinnon was also a life-long Mooseheads fan; his family were season tickets holders and had billeted several Mooseheads' players. After failing to land Crosby nine years earlier, the club was determined to add MacKinnon to the Mooseheads roster, however, Baie Comeau Drakkar held the first pick in the June 2011 QMJHL midget draft. The Drakkar chose to select him, despite MacKinnon's signalling he would choose to play in the United States rather than sign with Baie Comeau. Five weeks later, the Drakkar agreed to trade MacKinnon to Halifax in exchange for two top forwards and three consecutive first round draft picks.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The results of Russell's strategic rebuilding program were evident in the 2011–12 season, but coincided with a new coach. Dominique Ducharme was a former junior AAA head coach and QMJHL assistant coach. A trade with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies netted them the second pick overall in the 2011 midget draft, allowing the Mooseheads to select highly ranked centre Jonathan Drouin. With the eleventh pick, the club chose Montreal goaltender Zachary Fucale. In the 2010 import draft, the club had acquired Czech power forward Martin Frk. The Mooseheads finished the regular season with a winning .625 record, advancing to the President's Cup semi-final with a sweep of the Moncton Wildcats, followed by a comeback win over the Quebec Remparts in round two after trailing in the series 0–3. They lost the semi-final to Rimouski in six games.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The 2012–13 Mooseheads season then became the most successful in the franchise's history. They finished the season atop all teams in the Canadian Hockey League with just six regulation losses and a .882 record, outscoring their opposition 347–176. Anchored by Drouin and MacKinnon, the team had seven players with a plus-40 rating or better, as well as a defence led by German import Konrad Abeltshauser. In the playoffs, the team improved its winning record to .941, sweeping three rounds before losing one game to Baie Comeau in the final en route to a home ice President's Cup win.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The Mooseheads then went on to compete in the 2013 Memorial Cup in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. After finishing the round-robin with a 2–1 record, they faced and defeated the Portland Winterhawks in the tournament final by a score of 6–4. Nathan MacKinnon recorded two hat-tricks during the tournament, including one in the championship game. It marked the third straight Memorial Cup championship for the QMJHL.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: In the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, four members of the Mooseheads were selected, including MacKinnon at #1, Drouin at #3 and Fucale as the top goalie, at #36 overall.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The 2013–14 was also successful. While MacKinnon had departed for the Colorado Avalanche, Drouin and Fucale both returned to the Mooseheads lineup, and the club added a couple of star forwards by way of the 2013 import draft, Nikolaj Ehlers and Timo Meier. The Mooseheads finished the season with another divisional title on a winning .713 percentage lost in the semi-finals to the Val-d'Or Foreurs in seven games.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The club found itself in a rebuilding mode once again in the 2014–15 season. With the departure of more Memorial Cup veterans including Fucale and Drouin, Ehlers and Meier became the team leaders. After a fourth-place divisional finish, the team upset favoured Shawinigan Cataractes in the first playoff round, before falling to the Moncton Wildcats in seven games.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The following season saw the club fall back into losing territory, recording only 21 wins and finishing out of the playoffs in sixth place in the Maritimes division. The Ducharme era came to a close, with the coach moving to the Drummondville Voltigeurs before taking on the role of head coach of the Canada national junior team. In May, the club signed a five-year deal with former NHL assistant coach Andre Tourigny to take over as head coach. While the team showed improvement in 2016–17, finishing in fifth place, they were ousted by Rouyn-Noranda 2–4 in the opening round of the playoffs. Tourigny then departed for the OHL at the end of the season.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The Mooseheads made history at the 2016 QMJHL draft by being the first team to have the first and second overall picks when they selected highly touted prospects Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Truro's Jared McIsaac.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: As the 2017–18 season approached, Smith and Russell were already looking forward to the club's 25th anniversary season. At the centre of their plans was a bid for the 2019 Memorial Cup tournament and to make sure the Mooseheads were legitimate contenders for a second national junior title. The CHL announced in May 2018 that Halifax had won the right to host the event, beating out a rival proposal from Moncton. Among the commitments made by Halifax was a promise to keep ticket prices affordable after high prices in previous tournaments were blamed for empty seats. The club set the cost of tournament passes for season ticket holders at $320, less than half the price of passes at the 2018 tournament in Regina.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The Mooseheads began the season by moving offices, training, and practice facilities to the RBC Centre, a new $43 million four-pad arena in Dartmouth.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: Assistant coach Jim Midgley took over the head coaching duties for the 2017–18 season, looking for improved results from the returning Olivier-Groulx and MacIsaac, along with goaltender Alexis Gravel and veteran Max Fortier. While import star Nico Hischier had departed after one season, selected first overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, the club had signed another top Czech prospect, Filip Zadina. The team improved its standing to second in the division, but again fell short in the playoffs, losing to the Charlottetown Islanders in the second round in four straight.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The club began its 25th anniversary year with another coaching change. Éric Veilleux was a former NHL forward and AHL head coach who had led the Shawinigan Cataractes to a Memorial Cup crown in 2012 and only had one losing season in nine years as a head coach in major junior.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The team then traded for veteran players, including Antoine Morand and Samuel Asselin from the reigning Memorial Cup champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan, and Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, native Keith Getson from the Charlottetown Islanders. The team finished the season with its second-best all-time record at 49 wins and a .750 points percentage, good for first place in the Maritimes Division. After a seven-game, come-from-behind win over Quebec in the first round, the Mooseheads swept the Moncton Wildcats in four straight, then beat Drummondville in six games in a semi-final matchup. The Mooseheads were led by the production of NHL draft prospect Raphael Lavoie, who led the league in playoff scoring with 20 goals. In the final, the Mooseheads faced the league-leading Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, a team that had finished the regular season with 59 wins and had lost only two playoff games. The Huskies won the final in six games, hoisting the President's Cup on Halifax ice.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The two teams met again in the Memorial Cup tournament: the Huskies as QMJHL champions with the Mooseheads qualifying as hosts. The Mooseheads advanced with a bye to the championship game following a 2–1 record and first-place finish in the round-robin with their lone loss coming against the Huskies. The Huskies then also advanced to the final and defeated the Mooseheads again by a score of 4–2. Following the season, head coach Veilleux left the team for a position with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: At the end of each season, the three playoff champions from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and Western Hockey League (WHL) play in a round-robin tournament with the team from the host city for the Memorial Cup, the Canadian Hockey League championship.. After the round-robin, the top team qualifies for the championship game while the second and third place team play a semifinal game in order to advance.


title: Halifax Mooseheads

text: The club marked its first quarter century in 2018–19 by naming the Mooseheads' all-time, all-star team. Members were chosen by fan ballot from a shortlist of 100 names.


title: Igor Sergeyev

text: Igor Dmitriyevich Sergeyev (; 20 April 1938 – 10 November 2006) was a Soviet and later Russian military officer who was Minister of Defense of Russia from 22 May 1997 to 28 March 2001. He was the first and, as of 2022, the only Marshal of the Russian Federation.


title: Igor Sergeyev

text: Sergeyev served briefly in the Navy but later transferred to the Army, where he spent most of his career in the Strategic Rocket Forces. Sergeyev became commander in chief of the Strategic Rocket Forces in 1992. In this position he was in charge of securing the former USSR's nuclear weapons.


title: Igor Sergeyev

text: Sergeyev was appointed Minister of Defense in 1997 by Russian President Boris Yeltsin. He was promoted to Marshal of the Russian Federation on 21 November 1997, the only Russian military officer to achieve that rank. Marshal Sergeyev accepted reform within a limited budget under civilian political control. The number of military educational establishments was reduced markedly from their previous levels, which had not changed since Soviet times. A number of army divisions were given "permanent readiness" status, which was supposed to bring them up to 80 percent manning and 100 percent equipment holdings. Sergeyev directed most of his efforts toward promoting the interests of the Strategic Rocket Forces. All military space forces were absorbed into the Strategic Rocket Forces, and the Ground Forces Headquarters was abolished. The Airborne Forces suffered some reductions, while the Naval Infantry only escaped due to their competent performance in Chechnya. Much of the available procurement money was invested in acquiring new rockets.


title: Igor Sergeyev

text: In December 1999, Marshal Sergeyev called NATO enlargement, in and of itself, a threat to global and European collective security and world politics. He particularly stressed the deployment and use of NATO forces out of area without a United Nations or OSCE mandate as a threat that devalues confidence-building measures, arms control treaties and security.


title: Igor Sergeyev

text: Marshal Sergeyev is blamed by some for not effectively acting during the War of Dagestan in 1999 but is also praised for the fact that the Russian military captured the Chechen capital Grozny in 2000 during the Second Chechen War. However, the ongoing fighting in the south of the country caused some concern about his efficacy after Vladimir Putin became president.


title: Elections in Germany

text: Elections in Germany include elections to the Bundestag (Germany's federal parliament), the Landtags of the various states, and local elections.


title: Elections in Germany

text: Several articles in several parts of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany govern elections and establish constitutional requirements such as the secret ballot, and requirement that all elections be conducted in a free and fair manner. The Basic Law also requires that the federal legislature enact detailed federal laws to govern elections; electoral law(s). One such article is Article 38, regarding the election of deputies in the federal Bundestag. Article 38.2 of the Basic Law establishes universal suffrage: "Any person who has attained the age of eighteen shall be entitled to vote; any person who has attained the age of majority may be elected."


title: Elections in Germany

text: German federal elections are for all members of the Bundestag, which in turn determines who is the chancellor of Germany. The most recent federal election was held in 2021.


title: Elections in Germany

text: After the unification of Germany under Emperor Wilhelm I in 1871, elections were held to the German Reichstag or Imperial Assembly, which supplanted its namesake, the Reichstag of the North German Confederation. The Reichstag could be dissolved by the emperor or, after the abdication of Wilhelm II in 1918, the president of Germany. With the Weimar Republic's Constitution of 1919, the voting system changed from single-member constituencies to proportional representation. The election age was reduced from 25 to 20 years of age. Women's suffrage had already been established by a new electoral law in 1918 following the November Revolution of that year.


title: Elections in Germany

text: Following the Nazi seizure of power in January 1933, another national election was held on 5 March. This was the last competitive election before World War II, although it was neither free nor fair. Violence and intimidation by the , and had been underway for months against trade-unionists, communists, social democrats, and even centre-right Catholics. On 27 February, just prior to the election, the Reichstag Fire Decree suspended freedom of the press and most civil liberties. Mass arrests followed, including all Communist and several Social Democrat delegates to the Reichstag. 50000 members of the (auxiliary Nazi police) "monitored" polling places on election day to further intimidate voters. While the Nazi Party performed better than it had in the elections of November 1932, it still won only 33% of the vote. By placing their rivals in jail and intimidating others not to take their seats, the Nazis went from a plurality to the majority. Just two weeks after the election, the Enabling Act of 1933 effectively gave Hitler dictatorial power. Three more elections were held in Nazi Germany before the war. They all took the form of a one-question referendum, asking voters to approve a predetermined list of candidates composed exclusively of Nazis and nominally independent "guests" of the party.


title: Elections in Germany

text: Federal elections are conducted approximately every four years, resulting from the constitutional requirement for elections to be held 46 to 48 months after the assembly of the Bundestag. Elections can be held earlier in exceptional constitutional circumstances: for example, were the Chancellor to lose a vote of confidence in the Bundestag, then, during a grace period before the Bundestag can vote in a replacement Chancellor, the Chancellor could request the Federal President to dissolve the Bundestag and hold elections. Should the Bundestag be dismissed before the four-year period has ended, elections must be held within 100 days. The exact date of the election is chosen by the President and must be a Sunday or public holiday.


title: Elections in Germany

text: German nationals over the age of 18 who have resided in Germany for at least three months are eligible to vote. Eligibility for candidacy is essentially the same.


title: Elections in Germany

text: The federal legislature in Germany has a one chamber parliament—the Bundestag (Federal Diet); the Bundesrat (Federal Council) represents the regions and is not considered a chamber as its members are not elected. The Bundestag is elected using a mixed member proportional system. The Bundestag has 598 nominal members, elected for a four-year term. Half, 299 members, are elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting, while a further 299 members are allocated from party lists to achieve a proportional distribution in the legislature, conducted according to a form of proportional representation called the Mixed member proportional representation system (MMP). Voters vote once for a constituency representative, and a second time for a party, and the lists are used to make the party balances match the distribution of second votes. Overhang seats may add to the nominal number of 598 members: for example, in the 2009 federal election there were 24 overhang seats, giving a total of 622 seats. This is caused by larger parties winning additional single-member constituencies above the totals determined by their proportional party vote.


title: Elections in Germany

text: Germany has a multi-party system with two strong political parties and some other third parties also represented in the Bundestag. Since 1990, five parties (counting the CDU and CSU as one) have been represented in the Bundestag.


title: Elections in Germany

text: In 2008, some modifications to the electoral system were required under an order of the Federal Constitutional Court. The court had found that a provision in the Federal Election Law made it possible for a party to experience a negative vote weight, thus "losing" seats due to "more" votes, and found that this violated the constitutional guarantee of the electoral system being equal and direct.


title: Elections in Germany

text: The court allowed three years to amend the law. Accordingly, the 2009 federal election was allowed to proceed under the previous system. The changes were due by 30 June 2011, but appropriate legislation was not completed by that deadline. A new electoral law was enacted in late 2011, but declared unconstitutional once again by the Federal Constitutional Court upon lawsuits from the opposition parties and a group of some 4,000 private citizens.


title: Elections in Germany

text: Finally, four of the five factions in the Bundestag agreed on an electoral reform whereby the number of seats in the Bundestag will be increased as much as necessary to ensure that any overhang seats are compensated through apportioned leveling seats, to ensure full proportionality according to the political party's share of party votes at the national level. The Bundestag approved and enacted the new electoral reform in February 2013.


title: Elections in Germany

text: State elections are conducted under various rules set by the Länder (states). In general they are conducted according to some form of party-list proportional representation, either the same as the federal system or some simplified version. The election period is generally four to five years, and the dates of elections vary from state to state.


title: Elections in Germany

text: In the German Democratic Republic, elections to the "Volkskammer" were effectively controlled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and state hierarchy, even though multiple "pro forma" parties existed. The 18 March 1990 election were the first free ones held in the GDR, producing a government whose major mandate was to negotiate an end to itself and its state.


title: Elections in Germany

text: Prior to the Fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany did not have free elections. Polling places were under surveillance by the state security apparatuses and the ruling party, the SED, presented voters with a slate of proposed candidates. Voters could optionally enter a booth to strike any candidates the voter did not want; a voter who agreed with the SED's full list simply folded the unmarked ballot in half and placed it into the ballot box. Entering a voting booth was considered suspicious and was noted by the state security apparatuses, which could lead to consequences later for the voter. East German voters commonly referred to the act of voting as "folding" (). Election outcomes prior to 1990 commonly saw 99% of voters in favor of the suggested slate of candidates. On top of this, the government engaged in electoral fraud and commonly falsified both results and voter turnout percentages, even as late as the May 1989 municipal elections.


title: Elections in Germany

text: Local elections in Germany () include elections for most regional and local subdivisions, unless their representatives are appointed or elected by another assembly or office. Such local elections are conducted for representatives in districts, cities, towns, villages and various other administrative regional organizations. In cities and towns local elections usually include voting for a lord mayor or mayor. Smaller villages and settlements may elect a representative () with limited administrative power. Local elections are also often combined with polls about important local matters and questions of general public interest (i.e. the construction of local roads or other infrastructure facilities). While such polls are not legally binding in most cases, their results have considerable influence on local political decisions.


title: Elections in Germany

text: After the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 to strengthen the European integration, Germany and other EU member states implemented legislative changes to grant foreigners of other EU countries the right to vote in local elections in their host country. Foreign EU citizens can vote in elections on district and municipal level in Germany, after the German states adapted their regulations between 1995 and 1998.


title: Bracelet

text: A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, such as charms. Medical and identity information are marked on some bracelets, such as allergy bracelets, hospital patient-identification tags, and bracelet tags for newborn babies. Bracelets may be worn to signify a certain phenomenon, such as breast cancer awareness, or for religious/cultural purposes.


title: Bracelet

text: If a bracelet is a single, inflexible loop, it is often called a "bangle". When it is worn around the ankle it is called an "ankle bracelet" or "anklet". A "boot bracelet" is used to decorate boots. Bracelets can be manufactured from metal, leather, cloth, plastic, bead or other materials, and jewelry bracelets sometimes contain jewels, rocks, wood, shells, crystals, metal, or plastic hoops, pearls and many more materials.


title: Bracelet

text: Although the term "armlet" may be technically similar, it is taken to mean an item that sits on the upper shoulder: an arm ring. The origin of the term 'bracelet' is from the Greek meaning 'of the arm', via the Old French . A bracelet is also a small brace or bracer (an arm-guard used by archers).


title: Bracelet

text: The history of Egyptian bracelets is as old as 5000 BCE. Starting with materials like bones, stones and woods to serve religious and spiritual interests. From the National Geographic Society, the Scarab Bracelet is one of the most recognized symbols of ancient Egypt. The scarab represented rebirth and regeneration. Carved scarabs were worn as jewelry and wrapped into the linen bandages of mummies. Myth told of the scarab god, Khepri, pushing the sun across the sky.


title: Bracelet

text: In 2008, Russian archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of Novosibirsk, working at the site of Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia, uncovered a small bone fragment from the fifth finger of a juvenile hominin, dubbed the "X woman" (referring to the maternal descent of mitochondrial DNA), or the Denisova hominin. Artifacts, including a bracelet, excavated in the cave at the same level were carbon dated to around 40,000 BP.


title: Bracelet

text: In Bulgaria, there is a tradition called martenitsa, which sometimes involves tying a red and white string around the wrist to please Baba Marta in order for spring to come sooner.


title: Bracelet

text: In Greece, a similar tradition, weaving a bracelet from a red and white string on the first day of March and wearing it till the end of summer, is called "Martis" and is considered to help protect the wearer's skin from the strong Greek sun.


title: Bracelet

text: In Latin America, Azabache Bracelets are worn to protect against the Mal de ojo, or evil eye. The evil eye is believed to result of excessive admiration or envious looks by others. Having newborn babies wear an azabache (a gold bracelet or necklace with a black or red coral charm in the form of a fist), is believed to protect them from the evil eye.


title: Bracelet

text: Alternative health bracelets, such as ionized bracelets, karma bracelets, magnetic bracelets, Power Balance hologram bracelets, etc., are not distinguished by their design but rather the beneficial function claimed for them by their manufacturers and distributors. Karma bracelets are made from wood beads and may contain various charms, and are associated with bringing good luck and good karma to those who choose to wear it. No claims of effectiveness made by manufacturers have ever been substantiated by independent sources.


title: Bracelet

text: Hard material or rigid bracelets, usually made from metal, wood, or plastic, are referred to as "bangles" or "bangle bracelets". They can be smooth, textured or set with stones. In India, glass bangles are common. Made from ordinary glass that is about in width, they are worn in groups so that arm movement causes them to make a gracious sound rather like the clinking of wind chimes. In India, it is also common that young children will wear thin gold bangles on their hands and ankles.


title: Bracelet

text: Usually made from loose beads with a center hole and connected by a piece of string or elastic band through the holes. Most often made with wooden beads, plastic, glass or even crystal beads.


title: Bracelet

text: A charm bracelet carries personal charms: decorative pendants or trinkets which are signifiers of important things, interests/hobbies, and memories in the wearer's life. The decorative charms usually carry personal or sentimental attachment by the owner. Are popular with all age ranges, but especially for children.


title: Bracelet

text: In recent history, Italian charm bracelets have become trendy. While traditional charms dangle, Italian charms feature individual pieces soldered flat onto the surface of the link.


title: Bracelet

text: Bracelets made from connecting or linking various or similar components or jewelry findings. Link bracelets can be made of a variety of materials including metals and gemstones.


title: Bracelet

text: Penannular, meaning an incomplete circle, has been a very common form for bracelets, especially ones made in a single piece of a slightly flexible material such as metal or plastic. It is particularly popular in gold.


title: Bracelet

text: In the late 1980s and early 1990s, "slap bracelets"—flat, felt-covered metal strips that curved around one's wrist when gently hit against it—were a popular fad. Often adorned with neon colors and vivid graphics, these bracelets could be found at inexpensive retailers. A false rumor emerged that "slap bracelets" caused bleeding and puncture wounds and thus they fell out of style.


title: Bracelet

text: The use of colored silicone rubber as a material for producing sports bracelets was popularized by Nike and Lance Armstrong through the Yellow Livestrong wristband starting in May 2003. Their success has led to the silicone bracelet becoming a low cost tool for various awareness, information, and charity campaigns. This can be likened to the use of awareness ribbons for similar purposes. These bracelets are also known as "baller id bands", "baller bands" or "wristbands". They can also be referred to as rubber wristbands, silicone wristbands or gel wristbands. For sport climbing, bracelets are designed with climbing cords (dynamic rope) to serve as a mountain climbing gear.


title: Bracelet

text: While playing a match at the 1978 U.S. Open, tennis player Chris Evert was wearing a diamond line bracelet, which fell from her wrist to the surface of the court. She said about this, "I dropped my tennis bracelet", and since then diamond line bracelets have also been called "tennis bracelets". The term "tennis bracelet" appears in print before this incident, but not necessarily referring to diamond line bracelets. An advertisement for a "sterling tennis bracelet" in "The New Yorker" in 1975, for example, shows a solid silver bangle featuring a tennis racket design, made by the Gorham Manufacturing Company.


title: Bracelet

text: Tennis bracelets are made up of many identical settings, each of which incorporates a hinge. The links are usually riveted or soldered from the sides of the bracelet allowing it to flex freely around the wrist with minimal movement left-to-right. A typical tennis bracelet will feature round diamonds set in four claw settings. Tennis bracelets can be adjusted to fit the wearer by removing links, this must be done by a jeweller.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: Gambling in Macau has been legal since the 1850s when the Portuguese government legalised the activity in the autonomous colony. Since then, Macau has become known worldwide as the "Gambling capital of the world" or "Monte Carlo of the East".


title: Gambling in Macau

text: Gambling tourism is Macau's biggest source of revenue, making up about 50% of the economy. Visitors are largely from mainland China and Hong Kong. With the entry of large foreign casinos from Las Vegas and Australia, Macau overtook the Las Vegas Strip in gambling revenues in 2007.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: Until Western-style casino games were introduced in the 20th century, only Chinese games were played, the most popular being Fan-Tan. Generally, gambling in Macau can be divided into one of four categories: casino games, greyhound racing, sports betting, and lotteries. At the present time, Macau does not license online gambling operations.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: Macau, a special administrative region like Hong Kong, is the only place in China where casinos are legal, and the business has grown at an astounding pace since 2001, when the government ended the four-decade gambling monopoly of the Hong Kong billionaire Stanley Ho.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: Macau is the pre-eminent gambling capital of the world, grossing the highest amount of gambling/gaming revenue and greatly dwarfing all the other gambling centers/cities.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: In an attempt to generate revenues for the government, gambling in Macau was legalized by the Portuguese government in 1849. In the late 19th century, the government introduced a licensing system for the "fantan" houses (Chinese gambling houses). It is reported that over 200 gambling houses were required to pay gambling rent to the government. The second casino monopoly concession was granted to the Tai Heng Company in 1937. The company was, however, too conservative to fully exploit the economic potential of gambling.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: The industry saw a major breakthrough in 1962 when the government granted the monopoly rights to all forms of gambling to "Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau" (STDM), a syndicate jointly formed by Hong Kong and Macanese businessmen. The STDM introduced Western-style games and modernised the marine transport between Macau and Hong Kong, bringing millions of gamblers from Hong Kong every year. The license was extended in 1986 for another 15 years but expired at the end of 2001.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: Macau was transferred to the People's Republic of China in 1999 and became a special administrative region of China. During this transition, there were no changes to gambling policy in Macau.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: In 2002, the Macau government ended the monopoly system and granted 3 (later 6) casino operating concessions (and subconcessions) to: Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM, an 80% owned subsidiary of STDM), Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Galaxy Entertainment Group, the partnership of MGM Mirage and Pansy Ho Chiu-king, and the partnership of Melco and PBL. On 18 May 2004, the Sands Macau casino opened near the Macau Ferry Terminal. Today, there are 16 casinos operated by the STDM, and they are still crucial in the casino industry in Macau.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: Macau's economy relies heavily on gambling. Nowadays, the gambling industry generates over 40% of the GDP of Macau. Since the early 1960s, around 50% of Macau's official revenue has been driven by gambling. The percentage remained steady until the late 1990s. In 1998, 44.5% of total government revenue was produced by the direct tax on gambling. Then there was a 9.1% decrease in 1999, probably due to internet gaming. After the handover of Macau from Portugal to China, the SAR released gambling licenses to other companies to eliminate the monopoly played by the STDM. In 2002, the government signed concession contracts with two Macau gaming companies, Wynn Resort Ltd. and Galaxy Casino. This opened the gambling market for competition and increased government tax revenue significantly. It also attracted more tourists to Macau. At this moment, according to official statistics, gambling taxes form 70% of Macau's government income.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: However, the gambling industry is also a source of instability in the Macau economy, as the nature of the gambling business is not susceptible to technological advancement or productivity growth. The gambling business is still dependent on the prosperity of other Asian economies, especially that of China. Due to Xi Jinping's promise on cracking down of corruption across mainland China, casino profits from across Macau have been reporting a decline in monthly profits In addition, a proliferation of other gambling venues in the region is drawing the target demographic away. Macau's 2018 grew 13% over the prior year, but this lagged behind the 41% growth in emerging casino markets in Singapore, South Korea, the Philippines and Australia, according to Fitch Ratings. In 2019 casino earnings reached their lowest level in three years.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: In 2020 Macau had a decline of 56 percent in revenue, and the number of monthly visitors fell from approximately 3 million before the COVID-19 pandemic to fewer than 1 million in 2021. The unemployment rate increased from an average of 2 percent over the past decade to 4.6 percent in the first quarter of 2022.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: Macau has 41 casinos (as of 2019), of which the biggest is The Venetian Macao. Twenty-four casinos are located on the Macau Peninsula and 17 in Cotai. They all operate under a government franchise and under a common set of rules.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: The main casino operators in Macau are SJM Holdings, Galaxy Entertainment and Las Vegas Sands with respective revenues of 9.7, 4.8, and 4.2 billion in 2011.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: A wide range of games are available, including roulette, blackjack, baccarat, boule, Sic bo, Fan Tan, keno and slot machines.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: Poker was introduced only in August 2007, in an electronic table format at Galaxy Starworld casino. The first live poker tournament was the Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau event in November 2007. Shortly thereafter, in January 2008, the government of Macau published the official rules for Texas hold 'em poker games in Macau. In February 2008, Grand Lisboa Casino added the first live-dealer cash game tables. In May 2008, 'PokerStars Macau' opened at Grand Waldo Casino. In November 2008, Texas Holdem' Poker opened at Wynn Macau. 'PokerStars Macau' moved to a new location at the Grand Lisboa Casino in March 2009. Today, Wynn Macau, StarWorld, and the Venetian offer live-dealer cash game poker tables. Previously, most casinos were non-smoking. This caused serious discontent from both operators and visitors. In 2019, the Chinese Ministry of Health allowed smoking in special rooms in most casinos. In February 2020, in connection with the spread of coronavirus, after a two-week break in the casino, a restriction was introduced.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: Horse-racing mainly takes place every Tuesday and Saturday or Sunday at the race-course on the Taipa Island of Macau. The race-course has an area of 450,000 square metres and 18,000 seats for gamblers, and is open only for people over 18 years of age.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: The Macau Jockey Club was formerly the Macau Trotting Club. In 1991, it was acquired by a consortium led by Stanley Ho. The Macau Jockey Club is one of the largest private employers of Macau with around 1,400 employees and around 1,100 part-timers.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: There are over 210 betting terminals "on-course". All terminals can perform sell and pay functions. Punters may bet in Hong Kong dollars or Macau patacas. Bets are accepted up to the start of each race. Punters may place a bet by oral instructions or by filling a ticket.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: There are over 80 betting terminals in the Off-Course Betting Centres. 14 Off-course Betting Centres are located in popular districts of Macau and Taipa.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: The Internet betting service commenced on 20 September 2003. Customers can review the Club's internet betting website at www.macauhorsebet.com.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: There are over 600 telephone service terminals and a total of over 38,000 telebet accounts. The winning dividend of account holders may at their instructions be automatically transferred to their bank accounts.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: Launched in June 1997, the personal betting terminal, FAT (Fast Access Terminal) offers betting, calculation of bet units, record tracking of bets, account enquiry, withdrawal instructions and other related information on races such as declaration and race-odds. Close to 1,000 customers are currently using FAT.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: Three service centres are now set up in Hong Kong including Shaukeiwan Service Centre, Sheung Wan Service Centre and Mongkok Service Centre.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: The Canidrome closed on 21 July 2018. After negotiations with the track's owner and intense fundraising by an international group of volunteer-run, greyhound adoption organizations led by Anima, 517 greyhounds received veterinary medical care and were shuttled out to be adopted in Europe, North America, Australia, and, for a few, locally in Macau.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: Detailed law is enforced in Macau to ensure "qualified operation of gambling" in Macau. The details are listed in Law 16/2001 (regime jurídico da exploração de jogos de fortuna ou azar em casino), and other laws regulating the activity of gaming promoters and credit for gaming.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (known as DICJ) is the main government unit that oversees the operation of different gaming activities.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: Under Macau law, it stated that a permit issued by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau is required for the operation of lotteries sales, lucky draw or similar activities, and the initial procedure in the application on the operation of lotteries sales, lucky draw, or similar activities is to submit a notification to the relevant government department ten days prior to the application.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: In the Macau legal system, gaming law is not considered as a branch of law in the traditional sense. Instead, it may be considered as a transversal gathering of a range of legal topics more or less directly related to gaming, including constitutional law, administrative law, tax law, company law, contract law, and criminal law. In this manner, issues of public law as well as private law are of relevance for gaming.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: The taxation of casino sub/concessionaires is made of a fixed part and a variable part. The variable part falls on the gross gaming revenue. The tax rate is currently of 35%, plus two contributions of up to 2% and 3% for social and economic purposes. The maximum tax is therefore 40%. In addition, a fixed premium is also payable, plus a premium per VIP table, other table, and slot machine. Gaming promoters pay taxes on commissions received.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: From the perspective of contract law, gaming and betting are contracts which may or may not generate civil or natural obligations for the parties. The matter is regulated in the Civil Code 1999 (art. 1171), which states, drawing from Roman law, that gaming and betting generate natural obligations except in sports competitions and where the law provides otherwise. The problem is that gaming legislation currently does not provide to this effect.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: Regarding credit for gaming, Macau law states since 2004 that the granting of credit for casino games of fortune generates civil obligations, which are fully enforceable in Macau courts. Credit for casino games of fortune is defined as any case where chips are passed on to a player without immediate cash payment of such chips; this is an intentionally broad concept. Credit for gaming is regulated by Law no. 5/2004, of 14 June.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: From the perspective of criminal law, there are specific criminal offences related to gaming; see Law 8/96/M, of 22 July, and Law 9/96/M, of 22 July. Other criminal law matters are covered by broader laws: the Penal Code and the law on Organized crime. Game cheating is mentioned in art. 6 of Law 8/96/M, of 22 July. In addition, general laws on the prevention and repression of money laundering and the financing of terrorism through casinos apply.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: As of November 2011, exclusion of players from gambling establishments is voluntary. If the person realises that their gambling activities begin to cause trouble, they can turn to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau to ban them from entering the casino. The government of Macau is seeking the opinions of the citizens on the possibility of establishing a programme that will allow excluding problem gamblers from all casinos without their consent. The Legislative Assembly is currently analyzing the new draft law, which also deals with the problem of exclusion from gambling houses. The law suggests that the person can be excluded from the casino if they submit their own request or approve the request submitted by their relatives.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: Competition law matters, and advertising law, as well as the impact of WTO law on gaming, may also be pointed out as part of gaming law. Regarding online gaming, the Macau SAR does not currently grant concessions for online casinos. The current casino concessions only cover land-based gaming, not online gaming.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: The teaching of Macau gaming law started in 2005 the Faculty of Business Administration of the University of Macau, in the undergraduate program of gaming management.


title: Gambling in Macau

text: Since 2007 it is also included in the master program of international business law offered by the Faculty of Law of the University of Macau , in which various theses have already been defended in topics of gaming law.


title: Janaka

text: Janaka is a character who appears in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He is an ancient Hindu king of Videha, which was located in the Mithila region. His name at birth was Sīradhvaja, and he had a brother named Kushadhvaja. His father's name was Hrasvaroman, a descendant of the king Nimi. The rulers of the Videha kingdom were accorded the title "Janaka", meaning 'father' in Sanskrit, and this character is the best-known bearer of the same.


title: Janaka

text: Janaka is revered as being an ideal example of non-attachment to material possessions. He was intensely interested in spiritual discourse and considered himself free from worldly illusions. His interactions with sages and seekers such as Ashtavakra and Sulabha are recorded in the ancient texts. His relationship with his adopted daughter Sita led her to be called Janaki. The city of Janakpur in Nepal is named after him and his daughter Sita. The Videha (or Mithila) kingdom was historically located between east of Gandaki River, west of Mahananda River, north of the Ganga river and south of the Himalayas.


title: Janaka

text: King Nimi was the first ruler of the Videha kingdom. Janaka was descended from Vishnu in the following order:—Brahmā,—Marīci—Kaśyapa—Vivasvān—Vaivasvata—Ikṣvāku—Nimi—Mithi—Udāvasu—Nandivardhana—Suketu—Devarāta—Bṛhadratha—Mahāvīra—Sudhṛti—Dhṛṣṭaketu—Haryaśva—Maru—Pratvantaka—Kīrtiratha—Devamīḍha—Vibudha—Mahīdhraka—Kīrtirāta—Mahāroman—Svarṇaroman—Hrasvaroman—Sīradhvaja (Janaka).


title: Janaka

text: Late Vedic literature such as Shatapatha Brahmana and Brihadaranyaka Upanishad mention a certain King Janaka (c. 8th or 7th century BCE) as a great philosopher-king of Videha, renowned for his patronage of Vedic culture and philosophy and whose court was an intellectual center for Brahmin sages such as Yajnavalkya, Uddalaka Aruni, and Gargi Vachaknavi. Under his reign, Videha became a dominant political and cultural center of the Indian subcontinent.


title: Janaka

text: Janaka is the father of Sita, the wife of Rama in the Hindu epic Ramayana. His conversation with the sage Ashtavakra is recorded in the Ashtavakra Gita, wherein he is depicted as one who is realised and this was tested by the sage Ashtavakra. Many spiritual teachers have referred to this writing often translating and deducing its meaning.


title: Sid Melton

text: Sidney Meltzer (May 22, 1917 – November 2, 2011), known professionally as Sid Melton, was an American actor. He played the roles of incompetent carpenter Alf Monroe in the CBS sitcom "Green Acres" and Uncle Charlie Halper, proprietor of the Copa Club, in "The Danny Thomas Show" and its spin-offs. He appeared in about 140 film and television projects in a career that spanned nearly 60 years. Among his most famous films were "Lost Continent" with Cesar Romero, "The Steel Helmet" with Gene Evans and Robert Hutton, "The Lemon Drop Kid" with Bob Hope, and "Lady Sings The Blues" with Diana Ross and Billy Dee Williams. He was a regular on "The Danny Thomas Show" and "Green Acres", and appeared in flashback on several episodes of "The Golden Girls" as Salvadore Petrillo, the long-dead husband of Sophia (played by Estelle Getty) and father of Dorothy (played by Beatrice Arthur).


title: Sid Melton

text: Sidney Meltzer was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. His father was Isidor Meltzer, a Yiddish theater comedian. His brother Lewis Meltzer became a screenwriter. Sid was known for his short stature, .


title: Sid Melton

text: Sid Melton made his stage debut in a 1939 touring production of "See My Lawyer". Sid's brother Lewis was a screenplay writer in Hollywood and had connections "in the industry," which led to Sid being cast as Fingers in "Shadow of the Thin Man". During World War II, Melton entertained American soldiers overseas. Sid met screenwriter Aubrey Wisberg, who arranged for him to have a part in his "Treasure of Monte Cristo" for Robert Lippert. This was his first film after signing his first Hollywood contract with Lippert Pictures in 1949. The studio churned out low-budget films, most of them made in less than a week, and Melton was the comic relief in dozens of them, including "Mask of the Dragon" and "Lost Continent".


title: Sid Melton

text: Other movies included "On the Town", "The Geisha Boy", "The Tunnel of Love", and "Blondie Goes to College". He appeared in two Lippert Pictures, "Lost Continent" and "Radar Secret Service", later featured on "Mystery Science Theater 3000", whose hosts gave Melton the nickname "Monkey Boy" due to his comedy relief antics.


title: Sid Melton

text: Melton appeared three times as Harry Cooper in the 1955–56 sitcom "It's Always Jan". In the late 1950s, he played several small roles in the popular Desilu show "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" as a construction worker who comes into the room through the window to ask for Milton Berle's autograph for his children. He starred in another episode in which he plays a bellboy for a hotel in Nome, Alaska that Lucy and the gang are staying at. He played Captain Midnight's sidekick, Ichabod "Icky" Mudd ("That's Mudd, with two D's"), in "Captain Midnight", an early 1950s Saturday morning children's show. Until the end of his life, old fans would greet him on the street with his signature introductory gag line, "Mudd with two D's." Other television credits include "Dragnet", "The Silent Service", and "M Squad". He appeared in four episodes of the final two seasons of "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." as Friendly Freddy, an unsuccessful con-artist who bilks Gomer and Sgt. Carter, among others, but always gets caught, sometimes several times in the same episode. He had guest roles on "Adventures of Superman", "I Dream of Jeannie" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show"; in the last he played deli owner Bert Monker, who is in love with Sally Rogers (played by Rose Marie). In 1956 Melton appeared in an uncredited role as Shorty on the TV western "Cheyenne" in the episode "The Last Train West."


title: Sid Melton

text: Melton appeared in a humorous 1966 television commercial as a truck driver carrying new American Motors automobiles.


title: Sid Melton

text: In 2005, he attended Eddie Albert's funeral along with "Green Acres" co-stars Mary Grace Canfield and Frank Cady.


title: Sid Melton

text: Melton died from pneumonia on November 2, 2011, aged 94, at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California. He was interred at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.


title: Groom (profession)

text: A groom or stable boy (stable hand, stable lad) is a person who is responsible for some or all aspects of the management of horses and/or the care of the stables themselves. The term most often refers to a person who is the employee of a stable owner, but an owner of a horse may perform the duties of a groom, particularly if the owner only possesses a few horses.


title: Groom (profession)

text: The word appeared in English as grome c.1225, meaning "boy child, boy, youth"; its origin is unknown. It has no known cognates in other Germanic languages (e.g. Dutch and German use compound terms, such as "Stal(l)knecht" 'stable servant', or equivalents of synonyms mentioned below). Perhaps it stems from an Old English root "groma", related to "growan" "grow" or from Old French "grommet" "servant" (compare Medieval English gromet for "ship's boy", recorded since 1229).


title: Groom (profession)

text: The word was originally rather grander in status, as in bridegroom and the socially elevated offices in the English Royal Household of:


title: Groom (profession)

text: The meaning "man servant who attends to horses" is from 1667, although women and girls are often grooms. The verb is first attested in 1809; the transferred sense of "to tidy (oneself) up" is from 1843; the figurative sense of "to prepare a candidate" is from 1887, originally in U.S. politics.


title: Groom (profession)

text: Grooms may be employed in private residences or in professional horse training facilities such as stables, agistment properties and riding academies.


title: Groom (profession)

text: A groom in private service is expected to be 'on call' during specified hours in case any member of the employer's family wishes to ride.


title: Groom (profession)

text: Grooms whose employers are involved in horse sports or horse racing are often required to travel with their employers to provide support services during competitions. The services required vary with the type of competition and range from simply ensuring that the horse is ready for the start of the competition to warming the horse up beforehand.


title: Groom (profession)

text: In competition, the term may have a distinct meaning. At a horse show, grooms outside of the ring perform standard grooming tasks, but if utilized inside the show ring are generally defined as an individual called in to assist an exhibitor with a horse while in competition. In combined driving the groom is the passenger and at speed is required to shift his weight to balance the carriage.


title: Groom (profession)

text: Stablehand is a more old-fashioned term; the variation stableman usually applies to an experienced adult, the lowest rank stableboy (corresponding to the first origin of groom) rather to a minor and/or trainee.


title: Groom (profession)

text: The historical synonym [h]ostler has meanwhile developed (in the United States) a new meaning of "rail employee".


title: Groom (profession)

text: Large establishments may employ several grooms under the management of the head groom or stablemaster. In many cases the head groom has complete responsibility for the horses including devising training schedules, choosing feeds for optimum nutrition and ensuring the horses are shod, wormed, inoculated and provided with timely veterinary care.


title: Groom (profession)

text: Several other words originally denoting other (often much higher) titles, notably Constable, Equerry and Marshal, have developed into terms for those working with horses.


title: Groom (profession)

text: In African or Asian contexts, English-speakers sometimes use the Arabic/Hindustani word "sais" or "syce" instead of "groom".


title: West Lothian

text: West Lothian (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its historic counties. The county, which was known as Linlithgowshire, was bounded geographically by the Avon to the west and the Almond to the east. The modern council area occupies a larger area than the historic county. It was reshaped following local government reforms in the late 20th century: some areas in the west were transferred to Falkirk; some areas in the east were transferred to Edinburgh; and some areas that had formerly been part of in Midlothian were added.


title: West Lothian

text: West Lothian lies on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and is predominantly rural, though there were extensive coal, iron, and shale oil mining operations in the 19th and 20th centuries. These created distinctive red-spoil heaps (locally known as "bings") throughout the council area. The old county town was the royal burgh of Linlithgow, but the largest town (and the second largest town in the Lothian region after Edinburgh) is now Livingston. Other large towns in the county include Bathgate (a town with medieval origins that developed extensively during the industrial revolution) and the historic mining settlements of Armadale, Fauldhouse, Whitburn, West Calder, Uphall, and Broxburn.


title: West Lothian

text: The modern council area borders, in a clockwise direction, the council areas of Edinburgh, the Scottish Borders, North and South Lanarkshire, and Falkirk. The traditional county bordered Midlothian to the south-east, Lanarkshire to the south-west and Stirlingshire to the west. Its border with Midlothian was formed by the Briech Water, from its source until it reached the Almond, and it then followed the Almond to the Firth of Forth (except by Livingston, where Midlothian intruded about a mile past the Almond to include the hamlets of Howden, Craigshill, and Pumpherston). The western border was formed first by the Drumtassie Burn and then by the Avon. It had an area of 120 sq. miles (310 km), making it the third smallest of Scotland's 33 counties and smaller than the modern council area.


title: West Lothian

text: The geology of West Lothian is typical for the Midland valley area geological of Scotland. Most of the bedrock surface area is underlaid by Carboniferous sedimentary rocks running in strips from north to south, with a variety of glacial deposits. The exception is the Bathgate Hills, which are composed of volcanic rocks to the north of Bathgate and around Linlithgow. Other rock types include oil shale, sandstone, dolerite. The eastern and southern rocks are the oldest, specifically Devonian sandstones and volcanic rocks in the Pentland Hills. In the middle of the county there is a large field of shale oil running south to north (underneath the settlements of Broxburn, Livingston and West Calder), then sedimentary and basalt rocks, which supply silica sand. In the far west of the county, a large carboniferous coalfield exists; it extends underneath Whitburn, Blackridge and Harthill. The oil shale in West Lothian is an organic-rich, fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds) from which liquid hydrocarbons can be extracted. This extraction was carried out extensively in the region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, by a process developed by the chemist James Young.


title: West Lothian

text: The area rises from lowlands in the north to the Pentland Hills in the southeast, while the southwest is moorland. West Cairn Hill is the highest peak and Current County Top (CoU) at 562 m (1,844 ft). The previous County Top was Cairnpapple Hill which is now the Historical County Top (CoH). Two thirds of the land is agricultural, while a tenth is urban. Significant watercourses include the Almond and the Union Canal, while the main bodies of water are Linlithgow Loch, Dundas Loch, Humbie Reservoir, Lochcote Reservoir, Beecraigs Loch and Bangour Reservoir. The small island of Inchgarvie near the Forth Bridge lies within the historic borders of the county.


title: West Lothian

text: Westlothiana ("animal from West Lothian") is a genus of reptile-like tetrapod that lived about 338 million years ago during the latest part of the Visean age of the Carboniferous. Members of the genus bore a superficial resemblance to modern-day lizards. The type specimen was discovered in the East Kirkton Limestone at the East Kirkton Quarry in 1984.


title: West Lothian

text: West Lothian was extensively settled in prehistoric times, and several ancient burial sites have been uncovered, such as at Cairnpapple Hill, described as one of Scotlands richest archaeological sites and one of the earlier places of organised worship in the country. There are remains of hillforts on Cockleroy, Peace Knowe, Bowden, Cairnpapple, and Binns Hills. The area was anciently inhabited by Britons of the tribe known as the Votadini or Gododdin. By 83 AD, southern Scotland had been conquered by Romans, who built a road from their fort at Cramond to the eastern end of the Antonine Wall, as well as forts in West Lothian (of which Castle Greg is a known example). The Romans withdrew roughly two centuries later, and the area was left to the Britons until the arrival of Anglo-Saxons in the fifth and sixth centuries, who brought Lothian under the rule of the Kingdom of Northumbria. In later centuries the region was regularly overrun by Gaelic-speaking Scots, and it became permanently part of the Kingdom of Scotland in the 11th century.


title: West Lothian

text: Scotland was split into sheriffdoms, what would later become counties, in the reign of David I. The first known reference to a sheriff of Linlithgow occurs in a charter dating from the reign of his successor Malcolm IV. For a time West Lothian became a constabulary, but it seems to have been made a sheriffdom again during the reign of James III. During the medieval period, settlements such as Linlithgow, Abercorn, Dalmeny and Torphichen grew in importance. Torphichen church is said to have been founded by St. Ninian in about 400AD, a small wooden structure on the site of the present church (itself rebuilt in 1756) and in 1165, the Knights Hospitaller of St. John made their Scottish headquarters at Torphichen and the Preceptory stands as testament to their presence.


title: West Lothian

text: In pre-industrial times West Lothian was almost entirely agricultural. In the way of heavy industry there was a silver mine at Hilderston near Cairnpapple, a cotton mill at Blackburn, paper mills at Linlithgow, and shallow coal mines around Bathgate and Whitburn. The county was radically changed by the Industrial Revolution, (from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840) with the opening of deep-pit iron, coal, and shale oil mines, as well as foundries and brickworks, which dramatically altered the landscape. In Bathgate, the Scottish Chemist James Young's discovery of cannel coal in the Boghead area of Bathgate, and his subsequent opening of the Bathgate Chemical Works in 1852 transformed the town and the adjacent landscape. The works were the world's first commercial oil-works, manufacturing paraffin oil and paraffin wax, signalling an end to the rural community of previous centuries. When the cannel coal resources dwindled around 1866, Young and his chemical works started distilling paraffin from much more readily available shale. Shale oil extraction reached its height in the county during the Victorian era. By 1871, there were over 50 oil works producing more than 25 million gallons each year. The five largest oil shale companies (Young's Paraffin Light & Mineral Oil Company, Broxburn Oil Company, Pumpherston Shale Oil Company, Oakbank Oil Company and James Ross & Company Philpstoun Oil Works) were concentrated in West Lothian and would later merge to become Scottish Oils Ltd. The increased industrialisation led to a growing population and the development of numerous villages, such as Pumpherston and Broxburn. The bings (black and pink hills of shale waste) produced by the mining industry, 19 of which still stand in West Lothian, were at first considered blights, but now are thought of as monuments to Scotland's industrial past, and a representation of one appears on the council's coat of arms. The bings are also seen as important for local and national biodiversity.


title: West Lothian

text: The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 established a uniform system of county councils in Scotland and realigned the boundaries of many of Scotland's counties. Subsequently, West Lothian County Council was created in 1890. The historic county of West Lothian or of Linlithgowshire contained six burghs: Armadale, Bathgate, Bo'ness, Linlithgow, Queensferry, and Whitburn. Areas outside the burghs were administered as districts, of which there were also six: Borrowstounness, Linlithgow, Queensferry, Torphichen & Bathgate, Uphall, and Whitburn & Livingston. The county was also split into twelve parishes; these were not used for administrative purposes after 1929. West Lothian County Council was based at the County Buildings in the High Street, Linlithgow.


title: West Lothian

text: In 1921, the county changed its name from Linlithgowshire to West Lothian. In the Second World War the county adopted during Warship Week the destroyer HMS Wallace raising over £547,000 in donations. Many of the houses built for the expanding population during the 19th and 20th century were of poor quality, necessitating the building of thousands of council houses in the latter part of the 20th century, especially at Livingston, where several smaller settlements were historically mining villages. Under the New Towns Act of 1946, Livingston was designated as a New Town on 16 April 1962.


title: West Lothian

text: Heavy industry in the county declined after the Second World War, and the last shale oil mine closed in 1962. In 1975, as a result of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the boundaries of West Lothian were adjusted, so that some western areas of Midlothian were added to the country, while some West Lothian settlements became part of Falkirkshire and Edinburgh. The 1973 Act abolished the counties, burghs, and districts, instead creating a system of regions and districts. West Lothian was made a district of Lothian region but lost the burgh of Bo'ness and the district of Bo'ness to Falkirk district of Central Region, the burgh of Queensferry and the district of Kirkliston and part of Winchburgh to Edinburgh district of Lothian Region. It gained East Calder and West Calder districts from Midlothian. The two-tier system was abolished by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, and the district of West Lothian was made into a unitary council area named West Lothian Council.


title: West Lothian

text: West Lothian Council is the local authority for the West Lothian area of Scotland and has 33 elected members. Councillors are generally elected every five years, with the next election falling in summer 2022. The current council composition is:


title: West Lothian

text: West Lothian is represented in the Scottish Parliament by two constituency members and seven regional members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs).


title: West Lothian

text: In the Parliament of the United Kingdom West Lothian is represented by two members of Parliament. Hannah Bardell represents the Livingston constituency, Martyn Day represents the Linlithgow and East Falkirk (UK Parliament constituency).


title: West Lothian

text: The West Lothian question, referring to whether Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish MPs should be allowed to vote on English laws, is so named because it was supposedly first raised by Tam Dalyell while he was MP for West Lothian.


title: West Lothian

text: The creation of the modern council area drastically altered West Lothian's boundaries. Significant towns not included in the modern county are the coastal burghs of Bo'ness and Queensferry and the town of Kirkliston. Large parts of the southern urban area of Livingston, which were historically within Midlothian, were however transferred to West Lothian.


title: West Lothian

text: Cairnpapple Hill is a scheduled ancient monument and hill with a dominating position in central lowland Scotland with extensive views.


title: West Lothian

text: Torphichen Preceptory is a 12th-century church in the village of Torphichen. It comprises the remains of the preceptory (headquarters) of the Knights Hospitaller of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in Scotland.


title: West Lothian

text: Historic houses in West Lothian include Linlithgow Palace, a ruined palace that was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries and is the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots. It is now a visitor attraction in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.


title: West Lothian

text: The House of the Binns is an early 17th century historic house and estate near Philpstoun. The house is the historic home of the Binn family whose owners included Sir Thomas Dalyell a Scottish Royalist general in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and Sir Tam Dalyell, a member of the House of Commons from 1962 to 2005.


title: West Lothian

text: Hopetoun House is a large country house and estate near South Queensferry that was built between 1699 and 1701, and was designed by Sir William Bruce. The house was then hugely extended from 1721 by William Adam until his death in 1748, being one of his most notable projects. The interior was completed by his sons John Adam and Robert Adam. Midhope Castle is a 16th-century tower house on the Hopetoun estate that was used as a location in the "Outlander" TV series on Starz as the main character, Jamie Fraser's family home called Lallybroch (Broch Tuarach).


title: West Lothian

text: There are several public country parks in West Lothian, including Beecraigs Country Park (a 370 hectare park between Bathgate and Linlithgow with forests, a visitor centre and a loch), Polkemmet Country Park (a 68 hectare park near Whitburn with woodlands, river walks and outdoor facilities), and Almondell and Calderwood Country Park along the Almond river valley near Mid Calder.


title: West Lothian

text: Blawhorn Moss is a raised bog located near Blackridge that has been a national nature reserve since 1980 and is the largest and least disturbed raised bog in the Lothians.


title: West Lothian

text: The main hospital for West Lothian is St John's Hospital in Livingston. The hospital has a dedicated Accident and Emergency department with 550 beds and opened in 1989. St Johns is a teaching hospital for the University of Edinburgh Medical School. Other public hospitals include Tippethill House Hospital a community hospital in Armadale and St Michael's Hospital, a community hospital in Linlithgow.


title: West Lothian

text: West Lothian previously had a psychiatric hospital with general hospital in the Dechmont area called Bangour Village Hospital. The hospital opened in 1904 and eventually had beds for 55 officers and 2571 other ranks. The hospital started closing in the 1990s and closed completely in 2004 after the remaining services were transferred to St John's Hospital.


title: West Lothian

text: The Linburn Centre is a health centre for blinded war veterans at Wilkieston. The centre is located within the estate of Linburn House, a country house which was demolished in 1955.


title: West Lothian

text: The Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry was created in 1990, to preserve the history of the shale industry in West Lothian and beyond. It is sited on a former mill at Millfield, near Livingston and is attached to the Almond Valley Heritage Centre, a large farm and play area.


title: West Lothian

text: In Bathgate, the Bennie Museum is a museum of local history and heritage that is run by volunteers under the management of a charitable trust. It opened in 1989 and is housed used in two former derelict cottages donated by the Bennie family to the local community in 1980.


title: West Lothian

text: The Linlithgow Museum is a volunteer-run local history museum in Linlithgow. The museum is housed in the Linlithgow Partnership Centre, along with the West Lothian Family History Society and library.


title: West Lothian

text: Military Museum Scotland is a military history museum in Wilkieston that covers Scottish military history from the First World War to the present day.


title: West Lothian

text: The Museum of Scottish Railways is a railway museum located within the station yard of Bo'ness at the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway.


title: West Lothian

text: West Lothian has a diverse economy and as of 2020 had approximately 4,500 businesses providing almost 72,000 jobs in the area. In 2014, West Lothian Council reported that the five largest employment sectors in the council area were healthcare, construction, retail, manufacturing, and business administration and support


title: West Lothian

text: services. While historically, mining and shale oil production were key employers in the region, as of 2014 they only accounted for 0.7% of persons employed in West Lothian. The ten largest private employers in West Lothian are Sky UK, Tesco, Mitsubishi Electric, IQVIA (formerly Quintiles/Q2 Solutions), Asda, Morrisons, Johnson & Johnson, Schuh, Jabil and Shin-Etsu Europe. The two largest public sector employers in the county are West Lothian Council and NHS Scotland.


title: West Lothian

text: The Starlaw distillery is a Scotch whisky grain distillery at Bathgate that is owned by French drinks group La Martiniquaise. The distillery opened in 2010 and can produce 25 million litres annually and has 29 ageing warehouses (cellars) across 75 hectares at the distillery to allow for the maturation of over 600,000 barrels. Glenmorangie, the whisky distillers have offices and a bottling facility in Livingston that was opened in 2011.


title: West Lothian

text: West Lothian has several shopping centres, the largest of which are located in Livingston, including 'The Centre' (comprising more than 1,000,000 square foot of retail space) and Livingston Designer Outlet (the largest outlet mall in Scotland). The combined retail spaces of central Livingston form the largest indoor shopping location in Scotland and the 10th largest in the UK.


title: West Lothian

text: There are several large scale wind farms in West Lothian, predominantly in the south-west of the county, used to produce electricity across the region, including Pates Hill wind farm, Harburnhead wind farm, and Black Law wind farm.


title: West Lothian

text: Other principal A roads in West Lothian include the A71 road (which passes through the south of the county connecting settlements including Livingston, Polbeth, West Calder and Breich), the A899 and A705 in Livingston, and the A801 road which runs from east of Polmont to Whitburn.


title: West Lothian

text: West Lothian has a number of former, disused and defunct railway lines, principally branch lines that originated in connection with oil, mineral and shale mining activities in the 19th century but were later closed as traffic diminished and industrial operations ceased.


title: West Lothian

text: Many of the railways in West Lothian use significant viaducts to cross rivers, ravines and other difficult terrain. One prominent example is the Almond Valley Viaduct built by railway engineer John Miller to carry the Glasgow–Edinburgh via Falkirk line and completed in 1842. The viaduct is 1.5 miles long with 36 masonry arches, is Category A listed and features as the logo of West Lothian Council.


title: West Lothian

text: West Lothian has no airport or airfields in current operation. The county has a few historic airfields, now defunct, including a temporary airfield that once existed in Bathgate. While the village of Kirknewtown is inside West Lothian, the nearby RAF Kirknewton airfield lies inside the boundary of Edinburgh. The nearest airport in operation to West Lothian is Edinburgh Airport.


title: West Lothian

text: West Lothian has 11 secondary schools, 12 special schools, 67 primary schools, and 60 nurseries. While West Lothian has no university, further and adult education facilities are provided at West Lothian College based in Livingston. The college has sports facilities, a library, a training restaurant for hospitality students, and a salon/spa. The college provides educational services to over 8,000 students a year and has 350 staff.


title: West Lothian

text: Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) has a campus in Livingston at Oatridge, near Ecclesmachan providing courses on subjects such as agriculture, veterinary medicine, conservation, horticulture, and landscaping.


title: West Lothian

text: West Lothian has 14 public libraries. A local and regional history library which includes items on the history of West Lothian and Linlithgowshire is located in Linlithgow.