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In 1930s and '40s, this is where you came to dance night away with your beau, or perhaps meet that new handsome man or pretty girl. Since its Grand Opening Memorial Day weekend in 1929, Santa Catalina Island’s Casino has been and continues to be a main attraction.

The maple, white oak and rosewood dance floor in circular ballroom on top floor could hold up to 500 dancing couples. Nightly they arrived by steamship from Los Angeles, a two-hour trip one-way.

The art deco masterpiece that is Casino became a world-famous landmark, thanks to nationwide nightly big band broadcasts. “From beautiful Casino Ballroom overlooking Avalon Bay, at Catalina Island, we bring you music of . . . ” told radio listeners they were about to hear best of big bands. Every one from Glen Miller to Harry James to Jimmy Dorsey to Woody Herman performed to enthusiastic dancers and listeners. For 28 seasons Casino Ballroom averaged 4,000 guests every night. The largest group of dancers ever gathered in 1938 for Kay Kaiser’s Band: 6,200 people.

It was an elegant time when dress code included high heels for ladies. Smoking was never allowed in ballroom—floor-to-ceiling doors opened to a balcony outside—so original dance floor has never been sanded down or refinished.

William Wrigley, Jr., who purchased Santa Catalina Island in 1919, built Casino because his wife, Ada, and her sisters loved to dance. In 1920s, word casino was Italian, meaning a place of gathering or entertainment, or a grand dance pavilion—nothing at all to do with gambling.

Although style of Casino is referred to as Moorish Alhambra, building has become premier example of art deco style so prevalent in 1930s.

Rake Back is a rebate given to poker players. The rake is small table fee charged to players for each hand of poker. Rakes add up over time if player plays frequently and/or for high stakes games.

Online poker rooms, in general, do not offer rake back. They offer sign up bonuses instead. There are a lot of bonuses offered out there but there is only one poker room that sanctions rake back themselves.

So why buzz on poker forums and elsewhere about rake back offers? These offers for rake back are coming from affiliates that work for poker rooms. Party Poker, world's largest online poker room, does not allow their affiliates to offer rake backs. They've started to enforce a long standing no rake back policy that can lead to these affiliates being shut out of their program. At very least, Party Poker will make it impossible for them to track, and hence pay, rake back to players. So if a player is thinking of a good offer that's been made to them for rake back at Party Poker, they might want to think again.

If affiliate is caught doing this they will be shut down and rake back payments will stop. The affiliate will still keep getting paid commission on already signed up players though.

There are other risks involving rake backs. They have limits on them. It is really not worth affiliate's time to offer them to casual poker player as they are seen as never accumulating enough rake to be profitable, so they will go after frequent player instead. The limits involve player having to contribute so much rake per month before becoming eligible for a certain percentage of it back. Another risk is that affiliate will get player to sign up then stop paying. Most affiliates get paid commission for life time of player so if they conveniently decide they will no longer pay rake back player has no recourse other than not playing at their favorite poker room.