Rebates and incentives are legitimate money-savers, and are likely to be available on plenty of models this year.
Incentives are placed on certain models for a specified period of time. They come three ways:Cash rebates direct to the customer.Low interest rates on loans (including zero-percent financing).Cash incentives to the dealer to sell a particular car. In each case, the manufacturer -- not the dealer -- is the source of this "generosity." Rebates are intended to spur sales of specific models that are already on dealers' lots, so they won't apply to a car you have "built to order." In fact, not many people order vehicles anymore, and many dealers aren't eager to complicate their lives by getting into custom-ordered models.
Cash rebates are often advertised. These consist of a check made out from the automaker to the buyer, and they can usually be applied to your down payment. As an alternative, you might get a low-interest loan. Rates typically range from 0.9 to 7.9 percent APR (annual percentage rate), but they can be as low as zero-percent for shorter-term loans.
Only the best credit risks qualify for the lowest rates. If you have weak credit, or little credit history, the rate you'll be offered is certain to be higher -- often a lot higher.
Do the math to determine which is best: the low-interest loan or the cash in hand. Cash might sound good, but in some cases you could save more money with the low-interest loan.
Dealer incentives are trickier to learn about, but they're reported in trade magazines, such as Automotive News, and by some newspapers. Basically, a manufacturer is offering dealers specific amounts of cash to sell certain cars. Unless you want one of those particular models, these incentives won't apply to your purchase.
Remember that incentives come from the manufacturer, not the dealer. Don't allow a salesperson to use them as a means of "giving you a deal" on the final sale price.
Is "At Invoice" or "Below Invoice"Too Good to be True? Even if there are no rebates or incentives on a car, the dealer could probably sell it at invoice cost and still make a profit.
It works like this: Many manufacturers refund to dealers a small percentage of the invoice price, such as 2 or 3 percent. These "holdbacks" are distributed to dealers as a lump sum several times a year.
Manufacturers might also offer dealers various cash incentives to sell specific cars. These incentives increase as they sell more cars. With these twin "safety nets," dealers can make a profit even if they sell the car at, or sometimes below, invoice price.
Yellowstone is the first and oldest national park in the world and covers 3,472 square miles (8,987 km²), mostly in the northwest corner of Wyoming. The park is famous for its various geysers, hot springs, and other geothermal features and is home to grizzly bears and wolves, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk.
Long before any recorded human history in Yellowstone, a massive volcanic eruption spewed an immense volume of ash that covered all of the western U.S., much of the Midwest, northern Mexico and some areas of the eastern Pacific Coast. The eruption dwarfed that of Mt. St. Helens in 1980 and left a huge caldera. Yellowstone typically erupts every 600,000 to 900,000 years with the last event occurring 640,000 years ago. Its eruptions are among the largest known to have ever occurred on Earth, producing drastic climate change in the aftermath. The park was named for the yellow rocks seen in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone - a deep gash in the Yellowstone Plateau that was formed by floods during previous ice ages and by river erosion from the Yellowstone River.
In 1872, Yellowstone became the firstNational Park reserve declared anywhere in the world, by President Ulysses S. Grant. In 1978 it was designated aWorld Heritage Site byUNESCO .
Landscape
Geological characteristics form the foundation of an ecosystem. In Yellowstone, the interplay between volcanic, hydrothermal, and glacial processes and the distribution of flora and fauna are intricate and unique. The topography of the land from southern Idaho northeast to Yellowstone results from millions of years of hotspot influence. Some scientists believe the Yellowstone Plateau itself is a result of uplift due to hotspot volcanism.
Flora and fauna
The park is the core of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, one of the largest intact temperate zone ecosystems remaining on the planet. Black bears, grizzly bears, deer, elk, bison, bighorn sheep and wolves can all be found within the park borders.
Climate
The weather in Yellowstone National Park can change very rapidly from sunny and warm to cold and rainy, so it's important to bring along extra layers of clothing which can be used as needed.
The principal airport serving Yellowstone is theJackson Hole Airport [2] located inside Grand Teton National Park. Other airports can be found inBillings [3] andBozeman [4] in Montana, and inCody [5] (see map at right).
The park has 5 entrances. The nearest cities to each entrance are given. Most are within 5 miles of the park boundary.
North - Accessed fromGardiner (which is reached via route 89 fromLivingston ) - This entrance leads to the park headquarters atMammoth Hot Springs , 5 miles inside the park boundary. This entrance road is open all year. Northeast - Accessed fromSilver Gate andCooke City via route 212. This entrance road is open all year, though you cannot use route 212 in winter. East - Accessed fromCody ,East Yellowstone andWapiti Valley . This entrance is closed in winter (early November to early May). South - Accessed viaGrand Teton National Park . This entrance is closed in winter (early November to early May). West - Accessed via route 20 fromWest Yellowstone . This entrance is closed in winter (early November to late April).
Fees/Permits
All vehicles and individuals entering the park must pay an entrance fee that is valid for seven days. The entrance fee provides entry to both Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Fees are $20 for non-commercial vehicles, $10 for hikers and cyclists, and $15 for motorcycles. A National Parks Pass ($50 and valid for one year) provides free entrance to all national parks and monuments.
Get around
By car
Most visitors use private vehicles to get around inside Yellowstone National Park. There is no public transportation available within the park. Roads can become very crowded whenever people stop to view wildlife; use pullouts, and be respectful of other motorists to help avoidbear-jams .
By bus
Xanterra Resorts provides bus tours within the park during the summer season. The Lower Loop Tour departs from locations in the southern part of the Park only. The Upper Loop Tour departs from Lake Hotel, Fishing Bridge RV Park, and Canyon Lodge to tour the northern section of the park only. The Grand Loop Tour departs from Gardiner and Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel to tour the entire park in one day. During the winter season snowcoach tours are provided from various locations. Call (307) 344-7311 for information or reservations.
In addition, during the summer season, commercial businesses offer tours originating from many area towns and cities. During the winter season, some businesses provide snowcoach tours for most park roads or bus transportation on the Mammoth Hot Springs to Cooke City road.
By bicycle
Cycling in the park can be a very rewarding experience, but due to the great distances in the park some additional planning to ensure that lodging is available each night. The park reserves a number of campsites for cyclists, but during the busy summer season it is probably best to reserve sites in advance wherever possible.
The modern casino is like an indoor amusement park for adults, with the vast majority of the entertainment (and profits for the owner) coming from gambling. While musical shows, lighted fountains, shopping centers, lavish hotels and elaborate themes help draw in the guests, casinos would not exist without games of chance. Slot machines, blackjack, roulette, craps, keno, baccarat and more provide the billions of dollars in profits raked in by U.S. casinos every year.
In this article well look at how casinos make their money, the history behind them, what the popular games are and how they are played, what you could expect when you visit one, how casinos stay safe and the dark side of the business.
Casino Business A casino is simply a public place where a variety of games of chance can be played, and where gambling is the primary activity engaged in by patrons. The typical casino adds a host of luxuries to help attract players, including restaurants, free drinks, stage shows and dramatic scenery, but there have certainly been less lavish places that house gambling activities. These would still technically be called casinos.
A truly enormous amount of money changes hands at casinos every year. While there are certainly big winners at the gaming tables every now and then, the only sure winner in a casino is the owner. In 2005, commercial casinos in the United States had gross revenues of $31.85 billion. Add to that the revenue of Native American casinos, which brought in $22.62 billion in 2005, and its safe to say that casino industry profits have been steadily increasing for more than a decade [Source:American Gaming ].
Casinos make money because every game they offer has a built instatistical advantage for the casino. Thatedge can be very small (lower than two percent), but over time and the millions of bets placed by casino patrons, that edge earns the casino enough money to build elaborate hotels, fountains, giant pyramids, towers and replicas of famous landmarks. The casino advantage is known as thevig (short for vigorish) or therake , depending on the game. The exact number can vary based on how the player plays the game and whether the casino has set different payouts for video poker or slot machines.
As of 2007, only two U.S. states do not have legal gambling: Utah and Hawaii [Source:Hawaii News ]. Every other state either has state-sanctioned casinos or Native American gaming.
Comps A comp is a free good or service given by the casino to good players. Keep in mind that, from the casinos point of view, a good player is one who spends a lot of money. People who place large bets or spend hours at slot machines will often receive free hotel rooms, dinners, tickets to shows or even limo service and airline tickets if they are big enough spenders. Comps are based on the length of time the player spends at the casino and the stakes he or she is playing at. Ask a casino employee or someone at the information desk how to get your play rated. You may have to notify the dealer at the table you play at, or sign up for a "slot club" card that will automatically track your play at slot machines. That way, the casino will be aware of how much you're playing and betting. If you're rated high enough, you could get a comp.
Casino experts point out that placing larger bets than you otherwise would, or staying in the casino longer in order to earn a comp is a sucker bet. The money you blow on the games is almost always far more than you would have spent simply buying whatever it is you want comped [Source:Renneisen ].
It was a whirlwind Tuesday for the social news site Digg, complete with a cease-and-desist letter, a mutinous user base and speculation that it might get sucked into a legal battle.
Ina blog post Tuesday afternoon,Digg CEO Jay Adelson wrote that the company was pulling down a number of news stories pertaining to a cracked HD DVD encryption key that could circumvent the digital rights management (DRM) restrictions on the media discs.
The reason, he said, was a cease-and-desist letter on behalf of the Advanced Access Content System (AACS), the consortium with ownership rights to the key that had been cracked. The organization cited Section 1201 of theDigital Millennium Copyright Act , which concerns the spread of information pertaining to DRM breaking. By including stories that linked to the key, the letter argued, Digg was breaking the law.
AACS representatives did not return requests for comment.
At first, there was no indication that pulling the stories would turn into the brouhaha it became. Digg, after all, is no stranger to cease-and-desist letters. "We've received a lot of notices in the past from all different companies," Digg founder Kevin Rose said in a telephone interview Wednesday with CNET News.com. The site has pulled stories related to everything from piracy to pornography to hate speech. "We receive anywhere from seven (thousand) to 10,000 new stories a day, so there's always something that pops up every couple of weeks," Rose said.
Additionally, Digg was not the sole target of the letter, Rose said. "A bunch of different sites have been getting these takedown notices," he said. The Web site Chilling Effects, for example,posted a copy of the same letter, which was also sent to Google concerning appearances of the key on blogs hosted on Google's Blogger platform.
读者评论