Features
Kevin McIntyre melds Scottish heritage, Jewish faith
By MYRON LOVE
It must have been quite a sight – a bagpiper playing the pipes on a street in Tel Aviv.
The unique event happened one fine day in 2018. Winnipeggers Kevin and Henriette Ivanans-McIntyre were in Israel to celebrate the bat-mitzvah of a cousin of hers.
“I brought my pipes with me,” recalls Kevin McIntyre. “I wanted to surprise the family. I stepped outside to tune up. That created quite a stir. Very quickly, a large crowd gathered. I’m sure most had never heard the pipes before.”
My own introduction to Kevin McIntyre came about in a roundabout way. A couple of weeks ago, while reading the obituaries in the Free Press, I came across the write-up on the late Dr. Jerry Litman. What caught my eye is that he played the bagpipes.
I thought at the time that he would have made for an interesting interview. I happened to mention this the next day to a friend at my synagogue who mentioned that Kevin McIntyre, a member of Congregation Etz Chayim, also was a piper.
A couple of days later, I was participating with my younger daughter at a behind the scenes event at Rainbow Stage. I noticed a framed painting on the wall and asked who the man in the painting is.
The answer: Kevin McIntyre.
The message for me was that I had to interview said Kevin McIntyre.
Now I – and I am sure – some readers are familiar with McIntyre mainly through his stage work. He has a long history of appearances in musical theatre in our community. The painting, for example, was from his performance in “Strike!” last year.
Others may remember him for his role in the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre’s 2015 production of the musical revue, “Stars of David, artistic director Ari Wainberg’s inaugural production.
McIntyre is – as I learned – a man of many parts – performer, professional photographer, bagpiper and serious student of Judaism.
Born and raised in East Kildonan, the son of parents of Scottish origin, he both began playing the pipes as well as treading the boards early in life. For the former, he notes, while his sister took up highland dancing, he became a piper.
As to the latter, he says: “I started in show business at Rainbow Stage in 1988 when I was still a teenager. During a production in 1991, there was a director in the audience visiting from New York. He offered me a role in a touring production of Les Mis”.”
Thus, at 19, McIntyre was off to Toronto. He followed up “Les Mis’ with a role in a touring production of “Miss Saigon” starring fellow Winnipegger Ma-Anne Dionisio.
While in Toronto, he met his wife-to-be, Henriette, who was also an actor – in film and television – and he became interested in Judaism.
“We had a lot of Jewish friends in Toronto and, as it happens, my wife has an aunt (originally from Latvia) who trained as a doctor in England and later moved to Israel where she married an Israeli. The more I learned about Judaism, the more interested I became.
“I instantly saw in Judaism everything I believed in terms of spirituality. It felt right.”
While his parents are actively involved in their church, he reports that they were fully supportive of his decision to become Jewish. (Henriette also converted a couple of years ago.)
In 1996, Kevin and Henriette moved to Los Angeles. While she continued to pursue acting opportunities, he stepped back from performing and reinvented himself as portrait photographer (other than occasionally returning to Winnipeg for performances on stage).
“I did a lot of head shots for actors who later won Oscars,” he recounts.
While in L.A., he continued his study of Judaism – including enrolling in an Introduction to Judaism class at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles. He also began attending services regularly at a synagogue in the community.
And, last summer, we spent three weeks in Israel studying at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.
Also, while in L.A., he joined a well-established Scottish piper band which competes regularly at the World Piping Championships in Glasgow. “We were ranked 11th in the world at one time,” he says with pride of his band of pipers.
Wherever he is, McIntyre makes it a point to attend Shabbat services. In Glasgow, he recounts, he found his way to the historic and Orthodox Garnet Hill Synagogue. The first time that he went there he declined an aliyah because he was unsure how the congregation would welcome someone whose conversion was through the Conservative movement. The second time, the congregation insisted on his taking an aliyah no matter who oversaw his conversion.
“The people at the Garnet Hill Synagogue were really great,” he says. “I am looking forward to going back again.”
Kevin and Henriette moved back to Winnipeg to stay in May of 2019 – although, up until the COVID lockdowns went into effect, he was still commuting regularly to L.A. for photo shoots.
McIntyre is disappointed that the productions in which he was scheduled to be appearing have either been cancelled or postponed. He reports that he has been able to do some photography here while Henriette’s book, “In Pillness and in Health: A Memoir”, has been selling well.
(Henriette and Kevin talked about the book at Limmud in 2019. “In Pillness and in Health: A Memoir” is an account of Henriette’s recovery from a kidney transplant for which Kevin was the donor.)
In the meantime, McIntyre is looking forward to Yom Tov services. “I have known Tracey (Cantor Tracey Kasner) for years,” he says. “We grew up singing together. She is great.
“I sang in the choir last year and I have pre-recorded my haftorah for Yom Kippur.”
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Volatility, Hit Frequency, and RTP: Why the Number Casinos Advertise Is the Least Useful One
The return to player percentage looks clean as a casino data point. It gives players a neat number, usually around 94% to 97% for many online slots, and that number feels easy to compare. A 96.5% game appears better than a 95.2% game. The problem starts when players treat RTP as a forecast for their next 50 spins or one evening.
You may find the RTP listed on slot pages on a leading online casino in Ontario, but the number only tells part of the story. Two games can share the same RTP and create different sessions: one may return small wins often, while the other may drain a balance before one bonus round changes everything.
The RTP Trap
Return to player (RTP) measures the theoretical share of total wagers a game returns across a very large number of rounds. In plain terms, a 96% RTP slot returns about $96 for every $100 wagered in the long run. That does not mean one player who deposits $100 should expect $96 back.
The trap sits in the word “theoretical.” RTP comes from the game’s math model. It works across huge samples, not personal sessions. A player can finish far above that percentage, far below it, or with nothing left after a short run of poor results.
Is it useless then? No, RTP can still help. It gives a baseline cost of play. Lower-RTP games cost more on average than higher-RTP games. Still, once a game passes a reasonable threshold, the next question matters more: how does it distribute that return?
Hit Frequency: The Number That Shapes Session Feel
Hit frequency tells you how often a game produces a winning outcome. This often misleads players because any win can count. A spin that returns $0.10 on a $1 bet may still count as a hit, even though the player lost $0.90 in real terms.
A game can feel active because symbols connect often, sounds play, and the screen keeps celebrating small returns. The balance may still fall. In many modern slots, “win” does not always mean profit on the spin.
Hit frequency answers one practical question: how much silence can you tolerate? Some players dislike long dry spells. Others accept quieter sessions because they chase bonus rounds or larger payouts.
The educational site Get Gambling Facts gives a useful distinction: RTP concerns the percentage of money returned over time, while hit frequency concerns how often a machine stops on a winning combination.
Volatility: The Risk Label Players Need More Often
Volatility, also called variance, describes how unevenly a game pays. Low-volatility games tend to return smaller amounts more often. High-volatility games hold more value in rare events: bonus rounds, premium symbols, multipliers, or jackpots.
Here is where RTP becomes less useful on its own:
- A 96% low-volatility slot may give modest returns and longer play from the same balance.
- A 96% high-volatility slot may burn through funds quickly unless the player hits a strong feature.
- A progressive jackpot game may look exciting, but it often places more value on rare top prizes.
The same RTP can hide very different risk profiles. Players who ignore volatility often blame the casino or the game when the session follows its math design.
Why the Same RTP Can Feel So Different
Picture two slots with 96% RTP. Slot A pays small wins on many spins, has a modest top prize, and rarely creates dramatic balance swings. Slot B pays less often but offers a large max win and volatile bonus rounds. The advertised return matches, but the experience does not.
Slot A may suit a player who wants a slower bankroll drop and more regular feedback. Slot B suits someone who accepts sharper losses in exchange for a shot at a heavier payout.
A Better Way to Read a Slot Page
Most slot pages give players more clues than they notice. The trick is to read the details together rather than chase the highest percentage.
Start with RTP. If two games look similar, the higher number has better long-term value. Then check volatility. If the game uses terms such as high, very high, or extreme variance, lower your bet size or expect shorter sessions. Next, look at the paytable. A huge max win usually means the game saves a lot of its value for rare outcomes.
A sensible pre-play check looks like this:
- RTP: What is the average long-term return?
- Volatility: How rough can the session become?
- Hit frequency: How often will the game show any wins?
- Paytable: Where does most value sit?
To Conclude
Casinos advertise RTP because it looks objective, tidy, and easy to rank. Players should read it, but they should not give it more authority than it deserves. For long sessions, volatility may matter more than a small RTP difference. For comfort, hit frequency may explain the feel better than the payback rate.
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The Popularity of Simpler Slot Games in 2026: Review From Casino Online CrazyTower Experts
Online casinos now fill their libraries with numerous video slots that have dozens of functions, long bonus rounds, complex mechanics, and so on. Interestingly, despite this huge range of modern options, many Canadian visitors at sites like Casino Online CrazyTower here https://crazytower.com/ca/ no longer want complicated gameplay that requires constant attention and long explanations.
Simpler slots now attract a wider audience because they save time and create faster sessions. So, let’s figure out why this change happened and reasons for the popularity of simpler machines.
Why Many Players Are Returning to Basic Gameplay
Modern websites like Casino Online CrazyTower pushed complex video slots for years, but many people now prefer classic formats again. Simple gameplay has fewer interruptions and is simpler in terms of budgeting, which is important when you gamble for fun.
These are a few potential reasons explain why simpler slots became popular again in 2026:
- Faster rounds. Symbols appear quickly, and rounds continue without long animations or extended bonus sequences.
- Easier controls. Most classic slots have simple menus and familiar layouts that don’t confuse new visitors.
- Smaller feature lists. Simple slots usually have standard wilds, scatters, and multipliers instead of dozens of random mechanics.
- Better session flow. People spend more time on gameplay instead of reading explanations about symbols and special functions.
- Lower visual pressure. Simpler slots use calmer designs and shorter effects that don’t overload attention.
Classic gameplay also suits mobile devices better because shorter rounds work well on smaller screens. Plus, many visitors now prefer games that start instantly and explain their mechanics within seconds.
Features That Make Simpler Slots Appealing
Simple machines at Casino Online CrazyTower and similar websites continue to attract attention because they have a high gameplay speed. Many classic titles also replicate older casino machines that people already know from physical casinos.
However, these aren’t the only factors that attract gamblers. So, check out this list:
- Short bonus rounds. Free spins and multipliers finish quickly instead of interrupting gameplay for several minutes.
- Common and standard paylines. Traditional layouts help people understand payouts without long explanations.
- Faster loading times. Simpler graphics reduce waiting time on phones, tablets, and older computers.
- Stable gameplay pace. Long cutscenes and constant pop-up notifications don’t interrupt the session.
- Traditional themes. Fruit symbols, bars, sevens, and classic casino designs still attract large audiences.
- Smaller menus. Important information appears immediately without complicated tabs or hidden sections.
Modern video slots often contain too many mechanics in a single game. Developers now combine expanding reels, random modifiers, mission systems, tournaments, and multiple bonus levels in one title. Many visitors lose interest because gameplay turns repetitive and overloaded with constant interruptions.
Compare this to a session when you get results immediately and aren’t interrupted. These still have free spins and even mini risk games, but not as loaded as innovative titles.
Conclusion
Simple slots usually create better replay value because people understand the mechanics immediately. Common and standard gameplay doesn’t cause frustration and allows faster decisions during casino sessions.
Many classic slots also function better during short breaks because rounds finish quickly without long bonus interruptions. That’s why simpler slots became popular again at many casinos, including Casino Online CrazyTower and such.
