Features
Morley Greene: Trez Capital is Trés Terrific
By GERRY POSNER “Serendipity” is how Morley Greene describes what has brought him success in life. Perhaps he’s right, but I concluded, after chatting with him and reading articles about him – the most recent one in the Toronto Globe and Mail, that it was more than serendipity that has given Morley the life that he has now at age 81.
The only child of Abe and Sara Greenberg, Morley was raised across the street from St. John’s High School at Machray Avenue and Salter Street. Not surprisingly, he attended St. John’s High School, though he ultimately graduated Grade 12 at West Kildonan Collegiate. Morley admits he was a disinterested student. His tenacity carried him through though and, as he got older, his interest in learning blossomed.
Law was the path Morley Greene chose and it was a part of his life for over 32 years, after graduating from the University of Manitoba law school. His law career began in Winnipeg, then Edmonton and finally, Vancouver. His career took off almost right from the start, and it was not long after that he started his career that he was made a partner at the very prestigious law firm of Buchwald Asper Henteleff.
The future looked promising and soon after he was married, he was the father of three children. In 1976, Morley, just 35 years old, and with a young family, made a bold decision – a decision which changed his life forever. He decided to leave Winnipeg and try to take his tent and talent elsewhere. He credits the late Izzy Asper with paving his way to another high powered law firm in Edmonton. Izzy called his friend, Aaron Shtabsky, and soon Morley was ensconced at Shtabsky and Company. He specialized in tax, mortgages and the real estate industry. Had Morley remained in Edmonton, it would likedly have been all that he needed for the rest of his life in order to be a financial success.
But then another opportunity presented itself to Morley. The Imperial Development Group came calling. This company, led by Donald Gales, Gerald Libling and Gerald Raizen was in the midst of major property acquisitions and development in Winnipeg and elsewhere. Morley was invited to join the company in an executive capacity. It was a major step up for Morley.
In 1979, he and his family moved back to Winnipeg and things went well – until they didn’t. The high interest rates of the 1980s were no doubt a key factor in the eventual dissolution of the Imperial Group. Morley Greene had to start over.
In 1991 he headed further west – this time to Vancouver, where he joined the very well know law firm of Owen Bird. He became licensed to practice law in British Columbia, his third call to the Bar – after Manitoba and Alberta. For six more years Greene was once again a hard working lawyer in a big firm. But then Morley made a second major decision that changed the course of his entire career. In 1997, he gave up law and decided to take on an entirely new challenge in an industry for which he had been advising as legal counsel for a significant part of his legal career.
In 1997 Morley struck out on his own and started a corporation he called Trez Capital (the name came from a variation of the French word “Treize,” which means thirteen). The company began as a mortgage lender. I will not dig deep into all the projects with which Trez Capital has been involved over the years, but there are very many.
Trez Capital has set new standards for the industry over the past 25 years with institutional-grade processes and strict compliance adherence. The history of the company is well recorded in the recent Globe and Mail article featuring Morley and the story of Trez to which I referred earlier.
What is important to acknowledge is this: From nothing (well not quite, as Morley did raise $3 million dollars to start with from private investors), Morley has made Trez the biggest real estate lender in Canada after the banks. Dwell on that statement. The company has funded more than 1600 transactions for a total value of $14 1/2 billion (you read that right), all channeled into different multi-family dwelling, industrial and office projects.
Trez Capital is active all over Canada and the US. The company has offices in Toronto, Montreal, Dallas, Palm Beach, Atlanta, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles and Vancouver. The company has over 170 employees and assets of over $4 billion under its management. Think about it – all that from a Winnipeg kid from the north end.
I would suggest that part of what made Morley and his company so successful is the way he approaches his work and indeed, his relationships with the people around him. Morley interacts well with everyone and demonstrates a genuine interest in them. Moreover, he is not afraid to admit mistakes. He was quite concerned, for instance, that as a result of the Covid pandemic, Trez Capital would face unpredictable problems, so the company made the decision to stop lending.
Morley anticipated defaults coming – and a lot of them. He was wrong – and he admits it. Instead, there were no defaults and, in fact, Trez Capital had a record number of payoffs on its loans. The result of all that is that, throughout the pandemic the company has remained in good shape and it has resumed investing and lending across North America.
Maybe the most telling part of the Trez Capital story is that the company has over 30,000 individual investors and many of those investors (and indeed, many borrowers) have been investing with (and borrowing from) Trez Capital since 1997 – when the company first began. That tells me that Morley knows what being in a relationship-driven business is all about and that he and his team have developed an esteemed – and well-deserved reputation for trustworthiness.
When the pandemic was in full force, Trez Capital, led by Morley Greene, reached out to its investor base, calling them each week to keep them informed as to the current status of the company. Morley and his top brass also made sure that all key employees were informed as to what was transpiring, in accordance with the most rigorous standards of corporate transparency – further evidence of a corporation that places a premium on individual relationships.
At 81, Morley is still very active in Trez Capital, even though he has ascended to a more hands-off role as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. When I spoke to him, he was busy in his Dallas office. He spoke very proudly of his three children: daughter Mara – now Madam Justice Mara Greene of the Ontario Court of Justice (and, in her spare time a hockey player); daughter Sara Greene, a professor at McMaster University in the Faculty of Social Work; and son Jonathan, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Political Studies at Trent University.
As I mentioned at the outset, Morley attributes his success to serendipity. I would suggest otherwise. In my view, Morley’s life work and in particular, his creation and building of Trez Capital is a testament to Morley Greene’s work ethic, tenacity and commitment to valuable relationships – trés outstanding and nothing less.
Features
Hacker and Fraud Prevention for Online Gambling Profiles
Safeguard your online casino & sports betting accounts from cyber threats
Follow these 10 vital steps to reinforce your online gambling profile by enabling two-factor authentication, using VPNs, unique passwords and more.
With the global online gambling market projected to reach over $100 billion by 2026, securing your online casino and sportsbook accounts is more critical than ever. As digital wallets swell with winnings so too does the motivation for cybercriminals to steal credentials and loot accounts.
#1. Activate Two-Factor Authentication
Topping the list is two-factor authentication (2FA) – requiring two credentials to login instead of one at FanDuel. Often this entails providing your password plus a one-time code sent via SMS or email.
Per an Oracle study, implementing 2FA would have thwarted 99% of historical cyber attacks that involved stolen credentials.
Most regulated online gambling sites offer 2FA, accessible under account settings. Turn it on immediately for stronger defense.
#2. Never Reuse or Recycle Passwords
A cardinal sin is recycling the same password across multiple sites or services. Once one account is breached, cyber thieves can access more accounts using that same password.
To avoid this, every account deserves a unique, strong password. For simplicity, utilize a password manager app to randomly generate and store site-specific passwords.
#3. Install a VPN for Public Wi-Fi Access
When playing online casino games on shared/open wireless networks, your data flows openly and risks interception. That’s where virtual private networks (VPNs) come in.
VPNs encrypt all network traffic to and from your device. This protects your gambling activity and account credentials from Wi-Fi eavesdroppers. VPNs also disguise your IP address.
Some top-rated services include NordVPN, ExpressVPN and CyberGhost.
#4. Keep Software Updated & Run Anti-Virus Scans
You must keep computers and mobile devices updated with the latest OS and security patches. Postponing critical updates leaves open dangerous holes that malware exploits.
Likewise run reputable anti-virus scans to catch viruses attempting to infiltrate systems and spy on login credentials for financial accounts.
#5. Verify the Security & Encryption of Sites
When signing up at online betting sites and casinos, verify the legitimacy of their security measures:
- Confirm the address starts with HTTPS, not HTTP
- Check that data transmissions are encrypted using at least 128-bit SSL
- Ensure site has proper licensing
- Review privacy policy for data storage and sharing
Reputable sites will display trust badges from companies like Norton and TrustE.
#6. Avoid Account Sharing
While tempting to give friends or relatives access to funded accounts, sharing login credentials is extremely risky. You lose control over deposits/withdrawals while exposing yourself to potential theft.
Instead, gift deposits to other player accounts or refer them to open their own secure accounts.
#7. Beware Account Takeover Scams
Exercise caution if contacted unexpectedly about unusual account activity. Savvy scammers will pretend a breach occurred to trick you into handing over your username and password.
If concerned about account integrity, directly access the site yourself and contact customer support – don’t click any links in unsolicited emails.
#8. Monitor Financial Statements
Carefully review online betting account and credit card statements to detect unauthorized transactions right away. Dispute unrecognized activity ASAP to limit losses.
For further vigilance, some banks offer real-time purchase alerts via email or SMS.
#9. Don’t Save Payment Info
Saving credit card or e-wallet details on gambling sites for faster future deposits also expedites withdrawals – by you and potentially hackers.
Instead, manually enter payment info each time to contain potential damage from any account infiltration.
#10. Create a Secure Email
A strong yet oft-overlooked defense is creating a secure email account strictly for gambling transactions. Keep it completely separate from your personal email to isolate threats.
Use a nickname, enable 2FA and establish a strong password using special characters, numbers, case changes and 15+ letters.
Table: Comparison of Top VPNs for Online Gambling Site Security
| VPN Service | Encryption Standard | Number of Server Locations | Allows P2P Traffic | Number of Simultaneous Connections | Money Back Guarantee |
| NordVPN | AES 256-bit | 5400+ | Yes | 6 | 30 days |
| ExpressVPN | AES 256-bit | 3000+ | Yes | 5 | 30 days |
| CyberGhost | AES 256-bit | 7400+ | Yes | 7 | 45 days |
Fortify Your Online Gambling Fortress
As online casinos and sportsbooks explode in popularity, no player is immune to the growing plague of cyber fraud and account theft.
Guard your profile by enabling two-factor authentication, setting strong passwords, installing critical software updates and more. Also research site security measures and payment options.
Features
Vital Role of True Randomness in Modern Computing
The critical need for true randomness in cryptography, simulations, and more
True randomness is essential for encryption, statistical sampling, simulations, and more computing applications to work effectively. We explore why.
The concept of randomness often evokes thoughts of unpredictability and chance occurrences. However in the world of computing, having access to true randomness is vital for many critical applications to function properly. Without the ability to generate random values and data, key aspects of modern technology simply would not work reliably.
In this article, we will explore what constitutes true randomness from a computational perspective, why it is crucially important, and some of the ways that software and hardware attempt to produce randomness reliably. Gaining insight into this topic highlights the dependence much of digital functionality has on the availability of non-deterministic, uniformly distributed random data.
What Makes Randomness “True”?
For data to be considered truly random from an information theory perspective, values must satisfy key mathematical and statistical qualities, for example at Lucky Seven Casino. True randomness implies meeting three core criteria:
- Uniform distribution — All potential values have an equal probability of occurring so that no bias exists towards certain numbers.
- Independence — The value at any position does not relate to or depends on values at other positions. Previous numbers do not influence future ones.
- Unpredictability — Knowing some values provides no useful information to predict other values. Guessing upcoming numbers is mathematically impossible.
Hence, true randomness requires generated data featuring high entropy (information density) with no observable patterns or correlations over any length or time period analyzed. Values must pass various statisticatests of randomness to qualify. True randomness exists only in specific natural phenomena scientists believe exhibit fundamental uncertainty such as radioactive decay. Computational methods can attempt to produce randomness but technically generate only an approximation usually called pseudo-randomness. However for many practical purposes, computationally generated randomness proves sufficient if it passes robust statistical testing.
Why True Randomness Matters Cryptography
Arguably, the area with the most crucial dependence on true randomness is cryptography. All modern encryption technologies require random number generation to ensure security. Encryption systems work by utilizing random numbers for:
- Key generation
- Initialization vectors
- Salts
- Nonces
- Padding
Any bias, predictability or correlation within random values used for the above purposes significantly compromises encryption protocols and introduces vulnerabilities. With trillions of dollars transferred online daily and vast amounts of sensitive data stored digitally, safeguarding cryptography requires high-quality random number generation rooted in solid entropy sources.
Simulations & Modeling
Outside of security, many more computing applications need randomness to operate correctly per their design intent. Monte Carlo simulations extensively utilize randomness to model complex real-world behaviors by running many iterations with differing random inputs. Financial analysis, climate modeling, nuclear reactions and molecular behavior represent common Monte Carlo simulation applications.
Games, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Gaming, AI and ML commonly incorporate randomness to increase variation, introduce unpredictability, and improve realism. For example, non-player characters in video games use randomness for movement, dialog and behavior to feel more lifelike and less robotic. AI/ML leverage randomness to train networks more thoroughly against a wider possibility space and build more resilient models less prone to biases.
Generating True Randomness via Hardware
Given the pervasive need for genuine randomness across computing, how do software and hardware reliably produce it? Most systems today use either specialized hardware random number generators or hybrid combinations of hardware and software.
Hardware options utilize the inherent randomness within low-level physical phenomena to produce entropy. Different techniques for generating randomness exist but most hardware implementations focus on three main sources:
- Thermal Noise
- Semiconductor Quantum Physics
- Chaotic Oscillator Outputs
| Generator Type | Description |
| Thermal Noise | Amplifies and extracts random electrical noise from resistor thermal vibrations |
| Quantum Physics | Leverages quantum mechanical properties like photon emission timing from LEDs/lasers |
| Chaotic Circuits | Uses unpredictable oscillator circuit outputs from chaos theory |
Semiconductor-based solutions can generate high bitrates up to 5Gbps using compact modern chip fabrication allowing extensive harvestingof entropy. However these sources derive from complex, random physical processes proving impossible to predict or fully model mathematically. This unpredictability provides excellent entropy quality unattainable via software algorithms alone.
Most general-purpose computers now integrate random number generators within CPUs allowing applications access to decent hardware-based random data. For the highest security use cases, dedicated standalone hardware random number generators exist exceeding >100Gbps speeds. Hence accessing genuine randomness is available today even on common computing devices.
Cryptographically Secure Pseudo-Random Number Generators
While hardware mechanisms utilize hard-to-predict physical phenomena to produce randomness, software solutions must take a different approach. Algorithmically-generated randomness cannot achieve true randomness from a physics perspective. However clever mathematical techniques like cyclical algorithms can generate randomness passing many statistical tests of randomness within their output bit length limits.
Cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generators (CSPRNG) serve as the premier software-based method for generating randomness. CSPRNGs work by repeatedly applying cryptographic primitives like hash or cipher functions on initial random seed values. This process produces a chain of output bits not reproducible without the original seed key. Leading CSPRNG algorithms include:
- Hash_DRBG
- HMAC_DRBG
- CTR_DRBG
Software libraries implement these CSPRNGs so developers can integrate quality randomness into applications with proper seeding. Seeding establishes the initial starting point for randomness generation using an entropy source like hardware random number generators or timing variability.
CSPRNGs allow the production of vast quantities of randomized data for any purpose needed. Compared to hardware mechanisms limited by physics on maximum speeds, algorithms scale boundlessly in the bits created as long as adequate computational power exists.
Yet key differences between software and hardware randomness remain. While CSPRNG outputs pass statistical testing and contain no observable patterns, their pseudo-randomness means given the same seed, the exact same value sequence will generate each time. Also, if a CSPRNG algorithm or implementation has flaws, adversaries could predict and exploit output resulting in compromised security. Still, with proper cryptographic design and regular reseeding, CSPRNGs provide quality randomness for most software needs.
Conclusion
From the above exploration, we see true randomness plays a pivotal role across computing – from cybersecurity to simulations and beyond. While no substitutes for true physically-derived entropy exist, modern hardware and hybrid hardware-software solutions provide abundant randomness for practical usage.
However as computing continues evolving with new technologies like quantum, ensuring high-quality randomness generation tackles emerging information security and system reliability challenges. Access to ample true randomness stands necessary now for current computing functionality and lays the foundation for future innovation.
Features
News from Israeli hotels
Introduction: The current wars in Gaza and Lebanon have had a disastrous effect on Israeli tourism. Recently we were contacted by a friend in the advertising business in Israel who asked us whether we would help to promote a couple of well-known Israeli hotels – who are hoping for a huge rebound in bookings once the wars come to an end.
Here is news about two leading Israeli hotels:
Mr. Roy Avidor is the new GM at The Ritz-Carlton, Herzliya.
We are delighted to welcome Roy Avidor as the new General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Herzliya!
Roy brings over a decade of leadership in the international hospitality industry, with a proven track record of operational excellence.
Most recently, Roy served as Director of Operations at the Sheraton Grand Tel Aviv, where he oversaw daily operations across multiple departments, always ensuring the highest standards of service. Prior to that, he held management positions at Celebrity Cruise Line and Isrotel Hotel Chain.
Roy’s extensive background in luxury hospitality, combined with his passion for service, makes him the perfect addition to our team and to his newest position as General Manager.
Boaz Elani Appointed General Manager of Sheraton Grand Hotel Tel Aviv
Boaz Elani has been named the new General Manager of the Sheraton Grand Hotel Tel Aviv, a prestigious property within the global luxury Marriott portfolio.
Bringing extensive expertise in luxury hospitality, Boaz most recently served as the General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Herzliya, also part of the Marriott group. During his three-year tenure, he successfully navigated the hotel through two major challenges: the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict in Israel. His steadfast dedication to exceptional service significantly enhanced guest satisfaction, solidifying the hotel’s reputation as a premier destination.
“I am honored by Marriott’s trust in me and thrilled to join the Sheraton Grand Tel Aviv team,” said Boaz. “This hotel holds a distinguished place as one of Israel’s finest and most iconic. Following its comprehensive renovation, we are committed to delivering unmatched experiences for our guests and continuing its tradition of excellence.”
The Sheraton Grand Tel Aviv, overlooking the Mediterranean, features 320 beautifully redesigned rooms, including premium, deluxe, and club accommodations, along with luxurious suites. Guests staying in club-level rooms enjoy exclusive access to the 18th-floor lounge, offering breathtaking sea views. The recent renovations incorporate modern aesthetics with natural, seaside-inspired materials, creating a serene and inviting ambiance.
The hotel boasts a range of world-class amenities, including a newly updated beachfront pool, a popular sushi bar open to both guests and the public, and a renowned gourmet breakfast. Its versatile meeting spaces and state-of-the-art conference halls have garnered international acclaim, earning it the 2024 World MICE Award for Best Event and Conference Hotel.
In line with Marriott’s global commitment to sustainability, the Sheraton Grand Tel Aviv has held Green Key Certification since 2014, highlighting its dedication to environmentally responsible practices.
With Boaz Elani at the helm, the Sheraton Grand Tel Aviv is poised to further elevate its status as a premier destination for both leisure and business travelers.
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