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How to play Teslas Invention
Fred Done, the 83-year-old founder of Betfred and Britain’s highest-paying taxpayer this year, has issued a stark warning about the impact of further tax increases on the gambling industry.
In an interview with the Financial Times over the weekend, Done cautioned that additional tax hikes could result in widespread betting shop closures, harm related sectors such as horse racing and accelerate the decline of the high street.
Betfred currently operates approximately 1,094 retail shops across the UK. Done highlighted the concrete risks of Machine Gaming Duty – taxes on gambling machines – doubling from 20% to 40%, a move reportedly under consideration by Chancellor John Healey ahead of the Autumn Budget.
How to play Teslas Invention
He also showcased a “Tom Cruise Scientology Starter Kit,” featuring a tiny spring-loaded couch so he could reenact the famous Oprah moment.
Throughout the performance, he skewered himself. With the confidence of a headliner who understood his public perception and chose to weaponize it, he held up a Wendy’s sign with a hole cut through the center, poked his face through, and announced: “This is what I look like when I’m trying to get recognized.”
The laughter was not polite or ironic. It was the roar of an audience genuinely doubling over.
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The new Belmont is part of a major restructuring of the New York Racing Association’s operations, with Belmont replacing Aqueduct as the year-round home of downstate thoroughbred racing.
Aqueduct staged its final races June 28, ending a 132-year history at the Queens track. It remained open for simulcast wagering until September 7 before closing permanently.
The new Belmont is significantly different than the sprawling venue it replaced. The former 1.25 million-square-foot grandstand, which had become vastly oversized for the contemporary racing crowd, was demolished to make way for a much smaller, modern facility with a focus on hospitality and premium seating.