Author: Staff

For most of us, it’s difficult to imagine being an undercover cop. You’re often in dangerous situations, and you have to convince criminals that you’re one of them. As a part of that, you lose some of who you really are. It takes a toll on your personal life, fraying relationships with those you love. And then you often develop new bonds with the very people you’re investigating. “Donnie Brasco” is based on a true story. Joseph Pistone infiltrated the Bonnano crime family as a jewel thief under the alias of Donnie Brasco and lived to write a book about…

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The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe is a beautiful work of art. Only two were made, and one just sold at auction for a record $143 million, making it the most expensive car ever sold. The previous record for an automobile was $95 million. The sale was managed by RM Sotheby’s and took place May 5th in a secretive and highly unusual auction at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany: The winning bid was made by British car collector, advisor and dealer Simon Kidston on behalf of an unnamed client. Kidston lobbied the Mercedes-Benz board for 18 months to…

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NFTs have received a ton of attention lately as prices have skyrocketed for NFTs representing digital art and other collectibles. Meanwhile, other use cases are being developed given the utility of using NFTs to authenticate physical items and track ownership. Kevin O’Leary is a well-known investor who has come around to cryptocurrencies and NFTs. In this interview, he discusses his approach to how he invests in crypto and how he selects coins. He also discusses a very interesting use for for NFTs . . . collectible watches: I think non-fungible tokens are going to be bigger than bitcoin. They offer…

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You’ve probably heard all of th wild stories of huge valuations for digital art sold through NFTs. Now we have an example of how physical assets and goods can be tied to NFTs. A sales on specialty NFT marketplace Metacask sets a new record for a whiskey barrel auction block as an NFT tied to a rare whiskey cask was auctioned off for $2.3 million. Yes, you read that right. If you don’t understand how NFTs work, check out this helpful NFT primer. NFTs have mostly been used thus far for digital art. But this whiskey cask transaction demonstrates how…

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The Florida real estate market has been on fire for a while, and things really took off with the Covid pandemic as so many northerners fled to homes in the south. Single family homes did best, but luxury condos have also been selling for huge premiums in Florida. But things are suddenly changing in the wake of the partial collapse on June 24 of Champlain Towers South in Surfside. Real estate agents across the region are already seeing ripple effects from the disaster. “No one ever asked about a 40-year recertification before,” Ines Hegedus-Garcia, a real estate agent with Avanti…

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The U.S. Open kicks off today at the iconic South Course at Torrey Pines, one of the more beautiful and famous golf courses in the country. Top contenders include Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Jordan Spieth, while home town favorite Phil Mickelson is a long shot despite coming off his historic victory at the PGA championship. Torrey Pines is actually a municipal course so you can schedule a tee time and play, unlike many of the private club course that host the U.S. Open. If you’re going to travel to the San Diego area to play Torrey Pines, or if…

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Audi has announced the arrival of the all-new 2022 A3 and S3. The models feature increases in length, width, and height over the previous models in order to create more a spacious interior. The designers aimed for a more “muscular stance supported by dynamic profile” and we think they hit their mark. The all-new S3 (pictured here in red) is the sport version of the A3, representing another high performance entry to the Audi S-model portfolio. You can see the differences in the front grilles, but both offer impressive designs. The Audi A3 comes standard with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder…

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Cadillac has unveiled it’s all-new 2021 Escalade, one of the undisputed leaders in the luxury, large SUV market. The Escalade is a beautiful beast and has been completely redesigned with an emphasis on new technologies, a critical element in the luxury market. On the outside, the styling hasn’t changed much. Cadillac’s signature vertical lighting element remains, but the Escalade now features the horizontal headlamps that are being introduced on Cadillac vehicles. I like this new design feature and it works great on the overall look of the massive Escalade. The interior has much more of a futuristic design while providing…

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Do you love Bugatti supercars? Then you’re going to love this recent photoshoot from Bugatti at the Bugatti headquarters in Molsheim featuring four of the brand’s amazing cars. Above you’ll see from left to right the new Chiron Super Sport 300+, the Veyron 16.4 Super Sport and the EB 110 Super Sport. In one of the photos below you’ll also see the classic Type 55. Joining the Super Sports Legends above from left to right are three Bugatti drivers: Loris Bicocchi, Pierre-Henri Raphanel, and Andy Wallace. The first Type 55 Super Sport was produced 90 years ago for the 1931…

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When it comes to real estate, Covid changed everything. The question is how long will this last, and are there permanent shifts in the market? As Covid raged in 2020, we saw a great migration from cities such as New York to places like Florida and the Hamptons where families could safely avoid contact with people in larger homes that could accommodate more people comfortably. Throw in issues like taxes that were already motivating wealthier homeowners to escape to Florida and Texas and you have the acceleration of a pre-existing trend. In most places in the country, the real estate…

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