The Superbook VIP Sports Club - Panama's premier sportsbook - announces our new super lunch specials available every Monday through Friday from 12:00 noon until 2:00 pm. Come by and enjoy all your favorites from Spaghetti Tuesdays to Fish Friday's for only $3.95 including soda! Superbook has recently completed all remodeling with new couches and chairs to go along with the new tv's. All additions have been made with the customers comfort in mind, so hurry by the Superbook to enjoy our daily lunch specials, and remember "Play Today - Get Paid Today!"    

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Tomorrow at 3:00 pm the USA Men's Hockey Team will play Canada for the Gold Medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics. The Superbook VIP Sports Club will be hosting his event, featuring their regular menu of food and drink specials, such as all national (Panamanian) beer 6 for $7, Smirnoff Ice, Miller, Miller Chill, Budweiser, and Heineken all 6 for $11 bucks. This is the final men's hockey game of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver - the winner takes the Gold Medal and the loser gets Silver, so it should be exciting. Tonight Finland will play Slovakia for the Bronze Medal. Finally, remember the Superbook VIP Sports Club as the best place in town to watch the NHL and NBA playoffs, as well as March Madness college hoops. Superbook - bet today get paid today!   

When the scheduled end of the "culecos" arrived this afternoon on Vía España, police officers started to clear the area out and ask people to leave. However there were some people who insisted on going to a tent that was playing very loud music, as reported by TVN Noticias. The police officers saw that there were a large number of drunks who were ignoring their orders to leave, so the police used pepper spray to "neutralize" them. Several people who attended the "culecos" were unhappy with the actions of the police officers. Like the food vendors, who claim that the established schedule is affecting their sales. (Source: Panama America)   

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Day three of Carnival 2010 is almost done and the news this afternoon has been dominated by carnival-related items. There was a traffic accident on the Bridge of the Americas. A driver of a sedan lost control of his vehicle, crossed into oncoming traffic, and crashed with a small bus. In Santa Ana another small bus ran a stop sign and broadsided a Toyota Prado. Somewhere in the city a "Diablo Rojo" lost control, went into the drainage ditch in the middle of the road, and flipped over. Somebody drowned in Penenome - and unfortunately someone always drowns in Penenome every year. One of the more interesting notes - there was a guy who painted himself green and was running around the Carnival celebrations wearing a "Hulk" mask. Apparently someone wanted to take a swing at him and they got into a fight. The police came to break it up, and they checked everyone's cedulas with the new instant data access system. It turns out there is an outstanding arrest warrant for Mr. "Hulk" so he was hauled away in handcuffs. So far I am really liking this new system - the police are catching fugitives from justice left and right. Anyway, car crashes, accidents, drunk fights - standard fare for Carnival in Panama. The news never talks about the thousands of people who are enjoying a few days off at the beach or whatever with their families without getting into an accident, a fight, or arrested - 99.9% of what's going on is relatively un-newsworthy. Have fun, be safe.

Copyright 2009 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.   

The Chairman of the Carnival Board for Panama City, Carlos Arias, was detained and taken to the offices of the Justice of the Peace in Santa Ana so he could present the corresponding documents for a temporary disco that has been erected next to the main carnival stage located on Via Brazil. Carlos Arias and Tijerino were taken to the office of the Justice of the Peace after it was confirmed that at least fifteen minors were detected illegally drinking alcoholic beverages, according to a report on TVN Noticias. Those affected said they paid $1 to be able to enter and drink, and when they were caught they demanded their money back. Carlos Arias, said the authorities are being abusive. For his part, the Minister of Tourism Solomon Shamah said it was regrettable that minors have been admitted to this facility and allowed to drink. (Source: Panama America)

Editor's Comment: He was fined $200 dollars, which he can appeal. The Justice of the Peace of Calidonia made the inspection and ordered Carlos Arias to be taken to the office of the Justice of the Peace in Santa Ana, where he was fined because the minors were found to be drinking in the disco.   

The "culecos" were held in Panama City today under the watchful eye of hundreds of national police officers. Many Panamanians attended the "culecos" on Via Brazil, where there are presentations my musicians and water tank trucks to wet down the revelers. The security being provided by the police officers was notable because they were grouped in several sectors in the area. Meanwhile of the six tank trucks originally authorized to spray water, only two were working in the afternoon, and another two were pulled out by the Ministry of Health because they did not have the required permits. Meanwhile the carnival queen and her princesses participated in the "culecos" together with the public and dancing to a band. At about 6:00 pm this afternoon the show on the main stage will start in the gardens of the El Panama hotel. (Source: Panama America)   

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - This year "Mardi Gras" or "Fat Tuesday" falls on Tuesday, 16 February 2010 - which is next week. In the next few days everyone will start to have shorter and shorter attention spans as people start to think less about work and more about going off to the beach or the interior somewhere to party for five days straight. The "lucky" ones work just a half-day on Friday this week to get a head start on the long Carnival weekend. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday all lead up to the "big day" on Tuesday, the last official day of Carnival. Most people also get a half-day off on Wednesday, 17 February, in order to give them time to drive back from the interior and to recover from their hangovers, sunburn, and indigestion. Carnival in Panama City will be held on Via España this year, which will be closed from Via Brazil all the way down past the El Carmen Church. Starting about Thursday this week the "exodus" will commence as people depart the city for the interior and beaches. I encourage you to get out and enjoy the carnival celebrations. Just leave most of your cash and valuables at home or locked up in a safe place - if you're waking around soaked to the skin with nothing of value but a buzz and a smile, then you're relatively safe anywhere in the country. Protect yourself from the sun with hats and sunscreen. There will be people all over the place - hammered drunk in the middle of the day - falling down, acting stupid, and basically having way too much fun. Just be prepared to put some distance between you and any random drunk who's having too much fun, and be alert for "drunk fights" between people in the crowd. Carnival in Panama can be a blast - as long as you just take a few steps to stay safe. Now let's see ... Ziplock bags, Shorts, Sunglasses, covered cup to drink beer out of that won't get filled up with "culeco" water, Flip-flops, Sunblock, Pepto Bismo, High-Capacity Long Range Water Blaster ...

Copyright 2009 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.   

The Super Bowl - the biggest sporting event of the year - will be played next weekend on Sunday, 7 February 2010 at 6:00 pm (Eastern and Local time). Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints will square off against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts in what has all the the makings for a high scoring Super Bowl XLIV, but the real party will be here in Panama City. The Superbook VIP Sports Club, Panama's premier sportsbook in Panama City, is getting ready for the party of the year. We are pulling out all the stops to ensure this years Super Bowl will be an event you remember. The Super Bowl promises to have something for every sports fan, and we've recently put the finishing touches on some major improvements and upgrades - with the installation of seven new big screen TV's for example - to ensure no matter where you are in the club you can catch all of the action. We know what you're thinking - "only seven televisions?" No, we just installed seven MORE televisions and now there's like more than fifty screens throughout the club. Get comfy on a couch in our VIP section. Pull up a chair in front of the wall-sized projection TV. No matter where you sit or which way you're looking, you'll have a great view of the game. (more)   Click Here To Read The Full Article (394 words)

After much controversy, the Administrator of the Tourism Authority of Panama, Solomon Shamah, announced today that the route in the capital Panama City for Carnival 2010 will be on Vía España. The group responsible for organizing the Carnival celebrations in Panama City said that if Vía España was selected they there would be no major changes and the celebrations would be held from Via Brazil to the Hotel El Panama. Organizers said government agencies such as the National Police, the National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc), the Ministry of Health and the Fire Department have all said this route is the safest. They also said the "Culecos" (spraying water from tanker trucks) will begin at 10:00 am, while evening activities will go on until midnight, as they had previously announced a few days ago. Via Justo Arosemena was considered as an alternate route but was dismissed for security reasons. For his part, Carlos Arias, one of the organizers of the festival, said he was satisfied with the decision, and that his is what they expected. Regarding the contracting of musicians, Shamah said that starting today they will begin to develop the list of artists who will be performing on stage. (Source: TVN Noticias)

Editor's Comment: Carnival in Panama is the greatest national party of the entire year. Have a fantastic time, but make sure to protect yourself from the things that can screw you up. If you're going to be out in the sun all day wear some kind of a hat and sunscreen on exposed skin. If you're going to participate in the "culecos" you're probably going to get soaked to the skin so you might want to leave your cell phone and important papers at home or in your hotel room. If you're a hot chick and you're going to participate in the "culecos" then you should know that wearing bras or bikini tops under your t-shirt is illegal in Panama during carnival, so just go with the flow and don't worry about the whole "wet t-shirt" thing.