philly park, wagers

[skate]

philly pk takes wagers for HP, etc.

account can be open and accessibility can go thru cr. card.

phonebet.com

[reckless]

PHONEBET ... What a joke


I have a Phila. Park Phone Bet account. Those that don't dal with Phila Park Phone Bet simply have no clue what a joke this track is. Saturday was yet just another example of how imcompetant they are as managers and how little regard they have for their paying customer.

From 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Derby Day I tried calling my PhoneBet account number to bet the Derby and other races.

Every time I called, I would go thru the voice activated system where some robot asks for my name and account number, etc.

The last question is... 'What track and race number...' When one gives the track and race number, the bot will then ask: 'What's the bet?' And then we go on from there.

This wouldn't be the case on Saturday, one of their track's biggest and busiests days.

After you go thru the drill and say: "Churchill Downs, Race 10", all afternoon the response was "Sorry, that race is closed for betting". This was the response from 1-to-3:30. What it happened the last time, I hung up and called the main number, asking for Phone Bet.

I got the typical crude, south Philly-chick on the phone and told her what's been going on since 1 in the afternoon when I made my first attempt to bet.

She said..."ohhhh yeah... people have been calling. Our system is down. Call this number and speak with a phone bet bet. You'll have to pay a $2 fee." Click.

That's it, I thought, I now know why the system was sooo slow... people were calling in by the droves to pay Phila Park that $2 betting fee.

The silly horse player that I am, I called the number with the fee which then put in a loop that lasted over 10 minutes, all the while assuring me that I will be given the 'next available operator'. But I don't worry because the Derby won't be run for almost 2 1-2 hours.

I finally get an operator and this nitwit asks for my account and 'password'. I give her the same info I have when I call the voice-activated number. She says: 'That's not what we use, I need your pass word'.

I ask her I am not sure what else I could give her since I regularly use the 'other phone number. She loudly was chewing gum, and at point I actually heard a snap... which prompted me to then ask her this very silly question:

Why on earth on the busiest day of the year does Phone Bet and Phila Park make it their business to disappoint and annoy their customers? Between another snap of her gum she said: 'Hold on, I'll transfer you."

And transfer me she did, right to that very first voice-activated system I tried earlier. Stupid me now figured the problem was corrected... I again answer all the questions, and then after I said "Churchill Downs, Race 10", I was told: "Sorry, that race is closed for betting".

Close to 2 hours from post, and for at least 5 hours, whoever called Phone Bet to the Derby was told: "Sorry, that race is closed for betting". No other thought of correcting the problem, make amends for other customers trying to bet, etc. etc.

This is yet just one small example of many, many, many, many examples of the incompetence, disregard and blase attitude at Phila Park... easily the worst Race Track in the history of racing.

[speedking]

Your run-around does not surprise me at all, Reckless. Greenwood, owners and operators of Philadelphia Park, are totally irresponsible and have a complete lack of integrity. What they have done to the track itself is an absolute disgrace. They have their slots license and that is their primary focus and goal. They have herded horseplayers to the top floor while turning the lower level into a slots mecca. This was supposed to be a temporary situation while they built a separate building for slots and simulcasting. Now Greenwood is attempting to renege on that agreement or at least postpone the new slots center for a few more years. The horsemen allowed this major inconvenience while visions of major purse increases and a first class facility hovered in the near future. Now they are up in arms as they realize they are getting screwed just like the horseplayers.

I'm told that Greenwood is offering all types of incentives to the slot crowd while completely ignoring the fans who made all this possible. Many of the horseplayers are also to blame as they are happy just to get a free program once a week, if they show up often enough or wager enough. Management still talks up their generous "rewards program" whenever they can. Sure! If I wager a minimum 100 grand a month I can earn wagering vouchers totaling 1.75%.

Once again we are treated as the bottom of the food chain as the tracks pursue their own greedy, monopolistic agendas.

speedking

[melman]

Wow Reckless and Speedking sorry to read of your intense dislike on Philly Park and Phonebet. I have been a customer of Phonebet for years and like and use the service on the internet with very few problems. I have talked with both Kimberly Smith and Tammy many times and was treated with respect. I also think Keith Jones is a first class guy and an asset to racing. I was personally placing wagers using the Phonebet internet site during the races and had no problems. I think ALL account betting providers face "challenges" on Derby day due to the volume. Just as an example a friend of mine was telling me how Brisbet had been taking Belmont bets then yesterday for some reason he could NOT bet Belmont. Again I am sorry to hear of your troubles with the phone system and do not doubt for a minute there accuracy. I have not been to Philly Park for quite a while now as I visit the Valley Forge Turf Club where I also have had pleasant times. The "tellers" that I have worked with (Ruth and Lisa) have been very professional and helpful. Of course all my bets are with the Tiny Tim so I only work with them when I go up to buy the daily account and to cash out. Also just so you guys do not think I am a "shill" for Philly Park :jump: I am moving some funds to Ian's Premier Turf Club and wish him much success. If PTC is able to get Meadowlands harness and Woodbine/Mohawk on the schedule I will be a happy camper. The main reason being the PTC offer of much better rebates and the great feature of "conditions" advance betting. I know the PTC track list is on the small side right now but hope you check it out. BTW some get better than 1.75%. :)

[speedking]

Melman, I respect your opinion and agree with your assessment regarding some of the staff. Keith Jones is a class act who has gotten worked over by management a few times lately himself. My problem is upper management.

The Valley Forge Turf Club is one of the best I've been to for a number of reasons. It is well run and they attract a better crowd than the other clubs. Unfortunately, it is twice as far away as the nearest facilities (I'm in Jenkintown) and normal traffic makes the commute longer.

I have no experience with Phonebet so I cannot comment on that system. My primary gripe is with Philly Park itself and the way they have relegated the horseplayers to the bottom of the barrel. Joe Wilson is the only exec willing to address the issues and it appears his hands are tied. I was offered a significant rebate 2 years ago and it was withdrawn when I attempted to sign up.

I am also waiting on PTC to expand their menu (hopefully) and I wish Ian and associates all the best. Based on my limited correspondence and all I have learned, I consider Ian a first rate guy also.

speedking

[BIG49010]

I like Phonebet the best of all on-shore books, I don't like the fact you can't bet NYRA if you live outside Penn. I am trying to figure out where to bet NYRA from my area, all the changes are tough to keep up with.

[bigmack]

On a sidenote:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-05052007-1341628.html

"We’re literally the laughingstock of the industry right now," Ballezzi, executive director of the Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association said.

[speedking]

I like Phonebet the best of all on-shore books, I don't like the fact you can't bet NYRA if you live outside Penn. I am trying to figure out where to bet NYRA from my area, all the changes are tough to keep up with.

If I'm correct, you can only bet NYRA tracks at Philly Park or the Turf Clubs. NYRA is not shown on Philly's cable channel and phone and internet wagering on NYRA is not permitted either. But at the track it is :mad:

Strange state of affairs.

speedking

[speedking]

On a sidenote:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-05052007-1341628.html

"We’re literally the laughingstock of the industry right now," Ballezzi, executive director of the Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association said.

Ballezzi finally had his blinkers removed! A few months from now he'll be crying about all the NY, Del and MD outfits shipping in for that million dollar purse. And it's not only the biggest races. I think McLaughlin is 5/6 shipping in from NY and Levine ate them up last season.

I had this article emailed to me earlier, but it's a good accurate story BigMack. Thanks for the link:ThmbUp:

speedking

[Premier Turf Club]

I am moving some funds to Ian's Premier Turf Club and wish him much success. If PTC is able to get Meadowlands harness and Woodbine/Mohawk on the schedule I will be a happy camper. The main reason being the PTC offer of much better rebates and the great feature of "conditions" advance betting. I know the PTC track list is on the small side right now but hope you check it out. BTW some get better than 1.75%. :)

A couple of things. First thanks Melman and to you Speedking for the kind words. We continue to work very hard to get content and are working on Meadowlands right now. We were offered Woodbine, but for a 14% signal fee:lol: which means we really wouldn't be able to reward our customers. I'm sure that's fine with WO because they don't want to deal with rebaters anyway. We might pursue that again in a few weeks if there is demand.

I too had a Phonebet account. I found Kimberly (and Tammy) very easy to deal with. I can't speak for anyone else's experience but they kept their promises to me. I ultimately stopped playing with them because I never warmed up to their wagering interface.

Which leads me to another thought. I'm trying to figure out a way to get some visuals from our cutting edge wagering platform up on the site. We have added a couple of major features during the past week including a check-box wagering interface (in addition to the wagering pad styled like a tote terminal) and a single track screen (to complement our multi-track odds screen). I'm obviously biased, but the feedback from customers has been very positive. I just think we haven't done as good a job as we can exposing it to the public. If anyone wants to test drive it, please let me know. We're working on getting up a flash presentation this week.

[melman]

Speedking--Just to update you with the Phonebet internet betting platform, yes you can bet any NYRA track. They are unable to show any video of the NYRA races due to NYRA's preventing it. Not sure about the phone system as I have not used that for a while. While I am no fan of NYRA (had a very bad experience with them when friends and I drove up to Belmont during Smarty Jones Belmont race) but the "no video" rule for NYRA except at the track or the Turf Clubs has been in force for years now. If people remember there was a dispute last year between the Mid-Atlantic group and NYRA and no betting at all was allowed for a while. Just another part of the crazy and dumb racing industry world.

Ian---Wish you the best in working with The Meadowlands hope that the TVG "exclusive" deal does not get in the way. I have also heard thru the grapevine that the Woodbine/Mohawk tracks are a piece of work as they have there own betting system and do not seem to interested in others.

[speedking]

Speedking--Just to update you with the Phonebet internet betting platform, yes you can bet any NYRA track. They are unable to show any video of the NYRA races due to NYRA's preventing it. Not sure about the phone system as I have not used that for a while. While I am no fan of NYRA (had a very bad experience with them when friends and I drove up to Belmont during Smarty Jones Belmont race) but the "no video" rule for NYRA except at the track or the Turf Clubs has been in force for years now. If people remember there was a dispute last year between the Mid-Atlantic group and NYRA and no betting at all was allowed for a while. Just another part of the crazy and dumb racing industry world.

Ian---Wish you the best in working with The Meadowlands hope that the TVG "exclusive" deal does not get in the way. I have also heard thru the grapevine that the Woodbine/Mohawk tracks are a piece of work as they have there own betting system and do not seem to interested in others.

Thanks for the update, Melman. I thought that no video on their cable channel also meant no wagering allowed. Again, I have never used the PhoneBet system so I cannot offer an opinion either way. I have always been impressed with the number of tracks offered, both online and at the Turf Clubs. If they would fulfill a promise made some time ago and give me a 5% rebate across the board, I would happily give them all my business. Similar rebates are available at the new harness track south of Philly. Such an offer appears highly unlikely at this point though.

speedking

[jma]

Speaking for myself, I was at Philly Park at least once a week for the past 10 or 12 years. Though I probably wouldn't be able to go that much anymore, I would stop in to make bets now and then when I worked near there, plus I was a "weekend warrior". Since the casino opened, I haven't bothered going back because it's just not a good situation for horseplayers to gamble. I honestly think few in management care because Philadelphia Park is making money on slots and the purses are going up. The little bit of live wagering money they're losing is swamped by the massive influx in slots money, and they're a very "bottom line" group. Of course they *should* care, but I doubt they're really bothered by it. Now that they're trying to avoid building the separate casino, well...things aren't going to change for horseplayers there.

I haven't had to deal with Phonebet myself but have heard mixed things. I think it's tough for any business to deal with the massive increase in volume on a few days each year, but they should have been prepared. No call for the attitude for the people working there, but I'm not surprised.

I will add to those who said Keith Jones is a class act. He's one of the good guys. :ThmbUp:

Jerry

[levinmpa]

I've been a Phonebet account holder since 1994. When I first started using Phonebet, there was a fee of $1.50 when the first wager of the day was made. It seemed reasonable at the time. Then they came out with automated phone system with no fees. I agree, that it's kind of a pain to place bets through the automated system, but since there were no fees, it was worth it to me. Since Phonebet.com was launched in I believe 2002, I have made all my wagers online. I go to the track only about once a year, during the summer, and sit in the picnic grove. While Philly Park was always a great deal, no parking fees and no entry fees, I just couldn't deal with the smoke. The Turf Clubs were even worse when it came to smoke. I have only occasionally had issues getting wagers in over the five years. Now that they have become a Racino, I have no plans to go back there.

I also wagered through Pinnacle Sports until they stopped taking wagers from the US. I wasn't crazy about their interface, but the 7% rebate was awesome. Prior to Phonebet.com coming on line, I was able to wager through Penn National's BetUSA.com. However, they cut me off after a few months, as I live within 35 miles of Philly Park, and was therefore only allowed a Phonebet account. I must say, I liked the Penn National betting interface much better than Philly Park's. Philly has not made any changes to the interface since it launched. One thing I do like about the Phonebet interface, is the ability to go back to an already run race and see pools and will pays. You can view the entire will pay grid for Exactas or Doubles for any race run that day. I really don't have any complaints. I can bet on any track in the country, and watch Phonebet TV on my computer. I get TVG and HRTV on my Verizon FIOS TV system, so I see just about everthing.

[skate]

i would assume that phone bet had been overwhelmed with calls prior to the derby.


no problem using the net and making a deposit, just hours before the derby.

cant find a problem, so i would hope for 'no changes'.

all in one account, the track, the net, off tracks, and the phone.

i could care less about insentives, they give a sucking sound, which im not looking for.

lay-out for the bet window is a tough call. you put something 'in' you must take something 'out'. maybe not?

usually i use the TSN bet site, between them and Philly it's 6 of 1 and half a doz. of another.
they both do the job and im very happy with both.:cool:

[mannyberrios]

:jump: I have a phonebet account and I am very happy with them.Never had any problems with them, and the service is great. And thank god, because where I live I cant get anything else TVG, youbet, or anything else. GOD BLESS PHONEBET.