Beyer on global wagering

[cj]

Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40099-2003Dec5.html)

[VetScratch]

Nice article!

If United Kingdom players put $200-million into our American pools in 2004, it just strengthens my conviction about the business model for self-avowed off-shore bookmakers.

They pay no takeout back to the tracks (unless they choose to layoff that way), they cater to losers, they eliminate winners, and they hedge against windfall winners by imposing limitations (e.g., on daily win totals per track), by avoiding regulatory scrutiny, and by boldly disavowing commercial trade practices common in the "civilized" world.

I would love to see credible evidence that anyone has won and collected a $100K profit from American racing over the course of a year by consistently beating one of off-shore bookmakers in an island/banana republic.

True bookmakers do not gamble... so they have zero tolerance for consistent winners.

[David McKenzie]

Originally posted by VetScratch
True bookmakers do not gamble... so they have zero tolerance for consistent winners.

That's generally but not always the case; sometimes it's in their best interests to let someone win.

This is from Gambling Wizards (which would make a lovely stocking stuffer for some lucky bloke on your Xmas list :>)

"In the old days, a guy named Bob Martin was the linemaker. He was a very bright man. he would make the line and the first thing he would do was call his sharpest bettors and offer his line to them.

"When [Stan Tomchin] lived in New York, [Bob] would call [Stan], through an intermediary, to offer [Stan] his football line on Sunday afternoon. Say [Bob] had Rams -7 and [Stan] took the Rams. Now he knew he should move it [away from Stan's direction].

"On Monday morning when the line opened around the country it would be Rams -8.5. He would take a chunk [book a big wager], $10,000 or $20,000, just to get the information."

[VetScratch]

David McKenzie@HSH,

Great classic story!

You have to factor in what kind of total football handle is expected. When the first light illuminates a line, the cap on action is usually lowest and then gets raised as the handle mounts and the line stabilizes. I imagine Bob thought $10-$20K was worth some marginal exposure to obtain Stan's opinion, but he still had to cap Stan's action so that his book wouldn't get hopelessly out of balance in relation to what he expected to handle by game time.

Of course, becoming a Stan is every gambler's dream, but God kind of stacked the deck against some of us! Are there any good Sally stories in the book? :) :)

[David McKenzie]

VetScratch,

I guess I should have said the book would make a lovely stocking stuffer for some lucky bloke or blokette :>)

It's about Billy Walters, Chip Reese, Tommy Hyland, Mike Svobodny, Stan Tomchin, Cathy Hulbert, Alan Woods and Doyle Brunson.

Try to imagine what it's like to be the resident backgammon player at the Playboy Mansion, or to win the World Series of Poker, not once but twice?

The Cathy Hulbert story is fascinating; I think you'll enjoy that chapter. She is the epitome of dauntless perserverance.

And for those of us who think they bet big, can you imagine betting a million dollars on a football game? Or, how about Alan Woods, who won seven million dollars on a single horse race?

There are lots of interesting anecdotes in the book and it's certainly worth the $19.95 asking price, especially for an Xmas present!

[mauvais]

There's a good article on Alan Woods in the latest (December) issue of Cigar Afficionada, worth a read.

[David McKenzie]

Thanks, Mauvis, I'll make sure to check it out.

:>)

[VetScratch]

No one will be disappointed, and many may be surprised by the extent to which gambling is examined in the Value Trust 2003 Annual Report... mixes maxims from the legends of gambling with musings from Buffett and other investment wizards. Well worth reading!

http://www.leggmason.com/funds/ourfunds/rts/vtx_annual.pdf

========

Unless you think slots belong on the NYSE floor, the author makes it very clear why horse and slot players should not be housed in the same locations! Mixing the two can only increase the percentage of bedraggled losers.

Keep slot players confined in their own asylums and simply milk them, like cows in a pasture, to subsidize horseracing! :)

[lsbets]

VS,

That was a great read. I have always thought there is a parellel between investing and handicapping, along with similar behavior on the part of investors and bettors.

[VetScratch]

Yes, the truth is pervasive: great securities analysts (great handicappers) do not necessarily make great investment managers (great players). Fail at either one, and you ultimately fail to succeed.