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August 7, 2001
GOING TO HELL IN A HAND BASKET
L.V. Sports Betting: The Journey Continues
You know that regular feature in Sports Illustrated … the one that zeroes in on a cryptically absurd occurrence … they call it, “This Week’s Sign of the Apocalypse”? Well, we have a couple of signs from Las Vegas that are as apocalyptic as it gets.
Nowhere among the city’s diversified gaming options is there more bureaucratic red tape and overbearing vigilance than the regulations and regulators that smother sports betting.
But all that misplaced energy didn’t stop one unlucky ticket writer from pulling off an ill-advised move against his own employer. The guy, a degenerate blackjack player, used his sportsbook’s money drawer as his private stash. That is, until he lost $100,000.
It all happened last month at a prestigious Strip casino, whose bosses are frantically trying to keep the lid on this story since they insist, “It is an in-house problem.”
The ticket writer’s modus operandi was simply to take out about $25,000 during his lunch break and go play BJ at the casino in which he worked. That, of course, is a serious no-no. At the end of the session, he would replace his borrowed funds – either cash or chips – and no one was the wiser.
His undoing came when he apparently went for a bigger score than usual and got clobbered at the tables. The cash shortfall he created was discovered post haste, and an investigation unraveled the hapless clerk’s scheme.
As the internal inquiry unfolds, many questions are being asked, including how a lone wolf could circumvent supposedly foolproof procedures that have been in place for a long time.
The sports betting community in Las Vegas is resigned to being victimized by ludicrous boondoggles, since regulators seem so clueless about either the nuts and bolts aspect of this business or what motivates players to bet on sports.
What Orwellian rule will be the bastard child of casino and Gaming Commission mucky mucks after they apply their appallingly impoverished resources to resolve this latest situation? That is a question too scary to contemplate. Suffice it to say that given their track record, Draconian measures of Gargantuan proportions will likely be installed to ensure that ticket writers cannot dip into the till, unmolested.
We would venture the guess that when punishment is meted out, the ticket writer will fare better than the casino. Hell, the clerk only stole money. But it was the casino that allowed him to play at their blackjack tables. It is one of this city’s inviolate rules that employees cannot gamble at their own casino.
Second Item, Worse than the First. The initial day of this month did more than just inaugurate the Dog Days of August; it put into effect a new rule that could be the straw that finally breaks the sports betting industry’s back.
To guarantee the purity of telephone *****ing and see that the precious bodily fluids of those bettors are not contaminated through exposure to a betting system that could be hacked into by arch criminals outside Nevada, a call back procedure is now in place.
When a bettor calls in to make a play and inputs his account number, he is told to hang up and await a call back to a beeper he has been given. Oops, not exactly given … the casinos require payment of a $30 refundable charge for this nicety.
When the call back comes, the player then inputs his authorization code and voilą, he is ready to make a bet. Only five to 10 minutes have been wasted.
Of course, the handy little system precludes calling at post time, making half time bets, etc. But who cares, the rule is for the comfort zone of the out-to-lunch commissioners who invented it. If bettors have a gripe with this imposition and others, like the daily limit of $2,200 that can be put in action on a single game, well, let them eat cake, or go bet with offshore sportsbooks.
A few bettors we spoke with intend to do just that: have their cake and bet offshore.
Mistaken Identity. Speaking of offshore BMs, one of them is upset over a warning about bad offshore books that appeared in a magazine.
It is simply a case of good intentions going awry. In this instance the warning – posted in the recently published Official Offshore Football Betting Guide – is having some negative fallout for one of the industry’s stellar sportsbooks.
A full page story in the magazine correctly nailed more than two dozen sportsbooks and casinos that should be avoided. Unfortunately, two of them – Caribbean Sports and Caribi Sports – are very similar in name and are causing problems for Carib Sportsbook (www.caribsports.com), said its managing director, William J. Caesar.
He said the book is getting calls from players who are confusing it with the two “bad” books. Caesar asked us to please pass along his assurance to the sports betting public that, “Carib Sports has been around since 1993, has an impeccable reputation,” and if anyone wants a further explanation, he would be happy to speak with them.
However, he grudgingly gave the suspect books some credit. “If you’re going to steal a reputation, you might as well steal the best,” he asserted.
Mistaken Identity Part II. In a quote of ours that had nice things to say about a sportsbook in its print ads, an overzealous copy writer accorded us a title to which we neither aspire nor deserve.
Our longstanding policy has been not to recommend sportsbooks, because we’re not in the recommendation business. The books understand and respect our position.
But that doesn’t preclude us from publicly praising those books with which we are familiar, should we be asked for some sort of testimonial. It is done gratis, with no strings.
So, when we saw a new publication, Joe Gavazzi’s College & Pro 2001, which contained an ad for Pinnacle Sports (www.planetpinnacle.com) adorned with a quote from us, we had no problem standing by the statement.
However, the ad agency, in a sincere but misguided attempt to impart to us more gravity than we merit, used the erroneous sobriquet of “Sports *****ing Watchdog” to describe us. Whatever we are, and there is a wide variance of opinions, watchdog isn’t one of them.
There are legitimate watchdog sites on the Internet. We applaud and salute them for their efforts and dauntless dedication in assisting the entire sports betting community – players and bookmakers – resolve disputes. They are an admirable resource for spreading the word on disreputable books and practices, which need to be exposed.
For us to claim involvement in such serious business would be disingenuous and presumptuous. So, regarding that ad, which has since been corrected, let us conclude by saying simply, we stand by the quote, but disavow the title.
Please send questions, comments, etc., to [email protected].
GOING TO HELL IN A HAND BASKET
L.V. Sports Betting: The Journey Continues
You know that regular feature in Sports Illustrated … the one that zeroes in on a cryptically absurd occurrence … they call it, “This Week’s Sign of the Apocalypse”? Well, we have a couple of signs from Las Vegas that are as apocalyptic as it gets.
Nowhere among the city’s diversified gaming options is there more bureaucratic red tape and overbearing vigilance than the regulations and regulators that smother sports betting.
But all that misplaced energy didn’t stop one unlucky ticket writer from pulling off an ill-advised move against his own employer. The guy, a degenerate blackjack player, used his sportsbook’s money drawer as his private stash. That is, until he lost $100,000.
It all happened last month at a prestigious Strip casino, whose bosses are frantically trying to keep the lid on this story since they insist, “It is an in-house problem.”
The ticket writer’s modus operandi was simply to take out about $25,000 during his lunch break and go play BJ at the casino in which he worked. That, of course, is a serious no-no. At the end of the session, he would replace his borrowed funds – either cash or chips – and no one was the wiser.
His undoing came when he apparently went for a bigger score than usual and got clobbered at the tables. The cash shortfall he created was discovered post haste, and an investigation unraveled the hapless clerk’s scheme.
As the internal inquiry unfolds, many questions are being asked, including how a lone wolf could circumvent supposedly foolproof procedures that have been in place for a long time.
The sports betting community in Las Vegas is resigned to being victimized by ludicrous boondoggles, since regulators seem so clueless about either the nuts and bolts aspect of this business or what motivates players to bet on sports.
What Orwellian rule will be the bastard child of casino and Gaming Commission mucky mucks after they apply their appallingly impoverished resources to resolve this latest situation? That is a question too scary to contemplate. Suffice it to say that given their track record, Draconian measures of Gargantuan proportions will likely be installed to ensure that ticket writers cannot dip into the till, unmolested.
We would venture the guess that when punishment is meted out, the ticket writer will fare better than the casino. Hell, the clerk only stole money. But it was the casino that allowed him to play at their blackjack tables. It is one of this city’s inviolate rules that employees cannot gamble at their own casino.
Second Item, Worse than the First. The initial day of this month did more than just inaugurate the Dog Days of August; it put into effect a new rule that could be the straw that finally breaks the sports betting industry’s back.
To guarantee the purity of telephone *****ing and see that the precious bodily fluids of those bettors are not contaminated through exposure to a betting system that could be hacked into by arch criminals outside Nevada, a call back procedure is now in place.
When a bettor calls in to make a play and inputs his account number, he is told to hang up and await a call back to a beeper he has been given. Oops, not exactly given … the casinos require payment of a $30 refundable charge for this nicety.
When the call back comes, the player then inputs his authorization code and voilą, he is ready to make a bet. Only five to 10 minutes have been wasted.
Of course, the handy little system precludes calling at post time, making half time bets, etc. But who cares, the rule is for the comfort zone of the out-to-lunch commissioners who invented it. If bettors have a gripe with this imposition and others, like the daily limit of $2,200 that can be put in action on a single game, well, let them eat cake, or go bet with offshore sportsbooks.
A few bettors we spoke with intend to do just that: have their cake and bet offshore.
Mistaken Identity. Speaking of offshore BMs, one of them is upset over a warning about bad offshore books that appeared in a magazine.
It is simply a case of good intentions going awry. In this instance the warning – posted in the recently published Official Offshore Football Betting Guide – is having some negative fallout for one of the industry’s stellar sportsbooks.
A full page story in the magazine correctly nailed more than two dozen sportsbooks and casinos that should be avoided. Unfortunately, two of them – Caribbean Sports and Caribi Sports – are very similar in name and are causing problems for Carib Sportsbook (www.caribsports.com), said its managing director, William J. Caesar.
He said the book is getting calls from players who are confusing it with the two “bad” books. Caesar asked us to please pass along his assurance to the sports betting public that, “Carib Sports has been around since 1993, has an impeccable reputation,” and if anyone wants a further explanation, he would be happy to speak with them.
However, he grudgingly gave the suspect books some credit. “If you’re going to steal a reputation, you might as well steal the best,” he asserted.
Mistaken Identity Part II. In a quote of ours that had nice things to say about a sportsbook in its print ads, an overzealous copy writer accorded us a title to which we neither aspire nor deserve.
Our longstanding policy has been not to recommend sportsbooks, because we’re not in the recommendation business. The books understand and respect our position.
But that doesn’t preclude us from publicly praising those books with which we are familiar, should we be asked for some sort of testimonial. It is done gratis, with no strings.
So, when we saw a new publication, Joe Gavazzi’s College & Pro 2001, which contained an ad for Pinnacle Sports (www.planetpinnacle.com) adorned with a quote from us, we had no problem standing by the statement.
However, the ad agency, in a sincere but misguided attempt to impart to us more gravity than we merit, used the erroneous sobriquet of “Sports *****ing Watchdog” to describe us. Whatever we are, and there is a wide variance of opinions, watchdog isn’t one of them.
There are legitimate watchdog sites on the Internet. We applaud and salute them for their efforts and dauntless dedication in assisting the entire sports betting community – players and bookmakers – resolve disputes. They are an admirable resource for spreading the word on disreputable books and practices, which need to be exposed.
For us to claim involvement in such serious business would be disingenuous and presumptuous. So, regarding that ad, which has since been corrected, let us conclude by saying simply, we stand by the quote, but disavow the title.
Please send questions, comments, etc., to [email protected].