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Five or six yrs ago when I first started playing offshore, I called almost all the places that were in business at the time and tried to talk to someone as far up in the chain of command as I could, at each of the books. One of the conversations I had was with RICH, the FATHER of the bonus from Rich Superbook. I don't know the exact circumstances but apparently that is where the whole bonus idea was initially implemented. Then, of course, everyone else started offering bonuses and the rest is history, as they say.
In a surprisingly lengthy conversation, he essentially said he regretted starting the whole bonus thing and that ultimately it would lead down the very path that we've all experienced in the last few weeks. At the time, I interpreted that to mean that he regretted it because he was quickly falling into a competitive disadvantage because other books were now out-offering what he was.
But the one thing that he said that has stuck with me all these years was in response to my assertion that if a couple of major books would go under...........that the confidence on offshore would evaporate away. He disagreed totally and "essentially" said this.........
That the perception among the owners, BMs, etc etc., is that no matter how many players they signed up or how many places went under or how good or bad customer service was etc etc..........that ultimately none of that really mattered because they would always get another chance in this unregulated industry. A book could go bust and the principals could come back under a different name and on a different island. And ultimately, though we hear that every customer is important yada yada yada.............we were just the "tip of the iceberg," when it came to the raw numbers of potential players out there and ultimately the tip of the iceberg when it came to potential profit.
Clearly a lot of what he said still makes sense all these years later. And ultimately, all the posters at all the sites combined probably don't account for 1 out of 1000 or 10000 when it comes to even current offshore players. So what are we, as players to do?
In my opinion, the "rest of the iceberg" of players will not suddenly
reveal itself until the "legal issues on offshore" are decided, and until the name Harrahs or Hilton or Trump is in front of the word sportsbook. Anyone who has lived in a major US city will tell you that there are a % of people who will not cross the street unless it says "walk". All these people won’t be going to XYZ Sports in Costa Rica, when it says walk.......... that’s for sure. In addition, a lot, if not most, of us here will also go to the Trumps or the Mirages etc. as well. So although we may very well be the “tip of the iceberg”, offshore books today need to understand that THEY will probably never benefit from the “rest of the iceberg” and despite all the marketing and the high bonuses and beneath the bravado…………it seems that new books are having a challenging time finding customers. One need only look at the numbers being thrown around by Camelot or Allworld to back that assertion up. So, Rich was right,........... we are just the tip of the iceberg. But with the competition among books, the TIP is all you’re going to get………………..cause the rest of the iceberg, if and when it reveals itself, is really already spoken for.
A chunk of us will probably never come back offshore, after the events of the last few weeks. The rest of us are probably ,more than a bit nervous. I think the books need to truly understand what this could potentially mean to them.
In a surprisingly lengthy conversation, he essentially said he regretted starting the whole bonus thing and that ultimately it would lead down the very path that we've all experienced in the last few weeks. At the time, I interpreted that to mean that he regretted it because he was quickly falling into a competitive disadvantage because other books were now out-offering what he was.
But the one thing that he said that has stuck with me all these years was in response to my assertion that if a couple of major books would go under...........that the confidence on offshore would evaporate away. He disagreed totally and "essentially" said this.........
That the perception among the owners, BMs, etc etc., is that no matter how many players they signed up or how many places went under or how good or bad customer service was etc etc..........that ultimately none of that really mattered because they would always get another chance in this unregulated industry. A book could go bust and the principals could come back under a different name and on a different island. And ultimately, though we hear that every customer is important yada yada yada.............we were just the "tip of the iceberg," when it came to the raw numbers of potential players out there and ultimately the tip of the iceberg when it came to potential profit.
Clearly a lot of what he said still makes sense all these years later. And ultimately, all the posters at all the sites combined probably don't account for 1 out of 1000 or 10000 when it comes to even current offshore players. So what are we, as players to do?
In my opinion, the "rest of the iceberg" of players will not suddenly
reveal itself until the "legal issues on offshore" are decided, and until the name Harrahs or Hilton or Trump is in front of the word sportsbook. Anyone who has lived in a major US city will tell you that there are a % of people who will not cross the street unless it says "walk". All these people won’t be going to XYZ Sports in Costa Rica, when it says walk.......... that’s for sure. In addition, a lot, if not most, of us here will also go to the Trumps or the Mirages etc. as well. So although we may very well be the “tip of the iceberg”, offshore books today need to understand that THEY will probably never benefit from the “rest of the iceberg” and despite all the marketing and the high bonuses and beneath the bravado…………it seems that new books are having a challenging time finding customers. One need only look at the numbers being thrown around by Camelot or Allworld to back that assertion up. So, Rich was right,........... we are just the tip of the iceberg. But with the competition among books, the TIP is all you’re going to get………………..cause the rest of the iceberg, if and when it reveals itself, is really already spoken for.
A chunk of us will probably never come back offshore, after the events of the last few weeks. The rest of us are probably ,more than a bit nervous. I think the books need to truly understand what this could potentially mean to them.