sportsbook myths

[sky]

I have watched some incredibly wrong information being discussed here and figured it was time to let you people know the score.Ask away,you may not get another chance.

[WhiteShoes]

what is the difference between a
stadium and a park. thanx.

[FredCDobbs]

WS,

My first reaction was like yours - another junior member know-it-all. But I checked this guy's profile - he implies that he's the owner of Skybook.

Sky,

OK, I'll bite. Please tell us what things you've seen here that seemed most off base and what the true situation is. I'm sure many here would really appreciate being educated by someone such as yourself.

Also one small question - how do you come up with your opening lines? :-)

And another specific to Skybook - why don't you facilitate customers who would like to transfer funds to or from other books without using wire transfers? Every other large book has at least some cooperative arrangements.

[greg]

is skybook too smart or too gutless to post lines in hoops as early as sos does?

[sky]

Fred,unlike the other generic names of sportsbooks on the Don Best screen.My name is on my company.I have been Sky for 20 yrs and there is nobody from NY to the poker room at the Bellagio who doesnt know that when they wager at Skybook,that Sky personally is going to be responsible for payment.Unlike nameless faceless others I live in Vegas and everyone knows where to find me.As far as arrangements to transfer funds between post-ups,nobody has ever approached me,and I really dont know all of these little post-up operations,and I only trust the Sportsbooks on the Don Best screen,I know those guys at Don Best are very thorough about letting people on their screen.As far as opening lines,each sport is a little different.A sportsbook like CRIS can always go first,because they are such a small store,and their limits are so low.I have been betting there for years and when they open they never take more than 7000 from me in the NBA,so they can easily juice out what they lose on getting their lines corrected.An office like Skybook,who takes many times more than anyone else does not always have that luxury.A sport like college basketball requires others to open first because none of the partners at Skybook are experts in that sport,you cant be an expert at everything.Also Skybook is made up of professional gamblers and sometimes we like to bet out before we open.The other considerations are due to the large bets we take ,like I discussed earlier.

[sky]

Greg,I wouldnt know when SOS posts their lines,since I only bet the outs on the Don Best screen,but I assure you that NBA is my best possible venue,and if they want to put 200,000 in escrow,I will do the same,and if they are the first people to show lines I will be happy to get my work done earlier,and relieve them of their money.As there have been so many problems with sportsbooks not on the Don Best screen,I would never trust them or anyone else off the screen to pay me,and I tell everyone the same thing when they ask me,and that is to stick with outs ON SCREEN.The people at SOS are also free to open up accounts at SKYBOOK,if they are the hoop kings,and if they win I will pay them with a smile,OK GREG.

[Jeff]

While I have all the respect in the world for Dana and Company over at Don Best, I disagree as far as trusting a book or books NOT on the screen.

No question some of the finest sportsbooks in the world are on the screen, however once upon a time not too long ago there was no screen, and people like yourself still managed to do business, both wagering and accepting wagers.

Remember, Dial A Bet was on the screen once......

[boris]

Me Tarzan, big chest THUMP THUMP


YAWN!!!!

[WhiteShoes]

You're right D.C. I didn't check out the profile so I figured it was just another stocking stuffer post.
What information has been misleading?

[reno]

Sky, welcome to the forum. Here are my questions and comments:

1) Why don't you work on making transfer arrangements with more sportsbooks? When I asked customer service yesterday as to which sportsbooks Skybook does transfers with, the only one mentioned was Sports Market. Also, you no longer do transfers with Del Mar, which is on the Don Best screen. This seems to contradict what you said about trusting Don Best books.

2) Now that you have problems with Western Union Quick Collect--Skybook is the book that had to return my money, as discussed in
my Western Union Harassment post--and will therefore be taking more cashier checks via Fed Ex, I would suggest you change your policy regarding this. When my money was returned from Western Union, I immediatedly sent a cashiers check via Fed Ex overnight. This was last Friday, August 6. Now I have to wait until Monday or Tuesday, when it arrives, before I can play into Skybook. Bowman's, to whom I also send cashier checks via overnight Fed Ex, has a a better system. If you give them the tracking number and check number, and they then verify the tracking number with Fed Ex, your account gets credited the money right away.

3) A few months ago, I was given a new phone number for calling my plays in to Skybook. Apparently, I was identified as a heavier bettor. Anyway, I must be honest and tell you that I got better service at the old number. Now I get plenty of times when the phone just rings and isn't picked up right away. Also, the clerks, particularly the female ones, sometimes ask to clear the betting line I will be quoted.

[Phil]

Sky, I have a comment and a question.

The one biggest positive of skybook (imho) was that during the college basketball season, you guys put up second half lines on literally EVERY single game each night. Now with the exception of Olympic (who also had quite a few second halfs going) I was wondering if you knew why none of the other screen books were willing to put up all these second halfs (even just on the big espn games, only a couple of other places would have them)?

thanks for your comments here in the forum.

[mls]

Hi Sky - welcome aboard!

First, is Skybook online - if so, what is the web address? If not online, when?

Second, Reno and others have opined that generally the books have been clobbered this baseball season and might need a good football season to survive. Do you agree that baseball has been so rough on the offshore books?

Thank for the info!

[sky]

First transfers between companies it not always that easy.Delmar is owned by 1 person and it is easy for them to transfer between post-up and non post-up accounts,Skybook is a corporation,but we will try to be cooperative when possible.I would suggest leaving a large amount of money available at Skybook so you dont run short,because of all the extra things to bet here,now that the kings of HALFTIME are BACK.

[sky]

we are the halftime originators,so we like to post as many second half lines as possible.We can usually put up numbers that attract 2 way business.Other companies dont like to do it,because it calls for talent that many of these marketing only type firms dont have.Although many books now wait for Skybooks lines to settle,than copy ours.But if you really want to battle your opinion versus ours,Skybook is a must.As far as what kind of shape financially the other books are in ,I would be unable to comment,there is no sharing of financial information between sportsbooks that I know of.As for Skybook we had our best baseball ever.

[Hartley]

PMFJI, but MLS, it states on their site "www.skybook.com", that they will be online soon.