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Several months ago when I was pissed about U.S. government-induced Western Union hassles, I put a post in Bettorsworld inquiring about living offshore. A number of members responded with helpful suggestions, and at that point I decided I would visit some of the recommended Caribbean islands. I also decided that I would do Asia after the Caribbean. My trip, which began in mid-January and ended in early March, included, in chronological order, the following stops:
St. Maarten/St. Martin, Curacao, Aruba, Margarita Island, the Philippines and Thailand.
My trip coordinator for the Caribbean was Roger at WWTS. He was the straw that stirred the drink. He set me up with Rick at Gold Medal Sports in Curacao and Lance at Skybook in Margarita Island. These guys, in turn, got me special hotel and car rental rates. In Aruba, Chester, whom I met through Bettorsworld and who managed the race & sports book in the Holiday Inn, served as my host.
In this post, Part 1, I will describe my experiences in St. Maarten/St. Martin, Curacao, and Aruba. In a forthcoming post, Part 2, I will detail my adventures in Margarita Island and Asia.
WWTS has a close relationship with the Maho Beach Hotel in St. Maarten/St. Martin, and usually their guests stay there. However, the hotel suffered extensive damage from the hurrican in December and it was closed at the time of my trip. Consequently, Roger arranged for me to stay at the Simpson Bay Yacht Club, which is right on the harbor, overlooking multi-million dollar yachts. I saw the Maho, and there is no way I would have enjoyed tht as much as the Yacht Club. Of all the accomodations I expereienced on my trip, this condo was easily my favorite. It was great just sitting on the patio, watching the boats, and feeling the wonderful Caribbean trade winds.
St. Maarten/St. Martin is a very trippy place. It has great beaches, verdant and varied topography offering panoramic views, innumerable fantastic restaurants, Vegas-like casinos, and a very active nightlife where blacks and whites seamlessly intermingle. It is easy to see why well-to-do people from all over the world flock there. However, it does have some negatives. First, it is expensive. Second, due to a one-lane road around the Island, traffic congestion is a real problem that is sure to worsen as development continues. Third, it has, to a certain extent, the frenetic feel or vibe of a tourist trap.
Although I enjoyed St. Maarten/St. Martin and would definitely recommend it as a vacation spot, it is not a place I would choose to live. In addition to the traffic problem and tourist-trap vibe, the island has no waves. And I do want to resurrect my surfing career before I get too old. Also, although the island has an active nightlife, the White European and Black local women did nothing for my libido, as my anima now demands young Latin or Asian women.
As far as I know, Action Sports is the only offshore book on the island. Apparently, they can't afford it there without stiffing people like Boomer. Maybe Ray Meyer should move his book some place less expensive and start paying players.
Only one casino on the island was booking sports: the Lightning. Interestingly enough, this is the place where Billy, the owner of WWTS, started his offshore venture. Roger also worked at the Lightning sportsbook.
When I was at the Lightning, I met a guy named Leo (not Leo Walters) in the race book. Leo used to work with Billy and Roger at the Lightning. He only had good things to say about Billy, and he echoed the Bettorsworld sentiment that WWTS is indeed a great sportsbook. Leo now manages the sportsbook (which was temporarily closed) in the Tropicana Casino, which is across the street from the Lightning. He also said he was suffering from "rock fever," and looking for another gig in the race & sports betting industry. If anyone is looking for a knowledgeable veteran in race or sports, contact Leo at the Tropicana.
After St. Marteen/St. Martin, my next stop was Curacao. Roger had hooked me up with Rick, the manager of Gold Medal, to serve as my guide. Interestingly enough, I had never played with Gold Medal and had never met Rick. but that didn't stop Rick from treating me like gold. Rick got me good rates on my hotel and car, chauffeured me to the hot nightspots, and insisted on covering my dinner. Everyone in the industry whom I've talked to has only good things to say about Rick. And I can see why.
I know that Gold Medal has an outstanding reputation. For as long as I can remember, they have been listed on the Bettorsworld Cream of the Crop List. Furthermore, my current sportsbetting partner used to manage a sportsbook in Curacao, and he said that Gold Medal (when they were in the old TISS complex) was always extremely nice and helpful to him. The only reason I had never played with them was that they weren't on the Don Best Screen or online. Now, they are online, and I plan on opening an account for baseball if they offer a 10-cent line. (By the way, my partner used to manage Worldwide Sportsbook, which subsequently moved to the Dominican Republic (to save money by avoiding Curacao's expensive licensing fees and operating costs) and stiffed everyone. My partner, instead of going to the D.R. with them, returned to the States. He then played with Worldwide, and his old boss, owner Joe Merlo, now in Vegas, stiffed him for 37 dimes. Joe got me for a couple of dimes. Of course, Worldwide shut down, stiffed everyone, and now is a deserved permanent resident in the Bettorsworld Clink.)
Gold Medal is big. Their office must house house nearly 100 computer stations. Rick showed me their casino software and said they spent over a million dollars designing it.
One night Rick took me to a restaurant close to the Sonesta Beach Marriot where I stayed. A jazz band was playing. The saxophonist was a guy named Gary, one of the owners of Legal Book. Gary's brother and co-owner, Ken, also joined us for dinner. Although I have never played with Legal Book and had never heard of them prior to meeting these guys, from what I learned they are a solid and reputable book. I will definitely consider playing with them in the future.
While in Curacao, I got to visit Sport Market/Aces Gold and meet Charlie, who runs the business. Sports Market/Aces Gold occupies a very impressive two-story building. And the inside is immaculate. It is the ultimate in order, vibration, and cleanliness. In fact, the floors are so clean that you could eat off them. I hope the employees at Sports Market realize how lucky they are to work in such a pleasant environment. I don't know if reincarnation is a reality, but if so, Charlie must have been a Feng Shui master in a previous life.
And Charlie? You couldn't meet a nicer, more pleasant guy. Sports Market has always treated me great, even before they knew I was Reno. They have always been extremely polite, friendly, and efficient. I have always raved about them as sportsbook because they deserve it. They are an extension of Charlie, which means you can only say positive things about them. If any of you don't play with Sports Market/Aces Gold, you're missing out. They are one of my very, very favorite outs.
Although I enjoyed seeing the sportsbooks and meeting the guys in Curacao, the island itself did not impress me. Sure, it has some interesting Dutch architecture and some decent beaches, but overall, I just didn't find it particularly pretty or endearing. And, to boot, it is very expensive.
Regarding nightlife, the island had a couple of brothels: Tasca's and the Mirage. Tasca's was unimpressive, but the Mirage, which is a huge compound of army-barracks type buildings housed with women from all over Latin America had some interesting specimens. And I ended up taking a Venezuelan for a "spin." To be truthful, the local population is mainly Black, and Black women, as I earlier stated, simply don't turn me on. The best looking women on the island, in fact, worked at Sports Market. Charlie, an obvious perfectionist, probably combed the entire island to find them.
From Curacao, I flew to neighboring Aruba. Although no offshore books operate out of Aruba, I wanted to see the island and meet Chester, a long-time Bettorsworld poster who, at the time, was managing the race & sports book at the Holiday Inn.
Aruba is a pretty little island with a pleasant vibration. Although it is a true tourist trap in every sense of the word, and teeming with endless Americans, I still liked it. It just has a nice, intimate feel. Rather than being exotic, it's kind of like America on the Caribbean. Numerous American chains have outlets there. For example, one night I had a fish burger at a Hooters and ice cream at a Haagen Dazs outlet.
Although part of the island is very commercial, much is still undeveloped and quite scenic. For example, just a couple miles beyond the Holiday Inn I saw a herd of wild goats. As I was observing the goats, a pack of wild dogs isolated and attacked a kid. A nearby local guy heard its anguished cries and chased the dogs off with a stick. He then loaded the traumatized and bleeding kid into his truck and took him to a local vet.
The Holiday Inn--where I got special rates thanks to Chester--has a Vegas-type casino & and race & sports book. Chester, as I just mentioned, managed the race & sports book. (I have just learned that he has since left Aruba for another gig.) And he did a great job increasing the handle, particularly with the horses.
Unfortunately, because Chester had to work late each night I was there--the guy was overworked and underpaid, which is undoubtedly why he left--I didn't get to spend a lot of quality time with him. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my conversations with him and learned a lot about the offshore business. Chester has worked at various offshore books, knows a lot of the people in the business, and had some interesting stories to tell.
Nightlife on Aruba was not my cup of tea. It consisted of a few low-quantity, low-quality bar/brothels in a dangerous, seamy part of the town and sterile, crowded tourist-type discos. Consequently, although Aruba was generally pretty, pleasant and a nice place to visit, the fact that it lacked waves, adequate nightlife, and an exotic quality, convinced me that I don't want to live there.
For those of you think a vacation to the Caribbean is all fun and games, consider the following sad story:
For years while living in California I had regularly eaten at a place called Tommy's World-Famous Hamburgers. I was proud to eat hamburgers that I believed to be renowned and respected the world over.
As an experiment, on my Caribbean tour I decided to conduct a survey among natives to determine, once and for all, exactly how world-famous Tommy's hamburgers truly are. With this in mind, I interviewed 147 locals on the islands of St. Maarten/St. Martin, Curacao, and Aruba. To my dismay, not a single one had heard of Tommy's hamburgers. Everyone had heard of Mc Donald's, but no one knew of Tommy's. Well, I was shocked and disappointed. All of those years that I had eaten Tommy's burgers I had done so under the impression that I was ingesting a world-class, world-famous food. And now I was faced with the fact that Tommy's had lied to me. My fragile psyche couldn't accept this betrayal, and my mind entered a deep depression that it has yetr to emerge from.
So, just imagine my current mental state. I return to the States already in a deep funk because of the Tommy's survey-fiasco. I then find out Jay Cohen has been convicted, the IRS wants 40 dimes from me, and that CRIS is trying to ruin my scalping career by spearheading an industry-wide move to a 20-cent baseball line.
The only thing left for me is a lawsuit against Tommy's. If a lady can get millions from Mc Donald's for serving coffee that is too hot, then certainly I can get the same type of money from Tommy's for false advertising.
Now, because I don't want to end this post on a negative, litigious note, I'll instead finish by talking about a positive aspect of a long vacation: the time it affords one to experience an epiphany. Yes, I did indeed experience a profound epiphany while in the Caribbean, and it pertained to my need to give back to the sportsbetting community.
Well, based on my epiphany, I have decided to help out Bettorsworld members who plan on visiting the Caribbean. My offering is the folowing story, which should convince members to be wary of travel agencies offering deals that sound too good to be true.
A sportsbettor walked into a travel agency and said he was interested in their super-discount vacation package to the Caribbean. The travel agency employees immediately smashed him on the head, knocking him unconscious, and then threw him in a closet. When he awoke, he found himself next to another sportsbettor on a raft in the middle of the ocean. He then said to the other bettor, "Hey, buddy, does this Caribbean super-discount vacation package provide for a return trip? The other bettor replied, " I don't think so. Last year it didn't."
St. Maarten/St. Martin, Curacao, Aruba, Margarita Island, the Philippines and Thailand.
My trip coordinator for the Caribbean was Roger at WWTS. He was the straw that stirred the drink. He set me up with Rick at Gold Medal Sports in Curacao and Lance at Skybook in Margarita Island. These guys, in turn, got me special hotel and car rental rates. In Aruba, Chester, whom I met through Bettorsworld and who managed the race & sports book in the Holiday Inn, served as my host.
In this post, Part 1, I will describe my experiences in St. Maarten/St. Martin, Curacao, and Aruba. In a forthcoming post, Part 2, I will detail my adventures in Margarita Island and Asia.
WWTS has a close relationship with the Maho Beach Hotel in St. Maarten/St. Martin, and usually their guests stay there. However, the hotel suffered extensive damage from the hurrican in December and it was closed at the time of my trip. Consequently, Roger arranged for me to stay at the Simpson Bay Yacht Club, which is right on the harbor, overlooking multi-million dollar yachts. I saw the Maho, and there is no way I would have enjoyed tht as much as the Yacht Club. Of all the accomodations I expereienced on my trip, this condo was easily my favorite. It was great just sitting on the patio, watching the boats, and feeling the wonderful Caribbean trade winds.
St. Maarten/St. Martin is a very trippy place. It has great beaches, verdant and varied topography offering panoramic views, innumerable fantastic restaurants, Vegas-like casinos, and a very active nightlife where blacks and whites seamlessly intermingle. It is easy to see why well-to-do people from all over the world flock there. However, it does have some negatives. First, it is expensive. Second, due to a one-lane road around the Island, traffic congestion is a real problem that is sure to worsen as development continues. Third, it has, to a certain extent, the frenetic feel or vibe of a tourist trap.
Although I enjoyed St. Maarten/St. Martin and would definitely recommend it as a vacation spot, it is not a place I would choose to live. In addition to the traffic problem and tourist-trap vibe, the island has no waves. And I do want to resurrect my surfing career before I get too old. Also, although the island has an active nightlife, the White European and Black local women did nothing for my libido, as my anima now demands young Latin or Asian women.
As far as I know, Action Sports is the only offshore book on the island. Apparently, they can't afford it there without stiffing people like Boomer. Maybe Ray Meyer should move his book some place less expensive and start paying players.
Only one casino on the island was booking sports: the Lightning. Interestingly enough, this is the place where Billy, the owner of WWTS, started his offshore venture. Roger also worked at the Lightning sportsbook.
When I was at the Lightning, I met a guy named Leo (not Leo Walters) in the race book. Leo used to work with Billy and Roger at the Lightning. He only had good things to say about Billy, and he echoed the Bettorsworld sentiment that WWTS is indeed a great sportsbook. Leo now manages the sportsbook (which was temporarily closed) in the Tropicana Casino, which is across the street from the Lightning. He also said he was suffering from "rock fever," and looking for another gig in the race & sports betting industry. If anyone is looking for a knowledgeable veteran in race or sports, contact Leo at the Tropicana.
After St. Marteen/St. Martin, my next stop was Curacao. Roger had hooked me up with Rick, the manager of Gold Medal, to serve as my guide. Interestingly enough, I had never played with Gold Medal and had never met Rick. but that didn't stop Rick from treating me like gold. Rick got me good rates on my hotel and car, chauffeured me to the hot nightspots, and insisted on covering my dinner. Everyone in the industry whom I've talked to has only good things to say about Rick. And I can see why.
I know that Gold Medal has an outstanding reputation. For as long as I can remember, they have been listed on the Bettorsworld Cream of the Crop List. Furthermore, my current sportsbetting partner used to manage a sportsbook in Curacao, and he said that Gold Medal (when they were in the old TISS complex) was always extremely nice and helpful to him. The only reason I had never played with them was that they weren't on the Don Best Screen or online. Now, they are online, and I plan on opening an account for baseball if they offer a 10-cent line. (By the way, my partner used to manage Worldwide Sportsbook, which subsequently moved to the Dominican Republic (to save money by avoiding Curacao's expensive licensing fees and operating costs) and stiffed everyone. My partner, instead of going to the D.R. with them, returned to the States. He then played with Worldwide, and his old boss, owner Joe Merlo, now in Vegas, stiffed him for 37 dimes. Joe got me for a couple of dimes. Of course, Worldwide shut down, stiffed everyone, and now is a deserved permanent resident in the Bettorsworld Clink.)
Gold Medal is big. Their office must house house nearly 100 computer stations. Rick showed me their casino software and said they spent over a million dollars designing it.
One night Rick took me to a restaurant close to the Sonesta Beach Marriot where I stayed. A jazz band was playing. The saxophonist was a guy named Gary, one of the owners of Legal Book. Gary's brother and co-owner, Ken, also joined us for dinner. Although I have never played with Legal Book and had never heard of them prior to meeting these guys, from what I learned they are a solid and reputable book. I will definitely consider playing with them in the future.
While in Curacao, I got to visit Sport Market/Aces Gold and meet Charlie, who runs the business. Sports Market/Aces Gold occupies a very impressive two-story building. And the inside is immaculate. It is the ultimate in order, vibration, and cleanliness. In fact, the floors are so clean that you could eat off them. I hope the employees at Sports Market realize how lucky they are to work in such a pleasant environment. I don't know if reincarnation is a reality, but if so, Charlie must have been a Feng Shui master in a previous life.
And Charlie? You couldn't meet a nicer, more pleasant guy. Sports Market has always treated me great, even before they knew I was Reno. They have always been extremely polite, friendly, and efficient. I have always raved about them as sportsbook because they deserve it. They are an extension of Charlie, which means you can only say positive things about them. If any of you don't play with Sports Market/Aces Gold, you're missing out. They are one of my very, very favorite outs.
Although I enjoyed seeing the sportsbooks and meeting the guys in Curacao, the island itself did not impress me. Sure, it has some interesting Dutch architecture and some decent beaches, but overall, I just didn't find it particularly pretty or endearing. And, to boot, it is very expensive.
Regarding nightlife, the island had a couple of brothels: Tasca's and the Mirage. Tasca's was unimpressive, but the Mirage, which is a huge compound of army-barracks type buildings housed with women from all over Latin America had some interesting specimens. And I ended up taking a Venezuelan for a "spin." To be truthful, the local population is mainly Black, and Black women, as I earlier stated, simply don't turn me on. The best looking women on the island, in fact, worked at Sports Market. Charlie, an obvious perfectionist, probably combed the entire island to find them.
From Curacao, I flew to neighboring Aruba. Although no offshore books operate out of Aruba, I wanted to see the island and meet Chester, a long-time Bettorsworld poster who, at the time, was managing the race & sports book at the Holiday Inn.
Aruba is a pretty little island with a pleasant vibration. Although it is a true tourist trap in every sense of the word, and teeming with endless Americans, I still liked it. It just has a nice, intimate feel. Rather than being exotic, it's kind of like America on the Caribbean. Numerous American chains have outlets there. For example, one night I had a fish burger at a Hooters and ice cream at a Haagen Dazs outlet.
Although part of the island is very commercial, much is still undeveloped and quite scenic. For example, just a couple miles beyond the Holiday Inn I saw a herd of wild goats. As I was observing the goats, a pack of wild dogs isolated and attacked a kid. A nearby local guy heard its anguished cries and chased the dogs off with a stick. He then loaded the traumatized and bleeding kid into his truck and took him to a local vet.
The Holiday Inn--where I got special rates thanks to Chester--has a Vegas-type casino & and race & sports book. Chester, as I just mentioned, managed the race & sports book. (I have just learned that he has since left Aruba for another gig.) And he did a great job increasing the handle, particularly with the horses.
Unfortunately, because Chester had to work late each night I was there--the guy was overworked and underpaid, which is undoubtedly why he left--I didn't get to spend a lot of quality time with him. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my conversations with him and learned a lot about the offshore business. Chester has worked at various offshore books, knows a lot of the people in the business, and had some interesting stories to tell.
Nightlife on Aruba was not my cup of tea. It consisted of a few low-quantity, low-quality bar/brothels in a dangerous, seamy part of the town and sterile, crowded tourist-type discos. Consequently, although Aruba was generally pretty, pleasant and a nice place to visit, the fact that it lacked waves, adequate nightlife, and an exotic quality, convinced me that I don't want to live there.
For those of you think a vacation to the Caribbean is all fun and games, consider the following sad story:
For years while living in California I had regularly eaten at a place called Tommy's World-Famous Hamburgers. I was proud to eat hamburgers that I believed to be renowned and respected the world over.
As an experiment, on my Caribbean tour I decided to conduct a survey among natives to determine, once and for all, exactly how world-famous Tommy's hamburgers truly are. With this in mind, I interviewed 147 locals on the islands of St. Maarten/St. Martin, Curacao, and Aruba. To my dismay, not a single one had heard of Tommy's hamburgers. Everyone had heard of Mc Donald's, but no one knew of Tommy's. Well, I was shocked and disappointed. All of those years that I had eaten Tommy's burgers I had done so under the impression that I was ingesting a world-class, world-famous food. And now I was faced with the fact that Tommy's had lied to me. My fragile psyche couldn't accept this betrayal, and my mind entered a deep depression that it has yetr to emerge from.
So, just imagine my current mental state. I return to the States already in a deep funk because of the Tommy's survey-fiasco. I then find out Jay Cohen has been convicted, the IRS wants 40 dimes from me, and that CRIS is trying to ruin my scalping career by spearheading an industry-wide move to a 20-cent baseball line.
The only thing left for me is a lawsuit against Tommy's. If a lady can get millions from Mc Donald's for serving coffee that is too hot, then certainly I can get the same type of money from Tommy's for false advertising.
Now, because I don't want to end this post on a negative, litigious note, I'll instead finish by talking about a positive aspect of a long vacation: the time it affords one to experience an epiphany. Yes, I did indeed experience a profound epiphany while in the Caribbean, and it pertained to my need to give back to the sportsbetting community.
Well, based on my epiphany, I have decided to help out Bettorsworld members who plan on visiting the Caribbean. My offering is the folowing story, which should convince members to be wary of travel agencies offering deals that sound too good to be true.
A sportsbettor walked into a travel agency and said he was interested in their super-discount vacation package to the Caribbean. The travel agency employees immediately smashed him on the head, knocking him unconscious, and then threw him in a closet. When he awoke, he found himself next to another sportsbettor on a raft in the middle of the ocean. He then said to the other bettor, "Hey, buddy, does this Caribbean super-discount vacation package provide for a return trip? The other bettor replied, " I don't think so. Last year it didn't."
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