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As I See It, by Jimmy Vaccaro
September 7, 2001
Bookmaker-cum-Columnist Revels in Feedback
Happily Answers Queries from Diverse Audience
What a pleasant surprise for an old handicapper like yours truly, when the emails began accumulating in my mail box in response to last week’s piece on line movement. They came from all points of the globe, including Canbet’s Mark MacReadie in Australia.
Several questions came from multiple sources, so I will respond here.
Yes, I do have a sports service. The ad in which you see my rating of offshore sportsbooks is a true reflection of the stores I play at. Yes, I received a fee for my endorsements, but I felt comfortable with each operation.
I have known the principals from two to 20 years. By the way, none of these books gives me a free roll. I try to win, they try to win. The 20-year relationship refers to Roger from Heritage 2000. I wouldn’t lend my name for any amount of money to guys I didn’t know and for whom I didn’t have high regard.
Here’s a question I get asked all the time: Would I rather book or bet? That’s tough, because I truly enjoy both activities. For the past five years, I have been a full time professional player, and have been reasonably successful. By that I mean making enough to pay the bills, live a decent lifestyle, but not getting filthy rich.
I am a lone wolf, doing all the work myself, without any partners, associates, etc. It can be tedious, it is time consuming, and a civilian could easily say, “Jimmy, get a life.”
But this is my life and I enjoy it. Sometimes I get lost in all the things that go with a betting lifestyle while the rest of the world goes by, unnoticed.
Meanwhile, I am caught up in this crazy, romantic, fascinating and humbling process called sports gambling. If I get a little jaded by it all, there is a compensating upside.
I am my own boss, and answer to no one. This worked out very nicely in raising my kids when my son was going through college and my daughter was entering high school. While I missed a lot of activities that they participated in because I was in some hotel working 10 to 12 hours a day, I was able to be involved enough so that they were not strangers to me.
In retrospect, I have nothing to be sorry about, and I was able to interact with them because I did everything single O.
I have dabbled with thinking about outside ventures. Some of the ventures I entertained included starting a bar/restaurant and buying a 7-11. While I was looking for something different than the gaming life, I never pulled the trigger because – when I got down to brass tacks – this is all I know. So I squashed those entrepreneurial urges, and my record of never having held a square job remains intact.
Booking every now and then does come into the picture, and on several occasions I have almost said okay. But the situation has to be right, not just for me but for all involved. I know the business has changed since I was last behind the counter. I’m not going to enumerate the changes since so much of that is subjective. But I guess I could go to Thailand and ask for some of Roxy’s layoff.
I will say this. Running a book in Nevada and running an offshore operation are as diametrically opposed as the coaching tactics of Steve Spurrier and Bear Bryant. Despite all the Nevada regulations and red tape, I believe making a profit here is much easier. Sure, there’s lots of competition and it can be ruthless. But the crucial point is you have a captive audience.
Separating a guy from his cash is a lot less challenging when he is yakking it up with three new friends, with a bunch of parlay cards hanging out of his pocket, and downing his third Corona.
Promotional money can add up, but in an upcoming article I will break down the costs of running a contest based on the first Pick the Pros that we ran at the Royal Inn years ago. And I’ll depict the evolution of these contests.
So, if I had my druthers, I would prefer to have a piece of a joint connected to a casino, but with the addition of phones. Then I would just work football and spend the rest of the year hanging out in my hometown of Stafford, PA. The town is still waiting for its first traffic light and that’s where I would try to last another 20 years. Oh yeah, one more item on my wish list: the casino should be by the water.
Here are two picks where I have already stuck my foot in the water:
Boston College plus over Stanford. The rushing attack will wear down Stanford as it did W. Va. Last week.
New Orleans minus over Buffalo. We have a change of favorite, but it should not matter as the Saints are better than Buffalo. Look for Bills QB Johnson to have a rough day vs. as good Saints defense.
Just remember, don’t stick your feet in the water as the sharks have been winning lately.
Stay well and stay loose.
Jimmy V
vaccarosports@lvcm.com
September 7, 2001
Bookmaker-cum-Columnist Revels in Feedback
Happily Answers Queries from Diverse Audience
What a pleasant surprise for an old handicapper like yours truly, when the emails began accumulating in my mail box in response to last week’s piece on line movement. They came from all points of the globe, including Canbet’s Mark MacReadie in Australia.
Several questions came from multiple sources, so I will respond here.
Yes, I do have a sports service. The ad in which you see my rating of offshore sportsbooks is a true reflection of the stores I play at. Yes, I received a fee for my endorsements, but I felt comfortable with each operation.
I have known the principals from two to 20 years. By the way, none of these books gives me a free roll. I try to win, they try to win. The 20-year relationship refers to Roger from Heritage 2000. I wouldn’t lend my name for any amount of money to guys I didn’t know and for whom I didn’t have high regard.
Here’s a question I get asked all the time: Would I rather book or bet? That’s tough, because I truly enjoy both activities. For the past five years, I have been a full time professional player, and have been reasonably successful. By that I mean making enough to pay the bills, live a decent lifestyle, but not getting filthy rich.
I am a lone wolf, doing all the work myself, without any partners, associates, etc. It can be tedious, it is time consuming, and a civilian could easily say, “Jimmy, get a life.”
But this is my life and I enjoy it. Sometimes I get lost in all the things that go with a betting lifestyle while the rest of the world goes by, unnoticed.
Meanwhile, I am caught up in this crazy, romantic, fascinating and humbling process called sports gambling. If I get a little jaded by it all, there is a compensating upside.
I am my own boss, and answer to no one. This worked out very nicely in raising my kids when my son was going through college and my daughter was entering high school. While I missed a lot of activities that they participated in because I was in some hotel working 10 to 12 hours a day, I was able to be involved enough so that they were not strangers to me.
In retrospect, I have nothing to be sorry about, and I was able to interact with them because I did everything single O.
I have dabbled with thinking about outside ventures. Some of the ventures I entertained included starting a bar/restaurant and buying a 7-11. While I was looking for something different than the gaming life, I never pulled the trigger because – when I got down to brass tacks – this is all I know. So I squashed those entrepreneurial urges, and my record of never having held a square job remains intact.
Booking every now and then does come into the picture, and on several occasions I have almost said okay. But the situation has to be right, not just for me but for all involved. I know the business has changed since I was last behind the counter. I’m not going to enumerate the changes since so much of that is subjective. But I guess I could go to Thailand and ask for some of Roxy’s layoff.
I will say this. Running a book in Nevada and running an offshore operation are as diametrically opposed as the coaching tactics of Steve Spurrier and Bear Bryant. Despite all the Nevada regulations and red tape, I believe making a profit here is much easier. Sure, there’s lots of competition and it can be ruthless. But the crucial point is you have a captive audience.
Separating a guy from his cash is a lot less challenging when he is yakking it up with three new friends, with a bunch of parlay cards hanging out of his pocket, and downing his third Corona.
Promotional money can add up, but in an upcoming article I will break down the costs of running a contest based on the first Pick the Pros that we ran at the Royal Inn years ago. And I’ll depict the evolution of these contests.
So, if I had my druthers, I would prefer to have a piece of a joint connected to a casino, but with the addition of phones. Then I would just work football and spend the rest of the year hanging out in my hometown of Stafford, PA. The town is still waiting for its first traffic light and that’s where I would try to last another 20 years. Oh yeah, one more item on my wish list: the casino should be by the water.
Here are two picks where I have already stuck my foot in the water:
Boston College plus over Stanford. The rushing attack will wear down Stanford as it did W. Va. Last week.
New Orleans minus over Buffalo. We have a change of favorite, but it should not matter as the Saints are better than Buffalo. Look for Bills QB Johnson to have a rough day vs. as good Saints defense.
Just remember, don’t stick your feet in the water as the sharks have been winning lately.
Stay well and stay loose.
Jimmy V
vaccarosports@lvcm.com