Betting System Had Fantastic Payback

Listen up gamblers. I just searched the internet and found an amazing betting system. It offers fantastic returns on your capital. Returns as high as a monthly dividends of £70,000. The system works well in the Betfair gambling website. The bets there are not only fair but prone to this system to offer you this amazing returns.

Sorry, did I catch anyone off guard? If you had bought my story, you will find me living it up with your money and behind bars for five years. This was the fraud by Elliott Short, 26, of Chester, Cheshire (see dailymail.co.uk news). Short indulged in a lavish lifestyle after conning family friends £400,000. He frequented exclusive night clubs and lived in plush hotels. Splash the money on branded clothing and vacations.

He proclaim himself the ‘King of Betfair’. He managed to get the now-defunct newspaper into running a write up about his success. He convinced the newspaper that he was a former City trader who netted more than £21million from his betting system. Short set up an impressive office at Knightsbridge as a front to lure potential investors. Potential investors soon realized that Short's super return never materialized and the tabloid was forced to print a retraction after Betfair affirmed the returns Short had promised were impossible.

In a five-week trial the London's Southwark Crown Court convicted Short of nine counts of fraud and one count of making or supplying an article for use in fraud. The price for Short's brief moment of luxury was five year of confiscated freedom. Would you make this exchange?

Berserk Addiction

Gambling addiction had always been thought of as the irrational behavior of pumping more money into casinos in hope of winning back all that was lost. This is one incident where some form of violence was involved. Clydebank Post reported that a betting shop at Radnor Street had been smashed up by a gambling addict after 8pm on September 7, 2012.

David Brogan a father of three, returned to the premises where he lost £700 with a hammer. Enraged by blowing away his monthly wages in a few hours, the 26-year-old began his rampage at the premise. A customer service assistant and the store manager could only watch as Brogan raised the hammer above his head and start smashing away. The witnesses kept out of his way as the move to the rear and lock the door. They could hear him leave a few minutes later.

A total of four machines worth £1800 worth were destroyed. Brogan pleaded guilty and was told to pay a compensation of £1850 to cover the cost of the damage. Sheriff Simon Fraser told Brogan: "I can understand your frustration at your stupidity at gambling away £700 in an afternoon but that does not entitle you to smash up other people's property."

I see Brogan's behavior as a form of justice or payback seeking. Since he can't get it form the machines that cruelly gobbled up him money. He could just smash it up to get even. I believe it would cost him a lot more if he had decided to borrow money to attempt to get his payback. There will be no end to his borrowing.

Bad Loser

It is not easy to come by a winning streak. According to +savy seph such occasion are rare (see her website) but these events do happen. We do not need gamblers to attest to that. Even the average Joe who does not gamble knows that. To be denied payment if you did come by a lucky streak is daylight robbery. This blog is a sequel to my previous blog Cry Baby Casino.

Let’s get the story from the Grantland’s article that Savy Seph used. Ivey won £7.8millon when he was already down half a million. That is a total win of £8.3millon coming from a half million loss. At this point the maximum bet was raised to £150,000 at Ivey’s request. For easy of calculation, assume Ivey parlayed maximum bet all the way. This would require a net win of 55 times to make £8.3millon. My question is, can a net win of 55 times be regarded as unfair advantage or would it fall under the category of super lucky days?

In a statement Ivey said, "over the years, I have won and lost substantial sums at Crockfords and I have always honoured my commitments" (from gamblingkingz.com). This is a clear cut case of a bad loser on the part of the casino. They would happily swipe Ivey’s money when he lost. When he had won a substantial amount, they conveniently accused him of cheating.

Even experts from the Casino’s home base in Kuala Lumpur (KL) had not found concrete evidence of cheating. If they did, they would had nailed Ivey. A simple letter to the fraternity of casinos worldwide to ban Ivey for cheating is enough to nail Ivey. Soon word gets around and the whole world would know that the poker superstar is actually a cheat. What does it tell you in view that these KL experts had sat on the thing since last August without taking the necessary action?

Cry Baby Casino

There is a Chinese saying, "nine out of ten who gambled will lose". Since there are more losers than winners, it is more common to hear gamblers put the blame on anything. People who do not gamble don't even give a damn with their justifications and excuses. They can whine all they want about it. If the amount was substantial these non gamblers may lend a sympathetic ears but deep down inside they thinks these gamblers deserve it. They should know better the risk that was at hand and should stop being a cry baby.

When there is nothing else to blame, gamblers will accuse the casino of using black magic. This not an exaggeration. It is a common accusation in Malaysia. It just amazing that they can come up with such ridiculous justification. Once you run out of excuses you had exhausted the rational so what remains is the irrational.

Read this news for the account of the biggest sore loser behaving like a cry baby. Now the situation is the other way around. The casino is the cry baby. I never expected a casino that had always been under constant fire for using witchcraft to resort to an equally ridiculous accusation.

(Ivey's profile pic on twitter)

Phil Ivey, an American who is one of the world's top professional poker players, was accused of cheating in a baccart game by Crockfords, one of London's oldest and most respected casinos now owned by the Malaysian based Genting Group. Quoting from foxnews.com

The casino group said in the court papers that Ivey's "illegal acts" void his claimed winnings. It said he was able to have a "significant advantage" over the casino by using improper means to determine whether the first card being dealt in the baccarat hands would be a powerful or weak card, allowing him to place his bets accordingly.

That is like saying Ivey here has an "uncanny" ability to predict cards. Ivey racked up winnings of roughly 7.8 million pounds ($11.9 million). When it involves millions the Malaysian based Genting Group will sulk like a baby and refuse to let you redeem their worthless chips to cash. You have to go through the long process of legal proceeding to get it.

Pinoy Loves Gambling

Hong Kong Police warned Filipinos that gambling in public places is an offense and that they will not hesitate to arrest offenders. A GMA News Online's article titled pinoy abroad reported this. The police also advice the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong about the enforcement. The Consulate in turn reminded Filipinos accordingly on its facebook account on May 4. It added that gambling, including playing card games, at walkways, streets and parks are against the law.

This urge to gamble is beyond my comprehension. Could it be so bad that they will disregard the law and do in openly in public places? The first comment left on the news claims that "its pinoy culture". A comment on the Consulate's facebook had a mix of English and Filipino. I could only make out that it uses relieve from the stress of work on their off days to justify their actions. It is interesting that most comments on the facebook were by women.

Murder Probe

Twitter Mystery Solvers

I can't help but notice these tweets. I guess people putting their heads together on casual comments could actually solve mysteries. The problem is with the police as the burden of prove lives with them. Meanwhile keyboard inspectors like us make all the speculations.

British professional gambler jailed in US after admitting killing American wife in "heat of passion" bbc.in/1054va4

— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) May 2, 2013

In recent years he is known on the online and casino poker circuit for winning thousands of pounds in prize money but can't control passion

— Savy Seph (@SavySeph) May 3, 2013

Yes surprising that a poker player that had a reputation for winning is not able to control his emotions. I think its fight over money.

— heylong set (@SetHeylong) May 6, 2013

@savyseph When there is money on the table, they will give their right arm. When there is no money, they will resort to killing their wife.

— xingcai zhang (@ZhangXingcai) May 6, 2013

Savy Seph retweet me advising me not to marry a gambler. Being a gambler sucks. Once the world knows you are a gambler you have lost all trust. I just wonder how many reliable gamblers are out there. One in a million maybe?