- Joined
- Apr 28, 2015
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Yep. College sports is where the money's at from a better's perspective, because it's harder to handicap on the book side.Yep! College football is a religion around here for lots of people, and if that's your thing, betting on the games is a big part of the experience for a lot of fans of all stripes, so bookies aren't hard to find. A bar up the street from me is a "sports bar" and it's a well known hangout for bookies.
When I was younger was pretty close to a bunch of gamblers through playing golf/working at the course. Pretty interesting people for the most part and generally treated the staff well. They'd flip a $20 for cleaning their clubs or packing a cooler of beer, which was a day's wages back then at minimum wage. I'd caddy sometimes, or play with them - pretty fun. Usually me and a friend would split and pair up with the gamblers. Our part would be maybe $2 a hole, but their bet would be $100 a hole, plus presses/birdies. And then they'd drop a ball under a tree and bet each other $50 or $100 about whether they or my friend or I could skip it across a lake and hole out in 3 or whatever...
I can't remember the law exactly - been a while - but as I recall if your betting operation has fewer than 3 employees, it's effectively a misdemeanor and the city/county police really don't care and never have if all the guy is doing is taking bets and paying off as promised. And the firm I was with for a while did taxes for a local numbers runner. Like other gambler types I was involved with, he knew the risk was from the feds and evading taxes, and so we did his 1040. Put "Numbers Lottery" on the 'occupation' line as I recall, or something similar.
Golf isn't my thing, but I hung at my share of pool halls and private card games back in the day. When it comes to street cred, guys that (successfully) gamble for a living, along with bookies, are near the top of the heap. They're smart, and generally don't do drugs or drink to excess (they can't). And they are considered men of trust, since it won't work any other way.
However sad-sacks (losers) were seen with disdain, and considered great embarrassments for the financial harm they do to their wives, families, and selves. Except for the health aspects, a hard-core sad-sack isn't much better than a coke-head. They will be destitute and borrowing, begging, and stealing - come Monday morning!
As to law enforcement and betting, there were a lot of reasons why my local law enforcement turned a blind eye too: The "crime" was seen as grey-area & minor. Plus many cops liked to bet themselves. And most loved a good cash poker game! And in the case of the bigger operations, the local cops were often enough on the pad.
Anyway buddy, thanks for sharing those golf stories. :thumbs: