Does Las Vegas ever "make a book" on a pool tournament?

wahcheck said:
...and what was also funny was the narrator's (was it Rempe?) reaction; as though he didn't know what was going on; he said something about the pressure of the $50K factor....did the narrators know what was happening?
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Yeah, they knew and you're right how comical the "oooh, look at how angry he is with himself, wow...it must be the pressure of the $50K that threw him off, etc, etc". Even the end with the gleeful reaction ... jeez, Louise! :rolleyes:
 
Cdryden said:
Agreed, it is way to easy for them to get screwed like they did in that tournament. They had Mike going off at some ridiculous odds 80-1 or something like that. It was too easy for everyone to make a killing. Since then, as far as I know, there hasn't been a book on any pool tournaments.

PS, honestly though, if it wasn't that one it would have happened sooner or later. Just the nature of the game.
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I wouldn't blame it on the game. More the nature of the people involved.


bdorman said:
How did these guys (the dumpers) not get their legs broken?

The only explanation I can think of is that the player's "boss" was higher up the food chain in the Vegas mob than the bookmaker's boss. I guess the bookmakers ate the loss instead of going to war; they probably got some squirt back too, just to ease the pain.

In any case, pool isn't the only sport that's had a fix or two. It's a great betting sport so I'm surprised Vegas hasn't tried it again. They're always looking for new action.
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The mob was pretty much out of Vegas by then. It's been corporate for a while now.
 
Cdryden said:
Right, that's kind of what I was meaning. The gambling side of pool.
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But its not that gambling that necessarily makes guys act with gross, blunt, me-first, today-only, me me me, tunnel-vision. We can all think of gamblers that conduct themselves with class and aplomb. Its the people that act they way they do. What they do has little to do with who they are, who they are has everything to do with what they do.

Golf is a gambling game. Those guys banded together with an eye for to the future and now the top performers are zillionaires.

You think those guys at the final Poker tables on TV are all doing business?

Kevin
 
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Jallan said:
Incorrect.

The state of Iowa has a law that the casino can pay back no less than a dime on the dollar for non-exotic wagers.... Win, Place and Show.

Every once in a great while you will see a strong horse fit into a weak race in preparation for a larger race. I'm not talking about being a big favorite but very nearly impossible to be beaten to show; barring a DNF.

This encourages large show bets, $100,000+, usually on a Tuesday or Monday afternoon card.

There is not enough money in the show pool to cover this size of action but due to the law, which is usually a nickel on the dollar in most states, the casino is stuck with the tab.

I worked at a horse track to 10 years and remember it happening 3 times, may have been more but I didn't see them.

I believe this is the only instance when pari-mutual wagering is not a lock for the house... and of course this is only because of a legislative act.
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This is called the MINUS POOL, but you are leaving out the rest of the story. Pari-mutuel at race tracks do not pay out true odds.

A horse might be 3.89-1. The track pays back 3.80-1. The $0.09 gets swept into the track's coffers. It's called 'breakage'. Tracks dip into the breakage pot when they pay out for a Minus pool.


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The breakage is what makes a multi-race parlay so attractive. You get parlayed at true odds between races and hit with the breakage ONCE, at the end of the parlay.


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Don't believe that the Casinos have a short term Memory

Mike Lebron beat the greatest 9 ball player of all time.
He took down the Rifleman Buddy Hall for 50 G's at the 1991 International Challenge of Champions.

Now that is Legendary and Unforgettable

Here are the Gentlemen (They are a credit to our Game).

Mike Sigel
Buddy Hall
Nick Varner
Jim Rempe
Allen Hopkins
David Howard
Kim Davenport

Mike Lebron beat them now that is truly legendary.

Mike Lebron was bragging at a private Filipino party shortly afterward about the dump.
I told him to not brag about the dump, it was not healthy if the Casinos found out.
He didn't care.
 
They been fixing horse races forever, why should anyone be surprised that a pool game would be dumped ?
They wouldnt take a shot at booking it here as im sure they would be scared of the fix going in and who knows if the action would even warrant it ? I cant see it happening, pool players dont have the best of reps in this town in the casinos anyway.
Hell, i even think the NFL is fixed, lol.
 
BarneyCalip said:
Mike Lebron beat the greatest 9 ball player of all time.
He took down the Rifleman Buddy Hall for 50 G's at the 1991 International Challenge of Champions.

Now that is Legendary and Unforgettable

Here are the Gentlemen (They are a credit to our Game).

Mike Sigel
Buddy Hall
Nick Varner
Jim Rempe
Allen Hopkins
David Howard
Kim Davenport

Mike Lebron beat them now that is truly legendary.

Mike Lebron was bragging at a private Filipino party shortly afterward about the dump.
I told him to not brag about the dump, it was not healthy if the Casinos found out.
He didn't care.
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Hey, since he didn't care and you were there........how about telling us who was at this private Filipino party and where it was at. :thumbup:

There are a few of us that can then get ahold of all of them and get to the bottom of it finally. :thumbup:


A footnote:
The money that was wagered on the tournament came from the Lufthansa heist at JFK airport in 1978. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
Toncam said:
T
Hell, i even think the NFL is fixed, lol.
Click to expand...


http://jockpost.com/seahawks-were-robbed-super-bowl-xl-victor/


http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-netwo...874/Top-Ten-Controversial-Calls-Super-Bowl-XL


The quote at the end by the steelers d coordinator is hilarious, penalties caused a 21 point swing in that game. I watched that game from the sports book at the new York new York and everyone was dumbfounded at the obvious calls. Many of the gamblers were calling fix by the end of the first quarter. I remember some younger guy loudly saying "does anyone really think the nfl would fix a game?" and everyone started laughing. Kind of eye opening.

Oh and don't forget the donaghy scandal the nba hushed up. Pro sports have fixed games before.
 
Nature of the game?

Cdryden said:
Agreed, it is way to easy for them to get screwed like they did in that tournament. They had Mike going off at some ridiculous odds 80-1 or something like that. It was too easy for everyone to make a killing. Since then, as far as I know, there hasn't been a book on any pool tournaments.

PS, honestly though, if it wasn't that one it would have happened sooner or later. Just the nature of the game.
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I'd say it was human nature...but so much easier to blame it on the game...
 
Even snooker, which has much more respect with the general public and with sponsors has its problems with this. Here is a video of world champion John Higgins discussing match fixing. He was cleared by the governing bodies if you can believe it. He said he was "playing along" with the mobsters arranging the fix because he was scared and just wanted to get out of the room. Judge for yourself.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CNIZOeyfWtI
 
Charlie Hustle said:
Not anymore. The ol 91' Challenge of Champions tournament they booked ruined it for everyone.
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On the other hand, non-US bookmakers still make book on pool matches. You can bet on the World Championships and the Mosconi Cup if you're in the right place.
 
Jallan said:
Incorrect.

The state of Iowa has a law that the casino can pay back no less than a dime on the dollar for non-exotic wagers.... Win, Place and Show.

Every once in a great while you will see a strong horse fit into a weak race in preparation for a larger race. I'm not talking about being a big favorite but very nearly impossible to be beaten to show; barring a DNF.

This encourages large show bets, $100,000+, usually on a Tuesday or Monday afternoon card.

There is not enough money in the show pool to cover this size of action but due to the law, which is usually a nickel on the dollar in most states, the casino is stuck with the tab.

I worked at a horse track to 10 years and remember it happening 3 times, may have been more but I didn't see them.

I believe this is the only instance when pari-mutual wagering is not a lock for the house... and of course this is only because of a legislative act.
Click to expand...

Those big 100k show betters for 10 cents on a dollar were called "Bridge Jumpers). Johnnyt
 
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