Raj and others, the touts are far more dangerous than just telemarketing scams and expecting "buyer beware". This from another board....
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I originally posted the following on the bj21.com website/Green Chip section - in June 2001.
Prior to the post below, I'd posted the following - a friend of mine had gotten broke, and saw one of the "Help Wanted" ads which ran constantly at that time (and perhaps still do) to work for the Jim Feist organization selling "sports information". He decided to give it a try:
"Jun 2001: Selling "sports information" for Jim Feist
Posted By: samo666 on 3 Jun 01, 9:18 pm in response to: Posts of the Month, 2001 (nt) ()
Harry - Point well taken. I've also reread the "Before U Post" guidelines (several times). I see no reason why I can't post what I was told.
I'd like to preface by stating that I'm basically cynical and skeptical - one of those "Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear" people. I'm also a cautious person - my posts frequently contain qualifiers, such as "I believe", "I don't recall the exact amount", etc., if I'm not sure.
In the case of the information I'm about to pass on, I have NO doubts as to its being accurate. My friend took the telephone sales job offer and went to training classes. I know him well - he's observant and honest.
The ad referred to above runs almost constantly in LV. There is a huge turnover in all telephone sales jobs.
Because there are training sessions for new hires, some people bring tape recorders. As I mentioned above, people are told to leave all tape recorders at the reception area, to be returned when they leave. There is good reason for this.
The goal is first of all to get the mark to bet as high as possible - by encouraging, cajoling, yelling - whatever works. The reason for this is that if someone is betting $50/game, they won't buy the tout from the Feist organization for thousands of dollars. The telephone call lists includes people who have had the sports service previously and cancelled, people who have had other sports services in the past, etc.
Most people who subscribe to these service can be categorized as - the naive, and the degenerate.
A crucial part of any sales pitch is dealing with customer objections. The only objection they do not have a real answer for is "I do my own handicapping."
For "I don't have any money", "I am bankrupt", "I'm in debt", etc., they have plenty of answers.
The recruits are taught to ask "Do you have any credit anywhere?", "Do you have any property you can get a loan on?", etc. The reason is that the hot picks the seller has will make the mark a lot of money, magically getting him out of debt, solving all financial problems! If they answer "No" to "Do you have any credit?", the callers are taught to ask,"Do you have access to your wife's/girfriend's/parents'/siblings' credit cards?" People are encouraged to grab the aforementioned credit cards in any way possible. They are then encouraged to bet as high as possible. The higher they bet, the higher they can be charged for the service (there is NO set price).
The quality of the picks is irrelevant. Some of the handicappers have hot streaks, some don't, but handicapping is irrelevant. The "service" is hardselling dreams.
Many people on the call sheets are compulsive gamblers. People who have ruined their lives by sportsbetting are called constantly - at mealtimes, after bedtime. They are encouraged to get back to betting -"Doesn't your wife/mother have a credit card you can get ahold of?" If that doesn't work, they are bullied and screamed at:"LOSER! LOSER! You'll never have money! You need to bet max on the xxx game!" They're then hardsold on betting way beyond what they can afford - "You're going to WIN WITH THIS PICK! You won't have to worry about paying your mother back. What's her credit card number?"
I'm not describing the sales techniques of a couple of rogue salespeople - I'm describing the sales techniques which are taught, and the phone calls that the new recruits are brought over to listen to , being made by the experienced salespeople. It's for reasons such as this that the company will not allow tape recorders in the room.
Jimmy Vacarro was with the Feist organization for a while. Vacarro gave an interview to a sportsbetting writer for "Card Player" (the article also ran in another publication). In it, Vaccaro stated (I'm accurately paraphrasing) "The bettor I have respect for is the guy who's so sure that he'll bet way over his head. He gets his hands on all the money that he can on Sunday, and doesn't worry about how he'll pay it back (because he knows it'll win)." This summarizes the attitude the "sports information sellers" try to install in the marks.
Handicappers who have been with Feist for any length of time have to know what's going on - it would be impossible not to. They are all around the premises periodically. Feist shields himself, and has middlemen handling things. (He's already reportedly made millions thru these sales techniques).
At last year's Stardust handicapping contest (in which SW participated), Russ Culver made a statement to the effect that the handicapping business has a bad image due to many in that business, and that everyone who is legitimate should be trying to put a stop to the abuses. I applauded. In a crowded room, I was the only one applauding. John Kelly, (who does a wonderful job moderating the contest, and is NOT the John Kelly of "Lodestone"), to his credit, said, "That was a statement which is worthy of applause," at which point a number of people applauded.
It truly is a scandalous situation, and a long standing one. Like the many crooked taxicab companies in LV ( which take passengers thru the tunnel), the city and the gaming industry probably lose longterm from these abuses. It certainly doesn't help imagewise.
However, there is a reason when anything of this nature can continue for such a long time. If the powers that be are not taking action against such obvious abuses, it's generally because the powers that be are purposely permitting it.( I think the reason why is obvious).
My friend, as mentioned in my post above, found the atmosphere too repugnant to work in. Some of the calls he witnessed were uglier than I described, but you can get the picture...
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uppy: .
