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I want to join this group How?

Ah. I seem to remember another American saying something similar to me ... The term "Bookie" is an abbreviation for "Bookmaker" i.e. a person who 'makes a book' on a horse race or a dog race or a boxing match for instance. These days, it's pretty much on any sporting event, or in fact, on anything that you want to place a bet on. I'm pretty sure that this is the same your side of the pond so far ?

OK. Well bookies here, have shops where the punters can go to place their bets, watch the race, and pick up their winnings - if there are any. The shops have direct satellite links to race TV operators, and tend to have a number of TV sets in the shops. A bit like the sports book area in a Vegas casino, but much much smaller. It is a totally legal business here, covered by strict gaming laws and taxation regimes.

In years gone by, bookies' shops (or betting shops) were generally less-than-salubrious, tending to be little back-street places, frequented by people with a coat collar pulled up around their face. It was a legal requirement for the shop windows to be completely opaque. They were often family owned and passed from father to son. Bookies also operate "on course", and often, these will be single people, standing on a small podium, a bit like a carnival barker. They will make a book 'on the fly', and lay off bets with other bookies around the course, if their own position becomes too exposed. They communicate with each other via a very old and 'secret' system of hand and finger gestures over their heads, called Tic Tac. On the other hand, in the shops, the odds are all determined by computer these days, and the bets are electronically recorded.

Most bookies' shops here now belong to large chains of operators like Ladbrokes and BetFred and Coral, and their image has been cleaned up considerably. They are no longer looked upon as somewhere that you don't want to be seen going into. Many are bright, modern places on town high streets, or located in shopping malls or entertainment centres. A 'day at the races' is now promoted as a family fun occasion, although children are not allowed in betting shops. They are open from 9:30 in the morning until

9:30 at night. Night-time used to be the preserve of dog racing, but nowadays, horse racing tracks have floodlit night time meetings as well.

So, basically, he's just a relief manager for a chain of shops that sell betting services rather than some other commodity. Is it a lot different there ? In what way is the meaning "distinctive and unsavoury" ? Seems this is another good example of two nations separated by a common language ...

Arfa

Reply to
Arfa Daily
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My friend took my TomTom GPS to NYC last year. Doesn't work downtown, none do as confirmed by cab drivers he asked.

Reply to
Meat Plow
[*]

Bookies do the same thing here except they don't have "shops" since it is illegal.

Reply to
Meat Plow

What's the problem? Can't lock onto the GPS satellites?

By the way, just in case it isn't clear... GPS is a passive system. Contrary to stuff you sometimes see on television, the receiver does not transmit to the satellite.

Reply to
William Sommerwerck

I guess that might be to do with the very high buildings creating a 'tunnel' to the sky. It would probably be quite hard to see enough sky to receive a minimum 3 satellites. There are not actually that many of them, so you need to have a clear radio-view of a good old wodge of blue, to get a 3 bird lock.

As far as the bookie thing goes, it's academic now anyway, since today, he had a big argument with the management about working hours and such, and has now given notice to quit ! Now, just a question then. There is plenty of horse racing and other 'bettable' sports in America, so how do you actually place a bet, if you can't go into a shop to do it ?

Arfa

Reply to
Arfa Daily

Don't know, I didn't ask.

I for one am perfectly clear of this.

Reply to
Meat Plow

The tall metal buildings reflect so many signals that the GPS receivers can't determine their actual location. The phase of the signals are critical for the calculations.

--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

You find a Bookie via word of mouth, friend's recommendation, someone in a pub, don't really know for sure since I don't even buy scratch off lottery tickets :)

Reply to
Meat Plow

So there is no 'official' (legal?) way to place a bet on a horse race ? If that's the case, what is the point of having the races there ? How does anyone make any money from them ? I guess it must be legal in Vegas and Atlanta and Reno and so on, is it ? I've never really looked into the sports book areas of the casinos, as it all looked a bit too complicated for me, but do you place bets on horses there ? Is it a straight 'place to win' bet, or can you do 'each way' and 'rollup' accumulator bets ? I'm really interested in this, as I would not for one minute have expected that the UK was more liberal than the US, in something like betting. Someone put me straight on how it all works over there, please.

Arfa

Reply to
Arfa Daily

I don't know anything about bookies, how that works.I once read a magazine many years ago, the best way to bet on a winning horse is to bet on the horse with the highest blood count.I have never bet on any horses before. cuhulin

Reply to
cuhulin

Ever see the movie "The Sting?" The popular perception of a bookie in the U.S. is much like that depicted in the off-track betting operation setup in that movie and countless others of similar style from the 1930's onward. Sleazy, mob connections, etc.

Michael

Reply to
msg

Thanks for the revealing overview; I had no idea you had such an open system there. Even Wikipedia has an article which includes much of your description, but yours is more interesting ;-)

Michael

Reply to
msg

I am really REALLY surprised by all this. I have visited the States many, many times, and have never realised that there is no official betting shop networks. I am also really surprised that there is such a general lack of knowledge on the subject. Over here, it is not at all uncommon to find shops from two or even three different chains, all within 100 yards of each other. I reckon that if you asked anyone in the country over the age of say 12 what a betting shop was, and basically how it worked, they would be able to tell you, even if their own family had no connection with them at all - I wouldn't say that it was 'common' exactly for ordinary people to frequent them. Other than my son, for instance, who works in one, I don't think that I would be able to show you anyone in my entire extended family, who has ever been in one in their life. You might try looking on YouTube to see if anyone has placed a recent Derren Brown one-off show ( he's a sort of 'illusionist', but that really doesn't cover his many fascinating abilities, based a lot on psychology of groups and maths. Think David Blaine + David Copperfield + a university education + a wicked sense of humour ). It was called "The System", and investigated whether a betting system guaranteed to produce winners was possible, and then showed how one was. It was a very clever and entertaining show. Anyway, you can see UK betting shops, and on-course bookies operating in this show.

So, let me see if I have this straight. At an American horse race, there are fully legal betting facilities. Off-course, there are fully legal betting facilities, but only limited, and only government licensed. Presumably, these licensed facilities can take a bet on any event ?

Boy oh boy. What a huge untapped market for this that you have ...

Arfa

Reply to
Arfa Daily

Have to go to a race track.

Reply to
Meat Plow

It's on a state-by-state basis. Off Track Betting does exist in some states. See for example

formatting link

Reply to
Terry F.

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