Professional Gambler Football
- Walters (born July 15, 1946) is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and retired professional gambler widely regarded as among the most successful sports bettors in Las Vegas, having a winning streak which extended for over 30 years. In 1987, Walters stopped all gambling other than sports betting and returned to his roots in business. As of 2016, his holding company owned.
- An Interview With Pro Gambler Russell Clarke. Www.smartersig.com is a betting community and research group producing a monthly magazine, web site and email discussion forum. Populated by some serious punters and writers its well worth checking out.
- In short: Keep as much money as possible from free bets. Matched betting is the.
Everyday we select from many football matches the best tips. We use all our resources and knowledge to find strong football matches and post various football tips predictions like, Home/Away win, DRAW, Double Chance, Over / Under 1.5, 2.5 goals, Half Time results, sure games and big odds games. Gavin and Alex can afford all this because they have a genius and a flair for betting on football matches. It’s what pays for the roof terrace and the decks and their good haircuts and cool.
| Born | July 15, 1946 (age 74) |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Net worth | US$100 million (2014)[1] |
William T. Walters (born July 15, 1946)[2] is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and retired professional gambler widely regarded as among the most successful sports bettors in Las Vegas, having a winning streak which extended for over 30 years.
In 1987, Walters stopped all gambling other than sports betting and returned to his roots in business. As of 2016, his holding company owned interests in eight car dealerships with one under construction, one golf course on the Las Vegas Strip, a rental-car franchise, and a number of commercial properties.[3] In 2014, his net worth was estimated at more than $100 million.[4]
Early life[edit]
Walters grew up poor in the rural town of Munfordville, Kentucky. His father, an auto mechanic, died when Walters was 18 months old. His mother, who was an alcoholic, walked out on her son and two daughters shortly after his father's death. He was raised by his grandmother in a home with no running water or indoor plumbing.[5]
Walters credits his grandmother, a devout Baptist, with instilling a strong work ethic. She worked two jobs cleaning houses and washing dishes while raising seven children. At the age of seven, Walters secured a $40 bank loan for a power lawnmower to start a grass-cutting business. At age nine, he secured a second loan for $90 to start a paper route. His grandmother arranged both loans for Walters.[5]
His grandmother died when Walters was 13, forcing him to move to Louisville, KY, to be with his mother. There he worked two jobs, one in the morning at a bakery and the second at a gas station in the evenings. He rented a room in the basement from his mother. He married and had a child before graduating high school. The marriage was short-lived.
Business success[edit]
In 1965, Walters went to work as a salesman at McMackin Auto Sales, a used-car lot in Louisville. Each time he sold a car, he mailed a self-promotion letter to 10 people living on each side of that customer's home. He would peruse the daily newspaper for car ads, inviting the ads' sellers to do trades with him. He went through the phone book and cold-called people. Walters sold an average of 32 cars a month and earned $56,000 a year in 1966, equal to about $400,000 today.
Walters worked 80 hours a week selling cars and setting dealership records. In 1967, he was hired as sales manager at Steven's Brothers Auto Sales, a competing dealership. He worked at Stevens Brothers until 1972, when he started his own business, Taylor Boulevard Auto Sales, wholesaling cars to other dealers throughout the southeastern United States.
During that time, Walters also remained involved in sports betting. In 1981, he left the automobile industry to become a full-time sports bettor. He was running his own betting service on the side and, in 1982, pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possession of gambling records in Kentucky. The charge later was expunged from his record.
It was then that he decided to move with his wife, Susan, to Las Vegas, where opportunity beckoned and betting on sports was legal.
Gambling career[edit]
Walters started gambling when he was 9 years old, when he bet the money he earned from his paper route on the New York Yankees to beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1955 World Series. The Dodgers won and Walters lost the bet, but it did not deter him from gambling. Walters was a losing gambler as late as 1982. He had lost $50,000 by the time he was 22. Walters once lost his house during a game of pitching nickels. The winner did not take possession; Walters agreed to pay off the debt over the next 18 months.
Walters' success changed in his mid to late 30s. In June 1986, Walters requested a freeze-out with Caesars Atlantic City for $2 million at the roulette tables. Walters was known to have lost $1 million at least twice at the Las Vegas blackjack tables. Caesars, however, declined his request. Walters then took his proposition to the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, then known as the Golden Nugget, which was accepted.[6]
Walters and his gambling partner delivered $2 million to the cage at the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel. The pair noticed a wheel bias and bet on the 7-10-20-27-36. After 38 hours of play they won $3,800,000, beating the prior record of $1,280,000 held by Richard W. Jarecki at the San Remo Casino in Monte Carlo in 1971. Three years later his 'Syndicate' had won $400,000 at a casino in Las Vegas and an additional $610,000 from Claridge Casino in Atlantic City.[6] Walters also captured the 1986 Super Bowl of Poker, (also known as Amarillo Slim's Super Bowl of Poker or SBOP) in Lake Tahoe earning $175,000.[7]
Sports betting[edit]
In the 1980s, Walters joined the Computer Group, which used computer analysis to analyze sports outcomes. Over a period of 39 years, Walters had only one losing year, with a 30-year winning streak. Though he has finished in the red for a few months, he was always in the black by the end of the year. Walters bet on basketball, NFL, and college football. Walters won $3.5 million on Super Bowl XLIV after betting on the New Orleans Saints.[8] Due to his reputation, Walters often placed bets through 'runners' so bookmakers would remain unaware of the person behind the bet.[9]
In January 2007, Walters won a $2.2 million bet on University of Southern California defeating University of Michigan; USC won, 32-18. In 2011, Walters claimed he could make between $50 to $60 million on a good year.[2]
Insider trading[edit]
In April 2017, Walters was found guilty of insider trading after using non-public information from Thomas C. Davis, a board member of Dean Foods. Walters was sentenced to 5 years in prison and fined $10 million. Lawyer Daniel Goldman, then an assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, was part of the trial team.[10][11][12]
Walters' source, company director Thomas C. Davis, using a prepaid cell phone and sometimes the code words 'Dallas Cowboys' for Dean Foods, helped Walters, between 2008 and 2014, realize profits and avoid losses in the stock, the Federal jury found. Walters gained $32 million in profits and avoided $11 million in losses. At the trial, investor Carl C. Icahn was mentioned in relation to Walters’ trading but was not charged with wrongdoing. Golfer Phil Mickelson 'was also mentioned during the trial as someone who had traded in Dean Foods shares and once owed nearly $2 million in gambling debts to' Walters. Mickelson 'made roughly $1 million trading Dean Foods shares; he agreed to forfeit those profits in a related civil case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission'.[13][14]
On December 4, 2018, the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the insider trading conviction and 5 year sentence of Walters, even though it chastised an FBI agent for leaking grand jury information about the case.[15] On October 7, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Walters’ appeal.[16]
Walters was initially imprisoned at Federal Prison Camp, Pensacola, but was released to home confinement in Carlsbad, California, on May, 1, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic. His sentence was scheduled to be completed on January 10, 2022,[4] and was commuted by Donald Trump on January 20, 2021.[17]
Personal life[edit]
Walters has three children, and was an avid golfer. He claims to have made over $400,000 on one hole and once as much as $1 million in one round, although he admitted to losing a million at blackjack later that night.[18]
In June 2014, Walters had a private jet worth $20 million and owned seven homes, with a net worth estimated at over $100 million.[1]
Walters is a noted philanthropist and has donated to Opportunity Village, a Las Vegas nonprofit for people with intellectual disabilities.[12] In September 2020, in response to Opportunity Village cancelling their two largest fundraising events because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Walters family committed to a $1 million matching donation. He and his wife Susan have been staunch Opportunity Village advocates for decades and were honored at the organization’s 11th annual black-tie gala Camelot in 2012. [19]
The couple were also honored as Las Vegas Philanthropists of the Year in 1997 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Las Vegas Chapter[20][21]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ abRowe, Peter (June 13, 2014). 'Billy Walters, gambler extraordinaire'. sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ abBerzon, Alexandra (June 3, 2014). 'Taste for Risk Fueled Career of Bettor Billy Walters, Now in Trading Probe'. WSJ. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^Lareau, Jamie (July 9, 2016). 'Billy Walters: Done gambling, still dealing'. Automotive News. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ abG, Thomas (May 1, 2020). 'Famed Vegas gambler released from prison in COVID-19 program'. AP. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
- ^ abFish, Mike (April 2, 2018). 'Billy walters on his conviction, gambling -- and ex-friend Lefty'. ESPN. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ abRussell T. Barnhart (1992). Beating the Wheel: The System That Has Won Over Six Million Dollars from Las Vegas to Monte Carlo. Kensington Publishing Corporation. pp. 101–. ISBN978-0-8184-0553-2.
- ^'Billy Walters and the Story of the Computer Group'. Pregame. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
- ^Newman, Eric (February 17, 2012). 'The Greatest Sports Bets of All Time'. Bleacher Report. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^Fish, Mike (February 6, 2015). 'Meet the world's most successful gambler'. ESPN.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^'Democrats' impeachment lawyer cut his teeth prosecuting mobsters, Wall Street cheats'. Washington Post. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
Cucinella said she requested Goldman to be on the trial team “because he has a bit of a swagger as a trial lawyer, and it’s a confidence that serves him well. In a courtroom, he’s incredibly effective.”
- ^Moynihan, Colin; Moyer, Liz (April 7, 2017). 'William T. Walters, Famed Sports Bettor, Is Guilty in Insider Trading Case'. nytimes.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ abErik Larson Bloomberg (July 27, 2017). 'Las Vegas gambler Walters gets 5 years in prison, $10M fine'. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^Calia, Mike (September 6, 2017). 'Gambler Billy Walters sentenced to 5 years in 'amateurishly simple' insider-tradingscheme'. CNBC. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^Larson, Erik (July 27, 2017). 'Vegas Gambler Billy Walters Gets 5 Years for Insider Trading'. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^Jonathan Stempel Reuters (December 4, 2018). 'Las Vegas gambler Walters loses insider trading appeal'. Reuters. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^Andrew Chung Reuters (October 7, 2019). 'U.S. Supreme Court rejects insider trading appeal by Las Vegas gambler'. Reuters. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^'Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Grants of Clemency'. whitehouse.gov. January 20, 2021 – via National Archives.
- ^'Billy Walters - A Legend In Sports Betting History'. USA Sportsbook Sites. September 21, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^Rocky Nash KLAS-TV (2020). 'Opportunity Village receives $1M matching donation offer from notable philanthropists'. KLAS-TV. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- ^AFP Las Vegas Chapter (1997). 'Association of Fundraising Professionals Las Vegas'. AFP. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- ^Admin (January 6, 2020). 'Las Vegas Philanthropists of the Year in 1997'. official. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
Professional gambler – two words that typically conjure up images of a sexy lifestyle, wads of cash and few working hours. The reality however, is much different. We tracked down UK based professional gambler Alex King (featured in the Racing Post) to get his take on what it takes to be successful, what shape the industry is in at present, and where it is headed.
SBO:Hi Alex. How long have you been betting professionally?
AK:About 7 years.
SBO:Which sports do you mainly focus on?
AK:I focus on 2 sports; boxing and racing. Predominantly horse racing and a little bit of boxing. I think it is a fatal mistake to try and bet on too many things. You should be an expert in one field rather than try and split your focus on too many things. I would say two sports at the absolute max. The only reason I bet on boxing and racing is because boxing is relatively easy to keep a focus on. Splitting your forces is a big mistake and work/life balance is important.
SBO:What does your daily routine look like?
AK:I try and get up early and I will focus on 2 meetings a day tops. Traditional pro-gamblers aim to find a value price, try and get 300 pounds on a horse, get told they can have 3 pence on, miss the price then drive themselves insane because they have missed the price. I look how horses trade from their Betfair SP compared to how they trade in running. In layman’s terms I’m looking to back a horse at say 3.00 on Betfair, in the expectation the horse will hit 2.00 and then either have a free bet, or take a guaranteed profit on the race. I’m treating horses like individual share prices now and what I am trying to do is to just predict how the market is going to go once the race goes in play. This saves me having to chase non-existent prices and call bookmakers who are unwilling to lay a bet because they are no longer confident that there pricing horse racing up correctly.
SBO:Where do you bet? Course/exchange shop/home etc.?
AK:I’m betting from home all the time now. I can concentrate and I don’t lose research time through travelling. I keep in contact with others pro’s over skype and email during the day. It’s a little solitary, which is why it is so important to have good social connections outside of this game.
SBO:As we know, most punters fail to turn a profit, what would you say your edge has been to win consistently for so long?
AK:First of all I wouldn’t recommend professional punting to too many people, unless you have a real flair and/or a huge desire to do it. As a very famous pro-punter told me once: ‘Gambling is the only business in the world where the better you get, the harder it is.’ It’s so true. Most punters fail to make a profit because of a number of factors. A lot of people are experts on racing, but ask them if they think a horse has a 50% chance or 30% chance of winning – they simply couldn’t tell you accurately. You have to be able to evaluate a price better than the people setting the odds. You must also have a solid staking plan in place. If you can’t get those two factors right, then you are in big trouble. You also need to be able to keep a cool head and not start gambling beyond your limits. If you really want to be a pro punter you have to be ready to put some serious, serious work into it. Success takes time. I have worked in the business for such a long time and have such a good grounding in it which has helped me more than anything. I also talk on a daily basis with pro-punters and that has helped to keep me in front. But I would honestly tell people to think very, very hard before embarking on this. If I had children and my son/daughter said they wanted to do this as a profession, I would do everything in my power to dissuade them.
SBO:Do you think the betting exchanges have had a positive or negative effect on being able to turn a profit?
AK:It’s been a double edged sword. Firstly the idea of betting exchanges is a great one. Bookmakers hate them because they have made the market more competitive. Horse racing markets on Betfair are trading to 100.5% to 102%, which in terms of overround is a lot lower than fixed odds bookmakers. Bookmakers hypocritically bemoan the exchanges – I say hypocritically because you can’t have accounts with the exchanges and still moan about them – because exchanges have smashed the bookmakers’ monopoly somewhat. Exchanges have also given the punter the chance to be the layer, which is a service that only spread betting afforded you in the past. My criticism of Betfair, is that they have been allowed to monopolise the exchange market. This is completely against the interest of the consumer. There are several fixed odds bookmakers, if anyone of them decided they were going to impose a “premium charge” then you simply go to another one. Exchanges are good, we punters just need more of them.
SBO:In ten years’ time, what does the horse racing betting landscape look like for professional punters?
AK:I think it’s bleak to be honest for several reasons. Firstly the generation that are into horse racing are a dying breed. Bookmakers are taking less and less money on the sport because the younger generation want to bet on football, golf and other sports. Racing is just not bringing in the big money for the bookmakers now. It’ so hard to get bets on now, what will it be like in the future? If the government, correctly, takes the decision to heavily regulate the accursed fixed odds betting terminals – better still ban them, then the bookmakers will be forced to close shops. This will make it harder for the pro-punter as getting on in the shops is really the only way to get on nowadays. This is why I am taking my modus operandi away from the traditional methods.
SBO:What job would you liken being a professional punter to?
AK:I would say it is the poor man’s stock exchange. It can definitely be likened to financial trading.
SBO:What would you change about the game?
AK:Have you got 10 years?! Very simply I would nationalise the entire betting industry in this country. You can argue against the nationalisation of the railways or energy suppliers, but I see no valid reason why the betting industry could not be nationalised and run effectively, with the profits going back into the public purse and not in the hands of private shareholders. The whole business has become a zero sum game for the punter. If the punter wins his accounts are closed down, if he loses he can do whatever he wants. So the bookmakers are running a service whereby they can only win. This would not happen if UK gambling was run along the same lines as the Tote system in France. Why should private shareholders, many of whom are using offshore tax havens, get rich from the sport when the profits could be going directly back to the public? This would also make sure that pro-punters could get their bets on without being restricted. I would also ban FOBTs (fixed odds betting terminals)
SBO:Would you ever consider going on the other side and becoming a bookmaker?
AK:Yes. But I would want to be a really old school bookmaker. Not one who is sitting there laying 2.75 when I can back a horse back at 3.00 on the exchanges. If I was going to be a bookie I would like to be one of those who were made from different cloth. Like Stephen Little, Bill Chandler, William Hill or a Freddie Williams. Bookmakers who were willing to stick a price up and live or die by their judgement. That appeals to me, but realistically I can’t see myself with going that way.
SBO:How would you advise punters to improve their punting skills, specifically with horse racing?
How To Be A Professional Gambler
AK:I believe in the validity of the saying: “There is none so wise as the experienced.” I believe you should try and learn from people who have trodden this path. It may well be that in the future I will run some seminars and I have also written a book which is currently being considered for publishing which will be called: Betting on horses in-running. This isn’t a self-serving plug on my behalf, but from my own experiences I learned first-hand from people who trod the path that I want to go down. If at all possible try and do the same. Talk to pro-punters and try to learn from them whether that be me, or someone else in the same business.