Sportsbook Scene by Buzz Daly

5 August 2003

If we could collect a penny a word for all the speculation about offshore sportsbooks that appears on the Internet when the you-know-what hits the fan, we could afford to bet five-team parlays for the rest of our life and never cash a ticket.

Right now, one of the hot issues for bettors is not the start of the NFL exhibition season, it is a story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (www.post-gazette.com/localnews/20030802forfeit0802p8.asp) reporting on the seizure of cash, coins and bullion from locations in Ohio and Pittsburgh which belong to alleged leaders of Belize-based Carib Sportsbook & Casino (www.caribsports.com).

It would appear our ever-vigilant Feds found more than $1.6 million scattered among safe-deposit boxes containing large amounts of cash, along with caches of silver and gold coins owned by Jon Rogers. Of course, Rogers, who admits to being a consultant to Carib in areas of marketing, advertising and arranging for web design, had his property hidden in plain sight.

Having proved their excellence as golden retrievers, perhaps this crew of Feds might be dispatched to Iraq where the government swears weapons of mass destruction are hidden. And if our elected leaders say something, it must be 100 percent credible, right?

"I'm a gambler," Rogers exclaimed when we called him. "Money is the tool of my trade. My action might be a little bigger than the average player, but I report all such income and pay taxes. I am confident that when this plays itself out, the funds will be returned to me, and justice will be served," he stated.

Well aware that rampant and erroneous speculation on cyberspace posting forums could be harmful to Carib, Rogers emphasized that all the funds seized by the Feds were his, not Carib's, and that he had lawfully acquired them.

Despite government allegations to the contrary, "No Carib gambling-related business is conducted in the U.S. by me," said Rogers. "But as a long-time player, I do understand the gambler's mentality which translates into my being a very effective marketer/idea man for the management board that runs Carib. I fully expect to be back in the saddle before long."

The seizure took place in early June, and news didn't break until August 2. As far as we can discern, during the intervening two months, Carib has not been cited for slow or nonpayment to customers, nor have any other problems stemming from the action surfaced. The book has been conducting business as usual.

Right about here, some disclosure is in order. Carib has contracted to advertise in our weekly sports betting tabloid, Players' Choice, during the football season and sponsor a handicapping radio show we do with Kelso Sturgeon. We have no qualms about the company's ability to pay its bill.

Long-time readers of Sportsbook Scene know that Carib is one of our favorite books from both a reporting and betting perspective. We hope is it also well known that we are not a watch dog of the industry, and do not rate sportsbooks. However, we will continue to play at Carib. Not on its 20-cent baseball line, but with its attractive fantasy football props and 1.02 vig on Tuesdays during football season. Oh, yeah, we'll be in its pro football contest trying to win the $50,000 top prize.

Over the years, we have found Carib to be professionally managed and well capitalized enough that we never had second thoughts about doing business with it. The same is true of Antigua-based WSEX, when its founder Jay Cohen fought the Feds, was convicted of bookmaking and is now serving out his sentence.

Another book that has not missed a beat after its leader was convicted of an old bookmaking beef in the states is Costa Rica-based CRIS. Despite the current absence of Ron Sacco, it is still a well-regarded offshore operation.

In the case of Carib, Rogers wasn't operating as a principal, but as a consultant and advisor. While his expertise will be missed temporarily (certainly advertising in Players' Choice is an example of his marketing savvy), there is no reason to think Carib won't continue to be a solid citizen of the offshore establishment.

Please send questions, comments, etc., to buzzdaly@aol.com