Awsi, always enjoy your posts when it comes to sports betting. Definately a unique, well-written perspective of a world I know not much about.
Thank you. My pleasure. That world is certainly quite different than I estimated, before I moved to Las Vegas, and particularly once I started meeting the people involved, and then working behind the counter as supervisor.
The big shots have a stake in preserving the myth. That's a major variable. The handful of guys in the media spotlight at any given point in time will always use mysterious terminology and act as if they have special info, instead of the reality of sportsminded guys who found a cushy line of work, and rely on readily-available power ratings to set the line.
I was at the Hilton a few years ago when their race and sportsbook manager Jay Kornegay gave an interview with a national network. He sounded really authoritative. Once it was over he walked outside the office, took off his coat, and joked with myself and a local wise guy named Dick the Pick (Richard Hall). "What did I say? Did it sound good? Those lights were so bright I was really sweating. One of you guys should have done it."
This site is good. If I report on the industry, it's generally accepted. That's not the case on a certain college football board, where the posters stubbornly insist on the outer space version, with ultra sophisticated future book odds, sportsbooks scheming to set traps, and a determination to balance every game to the dollar so it's win-win all year long.
This is a sportsbook staff: Top positions are a few sharp guys who came to town to bet sports and generally struggled, but didn't want to give up and leave town. They reluctantly accept jobs behind the counter. Keep in mind that in that world, having a job is generally considered a negative. It means you can't make it. I think I went 20 years without knowing anybody who owned a credit card.
Behind those guys are a few ticket writers and lower level supervisors who share some similarities but are new to the job. Invariably they are overly opinionated and believe they should advance to manager within weeks, if not sooner. Some of those guys weed themselves out by being rude to customers, arrogant to the manager, or even scheming to rob the book. They'll figure out how to change numbers, and some of the sharp bettors in town might bribe them for a favor, or many. This has unfolded more times than I can count.
The manager -- no fool -- will hire a flock of young attractive girls as ticket writers. Nice smiles and demeanor. They won't know much about sports betting, and rarely if ever bet themselves, but they know enough to communicate with the tourists who nervously gravitate to the counter.
If a sportsbook lacks curvy females, you know the hiring is done from above, not the sportsbook manager itself.
Then there are older guys as ticket writer, some who have been there for their entire career and never aspired anywhere else, while others no longer can find work elsewhere and are thrilled to land a spot. Unfortunately, many of those jobs for older types are seasonal, hired for football season then laid off.