This may be interesting to some. It's out of my book We Were Wiseguys And Didn't Know It beginning on page 124:
THE ROTATION LEADS TO THE ADDED GAMES It was all workable because everyone used the same rotation of games. All LV sportsbooks, BMs, and bettors around the country as well as newspapers, sports radio talk shows, etc. We all used the same games in the same order, i.e., "the rotation." This rotation was researched by, and then printed and distributed in the Jim Feist sports schedule. Jim Feist had by now wrested the schedule business from Jerry Kilgore who owned JK Sports out of Los Angeles. JK was the early schedule maker. The rotation and schedule books were distributed throughout the country so everyone involved was on the same page. When the line was copied from the Stardust sports boards and relayed to whomever, both parties, on each end, had the same template.
Therein lay a problem that grew into big problem. I was trying to do as much business
as possible while most other sports books were not of the same philosophy. They wanted business, of course, but soft business. Some would actually discourage business, especially from wiseguys. They were afraid to lose, and certain book managers were afraid of their jobs. Roxy and Feist were selecting the games to be used in the schedule while the Stardust was sticking its neck out by putting numbers on those games. Roxy and Fiest weren't in on our wins and losses, although Roxy took it personally when the books he serviced lost. Feist had several tout services (person or company that sells selections on games) he advertised in his schedule.
I remembered from my days at Churchill and working with Ray Vera that quite a few teams we used were now missing from the schedule rotation. When the JK Schedule was used exclusively, more games were being booked. This was especially true in college basketball. The fewer games Roxy had to make numbers on, the better for him and his crew. Most other sports books were booking as few college games as possible while we wanted to book as many as reasonably possible.
I took it upon myself to do what I considered best for the Stardust. I started using smaller schools and conferences that were being left out but had competitive programs. I chose those located in big media and betting markets to add to our Stardust betting menu: Drexel, Long Beach State, Richmond, Youngstown State, Detroit, Niagara, San Francisco, Jacksonville, Long Island, Cleveland State, Buffalo, etc. Well over one hundred additional teams were added from conferences like the Ivy’s, the MAC, Ohio Valley, etc., just like old times. It wasn't just a shoot from the hip undertaking. It was well thought out. We gave the line to newspapers, TV, and radio stations in those markets free, as long as they mentioned the line was from the Stardust. This wasn’t a fluff move either since we were taking half-limit bets on the added teams. It was more work for Roxy, Jerry the Hat, me, and my other guys. Our supervisors had more games to chart, manage, and move the numbers on. The sports board men had extra work setting up the added games. John Mastalir, who researched college schedules and game times for Feist, had his work doubled, but not his paycheck. But why should we let others dictate the games we won and lost on? It was a good move, a righteous move.
To accomplish this, we had to print our own schedules to fit the added games. Once again we needed management cooperation. By now I had Arnie Lang on the Stardust Radio Show cohosting with Roxy, so we put Arnie on the sportsbook payroll, gave him an office, and he produced a quality schedule putting the added games in their proper spots timewise. Our schedules were now different than Feist’s. His schedule was diminished because the teams in his schedule didn’t matchup with ours. If a service guy copied our line, in our order, and then tried to read it over the phone to someone using Feist’s order, it wouldn’t work.
Some other sportsbook managers hated us before. Now they had customers coming in their sportsbooks and wanting to bet on Monmouth, Santa Clara, UNC Greensboro, Loyola Chicago, or some such school, and they had to tell them they don’t use those teams. The customer told them the Stardust did and left all pissed. Confusion reigned when Feist paid a visit. I didn't mind putting the squeeze on the big, extravagant
sportsbooks, and we kind of enjoyed making them squirm. I didn't want to hurt anyone else in the business, however, especially the local service guys and others around the country who depended on us for their numbers. Feist and I figured out a solution. We would use his normal rotation and simply add our extra games on the bottom in a separate section—thus the label "Added Games," which is still in use today. To appease the more timid sportsbooks, Feist printed a second edition that left out our added games altogether. A sportsbook or bookie could now choose to use our games or hide them from their customers.
We continued to print our schedule for a couple more years matching up with the Feist schedule, putting our added games at the end. Arnie sent a Stardust schedule to everyone who requested one. Even in the can. Yes, we had listeners to our radio show in jail, and we would always honor their requests and put one in the mail. Whether or not they were passed on to the inmates was another story, but I’m sure most were.
A subculture was born of bettors who specialized in our added games. The most famous and most successful of them all was Allen Boston. Allen was from Maine, a Princeton graduate, and super sharp on the poker tables as well as facing the sports boards. Allen was polite and a pleasure to know. He spent basketball season in Las Vegas, with us of course. Allen was a consistent winner betting college basketball. He had to be to keep up with his habit of forgetting things. Allen misplaced many a winning ticket, which we could honor, and he also lost numerous $5,000 sports book chips, which we couldn’t honor. His Corvette was even lost for a few days till someone spotted it. Allen is still in LV although he plans to retire from gambling and put his Ivy League education and sharp mind to use.
THE ROTATION LEADS TO THE ADDED GAMES It was all workable because everyone used the same rotation of games. All LV sportsbooks, BMs, and bettors around the country as well as newspapers, sports radio talk shows, etc. We all used the same games in the same order, i.e., "the rotation." This rotation was researched by, and then printed and distributed in the Jim Feist sports schedule. Jim Feist had by now wrested the schedule business from Jerry Kilgore who owned JK Sports out of Los Angeles. JK was the early schedule maker. The rotation and schedule books were distributed throughout the country so everyone involved was on the same page. When the line was copied from the Stardust sports boards and relayed to whomever, both parties, on each end, had the same template.
Therein lay a problem that grew into big problem. I was trying to do as much business
as possible while most other sports books were not of the same philosophy. They wanted business, of course, but soft business. Some would actually discourage business, especially from wiseguys. They were afraid to lose, and certain book managers were afraid of their jobs. Roxy and Feist were selecting the games to be used in the schedule while the Stardust was sticking its neck out by putting numbers on those games. Roxy and Fiest weren't in on our wins and losses, although Roxy took it personally when the books he serviced lost. Feist had several tout services (person or company that sells selections on games) he advertised in his schedule.
I remembered from my days at Churchill and working with Ray Vera that quite a few teams we used were now missing from the schedule rotation. When the JK Schedule was used exclusively, more games were being booked. This was especially true in college basketball. The fewer games Roxy had to make numbers on, the better for him and his crew. Most other sports books were booking as few college games as possible while we wanted to book as many as reasonably possible.
I took it upon myself to do what I considered best for the Stardust. I started using smaller schools and conferences that were being left out but had competitive programs. I chose those located in big media and betting markets to add to our Stardust betting menu: Drexel, Long Beach State, Richmond, Youngstown State, Detroit, Niagara, San Francisco, Jacksonville, Long Island, Cleveland State, Buffalo, etc. Well over one hundred additional teams were added from conferences like the Ivy’s, the MAC, Ohio Valley, etc., just like old times. It wasn't just a shoot from the hip undertaking. It was well thought out. We gave the line to newspapers, TV, and radio stations in those markets free, as long as they mentioned the line was from the Stardust. This wasn’t a fluff move either since we were taking half-limit bets on the added teams. It was more work for Roxy, Jerry the Hat, me, and my other guys. Our supervisors had more games to chart, manage, and move the numbers on. The sports board men had extra work setting up the added games. John Mastalir, who researched college schedules and game times for Feist, had his work doubled, but not his paycheck. But why should we let others dictate the games we won and lost on? It was a good move, a righteous move.
To accomplish this, we had to print our own schedules to fit the added games. Once again we needed management cooperation. By now I had Arnie Lang on the Stardust Radio Show cohosting with Roxy, so we put Arnie on the sportsbook payroll, gave him an office, and he produced a quality schedule putting the added games in their proper spots timewise. Our schedules were now different than Feist’s. His schedule was diminished because the teams in his schedule didn’t matchup with ours. If a service guy copied our line, in our order, and then tried to read it over the phone to someone using Feist’s order, it wouldn’t work.
Some other sportsbook managers hated us before. Now they had customers coming in their sportsbooks and wanting to bet on Monmouth, Santa Clara, UNC Greensboro, Loyola Chicago, or some such school, and they had to tell them they don’t use those teams. The customer told them the Stardust did and left all pissed. Confusion reigned when Feist paid a visit. I didn't mind putting the squeeze on the big, extravagant
sportsbooks, and we kind of enjoyed making them squirm. I didn't want to hurt anyone else in the business, however, especially the local service guys and others around the country who depended on us for their numbers. Feist and I figured out a solution. We would use his normal rotation and simply add our extra games on the bottom in a separate section—thus the label "Added Games," which is still in use today. To appease the more timid sportsbooks, Feist printed a second edition that left out our added games altogether. A sportsbook or bookie could now choose to use our games or hide them from their customers.
We continued to print our schedule for a couple more years matching up with the Feist schedule, putting our added games at the end. Arnie sent a Stardust schedule to everyone who requested one. Even in the can. Yes, we had listeners to our radio show in jail, and we would always honor their requests and put one in the mail. Whether or not they were passed on to the inmates was another story, but I’m sure most were.
A subculture was born of bettors who specialized in our added games. The most famous and most successful of them all was Allen Boston. Allen was from Maine, a Princeton graduate, and super sharp on the poker tables as well as facing the sports boards. Allen was polite and a pleasure to know. He spent basketball season in Las Vegas, with us of course. Allen was a consistent winner betting college basketball. He had to be to keep up with his habit of forgetting things. Allen misplaced many a winning ticket, which we could honor, and he also lost numerous $5,000 sports book chips, which we couldn’t honor. His Corvette was even lost for a few days till someone spotted it. Allen is still in LV although he plans to retire from gambling and put his Ivy League education and sharp mind to use.
