Retirement

Wow, I was surprised on the amount that came in yesterday on the game. Stupid prop bets make the regular gambling addicts go bezerk. Everything turned out very well. Very Very Well in fact. This will probably go down as the fourth largest day for me, behind the 2001 New Years Day Bowl Games, Carolina-Pats Superbowl, and the 2002 New Years Day Bowl Games. In talking with some of the other people in my profession, they stated that they had to stop taking action on Pitt by the weekend, since the amount was so large. Lucky for Brad and I, we only had 1 wager on Pitt, with everything else on Seattle and the Over. Amazing....

And I'll take the line from The Bus and I am announcing my retirement today. Brad and I are in talks on what to do with the client list, but for the most part we will be closing shop, with a few small exceptions. Its been an amazing ride over the last 10 years, which has taught me several important lessons about life and sports:

1. Never accept a wager from someone you don't know. Over the years, I've only had a few small problems collecting and they have been all related to people who I don't know that well. Friends and friends of friends will pay up 100% of the time, but its those people that do not have ties to anyone that I have problems with.
2. Gambling will make men do the craziest things. I have had to cut people off from placing wagers, when they are into me for way too much money and have 2 kids and a wife to take care of. Its amazing to watch how desparate people get when trying to win back money that they couldn't of afforded to lose.
3. The Gooch is real!!!!
4. Most games leading up to a big event like the Superbowl, World Series, and the NBA Championship are fixed. It will eventually come out.
5. Nobody has a firm understanding on how to be great sports handicapper. Boston and my brother are the closest, but the rest of us are in the dark.