Past Posting in the SuperContest: My “Lucky Dan” Moment

If you like gambling stories, you’ll enjoy this one from a few days ago:

PAST POSTING

“Past posting” is a gambling term with origins in horse racing.

Years ago, gamblers bet on horse races from all across the country. This was long before the internet and television when everything was known instantaneously. Back then, racing results were sent via “the wire,” which was a teletype machine. Sometimes, wire results got delayed. Unscrupulous gamblers saw an angle and figured out ways to get race results early.  Then, they made their bets based on the winner. When the wire announced the winning horse, gamblers who “past posted” won their bets. It’s essentially a can’t lose wager. That is — unless you remember what happened in The Sting.

I’ll get back to 1973 movie, The Sting in a moment. First, here’s the set-up.

THE SET-UP

When I woke up Saturday morning on Dec. 23rd, I knew two NFL games were being played that day. To most fans (and even many bettors), that might not be a big deal. But for me and a group of investors who backed my seven entries into the 2023 Westgate SuperContest this season, every pick and result is now worth thousands (perhaps tens of thousands) of dollars.

SEE CURRENT STANDINGS HERE

Even with the big field of 1,301 entrants this season, I’m now fortunate to be in the top-10 with a few weeks to go. I also have 2 entries ranked in the top-20. I have 3 entries ranked in the top-36. All 7 of my entries are in the top-200, which means they’re all are in play to return prize money. Translation: A really hot streak right now could net a quarter of a millions dollars in prize money. So, this is why I pay very close attention to every game. I can’t afford to miss something or make many mistakes. As I said, the difference between 1st and 2nd is $100,000, and the outcome is likely to be determined by one game.

THE HOOK

By my count, NFL games are shown on at least five different networks.  It’s hard to keep track of them all. Saturday games, unusual for the NFL, are even more difficult to figure out (without checking). At 10 am PST, I was channel surfing and saw the Cincinnati-Pittsburgh game was about to kick off. It was broadcast on the NFL Network. Oh good, I get to watch football on Saturday at 10 am, even though I don’t have action on the game. Not yet, anyway.

The game is played in cold conditions.  All the players are bundled up.  Backup quarterback Jake Browning is the Bengals’ starter.  I do find it a little odd to see the game is being played in Cincinnati. I could have sworn this week’s game was in Pittsburgh. But, the Steelers were getting +2 on the spread, so maybe I had the home team wrong. Anyway, it doesn’t matter since I have no bets on this.

We leave the house and run a few errands and by 12:30 I’m back. The game is in the middle of the 4th quarter. Pittsburgh was a 2-point underdog–but is winning outright by 9. Wow, a surprise. I log into my online accounts and decide to put in two tickets in the Westgate SuperContest (I must turn in seven tickets weekly, with 5 picks on each entry). I see “PITTSBURGH +2” listed as one of the options.  Huh?  This must be a mistake.

I make my picks and decide to click PITTSBURGH +2, just to see what happens. Surely, the response will be “invalid.” Remember, the clock is winding down and the Steelers are winning easily.

Then, to my astonishment, the contest pick is accepted. Bet “confirmed!”

Hey, what’s going on here?

THE TALE

Here’s where one’s morals and ethics are really put to the test.

Obviously, the right thing to do here is ignore this obvious tech glitch and play the contest picks honestly. There’s also some risk that a post-contest audit of winners might uncover past posting and then all those who were guilty could be disqualified (I also realize this would be impossible to prove). The Nevada Gaming Control Board (no friends of mine, by the way–they’re worthless as consumer advocates) is going to end up with a shit show, I thought.

READ MORE ABOUT MY HISTORY WITH THE NEVADA GAMING CONTROL BOARD (THE $5,000 CHIP FIASCO)

Thing is, I do have a responsibility to those who invested. Should I pounce on this and put “PITTSBURGH +2” on all seven tickets?  I decided to put in one more ticket just to make sure this “glitch” was for real, and the entry was accepted. Yep. Bet “confirmed!”

I also figured I had some inherent responsibility to the casino and sportsbook to let them know about a serious problem. After all, I worked as a casino executive for 20 years. I certainly would have wanted someone to tell me about an error we made on our end, especially one with such huge consequences. But then, I backed off. I remembered how the Westgate Sportsbook (and their executives) has given me the cold shoulder over the years–which is another long story. Why should I do their jobs for them?

And so, here’s where I panicked. As I said, one game is going to determine who wins and loses and who cashes and who does not. I imagined the feeding frenzy of other contestants logging on during the game and discovering “Pittsburgh +2.” You think they’ll play it straight? Hell, no! Those snakes aren’t going to bypass an opportunity to lock up an automatic win. They’ll pounce like starving jackals. Visions of 1,000 contestants all logging in and locking in a win flashed into my head. And here I am — sitting here worried about ethical decisions and and the NGCB? This is a $1.3 million sports betting contest in Las Vegas, and I’m trying to play Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus?  Get fucking real!

Besides, Pittsburgh just kicked another field goal.  16-7 Steelers.

THE WIRE

I’m seriously torn here. I desperately need counsel. So, I call up Matt Lessinger, who has been instrumental this season as a sounding board. Trouble is, Lessinger is at work. Never mind his employment and career, this is more important.

Lessinger is currently on the floor at The Oaks Casino in Oakland, which is a busy place on Saturdays. He tells me he’ll call back in 5 minutes. Five minutes? We’ve got five more tickets to click and the ball game is down under 3:00 left!

That five minutes seems like 50, and meanwhile, I’m staring at my smartphone in my hand and my 5 remaining online accounts and they are begging me to click “PITTSBURGH +2.” Do it, you dumb ass!  I’m still imagining the other contest vultures feasting on a dead calf, and I’m standing there a month from now watch some jack off go up on the stage at the Westgate collecting my $200,000 because he past posted and “picked” the Steelers and I had a fit of moral consciousness and didn’t.

Finally, the phone rings and an annoyed Lessinger asks, “what’s up?”

THE SHUT-OUT

Here’s where I’ll try to recount the conversation verbatim. Lessinger can testify as to the accuracy:

Me: Are you watching the Bengals-Steelers game right now?
Lessinger: No, I don’t think it starts until 1:30.
Me: No, it’s on now. I’m watching it.
Lessinger: Okay, I thought it was at 1:30.
Me: It’s on the NFL Network. Pittsburgh is up 16-7. There’s only a few minutes left.
Lessinger: Are you sure about that? We have the pregame on here in the casino.
Me: You must have the wrong channel.
Lessinger: No, we have the right channel. The game starts at 1:30. I’m sure of that.
Me: Umm.  Uhh.  Hold on.  Wait a minute.

I walk up to the television screen and see the “CBS Sports” logo in the upper right corner. Underneath it, is written “WEEK 12.”

Me: Am I watching a game from a fucking month ago?!?!?

Yes indeed, I’ve been watching a football game that was played a month ago.

Yet somehow, they trust me to handle $7,000 worth of contest picks.  Go figure.

THE STING

My story has a happy ending. The real Cincinnati-Pittsburgh game played in Week 16 kicked off at 1:30 pm. The Steelers dominated the game from start to finish, winning 34-11. My two tickets that would not have included the Pittsburgh pick both notched a win.

I suppose the real ‘sting” to this true tale was my hesitation and moral compass. Otherwise, all seven tickets would have been on the Steelers.

Here’s the wonderful concluding scene in The Sting. I was fortunate to win on the Steelers. But it could just as easily have gone the other way. The look on Robert Shaw’s face when the moment of the “reveal” is priceless. That’s exactly how I looked and felt when Lessinger told me I had made two wagers that were not locked up already as wins.

So, I didn’t past post, after all.

Let’s hope that honesty pays.