Episode 70

Andrew Pace [00:00:00]:

We're gonna get Spanky dressed in a nice, inplayLIVE cape with, a Speedo on for for that event.

Spanky [00:00:09]:

You you you couldn't pay enough of a sponsorship fee to get that to happen, please. But, you know, I love you anyway.

Andrew Pace [00:00:15]:

Oh, so, yeah, that that's it's it's happening regardless of of what he says. So

Shane Mercer [00:00:31]:

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Behind the Lines, the only podcast purifying the sports betting industry. Remember to like, download, subscribe, follow us on all the socials @ inplayLIVE. I'm your host, Shane Mercer, as always joined by Andrew Pace, founder of inplayLIVE, a community of like minded sports bettors dedicated to long term success. And, wow, on today's show, what a guest, the host of the Be Better Bettors podcast, founder of the Sports Betting Hall of Fame, creator of BetBash, a legendary professional sports bettor. Gadoon Kyrillos, best known in the world of professional sports betting as none other than Spanky. Welcome to the show, my man. How are you?

Spanky [00:01:15]:

Thank you so much for having me, Shane. The pleasure's all mine. And, Pace, I'm doing well. Just got back from a trip to Nashville, so trying to recharge the batteries, but we're ready to rock.

Andrew Pace [00:01:27]:

That was an incredible intro. I thought that was, like, a Game of Thrones thing when they were introducing, like, mother of dragons, you know, lord of the undead. Like

Spanky [00:01:37]:

Oh, lord.

Shane Mercer [00:01:38]:

When when we have a guest like this on, I feel like I really gotta ramp it up a little bit. You know? Really sort of, you know, give him his flowers, so to speak. But, Spanky, we're really excited to have you here on the show. I just think that, you know, you're the kind of guy that can offer our audience, just so much value in such a short amount of time by appearing here on a podcast like this. First, though, I want to ask you about something. The Olympics just around the corner. Are you excited for the Olympics? And I think that the Olympics, you know, is is something that's played a major role in your sports betting career, particularly. I know you shared a story about almost like an infinite money glitch related to the Olympics.

Shane Mercer [00:02:16]:

But how are you feeling with the Olympics coming up soon? And you can share that story if you'd like.

Spanky [00:02:21]:

I don't even remember the story. I'm trying to remember it now. I have just so many stories. Can you remind me, Shane? I just,

Shane Mercer [00:02:27]:

Well, I think I think you had you had an edge, and the the bookmaker was, I guess, showing you their card, so to speak, without necessarily, doing it on purpose.

Spanky [00:02:39]:

Okay. I I I don't recollect that. I'm I'm on there's so many glitches and edges and everything over the years. It's all a blur now, brother. I don't even remember what I had for dinner last night, let alone all these things. But, yeah, Olympics is one of those things in which it's just, you know, we try not to focus too much on things that happen once in a while, just because there's a lot. I don't know. The juice, for us at least, it might not be worth the squeeze.

Spanky [00:03:02]:

So, you know, we're more focused on the stuff that happens every single year all the time and where there's a lot of games. You know, our primary edge comes from, you know, sports like college basketball, college football, where there's just so many games every year. And then, you know, then it gets the edge dissipates when you get into the pro sports. But, yeah, you know, Olympics weren't weren't it's great. You know, I'm I'm I love watching the Olympics here and there, but as a as a sports bettor, it really isn't that that big of a deal for us, to be honest. Same thing. You know, the World Cup, it's great. We bet on it, but it's not something that just it just comes along here and there.

Spanky [00:03:37]:

And if we see something nice or if we, you know, we'll we'll we'll attack. But, otherwise, we're just trying to focus on on the bread and butter that keeps us, you know, operational every single year.

Shane Mercer [00:03:48]:

Hey. Fair fair enough. I mean, you know, the Olympics hitting at a time where the bread and butter is kind of off the table, for for a little bit, but it is coming. It's it's right around the corner. NFL football season, almost within grasp and and preseason really just, you know, a couple of weeks away. So, pretty exciting there. Okay. So, Spanky, I want to give people a little bit about your background just in case they don't know much about you or where you came from or how you came up.

Shane Mercer [00:04:12]:

But you went to school for computer programming. Am I correct?

Spanky [00:04:17]:

Yeah. I hold a dual degree in computer science and finance from Rutgers University. Graduated summa cum laude, which is surprising to most. Yeah. But, no. I was very studious, and I I I I gave her you know, I cared about getting good grades, and I wanted to learn. So, I was, you know, I'm I'm not saying I'm I'm, an an intellect by any means, but I cared. And then and then everything I do, I put my all in.

Spanky [00:04:45]:

And, I kinda used that, worked at Deutsche Bank, right out of school and was always interested in being the game and being the gambling game. And, I, I, you know, was able to utilize a lot of the things I learned from both my degree and both my work at Deutsche Bank to apply to the sports betting world. And, you know, I've been betting sports full time exclusively. That's my only income, since 2003. I've been doing it since 992,000 part time, but since 03, that's all I've been that's all I've been doing is betting sports.

Shane Mercer [00:05:18]:

Yeah. And and you you you left a really cushy job. I mean, you're you know, Deutsche Bank, Wall Street, you were already making a a ton of bank before going to sports betting. Right?

Spanky [00:05:28]:

Yeah. You know, I I was a 6 figure job, and then then, you know, but at the same, you know, that's why people thought I was crazy. You know, I mean, I was just recently married and the in laws, everybody gave me pushback. And what are you doing? You know, leaving this kind of job and to become a professional gambler? Like, are you out of your mind? And this is back in 02, 03 when being a professional gambler was not I don't even know how generally accepted it is today, but it really wasn't accepted back then. So, you know, I was doing it more on the side, and I was making more money on the side betting sports than I was on my regular job. And and that's why I realized, you know, the time to make the jump is now and, you know, it's it's it's it's not you know, a lot of people think as an entrepreneur, I'm sure, Peace, you know, as an entrepreneur, you build your own company. You know, it's not one of those things that you can, you it's it's the 100 and 100 plus hours a week. You just get to choose which hours you're gonna work.

Spanky [00:06:22]:

You're still working harder than most. It's not your 40 hour job. You're working 2, 2 and a half times with anybody else's. But, you know, you kinda get you know, you make your own rules and you kinda set your own guide. And and I always had that entrepreneurial spirit in me. I just needed to find the outlet and, you know, I never thought I was gonna be a pro sports bettor. That's not what I went to schools for. I I thought I was gonna work on Wall Street and, you know, manage a hedge fund or something, you know, go up that way, but here I am.

Shane Mercer [00:06:55]:

It sounds a lot like you you kinda just followed the money, and and you went where you thought you could make more.

Spanky [00:07:01]:

Yeah. But you know what? Long term, I would have probably made more on Wall Street. Listen. I've had a very successful career. Don't get me wrong. I could retire yesterday. But at the same time, I just I liked sports betting. I was, you know, just like anyone else.

Spanky [00:07:14]:

I was not a smart sports bettor coming up. I you know, but then I learned. I paid my tuition. I paid my dues, and I learned. And I just said, you know what? You know, I'm not supposed to win on betting sports. You know, laying 110 mathematically, the edge is against me. So how do I find a way to turn it into my favor? And, and that's how I did it. I think it's just one of those things in which, you know, you just check it, you do a little, like, litmus test, and you just find out the proof of concept.

Spanky [00:07:39]:

Is this working? And then it starts working all of a sudden, and you're like, you do you scale, scale, scale, and then eventually, you know, it's not whether you can win. The winning becomes the easy part. It's how can I scale and make this a viable business to be able to support not just me and my family, but my entire staff? So

Shane Mercer [00:08:01]:

Yeah. Well, one one of the ways you you you kinda did it though is, you know, you talk about proof of concept. You actually, sort of tailed someone else's proof of concept, none other than than the legendary sports bettor, Billy Walters. Right? His sort of way of going about it was to build a consensus among handicappers. And he had a group of handicappers that he worked with pretty regularly and sort of pulled them on an ongoing basis and sort of, you know, went with consensus areas and sort of, you know, built this kind of network. You did something similar. Right?

Spanky [00:08:34]:

Just like in any form of life, you find out who the most successful person is, you listen to their story, and you find out how they became successful, and and then you try to emulate them. So it's not like, you know, this is not, you know, my own original ideas. I figured out you know, I talked to people that used to work for Billy, and, I realized, you know, Billy Walters himself is not a handicapper. Billy Walters will admittedly, if you read his book, he's gone broke many times. There was a time you know, he's a degenerate gambler at one time, but then he got smart. He wizened up, and then he he he aligned himself with smart people. And that's what I tried to do. I tried to get smart people, and I align myself with them.

Spanky [00:09:11]:

And, and everyone's smart until they're not, or everyone's a winner until they're not. So you kinda you kinda wanna stay ahead of the curve. So, essentially, what you do is, you know, I said, what can I contribute? Because, you know, to to you know, there's a bottom up approach, top down approach. But, also, you know, if you're building models and if you're trying to model sports betting, if you're gonna do that and, you know, you usually people are good at one sport. It's rare you're gonna find somebody that could win long term at a good scale in multiple sports. So instead of thinking about, okay, choosing to be a baseball expert or a football expert or, you know, call it college football expert or UFC or whatever it was, I said, let me focus on getting out, getting down because that's needed by everybody. That's always the most important thing. If I could find a way to get down and build my network, then the experts eventually will have to come to me.

Spanky [00:10:04]:

And then I'll be able then to utilize all that expert's knowledge to be able to then siphon through that and then make educated bets by some of the best in with some of the best information in the world. And that's what I did. I built my network and built my out pool where I go to Costa Rica. I travel around. I try to, you know, meet different people and then and, you know, get as many ounces as possible, be able to get down possible, and then build the technology to get down fast. You know, I was the first guy in the business to be able to, you know, do automated betting, to be able to be able to hit, you know, a thousands of different websites within, you know, a few seconds of each other, and to be able to automate that process, is really what kinda gave in giving me the edge. I always tell everybody, you know, I'm a computer scientist disguised as a sports bettor. I'm really more of a tech guy and and and, and, and I just try to, you know, look, try to consolidate that information, to to try to, you know, get the best out of it.

Spanky [00:11:08]:

And and that's the that was the whole thing for me that I always was was looking to do. And that's kind of what what's given us our success today. You know, we we work with some of the best handicapping groups in the world. We also have our internal guys. But, again, I'm I'm I'm with the mindset of of, you know, when when when one smart person likes team a and another smart person likes team b, then you know what? I'm not really interested in that. You know? But if 3 smart people all like team a, then you know what? That's where I'm gonna fire. You know what I mean? I'm gonna fire hard, and and that that that's kind of what we're going at. And they all independently arrive at that.

Spanky [00:11:45]:

And that's what we're looking to do, and that's kind of how because I don't care about having you know, it's not like a dick measuring contest. I don't know if I could say that on this podcast.

Andrew Pace [00:11:53]:

Hell yeah.

Shane Mercer [00:11:54]:

You can say whatever you want.

Spanky [00:11:56]:

Alright. Yeah. So I I you know, I'm not trying to be the smartest guy in the room. I'm just trying to make the most money. Like, this is nothing you know, a lot of people say, oh, man. I'm I'm, you know, I have my I have the best model, and I'm so smart at handicapping so and so sport. You know? Congratulations. That's great.

Spanky [00:12:11]:

All this shit means nothing. It's all about getting down and and and and and winning and getting paid. And that's the most important thing. So I always real I recognized that as if I do that, then and if I'm good at that, I'll always be on on on the forefront of you know, because I've worked with so many groups until they went bad, until they couldn't win anymore. Billy Walters has done the same thing. He said every group he's worked with eventually couldn't win anymore. I still have groups that still win or some of them have lost their edge, but I'm always looking for the next big thing. And I'm always trying different things out, and I'm always interested in obtaining as much information as possible to utilize that to build that that information network that I have.

Spanky [00:12:54]:

And that just not just goes with handicapping groups, that goes for my injury groups as well, you know, to be able to have injury information, to be part of a network, that we get the best injury information in the fastest time possible. And, and that's another thing that's kinda putting us, at the forefront of of, you know, being winning sports bettors. So sorry that was a long rant, but

Shane Mercer [00:13:19]:

No. That no. But there's there's so much I wanna dig into there, like this network. K? So you're you're just a guy on Wall Street, you know, and and you're, you know, you're you're making some money betting on sports, and then you think, okay. I'm gonna go full time here. How do you build this incredible network of people, of experts, and and, you know, people you're working with to to, as you say, have outs or or get get money down?

Spanky [00:13:41]:

So the network of outs, you know, begins with with you know, a lot of it begin with Wall Street. You know what I mean? The the guys on Wall Street have really good outs. You know, I mean, they're rich, and they're able to bet big money. And they're sought as you know, most people there there are a lot of them are sought out as degenerate gamblers. So they have access to a lot of big outs, and I have was friends with a lot of them. And then I found a way to be able to win, and I started scalping and middling games initially. And then all of a sudden, I started my technology, started, you know, I started getting plays down before the actual originators, the guys were that were coming up with these plays, I was beating them to their own number. And that's kinda when I people started taking notice.

Spanky [00:14:22]:

I've been you know, a lot of people get upset with me. I you know, Billy Walters has cursed me out and, a lot of you know, and then, you know, we laugh about it now, but, a lot of a lot of guys used curse me out and get upset with me just because I was too quick. I'm never gonna be too smart. I'm not as smart as any of these guys. But I said, if I'm not smart enough, I'll be I'll be faster than you. And that's what I worked on, my speed and my execution. And then all of a sudden, these groups would call me and say, Spanky, you know, you you bet this play. I'm like, yeah.

Spanky [00:14:55]:

Well, listen. Instead of doing that, maybe we could give you the play ahead of time, and then you could bet it for both of us when we become betting partners. And, and that's why I said, okay. That's a great idea. So and and that's kind of when all the groups have to come to me. I always give the, you know, the ad. It's either you deal with me or you deal with me. And, and it's I don't wanna tell you know, it sounds like a little bit of a a tough guy thing, but it's not.

Spanky [00:15:20]:

It's like, I'm gonna I'm gonna get the information no matter what. And I'm it's either you're gonna try to erase me your own information, or we can work together and both be happy. And the top gamblers in the world try to use me and utilize my skill of being able to get down, being able to move lines, being able to, or not move lines depending on what we need to do. And and that that's where, you know, that's where my expertise kinda lies.

Shane Mercer [00:15:52]:

It it's it's really fascinating to hear that. Now, you know, you mentioned, you know, people, Billy Walters getting upset with the other people, getting upset with you, these originators. How, you know, how do you get their information? And then on the flip side of that is then how do you sort of defend that, I guess. Right? Because it is very controversial and people take take issue with you over that.

Spanky [00:16:14]:

Well, what happens is is is the information once one person's places a sports bet anywhere in the world and the bookmaker either moves that line or does something, then that information becomes public knowledge. So, initially, what I used to do is I used to have these Asian outs. You know, my partner, Chinese Mike, you guys probably heard of Chinese Mike. We used to get some of these outs in Asia that we you know, the Asian used to only deal with and, primarily, they still only deal with each other. You know, it's hard to get into different every culture is kinda like clustered. So we'd have these Chinese outs where we would be able to see these guys like a Billy Walters or a Haralabob. They would bet these games in these Asian outs, and these Asian outs would then move the number. And then they would move the number pretty heavy, and we'd recognize that.

Spanky [00:16:59]:

And then when we'd see that information and that line move, then we'd be able to act accordingly and say, okay. This is essentially a foreshadowing of what's to come. It's kind of a crystal ball into the future, not of who's gonna win the game, but of where the line's gonna go, which means they booked a sharp bet on that number. So what do I do? I'm also now gonna try to bet into quiet outs. I can't bet them into loud outs because if you bet them into loud outs, then the originator is gonna know, oh, shit. This this Chinese book is leaking my information into the world that this isn't good for anybody. So you then I'm gonna bet them into my quiet outs. My quiet outs might be out in Mexico, might be somebody in South Africa, might be someone in England, might be another Chinese guy that's working in a basement, Might be whoever.

Spanky [00:17:44]:

You don't know who it's gonna be, but we're getting them into all our quietouts to be able to get my fill. And then, you know, and and and that's that's that was the general, strategy of doing all that, and then it it wind up being, you know, successful. Other methods we got I used to you know, listen. I go to Costa Rica. I used to well, I haven't gone in a while, but I would have access to all bookmakers in Costa Rica, and I'd get information fed to me and still do till this day. You bet anything in at an offshore out, where there's an information sharing network that I'm a part of. So I'll know if something is being shared. Once you place a bet anywhere, that bookmaker, that lines manager, whoever, is gonna use that information somehow.

Spanky [00:18:25]:

So if I have a booking in Costa Rica that just booked somebody that he knows is sharp, every time this guy lays minus 5, the line close 7, so he recognizes that, then he would say, Smanky, listen. Can you, you know, put me on a free roll or something? I'll give you the info, and we'll bet together. Sure. No problem. I this is the kind of network you established, but it doesn't happen overnight. It takes years years years to be able to have my tentacles into all these different places. And, you like that one. Right, Pace?

Andrew Pace [00:18:56]:

That's fucking perfect.

Spanky [00:18:57]:

Yeah. It is what it is, bro. Like, what do I'm gonna tell you? Like, I I I I'm able to infiltrate whatever the whatever I gotta do to get the information, I'm gonna do it. And I and and and I'm, you know, I I put a podcast. One of my apps called outs and information. Like, if you have outs and information, you rule the world in in this game. That's all you need. There's nothing else more important.

Spanky [00:19:17]:

Outs and information. Brains is not part of that. You know what I mean? Just have outs and information, and that's it. So, information, we are always trying to get that, and we're always working on that. And we're always working on it out. So, you know, that that that's the general strategy, and it's I'm not hiding it. It's just that's what I do.

Shane Mercer [00:19:38]:

Yeah. It it's fascinating to to sort of, hear it sort of from from the horse's mouth and get a sense of of exactly how you're pulling it all together. It's and as you said, it takes years years to build those kinds of networks. It's not something that I could just jump in and start doing tomorrow or that, you know, people in our audience could just, you know, be like, alright. I'm gonna go to Costa Rica, and I'm gonna go, you know, meet meet the players down there. And, you know, it it takes time. And I guess, how do you build those kinds of relationships, though? Like like, talk to me about the first time you go to Costa Rica and say, hey, guys. I wanna I wanna know what you're doing down here.

Spanky [00:20:10]:

Yeah. So first off, you have to be we have to be recognized as a sharp bettor. So I would then, you know, I you know, where you so I would be betting in Costa Rica, and this is but we don't want there's so many outs down there. And I would bet, and I would bet fast, and I would always get the best of the number. So I was recognized, oh, shit. There's this guy Spanky that's betting. He's getting the best of the number. He's winning.

Spanky [00:20:29]:

You know? So he has to know something. Whether how they know I was getting the number, nobody, you know, nobody ever asked those questions. Nobody cared. I was just either I have my own internal software that would monitor lines, and then we would just bet. I have my robots, you know, my auto bettors just betting these numbers. And that's all it was. And then you go down there. So you, you know, you you introduce the bookmaker.

Spanky [00:20:51]:

Hey. I'm gonna come down there. Back then, it wasn't as right now, it's impossible. You say, hey. I'm gonna come down and visit you. They'll think you're an FBI or whatever. They'll say, fuck you. You're out.

Spanky [00:21:00]:

Because you you know but now back then, it still was very difficult. But you you meet 1 guy, you're you're playing there for 6 months a year. He knows this, and you're betting every single day. You're betting, you know, 1,000, 100 of 1,000, millions over the long so then you get to start getting established. Then you meet 1 guy introduced to another guy, and another guy, we all go out drinking, and the network slowly grows and grows and grows and grows. I go next year and then the following year and then the following year. Oh, yeah. You ever met this guy? You know this guy? Oh, yeah.

Spanky [00:21:30]:

We gotta meet. And that's the thing. You know? It's that you start me becoming friends with everybody. Some of my best friends in the world are bookmakers, my bookmakers, and and these guys have always been good to me. And it's not you know, I always say the bookie bettor relationship doesn't have to have to be adversarial, and it isn't. You know, these guys, you know, we're still trying to win each other's money, but at the same time, we're buddies. We help each other out and and and that's the thing. It's like, it just took a long time, but I enjoyed it in the process.

Spanky [00:21:59]:

I didn't think I was building a network at the time. I didn't go into a team. Okay. I gotta start building this network. It just naturally, organically happened as I was building on my business.

Shane Mercer [00:22:11]:

I I wanna pick up on something you said there because I think I think I know my I'm gonna speak for myself here. My experience is very different when you talk about the bookie bettor relationship not being adversarial. I I feel like I'm I'm entering this space and and coming up in this space at a time where it's inherently adversarial. I don't I've never been friends with a bookie. I I've never had a, a bookie, like a person that I would call up and make wagers with. You know? So I guess, you know, at what point was that was that lost? And do you feel like, you know, maybe you still have those relationships, but I'm not sure that that, you know, myself and many people who are who are sort of coming up in this kind of regulated environment where it's, you know, legal in in most jurisdictions, but we're all getting limited. You know? We get we get kicked off books all the time, and it is a it is a very sort of adversarial relationship.

Spanky [00:23:04]:

Yeah. I think that got lost, when when everything got digitized and everything got on on when technology kinda took over. I never you know, betting on the Internet was, was a thing, but it wasn't the primary way we got down when I first come up in a business. You know, I was always phone betting because the Internet, you'd get 500 hour limits. The phone, you'd get 10,000 on it. So, obviously, I wanted to bet as much as possible. And if I'm especially if I'm, you know, scalping and middling games, you wanna get as much down as possible. So I was always phone betting, which means I would always have conversations.

Spanky [00:23:40]:

And those conversations led to, relationships. It just happens. You know? There are no relationships you build with a screen. And if there's ever a problem or an issue, somebody will get on the phone with you and you'll talk about it. It was a conversation back then. Now that's that's lost. You know, in the Vegas, when you bet on the counter with somebody, you're always talking to the guy. You're betting across the counter.

Spanky [00:24:04]:

It's a human to human interaction that unfortunately has been lost. Now it's never coming back. However, sometimes you gotta go out of your way to create that interaction. Like, for instance, when I started betting with FanDuel, before I placed my first bet, before I signed up with the account, I requested to meet with the main guy, at FanDuel. Name was John. And I went to the Meadowlands. We sat down, and I said, listen. I don't wanna go in the back door.

Spanky [00:24:30]:

I'm gonna win. Just straight up. I'm gonna win. Can we agree on some limits? He goes, yeah. Sure. Here's what we'll do. And we we have a gentleman's agreement. And the agreement hasn't really changed much, you know, but I'm still alive at Sandal.

Spanky [00:24:48]:

I still get down. I'm I'm still able to you know, don't get me wrong. I've been limited. The frame still hasn't stayed exactly what it was, but it's enough. The like, you know, it's one of those things in which the bookmaker has to give you enough to keep you happy versus, and and and enough for him to get the information as cheaply as possible. And that's what we do. Now I could say I'm a winner at FanDuel. I'm I'm not afraid to admit that, but I'm still playing there.

Spanky [00:25:15]:

I'm still playing with just my own account and because I don't because they accept me. Now most people get because there's I had I said I was the one place I went, and I met the guy first off. And I said, here's what's happening. And he goes, I appreciate you coming in and telling me that and not trying to go in the back door, not trying to get 10 different accounts. None of that bullshit. 1 on 1 this is what I'm doing. And I and and he knows I'm gonna win. You know what I mean? But he'll move his line accordingly.

Spanky [00:25:43]:

FanDuel is kind of unique in the sense. Is there one of the bookmakers that actually move off my action and try to win using my using my action? You know, using my bets, which is what bookmaking is supposed to be. And that's worked out. I don't know if if my action, they've utilized that information to their advantage or not. I'm not privy to their financials on how they've used my information. I would hope they have. And and that's that's that's the Bookie Bettor relationship. And I think that but that takes a lot of work.

Spanky [00:26:15]:

The you know, number 1, it's hard to get a meeting like that. It's hard to be able to try to for the guy to sit down with you. You have to have a reputation. You know what I mean? Can can you say, hey. What's up? I'm Shane. Do you wanna meet? They might say, I'm part of the not to say that this podcast isn't the best podcast in the world, but I'm just saying, like, they're gonna say, hey. We're I'm Shane from Behind the Lines. They're like, well, you know what I mean? I don't know.

Spanky [00:26:39]:

I I I I'll see if I could get a meeting, but you gotta you gotta work it. You know what I mean? That's that's I don't know. Like, you you gotta make a phone call, and you might get a hung up 99 times, but the 100th time, they might say, okay. Let's let's set up a meeting. And that's what you got. That's how I did it. Like, that's how I always did it. Every bookmaker in Costa Rica directly that I played with, I've gone out for lunch or dinner with them.

Spanky [00:27:02]:

You know, every, you know, every bookmaker that I play now, I'm friendly with the guys at Circa. I'm friendly with, you know, with prime the guys at Prime Sportsbook. I'm just friendly with the guys that are that are and and I'm friendly with the guys at Fan Pool. I'm friends with the guys at Westgate. You know, Southpoint, very friendly with them. And that's where the friendships end, unfortunately. But, you know, I'm just trying to think of but you try. You know what I mean? You you I try.

Spanky [00:27:28]:

Like, I try to be friendly with some of the guys at Caesars and and other guys. And then DK, you know what I mean? I I I try my best. And and then and then it's cool. Like, it's one of those things in which, you know, you try your best to try to build that relationship, but it's hard to do so in this environment. Very hard to do so. And then and then it's so much easier for a bookmaker to limit you, Shane, when they don't have to look at your face and limit you versus if they have to say, sorry. You're you're cut down. You're limited.

Spanky [00:27:59]:

That's that's a very hard thing to do because, you know, it it's just hard to say deliver bad news in person than it is by just hitting a button. You know what I mean?

Shane Mercer [00:28:09]:

Well, I think I think, you know, a a lot of our experiences is just the automated email that says, hey. You've been limited. Our decision's final. This is a business decision. Don't contact us again. You know? Like like, basically, fuck off and don't come back.

Spanky [00:28:25]:

Yeah. We're gonna so, you know, we're gonna try to change that. That's something that's that's not acceptable. I don't think, in in in you know, this this is, you know, this ban or bankrupt methodology that my my colleague on the American Bettor's Voice, which is a nonprofit we're starting Richard Shultz wrote about. This is a methodology that's come across from England, and, and and we're trying to you know, this is not this whole limiting thing, individualized limits, is it it was not common, was not common ground, 20 years ago or any time in Vegas. You know, the only time individualized limits was happening is if somebody wanted to give a VIP and it's you know, an extra limit. But house limits used to be a big thing, and house limits are no longer, something that it should be a generally accepted thing that these are house limits that we'll take for everybody, and and we're gonna try to change that.

Shane Mercer [00:29:26]:

Miguel, can you tell tell us a little bit more about this organization? What's the name of it again? And and, I guess, who's in it? What's what's what kind of work is being done?

Spanky [00:29:35]:

Yeah. So this is called the, the American Bettor's Voice. It's a nonprofit that we're trying to do. We're trying to give the bettors a voice at the table. And and this is something that's important to me and, and, and, you know, we we have a a great staff, that's that's involved in this, you know, on this side. And, it's one of those things in which all time anytime legislation is passed or any regulators get involved, you know, you always hear the operator's viewpoint, but the bettors never get to chime in. And I'm just thinking, you know what? The time has come where we need a player's advocacy group. We need a bettors voice to be heard to help with some of these decisions.

Spanky [00:30:21]:

You know, one of them would be limiting, for example. You know, other ones would be trying to, you know, make a there's so many different, objectives we have, but one of them would be to try to make a standard set of rules on how wagers are graded across, the the the regulated landscape. Like, it it's it's really like you know? And I think that the operator should be able to come together and create that set of rules. It's really stupid how a game can get graded as a winner at bookmaker a and as a loser at bookmaker b. Like, this should not take place. This should be a standardized because you, you know, you you want every you know, this everybody should adopt the same type of rules on how bets get graded. And, just little things like this, that we're trying to push across, and to try to make it so that, you know, deposits are, and withdrawals. Withdrawals should always be as seamless as deposits, and they never are.

Spanky [00:31:20]:

Withdrawals are always, a lot more difficult, and that shouldn't happen. Like, you know what I mean? It just you know, it's, you know, how you cry KYC and all this other bullshit when somebody wants their money. But if they're trying to deposit the money, who gives a shit? I don't give a shit if you're dealing drugs and you're part of the Mexican cartel. Fuck it. Just send your money. We're worried about it later. Because if you lose, who gives a shit about KYC? That you know, and and that shouldn't be the case. If you're gonna if you're gonna really try to, you know, the the I always say the withdrawal should be just as seamless as the as the deposit or even easier.

Spanky [00:31:54]:

It should never be more difficult, and and that's the landscape we're in where it is more difficult. So things like this that should be adjusted, and that you kinda, you know, that I've seen, that I've learned. You know? I I used to work with bookmakers outside the regulated market. You know, one of my favorite bookmakers ever was a guy by the name of Wally Monday, And he got the name Wally Monday because he's always paid on Mondays, and he always pay pay fast. You wanna always pay fast, you know, in the in the in the unregulated environment where you're working on credit, you know, you'd have a settle up day. You'd always settle up later in the week. But if you have money coming to you, you'd always get paid on Monday by the top tier bookmakers. And that's what should be happening in the regulated environment.

Spanky [00:32:34]:

People say, how do I how do I eliminate the the unregulated environment and have people stay with us, pay fast? Don't make them jump through hoops to try to, you know, get get a withdrawal. Look, I'm I'm not you know, I I had an account. I had $1,000 in some account, and I was trying to withdraw the money, a $1,000. They told me we need we need to send you a pic you need a picture of your ID. I'm like, what the fuck? I send them a picture of my license. They go, no. You need to have your face in it. So then I send a picture of my license with my face in it.

Spanky [00:33:06]:

This is for a $1,000 of gum. This is like crazy shit. And then they say, sorry. You need to send it again. It was blurry. Now the now I'm fucking steaming. So now the picture all of a sudden has my license, and then I got this you know, I'm like, fuck you. You know, for me to to it's just, like, so stupid.

Spanky [00:33:25]:

Like, really? You know what I mean? Like, you if you would have asked me for this shit before I deposited, you would have not gotten my business, and I don't need to deal with this shit. But this is what's happening. And I think a lot of it just has to do with I don't know. I don't honestly, I sometimes I feel as if somebody's trolling me or some shit out there. I don't know if it's just me, but I hear other stories. It's like the the process is not easy to withdraw from a lot of these places, and I think that that's another thing we kinda wanna work on. We wanna work on making this sustainable and making it so that you know, the whole limiting thing is something that's very, very passionate about. Not just for guys like us that get limited and cut down, but for also guys that get super high limits, because that's when you get into the RG, the responsible gaming aspect.

Spanky [00:34:15]:

Where a guy that was betting $5,000 a game, you know, he might be, you know, he he's a let's just say he has a $1,000,000 bank or whatever. He's betting 5 times a game. It's not gonna affect him. He's gonna be fine. But all of a sudden, you tell him, listen. You could bet a 100 times a game. And now all of a sudden, you know, that that that that recreational happy gambler, you just turn him into a problem. Yeah.

Spanky [00:34:36]:

I mean, you're trying to take it all. And that's not what this whole thing is designed for. Just so, you know, they try to preach this is an entertainment business. And should we wanna extract a little bit from everybody, make them have a good time? But if you're trying to do that, then why the fuck are you giving, you know, giant super limits to the the to the customers you deem as dummies and and giving shit limits to the customers that have, you know, a pulse, you know, or I should say, the customer they deem is smart, which are really they I think they cut a lot of people's limits that are people are not even smart. So but that's a different story. But, yeah, sorry. I'm I I go off on tangents here, but this is kind of the stuff we're trying to address, and and, hopefully, we kinda make a change. You know, we just want our voice to be heard, and and, we'll see what happens.

Shane Mercer [00:35:21]:

Right. That that's I well, it sounds great. And, you know, to to start this organization, again, it's a American Bettors Alliance.

Spanky [00:35:30]:

It's the American Bettor's Voice.

Shane Mercer [00:35:34]:

Bettor's Voice.

Spanky [00:35:35]:

Yes.

Shane Mercer [00:35:36]:

Can Canadfians join?

Spanky [00:35:39]:

Anybody could join. Canadians. Sure. We it's, you know, it's it's for North America. So but we call it the America Bettor's Voice, but Canadians can join. And, you know, the advisory board, we have Brett Smiley, Brianne Dora, Showalhelm, Susan Hansel, Allison McCoy, Richard Shoots, Eric Raskin. You know, I mean, Billy Walters is there as an adviser as well for us and he's a supporter. So it's, you know, it's it's, it's great.

Spanky [00:36:04]:

You know what I mean? You know, we we wanna see the business grow and and be sustainable.

Spanky [00:36:12]:

And, and I think that that the way to do it for any business, no matter what, you know, there's always a consumer group, a consumer advocacy. And I think, let's face it, obviously, without the players, this industry is nothing. Right? We're the ones that are that are, that are, you know, the the the blood, behind this whole landscape. So you gotta be able to get the players involved.

Shane Mercer [00:36:37]:

Alright. American Bettors Voice. Well, awesome. Look look forward to to sort of seeing that, that that work in action. I know that, our entire audience for sure wants to sort of see those issues pushed forward. Let's talk about BetBash for a moment because this is another sort of big event where you're bringing people together. Talk to us about how you started it, where it was when it started, and where it is going and what we can expect coming up next month.

Spanky [00:37:03]:

So BetBash was, was, something I created, back in 2021. I said to myself, I'm like, I'm sick of this lockdown shit. I gotta be able to get out and meet people, and what better people to meet than my fellow sports bettors. So we did the Bet Bash 1 in Jersey City. It was just a one night event, kind of as a proof of concept idea. And, trying to see if people would kinda come out, have an open bar, and just just mingle. It was just a party. Open bar cocktail party, and 220 people showed up to a bar, a random bar in Jersey City.

Spanky [00:37:42]:

And then I said, shit. That's pretty strong. And we're not talking about locals. People came from Canada, from England, from California. I'm like, damn. So everyone's just feeling as, you know, and wants to wants to meet others just as much as I do. So then I said, okay. This is bigger than I thought it could be.

Spanky [00:38:03]:

I talked to Matt Metcalfe. I talked to Derek Stevens at the Circa, And I said, I wanna host an event, and I want it to be a multiday event. And I wanna do it at the in Las Vegas, and I want Circa to host it. Derek was all for it, and Matt Metcalfe is kinda and and was was helped the, helped facilitate that, and we we we went with it. And then BetBash 2 then came just about 8 months after BetBash 1 April in Las Vegas. It was a great time. We had networking and speed net you know, that's when we had the speed networking event where we kinda had them. Because I noticed that bet bash won, you know, there was a lot of smart guys there, but, a lot of sports bettors are introverted, unfortunately.

Spanky [00:38:51]:

And then I noticed I said to myself, the order to get these guys out of their shell, maybe we need to have a structured networking event. And that's what's that's where I kinda thought about speed networking, kinda like speed dating, but instead of having you know, you have 5 minute dates, you have 15 5 minute meetings. You kinda fill out a compatibility form, for sports and, and sports betting interests, and then the computer then matches you up, with 15, matches. And we had that at BetBash 2, and that was a big hit. We brought it back last year, BetBash 3, and that will be a staple of BetBash to come. People just those guys that fly in just for that speed networking, they fly out right after that. So they just buy the whole ticket, participate in the speed networking, and leave, which I find fascinating. That's how that's how important that event is.

Spanky [00:39:45]:

Yeah. And and then, you know, we have the same thing, the pool parties at the Staples. We're like, you know, the one thing about Vegas is is, you know, you you sure. You wanna learn, and I always wanna push education and learn and then kinda network, but I also wanna party. Like, this is Las Vegas. So how do you party? I have to make sure that open bars were always a part of me. Open bars, and I'm pushing open bars all the time. Because Las Vegas listen, let's let's face it.

Spanky [00:40:10]:

The cocktails can add up. You know what I mean? Especially if you're getting good if you're getting good if you're getting good cocktails, the prices can add up. You know what I mean? So I wanted to have quality open bars there, and, and the price of those open bars are expensive. But I said, fuck it. This is I don't care if it's as bad as that. We'll we'll we'll factor that in because we want people to be able to relax and still network while having a good time. So we pushed that, and then, you know, other events. Then the following year, which was last year, I went to Derek again, and I said, said, I wanna start the sports gambling hall of fame.

Spanky [00:40:46]:

And, again, you know, I've never heard really Derek say no. So, that's a good thing. I I know he says no a lot, but he hasn't said no to me, really. So, but, yeah, he was all for that, and that's a very important part of that. It's our capstone event where we you know, Derek decided that beautiful sportsbook, the world's largest sportsbook. Some guy named Spanky walked up to him and says, listen. I'd like you to modify and tear down one of the walls of your sportsbook and and and and put in a sports game in the hall of fame. I didn't think he was gonna, like, you know this you you you never go to somebody and expect them to say, yeah.

Spanky [00:41:21]:

Sure. He was, yeah. That's a good idea. We'll do it. Like, what the fuck? Like, you know what I mean? This it's crazy. But it was all his idea to build it exactly there. He helped design it. He shared the designs with me.

Spanky [00:41:32]:

I loved it. And that's how cool Derek is. If Derek likes the idea and I noticed, you know, I don't know if you guys, you know, know Derek Stevens at all, but he's all about legacy. Like, he's all about the history of Las Vegas. And when you look up at the legacy club, there's just busts of all these guys that kinda built Las Vegas. From, you know, Jackie Gaughan to Benny Binion to, you know, all all the all the legends, that that have built Las Vegas. There's so many of them, but but, but then he says, okay. Let's do that now with sports betting.

Spanky [00:42:01]:

Let's try to build the same thing and have plaques of people that have kinda built the sports gambling industry. And that's what we had. And then we had our induction ceremony last year, our first ever induction ceremony, black tie event, fucking beautiful event. We had an after party at the Legacy Club. We'll have the exact same thing this year. And and that's you know, it just it just keeps spiraling and spiraling from there where it just it's now grown to this awesome event that people plan their whole year around. So I, you know, I could go on and on, brother, but I I don't know. I I don't know.

Spanky [00:42:36]:

So I hope that was that was good. I answered your question. Yeah.

Shane Mercer [00:42:41]:

Yeah. Absolutely. Pace, you're gonna be going to BetBash for the first time. Right? How are you feeling in the lead up to it?

Andrew Pace [00:42:47]:

I landed home from Vegas 2 days ago, man. Like, how am I how am I feeling? No. No. I'm super excited for the event. Should be a lot of fun. I mean, Spanky, I gotta give you credit, man. So, like, you know, one of the first things you said is you referenced your losing period is paying your tuition. And, you know, you kinda referenced always wanting to learn.

Andrew Pace [00:43:08]:

So there's a big theme there. And if you put this all together, right, we haven't even touched on Spank Odds yet, but if you put this all together, you've got a lot of ways, yes, for people to reach you. Sure. You could be like, hey. You know, you gotta come you gotta, you know, deal with me or you gotta deal with me. Right? But at the end of the day, from Spank Odds to the, the voice of the bettors in America and and BetBash, you know, you're really doing a lot for the the betting industry as a whole so that sports bettors actually can, you know, gain some education in this stuff. It's pretty clear. Right? Talk about a career path and all these different things.

Andrew Pace [00:43:47]:

You're talking about flying to Costa Rica. There isn't some handbook that, you know, where you're like, this is what I'm gonna do, and I'm gonna go start at this company, and they're gonna train me how to do it. Obviously, that's not how this works. So, you've given people a bit of a compass when it comes to this this type of thing. Because what we have seen, especially with the with technology and the growth of technology and, you know, the younger generation coming up, people have access to a lot of information. Right? You're you talk about the information that you have access to, but separately of that, you know, there's there's AI services. There's there's tons of things out there right now where you can go, hey, I can scrape out an edge here in some way, shape, or form. And, of course, what happens very quickly to a lot of these players and obviously, we're not even talking about 5 figures level of profit, like, 4 figures or less for some of these people.

Andrew Pace [00:44:32]:

They get kicked off the sites and they go, what the hell? What do I do now? What's next? And I think a lot of these things all lean towards helping the industry make these these bettor decisions, which is hugely aligned with what we're doing at inplayLIVE. So, yeah, huge thank you to that. Shane, yeah, super pumped for BetBash. We're we're sponsoring, the pool party. So we're gonna get Spanky dressed in a nice, inplayLIVE cape with a a Speedo on for for that event.

Spanky [00:44:59]:

You you couldn't pay enough of a sponsorship fee to get that to happen, please. But, you know, I love you anyway.

Andrew Pace [00:45:05]:

Oh, so yeah. The it's it's it's happening regardless of of what he says. So we just the drinks are flowing.

Spanky [00:45:14]:

I love it. I love it.

Andrew Pace [00:45:17]:

I mean, it it should be a ton of fun. I mean, I walked into that sports gambling hall of fame. When was that, Rodge? That was it would have been in, what, like, March? We have we walked in there in March. It's really cool, Spanky. So, VSiN there, the studio up above, they they featured my betting setup on one of their shows that that, we had posted here on our podcast as well. And when I saw that that was there next to the gambling hall of fame, I think for someone like myself, it gives it gives me, like, a lot of curiosity. You know, obviously, I we've learned a little bit more about it with having Fats on, a couple weeks ago. But, it gives me a lot of curiosity, but it's also something where I go, jeez.

Andrew Pace [00:45:53]:

It'd be so cool to have someone from inplayLIVE, in in that hall of fame someday down the road. So, you you know, you've given some of the top guys something to aspire to as well, which is which is really cool. So, yeah, super pumped. It should be awesome.

Spanky [00:46:07]:

Yeah. You know, the sports gaming hall of fame is is something that's really, really you know, it it's special, and and I'm sure Fats, I know, touched upon it. You know, he's part of the committee, the advisory board. It's a you need 75% approval rating to get into something to get into inducted. I don't have a vote. You know, I'm just an administrator. So it's you know, and Derek Stevens doesn't have a vote and because the Circa hosted. So we don't wanna have any influence, both of us, on who gets inducted.

Spanky [00:46:35]:

You know, we have a board of of experts and and, and that board determines, you know, who gets nominated and inducted. And believe me, a lot of people are like, why not this guy or why not that guy? Trust me. If somebody's deserving, they'll eventually get in, You know? And and then it's, the board is is incredible on what they're doing, and and it's hard. You know? To to to build a sports game in the hall of fame, it's difficult because let's face it. A lot of the top sports bettors are not known. You know, bookmakers even a lot of the top bookmakers are not as well known. A lot of them have operated underground, so it's hard to kind of get them out of their shell. A lot of people still like to remain anonymous.

Spanky [00:47:19]:

So, you you know, so it's it's a hard thing, but we're doing our best to try to recognize those individuals that are known or that are, you know, and and and to try to give them the, the credit that they deserve, for you know, it's one you know, the the objective of the sports game hall of fame is to induct someone that has materially transformed the sports gambling business.

Shane Mercer [00:47:43]:

Right.

Spanky [00:47:44]:

And that just doesn't mean you're you're a winning sports bettor. You know, being a winning sports bettor is is there's a lot of winning sports bettors. What have you done to materially transform, make a material impact on the on the sports gambling business? And that's the that's the thing we're looking for, not just winning bettors or great bookmakers, people that kinda change the game, that brought the game forward, that did that, you know, that that did something for the business. So that that's kind of the the the whole thing of what we're looking at and, or that have at till that time have just on been unbelievable, you know, experienced unbelievable results, and kinda changed the way people think about betting sports. So it's pretty cool. It's it's really cool stuff.

Andrew Pace [00:48:30]:

You know what's interesting, though? And I I think you're a 100%, you know, you hit you hit the nail on the head there with the the anonymous thing. You know, there's definitely people that are operating, you know, sorta underground, you know, that that maybe we don't even know about today, and and maybe the books know about quite a bit more than we do just because of how many how many of them they've hit and and and that sort of thing. But to that point, it's like, you know, everyone makes their own decisions, right, and power to them. But you just mentioned that people fly in just to do the speed networking thing. Well, why do they do that? And it's because the the benefit that they received from being with like minded individuals, having that sense of community and obviously, learning and continuing to learn. So, like, my from from my betting journey personally, like, I I went from being a remarkably successful sports bettor to a whole other level, when I started inplayLIVE, not because of me, but because of the people that joined the community that were able to help me learn and grow. So, like, my my big challenge to anyone that would be super successful in the betting community is that you you can always keep learning and you can always better yourselves because I promise you the books are gonna continue to adapt regardless of whether you you come forward or not. So, yeah, you you know, you can keep gaining new edges and keep keep gaining new advice and and continue to learn if if you do come forward.

Andrew Pace [00:49:49]:

And the impact that can have on your bankroll is just catastrophic. Right?

Spanky [00:49:55]:

Absolutely. Never stop learning. Like you said, pace. It's just you gotta just keep it rolling and then and, you know, that's one beautiful thing about Babash in the sense of the level of talent there is honestly from the super novice all the way to the Billy Walters of the worlds, and then everybody in between. Everybody's there. There are very successful sports bettors there. There are up and coming. There are semi pros.

Spanky [00:50:23]:

There are pros. There are amateurs. There are intermediates. Anything in between, there's oh, and but you know what? I've learned a lot of great things, from beginning guys. They might have said something to me, and I'm not gonna share a lot of things, you know, but I you know, but I'm just because there's things that I've learned from guys that, you know, they're just starting up, but they said something that sparked something in my mind. And you learn from each other. Like, you know what I mean? Just because I've been doing this for a long time doesn't mean I know it all. I I still have so much to learn.

Spanky [00:50:55]:

I might be at a point in which I'm kind of I I need to shut my brain off a little bit because I'm tired, but but I still wanna still learn that. The desire to learn is always there. You know, a professional professional sports that are Jelco, who, you know, who comes there and he, he participates in the speed network. And that guy is, you know, the most successful sports, horse player in the world. Horse is better than the world and he comes to that. And he's I go, really? You wanna do the speed of records? Yeah. I might learn something. You know what I mean? Talk about, like, shit.

Spanky [00:51:30]:

This guy, he's at the top of his career, but he still wants to keep at learning. Still wants to keep advancing. And that's the kind of, you know, some people that are so successful never wanna stop learning. There always a desire to keep learning and learning and learning. It's nothing to do with the money. The money is gonna come. You just have to keep getting better and better and better, and the money eventually comes. And I'm a firm believer of that.

Spanky [00:51:53]:

If you keep focusing on making money, making money, then you kinda you you stress yourself out and you lose the the the sight of let me just be good. Do, you know, do a better job, better my process of of whatever I'm doing, and then the money eventually comes. I I I firmly believe in that. And, and and once you do that, then then you're well on your way.

Shane Mercer [00:52:19]:

I I I wanna ask you, Spanky. What are you hoping to learn moving forward? What areas are you sort of focusing on developing your craft? You know, where are you hoping to get your future edges as we as, you know, we sort of move forward and and, you know, technology advances and all those things? You know, you've you've been in this game a long time, but you still have a fair amount of time in front of you. So so where are you hoping to grow?

Spanky [00:52:46]:

Well, I'm always looking to align myself with smart people. So my networking wise, I'm always looking to network and meet some of the smart people. A lot of the younger guys, younger generation, I wanna meet. Always trying to find more routes. That's always an important thing to grow because, again, without outs, that that's something that I can't can't operate. And, and then at the same time, I I I want to, for me now with the American Bettors voice, I kinda wanna learn now a lot more about the other side of the counter and what's happening and and how I can see things from the bookmaker standpoint and learn what their what what what what challenges they face for me to kind of understand their decisions and how, you know, we can make those decisions aligned for both the the player and the operator. And for me to do that, I need to understand more of of of the operator standpoint and and and and just learn what it's like to, you know, to run an opera a book making operation. I don't know that.

Spanky [00:53:53]:

I only know how to run my own. You know, I have I sat in book making offices in Costa Rica many times, of course. But how is it to run this in a regulated environment where there's additional costs, where there's a lot of things that, you know, are not as factored in? So, and this is an important thing for me to kinda grow in my knowledge and, and, you know, just just again, socialize and and and and and you never know. Like, go I always go into Beth Bash or go into any meeting with an open mind. I have no idea what to expect sometimes, but I always go there, you know, hoping that this is gonna be the best meeting I've ever had in my life. And and that's what you gotta go in. Always go with an open mind and and never, you know, assume that, that this is not gonna be productive. Because most of the times, your most meetings, you guys will both know.

Spanky [00:54:44]:

I'm sure you you know, had a lot of most of them most meetings are not productive or you don't, but you try to pick out a a silver lining in every dark cloud and you try to find and figure something out to kind of advance your you yourself forward, whether that be your business or whether you could advance you personally forward. And and that's just a part of life, you know, no matter what you do, not just in sports betting, but in everything.

Shane Mercer [00:55:09]:

I want I gotta ask since we're inplayLIVE. Do you do any live betting? I know that, you know, everything you sort of references is a lot of pregame. But, do you do any live betting? And if so, what do you like to bet on live?

Spanky [00:55:20]:

No. So it's it's, it's funny you say that. I, you know, I come up in, like, 99, 2000 where live really wasn't wasn't a thing back then. And and I always say and and, you know, I could you know, I'm I I don't I no longer do any of the betting as much as, you know, myself. You know, you know, I have my I'm I'm not as betting. My you know, I have a staff. I have an office and stuff, so we're betting that, but I'm not really choosing the bets. My staff does a lot of the work, but when it comes to, the, in the live betting, I I if I would've done that, I probably would've lost maybe 10 years on my life just because of the stress involved.

Spanky [00:56:01]:

It's just a different beast. You know, I I lines are moving way too fast for me. I listen. I I I commend you guys for the edge that you have betting live. And that's great. And that's an a way to a great way to make money betting sports. It just never was my thing. Do I bet half times? Absolutely.

Spanky [00:56:21]:

And I guess that's a sort of a live thing, you know, a moment in time. Always bet halftime's coming up because that was that was a thing back then. But betting live live, you know, no. I haven't. And, and even betting half time is very stressful, at one point. So it's just it's it's just one of those things in which our plate is pretty full as it is. Do we wanna put more on it? Eventually, we will. We might wanna factor in life.

Spanky [00:56:50]:

Like, people say, do you bet soccer? And the answer is no. Do we want to? Sure. But a lot of the soccer movement happens at 3, 4 AM EST, and, you know, my staff are not zombies. They have to sleep. You know what I mean? So we just can't put it all in and fit it all in. We want to, but we just can't. So, you know, with the current schedule as it is now, you know, we're pretty much in college, you know, from August through March. That's when we're working the hardest.

Spanky [00:57:18]:

And then this is the time of year where my staff kinda takes it easy, relaxes, don't doesn't do too much bedding. And and that's how, you know, we're able to have a little to enjoy the longevity that we've had just because we just can't be you know, that's a beautiful thing about betting. You know, you you don't have to as a bookmaker, you have to service everybody all year round. As a bettor, I get to choose, you know, which games I wanna bet, when to take off, and when I don't wanna take off. So

Shane Mercer [00:57:47]:

Yeah. You you get to choose the time of years you work. You get to choose where you work. Now you've chosen New Jersey, and I know that's where you're from. Is that why you you've chosen to to live in New Jersey?

Spanky [00:57:57]:

Yes

Shane Mercer [00:57:58]:

Ya. That that's why. So do you feel like you would have better edges anywhere else?

Spanky [00:58:04]:

You know, mostly most of them primarily, most of our actions offshore anyway, so it doesn't matter where I am. But, you know, and I've been doing this for 20 years before this regulated shit happened. So yeah. So New Jersey is just where I'm at. That's where I live, and, you know, that's where my staff lives, you know, and then, you know, my office is 5 minutes from me, 5 minutes from Chinese mics, my whole trading staff. So we're just close. We wanna be close to the office, and and it's just a convenience thing. Luckily, so does have it that New Jersey also has several regulated sportsbooks that we can play into.

Spanky [00:58:38]:

Yeah. You know what I mean? That was just by chance. But, you know, I don't know if that will it's not like you know, most of the regulated sportsbooks still don't accept me anyway, so that didn't matter. You know what I mean? And, we're, we're just doing our thing here, and, you know, I I I was born and raised in Jersey, so I don't see myself leaving anytime soon.

Shane Mercer [00:58:59]:

Well, we've got a pretty big, Jersey contingent at inplayLIVE, and and perhaps, you know, at some point, you'll get a chance to meet some of those guys and you guys could connect really well.

Spanky [00:59:07]:

Would love to.

Shane Mercer [00:59:09]:

Yeah. Well, Spank, it's been great having you here on the show. If people wanna connect with you, they wanna chat with you, hit you up, or how can they reach you?

Spanky [00:59:19]:

They could I'm at Spanky on Twitter, but I don't really, check my messages, you know, to be honest. I have thousands of unread messages. I don't wanna put anybody, you know, the wrong way. If you wanna, you know, if you wanna reach out to my betting point, my my my colleague, Chinese Mike, he's Chinese Mike 2 on Twitter, the number 2. Also, Spank Odds, if you guys I guess, if you wanna check out my soft force, spankodds.com, and and then we'll see you at BetBash. I try to make sure that I meet everybody that comes to BetBash and, you know, shake their hand and kinda give a personal touch to it. So, looking forward. Are you coming, Shane, or you can't make it this year?

Shane Mercer [01:00:05]:

Yeah. Unfortunately, I don't I don't think I'm gonna be able to make it, it. But, Pace is, his partner, Rodge, will be there. And, hopefully, I can I can mark it on the calendar for next year and make sure I plan it out nicely?

Spanky [01:00:16]:

No problem. Looking forward to it. Yeah. I think it'll be a good time, and, yeah, I, I look forward to, I I thank you guys for sponsoring our event. You guys have made a big good name for yourself at inplayLIVE. So I I I commend you for that, and I look forward, for you to come out and enjoy yourselves, stadium swim. It's gonna be a 110 degrees or whatever it is.

Spanky [01:00:42]:

So the good thing is is that dry desert heat, you jump in a pool, you get out, you're, like, dry within 30 seconds As you guys know probably if you were chilling already there, so that's the one good thing about it. And we got open bar to the food. We got a nice spread at the at the stadium swim, so that's good. And if you ever wanna cool down, we got the same exact spread going on in the sports book as well. So if you're if you're not about so both you know, they're both gonna be great events, and I'm looking forward to, to catching up with you guys and then having a good time.

Shane Mercer [01:01:15]:

Awesome. Well, Spanky in a Speedo, I think, is worth the price of admission alone for anybody out there that's on the fence about going. That that sounds like reason enough to go.

Spanky [01:01:24]:

I love it. Love it, bro.

Shane Mercer [01:01:26]:

Alright. Spanky, been been great chatting with you. Pace is always a a lot of fun. Any parting words, Pace? But before we take off here?

Andrew Pace [01:01:32]:

Just just if you guys want more spanky, the Be Better Bettor's podcast is one that you could all always follow along for as well.

Shane Mercer [01:01:39]:

Yeah. Yeah. Great great content over there. Alright. Spanky, pace, and to everybody betting on sports around the world till next week, keep beating those books, guys.

Spanky [01:01:49]:

Thank you.

Shane Mercer [01:01:50]:

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Behind the Lines. Remember to like, download, and subscribe. We are on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, and everywhere you get your podcasts. Have a betting story or wanna be featured on our podcast? Drop a note in the comments below. And if you wanna join inplayLIVE, use promo code 'BEHINDTHELINES'.