After two weeks of anticipation, Super Bowl 55 is finally here as the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs will take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Florida.
Watch Super Bowl Online
Watch Super Bowl Online
Every aspect of Super Sunday will be analyzed in great detail, from the national anthem to the halftime show to the television commercials that will run during the game. The two teams met on this same field during the regular season, with the Chiefs holding on for a 27-24 victory. This time, the stakes are much higher, with the Lombardi Trophy on the line, as well as potential bragging rights in the battle between generational quarterbacks in Tom Brady of the Buccaneers and Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs.
Since the game is being played as the COVID-19 continues to rage across the country, both teams will have travel plans and logistical processes unique to this season. Attendance will be limited to 25,000 fans, 7,500 of which will be vaccinated healthcare workers. USA TODAY Sports will have live coverage of the game and all the happenings from Tampa, and we've also answered some key questions about the matchup for anyone looking for last-minute information:
How to watch Super Bowl 2021 from outside your country If you find yourself away from home for whatever reason and want to watch your regular Super Bowl coverage from abroad, then you'll need to use a VPN. This will help you access streaming services and channels back in your country of residence, helping you avoid geo-blocks so you can watch your preferred coverage from anywhere - and giving you an extra layer of online security for good measure. We’ve tested hundreds of VPNs and can recommend ExpressVPN as the very best VPN currently available as, based on our latest February 2021 testing, it's currently working well with nearly all the major streaming platforms that will allow you watch Super Bowl LV free online this weekend, as well as those of most pay TV providers and subscription-only services. ExpressVPN - get the world's best VPN We've put all the major VPNs through their paces and we rate ExpressVPN as our top pick, thanks to its speed, ease of use and strong security features. It's also compatible with just about any streaming device out there, including Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox and PlayStation, as well as Android and Apple mobiles. Sign up for an annual plan now and get an extra 3 months absolutely FREE. And if you change your mind within the first 30 days, let them know and they'll give you your money back without a quibble. Once you've chosen and installed your VPN of choice, simply open the service's corresponding app, hit 'choose location', select the appropriate country and you'll be able to watch the broadcast as if you were back at home. - Try ExpressVPN 100% risk-free for 30 days Why use a VPN to watch Super Bowl online? Even though the game is free in so many countries, there are loads of reasons why you might still want to use a VPN for the big game. Here are some of the most common reasons. Watch the complete CBS Super Bowl experience, including the famous US Super Bowl commercials - typically missing from international broadcasts Access commentary in your native language - or simply your preferred team of pundits Try a VPN 100% risk free for Super Bowl - an easy game to access in many places - to see if the service is right for you in the bigger picture Add an extra layer of cyber security to your device if you're concerned about your privacy - or regularly complete financial transactions online like shopping or banking Super Bowl offers a great chance to save big on VPNs - here are the best Super Bowl VPN deals right now super bowl live stream How to watch Super Bowl 20021: live stream Chiefs vs Buccaneers in the US for free Watching the Super Bowl couldn't be easier in the US, as CBS is your one-stop-shop for a Chiefs vs Buccaneers live stream on Sunday, February 7, when kick-off is set for 6.30pm ET/3.30pm PT (5.30pm CT) but coverage will be running all day long. Anyone with the channel as part of their cable package will therefore be able to tune-in at no extra cost on the CBS website. It also means there are two great options to watch all the action without cable. First, CBS has its own standalone streaming service, CBS All Access, which costs just $5.99 a month - and there's even a FREE CBS All Access trial that means you'll be able to watch Super Bowl LV without paying a penny, if you play your cards right. In fact, CBS is opening the floodgates to its broadcast on its CBS Sports website, so anyone located in the US can get a 100% free Super Bowl LV live stream either in their browser or via the CBS Sports app. Additionally, CBS is available as part of FuboTV, an end-to-end cable replacement service that normally costs from $64.99 a month - but offers an equally attractive FREE FuboTV trial so you can see if it's right for you and catch the big game without dropping a dime yet again. It's one of many great value over-the-top streaming services available to Americans looking for a more affordable alternative to cable. When it comes to Super Bowl, YouTube TV also offers CBS for total coverage of the game - and we've got a complete guide as well as more additional information about watching with CBS All Access. Watching the Super Bowl on YouTubeTV watching the Super Bowl on CBS All Access watch super bowl live stream 2021 uk How to watch a FREE Super Bowl live stream in the UK this Sunday UK-based American football fans are well covered when it comes to the NFL - and are especially lucky when it comes watch a Buccaneers vs Chiefs live stream of Super Bowl 55, as the BBC will be airing the game 100% FREE! This means that anyone located in the UK can get a free Super Bowl LV live stream by using the BBC's iPlayer streaming service, which doesn't cost a penny (though you should, of course, be in possession of a valid UK TV license). Sky will also be showing Super Bowl 55 in 2021, and for anyone who already subscribes to it and has one of its Sky Sports packages, it's another great option. If you prefer Sky Sports' NFL coverage, you can also get it contract-free courtesy of the broadcaster's Now TV offshoot. But before you sign up for anything, just remember you can also watch Super Bowl free in the UK with the BBC! Kick-off time for Super LV has been confirmed and it's a11.30pm GMT UK start time. Outside of the UK? British residents out of the country for Super Bowl LV can catch the big game just the would at home with the help of a quality VPN as per our guide above. FAQ: can I watch Super Bowl in 4K HDR? watch super bowl free live stream ireland How to watch a Super Bowl 2021 live stream in Ireland NFL fans in Ireland have two options for watching Super Bowl LV this Sunday - and they're the same as they are in the UK. Both Sky Sports and the BBC have coverage of the big game, but unlike in the UK mainland and Northern Ireland, the BBC isn't a free-to-air terrestrial channel in Eire. Instead, it only comes as part of pay TV packages like those offered by Virgin and Sky - and worst of all, iPlayer is geo-blocked in the Republic so you can't get a free Super Bowl live stream online, either. Or can you? If you don't have Sky (where coverage starts at 10pm IST on Sky Sports NFL) or want to get one of its Now TV passes to catch the big game, we recommend anyone abroad in Ireland give serious consideration to trying out our No. 1 overall VPN This will help you hop the digital border you need to regain iPlayer access and is working well with the service as of our latest 2021 testing. super bowl live stream 2021 canada How to watch a Super Bowl 55 live stream in Canada on Sunday Canadian NFL fans are some of the the luckiest in the world, as streaming service DAZN is offering comprehensive coverage of the 2020/21 season, right through the playoffs and Super Bowl LV, with its great value DAZN packages. It's an absolute bargain as just CA$20 a month or $150 a year, especially when you consider that you get not only NFL Game Pass access complete with RedZone, but also that DAZN's the exclusive Canadian streaming home of Premier League and Champions League soccer! It comes with support for iOS, Android, Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Roku, Xbox One, PS4, and laptop/PC streaming (including Mac devices). And if you've never used it before, you can try it for free by taking advantage of a FREE 1-month trial, too. Canadians will also find that Super Bowl LV is being televised by national broadcasters TSN and CTV. watch super bowl live stream 2021 australia How to watch a free Super Bowl LV live stream in Australia If you live in Australia and want to watch the NFL this season, you have several options to do so. Foxtel is home to the sport Down Under and is showing the big game on ESPN this year. This means anyone on-the-go will be able to stream all the action from Raymond James Stadium on laptops and mobile devices using the Foxtel Go app - just log-in with your Foxtel ID. if you don't have Foxtel as part of a pay TV package, Kayo Sports almost always gets all the biggest events Foxtel enjoys. The streaming service has a Basic and a Premium plan with the difference being you can watch on two devices with the Basic plan for $25 per month and on three devices with the Premium plan for $35 per month. The best news? Both plans come with a FREE 14-day trial! But the best way to watch Super Bowl free in Australia for most people comes courtesy of the Seven Network and more specifically its 7mate channel, where you can watch Super Bowl 2021 for nothing, both on TV or online, without having to sign up and then cancel anything. The big game kicks off Down Under at 10.30am AEDT on the morning of Monday, February 8, 2021 - check your local TV listings to see when build-up coverage starts on your preferred channel or service. Outside of Australia? All you need is a good VPN and to follow our instructions above and you can stream just like you would in Oz, only from anywhere in the world. Our latest 2021 testing reveals that our No.1 pick, ExpressVPN, is currently working with Kayo Sports and 7mate. super bowl live stream mexico Super Bowl live stream 2021: how to watch Super Bowl LV online in Mexico The NFL has been making a real push south of the border, with Mexico City normally hosting a selected NFL game each season. It follows that the sport is huge there, so you've got a variety of TV options to watch Super Bowl in Mexico. These include ESPN, Fox Sports, Televisa and TV Azteca.. Of these, our basic Spanish tells us that for anyone after a FREE Super Bowl live stream in Mexico should be able to find what they're looking for courtesy of Azteca 7, which can be watched in a browser online, or via the appropriate TV Azteca app. Not in Mexico? Don't miss the passion of your local commentary just because you're abroad - instead, try using a VPN to access you favorite Super Bowl coverage wherever you are in the world this Sunday. watch super bowl germany How to watch Super Bowl free online in Germany: 2021 live stream details Germany boasted five NFL Europe teams at one point, so it's little surprise that American football is huge in the European nation. Its popularity means that German fans can watch Super Bowl LV free on terrestrial channel ProSieban - either on TV or on the network's online streaming platform. Not in Germany? You can tune in to your local coverage from abroad simply by adding a VPN to your software roster and following our guide above. super bowl (Image credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) All you need to know about Super Bowl LV in 2021 The 2021 Super Bowl takes place on Sunday, February 7 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida. The 65,000+ capacity stadium will welcome a limited number of fans to the game as the US continues to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the league now having confirmed that around 20,000 will be in attendance at Super Bowl LV, with a number of tickets reserved for key workers. The start time for Super Bowl LV is set for 6.30pm ET/3.30pm PT (5.30pm CT) in the US. Globally, that means the Super Bowl time is: Australia Super Bowl time: 10.30am AEDT (Monday, February 8) India Super Bowl time: 5am IST (Monday, February 8) Japan Super Bowl time: 8.30am JST (Monday, February 8) Germany and Europe Super Bowl time: 12.30am CET (Monday, February 8) Mexico Super Bowl time: 5.30pm CST New Zealand Super Bowl time: 12.30pm NZST (Monday February 8) South Korea Super Bowl time: 8.30am KST (Monday, February 8) UK and Ireland Super Bowl time: 11.30pm GMT Where is the Super Bowl on TV? America's three main broadcasters - CBS, Fox, and NBC - alternate rights to air the Super Bowl each year. In 2021, it's the turn of CBS to air Super Bowl LV. As per our guide above, if you don't have it on cable, then it has a dedicated streaming-only platform, CBS All Access, that will sort you out in time for the big game. Folks in the UK arguably have it best, though, as the Super Bowl is 100% FREE to watch on the BBC and its companion iPlayer streaming service. Provided you're located in the UK (and you should also be in possession of a valid TV license), registration takes just a few seconds and only asks for basic details like a working email address. Anyone in either country can also access their usual streaming service to watch Super Bowl 2021, no matter where they are in the world. With a top-quality VPN in your huddle, you can simply relocate your IP address back home and enjoy the big like you normally would from the comfort of your living room. New TV for the big game? See our roundup of the best Super Bowl TV sales When does Super Bowl pre-game coverage start on Sunday? Don't think about doing anything else on Super Bowl Sunday, because CBS is on-air live from Raymond James Stadium from 11.30am ET/8.30am PT, making for a whopping seven hours of Super Bowl pre-game coverage on the channel. Super Bowl 2021: full schedule and TV guide While Covid has forced the NFL to make a number of changes to the usual Super Bowl Week schedule in 2021, most of the usual events and formalities are going ahead in one way or another. Super Bowl Media Day, for instance, became Super Bowl Opening Night on Monday, February 1 and saw select players interviewed over Zoom - not the usual circus that ensues at the start of the week. Here's a complete Super Bowl 2021 TV schedule for the big weekend: Saturday, February 6: NFL Honors 2021 at 9pm ET/PT on CBS Sunday, February 7: Super Bowl LV pre-game coverage from 11.30am ET/8.30am PT on CBS Sunday, February 7: Puppy Bowl XVII from 1pm ET/10am PT (2pm/11am paw-off) on Animal Planet US Sunday, February 7: Kitten Bowl VII at 2pm ET/11am PT on Hallmark Channel Sunday, February 7: Miley Cyrus presents TikTok Tailgate concert at 3pm on TikTok and CBS watch puppy bowl 2021 live stream (Image credit: Animal Planet/Discovery+) How to watch a Puppy Bowl 2021 live stream - and what is the Puppy Bowl? Super Bowl build-up wouldn't be the same without the Puppy Bowl, a pawsome pre-game tradition now in its 16th year - so we're on Puppy Bowl XVII, officially. It sees 70 adorable pups compete in a two-hour long event pitting Team Ruff vs Team Fluff. The event is co-hosted and the teams 'coached' by two of America's least likely BFFs, Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart. A one-hour long pre-game show will recap the highlights of Puppy Bowls past from 1pm ET/10am PT, while the game itself 'kicks-off' at 2pm ET/11am PT. TV coverage is on Animal Planet, which if you don't have via cable, can be streamed using either the Discovery+ platform (from $4.99 a month, 7-day free trial) or an over-the-top cable replacement service like FuboTV (from $64.99 a month, 7-day free trial). The reason the Puppy Bowl has captured the nation's imagination is that in addition to being so darn cute, it also features adoptable dogs from shelters all over the country, so if you get tired of the usual talking heads pre-game coverage, be sure to tune in! Sadly, the Puppy Bowl doesn't seem to be available internationally, even in countries like the UK where Animal Planet is available. But anyone from the US currently abroad needn't worry as they can try our No. 1 rated VPN 100% risk-free for 30-days and tune in just like they would at home. super bowl 2021 live stream half time show the weeknd (Image credit: Michael Kovac/FilmMagic) Super Bowl 2021 Halftime Show: who's performing at Super Bowl LV? Following in the footsteps of a sensational performance by Shakira and J-Lo last year that was watched by some 104 million people (and received over 1,300 complaints), The Weeknd has been confirmed to headline the 2021 Super Bowl halftime how. It's expected to go down as the longest halftime show ever at 24 minutes, with Jay-Z and Roc Nation responsible for production of this year's entertainment. For more details, check out our full guide to the 2021 Super Bowl halftime show. Super Bowl 2021 odds and predictions The Kansas City Chiefs are currently installed as the heavy favorites to lift the Lombardi trophy for a second straight season. With arguably the league's most gifted QB in Patrick Mahomes under center, its best TE in Travis Kelce menacing opposing defences, and deadly skill players like Tyreek Hill able to break out for a big play at any time...it's easy to see why. The Bucs are the underdogs, having emerged from the NFC Wild Card picture with big wins over the Saints and Packers to get this far - and few would put another upset past them with GOAT Tom Brady under center. The combination of home field advantage and Brady being Brady somewhat mitigates Tampa's otherwise heavy underdog status, even if the 22,000 fans expected to attended is well below the normal 65,000+ capacity of Ray Jay. Still, while Tampa are a team brimming with the kind of confidence you get when you're led by TB12, most pundits are joining Vegas and the bookmakers in predicting a Chiefs win - though most have it down to be a close game that's likely to come down to the final possession.

Team has been involved in a substantial number of the digital media, sports, entertainment, leisure and gaming industries’ most significant merger and acquisition transactions, holding key positions at, and transacting with Scientific Games Corp, Inspired Gaming Group, FOX Bets, Ocean Casino Resort, Resorts International Holdings, PokerStars, DraftKings, Mohegan Sun, Caesars Entertainment Corporation, Harrah’s Entertainment, Tropicana Entertainment, Inc., TSG/Sky Betting & Gaming, Facebook, Inc, Wynn Resorts, Dubai World/MGM Resorts
Here's all the Bios. These guys are stellar! TEKK closed at $10.30 today. Still cheap!
If you don't like to read... you don't like to make money!!!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matthew Davey — Chief Executive Officer and Director
Mr. Davey has over 25 years of experience within the digital media, sports, entertainment, leisure and gaming ecosystems, as well as experience in the public sector. He is an experienced public company executive officer and board member. He has served in executive management positions across the gaming technology arena. Over the course of Mr. Davey’s career, he oversaw more than ten mergers and acquisitions and over $1.2 billion in debt and equity capital raised to support the companies he has led.
Most recently, Mr. Davey was Chief Executive Officer of SG Digital, the Digital Division of Scientific Games Corp. (“Scientific Games”) (Nasdaq: SGMS). SG Digital was established following the purchase by Scientific Games of NYX Gaming Group Limited (“NYX”) (formerly TSXV: NYX), where Mr. Davey served as Chief Executive Officer and Director. The NYX acquisition provided Scientific Games with a vehicle to significantly accelerate the scale and breadth of its existing digital gaming business, including the strategic expansion into sports betting. In his capacity as Chief Executive Officer of NYX, Mr. Davey developed and implemented a corporate strategy that generated strong revenue growth. Mr. Davey shaped company strategy to focus on digital gaming supplier platforms and content that provided various gaming operators with the underlying gaming and sports betting systems for their online gaming business. In 2014, Mr. Davey oversaw the initial public offering of NYX, and his experience in the digital media, sports, entertainment, leisure and gaming industries helped NYX recognize momentum as a public company. After the public offering, from 2014 to 2018, Mr. Davey oversaw seven acquisitions which helped establish NYX as one of the fastest growing global B2B real-money digital gaming and sports betting platforms. These acquisitions included:
• OpenBet: In 2016, NYX completed the $385 million acquisition of OpenBet. This was one of the more complex and transformative acquisitions that Mr. Davey oversaw at NYX. Through securing co-investments from William Hill (LSE: WMH), Sky Betting & Gaming and The Stars Group (formerly Nasdaq: TSG, TSX: TSGI), Mr. Davey was able to get the acquisition from Vitruvian Partners completed successfully, winning the deal against much larger and well capitalized competitors. By combining two established and proven B2B betting and gaming suppliers, NYX was well positioned to provide customers with exciting player-driven solutions across all major product verticals and distribution channels. This allowed NYX to become the leading B2B omni-channel sportsbook platform in the market and the supplier to over 300 gaming operators globally with an extensive library of desktop and mobile game titles, including more than 700 on NYX platforms and more than 2,000 on the OpenBet platform.
• Cryptologic/Chartwell: In 2015, NYX completed the $119 million acquisition of Cryptologic and Chartwell. The acquisition provided NYX with more than 400 titles of additional leading gaming content, a broader customer base, and direct exposure to PokerStars and Intercasino, part of the Gamesys Group (LSE: GYS) — two of the world’s largest online casino offerings.
• OnGame: In 2014, NYX completed the distressed acquisition of OnGame, a premier poker content, platform and service provider. This acquisition provided NYX with one of the best poker products in the industry, access to several regulated jurisdictions, and a valuable talent pool that was instrumental in the growth of NYX. The addition of OnGame further established a path for NYX to continue its growth in both European and U.S. markets.
These acquisitions, together with meaningful organic growth, increased NYX’s revenue from $24 million in 2014 to $184 million annualized in 2017. During that time, Mr. Davey helped build NYX to have over 200 customers in the global gaming industry and a team of 1,000 employees. Mr. Davey’s success at NYX ultimately led to its sale to Scientific Games for $631 million in 2018.
Mr. Davey joined Next Gen Gaming, the predecessor to NYX, in 2000 as the Vice President of Technology, was appointed as Executive Director in 2003 and named Chief Executive Officer in 2005. Prior to that, he was the Senior Consultant for Access Systems, a company that specializes in the provision of back-end software for licensed online casinos. Prior to joining Access, Mr. Davey worked for the Northern Territory Government specializing in matters pertaining to the internet and e-commerce along with roles in the Department of Racing and Gaming. Mr. Davey received a Bachelor of Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Northern Territory University, Australia (also known as Charles Darwin University).
Robin Chhabra — President
Mr. Chhabra has been at the forefront of corporate acquisition activity within the digital gaming landscape for over a decade. His prior experience includes leading corporate strategy, M&A, and business development at two of the global leaders in the digital gaming industry, The Stars Group (“TSG”) and William Hill, and a leading supplier, Inspired Gaming Group (Nasdaq: INSE). Mr. Chhabra served on the Group Executive Committees of each of these companies. From 2017 to May 2020, Mr. Chhabra served as Chief Corporate Development Officer at TSG and, from 2019 to August 2020, he also served as the Chief Executive Officer of Fox Bet, a leading U.S. online gaming business which is the product of a landmark partnership between TSG and FOX Sports, a transaction which he led. During that period, Mr. Chhabra led several transactions which transformed TSG into the largest publicly listed online gambling operator in the world by both revenue and market capitalization and one of the most diversified from a product and geographic perspective with revenues of over $2.5 billion. Mr. Chhabra’s M&A experience is extensive and covers multiple global geographies across the digital gaming value chain and includes the following:
• TSG/Flutter Entertainment Merger: In 2019, Mr. Chhabra led the TSG M&A team that was responsible for TSG’s $12.2 billion merger with Flutter Entertainment (LSE: FLTR). The merger between TSG and Flutter Entertainment is the largest transaction in the digital gaming industry to date. The combination created the largest publicly listed online gaming company with approximately 13 million active customers and leading product offerings, which include sports betting, online casino, fantasy sports and poker. The combined entity includes some of the world’s most iconic digital gaming brands such as Fanduel, Fox Bet, Sky Bet, PaddyPower, Betfair, PokerStars and SportsBet. TSG/Flutter Entertainment is one of the most geographically diverse digital gaming and media companies with leading positions in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Germany and Georgia.
• TSG/Sky Betting and Gaming (“SBG”): In 2018, Mr. Chhabra led the acquisition of SBG from CVC Capital Partners and Sky plc, Europe’s largest media company, in a transaction valued at $4.7 billion. At the time of the acquisition SBG was the largest mobile gambling operator in the United Kingdom and one of the fastest growing of the major operators having doubled its online market share in three years. The acquisition of SBG provided TSG with (a) greater revenue diversification, significantly enhanced expertise and exposure to sports betting just ahead of the judicial overturn of The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) by the U.S. Supreme Court, (b) a leading position within the United Kingdom, the world’s largest regulated online gaming market, (c) improved products and technology as a result of the addition of SBG’s innovative casino and sports book offerings and a portfolio of popular mobile apps, and (d) expertise in deeply integrating sports betting with leading sports media companies, positioning TSG to create more engaging content, deliver faster growth and decrease customer acquisition costs.
• William Hill (LSE: WMH): At William Hill, from 2010 to 2017, Mr. Chhabra served as Group Director of Strategy and Corporate Development where he led several transactions which contributed to William Hill’s transformation from a land-based gambling operator in the United Kingdom to a leading online-led international business. Mr. Chhabra led William Hill’s entry into the U.S. sports betting and online lottery markets with the acquisition of four businesses, including the simultaneous acquisitions of three U.S. sportsbooks, Cal Neva, American Wagering and Brandywine Bookmaking, in 2011 for an aggregate purchase price of $55 million. These businesses ultimately led William Hill to achieve a leading position in the U.S. sports betting market with a market share of 24% in 2019. Additionally, Mr. Chhabra played a key role in structuring William Hill’s successful joint venture with PlayTech Plc (LSE: PTEC) in 2008. The combined entity created one of the largest online gambling businesses in Europe at the time of its formation and led to William Hill’s buyout of Playtech’s interest for $637 million in 2013. Prior to the transaction, William Hill had struggled in its attempt to establish a strong online gaming platform and a meaningful presence outside the United Kingdom.
Mr. Chhabra has also successfully completed four transactions worth over $1.2 billion in Australia, the world’s second largest regulated online gambling market, and various partnerships in Asia. Additionally, he completed several technology and media related transactions, including William Hill’s investment in NYX, where he worked with Mr. Davey on NYX’s transformational acquisition of OpenBet.
Prior to working in the gaming sector, Mr. Chhabra was an equities analyst and a management consultant. Mr. Chhabra received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Eric Matejevich — Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Matejevich is a seasoned gaming executive with extensive experience in both the online gaming and traditional casino industries. From February to August 2019, he served as Trustee and Interim-Chief Executive Officer of Ocean Casino Resort (“Ocean”) (formerly Revel Casino, which had a construction cost of $2.4 billion) in Atlantic City, where he successfully led the management team through an ownership change and operational turnaround effort. Over the course of seven months, Mr. Matejevich managed to reduce the property’s weekly cash burn of $1.5 million to an annualized cash flow run rate in excess of $20 million.
Prior to Ocean, from 2016 to 2018, Mr. Matejevich served as the Chief Financial Officer of NYX. At NYX, he focused his efforts on integrating the company’s many acquisitions and multiple debt refinancings to simplify its capital structure and provided liquidity for growth initiatives. Additionally, Mr. Matejevich was instrumental to the executive team that sold NYX to Scientific Games for $631 million.
Prior to NYX, from 2004 to 2014, Mr. Matejevich was the Chief Financial Officer of Resorts International Holdings and later, from 2011, also the Chief Operating Officer of the Atlantic Club Casino, a property under the Resorts International Holdings umbrella — a Colony Capital (NYSE: CLNY) entity. As Chief Financial Officer, he provided managerial oversight for all finance functions for a six-property casino company with annual gaming revenue exceeding $1.3 billion, 10,000 gaming positions, 7,000 hotel rooms and over 11,000 staff members during his tenure. Mr. Matejevich led the transition effort to integrate a four-casino, $1.3 billion acquisition from Harrah’s Entertainment and Caesars Entertainment (Nasdaq: CZR). As Chief Operating Officer of Atlantic Club, he lobbied for and was successful in obtaining the first internet gaming legislation passed in the United States. The Atlantic Club was the sole New Jersey casino proponent of the legislation.
Prior to serving in various gaming positions, Mr. Matejevich was a Vice President of High Yield Research for Merrill Lynch, where he managed the corporate bond research effort for the gaming and leisure sectors and marketed high yield and other debt transactions totaling $4.8 billion. Mr. Matejevich received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from The College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.
Our Board of Directors
Morris Bailey — Chairman
Over the past 10 years, Mr. Bailey has been a leader in turning around Atlantic City, as well as being among the first gaming executives to embrace online gaming and sports betting in the United States. In his efforts, Mr. Bailey partnered with two of the largest digital gaming companies in the world, PokerStars, part of the Stars Group, and DraftKings (Nasdaq: DKNG). In 2010, Mr. Bailey bought Resorts Atlantic City (“Resorts”) and initiated a comprehensive renovation which allowed for the property to be rebranded and repositioned. In 2012, Mr. Bailey signed an agreement with Mohegan Sun to manage the day-to-day operations of the casino. In addition to Mohegan Sun’s operational expertise and ability to reduce costs via economies of scale, Resorts gained access to their robust customer database. Soon thereafter, Mr. Bailey and his team focused on bringing online gaming to the property. In 2015, Resorts established a platform to engage in online gaming by partnering with PokerStars, now part of the $24 billion Flutter Entertainment, PLC (LSE: FLTR), to operate an online poker room in Atlantic City. In 2018, Resorts announced deals with DraftKings and SBTech to open a sportsbook on-property and online. For 2020 year-to-date, Resorts has performed in the top quartile in internet gross gaming revenue in New Jersey. Mr. Bailey’s efforts in New Jersey helped set the framework for expansion of online sports and gaming throughout the United States.
In addition to his gaming interests, Mr. Bailey has over 50 years of experience in all facets of real estate development, asset M&A, capital markets and operations and is the founder, Chief Executive Officer and Principal of JEMB Realty, a leading real estate development, investment and management organization. Mr. Bailey has notable investment experience within the energy, finance and telecommunications sectors through investments in the Astoria Energy Plant, Basis Investment Group and Xentris Wireless.
Tony Rodio — Director Nominee
Mr. Rodio has nearly four decades of experience in the gaming industry. Most recently, Mr. Rodio served as the Chief Executive Officer and director of Caesars Entertainment Corporation (“Caesars”) (Nasdaq: CZR), one of the world’s most diversified casino-entertainment providers and the most geographically diverse U.S. casino-entertainment company, from April 2019 until its acquisition by Eldorado Resorts, Inc. in July 2020. Mr. Rodio led Caesars through its $17.3 billion merger with Eldorado Resorts, one of the largest transactions in the gaming industry to date. Additionally, Mr. Rodio was instrumental to Caesars’ expansion into the digital gaming industry and oversaw the implementation of new digital segments such as its Scientific Games powered retail sportsbook solution that now operates in various states throughout the U.S. From October 2018 to May 2019, Mr. Rodio served as Chief Executive Officer of Affinity Gaming. Prior to Affinity Gaming, he served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Tropicana Entertainment, Inc. (“Tropicana”) for over seven years, where he was responsible for the operation of eight casino properties in seven different jurisdictions. During his time at Tropicana, Mr. Rodio oversaw a period of unprecedented growth at the company, improving overall financial results with net revenue that increased more than 50% driven by both operational improvements and expansion across regional markets. Mr. Rodio led major capital projects, including the complete renovation of Tropicana Atlantic City and Tropicana’s move to land-based operations in Evansville, Indiana. Each of these initiatives, among others, generated substantial value for Tropicana. Ultimately, Mr. Rodio’s efforts at Tropicana led to its sale to Eldorado Resorts in 2018 for $1.85 billion. Prior to Tropicana, Mr. Rodio held a succession of executive positions in Atlantic City for casino brands, including Trump Marina Hotel Casino, Harrah’s Entertainment (predecessor to Caesars), the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort and Penn National Gaming. He has also served as a director of several professional and charitable organizations, including Atlantic City Alliance, United Way of Atlantic County, the Casino Associations of New Jersey and Indiana, AtlantiCare Charitable Foundation and the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming Hospitality & Tourism. Mr. Rodio brings extensive knowledge of and experience in the gaming industry, operational expertise, and a demonstrated ability to effectively design and implement company strategy. Mr. Rodio received a Bachelor of Science from Rider University and a Master of Business Administration from Monmouth University.
Marlon Goldstein — Director Nominee
Mr. Goldstein is a licensed attorney with nearly 20 years of experience in the gaming space. He joined The Stars Group (Nasdaq: TSG)(TSX: TSGI) in January 2014 as its Executive Vice-President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary until his retirement from the company in July 2020 following the merger of TSG with Flutter Entertainment, PLC (LSE: FLTR). Mr. Goldstein also previously served as the Executive Vice-President, Corporate Development and General Counsel of TSG. Mr. Goldstein was also the senior TSG executive based in the United States and was one of the primary architects of TSG’s strategic vision for its U.S.-facing business. During his tenure, TSG grew from an approximately $500 million market-cap company to an approximately $7 billion market-cap company through a combination of organic growth and strategic mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Goldstein participated in numerous M&A transactions and capital markets offerings at TSG, including several transformational transactions in the digital gaming industry. Notable transactions in which Mr. Goldstein was involved include:
• TSG/Flutter Merger: In 2019, TSG merged with Flutter for a $12.2 billion transaction value, the largest transaction in the digital gaming industry to date.
• TSG/Fox Bet Partnership: In 2019, TSG entered into a partnership with FOX Sports to create FOX Bet in the U.S., a leading U.S. online gaming business. Wall Street Research estimates an approximate $1.1 billion valuation for Fox Bet post-partnership with The Stars Group.
• TSG/Sky Betting & Gaming: In 2018, TSG acquired Sky Betting & Gaming, the largest mobile gambling operator in the United Kingdom at the time, for $4.7 billion.
• TSG/CrownBet and William Hill: In 2018, TSG simultaneously acquired CrownBet and William Hill, two Australian operators, for a total of $621 million in a multi-part transaction.
• TSG/PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker: In 2014, TSG acquired The Rational Group, which operated PokerStars and Full Tilt and was the world’s largest poker business, for $4.9 billion.
Through his ability to legally structure large and complex transactions, Mr. Goldstein was integral to TSG’s vision of becoming a full-service online gaming company. Additionally, he assisted in structuring TSG’s capital markets activity, which generated liquidity for acquisitions and strengthened its balance sheet.
Prior to joining TSG, Mr. Goldstein was a principal shareholder in the corporate and securities practice at the international law firm of Greenberg Traurig P.A., where he practiced for almost 13 years. Mr. Goldstein’s practice focused on corporate and securities matters, including mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, and financing transactions. Additionally, Mr. Goldstein was the founder and co-chair of the firm’s Gaming Practice, a multi-disciplinary team of attorneys representing owners, operators and developers of gaming facilities, manufacturers and suppliers of gaming devices, investment banks and lenders in financing transactions, and Indian tribes in the development and financing of gaming facilities.
Mr. Goldstein brings experience and insight that we believe will be valuable to a potential initial business combination target business. Mr. Goldstein received a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in accounting from Emory University and a Juris Doctorate with highest honors from the University of Florida, College of Law.
Sean Ryan — Director Nominee
Mr. Ryan is a digital media and technology operator with extensive global experience in online payments, e-commerce, marketplaces, mobile ad networks, digital games, enterprise collaboration platforms, blockchain, real money gaming and online music. Since 2014, Mr. Ryan has been serving as Vice President of Business Platform Partnerships at Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”) (Nasdaq: FB), where he leads a more than 500 person global organization that manages the Payments, Commerce, Novi/Blockhain, Workplace and Audience Network businesses. Prior to his current role, Mr. Ryan was hired in 2011 as the Director of Games Partnerships to lead and grow the global Games business at Facebook. While the Director of Games Partnerships, Mr. Ryan focused on re-shaping Facebook’s games and monetization strategies to derive more value for Facebook, its users and its partners, including the addition of a Real Money Gaming offering in regulated markets. Mr. Ryan’s team helped accelerate a major trend in engagement through cross-platform games and therefore the opportunity to increase users through establishing games on multiple platforms. Prior to joining Facebook, Mr. Ryan created the new social and mobile games division at News Corp, an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by Rupert Murdoch. While at News Corp, Mr. Ryan led the acquisition of Making Fun, a San Francisco social-game start-up, that created News Corp’s games publishing division.
Before joining News Corp., Mr. Ryan founded multiple digital businesses such as Twofish, Meez, Open Wager and SingShot Media. Mr. Ryan co-founded Twofish in 2009, a virtual goods and services platform that provided developers with data analytics and insights for individual application’s digital economies. Twofish was later sold to online payments provider Live Gamer, where Mr. Ryan served on the board of directors. From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Ryan founded and led Meez.com, a social entertainment service combining avatars, web games and virtual worlds. The white label social casino gaming company Open Wager was spun out of Meez and was later sold to VGW Holdings, Mr. Ryan also co-founded SingShot Media, an online karaoke community, which was sold to Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: EA) and merged into its Sims division.
We believe Mr. Ryan’s experience will be valuable to a potential initial business combination target and would provide an expanded perspective on the digital gaming landscape. Mr. Ryan received a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Tom Roche — Director Nominee
Mr. Roche has more than 40 years of experience in the gaming industry as a regulator, advisor and independent auditor. Mr. Roche joined Ernst & Young (“EY”) as a partner in 2003 and opened its Las Vegas office. He was subsequently appointed as the Office Managing Partner and Global Gaming Industry Market Leader. In 2016, Mr. Roche relocated to the EY Hong Kong office to supervise the expansion of the EY Global Gaming Industry practice in the Asia Pacific region. Mr. Roche has been integral to numerous transactions that have shaped the current gaming landscape, including:
• Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN) initial public offering: Mr. Roche was the lead partner on Wynn Resort’s initial public offering, which raised $450 million in 2002.
• Harrah’s Entertainment/Apollo Management Group & Texas Pacific Group: Mr. Roche headed the regulatory advisory services on the buyout of Harrah’s Entertainment, the world’s largest casino company at the time, for $17.1 billion.
• Dubai World/MGM Resorts: Mr. Roche headed the regulatory and due diligence advisory services to Dubai World in its approximately $5.1 billion investment in MGM. Dubai World bought 28.4 million MGM shares, or 9.5 percent of the casino operator, for $2.4 billion. It then invested $2.7 billion to acquire a 50% stake in MGM’s CityCenter Project, a $7.4 billion 76-acre Las Vegas development of hotels, condos and retail outlets.
• MGM Growth Properties (NYSE: MGP) initial public offering: Mr. Roche provided tax and structural transaction services to MGM Resorts in the creation of MGM Growth Properties, a publicly traded REIT engaged in the acquisition, ownership and leasing of large-scale destination entertainment and leisure resorts. MGM Growth Properties raised $1.05 billion in its 2016 initial public offering.
Mr. Roche also directed EY advisory services to boards and management teams for profit improvement and technology related initiatives. In addition, Mr. Roche provided advisory support to the American Gaming Association on several research projects, including those specifically related to sports betting, the revocation of The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) and anti-money laundering best practices in the gaming industry. Equally, he has assisted government agencies in numerous international locations with enhancing their regulatory approach to governing the industry especially in the online gambling sector.
Prior to joining Ernst & Young, Mr. Roche served as Deloitte’s National Gaming Industry Leader and as the co-head of Andersen’s Gaming Industry Practice in Las Vegas. In 1989, Mr. Roche was appointed by then Governor of the State of Nevada, Robert Miller, to serve as one of three members of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board for a four-year term, where he was directly responsible for the Audit and New Games Lab Divisions. As a board member, he spent a substantial amount of time assisting global jurisdiction regulators enact gaming legislation in the design of their regulatory structure. During his career, Roche has been involved in numerous public and private offerings of equity and debt securities. His background includes providing casino regulatory consulting services to casino licensees and to federal and state agencies including the National Indian Gaming Commission and the Nevada State Gaming Control Board, and industry associations such as the Nevada Resort Association and the American Gaming Association.
We believe Mr. Roche’s highly regarded reputation as a gaming auditor and advisor in the gaming industry will be valuable for us and a potential business combination target. Mr. Roche is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and is licensed by the Nevada State Board of Accountancy and Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Southern California.

Hey everyone! I've been really geeking out on finding problems that I think could be turned into meaningful businesses. I'm sharing all my ideas here if you're interested. Here's what I've been thinking about lately -

Keeping track of betting lines is a pain

“I love sports betting but it’s hard to keep track of the betting odds on all the different betting apps. I’ve created a spreadsheet and do it manually, but I still need to search through all the sites to get the information. I’d definitely pay for something that did this automatically.” - Anonymous sports better seeking a solution.
Market Background/Opportunity Size:
Changes in sports betting law have created amazing entrepreneurial opportunities! It's like the goldrush here given how young this market is and how quickly things are changing in the US.
On May 14, 2018, the United States supreme court ruled the federal law prohibiting states from authorizing sports betting, protection act PASPA, unconstitutional. It is now up to individual states to decide if they want to authorize and regulate sports betting in their state. 18 states have fully legalized sports betting with 4 more passing bills just this year to legalize it (they aren’t operational yet).
Even though less than half of the US has legalized sports betting, the market cap was sitting pretty at $104.41 billion and expected to reach $155.49 billion by 2024 (this is an estimate, it was tough to nail down). This market is much larger if you include other global players like the UK, Australia, etc… who have already legalized sports betting. It’s clear that trends for this industry are going in the right direction and there’s still a strong opportunity for the first-mover advantage to take place.
Major Players:

• Draft Kings
  • Founded in 2012
  • 700 employees
  • Publicly traded
• Fan Duel
  • Founded in 2009
  • 1,000 employees
  • 412.6m raised
• Bet 365
  • Founded in 2000
  • 4,500 employees
  • Bootstrapped (if anyone has more info on this, please share)

Note: there are over 100 sports betting services on the market
The Opportunity:
As mentioned above, there is a huge problem with keeping track of all the different betting lines that exist - resulting in many people (unsuccessfully) using a spreadsheet. Here’s an article that explains why tracking betting lines is important.
The TL;DR is this, placing your bet on a site that has the most favorable odds results in you getting the highest return on that investment. Most people are doing one of these two things:

1. Nothing. Rather than checking to see where they can get the best returns, they are just using their core betting app and taking the odds they are given. Depending on the bet size, that leaves hundreds of dollars on the table.
2. Manually tracking the odds each betting site is offering and compiling the odds in a spreadsheet. This results in a lot of time spent switching between sites and transposing numbers.

Current Solutions:

• Manually tracking betting lines in a spreadsheet or on paper
• Smart Lines
  
  • Founded in 2018
  • 2-10 employees
  • Price: Free
  • Notes: They don’t aggregate betting lines from any of the major bookmakers.
• Action Network
  
  • Founded in 2017
  • 53 employees
  • Price: Free
  • Notes: At their core, Action Network is a sports analysis and media company. One of their features is line tracking across all the major bookmakers but it’s relatively hidden and poorly advertised.

How to Get Your First 10 Customers:

1. Define Your Early Adopter: Your TAM is anyone who participates in sports betting, but I’d focus your efforts on finding people who acutely experience this pain. People who are spending a lot of time and money on sports betting have the most to lose. More specifically, hunt for people who’ve already created solutions to this problem themselves - like those using homegrown spreadsheets.
2. Look for CDIs: When looking for channels to find potential users I ask myself “where do my potential customers hang out?”. In this case, I’d look at online communities like Sports Book and Sports Betting subreddits. By simply asking the question, “How do you track betting lines?” you’ll be able to start conversations with potential users about unmet needs.
3. Create an Online Ad: I’d next test an offer to see if you can acquire potential users to sign up for your service. This can be as simple as creating a landing page (using marketing language from the conversations above) and run a paid ad to your target audience to collect emails.
4. Build a Wizard of Oz Test: Now that you have a list from running the ad above, I’d see if you can monetize it. Contact people and charge a small fee to run a small wizard of oz test - you could manually pull lines based on the bets they're watching and send it to them in a daily email. Or, there’s likely a no-code tool you could use to scrape the data from existing sites and organize it for them.

I can see a freemium model working for this as well, so you may not need to monetize immediately. One great option would be to charge the bookmakers a fee for every bet you send to their platform.
Challenges:

• Is there a problem worth solving? Although this idea logically makes sense, there are flags raised because no company has solved the problem yet. Typically, you can validate some form of demand based on market signals or other competitors, but this seems like a blue ocean (both a good and bad thing). Follow the plan above and you should be able to tell quickly if you’re on the right track.
• Can you build it? The technology to create a product as this exists. That said, it may be difficult to pull data from the major bookmaker’s sites. The fact that Smart Lines doesn’t work with any of the major bookmakers left me scratching my head and wondering why.
• Legal Challenges? Sports betting is highly regulated like most industries that are birthed from law changes. Even being associated with this space is likely going to create some challenges. I'm not an expert in this space, so it's hard to say exactly what legal challenges may arise, but getting accessing other bookmaker's data and facilitating the betting process are two great places to start your investigation.

Additional Opportunities:
There appears to be no shortage of companies trying to become the next big bookmakers. But, there’s plenty of opportunities this burgeoning market has opened up beyond just being a bookie. With this market in its infancy, you can bet (pun 100% intended) that there’s going to be a lot of room to expand your offerings. Whether it be sports betting tips, predictions, tools or even becoming a bookie yourself, there’s money to be made here.
While doing research on this, I found many people are struggling with keeping track of their bets and recording their results. This could be an easy addition to a solution to tracking betting lines. Here’s what some people said -
https://imgur.com/a/aPTXuBd
Thanks for reading everyone! I'll monitor the comments for any questions and stuff - would love feedback.

Hey everyone! I've been really geeking out on finding problems that I think could be turned into meaningful businesses. I do have an ask, but before I do that I'll provide some value first :)

Keeping track of betting lines is a pain

“I love sports betting but it’s hard to keep track of the betting odds on all the different betting apps. I’ve created a spreadsheet and do it manually, but I still need to search through all the sites to get the information. I’d definitely pay for something that did this automatically.” - Anonymous sports better seeking a solution.
Market Background/Opportunity Size:
Changes in sports betting law have created amazing entrepreneurial opportunities! It's like the goldrush here given how young this market is and how quickly things are changing in the US.
On May 14, 2018, the United States supreme court ruled the federal law prohibiting states from authorizing sports betting, protection act PASPA, unconstitutional. It is now up to individual states to decide if they want to authorize and regulate sports betting in their state. 18 states have fully legalized sports betting with 4 more passing bills just this year to legalize it (they aren’t operational yet).
Even though less than half of the US has legalized sports betting, the market cap was sitting pretty at $104.41 billion and expected to reach $155.49 billion by 2024 (this is an estimate, it was tough to nail down). This market is much larger if you include other global players like the UK, Australia, etc… who have already legalized sports betting. It’s clear that trends for this industry are going in the right direction and there’s still a strong opportunity for the first-mover advantage to take place.
Major Players:

• Draft Kings
  • Founded in 2012
  • 700 employees
  • Publicly traded
• Fan Duel
  • Founded in 2009
  • 1,000 employees
  • 412.6m raised
• Bet 365
  • Founded in 2000
  • 4,500 employees
  • Bootstrapped (if anyone has more info on this, please share)

Note: there are over 100 sports betting services on the market
The Opportunity:
As mentioned above, there is a huge problem with keeping track of all the different betting lines that exist - resulting in many people (unsuccessfully) using a spreadsheet. Here’s an article that explains why tracking betting lines is important.
The TL;DR is this, placing your bet on a site that has the most favorable odds results in you getting the highest return on that investment. Most people are doing one of these two things:

1. Nothing. Rather than checking to see where they can get the best returns, they are just using their core betting app and taking the odds they are given. Depending on the bet size, that leaves hundreds of dollars on the table.
2. Manually tracking the odds each betting site is offering and compiling the odds in a spreadsheet. This results in a lot of time spent switching between sites and transposing numbers.

Current Solutions:

• Manually tracking betting lines in a spreadsheet or on paper
• Smart Lines
  • Founded in 2018
  • 2-10 employees
  • Price: Free
  • Notes: They don’t aggregate betting lines from any of the major bookmakers.
• Action Network
  • Founded in 2017
  • 53 employees
  • Price: Free
  • Notes: At their core, Action Network is a sports analysis and media company. One of their features is line tracking across all the major bookmakers but it’s relatively hidden and poorly advertised.

How to Get Your First 10 Customers:

1. Define Your Early Adopter: Your TAM is anyone who participates in sports betting, but I’d focus your efforts on finding people who acutely experience this pain. People who are spending a lot of time and money on sports betting have the most to lose. More specifically, hunt for people who’ve already created solutions to this problem themselves - like those using homegrown spreadsheets.
2. Look for CDIs: When looking for channels to find potential users I ask myself “where do my potential customers hang out?”. In this case, I’d look at online communities like Sports Book and Sports Betting subreddits. By simply asking the question, “How do you track betting lines?” you’ll be able to start conversations with potential users about unmet needs.
3. Create an Online Ad: I’d next test an offer to see if you can acquire potential users to sign up for your service. This can be as simple as creating a landing page (using marketing language from the conversations above) and run a paid ad to your target audience to collect emails.
4. Build a Wizard of Oz Test: Now that you have a list from running the ad above, I’d see if you can monetize it. Contact people and charge a small fee to run a small wizard of oz test - you could manually pull lines based on the bets they're watching and send it to them in a daily email. Or, there’s likely a no-code tool you could use to scrape the data from existing sites and organize it for them.

I can see a freemium model working for this as well, so you may not need to monetize immediately. One great option would be to charge the bookmakers a fee for every bet you send to their platform.
Challenges:

• Is there a problem worth solving? Although this idea logically makes sense, there are flags raised because no company has solved the problem yet. Typically, you can validate some form of demand based on market signals or other competitors, but this seems like a blue ocean (both a good and bad thing). Follow the plan above and you should be able to tell quickly if you’re on the right track.
• Can you build it? The technology to create a product as this exists. That said, it may be difficult to pull data from the major bookmaker’s sites. The fact that Smart Lines doesn’t work with any of the major bookmakers left me scratching my head and wondering why.

Additional Opportunities:
There appears to be no shortage of companies trying to become the next big bookmakers. But, there’s plenty of opportunities this burgeoning market has opened up beyond just being a bookie. With this market in its infancy, you can bet (pun 100% intended) that there’s going to be a lot of room to expand your offerings. Whether it be sports betting tips, predictions, tools or even becoming a bookie yourself, there’s money to be made here.
While doing research on this, I found many people are struggling with keeping track of their bets and recording their results. This could be an easy addition to a solution to tracking betting lines. Here’s what some people said -
https://imgur.com/a/aPTXuBd
Here’s my ask - I’m looking for feedback on whether posts like these are valuable enough to turn into a business. I’d like to send out a vetted problem/idea like this each week if there’s enough interest.
If you would like posts like these each week, please either DM me or reach out to [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). If you reach out, I’ll give you another free problem/idea as thanks for your time!

Hey everyone! I've been really geeking out on finding problems that I think could be turned into meaningful businesses. I do have an ask, but before I do that I'll provide some value first :)

Keeping track of betting lines is a pain

“I love sports betting but it’s hard to keep track of the betting odds on all the different betting apps. I’ve created a spreadsheet and do it manually, but I still need to search through all the sites to get the information. I’d definitely pay for something that did this automatically.” - Anonymous sports better seeking a solution.
Market Background/Opportunity Size:
Changes in sports betting law have created amazing entrepreneurial opportunities! It's like the goldrush here given how young this market is and how quickly things are changing in the US.
On May 14, 2018, the United States supreme court ruled the federal law prohibiting states from authorizing sports betting, protection act PASPA, unconstitutional. It is now up to individual states to decide if they want to authorize and regulate sports betting in their state. 18 states have fully legalized sports betting with 4 more passing bills just this year to legalize it (they aren’t operational yet).
Even though less than half of the US has legalized sports betting, the market cap was sitting pretty at $104.41 billion and expected to reach $155.49 billion by 2024 (this is an estimate, it was tough to nail down). This market is much larger if you include other global players like the UK, Australia, etc… who have already legalized sports betting. It’s clear that trends for this industry are going in the right direction and there’s still a strong opportunity for the first-mover advantage to take place.
Major Players:

• Draft Kings
  • Founded in 2012
  • 700 employees
  • Publicly traded
• Fan Duel
  • Founded in 2009
  • 1,000 employees
  • 412.6m raised
• Bet 365
  • Founded in 2000
  • 4,500 employees
  • Bootstrapped (if anyone has more info on this, please share)

Note: there are over 100 sports betting services on the market
The Opportunity:
As mentioned above, there is a huge problem with keeping track of all the different betting lines that exist - resulting in many people (unsuccessfully) using a spreadsheet. Here’s an article that explains why tracking betting lines is important.
The TL;DR is this, placing your bet on a site that has the most favorable odds results in you getting the highest return on that investment. Most people are doing one of these two things:

1. Nothing. Rather than checking to see where they can get the best returns, they are just using their core betting app and taking the odds they are given. Depending on the bet size, that leaves hundreds of dollars on the table.
2. Manually tracking the odds each betting site is offering and compiling the odds in a spreadsheet. This results in a lot of time spent switching between sites and transposing numbers.

Current Solutions:

• Manually tracking betting lines in a spreadsheet or on paper
• Smart Lines
  • Founded in 2018
  • 2-10 employees
  • Price: Free
  • Notes: They don’t aggregate betting lines from any of the major bookmakers.
• Action Network
  • Founded in 2017
  • 53 employees
  • Price: Free
  • Notes: At their core, Action Network is a sports analysis and media company. One of their features is line tracking across all the major bookmakers but it’s relatively hidden and poorly advertised.

How to Get Your First 10 Customers:

1. Define Your Early Adopter: Your TAM is anyone who participates in sports betting, but I’d focus your efforts on finding people who acutely experience this pain. People who are spending a lot of time and money on sports betting have the most to lose. More specifically, hunt for people who’ve already created solutions to this problem themselves - like those using homegrown spreadsheets.
2. Look for CDIs: When looking for channels to find potential users I ask myself “where do my potential customers hang out?”. In this case, I’d look at online communities like Sports Book and Sports Betting subreddits. By simply asking the question, “How do you track betting lines?” you’ll be able to start conversations with potential users about unmet needs.
3. Create an Online Ad: I’d next test an offer to see if you can acquire potential users to sign up for your service. This can be as simple as creating a landing page (using marketing language from the conversations above) and run a paid ad to your target audience to collect emails.
4. Build a Wizard of Oz Test: Now that you have a list from running the ad above, I’d see if you can monetize it. Contact people and charge a small fee to run a small wizard of oz test - you could manually pull lines based on the bets they're watching and send it to them in a daily email. Or, there’s likely a no-code tool you could use to scrape the data from existing sites and organize it for them.

I can see a freemium model working for this as well, so you may not need to monetize immediately. One great option would be to charge the bookmakers a fee for every bet you send to their platform.
Challenges:

• Is there a problem worth solving? Although this idea logically makes sense, there are flags raised because no company has solved the problem yet. Typically, you can validate some form of demand based on market signals or other competitors, but this seems like a blue ocean (both a good and bad thing). Follow the plan above and you should be able to tell quickly if you’re on the right track.
• Can you build it? The technology to create a product as this exists. That said, it may be difficult to pull data from the major bookmaker’s sites. The fact that Smart Lines doesn’t work with any of the major bookmakers left me scratching my head and wondering why.
• Legal Challenges? Sports betting is highly regulated like most industries that are birthed from law changes. Even being associated with this space is likely going to create some challenges. I'm not an expert in this space, so it's hard to say exactly what legal challenges may arise, but getting accessing other bookmaker's data and facilitating the betting process are two great places to start your investigation.

Additional Opportunities:
There appears to be no shortage of companies trying to become the next big bookmakers. But, there’s plenty of opportunities this burgeoning market has opened up beyond just being a bookie. With this market in its infancy, you can bet (pun 100% intended) that there’s going to be a lot of room to expand your offerings. Whether it be sports betting tips, predictions, tools or even becoming a bookie yourself, there’s money to be made here.
While doing research on this, I found many people are struggling with keeping track of their bets and recording their results. This could be an easy addition to a solution to tracking betting lines. Here’s what some people said -
https://imgur.com/a/aPTXuBd
Here’s my ask - I’m looking for feedback on whether posts like these are valuable enough to turn into a business. I’d like to send out a vetted problem/idea like this each week if there’s enough interest.
If you would like posts like these each week (and pay a small fee), please either DM me or reach out to [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). If you reach out, I’ll give you another free problem/idea as thanks for your time!

Hey everyone! I've been really geeking out on finding problems that I think could be turned into meaningful businesses. I'm sharing all my ideas here if you're interested. Here's what I've been thinking about lately -

Keeping track of betting lines is a pain

“I love sports betting but it’s hard to keep track of the betting odds on all the different betting apps. I’ve created a spreadsheet and do it manually, but I still need to search through all the sites to get the information. I’d definitely pay for something that did this automatically.” - Anonymous sports better seeking a solution.
Market Background/Opportunity Size:
Changes in sports betting law have created amazing entrepreneurial opportunities! It's like the goldrush here given how young this market is and how quickly things are changing in the US.
On May 14, 2018, the United States supreme court ruled the federal law prohibiting states from authorizing sports betting, protection act PASPA, unconstitutional. It is now up to individual states to decide if they want to authorize and regulate sports betting in their state. 18 states have fully legalized sports betting with 4 more passing bills just this year to legalize it (they aren’t operational yet).
Even though less than half of the US has legalized sports betting, the market cap was sitting pretty at $104.41 billion and expected to reach $155.49 billion by 2024 (this is an estimate, it was tough to nail down). This market is much larger if you include other global players like the UK, Australia, etc… who have already legalized sports betting. It’s clear that trends for this industry are going in the right direction and there’s still a strong opportunity for the first-mover advantage to take place.
Major Players:

• Draft Kings
  • Founded in 2012
  • 700 employees
  • Publicly traded
• Fan Duel
  • Founded in 2009
  • 1,000 employees
  • 412.6m raised
• Bet 365
  • Founded in 2000
  • 4,500 employees
  • Bootstrapped (if anyone has more info on this, please share)

Note: there are over 100 sports betting services on the market
The Opportunity:
As mentioned above, there is a huge problem with keeping track of all the different betting lines that exist - resulting in many people (unsuccessfully) using a spreadsheet. Here’s an article that explains why tracking betting lines is important.
The TL;DR is this, placing your bet on a site that has the most favorable odds results in you getting the highest return on that investment. Most people are doing one of these two things:

1. Nothing. Rather than checking to see where they can get the best returns, they are just using their core betting app and taking the odds they are given. Depending on the bet size, that leaves hundreds of dollars on the table.
2. Manually tracking the odds each betting site is offering and compiling the odds in a spreadsheet. This results in a lot of time spent switching between sites and transposing numbers.

Current Solutions:

• Manually tracking betting lines in a spreadsheet or on paper
• Smart Lines
  • Founded in 2018
  • 2-10 employees
  • Price: Free
  • Notes: They don’t aggregate betting lines from any of the major bookmakers.
• Action Network Founded in 2017
  • 53 employees
  • Price: Free
  • Notes: At their core, Action Network is a sports analysis and media company. One of their features is line tracking across all the major bookmakers but it’s relatively hidden and poorly advertised.

How to Get Your First 10 Customers:

1. Define Your Early Adopter: Your TAM is anyone who participates in sports betting, but I’d focus your efforts on finding people who acutely experience this pain. People who are spending a lot of time and money on sports betting have the most to lose. More specifically, hunt for people who’ve already created solutions to this problem themselves - like those using homegrown spreadsheets.
2. Look for CDIs: When looking for channels to find potential users I ask myself “where do my potential customers hang out?”. In this case, I’d look at online communities like Sports Book and Sports Betting subreddits. By simply asking the question, “How do you track betting lines?” you’ll be able to start conversations with potential users about unmet needs.
3. Create an Online Ad: I’d next test an offer to see if you can acquire potential users to sign up for your service. This can be as simple as creating a landing page (using marketing language from the conversations above) and run a paid ad to your target audience to collect emails.
4. Build a Wizard of Oz Test: Now that you have a list from running the ad above, I’d see if you can monetize it. Contact people and charge a small fee to run a small wizard of oz test - you could manually pull lines based on the bets they're watching and send it to them in a daily email. Or, there’s likely a no-code tool you could use to scrape the data from existing sites and organize it for them.

I can see a freemium model working for this as well, so you may not need to monetize immediately. One great option would be to charge the bookmakers a fee for every bet you send to their platform.
Challenges:

• Is there a problem worth solving? Although this idea logically makes sense, there are flags raised because no company has solved the problem yet. Typically, you can validate some form of demand based on market signals or other competitors, but this seems like a blue ocean (both a good and bad thing). Follow the plan above and you should be able to tell quickly if you’re on the right track.
• Can you build it? The technology to create a product as this exists. That said, it may be difficult to pull data from the major bookmaker’s sites. The fact that Smart Lines doesn’t work with any of the major bookmakers left me scratching my head and wondering why.
• Legal Challenges? Sports betting is highly regulated like most industries that are birthed from law changes. Even being associated with this space is likely going to create some challenges. I'm not an expert in this space, so it's hard to say exactly what legal challenges may arise, but getting accessing other bookmaker's data and facilitating the betting process are two great places to start your investigation.

Additional Opportunities:
There appears to be no shortage of companies trying to become the next big bookmakers. But, there’s plenty of opportunities this burgeoning market has opened up beyond just being a bookie. With this market in its infancy, you can bet (pun 100% intended) that there’s going to be a lot of room to expand your offerings. Whether it be sports betting tips, predictions, tools or even becoming a bookie yourself, there’s money to be made here.
While doing research on this, I found many people are struggling with keeping track of their bets and recording their results. This could be an easy addition to a solution to tracking betting lines. Here’s what some people said -
https://imgur.com/a/aPTXuBd
Thanks for reading everyone! I'll monitor the comments for any questions and stuff - would love feedback.

UPDATED AS OF JANUARY 2021
This guide has one primary purpose: to make sure you buy a good pair of shoes. It’s a minefield out there as many stores are filled with shoddy and deceptive options. But here at /goodyearwelt, our community is committed to educating you on quality footwear. With proper care your shoes should last years.
Here is the third version of the infamous beginners boot buying guide. Updated for 2021, this guide is a list of oft recommended and popular brands that GYW stands behind. Originally put together by, chickenfark, Deusis, and pirieca, this evolution seeks to offer a more concise overview of well made and familiar brands this subreddit has experience with.
I would like to personally thank the many people who collaborated in the drafting threads to make this guide possible. Thanks (in alphabetical order) DRAKRIDDAREN, dubbysmurf, feliksas, m635_guy, MonsieurLeDude, sakizashi, YourMoneyOrYourLife, for specific write-ups and everyone else who added to the discussion!
For 2018 I have attempted to shorten this guide to include only a curated core of solid, reliable brands; not every shoemaker mentioned on this subreddit. For a more exhaustive list, please check the comments for the honorable mentions. The options are listed in alphabetical order at each price tier. An additional tier has been added from the previous guide and many brands have been moved as their prices have increased or decreased in the past two years.
As you explore the world of footwear, hopefully you will encounter brands you haven’t before, and brands not listed here (check the comments to read why we excluded certain brands as well). But this guide’s goal is to give you a bit of direction before plunging into the world of high-quality boots. It has been split into price tiers, so there is something for everyone. Here are some other useful threads to get you up to speed:
• Leather Care guide
• Common Defects
• Sizing Thread
• GYW for women
• Brand overview for women
• Need the largest sizes?
• Do you have wide feet?
Lastly, please note that there are many wonderful stockists other than what is listed here and you are encouraged to search more on your own.
Note: Where is common brand X?- Copied from an Old MFA boot guide:

ALDO, Bed Stuy, Tsubo, Kenneth Cole and ECCO make Trash Fashion Boots, often of impossibly thin leather, and always designed to be worn for one season and then thrown away. They run counter to everything boots should be. Often they're marginally cheaper than other brands, but they're still ludicrously overpriced for what they are. There is absolutely no situation where buying one of these brands is advisable. "Should I buy these Aldo boots?" The answer is always and emphatically no. Everyone seems to ask: ALDO and Bed Stuy are terrible boots; do not buy them.
Ted Baker, Cole Haan, Steve Madden and etc. make boots that are slightly better than Trash Fashion Boots, but not by much. If you find a great deal on a pair, and they don't violate the Fundamental Boot Laws, you could consider them. Definitely not worth full retail.
Frye is not a boot maker any longer, just a name that was purchased. they source boots from the lowest bidder all over the world. They don’t even use the same construction methods some are decent and some crappy as hell. There’s really no way to know what you’re going to get an advance.

Without further ado,
TIER 1: $200- $300
Bexley
French manufacturer offering a large range. Enfield model probably the most popular, but also offers a solid line-up of chelsea boots. Fantastic value (especially when taking advantage of their double-buy deal and weak Euro), and solid quality. A very good entry-level option based upon other redditor's experiences.
Reviews
Purchasing: Bexley Website
Canada West
Canada West makes boots in their Winnipeg, Manitoba factory. They don't sell direct to the public except through their warehouse/seconds store. They're a smaller operation that's been around since 1931 but in this organization since 1978. They have a selection of Western wear, uniform boots, and workboots. I believe they also have government contracts for police and military boots. Quality is comparable to Red Wing with a lower price point, especially with the current CAD-USD exchange rate. If you're in Winnipeg though, it's worth a stop.
Reviews
Purchasing: Here's their website, search around, Also available on Amazon
Chevalier
Indonesian made-to-order bootmaker. Slim-profiled boots. Were banded around a lot a couple years ago, but haven’t seen many reviews recently. Low prices but with large shipping fees (unless bought off Massdrop). Good looking but questionable leather quality, and it’s always a gamble buying chromexcel leathers at this price. Read reviews before committing.
Reviews
Purchasing: Chevalier Website
Chippewa
Brand Spotlight
US-made work boot company. Became popular with the introduction of ‘Apache’ model. Similar quality and aesthetic to Thorogood. Profile synonymous with workwear bootmakers. Used to make models for LL Bean, but LL Bean switched to a different company making lower-quality boots out of Vietnam. They don't have many options online at the moment, unsure where the company is heading.
Reviews
Purchasing: Amazon, Jcrew
Danner
Brand Spotlight
US-manufactured Hiking boot brand. Best known for actual heavy boots, but also more fashion-orientated hiker models. Mountain-Light and Stumptown models in particular. Good quality if Hiker aesthetic is what you’re looking for.
Reviews
Purchasing: Danner Website, Amazon
John Doe
Made in Mexico producing about 600 shoes a week, John Doe offers affordable, good looking, and well made shoes and boots with MTO options as well. Quality has been on point so far, look for more reviews this year. Send our very own anibaljds (a co-founder) a PM if you have any questions.
Reviews
Purchasing: Website
Junkard
Indonesian boot company specializing in service boots that offers a very good MTO service as well as a limited selection of RTW models. They offer domestic leather boots for roughly 245$ and also carry Horween leathers for 275$. Their most attractive offerings are Rocado Shell cordovan models for around 450$ with the ability to pick from any color stocked by Rocado and multiple construction options including stitchdown, GYW, and Norwegian. Many users have positively reviewed their shell and Horween offerings while their domestic leathers have mixed reviews. Line and Whatsapp seem to be the best way to contact them, but make sure to stick with one method of communication as it seems different employees handle each one and mistakes may be made. As with most Indonesian bookmakers, occasional slip-ups with MTO specifications have been noted so make sure to confirm everything twice.
Reviews- Will have to do a manual search as most reviews aren't linked to the wiki
Purchasing: Website
Loake 1880
Brand Spotlight
British shoemaker’s high quality line and perhaps only one worth considering. 1880 boots made in Northampton. Good quality, but below those of other English bootmakers. Known for dressier country boots and chukkas.
Reviews
Purchasing: Herring Shoes, Pediwear
Meermin
Brand Spotlight
A stylish Spanish shoemaker welted in China, finished in Spain. Sold exclusively through their own website, they have a variety of attractive boot options around the $250-$300 mark. Interesting GMTO options on their website as well which are regularly refreshed. Keep in mind shipping though - they come from Spain, but they arrive with great praise behind them. As of 1/25/18 They have opened a store in NYC which can help with returns.
Reviews
Purchasing: Meermin Website
Red Wing Factory Seconds
please see Red Wing listed in the next tier for more information
Excellent value and a very popular offering due to Red Wing’s solid reputation. Factory seconds are boots and shoes with small quality control issues such as scratches, blemishes and missed stitching. Always inspect your "seconds" boots before you wear them but overall RW factory seconds offer a great value and product.They are not always in stock so be on the lookout for sales and re-stocking announcements.
Purchasing: Sierra Trading Post, Nordstrom Rack
Sagara Indonesia
Indonesian MTO bootmaker. Upper end of this price range with price hikes. Selling boots with slim lasts and chunky welts. Quality of construction seems fine. Good option, but a tad difficult to order, and quite a wait time to stomach. Not seen too many recent reviews but were well received in the past.
Reviews
Purchasing: Sagara's website
Story Et Fall
Massive rise in popularity given recent trends in men’s fashion, known for sleek chelseas and jodhpurs at cheap prices. Models range from goodyear welted, blake-stitched and cemented. The website is pretty poor at the moment, but can contact by email and see options here. Free international delivery a bonus, and have been relatively well-reviewed.
Reviews
Purchasing: Story Et Fall Website
Taft
A recent GYW addition, Taft offers sleek, fashion-forward styles at a reasonable price point. They began producing Blake-stitched shoes and boots in Spain and recently added a line of Goodyear-welted options made in Portugal. Taft is known for offering good construction, solid quality control, and great customer service. Overall, the consensus has been positive so stayed tuned this year for more reviews.
Reviews
Purchasing: Taft Website
Thorogood
American heritage bootmaker manufactured by Weinbrenner. Similar aesthetically to Red Wing, but overall slighty lower in quality- but by no means bad! Known best for moc-toe boots (some prefer their's over Red Wings). Solid entry level boot which is often found on sale. Check out the Thorogood 1892 Dodgevilles for an Iron Ranger alternative.
Reviews
Purchasing: Thorogoods Website, Amazon
Thursday Boot Co
Started in 2014 offering sleek service boot styles, Thursday Boot Co. has grown to a wide range of models since. Some people love them, others will recommend other boots. Decent budget option especially for Horween Chromexcel in this price range. Have also added shell cordovan models and a Made in USA line. Not without mishaps, but customer service has been very attentive to make things right.
Reviews
Purchasing: Amazon, Thursday's Website
William Lennon
William Lennon boots are hand-made in the UK, with something like just 20 pairs of shoes or boots made per week. Order-to-delivery time is 8-12 weeks, since there is actually little stock on the shelves, and most items are built only after order. Their boots are Blake-stitched and then brass riveted, the brass rivet machinery being one of 3 still in existence in the world! What sets William Lennon apart from other bootmakers is that they offer bespoke options for 200£ all in. One can have their choice of most Horween or other leather, full lining, a bellows tongue, brogueing, and the like. Libs, the owner and great granddaughter of the founder, will help you to make it. If you're interested in a lovely boot that will last you for years with minimal care, consider buying from William Lennon. *See also Rufflander
Reviews
Purchasing: Website
Tier 2: $300-$400
Allen Edmonds
Brand Spotlight
Quintessential American menswear company, Allen Edmonds is renowned for solid offerings in a range of styles- from dress to casual. The Higgins Mill Boot made quite a splash in the market and Daltons are another popular offering if looking for something dressier. Not completely MIUSA, some assembly done in Latin America then finished in USA. A wide range of factory seconds also offered at lower prices. Many deals are to be found on ebay as well. A good option during their numerous sales. Do not buy at full retail place.
Reviews
Purchasing: Allen Edmonds Website, Shoe Bank (Allen Edmonds’ factory seconds website)
Grant Stone
VOTED BRAND OF THE YEAR 2019
With decades of heritage A new ercompany producing high-quality boots and shoes in Xiamen, China. Featuring classic style inspirations with a modern perspective and high attention to craftsmanship, Grant Stone offers outstanding value. They currently offer a collection of boots (plain-toe and hand-stitched Norwegian Split-Toe/NST) and bluchers (plain toe-bluchers/PTB and longwings), with additional products in the pipeline. See our resident Grant-Stone expert m635_guy 's reviews for more information.
Reviews- going to have to do a manual search as most aren't linked in the resources
Purchasing: Website
Quoddy
Traditional Made-in-Maine shoemaker, specialising in handsewn moccasin styles. Renowned for wide range, quality leathers, and comfort. Also have a brilliant MTO program with no upcharge, allowing for full customisation.
Reviews
Purchasing: Quoddy website
Rancourt
Handmade in Maine, Rancourt is an American manufacturer of exceptional footwear. Known for their casual loafer, boat shoe and moccasin offerings, Rancourt has expanded their line to include more formal shoes and boots available in a large variety of materials. They utilize two types of construction, hand sewn mocassin and blake stitched for both boots and shoes. Rancourt offers their Made to Fit program to help take the guesswork out of sizing and is always open to custom orders. The Custom tab of their site allows for the personalization of the shoe or boot and it takes about three weeks from order to delivery. Generally well received, and makers of the most gorgeous boat shoe in existence.
Reviews
Purchasing: Rancourt Website, Huckberry
Red Wing
Brand Spotlight
The standard to which workwear styles are compared. Known for Iron Ranger, Beckman and moc-toe boots. Solid construction and respectable QC. Operates own tannery (SB Foot), which keeps leather quality high at this price point. Hard to go wrong. Can be had at a lower price with frequent sales. Will be releasing many new sleeker styles in 2018 and phasing out some older ones. May be the most popular shoemaker on reddit.
Reviews (warning – about a billion of them)
Purchasing: [Bakers](Bakershoe.com), RedWing. Also numerous department stores and high end clothing shops, as well as their own stores. Everywhere from Amazon to unique online retailers.
Sanders
Sanders & Sanders make classic Northamptonshire boots of good quality. Often contracted by other brands (Thom Browne, Mark McNairy) to manufacture their boots. Good styles, often with chunky welts. Good value when considered alongside other Northampton makers. Can be found cheap.
Reviews
Purchasing: Website
Wolverine
Brand Spotlight
Oft-recommended American workwear bootmaker. Particularly well known for 1000 Mile range. Decent aesthetic with varying QC. Many examples have been subject to poor creasing. Extensively customizable, Viable at relatively regular sale prices, they retail around $350-$400 but ~$250 is a fairer price. Despite some issues, overall a very attractive boot with the potential for beautiful chromexcel.
Reviews
Purchasing: Amazon, Wolverine's Customizer
Tier 3: $400-$500
Alfred Sargent
A classic, high quality English bootmaker. Manufactured out of Northamptonshire, they are a bit hard to come by, since they have no standalone stores. Have collaborated with J. Crew, and worked on behalf of Peal & Co.
Reviews
Purchasing: Herring, A Fine Pair of Shoes, Tredders
Carlos Santos
Hailing from North Portugal, Carlos Santos makes sleek, high quality footwear at ~$400 price point. A European VAT of 21% applies, which puts Santos on par with European Red Wing pricing. Known for exceptional quality control, Santos offers a unique patina service with the ability to order shoes and boots in the patina of your choice, and Santos quality approaches but is not quite on par with Carmina. A relative newcomer, there are some early rumblings on the use of crust leather on both their patina service and MTO offerings. Stay tuned for more reviews this year.
Reviews
Purchasing: Unfortunately Santos is not sold through brick and mortar stores in the U.S., so buying online is the only option for American customers. skoaktiebolaget has a great selection of Santos footwear and an excellent reputation.
Cheaney
Another classically British bootmaker. Known for their sturdy country and pebble grain boots. Quality akin to other English makers in this tier. Recently revamped website and store in London. Expanding and improving constantly.
Reviews
Purchasing: Cheaney Website, Herring
Dayton
Brand spotlight
High quality, Canadian, made-to-order work boots. Highly renowned for their charcoal nubuck options. Have done successful GMTOs with /goodyearwelt in the past. Small operation means exceedingly long wait times though in certain cases.
Reviews
Purchasing: Dayton website
Nick’s
Pacific Northwest custom bootmaker. Company created by a former White's employee. For detail regarding this maker, see cathpah [+2]’s overview here. Known for sturdy workwear boots. Robust, good arch support, and great bang for your buck. Most boots fully customisable but longer lead times than Whites.
Reviews
Purchasing: Nick's Website
Oak Street Bootmaker
Brand Spotlight
US Workwear style boots. Known for attractive trench boots with a modern aesthetic, captoe boots, moc-style handsewns, and a recently released Stitchdown boot. Have had issues with puckering in the past. Can be found on sale occasionally.
Reviews
Purchasing: Oak Street Bootmakers, End
Rider Boot Co
US-designed, Italian made blake-rapid boots. Arguably some of the most attractive designs, with top drawer quality and pleasing last shapes. Ron makes some highly attractive and well sought-after options. Have also operated successful shell cordovan GMTOs. Usually in upper end of this tier, but recent Massdrops have meant they’ve been attainable at much cheaper prices.
Reviews
Purchasing: Rider Boot Website
R. M. Williams
Brand Spotlight
Tough Aussie bootmaker now more prized for attractive and fashionable boots. Best known for their Chelsea boots, which are the only wholecut chelsea at this price point. Also do lace ups, which have been reviewed but are pretty hard to come by. Buying from Australia is much more cost effective.
Please note, some users report R.M. Williams has made several price hikes, but with declining quality, in recent years after being purchased by another company
Reviews
Purchasing: Website, Boots Online
White’s
Pacific Northwest Bootmaker known for solid work boots and heritage boots- the "M.P. Boot" with high quality construction. White's makes boots for forest firefighters as well as daily wear, so you know they're going to be tough. Handwelted with a rolled welt and logger heels but can be made with a block heel. White’s Bounty Hunter is an incredibly customizable boot (see cathpah[+2]’s ordering guide here that can be made to almost anyone’s tastes. You could knock down walls in these. Some of the better made boots out there and easily among the heaviest and most durable boots on the market. Decent good quality control, but occassionaly finishing can be clunky. Recently released a slimmer service boot
Also recently released the "Main Street Boot" which can be had for ~$375. While it is goodyearwelt, not a rolled welt, it is a great introductory boot.
bonus white's/Nick's album
VOTED BRAND OF 2018:"

White's had always been lurking in the GYW spotlight but with highlighted QC issues of Truman and the expense of Viberg, Whites jumped to the forefront with the introduction of a new service boot style.
One of the last true American Heritage bootmakers, White's Made-To-Order program allows one to design a boot from scratch down to the little details. While sometimes the finishing is a bit clunky, they remain some of the most durable boots around. Customer service through Bakershoe is undoubtedly some of the best on the market.
Great leather quality, a rolled welt, and the reputation as the most heavy-duty boots round, all at a price range of under $500, White's is a brand to be reckoned with.

Reviews
Purchasing: Baker’s Shoe, Whites, Brooklyn Clothing. Also multiple smaller retailers offering make-ups.
Tier 4: $500-$700
Alden
Brand Spotlight
Quality American shoemaker. Known for classic styles, attractive lasts and nice detailing. Can occasionally falter on QC, but that is perhaps mostly down to massive hike in popularity recently. Well known for the Indy boot. Shell cordovan options are highly sought after and very good, some wait years for certain shell models. Hard to go wrong. Please note, most options are in the $500-$700, their shell can be priced much higher.
Voted "Brand of 2017", Jolsen77 descibes them "they don’t give a crap about your trends, your GMTO requests, your demand for rare shell colors, your desire for faster turnaround. They don’t care. They're going to keep doing what they do, and I expect that they’ll retain their soul and be around a heck of a lot longer than AE."
Reviews
Purchasing: [Moulded Shoe- For orthopedic lasts](Ground Gripper Shoe Shop ), The Shoe Mart - Sign up for newsletter for access to seconds quality boots for purchase., Leffot,Trunk Clothiers, J.Crew – sell a number of Alden options on occasion, including the much revered shell cordovan boots. See also Alden DC, Alden Madison, Alden Brick and Mortar, and others
Carmina
Brand Spotlight
High quality Spanish maker on the dressier end of the spectrum. Incredibly attractive boots with top quality construction. A darling of /goodyearwelt having organised exclusive GMTOs through them. Recent price hike makes them slightly less good value, but still one of the best quality/price ratios out there.
Reviews
Purchasing: Carmina website, Skoaktiebolaget
Crockett & Jones
Brand Spotlight
Quintessential English bootmaker, manufactured in Northamptonshire. Known for high quality and attractive models. Variety of leather options available including shell. Skye and Islay models are particularly popular. Please note, some of their models are in the $600-$700 but other options are much more expensive.
Reviews
Purchasing: C&J Stores, Barney's, Pediwear
Enzo Bonafe
Italian shoemaker known for high quality MTO shoes and boots in almost any style you can think of. High quality/price ratio given the MTO offers and handwelted construction. Ever-growing in popularity and for good reason. Generally on the dressier side of the scale. Please note shell options can be $800+.
Reviews
Purchasing: Skoaktiebolaget, Solegarb Shop Mehra MTO
MOTO
Japanese brand known in particular for their simple designs and hand-dyed shell, which has some incredible colour to it. Unfortunately, they don’t cater for large sizes, and are pretty difficult to get a hold of.
Reviews
Purchasing: MOTO Website
Tricker’s
Brand Spotlight
Renowned English shoemaker, manufactured in Northamptonshire. Very well constructed, and are known for having reputable QC. Best known for use of chunky natural welts. Wide range of leathers and styles, as well as an extensive MTO/GMTO service. Also offer shell at a higher pricepoint.
Reviews
Purchasing: Tricker’s Website, Pediwear, Leathersoul
Wesco - West Coast Shoe Company
Pacific Northwest Bootmaker known for sturdy work boots and a variety of engineer boots. Founded in 1918 this family owned buisness has been around, and stuck around for a reason. They make very quality boots with a higher level of finishing and attention to detail than is generally found in other PNW makers, but you pay more because of this. All of their offerings are fully customizable but expect long (up to 12-14 week) leads times.
Purchasing: Direct, Bakers, Standard & Strange, and Division Road
Yuketen
Interesting shoemaker specialising in both handsewn mocs, GYW boots, and hybrids between the two. Well-known in particular for handsewn Maine Guide boots and Eric boots. Interesting if quite eccentric designs. Can often be had at cheaper prices and on sale.
Reviews
Purchasing: Website, Mr. Porter
Tier 5: $700+
Here is where you can get into almost anything you want from any maker. Made to order boots in any material from some of the best shoemakers in the world. There would be too many to list, but we have put in some reviews of high end shoes that have been conducted by users in /goodyearwelt. When you start to look at options over $1,000, (example, John Lobb) you can begin to go bespoke, at which point you can have anything you desire. For a good rundown of such makers if you’d like to investigate further, I would strongly suggest reading the discussion of shoemakers by The Parisian Gentleman:

• Part 1
  
• Part 2
  

Edward Green
Top of the line English Bootmaker. Revered for their high quality, impeccable designs, and high price tag. The Galway boot is considered a grail for many. Most popular styles are those in grain/calf or suede/calf makeups. Please note, much more expensive than other options listed in this tier.
Reviews
Purchasing: Brooks Brothers, Leffot, EG Website
Vass
Brand Spotlight
High-quality Hungarian shoemaker, known for impeccable quality and beautiful designs on more formal end of the spectrum. Different styles and lasts to choose from. Particularly known for good brogue designs and a variety of shell options. Can be had for cheaper than $700, but you can also go a bit crazy with them.
Reviews
Purchasing: Website, No Man Walks Alone, Shop Mehra
Viberg
Brand Spotlight
Viberg makes high quality boots out of Victoria, Canada. Prized for their slim toe boxes, attractive styles and lasts, interesting and varied use of leathers, and unique collaborations. Expect new releases to sell out fast, and rarely go on sale. No exaggeration, shell options sell out literally in seconds. Recently started using GYW construction alongside stitchdown options. However, as of 2019 there have been a few reported QC issues around here, distant customer service, and debate over the value at this price point.
Reviews
Purchasing: Viberg website, Brooklyn Clothing, Full list of Stockists, Collaborators: (3sixteen, Haven, Gentry, 14oz Berlin, Notre, Superdenim, Kafka, the Bureau Belfast etc.)

On the internet match bookmakers
When we discuss the online suit bookmakers, we are referring to the best online cricket betting websites Considering that we belong to India, we understand the interest of Indians in the direction of cricket, as well as 80% of Indians contribute to online betting on cricket in India. For this function, we are going to highlight some of the very best online wagering sites for cricket in India.
The on-line cricket betting market has actually prospered with the popularity of sports. Originally, the video game of cricket begins in the date back of the 16th century as a video game of children in medieval England. Currently, cricket is played in greater than 20 nations, and it is continually growing in various other regions too.
Significantly, cricket is separated into global (amongst nations) as well as residential (between areas or organizations) suits. Bookies provide alternatives at both levels, and also across styles (Test and limited-overs).
While England might have 'developed' the video game, India is cricket's most substantial market. The Indian Premier League is currently the most prominent cricket organization across the globe. As we have actually covered the very best wagering sites in 2020, you can look at to browse the checklist of bookies. Currently, many European bookmakers are eagerly anticipating drawing in customers from India for putting the bets on different cricket organizations. Furthermore, some sites use wagering accounts in Indian Rupees (INR).
Top online cricket wagering sites.
Betbarter suggests cricket betting bookmakers depending on exacting criteria. At the highest possible priority on the review is TRUST FUND. That is since it is annoying to bet with bookmakers that are understood for paying late. Just websites with a strong track record for paying customers are supported. Betbarter similarly searches for wagering websites that make payment process quick and also simple and also provide a broad selection of wagering alternatives, including e-wallets like Neteller. Also, if potential, sites that acknowledge Indian Rupees. Consider these entries as an on the internet cricket Satta fete.
Betbarter
Betway
Bet365
Bodog
Royal Panda
However, there specify guidelines and policies compulsory for each of these sites, as an example, age over 18.
Major International T20 Tournaments
Asia
IPL (Indian Premier League)- IPL is the most well-known T20 Organization across the globe. It has actually earned amazing success as well as pulls in a gigantic after quite a long period of time after year. At present, there are 8 groups from different cities inside India. However, groups put together skill from anywhere throughout the world.BPL [1] (Bangladesh Premier League)- Begun in 2012, it is the second most popular T20 organization on the planet
PSL [2] (Pakistan Super Organization)- PSL starts in February every year, has actually been freshly created in 2016. Gamers from throughout the cricket groups are picked to be a part of the league's team.Other organizations of the globe.
Australia Big Bash-The BBL has delighted in a ton of success since it began in 2011. It reels in around the world capacity; nevertheless, Indian gamers are usually are not included. It is presently 8th in the world among one of the most participated in sports organizations around the world.England T20 Blast League-This competition started in 2014. It consists of an overall of nine teams with 2 departments. Its appeal is not like various other T20 leagues, but still, it attracts a huge target market.
Caribbean Premier League-It is a summer organization which involves 6 groups. This organization is hosted by West Indians, and also they are striving difficult to dominate the sport of cricket.Preferred Betting Website by Consumers
The most effective online cricket wagering site is Betbarter.net. They approve preferred e-wallets like Skrill and also Neteller as well as enable Indians an opportunity to open their wagering account from house address. Furthermore, this site enables to deposit/withdraw funds deal in Indian rupees. However, there is a list of various other money options that you can obtain according to your choice.Tip: Seek the best odds. Before putting your wager, search for the very best chances available for that wager. If you do not obtain the best chances for each one of your wagers, you are leaving cash on the table. Making this brand-new stride can assist sports wagering advantages. Generally, cricket odds fluctuate virtually nothing. Nevertheless, it's despite every little thing brilliant to make the most of your well worth. The optimal approach to try to find cricket components is to use a cricket probabilities feed. This allows you to see the chances of various websites without a minute's delay before picking your choice. Ensure to have accounts at the very least two on the internet betting website to look for better possibilities.

Over the last 6 months I have won 2 competitions valued at close to $40,000. Both times I made it so there was virtually no risk at all, only upside. I posted this on my blog (www.daily25.com) last week. Bookmakers have these sort of competitions all the time.
You can read the article with all pictures on my site at http://www.daily25.com/how-i-break-down-competitions-and-won-22000-thanks-to-betfai
You may remember that earlier in the year I won the Tattsbet (Ubet) Awesomely Excellent American Sports Tour. It was an all expenses paid trip for 2 to Phoenix to watch the Superbowl and a few other sports. I ended up also watching an NBA game, a PGA tour event and an NHL game. I also used frequent flyer miles to upgrade myself and the two mates who ended up coming. I keep meaning to write a post about how I gamed that contest to make sure I had a very very high chance of winning it.
The prize was valued at $17,000. I doubted I would ever win anything like that again in my entire life. Well 6 short months later I may have won an even bigger prize.
Betfair, like every other bookie have VIP customers. Usually when a sportsbook has "VIP" customers, you can replace the "VIP" for "big time losing customer". They happily take them to sporting events, give them merchandise, free bets and other little inducements to keep them coming back and betting. VIP customers make up a very high percentage of a sportsbooks profits and it pays to keep them happy. I've been told many horror stories of VIP's being given millions on credit and losing it all.
Unlike all other bookies, a VIP at Betfair doesn't have to be a losing punter. A VIP is simply someone who makes them a profit. The more I make, the more commission I pay. I rarely use Betfair anymore as my style of betting (betting early) really doesn't work that well there. But over the years I have paid over $110,000 in commission to betfair. That's a very nice profit for them.
The Prize
Over the UK Summer (Aussie Winter), Betfair ran a competition for its Aussie and New Zealand VIP members. It looks as though at least 180 people entered. There were 7 rounds and each round had its own prize. The 7 rounds were the 5 Ashes tests, the Wimbledon Tournament and the British Open Golf.
For each round, the person who made the most profit on the event won $2,000, the person who came second won $1,000 and 3rd place scored $500. This meant they gave away $24,500 in prizes over the 7 rounds.
There was also a Major prize for the one VIP member who won the most over the 7 events. The prize was $15,000. In total the prize pool was just short of $40,000.
The Rules
Before I even start to break down how I can win a competition, I head to the rules and terms and conditions page. I make sure I follow every single rule and do not break any of them. After I have read all the rules, I read them again. I am looking for two things when I read the rules.
Any loopholes that I can take advantage of Any rules that might make the competition not worth the effort
I qualified for the promotion and there were no terms or conditions that would make it hard to try and figure out a way to win the prize.
Breaking down the competition Now I had to breakdown the competition and see what strategy I could use to not only win it, but also get the best possible return even if I didn't win it. At the start, there were many unknowns. I had no idea who I was up against. Were some VIP's betting hundreds of thousands? What profit would I need to win one of the round prizes? I could only guess at this stage.
So I needed a baseline. Lucky for me I had plenty of time to work this out. All I needed to do was bet and win and I would get a basic idea of what was needed.
The first event was Wimbledon and to be honest, I had completely forgotten about the competition. Luckily I had placed some normal bets. This was a difficult one as it was profit over the entire tournament, so I had no idea how much someone would have won. Looking back, this was the perfect tournament to get an insurmountable lead. There were hundreds of chances to win a lot of money. From my 3 bets on the tournament, I made a profit of $900 and ended up 28th for the round. That gave me absolutely no usable data. I assumed each jump up could have been a $250 difference (on average) and that meant first place probably made close to $7,000. But as I could not be sure, it was back to the drawing board.
The 1st Ashes test was next on the list and it was time to really get cracking. Now, I was never going to risk any money to win a prize. So I had to make the risk as low as possible. How did I do that? I simply narbed. A narb is a near arb. Simply put it meant I backed something at a bookmaker and laid it on betfair for a small loss. Some understanding of the markets was necessary here. I knew that the Aussie bookmakers would be taking a lot of bets on Australia, which would push out Englands odds. I also knew Betfair markets are primarily made up of UK punters, which would make the English price lower.
So I started comparing the odds at the Aussie bookies to the lay price on Betfair and managed to find odds of $4.00 on England at one bookmaker and a lay price of $3.95 on Betfair. It was a simple case of using a back/lay calculator to work out how much to lay on Betfair.
Normally the Aussie books would laugh at me if I tried to place a $2,500 bet on anything. But when there are big one off games and you bet late and call up, they will take the bet if it will balance their books. There were a few times where they flat out denied me, but I stuck to one bookie (TAB) who would never let me bet $50 on EPL games, but seemed happy to take bigger bets to even their books.
As you can see in the image above, this bet cost me $50. That was a price I was willing to pay for information. My hope was that the first test would end in a draw or Australia winning and I would win the $2,559 at Betfair and know where that amount put me in the pecking order. As with most things in betting, the plan usually comes unstuck. England won the game and I lost $7,550 at Betfair. But that loss did give me one vital piece of information. It told me that of the 59 people who bet in that round, I came dead last. That said to me that no one was betting huge. I now had 2 small pieces of knowledge.
The next event was the British open golf and I follow a few tipsters so just bet normally into that. I think I lost a small amount and came mid table. After 3 rounds I was sitting on a $7,000 loss and was dead last overall.
It was time to kick things up a notch. I had to go big or go home. I had decided to change my strategy and back the longest possible odds (the draw) and lay them on Betfair. What this meant was pretty simple. If any of the remaining games ended in a draw, I could kiss my chances of winning goodbye. I was very close to just betting $50,000 on the Aussies and laying them in the second test, luckily the odds were never there to do that. Instead, I noticed the TAB were way out of line with the rest of the market with their draw odds. I called and they would only accept $2,000, so I took that and waited. The odds stayed the same so online I tried to bet another $2,000. To my surprise that was taken, and so too were the next 3 bets. In total I had $10,000 on the draw at $3.85 and laid at $3.80 for a loss of about $250. For me this represented great value. I was pretty sure that a $10,000 win would put me first for the round and thus win me $2,000. I also picked the most unlikely event (the draw). An 8 times return was well worth the chance that it would end up a draw.
Happily for me, the Aussies won the second test and I won that rounds top prize. It also moved me from -$7,000 to +$3,000 in the major prize draw. I moved from dead last to inside the top 25.
So now I had won $2,000 and knew that no one was betting to win over $10,000. I still had no idea how much profit 1st place had.
Onto the 5th round and the 3rd Ashes test. I had found a great price on England at Ubet and called them up and was very specific on the phone. Asking for $12,000 on England at the current price. The customer service rep rang the trader and told me "yes that would be fine". I placed the bet and the trader had moved the price in 25 cent. I was still on the phone while trying to place the bet and asked why the price had moved. I was then told that I could still place the bet at the worse odds. A complete joke. I complained on twitter and received a call from their media relations guy who did admit there was a bit of a stuff up and offered to let me on at the same price at much lower stakes. I declined on principle and I am glad I did. Once again I ended up at the TAB and the draw price was tempting. So over several bets I managed to get on for $12,500 and laid it off on Betfair for another small loss.
This was my one piece of big luck. If Ubet had taken my bet on the poms, I would have lost at Betfair and been out of the running. Instead I won another $12,000 on Betfair and that meant another $2,000 top prize. I was now sitting on +$15,000 in total and sitting in second place. I also now had a nemesis. Player 53. Player 53 had come second in the Wimbledon round, 4th in the 1st Test, 18th in the 2nd Test and 5th in the 3rd test. I guessed that Player 53 was a trader, and a damn good one. He was sitting above me after Round 5 with at least $16,000 profit. The other wildcard was Player 41, who seemed to be betting big like me. He picked up a 1st, a 2nd and a 4th placing. But also a last place.
So now I had won $4,000. Was sitting on $15,000 profit and knew a fair bit about my competition. By this stage I was pretty happy. I assumed I would win at least one of the next 2 rounds and take home at least $6,000 (minus $1,000 in losing narbs).
That brings us to the 4th test. The draw prices kept getting bigger and there was a massive drift just before the game started. Once again I got on at the TAB across a number of bets. This time I managed to get $15,000 on at $4.80 before they moved the price. I had to be careful with my laying at Betfair as the lay side at $4.80 was only there for a few thousand and I did not want to spook the market with a $15,000 lay. I had to drip feed in my bets and at one stage the prices started going against me. I still had over an hour and thought the price would contract so took the risk and held off. The prices did come back in a little and I had to take a bigger loss on this game of $500.
Once again England won (boo) and I won 1st prize. So all up I now had $6,000 in winnings and was sitting on $30,000 profit. Player 53 was in second and Player 41 was lurking in 6th.
This is where I started some gamesmanship. I had been posting on the blog and twitter about my wins, and I assumed that the other players probably read my blog. So decided to try and put them off by stating I was at least $50,000 in the lead. I assumed they were also doing everything they could to win and if they saw that I was massively ahead, they just wouldn't bother.
I believed I was ahead by at least $10,000. But could not be sure. This is where I really had to think. Do I not bet and hope the players behind don't catch up? Do I continue on like normal and back and lay the draw again? Do I factor in the prize being mine and arb it to make a guaranteed profit no matter what? This was a very tough decision. In the end I decided that I would not bet. If the other players were good enough to catch me, well so be it. $6,000 was still a great prize.
I asked a few friends what they thought I should do and one evil one eventually convinced me to go for it. He said if I won the last round as well, it would be a $17,000 prize and in all likelihood the other guys would be betting big as well. The email from Betfair said the competition was really close (I didn't believe it) and all of this combined pushed me into what I still think was the wrong decision.
I bet $8,000 on the draw and laid it for a small arb profit. There was still a high chance that one of the other guys would just arb an Australian or England win for big money and that would see me out of the top prize. But I had placed the bet and now had to pray that either team won. I had put myself in a really bad position. If it was a draw, I 100% would have lost the competition as I would be in negative territory. Even if it wasn't a draw, would $38,000 be enough to take it out? I really wished I had been in second place and could have really gone for it. Once I knew I was going to bet, I should have pushed my entire balance into the bet. This was a big mistake from me.
We know how the 5th Test ended. The Aussies won, but it was not really as simple as that. If I asked you to play a word association game and gave you the word England, many would come back with RAIN.
On the 4th day the Aussies needed 4 wickets to wrap it up, but the forecast was also for nonstop rain for the next 2 days starting at lunchtime. The Aussies had about 3 hours to clean up the tail. They managed 2 wickets before the heavens opened and my butt cheeks closed. I thought it was all over, the game would be rained out, it would end in a draw and I had just cost myself a potential $15,000 prize. When I worry, I like to clean, during the rain delay my house went from looking like a tornado had ripped through it, to a spotless masterpiece. The rain relented and the Aussies finished off the innings. I had won the bet, $8,000 profit at Betfair and a total profit of $38,000 over the tournament. Was it enough? Would I just be beat out?
Now all we could do was play the waiting game. I prefer Hungry hungry hippos, but that was not an option here. I actually wrote the entire article up till this point on Monday. I really had no idea if I had won or lost. Just moments ago I received the email from Betfair stating that the final round and tournament placings were in. I don't know why but I loaded up the Round competition first. Why I didn't just look at the grand prize is beyond me, maybe I like to self inflict mental wounds on myself.
This is what I saw. I had come second to Player 41. Player 53 had come 5th so I knew I had beat him, but the big question was.... How much had Player 41 won? It was over $8,000. Was it enough to knock me off the top placing overall? Another agonising wait as I went back to the email and clicked on the overall prize link....
Do you remember when you had dial up internet as a teenager and tried to download pictures of naked ladies? Do you remember how slow that was, you would see some hair, then a forehead, followed by eyes, nose, mouth.... finally about 8 minutes later it got to the boobs, and just as it was about to reveal all someone would pick up the phone to make a call and disconnect you.. Noooooooo
That's how it felt as I clicked that link.... it loaded so slowly in my mind. But finally it was in front of me.
Stayed tuned next week when I will let you know if I won... hahaha. I wouldn't do that to you. This is what I saw.
As idiot punters like to say, BOOM. I had won it. Player 41 hadn't done enough to dethrone me. In the final Round I had won $1,000 for coming second and added to the $15,000 grand prize, my final tally came to a massive $22,000. Total loss from the narbs was well under $1,000, so let's call it a total profit of $21,000.
That brings my prize winning this year to just shy of $40,000.
Update: I asked how close second place was and it seems if I had not have bet in the final round I would have lost. So big props to my evil friend.
Risks involved This was a low risk, high reward scenario for me. I was risking about $1,000 to win well over $20,000. There were a heap of stages where I could have lost this competition and I did get very lucky with some bets. But even in a worst case scenario, the way I was betting meant I would win 1 or 2 top round prizes, making this almost risk free.
What I will do with the money
The money will be used to set up a sort of trust fund for my Son, his first birthday is coming up and $22,000 worth of shares will be put in his name. On his 21st birthday he will have access to the fund and use it however he wants. I'd hope he either uses it to travel and experience the world or maybe start his first business, but if he wants to blow it on some frivolous purchase that is also fine with me. All things going well, it should be worth close to $100,000 by his 21st birthday.
Any lessons? This isn't just a fun story. There are real lessons that can be taken away from this. Every year there are so many little areas where extra profit can be made. Apart from my 4th year of betting where I made $160,000, I have actually made more from loopholes, cashbacks, rewards and so on. A break even year with the pure betting does not mean I made no money in the year. But this blog is more about if Tipsters can make you a profit, so I never add in the extras.
Always try and breakdown things and see if there is an opportunity there. In most cases there won't be, but in those rare cases where you find something that very few others have found, you will be able to make a huge profit from it. While a few hundred every week or month might not sound like a lot, it adds up very quickly over time, especially when you have multiple streams of profitable extras.
In regards to competitions run by bookies, understand that there are likely to be very few entries. Just entering will give you a massive chance. There were really only 2 other people I was competing against in this competition.
Hopefully there are a few more competitions that pop up this year. I doubt I'll ever win another one, but it won't be from a lack of trying.
Have you guys ever won a sportsbooks competition?