[sam b.]

After a horse racing wager credit dispute that couldn’t be resolved last night, I spoke with the Operations Manager at The Greek this morning. "He said repeatedly (and loudly), "If you bet $100 at the track and your horse pays 4-1, they pay you $400. They don't give you your $100 back!!" He said this very condescendingly, like he was absolutely convinced. He said even the owner of The Greek backed him up. I'm shocked to say the least. Anyone at the level of supervisor or higher a major book like The Greek should have a much better understand of simple horse racing odds (or odds in general for that matter). I usually avoid going to public forums when I comes to wager disputes, but HE was the one who insisted I post at as many places as I want. Then he hung up in my face.

Below is an email I sent last night to explain my problem. Please read it and respond whether or not I should be credited the additional amount. I’d also like to know if I explained my case clearly enough or if I was, in any way, out of line. I can't believe all this effort for $60, but here we go:

Hi Xxxxx.

Last night I spent over 30 minutes on the phone with one of your customer service supervisors and a representative from your booking department. I can't believe someone at the level of supervisor doesn't understand simple horse racing payouts.

Basically, I bet $100 on Jealous Profit to show yesterday at Hollywood Park (race 8). The wager was cancelled because at first glance it didn't appear that I got the wager in before the 2 minute cutoff. At that point the $100 that I risked was refunded. Then it was determined that I did get the wager in in time and my account would be credited for the win.

Jealous Profit paid $9.20 to show, or 3.6-1 (9.20 - 2 = 7.20 / 2 = 3.6-1), which is well under your 4-1 show payout cap. So the cap does not come into play at all. Since the odds were 3.6-1 and I bet $100, I was due a PROFIT of $360. Normally you would credit my account $460 ($360 + the $100 I wagered), but since I was already credited $100 from the push/cancel, I was due $360.

Several minutes later my account was credited for $300 only, which would be only a 3-1 payout. So I called and asked for the additional $60 and nobody working last night was able to help. They said repeatedly that there is a cap for show wagers at 4-1 and I already got $100 back, so the most I can get credit for was an additional $300!! I could not believe a supervisor at Olympic could be so naive about simple odds. I even tried to explain that a 4-1 payout based on a $2 bet would be $10.00, and since the show payout was only $9.20 for Jealous Profit, it was well under the 4-1 cap. Simple, right? I tried to explain this for 30 minutes, but no one understood! I was very frustrated when they said I should call you in the morning. We hung up but they still didn't get it. Frustrating!

Sorry for venting. Please adjust my account accordingly.

Thanks,
Xxxx Xxxxxxxx
Acct. XXXXX

I received this email this morning with further instructions to call for an explanation:

Please be reminded that the show position payout of the horse your wagered on was $ 9.20 to 2 ( as stated on our official website for grading horse www.tsnhorse.com) , in other words $ 4.6 to 1; since, our horse payout guideline states that show position max is $4 to 1 (http://www.thegreek.com/sportguide.asp#Horses) ,then $ 4 to 1 is what we would use to calculate your wager payout.

1. payout × risk = amount paid to customer

In the case of a cancelled wager being paid for :

2. payout × risk - risk (since cancelled wager means that risk was already credited ) = amount paid to customer

hence:

$( 4 × 100 – 100) = $ 300

I hope this helps.

Have a pleasant night.
Kind regards.
Xxxxxx

[MrX]

Originally Posted by sam b.

Below is an email I sent last night to explain my problem. Please read it and respond whether or not I should be credited the additional amount. I’d also like to know if I explained my case clearly enough or if I was, in any way, out of line.

You explained it perfectly clearly and you should be credited the $60. It's always fun to find out that the people running multi-million dollar sportsbooks don't understand odds.

Submit your complaint to Bill and I'm sure he can work it out for you.

[CrazyL]

Sam, fill out this complaint form and you'll be assisted on this.

[SBR_John]

This is most likely a holiday staff problem more than the book not understanding odds. Write us if the problem is not corrected.

[Data]

Please be reminded that the show position payout of the horse your wagered on was $ 9.20 to 2

This is where they are wrong. Payout is the amount of money, so the payout was $9.20. The odds are expressed as a ratio number1 to number2. That is why it is mistaken (and misleading) to use ratio terms while explaining payouts. In this case the odds were 18/5 which is less than 4/1.

[bigboydan]

As everyone already mentioned above. Just fill out a complaint form, and one of us will inquire to them on your behalf.

This is just one of many reasons why I don't use offshore books for placing my horse racing wagers. They have way to many caps that very out there.

[cobra_king]

YIKES!!!

I'm surprised you still have a head on your shoulders in that you didn't bang it against the wall over and over again in frustration at such incompetence. Not standard for the Greek at all.

[jjgold]

Never play horses offshore, it is the biggest mistake you can make. There is zero regulation and way too many rules that favor the books.

If you play horses get yourself a legal usa account.

[MrX]

Originally Posted by SBR_John

This is most likely a holiday staff problem more than the book not understanding odds. Write us if the problem is not corrected.

At best there was a manager on duty who doesn't understand the basic terminology of the industry, was not willing to do minimal research on the subject, lied about the owner of the book backing him up, and hung up on a customer who was in the right.

At worst he didn't lie about the owner agreeing with him.

Holiday staff or not, you have to wonder about the hiring practices.

[sam b.]

Originally Posted by cobra_king

YIKES!!!

I'm surprised you still have a head on your shoulders in that you didn't bang it against the wall over and over again in frustration at such incompetence. Not standard for the Greek at all.

Thanks cobra. I think this is the most appropriate response yet.

[Justin7]

Sam,

Call back and ask for Wally. He'll straighten it out quickly.

[RickySteve]

Originally Posted by Justin7

Sam,

Call back and ask for Wally. He'll straighten it out quickly.

Just don't ask for your account history.

[sam b.]

Originally Posted by Justin7

Sam,

Call back and ask for Wally. He'll straighten it out quickly.

I didn't want to call him out, but Wally is the Operations Manager I have been dealing with.

[SBR_John]

Originally Posted by MrX

At best there was a manager on duty who doesn't understand the basic terminology of the industry, was not willing to do minimal research on the subject, lied about the owner of the book backing him up, and hung up on a customer who was in the right.

At worst he didn't lie about the owner agreeing with him.

Holiday staff or not, you have to wonder about the hiring practices.

Gotcha Mr X. If I was TheGreek I would be more worried about how this guy was handled than the mistake that was made.

I'm not making excuses because this should not happen. Books like most companies give their best managers time off at xmas and they usually travel out of the country. Sometimes that leaves say the poker or casino manager as the manager on duty. These books are 24/7 ops. I'm sure this will be corrected. If this was wally you just caught him off the board.

[sam b.]

Originally Posted by SBR_John

Gotcha Mr X. If I was TheGreek I would be more worried about how this guy was handled than the mistake that was made.

I'm not making excuses because this should not happen. Books like most companies give their best managers time off at xmas and they usually travel out of the country. Sometimes that leaves say the poker or casino manager as the manager on duty. These books are 24/7 ops. I'm sure this will be corrected. If this was wally you just caught him off the board.

It has been a while, but I've dealt with Wally, Roy and Spiro in the past. It takes a little bit of effort to get to them, but they are the reason I've always considered The Greek to have the best customer service in the industry.

[sam b.]

Why the hell did was the title of my thread "Shame on The Greek" changed to "Situation rectified by the Greek" at The Rx? I didn’t change it, I didn’t request it to be changed, and most importantly, there was no reason for it to be changed.

While I was eventually credited $60, my dispute was hardly resolved. In fact, things have gotten worse. No wonder The Greek management asked me to “post at The Rx.” They are running the show over there. Whoever pays the most gets the most positive press I guess.