After my proposal I was immediately passed around the San Pablo Mall to other holdings of Claude’s partners. That is when I started to really establish a great relationship with Chuck Bauer the owner of Infinity Sports Book and Casino, probably the smartest, most motivated online gaming owner in the industry at the time. We certainly do not see eye to eye on everything about the online gaming industry but we did agree on how to deal with customers. Treat them as if they are your lifeline. Chuck would leave Infinity a few years later to help out his mother after his beloved father passed. To this day I still believe in Chuck and I know his followers and employees believe in him as he is a top advisor for “BetOnline” today in Panama. He is also a young guy. He was in his late twenties when I met him in 2000. Chuck would regularly speak in person with his customers and would not get off the phone with any unhappy customer until they were happy. The offices of Infinity were small by comparison to BOS with wagering clerks, sales, customer service representatives, and linesmen all in the same room which was about 1500 square feet. Chuck was the only owner in the Mall San Pablo that paid me in full for my services. Chuck was everything that Claude wasn’t in a successful online gaming owner. He was respectful, humble, and good to his employees, not to mention he loved sports as much as I did. Ironically he isn’t even a citizen of the United States but dang he loves college football, especially SEC football and the legend of Paul “Bear” Bryant. His employees were much the same, charismatic, happy, enjoyable to be around and that is why when I wasn’t in the sales, VIP, or marketing offices of BetOnSports, I spent quite a bit of time down on the 6th floor with the good folks of Infinity who have mostly moved over to BetOnline based on referrals from Chuck Bauer.
As a matter of fact, I just spoke the other day with Andrew, the General Manager of BetOnline. Andrew is a friendly Jamaican fellow that had been around the Caribbean working for various online gaming companies. He came immediately when Chuck announced he was advising for BetOnline, and re-iterated my thoughts in a phone conversation about Chuck being a winner for the industry. What more would an employee want than a boss that takes care of his employees while walking the walk with hard work and getting the same performance out of his employees.
Chuck might have been the most personable person in the office and he was a workhorse. He didn’t always have time to spend out on the town for a young fellow. He did go out occasionally but Andrew took the role of leadership for Infinity when it came to going out on the town if Chuck was not present. He acted the part taking care of the hard working Infinity employees by buying them drinks while hanging out at the All-Star café across the street or at one of the many other establishments throughout San Jose.
When anyone asks me about a good online gaming company to play with I make sure to let them know about “BetOnline”. Chuck has a new name at BetOnline, as his buyout from BOS forced him to relinquish his name because it was very strong with his customers. If you call BetOnline with a problem there is a chance you will be speaking with Chuck and if not you will speak with one of his employees that represents themselves in the same manner Chuck does with the utmost respect for each and every person that might encounter a problem with their account.
I hate to say it but one person that I referred to Chuck beat him for about $23,000 while betting numerous money lines during the New England Patriots run to their first Super Bowl title in January of 2002. The guy got in and out quickly winning and never did give Infinity Sports Book and Casino a chance to win it back. Chuck paid the guy promptly upon request and I never heard any complaints. A few months later I am sitting around my friend’s apartment in Redondo Beach and he gets a personally signed letter from Chuck thanking him for his business. So that is exactly what you can expect from BetOnline these days great service and you get paid when you win with no stipulations or delays.
An example of good media and good business going hand in hand is BetOnline and www.Gambling911.com. I have read some great articles by Sting in favor of BetOnline. The articles seem to flow naturally because it’s so damn easy to talk about the truth as opposed to candy coating garbage. I have done both. I candy coated BOS till I couldn’t take it. As ugly as BetOnSports became there are great companies like BetOnline and great media like Rome and Gambling911.com.
Across the hall from Infinity was Tommy Miller at Millennium Sports book and casino. Tommy was a quiet small man with a very course voice due to years of smoking. Tommy when not busy was very interesting to speak with about his other ventures in Aruba and Curacao. Poor Tommy always talked about getting out of the online gaming business dating back to 2001 but his health was a problem as he suffered from cancer and needed the money to pay the medical bills. I also think Claude pressured him to stick around by his tactics with other owners that he ousted with no compensation. Tommy wanted to be as independent as possible from BOS by paying his own bills and dealing directly with me instead of working through BOS. He knew his place though around Claude as he was cast in a big shadow.
I thought Tommy was a nice guy but there was also hearsay that said otherwise. I heard rumors that he managed a company in Curacao and stole the database to start up Millennium in Costa Rica. He also apparently had a history of acquiring substantial amounts of prescription drugs and distributing them but again that is all hearsay.
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