Australian gambling syndicate

No humbling a great gambler.

For those who, now or later, may not be able to follow the link successfully it is an article dealing primarily with a Croatian run syndicate that operated out of a nondescript pub in a working class section of Hobart, Tasmania. Due in part to the Publican's throwing-in a good part of his commission on Keno tickets, the Croatian mathematician was able to win massive amounts of prizes.


"...Between 1995 and 2005, the state’s annual expenditure on Keno was nearly $200 for each person, compared with about $70 in NSW. Keno’s market share in Tasmania, at 8 per cent, was also nearly four times higher than NSW and 25 times greater than Victoria. ..."

This is the sort of thing that a statistician should have caught. Consider "The Australian National Character"... its an amalgam of myths from a variety of ethnic backgrounds ... but in general there should not be such a severe geographic difference in gambling stats. Populations vary, but can be compared on numbers, vineyard acreage, condominiums, business licenses, vehicles registered, etc.

Some computer somewhere should have tripped up the unusual activity that was so starkly different from what was expected.

Its similar to scanning infra red signatures and electrical usage to detect Grow Houses: they are hotter than their neighbors and use more current. There is no valid reason for Tasmanians to have markedly differing gambling habits than those in New South Wales.
And not much reason for Hobart to have one tavern winning more often than other Hobart taverns.

State run gambling is under attack by sharpies, but so are casinos, particularly those in the Orient and those running in-game betting anywhere in the world. The in-game betting is so lucrative a target because "live" broadcasts is such a technological misnomer that a cell phone call from the Midlands to China can flood the casino's in the Ukraine with past-posted "in-game" bets. The past posting may only be by a very short time, but that is all it can take to get a really hefty profit.

Its up to the Wizard to make such disclosures but this sort of thing is probably a major priority for him. Finding someone who is hitting the casinos and hitting them hard but whose tracks are well covered by a host of other bettors.

"On the surface, it is among the least attractive forms of gambling. Not only does the house keep 25 per cent of all that is wagered – in roulette it’s 2.7 per cent – but the odds are staggeringly long."

I like how roulette is just ASSUMED to be single zero. I know people who give me a funny look when I talk about the mere existence of them.

I read the article, maybe I missed it. I don't understand how they had edge, was that mentioned?

With the Publican kicking back his commissions to them, they were able to "buy the lottery" ... that is take every combination of numbers in a Keno game.

Roulette in Australia would be a single zero wheel.