2020 Wise Guys Contest Canceled
To give you a sense of it and the rules: https://www.playbook.com//Vegas-Wise-Guys/
I think they definitely made the right call, as I expect things to get worse in late September and October. Any kind of selections contest is almost unmanageable given the possibility that huge chunks of rosters could be out of action at any time due to positive Covid-19 tests. Not to mention the effects of positive tests on coaching staff availability.
I give Playbook credit for not going forward with the contest, as doing so would undermine the long-term credibility and reputation of the competition.
Quote: mcallister3200Marc Lawrence has credibility now?
Whatever you think of Marc Lawrence personally, he does have one of the best records in the Wise Guys Contest going back 30 years. He's won it, placed several times, and has shown a profit overall. If you show a profit on two games a week for 30 years, that does suggest some scintilla of credibility from a handicapping perspective.
The contest has, over the years, featured a lot of big, established names and some not-so-well-known experts who were not formally attached to Playbook, such as the late Larry Fletcher (aka "Southern Comfort"), the only handicapper who I actually believe never had a losing year. Fletcher was ahead of the curve by years. He was arbitraging offshores before most people had the internet. Many of these entrants were not "touts" per se. They were independent gamblers trying to beat each other for bragging rights.
Quote: redietzWhatever you think of Marc Lawrence personally, he does have one of the best records in the Wise Guys Contest going back 30 years. He's won it, placed several times, and has shown a profit overall. If you show a profit on two games a week for 30 years, that does suggest some scintilla of credibility from a handicapping perspective.
The contest has, over the years, featured a lot of big, established names and some not-so-well-known experts who were not formally attached to Playbook, such as the late Larry Fletcher (aka "Southern Comfort"), the only handicapper who I actually believe never had a losing year. Fletcher was ahead of the curve by years. He was arbitraging offshores before most people had the internet. Many of these entrants were not "touts" per se. They were independent gamblers trying to beat each other for bragging rights.
Larry Fletcher was the best handicapper I ever followed. I have never paid for picks but if I ever did Fletch would be my choice. He was exceptional in most sports but his boxing picks were second to none. Thanks for bringing his name up and jogging my mind.
Quote: vegasLarry Fletcher was the best handicapper I ever followed. I have never paid for picks but if I ever did Fletch would be my choice. He was exceptional in most sports but his boxing picks were second to none. Thanks for bringing his name up and jogging my mind.
Mr. Fletcher, when he was working with the late Mike Lee, checked out my games when I was a young man because it turned out I was doing some things that mirrored Mike Lee's stuff even though Mike and I never had any contact. Mr. Fletcher was plugged into a lot of specialist handicappers. He was at least as much an administrator as he was a handicapper himself. He knew how to vet other handicappers.
He had alarms and such on his computers way back when so that any kind of middle-of-the-night arbitrage opportunity woke him up. No cell phones at the time; damn few people even had internet.
I don't have all the stats, but I think Mr. Fletcher is the only guy who won the Wise Guys twice.
