Poll
![]() | 1 vote (1.08%) | ||
![]() | 5 votes (5.43%) | ||
![]() | 1 vote (1.08%) | ||
![]() | 1 vote (1.08%) | ||
![]() | 7 votes (7.6%) | ||
![]() | 2 votes (2.17%) | ||
![]() | 1 vote (1.08%) | ||
![]() | 6 votes (6.52%) | ||
![]() | 1 vote (1.08%) | ||
![]() | 67 votes (72.82%) |
92 members have voted
The last time I was in financial trouble and asked for donations the number of people in the entire world that made one was two. I'm hoping to beat that record this time.
I take this step because revenue is down about 65% from its all time high. Effective August 1, I will no longer be exclusive to Bodog/Bovada and will go back to a multiple-advertiser model, for the first time in several years. I will also be putting more of an emphasis on Internet gambling on my Odds site, which should bring in eyeballs that will convert to paying customers better. Nevertheless, I have a history of making bad business decisions and this change may be yet another one.
Future changes aside, through the years many have told me that they wished to support my sites financially but had no intention of ever gambling on the Internet. This option is now possible. If you've enjoyed any of my sites, and never clicked through my banners to become a paying customer, now is your chance to return the favor.
Thank you for your consideration.
For those who have read this appeal and still won't donate, the question for the forum is why not?
Quote: MangoJHave you thought of reverting to the old design for your sites ?
No. That is not an option. I've invested too much in the new design to turn back. It will be much more flexible to change the new site to support a different advertising model.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/12/20/cash_rich_wikipedia_chugging/
"But what Wikipedia doesn't tell us is that it is awash with cash - and raises far more money each year than it needs to keep operating."
"The original intention, according to the site's co-founder Jimmy Wales, was to fund Wikipedia through advertising revenue.
"If Wikipedia were to become wildly successful, in terms of web traffic,
then it would be easy to introduce just enough (and hopefully non-intrusive) advertising to continue to cover expenses," Wales wrote in 2001.
In 2006 Wales rejected that option"
"Wikipedia's aggressive annual fundraising drives have been phenomenally successful,"
"I wish I had money to donate to Wikipedia," writes Adama Diop.
either one is for donating or one is against donating
I never have thought about it
Maybe someone over at Wikipedia would make a very large donation to the Wizard of Odds
They both must be very high traffic sites in my opinion
and Wikipedia does use (without compensation) other's content don't they?
Sally
Quote: rainmanWill you be vetting these new advertisers, Or will you be throwing caution to the wind due to starvation?
I will be vetting them, of course. Principle always above money.
the big B and use that money, seems symbolic. :)
Oh, I couldn't resist going for the I don't like you option ...Hey you put it there!
Personally I have decided to contribute the exact same amount I pay Stanford Wong for access to BJ21.com's green chip section. It is not a large sum of money, but I spend more time here nowadays anyway (perhaps to the detriment of my development as an AP, but whatever).
Quote: WizardAfter much thinking and discussions with others, I have swallowed my pride and taken out my tin cup. If you look at the bottom of the site, just to the right of my name, you'll see a link that says "Donate." That will lead you to this page. Similar buttons appear on my Odds and Macau sites.
Thank you for your consideration.
May I suggest that you put a DONATE /SUBSCRIPTIONS button at THE TOP of the page as nobody is ever going to find that one at the bottom
here is a site I am on that has it that way..... http://www.autoworker.net/forums/
I used to work with the fella that runs that site building Chrysler minivans. When he asked for donations many gave including retirees and people like me who no longer worked there but understood his intentions with having the site.
Is it really begging( in reference to you saying you have your tin cup out) if you provide a service in return?
Quote: GWAEI am sorry that you are having this financial trouble. I am in my own financial trouble right now so I will be unable to help. I hope you get all of the support that you need.
Basically this...when I actually get some kind of career again, I'll be donating.
I swore off PayPal years ago due to philosophical differences and I was just reminded of why I made that decision.
Wizard, if you can find any other way to take my money I'll be happy to send it.
Quote: TerribleTomPayPal is the devil. They won't accept either of my cards, and there's otherwise no problem with either card.
I swore off PayPal years ago due to philosophical differences and I was just reminded of why I made that decision.
Wizard, if you can find any other way to take my money I'll be happy to send it.
Had this exact problem today. Tried multiple times.
Mike, I will be in contact with you re the Advertising issue.
Quote: midwestgbI myself would be happy to mail a check.
Quote: coilmanMay I suggest that you put a DONATE /SUBSCRIPTIONS button at THE TOP of the page as nobody is ever going to find that one at the bottom
+10^100.
And also amke the donate (or tip) button MUCH BIGGER. If people don't see it, they won't click it. For good measure add the words "CLICK HERE TO DONATE"
Sorry to those who have had difficulty. I'd be happy to set up a PO box for checks and money orders. I hope to set that up on Monday.
Quote: WizardAfter much thinking and discussions with others, I have swallowed my pride and taken out my tin cup. If you look at the bottom of the site, just to the right of my name, you'll see a link that says "Donate." That will lead you to this page. Similar buttons appear on my Odds and Macau sites.
The last time I was in financial trouble and asked for donations the number of people in the entire world that made one was two. I'm hoping to beat that record this time.
I take this step because revenue is down about 65% from its all time high. Effective August 1, I will no longer be exclusive to Bodog/Bovada and will go back to a multiple-advertiser model, for the first time in several years. I will also be putting more of an emphasis on Internet gambling on my Odds site, which should bring in eyeballs that will convert to paying customers better. Nevertheless, I have a history of making bad business decisions and this change may be yet another one.
Future changes aside, through the years many have told me that they wished to support my sites financially but had no intention of ever gambling on the Internet. This option is now possible. If you've enjoyed any of my sites, and never clicked through my banners to become a paying customer, now is your chance to return the favor.
Thank you for your consideration.
For those who have read this appeal and still won't donate, the question for the forum is why not?
How much money do you need to raise? PM me if you would like. How long will that money keep you going?
Quote: WizardI've invested too much in the new design to turn back.
Without your background it's easy to say, but these are sunken costs. You can't revert these, and as such should never influence any future decisions.
How much the car costs one has just wrecked is irrelevant once it's crashed. The only question considered is how much an adequate substitute is.
I wanted to mention for a while that I have been using the odds site a lot less since the change. Reasons:
- Some pages messed up on my up-to-date firefox. The UTH page at least has overlapping frames with unreadable text and tables. I have been wanting to send screenshots but found no option on both sites to do so.
-Navigation is a pain in the ass with all the submenus, layout is cluttered and looks like an automatically generated scammer site.
-The white on black parts hurt my eyes
- The one-column list of games is a nightmare. I used to just browse the site for fun and read about games I had never heard of, I haven't done this anymore with the new site, since it is too frustrating with the new design.
[I am not the target group for online gambling signups though.]
I'll be donating $?00.
Can you PM me your PayPal account, as I can't get the money in from the Pay-Pal link from this site.
P.S. If some one donated more then my $?00, I will match him/her up to $1000 (Wizard, keep me inform on this).
I would like to suggest you check out the site "Hardcore History". This is the only other forum that I go to on a regular basis.
Dan Carlin at Hardcore History seems to have achieved some success in the new media world with a series of history podcasts.
If you were able to put together some gambling podcasts, these could become required listening for Vegas travelers,
Note: i dont have paypal but my wife and I did buy the VP app on Itunes.
Good luck and thanks for your hard work!
Quote: beachbumbabsI'm in. Money sent via PayPal with no issues.
I couldn't figure that out, but I am in and will have to make my donation "SUBSCRIPTION" the old fashioned way to the PO BOX (or whatever) when it is available.
All of the ones in Canada do for those that bank online its by far the easiest way to transfer funds from one person to another all you need really is their email address
Quote: AcesAndEightsPersonally I have decided to contribute
Quote: TerribleTomI'll be happy to send it.
Quote: MoscaI'm in.
Quote: ParadigmI ended up using PayPal
Quote: midwestgbI myself would be happy to mail a check.
Quote: MrCasinoGamesI'll be donating $?00.
Quote: boymimboI am going to mail you a check
I just donated through Paypal. The number of people known to donate this time around vis a vis last time has already increased by a factor of 400%, and no doubt some I missed, some forgot to say they would or did donate, and some just silently gave. I'll probably donate annually, but you got lucky that the timing this time was during a stock market surge [g]
Thank you for the service you provide to those interested in learning about the world of casino gambling...you certainly opened my eyes to things like why Planet Hollywood was all over me with free rooms and upgrades when I was betting $50 a bet or higher on Roulette for hours and hours one trip...
(I was betting two columns of the three at over $50 average bet for about 12 hours a day--worst losing trip ever, even though the internets said it was a great system...)
I bought your book though.
I don't know about others, but I would be much more inclined to spend time to attemp to add value on a topic I know about if the OP is from a Member that had showed a financial commitment to keep the Forum strong.
Quote: Paradigm
I don't know about others, but I would be much more inclined to spend time to attemp to add value on a topic I know about if the OP is from a Member that had showed a financial commitment to keep the Forum strong.
+1
PayPal is refusing my card, I don't know why. I'll try again in a few days. If it does not work I'll PM ou to see what is possible.
If you think you have a plan that will work then present it and I'll consider a donation. Make this a kind of an internet version of Shark Tank where the public is the shark and gets to quiz you and decide whether to donate.
Hell !Quote: steeldcoWiz, this is a tough one for me. I've been involved in a couple of turnarounds and usually the first thing I do is ascertain whether the company has a good probability of achieving sustained profitability. I would never ask the ownership to contribute working capital unless I was relatively sure that the old adage of "throwing good money after bad" wasn't applicable. A rock solid plan is necessary because you don't want to risk financial death.
If you think you have a plan that will work then present it and I'll consider a donation. Make this a kind of an internet version of Shark Tank where the public is the shark and gets to quiz you and decide whether to donate.
We are not investors ! We are customers. If you are satisfied with the service, "donate" is actually "subscribe" or "tip".
1.) Raising enough to survive just a short limited time isn't worth it.
2.) Is there a way to make this an event?
Years ago, groups were selling programmes at a predefined price. Recently, the fashion is to say to customers to "give what they want". The result is a better figure overall.
But what works in face-to-face encounters is, probably, not true in electronic encounters. How to convince people to "tip" when they are satisfied with the service?
Quote: kubikulannI am active in amateur theatre. We are not in for the money, but we need to cover the expenses.
Years ago, groups were selling programmes at a predefined price. Recently, the fashion is to say to customers to "give what they want". The result is a better figure overall.?
OK. I get it. So how can this site raise enough to cover expenses on a sustained basis? That is the question.
Quote: kubikulannBut what works in face-to-face encounters is, probably, not true in electronic encounters. How to convince people to "tip" when they are satisfied with the service?
An event works. I don't think it necessarily has to be face to face. So the question is can an event be created around this that not only draws "tips" from users, but also brings more in users?
How about a WOV Wall of Fame and Wall of Shame. There's a enough bickering going on here that maybe you can get users to cough up a buck to place someone on a Wall of Shame, or put up a buck to move someone from the Wall of Shame to the Wall of Fame......or, well, you get the picture. Some sort of game in here somewhere?
Quote: mdsJust donated through paypal with no problem. Thank you for this site!
Same here. Donation went right through.