GREAT NEW READ BY NOVER!!!
http://www.therx.com/nm/templates/article.asp?articleid=1171&zoneid=2
TRUTH IN ADVERTISING 08/21/03 - Stephen Nover
As far as a debate, it won't rival Abraham Lincoln versus Stephen Douglas, or even Dan Aykroyd against Jane Curtain.
But a recent spirited discussion between gaming columnist Buzz Daly and Las Vegas radio personality Larry Grossman did make for some compelling radio listening.
Daly and Grossman got in to it during Grossman's long-standing "You Can Bet On It" radio show.
That can happen when the topic is touts.
The backdrop revolves around the late Jay Martin, a handicapper who recently died of a heart attack. Martin had wanted to hold a sports betting seminar this fall at Sam's Town Hotel in Las Vegas. Martin said he received commitments from several handicappers in Las Vegas, all of whom happened to be frequent guests on Grossman's show.
Grossman heard about this and went to Martin's Web site. What he found there appalled him. Martin was claiming records of 88-18 (83 percent) and calling himself the country's hottest handicapper.
Grossman passed this information to various handicappers who then all pulled out of the seminar. One person invited to participate in the seminar sent Martin an E-mail asking if he was monitored and if his claims and records could be verified. If they couldn't, could Martin please explain this unbelievable percentage? Unfortunately, Martin never answered.
Of course, Daly didn't really believe Martin's claims. But he is of the opinion that touts have to do what they can to sell picks. And, in this field, it's very much buyer beware.
"People do a lot of advertising," Daly said during the radio broadcast. "I agree that false advertising should be taken to task. However, with exaggeration in advertising, I prefer to put the onus on the individual."
Daly said giving out both sides of a game, and having unauthorized charges on credit cards, are far worse than touts fudging on records.
Grossman said there's no excuse for lying and misleading people at any time.
"When someone hits 52 percent and claims to hit 82 percent that's deception," he said during the broadcast. "It's totally wrong. It doesn’t do anybody any good except the person who's putting money into his pocket."
Daly and Grossman are friends and were courteous to each other during the broadcast, but the exchange became heated at times.
"If somebody puts an ad in USA Today saying they're hitting 78 percent," Grossman said, "and somebody from Phoenix or Des Moines calls up and gets taken by this guy that doesn't bother you? It bothers me."
"It bothers you because you seem to think we're a nation of fools,” Daly responded. “I have a little more confidence in people. I don't think it's the end of the world if somebody gets burned by a tout."
Grossman then said, "It might be the end of that person's world. It might not be the end of the world at large, but nobody should be able to falsely advertise a claim that isn't true."
Later, off the air, Daly said, "If people can't see through a tout's claims, it’s OK. Let them get burned. That's how you learn in this world. You learn through life experience. You learn that not everything is roast beef and apple pie."
If someone is stupid enough to believe preposterous claims, Daly said, then they deserve to lose their money because they were foolish and greedy.
Grossman takes great pride in having guest handicappers who have earned solid reputations. His pride extends to trying to help educate listeners who might want to pay for an honest sports service.
"I don't think the public needs to be protected by a savior," Daly said. "The public needs to be encouraged to save themselves and check things out on their own."
Asked about this off the air, Daly said, "I would agree with Larry if this were a perfect world where people didn't lie, cheat or steal. But they do.
"In Larry's world, everything is either black or white. But it's not like that in the real world very often. There are a thousand shades of gray in between."
This is clearly a black-white scenario in Grossman's mind because handicappers are sometimes defined only by their won/lost percentages.
"You either say what your numbers are or not say what they are," Grossman said. "The confidence is in the number. It is black and white. You either give the correct number or lie.
"...If you're hitting 52 percent, don't say you're hitting 70 percent. That's bull and it's deceiving the public. It's absolutely wrong and there's no rationalizing it."
http://www.therx.com/nm/templates/article.asp?articleid=1171&zoneid=2
TRUTH IN ADVERTISING 08/21/03 - Stephen Nover
As far as a debate, it won't rival Abraham Lincoln versus Stephen Douglas, or even Dan Aykroyd against Jane Curtain.
But a recent spirited discussion between gaming columnist Buzz Daly and Las Vegas radio personality Larry Grossman did make for some compelling radio listening.
Daly and Grossman got in to it during Grossman's long-standing "You Can Bet On It" radio show.
That can happen when the topic is touts.
The backdrop revolves around the late Jay Martin, a handicapper who recently died of a heart attack. Martin had wanted to hold a sports betting seminar this fall at Sam's Town Hotel in Las Vegas. Martin said he received commitments from several handicappers in Las Vegas, all of whom happened to be frequent guests on Grossman's show.
Grossman heard about this and went to Martin's Web site. What he found there appalled him. Martin was claiming records of 88-18 (83 percent) and calling himself the country's hottest handicapper.
Grossman passed this information to various handicappers who then all pulled out of the seminar. One person invited to participate in the seminar sent Martin an E-mail asking if he was monitored and if his claims and records could be verified. If they couldn't, could Martin please explain this unbelievable percentage? Unfortunately, Martin never answered.
Of course, Daly didn't really believe Martin's claims. But he is of the opinion that touts have to do what they can to sell picks. And, in this field, it's very much buyer beware.
"People do a lot of advertising," Daly said during the radio broadcast. "I agree that false advertising should be taken to task. However, with exaggeration in advertising, I prefer to put the onus on the individual."
Daly said giving out both sides of a game, and having unauthorized charges on credit cards, are far worse than touts fudging on records.
Grossman said there's no excuse for lying and misleading people at any time.
"When someone hits 52 percent and claims to hit 82 percent that's deception," he said during the broadcast. "It's totally wrong. It doesn’t do anybody any good except the person who's putting money into his pocket."
Daly and Grossman are friends and were courteous to each other during the broadcast, but the exchange became heated at times.
"If somebody puts an ad in USA Today saying they're hitting 78 percent," Grossman said, "and somebody from Phoenix or Des Moines calls up and gets taken by this guy that doesn't bother you? It bothers me."
"It bothers you because you seem to think we're a nation of fools,” Daly responded. “I have a little more confidence in people. I don't think it's the end of the world if somebody gets burned by a tout."
Grossman then said, "It might be the end of that person's world. It might not be the end of the world at large, but nobody should be able to falsely advertise a claim that isn't true."
Later, off the air, Daly said, "If people can't see through a tout's claims, it’s OK. Let them get burned. That's how you learn in this world. You learn through life experience. You learn that not everything is roast beef and apple pie."
If someone is stupid enough to believe preposterous claims, Daly said, then they deserve to lose their money because they were foolish and greedy.
Grossman takes great pride in having guest handicappers who have earned solid reputations. His pride extends to trying to help educate listeners who might want to pay for an honest sports service.
"I don't think the public needs to be protected by a savior," Daly said. "The public needs to be encouraged to save themselves and check things out on their own."
Asked about this off the air, Daly said, "I would agree with Larry if this were a perfect world where people didn't lie, cheat or steal. But they do.
"In Larry's world, everything is either black or white. But it's not like that in the real world very often. There are a thousand shades of gray in between."
This is clearly a black-white scenario in Grossman's mind because handicappers are sometimes defined only by their won/lost percentages.
"You either say what your numbers are or not say what they are," Grossman said. "The confidence is in the number. It is black and white. You either give the correct number or lie.
"...If you're hitting 52 percent, don't say you're hitting 70 percent. That's bull and it's deceiving the public. It's absolutely wrong and there's no rationalizing it."
