Pseudonyms in "Gaming the Game" the NBA betting scandal book.
Since there's gonna be a new thing on Tim Donaghy out soon, I figured I'd finally read one of the longer-titled books I can remember reading, "Gaming the Game: The Story of the NBA Betting Scandal and the Gambler Who Made It Happen." Seems like its probably the best version of the story we're going to get, basically the life story of Jimmy Battista, how the Donaghy thing happened, etc, but largely its the story of moving gambling lines around the world, the people who can do such a thing, how they do it, etc. It's a pretty cool book, I recommend it, and if anyone wants the epub version I'll just send it to you, let me know.
ANYWAY, in the telling of the story, a lot of pseudonyms and nicknames are used, so the full story can be told but without explicitly naming names. I've never been huge into gambling in any large sense, I've gone through periods where I bet for a while but much longer periods when I don't, but I certainly enjoy the topic and its one of the reasons I still stick around this place. I bet you guys can probably fill out a lot of this list. Like, when they talk about The Computer, I feel like that's gotta be Billy Walters. When they refer to an online book of choice as Paramount Sports, I assume that's Pinnacle. The rest I may have a few ideas but not anything certain. I generally have no idea on the field. I'm going to list all the names here, and short explanations from the book's glossary, I'd love to put more names to these guys.
Keep in mind this list is from around 2009 I think.
All-Star Sports: pseudonym for a now-defunct Curacao-based sportsbook in which the services of the Animals were enlisted.
Paramount Sports: Pseudonym for the world's largest and most consequential sportsbook, based in Curacao.
The "animals", Jimmy Battista's crew. I don't expect anyone to know these guys, but cool if anyone does.
Bull: the mover, names for appearance
Seal: only animal to stay with Mike Rinnier following the split in the 90's. Named for appearance.
Tiger: named for aggression in business and stuff, among the most consequential sportsbettors in the US, math/stat wiz, ex-bookie
The Sharps
The Chinaman: Vietnamese-American medical doctor,specialized in NBA and the second-half of NFL games. Fairly successful poker player
The Computer: By far, the most successful and significant sportss bettor in history. Specialized in CFB and NFL. Unreal network of information. Regarded as the first bettor to widely employ a computer research team to exploit computer analysis of sprtsbetting. Renowned for tenacity, had many legit business interests.
The Englishman: specialized in English soccer (ok, football, you knob), prominent businessman. Associate of the Chinaman.
The Kosher Kids: NYC-based Jewish baseball bettors.
The Poker Players: collection of prominent poker players who wagered on sports, but specialized in baseball
Zorba: One of the best known pro gamblers, ran one of the most consequential off-shore sports betting sites; close ties to the Chinaman
