Fix Six Quotes of the day - 11/17

[derby1592]

Two more quotes. The first an indication of another inside job - this one at Catskill OTB. Surprise. Surprise. The second a great example of closing the barn door after the horses have already gotten away. The question is just how many horses...

Chris

******

Quote 1:

Furthermore, Harn would have known that Catskill\'s system did not automatically make a tape recording of touch-tone bets - a security procedure required in some states, but not New York. Catskill assumed it had such a device on its new system and investigators are exploring the omission, according to one source familiar with the probe, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Quote 2:

William N. Thompson, a professor at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, called it \"scandalous\" that Autotote - and the horse racing industry generally - did not invest in more secure technology. Thompson is author of numerous journal articles and nine books on gambling, including, \"Gaming in America: An Encyclopedia.\"
Scientific Games responded by making available a letter on Autotote stationery that it sent to customers Friday. In the letter, Chairman A. Lorne Weil told customers their confidence is \"our number one priority.\"
The letter detailed measures the company is taking in the wake of the betting scandal:

• Autotote will invest in an independent security monitoring system that is the equivalent of \"shrink-wrap on medicine bottles,\" the letter said. The system should be in place within 30 days at all of Autotote\'s parimutuel operations in the United States.

Working with eSuccess Solutions, a company that provides security and fraud management to the gaming industry, the system will be operated by an independent third party and run parallel to Autotote\'s computers. Data will be recorded in real time. A third party can review all the data against the live system. The system will have an alarm function that will go off if there is any attempt at tampering or alteration of data, the letter said.

• The company has created a new executive position of chief security officer who will report directly to Weil.

• Kroll Inc., the world\'s leading risk control company, will conduct an independent company review that will look at such things as hiring practices, internal compliance, physical security and information technology. Once the results are in, the company will take measures to reduce potential weaknesses in the operation.

• Autotote is working with the other totalisator companies to enhance computer security, including the installation by the end of the month of software that will scan all wagering pools in multi-race bets, such as the Pick Six. Totalisators, the word from which \"tote\" is derived, is the system that calculates the odds and monitors the bets as they come in. It can identify each individual wager by a serial number. The tote system also determines the payout.

[Mall]

Reading between the lines, and engaging in some gross speculation together with some mere speculation, my guess is that Harn discovered the lack of any recording system when he was involved in the installation of the Catskill telephone wagering system in April/May of this year, which is also when he gained access to the syystem & the plot started to take form. After studying the matter, Harn brings in his close friend from 6 yrs at Drexel together, DaSilva, to explain the scam and see if he\'s interested. Together, they plan and execute the dry run fixes on 10/3 and 10/5, and DaSilva faxes his request for the $80k check, which Groth dutifully sends. The feds have identified and frozen the acct where DaSilva deposited the check, which leads me to believe that Harn probably did not receive his cut before the big fix unraveled, although there have been reports that Harn \"recently\" purchased a new house, and the amt of the down payment is about the same amount as his cut from the dry run fixes. Consistent with his actions after the big fix, at or about the time that he sends the check Groth also says or does something that gives DaSilva the idea that he is being watched, which poses a problem given that the big fix is only a little over two weeks away. After thinking it over, Harn and DaSilva decide to recruit Davis, who spent less than two yrs with them at Drexel. Harn and DaSilva describe how the scam worked in the dry run fixes, and Davis signs on late, which is one of the reasons he made the mistaken bets and had to call Harn more than once while the big fix was in progress. It\'s also why Davis is the one who will give the other two up in exchange for more lenient treatment.

The news cycle is pretty much over, as they say, which is why JB\'s info that all hell is going to break loose this week is so interesting. Perhaps all hell includes the addition of a certain very popular New Yorker to the NTRA team for a very high fee. If that\'s not it, the new info will come as a surprise to me.

Given your interest in baseball, you might want to check out the turfday.com site Litfin touted in the form, as its Betting Value Averages are to a certain extent based on batting averages, the basic idea being that standing alone, \"standings\" are misleading if one does not consider odds and field size.

[derby1592]

Mall,

I checked out the BVA link. Interesting but it just sounds like a new spin on impact value, which is already widely available. TG could blow them all away with some enhanced stats that show if figs improve or get worse rather than the win pct and ITM pct that is currently available. That is what sheet readers really need to help project a horse\'s figs.

Interesting hypothesis on the Fix Six. It would fit what we already know. One twist would be a secret disabling of the recording feature by Harn or some other accompliss within the Catskill OTB.

Chris

[TGJB]

As I said, I don\'t know any details. The inference that I drew based on earlier conversations I had had with the same party was that the scope of the inquiry was about to significantly broaden, but I could be wrong.