Oh to be a big time brothel owner. Due to my advanced years, I'm not so sure I'd be dipping the wick all that much, but the cash that rolls in on a weekly basis is enough to put lead in anyone's pencil. And boy, would I write large, just like Eddie. Eddie, sometimes known as the prince, owns a whorehouse,and not just any old shagging shack, but one of the biggest rod services centres in good old Sydney town. According to a leading bank who agreed to a redevelopment of the house of thrills, Eddie's place stashes $3.6 million in his pockets each year. He can afford a punt. Our man has loved a bet for quite a while, but now that he's a man of considerable wealth, he can afford to bowl at express pace. He once stuck a million dollars on a football game, and somewhat akin to the lovely ladies who work for him, he managed to pull it off. However, this essay is not about his gigantic tilts, it's more to do with what in some people's eyes, would be labelled an act of justice. Some would just call it payback. It would seem that Eddie and his mate Steve had taken on South Australian bookie Curly Seal and had come off the worst of it. They were at the time, into best tote odds with Curly. Instead of taking starting price, they were guaranteed the best tote odds on the Queensland tote. Problem was that in a sequence of twenty bets, Steve's selections came up at unders on nineteen occasions. As far as they were concerned, Curly was trimming the tote odds to suit himself. The bookmaker vehemently denied the allegations. Eddie and Steve thought otherwise. Eddie went as far as stating. "Curly was treating my mate like a red-headed stepchild." Something had to be done. The sting was set in train. Eddie asked Steve to find a suitable race. That he did, a six field, dog race on the Gold Coast. A staying event with a screaming hot favourite, Lucy's Light. She was, at the time, one of Queensland's premier stayers and looked to have a strangle hold on the race. Only bad luck could see her undone. She was up against a field of scrubbers. Early markets had Lucy's Light as a 1-10 shot on the tote. But as these country meets only held pools of ten thousand or less, it wasn't long before value punters jumped on board. She'd dropped to 1-25. Our lads were looking good. In readiness for the sting, Steve had placed $80,000 into his Queensland tote account. Eddie and Steve had both dropped $25,000 apiece into their Curley accounts. Eddie had a couple of minor bets during the lead up to the race, allowing his total to grow to $31,200. As the Lucy's Light race drew closer, Eddie got on the blower to Curley and asked about the bitch's odds. As bookies love punters who take extremely cramped odds about an animal, Eddie had no problem getting his $31,200 on Lucy. Not long after, Steve was on the phone to the bookie. He wanted his twenty five grand on the favourite as well. Curley took the bet. They now had $56,200 on Lucy's Light at a tote payout of $1.04, 1-25 odds. It has to be remembered though, that these were bookie bets that were to be paid on best tote odds. At the worst, Curley thought he's only be up for a couple of thousand if Lucy won. He didn't for a moment suspect the storm that was about to envelope him. As the greyhounds were being led to the starting boxes, the win pool on the race stood at a paltry $8,600. Lucy had now drifted out to $1.10.It was now time for Steve to step up to the plate. He called the Queensland TAB and making sure that he watched the clock, he placed a $16,000 win bet on each of the other five runners in the race. The transactions were done in the last 60 seconds before they jumped away. The tote prices went crazy. The pool jumped from the $8,600, to $88,600. Campus Boy dropped from $77 down to $4.60, Miss You from $22 to $4.60, Slapsy Maxie $15 into $4.40, Flying Blackrock $23 into $4.50 and Prince Honcho $20 into $4.50. The onslaught had blown the price of Lucy's Light right out the gate. Where as seconds before, she was paying just $1.10 on the tote, as the lids lifted to send the field away, her payout had ballooned to $13. Curley had been caught by the curleys. Lucy's Light had only to win and the bookie would be a shot duck. She bounded out nicely, settled third early, then exploded down the back straight. Lucy won by the proverbial panel of fencing. Curley was not a happy man. As he was to be more that $700,000 out of pocket, he didn't want to pay, but was advised he was on a flogging to nothing and settled before the matter hit the courts. The owner and trainer of Lucy's Light knew nothing of the impending sting. They were small time punters who were in the sport for the love of it and the prize money. Eddie promised to send each of them a case of champagne. Here's hoping he did so.
That really is a great story, Cyc, for one horrible moment I thought that something would happen to Lucy's Light in the race, but thank goodness she did it.
That reminds me of an event I came across as a young man Swanny. Each Thursday night they used to race greyhounds at the Gabba Cricket grounds. Sadly they no longer do, I really loved that place. Anyway one evening a bunch of twenty odd year olds from far North Queensland brought a stayer to town. NQ form was considered worthless, so the animal open at double figure odds. They backed it off the map and it bolted in. A guy in a wheel chair sat in the middle of the ring and the others collected and brought him the winnings. They cleaned up big time. They then took the dog to Melbourne where the opposition was much stiffer. From what I gather, they punted the lot. Down the back straight it was a mile in front and looked to have the race shot to pieces. It broke down and didn't complete the course. They blew the lot.
