Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[Knottikay]

Money received, with thanks.....ish.

How is the better half getting on in her new job? A few locals I know who work, or have worked there, say it is a fairly good company.

[tikay]

Hey I believe I owe you twice! Once for you and then once for bergeroo (who I paid for us initially) let me know where to send and I’ll square them both off tomorrow. Unlucky! I followed silently from Russia

Thanks Patrick. Unlucky? Hmm. It was brutal, the entire trip. Fun brutal though.

How was Russia, are you glad you went?

OK, money. You don't owe me for Bergeroo, if I understand it all correctly. You paid for my 5% stake (= £61.45) but Bergeroo paid me direct for my return, so I've had that money from him.

So, for my Staking you had 2%, so the total you owe me for that is (£171.56 minus £35.54 =) £136.02, now deduct the £61.45 you paid to Bergeroo on my behalf, so it comes to (£136.02 minus £61.45 = ) £75.57. Probably. 

I think that's correct, anyway.   

[tikay]

Money received, with thanks.....ish.

How is the better half getting on in her new job? A few locals I know who work, or have worked there, say it is a fairly good company.

Yes, "ish" about sums it up. As in rubb-ish.

Gill at Bet365? Several folks have kindly asked that, mostly by text or PM, so I'll reply here & save myself a bit of time.

Think she's really enjoying it so far. It's casual dress, which seems to be standard in the workplace these days. I still can't believe it when I go up to Sky at Leeds & I'm the only one wearing a tie. She found that (at 365) a bit odd at first, but she's OK with it now.

She got a lovely welcome when she started, as Phil (Bobby1) sent her an e-Mail via their in-house system, so that was nice & helped settle her.

She has to do 10 weeks training, so a long way to go yet.

Now, here's the thing. To you & I, & pretty much all of blonde, we are all very familiar with the day to day terms we use in Sports Betting. Gill, however, knows (knew....) zilch about Sports Betting though. She's a once a year Grand National punter, and she would ask me to stick a fiver on one with a nice name, when I asked "win or EW?" she'd say "what's the difference, what wins most?"

So that was her starting point, & it must have been pretty scary for her.

At Bet365, they call football "Soccer", but most of her early training was on horse racing.

By Day 2 she had learned how to read a race card, how to place a bet (I guess they all have Test Accounts), but I knew progress was being made when she sent me a 1 word message - "Pricewise". oioi.

Next day she proudly told me that £5 @ 11/10 was £5.50, plus stake = £10.50, & the next day she (correctly) told me what £2 @ 11/8 comes to. Easy for you & me, but if you've never done that sort of thing before it must be well scary. I can't really help her with decimal odds, which is what they all use these days. I trained to be a Settler with Wm Hill over 50 years ago, in the days before computers or Genies, so it was all fractions & mental arithmetic. So I know the fractions & short cuts for stuff like 11/8 (evens + a quarter + a half + stake) or 13/8 (evens + a half + a quarter + stake) which we used to do "in our head" but it's no good teaching her that way.  

Day 4 she sent me a tip for a horse that was running in the Bet365 Handicap at Newmarket.

One of her colleagues used to work at G-Luton as a Dealer, so when she mentioned I used to go there it turned out he knew me quite well, &, even more strange, liked me. That was a long shot.....

This week she has been learning RG stuff, Tricasts, Accas, & EW betting, & has been told all about those nasty arbers.

It's easy to laugh, but if you have never been involved in punting, it must all be very awkward at first.

Her office is lovely, apparently, as is the Restaurant etc.

So yes, gone pretty well so far.

I did laugh when she texted me "Pricewise" though.

If she arrives next weekend with the Racing Post tucked under her arm we are home & hosed.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

We went out last Saturday, which involved an early morning train from Hampton Court.

Glorious summer morning, air nice & fresh. Hampton Court Station straddles the River Mole, (which, oddly, goes from the Thames down to Gatwick Airport), and it was dotted with gulls & ducks, with the golden gates of Hampton Court Palace glistening in the distance.
 

Click to see full-size image.

Both of us are bird lovers, & we could hear a bird singing merrily, but neither of us recognized what it was. Bit like a blackbird, but a much wider range.

It was just metres away, in a tree, but for the life of us we could not see it.

Almost as if he heard us, he (or maybe she?) suddenly hopped onto a branch front of tree - front of stage sort of thing - thrust his chest out, & proudly gave us his full repertoire for fully 10 minutes.

It was bloody lovely.

Excuse the poor photo, but we worked out it was a Song Thrush.  

Click to see full-size image.

Never heard a Song Thrush? Give yourself a treat, & watch/listen to this;

[Karabiner]

Any chance Gill can get my 365 account reinstated?

[Marky147]

Glad that Gill is setting in well to the new job.

How's the PVD going?

Any chance Gill can get my 365 account reinstated?

[booder]

Glad that Gill is setting in well to the new job.

[Woodsey]

Is that 365 office in Stoke? Think I drove past it the other week and it occurred to me I’ve never seen any gaming office beyond a bookie shop before....

[Chompy]

Settling course eh? I did one 30 years ago, spending two weeks in a hotel in Leicester. Doesn't get any more exotic than that.

It'd be fascinating to go into somewhere like 365 now.

[tonytats]

Settling course eh? I did one 30 years ago, spending two weeks in a hotel in Leicester. Doesn't get any more exotic than that.

It'd be fascinating to go into somewhere like 365 now.

Apparently if you donk some off to them they offer a VIP visit ?

[tonytats]

Hampton court station
I drilled there 15? years ago outside the main entrance
Has anything ever been built ?

[tikay]

Hampton court station
I drilled there 15? years ago outside the main entrance
Has anything ever been built ?

No, but planning permission has been filed & plans published for high density housing in what is currently the station car park, plus shops & a hotel opposite Cigarette Island*, which is that lovely wooded open space right opposite the Palace across the river.

Part of it is currently behind hoardings, whilst the planning permission decision is awaited. Shame really, as it's a very picturesque area.

* Cigarette Island? I kid you not, that's it's name, & quite a fascinating history it has. Here, have a read;


http://www.moleseyhistory.co.uk/books/molesey/tm/tm_4.htm

[tikay]

So, Saturday we decided to go back in time 50 or more years, & go on one of those private Railway Lines where the motive traction is all steam & diesel.

Our line of choice was the oddly-named "Watercress Line", (real name "Mid-Hants Railway") see.... 



https://www.watercressline.co.uk/


It only has 4 stations, including Alton, which is where it starts but is part of Network Rail's South Western Railway franchise.

So we got off at each stop, ambled slowly though the little villages, had a coffee or two, & just generally chilled, then got back on & chuffed along to the next station, rinse repeat. It was bloody lovely. It's realy nice to spend a day away from the internet sometimes.

Saw some lovely old beasts, too, just look at the valve gear on these beauties;

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

We enjoyed the long lost treat of sitting in a compartment in a railway carriage (slam-door, too) which I'd not done for 50 or 60 years.

This one had a corridor, too;

Click to see full-size image.

At one time, there were "compartment" carriages without a corridor, a notion which would be unthinkable today. Once you got in a corridor-less compartment & the train left the station, that's it, you were completely trapped. Imagine such a situation for, say, young girls today.

[tikay]

Settling course eh? I did one 30 years ago, spending two weeks in a hotel in Leicester. Doesn't get any more exotic than that.

It'd be fascinating to go into somewhere like 365 now.

I'll come to the Settling Course later, but yes, I'd love to have a wander around 365's Office. 365 must be one of the largest employers in Stoke these days (most of the pottery firms have long gone), and of course they own a Championship Football Club, too.

Online Sports Betting & Gaming has changed beyond recognition in the last 10 years, & the successful ones have pretty swish offices nowadays.

I still get a buzz when I visit SB&G in Leeds, the place just buzzes. Every floor must have 30 wall-mounted TV Screens, all showing sport, & there are staff doing all sorts of weird techy stuff on their computer terminals. Nobody wears a suit or tie, not even Richard, Ted or Conor, who are, afaic, the three geniuses who make the place buzz.   

The Meeting Rooms are named after Vegas Hotels - Bellagio, Wynn, encore, etc. Silly really, but rather enjoyable in a way.

They have daily "stand-ups", too, when someone addresses the Team on various hot topics, & it takes place in what's called the "Roulette Wheel", which is a giant roulette wheel superimposed on the floor. They have break out areas with pool tables & whatever, with sporting pics on the walls.

Ever since I left School, I've gotten a buzz from being in a gambling environment. At 18 I was a marker in a LBO & it was the best thing ever. So I just love visiting these places. No chance of getting a "pass" to visit 365 though, security at these places (PCI etc) is a nightmare. No matter, I get to Leeds now & then, that'll do for now.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.