Shame on The Greek

[sam b.]

After a horse racing wager credit dispute that couldn’t be resolved last night, I spoke with the Operations Manager at The Greek this morning. "He said repeatedly (and loudly), "If you bet $100 at the track and your horse pays 4-1, they pay you $400. They don't give you your $100 back!!" He said this very condescendingly, like he was absolutely convinced. He said even the owner of The Greek backed him up. I'm shocked to say the least. Anyone at the level of supervisor or higher a major book like The Greek should have a much better understand of simple horse racing odds (or odds in general for that matter). I usually avoid going to public forums when I comes to wager disputes, but HE was the one who insisted I post at as many places as I want. Then he hung up in my face.

Below is an email I sent last night to explain my problem. Please read it and respond whether or not I should be credited the additional amount. I’d also like to know if I explained my case clearly enough or if I was, in any way, out of line. I can't believe all this effort for $60, but here we go:

Hi Xxxxx.

Last night I spent over 30 minutes on the phone with one of your customer service supervisors and a representative from your booking department. I can't believe someone at the level of supervisor doesn't understand simple horse racing payouts.

Basically, I bet $100 on Jealous Profit to show yesterday at Hollywood Park (race 8). The wager was cancelled because at first glance it didn't appear that I got the wager in before the 2 minute cutoff. At that point the $100 that I risked was refunded. Then it was determined that I did get the wager in in time and my account would be credited for the win.

Jealous Profit paid $9.20 to show, or 3.6-1 (9.20 - 2 = 7.20 / 2 = 3.6-1), which is well under your 4-1 show payout cap. So the cap does not come into play at all. Since the odds were 3.6-1 and I bet $100, I was due a PROFIT of $360. Normally you would credit my account $460 ($360 + the $100 I wagered), but since I was already credited $100 from the push/cancel, I was due $360.

Several minutes later my account was credited for $300 only, which would be only a 3-1 payout. So I called and asked for the additional $60 and nobody working last night was able to help. They said repeatedly that there is a cap for show wagers at 4-1 and I already got $100 back, so the most I can get credit for was an additional $300!! I could not believe a supervisor at Olympic could be so naive about simple odds. I even tried to explain that a 4-1 payout based on a $2 bet would be $10.00, and since the show payout was only $9.20 for Jealous Profit, it was well under the 4-1 cap. Simple, right? I tried to explain this for 30 minutes, but no one understood! I was very frustrated when they said I should call you in the morning. We hung up but they still didn't get it. Frustrating!

Sorry for venting. Please adjust my account accordingly.

Thanks,
Xxxx Xxxxxxxx
Acct. XXXXX

I received this email this morning with further instructions to call for an explanation:

Please be reminded that the show position payout of the horse your wagered on was $ 9.20 to 2 ( as stated on our official website for grading horse www.tsnhorse.com) , in other words $ 4.6 to 1; since, our horse payout guideline states that show position max is $4 to 1 (http://www.thegreek.com/sportguide.asp#Horses) ,then $ 4 to 1 is what we would use to calculate your wager payout.

1. payout × risk = amount paid to customer

In the case of a cancelled wager being paid for :

2. payout × risk - risk (since cancelled wager means that risk was already credited ) = amount paid to customer

hence:

$( 4 × 100 – 100) = $ 300

I hope this helps.

Have a pleasant night.
Kind regards.
Xxxxxx