Aussie Punters How they Did it.. Article..

[sportsguy]

The Ringleaders of $1m sting
By Christian Nicolussi
December 31, 2005

THE two masterminds of Australia's biggest greyhound sting yesterday told for the first time how they came up with the ingenious scheme that ripped more than $1 million from Bookmakers.

The Daily Telegraph can today exclusively reveal the identity of the two men behind the incredible plunge - they are Sydney businessmen Eddy Hayson, 37, and Steve Fletcher, 35, who themselves pocketed $730,000 from Adelaide Bookmaker Curly Seal.

The total payout from bookies ballooned past $1million from other bets placed at betting shops around the country.

Hayson and Fletcher have still not been paid as the Commissioner for Liquor and Gaming in South Australia is investigating the sting.

However, legal sources are adamant the pair are fully entitled to their money and will be paid out.

In a wide-ranging interview, Hayson and Fletcher said they devised their legal money-making scheme because they felt Bookmakers - particularly Seal - had been doing the wrong thing by them.

And they told of the crucial hours leading up to the race and the phone call that triggered the dramatic fluctuations.

The dog - Lucy's Light

"Why did we pick Lucy's Light? It's one of the best dogs in Queensland," Fletcher explained.


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"We picked a staying race because if a dog gets into trouble or strikes interference, they have the distance to make up ground and still win.
"We knew it was a really good staying dog in an ordinary race.

It was always a certainty."

The payback

Hayson held an account with Curly Seal for six months but soon cut all ties when he felt he was receiving poor odds.

Hayson claimed Seal was himself manipulating the odds of races by reinvesting money with UNiTAB, therefore wiping out any decent return. Seal has denied this emphatically.

"My mate was betting with Curly and at one stage, of the 20 bets he had placed, 19 times UNiTAB was paying the worst dividend," Hayson said.

"Curly was treating my mate like a red-headed stepchild. I called Steve to find me a dog, and that's when we came up with our plan.

"We had the sting ready for months, but nobody had made us angry enough to put it into play."

The morning

It was decided Tuesday, December 20 would be the day of the sting.

Fletcher, acting on Hayson's advice, had earmarked the greyhound Lucy's Light, who was pencilled in for a lowly race on the Gold Coast.

Hayson, having not bet with Seal for 12 months, placed his $25,000 into an old account with the bookie.

"I had a few bets earlier in the day, just a couple of races here and there at Devonport and Gawler," Hayson said.

"Then I rang Curly and said I was going to a Christmas party. I said I might be a little drunk, but I'd still call him to have a bet.

"I was in fact going to the dentist. Later in the day I left the dentist, walked across the road to the local tavern where there was plenty of noise and the races in the background. That's when I called Curly.

"I asked him about Lucy's Light and he said I'd get my money back if I backed it and it won. So I told him to have the lot on, $31,200. I then phoned my mate and told him to have $25,000 on the same dog with Curly."

The phone call

Fletcher was at his inner-city home and had earlier put $80,000 into his UNiTAB account which was previously empty.

Fletcher knew Lucy's Light was in a small field that would not be attractive to many punters, ensuring a modest and easy to manipulate betting pool. He knew that any other big bets could have a major bearing on the overall markets.

"It was my job to put $16,000 on each of Lucy Light's five rivals, just seconds before the race," Fletcher said.

"It was pure mathematics. I placed my bets over the phone and made sure the lady at the other end did not push the button [to activate the bets] until the very last dog was loaded in the boxes."

The $1m race

Before Fletcher unloaded the big bets, the win pool was just $8645. That would quickly balloon to $88,645. The large sums of money forced the starting prices of the other dogs on UNiTAB to shrink dramatically.

Campus Boy opened at $77.50 before starting at $4.60. Miss You was crunched from $22.20 into $4.60, Slapsy Maxie $15.50 into $4.40, Flying Blackrock $23.30 into $4.50 and Prince Honcho $20.10 into $4.50.

The final updated prices did not come through until Lucy's Light had crossed the finishing line, seven lengths clear of her nearest rival.

Lucy's Light paid a juicy $13 on UNiTAB. She had opened at $1.04.

The dog was third rounding the first corner, kicked clear down the back straight before setting sail for home.

Among bookies, the penny then suddenly dropped.

The aftermath

Fletcher did not bother watching the race and was busy watching the market fluctuations, hoping his $80,000 in bets had gone through.

He sent Hayson a text message with the result. Hayson by this stage was in the dentist's chair, "trying not to smile too much".

The pair, plus Hayson's friend, had just won $730,600.

Lucy's Light's owner Helen Ivers, along with her friend and the dog's trainer Elaine Williamson, knew nothing of the sting. They admitted they were only "$10 punters".

The grateful Hayson and Fletcher have promised to send the pair a box of champagne.

It could have been more

Hayson pleaded with Fletcher to put more than $16,000 on the rivals, which would have blown Lucy's Light's price even more.

"I wanted to have $160,000 on the others so Lucy's Light would have started at $26 or $28," Hayson said.

The pair also said they did not target other bookmakers or agencies. "If we wanted to we could have got all the bookies and won $4million or $5million. But we're not lairs. All we wanted to do was prove a point."

Will they do it again?

Fletcher and Hayson agreed their scheme was unlikely to be attempted again. Bookmakers, they believe, will be more wary in future.

The pair said it could easily be done with thoroughbreds, but the key was to have a small field and a dog, trotter or horse who was a definite winning chance.

What now?

Long-time friends Hayson and Fletcher are keen racegoers and have been involved with thoroughbreds for many years.

Hayson is a part-owner with league star Andrew Johns in a horse called Onion, which races at Canterbury today.

He also formerly owned the exciting Gonski before it was sold to Darley Stud. He has multiple business interests in Sydney.

Fletcher, who holds a business and finance degree, formerly worked at SKY Channel and is a part-owner of the Tim Martin-trained Appalachian.

Despite the windfall, there are no plans for any wild New Year's Eve celebrations tonight.

"But a quiet drink might be in order," said Hayson.

[Sooner4Life]

Ballsy, Awesome!

[BETTOWIN]

Great coup...Bookies are always manipulating the odds in their favor so nice to see a couple of punters doing the same specially as its not illegal.

[Henry09]

I remember taking bets from Fletcher a few years back. He was always well mannered over the phone. I always new something like that could be achieved. Poor old Curly lol

[dave nz]

Get em next time Curly.