Bettors last on Hinsdale priority pay list..

[Kasept]

Hasn't been discussed much here but the abrupt Hinsdale bankruptcy caught a lot of players by surprise... Will be lucky to get .20-.30 on each dollar at the end of next year.

Herschel Bird out $138,000.. Andy Beyer $20,000.. Another player $50,000..

Other racetracks owed simu money also will get short-changed..

http://www.drf.com/news/article/100599.html

[philcski]

I always thought that bettor's money was ring-fenced in a separate account since the track is NOT the rightful owner (or the bettors a lender of credit, for that matter) and if that is not the case here they should be taken to court for misuse of funds. Just terrible.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by philcski

I always thought that bettor's money was ring-fenced in a separate account since the track is NOT the rightful owner (or the bettors a lender of credit, for that matter) and if that is not the case here they should be taken to court for misuse of funds. Just terrible.

No law to enforce that in the state of New Hampshire.

[Suffolk Shippers]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Hasn't been discussed much here but the abrupt Hinsdale bankruptcy caught a lot of players by surprise... Will be lucky to get .20-.30 on each dollar at the end of next year.

Herschel Bird out $138,000.. Andy Beyer $20,000.. Another player $50,000..

Other racetracks owed simu money also will get short-changed..

http://www.drf.com/news/article/100599.html

Yours truly out a few hundo...nothing compared to the others, but I hadn't even heard this happened, thanks for the news Steve. Hinsdale was my "ADW-proof" account...no more!

[Mike]

I live across the river(in Vermont)from the Hinsdale dog/otb track. I never had money in an account there, and am surprised at the losses bettors will have to endure here.
However, this track has been struggling big time for several years, with many rumors of it closing and becoming a WalMart superstore.
Hinsdale was where I bet on horses years ago, and where I did enjoy many closed circuit boxing matches. But, once the Internet and online wagering came around, there was no reason for Hinsdale's existence anymore. They gave up on dog racing a while ago, I think, and tried to get interest in Poker
It was mainly a very depressing place

[herkhorse]

I spent quite a bit of time at Hinsdale in the 80's, it was actually a premier simulcasting facility. Hard to believe they fell this far.

I had my first harness racing experience there when I was in high school. I bet the 6 horse to win, and he broke before the start. I was like WTF? I thought the horse had broken his leg Took my a long time to get over that.

None of my business, but 138,000 is a lot of money to have in a wagering account.

[Suffolk Shippers]

Just wanted to give this a bump for those out there, like me, who were affected...you should have or should be getting a court document from Presti, Flaherty, Beliveau and Pachios regarding a meeting of "creditors" scheduled for some time in January, and it also lists the amount you have in claim as a "nonpriority claim". It is also has a claim form to begin the process of getting some of our money back.

[djw]

The Keene Sentinel is the only daily on this side of the state. It ran this AP story in todays editions:

A call for a probe into the sudden closing of the Hinsdale Greyhound track

Published: Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Agency asks AG to look into Hinsdale track

CONCORD — The New Hampshire agency that oversees the state’s race tracks wants to know if the Hinsdale Greyhound Park broke any laws when it declared bankruptcy last month.

Timothy Connors, head of the state’s Racing and Charitable Gaming Commission, has asked the attorney general to look into whether the track broke the law by declaring bankruptcy without alerting bettors who had accounts at the track.

Connors said the track had promised it would cover the money in wagering accounts, but did not.

The track’s lawyer says some of the $400,000 to $500,000 in the accounts was used to pay off employees. The lawyer, John Sullivan, says the track broke no law. (AP)

It is VERY odd that as the State of NH start to finally take a serious look at VLT's that this sompany turns in a license they could sell for more than the track itself is worth. All along there have been only 4 locations that have ALWAYS been mentioned as outlets: the 3 dog tracks;Seabrook, Hinsdale, and the Lodge at Belmont (Lakes Region) and Rockingham Park which has reverted back to Harness Racing.

[djw]

Over the past weekend, teh Saturday edition of the local Daily in the Hinsdale Area, the Keene Sentinel (www.sentinelcource.com) had as its lead beneath the masthead a new story about Hinsdale Racetrack and the Phone Bet Issues. This story gets a worse aroma each time it rears its head. Steve Crist is quoted in the story, and it talks about some "interesting" land deals between the owner of the track, the development company which bought some of the land, which is owned by the main owner of the track, and also where they were on their bills - or not paying them. Lists the Salary of Sullivan while the shipw as taking on water from all sides and also while the state was sending in auditors on a weekly basis to keep an eye on things.

On a personal note, the most interesting aspects of this story are that Hinsdale went before the NH Gaming Board in non-public (NP) session. Having served on muncipal boards in the state before, there are VERY specific rules for which you can and can not go into NP, what you can discuss, and what minutes must be kept. The commissioners to a man say that Sullivan )the owner) said that the bettors would be paid. He denies this. (I'm shocked to find gambling going on in this establishment!) The fact they are discussing in general what took place in NP tells me which way teh state is leaning, and Sullivan's response as to why he never told the bettor's or brought it up at the hearings/discussions ("They never asked") is not going to set well with any of the other parties involved.

Crist's quote is a classic. If anyone wants more on thh local flavor of the discussion as it continues, I will try to keep you up to date as it not only effects some of the people I enjoy reading and learning from here on DT but also because this could be what is used as a case study for how other states set-up/adjust their Phone Betting systems. If no one cares to ask or follow-up with thoughts, I will leave you all alone on this one and I will drop the local updates.

Thanks for all the enjoyment you bring to me on a subject I love greatly, and I just wanted to amke a contribution since so many of you have taught me so much about this sport we hold so dear.

[herkhorse]

thanks djw, keep 'em coming

[Suffolk Shippers]

Definitely keep 'em coming D...great stuff.

[djw]

Update to this story -- The local paper had as its 'above the fold" story on Sunday (at sentinelsource.com) about some more of the sordid dealings that took palce trying to keep Hinsdale afloat, and also what the State Legislature has done to try and assure that it will nto happen again at any of the 3 tracks still operating. The most interesting parts of the article, from my own perspective only, are that Rockingham came out about 10 days ago with their slots or death notice, and how much it woudl add to the NH state coffers -- and how the state has told the tracks they need to set aside a fund to cover their Advance Wager Accounts. It has to be up to 70% of the amount in the fund. The deadline has not arrivd yet, but NONE of the three entities has yet to set up said account. This does not bode well for the future of ADW here in the Granite State.

I would be interested in others opinions if you wish to take a moment to review the article.

I figure all of you keep me informed about the issues across the nation, I owe it to all of you to keep you up to date on this one where we people we know of and respect were abused by the system.

[Kasept]

Keene (NH) Sentinel with more yesterday on the Hinsdale case and duplicious Joe Sullivan. Easy to read between the lines at a disgusting act of fraud that is likely to go unpunished.


Bettors watch debtor
Pursuit of Hinsdale racing funds continues

By PHILLIP BANTZ
Sentinel Staff
Published: Sunday, March 22, 2009

http://keenesentinel.com/articles/20.../id_348581.txt

Betting is Herschel Bird’s business. The Nevada resident has etched out a comfortable living beating the odds. Not much slips past this guru among horse racing aficionados.

But if you told Bird four months ago that the five-decades-old Hinsdale Greyhound Racing Association was on the verge of sinking and taking his six-figure wagering account along for the ride, he wouldn’t have believed it.

“Ironically, I felt very loyal to that track. I dealt with them for five years,” Bird said in a recent phone interview. “Even after they lost their competitive edge and there were better rates available elsewhere, I kept my money there. I was doing less business, but I still stayed.”

[hoovesupsideyourhead]

i know 1 guy who would meet lousville slugger..

[djw]

Sullivan is trying to say he NEVER told the Comission he would keep the bettor's funds "safe. Also, any goodwill he had from making sure he was paying his on-site people disintegrated when they saw how much cash and all that he got for himself out of this.

This story is going to get worse before it gets better and the worst of it is,as always, there will eb collateral damage to those who can least afford it.

I know this is not on the level of our own version of Racing's AIG - MAGNA and Uber Frank, but on a small local level, there are folks left holding bags they can't afford to be stuck with, and this guy is sailing away.

It does not pass the smell test in any way, shape, or form.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by Kasept

“Ironically, I felt very loyal to that track. I dealt with them for five years,” Bird said in a recent phone interview. “Even after they lost their competitive edge and there were better rates available elsewhere, I kept my money there. I was doing less business, but I still stayed.”

I laughed......extremely hard.

[djw]

Story:
Sources: Hinsdale track paid family well

HINSDALE — While the Hinsdale Greyhound Park was struggling financially, its president and chief executive officer kept his two daughters on the payroll in "phantom jobs," sources say.

Joseph E. Sullivan 3rd filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in mid-December, citing the sour economy as a factor, and the track closed its doors.

For more of this story, click on or type the URL below:

http://keenesentinel.com/articles/20.../id_351305.txt


I wish I could say that I was surprised by this, however, "I am shocked, shocked, to find gambling taking place in this establishment..."

If you check out what he paid himself, let alone members of the family, Herschel, Andy beyer, et al would have their losses recouped at this point.

[freddymo]

He paid his daughters 200 and 400 a week respectively...What a dick, I bet they hate the cheap bastard...BTW since when is 20k a year a big friggn deal for a no show job.. NY City Sanation guys work an hour or two a day SOME DAYS get 45 days off with pay a year 50% pension after 25 years and make 90k a year.. I am sure the guy is a complete cheat but live his daughters out of it..

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by freddymo

He paid his daughters 200 and 400 a week respectively...What a dick, I bet they hate the cheap bastard...BTW since when is 20k a year a big friggn deal for a no show job.. NY City Sanation guys work an hour or two a day SOME DAYS get 45 days off with pay a year 50% pension after 25 years and make 90k a year.. I am sure the guy is a complete cheat but live his daughters out of it..

I wonder if you would feel similarly if he had six of your figures tied up in this scam.

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

I wonder if you would feel similarly if he had six of your figures tied up in this scam.

You know better then anyone else that I have lost significant money on such matters,perhaps not identical but clearly in the same genre.. I would be pissed but mostly at myself for allowing myself to fall victim.. Have you ever subjected yourself to such risk even before your NYRA employeement? I dont recall you betting in dubious reward spots..You never shopped for the best deal maybe you were stupid and lucky or maybe you were smart ,but clearly the Hinsdale hounds club,owned by an individual, could be as safe or as well capitalized or regulated as NYRA and clearly anybody who didnt recognize that in advance should be pissed..

Sure I think it sucks...but don't you think this happens in even the most legit forms of life.. If you want to be 100% secure that your wagering account is imdeminfied against loss maybe Bernie B over at the FDIC should take a cut of those rebates? You want 5 back? apparently there is some risk involved..