Phil Bull: The Revolutionary Thinker Behind Timeform’s Betting Success

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Phil Bull: The Revolutionary Thinker Behind Timeform’s Betting SuccessEarly Life and Background:

Phil Bull, a man who reshaped the way betting was approached, was born on April 9, 1910, in Hemsworth, West Yorkshire. Despite his lifelong atheism, Bull once humorously remarked, “I was bred to be a saint, you know.” His father, William Osborne Bull, worked a variety of jobs, from the Salvation Army to coal mining, and eventually as a sanitation engineer, while his mother, Lizzie Jessop Watson, served as a Sunday school teacher.

Bull’s academic journey led him to Hemsworth Grammar School and Leeds University, where he earned a degree in mathematics in 1931. It was a modest qualification, but one that laid the groundwork for his future achievements. Upon graduation, he moved to London to teach mathematics, but he didn’t entirely give up his teaching career when he later delved into professional gambling. Instead, he combined both worlds until gambling became his full-time pursuit.

Bull’s Introduction to Betting:

Phil Bull’s connection to betting began early in life, with anecdotes suggesting his mother taught him about odds and gambling concepts in childhood, though these stories are likely exaggerated. However, what’s undeniable is that he started placing bets during his school years. While studying at Leeds University, Bull’s love for horse racing merged with his aptitude for mathematics, prompting him to develop a unique approach to evaluating horse racing form—his analysis incorporated race times alongside finishing positions, which was unheard of at the time.

After graduating, Bull continued honing his betting strategy, which he called “Temple Racetime Analysis.” By betting on the conclusions of his formula, Bull saw significant success. In 1938, he decided to share this method with the public by offering his insights via mail order under the alias “William K. Temple” to protect his teaching job. The system, named the “Temple Time Test,” was so effective that Bull eventually left teaching to gamble full-time.

Phil Bull’s Betting Principles:

In 1970, Bull condensed his experience and philosophy into his famous “Ten Commandments” for betting. These were a mix of wisdom and caution, which are summarized below:

1) Value First: Bet only when you believe you’re getting value for money.
2) Luck is an Illusion: Rely on skill, not luck or staking systems.
3) Stake Wisely: Adjust your stakes based on the likelihood of your selection’s success.
4) Avoid Large Field Each-Way Bets: Only bet each-way if the place offers value.
5) Shop Around: Always seek the best odds.
6) Be Cautious with Ante-Post Bets: Only bet ante-post if you’re sure your horse will run.
7) Don’t Buy Systems: If you discover a profitable system, keep it private.
8) Multiple Bets are Fine, but Not on Protests: Bet in multiples if desired, but not on objections.
9) Patience is Key: Be patient, but act boldly when circumstances call for it.
10) Never Bet Beyond Your Means: This can lead to disaster.

Phil Bull’s Notable Betting Wins:

Throughout his career, Bull meticulously recorded over 30 years of betting activity from 1943 to 1974, providing a window into his remarkable success. His journey into serious gambling started even earlier, though, when he won enough betting on Pont L’Eveque in 1940 to purchase a five-bedroom house in Putney, London. His biggest single win came in 1944 when he backed Dante in the New Derby, collecting £22,000—worth nearly £1 million today.

Other standout wins included a lucrative season in 1952, where he won £38,000 after betting on Zabara and Nearula, and a famous wager in 1963 when, after a string of losses, he recouped his previous losses by staking £1,000 on Partholon to win the Ebor at 20/1.

Between 1943 and 1974, Bull’s total profit stood at just under £296,000, equivalent to over £3 million today, cementing his status as one of the most successful professional gamblers in history.

Timeform and Bull’s Publications:

Phil Bull’s legacy wasn’t just built on his betting prowess but also his contribution to the broader horse racing world. Under his pseudonym William K. Temple, he initially published his insights in “The Mathematics of Betting” in 1942. The following year, he introduced “Best Horses of 1942,” which evolved into what would later become the renowned Timeform series.

Timeform revolutionized the evaluation of racehorses, providing objective numerical ratings that analyzed each horse’s performance. The first annual Timeform publication, “Racehorses of 1947,” demonstrated the accuracy of Bull’s methods when the four top-rated horses in his book filled the first four places in the 2,000 Guineas—exactly in the order he had predicted.

Timeform’s influence continued to grow, with Bull publishing the first edition of “Chasers & Hurdlers” in 1975/76, extending his analysis to National Hunt racing.

Phil Bull’s Legacy:

By the time of his death, Phil Bull was widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in horse racing. His revolutionary methods of analyzing form by assigning performance figures changed the sport, and his approach became part of the official handicapping methodology.

Despite his success, Bull always maintained a level-headed view of gambling. He once claimed, “I’m not a gambler. Betting as such doesn’t interest me,” though he quickly added, “Racing is different; it’s a continuing play with a fresh set of individual characters every year. Not a who-done-it, but a who’ll do it.”

From his meticulous records to the creation of Timeform, Phil Bull’s contributions to betting and horse racing have left an indelible mark that continues to influence the sport to this day.

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Why VIPs at Casinos Often Lose Big (Is This True?)

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Why VIPs at Casinos Often Lose Big (Is This True?)The world of VIP casino gambling is often associated with luxury, exclusivity, and high stakes. Casinos lavish attention on their high rollers, offering private suites, dedicated hosts, gourmet dining, and exclusive gaming areas. However, behind the glitz and glamour, many VIPs are known to walk away with substantial losses. Is it true that VIPs often lose big? And if so, why?

1. The Psychological Effects of Being Treated as Royalty:

VIPs in casinos are pampered to the point where they feel invincible. From free luxury hotel rooms to private jets and access to top-tier entertainment, these perks can create a sense of comfort and entitlement. This psychological boost can lead to riskier behavior at the tables. As a VIP, you might feel like the “house” values you so much that you’re bound to win. However, casinos know that the longer someone stays and plays, the higher the chance they’ll lose.

The reality is that these rewards are a strategic investment by the casino. While they may make the VIP feel special, their purpose is to keep the player at the tables for extended periods, increasing the likelihood of losses. The more time spent gambling, the more the odds tilt in favor of the house. This could be seen in the fascinating documentary by Louis Theroux: Gambling in Las Vegas.

2. Playing With Larger Sums – Larger Losses:

The stakes for VIP players are significantly higher than for the average gambler. With access to enormous credit lines and large bankrolls, VIPs can place massive bets. While a regular player might be cautious with their funds, knowing they only have a limited amount to play with, VIPs are encouraged to play without the same level of caution. Losing $10,000 or even $100,000 in a single night might not faze a high roller, but these losses accumulate fast.

For every massive jackpot or win that a VIP player might celebrate, there are far more sessions that result in substantial losses. Casinos rely on this: the thrill of a huge win keeps the VIP coming back, but statistically, the house edge ensures that the player will eventually lose.

3. The Misleading Lure of Comps and Bonuses:

VIPs are often lured into playing longer or more aggressively by the promise of comps—free bonuses, trips, and rewards. While these perks seem appealing, they can obscure the reality of the situation. A player might feel that they’re “winning” in the sense that they’re getting free vacations or other perks, but in reality, those rewards are often a fraction of what they’ve lost gambling. Casinos are masters at creating a sense of value around comps, even though, over time, most VIPs are spending far more than they’re receiving.

4. The Nature of Games: House Always Has an Edge:

No matter how skilled or lucky a player may be, every casino game is designed with a house edge. Even games like blackjack, where a player can develop a strategy, have a built-in advantage for the casino. For games of chance like roulette or slots, the odds are even more skewed against the player. As VIPs spend more time and money at the tables, the house edge ensures that, in the long run, the casino profits more than the player.

5. VIP Gambling: A Game of Ego:

Another factor in VIP losses is ego. High rollers are often used to success in their personal or professional lives. When faced with a loss at the casino, their instinct may be to chase their losses, believing that with one big win, they can recover everything. Unfortunately, this mindset leads many VIPs to dig themselves into deeper financial holes.

Who Could Forget Mattress King Allan Erlick 

Conclusion:

It is indeed true that VIPs at casinos often lose big. Despite their wealth and the special treatment they receive, the house edge, the psychology of rewards, and the nature of high-stakes gambling work against them. While casinos thrive on the image of VIPs winning big, the reality is that most high rollers walk away with significant losses over time, making them some of the most valuable customers for the casino.

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7 Embarrassing Gambling Moments in Las Vegas

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7 Embarrassing Gambling Moments in Las VegasLas Vegas is a city known for glitz, glamour, and gambling. However, not every moment on the casino floor is filled with success stories. For every jackpot, there are plenty of cringe-worthy, embarrassing moments that make for unforgettable tales. Here are seven of the most memorable ones.

1. The Wrong Bet at the Wrong Time:

Imagine thinking you’ve struck gold, only to find out you misread the game. One player, let’s call him Mike, placed a $5,000 bet on what he thought was a winning roulette number. The problem? He had bet on red when the ball actually landed on black. “I was so sure I’d won that I started celebrating,” Mike said, “but the pit boss came over and told me I lost. I wanted to disappear.”

2. Slot Machine Mishap:

A woman named Sarah once found herself in a highly embarrassing situation at the slot machines. After hitting what she thought was a jackpot, she began celebrating loudly, drawing a crowd. But moments later, a casino worker arrived and informed her that she had misunderstood the payout. The $10,000 jackpot? It was actually $10. “I had already started texting my family to tell them I’d won big. That was the longest walk of shame to the ATM I’ve ever taken,” Sarah admitted.

3. The Phantom Card Counter:

Card counting can get you kicked out of casinos, but it turns out, pretending to be a card counter is even more humiliating. One Las Vegas visitor, determined to impress his friends, loudly proclaimed he could beat the house by counting cards at a blackjack table. Within minutes, he was escorted out by security, not for cheating, but because he had no idea what he was doing. “I didn’t even know the rules properly. The dealer just kept shaking his head. It was brutal,” he recalled.

4. ATM Blues:

A frequent sight in Vegas is the dreaded ATM visit after a rough losing streak. One gambler, known only as Steve, was in the process of withdrawing cash after losing $15,000 at the poker tables when his card was declined in front of a long line of other gamblers. “I thought I was playing it cool, but everyone knew what had happened. I just stood there in silence, hoping the ground would swallow me up.”

5. The Wrong Jackpot:

A man named Brian once thought he had hit the jackpot on a video poker machine. With lights flashing and the screen showing big numbers, he was sure he was about to win hundreds of thousands. However, after a closer look, it turned out he had won only $100. “I yelled ‘I’m rich!’ like an idiot, only to have everyone around me laughing. I didn’t even cash it out – too embarrassed,” Brian confessed.

6. Losing on Both Ends:

In 2015, a man sitting at a poker table had what he called “the worst moment of my life.” Not only did he lose a $50,000 hand, but at the same moment, he accidentally knocked over a tray of drinks, soaking himself and his chips. “I looked like a clown. It couldn’t have been worse timing.”

7. The VIP That Wasn’t:

Vegas is all about making a grand entrance, but one man’s attempt to appear as a high-rolling VIP went terribly wrong. Dressed to the nines and acting like he was worth millions, he demanded entry to a high-limit table. After a few minutes, the dealer asked him for his chips, and it turned out he didn’t have any. “I just walked out. I thought it would be funny. It wasn’t,” he later admitted.

These stories are a reminder that the highs and lows of Vegas gambling don’t always come with cash rewards – sometimes, it’s just a good story. Or, in these cases, an embarrassing one!

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The 5 Most Losing Casinos in Las Vegas – You Won’t Believe

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The 5 Most Losing Casinos in Las Vegas – You Won’t BelieveLas Vegas is the gambling capital of the world, where fortunes are made and lost in the blink of an eye. But while casinos are known for their ability to rake in money, not all of them are winners. Some have earned reputations for being unlucky for the players—or worse, for losing so much money themselves that they’ve been forced to shut down or completely reinvent their business models. Here are the five most losing casinos in Las Vegas that you won’t believe.

1. The Riviera Hotel and Casino:

The Riviera was once a Las Vegas icon, known for its old-school charm and Rat Pack-era allure. However, in its later years, the casino struggled to keep up with the modern, glitzy resorts that surrounded it on the Strip. Despite hosting several major films, like Casino and Ocean’s 11, the Riviera suffered from declining revenues and dwindling foot traffic. The casino’s outdated image, coupled with poor financial management, led to multiple bankruptcies and ownership changes. Eventually, in 2015, the property closed its doors for good and was demolished. The Riviera is a prime example of a casino that couldn’t keep up with Las Vegas’s evolving landscape.

2. The Aladdin:

The original Aladdin Casino, which opened in 1966, had a rocky history that saw it go through several owners, including a controversial stint when it was tied to organized crime. Over time, poor management, financial troubles, and frequent changes in ownership doomed the property. Despite its prime location on the Strip, it could never attract enough high-rollers or maintain the kind of profitability necessary to stay afloat. In 1997, the Aladdin declared bankruptcy and was later demolished in 1998. The casino was rebuilt and reopened in 2000, but it continued to struggle. Eventually, it was rebranded as Planet Hollywood in 2007, and the Aladdin name faded into history.

3. The Sahara:

The Sahara Hotel and Casino was another vintage Las Vegas property that fell victim to the changing times. It opened in 1952 and had its heyday in the 1960s when stars like Frank Sinatra and The Beatles performed there. However, by the early 2000s, the Sahara was no longer a major player on the Strip. The casino’s old-school charm couldn’t compete with newer, more modern resorts. It saw declining revenue and struggled to attract a younger audience. The Sahara eventually closed in 2011 after years of financial losses. It reopened as the SLS Las Vegas in 2014, but after another financial struggle, the Sahara name was revived in 2019 in a bid to reconnect with its storied past.

4. The Lucky Dragon:

One of the most shocking casino failures in recent memory, the Lucky Dragon was designed to cater to the growing Chinese and Asian-American markets in Las Vegas. Opened in 2016, it promised an authentic Asian-themed experience complete with feng shui-designed architecture, exclusive Asian cuisine, and games like baccarat. However, the casino struggled to attract enough customers, and within two years, it filed for bankruptcy. The Lucky Dragon’s rapid demise is often blamed on poor marketing and failing to appeal to a wider audience beyond its niche. The casino closed in 2018, making it one of the shortest-lived casinos in Las Vegas history.

5. The Fontainebleau (The Drew):

The Fontainebleau is perhaps one of the most infamous examples of casino projects gone wrong. Originally planned as a luxury resort on the north end of the Strip, construction on the Fontainebleau began in 2007. However, the 2008 financial crisis halted progress, leaving the building 70% complete and millions of dollars in debt. The project remained a massive, empty shell for nearly a decade, a glaring symbol of Las Vegas’s real estate bust. It was eventually sold and rebranded as “The Drew,” but as of 2024, it remains unfinished and unopened. This $2.9 billion project has become one of Las Vegas’s biggest financial losses.

Conclusion:

While Las Vegas casinos are often seen as profitable ventures, these five properties serve as a reminder that the city is full of risks—even for the house. Poor management, bad luck, and changing market conditions have led to their downfall, proving that even in the gambling capital of the world, not every casino is a winner.

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5 Horrendous Moments at Las Vegas Casinos

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5 Horrendous Moments at Las Vegas CasinosLas Vegas is often seen as a place of glitz, glamour, and thrilling entertainment. However, amidst the bright lights and roaring slot machines, there have been some truly horrendous moments that have left a lasting impact on the city and its casinos. Here are five of the most shocking incidents to occur in the history of Las Vegas casinos.

1. The MGM Grand Fire (1980):

One of the most devastating events in Las Vegas history occurred on November 21, 1980, when a fire broke out at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. The blaze, caused by an electrical fault, quickly spread throughout the building due to the lack of sprinklers in many areas. The fire claimed 85 lives and injured over 600 people. It remains one of the deadliest hotel fires in American history. In the aftermath, Nevada enacted stricter fire safety regulations for all hotels and casinos, dramatically changing the landscape of safety in Las Vegas.

2. The Bellagio Heist (2010):

On December 14, 2010, one of the most daring robberies in Las Vegas history took place at the Bellagio Casino. A man later identified as Anthony Carleo stormed into the casino, wearing a motorcycle helmet, and stole over $1.5 million in chips from a craps table. Carleo, who was dubbed the “Bellagio Bandit,” thought he had committed the perfect crime. However, his inability to cash in the chips without drawing attention eventually led to his arrest. He had been selling the stolen chips to undercover officers. This heist became one of the most infamous moments of casino crime in Las Vegas.

3. The Stardust Casino Skimming Scandal (1970s-1980s):

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Stardust Casino was at the center of a massive mob-run skimming operation. The casino’s management, along with mobsters from the Chicago and Kansas City crime families, was skimming millions of dollars off the top of casino profits before they were reported to authorities. This illegal operation lasted for over a decade before it was exposed. It led to the indictment and imprisonment of numerous individuals, as well as a major federal investigation into organized crime’s control over Las Vegas casinos. The scandal tarnished the city’s image and led to greater corporate oversight in the industry.

4. The Mirage Tiger Attack (2003):

In one of the more bizarre and tragic events to happen in a Las Vegas casino, illusionist Roy Horn of the famous Siegfried & Roy duo was attacked by one of his own tigers during a live performance at the Mirage in 2003. The 7-year-old white tiger, named Mantecore, bit Horn on the neck, causing severe injuries that nearly killed him. The incident ended Siegfried & Roy’s long-running show and raised serious questions about the use of wild animals in entertainment. Though Horn survived, his career was never the same, and the incident remains one of the most shocking in Las Vegas history.

5. The Las Vegas Shooting (2017):

On October 1, 2017, Las Vegas witnessed the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. From a suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel, a gunman opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest music festival below, killing 60 people and injuring over 800. The shooter fired for more than 10 minutes before taking his own life. This horrific event shook Las Vegas and the entire nation, leading to heightened security measures across casinos and resorts in the city. The tragedy left a scar on Las Vegas, reminding everyone that even a city known for joy and entertainment can be touched by unimaginable horror.

Conclusion:

While Las Vegas is synonymous with fun, these five horrendous moments serve as a sobering reminder that beneath the excitement, the city has seen its share of tragedy and crime. From devastating fires to daring heists and senseless violence, these incidents have left a lasting impact on the city and its storied casinos.

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