Saturday Notes

Here are a few things catching my eye this Saturday.

When I started in the 'net business in around 2000, I was always amazed and interested by the freemium model, lifetime customer values, start-up spend and new business marketing. It shocked me that offshore gaming, for example, knew exactly what to offer a new customer to land him/her, to steal him away from somewhere else. Things like bet $100 get $100, or get 50 bets for referring a friend were common in 1998 or 1999.

Outside gambling this was alive and well too. Online stock brokers offered free software, 50 or 100 free trades, you first month trading free, and so on. Having worked with an online stock broker at that time on their online marketing, I always loved their passion for trying things new.

Racing never seemed to follow suit.  The last several years we've seen more of it, but it seemed like an exercise, not real marketing, and quite honestly it was disconcerting, because it's just math.

Twinspires this year though, has done the math. If you refer new customers to them, there's no pussyfooting around. You get $250 and a new Kindle Fire.

We're going to have to steer more and more people into betting on the net, so we might as well accept that and be aggressive. I bet TS gains some customers with this promotion.

The first online betting business who steps outside the box, works with industry leaders in an aggressive way, and goes after online sports bettors and poker players, wins.

Anyhow, some more things:

Great chatter in HRU today on "What happened to Meadowlands' handles?"Loved the comments from Les.

Billy Davis will have a good career with this kind of talk:

• “These trainers, grooms and owners, they work all week on these horses. They invest all their time and money and it can all go down the drain in the two minutes I sit behind them on the track.  

Nice pdf of the McKinsey plans (pdf). There's some good stuff in there.

Fascinating talk in New York state about expanded gaming, operators wanting more from slot revenue, and more. Being a free market dude, I simply can't wrap my head around it all. Don't vote me Prime Minister, that's for sure. The corporate tax rate would be zero and there would be no goofy corporate welfare subsidies. That's mainly because I don't understand business social engineering, I guess.

Congrats to Standardbred Canada's Darryl Kaplan. He's one of the good guys.

Carryover today at Aqueduct for pick 6 players. Okay super high five carry at Tampa as well.

Good luck today folks.