I’m shocked. Outraged. Disturbed. Deflated. Disillusioned. Yes, all of those emotions wash over me as I read about the Methuen man who is the alleged mastermind behind a sports betting operation in Massachusetts and New Hampshire that was doing about $1 million a week in business.
Yeah, there’s some drug charges in there too, but what’s really disturbing is the gambling, don’t you think? I mean, $1 million a week. That’s $52 million a year. The whole thing was well organized, according to the authorities, who say there were more than 100 bettors involved and that Mr. Mastermind, Carey Hamilton, was making as much as $15,000 from his bookmaking activities.
It made me think about dropping a dime, though. I’ve heard about this other gambling operation that makes $52 million look like less than pocket change. This one’s $4 billion a year, and operating in plain sight, right in front of the authorities. I think it ensnares thousands of regular bettors each week, too.
But yeah, OK, I know – it’s the authorities themselves who are operating it. And this one’s fine, because government gets a nice fat cut of the profits. Ain’t nobody from the Mass Lottery going to be doing the perp walk.
