I’m always asked how I got into sports betting. The first gambling memory I have goes to when I was very young. Based on the house we were living in at the time, I honestly had to be 6-8 years old. It’s funny, the memories you retain from that age are very limited, so for this to be one of those memories says something about me and perhaps what my path in life was intended to be.
Anyway, when I was 6-8 years old I recall seeing my dad with one of the old parlay tickets. It was on the corner of the side table in our living room. For those who don’t remember or even know what these are…they are those white strips of paper where “All Ties Lose” and a four teamer pays 10-1. These cards were passed around workplaces like crazy in the 70’s through the 90’s…and sometimes even today (click here for the best picture I could find showing one). I asked my dad what it was and he briefly explained the parlay ticket or parlay card as they were know…teams get points because it would be too easy to pick outright winners, you bet money and get paid if you are correct on everything you pick. My dad didn’t bet with a bookie or anything, just take a shot at a parlay card each week for fun. Yep, even at that young age, the thought of picking sports teams and winning money was injected into my blood. My degenerate gland was activated!
People say you know from an early age what you were meant to be…what your destiny would entail…it’s just a matter of whether you listen or not…and what path you follow to get there. I was way too young to be excited about gambling on a parlay ticket…but I was! Looking back now it is clear the universe was dropping me hints. The universe would drop me a lot of hints along the way, I am glad I listened. I will save those for another story at another time!
Fast forward to when I was around 12. I was out shopping with my mother at one of those stores which sells various discount items. The store would be similar to a Dollar General today. Well, in this store there was a book area and my eye caught this green and white book with the title “Betting To Win on Sports” by Wayne Alan Root. I knew nothing about Wayne Root at the time, just that it was a book about betting sports to win money…EXCELLENT! Just what I wanted to do…bet sports and win! I was jacked and I asked my mother to get it for me. Thankfully it was a book, so she didn’t pay much attention to the title as she threw it into the cart! It was definitely discounted to less than $5…because the listed retail price on the back was only $8.95. LOL! It was without a doubt the first book I ever read on gambling…and funny enough, I have kept the book through the years because of what it meant to my journey. I wish I could have kept that first parlay ticket I saw my dad with, it would have made for a GREAT artifact in the TSP Gambling Museum! Below are actual photos of my copy of Wayne Root’s book as it looks today…
The book is still around, with used versions available for purchase through various outlets. It’s hardly some Bible of sports betting success. I don’t even know if the strategies were good, but it’s a book that made me think about gambling in different ways and only increased my interest in the business. It made me think more analytically…even at 12 years old…yeah, I was a nerd…and a degenerate. If you want to have a fun read or check out the book yourself, there are (at least as I type) a couple used copies on Amazon…
https://www.amazon.com/Betting-Sports-Wayne-Allyn-Root/dp/0553347896/
Anyway, people always ask me how I got started and these two occasions…the parlay ticket with my dad and then a few years later with the book, were without a doubt key to leading me on my gambling path. There were a lot of steps along the path, and breadcrumbs that kept me moving forward, but without the parlay card or the book, I may never have gotten into gambling.
I don’t know what your path in life is meant to be. Sometimes people think it is one thing, or want it to be one thing, but their actual destiny is something else. I do believe you get little hints along the way and the question is whether you follow those hints to your destiny or you tear off the path in another direction, spending your time on earth always searching but never finding…and at best only achieving minor successes. It will feel “different” when one of those universal hints get dropped in front of you…it makes you stop for a brief second as your brain says…wait a minute…there is something more to this. Do you then blow right by or sit back and think deeply about what it might mean? When you think you figured it out, follow that path and keep an eye out for the breadcrumbs along the way which provide the reassurance that you are on your path. Yes, we all have free will, but that doesn’t mean the universe won’t drop hints in front of you to help you get to your destiny. Your free will is whether you listen or not.
Not everyone’s path leads to riches in money and power. It’s about fulfillment…and whatever that means to your soul. My aunt’s path was to be a teacher…to educate kids and help them achieve their greatness. She wasn’t poor by any means, but she also wasn’t wealthy…but that didn’t matter to her. There are few people I have ever met who loved their life more than my aunt loved hers. The energy she had teaching, to anyone watching her do it, knew that was her destiny…and she was without a doubt fulfilled by it.
My path was gambling. I wanted other successes and things in life, and I took shots to get them, but it never seemed to work out. When I got back on the gambling path…everything would almost immediately come together for me. I stopped fighting it…and I am glad I did. While I think how much fun it would be to have Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos business successes, and be looking to spend my pocket change on buying and NFL team, that’s not my destiny. It’s all good though, because gambling has given me more in life than I ever could have imagined…and it keeps giving me more and more to this very day. It’s where I was meant to be and I am incredibly fulfilled by it…and continuously look forward to what the future holds!
I hope all of you find total fulfillment out of your lives!
Look at me I am Tony Robbins now! LOL! 😂 😂 😂
Good luck to you in your life’s journey! 🍀