Run FGK Run

What the heck happened?

I declared a truce with them because I had received a promise of action, a small token as a good faith measure and something else that I’m not at liberty to say.

My mail goal in this endeavor was to get Bet21.com to acknowledge that yes, a problem exists and that yes, they are aware of it and that a suitable resolution was/is in the works.

Unfortunately there have been many people who have either misconstrued my intentions or have been using this as a device to further THEIR own agendas.

I have said in the past and I will state it again. I am an independent person in this quest. I do not encourage others to join with me, unless it is their desire. I do this on my own. It’s kind of like when Forrest Gump was jogging back and forth across the US. People didn’t understand and thought there was some deeper meaning until finally there was a great big following when suddenly Forrest just stopped…

Have I stopped…Is the quest over…Is this the end…what’s next?

My quest will stop when I have what is rightfully mine. I understand that in the grand scheme of things there are priorities and that as much as I would love to think that returning my deposit bonus money is a priority for Bet21.com in reality it isn’t.

If Bet21.com folded up shop today and closed their doors what would happen?

If playing Elimination Blackjack were removed from the web would it matter?

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear does it make a noise?

Armistice Day

When is enough enough?

At what point do you throw the baby out with the bathwater?

My quest for the Mystical Deposit Bonus is not over. But it is time to give it a rest.

Yes I have received feedback from Bet21.com and the minions that work there.

I have proof that intelligent life forms do exist behind their numerous e-mails.

As a token they have given me fifty (50) tournament dollars in hopes of keeping me “quiet”.

Now as a man of principle I can not be bought (at least not so cheaply). I feel that I have made my point.

This olive branch by Bet21.com, to me, acknowledges that yes there is a problem and they have recognized that it exists.

Why is it not being addressed immediately? At this point why don’t I push in and “go for the kill?”

That was not my original intention nor was it my goal.

Why would I kill the Golden Goose? When given magic beans should I plant them or cook them? Am I about the here and now or do I look at the future?

Being the visionary that I am I have decided that it was time to step back and look at the overall landscape. Yes I have identified a problem and it has been acknowledged.

The question is HOW LONG BEFORE IT IS RESOLVED?

What’s next?

What great evil lurks in the shadows that hinders the hobbies of millions?

Could it be UIGEA?

Bet21 won't listen so......

Sometimes you just try and try to be a nice guy.

The old expression, “nice guys finish last” – well I’m beginning to believe in that.

I’ve tried customer service again and again and again and again. Their response has been less than stellar

So I guess it’s time to go to the NEXT level – CANADA

That’s right boys and girls, Canada. In particular Kahnawake.

Why Kahnawake? Well it just so happens that Kahnawake is located on the native Mohawk Indian reservation situated on the St. Lawrence River's south shore opposite Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I hear it’s a nice place. In fact there is where the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) is headquartered.

KGC you say? Who are they? The KGC was established in June 1996 (pursuant the Kahnawake Gaming Law provisions), and comprises three members selected by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake: Chairperson Alan Goodleaf, John K. Diabo and David Montour. The Commission's mandate is to regulate and control gaming & gaming related activities performed within and from its territory.

The KGC charges permit fees of 25,000 with yearly 10,000 renewals. Why do they do this? Well since they’ve issued 443 permits we can see that it brings in a fair amount of revenue.

So what does the KGC do? These Regulations are designed to satisfy 3 basic principles:
1. That only suitable persons & entities are permitted to operate within Kahnawake; 2. That the games offered are fair to the players; and 3. That winners are paid.
REALLY? You don’t say?

Oh come on now, the KGC is nothing more than a rubber stamp for the casinos. I hear you out there. But wait what happened in 2004? At the Olympics? Remember? Well I can’t show the ACTUAL offense but you get the idea. What happened?

In September 2004, the Commission received a number of complaints following an incident which occurred at the Olympic Games in Athens involving an individual who streaked as a publicity stunt designed to promote the Golden Palace casino, a KGC permit holder.
Following an investigation, the Commission ordered Golden Palace to never engage again in the same marketing practices. Golden Palace was also required to make a significant donation to other Kahnawake organizations.

The people there are really nice and very friendly to speak with. If anyone has any complains with any of their permit holders it’s amazing how eager they are to speak with you….

Call me…let’s talk….

Who you gonna call?

No not Ghostbusters this time. However the silence from Bet21.com is spooky.

I still cannot fathom a company that advertises a loss leader, in this case the deposit bonuses, then completely reneges upon their promises.

Image you get a flyer from Best Buy saying that HD flat screen 36” TVs are only 199.00!

You rush down to the local Best Buy and are informed that all the TV’s are sold out – sorry. But here, let’s give you a rain check so that when the next shipment comes in we’ll sell them to you.

Days go by, then the days turn to weeks and the weeks finally turn to months. Several times you’ve called Best Buy inquiring about the HD sets only to be told, “We’re working on it.”

Finally after 6 months you say, “Enough is enough” and you demand to see the manager and show them your rain check. “I’m sorry but we don’t have the software to validate that rain check – NEXT”

How would YOU feel?

Happy? Relieved? Frustrated? Angry? Disappointed?

All of the above?

Now here’s the 64 dollar question: “Would you ever believe Best Buy in the future? Would you shop at Best Buy in the future?”

What would you tell your friends about that store?

How is that above scenario any different from the bait and switch being done with Bet21.com?

Tell me – I’m waiting!

Bet21.com - What will it be?

What will it take?

People always want to know what your goals are.

Why are you dong this?

Very simply put – I want answers.

I want Bet21.com to be held responsible for their promises.

I want some communication from them regarding how they plan to correct this situation.

If Bet21.com published a letter stating something to this effect:

“We at Bet21.com have been made aware that there is a problem with the redemption of the pending bonus dollars for our Blackjack players. We were unaware that this situation had not been resolved and are working very diligently with the software programmers in an effort to resolve this situation.

Therefore, until such time we would ask your patience with Bet21.com and we assure you that all pending deposit bonus dollars will be awarded effective _______________.

We apologize for the delays and promise to make every effort to keep you updated in the future.”

Now would THAT be so hard?

If they were to do that I would place my BOYCOTT on hold, assuming that their announced deadline was reasonable and not 6 months away.

So what about it Bet21.com?

Is my beef with Bet21.com really about the deposit bonus or is it something deeper?

Let’s look at the facts shall we?

My initial deposits that qualified me for the bonus money goes back to August 2006 (7 months ago). From September to February I have played in over 700 games (SNG & tourneys). During that time I questioned when the deposit bonuses would be released and twice it was answered by reputable people:

On November 19, 2006 this post was made by Joep:
"All players who signed up when Bet 21 first came on line, will receive all their due bonuses retro active from Day 1 of their deposit. As this will take some addition time to check all play from the beginning, they have told me ALL owed bonus money will be resolved by Jan. 1, 2007, at the latest."

http://www.blackjacktournaments.com/bb/showthread.php?t=2860

Then again on January 5, 2007, this quote was posted by Hollywood Dave:
The GOOD news is that not only is the retroactive bonus $$$ STILL a priority there, but now the affiliate program has been expanded as well -- which means that soon people like Ken Smith, for instance, can just create their own bonus codes (such as 'KINGKEN') that new players can enter to receive personalized bonuses, etc...The BAD news is that all of these changes -- bonus money, affiliate codes, etc -- are still a few weeks off. Projections now have been revised to the beginning of February, rather than the beginning of January as originally anticipated

http://www.blackjacktournaments.com/bb/showthread.php?t=3069

[Links are provided as to prove that I haven’t done any “fancy” editing]

As of March 27, 2007 I don’t believe anyone has had their pending deposit dollars converted to real cash by playing BJ.

But wait you say I should just go to a poker table and grind it out to get my bonus money? Well how do you explain this link from Bet21.com?

http://www.bet21.com/_htmls/game/blackjack-bonus-dollars.html

Now I ask you this, if the people in charge of Bet21.com lie to their surrogate representatives like Joep and Hollywood Dave – basically hanging them out to dry – what makes you think that they give a rats ass about you or I?

The argument goes: It’s (Bet21.com) the only game in town so don’t rock the boat.

To those people my response is this:

Why don’t you play 6:5 BJ or better yet even money BJ? At some casino’s it’s the only game in the house. Do you think Joep would ever play even money BJ? How about Hollywood? Noman, would you sit down at a SuperFun 21 BJ game and play because it was the only one in town?

I think not!

But we do it blindly with Bet21.com. Why?

BECAUSE IT’S THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN RIGHT?

Now I don’t mean to get political but there is some analogy here with our current administration and the Iraq War.

In the beginning we invaded Iraq based on the intelligence and WMD. Since that time we haven’t found WMD. In the news now is the revelation about Pat Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinal pro football player who enlisted in the special forces and was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire – that wasn’t what was initially reported. In fact Pat Tillman’s death was used as a recruiting aid at the time. Only now are the “facts” being made public.

My point is this: With so much disinformation the American public is saying, “how can we trust anything that comes out of this administration?” This issue is not how Pat Tillman was killed (Pat Tillman is a hero regardless) but why we, the American public, were lied to in the beginning.

Bet21.com is using the same tactics as the current White House Administration. Stonewall, ignore, abuse of power. Therefore in this environment the same mistrust is being bread and spread. The lack of communication from Bet21.com is deafening! How much longer will they continue to ignore their customers. How much longer will they simply pretend that there is no problem and that it doesn't exist?

If we can't trust a company to make good on it's INITIAL promises, i.e., the Deposit Bonus - How can we trust them to live up to any one of their other promises - like a FAIR game?

How do you KNOW there isn’t a skew in the cards being dealt? How do you know that you aren’t being tracked? How do you know that your money will be returned to you? Were you part of the Neteller fiasco? How do you know that Bet21.com has enough funds to cut you that check? How do you know…..?

Trust is the answer and at this juncture Bet21.com has used up their goodwill …..

How Soon is Soon?

What’s in a word?

So how soon is soon?

Bet21.com has recently (within the past 3 (three) days) changed their promo page. They currently offer deposit bonus for new account deposits up to $350 (down from the original $650).

Wow, what a deal. Bet21.com, whose motto is, the Place to play elimination Blackjack” and “as seen on the Ultimate Blackjack Tour” is offering new players a chance to get $350!

But hold on there – let’s look at the fine print shall we?

When you click on the link it states, “…we’re giving all new first time depositors a 100% Deposit Bonus for poker.

NOTE: Blackjack Bonus Dollars are coming soon!” (yellow highligher)

Well at least they (Bet21.com) is finally being honest. But now the question becomes, how soon is soon?

soon /sun/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[soon] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adverb, -er, -est.
1. within a short period after this or that time, event, etc.: We shall know soon after he calls.

2. before long; in the near future; at an early date: Let's leave soon.

3. promptly or quickly: He came as soon as he could.

4. readily or willingly: I would as soon walk as ride.

5. early in a period of time; before the time specified is much advanced: soon at night; soon in the evening.

6. Obsolete. immediately; at once; forthwith.
—Idioms

7. sooner or later, eventually: Sooner or later his luck will run out.

8. would sooner, to prefer to: I would sooner not go to their party. Compare rather (def. 8).
[Origin: bef. 900; ME; OE sōna; c. OHG sān, Goth suns ]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006

If you had opened a Bet21.com account when you click on the Pending Bonus link here is what it says, “You can convert bonus dollars by playing in Elimination Blackjack™ and poker tournaments and Sit 'n' Gos. Bonus dollars will be converted to real money for play on the site at the rate of $1 for every 30 Bet21 points you earn at our Elimination Blackjack and poker tournaments and Sit 'n' Gos. Bonus dollars will be converted to real money for play on the site at the rate $1 per every ten Bet21 points you earn at our Raked Poker Ring Games table. You can see how many pending bonus dollars you have by clicking on "My Account" within the Bet21 Lobby. Pending bonus dollars are listed under your Real Money Account Information. One bonus per person. This bonus offer is available to new players only. Players that deposit and withdraw bonus dollars without significant amount of play will be required to forfeit their bonus dollars. Subject to change.
Copyright 2006 Bet21.com All Rights Reserved. Bet21.com are trademark owned by Blast Off Limited”

Now what is it? Can you convert bonus dollars or not?

A quasi representative for Bet21.com told a well known blackjack tournament site that he had spoken to Bet21.com. In December 2006 this gentleman posted this:

“The deposit bonuses that are due players that have new and recent deposits, will appear in your account and be available to use in 2 to 3 weeks at the most.All players who signed up when Bet 21 first came on line, will receive all their due bonuses retro active from Day 1 of their deposit.As this will take some addition time to check all play from the beginning, they have told me ALL owed bonus money will be resolved by Jan. 1, 2007, at the latest.”

That was posted on November 19, 2006.

So my original question remains, how soon is soon?

I guess that depends upon the meaning of the word is right?

[for the uninitiated click here for another famous use of words by former President Clinton http://www.slate.com/id/1000162/]

Perception or Reality?

Bet21.com – PERCEPTION versus REALITY

When a person does business with someone or some company the foundation for any and all transaction is simply this – trust.

Do I trust that what I am buying/purchasing/using, etc., is what this person/company claims it is or does.

TRUST – plain and simple.

If I don’t trust the company then very simply put why should I do business with them?

In America, most business that can’t be trusted very quickly go out of business. In fact there are some businesses that seem to know that so they purposely lie and scam people. There are certain “businesses” that sell products that are either stolen or of such poor quality as to be useless but since the company is liquidated and gone they don’t care.

Then there are other companies that are built on false advertising or crocked concepts – a great example of that is the Ponzi scheme started by Charles Ponzi in New York City in 1903. 20% on your money in only 30 days!

Some early investors with Ponzi got their 20% - others lost everything. Was Charles Ponzi a great businessman or a charlatan? I guess it depends upon whom you talk to:

PERCEPTION versus REALITY

What does this have to do with Bet21.com?

Maybe everything or then again maybe nothing.

Perception is Reality to many people. Look at Chicken Little. Chicken Little was CONVINCED that the sky was falling. The reality of the situation was that an acorn hit Chicken Little on the head but in Chicken Little’s mind the sky was literally falling.

REALITY versus PERCEPTION

So what is more important? How are we to discern between the two? Is there really any difference?

In the 1980’s the news media talked about a pending United States Recession for many many months. The economic indicators were not pointing toward a recession but the media continued with their mantra – finally the recession occurred.

Did the public’s perception of the pending recession cause the recession or was the reality that we were already headed for a recession and the news media was ahead of the curve?

REALITY versus PERCEPTION

When a company doesn’t pay their bills to their customers are they on the verge of going under? Are they having trouble meeting their financial obligations? If they can’t pay their bills what happens to any money that I have entrusted to them?

REALITY versus PERCEPTION

Early Background

What happens when a company promises something and then doesn’t deliver on that promise?

That is the case right now with an online Blackjack Tournament Gaming Site: Bet21.com

They started operations in August 2006 and offer the first and only Elimination Blackjack (EBJ)

For those of you who aren’t familiar with EBJ it is a new form for Tournament Blackjack (TBJ). EBJ is fun, it is exciting and a great game of strategy. It beat playing poker hands down.

Now for the bad news, the only licensed online company that is allowed to license EBJ is Bet21.com. This company advertised that they would match you initial deposit with them, up to $600 dollars.

Then in the fine print it says that you need to play a certain number of real dollars in order to release your bonus money. So far so good. However it turns out that the company doesn’t even have the software to keep track of your play and that the only way to receive the promised deposit bonus is to play at their poker tables!

Talk about false and deceptive advertising!

More to come……

The quest for the mythical bonus deposit dollars

The purpose of this blog is to INFORM players about the TRUTH behind Bet21.com.

This is the opening of this blog. I anticipate some lively discussions and posts and encougage other people to help me spread the word in the tournament Blackjack community