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12/09/03 3:48 AM EST

Remembering Roberto

 

Christopher Costigan, Sports911.com 

 

2003 was a very memorable year in the world of offshore gambling, but perhaps no other single individual has left a more lasting impression than that of Roberto Castiglioni, CEO of fledgling Royal Sports, a wagering company based out of Curacao.  Love him or hate him, Sports911 feels it is only fitting to reminisce about this “legendary” (and many might argue infamous) offshore figure.  Now that he is gone, a very huge void has been left….not at Royal Sports, but at Sports911.com.  Who the hell are we going to have so much fun with now???? 

July 2002 – Roberto Castigliani, looking to overthrow then Royal CEO John Bakker, discovers treachery has occurred within the oh so stable confines of Royal Sports.   

“As verbally stated I did proceed in disclosing the elements of the double violation of my private life occurred last Tuesday night, July 9, and following blackmailing action I am indirectly being subject to, to Board’s representation.  Being this the case, I believe this is the kind of a situation where the only doable solution is to apply the “United we stand:” motto, and proceed.  We shall not be afraid and we have to prove to whoever entered this kind of illegal step that no one here has fear.” 

Castiglioni made reference to a sex tape that later surfaced which showed him having poolside sex with a female employee, who would later father his child. 

The Rise of the Emperor 

The province and surrounding people grieved greatly.  Foreign countries and kings mourned his friendliness to allies and forgiveness to enemies.  Both his looks and his words had inspired respect.  Yet this dignity and grandeur, befitting his lofty rank, had been unaccompanied by any arrogance or jealousy, at least not at the onset. 

Castiglioni had managed to succeed his arch nemesis, Mr. John Bakker.  Others within the organization supported his rise to power.  They would later regret the decision.   

It was around this time also that Castiglioni developed a deep hatred for a software geek by the name of Intuition Bet. 

We Will Not Allow The Greeks To Rule Us 

I am not speaking of the Greeks.  For they left license unpunished as well as freedom – or, at most, words were countered by words.  Cassius and Brutus and Spiros are not in the arms at Philippi now.  I am not on the platform inciting the people to civil war.  They are known by their statues – even the conqueror did not remove them.  And they have their place in the historian’s pages.  Posterity gives everyone his due honour.  If I am condemned, people will remember me as well as Cassius and Brutus and Spiros 

Olympic Sports bids to purchase Royal Sports in one of the most disastrous sales attempts of all times, and it would not be the first involving Royal Sports.  Roberto sent an army of founding partners and key employees to set up shop on the island of Jamaica where a well known Greek businessman by the name of Spiros ran Olympic Sports (also known as TheGreek.com).  After changing the terms of contract a number of times, Spiros finally threw in the towel but managed to hold back the Roman butcher.  In the process, these very same key figures at Royal Sports joined the ranks of Olympic and formed their own sports wagering company, calling it BetJamaica.   

I Am The New Emperor 

Curacao is not so decayed that she cannot provide her own capital with a senate consisting of former 900 sex phone deviants intent on ruining a once proud sports book.  We must rid ourselves of the undesirables and replace them with similar beings molded in our own likenesses and we will give them similar names.  The replacement for Scotty Johnson will now be Scotty Johnson and so on and so forth.  To us we’re content with a Dutch Senate consisting only of Dutch atheists and zero Americans, and the government of those days is only a glorious memory.   

Though Castigliani was Roman, he had seduced the Dutch ownership of Royal and forced out all remaining American principals.  At the same time, he decided to file suit against arch nemesis Intuition Bet where he would later win a legal court battle against him on the grounds of slander.  Roberto had seized all control over Royal Sports and was now prepared to unleash his wrath.   

Slow Pay Roberto 

July 2003, some slow pay issues result in a handful of websites removing Royal Sports ads.  Roberto later admits that the tightwad owners had to inject new funds into this seven year old company.   

Roberto The Pirate 

Roberto Castigliani assumes control of Gamblers Avenue.  Even though he stated that no money was received for this “acquisition”, in the same breath he demanded to know why the owner of Gamblers Avenue had bounced a check.  Doh! 

Roberto would later force all Gamblers Avenue players to roll their money over five times while assuming nearly $200,000 in fresh post up monies.   

Roberto Schemes Some More 

When the emperor heard of a rebellion he sent auxiliary cavalry and infantry against the marauding and recruiting forces. 

Roberto begins providing his followers with gifts in exchange for praise of Royal Sports.  Little did they know, he was planning his abrupt departure from the Dutch island of Curacao.   

On December 8, 2003, it was learned by Sports911.com that Roberto had fled the island to Italy where he wished to start a family but prior to doing so he made one more lasting impression.  After winning his court battle against Intuition Bet he would later invade TheRx.com posting forum, plastering the decision all over the site.  TheRx.com would later ban Roberto and remove all of his advertising banners. 

Roberto, you will truly be missed.