TradeWinds Sportsbook Implicated in Phoenix, Arizona Bust
TradeWinds Sportsbook, long affiliated with one of Las Vegas' most hated figures, Gary Austin, has been mentioned in the latest US stateside bust where credit bookies, agents and even players are expected to be reeled in over the coming weeks.
A video news feed from Phoenix KPHO shows charts that refer to TradeWinds.
Watch Video
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said it served 44 search warrants on Tuesday in a two-year-long undercover operation designed to break up an international gambling ring based in Phoenix.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio said in "Operation High Stakes," undercover deputies successfully penetrated four separate but loosely connected groups working out of various homes and businesses in the Valley that used Internet-based betting sites to take illegal gambling bets online or via toll free telephone numbers.
Arpaio said that while most bets were made online through Costa Rica-based betting sites, the payouts and collections occurred in local Phoenix bars and restaurants throughout the Valley.
"Millions of dollars were being collected, sometimes extorted from people here who placed bets through these illegal gambling operations," Arpaio said. "If someone couldn't pay their debts, interest rates as high as 51 percent were levied."
Arpaio said that large amounts of cocaine were also flowing through these gambling syndicates.
It is not known how much TradeWinds was immersed in this matter or if they even knew the extent of this gambling ring. Furthermore, Gambling911.com does not know if any principals in TradeWinds are named in the complaint.
For years, TradeWinds has dealt with the stigma attached by having Gary Austin among its owners/investors. While TradeWinds itself has a relatively clean track record and was one of the first betting shops to land in Costa Rica, Austin's past in Vegas is anything but.
What Happens in Vegas Doesn't Always Stay There
Old time Vegas sports bettors are not so forgiving of Gary Austin, though most of today's online gamblers know little about the man's colorful history, which includes an alleged "inside" robbery of his own sportsbook back in the 1980's. Such allegations have never been fully confirmed nor has Austin himself ever come forward to explain just what happened that fateful night.
That's because Austin skipped town very shortly thereafter, shutting down his Vegas book.
A knowledgeable sports bettor and runner by the name of Reno, known for traveling from one book to another via his bicycle, once posted on the Bettorsworld Sports Gambling Forum:
"Gary Austin, who owned and managed Gary Austin's race and sports book, was a degenerate gambler, who, as many people know, bet millions on a World series (was it the one between Kansas City and St. Louis) and lost because of a blatantly bad call by a first base umpire.
"Anyway, because of the loss, Austin's set up a fake robbery of his race and sportsbook, and used this as an excuse to close his establishment and stiff the players, me among them.
"The investigation was a farce, and Austin got off scot-free. The Gaming Control Board did nothing to help bettors recoup their losses and took no legal action against Austin."
Austin may not have been charged in this matter, but old timers in Vegas still hold a grudge against the man and it has been noted he's hardly welcome in Sin City, even today.
Investigators in Phoenix say that dozens of actual gamblers may be rounded up as well in the coming weeks, though again it is not known what if any impact this matter will have on TradeWinds daily operations. Some would speculate, probably none.
----
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com
Originally published May 1, 2007 7:25 am ET
