Bill Benter the genius billionaire horse punter!

 Bill Benter: The Man Who Made $1 Billion Betting on Horses

Who is Bill Benter?

Bill Benter was born with a brilliant mathematical mind. After graduating from university and completing his physics degree, he found himself in Las Vegas at the blackjack tables, counting cards. However, after seven years, he was banned from every casino in Vegas.


After being banned, he searched for another way to make money mathematically, which led him to meet Alan Woods, another like-minded gambler whose specialty was horse racing. The two became partners and moved to Hong Kong in 1984. They started with $150,000 USD and intended to create an algorithm that would give them a mathematical edge over other bettors and bookmakers.


At that time, and to some extent even now, people believed that horse racing was never profitable due to the numerous outcomes, making it impossible to cover all possibilities. However, this did not deter Benter and Woods. They came across an academic paper titled "Searching for Positive Results at the Track" by Ruth Bolton of Arizona State University. The paper described how a horse's performance on race day could be estimated by examining various variables, such as straight-line speed, jockey size, and speed.

Benter then created a model, calculating all the variables he believed were necessary to determine the "true odds" of a particular horse winning the race. This allowed him to gain a competitive advantage and bet with greater confidence than other punters who relied solely on the bookmaker's odds. He coded his system into a few computers and began testing it in 1985.


During the first season of betting, Benter and Woods lost a total of $120,000, most of which was Alan's money. Furious at this, Alan left, leaving Benter with no choice but to continue counting cards at Atlantic City to increase his bankroll and continue testing the system with additional variables.


By 1988, Benter had incorporated more than 20 variables into his system, which proved to be far superior to the previous version, earning him over $600,000 for the racing season. In 1990, the Hong Kong Jockey Club released their live betting odds, which Benter factored into his system. After calculating the odds for the 1990-91 season, he saw a profit of $3 million.

As the millennium approached, Benter was examining over 100 different variables, resulting in a massive $50 million profit in the 1997 season alone!


In 1995, word had spread about Benter's system, which he published in an academic paper. Many competitors set up similar operations and continued to make large sums of money. Even Alan Woods returned!


In 2001, Benter calculated a triple trifecta, successfully picking the top three horses in three consecutive races. This achievement proved to Benter that his system was unbeatable. The odds of hitting this trifecta are unfathomable, with over 10 million combinations, yet they hit it using their algorithm! The rumored winnings were $12 million from a single ticket. However, Benter never claimed the ticket, and the money was sent to charity according to the Hong Kong Jockey Club's rules. Many speculate as to why he never accepted the winnings, one reason being that accepting it might have led to his expulsion from the club. For Benter, he believed that in the long run, he would be more profitable by continuing to back winners.


Scaling Up Their Operations!

Benter and Woods did not run a one-man show. Benter sought the help of journalists, analysts, and other mathematicians he trusted to add additional variables to their system. They set up a massive operation with many people working for them, using telephones to place bets. However, in 1997, when bookmakers' offices were introduced and telephone bets were banned, the team had to physically drive to various bookmakers to continue placing their bets.


The Downfall

However, the business-like nature of their operation over the years led to an investigation by the Hong Kong Revenue Department. They wanted to prove that Benter and Woods were acting as businesses and should pay taxes. As this was a legal gray area, Woods fled to the Philippines, and Benter stopped his operations. His estimated earnings totaled $1 billion USD overall.


How This Relates to the System!

All Benter was doing was trusting that he had a mathematical edge over other bettors, relying on his system to work, and employing proper money management skills. This aligns with everything we do in the system: following tips, placing bonus bets, and aiming for long-term profitability. Benter lost $120,000 in his first year, but he remained disciplined, trusted his system, and ultimately profited in the long run.


The Law of Large Numbers Theory!

Lastly, I wanted to touch on the Law of Large Numbers, which Benter used in his algorithm. Many match bettors today also utilize this theory when creating systems. According to the Law of Large Numbers, the average of results gets closer to the expected value as more trials are performed. In essence, if you have a mathematical edge over bookmakers and consistently bet on high expected value, you will profit in the long term. By limiting your downside and maximising your upside, the potential for profit is immense!










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