VSiN Best BetsIn this hour of Follow The Money, hosts Mitch Moss and Pauly Howard are joined by Mike Detillier, WWL Radio Host and SaintsReport.com Writer, to talk about the Super Bowl and the New Orleans Saints. Also on the show, the hosts are joined by Richard Munchkin, Gambling With An Edge Co-Host, as he talks about his various betting stories.
All the money. That's why I say you always.
Follow Yeah, yeah, this is Follow the Money with Mitch Moss and Polly Howard on Vson.
Welcome in Busy hour coming up in fifteen minutes. Will go over the NBA card for tonight. A lot of great numbers on the schedule and bottom of the hour. Richard Munchkin, lifelong professional gamb We're going to be in studio for about an hour today and he has incredible stories throughout his career. Here another tremendous guest to begin the hour. Mike Detillier joins the program WWL in New Orleans and Saints Report dot Com. A lot to get into here with Mike as he's on the progressive guest line.
Thanks for the time today is always might.
How are you my pleasure? It's great, great to be with you.
Okay, So once you found out last Sunday night we were going to get the Eagles and Chiefs again like we had it two years ago in the Super Bowl in your backyard by the way, in New Orleans. This year and the points spread of the total we're quickly posted on sportsbooks across the country. Chiefs a small favorite total upper Fouries did you have an immediate immediate opinion on the game.
Mike, Yeah, I still think that I'm not going to lose my money and bet against Patrick Mahomes in big games. I mean put it to you this way. They got a lot of people that say, well, I'll do it and I'll win money. Well, ain't that ain't exactly correct. I'm going with the Chiefs. I think they cover and I would take the over. I don't think the Chiefs defense are going to be able to stop. They may be able to slow it down, but the running attack of the Eagles, if Kellen Moore is smart here as an offensive coordinator, he pounds Sakwan Barclay twenty six to thirty times in this game. Because you watched last week, yes, James Cook. My thing is, why did Joe Brady unplug him in the second half. It startled me that he had so much success running the and then he sort of untlugged it a little bit. And you know what, how many times have we seen this? Guys? They tried to out Mahomes. Mahomes, you're not winning like that. Run the football and take it to them. I think the Eagles have a shot in this game but again, in big situations, big games, is there a better player than Pat Mahomes. And the one thing I took away from a negative side on the Eagles when they played the Commanders, they still trying to cover zach Ertz. He was opened virtually every play at tight end. Well guess what the Chiefs got playing tight end, Travis Kelcey. And so for me, they don't fix that. And Big Vangiel's guy and I go back a lot of years with vig Vic was the linebackers coach for the own patroled defense of the Saints in the nineteen eighties when they had Ricky Jackson, Pat Swillings, Sam Mills, Vaughn Johnson. They'll never be a foursome like that again, because you couldn't afford to pay a pennion at the time. But my goodness, you know Bick would always laugh about I didn't coach him. I just pointed him in the right direction.
Yes, So do you think then Carter and company can put heat on Mahomes and make a difference.
It sounds like you don't think that'll happen.
I think they will be able to, But man, I think a lot of that sharp stuff is going to be there with Kelsey. And you know it happens almost weekly, there's a new guy involved with the Chiefs. Is that is this week going to become one of the two veteran receivers if Hollywood Brown or DeAndre Hopkins.
Absolutely, because they fed it to Worthy.
Okay, xavier' Worthy. He's really played better than I think anyone thought he would play this year of because you thought maybe that first year he would get a few touches. No, he's become a big part of their offense. But the one thing with Andy Reid, he does a great job of catching you a little off guard. And I think they're gonna press those two rookie corners who they have played fantastic punon Mitchell Dijon and Cooper Man. They have played fantastic this year. But I think that they're gonna try to press those two guys. And again I go back to the Commander's game. How many catches zach Ertz had in that game and he was open a few more times. They gonna pump that thing to Travis Kelsey because they saw there is a weakness there in that Eagle defense. But right now, Jalen Carter, he is the best defensive tackle in pro football. He plays to run better than Chris Jones. They take Chris out in obvious running situation sometimes to give him a breather, but man Kailey guards a handful.
No doubt.
I agree with your assessment as well. So a lot going on in your backyard. You got the game, and then who's going to be the coach? Did they want Kingsbury? Was he the number one choice? And then he pulled out? So now it's Kellen Moore.
Take me through this.
I've always felt the number one choice for them was Aaron Glenn. He was a former player here, He was a former assistant coach here. He actually was the runner up to Dennis Allen when Mickey Wooma's hard Dennis a few years ago. He was the number two guy on that list, and I thought he was the guy. And then I can understand him picking the Jets because of the deficiencies this Saints football team has today. You don't have the young quarterback in place. You've got salary cap issues, major ones for twenty twenty five. It eases up in twenty six, but still you got to deal with it this year and look on this roster and I always throw this out. This team is devoid of good young core players twenty seven years or younger other than Eric McCoy. Give me another guy that you say can start on any of the thirty two teams in the NFL that's on the Saints roster that's twenty seven years of age or younger.
Well, that's a very strong comment that he's the only guy you think that you'd make a case for.
Well, for Wagu, I think would start on some teams because I think that pick they hit on taliasse Fuaga is gonna end up being a really good offensive tackle in this league. But other than McCoy, of a certainty, there is none that this is an older team with a Cam Jordan and tiring Matthew and the Mario Davis and Alvin Kamara. You know you've got a team now that has gotten old very quickly, and it's gonna be a major that no squad in the NFL loves to use the R word. It's the dirty word in athletic language, rebuild. But they're gonna have.
To follow the money.
Here on VS and D Sports Betty Network, our guest Mike Dettillier WWL in New Orleans also Saints Report dot Com.
Do you like the idea of more being the next head coach?
Is he gonna get Do you think he's gonna be distracted in the Super Bowl because of it?
No? I think you know one thing with the Saints, they know better than to step on the tools of the NFL. If any team has gotten in trouble with the NFL more than the the site. So they're gonna go by the rules because they saw the last time this happened with Gannon, you know, when he was with the Eagles and they in Arizona and he ends up staying there. But then you know, they get robbed of some draft choices because the Saints and the last thing they need is to have draft choices pulled from them. So my thing with Kellen Moore is I sort of know what he's gonna want to run offensively, and I was impressed the fact that his reputation was a pass happy type coach. He goes to the Eagles and he took a look at that offensive line in Saque and said, hey, guys, guess what We're going to run the ball and I'm to adapt my system to it. I would have to see what his staff is defensively. I think that's always a key when you are an offensive base coach or you're a defensive oriented coach. What you do on the other side of the football and who you able to bring in players are one on the list and it always will one. B is always assistant coaches.
You're a draft expert. What do you think of this class and the quarterback class and who could go one through five?
I think probably you'll see two quarterbacks selected in the top five. I work with one every day, you know, And the one thing I've learned from him, you know, and I will agree with a bear on this that quarterbacks trump everything. And so I think cam Ward's going to go one to the Titans, and that's going to vary where Shadeer Sandras goes. Does he go to the Giants? Do the Raiders make me a move up to try to get Deer because he's worked with Tom Brady in the offseason and Tom seemingly has a lot of pull there. And I do think Jackson Dart will go in round one. I think that will be three. And I think Jackson Dart may go a little bit higher than some people think he'll go I've watched him. I've watched him when he was starting at usc D comes to a miss people question can he run a pro style system? Yeah? He can run it. You know. Man, He's got a live arm, always wants to push the football downfield. I wish he'd be a little bit more patient because sometimes he turns down an open receiver in the shark intermediate part of the field that hit the deep ball. Now is that partially Lane Kiffer or is that partially him? I think it's a little bit of a combination. I think you'll see three quarterbacks going around one. But I think in this draft class, where it's huge, you will have in my top seventy five, I have twenty four defensive lineman, defensive line, defensive interior people, or edge guys. It is the flip of a year ago where it was so heavy on offensive linemen. This year really good along the defensive line, and I think that you know you're going to see those guys peel off the board very very quickly. And I do believe a dual Carter will be going in the number two spot.
Number two. Okay, where does shows Hunter go?
Then?
And we have like thirty seconds year does he go number three overall?
I think he's I think he's in three, okay. I think either somebody trades for him at the three spot or he gets picked at three. But I think it'll be cam Ward. I certainly believe it'll be up dual quarter quarter, and then it'll be.
Traveled very good.
You can follow Mike on x He's at Mike Detillier, Saints Report dot Com and WWL in New Orleans. That was awesome. We love to talking to you. Thanks for the time today, Mike, and enjoy the Super Bowl in your own backyard next week.
Thank you, guys.
You take care, Thank good.
Sure NBA card up next. They're about as bad as it gets when they've been on the road for this long two eighteen and one ats find out which team next.
This is Bottle the Money on Say have you on Borg?
You're on another very busy action pack Friday edition to follow the Money coming up in fifteen minutes. Paul's favorite guest who's been on this show in the last seven and a half years. His name is Richard Munchkin, professional gambler, better advantage player. He would go anywhere in the world if he had an edge he's got unbelievable stories. He's going to be in studio coming up at the time, trying to transition into a full time sports better. So we'll talk to him about that NBA card coming up tonight. What do you make a Denver la in as many points at Philadelphia?
I know, I think it's too much.
That was exactly what I thought.
Yeah, they're playing good ball, and they pulled something. They were getching the catching the same number against Sack, beat them outright, beat the Lakers outright, had another nice win in Chicago. It just doesn't matter who's been out. These guys have been getting it done and led by Maxi. So I do think it'll be a high scoring game as well. So that's I think that's too high.
Steve MacKinnon puts out his angles like every single day in the NBA at vsin dot Com.
How about this.
Denver is on a three and thirteen ATS skid, playing its third straight road game since the start of last season. That's no good obviously. So yeah, Philly's playing this Denver defense. How are they gonna sload on Maxie? Doesn't MAXI go off kind of like he did against the Lakers the other night.
Yeah, they couldn't slid on the Bulls either.
That's what I think.
Here, Michael Porter, for what it's worth, the NBA Playerpopanalyzer at vson dot com thirty two and fifteen over when his number is fifteen and a half points, which is what it is tonight. I was gonna say that coming in here today, betting this game with both fists the Pelicans and the points. But then I saw before the show that Zion Williamson was deemed questionable for the game, and the number went up.
Sick.
Yeah, so at circa here Boston they were down to ten. Everybody else is like at ten and a half or eleven. Then it went to eleven and a half. So I can't get involved with New Orleans at this point. Derek thirty one and fourteen over thirteen and a half points. They played not that long ago in Boston, New Orleans. They were still down several guys, they were catching fifteen, almost beat them.
I know that's why you just to me, you can't take the Celtics. They've lost five in a row at home. Then they blew out the Bulls, but then they've been laying numbers like this all year and it's been a struggle, so whether you know the board, not shooting well, bad offense, and then this is the super Bowl for everyone.
I mean you look at their record, it's incredible. What's what's gone after this hot start.
How poorly they're playing and almost losing, losing and sometimes close wins over bad teams.
I would still lean New Orleans and who the hell knows, Maybe I'm gonna have a bet on this game before the end of the show.
I just don't.
I haven't gotten quite there yet. What do you want to do with Bucks Spurs here to pay off the t's Paul again macinnanvisin dot com The Milwaukee Bucks are four and seventeen straight up two eighteen and one ats when playing a fourth straight road game, and money has come in on San Antonio in this game. I did see a three and a half out there when I looked either last night or early this morning.
Now it's down to two.
Well, they look tired in that second half against Portland. We've mentioned how good all well Portland's playing. They've won six to seven, they got run out in the second half. So if they could be a big performance here from the Spurs at home where all of a sudden struggling. But that's uh and what it's worth, that's just good numbers there.
When Ben Yama did nothing the first time they played the Bucks, that's probably the result of Freak guarding him, and Freak is elite defensively and made it a nightmare matchup for him and he I think he had ten points. He stayed way under like all of his props in that game.
You can put that parlay in if you want.
Freak twenty four and one underrun on his threes with their prop twenty four of the last twenty five games, he hasn't made a three, and tomorrow the Kings play, and so Bonus has made a three thirteen games in a row.
As you're parlay there, you go right, it's incredible.
You want to go with that for the g Bank bed of the day, do that too.
It's not bad, but also one I'm with you. Saturday night, the Marque game, the Lakers are in the garden. I want next team total over, but the line's out, But I don't have a team total. Do you have a game total?
Okay?
Because the Knicks have scored one forty three in their last two games, they are humming and they will hunt Reeves tomorrow and without a d and a Laker teams that's twenty second in defense.
Hello, is is Davis definitely out of that game?
I can They're supposed to be out the whole week. Okay, he got hurt on Monday? Was it Monday? He got hurt? No? Tuesday? Tuesday?
Right, Tuesday. Supposed to be out a week at least. Okay, I can't imagine any plays. Okay, dominal Stream, keep going here. I will get a number of on best bets brought to you by G Bank, Official bank of Vison. If you're serious about sports betting, need the G Bank Vista of signature card, most credit card, street sports books, and gaming transactions and cash advances, even when you put your own money on the card. G Bank treats gaming transactions as purchases, so you're typically saving up to three to five percent on cash advanced fees right there for limited time. Get a two hundred and fifty dollars bonus after you spend one thousand dollars in the first ninety days. Apply now Vson dot com slash Gbank Vsin dot Com slash g Bank. We mentioned the parlay because it's you know, su bonus is like in the two dollars range. But again he's made it a three thirteen in a row and then freaks like three dollars three fifty on the No, he doesn't even try him anymore, but twenty four of the last twenty five without a three. And then tomorrow night, get ready for it. Knicks team total over Saturday night at home against the Lakers, long road trip, and they can't defend. And the Knicks have been unbelievable on fire offensively.
Okay, I'll give it to you here because I'm seeing right now the number overall on the game. First of all, what do you make of the points spread? That's high, But the Knicks are nine or nine and a half in the game. That's a big number.
Yeah. So also, you know, I think Lebron wants to put on a show.
But the total is two twenty seven and a half or two twenty eight, good point about Lebron. So that'll put the team total for the Nick it's going to be high. It'll put the team total around one eighteen and a half, one nineteen in that neighborhood.
It's good.
That's good to go over.
That's juicy average more than thirtyeth quarter again with this offense. Yes, and how poor the Lakers defense will be without Davis on the court. But the Sixers scrip that's exactly right. Brunton and company should eviscerate this team. I know it was a loser by half a point for me the other day against Denver, but I got to come back to it with it again tomorrow.
Have to.
E buddy.
Jason's going to the game like you. He said he's got to see Lebron before he calls it quits.
You have to lives in New York. He's never seen him in person.
Good move.
I like the Suns tonight too, laying one and a half against Golden State. Golden State just got their big win against OKC. This is the third meeting between the teams. The home team has won the first two. Sons playing good ball. They did lose to Minnesota their last home game the other night, but they're the better team right now. So I like the Suns laying a short number on the road tonight in one of the Marqui TV games as well.
I'll give you a couple of other things to consider in the Bulls game. I think This is a really good matchup tonight for Toronto. I think they can maybe squash the Bulls. For what it's worth, Favorites are on a run of fourteen and one straight up eight one one ats in this series, and Toronto's laying four oh up to four now, wow, the Raptors are like red hot.
Yeah, and I just think I.
Started with the you caught Atlanta at the right time too, right. I'm also concerned about number one. The Bulls can't stop anything.
Oh, it's gonna be a matchup nightmare for Chicago in this game.
But uh, you got all these guys with trade rumors, so their their mind has to be wandering about where am I gonna be?
Am I?
Am I out the door? What's gonna happen here? With the deadline next week and my name being mentioned?
Can you focus Clippers are playing against the Hornets? This is on the road in Charlotte tonight, Norman Powell, No, I know Kawhi is back and Kawi is taking a lot of shots and his minutes are going up per game.
Wasn't he snubbed for All Star? That's at the angle here too.
I didn't notice that. Was he really? Okay?
Can you help me out on that. This guy is having a hell of a year. He is absolutely the most improved player. This guy's phenomenal and a big reason why they have their record number one. I think the total is too low as well, but I think that it points to Powell over here.
Paul, He's again the prop you can find this His prop tonight is twenty one and a half, and he's twenty eight and eleven over that number. And even with Kawhi coming back in recent games, Powell is still playing thirty six thirty seven minutes, He's still taking a ton of shots, and he has still gone over like every single time. Now this can factor in. It's much similar to my Austin Reeves angle last night that the blowout was possible because the Wizards are so bad. Sure, the Clippers are playing great ball, Charlotte, They're not that good and this could turn into a twenty seven point route in the third quarter and then the starters take a seat on the Benson.
He's got nineteen points.
I don't know if that happens, though I might not. I know they're on a road trip too.
That's yeah, tough one. I'm absolutely with you with Powell. Two good angles there with Powell, I'll show you disrespect card and also the run he's on with the over I can't I can't believe the Sabonus thing.
That's crazy with.
The May three.
He says he's only taken like one or two a game, and they did it right away in the last game.
So thirteen in a row.
So I always go to Visa dot com and fire up that propanalyzer. It's a piece of cake right there, points, rebounds, assists everything over under.
Who's hot? Who's not?
Wanted to bring this right too. Tomorrow's college basketball card, Yeah, very good, phenomenal, the neat surprises well. DraftKings put up the numbers like way early this morning when I noticed them. So some of these numbers that are going to be on the games for tomorrow.
Duke thirteen and a half against Caroline.
I know, I know the Mighty have falling. I guess what do you make of Saint Mary's lane one at home to Gonzaga.
I that caught my attention. Yeah, I like tho z Eggs.
Gallipari goes back to uh Rupperna Kentucky's lane eleven and a half letdown spot for sure, but also is it a letdown with Calipari coming back?
I think for Kentucky, yes, I think.
I think Arkansas get a big performance, especially, you know, you think the kids will get fired off.
He's probably getting out. Yeah, I would think anyway, But Kentucky's off.
The huge win is a double digit dog. Now they're laying eleven and a half. I don't like that. Houston ten and a half at home to Texas Tech. Now and Baylor won against Kansas.
I think I'm gonna have to bet Baylor at home Tennessee three and a half against Florida.
He did see there was a four and a half out there. I would like four and a half Florida. Yeah, I'll tell you too. The Marquette Yukon totally at one hundred and forty six and a half might be a little bit light.
Sounds good, so professional better.
Richard Munchkin on the program covered up next Pauli's favorite guest in the seven plus years on this show. He would go anywhere in the in the world if we had an edge. Wait until you hear the Scotland yard story coming up next.
This is part of the money on Visai.
Alright, This is going to be a blast.
Love.
Our next guest, Richard Munchkin, joins the program on the desk here live at Circle Resort, a casino, author of the book Gambling Wizards, co host of Gambling with an Edge. You can follow him on x at r WM twenty one. Pleasure seeing you again today, sir. How are you good?
Good? Really well? And I'm happy to be here. So I haven't seen you guys in a long time.
Yeah.
The first time, which would have been I think the last time that you were on if I recall correctly, was when we were at the South Point Still Yeah, so several.
Years ago, six am or something.
It was crazy times.
Right.
This is much better for everybody I think involved. So you've been doing this for a long time, professional gambler for this audience in trying to like go back down memory lane to explain exactly what you've done. What did you do before gambling? How did you eventually get into it?
So I grew up outside Chicago and the winters are horrendous, and so everybody played games right when it was cold outside, you play and I just loved it right from the time I was little, Like my dad taught me to chess. When I was three, my grandmother taught me to play gin rummy. Every holiday involved pinockle or poker with my uncles and my grandfathers and all that stuff. So so in high school, my brother older brother says, you know, a couple of friends are coming over. We're going to play poker. Do you want to play? And I said, yeah. I had watched my dad and my grandpa, you know, and literally nichols and dimes, five and ten cents. But I remember at the end of the night I had won five dollars and twenty cents and it was like the heavens opened and the angels began to sing, and I was like, oh my god, you can actually make money playing cards, Like this is the greatest thing in the world. Right, So I became obsessed, and backham and was really popular then, and I started playing back and so and poker, and I went through college playing backham and poker. And when I was about twenty, I was in a bar playing backham And with this friend, Jerry, the dentist, And Jerry tells me, I just got back from Vegas and I have a system for beating blackjack, and I, you know, kind of rolled my eyes. I was like, yeah, right, and he's like, no, no, this is real, Like you can actually have a mathematical advantage at blackjack by counting cards. And he started to explain it to me, and I thought, all right, this sounds plausible, right, And he told me about this book called Playing Blackjack as a Business. So I ordered the book and I read it and I was like, oh, this is this is math, like you know, this is the real thing. So I start practicing right in my basement at night, and for my twenty first birthday, my gift to myself was one of those four nights and three nights and four days and fabulous Las Vegas, including the airfare and all that. And I came out here and I didn't know how to count yet. I hadn't perfected it, but I knew basic strategy. So I'm here. I won like two hundred bucks during that trip, and I thought, oh my god, if I can win like this just knowing basic strategy, just think how much money I can make once I start counting cards. And so then I then I had a plan, and my plan was I was going to finish college and then move out here, and ultimately my goal was always to go to Hollywood and become a movie star. So and and if that didn't work out, my backup was I would be a television star instead. And so I came out here, and I didn't have a lot of money, so I got I thought, all right, I'll get a job as a blackjack dealer, and that way I can practice counting cards eight hours a day while I'm dealing beautiful Yeah, and then I'd go out and play for you know, I didn't have a lot of money. I'm betting five dollars or whatever back then, and you know, and and that was how I started. And then what happened was, you know, the the card counting community back then was so small that all the card counters got to know each other. And I was dealing in a place where the Mirage sits today, called the Castaways, and we had single deck and great rules. So every card counter in the world came in there, and I would talk to him while I was dealing to him. And one day card counter that I know came in and he said, there's this Australian guy in town. He's got a big blackjack team and he wants to play back. Ammon for a lot of money. So I was like, great, set it up. Whatever he wants to play for because I knew all the best players in the world and none of them were from Australia and anyway, So I met him in His name was Alan Woods, and we started playing backam and became kind of quick friends. And at the end of a week, he says to me, how come you're not playing blackjack for more money? And I said, well, I don't have a a bank roll, you know, I'm just starting out. It was like, well, how about I put up twenty thousand and you play for me and you double it and then we split the money. I'm like, you've known me a week and you're gonna hand me twenty thousand dollars. This is like nineteen eighty dollars. Yeah, yeah, And he reaches into his coat and he pulls out two ten packs and he slides him across the table to me. And that's how I became a professional black chapter.
Oh my god, yeah, and one of the best ever. So quick quick.
You mentioned you were retired, and we'll get to what you're doing now. But you were retired. You said you were tired of living out of a suitcase. Did you also retire you did so well and you were not allowed to play it so many places.
Well, so you know, my standard line is retiring is easy. I've done it like a dozen times. So I keep retiring from gambling and then you know, coming back into it. So the first time I retired was like nineteen eighty three, and I went to Hollywood to become a movie star, and you know, but then I kept getting dragged back into it. And it wasn't so much that I got thrown out of everywhere, but you know, back then, you get thrown out on day shift and you would go right back in on swing shift. I mean, it really was nothing, you know. And then they started opening casinos all over the United States. I mean you could go around, you know, and never hit the same place twice in a year. But I did get tired of living out of a suitcase that, you know, that definitely, especially once I got married and had kids all that. I didn't like being away from home. But I was still you know, I mean, when when a good game came up, I was going to go play.
Okay, Now, how does it devolve how does it evolve to that? Then?
How does it become I'm scouting all over I have so many friends, go here, I'll go to Russia, play this game whatever. How does it get to that point?
Well?
And how how long did it take?
In? Well, right away I realized that I needed a bigger edge than counting cards, because your edge is like one percent, and which means you can go on these horrendously long losing streaks, which I certainly went through my share, and so I learned I needed a bigger edge, and kind of the first step then was called shuffle tracking, where you keep track of the way the cards are shuffled, and then you can cut the big cards to the front, and you can pretty much double your edge doing that. And then the next step is called ace tracking, where you memorize strings of cards and you know when aces are coming out, and if you bet into an ace, if you know your one of your cards is going to be an ace, you have a fifty percent advantage, so way bigger than counting cards. The other good thing about learning how to do other things besides counting cards is the casinos really don't understand what's happening. So they all know what card counting looks like. They know how to spot it right away. But if you start winning and they see, well he's not counting cards. I mean, I can't tell you how many times I heard boss say that, well he's not counting cards. They don't know anymore. And so what happens is eventually when I would get thrown out, it's either because somebody recognized me and knew who I was, or I want too much money and they just were like, we don't know what's going on, but you can't play.
Anymore professional gambler better.
Richard Munchkin our guest here, and he's in studio at Circa resort of Casino's Follow the Money on Visa Esports Betty Networking. About two minutes left in the segment. If you were twenty one today, could you do this for a living? Could you do what you've done for the past forty five years?
Absolutely? And first of all, I forbade my son to learn how to count cards, because just because you don't want to, having a clean name is really valuable, and you do not want to get burned out and have your name get out there by counting cards, which they are gonna find very quickly. There are guys who are still making mid six figures a year counting cards. But they live in their car. Basically, they're driving in just its daily basis. It's like a referee who does college basketball games. They're in Logan, Utah one night, in Albuquerque, New Mexico two days later. Yep, and they go into a casino and they don't They might get to play ten minutes, or they might get to play ten hours. And then as soon as they get the tap on their shoulder, they get in the car and they drive down the road to the next place.
So think about that gamble you're taking.
You're gonna drive who knows how long to a place that ten minutes might be it see you later.
Yeah, and they may circulate your picture to all the places in the area. So you got to drive to the next state, right, you know? So, but yeah, that was That is not a life I would want or I would want my son to have. The other thing is, well, we're coming to an out here, so.
Okay, hang on to that thought. Then yep, we'll continue. We have so much more to get into. Richard Munchkin's Our Guests. He's in studio here, author of the book Gambling Wizard's, co host of Gambling with an Edge. You can follow him on X He's at rw M twenty one, and we will get into the Scotland Yard story, which you've told once before on this show, you've told several times overall, like on your podcast everything like that. It's one of the most amazing stories you're ever going to hear and realizing when the Russian mob was also involved. So more coming up next here with Richard Munchkin.
This is Follow the Money on VI said, welcome back.
We're live downtown Las Vegas Circle Resort of Casino. Fabulous guests in studio. Richard Munchkin, professional gambler. I can follow him on X He's at RWM twenty one. Co host Gambling with an Edge, author of a Gambling Wizard. So you just told the story of what your career was like going back to the nineteen eighties to today, what was allowed back then compared to modern day Las Vegas.
So you know, back then, you could walk up to a casino cage, cash out fifty thousand dollars. No one would dream of asking you for your name, let alone an ID, you know, and you could bet more then than you can bet today. And I blame that on the corporations taking over the casinos, and they're not interested in making the most revenue. They're interested in keeping their jobs, and so they don't want to have any kind of a big swing because they could lose their job over it. So the limits are lower, all of this cash action reporting and all that stuff, and you know it's a nightmare and paperwork for the casinos. But yeah, so you could. You could just get away with so much more. And the other thing was the communication. They half the time there was no camera that actually worked in the casino. They couldn't take your picture, they couldn't distribute your picture to everybody. Now you know, you get thrown out of say the Blagio. Every MGM property on the strip has your picture and they're waiting for you to walk in and you know it. So that makes things a lot harder. So you could get away with a lot more back then. But the main thing is, you know, the limits were higher, and you know than even in real dollars.
Well that's crazy to me. You told that story.
The guy who you just met for like a week, gave you the twenty thousand start playing blackjack with I did twenty thousand back in nineteen eighty is like seventy more than seventy five thousand today.
Yeah, yeah, so, And you know you could go bet fifty thousand dollars on a sport sporting event, on a football game, you know, try to do that in Las Vegas other than Circo on you know, on Sunday you could probably betty fifty ks, but you couldn't do it on the strip.
Did you want to expand a little more on the leap going from black cars and how that evolved?
Yeah. You know, one of the most important things in any form of gambling is your network, Like the people that you surround yourself with are so important. And the bigger your network is, the more successful you're going to be. And that was really kind of the secret to my success was meeting a lot of people. And you know, I'm a friendly guy and I made a lot of friends. And the more friends you have, the more money you make. And you know I've said before, you know, the real key for me was I teamed up. I always wanted to play with other partners, Like I don't like being on the road alone. I want to be with other people. And I always teamed up with people who are smarter than I am, and and that was really the secret to my success.
That's a great idea.
How about the trust factor?
And also it's the scouting And hey, and you told the story once you met you won. You met a guy in a back alley for the and a bag of money. How does it get to Richard? You've got to check out this game in Korea. It's unbelievable.
Well, in the case of Korea specifically. You know, I mentioned the guy who handed me the twenty thousand dollars was a guy named Alan Woods who he died about fifteen years ago, and he left in a state of a billion dollars because he went to Hong Kong with a guy named Bill Benter, and Bill Benter invented betting on horse racing using computer models, and they were partners. And Bill Bender was actually also on one of my first blackjack teams. So anyway, what happened was in nineteen eighty six, Alan was in Hong Kong betting horses and he called me up and he said, hey, I found a really good game and I'd like you to go play it, and I'll put up the money and you know, we'll split it. I was like, you know, I have teammates and I'm really kind of committed to them, and I'd like to play, but I can't, you know, I can't go play for somebody else when I'm playing with them. And he said, well, I'll tell you what. You guys all can go play it, and whatever you want to bet, just double it and I'll take the other half of the bank roll. So I said okay. And it was Korea, and the game was unbelievable, the best game probably I've ever played in my life in terms of for you to make money out of a casino, the casino has to be making money. And in Korea in the eighties, Japan was booming, and like the average guy in that casino in Soul would walk in the way here, some people will the average guy will come in and buy in with one hundred dollars bill there it was a thousand in nineteen eighty six, and it was almost all Japanese players and blackjack, and this is blackjack, and the rules were so good that a basic strategy player had an advantage off the top without even counting cards, right. It was unbelievable. And so we started playing there and one day I walk in and I walk around the casino and I count forty guys that are all there counting cards, right, And we had kind of heard a rumor that the casino would not throw you out if you didn't bet more than two hundred dollars, and so they were all you could eat at the table. They would come in order, you know, eggs and orange jues and eat breakfast at the table while they played spreading. And I called my teammates and I said, you know, this is not going to last, even though they're only betting two and we didn't want to bet two hundred dollars. You know, the limit was three thousand. We don't want to bet two hundred. So I was like, this is not going to last. And one of my partners said, well, what we need are Japanese businessmen to bet the money. And that's what we did. We started recruiting these Japanese businessmen. They would come from Tokyo with a Japanese passport and they would sit at the table with us as if they didn't know us. And you know, the white guy would be betting five bucks and they'd be betting two hands of three thousand or three hands of three thousand, and you know, we took more than a million dollars out of that one casino. And the only reason that it ended was there was a basically a degenerate gambler, a Japanese guy that was practically living in the casino and he was a bust out, complete bust out, and he approached one of our Japanese big players and said, hey, can you loan me ten thousand dollars? And our guys of course said no, you know, I don't know you. And the guy said, well, why don't you get it from your friends? And he said what friends? And he said, the white guy that's always at the table with you, and he had figured it out just because he was in there all the time and had seen it. And you know, our guy said, we don't know what you're talking about, right, And anyway, that guy ended up going and ratting us out to the to the casino. And then so what the casino did was they didn't bar the Japanese guys. They came and barred the us the five dollars betters, you know, and that kind of ended that.
So you took a million bucks out of the casino. How long was that stretch?
Three years, but you know, there were other casinos in the country, so we probably took a million and a half out of Korea during that. And here's the funny thing about Alan Woods, who you know, was taking half the bank roll. After we had won like three or four hundred thousand dollars, he said, you know what, you guys can just play. You don't have to. I don't have to take any of this anymore. Alan, Like, you're the one who gave us the game, and he's like, yeah, but I've never made so much money for doing nothing, Like, you know, you don't have to. You don't have to just cut me in anymore.
So obviously you and your entire team moved to Korea to specifically play that game and then branched out for more than three years.
Well, yeah, we had an apartment there in Seoul, and but you would have to fly back and forth because your visa could only last I think ninety days was the limit, so you know, and and we didn't want the same guy in the casino with the Japanese guy all the time, right, so we would switch off every couple of weeks.
What was the feeling like, and that it happened more than once when you use your Hollywood connections and used makeup and a mask or whatever. And then the pit boss said, hey, Richard, how you doing.
Yeah, so that happened to me here in the States. Okay, right, But but we we were trying, you know, before we got the Japanese guys, we were trying to like, how could we be Asian looking?
Right?
So I got the special effects makeup person from the movies. I was working on, Oh my god, to make up a friend of mine, right, And so they they put elastic around the back of his head with like tape that would pull his eyes back, and he had skin tint to make his skin darker and a black wig. And he's like, oh my god, you know this looks ridiculous. They're gonna know this is a disguise, and nobody is, you know, going to fall for this. And he gets in the elevator at the casino and a guy gets on the elevator and looks at him and goes, what part of India are you from? And we were like, okay, I guess this might work.
Get ready for Big Game fifty nine with a big deal to match, say fifty nine dollars off the Vson Pro annual subscription use code ft every best Bet, every host, every guest, vson dot Com slash subscribe promo code FtM stick around.
I promise we're gonna get to the Scotland yard story with Richard Munching, coming up in the next hour of the program.
Here.
Also, Richard has said there is no way he would sit down in a high stakes poker game because cheating is out of control in poker. I can't wait to hear this coming up next on Vson
