Home Forums Thread Like Summary - *** 5 Dimes Important Announcement ***

You opened the door to so many avenues, this is a smorgasbord on overload.

But I do know where to begin. You stated your 34 years old. It's not too late to go back to school and get into the field you want to get into. Age is just a number and just because most people start right after high school doesn't mean it ends there for those that don't go. Some of the most successful people either didn't go to college or started later in life and past your current age. So don't give up all hope yet!

I must admit when you mentioned that Youwager wanted a $5 donation from each employee to get an oven and coffee maker I thought to myself wtf !!! These guys were giving players cash bonuses in their account worth more than that. Hell they paid more in advertising to sites for banner space. I remember them quite well. My goodness hey guys we are giving away a shit ton of money to our players so when they call in get that credit card number or get them to western union to send in the money. Oh by the way we need $5 from everyone by end of day to provide you an oven and coffee maker. I would've said first one to go pick a wu or mg payment, stop and get those items and f the $5. LOL

Might not have had a job but people would remember me that's for sure.

Over the next several posts if you don't mind I'd like to you to elaborate on some of the places you worked. One by one instead of trying to cram it all in one post. I'll name off a place and if you can tell me about how they operate, what you thought about them and if they were shady or not.

First one is a place I know a lot of people started out at and to this day have an account and play there and sportsbook which is .ag now.

I actually chose them first for a reason. They were probably the second place I posted up at and if it wasn't for them, I likely wouldn't have a forum and I'll share this story. Long time members likely will recall the story because I've told it a few times.

Newer members don't so here it goes:

I was betting at sportsbook.com which what it was under back then. One day they had a link and it said "Join Our Posting Forum" I had no clue what it was but clicked it anyway. It went to a forum called Bettors World. I joined and your posting name at the time ended up being your account number. I started posting picks and was consistently posting winners and information that you just couldn't find back then. This was really early internet days but I knew where to get info and how to use that info. I grew a following and people would say "Man you're a freak, how do you know that" You're just a freak of knowledge, you're a freaking good handicapper. I am the type of person that I like to do things my way and not really conform to some other sites rules so I ventured out on my own and started on those freebie boards. You signed up and created your own little forum and named it. I had no clue what to call it and I thought why not call it FREAKS Forum. They would know me for calling me a freak so why not. Corny name but I wasn't real original when I started because I didn't expect many people and figured it would fizzle out and fade into oblivion. Needless to say I blew out that forum, I couldn't accept more members and I was killing the owners bandwidth. I went to another one of those freebie forums and same thing. I didn't know a damn thing about the internet or how to build a website or anything. With the help of two people they helped create this monster we call Freak's Forum at this location. One bought the url and the forum software and set me up with hosting and the other was behind the scenes building the webpages of which a few I still use today. Most of the set up of this modern forum is still held together by the original work. It's a homage to those two people. They always preferred to be silent as to who they were so I leave it that way. It's been 15+ years since they've been involved so I do what I can with some outside help.

So that's a version of how Freaks Forum came to be Freaks Forum. I have never claimed to be the biggest, the best, or some know it all. My mission from day 1 of those free boards was to help players win and have players involved in helping one another win by posting their picks and by taking part. After 20+ years that hasn't changed and never will.

Like I always say, if you know anyone interested in sports gambling get them to join. I look at the members as family not dollar signs like other sites. Never have, never will, I don't want to make money off people losing. I want them to crush the books and make a ton of money and camaraderie along the way.

Courtesy of David Purdum from ESPN Chalk

Costa Rica-based sportsbook 5Dimes reaches $46.8 million settlement with feds

5Dimes, a popular Costa Rica-based sportsbook, has reached a $46.8 million settlement with the U.S. government following a federal money-laundering investigation, according to a settlement agreement obtained by ESPN on Wednesday.

5Dimes agreed to pay $15 million in cash, forfeit more than $30 million in assets and stop accepting wagers from U.S. customers while operating out of Costa Rica, according to the settlement agreement reached with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Easten District of Pennsylvania.

The settlement also absolves Laura Varela, the widow of 5Dimes owner William Sean Creighton, of any criminal conduct alleged against the sportsbook. Varela assumed responsibility for 5Dimes' assets after her husband was kidnapped in September 2018 and found dead a year later, but she did not have "day-to-day authority" over its operations, according to the settlement.

"The investigation was a complete success from our perspective," Michael Lowe, assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, told ESPN. "There was gambling going on, but we discovered it, we put a stop to it."

The non-prosecution agreement allows 5Dimes and Varela to pursue opportunities in the expanding American sports betting market. Varela, who fully cooperated with the investigation, made "significant changes" to 5Dimes's operations that make it "suitable for participating in lawful gaming operations across the world," according to the settlement agreement.

"We achieved the objective, which is, she is compliant with U.S. federal law right now," Maria M. Carrillo, assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, told ESPN. "What that means for her is she is not operating in violation of U.S. law, and she is not actively taking bets from U.S. bettors.

"Whether she's positioned well for regulators, that's up for the regulators to decide," Carrillo said. "She certainly is no longer in violation of federal law."

In an interview with ESPN, Varela said she is " very, very happy and very excited about what the new chapter of 5Dimes can be."

Creighton, a native of West Virginia, launched 5Dimes around 2000. At a time when sports betting in the U.S was restricted to primarily Nevada, 5Dimes grew it into one of the most popular online sportsbooks that served American bettors and eventually attracted attention from federal investigators.

In 2016, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security, revealed it was investigating 5Dimes for money laundering, according to a seizure warrant filed in U.S. District Court that year. In the warrant, an agent detailed how he believed 5Dimes instructed bettors based in the U.S. to use gift cards as a way to place and later cash out bets. Creighton was never formally charged; however, the investigation remained open for years.

5Dimes used third-party payment processors to accept illegal payments from U.S. customers, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in the settlement agreement. The third parties processed credit card transactions for 5Dimes that concealed the nature of the charges, and received funds from U.S. customers' credit cards that were then transferred to bank accounts of shell companies operated by Creighton, according to the settlement.

Varela, through her attorneys, contacted the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in the spring of 2019 and offered her cooperation to settle the case. According to the settlement, she helped retrieve assets but declined to provide authorities with information about the U.S. bettors who played with 5Dimes. Gold coins, cryptocurrency, funds from the sale of season tickets to the Pittsburgh Pirates and West Virginia University basketball and football, and a 1948 George Mikan rookie basketball card that Creighton purchased for about $400,000 are among the forfeited assets.

The Department of Homeland Security gifted the Mikan card to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C, according to the settlement agreement.

On Sept. 7, 5Dimes posted a notice on its website that it would stop accepting online bets from U.S.-based customers and instructed them to withdraw funds by Sept. 25. Any funds not requested by bettors before the deadline will be turned over to Epiq, a third-party claims administrator who will help the distribution process. Any funds not claimed by Sept. 30, 2021, will be forfeited to the U.S government, according to terms in the settlement.

Varela's attorneys, Stephen A. Miller and Barry Boss of firm Cozen O'Connor, said 5Dimes has established a new corporate entity, 5D Americas LLC, in the State of Delaware, as the sportsbook eyes the U.S. betting market. Legal sportsbooks are operating in 18 states and the District of Columbia.

As part of the settlement, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said, at Varela's request, it will answer questions from interested parties, including state regulatory authorities, regarding 5Dimes and Varela.

Creighton was abducted by four men in a rented grey pickup truck around 10 p.m., on Sept. 24, 2018, after leaving the 5Dimes office in San Pedro, the Costa Rica judicial investigation department (OIJ) said last year. The kidnappers demanded a $5 million ransom and received $1 million from Creighton's family, but Creighton was not returned, OIJ said.

A year after Creighton's disappearance, the OIJ reported finding his body in a cemetery in the small fishing town of Queops, Costa Rica, approximately a three-hour drive from where investigators believe he was abducted.

In January 2019, authorities conducted raids in Costa Rica and Spain, leading to the arrest of 12 people believed to be involved in Creighton's disappearance, according to an OIJ statement at the time. Three suspects were extradited from Spain to Costa Rica in April 2019 and, as of September 2019, were being investigated for the crime of extortive kidnapping, according to the Costa Rica Office of Public Ministry.

The Assistant Prosecutor's Office against Drug Trafficking and Related Crimes for Costa Rica told ESPN in an Sept. 17 email that the case against Creighton's alleged kidnappers is in the "final investigation phase."


According to the settlement, Creighton was the founder and had exclusive control of 5Dimes until his disappearance and death. Varela told ESPN she had never been involved with the operation of 5Dimes and that the management team in place continued to run the sportsbook following Creighton's disappearance.

"Months kept going by, and he was not coming back, and the reality also starts hitting, that's really when I realized the best thing for me and my family to do was to look for legal counsel," Varela told ESPN in an interview conducted on Zoom.

Creighton grew up in Bridgeport, West Virginia. After graduating from West Virginia University in 1998 with a degree in business administration, he moved to Costa Rica with a small group of friends to launch 5Dimes. He was 43 at the time of his disappearance.

Varela says the loss of her husband, the father of her two young children, is a tragedy she doesn't believe she'll ever get over. "You just learn how to live with it," she said.

My pleasure Freak. I appreciate your experience in the industry of couse, me being 34 years old, i started working for BetEagle (now Perhead) back in 2004. Back then, the most seasoned wagering clerks were making $10 or more an hour - KILLING IT in Costa Rica, as inflation didn't hit us as hard then. These were kids in their early 20's making $2000-$3000 a month - In a country where $800 BACK THEN was considered above average.

Tony made many mistakes and many enemies himself. I was close to punching him out once or twice, even thought about jumping him as he was going for his car in the garage. I can only guess how many guys had a similar plan. Well, look at those who set him up... people who worked for him, who despised him and felt he deserved to die like a dog. I don't know it Tony deserved it, I'd say no - but I don't know all the shady shit he did in his life so... knowing what I know - No, he didn't deserve it. Most of us suspect the widow.

I was in high school when I first heard about the business. "All you need is good English and to show up." I had made up my mind pretty much in graduating and taking a sabbatical to work in the gambling business. That sabbatical turned into 10+ years in which I worked for BetEagle, Sportsbook.com, BetOnSports, BetEd, InstantActionSports, Doyle'sRoom Poker, UltimateBet/AbsolutePoker, Jazz, PlayTheMinute, BetHorizon, my own startup which crashed and burned (BetCabin), finally landing at 5dimes on January 2015.

I also formed part of some shops for a week or two - the kind of deal where you test the waters and just decide to leave because the job is not worth it (Example, YouWager - Holy fuck!). They asked us for donations to buy a new over or coffeemaker, can't even recall what now, they wanted a $5 donation from every employee to buy a new oven by the end of the month. That's when I decided I was a goner from there! If millionaire bookies can't or won't chip in $400 for a new oven, I have nothing to do working for them.

Most of my memories are good, normal - A normal job with normal stress. Lots of fine sport memories, lots of grass and yeyo, lots of good parties. Lots of hot women... blowjobs and yeyo lines in the back office. Threesomes in the server room. Vodka shots on stage... Met many great and shady ass people along the years...

You can't believe some of the people who works at these places. It truly is a circus. I dont know if the business still attracts all these beasts but my guess is still does. Its a shame the business dried up and gamblers have way less good bonus offers and market variety. I really wish Bookmaker and 5D didn't buy all the smaller shops... I think they killed the business with their monopoly.

I'm glad the Bahamas experience opened your eyes. Lots of poverty here in certain areas, yes, people esentially live in huts. I'm privileged, yes, I have been without power, or hungry for a couple of days but always had somewhere to go or someone to lend me a hand. Quitting school wasnt smart looking back, and is now a tad bit late.

Piece of advice for the young guns - STAY IN FUCKIN SCHOOL.

And if you are gonna do yeyo, follow this 4 rules and you will be safer from addiction:
1) Never do it on your own
2) Never do it two days in a row
3) Never do it dry (no alcohol)
4) Never date a stripper

:)

Like many, I was on 5Dimes, and hated to see them go. Loved the format, layout, and mostly all of the different options they offered. Then, Betanysports came along, and it was the EXACT same site, minus the name and a few minor things. Since then, however, they have changed their layout/format and I, for one, think it is HORRIBLE. I can't stand it to the point where I don't even use it as a shop anymore. Does anyone know of a reliable site that is 5Dimes like?

Secondly, I'm a low volume guy that does this 'somewhat' recreationally, but mostly to make money (i will make the occasional small fun parlay, but not often). I do most of my own handicapping, though I will purchase certain cappers if I know they are historically strong with their bigger plays. In the past I've gotten Lee Sterling and John Rainey among others. This year, I will have a very well known football service for the season, and wondered what anyone else would have. I enjoy sharing and posting here - it is BY FAR the best forum as Freak and company do an outstanding job - and appreciate all that contribute. Welcome new members.

Just my opinion, but some of the cappers i have found to be successful (list is very short) - Lee Sterling with his 40-50 Unit Plays are typically very strong, Dave Cokin college football and, to a slightly lesser degree, baseball are pretty strong, Las Vegas Cris NFL as well as Teddy Covers NFL pretty solid too. John Rainey (Rainman) used to be VERY solid with his 10 Star plays, but has regressed big time the last couple of years. Would like to hear other's opinions as well.