Jack Zito / Covers thread

[Skating Tripods]

(04-17-2012 03:26 PM)JSpauny Wrote:  Good. That makes me feel better about Covers. Shows that they respect their customers.

I don't know if I'd go so far as to say that this shows that they respect their customers. This says that they'll go as far as they need to in order to cover (no pun intended) their asses and get people to keep, stupidly, purchasing picks.

If they respected their customers, they'd do the proper due diligence on the people that they hire to be handicappers before they start selling picks at exorbitant prices.

As probably the most-respected website in the sports handicapping industry, which, a large percentage of people who bet have zero idea about how to truly handicap, Covers shouldn't take advantage of their customers by unveiling a shitty product out to them before doing the necessary background work. Just by the act of selling picks, you're asking people to blindly trust you. For Covers to blindly trust a "handicapper" like Jack Zito is a pretty egregious error in this business.

Sad thing is that it's probably just the tip of the iceberg for Covers and the industry as a whole.

Covers really dropped the ball here and severely crippled their credibility. Refunding money to the "very few" people who purchased Zito's picks doesn't do much of anything for the peace of mind of other people subscribing to one of Covers' other handicappers.

[SkyBlues42]

I'm amazed someone actually bought his plays in that short amount of time.

[the dude]

Hey BTB,

Any idea what sort of advertising/affiliate deals Covers has with the sportsbooks they promote?

They obviously must have media buy deals, but do you think they have rev share or CPA deals worked in as well with the bettors that come from their site? If so, it would make sense for players under their affiliate accounts to lose, right? So, not only do they have customers buying picks, they have customers buying picks and losing.

[BattaBing]

This is straight from the horses mouth.

Jack Zito deserves a standing ovation. Jack Zito for Mayor!!!

[Beyond the Bets]

Believe it or not, his account is factual, at least based on information that I have.

With two exceptions, one a fact and the other opinion:

FACT: I first contacted Zito on Saturday morning (pacific time) to get an explanation and to learn more about how in the heck a guy who "doesn't handicap baseball" got a job as a Covers Expert. He said I contacted him at night.

OPINION: I think Zito would have shamelessly touted from now until the end of time if it meant a steady paycheck and a consistent career as a handicapper.

[JackZito]

(04-17-2012 01:57 PM)Beyond the Bets Wrote:  There are pricing structures in place that all handicappers must adhere to. Forty percent of all sales, in addition to 28 percent from external affiliates, is paid to handicappers.

This information is unverified but I believe it to be true.

This is correct.

[JackZito]

(04-17-2012 06:00 PM)BattaBing Wrote:  This is straight from the horses mouth.

Jack Zito deserves a standing ovation. Jack Zito for Mayor!!!

I hope enough people saw it before it was taken down.

As BTB has mentioned, I was contacted in the AM. My mistake.

[Beyond the Bets]

(04-17-2012 06:28 PM)JackZito Wrote:  I hope enough people saw it before it was taken down.

Two things:

1. I'm checking the e-mail address that Jack Zito registered with to ensure that it's actually him.
2. The SBR thread still exists. I have it pulled up now.

[Beyond the Bets]

(04-17-2012 06:28 PM)JackZito Wrote:  As BTB has mentioned, I was contacted in the AM. My mistake.

The e-mail address you registered with doesn't match the one you've previously used to contact BTB.

Could you send BTB an e-mail from JackZito99999@gmail.com so that I can confirm your identity? I don't want this to become a circus and figure out the person who is posting now is a sock account.

[Beyond the Bets]

Identity has been confirmed.

[JackZito]

Man, Covers even hired me using a "sketchy" email such as zito99999@gmail.com.

[ScottKimberly]

BTB, thank you for running a friendly forum. I'm new here, so I didn't really appreciate it at first. After reading the SBR forum, those guys are a bunch of asshats. Why be such a dick to everyone?

[ScottKimberly]

Jack, you seem like a nice kid, but you clearly f***ed up with the Covers shenanigans. Despite all their pent-up aggression, the guys at the SBR Forum might have it right. It seems that the only way to build a reputation on these forums (fora?) is to start a thread and post your picks each day, for better or worse.

I am an amateur bettor, and that's being generous, so there's no way I'm going to touch that, but if you go for it, best of luck man.

[Beyond the Bets]

(04-17-2012 09:28 PM)ScottKimberly Wrote:  BTB, thank you for running a friendly forum. I'm new here, so I didn't really appreciate it at first. After reading the SBR forum, those guys are a bunch of asshats. Why be such a dick to everyone?

Thanks, Scott. It's appreciated.

This forum is a case study. Every other sports betting forum is a place to be a self promoter; a touter; a wannabe pick-seller and so on. The focus, by and large, is on the individual rather than the community.

I was hopeful that we could build a legitimate sports betting community with good, genuine people who had an interest in sharing and exchanging information with an emphasis on "us" rather than "I."

We're off to a good start and I'm hopeful that more people will stumble upon the forum and become a meaningful contributor to it.

This forum is new and isn't close to being as well trafficked as others. But the emphasis here is on quality posts rather than volume, and I'll put the members here and the collective intelligence against any of the others.

[ChiefZilla]

(04-17-2012 09:30 PM)ScottKimberly Wrote:  Jack, you seem like a nice kid, but you clearly f***ed up with the Covers shenanigans. Despite all their pent-up aggression, the guys at the SBR Forum might have it right. It seems that the only way to build a reputation on these forums (fora?) is to start a thread and post your picks each day, for better or worse.

I am an amateur bettor, and that's being generous, so there's no way I'm going to touch that, but if you go for it, best of luck man.

If he wants to be a pick seller, sure. But good luck with that.

If he wants to just "restore his image," just provide some quality posts on a forum like this. The SBR guys over there seem like a bunch of self-promoting vultures, but I guess it was only about 3 or 4 "look at me, I went 19-1!!!" types.

I still can't tell if Zito thinks he did anything wrong, but he clearly did. Now, Covers was also WAY in the wrong, too. Never an explanation for anything over there. Unbelievable.

[JackZito]

Quote:I still can't tell if Zito thinks he did anything wrong, but he clearly did.

I'm curious as to what you think I did, "wrong"....

[DOP]

(04-17-2012 10:24 PM)JackZito Wrote:  I'm curious as to what you think I did, "wrong"....

"hey I'll give you a job with a chance to make $1,000,000"
"how"
"all you have to do is make up a fake name, post plays on a sport you don't cap for a unit size you dont agree with and market yourself to people like crazy"
"...so just lie about myself and my handicapping"
"yeah so, it's $1,000,000"
"you're right. i'll take the job."

Then you go post at SBR and other places to 'make things right' but if its a fake persona and you agreed to lie about the unit size and your experience, you are basically just a narc trying to avoid a stiff penalty by outing others. So you narc and now have staked to "rebuild your rep" by asking anyone who questions your credibility if they are mentally retarded.

other than that, you did everything right friend.

[The Cosmic Kid]

(04-17-2012 09:30 PM)ScottKimberly Wrote:  Jack, you seem like a nice kid, but you clearly f***ed up with the Covers shenanigans. Despite all their pent-up aggression, the guys at the SBR Forum might have it right. It seems that the only way to build a reputation on these forums (fora?) is to start a thread and post your picks each day, for better or worse.

I am an amateur bettor, and that's being generous, so there's no way I'm going to touch that, but if you go for it, best of luck man.

I looked it up, and fora is... correct?

[itg_sports]

You have to at least give him a +1 for the name Jack Zito.

[JSpauny]

(04-17-2012 10:56 PM)DOP Wrote:  

(04-17-2012 10:24 PM)JackZito Wrote:  I'm curious as to what you think I did, "wrong"....

"hey I'll give you a job with a chance to make $1,000,000"
"how"
"all you have to do is make up a fake name, post plays on a sport you don't cap for a unit size you dont agree with and market yourself to people like crazy"
"...so just lie about myself and my handicapping"
"yeah so, it's $1,000,000"
"you're right. i'll take the job."

Then you go post at SBR and other places to 'make things right' but if its a fake persona and you agreed to lie about the unit size and your experience, you are basically just a narc trying to avoid a stiff penalty by outing others. So you narc and now have staked to "rebuild your rep" by asking anyone who questions your credibility if they are mentally retarded.

other than that, you did everything right friend.

I think DOP nailed it.

Just because Covers gave you this opportunity (which I fault them for completely), doesn't mean you have the freedom to do with it what you choose. As much as you want to think you were honest, you were only honest after the fact. If you truly were an honest person, you never would have sold people picks for $200+ for a sport you never handicap. And I hope you see the fault in that.

It seems like you're taking the right steps now, but you have to accept some responsibility for deceiving both Covers and the people who bought your picks. (but let me reiterate that Covers is clearly more at fault).