I swore off posting here, but Mr. Mendelson's act deserves some rebuttal.
I posted here for the last two years that (1) I was in the invitation-only Wise Guys Contest, (2) I was one of the best reviewed handicappers listed in Mike McCusker's annually published "Tipsters or Gypsters?" for a period of a dozen years in the 80's and 90's, and (3) I was in the 1984 Who's Who in Sports Gambling (Hall Publishing).
Now understand that I repeated this stuff (ad nauseum) for two years to rebut Rob Singer.
Mr. Mendelson then said he was shocked, shocked he told us, to discover that I had clients, and that he had no idea I was a professional. Now this could be construed, I suppose, as suggesting I had always refrained from recruiting clients. But no, Mr. Mendelson stated baldly that I had misled him and everyone on the site because I was a professional and I was manipulating him.
Never mind that no one without a monster reputation is in The Wise Guys, or that no non-professional was ever monitored by "Tipsters or Gypsters?," or that civilians weren't listed in "Who's Who in Sports Gambling." Mr. Mendelson baldly stated I had misled him and everyone on the forum.
I don't have a problem with people making mistakes. I have a problem with people "making mistakes" and making public reputation-affecting comments without bothering to read with fifth grade comprehension skills. Mr. Mendelson, who was a consumer advocate before adopting his "Best Buys" schtick, basically shot off his mouth to my detriment without considering or caring about the consequences to me. And he was wrong.
The latest garbled criticisms on the "Start of 2018" thread regarding mickeycrimm's once every 36 spins debate, or kewlJ's one-day loss are just more of the same. I seriously do not think anyone would have interpreted mickeycrimm's post as suggesting a $900 an hour gig, and certainly not after reading it twice.
If one were to substitute "casino exec" for "Alan Mendelson," the posts make a lot of sense, motivationally.
Note: This doesn't even touch on the whole "package" nonsense. Mr. Mendelson actually had copies of the "Tipsters or Gypsters?" annual issues sitting in his office, and summaries of what the "Wise Guys Contest" is and the results, but didn't bother to read them before posting that I had misled him and everyone. He was under no obligation to read them, of course, but one would think before blatantly stating that I had misled him and the forum, he might have checked first. You know, in case he wanted to ensure that he wasn't completely wrong.