The winning edge
A punter's program makes millions trackside
By Yulanda Chung Hong Kong

Bill Benter seems like an unassuming enough guy when you meet him. The well-dressed, soft- spoken computer buff is a Hong Kong Rotary Club member who occasionally lectures university students on subjects like statistics and mathematical probability. But Benter's real job begins in the evening, when his facility for numbers takes a glamorous twist. With the help of 750,000 lines of odds-calculating computer code he's spent years perfecting, the 43-year-old American makes his living as part of a small horse-racing gambling syndicate. And it's a very comfortable living at that.

Benter's software program works so well, it's riled the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the powerful organizer behind Hong Kong's $10.7 billion-a-year horse-racing circuit. The Jockey Club thinks Benter and other professional betting syndicates hold an unfair advantage over casual gamblers. It's closed the accounts of some of the pros in the past because it felt they were "not in the best interest of the general public." While not banned from the track entirely, Benter has not been allowed to place bets over the phone since 1996.

No matter. He and his buddies still usually bet about $260,000 each race, and make an average return of 24%. Let's do the math: There are some 600 races a year at Hong Kong's Sha Tin and Happy Valley racetracks. That means Benter's annual take- home pay amounts to $37 million. The vast majority of punters take home only memories and a pocketful of losing tickets.

This similar case ended tragically, but once again illustrates the advantage technology can provide.

Otago Daily Times Online Edition. Monday, 20-October 1997

Suicide by gambler

Hong Kong: Robert Moore, the Hong Kong-based New Zealand professional bettor, one of the most successful gamblers in Hong Kong, has committed suicide.

Moore (44), a multi-millionaire who used a hi-tech computerised betting system, was found dead in his exclusive apartment overlooking Happy Valley racetrack on Hong Kong Island.

The former Aucklander was found dead in a chair by his 33-year-old wife Joane Chua, from whom he separated a year ago.

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances.

The flamboyant New Zealander won millions of dollars on horse racing in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Jockey Club froze his telephone betting account in February after it reached a $HK21 million limit ($NZ4.2 million).

A police spokesman said Moore's wife called at his apartment on Friday and Moore had told her he was depressed and was "going to sleep".

No suicide note was found.

Moore, who had to borrow money from a girlfriend seven years ago because he was broke, won $HK40 million off a race at Sha Tin race course last season.

He fought a battle with the Jockey Club after further phenomenal coups this year led to him being barred from wagering, a move unheard of in a betting-mad society that wagered $HK92 billion on horses last year.

Moore threatened to sue the club, accusing it of infringing his rights.

"I believe I'm the most successful punter in Hong Kong this season," he said at the time. "I've been here earning my living as a professional punter for the past six years."

He claimed its actions breached human rights and prevented him from freely earning a living.

Telephone betting was introduced to Hong Kong 10 years ago and a $HK21 million limit was written into its software. The club allowed Moore to open more than one account, another unprecedented move.