5 Dimes Tony -- 10/18/2018
For this week's newsletter, I was planning to write something about the Global Gaming Expo, which just ended. However, when I woke up this morning, I read terrible news about someone commonly known as Tony, the owner and operator of the 5dimes Internet sports book. 5dimes is one of the few operations that didn't get scared off by the UIGEA of 2006. Instead, it give 5dimes a huge share of the U.S. market, as most other operators closed their doors to Americans.
Tony, who owned and managed the operation is a good friend of mine. I was his guest twice in recent years at his condo near Jaco, Costa Rica. Both times I went, Tony was extremely gracious, generous, and down to earth. Between trips, we communicated by Skype. My last communication with him was on September 8. Despite running a huge organization, he always seemed to have time to chat and liked being challenged with a good math puzzle.
This morning, I learned that Tony was kidnapped on September 24. Based on two reports in the media, the captors demanded a ransom, which was paid. However, Tony was never released or seen from again, as far as anyone knows. There are more details in these articles: