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Old 11-18-2009, 09:57 PM
 
1,016 posts, read 1,938,397 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hopes View Post
the little old lady across the street from me had a bookie! She was pushing 90! Her bookie made house calls!

roflmao :d
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Old 11-18-2009, 09:59 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by worldwanderer View Post
Both my grandmother's used one also......
Must be a senior citizen thing!

I wonder if they always used bookies throughout their entire lives or if they learned about bookies at the bingo halls when the were seniors!
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Old 11-18-2009, 10:05 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chichappens View Post
roflmao :d
It was hillarious!

I always saw this man making regular brief visits to her house.

One day I was outside with my husband and I said in passing, "I wonder who that is?"

Afterall, she had never been married and didn't have children.

My husband said, "That's her bookie....."

I almost fell over!

She was always talking about playing the numbers!

I just assumed she was buying tickets at the convenience store!
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Old 11-18-2009, 10:29 PM
 
331 posts, read 673,022 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes View Post
Must be a senior citizen thing!

I wonder if they always used bookies throughout their entire lives or if they learned about bookies at the bingo halls when the were seniors!
Of course they played thru the bookies their entire lives. The pay-out was 7:1, as opposed to the "state" 6:1. Plus, you don't have to pay taxes. I was never one to play the numbers, but the few times I did, were thru bookies.
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Old 11-18-2009, 10:33 PM
 
331 posts, read 673,022 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes View Post
It was hillarious!

I always saw this man making regular brief visits to her house.

One day I was outside with my husband and I said in passing, "I wonder who that is?"

Afterall, she had never been married and didn't have children.

My husband said, "That's her bookie....."

I almost fell over!

She was always talking about playing the numbers!

I just assumed she was buying tickets at the convenience store!

I gotta ask, are you or your family from the 'city' of Pittsburgh? The reason I ask, it's so common people playing with bookies in Pittsburgh, I don't know how someone would find that funny or surprising?

P.S. It is not a "senior citizen thing". It's common among all ages who play the "numbers".
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Old 11-18-2009, 10:39 PM
 
331 posts, read 673,022 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes View Post
It was hillarious!

I always saw this man making regular brief visits to her house.

One day I was outside with my husband and I said in passing, "I wonder who that is?"

Afterall, she had never been married and didn't have children.

My husband said, "That's her bookie....."

I almost fell over!

She was always talking about playing the numbers!

I just assumed she was buying tickets at the convenience store!

In fact, I think years ago the pay-out was different. I think the state pay-out used to be 5:1. But they "up'd" the payout to try and counter all the "book-making" that goes on thru out the region.

I'll drop my old man a line tommorow, he'll know. And ya, when he plays the numbers, it's ALWAYS thru a "bookie" too....
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Old 11-18-2009, 10:58 PM
 
331 posts, read 673,022 times
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I left out another big thing out, who do you think people place "bets" with? Everybody in Pittsburgh who gambles on sporting events, do so thru "bookies". I don't bet, so this slipped my mind. But when you here someone has money "riding" on a game, believe me it's thru a bookie.
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Old 11-19-2009, 08:48 AM
 
43,011 posts, read 108,049,575 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by worldwanderer View Post
Of course they played thru the bookies their entire lives. The pay-out was 7:1, as opposed to the "state" 6:1. Plus, you don't have to pay taxes. I was never one to play the numbers, but the few times I did, were thru bookies.
I'm not so sure the lady across the street played thru a bookie her entire life. Afterall, the numbers didn't exist her entire life.

I think it's more likely she heard about it through other old ladies when she got too old to drive herself.

Quote:
Originally Posted by worldwanderer View Post
I gotta ask, are you or your family from the 'city' of Pittsburgh? The reason I ask, it's so common people playing with bookies in Pittsburgh, I don't know how someone would find that funny or surprising?
Nope. I was raised in the northern suburbs, and my husband was raised on a farm farther north.

Quote:
Originally Posted by worldwanderer View Post
P.S. It is not a "senior citizen thing". It's common among all ages who play the "numbers".
I was wondering if the house calls were a senior citizen thing. Prior to that, I'd only heard of bookies showing up to threaten to break your legs if you hadn't paid. Seriously, bookies aren't going to people's houses who have families and children on a weekly basis to collect or pay money as a convenience service. It makes sense that they would do it for the elderly though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by worldwanderer View Post
I left out another big thing out, who do you think people place "bets" with? Everybody in Pittsburgh who gambles on sporting events, do so thru "bookies". I don't bet, so this slipped my mind. But when you here someone has money "riding" on a game, believe me it's thru a bookie.
I don't know anyone who bets on games. I only know of one person who I never met. I have a friend who has eight children. Her husband disappeared---ran off because he feared for his life. They showed up at her door to threaten her into paying his debt. She told them that she could care less what they did to him, she was trying to support eight children, and to never show their faces at her house again. They never returned.

That's my earlier point about Pittsburghers not putting up with mafia. Pittsburghers don't easily cower. If someone threatens a Pittsburgher, they dont' back down, they call the police, state police, FBI---whatever it takes. In Pittsburgh, the only people whose lives are affected by mafia are the people who chose to associate with them. No innocent people are forced to associate with the mafia like depicted in the Sopranos. Nobody is extorting 'protection' from small business owners, etc.
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Old 11-20-2009, 08:10 PM
 
1,016 posts, read 1,938,397 times
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Funny this topic came up about bookies... My boyfriend who made some bet on football this past weekend and bet a nice sum of money KNOWING he was going to win...DID NOT...and a nice man came to the home whilst I was alone asking me for him.........and he nicely said that Patrick and him need to take care of some business..........I asked Patrick......lets just say I may have the first wack at Pat before the bookie comes back............I am very annoyed.......don't take bill money to make bets right before the holidays......wheather it's his holiday and not mine........I still am very upset..........
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Old 11-20-2009, 11:47 PM
 
1,016 posts, read 1,938,397 times
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@ Hopes....lol...I just paid off the mob...okay a bookie...kinda like that elderly lady....now I can sleep.........have to say that guy did not give up he kept coming her for my boyfriend and was not gonna take NO for an answer.........have to say in a bookie kinda way he was nice looking.
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