Do you know any stoopers?
 

Stoopers are alive and well in NYC (and I imagine elsewhere).
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/sp...b.html?_r=1&hp
This past summer at Saratoga, I saw this same guy everyday reach right into the trash can that was the equivalent of a spittoon to look for tickets. Pretty freakin' gross. I guess it must have been worth it.
On my next losing streak, I'm diving in.:D

I wish I lived closer to Delta :D

He even has his own "turf".. too funny...and gives himself an hours lunch break because it's such hard work.

I wonder if the reporter asked to see a past tax return to verify some of his claims.

there is a guy named 'bones'..hes from chicago..i see him at all the tracks..derby/toga/ ect..dell and the chi town boys see him around..

When I was a kid at Saratoga, with nothing else to do, I used to walk around and pick-up tickets. We used to rake in anywhere from $50-100 a day, some days more. One afternoon my cousin found $200 rolled-up in a couple of tickets. Gate scratches, DQs etc.... those were pennies from heaven.

I would then parlay my findings into packs of jockey trading cards.

Illegal to do here at CBY.They claim they own a ticket once it hits the floor,and will throw you out if they catch you picking up tickets.

What if you are pulling your stack of tickets out of your parimutuel pocket and accidently drop them, are you allowed to pick them back up or does CBY own them?

Like we believe that. We all know you headed straight to the betting windows.

You'd have to ask your avatar - he knows exactly what you can get away with there

LOL...+30% winning percentage coming soon to a track near you. Could be a record Tampa meet.

this past spring meet at Churchill, they had an inquiry but didnt have the little lights up on their signal indcating it. they ended up making a DQ and changed the order, yet most people had already mucked their tickets because the red dots and sign never came up, and we didn't have the announcers volume on. so when that changed, i told a buddy of mine about,

he went through every garbage can, picked up every ticket in the joint, think he got back like 34 bucks LOL

For a while I would sneak up to a machine no problem. Then they busted our chups a bit so I would go with my parents. A year or two later that was a no-go but I was one year short of 18 so it didn't matter.

Growing-up my parents gave me $3 / day at the track. I would either bet it, buy a pack of jockey cards or get an ice cream. The goal was, of course, to turn the $3 into $10 and get all three. And that's how I learned how to handicap.

Its funny.. I wonder if the race track contributed to my charachter today... I was betting at Gulfstream with the tellers at 13.. partying in Saratoga at 16 and drinking at the local otb at 18..

And now I'm a mess! :eek:

My dad made my bets til i was about 14, when i sprouted up to 6 feet tall. he finally said "your big enough, make your own bets"

Over the summer I stopped at Delaware on my way to DC and played a few races. During one of the races there was a late scratch. I was walking past a pile of tickets and for some reason picked them. I was pleasantly surprised to find a bunch of them had the late scratch included. I walked through the casino and picked up a few more piles and again was happy to see more that included the late scratch. I think all in I was able to get back like $30.

I figured it was people playing both the races and the slots and when they saw the results for the race they just dropped their tickets when their number wasn't on them, not even thinking about a late scratch.

To answe rth eoriginal questions No I do not know any stoopers.

didn't see him all summer and neither did the fatman. He's originally from Louisville maybe went back there. Actually have his cell and it was disconected around Million time. Hope he didn't get in trouble for his 'side' business. Chicken Man probably had a good summer picking up all his customers.

i do believe these are a dying breed. used to see them by the truckloads in south florida tracks. I have found quite a few winners just by accident staring me in the face without looking a few times

It figures this guy would be hanging out at a NYC OTB. I do amire his tenacity.

The thing that pisses me off about these guys is that they hold up machines. And they turn around and look at you like they are doing it on purpose, like they are a cooler or something.

I was amazed at the number of uncashed tickets over a 2 year period at NYRA tracks....8.5 million bucks!

I stooped as a kid at various tracks throughout the east coast. This was so long ago the tickets were different colors based upon the amount of the bet.

I'm thinking of becoming a stooper

T.D. Thornton's book Not By a Long Shot devotes some time to the Suffolk Downs stoopers. I read it awhile ago, but if I remember correctly, they are described as being the lowest-of-the-low racetrack patrons -- the "unclean". They're like the people who root through your trash at 5 a.m. and fill their trucks with old bicycles and appliances so they can sell the scrap metal.

Good book, by the way.

Making a couple of extra bucks on the side scrapping metal actually sounds like it might be pretty fun. I ain't knockin' it! And I really can't knock stooping, either. I personally would be too embarrassed to do it myself (not that I'm too proud to stoop, but I'd be mortified if someone saw me), but hey, if people are throwing money on the ground...

I'm too much of a germophobe to have ever attempted stooping.

You could be the first bubble boy stooper. Or better yet, you could hire independent contractor stoopers. They bring the tickets to you. In return you give them a commission on any winning tickets they find. To give them a sense of pride, you provide each a t-shirt, so when your army of stoopers descends upon a major racetrack, all will know that DrugS's stoopers have arrived.

I find that really hard to believe considering the description you posted on here about your bedroom!

You really should come see my bedroom for yourself.

Nice try.

Picking up Disgarded Tickets
 

Anyone else see this article?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/sp...ef=todayspaper

i guess he kinda just invited more stoopers to visit his locale?

Yup.

http://www.derbytrail.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33147

You would have too if you'd have clicked on the link in post #1

the guy with the blond hair and glasses or his partner the older guy? i've been seeing them there since i was a kid some 2o something years ago. they must find something.

That post started a new thread earlier today and was subsequently moved to this thread.