Somebody pinged me with a message on Facebook and I clicked and am just now seeing this.
First, THANK YOU to everyone for the kind wishes.
I wish I could have won the WSC, not just for the money and prestige but because I wanted to call out Mad Jack (JW) for giving me my start. I will always be grateful for his kindness. I also appreciate so many of you here, names I recognize, even though it's been a few years. Lots of talent and smart people here. I kinda' miss Mad Jacks and those early days.
As for this season, it was incredible. As you likely know, I usually handicap most of the games. I always start with hypothetical $10K bankroll (yes, I bet also). I was down 40 percent by end of September. Trust me, that shakes confidence. Then, things turned around, and honestly I started spending more time, and learning from some earlier errors. By end of Oct., I was in the black, and up about $2,000. It was quite a turnaround.
Somebody here posted something negative (previous comment above), calling me out for getting upset about lack of traffic and I've always been transparent about my emotions and feelings, especially when I see so much BS in sports gambling, especially in media and social channels. I am under no obligation to post or share anything, but I've always done it for the love of the science of handicapping. Plus, is makes me better and work harder, knowing people are reading the picks. Anyway, it's a SHITLOAD of work and there is always a burnout factor. Posting stuff that takes many hours, week after week (unpaid), isn't easy and takes a toll. So, trying to maximize my own work and efficiency, I suspended my posts (
www.nolandalla.com) sometime in Nov. and decided to continue betting on my own, and also concentrate more on contest strategy.
Well, that decision certainly paid off. About +$190K, on a $7K investment. Mostly going to investors. I did this for the experience and the press (hoping to win, of course). Naturally, many investors are taking care of me financially, and I have plenty of bottles of fine wine being sent to me as gifts, on the way (see, I told you there was an upside). 3 of my 7 tickets cashed. Two won separate contests (worth $100K). Incredibly, all 7 tickets finished in the top-50 out of 1300 contestants. I'm not sure that's ever been done before. However, I didn't win the trophy, so there's still some disappointment. There's also room to learn more and improve.
Just wait 'til next season.
Sincerely, Mad Jacks was my sports handicapping alma mater. And we were and remain, a fraternity.
Thanks again,
-- Nolan Dala