He claims to run a Web site that will give you a "cure for betting & sports information."
He characterizes xxxxxxxxx.com as a "consumer advocate site" for the offshore gambling industry. And he prominently displays the fact he's been monitoring this burgeoning industry since 1995.
The fact Ken 'The Shrink' Weitzner makes a comfortable living off sportsbook advertising while at the same time purporting to keep a critical eye on the gambling industry should raise more than a few eyebrows over his ability to remain objective.
And that troubling gray area of using the same pen to write invoices as he uses to draft news stories was never more obvious to me than it was last week when Weitzner allowed his personal vendetta against Costa Rican sportsbook giant SBG Global cloud his ability to remain unbiased.
In a fluff piece slugged 'Costa Rica Revisited' Weitzner extolled the virtues of sending your money to certain sportsbooks -- all but one of which advertise on his site -- and slammed SBG, a book he has had a personal, and very public, spat with.
"One to avoid at all costs in Costa Rica is SBG GLOBAL," The Shrink writes in this laughable expose.
The scary thing is Weitzner has a loyal following of about 2,000 sheep who believe anything he writes, never questioning his underlying motives.
"If Ken says it's so, it must be so," his readers believe. And why shouldn't they take him at his word? After all, he's been doing this for almost seven years.
From his high horse, Weitzner makes an outlandish -- and dangerously close to defamatory -- prediction about SBG Global.
"I believe SBG GLOBAL could very well be the next ACES -- so be warned."
Excuse me? Did Weitzner just insinuate SBG Global is on the verge of bankruptcy? Where's the proof?
For those unfamiliar with the Aces reference, Ken is talking about the Curacao-based sportsbook that went under last month, taking millions of dollars in bettors' deposits down with it.
If true, kudos to the watchdog for exposing SBG as another flailing sportsbook. I scanned the next couple of lines of the article, expecting to see references to bank statements, or at least an unnamed source to back up Ken's attack.
No such revelation was forthcoming.
SBG Global could very well be the next ACES? Come on Weitzner. You've been around long enough to know all it takes is one rumor -- even a false one -- to send gamblers into a sportsbook withdrawal frenzy. And then presto! Your rumor becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Wanting to give Weitzner the benefit of the doubt, believing there must be some substance to his accusation, I called SBG Global president Eduardo Agami for some clarification on his company's solvency.
As you might guess, he was livid. "It's total bullshit," Agami spewed. "Go ahead and insult me. Put pictures of me in drag up on the Internet. But don't come out and say something like that without foundation.
"The company is as solid as can be," Agami screamed, adding that the sportsbook has 75,000 clients, and peaked out at "over 5,000 users per week" during football season.
Of course Agami is going to pump up the solvency of his operation. That's his job.
So, unlike The Shrink, I looked for a paper trail.
And guess what? Bank statements weren't that hard to find. A letter obtained by Covers.com confirms SBG Global is quite healthy.
"(SBG Global) currently maintains a corporate account with (an) average balance in the mid-seven figures," writes the accounts manager for the bank that handles the sportsbook's money.
For those numerically challenged readers out there, that's in the $5-million range.
"The account held with our Bank is managed to our satisfaction," confirms the reference letter.
Weitzner failed to reply to an e-mail from Covers, requesting a comment for this news article.
It's obvious Weitzner used a poison pen to push his own agenda when he came out swinging against SBG last week.
Last September, Weitzner was screaming bloody murder when he accused SBG Global of robbing him of $152,500.
Specifically, Weitzner and a close friend alleged that on Feb. 4, 2001, SBG Global fraudulently wrote a series of high-priced losing NBA basketball bets on the offshore sportsbook account they shared.
The account was in the high-roller's name, but Weitzner admitted he had a stake in the wins and losses.
SBG adamantly denied the 'fake-bet' allegation, but after several heated arguments, Agami did pay Weitzner $60,000. "Basically I was offering a $60,000 olive branch," he explained at the time.
Weitzner wanted more, and threatened to take SBG Global to court for the alleged outstanding balance. No such case has ever been filed.
Agami is convinced Weitzner's latest attack is fuelled by the 'fake-bet' allegation.
"He will take every opportunity to do something to soil my name because of the sour grapes he has from that other issue that he refuses to let go of."
Weitzner's recent article also says, "SBG GLOBAL was recently SUED for their UNETHICAL domain name practices."
Agami says his company received a cease and desist letter from the NCAA after domain names were purchased that used the words 'March Madness' and 'NCAA'.
"They said, 'Stop or we'll sue.' So we stopped and they didn't sue," Agami said.
He characterizes xxxxxxxxx.com as a "consumer advocate site" for the offshore gambling industry. And he prominently displays the fact he's been monitoring this burgeoning industry since 1995.
The fact Ken 'The Shrink' Weitzner makes a comfortable living off sportsbook advertising while at the same time purporting to keep a critical eye on the gambling industry should raise more than a few eyebrows over his ability to remain objective.
And that troubling gray area of using the same pen to write invoices as he uses to draft news stories was never more obvious to me than it was last week when Weitzner allowed his personal vendetta against Costa Rican sportsbook giant SBG Global cloud his ability to remain unbiased.
In a fluff piece slugged 'Costa Rica Revisited' Weitzner extolled the virtues of sending your money to certain sportsbooks -- all but one of which advertise on his site -- and slammed SBG, a book he has had a personal, and very public, spat with.
"One to avoid at all costs in Costa Rica is SBG GLOBAL," The Shrink writes in this laughable expose.
The scary thing is Weitzner has a loyal following of about 2,000 sheep who believe anything he writes, never questioning his underlying motives.
"If Ken says it's so, it must be so," his readers believe. And why shouldn't they take him at his word? After all, he's been doing this for almost seven years.
From his high horse, Weitzner makes an outlandish -- and dangerously close to defamatory -- prediction about SBG Global.
"I believe SBG GLOBAL could very well be the next ACES -- so be warned."
Excuse me? Did Weitzner just insinuate SBG Global is on the verge of bankruptcy? Where's the proof?
For those unfamiliar with the Aces reference, Ken is talking about the Curacao-based sportsbook that went under last month, taking millions of dollars in bettors' deposits down with it.
If true, kudos to the watchdog for exposing SBG as another flailing sportsbook. I scanned the next couple of lines of the article, expecting to see references to bank statements, or at least an unnamed source to back up Ken's attack.
No such revelation was forthcoming.
SBG Global could very well be the next ACES? Come on Weitzner. You've been around long enough to know all it takes is one rumor -- even a false one -- to send gamblers into a sportsbook withdrawal frenzy. And then presto! Your rumor becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Wanting to give Weitzner the benefit of the doubt, believing there must be some substance to his accusation, I called SBG Global president Eduardo Agami for some clarification on his company's solvency.
As you might guess, he was livid. "It's total bullshit," Agami spewed. "Go ahead and insult me. Put pictures of me in drag up on the Internet. But don't come out and say something like that without foundation.
"The company is as solid as can be," Agami screamed, adding that the sportsbook has 75,000 clients, and peaked out at "over 5,000 users per week" during football season.
Of course Agami is going to pump up the solvency of his operation. That's his job.
So, unlike The Shrink, I looked for a paper trail.
And guess what? Bank statements weren't that hard to find. A letter obtained by Covers.com confirms SBG Global is quite healthy.
"(SBG Global) currently maintains a corporate account with (an) average balance in the mid-seven figures," writes the accounts manager for the bank that handles the sportsbook's money.
For those numerically challenged readers out there, that's in the $5-million range.
"The account held with our Bank is managed to our satisfaction," confirms the reference letter.
Weitzner failed to reply to an e-mail from Covers, requesting a comment for this news article.
It's obvious Weitzner used a poison pen to push his own agenda when he came out swinging against SBG last week.
Last September, Weitzner was screaming bloody murder when he accused SBG Global of robbing him of $152,500.
Specifically, Weitzner and a close friend alleged that on Feb. 4, 2001, SBG Global fraudulently wrote a series of high-priced losing NBA basketball bets on the offshore sportsbook account they shared.
The account was in the high-roller's name, but Weitzner admitted he had a stake in the wins and losses.
SBG adamantly denied the 'fake-bet' allegation, but after several heated arguments, Agami did pay Weitzner $60,000. "Basically I was offering a $60,000 olive branch," he explained at the time.
Weitzner wanted more, and threatened to take SBG Global to court for the alleged outstanding balance. No such case has ever been filed.
Agami is convinced Weitzner's latest attack is fuelled by the 'fake-bet' allegation.
"He will take every opportunity to do something to soil my name because of the sour grapes he has from that other issue that he refuses to let go of."
Weitzner's recent article also says, "SBG GLOBAL was recently SUED for their UNETHICAL domain name practices."
Agami says his company received a cease and desist letter from the NCAA after domain names were purchased that used the words 'March Madness' and 'NCAA'.
"They said, 'Stop or we'll sue.' So we stopped and they didn't sue," Agami said.
