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With March Madness right around the corner I thought it would be a great time to
go over what a typical day is like in the wager center for us ladies here at
BoDog. With such a high volume of calls it’s vital that all of the BoDog girls
are on top of their game – myself included – so it’s important that we show up
for each shift ready for what lies ahead. There can be a lot of stress involved
when a major game is about to go off the board, and with the Madness, they’re
all big games.
Just minutes before any game we’re dealing with a large
volume of calls and we’re always doing our best to get every players’ wager in.
We also have to keep one eye on our head book-manager’s instructions in order to
make sure we’re giving out the proper lines. Sometimes players will call in a
little too late to get their wager placed and some even vent their frustration
on us. All we can really do is suggest that they call in just a tad earlier next
time.
One trend that strikes me as a little odd is the general public
typically bets on the favorite and yet they wait until the last minute to get
their bet in. But, in reality, the earlier you bet on a game the better line
you’re going to get. Boys, the one thing I can’t stress enough is get your bets
in early! I’m amazed at how many players don’t use our Web site to place their
wagers when they wait until the last minute. It’s always ready to take bets and
has live scores right there on screen.
 Most of the girls I work with in the wager
center are students working towards careers in medicine, dentistry, law or even
engineering. Working here in the wager center is paying for their education.
This place is the perfect spot for students to be working because the wager
center policies were designed with them in mind. Talking to girls from other
sportsbooks in town, we seem to be the only one that hires mainly students.
Between rushes and during downtimes we’re encouraged to get caught up on our
homework and are free to use the Internet as we see fit. It’s easy to see why
many of the local students want to work here.
This industry is also one
full of constant change. There’s always one more sport, rule, team, wager type
or procedure to master. The other clerks and I are constantly coming up with
games to test each other and make sure we’re the best in the business. Hearing a
compliment from a courteous player on the telephone is what makes it all
worthwhile. There is nothing that beats a polite player that appreciates your
attention to detail or dedication to offering the best service. A lot of
different situations can cause frustration on both ends of the line. We deal
with such a wide range of clientele, we come across varying accents, poor cell
phone connections and games going off the board.
For whatever reason, some
players say mean things when they get frustrated. I’ve even been asked if I
speak English! It’s pretty amusing when you consider I’m from Canada and English
is in fact my native tongue. In fact, I only speak English. Despite these rare
occurrences, the players are a real pleasure to deal with. One of the cool
things we do is bonus those players that are nice to the clerks on the phone.
This is in addition to all the other bonuses that are given out for a range of
other reasons, but it’s the one we clerks like the best!
Our work
schedule at the wager center isn’t exactly traditional. During the week we’re
working in the evenings and on the weekend it’s during the daytime. That’s when
the big games seem to be going off the board and we’re the busiest. This is a
bit of a mixed blessing. You see, during the week we can sleep in or do
something else during the day, but on weekends it’s early to bed and early to
rise.  So, when it comes to socializing, we aren’t on a
typical schedule of clubbing on the weekends. In a way, we’re a guys dream
because we’re always planning our nightlife around major sporting events. This
is no problem is Latin America where they’re ready to celebrate anytime,
anywhere and on any day. It’s no wonder that with the climate and culture here
there is definitely no shortage of attractive, young women here.
When we
do hit the town, we usually start with a nice meal at one of the local eateries.
Dinner in Costa Rica is a little different than back home as it’s eaten later in
the evening and is more of a social event. There are amazing restaurants with
food from all corners of the globe on every street. This city boasts typical
Costa Rican food, cuisines from neighboring countries, spicy Caribbean inspired
dishes, Italian, Japanese and even Thai. The district of Escazu even carries
such chains as T.G.I.F.’s and Tony Roma’s.  There are also quite a few sports bars like Mad
Dogs and Mac’s American Bar that are great for a warm-up. One of my personal
favs is the open air TexMex restaurant in Santa Ana. It’s a 10-minute highway
drive from San Jose and has the countries best margaritas. It’s also a few
degrees warmer than San Jose.
And, did I mention the
margaritas?
Once the dinner crowd dies down this city becomes a
party-haven! There are clubs all over the city, but some of my favorites are in
El Pueblo, San Pedro and Escazu. A hotspot for most of us is El Pueblo; it’s a
village-like setting full of typical restaurants, boutiques and after-hour dance
clubs that are open as long as you can last, and I’ve been known to go all
night! By the time you’re done dinner and getting a little charge from the last
margarita this place gets buck wild.
The Latin women in these parts can
dance! They’re notorious for their sultry dancing and their hips have a way of
moving to the sensual Hispanic rhythms that needs to be seen to be appreciated.
I’ve graciously accepted more than my fair share of lessons. Even if you get
right into your drinks or, in my case, just don’t know the steps to a certain
song, you can still watch the club’s provocatively costumed dancers on stages
around the outside of the dance floor. It’s also a prime opportunity to work in
a Spanish lesson with a local.
If you’re lucky you might end up like I did on
a recent night out. Another one of the girls told the bartender it was my
birthday, which was just a small fib. All I remember is getting dragged up on
the bar and having free tequila poured down my throat and everyone making it
their personal duty to make sure I was properly loaded. Of course, now when we
go out, I’m sure to mention it’s my birthday.
Well, that’s what life is
like for us girls here at BoDog. I’m sure going to miss it when I leave after
March Madness to head back to Canada to catch up with friends there. Don’t worry
though; I’ll still be working for BoDog doing some work with the marketing
department in the Vancouver office. Next time I’ll be writing about the
nightlife of that city and will have some pictures of me with the team up
there!
Suzy Jackson
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