 The winter season is by far the busiest time of year in the sportsbook business and with that now behind us all, I’ve been able to do something I haven’t done since early August. Exhale.
There are still the NBA Finals keeping the energy pumping just a bit, especially since we’ll have new champions this year, and baseball provides just enough mojo to keep us going until the NFL preseason kicks off.
The BoDog command center in San Jose, Costa Rica is still very busy but I’ve returned home to Vancouver, Canada to work for Melissa, BoDog’s Marketing Manager. While the bookmaking is all run from Costa Rica, all of the technical development and marketing work for BoDog is contracted out to a company here in Vancouver.
I love Costa Rica, but I simply couldn’t turn down an offer to work in the marketing department. I’m now a little closer to home and getting to spend some time with my family here on the West Coast. The office here is great. There are around 100 people working on BoDog related projects, so while it may not be a busy time of year on the bookmaking end of things, this office has a constant buzz.
 The first thing that I’ve noticed is the way the marketing department works hand-in-hand with the technical side. Seeing these two groups of people work together really puts into perspective the reasons why BoDog has grown so fast and become one of the big players. Of course, being the new kid in the office, I’m working hard on a lot of different marketing programs.
It really does take a small army to make BoDog run as well as a Swiss watch and everybody in the office here and in San Jose is a big part of that. BoDog has become one of the biggest players in the business because of a real dedication to customer service and a great product. With all that though, we still need to tell the world we’re here and that’s where the marketing, and some of the work I’ll be doing, comes into play.
I don’t come up with the ideas (yet), but I do have a hand in making sure they’re being executed. I have to do a lot of data entry and a lot of my time is spent monitoring things to ensure their accuracy. Since BoDog designs and builds its own technology and everything is fully integrated, it’s a great way for me to learn how the digital business world of the future will work.
 Of course, at the end of the day, I’m still a 19-year old girl with a penchant for tequila and there’s plenty of that here in Van-city. There’s a real good selection of restaurants and nightclubs that gives this city a great array of places to party hard into the night. Where should I start? I live within walking distance of the trendy Yaletown area which has way too many good restaurants and at least one amazing sports bar! I have a lot of girlfriends here in Vancouver and we often head out to a local joint called the Yaletown Brew Pub, which is both a restaurant and a sportsbar. There are two great things about the Brew Pub:
- They brew their own beer
- There are as many hot chicks in that bar as there are in the Del Ray in San Jose
The place is always packed and there’s always a bunch of great games on the tube. Between the sports, the beer and the ladies, it’s a sports bettor’s paradise! After the games are over there is, of course, the local nightclub scene. All these great clubs are all within walking distance, but my favorite so far has been Bar None. Its good for the ego knowing you can come home after a long time away and still make heads turn when you walk in the door with your girlfriends.
 The other great thing about being back home is the huge selection of things to do outside. We’re right on the Pacific Ocean and have a beautiful backdrop of mountains full of hiking trails. My pad for the summer is right on the Stanley Park Seawall which is great for going running, biking or rollerblading. The Seawall pretty much outlines the entire city so you can go for miles!
Well, I’m headed off to do some boating with some close friends of mine from Vancouver, including some from BoDog, so I’ll be sure to bring back lots of pictures and fill you in on all the details in my next issue. Everyone knows how much I like horses, so I hope you are as excited as I am to watch the Belmont Stakes this weekend. I can’t wait to see if Funny Cide wins the Triple Crown. Until then, good luck with the Stakes and the NBA Finals.
Suzy Jackson
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