I have a good friend who has worked in the industry for years. He writes, handicaps, and comes up with ideas for player events.

We both agreed about an idea of having a statewide contest. One that would allow players to play from their home track. This was only after many patrons asked to have a contest for them to play in close to home.

We came up with an idea about having a contest that would include three tracks in Ohio, and online players to bet into the Ohio hub…. The contest would be on in-state tracks, and have players wager on the races from that state. It would keep the focus on the state run races, and drive real handle. The home track concept was to focus on the Ohio signal.

The idea of allowing online players, would be the gauge of how much attention could be paid to our product from a simulcast angle. I think it holds water, and could possibly be a huge money contest. They could play for an estimated $200,000 and then we could send five players to the NTRA finals in Vegas, and the Handicapping World Series in February. This would put us on the map as a destination to play.

Players from every type of handicapping background could take part. It would be an extremely effective tool to reach out to be a part of the online community. This could be something other states could employ to mark their product no matter how big or small…

I love fresh ideas. As a contest fan, I enjoy the opportunity to play. From the marketing standpoint, I see the endless ways to brand your product. Now, with the many sites that take around 35% of the fees to play as a profit, we would pay out 100% of the entry fees back to the player. It would be the residual handle, and the advertisement of y0ur state signal that would brand you as a player. To me, this is a no-brainer. Make the player a winner, and pay them. They will come…..