Don't take this as criticism because you know being 1 of the 1st members I care about the site.
The reason I feel we've got low contest turnouts is the lines are put up way too late. The NBA lines were put up 28 min before the 1st game. The NBA should be put up the night before & football by Wed. If you need more help with this stuff, let me know & I'll do what I can.

I don't think it affects participation. Last year, there were a few rumblings about late line posts to this effect regarding the football contests (and a bunch of volunteers to do it earlier). Freak said there was a method to the madness, namely to get people to keep coming here and checking for when the lines are up, thereby increasing traffic, and helpfully posts, since people were here anyway to check the contests. I don't agree with that opinion (because once you get the schedule down, you realize that you need to come here near to gametime in order to post), but in any case, it's just another way of doing things. I don't think it contributes to lower participation at all.

People are cheap. Free is cheap. Free contests are good, while the pay ones are tougher. Also, the reputation of the book is important. And traffic is consolidated at certain sites that have just beaten everyone else to the punch. There's only so much posting to go around. I can imagine posting at every single site. My wife would shoot me dead.

WOW...WELL PUT

I give Bazai a lot of credit, he said what a lot of people are likely thinking, and has a good memory to boot.

That is the exact reason why.

It's free. Look what the paying customers get with Bad Man, they get the lines on Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on when I get the lines from Hilton. I try to mirror it the best I can.

This site takes a lot of work, effort and time, and I think if you were in my shoes, you would want to see a lot of participation.

As for the contest, the reason why it doesn't get a lot of entries, is because it is a poker room that is sponsoring it. You have to download the room, and register to get an account number. Guys don't want to spend the time doing it obviously, but this is no fly by night poker room. It is one of the better ones around.

It's no sweat off my back, it just gives the people that support the site, a better chance of winning and I like seeing the loyal posters, and people that contribute win.

I am not out to rip anyone off, and I have never treated anyone as a dollar sign. I run this site for the everyday person, the people that go out and work their asses off, and want to win a little bit of money in the sports gambling and poker room sites. I work 40 hours + a week at a real job, I have no shame in admitting that.

So I am no different than most anyone that is here, except I own the site. I have given away a lot of free $$$ over the years, and really don't ask for much in return. All I have ever asked for is for people to be active in the topics and keep the topics fresh and that they use the links to show they came from here, so I can get more contests down the road.

This site has grown alot, but there is still only a handful of core people that post everyday. That is what keeps me going, knowing I am doing something to help other people in their goal of winning.

After all that is what this site is all about, sharing information, helping each other, and hopefully helping people win more than they lose. We all have our ways of capping, and getting info, the more we interact with one another, the more we arm ourselves in our daily battle vs the number.

I hope this came out right, because I am not bitching here, just explaining some of the thought process and reasoning behind this site.

Thanks for being a member or visitor, and keep em coming.

You are to be applauded, Freak, for keeping it going. As I'm sure many of us have seen, there are a bunch of forums that simply come and go. You've kept the faith.

I SECOND THAT....WELL DESERVED
THANKS TO FREAK AND EVERYONE THAT HELPS !!!!!!

Freak how can i change my message icon to something other then my profile choice?

Find an avatar, use the url for it, and then go in and edit your profile