The French Formula (LSD, #3)

3. Private Investigations

Private Investigations

We watch the slow line of spectators going home for dinner. Tonight's tickets are not for free. If you want to see the end of the film, you'll have to pay for it. That's how it works: the dealer gives a free sample until you're addicted and beg him to take your money for the next shot. That's nothing personal. It's just business.

Doc knows his business too: "I'll give you something to think about. We have 25 players. Each received one million euros to be here. Add the rent of the stadium, the costs of security and organization, plus two or three million for the opening show. Today, someone spent about 30 million without charging for entrance tickets. Who's paying for all this free entertainment? Use your eyes..."

It's a giveaway. The name of the official sponsor of the European Games is everywhere: "BTW. Bet To Win. This afternoon's opening show and all the famous football players are nothing but a teaser, right? They spend a few millions to get the attention, and then they milk the cows to recoup the investment."

Doc nods: "Bet To Win paid the organization 200 million euros. In return, they got the exclusive rights for taking bets on every European Game. BTW bets on earning a nett profit of 400 million with the deal. The TV stations and other media pay 200 million euros for the exclusive rights to broadcast the European Games. They double their investment by selling TV time to advertisers, who make a profit thanks to all the consumers who buy their products. The European Games organization receives 400 million euros, guaranteed. The total costs are 40 million, of which they've spent 75% spent on today's opening, on the 'teaser', as you call it. Everyone bets on gamblers and consumers to pay for this, and everyone wins."

Those astronomic amounts make me dizzy. Society has turned into a Trillion Dollar Poker Game. On one side of the table, private enterprise holds all the cards. Governments granted big companies every right to make money. On the other side sit the workers and consumers, with the right to pay the price for their ignorance and the right to remain silent. They'll probably lose that last right too, since shouting «Look At Me! I'm FABULOUS» gives power and profit to trillion-dollar Social Media companies.

"Bet To Win will make a gross profit of 400 million euros on the bets of the viewers of the European Games? In nine days?", I ask.

"Why not? It's just two or three euros per viewer. Three hours ago, you asked me how I make money with bets. There are two tricks. The first is simple, you could have figured it out by yourself: organize the betting. The bookmaker always wins. Gambling is a closed circuit. BTW creates an illusion and shows only winners. As they make the rules and invent the odds, they can't lose. The gamblers, on the other hand, pay the price for believing that miracles happen. It's science, it's mathematics, and above all, it's Economy."

"I know. I have a degree in Economy, Doc. Bet To Win means: you bet and they win. That's why I wonder how you can turn those odds in your favour. It's a mystery to me..."

Doc lifts his eyebrows and compliments me for my unexpected qualities with an admiring look: "You have a degree in Economy? You're an amazing person, Bugs. Let me explain the background of this event to you.

» The European Games are the third wave of entertainment.

» The first wave was sports. Well, originally, the ruling class entertained themselves, fighting wars. In the times of the ancient Greeks, war and sports were the same business. The classic Olympics were military training to prepare soldiers for battle. Only at the end of the 19th century did sport become a popular form of entertainment for the upper class (the working class didn't have time and energy to waste on sports). After WWII, war evolved into sports. You can show your superiority by beating the shit out of others, or by throwing bombs on their heads, but you can also kick their asses at the FIFA Football World War Cup. Football is war, but instead of burying the victims on the football field after a defeat, you give them another chance to show what they're worth. Sports is war. Generals and athletes fight for the same medals. But war has only losers. The winners of WWII buried 50 million dead and paid billions to repair the damage. In sports, everybody is a winner. Every athlete wins a sharp mind and a healthy body.