Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Copyright © StatFox

Steve Makinen is the voice behind much of the content at StatFox.com and all of its other properties. StatFox was invited to be in the first Leroy's contest to go head-to-head with other handicappers and personalities. Steve represented StatFox in Las Vegas on a live contest radio show at the Riviera Sportsbook last weekend. In the first round matchup against Fezzik, StatFox won $280 to -$770 to advance to the next round. Here is an exclusive interview with Steve.

Q:
First Steve, congratulations are in order has you won the first match in LeRoy's $ 50,000.00 Money Talks Invitational (www.AmericanWagering.com). You went up against Steve Fezzik, who has made quite a name for himself in a short period of time in Las Vegas handicapping circles. How does it feel?

Steve:
It really feels good. This is the first venture into any type of handicapping contest for StatFox as an organization. We're thankful to be given the opportunity and fortunate to be moving on to the elite eight round.

Q:
Steve, how and why did StatFox become involved in Leroys contest? Typically these contests are designed for handicappers or Las Vegas personalities like Mayor Goodman.

Steve:
StatFox was actually referred to the contest by some friends in the Vegas area, notably Buzz Daly and Jeff Whitelaw. As we were contemplating entering it, we heard from Jimmy Vacarro himself, encouraging us to take part as he felt it would be a great fit both ways. So far, he has been on the money and we're happy with the decision and the investment.

Q:
You were able to meet the head of Leroy's, Vic Salerno. I've heard he is one of the nicest guys in the sports wagering business, what did you think? In general, what are your overall impressions of the contest so far?

Steve:
Yes, we were able to meet Vic Salerno. He is a Marquette graduate, and though being from Wisconsin-Milwaukee, I can't possibly like Marquette, Mr. Salerno was still very genuine and hospitable. The same can be said for everyone we met that night of the show, Jimmy, Roxy, Arne, etc. Now if you ask me about the lines we ended up with in the contest, that's a different story.....Hah!

Q:
I actually saw some of the differences you are referring to, but to the best of my knowledge, that played no factor in the outcome. One last question about the names you just mentioned. You were able to meet some of the most influential people in the history of the sports wagering business. Had to be quite an honor?

Steve:
You know...with most of us at StatFox being in our mid-30's, those names were some of the guys we grew up talking about in our own small gambling circles. Those guys were "Vegas". In many ways, they still are. In fact, on Friday they spent a lot of the long show reminiscing about stories of the past. To be sitting at the table during all of this was almost surreal.

Q:
Steve, let's move on to the contest itself. StatFox is renowned for having great stats information, with a number of ways of interpreting the vast selection of material. What method did you use in selecting your top seven games?

Steve:
Actually, four of us at StatFox with the most football handicapping experience analyzed our information for the games on our own and then converged one afternoon last week to finalize the plays. Through an elimination process of the entire college board, we were able to narrow down seven plays. Though the contest format of using different strengths for the plays doesn't really fit our own styles of money management, we were able to rank them in 1-7 unit fashion....Fittingly, I think you know what happened to our 7 unit play!

Q:
Steve, give us insight as to the "why’s and how’s" of a couple of your winning selections. Two of your winners were big favorites, Florida and Syracuse. That flies in the face of conventional handicapping wisdom. What gave you and StatFox the confidence to make what would be consider bold selections?

Steve:
Basically, we knew that each of the four of us that contributed to the selection process has his unique way of handicapping. The FoxSheets, our subscription service, really accomodate all of our styles. Situations, historical tendencies, our computerized game estimator...all of these things came into play. In the case of Florida and Syracuse, we were looking at a pair of teams that historically cover large numbers and were in need of impressive wins to build momentum. It certainly didn't hurt that they were playing mutts either. The computer projected blowouts. So did we. In fact, two of the games we eliminated late were Virginia Tech and Texas Tech, also monster favorites that won handily.

Q:
You mentioned your disappointment in losing your top play with the Washington Huskies. Obviously you were not alone in your thought process, since that line moved from the Huskies at +11 to +8. One of the keys in being successful in selecting games is learning from your mistakes. In watching the game with your StatFox crew what did you guys learn?

Steve:
When we look back, making that a 7-unit play was probably too big of a risk. We were almost "challenging" a strong Cal team. While that type of game would probably be left in as a selection next round, it certainly won't be a 7 pointer. Looking at our performance, as well as our opponent Fezzik's, it's obvious that fading good teams is not the way to go!

Q:
The outcome of the first round match with Fezzik wasn’t decided until the final game on Sunday’s board when Indianapolis whipped Baltimore. What were your thoughts when you realized you’d be moving on?

Steve:
It’s funny, myself and another StatFox representative, Dave, were in-flight from Vegas back to Milwaukee for the Indy-Baltimore game, so we had no idea of a specific score, or even how the game might be playing out. Playing the “guess what’s going on game” made for quite a long trip. When we finally landed, or perhaps even before, Mr. Cell Phone Dave had his browser fired up to the scoreboard. 17-0 Indy was the first score we knew of. All in all, it was quite an emotional and successful day as I also hit the Luxor Sportsbook on 5 for 5 in the NFL early board!

Q:
Now Steve, be honest, knowing that it will take seven weeks to complete the field down to the quarter-finals, have you taken a quick peek at the games in the first weekend in November, the next probable time you will compete in this contest?

Steve:
In all honesty....No! Simply too much football and other stuff to concentrate on between now and then. While the contest is cool and something to look forward to again down the road, we're still trying to make hay each and every passing day. For those of you outside of native cheeseheads StatFox and Mr. Salerno, making hay is $$$! When the time comes though, we'll be even more prepared, both for the games and the format.

Q:
Thanks, sounds great Steve. Thanks for taking a few minutes out of your day and we will catch-up with you down the road, when you and the rest of the StatFox crew attempt to move into the semi-finals in Leroy's $50,000 Money Talks Invitational

Steve:
Thank you, we're looking forward to the challenge!