At this time of year, the height of the horse racing season, Martin Blackburn is working up to 80 hours a week to add one more. Blackburn, 27, a fast-talking, wholesome-looking Englishman, runs Moscow's only betting shop, which accepts wagers on nearly every Western sport played on a professional level, from darts to American football.
In a corner of the main casino floor of the Metelitsa Entertainment Complex on Novy Arbat, Blackburn holds forth for six and sometimes seven days a week, accepting wagers, disbursing winnings and explaining the dozens of different kinds of bets to a Russian clientele largely ignorant of the intricacies of sports betting.
Of the betting shop's 200 or so customers, between 80 and 90 percent are Russian, estimated Blackburn, who said the Russians tend to take their betting more seriously than foreigners and will sometimes stay for an entire 11-hour day of racing from around the world. Still, Blackburn said, the basic attraction is the same for everyone.
"What you are dealing with basically is greed. People come in because they are greedy," Blackburn said. "Sometimes you get tired of it." Then, recalling that he has worked in casinos and betting shops for the last five years, he added: "But I don't want to become a florist."
The one thing gamblers cannot place a wager on with Blackburn is Russian sports, be it horse racing from Moscow's Hippodrome or top-level Russian soccer. Both are too vulnerable to corruption, Blackburn. "We don't touch it."
As the one betting shop operator in a city new to such things, Blackburn seems very conscious of setting a standard and a tone for the business, which was opened 18 months ago. Part of that is accomplished by providing "good service," "comfortable surroundings," "as much information about the races as possible" and by discouraging what Blackburn calls "thuggish elements."
The other element to creating an "extension of a social club" is the kind of persona Blackburn tries to create for himself as chief bookmaker.
"You don't want them to perceive you as the enemy but as an arbiter. I don't lose their money," said Blackburn. "Some days a guy might be winning and full of beans and the next day he loses and is down. You have to treat him the same way. You have to be consistent, be professional."
"You don't get involved. It's other people's money. If people lose money they can't afford to lose, why should I feel sorry for them," he said. "They don't feel sorry for us when they win."
Blackburn declined to talk specifically about how the betting shop portion of the casino performs financially but said it was "healthy" and had a higher turnover -- bets wagered -- than any of the individual English betting parlors in which he has worked. The biggest expense, he said, is the satellite service which provides broadcasts for two 30-inch television sets and information for the shop's six text monitors. Blackburn believes business will continue to grow.
"There will always be money here. It is a capital city," he said. "And, there will always be people who think they know who will win. I'm one of them."
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