Betphoenix has become a hot topic on our boards as of late.  Good, bad, or indifferent, the one thing that is for sure is that there is a lot of buzz about this Book.  

With all the happenings surrounding BP I decided to add them to our itinerary of Costa Rica books to visits prior to this football season.

Having been around the block in Costa Rica a few times I expected the usual as is with most books.  A functional office, organized cubicles, a stage for lines, a row of TV’s with every game possible on, and comfortable lunch and break room for the employees.  What I saw was far from ordinary for sure.

First, Betphoenix actually owns there compound outright which is a definite departure from the majority of offshore facing the North American Market.  The expansive property is home to four buildings with a variety of Asian influenced statues and fountains that decorate the grounds of the property. 

I was met by both Richard and one of BP’s gregarious owners who lead me through the BP tour stopping on occasion to tell a story or two along the way.  He has to be one of the most outgoing guys we have met in the Industry with an unbridled passion for Boxing, Sushi, and Gelato.  Our first stop on the tour was the main call center. It is an impressive two story 35,000 square foot building.  On the first floor we passed through the Asian dog statues into the reception area which is adorned by wood all around.  (side note* All the bldgs, woodwork, desks, iron, just about everything found at BP is built by themselves right on site.)  We proceeded through several offices which host BP’s support teams, lawyers, accountants, HR, and some executive offices.  We then moved on to the production room.  BP has its own TV production area used currently for some Latin American projects, as well some future BP plans for video based gaming information delivery.    From there we passed by the multimillion dollar server room ( wow) and then into the main call center floor which is open with seating arrangements divided by languages spoken.  The wagering stage faces out in two directions with rows of TV’s on both sides with all the usual sports being watched.  From there we breezed by the break room and up the stairs to the second floor.  On the second floor we got to see the sales and customer service rooms, Bingo, Technical, a second Server Room, and the offices for non-North American gaming site projects.  We then arrived to a locked door with one of BP’s jewels inside.  We were greeted at the door by a very attractive young woman (wow) who let us into BP’s Live Casino.  Inside were several beautiful young ladies dealing cards live via streaming cameras to BP clients worldwide.  The series of broadcasted tables run BP’s proprietary software via oversized card tables and roulette wheels, with scanner systems that give a digital output to the players.  It is a very impressive set up to say the least, and the girls aren’t too hard on the eyes either making the Live Casino room a pleasant stop on the tour.

From there we entered into another large building which hosts Betphoenix’s 200 seat restaurant.  They have a fully functional industrial kitchen complete with walk in freezer, Brick Pizza oven, and the largest rotisserie chicken oven I have ever seen.  As a benefit, Betphoenix feeds their employees at cost, and for free on weekends.  On the other side of the wall you find a huge two floor gym complete with full sized boxing ring, punching bags, weights, cardio equipment and more.  Employees train on site for free with self defense lessons given two times a day.  I was invited into the ring for a few quick lessons from the owner himself. It had been years since I fought in a ring and the speed of D’s hands made me decide that even a friendly spare wasn’t a good idea. Attached to that bldg was the materials and production room where BP does all of their wood and metal work facing an oversized fueng shui fountain complete with 9 Koi for good luck and fortune.

In the few hours we were at Betphoenix we got to see a commitment and investment into being great.  The people were kind and pleasant, and had nothing but great things to say about their organization. I can say without a doubt that this is the business to watch.  If they have their way, they just may make it to number 1 at light speed.

Lou.