The Christmas office party may have been cut due to financial constraints. The smoking room may have been eliminated for health reasons. The annual company picnic may be a fond but distant memory.
But the office betting pool still thrives as part of the corporate culture, unaffected by the vicissitudes of the economy and the law, winked at by most top supervisors and police departments.
As the office pool enters its busy season, brought on by the crescendo of the pro football season and the start of college basketball, the bets will range from a couple bucks in most companies to hundreds or more in big-stake pots overseen by traders on the financial markets.
In most places, it`s almost an accepted office perk, an in-house service, often complete with free photocopying and a volunteer who considers it a quasi-official duty to fellow employees and higher-ups.
It also happens to be illegal, not to mention potentially embarrassing.
That point was underscored last week when a federal judge called on the U.S. Attorney`s Office to investigate allegations of a $64,000 college basketball pool at the First National Bank of Chicago.
Company costs for the 1989 pool, an ex-employee testified, involved more than 50 hours of planning and fees for graphic designers to create auction boards.
First National has maintained that the pool only involved employees`
money and said the practice is ”believed to be prevalent in American business.” In other words, the bank said: Everybody`s doing it.
Sometimes, that seems to be the case.
If you`ve worked in an office-be it a law office, a newsroom, a factory or a courthouse-odds are you probably have encountered a betting pool.
Top deputies at the State of Illinois Center have participated. One legislator recalls ”adjournment pools” in the state Capitol for wagering on the exact closing time of the spring session.
While it`s not legal, many regard it as harmless.
”I remember someone talking about it, saying, `Yeah, that is an illegal activity.` I just don`t think of it as a big deal,” said a woman who has worked at several public relations firms, each of which has had a betting pool. ”I guess I think of it as using the Xerox machine to copy your tax returns. It might`ve gotten out of control in that environment (at First National), but I seriously doubt that that should be used as a benchmark for corporate America.”
While most of the office workers interviewed said office betting is as benign as the coffee fund, they were reluctant to allow their names to be published, out of fear of embarrassing or angering their bosses. Even the high-rolling traders in Chicago`s financial markets, whose betting pools are in a league of their own, were shy about publicity.
Betting pools, without the sanction of exchange leaders, are woven closely into the high-risk lifestyle on the trading floors, particularly at the Chicago Board of Trade, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and, to a lesser extent, the Chicago Board Options Exchange.
”The betting ran the entire range, from a wager on a single sports event to those on the outcome of tournaments, playoffs, tennis matches, even entire football seasons,” said one former high-ranking official of the Board of Trade.
”And we are not talking nickels and dimes. These were megabets, tens of thousands of dollars. You have to remember, these people are entrepreneurial types to begin with, risk-takers.”
One year at the Merc, a former currency trader recalled, a runner organized a Super Bowl pool of $100,000.
”To get into it, you had to put up $1,000 each,” he said. ”I remember thinking to myself, `No way. If she gets the $100,000, she`s liable to have second thoughts, forget about the pool and wind up in Brazil.` ”
Most of the pots were smaller, in the neighborhood of about $10,000 to $20,000, recalled another Merc trader. But often they mushroom, rising to $100,000 and sparking a lot of excitement among the bettors, the trader said. With top officials at many companies either participating or tacitly approving the pools, it`s no wonder they thrive.
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That`s why John Townsend, Chicago police deputy superintendent for investigative services, has made it a point to let those under him know he will not tolerate police betting pools in his office. ”It`s a form of gambling,” he said. ”We`re supposed to enforce the law, not encourage it
(gambling).”
But some defenders of the public peace wonder how much harm office pools really cause.
Prosecution efforts in Du Page County have been directed mainly at professional bookmakers, particularly those believed to be associated with organized crime.
The same is true in Chicago, where officials say most office pools would constitute misdemeanor offenses as opposed to the felony charges for mob-related or syndicated gambling involving sophisticated operations.
”I`m looking for stuff that`s organized,” said Lt. John Sullivan, commander of the gambling unit. ”I don`t want to be hitting bridge clubs. That`s not the reason we`re here.”
Townsend, the deputy superintendent, laughed when asked if he had ever joined in an office pool.
”Yeah, I`ve done it in the past,” he said. ”Not anymore. You didn`t ask me when I did it. A long time ago.”
He also thinks office pools hurt productivity.
”Somewhere along the line, whoever you`re working for is paying the price,” he said. ”It`s taking away from business. You`re using company material. There`s wasted time, effort, money.”
But unlike unwarranted use of postage, copying machines and long-distance phone lines, the office pool is seen by some as a positive contribution to a company.
”I think it`s a morale builder,” said an employee at a large food conglomerate. ”Pools are across groups. It actually gives you a chance to meet people you don`t know. And it`s pocket change. Nobody`s going to go to jail, though I guess they could.”
Reports of the First National pool are noteworthy because of the alleged official links between the institution and the gambling, including a bank-sponsored cocktail and dinner party that is said to have kicked off the NCAA basketball pool.
Like their in-town rivials at First Chicago, senior executives at Continental Bank inaugurate their NCAA pool with a dinner. But the bank does not assist with the event and the executives pay their own way, said a participant.
”It`s informal, and (Continental chairman Thomas) Theobald certainly wasn`t encouraging it,” said the executive. ”He`s not much of a sportsman.” One LaSalle National Bank employee said of the office betting pools:
”They`re everywhere. I`d say 50 percent of the people here participate in a sports pool at some point of the year; 80 percent in the lottery pools.”
A former accountant at a Big Six firm recalled an early assignment at the company. He was told to take a cab from his downtown office to a client`s business in Park Ridge to deliver a package. ”We desperately need to get this out,” his supervisor told him.
In the elevator, the accountant dropped the package, and money fell out. Inside, he found papers indicating the money was for a football pool that included both the accounting firm and the client. The accountant said he complained to the personnel office that the errand was a wasteful use of his time.
”That was bull,” he recalled. ”And that`s coming from somebody who likes pools.”
Despite a judge`s suggestion last week that federal investigators pursue the First National betting pool, getting caught in an illegal pool seems to be of less concern in offices around Chicago than the Bears` chances against the 49ers.
”If your upper-management is involved, you kind of feel it`s not that big of a deal,” said the food company worker. ”They`re going to go first.”