Meet Australia's most mysterious and elusive gambling figure: Zeljko Ranogajec, the man acknowledged even by sources close to the TAB to be, by some margin, its largest punter.
Those who know him well describe him as just a normal bloke and one relative says: "If you met him on the street, you would never think he's rich." Others describe him similarly as "polite" and "unassuming": descriptions that matched his demeanour when The Daily Telegraph finally caught up with him this week.
But the size of Mr Ranogajec's betting is far from ordinary. It is believed he accounts for between 6 and 8 per cent of Tabcorp's $10 billion Australian betting turnover - or between $600-800 million - and bets tens of millions more with local bookmakers.
But that is just the start. Once the overseas betting turnover of his 24-hour, seven-day-a-week operation is taken into account, his total annual betting spend globally is believed to be well over $1 billion. One of Australia's most senior racing figures says Mr Ranogajec is truly a global punter, adding: "He goes wherever he can get set late with big bets . . . that means countries like Japan, England, Hong Kong, New Zealand and America."
Other sources say he has also been known to bet anywhere from France to Canada and Russia. Intriguingly, part of his operation takes up a large portion of the top floor of the Harris St, Pyrmont, NSW headquarters of Tabcorp, the organisation with which he bets hundreds of millions a year. He is also believed to have office space in the Fox Sports building in Pyrmont and other premises overseas. Industry talk has him employing anything from 30 to more than 100 staff just to analyse form.
The operation has generated plenty of wealth. One relative of Mr Ranogajec from his father's side, who asked not to be named, told us: "I heard just maybe two or three months ago that he's a multi-billionaire."
Yet he has never been mentioned on any Australian rich list - because the secrecy around his operations means no one is able to estimate his exact wealth. But the man himself says the talk about the magnitude of his betting and wealth is all just a big exaggeration.
When The Daily Telegraph finally found him in Mosman after a three-day search spanning Sydney and the Central Coast this week, the well-spoken Mr Ranogajec was asked if he was the world's biggest punter. The reply was succinct: "I believe that's absolutely untrue."
But in Australia and overseas, any number of racing websites, industry analysts and books indicate he is indeed a global betting giant. The betting website PuntingAce.com, for example, nominates him as "most likely" the world's biggest punter. One book, Living And Learning With The World's Biggest Punters, goes further, dubbing Mr Ranogajec "the biggest punter the world has ever seen or (is) likely to see".
But it is in horse racing where Mr Ranogajec has built his fortune, through a combination of betting massive amounts on small margins, generous rebates from many totes (including Tabcorp) and a highly sophisticated betting system. Those in the know say the key to Mr Ranogajec's betting is chasing liquidity. He and his associates look for large betting pools awash with "mug punter" money that makes the pool as big as possible. It is understood Mr Ranogajec accumulated a "bank"of funds from his successful casino playing around the world.
This in turn allowed him to set up a sophisticated operation that allowed him to employ specialists to analyse horse racing in minute detail through computer, video and mathematical analysis. It also allowed him to bet big. His operation in the NSW Tabcorp headquarters is the stuff of legend.
Industry gossip about it is rampant - everything from staff numbers, to questionnaires employees are given to test their skills and, importantly, the secrets of his analysis. Mr Ranogajec jealously guards his secrets and getting those who know him well to talk on the record about him is impossible.
Staff who work for him at his Harris St headquarters sign confidentiality agreements. One high-profile racing figure who knows Mr Ranogajec says: "If he knew I was talking to you about him, he'd never talk to me again."
So private is he that there have even been suggestions he uses a pseudonym incorporating his wife's surname. Records show a John Wilson, born in Hobart with an identical birthdate to Mr Ranogajec and an identical business address, owns a company with assets that include a multi-million dollar Central Coast beachfront property and a Pacific Highway apartment in St Leonards.
It's all a long way from his humble origins in Hobart as the son of Croatian immigrants - but the Tasmanian connection remains strong.
His main business partner David Walsh still lives in Hobart where he has built a $70 million private museum to house a $100 million art collection. The two were reported to have bid for Tote Tasmania (where Mr Ranogajec used to be a huge punter) last year, but it has since been taken off the market.
When we approached Mr Ranogajec in Mosman about his wins, on who "John Wilson" was and on his betting secrets, there was no sign of him opening up. He told The Daily Telegraph: "I'm not meaning to be rude.
"I'm not interested in talking to a reporter . . . no offence but it doesn't do any good at all."
Nevertheless, the very public interest in the very private life of Mr Ranogajec is likely to continue unabated.
EXCLUSIVE by Nick Tabakoff The Daily Telegraph February 13, 2010
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