ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
One of the country’s peak investment authorities has branded gambling as a “tax on stupid people” this afternoon in a heated confrontation in the front bar of the Lord Kidman Hotel in the Old City.
Ronnie Fuller, or Eat_Sleep_Orto_Phel8_Repete_69 as the 48-year-old is known online, was almost immediately abused by a section of the bar over stock tips that he had given out the week before.
Shares in [redacted by legal] plunged today on the ASX, leaving some patrons wondering if Ronnie knows what he’s talking about. One of the self-described conned investors spoke to our reporter a short time ago about Ronnie and why people were yelling at him just a few moments ago.
“He goes on about being on Hot Copper, some investing forum or whatever, and that he gets all the inside word without it being illegal or anything. That should’ve been the first red flag,” said day drinker Steve Frisbee. He told The Advocate he’s down nearly 30% on his investment in less than a week.
“Ronnie has always put shit on us for gambling on the horses, dogs, the footy—anything really. He’d come in here, wearing slippers and pajama pants, some fucked Pink Floyd t-shirt or something like that. He’d come in, laugh at us, drink his house white. And when we lost, he’d say, ‘You know they say gambling is a tax on stupid people. Are you blokes stupid?’ He’d even act surprised when someone threatened to wrap a pool cue around his head.”
“You should go and speak to Ronnie,” said Steve. “He’s on his laptop out in the smoking area.”
Ronnie was basking in the sunlit smoking area, immersed in the soothing melodies of Al Stewart’s “Year of the Cat.” His six-year-old reconditioned Lenovo ThinkPad struggled to amplify the volume to its maximum. Fortunately, it was still mid-morning, and the area was devoid of other patrons.
He was reading HotCopper, abusing other users for the advice that had turned casual drinking partners such as Steve Frisbee against him.
“Nothing I do is gambling, I do my reading,” Ronnie said while he fished through the ashtray for a dumper.
“We discuss which stocks are going to go from mere cents to dollars, even multiples of dollars, and then we get rich. There have been people I know on HC that have made millions. They’ve invested heavily in some [redacted by legal] and then they’ve been set up for life.”
“Those idiots in the front bar think you can make money betting on dogs. Idiots.”
More to come.
