Q: BEFORE WE START: SHOULD ANYONE BOTHER READING THIS?

A: Hmmmm…. That’s a good opener!! It’s up to you – It’s free country so if you want to: go for it. If not, then you should probably still buy a ticket!  

Q: FIRSTLY THE QUESTION ON EVERYONE’S LIPS… IS THIS A SCAM?

A: Sigh… Absolutely not, no! Everyone has seen these raffles now. They’re nothing new. They even advertise them on TV now – so, no it’s not a scam. This is totally legal and legitimate. I wouldn’t be surprised to see property raffles becoming a serious proposition for people selling their properties in the not too distant future. In fact; I’m sure there will be a high street shop specifically for this purpose some day.

Q: WHO DO YOU EXPECT TO ENTER?

A: We’re British – we love a gamble. Even the Queen has a punt on the horses and owns them. It’s in our DNA. The average Brit spends around £170 a year on betting. And trust me some people bet thousands of times that amount. I expect anyone and everyone to enter from all walks of life and all ages. My Grandmother was Irish and she used to love a flutter – I think in the UK and Ireland we’re just that way inclined as nations. 

Q: WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS INTERVIEW?

A: Well; it’s an investment risk at £100 per ticket for this raffle. I would like to explain why I think it’s a fair trade, give some background and it’s nice to know who you are dealing with when entering these raffles. A lot of them are faceless and I personally prefer knowing who I’m dealing with. 

 Q: ARE YOU EXPECTING ANYONE TO READ THIS?

A: Haha – I guess so! 

Q: WHO ARE YOU? 

A: My name is Alex, actually it’s Alexis but I go by Alex these days. I am from North West London, Mill Hill to be exact. I have two brothers and I’m a pretty normal guy I think! 

Q: WHAT’S YOUR BACKGROUND?

A: Well, I grew up in NW London. I’ve lived in Florence, Italy: Marebella, Spain and Protaras, Cyprus, I got a scholarship to a private school and then I got an unconditinal offer to study Business at Cardiff University (only 10 out of 5000+ applicants got that offer) but I dropped out! I soon realised that the best education is the real world. There’s no substitute for experience. Go out and do it – If you think about something too much you’ll never do it. My advice would be to go and get what you desire – have no fear: if you fail, so what? Just get back up and go again and again and again …  

Q: HAVE YOU EVER WORKED IN THE PROPERTY INDUSTRY?

A: Yes! I was an estate agent… I have some idea about the shenanigans that go on in that world. It was a very unsatisfactory job in my opinion. I used to walk around these beautiful houses telling people… That’s a bathroom, that’s a bedroom… to be honest any moron can be an estate agent. It’s a boring job and they will probably be obsolete very soon. 

Q: WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?

A: Selling black bin liners to restaurants on the telephone in a telesales room in Edgware, North West London. My boss was a  straight talking guy, who had his eye on the sales – that was it sell, sell, sell! It taught me to build a rapport instantly with people and that people buy from people. Whether you have the best deal in the world, if people don’t like you – you’re not getting that sale!

Q: HOW DID YOU GET THIS IDEA?

A: Well, I’m not the first person to think of this. There are loads of Property Raffles out there. I wanted one that was not ridiculously insane odds of hundreds of thousands to one! Most people get put off by the ridiculous odds – I don’t blame them – I did. There are people who like the £2 entry route and if that’s their thing – go for it. I am aiming this at the people who want a fair chance of winning and maybe understand a little about odds and risk vs reward. From my research I realised that the general public wanted something that was lower odds and had a realistic chance of winning. I spoke to my old colleagues in my spors trading an investment days; they know about betting, odds and risk assessment. The higher entry fee is designed to appeal to people who want excellent odds of winning – for a fair entry price. 

Q: SO, YOU LIKE A GAMBLE YOURSELF DO YOU?

A: If the odds are right and the risk vs reward is, in my mind worth it then yes. Who dares wins. You don’t get anything in this life unless you go for it. Sometimes you have to take a risk to get anywhere. You have to be in it to win it. 

Q: HAVE YOU GOT A BACKGROUND IN ODDS AND BETTING?

A: Yes. I worked in head offices of betting companies and sports betting brokerages in Central London. I was in charge of making odds for football matches, League 2 in fact and also Champions League games. So those odds you see in a betting shop; I used to make those – they were my prices! I also bet professionally for private clients. They would give me their money and I would bet for them. We would split the profits. I once bet £200,000 on a weekend! So I’m not scared to put my money where my mouth is!

Q: DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST PROPER BET?

A: Blimey – now there’s a question! Yes, yes I do actually. In fact it’s a funny story to be honest looking back on it. At the time though – it wasn’t so funny! I and a few friends ‘bunked off’ school on a Saturday (my school was open Monday to Saturday – a 6 day week!) and went to Cheltenham races. I had been selling snacks from my locker, took bets on school sports matches and sold designer gear to the rich boys at school to save the money for a big bet at Cheltenham! I managed to raise £2500 – this was back in 1999 so a lot of money back then especially. My friends also put money in and between us we had £6000 on a horse called Nick Dundee at odds of 4/5. I remember that day well. We left school early. My friend was driving and on our way to the races we got pulled over by the Police with £6000 cash on us; he was speeding to get there in time to put the money down! 

Q: DID YOU WIN?

A: Nope. Nick Dundee led the entire race… 20+ lengths clear and at the final fence he fell! We were cheering and my mates were patting me on the back – and then he fell! We left straight after that! We had enough money left for a coke and a burger on the way home! But; it was the right bet at the time and that’s that.

Q: SO I TAKE IT YOU STOPPED BETTING AFTER THAT? 

A: Quite the contrary! I studied odds and betting and then became a tipster in the national press. I went by the name LexAce and had the biggest winning odds of any tipster for a horse race: a 145/1 winning forecast. I don’t know how much was won by my clients – but let’s say a lot! I also tipped football bets on a very specialised market – asian handicaps they’re called. In fact, I was the first person in the UK to tip these types of bets in the national press. 

Q: WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS RAFFLE?

A: I have realised that odds and betting is everywhere – even crossing the road you’re taking a risk. You decide that the risk vs reward is worth it… “I’ll cross the road”. This is the same principle; just bigger wins and much smaller risk. I want someone to win their dream. Someone will win a villa in Greece mortgage free with £20,000 worth of furniture and £5000 cash for £100 – or take the £250,000 cash alternative; it’s a no brainer in my opinion. And I should know. Me personally, I would take the money – cash is king!  

Q: WHO DO YOU HOPE WINS?

A: That’s an excellent question! Many people will be surprised at my answer – as it’s slightly controversial. I go back to my first big bet – Nick Dundee. I often think what if that Policeman had kept us there longer? What if he had checked what we had on us? It would have been tricky for five 18 year olds to explain why they had £6000 cash and speeding in a brand new convertible! He did me a massive favour there and I would have probably walked away from betting if we had not made that race – whoever he was… Cheers! So – I’m going to say hopefully that Police Officer wins – but it’s out of my hands and it’s totally random, transparent and fair how the winner is picked. 

Q: YOU’RE RUNNING THIS ON THE RAFFIQUE PLATFORM – WHY?

A: I’m not advertising them for any gain here – it simply was the easiest and best way to get this idea to market. 

Q: ARE YOU PLANNING ON RUNNING YOUR OWN RAFFLES ON YOUR NETWORK OF WEBSITES?

A: Well I have made a significant investment in the web property space for this particular project. I own: 

• PropertyRaffle.com
• PropertyRaffle.co.uk
• PropertyRaffles.com
• PropertyRaffles.co.uk
• PropertyRaffle.co
• PropertyRaffles.co
• Property-Raffle.com
• Property-Raffle.co.uk
• Property-Raffles.com
• Property-Raffles.co.uk 

So maybe in the future – once this raffle completes I may run my own platform for people to do what I’ve done and make people’s dreams come true for a minor risk vs reward. 

Q: SOME PEOPLE SAY £100 PER ENTRY IS A LOT – WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THEM? 

A: I would ask them one simple question: “Do you cross the road?” Life is about risks vs rewards; what can you get for £100 these days? Trust me – I’ve been on tinder and have had to take girls out on dates – that costs around £100 a date – between me and you, I’d rather buy a raffle ticket to win this and take all the dates there I want! 

Q: DO YOU OWN THIS VILLA YOURSELF?

A: This villa is one of four identical villas built on an exclusive plot of land with absolutely phenomenal views of the Mediterranean Sea – it’s breathtaking as the sun is rising and setting. A member of my family owns the plot and the properties. They were developed with an architect to make the most of the imposing plot and views. 

Q: ANY FINAL THOUGHTS ALEX?

A: Yes. Don’t play if you can’t afford to lose. Although the odds are pretty amazing and the risk vs reward is significantly attractive to me – it may not be for everyone. So gamble aware and play if you can afford to lose £100 without too much hassle. If you are having gambling issues please seek professional advice and if you do play – good luck! Remember WHO DARES WINS!