Jock Cranley Bet $650,000 That Terry Potts Would Lose

LOS SANTOS: Jock Cranley, the Republican re-running for governor, has placed $650,000 in bets that independent candidate Terry Potts will lose the election badly, according to betting slips and account statements obtained by San News.

The records were provided by a former senior official in the Cranley campaign who left last month. San News confirmed the account details with two people who have seen them.

The bets were placed in October through Cayo Line, an offshore sportsbook registered in Cayo Perico, under an account in the name "J. Cramley." The account lists Cranley's Rockford Hills address and his personal phone number.

• $450,000 on Potts finishing under 10 percent of the vote.
• $200,000 on Potts finishing last of the seven candidates.

At the odds Cayo Line was offering at the time, the two bets would pay Cranley about $2.4 million if Potts collapses.

The same week the bets were placed, a group called San Andreans for Shorter Transmissions began running radio ads attacking Potts, saying he "talks too much to govern." State filings show the group's only donor is a Vinewood holding company whose director also chairs Cranley's finance committee.

The group also tried to recruit John Politician. Emails in the records show it offered his campaign $50,000 to keep running ads that ask, "Tired of Terry Potts hogging the radio?" Politician's campaign turned it down two days later. "I don't take money from people who own radios," Politician told San News.

The statements also show trades on the BAWSAQ exchange that line up with votes Cranley cast or committees he sat on in the State Assembly.

• Merryweather (MERY): Cranley bought $180,000 in shares three weeks before the state gave a Merryweather subsidiary the contract for the County Line fence, the barrier between Los Santos and Blaine County that he pushed through last year. He sold after the stock rose 22 percent.
• Load Craze (LOAD): he bought $95,000 in shares in the shipping company four days before he voted against the Port oversight bill. The bill would have opened the Port Authority's contracts to public review.
• Los Santos Transport (LST): he bought $60,000 in shares two days before his transportation committee delayed the driverless taxi bill. The delay is why driverless vehicles are now on the ballot as Proposition 3.

State ethics rules require Assembly members to report trades within 30 days. None of the three appears in Cranley's disclosures.

The Cranley campaign first said the account "does not belong to Jock." Three hours later, a spokesperson said the bets were "hedging, for insurance purposes."

Asked about the bets at a car wash in Rockford Hills, Cranley said: "Every stunt man bets on himself. Sometimes you bet on the other guy falling." He did not answer questions about the trades.

Potts said he learned about the bets from San News. "He bet a quarter of a million dollars that you wouldn't listen to me," he said. "Prove him wrong." His campaign said it had its best fundraising hour of the race after the story broke.

Charles Dickson, who leads the polling average, said: "Public office isn't a casino."

The Secretary of State's office said it had received the records and would not comment further. Cayo Line did not respond to emails.