well the bright side is that he has the money to buy the books and learn to program own his own if he is of the autodidact persuasion. otherwise he's sol. better to go into a casino wait for four black in a row and put it all on red that is, if a green has occurred recently.
Can't be Citadel, they're still in business (from Wikipedia: "Citadel Securities is the largest market maker in options in the U.S., executing about 25 percent U.S.-listed equity options volume."). Optiver has another 15% and yours is now closed. Seems there still is room up to 100% for my upcoming system B-) I've already started developing a prototype MM system which I'll have running in a few weeks. Called Vegas but they're all booked out now, so I'm stuck with my system for now, will get back to you right after I'm past $100mm.
I think it wasn't a market maker he was talking about but a fund... that's a big difference. Funds don't really trade the same as market makers.
One question. How dear is that 50K to you? Do you have more but you want to limit this business to 50K? Even if you are not successful and after going through this path, you will learn a lot which is worth more than 50K.
That is good so you can risk it but treat it as it is your life saving. Be determined to be successful and get more info before spending a dime. Robert Morse advice can be very helpful.