First, can you let me know how you got into the betting business?
I grew up in a Wise Guy household in Pittsburgh. My Uncle Jack was a Wise Guy – we knew exactly what he was doing. He was actually charged with bookmaking in Pittsburgh but that can mean a lot of things and is a pretty general charge – he was doing small bets mostly.
Growing up, my one cousin lived with us and I had another that lived down the street. In fifth grade we started booking bets. All of us are still in the business.
We all went to college – I went to Robert Morris which had a good placement program. But after one interview I canceled the rest of the interviews! I tended bar for a year in Pittsburgh then moved out to Vegas and started off working at the Stardust. After that I worked at the Barbary Coast for 22 years before moving to South Point as their Sports Book Director. I hope to make this my home for the remainder of my career.
What would surprise people most about the job as a sports booker?
The industry faced a lot of scrutiny 20 years ago – especially from Congress. Bradley introduced a bill to make betting illegal on college sports. McCain followed up some on that. Brownback then went further and said he didn’t want the back rooms in Vegas determining college sports outcomes. That was an idiotic statement. They were watching too many movies.
So to answer your question – we don’t influence anyone. It’s just stupid to think we can do that. We’re not Al Capone or John Gotti. We’re businessmen doing our jobs. Its not nefarious.
Tell us about your latest book and what prompted you to write it?
I wrote my first book Then One Day in 2020. It’s a lot of gambling stories starting from when I was growing up in Pittsburgh to my time in Vegas. It was pretty successful and my publisher thought I should do a follow-up to it.
I thought about what to do next – I didn’t want to do the same thing, and frankly most of the good stories I had were in the first book! But I read Larry Merchant’s book, The National Football Lottery. He got his newspaper publisher to give him $35,000 to bet on football for the year and for him to journal everything for the book. That was during the rise of the Steelers, so it’s a fun read for Steelers fans.
I talked to my publisher about doing something like that. Tracking the day in the life of a bookmaker from one Super Bowl to the next. He loved the idea. But then, Covid came. First the NCAA Tournament was canceled. One by one other things were canceled. Mid-June I was still writing the book and I asked my publisher if its worth still doing, but he said yes, he loved it and would figure it out when it was done. It’s crazy because I was in isolation for a year before Covid – I had a bone marrow transplant. So I was just coming out of that when Covid hit.
The book is called Then One Year . Honestly the first book is more accessible for those who aren’t in the business. The new book has a lot of fun things for people who are in the business – it’s more about the business.
2021 was a big year in sports betting and a lot of that is due to increasing number of younger people betting. What’s driving that from your perspective?
I think people just like to do it. People wonder why they bet on preseason football. Because it’s fun! As bettors, if you do your homework, you can do petty well. Maybe two-percent actually do very well. Most people are recreational bettors – smaller bettors.
Some people like to invest in stocks and bonds – but do you think the bankers and investors work for free? They take a chunk out of whatever you make. In betting you know exactly what you’re up against – no hidden fees and you know the odds. And it has great entertainment value. Do you make money going to movies and plays? No. This is the same thing – it’s entertainment. If you’re reasonably disciplined you’ll bet within your means and have fun.
What have been some of the biggest changes over the past few years you’ve seen in sports betting?
The market has expanded. Bettors are more sophisticated now. With social media, there are people giving out advice – not picks – but just general advice on how to avoid some of the pitfalls people fall in.
I started in this business in 1979 – I’ve spent six decades in this business. There were a lot of stupid things betters did back then that doesn’t happen often now. Now people are better educated – so that’s one big change.
As data becomes richer and more readily available, how have you used that to influence the way you handle lines and betting – especially in situations where people look to fade or follow public trends?
It’s interesting because a friend of mine and I ran a business for a short time on the handicapping end. We developed a program that required a lot of data collection. He was a computer guy that could also do analysis well – that wasn’t very common. We had 32 data points we looked at for every game.
But as a sports book guy, we’re like the military. They say in the military that you get 80% of the information then just go. Bookmakers are the same. Bettors have all week to make bets – bookmakers don’t have that luxury. We need to make decisions quickly. There are seven things I look at now for formulating my numbers – I just don’t have time to look at 32 data points for every game – especially games between smaller college teams.
As technology continues to develop, are there any concerns at how in-game betting is affecting betting options within games? Is sports betting becoming too easy?
South Point has in-game betting but not down to the play-by-play. We don’t have the staff or the critical mass to do it. We have four locations – in Vegas, Summerlin, Nevada, and near the Arizona-Utah border. MGM – they have 14 locations. DraftKings and FanDuel are nationwide. I don’t have that.
I don’t like the play-by-play betting either. I think it just becomes random guesswork. I do some work with props though – especially longer-term props like season-long props for players. We’ll do that.
As a big Steelers fan – of course as a Pittsburgh native – how hard is it setting lines against your home team?
It’s not that hard. I try to be as analytical as possible. I have my methodology. My number is the number.
But, once they kick off, then yeah, I’m rooting for the Steelers! My boss will sometimes come on and ask me if we don’t need the other side of that game to win? I just tell him “Yeah, but we’ll be fine!” We joke about that stuff a lot – we’ve had a great relationship since ’79.
Lastly, what are your favorite Steelers moments and thoughts on the season?
The Gerela missed field goal and Lambert throwing Harris down is my favorite memory. Lambert is my favorite Steelers player. I joke that my favorite play is a missed field goal!
My friend is a huge Steelers nut. He had a stat that said when T.J. Watt is 100% the Steelers are 9-0. This is a guy who makes his own Primanti-style sandwiches at home for Steelers games. When the line came out for 7 1/2 wins for the Steelers as their win total, we did strong business on that. People have strong opinions on it both ways. They and the Raiders were the bets of the season. I think the Steelers could be playoff contenders this year – but I don’t think they are a Super Bowl team.