Tag: Las Vegas

BREAKING: Supreme Court Lifts Federal Ban on Sports Gambling

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So earlier today the Supreme Court lifted its longstanding federal ban prohibiting sports gambling, which now paves the way for any state in the country to legalize betting your hard earned cash on sports.

Just in time for that monstrosity of a casino they’re building in Everett too. Now I know not many of you are frequenting Everett, but I was driving through the other day to grab a tasty roast beef sandwich and they might as well be building the goddamn Death Star over there. A town that is one road in and one road out has 1,000 construction workers roaming the streets, the Dunkies, the restaurants, they are everywhere in that town. I can’t wait for that casino to open because 1.) its going to be awesome with sports betting now potentially a go, but 2.) it will also be hilarious how much of a disaster that traffic will be. Like when something pisses you off so bad you just start cackling like a psycho so you don’t actually snap on someone in public? Yea, like that.

But I digress, after today there is no longer a federal mandate in place outlawing sports betting so places like New Jersey that have been fighting to legalize this for years will probably roll out legalized sports gambling by dinner time.

Massachusetts? Who the hell knows. You would think having a casino currently under construction would make this a pretty quick and easy decision, but we also don’t have happy hour in Massachusetts because one asshole got drunk and killed someone 20+ years ago. Puritan states are the best aren’t they? ESPN did categorize Massachusetts as one of the states “Moving toward legalization” though.

To give you a very quick high level breakdown of what this means, and what the holdup has been, here is an excerpt from ESPN:

“The court ruled to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PAPSA), a 1992 law that barred state-authorized sports gambling with some exceptions. It made Nevada the only state where a person could wager on the results of a single game.

States that want to offer legal sports betting may now do so, and New Jersey plans to be first. Delaware, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia are among the states expected to quickly get into the legal bookmaking game…One research firm estimated before the ruling that if the Supreme Court were to strike down PAPSA, 32 states would likely offer sports betting within five years.”

ESPN also stated in an FAQ that they expect New Jersey to have its operation up and running within weeks, “potentially in time for the NBA Finals.” So thats exciting for all of us degenerates, but it may put your bookie out of work and force him to go back to working night shifts at the power plant or as a misunderstood janitor for an Ivy League college.

I have absolutely zero desire to ever go to New Jersey and this ain’t gonna change shit, but if you live in the area this may be what brings Atlantic City back from the dead. Legalized gambling could put so much coin in Jersey’s pocket that Atlantic City will look like Nucky Thompson is running that town again.

I think this will benefit the states more than anything because if I want to bet on something I’ll just go online and bet on it somewhere. Allegedly. But if theres a place down the street from me that is reputable, regulated, and of course financially backed then why not just go there? Thats tons and tons of money going into the state’s pocket thats coming almost entirely out of thin air. There’s next to no product they need to market and sell, they just need to take every dummy’s money and then pay out the lucky ones. Thats how the mob ran this country for so long. Which also raises the question; if this is so easy to do and theres so much extra money going into gambling, whats to say this doesn’t make corruption in sports, point shaving, etc. all the more likely? To be completely honest, we won’t know until the first schmuck with a plan gets busted. But as any industry that steps into the light knows, the more publicly traded, scrutinized and regulated an industry is, the more difficult it is for said industry to be filled with corruption.

The *real* fun will start though once the brick and mortar gambling shops have ironed out all the kinks and they start offering mobile betting. Assuming they don’t geofence the arenas/ballparks and block the apps functionality, you could in theory be sitting in the bleachers at Fenway and placing over/under bets in the 6th inning from your seat. Then go stroll down Comm Ave and pick up your winnings after the game. That my friends will be a goddamn blast. Money won is sweeter than money earned.

If you can’t handle that and you lose all your money, thats on you pal. Don’t ruin the fun for the rest of us because you can’t manage your vice. If you can’t spot the sucker when you walk into a room, chances are its you.

Viva la gambling.

 

The Yet to Exist Seattle NHL Team Just Sold 25K Season Tickets. In an Hour

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ESPN – Seattle fans have spoken: They want hockey. The Oak View Group, the prospective owners of a potential NHL franchise in Seattle, say they reached 25,000 deposits within the first hour of their season-ticket drive Thursday. That exceeds the goal of 10,000 deposits — which was reached in the first 12 minutes. The group says its website has slowed down because of the influx in traffic, though deposits are still being accepted. The OVG reached a deal with the city of Seattle for $600 million to renovate KeyArena downtown. As a hockey venue, it is expected to seat about 17,000. In February, the OVG submitted paperwork, including a $10 million down payment, to the NHL to be its 32nd franchise. The league is likely to accept the bid pending the results of the season-ticket drive. The Vegas Golden Knights ran a season-ticket drive in 2015; that campaign received 5,000 deposits in the first two days.

What a genius marketing ploy by the NHL. Oh you want an NHL team, Seattle? Well we’re gonna need you to sell all of your season tickets for a team that doesn’t technically exist yet. Its a win-win move for both sides. The NHL gets a resounding Yes to the question “does this city really want an NHL team?” Seattle gets to actually justify the renovations to KeyArena in the HOPE a professional sports league blesses them with a team.

This should be the way expansion cities are selected in every major sport moving forward. Why would you go through all the work of putting an expansion team (or relocating a team) to a city if you’re not 100% sure its going to work? Thats how we got stuck with the Arizona Coyotes for the past 20 years.

I know oftentimes these deals are wink wink behind closed doors, but now cities don’t have to build an entire arena with a surrounding complex and pray a pro team wants to move there. Thats how it worked in Ballers on HBO anyway and thats all the research I intend to do on the matter.

But holy shit does Seattle want a hockey team. Or I guess any team really. You’d be the same way too if the best young player in the game and his entire team up and moved to OKLAHOMA CITY on you.

But 25K tix in an HOUR?! Thats bananas. It took the Las Vegas Golden Knights two days to reach 5K. So this is a done deal now. The NHL is going to Seattle. I for one and fired up because I’ve always wanted to go to Seattle and eat sushi in the bleachers at Safeco, but this gives me one more reason to fly out there. Package it with a Seahawks game to see the 12s to see Russell Wilson by day and the TBD Seattle NHL team by night.
Plus you just know this team’s jersey will be bright as fuck obnoxious lime green and I am here for it. Love the neon colorway, need more of it in my life.

 

Deuce Gruden Joining His Dad, Jon Gruden, on the Raiders Coaching Staff

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Yahoo -Deuce Gruden is the son of Jon and the nephew of Jay, the coaches of the Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins. He was part of the Redskins’ strength and conditioning staff. And even on an NFL sideline, Deuce Gruden stands out. He’s a powerlifting champion, and looks capable of bench pressing any player on his team. Even the linemen. Gruden was on the Redskins’ strength staff and it’s no surprise that he left Uncle Jay to go be on his dad’s new staff with the Raiders. Matt Schneidman of the Mercury News had the story.

Somebody get Ryan Seacrest on the line and get these two a reality show IMMEDIATELY. Can you imagine that? It would be A+, must see television. The only reason I think they don’t do it is because it would put the Kardashians ratings in the toilet. Hey, as Gary Vaynerchuk always says, you need to always be thinking of ways to put yourself out of business so somebody else doesn’t do it for you. Pull the trigger.

I’m just picturing the 5’5″ 300 pound Deuce hulking out on the sideline when some panzy can’t finish a tackle because he’s been slacking on his squats. Throw in Chucky and Mark Davis?

Holy hell, I’m getting excited now. What would you even call it?

Chucky and the Deuce: Road to Las Vegas.

Seacrest out.

The Raiders Just Gave Jon Gruden a 10 Year $100 Million Contract to Become Their New Head Coach

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ESPN.com – The Oakland Raiders will sign Jon Gruden to the longest coaching deal in NFL history — a 10-year contract likely approaching $100 million — when it is made official Tuesday, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Friday.

10 years and $100 MILLION DOLLARS for Jon Gruden to become the new coach of the Oakland Raiders!

I love Gruden, he is awesome in the booth and I look forward to seeing him back on the sidelines, but $100 Million for a guy that hasn’t coached since 2008? That is insane. I forget who tweeted it so I can’t give the proper credit, but I saw someone on Twitter mention that by the end of this deal Raiders team owner Mark Davis will have paid Gruden 1/5th of Mark Davis’ net worth. Because as far as NFL team owners go, Mark Davis is a broke bitch. He’s worth only $500 Million.

So unless there is some sneaky ownership stake in the team included (which Gruden has denied), then Davis is betting BIG on the move to Las Vegas being a rousing success. He has every reason to believe it will be too, especially since he snaked a deal that had him put up almost none of his own money.

Is anyone better suited to bring this team to Las Vegas than Jon Gruden? Well, maybe The Rock.

But this guy is going to be electric as the Raiders move to Sin City, both on the sidelines and in his press conferences. Now is being out of coaching for 10 years going to hurt? I would say probably, but all the ESPN (lackeys) are saying its actually good for him as he’s had a chance to study the evolution of offense in the NFL. Not to mention he’s been in practices and production meetings with just about every other team in the league over the past few years so that can’t hurt.

But it is always surprising to see a guy come back after being away from the game for so long. Just look at Bill Cowher.

He was another guy everyone thought would take a couple of years off and return to coaching, but after a few years of making beaucoup bucks to work 1/100th of the hours in a cushy TV job, its easy to understand why so many don’t go back to the grind of being an NFL head coach.

Good for Gruden, but goddamnit am I gonna miss his crazy ass in the booth. The guy was legit must watch TV in a spot where the league and the networks typically lean towards the mundane. Remember Jaws and Tony Kornheiser? Woof. For a guy that made football jargon like Spider 2 Y Banana a national catchphrase and starred in Hooters and Corona commercials in his off time, it will be hard to replace him.

No matter how much fame or money a person acquires though, we’re all the same at the end of the day and Jon Gruden reminded me of that on Saturday’s playoff broadcast. The guy has absolutely. checked. out.

You earned it my man.

Las Vegas Golden Knights Introduce Themselves to the World With A+ #VegasStrong Tribute

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Its always difficult getting back to every day life after a heartbreaking tragedy. I remember in 2013 after the Boston Marathon bombing the whole city was put on lockdown for nearly a week. Literally — there were curfews in the city as police hunted down the terrorist cowards. Now, just a few short days after the senseless shooting on the Las Vegas strip, the Golden Knights were set to play their first home game ever. Not exactly an ideal scenario for a franchise to have its coming out party. But sports are a funny thing. When the last thing you want to do is laugh, have fun, and cheer on a meaningless game; sometimes its the best thing to start the healing process. In Boston the Bruins were the first team to play again and it was fucking electric.

In the face of terrorism, and call it whatever you want but that Vegas shooting was terrorism, Americans are downright defiant. As a wise designated hitter once put it, This is our fucking city.

So the Golden Knights had their first home game ever and after an absolutely awesome pre-game ceremony…they. blew. doors. I do not envy the Coyotes having to go into that environment. The Knights scored just 2:31 into the first period. Then they scored again less than four minutes later. Then they scored AGAIN less than two minutes after that. Then AGAIN a few minutes after that. 4-0 before the first period was even over. I said it a lot last night, but sports are incredible.

Not to mention…

Las Vegas Golden Knights Inscribe Season Ticket Member Names Under the Ice

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NHL – It will be the first time the Golden Knights ever take the ice for a game at T-Mobile Arena…To represent a city that’s never had a major league franchise of its own to cheer for, to be a rallying point for people in this area who recognize this place as home more than a place to visit on vacation….Just inside the blue line on the end of the ice the Golden Knights defends twice will be inscribed the names of all the team’s season ticket members. So as much as visiting teams will have to defeat Vegas, the team, they’ll also have to defeat Vegas, the people… “That it was feasible, if we wanted to do something special on the ice, that we had the ability to put texture to something on the ice, before the laid the last round of it.”

This idea is so fire that it might actually melt the Golden Knight’s ice. Being a season ticket holder for any team usually means having the opportunity to fork over thousands of dollars and buy $10 dollar beers while maybe getting access to a couple extra events and press conferences.

But this? Getting your name permanently inscribed under the ice as one of the inaugural season ticket members? That is some badass legacy right there. Props to Vegas for having some new ideas of how to entice and engage fans rather than the same old bullshit everyone else does. Take a look at the process below and check out the video here.

Las Vegas Boldly Predicts the 2007 Patriots Would Beat the 2017 Patriots Head to Head

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ESPN – The 2017 New England Patriots are the overwhelming favorites across Las Vegas to repeat as Super Bowl champions, but are they better in bookmakers’ eyes than the 2007 team? ESPN spoke with seven Vegas bookmakers and asked them to make a line in a hypothetical matchup between the two teams. Six of the seven had the ’07 team favored, with lines ranging from “a small favorite” (William Hill US) to 11 points (Frank Kunovic at Caesars).

Well, no shit. The 2007 Patriots went 16-0…and then I don’t really remember the rest…but they legit didn’t lose a single game in the regular season, routinely BLOWING teams out, all while setting multiple offensive records along the way. That squad vs the 2017 team that hasn’t even played a single game together? I mean who would you take? Not to mention we have players dropping like flies and our front-7 is starting to resemble swiss cheese.

But this is exactly why video games exist. Just putting old school juggernauts against the latest and greatest. NBA2K is awesome for that exact reason. Putting Larry Bird and the Celtics against Steph Curry and the 2018 Warriors. Or playing the Shaq and Kobe Lakers against Bill Russell. I don’t know if this year’s Madden has Classic Teams like it used to, but if it does, this 2007 Pats vs 2017 Pats matchup *needs* to happen. Not only that, it needs to be played out in traditional, painstakingly full 15-minute quarters. If thats still an option then that will be my cross to bear.

Imagine Malcom Butler trying to shut down 2007 Randy Moss who had 23 touchdowns that year? Or 2017 Tom Brady trying to rifle in some slants through that forest of Tedy Bruschi, Junior Seau, Vince Wilfork et al? Now that would be a goddamn game and that is why Twitch is a billion dollar business.

Dolphins Owner Throws Shade at Raiders Mark Davis Who Responds By Grinding His Feet Into NFL’s Couch

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ESPN – The only owner to vote against the Raiders moving to Las Vegas, Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross told reporters here on Monday that he believes Raiders owner Mark Davis did not use all of his options to get a stadium deal done in Oakland.

So yesterday the NFL owners made official, almost unanimously, the relocation of the Raiders to Las Vegas. Almost unanimous because the vote was 31-1 with the Miami Dolphins being the only team to vote against the Las Vegas Raiders. So naturally I shit on Dolphins owner Stephen Ross for being the turd in the pool.

But then something happened. Stephen Ross made a really good point that threw me off. Mainly because I’ve never heard an owner be that transparent and blunt about why so many teams up and move their teams; stadium funding.

“There’s very little public money available for teams today. And if you own a team, you should have the deep pockets to deliver.”

Stephen Ross throwing SHADE at Mark Davis for moving his team because he couldn’t afford a new stadium in Oakland himself. Had to go slumming in Vegas for a $750 million handout. Super, super waspy quotes like a shoving match at the country club, but hilarious nonetheless. FOH with yo broke ass, Mark Davis.

Ross is also probably just sour grapes because he just ate $500 out of his own pocket to upgrade the Dolphins stadium. I got a feeling that Mark Davis, the guy who sports a bowl cut, has meetings at Hooters and drives a rape van, doesn’t really care what Stephen Ross has to say. In fact I bet he’s pretty happy to have swindled a $750 million check to move his operation down to the desert. Davis’ response? Fuck yo couch, Stephen Ross.

Live look at Mark Davis:

NFL Owners Approve Raiders Relocation to Las Vegas 31-1

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ESPN – The Oakland Raiders will move to Las Vegas after garnering enough votes from NFL owners on Monday to relocate to Southern Nevada. The Raiders received 31 of 32 votes to approve the move, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Twenty-four votes were needed. The Miami Dolphins were the only team to vote against the move, a source told Schefter.

Talk about a lot of drama for nothing; the NFL just approved this controversial move 31-1! With the Dolphins being the only team to say idk about this guys. So now after what feels like years of speculation, the Raiders are officially moving to Sin City. Get me a Las Vegas Raiders hat STAT!

Now the brand new stadium on the strip won’t be ready for another 2 seasons so ironically the Raiders will still be playing in Oakland for the next 2 seasons on the baseball diamond field. So that should be a fun fan experience as the Raiders prep to get the hell out of dodge. But, if you haven’t seen the artists renderings that Sports Illustrated posted today, this place is gonna be sick.

Eat your heart out Stank Kroenke, you can have LA, the Raiders are gonna continue to be the bad boys of the league in the most diabolical city in the country; Las Vegas.

The Stars Are Aligning to Make Las Vegas the Greatest Sports Town in America

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CBS Sports – “The Oakland Raiders are going to move to Las Vegas. I am finally convinced of it. After being a skeptic throughout this process and especially in the aftermath of owner Mark Davis’ deal with casino magnate Sheldon Adelson falling apart around the Super Bowl, there are too many people I trust telling me this has become basically a fait accompli for me to deny it any longer. By Monday night, Davis will be cracking open the bubbly and toasting to his future on the Strip, because with the NFL including a formal vote on Vegas on its official agenda for the annual spring meeting, there is almost no time for this to fall apart now.”

First there was the NHL, which sacked up with the Golden Knights who will be making their Las Vegas debut in the 2017-18 season. Now after all the rumors and speculation it seems like the Las Vegas Raiders might finally become a reality. We all know that the Raiders have basically been trying to get out of Oakland because their stadium is a shit hole. They play on a baseball field for christ’s sake.

And it seems like Oakland is all set on footing the $750 million bill for a brand new stadium. So lifelong fans and tradition be damned, Mark Davis is taking his ball and moving to Las Vegas.

Obviously this could go off the rails for any number of reasons, as it almost did recently when Goldman Sachs dropped out of the funding. But it seems like this is about as close to a done deal as you can get.

“This is going to happen,” said one well-connected league source who has been in close contact with many influential owners on this matter. “Enough people will hold their noses and pray for the best and vote this through. Oakland — and by Oakland I mean the government officials there — hasn’t stepped up nearly enough, and the league is ready to put this to a vote. And while there is some trepidation about this market, it is going to pass.”

So Vegas is obviously already the most debaucherous city in the world but now add in TWO professional sports teams? My god, the stars are aligning for this to be the greatest sports town in America. Picture this, flying in for a weekend gambling your balls off, then heading over to watch the Golden Knights, maybe place a (legal) bet 90 seconds before walking into the rink, then getting bombed at a hockey game in the desert and hitting the “casino” til 4 am afterwards. Sleep, wake up, grab some bloody Mary’s, head down the strip to see DA RAIDERRRRSS and day drink until you can’t feel feelings anymore. All after placing a few (legal) prop bets of course.

I heard someone mention this on 98.5 this morning and its 100% true. The Raiders are going to have the greatest home field advantage in the league. Just think about it, half of these guys can’t control themselves in shit holes like Atlanta and Jacksonville. Now you’re going to drop them in downtown Las Vegas? The ones who don’t get arrested for prostitution and cocaine are going to be hungover as balls on Sunday.

I demand a hockey/football/casino weekend the likes of a degenerate has never seen before.

Make it happen, NFL.