A rare glimpse behind the counter
An old-school Vegas sportsbook let me be a fly on the wall for the busiest weekend of the year.
SPORTS BETTING HAS ENTERED THE MAINSTREAM, but the inner workings of this multi-billion-dollar industry remain a mystery to most people. I hoped to pull back the curtain: How do bookmakers talk about sports? How do they talk about customers? What do they eat for lunch?
To answers these questions, I spent three days leading up to the Super Bowl in the back office of the South Point sportsbook, located inside one of the last family-owned hotels in Las Vegas. The top three bookmakers there have a combined 147 years of experience taking bets in Nevada and believe in a distinctly old-school approach. In many respects, they’re deeply dismayed by the ways corporations are taking advantage of novice bettors across the country.
At the South Point, betting is straightforward, staffers routinely make the rounds to kibitz with customers, and hot dogs cost $1.50.
On the lunch question, I found that these bookmakers eat it remarkably early — like 11 a.m. — and are partial to soup.
Here’s the rest of my story, in The Washington Post:
Thanks very much for giving this a click! I had a fruitful but draining eight days in Vegas, reporting this piece and for my book. Wynnie and I are grateful to be catching up on rest.
Old stye reporting on a new style phenomenon--well done
Please allow Wynnie more rest.