“I used to go all the way to Vegas to make bets. … But with everything that’s going on here, there’s really no need to go to Vegas. I have friends who say, ‘Let’s go to Vegas to watch the Super Bowl.’ And I’m like, ‘Why do I want to do that when DraftKings is giving me a 50 percent match if I deposit $5,000?’”
—Tim Givan, professional bettor, on the increasing trend toward mobile sports betting
“There’s no such thing as a professional sports bettor that is solely relying on the domestic market. It doesn’t matter if you’re in Vegas or New Jersey … Once you get good enough, they’re gonna kick you out.”
—Gadoon “Spanky” Kyrollos, professional bettor, on why he still bets offshore
“People have to be accountable for themselves. It’s not like these jobs will be around forever.”
—Tick Segerblom, Clark County, Nevada commissioner, warning jobless residents to cash in on the hiring rush before federal unemployment benefits expire
“In a way, it’s really New Year’s Eve, as it’s the beginning of the post-Covid-19 world.”
—Amanda Belarmino, UNLV hospitality professor, on crowds who flocked to Las Vegas for the Fourth of July
“How strange is that to be sitting in a classroom next to somebody who may be placing a bet on how you’re going to play that night?”
—Josh Whitman, athletic director, University of Illinois, who opposes wagers on in-state schools
