Gambling With an Edge

Our guest today is Kit Chellel, author of the new book, "Lucky Devils: The True Story of Three Rebel Gamblers Who Beat the Odds and Changed the Game." The book profiles three legendary gamblers, Bill Benter, Rob Reitzen, and Bill Nelson.Show Notes[00:00] Introduction of Kit Chellel, author of Lucky Devils[00:41] Kit’s background in journalism[03:25] How did Lucky Devils come about?[05:42] Meeting...

Our guest today is Antonino De Rosa, also known as "Ant." Ant went from professional Magic the Gathering player to working for Pinnacle sports book and from there became a professional sports bettor.Show Notes[00:00] Introduction of sports bettor, Antonio De Rosa[00:42] Playing Magic The Gathering professionally[04:56] Comparing Magic variance and skills to gambling?[08:29] Getting a job at...

We have 3 guests today. Blair Rodman, Anthony Curtis, and Frank B. They are coauthors of the new book All About Sports Betting.Show Notes[00:00] Introduction of Blair Rodman, Anthony Curtis, and Frank B., authors of All About Sports Betting: The Definitive Guide[00:42] What makes this book so unique?[01:55] The genesis of All About Sports Betting[05:59] Prop bets, parlays, same game parlays, and...

Charlie is a sports bettor, slot player, and influencer. Charlie got scammed while making bets at a DraftKings kiosk at the Golden Nugget in Biloxi. It's a crazy story, not just the scam, but the way the casino, and Gaming Enforcement reacted.Show Notes[00:00] Introduction of advantage player Chuck’s Lucks[00:40] How did Chuck become an AP?[04:14] Chuck’s second trip to Vegas and a $2500/spin...

This week we talked with long-time Vegas bookmaker Art Manteris. We discussed his new book, "The Bookie."Show Notes[00:00] Introduction of Art Manteris, author of The Bookie[00:47] Bookmakers from Western Pennsylvania[01:47] Legendary bookmaker Uncle Jack Franzi[05:21] Working at the mob-controlled Stardust[08:27] Why did Art move to Las Vegas?[09:46] Billy Walters stories[11:57] PASPA, using...

Bob and Richard sit down with Gary Kondler to talk about taxes for gamblers after the big beautiful bill. It may not be as bad for some of us as we all thought. Spoiler alert - but some gamblers are just screwed.Show Notes[00:00] Introduction of gambling tax expert Gary Kondler from Kondler & Associates[01:36] W2Gs under the new tax law[05:24] Reconciling W2s with session win/loss[09:43] An...

Today I speak with Norm Beck, a professional bridge player, magician, and friend about a bet he won, that turned out to be a big loser.Show Notes[00:00] Introduction of Norm Beck, bridge player and magician[00:37] Norm’s biggest gamble[06:40] Clever pre-surgery research strategy[13:07] Hiring another doctor to translate information to family[14:49] Getting into the gambling business[20:30]...

Buzz Marconi moved to Las Vegas in the 1960s, and somehow transformed from an Italian kid from the south side of Chicago into Cowboy Buzz. It's a wild story. Check it out.Show Notes[00:00] Introduction on of Cowboy Buzz[02:07] Moving to Las Vegas, working at The Stardust[20:53] Brilliant mob casino strategies[23;10] Tony Spilotro and Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal[27:19] Becoming a shift boss Foxy's...

Bob is off playing the secret game, so I get together with Max Rubin, and Colin Jones to discuss the 2025 Blackjack Ball.Show Notes[00:00] Introduction of Max Rubin and Colin Jones to discuss The Blackjack Ball[00:45] Colin’s induction into The Blackjack Hall of Fame[01:26] Changes to voting for The Hall of Fame and BJ Traveler discussion[06:55] Costume party and best costume [13:20] Ed...

Jon Rogers was an old-school bookie. He started booking baseball with his classmates in 6th grade, graduated to parlay cards in high school, and went pro after high school. He lived, and booked through a seismic change in the bookmaking industry. He went from the old days of taking bets over the phone, writing on slips of paper, to moving offshore, and the rise of internet betting.Show...