Points Taken with Brant James

Derek Stevens went from selling car parts to becoming the well-outfitted carnival barker of Las Vegas. His affinity for old Vegas charm and building big shiny things culminated in the opening of the Circa Resort and Casino in October, 2020. Read more at PlayUSA: https://www.playusa.com/circa-las-vegas-visionary-derek-stevens-interview/ https://www.playusa.com/derek-stevens-circa-las-vegas-resort-casino-sportsbook-expansion/

Sports bettors are so eager to have something to throw a few bucks at that they've been wagering on Ukraine ping pong and that's apparently fixed. But what about the daily fantasy players? Can those Madden sims tide them over forever. Adam Wexler, CEO of PrizePicks surveys the landscape and drafts an assessment, from a pizza joint in Asheville, N.C. You can almost smell the pie. Also, does his company want to offer sports bets one day like DraftKings and FanDuel? SPOILER: Yes. Listen anyway.

Jacob Pomrenke of the Society for American Baseball Research lends his considerable knowledge and passion to the topics of how baseball coped with previous national dilemmas, the Tigers adding a sportsbook as a corporate partner - shattering a centuries-long taboo - and the need to re-name the Atlanta and Cleveland franchises. Come see Brant James at https://hoperoadmedia.blogspot.com/ and https://www.playusa.com/author/brant-james/

Story at PlayUSA. https://www.playusa.com/bookmaker-odds-on-sports-novelties-during-pandemic/ The shutdown of traditional sports by COVID-19 has made oddities like Ukranian table tennis and Belarussian soccer mainstream. How do the major sportsbook get up to speed to offer smart lines? Johnny Avello (DraftKings), Nick Bogdanovich (William Hill) Jeffrey Benson (Circa Sports) and Andrew Mannino (PointsBet) tell you.

The NBA is going to Disney World before anyone even wins a championship, the NFL and NHL are going forward with plans to return to a new normal and even with Major League Baseball going about destroying itself, eSports’ cameo as a major sports betting option in North America figures to soon be over. That doesn’t mean that the wildly popular, much-hyped next-greatest-thing-of-the-future will have failed when COVID-19 shutdowns end and eSports likely recedes as a betting market as compared to traditional sports. Because eSports’ time may not even have arrived yet. Mark Balch, head of product and partnerships at Bayes Esports Solutions, a joint venture of Sportradar and Bayes Holding, sees tangible progress for the billion-dollar industry that can be accounted for in dollars and participation figures. Read more at https://www.playusa.com/new-esports-betting-popularity-establishes-foundation-for-future/

Cal Spears of RotoGrinders and Daniel Kustelski of Chalkine Sports lay out the past, present and future of Tennessee's complicated odyssey in legalizing sports betting. Reading material: https://www.gambling.com/news/tennessee-sports-betting-sees-delay-as-rules-vote-postponed-2211600 https://www.gambling.com/news/tennessee-needs-to-turn-to-experts-to-fix-proposed-rules-2184600 https://www.gambling.com/news/tennessee-sports-betting-market-positioned-for-payoff-1927500 @brantjames https://www.facebook.com/brantjamesjournalist/ points_taken_ on Instagram

Heading into a very unusual virtual NFL Draft forced into Zoom chats and man caves by COVID-19, betting volume has been heavy, ostensibly powered by bored bettors finally presented with something familiar. As in not Belarussian soccer. Host Brant James interviews oddsmakers Nick Bogdanovich of William Hill and Andrew Mannino of PointsBet about the trend, the vagaries of a real-life version of your fantasy draft and finding gems in all those proposition bet markets. @brantjames

Mark Paul, author of Amazon best-seller "The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told" joins Points Taken host Brant James to recount some of the anecdotes and motivations behind his tale of the third and most recent filly to win the Kentucky Derby. Read more here: https://www.playusa.com/the-greatest-gambling-story-ever-told-packed-with-horse-racing-drama/ @brantjames on Twitter

Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson joins Points Taken to discuss the second installment of his one-man show, Undisputed Truth, the honor of lending his name to fellow champion Tyson Fury and the difference in guts required to take a punch and take a quiet audience. One is physical, one is spiritual, he said. Come see me on Twitter @brantjames Photo by Andres Ortiz