Evan Weinstock is the first Las Vegan to represent the United States in the Winter Olympics. Weinstock was a standout football player at Del Sol High School. In college, he was a decorated decathlete at Brown University. After Brown, he took up bobsled and made the U.S. national team in his first year in the sport. Weinstock will compete in the two-man and four-man bobsled in South Korea next month.
If a federal ban on sports betting is lifted in the coming months, the NBA wants sports books to pay the league 1 percent of the money wagered on its games as an “integrity fee.” An NBA official, assistant general counsel Dan Spillane, made the request in written testimony submitted Wednesday in support of the passage of a sports betting bill at New York’s Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee hearing. For sports books, the “integrity fee” could be costly. The 1 percent fee amounts to more than 20 percent of sports book revenues, William Hill sports book CEO Joe Asher told the committee. “It’s a red herring when you call it an integrity fee. They want to be partners but they don’t want to appear to be partners. They’re saying they want to protect the integrity of the game by not having bookmaking. Now they want to be part of it. It doesn’t work both ways.” – Vic Salerno, a Las Vegas sports betting pioneer. Prices of straight bets could also be increased in order for sports books to turn a profit. The price on straight bets from the traditional $11 to make $10 could jump to $12 or $13 to make $10. “It has to go up or they can’t make money. I don’t know if they’ll be successful,” he said. “If the tax rate is on the handle, forget it. Kentucky wants 20 percent of the handle. We don’t hold 20 percent. It’s a very thin margin.” – Vic Salerno, a Las Vegas sports betting pioneer.
Despite the Golden Knights’ policy on autographs at City National Arena being restrictive to adults, the fans understand why it was implemented. With fans packing the team’s practices and congregating outside the players’ parking lot seeking autographs and photos, the team decided to control traffic inside and outside the facility. Camping outside by the parking lot is no longer allowed. In addition, fans can only receive autographs inside the rink in a designated area by the player benches and there is an age restriction. Only those 14 and under are allowed access to the players.
WWE’s Vince McMahon to Revive XFL in 2020 The WWE founder made the announcement at a press conference Thursday. The XFL was originally launched in 2001 and lasted only one season after struggling to meeting attendance and ratings expectations. saying “I wanted to do this since the day we stopped the other one…” Vince McMahon, WWE founder The XFL will restart in 2020 and its first season will have eight teams around the country playing a 10-week schedule. McMahon sold $100 million in WWE stock to fund Alpha Entertainment — a company he formed — last month to make investments that included “professional football.”
UNLV is getting a new football complex UNLV officials broke ground on the Fertitta Football Complex Tuesday The two-story, 73,000 square-foot facility is expected to cost $28.5 million Construction is expected to take 10 months.
Former American soccer prodigy and U.S. national team member Freddy Adu joined the Las Vegas Lights FC practice for a try-out Tuesday. Adu just took a year off from soccer. In 2016, he played for the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Adu is most notably known for being the youngest American to sign a major league professional contract. He made his debut for the U.S. senior national team at 16-years-old. *quote*
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has been named to his third consecutive Pro Bowl. Carr was selected as an alternate to replace the Patriots’ Tom Brady, who is preparing to face the Eagles in Super Bowl LII. Carr joins teammates Rodney Hudson, Khalil Mack, Kelechi Osemele and Donald Penn for Sunday’s Pro Bowl in Orlando. “Fans… it was not the year we wanted, but to still be recognized by you, #RaiderNation, fans everywhere, and players and coaches you go against as one of these players is an extremely high honor that I will always be thankful for!,” Carr tweeted Monday. Carr joins former Raiders quarterbacks Ken Stabler and Rich Gannon to be named to three Pro Bowls. Carr finished the season with 3,496 passing yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. The Pro Bowl takes place Sunday at noon and will be broadcast on ESPN.
Tom Brady’s Agent Responds
to Bombshell ESPN Report Don Yee didn’t necessarily offer a rebuttal to an ESPN report that describes tension between the legendary quarterback and head coach Bill Belichick, as well as team owner Robert Kraft. Don Yee, (NFL Network) It is said that Belichick is not on good terms with Brady’s business partner and fitness coach Alex Guerrero, who’s been given a high level of access to team facilities and players. Furthermore, the report states that Belichick was unhappy about being told to trade possible Brady successor Jimmy Garoppolo after Brady revealed to both he and Kraft that he wished to remain playing for years to come. New England will start their 2017 playoff run on Jan. 13 in the AFC Divisional Round.
