Sports betting convention Bet Bash returns to Circa this week

Professional sports bettor Gadoon “Spanky” Kyrollos believes that making just one connection is worth the price of admission to Bet Bash.

The fifth annual sports betting networking conference hosted by Kyrollos returns to Circa on Tuesday and runs through Friday, with more than 600 people expected to attend.

“I’ve never heard of anybody being a successful sports bettor to a certain degree and to be able to do that alone,” Kyrollos said. “You need help. You need to be able to get outs. It’s an industry that is huge on education and networking and people can benefit from that.

“Especially in today’s world, I think we’re missing that face to face connection. Everybody is on their phones and on their computers.”

General admission tickets are still available for Bet Bash 5 (for $699 each at betbash.co). They include four open bars, a speed networking event, watch parties at Circa sportsbook and Stadium Swim, 24 seminars, six live podcasts, two expert panels and a puzzle hunt with $10,000 in prizes.

“We’re all about networking, education, legends and fun. That’s our four-pronged focus, and to really bring the whole sports betting community together,” Kyrollos said. “Novice bettors and expert bettors and everybody in between can come and network with each other.”

Kyrollos said several of the most popular seminars, based on early registration, are “From Emotion to Execution: The Champion’s Mindset for Sports Betting,” featuring mindset and performance coaches Elliot Roe and Samm Hunter; “Go Big Without Going Broke: Scaling Your Sports Betting Empire” with pro sports bettor Antonino De Rosa; “Gambling & The Law”; and “Gambling & Taxes.”

Other seminars include “How to Think Like a Bookmaker” with Circa sportsbook director Chris Bennett; “Sports Betting 101”; “Surviving Survivor”; “The Advantages of Live Betting”; and “Beyond a Moonshot: A Process for Thinking Through NFL Same-Game Parlays.”

Hall of Fame class

There is also a seminar with the 2025 Sports Gambling Hall of Fame class, which will be inducted Friday night in a black-tie ceremony in Circa’s Galaxy Ballroom.

The three living members of the third SGHOF class are pro sports bettor Jeff Whitelaw; pro sports bettor and bookmaker Spiros “The Greek” Athanas, who founded offshore sportsbook Olympic Sports; and Paris Smith, former longtime CEO of offshore sportsbook Pinnacle.

“Sports betting is a male-dominated industry. To see someone like Paris Smith excel to such a high level is very inspiring, especially breaking that gender barrier,” Kyrollos said. “Being a father of two daughters, I love seeing that.”

Three other members of the class will be inducted posthumously: George “Skip” Chonoplis, a former bookmaker who founded offshore sportsbook Bet Grande; pro sports bettor and bookmaker Eugene Nolan, who was nicknamed “The Swamper” as a nod to his Louisiana roots; and Leo Hirschfield, who created the “Minneapolis Line,” which was the preeminent sports betting line for bookmakers and bettors in North America in the 1950s.

Hirschfield also published the “The Green Sheet,” which preceded “The Gold Sheet” as a valuable resource for sports bettors.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.