Meet the man who might become bookmaking king
It's still early in the game, but one day Lee Amaitis may be crowned the new king of Las Vegas bookmakers.
As the chief executive officer and president of Cantor Gaming Ltd., a subsidiary of bond trading giant Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P., Amaitis has no shortage of clout and contacts. With its sports betting headquarters at M Resort hotel-casino, Cantor Gaming is all about big volume and rapid expansion.
It takes a bankroll and bravado to handle big bets (such as the reported $500,000 Super Bowl wagers made at M), and it appears Amaitis' operation has plenty of both.
Cantor Gaming also has big dreams that sound something like global sports betting domination. The innovative company could turn the sports betting world upside down. (Or collapse under the weight of that rapid growth, but then that's why they call it gambling.)
Amaitis even has a colorful background that's sure to spice up the biography of any Vegas bookmaking king. Before he became better known for dealing bonds and big bets, in a plea deal he pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine at a time about half the hotshots on Wall Street had Colombian head colds. At 61, published reports call him clean living and at the top of his game.
If he's going to be the king, he'll need to be.
Cantor Gaming's expansion now includes handling the sports books at the Tropicana, Hard Rock and the hip Cosmopolitan. The Cosmo has access to Cantor's innovative mobile gaming devices, which enable players to move about without missing the action. In all, Cantor operates four race and sports books in Las Vegas and leases its technology to The Venetian and Palazzo.
While Cantor Gaming's volume continues to steadily increase -- according to one published report, the company expects to accept up to 40 percent of all bets wagered in Las Vegas in 2011 -- fast expansion hasn't yet translated into substantial net profits. Perhaps the plan is to keep growing until the profits appear.
Complicating Cantor Gaming's path to prominence is the current focus of the IRS and Gaming Control Board on messenger betting at Las Vegas sports books. Messenger bettors place large wagers on behalf of some of the biggest sports gamblers in the nation and run the risk of violating currency-reporting laws and incurring heavy tax liabilities.
Sources confirm a directive has gone out to all local sports books reminding supervisors in very specific language to make sure big bettors fill out the appropriate forms. Taking big bets, such as those placed by America's best-known sports gambler, Billy Walters, comes with substantial responsibility.
In a January "60 Minutes" feature on Walters, Amaitis made little secret of his respect and admiration for the fellow who should be his greatest nemesis. While other bookmakers are at war with Walters, Amaitis sounded like a fan club captain in an interview with reporter Lara Logan.
"What Billy does is basically a different game altogether ," Amaitis said. "Billy is what I would say is a value trader. Billy looks for the best line that he can possibly find, and then he places the bet. The only time he takes a break is baseball (season), he tells me.
" I rarely see him in the book, though. As a matter of fact, I'll tell you a funny story. He came in to have coffee with me one day. We sat here for a half hour. Nobody even recognized who he was."
He called Walters an "icon" but stopped just short of displaying his "Billy Forever" T-shirt. On Monday, I tried to contact Amaitis to discuss Cantor Gaming's rapid expansion and to find out whether the IRS-GCB inquiry has him re thinking any strategies.
Amaitis may one day become the king of the Las Vegas bookmakers, but he certainly has his work cut out for him.
John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith
