Former Las Vegas anchor to host ESPN’s first betting show
ESPN has showcased sports betting segments on “SportsCenter” for years, from Chris Berman’s “Swami Sez” NFL picks to Scott Van Pelt’s “Bad Beats.”
In this era of expanded legal sports wagering, the media giant is going all-in on a sports betting show for the first time with “Daily Wager,” which debuts at 3 p.m. Monday on ESPNews.
The one-hour news and information program will air at 3 p.m. weekdays on ESPNews (while also streaming live on the ESPN app) and will be hosted by former Las Vegas sports anchor Doug Kezirian.
“At the expense of oversimplification, it will feel like ‘SportsCenter’ through the lens of sports betting,” Kezirian said. “We’ll present info, stats and opinion and hopefully have a lot of fun.
“We’re going to try to find the perfect marriage of all that to serve the sports fan, which clearly has a bigger appetite for sports betting and content.”
Kezirian, 41, has been preparing for this moment his entire life.
Early education
He was in fifth grade when he placed his first bet — a $5 wager with his brother on the Super Bowl — and was 15 when he started covering sports for the Los Angeles Daily News.
Before joining ESPN in 2012, Kezirian spent seven years as sports director at KTNV Channel 13 in Las Vegas, where the Ivy League graduate (Brown) earned the equivalent of a doctorate in sports wagering.
He co-founded “The Las Vegas Sportsline” radio show on ESPN 1100, made picks on TV and in the Review-Journal, and interviewed oddsmakers and professional bettors.
“I don’t think I would have nearly the same amount of betting knowledge if I didn’t spend my seven years in Vegas,” he said.
During his time in Las Vegas, Kezirian recalls laughing off a notion from a buddy that he should host a sports betting show on ESPN.
“I didn’t think we’d get there as a society,” he said. “In Las Vegas, betting was destigmatized. But I had no idea our country would get to this point with the Supreme Court ruling.”
Carving a niche
Kezirian was hired as a “SportsCenter” anchor, but he’s filled many roles at the Worldwide Leader, hosting ESPN Radio’s “College GameDay” and “Baseball Tonight,” appearing on “Outside the Lines” and much more.
He carved out a niche as ESPN’s sports betting analyst along the way — doing spots on “SportsCenter,” hosting the podcast “Behind the Bets with Doug Kezirian,” and contributing content to ESPN.com’s Chalk gambling section.
He’s thrilled to have the chance to host ESPN’s first betting show.
“There are so many talented people across the landscape, let alone at ESPN. The fact that I get this opportunity, it’s a huge honor,” he said. “I just hope to crush it.”
Stanford Steve and The Bear
Kezirian will be joined by sports betting experts and ESPN analysts and reporters, and the screen will be modified to include graphics with betting news, odds and information.
Contributors will include “Stanford” Steve Coughlin, Chris “The Bear” Fallica, David Purdum, Anita Marks, Joe Fortenbaugh and Las Vegas-based handicappers Preston Johnson and Matt Youmans, a former Review-Journal betting columnist.
Sports betting experts will make picks on the program, while ESPN reporters and analysts will provide information and insight but won’t make picks.
“We’ll have a conglomeration of best bets from all the people on the show that day, but that won’t be the only thing we’ll do,” Kezirian said. “We’ll focus on big games and news. We’ll have fantasy sports content.
“The content is for sports fans, not just gamblers.”
Showtime
“Daily Wager” and Fox Sports 1’s “Lock It In,” which debuted in September, are the first two high-profile sports betting shows in what figures to become an increasingly crowded space.
Turner Sports recently reached an agreement with Caesars Entertainment to create sports betting content in a Bleacher Report-branded studio in the Caesars Palace sportsbook.
Could ESPN be the next network to build a studio in Las Vegas?
“I have no idea,” Kezirian said. “But this goes back to where the industry is headed. There’s no telling where this is going to go.”
For now, Kezirian will have to settle for the virtual sportsbook he’s created in the basement of his Connecticut home, where he scans the lines and watches games on five flat screens.
“I’m embracing the job,” he said
More Betting: Follow at reviewjournal.com/betting
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
