Vegas handicapper goes missing after hike; Louisiana committee rejects betting bill

Each Friday, we’ll comb through as many articles, tweets and podcasts as we can find related to the world of sports betting and daily fantasy sports, and publish the good stuff here. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email info@bettingtalk.com.

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A sports handicapper based in Las Vegas was reported missing on Saturday.

Las Vegas police are searching for a man missing after he went hiking at Mount Charleston over the weekend, officials said.

David Malinsky was reported missing Saturday, Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Larry Hadfield said. Several agencies, including Red Rock Search and Rescue and fire officials, helped Metro with the search.


A committee in the Louisiana State Senate failed to advance a bill that would legalize sports betting in the state.

The Louisiana Senate Finance Committee rejected, on a 6-3 vote, a proposal Tuesday (April 17) to allow legal sports betting in the state. That makes it unlikely that the sports betting will be allowed in Louisiana anytime soon.

In an interview after the vote, Martiny said he is considering bypassing the Senate Finance Committee decision and moving the bill to Senate floor for a full vote through a procedural maneuver, though he hasn’t made up his mind to do that yet. That would be an unusual move, and one that would take broad support in the Senate to make happen, which isn’t likely.


An article published by The Ringer breaks down the U.S. Supreme Court’s sports betting case.

It’s impossible to know exactly how much money is illegally bet on sports in America every year, but conservative estimates are about $150 billion annually. To put that figure in perspective, it’s nearly enough to buy every franchise in the NFL, NBA, and MLB, per the Forbes sticker prices. There are reasons to doubt that number, which comes from the American Gaming Association, but nobody doubts that the illegal sports-gambling market is massive—and none of that money ends up in the hands of team owners, players, casino vaults, or the IRS.

An impending Supreme Court case might change all of that. Depending on the verdict—which the court could render as soon as Tuesday or as late as June 25—states might be allowed to legalize gambling as they see fit. Legalized sports betting could be coming to a state near you, even before Week 1 of the NFL season. Have some questions?


Station Casinos is giving its loyalty members a free bet on the Vegas Golden Knights to win the Stanley Cup.

The hotel and casino operator is sending out redemption details to its 150,000 “Boarding Pass” loyalty members to be able to place a “free bet” at its sportsbook. The bet is on the Golden Knights to win it all and the amounts are randomized, from $5 to $250 for each bet. The bets will pay out on a 4-to-1 basis if the Knights do in fact win the Stanley Cup in June, meaning a $250 voucher would become $1,000.

“We wanted to do allow our guests to have even more reasons to be excited,” said Staci Alonso, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Station Casinos. “There are so many first-time bettors coming to the sportsbooks asking how they put money on the team.”


Ithaca College’s student newspaper published an article about the increase in popularity of sports betting on campus.

Before becoming a bookie himself, Mark and his friends had a bookie who they would bet on sporting events with through a website, and one day, they realized one of their favorite hobbies could become their new source of income. A bookie takes bets and manages payouts for a sports book, an organization that creates betting odds. Mark estimates that he and his partner made between $8,000 and $10,000 during their first 10 months as bookies.

“We were like, ‘This guy is just robbing us blind and making all of this money off of nothing,” Mark said. “How can we do this?’’’