I am sorry to have to tell you that Richard Munchkin will be leaving the Gambling with an Edge radio show. His last show will be January 26.
Richard is leaving voluntarily. I certainly wish he would stay. He lives north of Los Angeles and drove to Las Vegas for about half of the shows. That’s a pretty long drive. When we started together we thought we’d have a good shot at getting the radio show syndicated — which would yield more revenue and make the long drive “worth it.” As we looked into it, we found that we’d have to sell the show station by station in order to put such a syndicate together. Neither Munchkin nor I consider ourselves salesmen.
When Munchkin started the show, we barely knew each other. We had a handshake agreement that we’d be together for at least six months. That six months will be over January 26. And he let me know in mid-December that he’d be leaving the show. After more than five months of working with him, I consider him a good friend and one I hope I can stay in touch with. I believe the quality of our shows was excellent and I’m very sorry he chose to leave. I’ve heard enough of his stories off the air that I hope he comes on as a guest regularly in the future.
I’m also happy to announce that Michael Shackleford will be joining Gambling with an Edge as a permanent co-host. His first show will be February 2.
Michael is well-known by his “Wizards of Odds” nickname. His website www.wizardofodds.com includes information on a large number of gambling games — including baccarat, blackjack, craps, keno, Pai Gow poker, Pai Gow tiles, roulette, slot machines, sports betting, Texas Hold’em, Three Card poker, and video poker. A lot of players, including me, regularly use his website as a valuable resource. He penned the book Gambling 102 which was based on the mathematics of gambling. Over the years he has written gambling articles for a number of publications.
I’m likely more of an expert on video poker than Shack is, although he has a lot of mathematical knowledge about the game that I don’t. And I used to be an expert at backgammon and I know he has studied the game some — but I’m not sure how much. He’s definitely more of an expert on all other gambling games. Depending on who our guest is on a given night, he may well ask more of the questions than I do.
Both the Wizard and I have a curiosity about a large number of games (and non-games) and both of us are willing to prepare so our questions to our guests keeps the shows lively and interesting.
I’m sure Mike will add his own stamp on the show and the program will evolve over time. Like Richard, Michael has given me his word that he’ll stay with the show at least six months. So maybe he should be called a semi-permanent co-host. He tells me now that he may leave at that time to do his own show. If that happens, it’s possible I’ll find another co-host — and it’s also possible I’ll decide to hang it up. We’ll see.
Gambling with an Edge may be heard live from 7-8 p.m. in Las Vegas at 1230 on the AM dial. It may also be heard live from anywhere at www.klav1230am.com. On the day after each show, the show is archived on bobdancer.com. Currently it’s archived on richardmunchkin.com and starting next month will be archived on wizardofodds.com.
We welcome your suggestions and criticisms at [email protected]. If you have a guest who you think would be appropriate for the show and make a good interviewee, let us know.