{"id":21890,"date":"2018-06-15T07:31:12","date_gmt":"2018-06-15T15:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=21890"},"modified":"2019-05-16T09:00:20","modified_gmt":"2019-05-16T17:00:20","slug":"leagues-greedy-for-bookie-sponsorships-wynn-gets-sued","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/leagues-greedy-for-bookie-sponsorships-wynn-gets-sued\/","title":{"rendered":"Leagues greedy for bookie sponsorships; Wynn gets sued"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guess what? Major leagues’ opposition to sports betting has melted overnight and now they’re into it for as much money as they can get. Bookmaker William Hill<\/strong> reports being “inundated<\/a>” with sponsorship \"\"requests. Hill is a logical candidate for this, since it is expanding the Monmouth Park<\/strong> sports book, site of New Jersey’s first legal bet. While some issues between casinos and sports teams remain unresolved, William Hill CEO Joe Asher<\/strong> says that \u201cthe leagues and the teams are interested in doing commercial deals.\u201d What a surprise. Not. Expect William Hill billboards to start decorating outfield walls and tiers of stadiums across this great land. As for the athletes themselves, some are lobbying for protection from shakedowns<\/a> by bettors who might want them to throw a game. According to The Associated Press<\/strong>, “Among the players\u2019 concerns are fears that proposition bets on actions during a game could taint the product on the field, leading fans to question whether the plays they see are legitimate.”<\/p>\n

Elaborated MLB<\/strong> players union spokesman Chris Dahl<\/strong>,\u00a0\u201cPlayers are concerned the introduction of widespread sports betting has the potential to fundamentally change the unique relationship \u2014 the bond \u2014 between players and fans. They wonder if the human elements of the game that so often create emotional highs and lows will come to be viewed through the lens of a gambler\u2019s cynicism.\u201d Funny, but we didn’t hear similar sentiments about the integrity of the game during the years when steroid use ran rampant.<\/p>\n

For the record, sports betting’s launch at Monmouth Park went off as planned<\/a>, with Gov. Phil Murphy<\/strong> (D) wagering the Germany<\/strong> will win the World Cup<\/strong>. (He and Francophile Raymond Lesniak<\/strong> will have much to discuss.) If this seems like a cathartic moment in gaming history, it is probably because it has been tantalizingly delayed for nine years. Garden State citizen John Mahoney<\/strong>‘s reaction to the newly legal gambling would be music to Jersey politicians’ ears:\u00a0“I usually go out [to Las Vegas<\/strong>] at the start of the [football] season or sometime over the summer to put in a couple of futures for the year.\u00a0 It\u2019ll definitely help not having to fly out to Vegas to put down action like this. It\u2019s going to be great for the state, and great for the track especially.”<\/p>\n