Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Hollywood dispute won’t kill LV race books

With Hollywood Park and Nevada race books currently at an impasse over simulcasting fees, local horse players are faced with a choice of betting other tracks or sitting it out until the matter is resolved.

At the center of the issue is Hollywood Park's demand for an increase in rights fees from 3.5 to 4 percent, and the track has blacked out its television feed to Nevada books until an agreement is negotiated.

"On the short term, it'll hurt Las Vegas sports books," Sands Race and Sports Book director Bob Gregorka said. "A good part of our business is based on Southern California horse racing. But I think if you look at the long term, it's my guess that the players will move on to other tracks. It hurts, but it's not like we can't survive.

"The problem is, a horse player is like anybody who follows a sport -- he knows all the participants. Eventually, they would move their interest to another track, but they'd rather not."

Kirk Brooks, race and sports book director at the Holiday Inn-Boardwalk, said the spat is nothing out of the ordinary and is just part of doing business.

"It's all called supply and demand," said Brooks. "If they think their signal is worth four percent, then they have every right to ask for it. That, to me, is what it comes down to. It's like buying a used car, if you want to pay that price you will, if you don't you won't.

"People will bet on racing whether Hollywood Park is here or not. If there is racing, people will learn to bet on it. I know the better racing is in Southern California and in the New York area, but if it comes to the point where you can't afford it the you look at other options."

Gregorka said he remains optimistic a solution will be found in the near future, but cautioned bottom-line concerns are very real for the local bookmakers.

"I think they'll come to some kind of agreement sometime this week," he said. "However, I think it's important to realize that race books are not some pot of gold for the companies we work for. We really have a small margin, and every tenth of a percent, when it comes to an increase, really hurts us."

The blackout places a financial burden on the track itself as well as the race books, contended Gregorka.

"Las Vegas is a financial boom for these tracks," he said. "The money they make from Vegas supports anyone who has anything to do with the track. It keeps purses up and benefits everyone.

"I'm sure we're one of they're biggest customers, if not the biggest. They have at least as much to lose as we do."

Odds and Ends

* FINAL THOUGHTS ON "THE GREEK": As oddsmaker Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder was buried Thursday, some local personalities shared some final recollections of the man.

Oddsmaker Michael "Roxy" Roxborough of Las Vegas Sports Consultants, Inc., said the likes of Snyder will not be seen again. "He was the type of flamboyant character that will not be in the national spotlight again," said Roxborough. "The times have changed. The gaming industry is looking for a different type of public relations image for starters. Second, the sports leagues have all pressured networks to keep gaming and the betting analysts Jimmy made famous off the air."

Veteran Las Vegas gambler Lem Banker said few people saw Snyder's soft side, and placed the blame for his decline in health on his firing by CBS Sports in 1988. "He was generous to anybody," Banker said. "He always took care of his players. If you had a bad day he'd grab a handful of silver dollars and toss them to you. He was warm-hearted, and not everybody knew that.

"That (the firing) stopped the momentum of Jimmy's life. What hurt him was that it wasn't true. He wasn't a racist; he was just a regular guy who had as many black friends as he had white friends. He got a bad deal from CBS. He never should have been fired. Whoever made that decision made a big mistake."

Longtime radio personality Lee Pete, who first met Snyder in 1973, said he didn't always see eye-to-eye with the oddsmaker, but said he did bring Las Vegas some needed exposure. "This town was built on characters," Pete said. "It wasn't built on any corporate Disney image. Jimmy was probably good for this city. In those days you needed publicity of any kind. Now that's not the case, but it took guys like Jimmy to make this city."

* HOCKEY HANDLE JUST AVERAGE: With both the NHL and NBA playoffs now in full swing, book operators said hockey is not generating close to the action of its roundball counterpart. "Hockey does not draw a substantial amount of betting interest all year long, and the playoffs are only a small step up," said Gregorka. "A playoff game in hockey doesn't generate them same amount of handle as a key tennis match." While the Detroit Red Wings may be the NHL's answer to the Chicago Bulls in terms of league dominance, they're certainly leagues apart in betting response. "Let's face it, they (the Red Wings) should win," Brooks added. "They're the Bulls of hockey. But sometimes hockey is a tougher read than basketball because the playoffs are always so different. Detroit doesn't attract the same following as the Bulls do."

* LONGDEN AT THE SANDS: Hall of Fame jockey Johnny Longden will join former colleague Ray York as co-host of Saturday's Kentucky Derby party at the Sands. Longden rode Count Fleet to the Triple Crown in 1944, while York piloted Determined to victory in the 1954 Derby. The bash will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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