I have worked in a number of different environments. These include teaching at different colleges and universities and working for or with different governments. Most of my life has been in gambling, however, and I seem to still be hanging out there. In all of those experiences, I believe that the most honorable people I ever worked with and around were the bookies. ​They were also the hardest-working group – and, as I will try to convince you in this essay, the least understood and appreciated.

 

In 2023, I was honored when Gadoon “Spanky” Kyrollos asked me to be on the Advisory Board for the Sports Gambling Hall of Fame, located at the Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

 

As we now approach the celebration of the 2026 class's induction, it amazes me how wonderful an addition to the betting world the Hall has become. This is clearly a work of love by Spanky and his team, and Derek Stevens and his staff have shown nothing but class in what they have done with the Hall at the Circa.

 

There is a perception among much of the public that running a book would be an exciting and glamorous job. Well, maybe…on another planet.

 

Understand that there is a ton of regular business stuff that needs to take place in a book. There are employees, schedules, evaluations, training, budgets, staff meetings, and all that. This is compounded by the fact that a book is a heavily regulated environment at both the state and federal levels and handles large amounts of cash. Employees get sick, quit, arrive late, show up hammered, and all that. It is also the case that the sports betting calendar is not steady. One week can be hectic, and the next slow – attributes that make payroll and staffing a weekly challenge.

 

A book can also be a noisy environment, and through time, that can take a toll. And need I mention that the air is often filled with a well-known carcinogen… and you take that smell home to your family every single night.

 

Moreover, a sports betting operation in a casino is generally “over there”, and casino operations management folks (such as me) normally pay a visit when they need something for a high-end player or when something is wrong. Oh yes, we will also visit when we are looking for information before we make our own laydown.

 

A sportsbook can be the place where they process tens of thousands of transactions a day, dealing with hundreds of often stressed human beings who think they know the business better than the person who is actually paid to run the business. And after all of this, senior management does not walk down to the book to shower the staff and leadership with compliments. It often seems that senior leadership hardly knows you are in the building, unless something has gone wrong.

 

There is also the reality that the day begins early, especially if the book is originating numbers, and often goes late into the night. Oh, and sports events take place on weekends and holidays. In short, the betting schedule owns the bookie…lock, stock, and barrel.

 

But I have heard that it really is glamorous and exciting… Like the time you promised your spouse you would go to church with the kids, since you had promised it the last two Sundays and had to cancel. Well, this Sunday you promised… and you had to leave the service twice to go outside to the parking lot to handle calls. Maybe booking isn’t all that exciting and glamorous.

 

Or the time when there was a ridiculously rich foreign baccarat player in the house for 10 days, on his own time zone, and he had a “special relationship” with your CEO, and he just might want to make a bet now and then for more than what you paid for your house. So, you moved into the hotel so you could be “suited and booted” to meet with him on 15 minutes’ notice to negotiate whatever deal he had cooked up… knowing the player can call down the street and they will send a limo, pick him up, and probably give him the deal he wants. Maybe that booking thing isn’t all that exciting and glamorous.

 

Then there is the reality of a local who likes to get two-thirds of his net worth in action every day and arrives at the book during baseball season, about 10 minutes before the afternoon games lock out. He has about $15,000 in both fists, is wired and bouncing off the walls, and wants to get it all in action before the system locks. His money is not strapped but loose, in every denomination known to man. He is rushing your writer and supervisor and operating at a decibel level about four times higher than necessary. I can assure you that this isn’t too glamorous or exciting.

 

And then, at the end of the shift, the writer is $200 short. You can’t find it anywhere and believe with every bit of your fiber that the writer is honest as the day is long, but there are rules and procedures…and now you need to handle that as a disciplinary issue, and it is not going to be easy for you or the writer.

 

And two years ago, your daughter got married and moved back East, and wants you to come meet your new granddaughter over the holidays. You know that the sports calendar is crazy, the hotel is full, and casino marketing has a very good group coming in. The reality is that the closest you will get to your new granddaughter this holiday season is the picture of her that sits on your desk.

 

I have known bookies who were hired to clean up a mess, and they worked over 100 days straight. That is damn glamorous and exciting.

 

What is most amazing about all of this is that a large number of people betting on this book think they know more about booking than the person who is actually booking. And after about four drinks, they can become beyond brilliant.

 

In my career, I have been honored to associate with a great many bookies whom I have known or worked with. The general attributes of these folks are that they demonstrated incredible character, honesty, and integrity…and worked their butts off.

 

People think that if they are good at math and stats, they can be a good bookie. Well, you do need math and stats. You also need to know how to read people, maintain your composure, work long hours, and not always get appreciated. And that is just a few of the things you need to survive in that environment.

 

Most importantly, you need a family behind you. Otherwise, that part of your life will be chaos.

 

When I ran the casino at the Stardust, I came in one Sunday and found that our book was packed early, all the way to the phone entrance. I walked down to see how Scott was doing, and walked into his office, and his doctor was there to give him a shot in the butt. Scott was sick as a dog. I left the office and hung around the book a bit, and I ran into Scott’s doctor in the lounge area as he was leaving. I thanked him for coming down to see Scott. He said, “No problem. I had to get down on the late game, anyway.”

 

In 2023, I was in the Circa Book, standing with Billy Walters and Scott Schettler. Billy said to Scott, "You ran a good book and always were fair.” Scott had probably never received a more important compliment.

 

Two fine gentlemen, held together by respect. Maybe being a bookie isn't really connected to glamour and excitement…But I like hanging with them. They are my homies.