Among the gangsters, gamblers and high rollers: a master bookie’s life in Las Vegas
Forty years ago, the New England Patriots played in their first Super Bowl.It ended disastrously for New England, who lost 46-10 to the Chicago Bears.The Bears’ mammoth defensive tackle, William “The Refrigerator” Perry, even got involved in the scoring with a touchdown.That moment looked like it would cause serious problems for Art Manteris, who at the time ran the sportsbook at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.Under Manteris, Caesars had offered odds on whether Perry would score during the game – and, as fans scrambled to back the popular player, the house stood to lose a significant sum if he did.
When Perry ran into the end zone, gamblers collected handsomely, to the tune of $250,000,The next day, Manteris was summoned to meet the boss of Caesars, Henry Gluck,“I feared the worst,” Manteris says,“To my shock and amazement, he congratulated me for putting up that prop,” When Manteris pointed out the financial losses, his boss replied, “No casino or sportsbook in Vegas has ever gotten this kind of worldwide, positive publicity over a single wager.
Never! We couldn’t buy the enormous national and international attention we received.”This is a learning moment from Manteris’s new book, The Bookie: How I Bet It All on Sports Gambling and Watched an Industry Explode.Written with investigative journalist Matthew Birkbeck, the book is a front-row view of the decades-long changes in the US sports gambling landscape, from the days of Mob-connected casinos on the Strip to today’s more corporate world.It’s also become a world beyond Vegas: legalized sports gambling has spread across the US since a supreme court ruling in 2018.“The expansion has been too fast,” Manteris says.
“Some mistakes are being made by certain states.I’ve been a very big advocate over the years of a very clear separation between gambling on sports, and participating in sports.”Manteris grew up in a Greek American family in the Pittsburgh area, where some of his family – his brother Jimmy and their Uncle Jack – introduced him to the possibility of making a living through gambling.The narrative soon shifts to Las Vegas, where Manteris worked for 43 years in senior roles for Caesars, Hilton Hotels and Station Casinos.“The book is historical,” Birkbeck says.
“Art is actually a living legend.I did not realize how historical the project was going to be.”Manteris’s sportsbooks took bets from high rollers, gangsters and celebrities.During the author’s days at the Hilton, Kirk Kerkorian, the billionaire MGM Resorts founder, downplayed his wealth by driving up to collect his winnings in a Ford Taurus station wagon, according to the book.Athletes gambled too.
Manteris writes of Charles Barkley betting six-figure sums, and of Jaromir Jagr losing six-figure sums,According to the book, Phil Mickelson got so involved in betting that he first put together his own syndicate, then became one of several associates in a scheme run by noted gambler Billy Walters,“[Mickelson] clearly did get in over his head on gambling,” Manteris says,“He got involved with people he should not have,”Manteris says Mickelson turned things around though.
“When [Mickelson] was implicated in an insider stock trading case, he did the right thing … He paid restitution and quit gambling,” he says, referring to a 2016 federal case against Walters (Mickelson was not charged in the case,)Asked about the portrayal of Mickelson in a 2023 book by Walters – which claimed that Mickelson sought to bet on the Ryder Cup and had wagered more than $1bn over a span of three decades – Manteris says he has “no knowledge of that, I have no idea,”As for Jagr’s gambling, Manteris says, “It was excessive … done very unsophisticated,”Manteris writes that he ultimately felt compelled to cut off Jagr from gambling, one of many moments of ethical reckoning in the book,He had to keep one eye out for employees who stole, and another eye out for beards or runners – individuals who gambled on behalf of others.
Manteris himself was investigated by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, for anonymous allegations of illegal bookmaking and underworld connections; he was cleared after over a year of scrutiny that included probes of his ties to his brother Jimmy and his uncle Jack.Manteris established a solid record in Vegas and beyond.In addition to that publicity-raising prop bet on the Fridge while at Caesars, he went on to create the largest sportsbook in the world for the Las Vegas Hilton.At the Hilton, he also was involved in sometimes uneasy dealings with pro boxing, including promoters Don King and Bob Arum.(Later, at the Station Casinos, he advised his then-bosses Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta against backing a newer combat sport venture – the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
The Fertittas chose to ignore him and went on to make millions from UFC,)Donald Trump makes a few cameos as an Atlantic City boxing booster, years before his time as US president,Manteris remembers Trump’s claim of substantial winnings over Mike Tyson’s upset loss to Evander Holyfield in 1996; after doing some research, Manteris doubted Trump’s claim to have won $20m off the bout,Since then, professional sports leagues have shifted their stances on gambling,“I’ve been surprised by a lot of things the last few years,” Manteris says.
“Not the least is the leagues’ 180 degree turnaround in their position on gambling … I was in the business 43 years.The first 40, gambling was viewed as an adversary by the leagues.Today, that has reversed completely.”Throughout the book, Manteris reflects on personal losses he’s endured over the years.His brother Jimmy underwent financial difficulties before his death.
Manteris lost his grandson Michael to leukemia; he writes that several sports figures came to comfort the sick child, including Tyson and Pau Gasol,Having retired, and with a secure place in the Sports Gambling Hall of Fame, Manteris is spending time with the next generation of his family,He’s also thinking about his old profession and its new environment – in which gambling is no longer done only in a Vegas casino, but now on your phone, anytime, anywhere,“The question is youth gambling, easier access of gambling,” he says,“Of course that’s going to happen.
But when every game you watch, you’re inundated with gambling ads, and you go to a stadium or arena, you’re inundated with gambling ads …“I’m not an adversary toward gambling, or sports gambling.I’m a fan of sports, and sports gambling.But they have to coexist peacefully.Right now, it’s not happening.”
Qantas unveils bumper $1.46bn profit as Australian travellers shrug off cost-of-living pressures
Qantas has delivered a bumper $1.46bn half-year underlying profit as travellers shrug off cost-of-living pressures to travel within and outside Australia.Australia’s biggest airline credited robust customer demand, new routes and increased flight frequency to “Japan, Bali and across the Tasman”, and more fuel-efficient new aircraft for the strong result, up 5% from a year ago.The chief executive, Vanessa Hudson, is overseeing Qantas’s most expansive fleet-renewal program ever, balancing the huge expenditure required after a prolonged period of under investment.Qantas is replacing its ageing domestic fleet and purchasing long-range planes
Lawyers for US cancer sufferers challenge Bayer’s $7.25bn Roundup settlement deal
A group of 14 law firms representing nearly 20,000 plaintiffs is seeking to intervene in Bayer’s proposed class action settlement of Roundup litigation, citing concerns that the deal will not be fair to cancer sufferers.The group filed both a motion to intervene and a motion for an extension of time for court preliminary approval of the deal in St Louis city circuit court in Missouri late on February 24.The law firms say the deal appears “unprecedented” and raises multiple “red flags”.“It is hard to escape the impression that the proposed settlement would give Monsanto everything it desires – a near-complete release of liability for Monsanto and its parent company, Bayer AG – while giving inadequate consideration to many putative class members, who would surrender their substantive rights in exchange for settlement offers that may never result in payment,” the law firms state in their motion.Bayer and a different group of plaintiffs’ lawyers filed the settlement proposal with the court on 17 February, with a provision to seek preliminary court approval within a 15-day period
Twenty-year-old testifies at US trial about harm from social media addiction
For the first time, a jury will hear testimony on Wednesday from a young woman who alleges social media companies intentionally create addictive products, harming children. The witness taking the stand, known by her initials KGM, is the lead plaintiff in an expansive lawsuit against Meta – which owns Instagram and Facebook – and YouTube currently at trial in Los Angeles.KGM, who is now 20, alleges that she became addicted to social media apps before she was 10 and would spend hours every day scrolling through photos and videos. This led to years of mental health issues, according to her lawyers and court documents.KGM is expected to testify about how her constant use of social media led to depression, anxiety and body dysmorphia
Nvidia quarterly earnings show immunity to AI bubble fears as it cashes in on data center boom
Nvidia released its quarterly earnings on Wednesday, with the chipmaker revealing higher than expected revenues and extending its yearslong streak of surpassing Wall Street’s sky-high expectations.The company receives the vast majority of its revenue from its data center business, which has been buoyed by the tech industry’s immense investment into AI infrastructure. On Wednesday, Nvidia reported 75% year-over-year growth of this vertical to $62.3bn. The world’s most valuable publicly traded company, Nvidia has dominated the chip market as its processing units have become the backbone of the artificial intelligence boom
US hockey star Hilary Knight responds to Trump’s ‘distasteful joke’ about women’s team
Hilary Knight, the captain of the US women’s ice hockey team, has responded to comments made by Donald Trump after the Americans won gold at the Winter Olympics, calling the president’s quip a “distasteful joke”.After the US men’s ice hockey team won gold on Sunday, Trump called into the locker-room celebration and invited the players to be his guests at Tuesday’s State of the Union address.“I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team,” he said. “You do know that. I do believe I probably would be impeached [if the women’s team wasn’t invited]
Saracens’ salary cap penalty under scrutiny over conflict of interest claims
Saracens will consider their position over an alleged undeclared conflict of interest at the centre of the disciplinary process into the 2019 salary cap scandal. The club were fined an unprecedented £5.36m for salary cap breaches over the previous three seasons and were relegated to the Championship, but the punishment has come under fresh scrutiny with these new allegations.Saracens point to an allegation made about the accounting firm Saffery Champness and claims that the level of fine handed down was “largely based upon advice provided to PRL”.According to the Daily Telegraph, Saffery Champness was auditor for Sale Sharks at the same time that it gave “impartial expert advice” about Saracens
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