One Hall of an event for Ryan Jeffrey and Peter Ray
LAS VEGAS — By the time Ron “The Cigar” Sacco employed a black cane to ease onto the Circa stage on Aug. 9, Ryan Jeffrey and Peter Ray had become fully immersed in BetBash IV.
The two 40-year-old natives of Peoria, best friends since kindergarten and Good JuJu sports-betting company and podcast partners, were basking in this second Sports Gambling Hall of Fame induction dinner.
Billy Walters, part of that Computer Group and the 2023 inaugural Hall of Fame class, sat at a table with Jack Binion and presented posthumously both bettor Michael Kent and bookie Gene Maday.
Michael “Roxy” Roxborough, another inaugural Hall inductee, introduced longtime pal Vic Salerno, and both were playful.
“We were wondering when they’d get around to us,” Roxy said, “since we’d been sitting around drinking vodka all night.”
The Galaxy Ballroom, packed with more than 500 black-tie attendees fêted with a four-course dinner and top-shelf open bar, erupted in laughter.
Roxy read a list of Salerno achievements, noting that Vic is still hatching innovative ventures. At the podium, Salerno said, “Thanks, Roxy. I didn’t know who you were talking about!”
More laughter.
Sacco, who pioneered offshore internet betting, reached the podium after a long standing ovation and triggered another rousing round of applause when he said, “Indicted to Induction.”
He’d spent several stints in prison. Returning to his seat, another standing ovation showered Sacco.
“I had chills,” Ray said. “I legitimately had goose bumps. To witness all of that, and for us from our small corner to feel like we’re a part of it; a night I’ll remember forever.”
Jeffery had long daydreamed about attending a ceremony of such grandeur.
“To actually be at one was a little bit of a pinch-me moment, for sure,” he said of the four-hour affair. “Fantastic. Loved every single minute of it.”
GOLDEN FEEDBACK
Ray and Jeffery had been planning this venture for more than a year. BetBash IV prices ranged from $699 to $1,549, and the four-day conference started Aug. 6 with VIP golf and poker tournaments.
A speed-networking event, five minutes with 15 like-minded people arranged by a questionnaire and computer algorithm, kicked off Day Two and two days of seminars. Friday presented four expert panels, and the elegant dinner.
“It blew my expectations away and challenged my personal thinking in the sports-betting realm, and on our side hobby,” Jeffery said. “It absolutely opened a lot of doors.”
A veteran DJ, Jeffery was encouraged that many were familiar with Good JuJu.
“We will have no problem continuing to grow our network off of this experience, in getting guests for the show,” he said. “We had a lot of positive feedback, surprisingly, about our brand and our show.”
Ray likened this period, six years after the U.S. Supreme Court quashed a bill to allow states to pursue their own sports-betting fates, to the gold rush in California.
There were the ravenous miners, then there were all the ancillary figures who sought careers, and industry, in servicing the many needs of those gold hunters in unique and creative ways.
“For us and our show,” Ray said, “to try to highlight the industry in a unique and creative way was something we were building toward for the purpose of coming here, and for finding our niche within the industry.
“Once we got here, we were really nervous. Did any of our work over the past year and a half really bear fruit for us? To show up here and see all the people who recognized that, for us, was incredible.”
AMONG THE STARS
Westgate SuperBook executive vice president Jay Kornegay appeared on a video tribute to the late Michael Kent, the main brain behind the famed “Computer Group” that won millions betting football in the 1980s.
A math whiz from Chicago who in his youth finished first in a citywide aptitude exam, Kent designed nuclear submarines for Westinghouse and the Pentagon.
Kornegay said, “Glad he worked on our submarines and not the Russians’, or we’d be booking and betting in rubles today!”
More laughter.
Nick Bogdanovich once asked Herb “Herbie Hoops” Lambeck, so nicknamed for his prowess betting basketball, why he didn’t wager on baseball, and Lambeck answered, “It’s the devil’s game.”
When Bogdanovich spoke of fellow oddsman and 2024 hall inductee Richie Baccellieri, he said his pal believes, “the more cigarettes he smokes the longer he’ll live.”
And when scribe David Purdham talked about meeting with the late inductee Chuck Schaupp, a few years ago in Thailand for a feature, Schaupp revealed his five-point edge in NBA games officiated by Earl Strom.
Those assignments were never revealed, but Schaupp had a private investigator tail Strom to know his game schedule. Even with such added expense, Schaupp fared very well.
At one point, Bogdanovich glanced at Circa owner Derek Stevens, and renowned bettor and BetBash founder Gadoon “Spanky” Kyrollos, and said, “The Spanky-Derek duo is unbeatable.”
They even included a musical tribute, with photos, of deceased luminaries, including David Malinksy and Dave Cokin. The dinner served as the crescendo of an amazing week for Jeffery and Ray.
“My goals tonight are well above what I thought they would be coming into this conference,” Ray said. “I’ve never been more motivated and invigorated to make the most of this gold-rush opportunity,” Jeffery said. “Because it’s here, right now.”