Legalized Sports Betting -- Arica Carter Interview -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

IT'S COMING...LEGALIZED SPORTS BETTING

The Supreme Court of the United States made an important ruling on Monday and, in some circles, questionable ruling when they cleared the way for a bunch of individual states to legalize sports betting. They overturned the PASPA...which was a 1992 law designed to protect professional and amateur sports from gambling in most states. The ruling clears the way for sports bettors to be able to go to places beside Nevada or offshore online sports books to put down money on college and professional sporting events. 

Led by New Jersey, other casinos and sportsbooks will legally be able to accept wagers on pro baseball, football, midweek college basketball games and college football....plus more. Will women's sports be involved? The real question is how soon and where will the revenues go?

New Jersey's main concern is the rapid demise of east coast gambling mecca Atlantic City.
Corporations that deal in casino gambling are on the verge of bankruptcy there. There would be some rules in place, for example, bettors would not be able to wager on in-state colleges and universities...like Rutgers... or collegiate events held in the state. The pro teams, though, would be fair game...like the New Jersey Devils, New York Giants or the Jets. It is proposed that these betting options would be available also at New Jersey horse racing facilities...like Monmouth Race Track.   

Some say that as many as 12 states could have wagering for events in place within two years if those states choose to sanction it. An interesting concept comes from West Virginia, where they would give the state's two major universities....WVU and Marshall a cut of the sports betting profits. Pro sports are griping about a "integrity" pay out to them from this, as well. 

Aren't they making enough money already? Have you looked at what they're paying players lately?

It'll be up to each state that has an interest in sports gambling to design and try to ratify their own model. Over 30 states have some form of gambling already in their borders...whether it's horse racing or casinos. 

New Jersey gaming officials can't wait to get started. Reports are they could be in place to offer the service as soon as June at racetracks and casinos in the state. 

So, how about Kentucky? What are the prospects of going to, let's say Churchill Downs or Keeneland and getting a bet down on the Cubs as well as on the fourth race? 

I truly believe it'll take a bit longer than a couple of years to get such a proposal through Kentucky legislature and past the populace. We're more likely to see it first over in the casinos in Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and other gambling states than here. You know how slow things come to fruition in Kentucky. They'll officially recognize we're in the 21st. Century by 2021. 

Is expanded gaming good for college athletics? I have to wonder about that. The West Virginia idea has merit, but there are more than just two major colleges or universities in the commonwealth of Kentucky. And, will there be the temptations there for bribing or "payola" to a college kid to miss an extra point or miss a tackle so some high profile gamblers can "beat the spread" or "cover the points"? Look out clothing apparel companies. You just might have a new roommate ready to dole out cash. Organized crime is ready to slip between the sheets with you.  

How'd Don's Dad get $30,000 in his checking account overnight? Why, he must have bet the Packers! Or, someone "got to" Don and that pass he dropped in the fourth quarter helped State cover the spread against Tech. Hey, he took his eyes off the ball. Was starting to run already. It happens all the time. The plausible deniability is there.  

And, more importantly...what's it going to do for me...average Joe citizen? I don't want to hear the litany of how money will go to improve the state finances, education and roads. They tried that song and dance when lottery sales began and our state is still struggling to meet bills, pay income tax refunds and the roads are still deplorable. Education is still substandard here in Kentucky. Don't try to sneak that one past the goalie again. I want to see it parlayed somehow into something I can benefit from. A reduction in some taxes, maybe? Credits or reductions in some fees or licensing for certain things? A yearly check, maybe, to me...the resident of the state. 

Interesting times ahead indeed. And, don't expect the NCAA to be on top of things and have all the bases covered. They can barely slap bunt to try and get on base. Unless, of course, there is a piece of pie for them in all this. They promote amateurism and make billions each year. No hypocrisy there. Move along, nothing to see.  

We'll see...but I think it'll be awhile before a patron can walk into a sports book or track here locally and bet a horse across the board and then bet on the Cards to cover the spread. Maybe that's good. It needs to be set up very carefully and have safeguards. You know the saying...you can't buy a Kentucky Lottery ticket at the track and you can't bet the Preakness at your local gas and grocery outlet. Take some time and think this thing through, legislators. 

I have been to Nevada and bet on sporting events. Years ago, a good friend was getting married and decided to fly the best man and the groomsmen out to Tahoe for his "bachelor's weekend". Being a part of that party, I went. The best man got us together and suggested our wedding gift to the groom would be to pay our own way. We agreed. When we told the groom this, he resisted at first. Then, he came up with a plan. He asked us to take that money and bet it on the upcoming Kentucky vs. Tennessee football game. He liked the Vols to cover the spread. He proposed that if we did and won the bet, just give him the profit and we could keep the original amount of the bet. If they didn't cover...no hard feelings. So we did. Tennessee slaughtered the Cats, easily covered the spread and all of us were happy about that. We basically had paid for our trip. 

One thing we know. Expanded sports gambling is here. The Supreme Court paved the way for that.

You'll get no argument from our President Donald Trump. His group owns gambling casino Trump Taj Mahal. Let's hope gambling can be structured and set up in a way that the student-athletes can be protected. And these organizations can find a way where it helps the residents of the state, not just the organization or state projects. 

Here we go. 


ARICA CARTER INTERVIEW

As part of our "Catching Up" series here at the Couple, we're getting with student-athletes and letting them catch you up with them. Today we have Arica Carter's interview. You will find a link to the interview at the bottom of this article and we will play it on Saturday's Cardinal Couple Radio Hour broadcast, which airs at 11 a.m. this week. 

I asked A.C a variety of questions and she came through like a champion with her answers. Some teasers: 

-- What is one of her memories of Myisha Hines-Allen?

-- What do the student-athletes do in the summer? 

-- Who is one of the teachers that has impacted A.C. life?

-- Who would play Arica in the movie "The Arica Carter Story"? 

-- How would A.C. like to be remembered by the UofL WBB fan base? 

A throughly delightful time talking with her and we hope you enjoy it! 

A big thanks to WBB SID Nick Evans for helping me set the interviews and making the contacts, and, of course to the players that'll be answering the questions and sharing their viewpoints. We'll try to have some fun with it, also, in true Cardinal Couple fashion. 

LINK TO INTERVIEW: 

INTERVIEW WITH A.C. Arica Carter. 5/17/18


Everyone have a great Thursday!

paulie
xxxxx