Search
Login
Sign Up
May 2, 2024
Best of A Numbers Game | May 2, 2024
Best of A Numbers Game | May 2, 2024
00:00
33:47
1×
Transcript
0:01
The numbers told the story, they always do. So, on those idiots who believe in analytics- This is a Numbers Game with Gil Alexander on VSiN. [upbeat rock music] Good morning to you.
0:11
It is a Numbers Game at VSiN, the sports betting network. VSiN.com, GamePlus, iHeartRadio, YouTube TV. We got there eventually. Fourth word, fifth word. It's Gil Alexander. It's Kelly Bidlin. What's happening?
0:21
Not much, man. How you doing? Good. Live from Bar Canada at the D here, downtown Las Vegas. On the show today, Bill Krackomberger, the return of the Crack Man. That's right. Here at the, uh, at the table, at the D.
0:32
What is, it- it's been two, three wee- before the Masters. Is that, oh, that's true. Yeah. He hasn't been with us, that's right. Uh, for various reasons, some happier than others.
0:42
Um, but he'll be with us here to do, uh, give us a full hour at the desk, at the table, at the shield, whatever we're calling it here at the D, Bar Canada.
0:50
Uh, and, uh, we have Peter Fornatale on the Kentucky Derby, my old buddy from the, uh, Money Players podcast. We'll talk 150th Run for the Roses. And Al Bernstein, Kelly, original VSiN host,
1:02
boxing aficionado for so many years at ESPN and Showtime.
1:06
He's making a big career move in, in his boxing broadcasting game, and he'll be here, uh, to talk about, uh, Canelo Alvarez and Jaime M- uh, Jaime Munguia for the super middleweight title of the world. Let's go.
1:16
At T-Mobile, my backyard right here in Vegas. All- Horse racing and boxing, ladies and gentlemen, if the coveted 18 to 49-year-old demographic- [laughs]... is what you're looking for, you've come to the right place.
1:27
[laughs] That's, that's right. Um, uh, coming up next, we'll talk about the rise of communism across the world. [laughs] Yeah, and then bare-fisted boxing after that. Uh, before we, uh, talk NBA...
1:39
Oh, were you gonna say something? You threw me off something. Sorry. No, no, that was good. [laughs] Um, before we talk NBA here, obviously two games last night, blowout fashion again.
1:46
By the way, the NBA playoffs is very much thus far like March Madness, which is to say there were moments where it was great, but those moments were completely trumped by so many other just ridiculous blowout ho-hum results.
2:02
But we do, we, we do have four Game Sixes, two today, two tomorrow. We'll get to those momentarily. I just wanna, uh- Yeah, it feels like very... I, I hear you. Yeah.
2:10
I, if you're a casual f- uh, fan, it feels very much like, "Oh, one night's great, one night blah, one night blah, one blah," yeah. Yeah, from a non, I'm talking from a non-betting perspective, right. Um,
2:19
okay, before we get to that, postscript on the Guardians. You know the Guardians beat the Astros in extra innings last night? Obviously. Because of course they did.
2:28
[laughs] In retrospect, that was like the lock of the night. Right, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, we should have said that. Like, of course they're gonna win. Should have hammered the Guardians yesterday, yeah. Yeah.
2:35
Uh, it went to extras. Of course they went in extras, and guess who got doubled up to end the game? Victor Caratini. It's just, you can't make it up.
2:43
T- the o- the, the best comment I think was from Wishnev, Todd Wishnev, who on this show, for those who, uh, are familiar with, uh, who are keen observers of this show, the greatest bad beat story of all time in my opinion is Todd Wishnev's, uh, Yom Kippur massacre story.
3:00
Which was not an actual massacre, so no one panic. Uh, but he, that's what he dubbed this bad beat, and it had to do with, I'll just give the, uh, the ten-second thumbnail here. It had to do with he had USC in some game.
3:11
They impossibly lost a game w- on a Saturday, which happened to be Yom Kippur, the holiest of Jewish holidays, and, uh, the quarterback for Arizona State that killed him was a kid by the name of Mike Berkovich.
3:23
And so he endures this bad beat by this kid Mike Berkovich, and then two weeks later one of his buddies emails him and is like, "Hey, uh, are you familiar with the football player Mike Berkovich?"
3:33
And Todd's like, "Are you messing with me? Like, really?" Like he us- he didn't use the word messing, right? He's like, "Are you, seriously, are you messing with me?"
3:39
He goes, "No, no, I'm here at Starbucks right down the road, and I'm like with this guy's grandfather, Mike Berkovich's grandfather." And Todd's like, "What? I'm coming down there."
3:48
[laughs] So he ends up having this talk with Mike Berkovich's grandfather, the kid that crushed him- Yeah... in the bad beat, and turns out that Berkov- he, he learns in this conversation that Berkovich is Jewish.
3:59
He's like, "Wait a minute, you're Mike Berkovich's grandfather, and he's Jewish, and he was playing on Yom Kippur?" [laughs] Like, nuts. He's, Sandy Koufax he was not.
4:08
So anyway, Todd says to him, he goes, "The only thing that could make this any better is if you get a text from somebody two weeks from now that Victor Caratini's grandfather is hanging out in Starbucks- [laughs]...
4:18
and you find out that his wife's last name was Goldstein. [laughs] That's the only thing that could make this even more ridiculous. All right. That's good.
4:24
Uh, NBA last night, Luka gets it done in a big way for the Mavs, and the Mavs beat the Clip Show by 30. The Clippers without Kawhi Leonard. Is it even necessary to say the Clippers without Kawhi Leonard?
4:36
[laughs] I feel like the baseline ought to be, uh, to just be like Clippers, and then if he plays I should mention it.
4:42
Uh, y- n- yes, I agree with you, although would I be shocked if, if he tried to do the, the hobbled hero return for Game Six and be completely useless on the court? No, I wouldn't be shocked by that.
4:53
35, 10, and 7 from Luka last night. 30-point Mavericks win. They take a three to two lead in their best of seven first round series against the Clippers.
5:01
They go back to Dallas for Game Six where the Mavericks are like a eight-point favorite in this game now- Yeah... uh, in Game Six. And the Celtics, uh, no surprise, wrapping things up against Miami.
5:09
They beat the Heat, um, by 34. [laughs] They wait for the winner of the Cavs and the Magic. The Heat without Jaime Jaquez, as we talked about yesterday on the show, so it just got r- even more ridiculous in that series.
5:22
So in essence, what we have now in the NBA playoffs is, uh, two teams got swept, the Suns and the Pelicans out west. Two teams went down in gentleman sweeps, if you will, five-game series.
5:32
That was the Lakers and the Heat now.
5:34
And then we do have four that are going to Game Sixes, Kelly, uh, beginning with two tonight, and I'm curious your thoughts on this, um, on all of these really, the two tonight and the two tomorrow.
5:44
By the way, the Nuggets and the T-Wolves will begin on Saturday, the only one of the, uh, conference semifinal series that has been determined, that has been locked in already.
5:54
Um, but tonight it's the Knicks and the Sixers. It's the Bucs and the Pacers. It begins with the Bucs and the Pacers. Remember, the Pacers are up three to two, but this is back in Milwaukee.
6:03
Excuse me, pardon me, this is in India- Indiana, I should say. And it's their shot, right? If you're up 3 to 1 in a series, but you don't have games in five and seven at your place, it's kind of a faux 3 to 1 lead. Mm.
6:16
Because you really only have the one game where you're gonna be a favorite, and this is it for the Pacers.
6:20
Eight-point favorites tonight against a Bucks team, I'm seeing nine right now in some spots, against a Bucks team that at this moment, and I do mean this moment,
6:31
is a team that is not prepared to have Giannis or Dame, but there's a long time between now and tip-off. Yeah, there really is. I think you're, I think you're saying it well.
6:40
I think there's, uh, I'm not expecting anything, but man, I think that every, every day that goes on here and that every, every game, uh, that this series goes on, there's a better and better chance we see...
6:53
I think we're gonna see Giannis before we see Dame. Like, I, I, I think Dame's could be a little bit further out. But he gotta show up tonight if he is. Yeah, right, yeah. It, so I... It, it could happen.
7:02
Um, I wouldn't be shocked by it. I think from a betting, betting perspective, the only way I'd be looking still is Milwaukee. I think this, this series,
7:10
it has shifted a little bit in th- in, in just the sense that, that, that the Pacers are th- they're so mediocre. I was loaded up on them on Sunday when it was kinda just after, and Dame's going out.
7:20
Okay, you can bet against the lowly Bucks then. Bucks have kinda gotten things together these la- uh, uh, y- you know, the last game. Middleton looking great. Portis didn't get ejected. He's looking good.
7:30
[laughs] You know, if he can stay on the court, he's a big factor. So I, it would, it would... I could not imagine laying eight points with the Pacers.
7:36
The defense is just not there, uh, for them to cover a big number like this. So I... it would be Bucks or pass. Nothing for me on this one though tonight.
7:43
If, if someone said, "Shouldn't my entire handicap of this game be perusing Twitter and Googling anything I can find about Giannis trying to read the tea leaves?" Yeah.
7:53
"And if I come to the conclusion that this guy's a go, I would get ahead of this by taking the points." Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I, I mean, that's what I'll be doing this afternoon for sure. That's the- Yeah...
8:01
that's p- that will be the only way I will end up on Milwaukee tonight.
8:05
Um, I'll just remind everybody, though, we did see Giannis try to come back hobbled last year, and like he s- he's a guy that relies so much on his athleticism that anything, any lack of explosion or anything, the guy can't be a jump shooter.
8:18
He's not a jump shooter. So you ma- if you b- if you put him in that role- Sure... it makes it a lot tougher. So I, that would be my only hesitation.
8:25
Yes, I would s- i- if I thought, if he was coming back though, I would think it's because he's healthy enough that he thinks he can do something on the court. No, that's a great point.
8:33
It's, it's not as if a, y- let's say KD, when KD was in this similar situation, it's not as if you can make the case, "Well, he'll just sit behind the three-point line- Right... and fire in threes." This is not that guy.
8:42
Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think- Yeah... even, even when Dame got hurt in that game, right? I mean, w- the end of that game, it was, "Hey, leave me out there. I'll just be a decoy." Like, because he can't, right?
8:52
Giannis can't really do that. If you see- No... him hobbling over the court, it's like, let him go. Go ahead. It's fine. Go ahead. And then of course it's game six tonight back in Philly.
9:00
The Sixers in unbelievable fashion, uh, erasing a six-point deficit with less than 30 seconds left in game five to miraculously force overtime courtesy of the four-point play and then a game-tying three from Tyrese Maxey.
9:14
Seven points from him in that short span, and then they end up beating the Knicks in overtime, and now they're on their home court.
9:21
They're three-point favorites trying to force a game seven back at Madison Square Garden. Yeah, no, there was no immediate bets for me after the game five, Gil. I needed a minute to, to sit on that.
9:33
I especially, I had the under in game five, so that was, that was a pretty bad beat going to overtime. Um, it would be l- i- it'd be lean under.
9:40
I don't think I'm gonna end up on a bet on it just 'cause this, this number has moved a few points now, uh, total down, yeah, down to 199 and a half, 200, uh, most places. I'm, I will be on the Knicks.
9:51
I haven't made the bet yet. I'm gonna make it here, uh, during the show. I will be on the Knicks tonight. I'm going back to it.
9:55
Think I needed a day to think about it a little bit, but man, the, the way Joel Embiid was just gassed at the end of that game.
10:02
A- the, everybody on the 76ers b- besides Tyrese Maxey did not look great, looked out of sorts, looked like they were ready for the series to be over.
10:12
I know it's gonna be a tough mental challenge for the Knicks to get, get back and play some great basketball tonight after taking that terrible beat at, uh, at home.
10:20
But I, I think they're, I think they're still just the, the better prepared team right now to close out this series. If they lose tonight, I will not be betting on them in game seven.
10:28
I think they lose this and this goes back to Madison Square Garden. Oh, really? I, I think that means the Sixers have probably found something a little bit, and who knows what happens in a game seven back in the Garden.
10:37
Think it'll be a Knicks crowd tonight, or is that done for one? So the, w- what did you, you had the ownership group buy up a bunch of tickets for the 76ers to give out to [laughs] locals, I believe.
10:47
So that is, uh, it's an interesting move. I don't know how you feel about this, like this whole story. I have no p- I have no problem with any of it.
10:55
Like, I have no problem with players complaining about the lack of home fans. Oh, no. I have no problem with home fans selling their tickets for five to 10 times more than what they're worth.
11:07
I don't really care about that. It's fine. I'm a Washington Commodes fan. That place has been overrun by road team fans for 10 to 15 years. Yeah. And is it desperate that the ownership group had to do this?
11:19
Sure, but I don't care that they're spending their money doing this either. But I gotta tell you, it kinda matters, 'cause before that it was RFK Stadium, the Theater of Thrills, and it was a totally different story.
11:27
I mean, it- Yeah... it's, it's a shock to Philly because they're supposed to be one of the great sports towns in America is the thing.
11:33
Uh, we'll talk about tomorrow's games obviously, uh, a lot more tomorrow, but those are the initial NBA thoughts. We'll come back, NBA exactas and, am I reading this right, NFL power rankings. Post-Bowl.
11:43
Our first of the calendar year post Super Bowl next, Numbers Game, VSi, the sports betting network.
11:48
[upbeat music]Sports Betting Network Are you ready to become your own sports betting expert? Hope you are.
12:05
Look no further than a VSiN Pro subscription, your ticket to insider insights, exclusive data, and winning strategies. For a limited time only, we're offering our annual subscription at an unbeatable price.
12:14
Normally priced at $240, you can now grab your subscription for just $199. Sign up today, and we'll also give you an extra two months for free.
12:23
That's 14 months of VSiN Pro access for less than 50 cents a day when you use promo code ANG.
12:28
With VSiN Pro, you'll gain instant access to our daily best bets with a leaderboard to see who has the best win percentage in ROI, 19 hours of live programming, including expert breakdowns and in-game analysis, proven betting systems from professional handicappers, and our exclusive betting splits to show you where the money and bets are moving for every game.
12:44
Visit vsin.com/subscribe today to claim your 14 months of VSiN Pro for only $199 with promo code ANG. ANG as in Aid Numbers Game. ANG. [laughs] That's B- that's VC [laughs] I can't even... That's vsin.com/subscribe.
13:02
A- vsin.com/subscribe. Gil, you know how excited people get when they, when they're at a basketball game or something, they're throwing out free T-shirts to the crowd? Yeah, yeah.
13:10
Just imagine one of those T-shirts says one month of VSiN free. Boom. Promo code ANG. We get tweets @BeatingTheBook. Always appreciate the, uh, feedback.
13:21
John Sepulveda, "Can't believe you made it through the first segment without mentioning that Iga is in action." She is. Semifinals, Madrid. But she's up against Maddie Keys. She should take care of business.
13:30
The big one is, uh, Rybakina and Sabalenka later today.
13:33
Logic3227, "If you're, uh, talking all-time bad beats, don't forget me losing a bet on a PSG soccer game 'cause one of PSG's players' families were being robbed at their home at gunpoint during the game.
13:43
Still the craziest thing I've ever seen in a game." Wow. [laughs] Jeez. I mean, I was, I was watching that yesterday. There were, there were some, some missed opportunities, uh, for sure, on the PSG side.
13:54
[laughs] I don't, I don't know if there was something more specific I missed. Clone Bone, "We may have lost the Guardians bet, but you don't have to make this a complete loss for your audience.
14:02
Consolation prize, Sushi plays Nay." We talked about it. I was gonna give it out if it won. That was the grand prize. I was gonna give it out. Not the consolation prize, apparently. Yeah.
14:09
Jimmy Lopez, "The good old Mike Bercovici Yom Kippur massacre." Love hearing that story. Jack Larkin, "Assuming not, but does Sinner with- Sinner's withdrawal from Madrid with a hip warrant any Roland Garros futures?"
14:20
Well, if the hip is serious enough to take him out of it, absolutely it would. I mean, right now this is kind of falling Djokovic's way, 'cause Nadal is, you know, not the Nadal of old, obviously.
14:35
Sinner's got the hip issue. Alcaraz looked terrible yesterday. So, like, Joker's sitting on the sidelines being like, "Yep, this looks pretty good right now." [laughs] That guy, man. Is that...
14:44
I think that's a great question, though, just overall basic, uh, tennis when you're seeing injuries happen. Like, is that where you, you put more weight into it when a guy is w- withdrawing from a tournament?
14:55
Yeah, the problem is you don't know if it's real or not in tennis, alt- right? Like, Sin- Sinner, obviously this is a legit injury, but you just don't know if it's gonna take him to that point. Mm-hmm.
15:04
Um, and that's always the problem. Most injuries in tennis are really nebulous. You're like, is she just pull- or is he just pulling out of this tournament- Right...
15:12
'cause he wants a little more rest for the next one that's bigger, whatever. So there's a lot of that that goes on in your head. But this is a, Sinner's a young guy.
15:19
He's obviously been h- this is obviously a legit injury. The question is, does it take him through, you know, the next c- does it take him through Rome? Does it take him all the way into Paris? We'll see.
15:30
Um, couple more here, by the way. This is from, boo boo doo, Russ Hardin, "Well, Gil, not only am I a lifelong Cleveland fan, I also bet them. I also had Baltimore.
15:39
So I've been numb since Kimbrel blew two games, and Cleveland being Cleveland, all things said, it was a great month of baseball." It was a great month of baseball.
15:45
By the way, a lot of people making a big deal about the O- Kimbrel blowing two games. That's baseball. Just like the Guardians losing that game last night was, or two nights ago, is baseball. You know?
15:54
Like, th- those things happen to every team. And again- Yeah... the people who are complaining about the Orioles, no one was as lu- unlucky as the Guardians and the Braves.
16:00
Guardians lost their best pitcher to Tommy John surgery, Shane Bieber, as the Braves did with Spencer Strider, and then the Guardians lost a game to rain, and the Braves lost two to rain.
16:10
So there's no other team that has a, has a case to be unluckier than those. Um, Dan Goodwin, "What a ride. 50 to one, shaking my head."
16:17
And then, uh, Nick Kendhammer, "Not sure I wanted to listen to, uh, yesterday's podcast of the show knowing the nature of it, but God, I love your storytelling.
16:24
The detail of when you talk literally makes me feel like I'm there living the ups and downs with you. I truly am sorry as I had no skin in the game." Oh, Nick, that's very kind of you to say. Hope everybody
16:34
enjoyed the retelling anyway. NBA Finals exact outcome. Kelly, uh, I was mentioning the other day, I'd bet one of these. You could actually get four to one on the... Or no, you could actually get better.
16:43
Plus 425 on what I got it, plus 375. That's the Nuggets beating the Celtics. Uh, that price is, uh, exists at DraftKings.
16:51
Only the Celtics beating the Nuggets is shorter at four to one, and if you ask yourself, "Wow, really? The Celtics are shorter than the Nuggets?"
16:57
The reason for that simply is that their path to get to the finals is easier, and therefore shorter than the opposite, the Nuggets beating the Celtics, Nuggets having a more difficult path, uh, path out west.
17:09
After that, it's all Celtics over opponents, and that makes sense, again, because of the nature of the Eastern Conference field right now. Celtics to beat the Thunder plus 650. Celtics to beat the T Wolves, 10 to one.
17:21
Celtics to beat the Mavericks, 12 to one. Um, and then after the Nuggets beating the Knicks, it's all Celtics on the other side. T Wolves to beat the Celtics, 18 to one. Thunder beating the Celtics. You get the idea.
17:31
Mavericks to beat the Celtics. And that makes sense mathematically. Makes complete sense. Is there a bet here for you? Yeah, I think it's interesting.
17:37
I did bet the, uh, I have the Mavericks in an, uh, Mavericks over the Celtics. I bet at the beginning of the playoffs. I remember that. Yeah, I bet at the beginning of the playoffs.
17:47
I didn't take the Celtics over the Mavericks [laughs] 'cause there was such a ridiculous price dis- uh, discrepancy here in town between the two. Um, I still think 12 to one, like, I like it.
17:57
I think it, and I think it's b- I think the time would be now, uh, for you to make that bet.
18:02
If it's, I, I, you saw the Mavericks team I saw last night, Luka Dončić- By the way, I think he's pl- playing the same games that LeBron plays.
18:09
I love these NBA, uh, mind games where it's like, "Oh, I don't know if I'm gonna be back to the Lakers."
18:14
Luka at sh- at shoot around yesterday will be like, "Oh, I've been dealing with this illness, and the knee's not great." And then he's had by far his best game of the series. [laughs] Shooting from the, from the rafters.
18:23
Right. [laughs] Yeah. Um, I... That would be the one I'd be most interested in. I'm, yeah, I'm wrapped up in this market though. I've got Thunder and Celtics, uh, both ways. I...
18:31
That would be awesome if those two met in the finals. Um, and then I have the Mavericks over the s- uh, over the Celtics, so I'd have to do some hedging, I guess, in that situation.
18:39
If someone said right now though, I get it, you've got those priced. But Thunder to beat Celtics 18 to 1, and then Celtics to beat Thunder s- plus 650, would you say yes, bet them?
18:47
I like the Celtics over the Mavericks 12 to 1 best. That's on me. That's your best one. Yeah, that would be, that would be my favorite one.
18:52
I have absolutely no problem with anybody, anybody thinking the way you're thinking though and saying, uh, Nuggets, Nuggets and Celtics are meeting, uh, meeting in the finals. You can't convince me otherwise.
19:02
In the, in the year of, again, Yukon, South Carolina, Scottie Scheffler, and Nelly Corta, I got the Nuggets over the Celtics. Yeah.
19:10
A- a- and look, the way I view it is, is the S- Sixers and/or Knicks could give the Celtics some issues, but I think it's very likely the S- uh, Celtics are representing the Eastern Conference the NBA finals.
19:22
I'm excited for the second round of the, of the Western Conference. I think there are four really good teams. I should, I should shut up right now. I have so much Maverick series stuff. What am I talking about?
19:32
[laughs] There hopefully, Gil, will be four really good teams- [laughs]... facing off in the semi or the [laughs] second round here. How's JVT doing? We got a wellness check on JVT? Yeah, I know.
19:42
It's one of those situations you just don't text each other. You don't text him. Like Zach and I were both on the Mavs yesterday. Yeah. Assuming it's JVT wasn't. You just don't text each other.
19:49
Ladies and gentlemen, NFL power rankings. Do we have an intro? I don't know. It's been a few minutes. We do not. Yeah. Yeah. We'll, we'll just move along. We- All right. Now [upbeat music] Plugging along. Plugging along.
20:01
107.5 The Bone. [laughs] Um, okay. Me first or you first? You, you first. This is a, this is an interesting exercise. It is interesting because we, honestly, you're just...
20:13
You're, you're playing off the drift of last year. Yep. And then you're trying to convince yourself that something mattered in the draft enough, you know, kind of thing.
20:21
And we're, we're still just going same old power rankings like we've always done. This isn't, this isn't- Yeah... from a odds perspective or betting- No... perspective right now. All right. One, Kansas City. Sorry.
20:32
You doing anything else, I don't know what you're doing. I don't know if you know this, but they won the Super Bowl. I, I mean, I'm, I'm...
20:37
At what week during the season do you think one of us could possibly change that? Um- Like, after what we saw last year- I think we've learned our lesson... Right. After what we saw last season- Yeah...
20:49
I feel like it would have to take to, like, week five or week six and when they're, like, one and five or something f- like that for me to move them. Xavier Worthy, they traded up to draft him in the first round.
20:58
The lineage of Tyrique, to Kadarius, to Xavier Worthy is intact. Chiefs, number one. Niners are number two. I know there's talk about Aiyuk and Deebo, but I still got the Niners at number two.
21:10
Uh, the Bengals are the wild card here, and I threw them in at number three 'cause Joe Burrow is, Joe Burrow is walking through that door. Give me the Bengals at three.
21:17
And then it's Ravens at four, 'cause the Ravens are just always good at football. They do everything right. Eagles are five. The Lions making their highest appearance for me in the last year, six.
21:28
Congratulations, Lions fans. Uh, Bills fall to seven, but it's still Josh Allen. And then it's Texans, Dolphins, Packers. Packers make the top 10 for me, but those are my top 10 right now.
21:38
I have no idea what to do with the back end. The one thing I'm shocked at on yours is that you have the Eagles ranked higher than me. [laughs] 'Cause I was sit- Yeah...
21:47
I was sitting there yesterday, and I'm like, I'm like, "I, I like, I like the Eagles still. Like, I think they're gonna bounce back from last year." Yeah. I love the pieces that they added in the off-season.
21:55
I know- You notice I don't have the Cowboys in there, though. No, you don't. You don't. No. And I don't have, I don't have them in mine either.
22:00
The ba- I found the ba- I mean, we, I feel like we say this every year during the regular season too, but the, the back half of this was not easy. No. It was not easy for me. I had Chiefs, 49ers.
22:09
I, I'm a big Josh Allen guy, sorry. Bills will s- always be up there for me. I went number three for them still. Um, Ravens, Bengals, flip a coin. You could put them either way, I think.
22:19
I went Ravens awai- uh, and then Bengals. Uh, but you know, like you said, Joe Burrow back, I'm high on the Bengals. Lions, same here, as high as they're pretty much ever been for me.
22:27
Number six, Texans, I believe in, I believe in the CJ, uh, the CJ Stroud greatness once again. Uh, seven for me, then I went Eagles. And, uh, then I'm like, "Okay, who else in the NFC?"
22:38
I don't believe in these two teams as much as seemingly some other people do, but Rams, Packers, nine, 10 for me. Rams, wow. Without Aaron Donald, huh? Okay.
22:46
Take it for what it's worth, horse racing, Kentucky Derby with Peter Ford in town next. Are you ready to become your own sports betting expert?
22:59
Look no further than a VSiN Pro subscription, your ticket to insider insights, exclusive data, and winning strategies.
23:05
For a limited time only, and it is limited, we're offering our annual subscription at an unbeatable price. Listen to this. Normally priced at $240, you can now grab your subscription for just $199.
23:16
And if you sign up today, we'll also give you an extra two months for free. So I'll do the math. 14 months of VSiN Pro access for less than 50 cents a day when you use promo code ANG. Got to use ANG though, ANG.
23:29
With VSiN Pro, you'll gain instant access to our daily best bets with a leaderboard to see who has the best win percentage and ROI, 19 hours of live programming, including expert breakdowns and in-game analysis, proven betting systems from professional handicappers, and our exclusive betting splits to show you where the money and bets are moving for every game.
23:43
Visit vsin.com/subscribe today to claim your 14 months of VSiN Pro for only $199 with promo code ANG. ANG, like A Numbers Game. Easy to remember. That's VSiN.com/subscribe. Gil Alexander.
23:59
That's the voice of Kelly Bidlin, everybody. I like the graphic, by the way. It's like the, uh- Oh, I like it... it's the font of, like, that goes on, like, used cars. You know what I mean?
24:08
It's probably not what you wanted to compare it to [laughs] But yeah, no, I get it. Like a car tag. Yeah. You know what I'm talking about. Our prices have slashed. That's right, we're slashing prices.
24:16
[laughs] And they throw that thing down on the car's windshield. All right, I'm starting to read that way. We're slashing prices here.
24:22
We're gonna get, uh, we don't, we don't take callers on the show, but you, you had a great suggestion off air. Would you like to share it?
24:27
Well, I, like, one of my favorite things of coming to work at VSiN was that we don't have to, we don't take calls like a spor- a sports talk show, where we've, we've worked in the past, and that, that can be great sometimes.
24:37
Sometimes it can be a little bothersome. You gotta, you gotta, you know, you gotta vet the calls and everything like that. Um, so I love that.
24:44
But, uh, we might need, like, a Chris Fallica, Will Hill just hotline- [laughs]... because, like, the text messaging during, just call it. Just call. Yeah, crack, like say, "Oh, they're in bed with... Hey, stop it."
24:54
[laughs] Uh, Phil Weiss, "Was Fornital's father Pete Fornital legendary WNEW and WPLJ 1970s disc jockey?" Phil, I think so. Wow. I used to listen to those stations. Wow. I think so. PLJ 95. It was 95.5 I believe.
25:12
Oh, this is a great one, Tim Johnson. He, I, he's great at, he said, "I laugh every time these NBA broadcasts mention the 79% win rate for game five winners."
25:22
[laughs] "Isn't it a coin flip at 75, a 75% rate under the same conditions?" Yes, it is. Uh, Mike Alvarez, "I was offline yesterday, and I remember when this show would hit on 100 to 1 College World Series futures.
25:36
Now we can't even cash a simple 65 to 1 futures ticket. You suck, Alexander." [laughs] "The groundskeeper from Major League is ri- [laughs] is right. They are still a bad team also." He didn't say those words.
25:48
What a loser. What a loser. Ben Wilson's on next Friday. Maybe he can give some college- Maybe. Take it... uh, [laughs] College World Series futures. Maybe he can help us out. [laughs] For God's sake. Sorry about that.
25:58
Uh, this is, uh, by the way, Eagle wins and, uh, my man Brian Schaefer, uh, cashes his bet minus six and a half. She wins 6163. There we go. There's the fly.
26:07
Bobby Gettys, "I think I have said the word guardians more times in the last week than I've said the word Indians in the last 30 years.
26:13
If this was a movie, it would be called Guardians of the Tragedy, the things betting does to us." Oh, Jack Larkin, uh, from Sports Trade saying, uh, they've officially launched in Iowa. Nice. Congratulations.
26:23
Iowa, there you go. Uh, Alec Carlisle, "Thank you for pronouncing my name correctly. Almost never happens." Really? People don't pronounce Alec Carlisle pronounced, uh, correctly? Forest Lehman, "Pablo Torre rocks.
26:34
Great get tomorrow. Can't wait." I'm looking forward to it. Uh, Teddy Rek, "Listening to Bill and Gil talk about the Schwab on VSiN has me tearing up just a bit." Ah, that's nice of him.
26:47
I just, I just actually sent him a DM and said thank you. Matt F, "I believe Peter said he didn't see any horse winning the Triple Crown this year, not that he couldn't find odds." Oh, okay. And this is interesting.
26:59
Okay, Vegas Vice wants to add some clarification. Yeah. I think this is a good tweet.
27:02
Here he goes, "The track incentive to allow the computer groups to put bets in last is that they bet large amounts and the track keeps a percentage of the handle, hence the track incentive is to generate increased handle.
27:15
It will eventually kill horse racing for everyday players." Wow. How about that? That's interesting. So in other words, he's saying it's a good thing? No, he's, he's not saying, he's for the collective- Oh, for them...
27:26
for the collective he's saying it's a bad thing. Okay, good. Yeah. 'Cause I was about to say, does he believe in, like, uh, mermaids and, uh, unicorns? Oh, no, no, no. No. He, he was very clear. He's- Yes, he was good.
27:33
No, he was good. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, no, I mean, they do. They get, uh, I guess on the win bets I'll, I'll use for a low 15%, whereas I think it's higher than that actually, but maybe New York.
27:43
New York might be 14, but, um, so they get, they get a percent. So if someone's betting $10,000, they're getting 1,500 for giving them the right to do that.
27:53
Uh, but I just don't f- quite fully understand why they would do it because they're, what they're doing, like, like, just like Vegas Vice said, it would h- it hurts Joe Public in the end.
28:06
They're cannibalizing their own sport. Right. Yeah, yeah. That's good words. Yeah, yeah. That's what they're doing. It, it, it hurts the, the, the, the, you know, the Joe Public guys. But, um, you know,
28:15
uh, another thing, guys, that I wanted to, I wanted to talk about, um, in Vegas here. So there's a big thing going on with, with the Resorts World, and, you know, they got rid of their president or whatever it may be.
28:26
But you know what? Let me talk about the other side of this. It's the KYC law that's, the casinos are supposed to follow, know your customer.
28:35
So a casino host, a vice president of player development, a vice president of marketing, all the way up to the top of every casino in town, do you think they hate this law?
28:48
They hate that they have to find out where the customer's money comes from. Backtrack a second. Sure. What, so explain what you're referring to here. What happened?
28:56
Well, it's, it's just, let, let's, I'm talking about the law itself, the KYC law, the know your customer in general.
29:02
For any big high rollers that come in, they wanna know, they want you to know where the customer's money comes in if they're losing over 10 grand, over 10, you know, or in general, and if they give them a credit line, if they issue you a credit line, if they- Right, but what-...
29:14
let you gamble big. But what I was getting at- At Resorts World- You return, you're re- Yeah... you're referring to the Ohtani situation. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Well, th- th- yes, Ohtani or, or- Yeah...
29:22
at Resorts World they got rid of the, the president there- Yeah... because, and he pleaded guilty.
29:26
He's gonna be sentenced in May j- uh, to, to, uh, you know, for, for knowing about where these customers, these bookmakers' monies come from.
29:34
Mul- mul- multiple The, the bookmaker in question was laundering money through Resorts World. That's what they say. Al- allegedly. That's what they say. Allegedly. Um, listen, um, I'll just tell you this.
29:44
Such a good word, allegedly. [laughs] If, if, if- Didn't Rome used to do that? He would say something and be like, "Allegedly." Yeah. [laughs] It is. You g- you g- it is. Yeah. Allegedly. Yeah. Allegedly.
29:52
If casino executives had to turn down anyone that's gambling in their casinos due to previous nefarious activity- Well said... the casinos would probably close. They wouldn't be able to stay in business.
30:08
That's how much people come in. Atlantic City was built on mob money. What you are suggesting, Bill Krackomberger, is that these types of people may have- I'm not looking at bookmakers, in general. [laughs] In general.
30:19
No, I'm saying in general, people who gamble a lot of money- Yeah... may have-... sketchy background sometimes. Listen, though, like I said, Atlantic City was built- [laughs]...
30:28
on mob guys coming down and dumping bag fulls of money on the crap table. I'm being sarcastic, yes. No, I know. Yeah. Yeah. That, that, that's how, that's how it was built. I mean- Yeah...
30:36
uh, look at the show American Greed, all right? The, it's on- American Greed... American Greed. Now that, I, it's a great show.
30:42
Look how the percentage of those shows have some type of gambling in the background where people were stealing money to gamble, whether it be the stock market, buying, uh, you know, Bitcoin, of course horse racing, casino gambling.
30:56
So look at the money. In the end, the casinos get the money, and guess what? They don't have to give it back. So g- give me a break with this, you know, th- the KYC and we have to instruct this.
31:10
Every casino in town w- wouldn't be able to last if you, uh, couldn't take people's money that were making money, you know, doing something in their lifetime that was nefarious. I'll use that word.
31:21
Um, anyway, that, that- I, I love American Greed. Yeah, me too. Kelly, Kelly, have you- Who's the voice to that guy? Who's the- Stacy Keach. Stacy Keach. Where'd he come up with that? 'Cause I- That in front of you?
31:29
Oh, no. Because I... The why do I love that show more than anything? Stacy Keach. [laughs] Is because- It's fun working with him every day. 'Cause- How did he get that? Because I- Stacy Keach. No, there's nothing.
31:39
I'll start it. [laughs] Because I checked on this when I became fa- 'cause, 'cause, uh, Debra Song, fashion stylist, she loves these crime, these true crime shows.
31:47
So she's watching American Greed, and all I kept hearing was, "American Greed. When American Greed comes back, Kelly Bidlin thought he could get away with a crime." That's the way he does it. [laughs] "But he couldn't."
31:58
Right? I never knew- Like the whole time... I never knew how sick- We have to watch this now. Listen, I never knew how sick he was. Yes. Yes, he is. He just came up with a voice. No, that's exactly it.
32:06
So Stacy Keach, so the whole time I'm like, "Who is the voiceover guy?" So I Googled it back then. I'm like, "Oh- But he was a big actor in his day, too, right? He was a big actor, yeah, Stacy Keach.
32:13
He's probably- What was he, like some-... 80 years old. I mean- Oh, he's gotta be 1,000... a B actor- Yeah... but he's in a lot of things, though. He's gotta be 1,000 years old.
32:19
But if you wa- American Greed is very good. Lots of- American Greed. But the gambling industry, it, it profits a lot from those American Greed episodes.
32:27
You know, whe- whe- what happened when, you know, people stealing money. What do they... Think about it. What are you stealing money for? What are you being greedy for? To obtain items and, and materialistic things.
32:37
Gambling is usually involved in that, so, um, and then you have the people that gamble just to, that steal money just to gamble 'cause they're, uh, degens. And I, I get it.
32:46
I mean, I see the, these stories and I'm like, "Wow." But, you know, I just wanted to talk about this KYC law and how they're saying, "Well, yeah, you have to know..."
32:52
Do you think a casino host wants to go up to a guy that's stuck 6,000? Right. And say, "Oh, by the way, Mr. Jones- Yeah... where does your money come from?" "I'm stuck 6,000. Well, let me... Get, get out of here.
33:01
Get away from me." You know, like, like, you know, it's, um- And yet if it's in their interest, they are very often able to use compliance laws or whatever definition they want to actually avoid it in some way.
33:13
Compliance departments are funny. Yeah. They're, they're really funny. Yeah.
33:16
They, they, they, they don't th- anyone that works in compliance for a casino, they should hire, make sure they gambled in their life, then they get the job in compliance. Give me a break.
33:25
When American Greed continues- Right... Kelly Bidlin gets his comeuppance. Right. [laughs] That sounds just like it, though. It sounded- I know this guy now you're talking about. That's great. He's only 82 years old.
33:35
Okay, come on. Wow. That's good. Kelly, you would be awesome on that show. There goes Kelly. [upbeat music]
A Numbers Game
Listen on
Apple Podcasts
Apple Podcasts
Pocket Casts
Pocket Casts
Castro
Castro
Recent episodes
A Numbers Game | September 17, 2026 | Hour 1
Sep 17, 2026
Best of A Numbers Game | September 16, 2026
Sep 16, 2026
A Numbers Game | September 16, 2026 | Hour 3
Sep 16, 2026
A Numbers Game | September 16, 2026 | Hour 2
Sep 16, 2026
A Numbers Game | September 16, 2026 | Hour 1
Sep 16, 2026
Best of A Numbers Game | September 15, 2026
Sep 15, 2026
A Numbers Game | September 15, 2026 | Hour 3
Sep 15, 2026
A Numbers Game | September 15, 2026 | Hour 2
Sep 15, 2026
A Numbers Game | September 15, 2026 | Hour 1
Sep 15, 2026
Best of A Numbers Game | September 11, 2026
Sep 11, 2026