5 January 27, 2021 - February 2, 2021 Vol. 46 No. 5 $4 www.GamingToday.com @GamingTodayNews An Official G2E Show Publication Super record handle looms Brady vs. Mahomes a dream matchup Nevada’s casinos may only have 25% of its maximum capacity al- Las Vegas lowed due to coronavirus pan- demic restrictions, but look for Sportsbooks the state record in handle to still be broken in Super Bowl LV with Micah Roberts the absolutely dreamy matchup @MicahRoberts7 of Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against Patrick Ma- homes and the defending cham- SUPER BOWL LV pion Kansas City Chiefs. Who: Kansas City Chiefs vs. The Westgate Las Vegas Super- Tampa Bay Buccaneers Book opened the Chiefs -3.5 and a total of 57.5 with 45 minutes left When: Sunday, Feb. 7, in the Chiefs’ eventual 38-24 win 3:30 p.m. PT over the Buffalo Bills. Circa Sports Where: Raymond James opened the Chiefs -3 -120 as did William Hill books and both were Stadium, Tampa, Fla. quickly moved to -3.5 before get- TV: CBS Photo from USA Today ting pushed back to -3 -120. The Line: Chiefs -3; Total 56 Please see Roberts p17 Having Patrick Mahomes and Chiefs in Super Bowl LV will boost betting handle. Good idea gone bad When the Pacific-12 Conference than go commercial. hired Larry Scott in 2009 to be its the If you’re raking in the big bucks commissioner, I approved. From and delivering on your prom- He was a tennis guy. I am a ten- Editor ises, perhaps you can justify it. nis fan. I thought his running the But Scott came up woefully short WTA would translate to college Steve Carp and today, as the Pac-12 looks for athletics. Make a few corporate @stevecarp56 its next commissioner, it does so sponsorship deals. Get a lucra- as somewhat of a laughingstock tive TV contract, make the confer- with nice clothes. He traveled bet- in the world of big boy college ence’s showcase events special ter than most corporate CEOs, cer- sports. and must-attend functions for tainly better than his fellow con- Football and men’s basketball fans and the national media. ference commissioners, who also — the league’s two marquee Photo from AP Photos What I didn’t know was Scott stayed at five-star hotels, flew first sports — are well behind the other Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott is stepping down. thought of himself an emperor class or even private jets rather Please see Carp p12 Gaming Today sold p3 2 JANUARY 27, 2021 - FEBRUARY 2, 2021 Most Flavorful Crab Never Frozen Hand-Picked For Quality WILD CAUGHT Direct Fr Florida MESQUITE, NEVADA Mesquite St George Utah Nevada 15 Katherine’s California Las Vegas Steaks • Seafood • Italian 15 15 Arizona ONE HOUR NORTH ON I15 CALL FOR YOUR RESERVATIONS 702.346.6846 OR BOOK ONLINE CASABLANCARESORT.COM JANUARY 27, 2021 - FEBRUARY 2, 2021 3 5 To our readers and advertisers: Gaming Today, the iconic Las Vegas-based digital and print gaming and sports publication, announced today it has been sold to i15 Media. Gaming Today will become i15 Media’s flagship sports betting site. The site will retain its sharp focus on the gambling industry and the ongoing expansion of sports betting in the US. “I’m incredibly excited to bring Gaming Today into the i15 Media fold,” said i15 Media owner Kendall Saville. “Gaming Today is one of the longest-running and most trusted online resources for sports betting and gambling news. I look forward to carrying on that legacy and creating a one-stop-shop for everything a betting enthusiast might need.” Gaming Today has been a nationwide staple for the sports and gaming industry for more than 45 years. More recently, it has established national acclaim with its daily digital version. “We are extremely proud of the long-lasting impact that Gaming Today has had on Las Vegas and the sports world,” said Gaming Today owner and publisher Bill Paulos. “Our team of award-winning journalists has established our publication as one of the premier editorial sources for sports bettors.” With the sale, Gaming Today ’s digital news publication will be reconfigured to align with i15 Media’s portfolio of sports sites. Gaming Today ‘s print newspaper will cease publication Wednesday, February 10, following the 2021 Super Bowl edition. “As with many businesses in our city, our operations and print circulation have been severely impacted by the effects of the pandemic and the related closures of all Strip properties” said Paulos. “While we are saddened that the print publication will no longer be found across the Strip, we are grateful that the Gaming Today brand will live on within the i15 Media digital family. We have no doubt that Gaming Today will continue to provide essential sports and industry news.” To celebrate Gaming Today ’s long legacy of sports reporting and five-decade commitment to the Las Vegas community, 50% of advertising revenues from the final commemorative print edition will be donated to Three Square Food Bank. Three Square is Southern Nevada’s only food bank and largest hunger relief organization. “This gift comes at an incredible time where one in five people in our city now finds themselves food insecure. No one in our community should be hungry,” said Brian Burton, president and CEO of Three Square Food Bank. “We are so grateful to Gaming Today for their generous commitment to ending hunger in our community and providing dignified access to one of life’s basic essentials - food.” Bill Paulos Publisher and CEO Howard Barish General Manager and Managing Editor 4 NFL JANUARY 27, 2021 - FEBRUARY 2, 2021 No lack of Super storylines here After a season filled with sched- fortable at home. ule rearrangements, player opt- There is another factor that odd- outs and COVID-19 protocols, the smakers and bettors are looking NFL has emerged with a dream at, which they do not often see in Super Bowl matchup filled with a Super Bowl matchup: These two storylines and intrigue. The Kansas City Chiefs opened as a consensus -3.5 favorite over Spread the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with the total opening at 57 points. Offense Tuesday, the Chiefs were down James Bunting to -3 with increased juice at most spots, with the total ticking down @BuntsBratsBrews to 56 or 56.5. Tom Brady will be making his teams just played each other in 10th appearance in the Super the same stadium. Bowl, and his first with Tampa Bay. The Chiefs beat the Bucs 27-24 The Chiefs are looking to become in Week 12. Kansas City jumped the first team to win back-to-back out to a 17-0 lead in the first quar- championships since Brady’s Patri- ter and was forced to hold on late ots did it in 2004-2005. as Tampa Bay rallied. Kansas City Photo from AP Photos Oddsmakers and bettors are entered that contest as a -3.5 road Bruce Arians will have to come up with a plan to slow down Patrick Mahomes. forced to ask a question that they favorite, with the total at 56 points. have never faced in a prior Super Sound familiar? to place their wagers. Run for three yards, run for three Bowl: Do you give the Buccaneers Both offenses dominated that I would be a little nervous to yards, pass for 27 yards, run for any kind of home field advantage? game, but it miraculously stayed back the Chiefs because of of- one yard. under the total because of turn- fensive line injuries. Pro Bowl left Tampa Bay’s opening touch- Tampa Bay is the first team to host @GamingTodayNews the Super Bowl in their home sta- overs. There was 960 yards of of- tackle Eric Fisher suffered a torn down drive was nine plays. Leon- dium. fense and 46 first downs in that Achilles in the AFC Championship ard Fournette was involved in six NFL .........................................4 From a fan and noise perspec- contest. Patrick Mahomes threw game. Kansas City was already of those plays, and they generated NBA ......................................10 tive, Tampa Bay’s advantage for 462 yards. Brady threw for 345 playing without starting right a total of 10 yards. The other three College Basketball ..........12 should be minimal. The NFL an- yards. The Chiefs averaged 7.5 tackle Mitchell Schwartz, who is plays went for 27, 14, and 15 yards. nounced that 22,000 people will yards per play while the Bucs aver- out with a back injury. The Buccaneers’ first five first- NHL ......................................14 be allowed into Raymond James aged 7.6 yards per play. With a weakened Chiefs’ offen- down plays were all runs. Those Golf/ Soccer ......................15 sive line, will the Bucs need to blitz first down runs produced a total of Horse Racing ....................16 Mahomes, or can Tampa Bay’s de- 11 yards. Brady was a wizard in the Sportsbook Biz ................17 fense with Jason Pierre-Paul and first half, constantly digging the Shaquil Barrett generate pressure? Bucs’ offense out of disadvanta- Industry ..............................19 Mahomes led the league in QBR geous situations. Casino Games ................. 20 Tampa Bay got away with their against the blitz. Eventually, op- Tampa Bay got away with their Entertainment ................. 22 conservative play calling against the posing teams just stopped blitz- conservative play calling against Packers, but that can’t happen again ing him. Teams blitzed Kansas City the Packers, but that can’t happen 702-798-1151 vs. Kansas City. Opening the game at the third-lowest rate during the again vs.