Kawhi Leonard sent the NBA’s future wagering market into disarray late on July 6th when word leaked that he was signing with the Los Angeles Clippers, spurning both a much-anticipated deal with the Los Angeles Lakers and a potential long-term commitment to the Toronto Raptors team that he led to this year’s NBA Championship.
In the sports betting universe, the news inspired reactions similar to the ones on Wall Street the morning of June 24, when it was announced Eldorado Resorts was merging with Caesars Entertainment in a $17.3 billion deal.
Brian Musburger
In the same manner that business-centric networks like CNBC and Bloomberg handled the breaking gaming industry story, Vegas Sports and Information Network (VSiN) jumped on the Leonard news, reporting on how the signing was influencing the overall sports betting market.
“For us, we have one mission, and that is to give the bettor credible information to help that person make a more informed wager,” said VSiN founder and chairman Brian Musburger. “How does the breaking news impact the betting lines? What are the other conditions? Markets move in anticipation of that news.”
The Leonard signing was one of those days VSiN was made for. The Clippers went from 16-to-1 odds to win the 2020 NBA title to a 3-to-1 favorite. The Lakers slipped from a 3-to-2 favorite down to 5-to-1.
“We cut through all the clutter,” Musburger said. “We want to be the CNBC or Bloomberg of sports betting.”
For example, on the NCAA Basketball Tournament’s Selection Sunday, VSiN airs live reporting of the tournament, complete with bracket paring odds, minutes after the matchups are announced.
Downtown Las Vegas casino owner Derek Stevens was an early supporter of the VSiN model. He says media wasn’t talking directly to sports bettors.
“There was always a demand for information that was useful to sports bettors,” said Stevens, who owns the D Las Vegas and the Golden Gate. “I told Brian a few years ago this model would be successful.”
Brent Musburger (l) and Derek Stevens discuss ‘March Madness’ wagers on VSiN
VSiN has expanded beyond the studio adjacent to the South Point sportsbook in Las Vegas that it launched three years ago. Initially offering just four hours of original live programing through a dedicated SiriusXM Radio channel and the VSiN website, the network now produces 13 hours of live content daily. Musburger said VSiN will offer 18 hours of live programing by football season.
VSiN is also planning a second studio in Las Vegas, at Stevens’ new downtown Circa Resort Casino, which is expected to open in 2020. Musburger said VSiN will also bring a permanent studio back to New Jersey next year – the network ran a temporary studio at the Ocean Resort during football season last fall – and that VSiN is exploring additional expansion into markets where sports betting has been launched.
And the network has moved beyond its original platform.
In March, NESN, the New England Sports Network, began airing Follow the Money, a Monday-through-Friday three-hour show hosted by Mitch Moss and Paul Howard. NESN, which is co-owned by the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins, is delivered to more than 4 million homes throughout New England.
Mitch Moss
On July 1, New York’s MSG Network also picked up Follow the Money and began broadcasting the program in New York City, as well as in other parts of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
Paul Howard
“MSG, NSEN and other regional sports networks have a need now for quality sports betting content,” Musburger said. “As a media company, it’s great to have your own platform. But it’s also great to share content and to build awareness through other exiting platforms and have a larger audience. That’s been a good opportunity for us.”
A growing audience
The May 2018 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that legalized sports betting nationwide has been the obvious catalyst behind VSiN’s growth and awareness.
Since the ruling, legal sports betting is underway in 10 states – Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Arkansas and New York – and has been approved in Washington D.C., Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Montana, New Hampshire and Tennessee, although those jurisdictions have yet to launch. A North Carolina bill is sitting on the governor’s desk awaiting his signature.
Sports betting expansion also changed VSiN’s audience. Rather than focusing programs just for experienced sports gamblers, the network helps to educate the novice or first-time bettor. Many interested in the activity have never been to Las Vegas, meaning that their only sports betting history, if any, might be with a bookie or an unregulated offshore site.
“There is a lot to learn on how to do this,” Musburger said. “I’m not saying you’re going to win if you listen to VSiN, but you will be better informed and be able to make better wagers.”
Musburger added that sports gambling content in the media prior to VSiN “wasn’t all that credible” and that many unregulated markets “were pushing out content to fit that agenda.”
The network’s media competition is now growing. Earlier this year, Caesars Entertainment announced deals with Turner Sports to place a Bleacher Report studio in the sportsbook at Caesars Palace and with ESPN to place a studio at the Linq.
Musburger, though, doesn’t view the studios as a rivalry, because, he says, the sports betting industry “needs more credible (media) outlets covering” the topic.
“Our approach is a little bit different,” he explained. “I would question any news organization that doesn’t have a presence out here. So much of the story (involves) sports betting.”
Adding to VSiN’s content is one reason behind the new studio at Circa, which gives the company additional production space.
“These are two of the most important sportsbooks in state,” Musburger said of the privately-owned South Point and Circa. “They are independent operators who set their own numbers and really understand and appreciate sports betting.”
The nationwide sports betting expansion could ultimately lead to VSiN locations outside Nevada. Musburger said the focus was on larger markets, such as Illinois, Pennsylvania and New York.
“We want people to learn the basic strategy behind sports betting,” he said. “It can be intimidating to some folks.”
Brent Musburger
Launching VSiN
Musburger said a friend compared VSiN’s launch in February 2017 – just prior to Super Bowl 51 – to those who entered the marijuana industry before legalization spread. As a result, the network gained credibility well ahead of the pack.
Musburger said the idea for VSiN originated during his time as a talent agent. One of his clients was his uncle, legendary sports broadcaster Brent Musburger. During an event in Las Vegas, he overheard his uncle talking sports betting with sportsbook operator and handicapper Jimmy Vaccaro.
“The conversation was so entertaining and informative,” Brian Musburger said. “We thought there would be an audience. People would want to hear this. (With so) much money being risked on sports betting, not having a credible news organization covering it around the clock was a disservice.”
Vaccaro – who was then managing the South Point sportsbook – and longtime sports betting executive Vinny Magliulo approached South Point owner Michael Gaughan with Brian Musburger’s idea to put the studio in the heart of the action, likening it to the CNBC studio located on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Gaughan agreed. He moved several banks of slot machines to another part of the casino, paid to build the studio, and gave VSiN an area for workspace. Gaughan doesn’t charge VSiN rent.
“They’ve had tremendous success and, at the same time, given the South Point a lot of exposure,” Gaughan said. “I couldn’t be happier with them being here.”
Gaughan said he doesn’t mind when the perceived competition appears on VSiN, such as sportsbooks operators from rival casinos – including Stevens, who for the past three years has appeared on the network’s Selection Sunday program to announce his $300,000-plus wagers on the NCAA tournament’s opening games.
“We’re going to build a studio for VSiN at Circa that will overlook the entire sportsbook,” Stevens said. “We want to make it a centerpiece location.”
Magliulo, who has run several Las Vegas sportsbooks, is VSiN’s vice president of strategic partnerships and marketing. Vaccaro took on a marketing and promotional role with both South Point and VSiN and last week said he is returning to the South Point after spending several months in Pittsburgh helping the Rivers Casino launch sports betting.
Brent Musburger, who has long been a proponent of sports betting, left his position with ESPN in January 2017 to join his nephew at VSiN. He now hosts the network’s popular My Guys in the Desert show.
The network has also hired several journalists with experience covering sports betting on Las Vegas talk radio, including Howard, Moss, Jonathan Von Tobel, and Las Vegas Review-Journal sports gambling writer Matt Youmans.
“Truth is, there is only one place to find people who really understand sports betting,” Brian Musburger said. “You had to have spent some time in Las Vegas covering the legal sports market.”
VSiN is financially backed by SeventySix Capital, a firm whose partners include former Major League Baseball all-star Ryan Howard. Stevens and Gaughan are also minority investors.
The focus for VSiN remains on sports betting. That’s why VSiN doesn’t send a production team to major events, such as the Super Bowl.
“There is no reason to go,” Brian Musburger said. “Our listeners want to hear from the oddsmakers, who are all here. For us, the news is in the sports betting markets.”
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
