It’s an all new episode of Wise Kracks sports betting podcast with my cohost Jon Orlando. It was Fight Night in Las Vegas last weekend and I was in attendance at Fury vs. Wilder III, what’s already being called one of the greatest heavyweight boxing matches of all time. Jon Orlando, meanwhile, has been putting on his best poker face trying to win a seat at the $10,000 buy-in World Series of Poker Main Event. Jon has some great stories from the felt, one involving all-time WSOP bracelet leader and former Wise Kracks guest Phil Hellmuth. It’s 45 minutes of action as we dig into a ton of interesting topics, including whether Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden’s resignation will affect the team’s performance and who will win in the epic Dodgers-Giants division series now tied at two games apiece.
Spoiler alert: Jon likes the Dodgers.
Fury vs. Wilder Fight
It was the best fight I have ever seen in person. After 11 rounds Tyson Fury retained the heavyweight belt but it was the 4th round that really caught my attention. Since FanDuel was sponsoring the fight, the live betting odds were being posted at the beginning of every round. Fury started the bout as a 3-1 favorite but when the 4th round began the live odds had him as a whopping 33-1 favorite. Anyone serious about betting was taking Wilder at those odds and after listening to my Round 4 play-by-play, it’s easy to see how close Wilder came to ending it right there.
Phil Hellmuth Sighting at WSOP
Jon has been competing at the World Series of Poker for the last few years and played in the Main Event in 2018 and 2019. He hasn’t managed to cash in yet and wants to give it another shot this year by winning a seat in the live satellite events at the Rio that award a $10,000 ticket. We like Jon’s chances since he won his way into the Big Dance in satellites both times he previously played the event. Jon shares the story of running into Phil Hellmuth at the WSOP. The self-proclaimed Poker Brat is already trending thanks to his performance at a recent WSOP final table. It wasn’t his poker playing that stole the spotlight, however. Hellmuth went on a 15-minute expletive-rich rant in and joked about burning down the casino. Yes it really happened and yes you can watch a clip of it.
Dodgers vs. Giants and Postseason Restructuring
It doesn’t take listeners of Wise Kracks long to learn that Jon likes the Dodgers. And it comes as no surprise who Jon is backing in the hard-fought series. Any way you cut it, it’s a battle of the ages with the most combined wins of any major league playoff series ever. The best two records in baseball ever and one of the teams will be eliminated before the world series. Who will win, the LA Dodgers or San Francisco Giants? Check out the full episode for our thoughts on who you should bet on.
One game play-in format could soon be eliminated in the MLB’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement. California has two teams each with more than 100 victories and will be forced into a one-game elimination playoff against a team with about 14 fewer wins. MLB owners want a new collective bargaining agreement, expanding the number of teams in the postseason. The players, however, have a much longer list of items they’d like to see as part of the next CBA. Jon and I discuss what could happen and what it means for baseball betting.
Raiders Are Coachless, What Happens Next in the NFL
Found emails of Raiders Coach, Jon Gruden, from when he was an ESPN analyst, had accounts of homophobic and misogynist language directed at the leader of the NFL players union and NFL commissioner. While the language of Jon Gruden certainly doesn’t represent the opinions of all football coaches and executives, the long delay in revealing the emails as well their subject matter suggest that others in the NFL could be somewhat tolerant of these views and at worst, share them.
Not only is this an episode full of controversy but has quite possibly the biggest cliffhanger ending in Wise Krack’s history. Get your spreads out, sit back and let the games begin!
Make sure to send us your questions on Twitter @BillKrackMan, @JonOrlando and @WSNsports. We pick listener questions every week.
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