UNLV rejected casino mogul’s offer to pay Matthew Sluka $100K

A representative for a local casino mogul reached out to UNLV officials Wednesday with an offer to pay the reported asking price of former quarterback Matthew Sluka.

But the conversation didn’t go far.

Sluka announced late Tuesday his intention to redshirt the remainder of the season over his belief that the school had failed to fulfill a verbal commitment to pay him $100,000. UNLV has disputed that claim.

On Wednesday, Circa CEO Derek Stevens and vice president of operations Mike Palm decided it would be in the best interest of the community to do their part to help UNLV during a historic football season.

So Palm reached out to UNLV with an offer from Circa to pay the money and keep the Rebels’ starting quarterback on the team.

“Derek and I talked about the situation and thought it would be worth it for $100 thousand to keep the Rebels’ playoff hopes alive,” Palm told the Review-Journal on Thursday.

Palm said he was told almost immediately there was no chance of such a deal being worked out, as Sluka had already left the program and the relationship appeared to have soured.

A university source confirmed the phone call took place.

Hajj-Malik Williams is expected to replace Sluka at quarterback, and bettors are backing the sixth-year transfer at Circa. UNLV is a 1.5-point favorite over Fresno State in Saturday’s game at Allegiant Stadium after the Bulldogs briefly were favored when news broke of Sluka’s departure.

“After seeing the number move back up, maybe it’s Hajj-Malik we should have been focused on,” Palm said.

The parties indicated a hope that the conversation could lead to an expanded relationship.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.