Longtime sportsbook director retires as head of Westgate SuperBook

Jay Kornegay, one of the most influential figures in the Las Vegas race and sportsbook industry for the past four decades, has retired as the Westgate SuperBook vice president of operations.

Kornegay will remain with the SuperBook as vice president of marketing, as he transitions from day-to-day operations to an adviser/ambassador role.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, especially since I lost a lot of close friends in recent years way too young,” said Kornegay, 61. “I was looking to take a step back from the day-to-day operations and focus on some of the things I’ve been wanting to do for a while, and that is to travel and just spend more time with the family and enjoy what I’ve been working toward for 38 years.”

John Murray, 41, has been promoted from Westgate SuperBook director to Westgate vice president of race and sports.

Kornegay — who has two adult children with his wife of 34 years, Pam — said he will continue to promote the sportsbook, do media interviews and keep up with the weekly numbers and betting patterns with his SuperBook team, which includes his longtime oddsmakers Ed Salmons and Jeff Sherman.

“I’m still going to be involved. I’m still talking to the guys pretty much on a daily basis. I’m just not doing it in the office anymore,” he said. “My presence on the property will be limited.”

The Westgate SuperBook long has been regarded as one of Las Vegas’ most well-respected sportsbooks, and it set the standard for the city’s high-stakes football handicapping contests with the Westgate SuperContest.

The SuperBook ceased operations in eight states outside of Nevada in July, shutting down its locations in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia.

Kornegay said the national closures played no role in his decision to retire.

“That was a separate venture for the SuperBook,” he said. “After reviewing the numbers, it made sense for us to cease national operations.”

‘Think out of the box’

Kornegay became fascinated with sportsbooks during a spring break trip to Las Vegas in his senior year at Colorado State and moved to Nevada after graduating in 1987.

After working as a ticket writer at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe for a year and at Bally’s for six months, he helped open the Imperial Palace sportsbook in 1989.

He started as a supervisor under Imperial Palace sportsbook director Kirk Brooks, his mentor and one of his close friends who died recently.

Kornegay was the Imperial Palace sportsbook director from 1995 until 2004, when he joined the then-Las Vegas Hilton SuperBook. In 2015, the property and SuperBook was acquired by the Westgate.

At the Imperial Palace, Kornegay and his team introduced several sports betting innovations, including a drive-thru sportsbook, $1 million parlay card and lines on Games of the Year. They also expanded the Super Bowl prop menu, introducing the first cross-sport prop along the way with NBA star Michael Jordan vs. the San Francisco 49ers (points).

“Kirk actually came up with that one. He really pushed us to do things that were not offered at other operations,” Kornegay said. “He wanted us to think out of the box and do things that would create some interest and increase revenue.

“We certainly did not invent the proposition, but we grew the menu. By the time we got to 1995, we had a few hundred propositions where most only offered 60. They became a huge hit.”

When Kornegay, Salmons and Sherman moved to the SuperBook in 2004, they continued to expand their wagering menu and steadily increased the field from 300-plus participants to 3,000-plus for the SuperContest, which was long considered the world’s most prestigious NFL handicapping contest.

“We just tried to market it a little more, that it wasn’t just for sharp or educated players,” Kornegay said. “Any average Joe could get into it.”

The Westgate long has been known as a sharp book and established an annual tradition of releasing its massive menu of Super Bowl props to a steady line of mostly sharp bettors.

“We weren’t center Strip anymore like at the Imperial Palace, where we had so much walk by,” Kornegay said. “We weren’t in Green Valley or in Summerlin, either, so that was challenging. We needed to give them reasons to come to the SuperBook, so we made it fair for everyone, not just the sharps and educated players.

“Those that were educated in the space knew you had a fairer shake at the SuperBook with better odds and tighter splits. We became the bettor’s book.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.