Todd Dewey’s best of 2023: Billy Walters talks, Mark Wahlberg pours

Las Vegas Review-Journal

11 months ago

Billy Walters, famed sports better and philanthropist, as seen at his golf club, Bali Hai Golf ... — Billy Walters, famed sports better and philanthropist, as seen at his golf club, Bali Hai Golf Club, on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Las Vegas. (Daniel Pearson/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Gadoon “Spanky” Kyrollos, left, with longtime Las Vegas oddsmaker Jimmy Vaccaro, center, and South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews at last year’s Bet Bash at Circa. Vaccaro is one of 10 members of the inaugural induction class for the Sports Gambling Hall of Fame. (Gadoon Kyrollos)

Mike Palm, right, Circa Vice President of operations, talks with Circa Survivor winner, Alex Brown, left, at the big check presentation held at the D Las Vegas on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023 (Amaya Edwards/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @amayaedw5

Actor Mark Wahlberg pours some drinks at the grand opening of Yahoo Sportsbook at The Venetian on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. (The Venetian Resort Las Vegas)

From left, Circa Sports Million Booby Prize winners Taylor Preisser, Dan Stone and Preston Hollis pose for photos with their big check at the D Las Vegas on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023 (Amaya Edwards/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @amayaedw5

Billy Walters is widely regarded as the greatest sports bettor of all time.

After decades of staying out of the limelight, the Las Vegas businessman and philanthropist sat down for a one-on-one interview with the Review-Journal at his Bali Hai Golf Club in advance of the August release of his autobiography, “Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk.”

I wrote several pieces on Walters that top the list of my best stories of 2023. Check out the full selection:

1. Walters tells all

Walters was such an interesting subject he couldn’t fit into just one article.

His fascinating rags-to-riches life story deserved its own feature. So did his long-running feud with former casino mogul Steve Wynn.

Walters also shared other tales from inside the world of high-stakes gambling — including surviving a shakedown from mobster Anthony Spilotro, the basis for Joe Pesci’s character in the movie “Casino.”

2. Meet ‘Spanky,’ who left ‘rat race’ to become top pro sports bettor

Gadoon “Spanky” Kyrollos worked on Wall Street before leaving for the world of high-stakes sports gambling after he had a life-changing epiphany in a Manhattan subway station.

The prominent pro sports bettor partnered with Circa for two of his brainchildren: Bet Bash and the Sports Gambling Hall of Fame.

3. ‘Definitely got very lucky’: Circa Survivor winners tell $6.1M story

Two entries made 20 straight winning selections to split the $6.1 million prize in the Circa Survivor contest, in which contestants pick one straight-up NFL winner each week but can use each team only once. One winner had only one entry, while a group of four friends had 24 combined entries.

4. Mark Wahlberg pours shots as sportsbooks ‘killed’ by Raiders

Each week during the NFL season, I write a column on Sunday night recapping the action on the field and at sportsbooks. I interviewed actor and Las Vegas resident Mark Wahlberg in Week 1 this year, when he poured shots of his Flecha Azul tequila at the grand opening of the Yahoo Sportsbook by William Hill at The Venetian.

5. Friends win over $100K for taking last in Circa Million contest

Four fun-loving friends from Colorado who teamed up on a $1,000 entry in the Circa Sports Million contest unwittingly won the $100,000 booby prize for finishing last in the field of 4,691.

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