Sports betting finally finds its place at Super Bowl
There was a time when NBC wasn’t allowed to promote its hit show “Las Vegas” during its broadcast of the Super Bowl. It was as if even the mention of any place with legalized sports betting would somehow lead to the end of civilization.
Now it’s impossible to step into radio row without being slapped in the face with gambling references.
“To see this acceptance of sports betting here is still so surreal to me,” said Matt Perrault, one of the hosts of “The Bostonian vs. The Book,” a sports gaming livestream and video podcast on Props.com.
He has been working in sports media for 20 years and in the sports betting space for six, but had never made it to Super Bowl radio row.
The topic just wasn’t allowed to be directly addressed.
Now he must walk by the giant Fanduel Sportsbook booth, the most prominent one on the massive floor, that prominently proclaims the book as an official partner of Super Bowl LVI.
There are several other gambling-focused outlets, including a fantasy channel broadcasting from the site.
Perrault’s co-host Dave Sharapan has also never attended Super Bowl radio row, mainly because he’s been on the other side of the counter as a bookmaker.
He was blown away by his first experience.
“I feel like I’ve been let out of jail,” he said. “This is great.”
Sharapan said he never thought he would see his once-shunned industry so widely accepted, especially so quickly.
“FanDuel has the biggest and most spectacular setup here. I think it’s only a precursor of what’s to come for next year in a state with legal sports books,” he said, referencing next year’s game in Arizona. “It’s going to be incredible. They’re going to vie for that space and charge through the roof.”
Those with knowledge of the betting space are in high demand on radio row. In addition to his own show, Sharapan did more than 30 guest spots in the five days he spent on location.
He’s looking forward to even more two years from now when the spectacle moves to Las Vegas.
“I’m already telling (Perrault) we’re not going to sleep for the whole week,” he said. “I never in my life thought when I moved to Vegas that there would be a Super Bowl there, let alone a media presence like this.”
Henderson activated
The Rams activated running back Darrell Henderson to the active roster ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl against the Bengals.
He has not played since suffering a knee injury after running the ball just once for 17 yards in a win over the Vikings on Dec. 26.
Cornerback Robert Rochell and defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day were also activated.
“They’ll be ready to go,” coach Sean McVay said.
Tight end Tyler Higbee was placed on injured reserve, along with offensive lineman Joe Notebloom.
Keep the routine
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said he wants to keep things as normal as possible leading up to Sunday’s game.
That means watching Saturday night’s UFC 271 card on pay-per-view in the hotel room.
He picked middleweight champion Israel Adesanya to retain the belt against former champ Robert Whittaker in the main event.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.