GOT a CRAZY SPORTS BETTING STORY?

On a generally torrid June afternoon in Las Vegas, while lunching on a turkey club sandwich and a glass of iced tea at Egg Works, Jay Rood recounted his actions up the sportsbook ladder. It started quite on the bottom sounded, as a ticket author at Caesars Lake Tahoe in 1992.


"I just wanted to get into business and ski, and Tahoe appeared like the spot," Rood, a New Mexico native, informed Covers. "I skied once while there, and the job board at Caesars had a post that said 'sports writer.' I believed to myself, 'Well, I was not the very best at composing in college, but let's see what it's all about. Young and dumb!


"I thought I was going to an interview for blogging about sports. I didn't recognize it was a teller position up until the interview. After an hour with Gene Kivi, which I was told had to do with 50 minutes longer than any other interview he ever did, I had the job. And I was eliminated to know that I wasn't going to have to evaluate my journalism skills."


In late 1993, Rood got an opportunity to leap to Las Vegas, once again as a ticket writer, this time part of the team opening the brand-new sportsbook at the MGM Grand. That marked the beginning of more than 25 years at MGM Resorts for Rood, who worked his method up each level, eventually becoming the company's vice president of race and sports in 2008.


But with the sports wagering landscape considerably changing and broadening in the past year - thanks to the Supreme Court striking down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act - new chances abounded, especially for somebody as knowledgeable and well-respected as Rood. So in May, two-and-half decades after signing up with MGM, Rood chose it was time to leave the business and search for a brand-new obstacle.


It didn't take long to find it, as on June 18, Rood accepted the post of chief risk officer for Bet.Works, a U.S.