We’re kicking off the second season of AGBC with the memoir of perhaps the most famous American gambler of all time: Jimmy the Greek Snyder. Known as the “Oddsmaker to the Nation” during his twelve-year run on CBS, his life was a high-stakes drama defined by a presidential pardon, the tragic loss of his children, and an abrupt 1988 downfall that he claimed “carved his guts right out”.

This episode dives into the “Steubenville Way” of a man who lived through seven cycles of being broke and rich, only to end his life in bewilderment after the network world he craved for legitimacy finally pulled the trap door.

Joining me to discuss Jimmy the Greek is the writer Peter Richmond. Peter is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author of six books including “Badasses” about the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s. His piece on Jimmy the Greek, “Jimmy the Greek: The Living Dead,” was published by the National Sports Daily in 1990 and was selected for the inaugural edition of The Best American Sportswriting.

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Purchase Jimmy the Greek by Himself

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I had a fun conversation with Ursula Lawrence about Marty Supreme. We talked about the incredible cast, the ways the film explores life in the immediate aftermath of the war, and the ways that it is as much a gambling movie as Uncut Gems. We also check the prices on Kalshi and decide it’s a strong BUY at $0.07.

American Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To re…

In the first of what I hope will be a number of regular Substack Live conversations here, I had a really enlightening conversation with Gina Fiore. Gina is also in the midst of trying to complete a book, and we talked all about the writing process and the fears and anxieties that accompany publishing.

Some of the books we discuss in this conversation, and the lin…

The final episode of the year AND the season, and it’s a good one. This week we read Michael Lewis’s 2010 bestseller The Big Short, a book about gambling at the highest of stakes, the unlikely characters who won big, and the losers who let the American people settle their debt. Joining me to discuss The Big Short is Sal Gentile, who writes A Closer Look on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Sal and I discuss comedy, writing, and get political talking about the financial crisis of 2008 and its long, nightmarish aftermath. Presented by InGame.com.

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Read “Kalshi Files To Accept Bets On Who Enters NCAA Transfer Portal”

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Laughing in the Hills, Bill Barich’s 1979 memoir of ten weeks spent at Golden Gate Fields racetrack in Northern California, was named one of Sports Illustrated’s Top 100 Sports Books of All Time. First serialized in The New Yorker, the book is about far more than the sport of horse racing, and far more than just gambling. It’s about grief, philosophy, art, culture, spirituality, media, and more. It’s an incredible book, and one of my favorites. Joining me to discuss it is the journalist, writer, and racetrack denizen Peter Thomas Fornatale. Presented by InGame.com.

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Buy Peter Fornatale’s books at In The Money

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Read “What If Californians Are Good On Gambling, Don’t Want Sports Betting After All?” at InGame.com

Laughing in the Hills book club guide: part 1, part 2, part 3

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This week we do something a little different. Our paid subscriber book club met up in Brooklyn over the weekend to play some low-stakes poker with Peter Alson, the author of our most recent book club pick, The Vig: Confessions of an Ivy League Bookie. This episode is a recording of a conversation with Peter during that game. Presented by InGame.com.

Buy The Vig by Peter Alson

Buy Take Me to the River by Peter Alson

Read A Professor’s Take: Let College Athletes Bet Legally On Pro Sports at InGame.com

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This week we discuss a book that has it all: a writer succumbs to alcohol and ends up in a mental institution, fist fights with random strangers, has tons of meaningless sex, engages in self righteousness, self hatred, and cynicism in equal measure, rejects middle class morality, and acts as a courier for a single bet made on a football game (we had to get some gambling in there somewhere). The book is Frederick Exley’s “fictional memoir” A Fan’s Notes. Joining me is the writer John Semley, host of the podcast Slow Learners. Presented by InGame.com.

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Read “Warning, A Prediction Market Ad Blitz is Coming” at InGame.com

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Kevin Cook’s 2010 book The True Story of Titanic Thompson: The Man Who Bet on Everything is a superbly written, thoroughly researched, novel-like history of one of the most fabled figures in the annals of gambling lore: Alvin Thomas. I’m joined to discuss the book and all things Titanic by the journalist and former poker pro Steve Ruddock, creator of the substack Straight to the Point. Presented by InGame.com

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Read “Why Sporttrade CEO Is Bullish On DraftKings, FanDuel Even If Prediction Markets Dominate” at InGame.com

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This week on the show we discuss the classic architecture text Learning from Las Vegas, a book that revolutionized design theory by rejecting the original and heroic and celebrating the ugly and ordinary - qualities the authors found in abundant supply in 1966 on the Las Vegas Strip. My guest to discuss this book is the funny and brilliant Molly Lambert: a cultural critic, journalist, and the creator of the new podcast JennaWorld about Las Vegas native and legendary adult film actress Jenna Jameson. Curious how we stitch all these things together? You’ll have to listen to find out! Presented by InGame.com.

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Listen to JennaWorld

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Read “Las Vegas (What?) LAS VEGAS (Can’t hear you! Too noisy) LAS VEGAS !!!!” by Tom Wolfe

Read “Jason Robins: Prediction Markets Are A Gamble, iCasino On Upswing, And More” at InGame.com

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Michael Konik set out to write a magazine article about a famous sports gambler. Instead he ended up working for him for years. When Konik finally had enough of the gambling life he wrote a memoir called The Smart Money, and it offers a rare up-close view of the ins and outs of one of the biggest sports betting operations in American history. Joining me to discuss it is ESPN’s David Purdum. We talk about the latest NBA scandal, the business of covering the business of gambling, and the good old days when sportsbooks took big bets and publishers made big advances. Presented by InGame.com.

Read “Jim And Maureen Downs, Architects Who Foresaw The Rise Of Prediction Markets” at InGame.com

Read “Is Legal Sports Gambling Creating Cheaters or Exposing a Long-Held Secret?” at Rolling Stone

Buy The Smart Money by Michael Konik

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