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00:00But let's begin with a little college basketball news in this new world of the NILs.
00:04This is the first time we're seeing a lawsuit of this magnitude.
00:08Six former players that played at Florida State University filed a lawsuit on Monday
00:13against Leonard Hamilton.
00:14He is the FSU head coach over unpaid promises of NIL compensation that total $1.5 million
00:22and also acknowledged that they boycotted a practice last season over the missed payments.
00:28The legal complaint was filed in Leon County, which is in Tallahassee.
00:33Six plaintiffs are players on the team.
00:35Darren Green, Josh Nickelberry, Prevo Spears, Cameron Fletcher, Deontay Green, and Jalen
00:40Worley.
00:41They say that each of them was due $250,000 and essentially they never got it.
00:46We'll see what happens in the future with this story.
00:48Meanwhile, the story of the NFL season has been the rookie quarterbacks and yet another
00:54win for Jaden Daniels as the commanders beat the Falcons in overtime last night.
01:00Daniels threw a touchdown in overtime and also threw one at the end of the game.
01:04In fact, he's done this five different times this season, throwing a touchdown in the fourth
01:09quarter overtime.
01:1030 to 24 is the win and Washington is in the playoffs.
01:15The Falcons now going to need some help in order to qualify for the playoffs, which would
01:18include Tampa Bay losing next week.
01:21But the star of the show, once again, was Daniels, who's closing in on his first playoff
01:26appearance.
01:27My emotion one, I'm tired right now, but, um, I'm like, I'm excited.
01:30I'm happy.
01:31Um, the fan base waited a long time for this.
01:34They, I mean, I, I really can't put into words, you know, how much it means to them, how much
01:38it means to me, uh, be able to go out there and lead this, this franchise and this team,
01:43uh, to opportunities like that.
01:46You had some success in the two minute drill that the overtime was a little bit different.
01:50What was that like?
01:51You know, just before the overtime, what's going through your mind and what was like
01:53in that drive?
01:54Um, God bless me again, give me another opportunity to go out there and try to win a football
01:59game.
02:00Uh, just like you did last week, you know, it's a lot of ups and downs and adversity
02:04in this game that you go through and you go through in life.
02:06Um, so you never waver, you know, you stand tall, stand 10 feet down and, you know, go
02:10out there and try to execute the moment.
02:14Still a couple of weeks away from Daniels, his first playoff appearance.
02:17Meanwhile, the Minnesota Vikings, it could be a few weeks away depending on how things
02:20work out for them next week.
02:22But let's recap last night as they beat the Green Bay Packers, ended up being a closer
02:26game than what we thought, 27 to 25.
02:29In fact, Minnesota led this game by two touchdowns late, but Green Bay, as they have done several
02:33times this season, had a furious comeback to make the game closer.
02:38Another huge game.
02:39In fact, a career game for quarterback Sam Darnold in terms of passing yards.
02:44What a season he has had on his way to potentially the NFC North title.
02:50In fact, the Vikings will play the Detroit Lions next week, next Sunday night for that
02:55title.
02:56Here's Kevin O'Connell on winning games at home this season.
02:59And very proud of our guys.
03:00And it was so important to us this year to get back to the way we should play at U.S.
03:05Bank Stadium.
03:06So to finish seven and one, um, in front of our fans and have that kind of atmosphere
03:11in a game like this, this is why we do what we do and love the support of our fans.
03:17Thought it was phenomenal tonight, as always, it was huge for us and our team thrives off
03:22of it.
03:23So now we get to go on the road and have a chance to compete one more time.
03:28That's all we ask for is just another new week, new challenge, really, really one of
03:33the best teams in football all year long.
03:35We got to go to their place and roll it out there for 60 minutes.
03:39So we're going to put our work in this weekend and try to find a way to go one and all this
03:43week.
03:44Meanwhile, the Packers will not be winning the North, but they will be in the NFC postseason.
03:49But maybe the Packers would like to start off a game by not being down two touchdowns.
03:53In fact, that's kind of doomed them at different points this season, according to their head
03:58coach Matt LaFleur.
03:59Yeah, I'm not, I'm, I'm, I mean, it obviously bothers me.
04:05You know, I just think that you can't get down against good football teams.
04:10And if there's a lesson there, that, that, that is the lesson because it's, it's tough
04:14to come back.
04:15I think our guys continue to fight and battle and scratch and claw, but ultimately, um,
04:21we just can't put ourselves in a hole like that.
04:24And, um, it certainly took us way too long to get going offensively.
04:29And if that happens, and I mean, this is, this is the result.
04:34Packers will be headed toward the playoffs.
04:36We'll see where they're headed next week.
04:38Meanwhile, the New York Giants were headed directly toward a collision with the number
04:42one overall pick in the draft folks.
04:44They gave it away yesterday.
04:46There is no tanking in the NFL.
04:48Clearly 45 to 33, they beat the Indianapolis Colts.
04:51Colts have now been eliminated from the playoffs and the Giants may not get the number one
04:57overall pick of the draft as a result.
04:59Meanwhile, will Brian Dable, their head coach even be around for it?
05:03He's not even sure.
05:04What do you think, do you think today was evidence that if you get consistent good quarterback
05:08play that you as the coach are the right person to keep leading this team?
05:11Yeah, I mean, I understand the question.
05:13I'm just happy for the players and the coaches right now to, to get a win.
05:16And I'm happy with Drew, how he played, um, you know, I'm proud of him.
05:21You know, it was, it wasn't great last week.
05:23I was on him pretty good, but he's a mentally tough, mentally tough guy and had a good week
05:29and now we've got to do it all over next week.
05:34The New York Jets are in a similar position to the New York Giants, although the Giants
05:38will have a better pick than them.
05:40Jets lost again to the Buffalo Bills.
05:43Final was 40 to 14 on Sunday and also the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took out the Panthers
05:4848 to 14.
05:49They win next week.
05:50They capture the NFC South.
05:52The Miami Dolphins are still alive in the playoff hunt.
05:54Ugly game yesterday, Cleveland couldn't get anything going offensively.
05:58Miami wins by a final of 20 to three.
06:01Meanwhile, Saquon Barkley is taking aim at the all-time rushing record.
06:05He's got a shot.
06:06He ran for 167 yards yesterday as the Eagles rolled the Cowboys 41 to seven.
06:12Barkley is now over 2000 yards for the season.
06:15Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, but just, you know, being a fan of the game and the running back
06:20position, uh, to reach a milestone and put myself up there with eight other backs that
06:27I respect.
06:28Some of them I grew up watching, um, definitely means a lot, but at the same time, I wouldn't
06:32be able to do that with, um, this team.
06:35Like I said, you can't be great without the greatness of others.
06:37And I'm just happy I was able to, you know, be a part of the team and be able to reach
06:40a milestone like that.
06:41Yeah.
06:42Uh, you know, the way I look at it, if it's, if it's in God's plan, then it is, if, you
06:51know, um, I'm not overly trying to go get it.
06:56I'm not scared of it.
06:57I would love to, but at the end of the day, you know, also we got bigger things that we're
07:01focusing on and we're able to clinch the, clinch the division right here.
07:05Um, and you know, whether it's, we play next week or not and rest, uh, I'm fine with that
07:10too because I didn't come here and sign here just to, you know, fresh for 2000 or break
07:15a record.
07:16Um, I want to do something special, um, and it's meaning special with the team.
07:22Eagles will have that chance.
07:23The Raiders are ending their season.
07:25It looks like on a high note, they beat the saints on the road, 25 to 10 and the Jaguars
07:29beat the Titans 20 to 13 Jacksonville right now has the number two overall pick in the
07:34draft.
07:35Meanwhile, the Bengals stay alive.
07:36They beat the Broncos 30 to 24 great game on Saturday, by the way.
07:39Also the Rams beat the Cardinals 13 to nine, a clinch, the NFC West, the chargers clinch
07:44a playoff spot.
07:45They beat new England 40 to seven and San Francisco is playing on Monday night football
07:50tonight.
07:51We're looking at three and a half point favorites at the pop tarts bowl.
07:54Cam Ward had a great first half.
07:57Didn't play in the second half.
07:58Miami lost the bowl game 42 to 41.
08:01That was a hot topic this weekend.
08:02BYU beats Colorado in the Alamo bowl.
08:05And that final was 36 to 14.
08:07Nebraska wins the pinstripe bowl 20 to 15 and Yukon takes care of North Carolina by
08:12a final of 27 to 14 one bowl game today.
08:16It is the music city bowl, two 30 Eastern.
08:19We got Iowa taking on Missouri, Missouri's two and a half point favorites, and the total
08:24is 40 and a half.
08:26Also over the weekend, Corbin Burns agreed to a new contract, $210 million over six years
08:31with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
08:32The Oscar Hernandez is back with the Dodgers, Josh Bell back with Washington.
08:37Ted Evans is back with us from legal sports report.
08:38It's time to recap the year in news and sports betting in 2024.
08:43You can also read all of past columns over at legal sports report.com.
08:46Pat, great to have you back here on Newswire.
08:49I mean, we did have, I would say, a plethora of stories to talk about as we always do throughout
08:54the year.
08:55I guess maybe the unfortunate part was not more states being legal.
08:59I think that's probably a good place to start, but you never know 2025 is around the corner.
09:03Maybe some new states jump in the fray.
09:05I mean, yeah, as we've talked about throughout our time as a show, you know, these, the states
09:13that were going to get it done early, got it done.
09:15And since then, you know, like you said, this year was very dry in terms of legislation
09:20action.
09:21Of course, Missouri ended up getting passed through on the ballot.
09:24So that was good for Missouri and I guess the industry as a whole.
09:29But the last couple of years have been really slow to your point.
09:31The states, you know, the low hanging fruit's gone.
09:33Now we're reaching up into the higher branches.
09:37And all these states that we're going to talk about here in a minute are just kind of been
09:41slowly chugging towards legalization eventually.
09:45I think a lot of states, there's a few, you know, like Utah that will probably never,
09:49or, you know, in 2100 or 2100, whatever you want to call it.
09:55But you know, the states that we're looking at really closely this year will be Minnesota.
10:00I mean, that's one that the last three years have has come very close to passage.
10:06You know, the legislative makeup in that state is why we're kind of in this limbo area last
10:13year, or this year, earlier this year, we had the, you know, quote unquote, you know,
10:18finish line deal that just barely couldn't get passed, which I've been told was, you
10:23know, kind of exaggerated.
10:25And it changes a little bit now because last year, the Democrats controlled both chambers
10:29and the governor's mansion.
10:31And they want, of course, tribal exclusivity for sports betting, which the tribes are very
10:36powerful Democratic force and, you know, have a lot of say up there.
10:41The Republicans want the horse racing tracks involved.
10:45Now the Republicans control the Senate or the House, and the Democrats control the Senate.
10:52So now there's this kind of split kind of chamber.
10:55So is it going to be this deal that almost got done this year, again, to roll into it?
11:01Or are we going to see just new power dynamics shift everything up there?
11:05So that's going to be really interesting to watch.
11:08I don't even know where to peg it right now.
11:11I mean, we've seen a couple bills filed.
11:13Everybody says they're willing to talk and compromise.
11:16But you know, when push comes to shove in politics, that's a big leap.
11:20Down in Georgia, another one of these states that we're very close on the last couple of
11:25years.
11:26Last year, the Senate kind of took the reins and said, hey, this is what we're doing.
11:29There was a good bipartisan push.
11:31But then a couple senators came in and said, well, we want a constitutional amendment.
11:35You can't just put it under the lottery.
11:38That made a couple senators drop off because, you know, that requires even more votes.
11:43And then it also requires a ballot initiative to get it over the edge.
11:48And so then this year now, you know, we've seen senators saying this has to start in
11:52the House before we consider it.
11:55But if they get it through, then we'll take it up.
11:57So Georgia has been a political mess, as we know.
12:01I don't know if it's a mess is the right word, but it's a political battleground.
12:04I mean, you just look at 2020 in the presidential election.
12:07And then this year, which again, this year, it went from Biden in 2020 to Trump in 2024.
12:13And we've seen a sports betting sponsor come out with an op-ed who said, hey, the voters
12:17who swung this state back to Trump, they are big time sports betting demographics.
12:24We need to get this done because clearly the voters in our state want it.
12:28So those are the two states I think we're looking at closest to probably get something
12:32done.
12:33We haven't seen a bill filed yet in Mississippi to go online.
12:36They, of course, have in-person sports betting.
12:39The last couple of years, they've had bills filed to allow it to go statewide mobile.
12:44We haven't seen that filed yet, but I wouldn't be surprised.
12:46And it's always a good chance there because they already have sports betting.
12:50So that would be a big expansion, though, down there.
12:53You think Texas is one of those states that we could see some activity this year?
12:58There will be lots of activity in Texas.
13:00This is the state that the entire industry has their eyes on.
13:04It, of course, is a giant market, loves their sports, lots of professional sports teams,
13:09lots of big names pushing for it, including Mark Cumid, Tillman Fertitta.
13:16The Sands Corp is now involved in there.
13:17Jerry Jones wants it.
13:20The problem is, you know, you have a big name in Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick who does
13:24not want gambling expansion.
13:27So that is the big hurdle in the way.
13:31We know that Mary Adelson is lobbying a lot of money this year into the political framework
13:38down there, including Dan Patrick, hoping to kind of swing votes.
13:43Will that happen?
13:45Who knows?
13:46I mean, a lot of people are putting it because they meet every other year to 2027 once Dan
13:51Patrick is termed out, which that's a long time in the world, you know.
13:57It is a huge market and the industry will not stop working on this down there because
14:02it is, you know, we've had estimates come out saying it would be the largest handle
14:06market, which, of course, would also generate lots of revenue.
14:09So the industry really wants it.
14:11We know there's been a couple bills filed already.
14:13I'm sure there will be even more.
14:14It'll be interesting to see what happens in 2023.
14:17It did pass, a sports betting bill did pass the House.
14:21So you could almost think that it will do that again unless they just see the Senate
14:25as an immovable object and they don't even want to put effort into it.
14:29But you'd like to see something happen there.
14:31And if it does get in the Senate, maybe there is a groundswell movement there that kind
14:35of maybe puts pressure on Patrick.
14:37Again, we'll be seeing, but this is a state that, to your point, will have lots of activity,
14:42lots of eyeballs on it and something we're going to talk about a lot in 2025.
14:45All right, let's close it out with West Virginia, new operator of the VIP kind here.
14:51Pat, tell us more.
14:52Yeah, this was a really interesting story.
14:54I think, you know, we talk a lot about kind of the industry and what's happening in terms
14:58of operators.
14:59Of course, Vandal and DraftKings are the major players.
15:03You've got your second tier of, you know, BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics, ESPN, Bet, what
15:08have you, Bet365.
15:12And then kind of these kind of more niche operators, VIP Play is a new one, quote unquote,
15:20and it is actually active in Tennessee right now as 24-7 Sports, which is, of course, just
15:25an online-only market.
15:26So it's just a little online sports book.
15:28The company is coming out, rebranding.
15:31They've got a new partnership with a provider to create a new and they promised better app,
15:39including Online Casino, which is why they're entering into West Virginia, which of course
15:42is one of the few states with Online Casino.
15:46Again, we'll see what happens.
15:50You know, I think when you're looking at the market of sports book operators, at some point
15:58you're going to find these operators that are going for smaller markets and just making
16:01their little piece.
16:03And I think that's probably what VIP Play is doing.
16:06They did say this is the beginning of a North American expansion, so I would expect a couple
16:10other states to launch, or maybe even Canada, who knows, I guess, they're in full plans.
16:17It's kind of like, you know, last week we talked about Kentucky getting Prime Sports,
16:21a smaller sports book focused on sharp bettors that can get lots of bets down without worrying
16:28about a limit.
16:29Very similar to Circa, which is also kind of slowly rolling out and expanding their
16:34footprint.
16:35And those are the operators, I think, that they're not too concerned about taking a massive
16:38amount of handle, like the FanDuels and the DraftKings, or they're just going in and getting
16:43what revenue they can and thinking, okay, we'll make what we can and we're not too worried
16:47about being the major player.
16:51See what happens, you know, over the next couple of years in terms of that second tier
16:54of operators that, you know, some of them are struggling in markets to gain a market
17:00share that might be worthwhile to them for how much, you know, marketing spend they're
17:04doing or how much their overhead is.
17:06So yeah, VIP Play, certainly keep an eye out on them in your state if you do have a legal
17:13market and they might be coming to you soon.
17:17It could, Pat.
17:18So what are the big New Year's Eve plans for Pat Evans and his family this year?
17:24Let's leave with that as your final show with us here this year.
17:27Yeah, that's true.
17:28Just I think going out to dinner and probably fairly early and just coming back and watching
17:32New Year's Eve programming and probably some football, I would imagine.
17:37So really, really calm, you know, maybe some champagne.
17:40How about you, Craig?
17:43At this rate, it's going to be a nothing for me based on the way things are going right
17:46now.
17:47But anyway, thanks again for coming.
17:48Story for a different day.
17:49Thanks again, Pat, for coming on Newswire.
17:50I really appreciate it.
17:51Have a great New Year and see you again in 2025.
17:54Yeah, I'll see you next year, Craig.