Joe Asher
Joe Asher has had a long and distinguished career in sports betting and horse racing. From his roots calling races at Delaware racetracks, he founded Brandywine Sports, which he sold to William Hill early in the U.S. sports betting boom. He led William Hill through its entry into the country and later engineered its sale to Caesars Entertainment. Then he spent a few years at IGT, leading its sportsbook division.
Now he’s launched Boomer’s Sportsbook, which is 100 percent Nevada-focused. Its homegrown mindset sets a new standard for value, authenticity and passion for sports. He spoke with GGB Editor-at-Large Roger Gros at his offices in Las Vegas in December. To view the full GGB Podcast, visit GGBMagazine.com.
GGB: Congratulations on the launch of Boomer’s. You’ve built a lot of successful sportsbooks. What inspired you to start over?
Joe Asher: It was time to get back in action. When Caesars bought William Hill in April 2021, I was burned out and needed a break. I took some time off, then came back and worked at IGT, which allowed me to serve out my non-compete with William Hill.
I wasn’t really ready to get back into it from the operator perspective, but every few months I’d get a call from somebody asking, “What are my options for a sportsbook in Nevada? It’s not the same since you left.” Early last year, I started to think more seriously about getting back into the business.
Why did you think there was an opportunity in Nevada?
Well, there’s an opportunity that’s Nevada-specific because of the in-person signup requirement. To get a mobile account in Nevada, you must physically go in person and register a mobile account. Then you can bet statewide.
In all the other states, there’s no in-person signup requirement any longer, but it really shapes the industry here in Nevada. There’s an opportunity for someone to come and build a network of a couple of dozen locations spread across the state where people can come in, watch a game and also sign up for their mobile account.
Why Boomer’s?
We’re competing with William Hill. They’re the 800-pound gorilla in this space in Nevada, with well over 100 retail sportsbook locations and clearly a majority of the revenue. Boomer was a 20-pound dachshund-cocker spaniel mix, our dog who died a year ago. He’s not gonna slay the 800-pound gorilla, but maybe we can put him on a diet and carve out enough for ourselves—nip at the heels a little bit.
What makes Boomer’s unique?
Number one, we’re 100 percent Nevada-focused. We’ve turned down opportunities outside Nevada to concentrate on this market. We’re focused on the locals market in particular, in and around Las Vegas. We’re over at Ellis Island as well as casinos in North Las Vegas and Henderson. Outside of Las Vegas we’re in Elco, Carson City and a few more northern Nevada properties. We’re offering an attractive signup offer to customers when they register. And this football season, we’ve been offering -105 on all NFL games.
In Nevada, you have to compete with big sports betting companies like Caesars and BetMGM, but you’re also competing with illegal prediction market companies led by Kalshi. How does that change things for you?
First of all, I don’t know why they’re called prediction markets. That’s the most unbelievable euphemism I can imagine. They’re betting exchanges—gambling exchanges—and we should call them what they are. This prediction markets thing is trying to sanitize a gambling business. I’d urge everyone to call these things what they are.
Gambling is a business that should be heavily regulated. A certain number of people get into real problems from gambling. My father was one of them. He was a compulsive gambler and it caused a lot of problems in his life. So I’ve seen up close the harm that gambling can cause. When you call this stuff prediction markets, and you talk about it as some sort of investment class of assets, this ridiculous idea that you can gamble on betting exchanges with your 401(k)—this is lunacy, right?
Nevada is trying to stop it.
I fully commend the Gaming Control Board here. The chairman is right for calling it out and trying to put a stop to it. Prediction markets are theoretically under the auspices of the CFTC, but it’s just nonsense. These people are trying to run a gambling business and they don’t have the tools in place to do it properly. They’re trying to pretend that they’re modern entrepreneurs, coming up with some great technological advancements. Betting exchanges have been around for 25 years. They’re legal in other parts of the world. There’s a horse betting exchange in New Jersey, so this is not a new concept. Let’s not pretend it’s something other than what it is—it’s gambling.
