Kelly Speaks
John Kelly grew up in south suburban Chicago with an eye on gambling, even as a youngster. Consequently, he never developed a loyalty toward the Cubs or White Sox. "I guess it was the gambling thing," he said. "I learned early I couldn't be for either one of them." Kelly, the voice of Las Vegas sports gambling now that Larry Grossman has retired, was around for the last breaths of old Las Vegas and to see the birth of a new one. Over the past 16 years, coinciding with his 1990 Sin City arrival, Kelly has watched as the city has grown, step-by-step, into a modern, cosmopolitan metropolis and international resort destination. "I don't think in the future we're going to see some of the deals, bargains and value we've seen in the past," Kelly said. "But it's all relative. "A hotel room in mid-town New York, Chicago or Los Angeles goes for about $400 a night, so a $180 room on the Strip doesn't seem like such a bad deal. "Everything costs more. "Another thing is you don't have to pay to park at the hotels here. "Anywhere else, it would cost $18, $20 a night." On the flip side, Kelly laments the fact Las Vegas didn't take a more progressive and aggressive approach when Internet gambling began to explode. "I don't have any great insight in this area, but I am disappointed that with all the rules and regulations we have here (like limits) many of our bettors were forced to go elsewhere," the broadcaster said. "I'm sorry there hasn't been more creativity. "Football futures prices are just one example. "You take what we have to offer and you know you can find a better price somewhere in the world. "Another thing that has hurt sports betting here is all the consolidation because you have fewer outs and there are fewer big jobs." The Northwestern University journalism school graduate soon will have no choice but to watch the end of another era, one in which he very much was personally involved. Kelly, who has four main gigs, will see two of them become dust in the wind when the fabled Stardust Hotel and Casino on Las Vegas Boulevard South is imploded later this year and eventually replaced by something called Echelon Place, a 21st Century structure that will put the long revered resort to shame. Kelly has handled the daily Stardust Line morning show since before the Millenium and, with Seat Williams, co-hosted the wildly popular Stardust Invitational football contest for all of its 11 seasons. Early rumors were the 'Dust would bid its patrons adieu with a 12th and final Invitational, but Kelly has doubts. Professing no insider knowledge, Kelly said he has learned the resort isn't accepting hotel reservations beyond Nov. 1: "It just makes sense to me that if you have a hotel, you want to fill it with people and if you're not accepting reservations through football season ..." Kelly said the Stardust Invitational in its early years relied on prominent handicappers to lend their endorsement to the affair by participating in it. "The big deal back then was to get the names on the marquee," Kelly recalled. As years passed, though, handicappers clamored to get invited and considered it a feather in their cap when they did. "I think the big thing with the Invitational was that, if you were a member of the local sports gambling community, it became the place to be on Friday nights," Kelly continued. "It was THE hangout. "People took it seriously, but we also had a lot of fun." Kelly hosts a weekend horse racing program for Sam's Town and co-hosts a daily afternoon sports gambling show for Leroy's with former bookmaker Jimmy Vacarro -- in Grossman's old time slot. Leroy's, which is headed by longtime Las Vegas bookmaker Vic Salerno, operates more than 60 Silver State sports books. It hit the big leagues when it inked Vacarro, who once ran the Mirage bet shop, to serve as marketing director. One of Jimmy's first moves was to establish Leroy's own high stakes football contest and try to lure Kelly to host the radio show that promotes it. The Stardust originally put its foot down, but since has softened its stance. "I guess it's because the countdown has started," Kelly said only half-kiddingly. "Jimmy's easy to work with and with him leading the way you're going to see a lot of things happening. "He's very creative and progressive and he had a great influence on the industry in the '90s. "The beauty of Leroy's is you don't have a lot of memos and meetings. "There's planning, but not a lot of red tape so they operate more freely. "So many books think of the downside first ... unions, possible litigation .. and things never get off the ground. "At Leroy's, if Jimmy has an idea he just sees Vic." Kelly describes himself as a seasonal player. "I have a hard time thinking out of season," Kelly said. "I'm very weak on the NFL right now, but ask me about baseball or basketball." He forsees a Mets-Red Sox World Series, mainly because of their closing situations. "I analyze baseball from the ninth inning back," he noted. "That's the way it looks to me now, but I never would have picked the White Sox and Astros last year." A self-anointed Pistons-Spurs fan, Kelly already has witnessed San Antonio's playoff ousting by Dallas, but can hold out hope for Detroit, which staved off elimination by beating Miami Wednesday. "Winning three straight games in the playoffs is tough," he conceded. "But I could see it coming, the wearing-down of both the Pistons and Spurs."
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