When Wynn Las Vegas was nether improvement successful the aboriginal 2000s, Vinny Magliulo was a advisor for the sportsbook design.
A accidental brushwood with casino mogul Steve Wynn connected the existent tract of the Wynn Golf Club turned into an impromptu occupation interview.
Wynn was investigating swaths of artificial turf for his ultra-exclusive Fairway Villas, with his German shepherds by his side, erstwhile Magliulo walked implicit to accidental hello.
“Steve says, ‘So what bash you deliberation of our small project?’ I said, ‘Well, sir, there’s nary question successful my caput that not lone is this going to acceptable the caller standard, arsenic you’ve done successful the past with The Mirage and Bellagio, but it’s going to revitalize the full northbound extremity of the Strip,’” Magliulo said. “Steve says, ‘I already cognize each that. Tell maine what you truly think.’ So I said, ‘Well, sir, if you truly privation to know, you astir apt request a bookie from Brooklyn named Vinny to tally your sportsbook.’
“He goes, ‘I emotion that.’ He hired maine the adjacent day.”
Magliulo, who roseate to Caesars Palace sportsbook vice president during a 14-year tally (1986-2000) astatine the property, oversaw the opening of the Wynn sportsbook and ran it for a twelvemonth earlier returning to his existent relation arsenic Gaughan Gaming sportsbook director.
He volition beryllium inducted into the Sports Gambling Hall of Fame astatine Circa connected Friday, Aug. 7during a black-tie meal to headdress disconnected the four-day BetBash sports betting networking conference.
“Vinny brought people to an manufacture sorely lacking it,” legendary Las Vegas oddsmaker Roxy Roxborough said.
Fellow Hall of Famers Richie Baccellieri and Jeff Whitelaw volition contiguous Magliulo for induction.
“He was a large spokesperson for the manufacture for adjacent to 50 years. He was easy the best-dressed bookmaker successful Nevada history. And he’s the epitome of class,” said Whitelaw, a pro sports bettor. “Everybody likes Vinny, beryllium it his bosses, his employees, oregon the bettors. Vinny could easy speech to a $20 bettor arsenic helium could to a feline betting $100,000 a game.
“He was conscionable a likable enactment of caller aerial successful an manufacture that needed idiosyncratic cleanable and wholesome.”
Baccellieri was Magliulo’s right-hand antheral astatine Caesars.
“He was capable to marque some sides of the antagonistic happy,” helium said. “Management — you’ve got to marque wealth — but you’ve besides got to fto the crisp guys eat.”
‘Special benignant of zoo’
Magliulo — a Brooklyn, New York autochthonal who volition crook 69 successful August and has been successful the concern for 49 years — was introduced to gambling astatine a young age. He was 8 the archetypal clip helium went to the racetrack astatine Belmont Park.
“My uncle Tony says to me, ‘Hey kid, you wanna get retired of the house? Come on, we’ll instrumentality a ride. We’ll spell spot immoderate animals.’ I said, ‘You mean similar astatine the zoo?’ He said, ‘Sort of,’” helium said. “So we’re driving and we propulsion successful and I spot this motion that says Belmont. I’m looking astir and I say, ‘Uncle Tony, however travel the lone animals they got successful this zoo are horses?’ He says, ‘It’s a precise peculiar benignant of zoo.’”
A fewer years later, Magliulo was intrigued erstwhile helium work successful the New York Daily News that Jets backmost Joe Namath had guaranteed triumph successful Super Bowl 3 contempt being an 18-point underdog.
“I turned to my begetter and I say, ‘Pop, what’s the communicative with these 18 points? He says, ‘Well, your different uncle successful Vegas and his buddies, they’re saying that the Jets are going to suffer the crippled by astatine slightest 18 points,’” helium said. “So I said, ‘Let maine get this straight, pop. The Jets tin lose, but we tin inactive win?’
“My begetter looks astatine maine and helium goes, ‘No much going to the zoo with your uncle.’”
Betting with nuns
Later that year, Magliulo, 12 astatine the time, made bets connected New York’s “Miracle Mets” to bushed the Baltimore Orioles successful the 1969 World Series. With the nuns astatine his Catholic school.
“The nuns successful my schoolhouse were from extracurricular of Baltimore truthful they’re talking astir however the Orioles are going to destruct the Mets,” helium said. “So I said to 1 of the nuns who happened to beryllium the principal, ‘Sister, I deliberation you’re wrong. I deliberation the Mets are going to win. So however astir we marque a deal.’ She said, ‘What benignant of deal?’
“I said, ‘If the Orioles win, I volition enactment for a month’s worthy of detention. And if the Mets win, I get escaped beverage with my luncheon each time for a month. I cognize they’re underdogs. She said, ‘This is not gambling. It’s a deal.’”
After the Orioles won Game 1, the nun teased him connected the playground.
“She’s talking trash and I said, ‘Sister, how’d you similar to property it?’” helium said. “’Let’s spell for 2 months.’ She said, ‘Oh, this language. It’s a deal.’
“Needless to say, young Vinny Magliulo drank a batch of beverage successful the autumn of 1969. But I inactive got detention for gambling connected campus.”
Welcome to Las Vegas
Magliulo saw his aboriginal 2 years later, erstwhile helium visited his uncle Dominic, his godfather, successful Las Vegas.
“That was my instauration to Las Vegas,” helium said. “He introduced maine to (South Point owner) Michael Gaughan astatine the El Cortez connected my 14th birthday. From that infinitesimal on, I knew that I was destined for Fremont Street and not Wall Street.”
He moved to Las Vegas for bully astatine property 20 successful 1978, erstwhile helium attended UNLV during the time and Gaughan and Frank Toti’s schoolhouse of dealing astatine night.
That led to his archetypal occupation astatine the Royal Inn. He started moving astatine the Barbary Coast arsenic a dice trader erstwhile it opened successful 1979 and spent his breaks astatine the sportsbook.
“It conscionable had an excitement to it that I gravitated to. It was everything that I love,” helium said. “It was my emotion of sports and my emotion of gambling. And I was capable to harvester the 2 of them into my career.”
Magliulo said helium was influenced by galore salient Las Vegas gambling figures during his clip astatine the Barbary and beyond, including Jackie Gaughan, Jack Franzi, Bob Martin, Jimmy Vaccaro, Art Manteris, Chris Andrews, Johnny Avello and Roxborough.
“I conscionable wanted to beryllium astir them and beryllium a sponge, and they were great,” helium said.
When Caesars Palace expanded its publication successful 1986, Magliulo moved crossed the thoroughfare from the Barbary.
“One of the things that I wanted to bash erstwhile I got successful this concern was to marque definite I was mindful of the radical that got it going and established it arsenic a large portion of the Las Vegas experience, and marque definite that I made a contribution,” helium said. “This Hall of Fame induction tells maine that I did OK.
“I’ve had a large vocation but astatine the extremity of the day, the existent Hall of Famers are my household (wife, Leslee, and their big children, Vincent and Ellen), due to the fact that without their support, it wouldn’t beryllium possible.”
Caesars hosted immoderate legendary boxing matches during his tenure, including Sugar Ray Leonard’s upset triumph implicit Marvelous Marvin Hagler successful 1987.
“When we hosted those fights astatine Caesars, it was not lone a large lawsuit for the property, but the vigor truly transcended the full town,” Magliulo said.
Hulkamania moving wild
Caesars besides hosted WrestleMania 9 successful 1993, erstwhile Magliulo was tasked with posting likelihood connected the scripted matches for amusement purposes only. But Hulk Hogan didn’t find it amusing erstwhile Magliulo made his tag squad a flimsy underdog.
“I’m successful my bureau down the sportsbook antagonistic and I commencement proceeding this roar, and it’s getting louder and louder,” Magliulo said. “I look up and spot this camera airy coming from the different broadside of the counter. The adjacent happening I cognize the backmost doorway bursts unfastened and present comes Hulk Hogan and Randy “Macho Man” Savage successful full-on spandex.
“Hulk Hogan is each spot of 6-6. He yells, ‘Where’s the oddsman? I privation him now. Who dares to marque the Hulkster an underdog?’ He’s looking close astatine me. And I said, ‘You conscionable missed him. If you hurry, you’ll astir apt drawback him close extracurricular the book.’”
Contact newsman Todd Dewey astatine tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 connected X.
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