Chris Andrews
287 pp., 2021, $19.95, Huntington Press
In 2020, Americans spent a record amount betting on sports and generated over $1.3 billion in revenue for operators. While that is just a fraction of the revenue from traditional casino gaming, a billion dollars is still real money. Remember, we’re talking about 2020, a year that produced the biggest declines in casino revenue since the housing bust of 2008.
In retrospect, it was ironic that legendary Nevada oddsmaker Chris Andrews chose 2020 to document a “typical” year in the life of a sportsbook by starting a daily diary. A “year” in sports betting is actually 13 months or so and starts and ends with the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl. The year certainly seemed “typical” like it would be typical when the Chiefs beat the 49ers in Superbowl LIV (54) in February 2020.
But Andrews notes that a few weeks earlier, buried on the same page as the tragic headline of Kobe Bryan’s death on January 26, was a small article about two Los Angeles residents who’d contracted a mysterious virus. It was truly the first “writing on the wall.”
Then One Year… is Andrew’s second book following his 2019 Then One Day…, which I had strongly recommended when it was published since it was becoming clear even then that sports betting was being reborn. Legal online betting was suddenly re-energizing one of the oldest forms of wagering.
Andrews’ reflections on his 40-year career in dealing with bettors over the counter and setting the lines was (and is) a wonderful backgrounder on a subject that is still mysterious to many.
Andrews told me last week his inspiration for this book came from boxing writer Larry Merchant’s 1971 Ringside Seat at the Circus, done on the topic of sports journalism. And so, Andrews began his daily notes, often writing well into the night each day. He says that only 40 or 50% of that material eventually made it into this book. (Maybe Book 3, Chris??)
Once the virus hit its peak with casino closings nationwide, Andrews called his publisher asking whether he should abandon the project. Thankfully, he was encouraged to continue, and it makes for a more interesting read.
He helps us all recall that period of uncertainty and paranoia we faced beginning in March. While it now seems like a lifetime ago now, most can never forget the painful moments of layoffs, remote work sessions, pay cuts, terminations, Zoom fails, and near-daily new procedures and mandates.
If that weren’t enough, Andrews had a unique 2020 challenge. Two years earlier he’d been told he only had two years to live due to a rare blood cancer. A bone marrow transplant he’d undergone earlier was a possible cure, but it was also a coin toss whether it would work.
Thus, when the rest of us still thought Corona was just a beer, Andrews was already immuno-compromised and forced to wear a mask long before March. The book is sprinkled with his humorous one-liners, and on masks he says, “I appeared to be a trendsetter, rather than an outlier.” (Spoiler Alert: Chris has recovered and is doing well today).
Andrews says in the book’s Intro that he worried “a lot of the content would be repetitious and boring.” That seldom happens, but there are a few moments near the start of the Bowl season (i.e. the drama of the point spread changes on Louisiana v Appalachian State may not be everyone’s cup of tea). But overall, this book remains lively, informative and interesting throughout.
Most of that is due to Andrews’ self-effacing style and his subtle sense of humor. It’s worth the $19.95 price just to read his dozens of suggested names for the then-nameless Washington professional football team (here’s just two: “The Washington Holy-Shit-Win-and-We’re-Ins” and “The Washington Please-Give-Us-A-Real-Name-By-Next-Season).
If you’ve never heard of the drama and misdeeds surrounding the management of the former Washington Redskins and their controversial owner, perhaps this might not be the book for you. For everyone else, it’s an in-depth and rewarding look into sports betting. You can find it at Huntington Press or on Amazon for $19.95.
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I met Chris for the first time last week at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa in Las Vegas. Yet, I feel like I’ve known him forever. He oversaw the Sportsbook at Reno’s Club Cal Neva for over two dozen years while I worked nearby at Fitzgeralds and the Eldorado. He personally created all those parlay tickets that I managed to mark wrong each and every week in season. Why couldn’t he have had a cash prize for the longest losing streak?
