Showtime to Air Docu-Series on Professional Sports Gambling

For anyone who has ever wondered what it's like to be in the belly of the sports gambling beast, Showtime is prepared to answer all question. 

In late March of this year, Showtime will be releasing its first installment of the docu-series "Action." The 4-part series will take viewers behind the scenes where they will get an opportunity to experience an inside look at professional gamblers, bookies, handicappers, and odds-makers during the 2018 NFL season. Viewers will follow the activities of designated individuals throughout the entire season, culminating in the gambling activities surrounding the 2019 Super Bowl. 

Among the Las Vegas sports gambling insiders who will be featured during the series will be Dave Oancea and Jimmy Vaccaro. 

Oances earned his stripes as a relevant professional sports bettor in 2015 with one amazing wager. While many of the MLB experts were predicting the 2015 Kansas City Royals would finish last in its division and perhaps in the American League, Oances went against the grain and coaxed an unnamed sports book into accepting his $100,000 future book wager on those same Royals to win the World Series. When the Royals obliged, Oances collected what turned out to be the largest future book payout in history, earning him the moniker "Vegas Dave." As a point of reference, $100,000 sports wagers are quite common for this well-respected sports betting consultant. 

Jimmy Vaccaro has taken a very different path to fame in the sports betting community. Over his 40 years in the industry, Vaccaro has worked as one of Vegas' top bookmakers, running bookmaking operations for the Golden Nugget and MGM Resorts during the 80s and 90s. Being in front of the camera should be familiar territory for a man who has routinely made appearances on CNN and ESPN as a guest handicapper and odds-maker. 

According to Showtime’s Sports and Events Programming President Stephen Espinoza, “the world of sports gambling has fascinated Hollywood for decades. Through the lens of industry professionals and real-life gamblers within every virtual layer of the business – both legal and illegal- Action delivers a one-of-a-kind look as sports gambling enters a brave new world.” 

The timing of this series will coincide with the ongoing legalization of sports gambling in the US. One state after another it taking its lead to legalize sports gambling for its residents after the US Supreme Court's May 2019 decision to rule the 2006 ban against sports betting was unconstitutional.