Who is Billy Dobson

Billy Dobson grew up to the bright lights of Las Vegas. His father originally from Phoenix, AZ left during the recession

of 1990. Jobs were cut at an alarming rate and Billy’s father sought employment in the ever growing city of Las Vegas. He

was able to find consistent work as a three card poker dealer at the Luxor hotel. As for Billy’s mom, she lived with Billy

and his father, but wasn’t much apart of his life. She found work as a dancer in town and her odd hours of work forced

Billy’s Dad to shoulder the majority of the parenting duties. The parents couldn’t afford day care, so Billy essentially

grew up in a Casino. While his dad dealt cards, Billy had to entertain himself. He saw Vegas in his own intimate way. Billy’s

life changed forever when one day he stumbled into the Luxor Sportsbook. As a 12-year old, he had little exposure to sports

let alone sports gambling. The scoreboard that read all the sportslines for the day might as well been a Christmas tree. He

was enthralled. He had no idea what these names and numbers meant, but he knew it could serve as an outlet as he waited

for his Dad to provide for the family.

Over the course of 4 months, Billy returned to the Sportsbook everyday to watch the lines move, read about storylines, and

interact with gamblers. One day Billy befriended an old salty patron from Fargo, North Dakota. His new friend Tom was

on an extended stay in Las Vegas. Billy to young and naive skipped over his new friend’s story and began his inquisition

into the world of sports gambling. Tom was his tour guide. Tom himself needed a friend just as bad as Billy and in his old

age was happy to help teach the young boy a thing or two. The 4 months was filled with scheduled meeting times where

Tom and Billy would predict scores, analyze live games, and talk about their favorite teams. Billy had a loose connection to

Arizona sports knowing his Dad was born there. His father having still been unsettled by having to leave Arizona never

talked sports with his son. At that time, there was a newly organized professional baseball team that had just played its 3rd

full season: the Arizona Diamondbacks. Billy, in search of a team to call his own, began to research the Diamondbacks,

debated lineups, rosters moves, and bullpen depth with Tom. Billy began telling Tom that he couldn’t wait for the day until

he could start betting on the Arizona Diamondbacks. Even though Billy spent so much time at the Sportsbook, he still had

never placed a bet.

In anticipation for the 2001 baseball season, Billy made sure to get to the sportsbook early on opening day. It was like

Christmas morning. As crowds of people filed into the Luxor Sportsbook to place their opening day bets, Billy took a

careful notice of all the different jerseys these out of towners were sporting. He felt as if he had walked into a major league

stadium. There was one man he took a keen notice to. A man wearing a worn out Steve Finley Diamondbacks jersey. The

man had just left the counter with a stack of white slipped tickets that read his bets. In the midst of the opening day frenzy,

one of the 40 tickets the man held fell loose from the stack. It slowly rocked back and the forth suspended in the air until it

found its resting place on the ground. Now in debted to all Diamondbacks fans, Billy rushed over to pick it up for the

gentleman. Billy took hold of the ticket and looked up with a smile. The man was nowhere to be seen. His heart sank. He

had let him down. That night when driving home with his father from the Luxor Hotel Billy pulled the ticket from his

pocket. “Where did you get this Billy?” his dad said with a concerned tone. “I found it on the ground in the sportsbook. I’m

sorry dad. I tried to give it back to the man who dropped it. What does it say?” Billy pleaded

10 minutes later Billy and his father found themselves pulled over in a Denny’s parking lot examining the betting slip. It

read – futures bet: Arizona Diamondbacks to win the World Sieres : +1000 Wager: $10,000 Payout: $110,000. “Billy,” his

father said sounding almost out of breath “this is for alot of money.” “What do we do Dad?” Billy said both concerned and intrigued.

Billy’s father knew the Luxor Sportsbook was one of the few sportsbooks in town that didn’t verify the identity with a

winning ticket over $20,000. His father had a strong moral compass, but what was the resolution here. Turn it back into the

sportsbook? No. This may have been fate. Bigger things at play. They needed the money. He thought this could be their ticket to be able to move

back to Phoenix.

“Son we let it ride,” his Father said as a smile wiped across his face. Billy had no idea what “let it ride” meant, but he

knew it had something to do with the Diamondbacks winning.

As the story played out, Billy watched every game of the 2001 season with his Dad. With little optimism they could

actually win the World Sieries, Billy and his father were still able to rebuild their relationship. Their father-son bond revolved

around one thing – the Arizona Diamondbacks.

As the seasons changed and travelers filtered in and out of Vegas, the Diamondbacks’ 6 month regular season concluded

with a punched ticket to the playoffs. Billy and his father’s golden ticket was becoming somewhat legitmate.

Over the next two months, the Diamondbacks took the father-son duo and even Tom on an emotional rollercoaster.

Despite Byung-hyun Kim, the Diamondbacks prevailed. Soon after, Billy’s father moved the family back to Arizona and

even let Tom live in there garage.