American Gambler Book Club

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  A Brief History of Sports Gambling in America 19.08.2026 2min

  This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidhill.substack.comThis is the talk I gave at Bet Bash earlier this month. As I state at the beginning, this isn’t a comprehensive history or even a scholarly one. It’s merely a collection of anecdotes and stories I found surprising and interesting as I’ve researched this topic over the last couple of years. Folks at Bet Bash seemed to enjoy it and encouraged me to do it again, so I’ve recorded it here for paying subscribers. If you’re not already a paid subscriber and you’d like to watch, you can sign up with this link: If you’d like a more involved or comprehensive treatment of this topic, here’s a short bibliography of books I mention in this talk or that I found useful while researching it: Over/Under: An Unexpected History of Sports Betting by David BockinoSports Betting and Bookmaking: An American History by Arne LangRoll the Bones: A History of Gambling by David SchwartzPlay the Devil: A History of Gambling in the United States from 1492 to 1955 by Henry ChafetzAnd don’t forget you can buy any of the books mentioned here on this substack or on the podcast at our bookshop: https://bookshop.org/lists/american-gambler-book-club
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  Odds Man Out with Jay Cohen 29.07.2026 1godz 15min

  Jay Cohen was one of the founders of World Sports Exchange in 1997, the first ever fully online sports betting site. In 2000 he was the first person ever convicted of violating the federal Wire Act for running an online sportsbook, despite the fact that his company was fully established and licensed in Antigua and that he built it with the advice of an army of lawyers, accountants and consultants to make sure he wasn’t breaking any American laws. Cohen was the only American offshore operator to come back to the United States and plead Not Guilty and fight the case. He lost and served 18 months in federal prison. Odds Man Out is the story not only of how he built World Sports Exchange, but of the years-long trial where he did battle with the U.S. government and the major sports leagues to defend his business and clear his name.Buy Odds Man OutGet your tickets to Bet BashSubscribe to my SubstackAmerican Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe
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  Over/Under with David Bockino 03.07.2026 1godz 19min

  Elon University professor David Bockino’s new book on the history of sports gambling makes the case that sports in America aren’t corrupted by gambling - but owe their very existence to the undeniable American urge to gamble. He joins me on this episode to discuss his book and his research. Buy Over/Under: An Unexpected History of Sports GamblingAmerican Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe
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  The Natural with Charles Star 01.06.2026 1godz 19min

  I finally broke my standing rule of “No Fiction” in this episode to read Bernard Malamud’s debut novel The Natural. If you’ve seen the 1984 film adaptation starring Robert Redford but, like me, had never read the novel, you will be shocked at how radically different the story in the 1952 novel is from that of the feel-good film. Joining me to discuss is the co-host of the No Homework podcast Charles Star. We recorded this episode live from the cheap seats at a Mets game with terrible microphones, so just pretend it’s 1952 and cut me a break if it sounds bad. Listen to No HomeworkBuy The NaturalAmerican Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe
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  On the Edge with Jennifer Shahade 25.05.2026 1godz 24min

  Nate Silver’s 2024 bestseller On the Edge: Risking it All is a deep-dive into the philosophical and cultural underpinnings of our modern-day gambling-obsessed America. In nearly six hundred pages he examines everything from poker to cryptocurrency to AI, and presents an ontology that divides American elites into “The River” and “The Village”: risk-takers and risk-averse. Joining me to discuss it is the chess and poker player Jennifer Shahade, author of the new book Thinking Sideways: How to Think Like a Chess Player and Win at Life. Buy Thinking SidewaysBuy On the EdgeSubscribe to Jen’s SubstackDonate to Chess in the SchoolsAmerican Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe
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  Book Club: Something for Nothing Chapters 4 & 5 08.05.2026 3min

  This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidhill.substack.comOur current book club pick is Something for Nothing: Luck in America by Jackson Lears. We’re trying something new for this book: weekly livestream discussions. Tune in live each week to watch for free or subscribe and get access to the archived videos. This week we continue with a discussion of Chapters 4 & 5. American Gambler is a reader-supported publ…
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  Book Club: Something for Nothing Chapters 1-3 27.04.2026 3min

  This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidhill.substack.comOur current book club pick is Something for Nothing: Luck in America by Jackson Lears. We’re trying something new for this book: weekly livestream discussions. Tune in live each week on Mondays at 2pm to watch or subscribe and get access to the archive. This week we kick it off with a discussion of the Introduction and Chapters 1-3.
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  The Gambling Animal with Kit Chellel 12.04.2026 1godz

  Two experimental economists spent decades studying the way human beings evaluate risk and probability by doing gambling experiments on people all over the world. Then they repeated those experiments with elephants. What they learned might hold the key to some of humanity's most pressing issues - including climate change. This week we read The Gambling Animal: Humanity’s Evolutionary Winning Streak - and How We Risk It All by Don Ross and Glenn Harrison. My guest to discuss it is the London based senior writer at Bloomberg Kit Chellel, whose new book Lucky Devils: The True Story of Three Rebel Gamblers Who Beat the Odds and Changed the Game is out this week.Buy Lucky DevilsBuy The Gambling AnimalRead an excerpt of Lucky Devils at BloombergAmerican Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe
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  Gamblers and the Public Gaze with Danny Funt 18.03.2026 5min

  This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidhill.substack.comAfter reading the recent Atlantic cover story on sports gambling I knew I needed to vent about it to someone, so I asked my friend Danny Funt to come on my substack and have a friendly debate about it. He’s the author of the book Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling and has been covering the gambling beat for many years. You’ve probabl…
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  Bookie with Roxy Roxborough 16.03.2026 1godz 6min

  Gary Mayer’s first (and only?) book came out in 1974 when he was 29 years old. It was an account of the two and a half years he spent working for his bookie to pay off his debts called Bookie: My Life in Disorganized Crime. It was darkly funny and at the time it was well received. Over the years it has faded into obscurity, and its author and subject both gone with little trace of the rest of their lives. Roxy Roxborough, a former bookmaker whose life has been anything but obscure and anonymous, joins me this week to talk about Gary Mayer, “Al Talcum,” and the good old days and current strange ones. Buy Bookie: My Life in Disorganized CrimeAmerican Gambler Book Club SALE: Use the code BSO15 for 15% off these titles until April 1stAmerican Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe
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  Jimmy the Greek with Peter Richmond 02.02.2026 1godz 21min

  We’re kicking off the second season of AGBC with the memoir of perhaps the most famous American gambler of all time: Jimmy the Greek Snyder. Known as the “Oddsmaker to the Nation” during his twelve-year run on CBS, his life was a high-stakes drama defined by a presidential pardon, the tragic loss of his children, and an abrupt 1988 downfall that he claimed “carved his guts right out”.This episode dives into the “Steubenville Way” of a man who lived through seven cycles of being broke and rich, only to end his life in bewilderment after the network world he craved for legitimacy finally pulled the trap door. Joining me to discuss Jimmy the Greek is the writer Peter Richmond. Peter is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author of six books including “Badasses” about the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s. His piece on Jimmy the Greek, “Jimmy the Greek: The Living Dead,” was published by the National Sports Daily in 1990 and was selected for the inaugural edition of The Best American Sportswriting. Follow Peter Richmond on SubstackRead “Jimmy the Greek: The Living Dead”Purchase Badasses: The Legend of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death, and John Madden's Oakland RaidersPurchase Jimmy the Greek by HimselfAmerican Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe
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  Movie Club! Marty Supreme with Ursula Lawrence 22.01.2026 10min

  This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidhill.substack.comI had a fun conversation with Ursula Lawrence about Marty Supreme. We talked about the incredible cast, the ways the film explores life in the immediate aftermath of the war, and the ways that it is as much a gambling movie as Uncut Gems. We also check the prices on Kalshi and decide it’s a strong BUY at $0.07. American Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To re…
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  The (writing) Struggle is Real with Gina Fiore 16.01.2026 4min

  This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit davidhill.substack.comIn the first of what I hope will be a number of regular Substack Live conversations here, I had a really enlightening conversation with Gina Fiore. Gina is also in the midst of trying to complete a book, and we talked all about the writing process and the fears and anxieties that accompany publishing. Some of the books we discuss in this conversation, and the lin…
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  The Big Short with Sal Gentile 22.12.2025 1godz 19min

  The final episode of the year AND the season, and it’s a good one. This week we read Michael Lewis’s 2010 bestseller The Big Short, a book about gambling at the highest of stakes, the unlikely characters who won big, and the losers who let the American people settle their debt. Joining me to discuss The Big Short is Sal Gentile, who writes A Closer Look on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Sal and I discuss comedy, writing, and get political talking about the financial crisis of 2008 and its long, nightmarish aftermath. Presented by InGame.com. Buy The Big ShortRead “Kalshi Files To Accept Bets On Who Enters NCAA Transfer Portal”American Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe
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  Laughing in the Hills with Peter Thomas Fornatale 15.12.2025 1godz 14min

  Laughing in the Hills, Bill Barich’s 1979 memoir of ten weeks spent at Golden Gate Fields racetrack in Northern California, was named one of Sports Illustrated’s Top 100 Sports Books of All Time. First serialized in The New Yorker, the book is about far more than the sport of horse racing, and far more than just gambling. It’s about grief, philosophy, art, culture, spirituality, media, and more. It’s an incredible book, and one of my favorites. Joining me to discuss it is the journalist, writer, and racetrack denizen Peter Thomas Fornatale. Presented by InGame.com. Buy the Laughing in the Hills ebookBuy the Laughing in the Hills paperbackBuy Peter Fornatale’s books at In The MoneySubscribe to In The MoneyGive a subscription to American Gambler as a giftRead “What If Californians Are Good On Gambling, Don’t Want Sports Betting After All?” at InGame.comLaughing in the Hills book club guide: part 1, part 2, part 3American Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe
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  The Vig with Peter Alson 08.12.2025 1godz 16min

  This week we do something a little different. Our paid subscriber book club met up in Brooklyn over the weekend to play some low-stakes poker with Peter Alson, the author of our most recent book club pick, The Vig: Confessions of an Ivy League Bookie. This episode is a recording of a conversation with Peter during that game. Presented by InGame.com. Buy The Vig by Peter AlsonBuy Take Me to the River by Peter AlsonRead A Professor’s Take: Let College Athletes Bet Legally On Pro Sports at InGame.comAmerican Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe
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  A Fan's Notes with John Semley 24.11.2025 1godz 22min

  This week we discuss a book that has it all: a writer succumbs to alcohol and ends up in a mental institution, fist fights with random strangers, has tons of meaningless sex, engages in self righteousness, self hatred, and cynicism in equal measure, rejects middle class morality, and acts as a courier for a single bet made on a football game (we had to get some gambling in there somewhere). The book is Frederick Exley’s “fictional memoir” A Fan’s Notes. Joining me is the writer John Semley, host of the podcast Slow Learners. Presented by InGame.com. Buy A Fan’s NotesListen to Slow LearnersRead “Warning, A Prediction Market Ad Blitz is Coming” at InGame.comAmerican Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe
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  Titanic Thompson with Steve Ruddock 17.11.2025 1godz 22min

  Kevin Cook’s 2010 book The True Story of Titanic Thompson: The Man Who Bet on Everything is a superbly written, thoroughly researched, novel-like history of one of the most fabled figures in the annals of gambling lore: Alvin Thomas. I’m joined to discuss the book and all things Titanic by the journalist and former poker pro Steve Ruddock, creator of the substack Straight to the Point. Presented by InGame.comBuy Titanic Thompson: The Man Who Bet on EverythingSubscribe to Straight to the PointRead “Why Sporttrade CEO Is Bullish On DraftKings, FanDuel Even If Prediction Markets Dominate” at InGame.comAmerican Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe
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  Learning from Las Vegas with Molly Lambert 10.11.2025 1godz 18min

  This week on the show we discuss the classic architecture text Learning from Las Vegas, a book that revolutionized design theory by rejecting the original and heroic and celebrating the ugly and ordinary - qualities the authors found in abundant supply in 1966 on the Las Vegas Strip. My guest to discuss this book is the funny and brilliant Molly Lambert: a cultural critic, journalist, and the creator of the new podcast JennaWorld about Las Vegas native and legendary adult film actress Jenna Jameson. Curious how we stitch all these things together? You’ll have to listen to find out! Presented by InGame.com. Buy Learning from Las VegasListen to JennaWorldSubscribe to the JennaWorld PatreonRead “Las Vegas (What?) LAS VEGAS (Can’t hear you! Too noisy) LAS VEGAS !!!!” by Tom Wolfe Read “Jason Robins: Prediction Markets Are A Gamble, iCasino On Upswing, And More” at InGame.comAmerican Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe
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  The Smart Money with David Purdum 03.11.2025 1godz 3min

  Michael Konik set out to write a magazine article about a famous sports gambler. Instead he ended up working for him for years. When Konik finally had enough of the gambling life he wrote a memoir called The Smart Money, and it offers a rare up-close view of the ins and outs of one of the biggest sports betting operations in American history. Joining me to discuss it is ESPN’s David Purdum. We talk about the latest NBA scandal, the business of covering the business of gambling, and the good old days when sportsbooks took big bets and publishers made big advances. Presented by InGame.com. Read “Jim And Maureen Downs, Architects Who Foresaw The Rise Of Prediction Markets” at InGame.comRead “Is Legal Sports Gambling Creating Cheaters or Exposing a Long-Held Secret?” at Rolling StoneBuy The Smart Money by Michael KonikAmerican Gambler is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidhill.substack.com/subscribe