Welcome to Sports Handle‘s recurring “Ask a Bookmaker” column, which answers many of the common (and uncommon!) questions gamblers and enthusiasts have about how sportsbooks operate in the modern age of sports betting.
The executive vice president of race and sportsbook operations at the Westgate SuperBook, Jay Kornegay has been in the sports betting industry for more than 30 years. After getting his start in Lake Tahoe, Kornegay took his talents to Las Vegas, where he opened the Imperial Palace sportsbook in 1989 before taking the reins of the 30,000-square-foot SuperBook in 2004. A Colorado State University alum whose putting stroke tends to betray him on the back nine, Kornegay has helped navigate the SuperBook’s expansion into multiple states since PASPA was overturned in 2018.
Have a question you’d like to ask Kornegay? Send it to [email protected]. The Q&A below has been edited for clarity and brevity.
What sports betting moments or stories count among your most memorable of 2023? rin
Overall, sports wagering is more popular than ever. The numbers continue to skyrocket and there are no signs of it slowing down. We all see the numbers across the country and it’s very obvious that Americans love betting sports.
I find it somewhat comical at times when reports will come out saying that the handle is down versus last month. Well, there are variables involved. College basketball started at the beginning of November, so the volume levels in November are, and should be, well above what they are in December, just based off the sports schedule. You’ll see a report coming out of a state that handle’s dropped by 6 percent from last month, but there are some underlying factors.
But overall, we all know that numbers are going up.
Parlays continued to be a highly popular — and mostly losing — proposition for the casual betting public in 2023. Does the industry have an obligation to better educate bettors about the long odds for success these bets carry or does that responsibility fall to the bettor? 5z1m3q
I think they educate themselves, for the most part. We do our best to educate the fans and answer all the questions they might have, and we’ve been doing that for 30-plus years. I understand the attraction to the parlays. The low-risk, high-reward scenario is very attractive to a lot of players. That’s why lotteries are so popular, especially when you have record-setting jackpots. I can tell you the odds of sports parlays are a lot better than the lottery.
I think a lot of bettors understand that it is a longshot to win on parlays, but they don’t want to risk a lot. That’s their prerogative, but we do our best to try and educate them. In today’s world of social media, you can be educated very quickly if you follow the right people.
Every sportsbook wants to come out on top at the end of the day, but do you think the obsession with high holds has led to the unfair limiting of sharper gamblers by some sportsbooks? In a perfect world, how would a sportsbook deal with such bettors? 6e6v21
It’s a tough situation because you’ve got bettors out there who are trying to make a living out of this, and we as operators are trying to be a profitable business. We try to be as fair as we possibly can to the sharpest bettors out there. Being fair still requires some limitations, and as far as I know, all operators have limits.
What lessons has the SuperBook learned about what to do and what not to do as it’s expanded its presence outside of Nevada? 444i3
I think the industry as a whole has curtailed the promos and bonuses, and we are certainly included in that group. The cost of acquisition is becoming a metric that everybody’s looking at. How much does it cost you to acquire a customer and does it make sense to spend as much as some are to acquire a player? A lot of that expense has been reduced over the last 18 months or so, and that continues. It’s going to be more managed than it has in the past.
Vegas seemed to become the undisputed live sports capital of America, if not the world, in 2023. How, if at all, has that impacted the way you do business at the Westgate SuperBook? 2c5356
First of all, we’re very excited for these events to be hosted in our home city. It brings the added volume to our entire property, not just the sportsbook. The restaurants, the hotel, the casino all benefit from these events being hosted in Las Vegas. Not so much on the bookmaking side have we made adjustments, but it’s more special events. We’ve hosted more parties, whether it’s smaller groups or larger groups — that’s where it’s really impacted our business.
Whether they’re from Washington or Arizona or Wisconsin, getting more of these great groups to come and visit our city and our properties, we’ve had to adjust our special events calendar to accommodate their needs. We do notice betting volume levels have increased on those events we’ve hosted.
What are your expectations for Las Vegas’ first Super Bowl in early 2024? 1i3c4g
I think this will be the biggest Super Bowl ever for us. There are only 70,000 fans that can go to the game, but there are going to be hundreds of thousands that go to the party. F1 might not have turned out to be what we thought it would be, but we have no doubt the Super Bowl may the biggest sporting event in Las Vegas ever.
What sports betting storylines do you think have a chance to dominate the industry discourse in 2024? 5py4j
There’s a few out there that come to mind. I think more resources will be dedicated to the player experience, meaning technology, controlled offerings, and enhancing the player’s experience and/or journey. I think that’s vital.
On the other side of the coin, I think that as expansion continues across the country, I think leagues and the NCAA and schools are going to take measures in educating their student-athletes and pro athletes on the guidelines of all this expansion. Those type of stories make headlines, but you can’t expect the operators to control everything. This should not be something with gray areas.
