Then One Day... by Chris Andrews

Then One Day... by Chris Andrews

Chris Andrews was destined to be a bookmaker.

Growing up under the watchful eye and influence of his Uncle Jack Franzi, legendary Pittsburgh wiseguy and Las Vegas sportsbook pioneer, Chris started booking sports bets in the fifth grade. He followed Uncle Jack to Las Vegas shortly after graduating college in the mid-'70s, landing his first job in the sports book at the Stardust right after the bad-old Frank Rosenthal and Chicago mob regime. Next, he moved to the Barbary Coast where he started handling major action, one time losing $250,000 on an eight-hour shift.

At age 25, Chris became the youngest sports book director in the business at the Club Cal Neva in Reno. He started to make his mark on the industry, inventing the pleaser and 10-point teaser cards, introducing Super Bowl-style prop bets for Monday Night Football games, and, perhaps most importantly, giving Roxy Roxborough, Las Vegas' most influential oddsmaker, his first paying job.

Then One Day. delves deeply into the consciousness of a legitimate bookmaker and sports bettor. By the time you finish this memoir, you'll be an expert in the language and customs of legalized gambling on sporting events, which, now that the Supreme Court has opened the door, is finally set to explode throughout the nation.

When Chris Andrews was a boy in Pittsburgh, he began an unofficial career in sports betting. Jack Franzi, his uncle, is a legend among bookies and wiseguys. Chris began his official career as a ticket writer in the sports betting industry in Las Vegas in 1979. By the age of 25, he had risen fast through the ranks and was the director of the sports book at the Club Cal Neva in Reno. He is now the director of sports betting at the South Point in Las Vegas.