2018 Gambling Olympics: Pete Manzinelli the Favorite in $2,000 Broathalon 2.0

The Highlights

• Before the official Gambling Olympics, some of the participants will compete against each other in preliminary events.
• One of these events is the second-annual Broathalon, featuring Pete Manzinelli and the Three Donkeys.
• Each broathlete will compete in five drinking/basketball events to determine 2018's ultimate bro.

The 2018 Gambling Olympics is a two-day, 12-person contest taking place in Las Vegas on July 9-10. The buy-in is $2,500, and the winner gets $10,000.

Before, during and after the Gambling Olympics, we will provide extensive coverage via participant profiles, event breakdowns and live in-person analysis. Be sure to follow all the action in the Gambling Olympics section of the site.

Introducing the 2018 Gambling Olympics

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Broathalon: Manz & the Three Donkeys

The second-annual Broathalon differs from last year's football-themed event.

This year the participants will compete in a Basketz & Booze Brosketball edition. Peter Jennings will join the ultimate battle of bro-ness against defending champion Jonathan Bales, runner-up/founder Pete Manzinelli and lovable loser Adam Levitan.

The buy-in is $500, with all $2,000 going to the winner. Basically, whoever wins the Broathalon will be 80% free-rolling the Main Event.

The contestants will compete in five different events to determine 2018's No. 1 bro.

• Skillz Competition (timed event): Each broathlete must chug a 12-ounce beer and then take a spin with a dizzy bat, dribble the length of the court and finally make a 3-point shot.
• Edward Horsehandz: The broathletes will engage in a typical game of Horse, but each of their off-hands will be duck-taped to a 40-ounce beer. Each broathlete must finish his beer within five minutes of elimination.
• Knockout Blackout: This will be three rounds of classic knockout, but the winner of each round will assign a one-"shot" penalty to any of the non-winners. Shots will be from mini hotel-style bottles.
• NBA Jam-Style 2-on-2 : Each broathlete will play with and against each other for three games. Each game will be to 11 points, scored by 1- and 2-pointers. They will alternate possessions.
• The Drunk Contest: This will be dunk contest on an "appropriately-sized hoop because Levitan is too short to dunk on a regulation hoop." Each contestant will have three dunks in Round 1, followed by a final round judged by an impartial third party.

In each event, Broathletes will be rewarded five points for a first-place finish, three points for second and one point for third. Whoever has the most points at the event of the tournament will be the winner.

Who Will Win the Broathalon?

• Manz +125
• Bales +150
• Levitan +400
• Jennings +500

Results from last year's football-focused Broathalon probably can't tell us much about how this year's event will unfold, but a few insights about the contestants might be gleamed.

Bales may have been the ultimate bro of 2017, but he faced media and fan backlash after subsequently (allegedly) testing positive for PEDs. Sources have confirmed that there will again be no pre-Broathalon testing, and there's no telling what Bales could be on considering that he will have a full Vegas schedule with the other Gambling Olympics events.

Manz won a moral victory in last year's event after providing the afternoon's most courageous performance.

I won the beer-mile competition (four beers, four quarter-mile lapz) despite throwing up and having to run an extra penalty lap. I challenge u to find a more courageous and inspiring event in sports history.

No one questions the heart (or liver) of the Manz. Ultimately, he'll have nobody to blame but himself — and maybe Bales' PEDs — if he can't get the job done this time around, especially since he's the one who picked the events.

And then there is Levitan. Last year he didn't just finish last. He came dangerously close to disrespecting the event with his bush-league drinking performance.

While Levitan spewed propaganda about society being better off without alcohol, Bales and Manz stayed professional and took care of business like a couple of bros.

It'd be one thing if Gerri's father were simply a beer guy and not into the hard-alcohol life, but that's not the case.

Levitan has been cleared by the competition committee for last year's fouls, but he's not likely to get away with any underhanded tactics this year: There's a difference between spewing beer in a grass field and doing it on a basketball court.

Jennings is a wild card as a first-time broathlete, but he's clearly confident in his basketball ability, having recently finalized a 3-point prop with Levitan.

Jennings noted that he's dealing with a hurt knee and his jumper is off. Perhaps that explains why the only contestant with any history of basketball excellence has the worst odds to win. It doesn't help Jennings that he's currently scheduled to do his 3-point challenge and the Broathalon within a couple hours of each other.

Where's the Value?

It's tough to see the Levitanimal overcoming his lack of drinking ability in an alcohol-based event. Jennings certainly has the pedigree of a top-notch bro, but the fatigue from launching over 100 3-pointers (plus practice shots) earlier in the day could limit him.

The defending champ has proven himself time and again as a drinker, and he tends to compete at a high level in big moments, but his conditioning has historically been poor. In the forecast 107-degree Vegas heat, that could be his undoing.

Manz has the "it" factor to steal at least one of the early, booze-heavy events, and he has the flair and alcohol tolerance to finish strong in the Drunk Contest. Most importantly, after last year's second-place finish, he's looking for redemption.

The pick: Manz +125