2018 Gambling Olympics: Team Jennings Is the Easy Favorite
The Highlights
- The inaugural Gambling Olympics takes place in Las Vegas on July 9-10.
- The event features 12 of the gambling world’s biggest names competing as individuals and teams in 12 separate events.
- Team Jennings features Peter Jennings, Brandon Adams, Paul Lo Duca and BlackJack Fletcher.
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.
Team Jennings
Jennings did a great job assembling his team, which currently is a +125 favorite to win the Gambling Olympics. His team has no obvious weaknesses: Each member is favored to win at least one of the individual events. Adams and Jennings are analytical yet appropriately degenerate while Lo Duca and Fletcher are deliciously filthy with an abundance of street smarts. That balance could lead to victory.
- Peter Jennings: FantasyLabs Co-Founder
- Brandon Adams: Professional Poker Player & High Stakes DFS Sharp
- Paul Lo Duca: Former MLB All-Star Catcher & Action Network Analyst
- BlackJack Fletcher: Action Network Analyst & Master of the Sartorial Arts
Events
- +125 to win Gambling Olympics
- +175 to win Rock-Paper-Scissors
- +150 to win Beer Pong
- +150 to win Connect 4
- +140 to win Acey-Deucey
- +120 to win DFS
- +120 to win Sports Betting
- +250 to win Crytpo Portfolio
- +125 to win Poker
- +150 to win Standings Prediction
- +130 to win Blackjack
- +150 to win Yahtzee
- +150 to win Lodden Thinks
It’s easy to see why Team Jennings is the favorite. Outside of the events that MyBookie has implied are pure chance (Connect 4, Standings Prediction, Yahtzee and Lodden Thinks) the only event in which Team Jennings has the longest odds is Crypto Portfolio. If they have a little luck, the individual members of the team could collectively win the supermajority of the events.
The Teammates
Jennings: He enters this contest with the best individual odds to win the Gambling Olympics (+450) and no real weaknesses. Although he's an admitted Donkey, he has enough crypto experience to win that event. He’s also confident in Acey-Deucey, a game most competitors didn't know till recently. And as a two-time DFS world champ, he's unsurprisingly a +350 favorite in what figures to be his best event.
Adams: In Adams the team has another guy who could compete for the individual title (+600), assuming he actually makes it to the event. There is a chance he will miss it if he makes a deep run in the World Series of Poker Main Event, which could happen considering his elite poker skills. If Adams does show up, he figures to be one of the most balanced competitors in the field. He’s an underdog in just Beer Pong and Crypto Portfolio, but there aren’t many participants who describe themselves as strong in those areas. If Adams manages to have near-average performances in his weak events, he will be a boon to the team.
BlackJack: He's an old-school gambling character who looks like he's straight out of a movie. He should feel right at home in the games of chance as a professional bettor, but BlackJack is more of a cash man than a crypto bro, so he could be a liability in that event. He’s a +900 longshot to win the whole tournament, but he should provide Team Jennings with lots of value in his best events.
Lo Duca: He could be a wild card for Team Jennings. His ability to design and execute a game plan is part of the reason he was so successful in the major leagues — and he had plenty of bravado when talking about the Gambling Olympics on "The Three Donkeys" podcast — but he's something of an unknown when it comes to most of the events. A former student at Arizona State, Lo Duca has reportedly been training for the Beer Pong event for decades.
Analysis
Kudos to Jennings for putting together this team. It arguably has more paths to victory than any other team. The only event in which they could all struggle is probably Crypto Portfolio, which all four of them expressed doubts about heading into the Gambling Olympics.
How Team Jennings wins: They do what they’re expected to do, bagging a top-two finish in 11 of the 12 events. That includes first-place finishes in DFS and Sports Betting, where they’re heavy favorites, and Beer Pong thanks to a herculean effort from Lo Duca. They also whitewash the field in Blackjack, leading some to accuse the team of using an MIT-style card-counting system.
How Team Jennings loses: The bad breaks start right out of the gate for Team Jennings when Adams is unable to show up because he's the WSOP Main Event chip leader. His absence is particularly felt in Poker and DFS, with the team finishing last in both. Nothing seems to break their way in the luck-based events either, leading BlackJack to change his name to "BadJack" after the contest.
The Pick: Sports Betting +120
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