Returns to Pennsylvania

Jimmy Vaccaro ends 50-year legendary bookmaking career in Las Vegas

Jimmy Vaccaro
2025-08-20
Reading time 1:42 min

Jimmy Vaccaro, a fixture in Las Vegas sportsbooks for five decades, has retired and returned to his hometown of Trafford, Pennsylvania. The Sports Gambling Hall of Famer, who turns 80 in October, stepped down from his role as oddsmaker at South Point Casino in July, closing a chapter that began in 1975.

“It’s been a great ride, but we all get old,” Vaccaro said in a report by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It was time. Fifty years is enough. I want to spend some time just doing nothing.”

Still, the legendary bookmaker hasn’t ruled out a return to the scene that made him famous. “Everything can change in a minute,” he added. “Who the hell knows what’s going to happen tomorrow. I might do something now and then (for a sportsbook). I’m sure I’ll be back in Las Vegas. But it’s going to take me a while.”

Vaccaro started as a blackjack dealer at the Royal Inn, where owner Michael Gaughan offered him a spot in dealer school with the understanding that he’d pay back the $250 fee later. Gaughan later tapped him to help open a sportsbook despite neither having prior experience. That partnership led to the launch of the Barbary Coast sportsbook in 1979.

He later ran sportsbooks at the MGM Grand and Golden Nugget, eventually opening the Mirage sportsbook for Steve Wynn in 1989. It was there that Vaccaro offered odds on Mike Tyson’s 1990 title fight against Buster Douglas, one of the biggest upsets in sports history. While most sportsbooks avoided posting odds, Vaccaro made Tyson a 42-1 favorite. The upset loss led to global headlines and was later featured in ESPN’s “30 for 30” film 42 to 1.

Vaccaro also pioneered season win totals in 1989, introducing over-under betting lines on NFL teams, a concept that quickly caught on across the country. “Every newspaper in the country called me up and said, ‘What about the Bears?’ ‘What about the Steelers?’” he said.

Outside the sportsbook, he briefly entered pop culture with a 1995 appearance on Springfield’s Most Wanted, a special tied to The Simpsons, where he discussed odds on “Who shot Mr. Burns?” He was the first human character featured in the franchise.

Looking back at his career, Vaccaro said: “I was very, very fortunate to have Michael Gaughan give me a chance to do this. Then I was hired by Kirk Kerkorian and Steve Wynn. It was a great ride.”

Though retired, Vaccaro hasn’t completely closed the door. “I’m not a normal person,” he joked. “Buying a house and getting a car, that’s way over my head… I can’t even turn the light on.”

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