July 24, 2025 – 1:00 pm
Joe Asher’s reputation as one of Nevada’s premiere sportsbook operators over the years enabled him to sail through final approval Thursday of the licensing of Boomer’s, the state’s only independent sportsbook, by the Nevada Gaming Commission.
Prior to the commission’s unanimous approval of licensing, the new Boomer’s Sports Book president and CEO weighed in on issues confronting the sports-betting industry, including the participation of federal prediction markets in sports wagering.
“Any sort of unregulated gambling I think is antithetical to the public interest, and I’m strongly opposed to it,” Asher said of companies like KalshiEx LLC, a federally monitored prediction market that has a running legal battle with the state over offering sports-betting propositions online.
“The idea that somebody can have this hypothetical right to offer essentially unregulated gambling or gambling supposedly under the auspices of a federal agency is inconsistent with the longstanding policy in our country that gambling is essentially a matter that’s regulated by the states,” he said. “I’m always in favor of gambling being something that is regulated, should be regulated at the state level. That’s been historically the practice unless Congress makes a very clear and explicit decision otherwise. But whether it is this predictive markets or other forms of unregulated gambling, I’m opposed.”
Boomer’s — named for Asher’s dog, who took its name from a racehorse — will start operations at Elko’s Commercial Casino on Aug. 1, with satellite operations opening a few days after that at Ellis Island Casino in Las Vegas and Casino Valley Verde in Henderson. Asher hopes to open 10 outlets in the next year.
Asher, the former CEO of William Hill’s U.S. operations and former president of sports betting for IGT, built a “dream team” of experienced sports book operators from former William Hill and Circa operations, including Nick Bogdanovich, a SBC Sports Betting Hall of Fame inductee who is taking on the role of head of trading for the new book.
Also part of the new Boomer’s team are Dave Grolman, who will serve as senior vice president of sportsbook and customer support operations, and A.G. Burnett, former chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board and current gaming attorney with the McDonald Carano law firm who will head the compliance committee for Boomer’s.
Asher told the Control Board when it recommended approval of licensing on July 9 about the possibility of offering pari-mutuel race wagering in the future. Recent legislative changes, namely the repeal of a disseminator requirement, should result in pari-mutuel wagering being offered in locations around the state where it previously was not, he said. As a result, Asher said Boomer’s will see how the “landscape evolves” before deciding whether to engage in pari-mutuel wagering.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
