In many ways, the sports betting world can be described as the Las Vegas version of Wall Street.
"Sports betting is the moral equivalent of Wall Street. It really is. Instead of betting on companies to rise or fall, I'm betting on sports teams to rise or fall. There's no difference between the two," said Teddy Covers, a professional sports bettor and ESPN columnist, in the newly released film, "Life On The Line."
Click to meet the stars of the film >
"The sports bettor's problem is that we haven't marketed ourselves well. It's my job to change that," he added.
The 55-minute film gives an inside look into the secretive world of sports betting by following a group of professional sports bettors and bookies around the time of Super Bowl XLV (Steelers v. Green Bay Packers).
The film's director, Isaac Feder, told Business Insider that he thinks it's the "most authentic sports betting story ever made."
Feder explained that the sports bettors granted him access in order to show them accurately. He described them as diligent, hard working, "brilliant masterminds."
"They really are the best at what they do. It isn't different from what a Wall Street trader does or a stock broker," he said. "They just have terrible press and PR."
A lot of sports bettors are called "wiseguys" and that has a negative connotation nationwide, Covers explained in the film. But in Vegas being a "wiseguy" is a "badge of honor" because it means you're beating the books, he said.
The movie premier was hosted at the LVH in Las Vegas this past weekend. We're told that about 300 people were in attendance for the screening, which was held in the same theater Elvis used to perform in.
Feder was kind enough to share with us some photos from the red carpet event, so let's meet these "wiseguys."
Producers - Cary Lin, Isaac Feder (d), Mahesh Pailoor, Matti Leshem
Isaac Feder and Pro Bettor Bill Krackomberger
Teddy Covers and fiancee Kara Ebstein
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
Please follow Clusterstock on Twitter and Facebook.
