Remember Gov. Balzar While Filling Out Brackets

By Dave “Large” Larzelere
Tomorrow, millions of regular Americans around the nation, many of whom rarely gamble during the rest of the year, will embark on a three-week nationally celebrated sports gambling orgy. So, it is fitting that we should remember the events that occurred a very lucky 77 years ago today.
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On March 19, 1931, Nevada Governor Fred Balzar signed Assembly Bill 98 into law, officially legalizing commercial gaming in the state of Nevada. It was the first step in the creation of the modern American Valhalla, or Sodom and Gomorrah (depending on your point of view), that is Las Vegas.
So think about that today as you fill out your brackets and structure your wagering strategies, and also think about this -- Nevada remains the only state in the union that has legalized sports gambling, other than track betting. To which I must paraphrase Homer Simpson and say, “ah sports gambling ... the cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.”↵