Oddsmaker Martin dies at 82

Thursday, March 8, 2001 | 9:47 a.m.

Oddsmaker Robert L. "Bob" Martin, who for 20 years posted rock-solid lines on sporting events and helped usher in the golden age of sports betting in Nevada, died Wednesday of lung cancer at his New York City apartment. He was 82.

Local services for the Las Vegas resident of 34 years are pending.

"Prior to computers, Bob made the Las Vegas line using experience, intelligence and a gut feeling," said Peter Ruchman, general manager of the Gamblers Book Club. "There will never be another Bob Martin."

Martin, regarded as the premier oddsmaker in the nation, managed the old Churchill Downs Sports Book in the 1960s and early '70s and ran the Union Plaza sports book in the 1970s and early '80s. He invented the "half-point line," eliminating ties with bettors.

"Bob was a consummate storyteller who told many funny tales about the sports betting industry, and he was a gentleman," said longtime Las Vegas gaming analyst Larry Grossman. "Above all, he was a man of great integrity and an excellent ambassador of his profession."

Even a conviction for violating interstate gambling laws in 1982, that included a 13-month prison sentence, did not tarnish Martin's reputation. If anything, it added to his legend because Martin purportedly refused to make a deal for a lesser sentence in exchange for giving names of others the government targeted.

Born Dec. 14, 1918, in Brooklyn, Martin placed his first bet with a bookie at age 12. Four years later, he was booking bets at Brooklyn's Thomas Jefferson High School.

After graduating from New York University with a journalism degree, Martin joined the Army and, while serving in Europe during World War II, amassed a five-figure bankroll taking bets on games that were broadcast over the Armed Forces Radio Network.

After the war, Martin gambled and took bets in New York and Washington, D.C., before coming to Las Vegas in 1963 to work for Harry Gordon at his Churchill Downs book. Martin's accurate lines were used by bookies all over the country, and the Las Vegas line posted by Martin became the industry standard.

After serving his prison sentence, Martin returned to Las Vegas and attempted to get back into the sports betting industry, but could not get a gaming license because of the felony conviction. In 1997, Martin returned to New York.

Martin is survived by his wife of 42 years, Carlotta Martin of New York and a daughter, Stacey St. Clair and her husband Eric St. Clair of Henderson. The names of additional survivors were not immediately available.