Taking Root

By Jeff Haney

Friday, Sept. 10, 2004 | 4:27 a.m.

He counts among his heroes Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Steve Wynn and Jimmy the Greek -- though not necessarily in that order.

A self-described "nice Jewish kid from New York," he parlayed a youthful talent for picking football winners into a TV sports prognosticating empire that's rivaled by few but envied, he says, by many.

He lives in a luxurious $4 million home on a golf course in Henderson, where in his downtime he's plotting a run for the U.S. Senate.

He's "America's handicapper," said Wayne Allyn Root, a 43-year-old Columbia University graduate who tends to sign correspondence with his initials (WAR), and in conversation casually tosses off lines such as, "I'm the best in the world at what I do."

While his self-promoting tactics grate on his competitors, who can be vocal in their dislike of Root, he shrugs off the criticism as a natural by-product of the dog-eat-underdog sports betting advisory business.

Like him or not, we'll soon be seeing a lot more of Root.

His Saturday morning cable TV show, "Wayne Allyn Root's Winning Edge," airs nationally on Spike TV (Cox cable channel 29, 10 a.m.). Root has also scheduled a number of special appearances on CNBC.

His book, "The Zen of Gambling," is scheduled to be released Sept. 23 amid a big publicity push by its publisher, the Penguin Group.

In an interview with the Sun at a TV studio a few blocks from the Strip, Root discussed his place in the gaming world and gives his picks for the Super Bowl and presidential election.

Las Vegas Sun: Given your exposure, many sports fans across the nation consider you the face of Las Vegas gambling. What's it like to have that responsibility?

Wayne Allyn Root: The face I want to present is not sports betting, it's entertainment. I'm entertaining Americans who love betting on sports. I don't think it's a stretch or egotistical to say that I am America's handicapper now.

When the average person who doesn't like sports betting goes out to enjoy themselves, they go to a Broadway play, they go to Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, have dinner in town, then have after-dinner drinks, they spend $400 or $500 -- that's the tab nowadays. So they spent four or five hundred bucks, and they were entertained.

I think it's the same thing when three guys get together to watch a football game and bet $500 on it. If they lose, they spent $500 for entertainment, and if they win, it's the only form of entertainment in the world that pays them.

What matters is that you give people entertainment value, you give them a fighting chance to make a little bit of money. That's the way I see my business.

Sun: Why are sports betting and the sports betting advisory business often portrayed in a negative light?

Root: One reason is because there's a lot of scammy guys out there. The minute someone tells you they have a game fixed or "inside information," run away as fast as you can. But the negative image has also been built to some extent by a gambling public that can never be satisfied by realistic win percentages.

People don't realize that the best gamblers in the world win 55 percent of their games overall. People think they're supposed to hit 70 or 80 percent, and there's no way that can be done. None.

Sun: Why are you a lightning rod for criticism?

Root: No. 1, I'm honest about everything and if you are honest, then people in the industry who are dishonest are going to hate you.

And No. 2, because my name's everywhere, and because I'm the go-to guy for the national media, the people who are honest and hit 55 percent and don't get the press, they hate you. They think you must be doing something wrong because you're getting 10,000 phone calls (from customers) a week.

Sun: So you believe jealousy is a factor?

Root: I think there's a tremendous amount of jealousy in this business. There are so many guys in this business who want to be Wayne Root. And the way to be Wayne Root is to think positively and not knock your opponents.

Sun: The big story in the gambling world is the tremendous growth in the popularity of poker. Can sports betting ever follow suit and undergo a similar explosion in mainstream America?

Root: I have very mixed feelings about that. What I'm worried about is that my 12-year-old daughter, every five minutes now, says, "Mommy, I want to play Texas hold 'em." She got it from turning the TV dial.

I'm in the gambling business, and I promote gambling -- but I think I promote it carefully. I have compulsive gambling treatment links on my Web site. On the TV show, I have a phone number to call for compulsive gambling.

I think the poker shows should run ads saying yes, it's fun to play poker, but if you're a kid, make sure your parents are there. Be sure you don't have a problem and that it doesn't lead to a lifetime of addiction.

Sun: You have intimated the next step in your career might take you into the political realm. Could you describe your political ambitions in Nevada?

Root: Nevada is the perfect place for me to run for office. People here are fiscally conservative but very liberal on social issues. And that's exactly what I am. I'm a libertarian Republican, not a conservative Republican.

Sun: You have said you would favor more regulation of sports betting by the government. Would you like to see some kind of national sports book established that was backed by, and taxed by, the federal government?

Root: I'd like to see online gambling legalized in the United States and based in one state -- Nevada. And who should be the guys who run it? Not Wayne Root. Caesars. Harrah's. Mandalay Bay. Names that you trust. That would end all the problems of offshore gambling.

Sun: Your views on gambling differ significantly from those currently in Republican leadership roles.

Root: (Sen. John) McCain, (Attorney General John) Ashcroft -- they're dead wrong on the issue of gambling. You know who your typical sports gambler is? A white, male, college-educated Republican voter. And yet you have Republicans against gambling. Makes no sense.

Sun: Who's going to win the Super Bowl this year?

Root: The teams that have the best shot are Carolina and Philadelphia in the NFC, and in the AFC Baltimore and Denver.

Sun: Who wins the presidential election?

Root: Bush, and it's going to be a lot less close than people think. People are worried about making a change with the war on terrorism, and they're going to vote for Bush. Even if they don't love him.