News - February 9, 2026 - by Ray Hagar

Retirement was never in the cards for longtime sports-betting expert Joe Asher when he withdrew as President of Sports Betting for IGT in 2024.

He had enjoyed a three-decade career up to that point, which included his creation of the William Hill US brand, where he was CEO for a decade, and his 2021 induction into the Sports Gambling Hall of Fame.

Still, he wasn't ready for life of being propped up in a La-Z-boy, with a blanket across his legs and the TV remote in his hand.

Last year, Nevada's Gaming Commission approved plans for Asher's latest venture -- Boomer's Sportsbook, an independent betting operation headquartered at the site of the Commercial Hotel in Elko -- with a mushrooming number of satellite locations across Nevada.

"I was never going to retire," Asher said recently on Nevada Newsmakers about leaving IGT. "But it was a good opportunity to step back and step away. And then I ultimately decided to get back into the business."

And 'the business' is apparently booming for Boomer's.

His Boomer's Sportsbook has already opened satellite operations at Ellis Island Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas, Casino Valle Verde in Henderson and Ojos Locos, a casinos catering to the Latino community, in North Las Vegas.

Boomer's also opened in Tonopah, in the historic Mizpah Hotel.

Boomer's recently established itself in the Northwestern Nevada market at Casino Fandango in Carson City. Later this month, Boomer's will enter the Reno market at the Bonanza Casino.

"We're expecting to open there (Bonanza) the middle of the month," Asher told host Sam Shad. "I think we're going to have a soft opening around February 13th or so, and then a grand opening event February 17."

Ryan Sheltra, general manager of the Bonanza, told the Nevada Gaming Control Board last month that he's “excited to be a part of the Boomer’s family,” according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Although Boomer's at the Bonanza wasn't ready for the Super Bowl, it should do a brisk business for the "March Madness" events of the NCAA basketball tournament next month.

"That will be our first entrance into the Reno area," Asher said. "I couldn't be more excited to get in at the Bonanza with Ryan Sheltra. It's a family-owned property, been there over 50 years and it's a real honor to do business with them."

Asher's quick expansion of his Boomer's operation, however, is only the beginning of his plans.

"The idea is, "Let's build up a statewide network.' Maybe it's two dozen, 30 locations where people can go in," Asher said. "They can bet right then, but they can also sign up for a mobile account, and then they can bet wherever they are in the state of Nevada, whenever they want."

Boomer's is "100 percent Nevada," Asher said.

"We don't have operations anywhere else," he said. "We're not going to have operations anywhere else. Every single employee lives in the state of Nevada.

"So we're trying to build out a statewide network of locations where people can come in bet and then importantly, also sign up for a mobile betting account. Because in Nevada, in order to get a mobile account, you must physically go into a casino to sign up."

Boomer's was named after Asher's beloved, departed dog, but it's a great name with various sports-related references, he said.

"Boomer was a rescue dog who passed on Thanksgiving Day of 2024," Asher said. "He was 17. He had a heck of a run. So when I was looking to get back into the sports-betting business, I thought we'd name the business after him.

"It's also a good sports name, you know, with Boomer Esiason and Chris  Berman and Boomer Sooners," he said, referring to the former NFL Bengals quarterback, the longtime ESPN sportscaster and the fight song for the University of Oklahoma athletic teams, the Sooners.

Influence of his father

Sports gambling has always been a part of his life, Asher said. It was a way to bond with his father, who unfortunately, had a gambling problem.

"My earliest memories all involve gambling," Asher said. "My dad was a gambler, and he loved it so much. My dad loved to go to the racetrack. We'd go to Brandywine Raceway ... also to Delaware Park, which is a thoroughbred track, and other racetracks in Delaware.

"He also played cards," Asher said about his dad. "He'd go to Atlantic City, as well, and gamble in the casinos in Atlantic City.

"And he had a gambling problem," Asher said. "He was a compulsive gambler. He would gamble for a while, then he'd stop, go to Gamblers Anonymous meetings to try to stop it. He couldn't control it.

"It caused real and fundamental problems in his life," Asher said. "He lost his business because of gambling. He had a newsstand in downtown Wilmington (Del.), but went into debt and couldn't pay the bills.

"So I have seen very close up and personally the impact that gambling can have on certain people and, you know, their families, as well."

For Asher, however, sports betting and the atmosphere surrounding it became his "happy place."

"For me, I just always enjoyed being in that environment," he said. "And a part of it is that was sort of the father-son (dynamic). Maybe it is not the most orthodox approach, but I used to love going to the racetrack with my dad and trying to figure out who we should bet on."

Asher said his father-son sports betting relationship wasn't just about playing the horses.

"I was a little statistics geek and would cut out the box scores from the newspaper and then tell my dad who to bet on in baseball games," Asher said. "He was a big baseball fan. He never got over the Dodgers leaving Brooklyn. He was born in Brooklyn.

"I just really enjoyed all of the father-son bonding around that," Asher said. "I enjoyed the challenge of trying to figure out who was going to win."

His love for sports betting provided Asher with employment opportunities at a young age.

"I started working at the racetracks in Delaware when I was 16. (I got) my first job at Brandywine Raceway, working in the publicity department (in 1984)," Asher said.

"I taught myself how to announce horse races, which I started doing as a teenager," he added. "My first race was in a place called Dover Downs. I had my first full-time announcing job in 1985 at Harrington Raceway.

Then I moved up outside of Boston to Foxborough Racetrack, which is where the Patriots still play," Asher continued. "I never really became a Patriots fan because I'm a lifelong Eagles fan. But I used to get to see the Patriots players walking around town. It was, you know, very different back then. You know, they didn't have the elaborate cafeterias and the training facilities. So they'd be at the local deli. And, you know, you could go and see your favorite Patriots player having sandwiches after practice. So that was sort of my upbringing, but it was all revolved around gambling."

Asher spoke about ever-present cheating schemes in sports betting: "There's no shortage of ways that people try to get an edge."

Asher knows about getting the edge in gambling, first hand.

"I remember the very early days of casinos in Atlantic City," he said. "I learned at an early age how to count cards in blackjack. I read a book by a fellow named Ken Uston, who was a legendary card counter, and taught myself how to count cards."

You cannot be arrested in Nevada for counting cards only, according to Adras & Altig law firm of Las Vegas. It is not considered illegal because it does not alter the game. However, if casino management suspects you of card counting and asks you to leave and you refuse, you can be arrested for misdeameanor trespassing.

He recalled the time his father sneaked him into a casino floor to play table games while he was still in is teens.

"My dad took me to a costume shop in Wilmington, bought me a fake mustache, and then we went down to Atlantic City, and he sneaked me in blackjack games at the old Tropicana," Asher said.