VEGAS VIC
WKNR veteran is expecting to further syndicate his sports handicapping show

When native Clevelander David Rice decided to leave the California sun and come home in the mid-1990’s, he was resigned to settling down and starting up his own advertising/public relations firm.

Despite his intention of domesticity, his past wouldn’t let go and, before long, Vegas Vic (Rice’s alter-ego) was back on the radio waves.

“When I came back to Cleveland, a lot of my old friends who are now the big guys in the radio business said, “Hey, why don’t you come back and bring your show back to radio?,”  Vic explained, “So, I went over to WKNR.  Originally, the show was going to be one hour on Thursday nights.  Then it went from Thursday to Sunday to Saturday and from one-hour to two-hour shows to some weekends airing a three-hour special for the Super Bowl, the Breeders’ Cup or the Kentucky Derby.  It’s grown my business exponentially.”

The business to which Vic refers is sports handicapping, which includes his popular radio program “The Vegas Vic Show,” which is heard from 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays on WKNR (1220 AM), and an equally popular Web site (www.vegasvicsports.com).

Even though Vic is experienced in advertising and PR, it’s his gambling persona that continues to have the biggest impact on his life. After graduating from  Kent State University in the early ‘70’s as a journalism major, Vic considered politics to be his calling. A position as public information officer for then Governor John Gilligan and working on Senator Howard Metzenbaum’s first campaign for Senate gave Vic quite a bit of experience.

He soon parlayed his connections into the public relations field, where he eventually became head of the department at Telxon Corp. in Akron. It was also around this time that the first domino in Vic’s hobby fell, eventually leading him to where he is today.

“Case Coleman, who at that time was at WERE, knew I was involved quite a bit in gambling and asked me to come on his show one time to talk about it,” Vic explained.  “But he figured he couldn’t have me come on the air under my name because somebody would call.  And he knew of a guys who used to have a column and had a ghost name as Vegas Vic, who longer was around.  He gave me that name and the minute I went on the air, the phone calls started and, before you knew it, I had a sponsor for a segment on the show.  Then I went and did Channel 8 television with Casey for a long time.”

Feeling as though he had gone as far as he could in Cleveland regarding his advertising/public relations skills and his Vegas Vic character, the entrepreneur looked west for his next challenge. It was the middle of the “80’s and Los Angeles was busting with “Showtime” basketball and the unlimited opportunity of Reagan-nomics.  Vic settled in quickly starting his own PR firm, but it didn’t take long for his radio past to catch up with him.

“The truth of the matter is my mom had sent an old tape out so I could hear it, and my roommate got a hold of it and the next thing I know there was a message on the answering machine saying, “Hey Vegas Vic, call (Los Angeles radio personality) Jay Thomas.” Vic said.  “I had no idea who the guy was.  I called him up and he said, “Hey, listen, I’d like you to come on the air and talk and see what we can come up with.”
     “But it’s a lot different out there.  When I first came on the air, I did the show the very first time very Cleveland – very drab – “Hey, the score this, the score that.” And Jay goes, “This is Los Angeles, Dave.  They want dirt.”  So, I came back on the air and he said, “I have Vegas Vic calling me from a secret telephone number somewhere in Las Vegas.  I can almost feel those gold chains around your neck.  Vic, where are you?” I said, “I’m standing outside the Acme drug and alcohol testing center to see who will be eligible for this week’s games.”

In Cleveland, Vic’s personality had been quite tame compared to what came out in Hollywood. During his decade-long tenure on Los Angeles radio, Vic made waves and gained fans. But home is where he wanted to be.

This was a crossroads for Vic, who decided to quit gambling, give up the limelight and settle down back in Ohio. For Vic, gambling was always something you did to break up the monotony of daily life.  If here was a game on, why not have a piece of the action? Even though he called himself a degenerate gambler, Vic’s habit never crossed from casual interest to downward spiral addiction bankruptcy.

“No, but there are a lot of guys out there who were at one time very wealthy and are now driving taxi cabs,” said Vic of his gambling.  “No, none of that.”

After returning to Cleveland, Vic started is own PR business, but soon found his time was being taken up by the lucrative handicapping gig.  Nowadays, offshore Internet gambling is taking the illegal sports book out of the local bookie’s hands and putting it into cyberspace where credit accounts control winnings.

Vic still gets his gambling fix, but now without placing a bet. You could call it his own 12-step program, which, except for one incident, has worked like a charm.

“When I first came back, I gave it a go,” Vic said.  “When the Indians entered the playoffs in 1995, I won quite a bit of money, but I decided I couldn’t mix the two because it’s a full-time job.  And you either have to do it full-time or not at all.” 

His reason for not gambling is quite simple.

“I don’t want to let my personal feelings get involved and want to be able to give people the best possible advice,” he said.  “For example, I’m not sure that in the Super Bowl I didn’t let some personal animosity infiltrate my thinking on the Baltimore Raven/New York Giant game.  Meaning, I grew up here and sill have some hard feelings toward the Art Modell regime.  And one of the first rules is never bet with your heart, bet with your head.  Although my four star (pick) was on the total, I told everybody to bet over 34.  And my four star wins again.  I think if you want to talk about a program, by doing this I feel like not only am I wagering but I’m helping other people hopefully win money.”

While his talk show, which is syndicated across the nation, does promote his Web site, and vice versa, Vic feels he is providing his listeners and customers with a service that goes beyond dollars and cents.

The subject of gambling is somewhat taboo, with horror stories about people betting way above their heads.  However, Vic talks frequently about betting well within your means as well as Gamblers Anonymous.
His interest in his audience appears to be heartfelt.  Sure, he wants to keep them coming back, but, more so, he’s been there before and knows what it’s like to be a weekly gambler.

“I’ve had people call me after a winning weekend where we won five out of six games and tell me they lost money,” Vic said.  “They said, “I also like this game and that game.”  So, I dedicated an entire two-hour show to money management, telling them exactly how  to wager on these games and what units, denominations based on what kinds of picks.  I have to tell them, “Look, don’t bet over your head.  Bet responsibly.  Have a good time, but bet money you can afford to, don’t take the house payment.”    

“A large part of my audience is probably guys who at one time played basketball or football and this is a way they are involved in that game.  My thinking is the doctor, lawyer, the business man and even the blue-collar guys comes home, he’s worked a 40-50-60 hour week, it’s Saturday and he wants to put something on the game and hasn’t had time to look at the paper.  So hopefully, if he calls me, subscribes to my service, he’s got someone who is working on this with a staff seven days a week.”     

“And, from what I understand, it apparently helped a lot of guys start winning a lot more money.”

And that is the point. Vic says he was very fortunate this past year with his picks, which resulted in many happy customers. Odds are each year won’t be as strong, yet Vic’s future appears bright in other areas, specifically radio and television. Currently heard on about 10 stations nationwide, that number nationwide, that number could quadruple by next fall.

Vic also hinted a national television opportunity, possibly on a major network in a role similar to that of Jimmy “The Greek,” could await him as well. Now, he’s content doing his show and helping his fans make the right pick.

“The advantage of being a former gambler and being in this business is you also enter in your gut feeling and street smarts,” Vic explained.
“And you know all of the wise guys around the country.  You call them up, “Hey, what are you going to do?  What have you heard?”  All the rumors – some are true, some aren’t – but it helps you formulate an opinion.”