Picture this: The Vegas Golden Knights just nailed their second sweet goal against the Oilers, and the place is going bananas. The foghorn's blowing hard and the crowd is roaring ""Go Knights go!"" like there's no tomorrow. It's a buzzing Thursday night in February and we're jamming in the T-Mobile Arena, right at the heart of the Vegas Strip. This joint's packed out with 20,000 fans going wild. And there's Joe Asher, chilling in his suite above the rink, rocking a pair of jeans and a cozy fleece. He's the big boss over at William Hill US, the kingpin of sportsbooks in Nevada. And let me tell you, the Knights, a spanking new NHL team, they're crushing it way more than anyone thought [you could try here](https://mybetinfo.com/). Every win they notch is like a punch in the wallet for William Hill, dishing out up to a quarter mil losses 'cause the hometown crowd's betting heavy on their boys.

But Asher ain't stressing it. Nah, each wager on the Knights? That's just proof of how William Hill's sunk its teeth into Nevada. These Brit bookies, they're like a legend back home, owning a fat slice of the U.K.'s betting shops. But rewind to 2012, and they're nowhere in the U.S. Fast forward, and boom, they're running the show with 108 sportsbooks out of Nevada's 190, raking in about 30% of the state's jaw-dropping $250 million yearly sports betting dough.

Now, pro hockey setting up shop in Vegas? That's a major win for William Hill. When the NHL dropped the bomb in 2016 that they're gonna expand into Sin City, that was a game-changer. It's the first time any of the big-shot American sports leagues decided to give Vegas a team, 'cause everyone's always been sketchy about the whole gambling gig and the chance of rigged games. But this, this is why Asher's betting big that sports betting's gonna blow up way past Nevada's borders, and why William Hill's getting ready to hit up other states. The vibe's shifting. People are coming around to the idea—heck, a 2017 poll showed over half the country's down with legalizing sports betting. Asher's like, ""The U.S. market's ripe for the taking,"" and he's expecting the dominoes to start falling any day now.

So check it, last December, the U.S. Supreme Court heard this case from New Jersey, right? They're all, ""Hey, toss out this federal law that's cock-blocking us from sports betting at our casinos and racetracks."" We're talking about this old 1992 rule, PASPA, that keeps betting in check—except for in Nevada, 'cause they've been in the game since '75. New Jersey's throwing down, saying PASPA's not playing fair with the Constitution. They're like, ""Yo, feds, either make the rules or step off, but don't be trying to boss us around."" The courts have been backing the leagues, but the Supremes? They're giving this thing the side-eye. And with Trump's guy, Neil Gorsuch, in there, things might just swing Jersey's way. We're all hanging tight for the call by June.

Daniel Wallach, this hotshot gaming lawyer, he's betting on Jersey to take it home. And if they do, Atlantic City's gonna be hopping with bets by the time the NFL season kicks off in September. The political betting markets are giving PASPA slim odds of sticking around. If it gets the boot, you better believe a bunch of states are gonna jump on the bandwagon—nineteen have already made moves to get in on the action if things shake out. The smart folks at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming LLC are predicting that a whopping 32 states could be in the game by 2023, building up a $6 billion empire. And Asher? He's got his eyes on the prize, ready to spread the William Hill empire across the states just like back home in the U.K., where they've been the top dogs for over 80 years, with a grip on thousands of betting shops [cbc](https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2422520118).

William Hill, they've been sniffing around the U.S. since Jersey started poking at PASPA. The bigwigs across the pond were itching to claim their stake, wary of missing the gold rush. You got leagues, casinos, other international bookies, and those daily fantasy sharks all scrapping for a piece of the pie. But they didn't want to blow the bankroll on a maybe. Enter Asher.

This dude Asher, a solid 50, he's got betting in his blood. Grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, where his old man had a newsstand and hustled bets at the local tracks. His pops was deep in the game, betting on anything that moved. Asher fell hard for the races himself, even calling them by the time he was 18. He hustled through law school and landed at a posh law firm. But then he ditched the suit life to join Cantor Fitzgerald, this finance firm aiming to shake up gambling with its high-flying tech. They wanted Asher to spearhead their Nevada plans. Things went sideways with Cantor and Asher bounced, starting his own gig running sportsbooks for the Vegas casinos.

By 2011, Asher's outfit, Brandywine, was handling 17 books but bleeding cash. Sundays during the NFL season were nail-biters, with Asher sweating bullets over whether he could cover the bets and make payroll. 'Cause even though they say the house always wins, the truth is, sportsbooks [cnn](https://edition.cnn.com/2004/TECH/fun.games/08/04/online.poker/) are like a roller coaster. A few wild upsets and a small-time bookie could be toast. Plus, the housing market crash had folks pinching pennies. Asher's like, ""Man, I picked the worst time to launch a business.""

But one man's rough patch is another's golden ticket. William Hill swooped in, eyeing Brandywine's rough patch as their chance. In 2011, they snagged Brandywine for a cool $15.7 million, and nearly at the same time, they scooped up a couple of Asher's rivals. These moves hinged on one thing: getting the Nevada Gaming Commission's thumbs-up, which they did—a first for a U.K. bookie. Asher got the top job, and with William Hill's deep pockets and tech, plus local know-how and some serious scale, they were set. Last year, they took in over a billion dollars in bets across Nevada, pocketing a sweet $73 million.

Once he was the head honcho at William Hill, Asher hit up this cat named Dennis Drazin—yeah, the same guy from those injury lawyer ads in Jersey. Drazin had taken over Monmouth Park, this vintage raceway [bbc](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-67489923), and was desperate to keep it from going under by bringing in sports betting. Early 2012, Jersey gave the green light for sports bets thanks to Drazin's push. That summer, he was all gung-ho to start taking bets, but then came the lawsuit from the leagues, and the courts told him to pump the brakes.