Wes Reynolds
Wes was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana and is a proud alum of Indiana University having earned a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Business Management plus a master’s in Sport Management. He’s had various stints working in sports industry for the Indiana Pacers, Indiana Fever, Indiana Firebirds (Arena Football League) and Indiana University Athletics.
My First Bet:
“I filled out my first parlay card when I was 10 years old. My late mother was a manager at a small family restaurant and one of her regular customers ran a business on the side and she would pay $5 every week to buy me a parlay card to fill out with all the weekend College and NFL games. Needless to say, I’ve had the sports betting bug ever since.”
My Passions:
“We change the ‘what do you want to be when you grow up’ answer every week when we’re kids. One of the main things I wanted to be as a kid was a radio disc jockey. I listened to and monitored the American Top 40 every single Saturday morning. Unfortunately, I never pursued broadcasting as a career so I never got to be the next Casey Kasem. Nevertheless, I’m grateful for the opportunity to merge three different passions – sports, sports betting and broadcasting – here with VSiN.”
Favorite Teams: Indiana Hoosiers, Indianapolis Colts, Cincinnati Reds, Butler Basketball
Best Sporting Event I’ve Attended: Sunday, January 21, 2007 for the AFC Championship Game. The New England Patriots had pretty much owned the Colts over the last few years. The Colts were down 21-6 at halftime and were getting the ball first to start the second half. If they didn’t score on the opening drive, it was a wrap. Eventually the Colts tied the game but lost the lead and then Dominic Rhodes fumbles the ball at the 1-yard line and our hearts sunk but somehow center Jeff Saturday recovered the fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. Eventually the Colts took the lead and Marlin Jackson picked off Brady to clinch a trip to Super Bowl XLI. Even winning that Super Bowl, the AFC Championship win somehow meant more because the Colts had finally slain the dragon.
Baddest of Bad Beats: the 2017 Scottish Open golf event. Had a ticket on a young English player named Callum Shinkwin. It was a 290/1 at an offshore shop. He had just missed his birdie on 17 by an inch but still had a one-shot lead going to the Par 5 18th. A nice, easy par would clinch the tournament. He smashed his drive down the center of the fairway so there’s no way he can lose it from there, right? Next, he overshoots the green and then nearly chipped into the bunker. Nonetheless, he still has just a 4-footer to save par and win. He misses the putt and then goes on to lose the playoff to Rafael Cabrera-Bello, who had shot the course record that day and was in the clubhouse for a little over two hours. It was a total flier considering he had missed several straight cuts but the victory was his until it wasn’t.
