‘The Best of It’ documentary explores dark side of sports betting
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<figcaption class="caption" style="text-rendering: geometricPrecision; margin: 0px; padding: 10px 10px 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1em; line-height: 15.36px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: absolute; width: 640px; bottom: 4px; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); max-height: 26%; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; cursor: pointer; box-sizing: border-box; text-overflow: ellipsis; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961);">"The Best of It" trailer (YouTube)</figcaption></figure>
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By MATT YOUMANS
LAS VEGAS ***************
More than six years ago, when Scott Pearson Eberly turned on the lights and cameras, he planned to reveal the action-packed life of a professional gambler.
The documentary he directed also explored the dark side of professional sports betting, and it turned far darker than Eberly could have imagined at the time.
“The Best Of It” is a 116-minute film that takes an “unflinching look” inside the lives of four gamblers — Alan “Boston” Dvorkis, Alan “Dink” Denkenson, Lem Banker and Ken “The Shrink” Weitzner.
The documentary is being released today.
The storyline: “The character-driven documentary focuses on the lives of Boston, The Shrink, Dink and Banker, who all chose to make a living betting sports. A gambler selects this profession despite knowing the life they fancied tends to chew up and spit out even the most seasoned gambler — an all-too-common tale in Las Vegas. … The outcome of a gambler is as unpredictable as the games they bet.”
Eberly started filming during the NCAA Tournament in March 2010. In one of the opening scenes, Weitzner is plotting basketball wagers from his Las Vegas hotel room.
“Northern Iowa seems to be the trendy pick for the squares,” Weitzner said, “but I think the right side is UNLV.”
The Rebels were upset 69-66 in the first-round game. Weitzner was placing a large number of wagers, and some were winners, but his fate took an unexpected turn. About three weeks after Weitzner was interviewed, he committed suicide because of overwhelming gambling losses.
“His death shocks most people who have seen it that didn’t know the story,” Eberly said. “It’s a plot twist that’s not revealed until the third act.”
Eberly said he shot about 1,400 hours of footage, but he had only 45 minutes of footage on Weitzner.
Most of the scenes are from 2012 to 2015. Boston, an unhappy recluse who specialized in college basketball betting, evolved as the main character.
“It’s just a bad, evil place, and it’s time to get out of here,” Boston said of Las Vegas.
There are some light moments, and several valuable gambling lessons passed on along the way.
“The biggest bets are when you bet on credit and you can’t pay if you lose,” longtime Las Vegas oddsmaker Michael “Roxy” Roxborough said.
As one veteran bookmaker said, “Greed will bust you out in a heartbeat.”
Contact sports betting reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow on Twitter: @mattyoumans247
<figure class="video media-5257646 mlink even" style="text-rendering: geometricPrecision; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: top; display: inline-block; text-align: center; width: 640px; min-height: 430px; position: relative; cursor: pointer;">NDN-VIDEO-6292626.mov
video
By MATT YOUMANS
LAS VEGAS ***************
More than six years ago, when Scott Pearson Eberly turned on the lights and cameras, he planned to reveal the action-packed life of a professional gambler.
The documentary he directed also explored the dark side of professional sports betting, and it turned far darker than Eberly could have imagined at the time.
“The Best Of It” is a 116-minute film that takes an “unflinching look” inside the lives of four gamblers — Alan “Boston” Dvorkis, Alan “Dink” Denkenson, Lem Banker and Ken “The Shrink” Weitzner.
The documentary is being released today.
The storyline: “The character-driven documentary focuses on the lives of Boston, The Shrink, Dink and Banker, who all chose to make a living betting sports. A gambler selects this profession despite knowing the life they fancied tends to chew up and spit out even the most seasoned gambler — an all-too-common tale in Las Vegas. … The outcome of a gambler is as unpredictable as the games they bet.”
Eberly started filming during the NCAA Tournament in March 2010. In one of the opening scenes, Weitzner is plotting basketball wagers from his Las Vegas hotel room.
“Northern Iowa seems to be the trendy pick for the squares,” Weitzner said, “but I think the right side is UNLV.”
The Rebels were upset 69-66 in the first-round game. Weitzner was placing a large number of wagers, and some were winners, but his fate took an unexpected turn. About three weeks after Weitzner was interviewed, he committed suicide because of overwhelming gambling losses.
“His death shocks most people who have seen it that didn’t know the story,” Eberly said. “It’s a plot twist that’s not revealed until the third act.”
Eberly said he shot about 1,400 hours of footage, but he had only 45 minutes of footage on Weitzner.
Most of the scenes are from 2012 to 2015. Boston, an unhappy recluse who specialized in college basketball betting, evolved as the main character.
“It’s just a bad, evil place, and it’s time to get out of here,” Boston said of Las Vegas.
There are some light moments, and several valuable gambling lessons passed on along the way.
“The biggest bets are when you bet on credit and you can’t pay if you lose,” longtime Las Vegas oddsmaker Michael “Roxy” Roxborough said.
As one veteran bookmaker said, “Greed will bust you out in a heartbeat.”
Contact sports betting reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow on Twitter: @mattyoumans247
