Written by :
Thomas Somach
Published on :
LAS VEGAS — Longtime professional sports handicapper Larry Ness has died, Gambling 911 can reveal in a world exclusive report!
Get Free Consensus Plays and Leaderboard Picks Here
His good friend, Los Angeles sportscaster Fred Wallin, told Gambling 911: “Larry Ness passed away today. I’m very sad.”
Wallin continued: “We met in Las Vegas in 1990 when we worked together on a radio show called Sports Central from the Bally’s Casino.
“He was a great handicapper and a funny guy. He has also been a guest on various radio shows I have hosted over the years.”
Ness was 68 years old and died in Tampa, Florida, Wallin said.
According to the website of Al McMordie, a fellow handicapper who Ness worked with, Ness had a long and storied career in sports handicapping.
Among other things, Ness was a member of the original cast of Proline, the nation’s longest running pre-game handicapping TV show, which aired on the USA network.
He also hosted the TV show Sports Desk and then joined the panel of another TV program, The Winning Edge.
He was also ubiquitous on radio.
His syndicated call-in radio show, which he co-hosted with Wallin from the Bally’s sportsbook, was heard in more than 100 local radio markets across the United States.
He has also run his own very lucrative sports handicapping service for decades.
Unlike many, if not most, sports touts, Ness wasn’t a scammer who inflated his win totals and delighted in ripping off his paying customers.
As a capper, he put his money where his mouth was.
In 1985, he beat out hundreds of other handicappers and won The Castaways Pro Football Challenge Championship, then the most prestigious NFL handicapping contest in Nevada.
Correction: Gambling911.com initially reported that Ness had passed away in Las Vegas. This has since been corrected to be Tampa Bay, Florida.
By Tom Somach
Gambling 911 Chief Correspondent
