"We are a nation of risk takers. My pioneering ancestors came over from Germany and Russia, and they came here without a dollar in their pockets," proudly beams Wayne Allyn Root, CEO of GWIN, Inc., America’s only publicly traded sports handicapping company, located in Las Vegas.
"I’m an S.O.B., the son of a butcher. I grew up in a dead-end town at the end of a dead-end street in Mr. Vernon, New York. I’m a gambler. I started at age 14. When I was 16, I started betting against the crowd. That year, a newspaper writer did a story and called me ‘The betting Whiz-Kid, the next Jimmy the Greek.’ It became my goal, to become the next Jimmy the Greek."
After his graduation from Columbia University, Root started selling real estate and was not happy with it. On one appointment he met Doug Miller, a Stanford MBA grad who helped take Cetus, a hot pharmaceutical company, public. It was the first $100 million IPO in Wall Street history.
"Doug asked me two questions: ‘What is your dream in life and what is your plan?’ He became my mentor and first adult who took my dream of becoming the next Jimmy the Greek seriously.
"Jimmy the Greek said every kid in every town wants to be the next Jimmy the Greek. Get in line." In the early years, Root fought through the rejections. "I sent out thousands of videotapes and press releases to become a sports anchorman. They said my tape stunk." But at age 27, through strong perseverance, Root became the youngest sports anchor in America and true to his word, Jimmy the Greek later became one of Root’s co-hosts on one of his sports shows.
"I attribute the results to my healthy and holistic lifestyle. All my life I’ve started my day with meditation, prayer, yoga, exercise, and organic diet." Root describes his holistic lifestyle combined with his gambling philosophy in his book "The Zen of Gambling." (Penguin/Tarcher)
Wayne Allyn Root’s "WinningEDGE" now airs on Superstation WGN on Saturday at 10 a.m. EST, 9 a.m. CST. "The U. S. Congress estimates $380 billion is bet on sports. I’m creating a Las Vegas-based production com-pany to produce and host a variety of gambling shows. With the sudden popularity of televised poker, the global appetite for gambling pro-gramming has never been stronger."
Root continues to build his hugely successful handicapping empire from Las Vegas, lives in a multimillion- dollar estate in Anthem Country Club with his beautiful wife Debra, who is a former Miss Oklahoma and descendent of the Benjamin Franklin family, and savors his most precious time with his three children.
"I’m on top of the world. My home on the golf course overlooks the signature sixth hole at Anthem as well as the entire Las Vegas Strip from the Mandalay Bay to the Stratosphere. I feel like I’m the king of Vegas."
Now, Root truly is the "King of Vegas." He is the creator, executive producer and one of the stars of the new prime-time Spike TV series "King of Vegas," a nationwide gambling competition that will crown America’s greatest gambler, with a one-million-dollar, winner-take-all prize.
The media calls Root "America’s Handicapper." In his latest book, "Millionaire Republican," he shares his personal, self-made secrets of success where anything is possible. Perhaps even a run for U. S. Senator? For the man who has beat the odds all his life, don’t bet against him.
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