After placing Ohio’s first legal sports bet Rose said, ‘I don’t know a d–n thing about odds’
By John Salvatore
Pete Rose, the all-time leader in Major League Baseball hits who was permanently barred from the game for placing bets on contests he managed, just made the first ever legal sports wager in Ohio history at Hard Rock Casino.
The new sports gambling law in the Buckeye state went into effect on January 1 despite being signed by Governor Mike DeWine back in December 2021.
George Goldhoff, property president of Hard Rock Casino, was quoted as saying by Spectrum News 1: “Ohioans are crazy about their sports; they really love their sports, and we think it’s going to be quite popular.”
He added, “The money that was being bet by Ohioans, whether it was in Michigan or Indiana, is all going to stay here in the state and the taxpayers are gonna benefit.”
After placing the bet, Rose said, “I don’t know a d–n thing about odds. Go Reds! Go Bengals!”
Back in August 1989, an investigation into Rose’s alleged gambling was completed.
It was found that Rose bet on baseball games, and had bet specifically on at least 50 Reds games in 1987, at a minimum of $10,000 per day, according to Bleacher Report.
For nearly 20 years, Rose then denied ever having bet on the sport. In 2004, however, he did finally reveal that he placed wagers.
A one-time MVP award-winner, Rose holds the MLB record for most career hits (4,256), which he amassed over his 24-year big league career.
Nicknamed “Charlie Hustle” for his ferocious style of play, Rose spent the bulk of his career (19 years) playing for the Reds, with stops along the way for the Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos.
Rose also holds the MLB all-time records for games played (3,562), plate appearances (15,890) and at-bats (14,053).
