A reporter who thought he was providing an in-service Super Bowl gambler sings a different tune after hitting back.
Zach Maskavich of WESH 2 News in Central Florida posted a Twitter video Friday in which he posted the live rehearsal of the national anthem from outside Raymond James Stadium, the site of the 2021 Super Bowl.
The duet performance, performed by Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church, was set by Maskavich at 2 minutes, 16 seconds.
In the gambling world, the length of the national anthem is a popular Super Bowl stick game, so this is very important information. Maskavich’s Twitter account has 1,687 followers, but his video has been viewed more than 585,000 times since 5pm on Saturday.
Before the video went viral, the over / under for the national anthem was about two minutes, give or take a second, according to AwfulAnnouncing.com. But that soon changed when a reported money storm came to the ear. This drove the odds on one book from -110 on each side to -1,500 on the other side, and some sports books had to stop betting on the prop.
According to ESPN, Maskavich’s “buddies asked him to keep an eye and ear for inside information on everything, from what color Gatorade uses the teams, to feathers about the prelude and half-time music performances.”
Maskavich has discovered what many reporters already know about social media: people can get angry if they hide behind anonymity. His answers were filled with anger because he influenced the lines at sports books.
“I felt it would get some action, that would lead to the Super Bowl, and that people like stick betting,” Maskavich told ESPN. ‘But I did not think it was going to blow up like it did. People reach out to me and wonder if Vegas paid me to do it, and all these other crazy hypocrites. ‘