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Another Bet Bash is in the books with a number of new entrants into the prestigious Sports Gambling Hall of Fame. They included the likes of Paris Smith (who's worked at two of our favorite sportsbooks dating back to the mid-90's), pro sports bettor extraordinaire Jeff Whitelaw, who helped set the odds for BetCRIS and Olympic Sports back in the day, and George "Skip" Chonoplis. Skip ran one of the original offshore sportsbooks out of the Costa Rica, Bet Grande (founded in 1989). He sadly passed away in 2021, with his son accepting the HOF honors on his behalf.
Smith began her career in 1995 as a clerk at World Wide Tele Sports (WWTS) and steadily rose through the ranks to become a leading figure in the sports betting industry. She played key leadership roles at WWTS and Betcorp before joining Pinnacle, where she helped guide the company’s expansion into European and Asian markets. As CEO of Pinnacle for over 18 years, she built the brand into a global benchmark for integrity, sharp pricing, and operational excellence. Widely respected for breaking gender barriers and shaping the offshore betting landscape, her impact on the industry has been both pioneering and lasting.
Smith and the founder of WWTS both come from powerful political families in the US. Founder William (Bill) Scott's nephew would go on to become the last governor of Arizona (Doug Ducey). Smith's granddad was a governor of another state we won't mention here on Gambling911.com as not to destroy the mystique.
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All of this pales in comparison to the great Spiros “The Greek” Athanas, founder of TheGreek.com, formerly known as Olympic Sports.
In the mid-1990s, he helped revolutionize the industry by launching one of the first online sportsbooks catering to North American bettors. Known as both a sharp bookmaker and bettor, Spiros earned a reputation as one of the top NBA bettors of his time. Under his leadership, Olympic Sports became renowned for taking high-stakes action and always paying promptly, popularizing the slogan “Sweat the game, not the payout.” His influence helped shape the modern online betting landscape.
Spiros really did help authorities put away a dangerous killer.
The murder occurred in 2003.
Meng-Ju “Mark” Wu, a 20-year-old former University of Wisconsin student was charged with a triple homicide in 2003, and would eventually go on to commit suicide while in prison.
Wu was accused of shooting three roommates: Jason McGuigan, 28; Dustin Wilson, 17; and Daniel Swanson, 25, in a Verona duplex. The shootings had been the first triple homicide in Madison in more than 30 years.
The murders involved gambling debts, and that's where Olympic Sports and Spiros enter the picture.
Wu and MacGuigan maintained wagering accounts at Olympic Sports (TheGreek.com) and it was the record of bets placed that helped forensics experts eventually track down the killer.
Five days before the murders, Wu gave Jason McGuigan a large sum of money to bet on a professional baseball game.
One game in particular was a major league baseball game -- Pittsburgh verses Cleveland.
That game happened to go 15 innings lasted about five hours.
Wu used his cellphone to call Olympic Sports that night to find out which team won and law enforcement was able to trace that call and began working with Athanas’ sportsbook.
We won't know if Wu would have gone on to kill others. We do know that Spiros and TheGreek.com ensured he never got that chance.
Congrats to all of this year's recipients.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com PUblisher
