Kentucky
Here’s where you can bet on sports in Northern Kentucky
FLORENCE, Ky. — Two locations in Northern Kentucky now offer sports wagering to their guests. Turfway Park Racing and Gaming and Newport Racing and Gaming both celebrated that milestone Thursday. Each is owned by Churchill Downs.
Northern Kentucky resident Justin Sullivan said he could hardly wait to start betting.
“My Reds and my Bengals of course. I’m definitely going to be betting on them for sure,” Sullivan said. “Got out of work a little early. I have three kids, I don’t get the opportunity to come out and do things like this very often.”
Until Thursday, if Sullivan wanted to place a sports bet, he had to cross the river and go over to Ohio.
“We were always kind of jealous over here, that we never had it until now,” Sullivan said.
Sports wagering is now open to the public at select race tracks such as Turfway. That’s where Kentucky Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman placed the state’s second legal sports bet, following Gov. Andy Beshear.
Coleman’s bet was $20 on the Cincinnati Bengals to win the Super Bowl.
Coleman said it’s about time she and people such as Sullivan can place their bets in Kentucky.
“So often, they would leave Kentucky to go across the state border, spend money there that would stay in that state, and so we want to offer that same opportunity here with the revenues going into our public pension system in Kentucky — which will be so helpful to all of our firefighters, police officers, teachers, public employees,” Coleman said. “I don’t know what the reservations have been in the past, but I do think that it’s been beyond time for the voters of Kentucky. They’ve all said that they want it, and so we were able to deliver that for them.”
For the next three weeks, racetracks such Turfway will enjoy exclusivity when it comes to betting. After that, online betting will be available as well.
Sullivan said he thinks he’ll gravitate to the latter.
“Not gonna lie, it’s probably gonna be the app,” he said. “With this just starting up, this will probably be pretty big in-house. But once the app becomes available, I can see the app blowing people coming in out of the water. The app is more convenient and people nowadays are more about convenience than anything else.”
Turfway President Michael Taylor said having the option to bet will attract guests who might not otherwise have a reason to come to the venue.
In that vein, Gov. Beshear’s office is projecting sports wagering to increase the state’s revenue by an estimated $23 million a year; 2.5% of that revenue will support the Problem Gambling Assistance Fund. The fund educates Kentuckians on safe gambling practices and the risks of developing a gambling problem.
Kentucky
Lowlife dad who owes over $100K in child support arrested getting off cruise ship in Miami: officials
A Kentucky dad who has racked up more than $100,000 in unpaid child support was arrested as he got off a cruise trip in Florida after several years on the lam, according to officials.
Dominic Weaver’s vacation ended with him in handcuffs after he was taken into custody by local cops exiting the cruise ship in Miami sometime last week and brought back to Bluegrass State, Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell told a local Louisville news station.
The 47-year-old owes somewhere between $114,000 and $120,000 in child support, according to O’Connell.
Weaver was previously sentenced to five years of probation for flagrant non-support in 2019, according to Law and Crime.
“I don’t know when he left, but he fled the jurisdiction, and from the date of his sentence until today, and even today, he’s not paid one cent of child support,” the Kentucky county official told WDRB.
O’Connell said Weaver has four cases with the child support division.
“This is one of the most egregious events that brings something to light that I think I’ve ever seen,” O’Connell told the news station.
The official plans to ask the court to revoke his original sentence and instead get him behind bars for as long as four years.
The father’s lack of support for his kids is so poor he appeared on a 2021 list of parents that owe large sums of money for their children’s care. At the time, he owed nearly $100,000, according to county records.
Weaver’s arraignment is set for Jan. 6.
Kentucky
South Carolina lands talented player out of transfer portal following LaNorris Seller news
Former Western Kentucky offensive lineman Rodney Newsom will transfer to play for South Carolina this upcoming season, On3’s Pete Nakos reported. Newsom spent just one season with the Hilltoppers and will have two years of eligibility remaining.
The 6-foot-3 offensive lineman played in all 14 games at WKU this past season. He joined the team in the offseason after spending one year at Itawamba Community College in Mississippi.
Newsom played high school football at Briarcrest Christian (TN), where he was a three-star recruit in the 2020 class. He ranked as the No. 2,256 overall player and No. 158 interior offensive lineman in the cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
Newsom began his college career at Memphis and played two seasons with the Tigers prior to going to Itawamba. As a transfer, he ranks as the No. 119 overall player and No. 11 interior offensive lineman according to On3’s Transfer Portal Player Rankings.
Rodney Newsom is the seventh commitment in the Gamecocks’ transfer portal class, joining EDGE Jaylen Brown (Missouri), interior offensive lineman Nick Sharpe (Wake Forest), tight end Jordan Dingle (Kentucky), defensive tackle Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (Texas A&M), LB Shawn Murphy, and QB Air Noland (OSU).
The portal officially opened on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. More than 2,800 FBS scholarship players entered their names into the NCAA’s transfer database during the 2023-24 school year. Removing those who withdrew or went pro, the final total sat at 2,707 transfers.
So far this cycle, 2,160 players have entered the transfer portal with 676 of those already having committed to new schools.
To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.
The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.
LaNorris Sellers signs new NIL deal with South Carolina for 2025 return
South Carolina star quarterback LaNorris Sellers has inked a new NIL deal with the Gamecocks’ NIL collective Garnet Trust, securing his return to Columbia for the 2025 season. Sellers holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $2.7 million.
His new deal now secures his return for 2025. Sellers put together an impressive 2024 season after taking over as South Carolina’s starting quarterback. He threw for 2,274 yards and 17 touchdowns in the air while adding 655 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
Those numbers helped lead the Gamecocks to a 9-3 record, including a six-game win streak to end the year to just miss out on the College Football Playoff.
South Carolina had to hold off suitors for Sellers, as multiple schools made efforts in recent weeks for the quarterback to jump in the transfer portal. Garnet Trust declined to give specifics on the agreement but sources told On3 it’s on pace with other top quarterback deals in college football.
“Ever since the LSU game, he’s been having programs reach out to his people,” a Power 4 personnel staffer recently told On3 about the LaNorris Sellers situation. “Then as he kept balling out he’s only had more and more programs reach out. I mean he had playoff-caliber teams blowing up his phone like crazy before the Clemson game. After? That shit hasn’t stopped ringing.”
On3’s Pete Nakos contributed to this report.
Kentucky
Former Kentucky RB Chip Trayanum is Moving to the MAC
Chip Trayanum has been through plenty of ups and downs throughout his lengthy college career. Now the former Kentucky running back is ready to make one final stop not too far from his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
On3’s Pete Nakos reports Trayanum will spend his final year of college eligibility in the MAC, suiting up for the Toledo Rockets. It’s his fourth school in six years.
Trayanum had a ton of potential as a Blue Chip recruit. After all, that’s how he got the nickname “Chip.” Some schools wanted him to play linebacker, but he had his mind set on playing offense. That’s why he left the Midwest to play for Arizona State. After tallying 691 yards and 10 touchdowns over two seasons, he decided it was time to try out playing defense.
He returned to Ohio to play linebacker for Ohio State. When injuries hit the Buckeyes’ running back room, he moved back to offense. He performed well vs. Michigan, finding a new permanent home in Columbus. Trayanum’s best moment happened in the final moments against Notre Dame, punching in the game-winning touchdown as time expired.
Looking for a larger role as a bell-cow back, Trayanum transferred to Kentucky. He was poised to be RB1 until he suffered a broken hand during fall camp. Complications forced him to miss an extensive amount of time. He appeared in only three games and carried the ball 19 times for 101 yards.
Chip will finish his career by playing for the most consistent program in MAC. Jason Candle has led Toledo to four straight winning seasons, including an 11-win campaign in 2023. Hopefully, Trayanum can finally find the consistency that’s eluded him throughout his college career, just not in week one. The Rockets are traveling to Kroger Field to open the season.
There have been 21 transfer portal departures this offseason. There is still time for that number to grow. The transfer portal officially closes on Dec. 28.
- DL Keeshawn Silver (Committed to USC on Dec. 19)
- DB Avery Stuart
- LB Jayvant Brown
- TE Tanner Lemaster (Committed to Eastern Michigan on Dec. 22)
- TE Khamari Anderson (Committed to Arizona State on Dec. 22)
- TE Jordan Dingle (Committed to South Carolina on Dec. 18)
- OL Courtland Ford (Committed to UCLA on Dec. 17)
- OL Ben Christman
- OL Dylan Ray (Committed to Minnesota on Dec. 21)
- OL Koby Keenum (Committed to Mississippi State on Dec. 22)
- DL Tommy Ziesmer (Committed to EKU on Dec. 15)
- WR Dane Key
- WR Barion Brown (Committed to LSU on Dec. 14)
- WR Anthony Brown-Stephens
- WR Brandon White
- EDGE Tyreese Fearbry (Committed to Wisconsin on Dec. 22)
- EDGE Noah Matthews
- EDGE Caleb Redd (Committed to Kansas on Dec. 20)
- RB Chip Trayanum (Committed to Toledo on Dec. 24)
- QB Gavin Wimsatt
To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. Keep closer tabs on the Cats with our staff-only sticky thread on KSBoard, which will have updates on departures and targets throughout the offseason. Not a KSR+ member? Try it out today.
-
Business1 week ago
Freddie Freeman's World Series walk-off grand slam baseball sells at auction for $1.56 million
-
Technology1 week ago
Meta’s Instagram boss: who posted something matters more in the AI age
-
Technology4 days ago
Google’s counteroffer to the government trying to break it up is unbundling Android apps
-
News1 week ago
East’s wintry mix could make travel dicey. And yes, that was a tornado in Calif.
-
News5 days ago
Novo Nordisk shares tumble as weight-loss drug trial data disappoints
-
Politics5 days ago
Illegal immigrant sexually abused child in the U.S. after being removed from the country five times
-
Entertainment6 days ago
'It's a little holiday gift': Inside the Weeknd's free Santa Monica show for his biggest fans
-
World1 week ago
Israel to close its embassy in Ireland over 'anti-Israel policies'