Elon's X, Draft Kings Drama and January 6th | Ep. 28

What do Donald Trump, SpaghettiOs, Elon Musk, and illegal gambling rings have in common? They all feature in this week's comedic journey through the world of politics and sports betting! Join me, Norman Chad, as I mix humor and hard-hitting commentary, covering everything from Trump's culinary diplomacy with Giorgia Maloney to Musk's social media machinations. Plus, get the scoop on Eric Trump's flag mast antics and Donald Trump Jr.'s icy expedition to Greenland. On a lighter note, I share my thoughts on the NFL's unpredictable nature, our preference for basketball, and a playful rebranding of the playoffs.

Chapters

• 0:00 World Leaders and Gambling Predictions
• 9:02 Sports Betting and Current Events
• 20:53 Capitol Riot Pardons Rewrite History

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Donald Trump was visited unexpectedly at his South Florida complex by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Maloney. At their informal meeting, trump reportedly expressed disappointment that Maloney had not brought a case of SpaghettiOs with her for his Mar-a-Lago pantry. Norman Chad, norman Chad, and welcome to Gambling Mad with Norman Chad. I am Norman Chad Coming up today on the program. Draftkings screws its customers again. Who couldn't see that coming? A mafioso is jailed for an illegal gambling operation. Who couldn't see that coming? And Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are finally divorced. Who couldn't see that coming? Gambling Mad, as always, brought to you by Fritos, picked fresh off of Central California trees each morning, delivered directly to your local retailer each afternoon, and by Fresca the remarkable, refreshing taste of Fresca, fritos and Fresca. It's a meal. Elon Musk is the richest person walking our globe. Elon is attempting to parlay that wealth into becoming the most powerful person walking our globe. I would not bet against him. He uses his platform X as his sounding board. He's got 210 million followers when he shouts out his virtual window. That is one out of every 40 people on the planet today. One out of 40. Not only does he have a built-in soapbox of unequaled proportions, he manipulates his big stage in myriad ways. For instance, almost every time that I sign on to X, an Elon post is at the very top of my For you timeline. I don't want or need that much, elon Heck. If every time I woke up as a kid, my mom or dad was standing by my bedside telling me what was right or wrong, I would have ran away from home by the time I was eight years old. Anyway, elon sunk $277 million into our last election cycle and he got his money's worth. His guy won. He decided the job wasn't done. He was just starting. As we know, he and Vivek Smilaswamy are working to streamline the federal government, but beyond that, he is going to go beyond our shores to become even more powerful. He is adapting his binge posting to the UK, germany and Canada. There is no modern precedent for this. Elon is seeking to out George Soros. George Soros, one man marching up to influence electoral politics in multiple nations in the Western world. I mean the UK, the USA, germany and Canada. He's a Latter-day Wizard of Oz in broad daylight. I'm thinking we should designate Elon with a new title. Take your pick. Here are your choices Elon Musk World Commissioner. Elon Musk Earth CEO. Elon Musk Planet Poobah. Elon Musk, master of Mankind. Elon Musk, emperor of Earth. Elon Musk, master of mankind. Elon Musk, emperor of Earth, or maybe just Elon Musk, king of the world? It is time for Trump Tittle Tattle. The latest news about the grab-em-by-the-pussy former chancellor of Trump University Cue the music. Donald Trump is upset that flags will be at half-staff during his inauguration in honor of Jimmy Carter Incoming White House son-in-law, jared Kushner, a famed crisis negotiator, is trying to broker a compromise with US officials that will move the flag to three-quarters mast on Inauguration Day. Separately incoming White House idiot son Eric Trump has suggested the flags fly at 12-16th mast. Donald Trump was visited unexpectedly at his South Florida complex by Italian Prime Minister Georgia Maloney. At their informal meeting, trump reportedly expressed disappointment that Maloney had not brought a case of SpaghettiOs with her for his Mar-a-Lago pantry. Brought a case of SpaghettiOs with her for his Mar-a-Lago pantry. Donald Trump posted on X last week in all caps Trump was right about everything. X's famed community note squad has been working around the clock to prepare a definitive correction to this post and they expect it completed by March 15th 2026.

Speaker 1: 4:49

Donald Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in his hush money trial January 10th. Trump is checking back channels to see who he can pay under the table to make this go away. Donald Trump Jr is expected to visit Greenland this month, prompting an advisory to all Greenlander wildlife to remain close to home and on 24-hour alert. Finally, in non-Trump news, jetblue was fined $2 million by the Department of Transportation for chronically delayed flights. Meanwhile, spirit Airlines went unfined for chronically depressing flights.

Speaker 1: 5:27

Time for NFL picks Final week of the season. Last week, three and two, we finished 39-34-2. Well, why do I say we? I don't have a team of analytics geeks running the numbers for me. It's just me and people. Numbers can lie, but these numbers don't. Take a look at my last four regular seasons. Okay, I see the number on the left. When that's higher than the number on the right, that means you are not losing.

Speaker 1: 6:00

That is very, very hard to do when betting sports. How do I do it? I'm a left-handed genius. I'm a left-handed genius. Let'm a left-handed genius. Let's move on to the playoffs. Actually, one of my poker colleagues, a gentleman by the name of Joe Aranesti, is a word savant. He points out to me that the playoffs should be called the play-ons. You win and you play on. On makes more sense than off. He's right Play on, not play off. So let's get to our play on picks.

Speaker 1: 6:38

Chargers at Texans. The Chargers' Josh Herbert is the best quarterback in the NFL whose name is not Patrick Mahomes, lamar Jackson, josh Allen or Joe Burrow. The Texans' CJ Stroud is the best quarterback in his family. The Chargers are better than the Texans on both sides of the ball, but sometimes that ball bounces oddly. That's why I prefer betting basketball to football. Hard to trust a ball that is oblong. I love the smell of an upset in the morning or afternoon. If need be, take the Texans in the points and hey, I think they're going to upset and win the game outright.

Speaker 1: 7:20

Steelers at Ravens. The Ravens are favored by 10 points. That's way too many for this rivalry. Normally, before the Ravens beat Pittsburgh 34-17 last month, the previous nine games between these two teams were decided by seven points or less. This moment, this very moment, the Ravens are much, much better than the Steelers. The Ravens finished the season with four straight victories. The Steelers finished the season with four straight losses. You don't have to be Albert Einstein to figure this one out. And, by the way, fyi, albert Einstein was a losing sports better folks Think about that. I think the Ravens win this one easily. I'm going to lay the big number Ravens minus 10. Broncos at Bills. The Bills are 8-0 at home this season and Josh Allen might be the best quarterback in the NFL. Ah, but they say defense wins championships.

Speaker 3: 8:23

I don't know who they are.

Speaker 1: 8:25

But the Bills' defense is a little spotty and the Broncos' defense is very solid. The Broncos were second in scoring defense in the AFC this season. I think Denver can hang around in this one, and even if the Broncos don't, this game feels like a classic backdoor cover. For you novices, that's when the team that's going to lose the game scores a meaningless late touchdown to cover the point spread. That's why you should never leave the back door open. If nothing else flies, get in. I'm going to take the Broncos plus nine points.

Speaker 1: 9:02

Packers at Eagles. I am not a Philadelphia Eagles fan. I don't like the coach. I don't like the team. I don't like the coach. I don't like the team. I don't like their fans. I don't even think I like the city that much. Liberty Bell, my butt Rocky, my butt Cheesesteaks, my butt Dang. I've got a pretty large ass. But the Eagles have Saquon Barkley and he will run the Packers right back to where they came from, in Green Bay. Where is Green Bay? How did Green Bay get into the National Football League anyway? Eagles minus four in this one.

Speaker 1: 9:41

Commanders at Buccaneers. I am a Baker Mayfield guy. The Buccaneers quarterback has been through hell and high water. Well, to be more precise, he played in Cleveland for a long time and now he is the man this year, baker Mayfield 41 touchdown passes, second in the NFL, 4,500 yards passing third in the NFL. A 106.8 passer rating fourth in the NFL, and he makes a pretty good TV commercial in his spare time. I'm going to depend on Baker Mayfield in this one and go with the Bucs minus three Vikings at Rams.

Speaker 1: 10:23

Let me tell you a little something about these LA Rams. They're not Showtime. They've got no flash and dash. They're the antithesis of L Ugly gritty, almost blue collar. They don't look pretty and they don't win pretty. They're like that little dog that just keeps yapping at your feet, just nipping at your ankles, and finally you look down and see that the pooch is torn off your entire pants leg. I think we have one of those dogs around here. Okay, do I smell upset? Actually it just might be dog poop, but I'm going with the upset. I'll take the Rams plus one and a half points. D-gen's going to D-Gen.

Speaker 1: 11:01

Case number one DraftKings thinks that we are all idiots and, frankly, they might be right. They've started a new subscription called DraftKings Sportsbook Plus. Let me emphasize to you right now the plus is for DraftKings bottom line. So if you pay $20 a month, you'll get better odds on many different types of parlay bets. Draftkings says this is to quote, quote offer our customers an enhanced fan experience. I say this is to quote offer DraftKings stockholders an enhanced bank account experience.

Speaker 1: 11:39

For those of you not familiar with parlays, okay, instead of just betting on one game, a parlay lets you bet multiple games on one ticket and then on that one ticket you must get every game right to cash it in. So say, if you bet $100 on a five-team parlay, you got to be correct on all five games. Get all five teams right. It pays out $2,200 or 22 to 1 odds. The odds of hitting a five-teamer are closer to 25 to 1, so this is how the sportsbooks make money. You've only got a 25-1 chance to get the bet right. It's only going to pay off 22-1. Now DraftKings is saying you give us $20 a month and we'll give you slightly improved odds on certain parlays. This means you're paying DraftKings now for the privilege of making more losing bets. It's that simple. It will eventually enhance their profit margin, not your pocketbook. Next case DGEN's going to DGEN. Case number two. This story involves a well-known mafioso involves a well-known mafioso. Oh, that's the mob, la Cosa Nostra. Shit, give me a moment.

Speaker 2: 13:04

Carmelo Parlito, former acting captain of the Genovese organized crime family, received a 30-month prison sentence on racketeering and extortion charges related to conducting illegal gambling businesses in New York. Polito was part of a sprawling illegal gambling operation that partnered with offshore black market online casinos. During his trial, a 2019 recording revealed Polito threatening debtors with physical harm. Fyi. The potential of physical harm was one of the top five reasons I quit betting sports a number of years ago.

Speaker 1: 13:39

Winter storm warnings are blanketing the USA. Let's go to our national weather map for more details. Brr, brr, brr. It's unbelievable. The whole country Ice, snow, cold. The nation is just blanketed in cold. Plus we're getting the usual cold front coming in from the next 51st state, canada. It's always cold. That's just the mainland. Take a look at Alaska. Alaska is gone. It's one big iceberg.

Speaker 1: 14:08

Everyone in Alaska is going to fly to Hawaii. It's not that long of a flight. You can go on Alaska Air. You can go on Hawaiian Airlines. Don stops today only from Anchorage to Honolulu. It's all cold. It's not going to get any warmer.

Speaker 1: 14:22

One silver lining, thank goodness Phoenix, arizona. On Sunday is going to be 113 degrees. God bless Arizona, god bless America. Traffic and weather on the fives all weekend long. Now back to the desk.

Speaker 1: 14:38

Now the tale of two cities. Well, more likely two tales of one city. Actually, to be more truthful, it's two tales of one state, california. Are people leaving or are people coming? So U-Haul, trying to figure out where people are moving to and where people are moving from, took a look at its rental figures for 2024. The top five states people are migrating to South Carolina, texas, north Carolina, tennessee and Florida. Mostly mild weather. Southern conservative states. Okay, the top five states. People are moving from Pennsylvania, new York, new Jersey, massachusetts and California. Mostly cold weather. Northeastern bluer states plus California.

Speaker 1: 15:25

California, in fact, is the number one state people are leaving for the fifth year in a row, according to U-Haul. That's great actually. Have you seen the lines at In-N-Out Burger? And when I'm sunbathing at the beach I don't want to be shoulder to shoulder with some pasty-skinned MAGA fanatic. But is California really losing all its Californians? But is California really losing all its Californians? Actually, no, yes. More than ever are fleeing, but more than ever are flocking in. In the one-year period between July 2023 and July 2024, california population increased by more than 232,000.

Speaker 1: 16:03

So how do we reconcile that with the U-Haul numbers? It's fairly simple. I think Most people who leave California do so for economic reasons. A disproportionate number of them might use U-Haul instead of a moving company to save money. That's it. Nothing really all that fancy. So there's one truth sort of canceling out the other truth, and the big problem these days is that when you have two truths in the Elon Musk world, you don't know which one to believe. Anyway, you know, I remember back in the 1990s when I was trying to decide whether to move to LA or not. I wrote all the pros and cons on a legal pad, read them out loud in front of a mirror and made my fateful choice. I remember it like like it was yesterday Cons Too crowded, bad traffic, high taxes, alfalfa sprouts, pros, good donuts. I love to surf LA, here I come.

Speaker 1: 17:13

We now go to the tale of two high-profile marriages. Let's start with Robert and Nadine Menendez. The disgraced former US senator from New Jersey is scheduled to be sentenced for corruption. Menendez's lawyers are contending that it was his wife, nadine, who was responsible for all the bribes of cash, gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz. The senator says he was unaware of these activities. Oh man up, bobby. You were convicted as part of an international bribery conspiracy, guilty on all 16 counts you faced, including acting as an agent of a foreign government. You're lucky they're not throwing you into the pit of despair, blaming your wife. What are you a latter-day?

Speaker 1: 17:59

Henry VIII, angela Jolie and Brad Pitt are finalizing their divorce. They were married two years, then separated and squabbled in court for eight years to sign the papers. When your divorce proceedings, when your divorce proceedings are four times longer than your actual marriage, somebody screwed up somewhere along the way and it's probably you. This is Brad Pitt's second divorce. This is Angelina Jolie's third divorce. Ms Jolie, once an accident, twice a trend. Three times you are stock-raving mad, not to mention co-unco-inhabitable. Only an idiot gets divorced three times. Speaking of which, in my prenup with Tony, she cannot divorce me unless she tries to kill me first. I've got to tell you I'm always looking over my shoulder Before we wrap up. I'm going to say this one time and one time only. We wrap up. I'm going to say this one time and one time only Enough with these destination weddings.

Speaker 1: 19:17

I just got invited to a wedding in San Remo, italy. If I'm invited to a wedding where I have to clear customs, I am not going. Let me put it this way I'm more likely to attend a wedding at a Trenton, new Jersey landfill than on a San Remo, italy, hillside. If a wedding wants to be guest friendly, don't make us spend dozens of hours and thousands of dollars to get to and from there. I've had a lot of experience myself as the bridegroom at these things. All my weddings have been within five miles of where I live or work.

Speaker 1: 19:52

Now I've been told couples sometimes pick exotic, distant locales for their nuptials to cut back on the guest list. They don't want that many guests attending. Hey, listen, adam and Eve, if you don't want me to come, I don't mind, I can take it, I'll get over it. So good, people out there, if you do want me at your reception, there are only three acceptable destinations. I'll go to Anywhere in Las Vegas, any world in Yermo, california, or my backyard Listen, adam and Eve. If you don't want me to come, just. Or my backyard Listen, adam and Eve. If you don't want me to come, just don't invite me. I'll get over it. That'll do it for another edition of Gambling Mad with Norm and Chad. Hope to see you again next time and remember, if you're going to roll the dice, make sure they're loaded.

Speaker 1: 20:53

I remember January 6th quite well, january 6th 2021. A large number of protesters stormed the Capitol. A police officer was beaten with an American flag on a pole, 140 police officers were injured. A mob shouted that Vice President Mike Pence should be hanged. It was one of the darkest days in American history. Incited by the outgoing president, the rioters swarmed the US Capitol building in an attempt to overturn the results of the presidential election. But this month will wipe this ignominy from the books. The past and incoming president will pardon the nearly 1,000 convicted for their outrageous actions. History has been rewritten in real time. The marauders have become martyrs, the prisoners have become patriots. Whatever we saw, undeniably on January 6th we did not see. Congressional leaders who led a committee investigating the insurrection in fact might eventually be imprisoned. We have laundered history. The accused soon will forever be known as the J6 Patriots. Did our democracy nearly tumble on that January 6th? It never happened.

Speaker 3: 22:22

I'm so mad. I'm just sad. Mario Dill, associate producer is Brie Coore and on editing Asher Friedman. Audio video engineering and studio facilities provided by 360 Pod Studios Beverly Hills and Slap Studios LA. If you want to complain to Norm about anything, make sure to reach out at Gambling Mad Show anywhere you get your socials and at Gambling Mad with Norm Chad on YouTube. And if you really want to get at him, send a message to info at slapstudioslacom.