NBA Coaches Fired, Conor McGregor, and Book Bans | Ep. 42

Norman Chad explores remarkable gambling stories and cultural absurdities through his uniquely cynical yet heartfelt lens. The episode weaves together twin marriages, costumed police operations, celebrity gambling losses, and casino controversies while delivering sharp commentary on modern society.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Gambling Mad
• 1:25 Identical Twins' Double Love Story
• 9:05 Batman & Robin Bust Gambling Ring
• 12:16 McGregor's Losing Bet & Politics
• 13:52 Trump Tittle-Tattle News Update
• 16:20 Book Bans & Boycotts
• 20:20 Blackjack Payouts & College Football

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

In London recently. Batman and Robin yes, batman and Robin were spotted dashing across Westminster Bridge to stop an illegal gambling ring. It was life imitating art and it worked. Norman Chad, norman Chad, norman Chad. Welcome to Gambling Mad with Norman Chad. I am Norman Chad, coming up today on the program. If you are an NBA coach, you will be fired. If you are Conor McGregor, you will be a losing gambler, and if you are a book, you will be banned.

Speaker 1: 0:54

Gambling Mad, as always, brought to you by Fritos picked fresh off of Central California trees every morning, delivered directly to your local retailer every afternoon, and by the refreshing taste of Fresca. Fritos and Fresca. It's a meal. Ah, spring is in the air, tax season, deportations, tariff wars but you know I'm tired of doom scrolling around the clock. Let's turn that frown upside down. If spring is in the air, love is in the air. So let's start this week with an amazing story involving identical twin brothers and identical twin sisters, courtesy of the Washington Post.

Speaker 1: 1:36

The Baker brothers, jeremy and Caleb, met the Stutler sisters Kristen and Brooklyn at an Arizona church in 2016. As 12-year-olds, they all became friends, as did their families. One night, the four twins were watching TV together and Kristen realized that she had a crush on Jeremy. At about the same time, brooklyn and Caleb started to have feelings for each other. The four of them then went out on their first date together a double date in May 2021. Jeremy asked Kristen to be his girlfriend. Caleb asked Brooklyn. Once that was settled, the four of them decided to go to dinner at Chili's. The two couples then dated for three years and in June 2024, the brothers decided it was time to propose to the sisters. They proposed on the same day, one minute apart Jeremy to Kristen on a mountaintop, caleb to Brooklyn at a lakeside nearby.

Speaker 1: 2:41

Okay, I'm exhausted already, Just a lot of twin stuff going on. So let's leave it right there sort of a cliffhanger for a moment and take a brief intermission to absorb all of this. It's a cliffhanger. Will Kristen say yes to Jeremy? Will Brooklyn say yes to Caleb? We'll let you know right after our intermission. When we last left the two sets of twins, the guys had proposed the gals. They said yes. They said yes. Okay, fyi, the sisters had actually suggested to the brothers weeks earlier that they propose separately, but on the same day, which is exactly what they did. After the couples were engaged that day, they went to the baker's home to celebrate with their families. By the way, it should be noted that the baker's grandmother once had predicted that Jeremy and Caleb would marry a set of twins. What is she, nostra Grandamus? What a prognostication.

Speaker 1: 3:53

The couples then decided on a double wedding, of course, with back-to-back ceremonies for their 150 guests. Ceremonies for their 150 guests. It happened in Buckeye, arizona, last month. The brides wore identical gowns, the grooms wore matching tuxedos, christian and Brooklyn were each other's maid of honor. Jeremy and Caleb were each other's best man. Guess what there's more? Caleb were each other's best man. Guess what there's more. Okay, what do you do after a double wedding? You go on a double honeymoon. They took a double honeymoon cruise to Mexico. Separate suites opposite ends of the ship, and that ends this fabulous, remarkable fairy tale, except the two couples. The husbands now are 21 years old, the wives are 22. The two couples live in adjacent apartment units in Goodyear, arizona. The sisters are pharmacy technicians at the same CVS, the brothers are studying film at Huntington University, arizona, and the couples now lead the same church youth group where they originally met.

Speaker 1: 5:09

I tell you as much as I adore this story, and thanks again to Sidney Page of the Washington Post for reporting it. It is just too much for my jaded, cynical, hard-bitten soul to take in. I need a little hooch. That was just too uplifting, oh, my goodness. Okay, I'll reset Twins, twins, date, date, propose, propose, wedding, wedding, honeymoon together. They all live together.

Speaker 1: 5:51

If the Denver Nuggets do not win the NBA title then it appears all four of my recent March madness and NBA future bets will be wrong, leaving me down a mythical $400. Will be wrong, leaving me down a mythical $400. Fyi, when I am in the midst of a fictional financial downswing, I make adjustments at home. I strongly believe in the old adage bet with your head, not over it. So when gambling dollars, mythically, are flowing out of the house, mythically are flowing out of the house, I reduce Blue, my trusty pit bull mix, to two meals a day. No, she goes down to one meal a day. My wife, tony, goes down to two meals a day. I still allow myself three daily meals because I am head of the household and have to remain strong and fit to make head of the household decisions.

Speaker 1: 6:51

Anyway, I am really worried about the Denver Nuggets now because they did the unthinkable they fired their very respected head coach, michael Malone, in the final week of the regular season, nobody nobody fires their coach just as they are headed into the playoffs. Malone led the Nuggets to the NBA title just two seasons ago. This tells you all you need to know about job security in the National Basketball Association. If NBA coaches worked for the federal government, they'd be classified as non-essential employees. They are the world's most expensive temps. Malone was the Nuggets coach for 10 seasons. His record 471 wins, 327 losses, and now he is whacked only 22 months after leading the team to its first title ever. That is how tough it is in the NBA. With Malone gone, that means four of the past six coaches to win NBA titles already have been fired by their franchises Nick Nurse with the Toronto Raptors, frank Vogel with the Los Angeles Lakers, mike Budenholzer with the Milwaukee Bucks and now Michael Malone with the Denver Nuggets. In fact, vogel and Budenholzer already have been fired again by the teams that subsequently hired them after they won their titles. It is a lesson for all of us. Life is precious, job security is precious, and you know, to be perfectly frank, we're not doing all that well around here at Gambling Mad. We're not even heading to any postseason or playoffs. Heads must roll. I can't fire myself, but I can fire staff. Yeah, rick, hasta la vista. Brie, vamos chica. And Asher, you are wambuzzled. Ah, oh, my goodness, that felt so good In London recently.

Speaker 1: 9:05

Batman and Robin yes, batman and Robin were spotted dashing across Westminster Bridge to stop an illegal gambling ring. It was life imitating art and it worked. Westminster Bridge in London is a big tourist spot and those tourists often are targeted. In the infamous Monty Shell game, a version of three-card Monty, you're asked to guess under which one of these three caps the ball is in. It's a pretty simple scam, probably my favorite short con game. I just love saying short con, or long con, for that matter. So, according to the Washington Post, local police had been trying to shut down those games, but the organizers kept recognizing the officers and packing up before they could get caught in the act.

Speaker 1: 9:59

Well, inspector Darren Watson decided to think outside of the box. He thought, hey, I'll wear a Batman outfit and fellow officer Abdi Osman can put on a Robin costume, and then they will just blend into the crowd. Now, okay, how are Batman and Robin going to blend into a crowd? It's different on Westminster Bridge. Lots of folks there dress up as famous characters and then charge tourists to pose for photos with them. For instance, you know, I could go to Westminster Bridge right now dress up like this and I would be swarmed by people wanting to take pictures for me, and I could charge, you know, a pound to five pounds per shot. Anyway, batman and Robin get dressed up, and so that allows the two policemen just sort of to wander around anonymously in the crowd and then bang. They see their target. They run over there. They arrest two men running the Monty Shell game on gambling charges, both men convicted in court several days later. It's about a $1,200 fine.

Speaker 1: 11:11

I am embarrassed to say, on a personal note, that my brother, my older brother, was a Monty Shell game victim. Many, many, many years ago. He took the train from Washington DC to New York City. He came out front either out front of Penn Station or Grand Central, I can't remember which one and he started putting monies down on one of those games. He had lost $10 or $20, and then he said everyone scattered quickly because the cops were coming. Everyone disappeared. He's out of pocket. Now my brother is more successful in every regard than I am, but to this day I believe he's an imbecile and I cannot believe he's my own flesh and blood and my own flesh and blood would fall for the shell game. And my own flesh and blood would fall for the shell game. More gambling news.

Speaker 1: 12:16

Martial arts superstar Conor McGregor bet $500,000 that Michael Chandler would knock out Patty Pimblitt at UFC 314. Well, pimblitt knocked out Chandler. Mcgregor had made the bet at 5-1 odds, so he stood to win $2.5 million. Instead, he lost half a million. Mcgregor, a mainstay on my top 10 most despicable individuals on Planet Earth list, now will turn his money and his attention to running for president in Ireland. Mcgregor is unlikely to qualify for the Irish presidential ballot, but he recently announced he is running on an anti-immigration platform.

Speaker 1: 12:57

For those of you naturally wondering about Conor McGregor's qualifications to be president of anything, here they are. He is a former UFC champion. He was found liable last year for raping and battering a woman in Dublin. He has faced other allegations of sexual assault in Spain and France. He has been endorsed by Elon Musk. He also has been endorsed by self-proclaimed misogynist, andrew Tate, and he just visited his friend in the White House President Trump, also found liable of sexual abuse. What's that old expression, jailbirds of a feather flock to? You know what it is Actually neither has done any jail time, but you get the idea Time for Trump. Tittle-tattle all the latest news on the man who watches over America and keeps us safe every night while we are asleep. Cue the music.

Speaker 2: 14:03

Do-do-do-do, do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do, leap, cue the music.

Speaker 1: 14:08

President Trump moved the official portrait of Barack Obama in the White House and replaced it with a painting of himself raising his fist after the assassination attempt in Butler, pennsylvania. The Obama portrait now hangs in a less prominent spot on a staircase, well near the room in which the president keeps national security documents that he will not be returning. President Trump signed an executive order to lift restrictions on water flow for showers, saying he wanted to quote take care of my beautiful hair. Motel 6 says it will not comply with the new regulations, encouraging its guests to continue to bring their own shower water and shower heads. President Trump is suing CBS for billions of dollars because 60 Minutes has been unkind to him. Hey, hey, hey, hey. Does this mean? Does this mean I can sue my first ex-wife? Hey, hey, hey, does this mean? Does this mean I can sue my first ex-wife? President Trump attended UFC 314 in Miami. To create more intensity and more interest in the fights, the president privately suggested to UFC honcho Dana White that the losers be sent to an El Salvadoran prison. President Trump had his annual physical with his head weighing in at 224 pounds. And finally, in related news, vice President JD Vance dropped and broke the college football playoff national championship trophy on the White House South Lawn. He thought it was a donut, and that wraps up this week's Trump Tittle Tattle.

Speaker 1: 15:56

You know, banning books is a slippery slope, so I guess it's no surprise that President Trump, who lives on a slippery slope, whose mind is a slippery slope, whose body is a slippery slope, signed an executive order that legalized removal of any DEI-focused books from government facilities. This induced the Naval Academy in Annapolis, maryland, following a directive from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, to remove 381 books from its library. These were books on racism, feminism, the Holocaust, workplace diversity, civil rights and so on Anything that had a little D-E-I element to it gone. Maya Angelou's seminal memoir I Know why the Caged Bird Sings gone. Janet Jacobs' influential memorializing the Holocaust gone. What is still on the Naval Academy's library bookshelves? The bell curve which argues that black people are genetically less intelligent than white people. Also on those bookshelves, two copies of Mein Kampf, adolf Hitler's lyrical love letter to anti-Semitism.

Speaker 1: 17:21

You know I read volume one of Mein Kampf when I was in college. I absolutely loved chapter 12, the first period of development of a National Socialist German Workers' Party. It was like the Great Gatsby, only with Nazi salutes, and I've never really understood how nobody out there has ever turned Mein Kampf into a Broadway musical. Right, there's no business like fascist business. There's no business. I know Everything about it is appealing Everything the Nazis will allow. Nowhere could you get that happy feeling when you are stealing the neighbor's frow. Maybe I'll get a phone call. I'll be a Broadway producer by this time next week.

Speaker 1: 18:21

I am the founder of the Just Say no to Starbucks Boycott Movement. I have been boycotting Starbucks for more than 25 years now, with very little success. This week I picked up an unlikely boycott supporter. Hashtag boycott Starbucks is now trending on X. Maga activists are calling for a boycott of Starbucks because unions in several cities have organized demonstrations protesting the detention of their co-workers by ICE. Well, let me be clear here. I am not rejecting the MAGA people because I disagree with their stance. I am rejecting their Starbucks boycott brotherhood, so to speak, because my Starbucks boycott has nothing to do with politics, left or right. My boycott is simple. Starbucks is overrated and it's overpriced. Starbucks changed the whole coffee culture for the worse. Starbucks drove many mom and pop coffee shops out of business, places where you could still get a coffee in a china cup and still get free refills. Starbucks doesn't create or build community unless you consider it community building to go order a cafe mocha served in a paper cup, then sit there for hours on end on your iPad or laptop without speaking to anybody. Just say no to Starbucks, if you must. If you must have a cup of coffee in the morning, I urge you to go to McDonald's or 7-Eleven or Dunkin' Donuts. Or here's a thought 7-Eleven or Dunkin' Donuts. Or here's a thought make your own coffee at home. Before we wrap up, I'm going to say this one time, and one time only I ain't playing blackjack if you ain't offering three to two on a blackjack. Yes, I'm talking to you.

Speaker 1: 20:35

Las Vegas Almost all the casinos along the Strip have changed their payouts on most blackjack tables the past several years. The longtime standard was if you dealt a blackjack, it pays three to two. Now it's six to five three to two to six to five. Now, in the old days, if you bet $10, you got back $15 on your blackjack. Now your $10 bet only gets you back $12. That's $3 less every time and yes, I am counting. In Las Vegas these days, they take your money coming and going whether you're awake or asleep. How hard is it? How hard is it to just pay three to two on a blackjack? This is textbook penny wise, pound, foolish thinking. If you pay out three to two, it makes us feel better and we'll stick around. Plus, trust me, most of us are going to lose it back anyway. According to casinoorg, at the moment only three strip adjacent properties are offering tables with a three to two payout in blackjack Palms, the Rio and the Strat. Blackjack, palms, the Rio and the Strat. Do I look like I'm in the mood to go to Palms, the Rio or the Strat? What are you trying to do? Drive me back to Atlantic City. Heck, they're probably paying less than even money at that place on Blackjack, no AC for me, jack, no AC for me. That will do it for another edition of Gambling Mad with Norman Shatt. Hope to see you again next time and remember, if you're going to roll the dice, make sure they're loaded In this new age of NIL payments.

Speaker 1: 22:32

That's name, image and likeness. Everyone says they hate what college football has become. Let me ask a simple question what was it before? The battle cry of college football forever has been if you're not cheating, you're not trying Big time.

Speaker 1: 22:51

College football always had next to nothing to do with college. They weren't student athletes then and they're not student athletes now. They're just athletes disguised as students. The only difference now is the fact that the athletes are getting paid finally. Well, at least getting paid more than before. Before it was unofficially a form of professional football. Now it is officially a form of professional football. Who? It is officially a form of professional football. Who are we kidding? So spare me the tears that we've lost the purity of the game. Spare me the memories. Spare me the nostalgia. Big time. College football and institutions of higher education have always been the height of mythology and hypocrisy. Take the Southeastern Conference, the SEC, please. They're just a sanitized version of the drug cartels and drug lords, except they wear suits and ties and helmets and cleats and pretend they're praying to some god, when they're actually praying. Their bitcoin doubles by halftime and their Ferraris don't get keyed in the parking lot by game's end, my goodness these people are making me gambling mad, mario Dill.

Speaker 2: 24:10

Our associate producers are Brie Koury and Asher Freidberg and edited by Asher Freidberg, with studio facilities at 360 Pod Studios, beverly Hills.