Oct. 27, 2025

Nothing But Bet: The NBA Scandal, Trump’s Reagan Rage, and the Ballroom That Ate D.C.

Show Notes
Transcript

From Charlotte, where we had the under—Patrick Gutfield breaks down the week’s wildest headlines: the FBI’s “Nothing But Bet” sting shaking the NBA, Trump blowing up trade talks with Canada over a Ronald Reagan ad, and a $300 million White House demolition to make room for a presidential ballroom. It’s corruption, chaos, and construction—all in one Ballot.

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Callaroga Shark Media from Charlotte, where we had the under

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this is ballot. That's right, sounds like ballroom construction. Isn't

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the only thing that's corrupt. Let's hit this. I'm Patrick Gutfield.

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And turns out the NBA's new game plan involves less

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basketball and more insider betting. Who knew prop bet didn't

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stand for properly playing. The FBI just dropped a bombshell

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investigation called nothing but Bet, which sounds like a terrible

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gambling pun and a serious criminal indictment. They've charged six people,

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including NBA players, for essentially turning professional sports into their

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personal betting playground. Terry Rozier, a Charlotte Hornets player, apparently

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told associates he'd prematurely remove himself from a game translation,

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I'm gonna tank my own performance for some quick cash.

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Talk about team spirit. And it's not just basketball. We've

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got NFL players getting suspended, baseball pitchers under investigation. It's

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like a full court press of corruption. The most ironic part,

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sports leagues are now so in bed with gambling companies

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that stadiums literally have sports books inside them. It's like

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putting a liquor store inside an AA meeting. Remember when

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gambling was the big taboo in sports. Now it's more

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integrated than halftime entertainment. Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle used

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to get banned just for being near a casino. Now

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players are basically running their own casino inside the game.

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One expert put it perfectly. Sports can survive anything, performance

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enhancing drugs, labor fights, even ridiculously priced stadium hot dogs.

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But what they can't survive as fans not believing the

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game is real. So congratulations, professional sports. You've turned the

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integrity of the game into just another betting line. Breaking

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news from the trade wars. Trump just canceled all trade

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negotiations with Canada over a Ronald Reagan ad, because nothing

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says diplomatic relations like throwing a global tantrum over vintage

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presidential footage. Ontario's Premier Doug Ford, who calls himself a

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big Ronald Reagan fan, spent seventy five million dollars on

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an ad featuring Reagan criticizing tariffs. Trump's response total nuclear option.

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He just terminated all trade talks faster than he demolishes

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White House wings. Reagan's actual quote when someone says let's

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impose tariffs on foreign imports. It looks like they're doing

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the patriotic thing. Then he basically says, psych just kidding.

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These actually hurt American workers. Trump's reaction on truth social

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was about as measured as you'd expect. He claimed Canada

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was trying to fraudulently influence the Supreme Court because when

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I think international diplomacy, I think dramatic, all caps social

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media posts. The Ronald Reagan Foundation even said the ad

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misrepresents Reagan's original speech. They're basically the fact checkers of

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presidential zombie quotes. So congratulations, Canada, you just got into

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a political wrestling match with a guy who takes presidential

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disagreements about as seriously as a reality show elimination. Donald

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Trump decided the White House wasn't Trump enough. He's demolishing

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the entire East Wing to build a ballroom so massive

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it could host a reunion of his legal teams. The

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project's gonna cost three hundred million dollars because nothing says

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fiscally responsible like knocking down historic architecture to throw the

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world's most expensive dance party. And get this, he's claiming

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private donors are footing the Bill, Apple, Amazon, Google, basically

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a tech company. Potluck is funding your taxpayer funded renovation.

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The Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt is defending this by saying,

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the President want to do right by the people's house. Yeah,

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because when I think people, I think ninety thousand square

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foot ballroom. Polls show fifty three percent of Americans are

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against this demolition. The other forty seven percent are probably

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waiting to see if they can book the space for

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their company's holiday party. Trump's even claiming he'll personally donate

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millions to cover any shortfall, which, coming from a guy

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who's been fighting legal battles left and right, sounds about

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as reliable as a used car warranty. The best part,

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they're shipping the debris to a public golf course, because

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nothing says presidential dignity like turning historic building materials into

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landscaping fill. And here's a fun twist. This ballroom will

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be connected by a glass bridge, so now you can

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watch the destruction of American architectural history while walking between rooms.

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Talk about transparency. Portions of today's show were made with

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the help of AI and the Knicks minus two and

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a half