Show #98 – Ryan Garcia of DenverSportsBetting.com Talks Future of Colorado Sports Teams

Show notes from Ryan Garcia Interview

Ryan Knuppel: All right, welcome back to another episode of Knup Sports Show. I’m your host, Ryan Knuppel here with you each and every week, each and every day it seems like these days. Thank you so much for tuning in and listening. We appreciate your time, and giving us a little bit of your time. Today, I’m here with a very special guest. I have Ryan Garcia, the owner at DenverSportsBetting.com. Ryan, are you on the line with me?

Ryan Garcia: I am. I am. I appreciate it, Ryan. Thanks for having me on.

Ryan Knuppel: Oh, no, it’s my pleasure. I appreciate you being here. I cannot wait to talk a little Colorado sports, a little Denver sports. Man, we are on the cusp of sports coming back. I can feel it. I can feel it coming this way. Are you excited to get some sports back? Are you excited to get some sports back?

Ryan Garcia: I definitely am. Oh, man, it’s just, any kind of entertainment. But especially sports. There’s never been a really, a time without sports. And yeah, it’s been tough without it. So yeah, I’m excited for it.

Ryan Knuppel: Yeah. I mean, you don’t even realize. We all say we love sports. But you don’t even realize, until it’s gone, how much you actually rely on sports in your day to day conversations, and your day to day entertainment value. But once it’s gone, it’s like … Man, we need it back so badly. So badly. So I can’t wait. I’m itching.

Ryan Garcia: Yeah, I’ve had to resort back to talking about weather.

Ryan Knuppel: Oh, yeah. No, come on, I don’t need that. So, Ryan, tell me a little bit about DenverSportsBetting.com, and the site, and where it came about, and how long you’ve been running it. And tell the audience a little bit about the site you got going on.

Ryan Garcia: So Denver Sports Betting is the one stop shop for sports betting content for Denver, and Colorado overall. It started off just when ESPN sent out the notification that sports betting can become legal in the state. I started buying up a bunch of domain names. And that was one of them. Kept sleeping. Kept me up, because I was like, “I got to do something with this one. I just can’t sell it.” So yeah, I started building it up. And yeah, it’s been going on for over a year now. And we’re rocking and rolling. We’re getting towards our goal.

Ryan Knuppel: That’s amazing. I love to see the … I love, personally, seeing the progression that you’ve made on the site. I mean, I know we touched base back when you were starting this thing, and you had this dream, and this vision of creating this site. And I think, if you look now, it’s one of the authority sites in the city. And like you said, focusing on Colorado sports. And I love that it’s a niche site like that, and you really focused, right. I mean, some of these sites these days are all over the place, and really broad. You’re focused on Denver, and really hitting that audience there. So I think you’re doing a great job of that.

Ryan Garcia: Definitely. Yeah. I’m born and raised Denver, Colorado. I love my state. I love the city of Denver. So if we can provide some entertainment, some fun for them, that’s what it’s all about.

Ryan Knuppel: Yeah. And you had to have been excited back when … What was it? May? Or April? Or whenever that Denver and Colorado actually legalized it. I mean, you had to have been just dying for that day to happen, right.

Ryan Garcia: Yes. Yeah. Then that day had me on pins and needles. Oh, man, it was close. It was really close. It came down to that last minute. And we put it through. And I’m so proud of Colorado for doing that.

Ryan Knuppel: Yeah. And I think the betting handle in that state has been very positive. Or at least, it was, up until COVID hit. I know the first month was really positive. And I would expect the handle to be very large once we start seeing sports again here. What are your expectations for the betting handle across the state when sports do come back? What are your expectations?

Ryan Garcia: Oh, it’s going to explode. We’re definitely going to be one of the bigger states as far as for sports betting. I think we’re estimated at two billion by the end of the year. In May, it was 25 million. And [inaudible 00:04:05] people betting on the UFC, and Russian ping pong. It’s crazy.

Ryan Knuppel: Yeah, it is. It is. So let’s talk a little bit about your hometown sports teams. So let’s start in the NBA. I mean, we may be getting NBA back. Give us a little bit about the Nuggets. Are they … Where do they fit into this NBA plan that may happen, actually in Orlando, my hometown city, where they’re just going to start playing all these games, where does Denver fit into this picture?

Ryan Garcia: Oh, man, I love it. Every year, it’s always like, “This is our year.” But I think we really are that dark horse. I think we’re built for this kind of playoff. And I really think, now that Jokic is back, and just our team, we’re just … The way they play ball, I think we can definitely have a shot at this championship. And odds are plus 2,500 right now. So I’ve jumped all over that.

Ryan Knuppel: Hey, I mean, that’s a nice little long shot. I mean, it’s not going to make you rich, but it’s definitely a decent little odds there on the Nuggets. And I’ve heard, I haven’t really looked closely, but I’ve heard Jokic is in game shape right now. Is that correct?

Ryan Garcia: Oh, man, he’s got the beach body. He’s ready for Orlando. He’s got the six pack and everything. [crosstalk 00:05:25].

Ryan Knuppel: What’s funny is, I think the last Magic game that we attended before all of this was when the Nuggets … It was actually early in the season, the Nuggets came to town and played. And oh my gosh, Jokic was in the worst shape of his life I believe when I saw him playing. He was way overweight. And so to see him back in shape, ready to go, I mean, he can be a beast if he’s in good shape.

Ryan Garcia: Yeah, I think we’re definitely going to make the run. But that’s coming from a homer. How do you feel about them from the outside in, looking in?

Ryan Knuppel: Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, I’m still skeptical. I mean, obviously anybody can make a run. But I think there’s so many teams with a power duo, or a power trio even, some of these teams that have two, three guys that are going to be tough to derail, I think out there in either side. I mean, East and West have some pretty decent teams. But you look at teams like the Lakers, and teams like the Clippers, man, they’re going to be tough outs. I just think they’re going to be tough outs.

Ryan Knuppel: But you also have to wonder, how have these guys been staying in shape? How have they been staying in game shape? And we’re really going to see. I think we’re really going to see who’s, I hate to say taking it seriously, because when they’re making that much money, I would hope they’re all taking it seriously. But we’re going to see who’s really been working out, right.

Ryan Garcia: There’s going to be some more than others that would definitely take it more serious than the others.

Ryan Knuppel: Yeah, for sure. But I mean, I do think the Nuggets have an outside chance to make a … They’re definitely a scary team to face at this point, with some of the assets, and tools that they have on their team.

Ryan Garcia: Oh, definitely. And so I’ve seen a lot of people, coaches, or even players say this will be the toughest championship ever [crosstalk 00:07:12]. Do you agree with that?

Ryan Knuppel: I do. I think just with all the unknowns, right. I mean, all the unknowns, all of the time we just had off. Plus, now you have to deal with no fans. So how are some players and teams going to really adjust to that different mentality, right. I mean, obviously the Lakers, they thrive on that energy of their fans and people watching them. How are they going to be without any of that? Are they going to be ho-hum? Like, “Oh, this is just another game”? Or will they be able to keep going through it? I think that’s a big question mark. And then I also think just the question mark of COVID in general. And we know there’s going to be cases of this. We know there’s going to be players that it effects. That could drastically change some of the outcomes of these games in the series.

Ryan Garcia: Definitely. No, I completely agree. COVID, it’s such a question mark, because your top player goes down, Lebron goes down [inaudible 00:08:13] goes down, who steps up at that point? Yeah, I definitely agree. It’s going to be the toughest championship ever won.

Ryan Knuppel: It sure is. It sure is. So let’s shift gears a little bit. Now we’re starting with a season that hasn’t even gotten off the ground. Baseball. So baseball … Man, you know what, baseball is one of those seasons that, every year, I’m like, “Oh, this is dragging on and on.” I love the game, I love my St. Louis Cardinals. But I’m like, “It’s a long season.”

Ryan Knuppel: So now I’m like, “Okay, 60 game schedule. This is going to be fun.” I’m really excited about it. What do the Rockies have to look forward to this year? I personally haven’t even studied them very closely. But I’m curious what you think the Rockies have going for them this year.

Ryan Garcia: I’m excited that baseball will be back. But going into the season, if it was a full blown season, I didn’t have a lot of high hopes. But now it’s anybody’s game. So I’m excited. Anybody can make a run. Again, it’s just question marks. But I’m hopeful. I’m hopeful, we’ll say.

Ryan Knuppel: Yeah. I mean, yeah, with all the sports, [inaudible 00:09:24] broken record, right. All the question marks of the players, and the teams, and how they’re going to react. But baseball is one of those games that, I don’t know, I don’t feel like the fan energy drives it that much. Maybe I’m wrong there. But I don’t feel like the fan energy is going to be that big of a factor for those guys plan.

Ryan Knuppel: I do personally like a couple of the rule changes that they made in baseball this year. I know the one that I particularly like is, the pitcher has to pitch, what, three batters, or has to face at least three batters. I think that’ll speed up the game. And while baseball purists may not love that idea, I just like it from a pure gameplay standpoint, and like, “Look, we don’t need every three seconds [inaudible 00:10:10] changing pitchers out here. Lets at least make them face a few batters first.” So I do like that one. How about you, anything in particular there you like or don’t like?

Ryan Garcia: No, I agree. As the game goes on, you got to update certain things. I know baseball is the one where there’s so much pushback on it. But I just feel you have to. You have to update sometimes. And it’s usually for the better. There are some things that don’t always work out. But you just have to make those updates. And I like them.

Ryan Knuppel: Yeah. I mean, the national league [inaudible 00:10:45] now. So your Rockies, my Cardinals are going to have a DH now. I think that’s been a long time coming. There’s been rumbles about that for quite a while. And so now I think that’ll be an okay adjustment after people get used to it. They’ll look back and say, “Well, this is okay. This didn’t hurt the game that much.” So I’m okay with that one as well. I don’t know about the extra innings. Extra innings, a man starting on second base feels a little, little league-ish to me. But okay, whatever. An odd way to end it.

Ryan Garcia: Yeah. I’m all for it. I’ll at least check it out. But yeah, I agree.

Ryan Knuppel: And then we got football. So the everybody’s favorite NFL. Yeah, we all cannot wait for NFL to start. It’s usually about this time that we all start getting the itch for football. But now I think any sport, we’re getting the itch for. But what have you heard about the NFL? And are they still on track to start in August, September timeframe? Or are we … I mean, I guess we’re definitely at risk of pushing it back. But what have you been hearing about the NFL at large?

Ryan Garcia: Well, I know that the preseason has been cut to two games, right. I believe I heard that. And then, yeah, I think training camp was pushed back maybe a little bit, or should be right around the same time. But who knows? Things can change so quick. But just to hear that there is that shot that it does go through, oh, man, it just gets me pumped.

Ryan Knuppel: And what do your Broncos readers … Yeah. What do your Broncos readers have to look forward to this year?

Ryan Garcia: Lock. He had a few games as a starter now. So I think we’re finally going into the season where there’s not that question mark at quarterback, which is amazing. I don’t even know, Peyton Manning was the last time. So it’s been a while. And just our weapons. Oh, man, our weapons on offense. I know people are going to question it.

Ryan Garcia: But I think we’ve caught up in the arms race to the Chiefs. I really do. I really do. I know people [inaudible 00:13:01] saying I’m crazy, or just a homer. But I think we’re right there with them. Of course, Mahomes. Mahomes is Mahomes. He’s on another level. But as far as weapons wise, I think we’re right there with them.

Ryan Knuppel: Yeah, it’s going to be an interesting year for sure, for football as well. And I just hope we have a season. I mean, I don’t know that … Sports betting in general, talking sports betting, I don’t know that it can make it through a year without football. I mean, that’s going to be insane if that ends up getting canceled, because football is the bread and butter of all sports books, and all sports betting operations basically. It’s the cash cow for sure. So I’m crossing my fingers every day that we keep that at least going.

Ryan Knuppel: Because we have been seeing on the college side, I mean, there’s been news out every day here this week about different conferences that are cutting back things. And it sounds like, I think today, the Big Ten announced they’re staying only within conference. So there won’t be out of conference games. And you’re just seeing all sorts of things come up here for college football. So hopefully that doesn’t effect the NFL as well.

Ryan Garcia: Yeah. I think, yeah, once again, all these question marks, and everything. But I’m really hoping that the testing, just, they get it good right off the bat, so that way we can have a full season. But you just never know. You just never know. It’s the year of the unknown for all sports, which is exciting, because anything can happen, even more than it usually is.

Ryan Knuppel: Sure, sure. So give us a little … Before we go here, I don’t want to keep you very long, I know you’re a busy guy. But before we go here, give me a little bit of, I guess future talk for Denver Sports Betting. What’s in your future? What are you looking forward to doing? Maybe some … Are you covering new sports? Or have anything up and coming that you’re looking to do? Or anything that the audience should check out?

Ryan Garcia: Just our content. So once we get back to filming, we have some great shows that we’re going to be producing, that’s just going to entertain. At the end of the day, that’s what we really want to do. You sports bet, some people do it to make money, other people just do it to have fun and be entertained. That’s our goal. If you walk away from our content being entertained, or having fun with it, we’ve done our job. So I’m just looking back [inaudible 00:15:26] to doing videos and everything again.

Ryan Garcia: But we do have something big planned as far as a partnership. I can’t go into too many details. It’s in the next few weeks though. Definitely [inaudible 00:15:38] keep an eye out. I think we’ll definitely have everyone’s attention here in a few weeks.

Ryan Knuppel: Oh, I love it. Throwing a little nugget out there for us to keep an eye on DenverSportsBetting.com. I love it, man. I’m looking forward to that news. And I definitely appreciate you being here. How can people … I know they can go to DenverSportsBetting.com. But are you guys out on any social channels, or anything like that where people can find you guys?

Ryan Garcia: Oh, yeah, definitely our Facebook, our Instagram, and Twitter. So just @denversportsbetting. Check us out. Like our page and everything. And yeah, just keep following, because like I said, we’ve got some good news coming.

Ryan Knuppel: Amazing. This is Ryan Garcia, the owner of DenverSportsBetting.com. Ryan, any last words for the audience here before I let you go?

Ryan Garcia: Just keep up hope. Just keep pushing. And we’ll get through this.

Ryan Knuppel: Agreed. Agreed. Great advice there. Hey, Ryan, I really appreciate you being here. I’ll keep my eye on the site. And of course, hopefully all those Denver teams will make a late playoff run for you to enjoy a championship year for one of your teams. That’s always the goal as a fan. So appreciate you being here, man. Thanks so much.

Ryan Garcia: Thanks, Ryan. You have a good one.

Ryan Knuppel: [crosstalk 00:16:57] championship run. All right, you too, Ryan. That was Ryan Garcia, the owner of DenverSportsBetting.com. All you listeners, thanks so much for tuning in, giving us a little piece of your time. We will talk to you soon. Stay safe, and have a great one. Bye-bye.

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