I grew up in that area. I was directly across the river from Steubenville, and my first job in high school was at McDonald's in Steubenville. Placed my first bet in one of those "walk-in" joints in Weirton when I was in high school. Every other bar was a front for a bookie joint in those days. It was crazy how easy it was to get action. In my hometown, there was a used car dealer directly across the street from the police station. As a kid, I always wondered how he made any money because the few cars that he had sitting there had been sitting there for years. After I told a good buddy of mine that I had gone up to the next town, Weirton, to bet on baseball, he asked me why I didn't just go to Lombardi's? That was the used car dealer. Duh! I had no idea, but again, I was 16 years old at the time. You would just walk right into the office area, and there was a chalkboard with all the games listed and a couple of tables with stacks of 3X5 carbon paper. You just walked in, sat down at the table, filled out your slip, and walked it up to the counter, where Paul would take one piece of the carbon paper and your cash, put a paper clip on it, and toss it in the cigar box under the counter. Some old guys would hang out in there all day just bullshitting and trying to dissect winners. Jon was a legend then in the Ohio Valley, long before he went to Antigua...........Those were the days. BUT........Those guys had a lock on action. When they posted their totals on a football game, it would be under 47.5 or over 50.5..........But we had no other options, nor did I know any better at 16, and even if I did, everyone was putting middles in the totals. No wonder those guys drove nice cars.
Good times!
