VSiN Primetime | August 28, 2026 | Hour 1

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
This is VSiN Primetime. Live from the Circa Sportsbook in downtown Las Vegas on VSiN, the SportsBetting Network.

**Matt Youmans** (0:14)
It's a football Friday night in Las Vegas. It's Circa Football Contest weekend, and this is no ordinary Friday night. Mike Palm in studio for the first half hour tonight. Will Hill, my co-host from the East Coast. I'm back from Hawaii, and it's great to be here.
Mike, the mayor of downtown Las Vegas this weekend. You've been shaking hands and kissing babies, posing for photos all week.

**Mike Palm** (0:37)
Yeah, it's a contest sign up weekend, Matt. So we keep building it up every year. Three full days of programming. Radio Row, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. yesterday and today. So I think I spoke to almost everybody that was there. There's 44 radio stations slash podcasts here this week. So it's fun. We'll have a little blackjack shootout tonight. And I met a lot of people. We had the drinks at Bar Canada last night, meet and greet. And so, yeah, a lot of interviews and a lot of talking to folks.
Some that have been here for the first time and some that are coming back again to get in the contest.

**Matt Youmans** (1:12)
Yeah, I was going to say, you see a lot of familiar faces around here and a lot of new people coming out as well. So you got Radio Row. I was going to ask you about that here at Circa this week. That does a great job of spreading the word about Circa football contests around the country.

**Mike Palm** (1:26)
Especially if you can get the host to buy an entry, right? If you can get the host, they'll talk about it. Well, they'll talk about the whole year. They'll talk about it the whole year. And so it's great. You know, you get five months worth of promotion for it.

**Matt Youmans** (1:38)
Also, like you said, the meet and greet at Bar Canada, right? And what else is going on this weekend? We have the graphic here of your football preview panel and quite a collection, I would say a collection, eclectic collection of characters for the circuit preview this week. Go ahead and tell us what this is all about and who your four panelists are here.

**Mike Palm** (2:01)
Yeah, we do this every year. I think this is my seventh year doing it. I always have four panelists. I try to take four people from different walks of life. You did it the very first year.

**Matt Youmans** (2:09)
Was that the first year?

**Mike Palm** (2:10)
You, Mitch, Paul Stone and Gil was the first year. That was the first year. That was the very first year we did it.
And so maybe not that year do we have all four walks of life, but I try to have a bookmaker, a pro better, a media person, and then someone that's been in the NFL. So, you know, we have a mall shaw. He fits the pro better or slash a media person. You know, that was a smash hit back in 2021, the nuts slash odds on here, that morning program with a mall and a certain person.

**Matt Youmans** (2:41)
Very good show with Mike Palm and a mall shaw. And what is a mall doing now? I've had people ask me that.

**Mike Palm** (2:47)
Playing a lot of poker, really. And I think he's looking to maybe make some investments. You know, he tried to get into a nightclub in Dallas, that didn't work out.

**Matt Youmans** (2:54)
I heard about that.

**Mike Palm** (2:55)
Yeah, but a lot of people are happy to see that a mall will be back in the spotlight. Jeff Sherman, everybody knows from the West Gate, over two decades there, key part of that team. Obviously, Caesars came in and we were able to scoop him up. So he works for Circa now.
Ruth Polinsky is a host for CHN in Chicago, covers the Bears as well. And then Austin Ekeler, who said no twice to the panel, he lives in Vegas now. I didn't know that he had moved here, but he said, well, I don't really, you know, I don't bet. I don't I don't want to sound like an idiot about bet. I said, well, that's not why you're there. I mean, most of the athletes don't bet that we've had on, but you have insight into the league and you're just out of the league. So you have very fresh insight into the league.

**Matt Youmans** (3:36)
Austin Ekeler liked that addition to the panel. I mean, it gives you a different perspective. Sometimes the former players, a lot of times, I find their opinions to be rather worthless in the sports betting arena. Seriously. But there are some guys who do have something to bring, right?