Caesars Sportsbook has signed up yet another brand ambassador. This time, the sportsbook has teamed up with Kenny Mayne, former UNLV quarterback, and ESPN anchor. Mayne played for the Rebels between 1979 and 1981. Now 62, he has returned to Caesars, where he worked as an usher at Caesars’ outdoor boxing ring during the Muhammad Ali-Larry Holmes fight held in 1980.
Kenny Maine ended his 27-year span at ESPN in May this year with a social media post after complaining about being asked to take a salary cap. Celebrated and beloved by sports fans all over the globe for his dry sense of humor, Mayne started working for ESPN in 1994. He was a mainstay on ESPN 2’s coverage of motorsports and horse races before he moved on as a contributor for the “Sunday NFL Countdown”.
Eventually, he went on to anchor “SportsCenter.” He was also a regular feature on TV screens during commercials. He also took part in Dancing with the Stars.” Which airs on ABC-TV. Between 2008 and 2011, Maine produced and starred in an original ESPN.COM scripted series known as Mayne Street. In this web comedy series, Mayne acted as a thinly veiled version of himself- as a TV sportscaster.
Originally from Washington, Mayne was a professional football player for 2 seasons at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. He then signed as a free agent with the Seattle Seahawks in 1982. Now, after his almost 30-year run at ESPN, Maine has returned to Vegas as one of Caesars Sportsbook brand ambassadors, thus bringing his career full circle.
What we cover
Maine joins Wingo as Caesar’s ambassador
Earlier this year in August, Caesars Entertainment also signed fellow ESPN veteran broadcaster Trey Wingo as chief trends officer and brand ambassador. Wingo, 58, had a standout career for 23 years at ESPN that started in 1997. Wingo joined ESPN after a 6 year run in St. Louis as a sportscaster for Channel 5 on KSDK.
When he joined the network in 1997, he was first hired as an anchor on ESPNews. Over the next couple of years, Wingo worked his way up the ladder, managing to fill numerous prominent roles including hosting “SportsCenter”, as well as anchoring numerous NFL shows- most notable of which was the NFL draft. He also co-hosted the “Golic and Wingo” alongside Mike Golic for close to 3 years.
Like Mayne, Wingo was forced to leave the network as a result of pay cuts owing to the pandemic. With the sports world on hold for months owing to the contagion, ESPN asked its commentators to take a pay cut of 15%. This move would consequently impact at least 1000 of ESPN’s highest-paid commentators.
These measures may have been dire at the time. However, they were implemented to prevent further furloughs. Employees at ESPN’s parent company Disney were also asked to take pay cuts. The pandemic hit ESPN especially hard because all major sports- which are the lifeblood of ESPN’s programming- were on hold for weeks.
At the time, the NBA had been forced to suspend its season, the NCAA had similarly forgone its popular men and women’s college basketball tournament, also known as March Madness, while Major League Baseball’s Opening Day had also been delayed. Wingo’s exit followed the departures of other top executives at ESPN including Connor Schell and Libby Geist.
It appears that Caesars Entertainment will likely keep tapping into the biggest names in sports media and recruiting them as brand ambassadors. Since he joined the team, Wingo has been creating stories that explain the odds to punters with Caesars’ extensive trading data.
The content that he has been creating has been engaging sports bettors and helping them to make informed decisions. In addition to Wingo and Mayne, Caesars has also featured several well-known names as brand ambassadors.
Caesars has had a great 2021
Just recently, Caesars Sportsbook became the official sports betting partner and the only casino partner of the Indiana Colts. This new partnership will expand on Caesars Entertainment’s existing deal with the Colts, which has been partners with Harrah’s Hoosier Park, as well as Indiana Grand Racing & Casino, which are both controlled by Caesars.
As part of marketing the newly launched Caesars Sportsbook, the sportsbooks now enjoys naming rights for the South Gate stadium, which will be renamed Caesars South Gate. Caesars will also have the opportunity to open a sportsbook lounge at the stadium that will display live odds as people wager.
With the football season now underway and in full swing, this new partnership with the Colts will help to attract even more punters as Caesars Sportsbook looks to dominate the market both at home and internationally. Along with this partnership also came Caesar’s alliance with LSU Athletics.
This deal will allow the sportsbook to attract LSU fans and its alumni while also offering scholarship opportunities. Caesars has a long legacy in Louisiana so this partnership will only help the Caesars brand expand even further than it already has. As a result of this collaboration with LSU, Caesars Sportsbook will get naming rights at Tiger Stadium, as well as an exclusive presence at the LSU Sports Mobile App.
Caesars will also get additional signage at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, as well as the Alex Box Stadium. As part of this agreement, Caesars Sportsbook will also enjoy the broadcast and digital sponsorship rights all through LSU’s men’s and women’s tournaments, which will push the sportsbook’s visibility even further. It’s not just the sportsbooks that stand to benefit from this new relationship.
As part of this collaboration, Caesars Sportsbook clients will also enjoy exclusive access to participate in LSU events and access VIP warmth at Tiger Stadium thanks to their membership with the brand’s loyalty program, Caesars Rewards. This partnership will go a long way in strengthening Caesars’ already recognized impression in Louisiana.
Final Thoughts
Caesars is a well-known brand in Louisiana, where it has committed to completing large-scale renovations of Harrah’s New Orleans, Caesars New Orleans, Isle of Capri Lake Charles, as well as Horseshoe Lake Charles. Other brand ambassadors on Ceasar’s payroll include Arizona Diamondbacks legend Luis Gonzalez, as well as Emmy nominated actor and comedian JB Smoove.
