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LAS VEGAS — Ms. Laurie, a fortune teller who works on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas, will reveal the future for a price: $20 for a palm reading, $20 for tarot cards or, this week, a steep discount on where quarterback Tom Brady will be playing football next season.
For free, Ms. Laurie told USA TODAY Sports that Brady will be playing for the Las Vegas Raiders. Brady bought a house here and so of course he’ll be leaving the New England Patriots, she explained.
“That’s common sense,’’ she said. “You don’t have be a psychic.’’
Never mind that there is no evidence Brady has bought a house in Las Vegas, much less Nevada. Truth is a minor inconvenience with NFL free agency starting March 18 and speculation simmering about where Brady will play.
The most probable outcome, according to oddsmakers, is Brady will stay with the Patriots. Of course, that’s where he has played for 20 seasons and won six Super Bowl rings. The sports books here taking wagers on Brady’s future still list New England as the odds-on favorite.
But Chris Andrews, the sports book director at the South Point Hotel Casino & Spa, said most money has been wagered on Brady going to the San Francisco 49ers. The thinking, Andrews said, is that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is ready to part ways with the aging Brady, 42, in favor of Jimmy Garoppolo, 28, whom the Patriots traded to the 49ers in 2017.
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“I can tell you this,’’ Andrews said, “we don’t want to see (Brady) sign with the 49ers. We’d lose pretty good.’’
Jay Kornegay, who oversees operations at Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, said most of the money wagered has been on the Tennessee Titans, with the Raiders drawing the second-most money wagered.
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“The 49ers are beginning to get some interest with the latest rumors,’’ said Kornegay, vice president of race and sports operations, who added that the prop bet has generated more discussion than actual bets.
Brady fever hasn’t exactly swept through this city. In fact, cruising around town looking for Brady’s name on the back of a Raiders jersey is a fruitless exercise. And a guy who answered the phone at a sports apparel shop in Las Vegas said they had no Raiders jerseys with Brady’s name.
“Not yet,’’ he said. “Is it official?’’
Meaning, is it official Brady has signed with the Raiders. Uh, no.
The guy explained that stores licensed by the NFL are prohibited from selling team jerseys with the names of players from other teams.
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But that hasn’t stopped people from imagining. Mark Tuttle, who works at a marijuana dispensary near the stadium, was walking last week on a road in front of Allegiant Stadium, which next season will be the new home of the Raiders.
“You know the big rumor is Brady’s supposed to go to the Giants,’’ said Tuttle, who happened to be wearing a New York Giants jersey.
But Tuttle said he thinks Las Vegas would be the second-best destination for Brady, behind only New England. And he predicted with Brady, the Raiders would be big winners — if not on the field, in merchandise sales.
“Do you know how many jerseys we’d sell here?’’ he said. “It’d go through the roof.
“I’d like to see Brady come, I can tell you that. I’d definitely have a black and silver jersey.’’
Nearby, an electrical contractor said he was a lifelong Chicago Bears fan but declined to give his name after being asked what he thinks Brady should do as the psychics, sports book operators and fans speculate on where he’ll play next season.
“He needs to retire,’’ the electrical contractor said.
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