C
elebrating its 35th year in business as licensed casino junket reps, Cotler VIP Tours —known publicly as VIP Gambling Tours— announced its expansion into interactive gaming with the launch of its US sportsbook affiliate brand ThePropsNetwork.com. The brand debuted in January with licensing in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and has since expanded into West Virginia, Indiana and Iowa. The sports and gambling focused media brand has survived the casino shutdowns with original produced shows, podcasts, and a landmark venture into live professional sports productions.
“Our goal in launching ThePropsNetwork.com has been to make the enjoyable experiences we create for our VIP gamblers accessible to the online gambling community,” says Steve Cotler, founder of Cotler VIP Tours, Inc. “Particularly now as we’ve seen the impact of COVID-19 on our land-based business model, creating an online presence allows us new opportunities to interact with existing customers, introduce new forms of gambling entertainment and engage a new generation of gambling clientele.”
Cotler tapped Kyle Piasecki—whose igaming credentials include Caesars Interactive Entertainment and Mobile Gaming Technologies dba ‘CashBet’—as a partner and head of affiliate operations for ThePropsNetwork.com. Seasoned television producer Sam Cotler serves as the brand’s co-founder and head of content, developing original podcasts and video entertainment, such as “Just for Sport,” hosted by 4X Emmy winning sports anchor Jumoke Davis, and “Pile It On” with co-hosts Steve Clark and Joel Walkowski, aka “The Professional Gambler” both accredited writers, producers, and comedians.
Walkowski also co-hosts “Inaction: The Quarantine Quiz Show,” a comedy game show ThePropsNetwork.com debuted in April “to help sports fans pass the pandemic.” The show is co-hosted by comedian Donnie Sengsstack.
When the casino and sports world shuttered in March, the team brokered a monumental sports and gambling media deal. The outcome being one of the first pro sporting events to return in the US. The high volume, live, professional, men’s and women’s Tennis series is now an available betting market on sportsbooks worldwide and broadcast daily on ESPN3.
Piasecki credits the brand leadership team’s diverse experience with giving The Props Network a competitive edge: “Collectively, we understand what gamblers—and specifically sports bettors—want in terms of original online content, and we have the capability to deliver it,” he says. “The result is a true media brand that sets a new standard of quality for interactive gaming and, now more than ever, helps fill a void for sports fans who are missing that avenue of entertainment.”
