As revenue goes it barely registers on the books. The NBA probably gets more from the contract with its frozen daiquiri vendor than it does the new deal it inked with casino giant MGM Resorts International.

With good reason. The deal announced with such fanfare Tuesday is arguably little more than a branding exercise – at least for now – and a chance to take baby steps into a sports betting partnership that would have been almost scandalous only a few years ago.

Still Aaron Lynch Jersey , the NBA is now officially all in on sports betting. Other leagues will soon, undoubtedly, follow.

And sports may never be the same again.

Forget the image of a shadowy figure in a back room somewhere taking bets over the phone. Indeed, if the bookie you’ve used to make illegal bets over the years hasn’t made plans yet to get into another profession, you might suggest that it’s time.

Things figure to change in Las Vegas, too, if not all that much. Books in this gambling city have already expanded their offerings in recent years to include the in-game betting that the NBA believes will prove the need for its official data.

But the official seal of approval apparently means something, at least to MGM. So, too, might the official data the league provides at some point in the future.

And now that MGM has a deal with the NBA, surely the NFL and Major League Baseball are going to want in on the action.

Credit NBA commissioner Adam Silver for inking a deal he called ”a leap of faith on both sides.” Silver realized early on that legalized sports betting was an opportunity for the league, not something to fear.

And when his idea of an ”integrity fee” paid to the leagues out of sports betting revenue failed to gain traction in the early adopting states, Silver pivoted to find another way to get a piece of what figures to be a huge revenue stream.

He quickly found the perfect partner in MGM, which might have some ulterior motives of its own. The company wants an NBA team for its new arena on the Las Vegas Strip, and there’s no better way to curry favor with the NBA than ink a deal with the league.

According to Silver and MGM officials Ethan Westbrooks Jersey , the casino company is buying data. And the party line is that it’s important, despite the fact Vegas bookies have prospered for decades without any need for official league statistics.

”I know the value of data,” MGM chairman and CEO James Murren said at a New York press conference with Silver. ”To be able to have the official NBA data for sports bettors around the world is very valuable. I was willing to, and I’ve paid for that.”

The money MGM paid isn’t much in the grand scheme of things, a few million a year over three years, according to reports. But if the NBA can convince other sports betting operations to sign up it could turn into a steady chunk of extra income for the league.

Not exactly the 1 percent of gross income the NBA was seeking from states considering legalizing sports betting, but that effort was going nowhere. In signing a deal to provide unspecified data to casinos, the league gets to profit from betting without getting hands terribly soiled with the actual messiness of it.

And new money is new money.

”This is a whole new world for us,” Silver said.

It’s hard to imagine that it was just a dozen or so years ago when the NFL refused to run an ad promoting Las Vegas on the Super Bowl, using the farcical argument that any association with gambling could ruin the league.

With the Supreme Court decision in May opening the door for legalized sports betting across the country, though, all bets are off. Instead of treating sports books like threats, the leagues are looking at them to boost profits.

What they see should have been apparent years ago: Americans want to be able to place a wager or two on their favorite teams, and they don’t feel there’s anything immoral about it.

In a perfect world, the bookies would go at it alone. They wouldn’t partner with the leagues that spent years trying to destroy them.

But for MGM Kemoko Turay Jersey , at least, it’s a marriage of convenience. The casino giant is betting the NBA will help spread its brand, and maybe even pave the way for an NBA team in Las Vegas in the near future.

And that’s a bet that just might pay off.

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Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org or

DENVER — Antonio Senzatela will join the Colorado Rockies rotation Tuesday, returning to the majors after two months at Triple-A and making his first start in the big leagues since Aug. 28.

Senzatela will take the turn of Jon Gray, whom the Rockies optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque last Wednesday. A member of Colorado’s Opening Day roster, Senzatela began the season as a long reliever and went 2-1 with a 6.23 ERA in 10 appearances.

The Rockies optioned Senzatela, 23, to Albuquerque on May 4. They wanted to have him build up arm strength to again start, feeling his ultimate value was in that role rather than in the bullpen.

Chris Stratton (8-5, 4.45) will oppose Senzatela as the Giants look to even the three-game series after losing 5-2 on Monday.

Senzatela went 3-1, 2.15 in eight starts at Albuquerque with 12 walks, 42 strikeouts and one home run allowed in 37 2/3 innings. He was forced out of a June 6 start in the first inning due to a right groin strain and didn’t start again until June 23 when he threw 74 pitches in 3 1/3 innings and allowed two runs (one earned). Senzatela threw a season-high 90 pitches Wednesday against Sacramento and allowed three hits in 7 2/3 scoreless innings.

Despite having never pitched at the Triple-A level, Senzatela was part of Colorado’s Opening Day rotation in 2017 and was the National League Rookie of the Month for April when he went 3-1, 2.81 in five starts.

He ended the season 10-5, 4.68 in 36 games (20 starts) Brandon McManus Jersey , and Rockies manager Bud Black said that experience should benefit Senzatela, whom the Rockies moved to the bullpen last year when he began to wear down and to monitor his innings. After pitching just 34 2/3 innings at Double-A in 2016, Senzatela threw 134 2/3 innings for the Rockies last season.

“He’s a year older,” Black said. “He’s throwing the ball well. He was our best pitcher the first two months last year, so he’s done it before. Last year, he just ran out of gas.

“I’m excited about Senza. We’ve seen Senza on this stage before in the big leagues and perform and pitch well. And he’s coming off a pretty good stretch of games in Albuquerque, especially his last one. He was nicked up a little bit with a leg problem, but he’s over that. You look at the collective numbers of what he did in Albuquerque, it’s good pitching.”

Senzatela is 3-0, 4.24 in five games (three starts) against the Giants and 9-3, 5.28 in 23 games (11 starts) at Coors Field.

The Giants are 11-6 in games started by Stratton, who was not involved in the decision Wednesday at San Francisco when he faced the Rockies and gave up eight hits and five runs in four innings in San Francisco’s 9-8 loss.

Stratton is 1-0, 6.19 in four games (three starts) against the Rockies. In two starts against them this season, he is 1-0, 8.00. At Coors Field Leonard Floyd Jersey , Stratton is 0-0 3.86 in two games (one start).

Stratton, 27, made seven relief appearances for the Giants in 2016 and last year went 4-4, 3.68 in 13 games (10 starts) for them.

“Strat came up last year and was really impressive with his overall stuff and his command of it,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “Got off to a great start this year. He’s had a couple hiccups; he did (his) last start. But he handles everything well. Four-pitch guy.”

Stratton has had to assume more responsibility this season as Giants starters Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija were sidelined with injuries — the latter two are still out. Dereck Rodriguez, Andrew Suarez and Derek Holland have stepped in and helped stabilize the rotation behind Stratton.

“You see he has a sense of belonging up here,” Bochy said. “He was kind of our guy. Now the rest of the guys have picked up their pitching. But Strat with Bum down, Cueto down, Samardzija down, he became like the guy. He was the one leading the staff.”
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