Home Forums The Asylum Shoot The Breeze Dave Cokin

Saw where Smokin Dave Cokin posted that he had terminal cancer and was not expecting to live out the rest of the year. Sad to see a fixture of handicapping pass on. When I started betting in the early 1980's he was already a tout. I remember calling Win Report (one of the first free pick lines) and he was a guest handicapper. Despite his association with Feist I always felt he had solid numbers. Godspeed Dave Cokin.

“The original prognosis was weeks, possibly months. I’m already one year in and feel good. I look like shit but will accept the opinion of many that I looked like shit anyway. Unfortunately after mostly spinning its wheels and accomplishing surprisingly little, the cancer has now taken dead aim (grim but accurate choice of words) at my carotid artery. One doesn’t have to be a med whiz to know what that means. Basically, you should not count on getting a Christmas present from me. I’ve got days or weeks, perhaps a couple months left and I’ll be going, going, gone."

This is heartbreaking news, Dave Cokin is a highly respected handicapper

Dave passed away today peacefully around 7AM Eastern time.

RIP Dave

So many memories, bringing me back to when I first started gambling. I loved watching Proline and also used to be able to pick up the local show hosted by Lee Peete on KDWN in the evening from California.

RIP. Dave, Lee, and Larry. Feist, Chipper, and Wayne still left from the original show.

I have cassette tapes, yes cassette tapes of fuzzy broadcasts of the Stardust Invitational. I would do all I could to get that antennae to tune in 720 KDWN. Sometimes for a brief few moments it was crystal clear and other times hard to understand. I wanted those picks each week.

I actually attended a live event at the Stardust on a Friday night and met Marc Lawrence. I've met Stephen Nover as well. These guys are just down to earth guys who love to handicap and make money not only for themselves but others.

Oh and forgot to mention, you can add KDWN to the RIP list. The station was dissolved in 2023.

They actually applied to reinstate the station with the FCC but since it was off the air for more than 12 months, it was denied.

I wasn't aware of that. That's too bad. Just hearing the station call letters has me waxing nostalgia. I've always loved local shows regarding sports, but more specifically sports gambling. The shows on KDWN were just so enjoyable to me and I learned a lot over the years in regarding to angles on sports gambling. There is just no comparison in regards to the national shows that are on ESPN and satellite radio stations. I suspect many of the posters on this board don't even know anything about the station or the prognosticators that were around at the time. So many handicappers nowadays are just fly-by-night types and many of the younger posters don't realize that many of us have seen shilling before and are not the least bit impressed by it (and those that do it come across as gambling novices). The prognosticators on KDWN and Proline were people that had been around for years and established in the industry. For me it was the tail end of a Golden Age in radio and I couldn't get enough of it.

Back in the day I discovered that with a special box I could pick up radio stations off my satellite dish. Even being on the east coast I could pick up I believe it was KVEG. I used to get home and tune in to Larry Grossman's You can bet on it every day. Mostly touts but a great show.

I spoke with Dave a few years ago about when he ran a service out of RI called First and Last sports. He told me he was living in a small apartment over a bar at the time. At that point, I think it was maybe 1983, he was the sharpest guy I knew of.

It is funny to think back at what we used to have to do to pick up different radio stations. Nowadays, we can pretty much get anything we want around the nation just by clicking on the internet.

With that said, question to the both of you....

Are there any good local prognosticating shows that you guys like (with a lean to Vegas based shows)? I'd love to find some local stuff similar to what I used to hear on KDWN (so tired of the national shows).

Its funny in those days I would do just about anything to pick up a good radio show with handicappers. Now it is just information overload and I try to avoid as much as possible. With that said I usually listen to Krackman on his podcast and on follow the numbers and listen when Fezzik is on there as well. That is more for entertainment than actual picks. I usually catch Kelly and Murray because John Murray usually gives some pretty good info on what groups moved plays early in the week. I personally like Stanford Steve and Matt Youmans. Matt does as good a job as anyone breaking down games. I think he really illustrates just how hard it is to win long term. I don't really tail him because he seems to lose as much as he wins despite his intellect and knowledge. I mainly use his analysis to compare with my numbers and keep me off games. Until last year Stanford Steve was in the 60% range ATS for a number of years and was a straight follow for me.

Much appreciated 70sman. Gotta get some shows lined up to take up some of my time. Happy to say I'll be retiring at year end.

That sounds awesome. Important to keep your mind active.

With the advent of the internet, listening to AM terrestrial radio faded into oblivion for the most part. I don't listen to any podcasts of any sort, don't pay much attention to sports shows whether if it's VSIN or on SiriusXM.

The reasoning is quite simple, almost all of these guys think they know something more than the next guy. They all talk a big game and when you look at overall records kept here from what is posted as the GOY/GOM,GOW type plays, there are very few that hold their own.

You don't see these guys winning handicapping contests unless it's a special invite type contest and not open to the public. When a coffee barista won the Hilton several years ago that really showed what the state of handicapping was really about.

I say this as someone who finished second and third in the William Hill College Football Contest and has cashed several times in the Hilton. I basically shut everything out, did my reading and studying, watched a ton of games, recorded a ton of games and went with my picks and not because someone said they had "inside info" or some kind of lock.

With all of the information out there and different models you can use, you can do a lot better than the "pros"

It's just a matter of putting in the work and I'll say this, it keeps your mind active and sharp as you get older. It doesn't hurt to win a pile of cash either.

I wish I could find some good models to use for football. There was a guy on another forum that had a formula for calculating a Vegas point spread (he would compare his to the current line and depending on the deviation would bet accordingly). He seemed like a nice guy and won $30k one year on the super contest. He went on to become a tout and as time went on, his formula became worthless with the game changing so much over the last decade. Unfortunately he turned out to be a bit of a jerk when people pointed out that his system needed to be tweaked (which you refused to do due to his stubbornness).