It’s called Lucky’s, but Delaware native Joe Asher made successful his 2-year-old venture into Nevada’s highly competitive race and sports wagering market with skill.

"We wanted to start a company that offered first class betting odds, locations and excellent customer services," the company’s President and CEO said. "We set out to do our own thing and hoped the marketplace would support it."

Last week’s announced acquisition of Fitzgerald’s downtown, River Palms Hotel & Casino in Laughlin and Indian Springs Casino (subject to Gaming Commission approval) will bring to 16 the number of race and sports books Lucky’s (aka Brandywine Bookmaking LLC) will operate in Nevada since its inception on July 1, 2008.

Fitzgerald’s, River Palms and Indian Springs are expected to open under the Lucky’s tag in late 2010 to early 2011. The 34-story, 360-foot-tall Fitz has 638 rooms, 14 suites, 42,000 square feet of gaming, a sparkling swimming pool/jacuzzi plus free parking for hotel guests.

Lucky’s and the Fitz will build a full-service sports book on the second floor adjacent to the Vue Bar. The book will feature state-of-the- art odds display boards and TVs for sports viewing.

"Fitzgerald’s offers a great location downtown in the heart of Fremont Street," Asher said. "We will be installing the same new display boards that we use in Primm. We will open the day Gaming Commission gives us the green light."

Asher is equally excited about the plans for River Palms and Indian Springs.

"River Palms is a great location in Laughlin," he said. "Creech Air Force base is next to the Indian Springs site, which is why we are there. It’s a great honor for us to be close to our 3,600 servicemen."

Lucky’s currently operates and manages The Plaza Hotel & Casino and Terrible’s Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas; Primm Valley Resort, Buffalo Bill’s and Whiskey Pete’s in Primm; Terrible’s Town and Terrible’s Lakeside in Pahrump; Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall in Laughlin; Grand Sierra Resort in Reno; John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Sparks; Casino Fandango in Carson City along with The Red Lion and High Desert Inn in Elko.

Brandywine also serves as the exclusive bookmaker for Delaware’s sports lottery and for sports books at the St. Kitts Marriott and Royal Beach Casino in St. Kitts. Among the company’s honors was "Best of Las Vegas" from the Las Vegas Review-Journal for the Lucky’s Football Contest each of the past two years.

Exposure from two local radio shows adds to Lucky’s continued growth and exposure but Asher is quick to mention it was his immediate hiring of bookmaking icon Jimmy Vaccaro back in 2008 that gave Lucky’s instant "street cred."

"Jimmy is just great," Asher said. "On radio he’s a natural. A lot of the really interesting props you see, Jimmy comes up with. He is such a creative guy."

Lucky’s management has basically been there since Day 1. They include Asher, Joe Bertolone, the operations director; Vaccaro as director of sports operations/PR; Dan Shapiro, director of marketing; Tony DiTommaso as director of bookmaking and Minerva Mendoza-Navarrete, human resources director.

"Our staff is so instrumental to the way our hub operates," said Asher, who moved Lucky’s offices to the current Desert Inn and Jones locale in the summer of 2009.

Lucky’s is also at the front in horse racing, already releasing its 2011 Kentucky Derby futures sheet. Uncle Mo is the current favorite at 20-1.

Asher agrees with the prevalent feeling among Vegas race and sports management that there has been an upturn in the economy, albeit slow.

"It’s still too early to tell if we’re in a full economic recovery," Asher said. "I’m optimistic, but cautiously."

OTM’s Top 5 college plays:

(for the season: 13-11-1)

Air Force -7½ at Army: Cadets have troops set for battle. ARMY.

NC State +12 at Clemson: State’s Wilson’s a quality QB. NC STATE.

Virginia +1 at Duke: Upset win at Navy carries over. DUKE.

UNC +9½ at FSU: Heels a live underdog in Tallahassee. UNC.

Arizona St +6 at USC: Expect USC to be flat off Oregon. ARIZ ST.