Monday was a landmark day in U.S. gambling history with the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in Murphy v. NCAA to strike down the federal ban on sports gambling, opening the way for states to legalize it. As I read the majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, I was stunned to spot this at the bottom of page 2: “See D. Clary, Gangsters to Governors 152-153 (2017) (Clary).” The context was background about Atlantic City’s history and its pursuit of casino gambling in the 1970s to revitalize the fallen resort town. I turned the page and noticed that my book was directly quoted in the text of the opinion and referenced in three more footnotes. The court then wades deep into case law and constitutional questions and cites my book one more time on page 27 to support the claim that states shied away from legalizing casinos because of organized crime concerns. So in all, my book was cited five times by the U.S. Supreme Court! I’m honored that Justice Alito (or least one of his law clerks) read my book and thought it worthy enough to be used as a reference in this consequential decision. I’m grateful to literally be a footnote to history.
That’s great, David. I told everyone your book was a terrific resource.