Vegas' Wayne McCullough: 'Boxing saved my life'

McCullough never did win another world title, though he made a couple of valiant efforts. He now works in public relations for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, traveling the world to promote mixed martial arts fighting, and he is pursuing a career as a trainer. He's one of the most courageous and inspirational people I've met.

When Wayne McCullough talks about boxing, he talks about blood and guts, about the importance of having a thick skull, about being a ruthless warrior in the ring and giving the fans what they want.

He also talks about how the sport saved his life.

Politics is a wild card in this game

It makes for a strange juxtaposition when the boss of a major offshore bookmaking outfit visits the Strip, sips coffee at a bar just a couple of lengths from the entrance to a tony Las Vegas race and sports book, and expounds on the state of his art.

Remember, offshore bookies are supposed to be the natural enemies of the Las Vegas sports betting industry -- outlaw characters from third-world islands, with few scruples but lots of bandwidth.

But there was Rob Gillespie, looking for all the world like any other buttoned-down executive, talking business and politics -- and, oh yeah, sports -- during a brief stopover in Las Vegas last week before flying back to his digs in Costa Rica.