On a late afternoon in June 2018, Craig Carton is at a high-limit blackjack table in a casino just outside of Philadelphia.
The high-profile New York sports-talk host is fighting an internal battle between his ego and his soul. He needs to double down but doesn’t have the cash in front of him.
Nine months earlier, Carton had been arrested by federal agents at his home and charged with fraud for his role in a concert ticket resale scheme, some of the proceeds from which he used to pay off gambling debts. He resigned from the No. 1 sports-talk show in New York City, “Boomer & Carton,” on Sept. 13, 2017. His dream job was gone, and his freedom was in jeopardy.
Yet, even after spending two weeks at a gambling rehabilitation center, he was back at the blackjack table months later, debating his next move.
Carton knows the correct play for the hand he has just been dealt is to double down, but…
