What does a former college football player and hedge fund manager do after his days of high finance are over?
Turn to fantasy sports, of course.
And the annual get-together of stat geeks and other fantasy sports fans will take place this summer in Las Vegas.
Drew “Bo” Brownstein is the driving force behind the first Fantasy Sports Combine, a three-day event where players can be tutored by former athletes and championship-winning coaches.
Fantasy sports has grown into a $3.6 billion industry, with increasingly popular daily and weekly games joining the traditional season-long formats. Brownstein told KNPR’s State of Nevada he believes there are enough fantasy players interested in his combine.
There are more than 41 million people playing fantasy sports in the U.S. and Canada, with the number of daily fantasy football players alone has climbed to 5.1 million last year.
Bernstein, whose Denver-based hedge fund Big Five Asset Management was shut down in 2011, told KNPR he got the idea for the convention last year.
Guest speakers include Super Bowl winning former coaches Mike Ditka and Mike Shanahan. The event borrows its name from the NFL’s annual Scouting Combine in Indianapolis where the top college prospects are show cased before coaches and executives for the league’s 32 teams.
The Fantasy Sports Combine is scheduled for July 17-19at Wynn Las Vegas. There will be panels that feature fantasy sports analysts such as Brad Evans of Yahoo Sports and Matthew Berry, senior fantasy sports analyst with ESPN.
“Fantasy Sports Combine will be an amazing, once in a lifetime education and experience for fantasy sports players,” Berry said.
Shanahan, who coached the Denver Broncos to two Super Bowl titles, while break down game film with attendees. Current and former NFL players such as Brandon Marshal, Von Miller, Miles Austin and Kyle Orton will take part in the fantasy sports event.
Drew “Bo” Brownstein, founder, The Fantasy Sports Combine