A native of Providence, Rhode Island, Cokin was introduced to sports betting as a child and said his first bet was on the Providence Reds of the American Hockey League for $5.
“I lost,” he said.
Cokin was one of the first pick sellers, known as “touts,” and gained his national recognition starting in 1978 as part of Jim Feist’s “Proline” sports handicapping show that aired on the USA Network for 36 years. He split time between Rhode Island and Las Vegas during the early 1980s and moved to Nevada in 1987.