Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: Had Him By The Tender Bits
Date: October 24, 2025
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty

Episode Overview

This Armstrong & Getty episode jumps headlong into the massive NBA gambling and point-shaving scandal, tangling pro sports, organized crime, and technology. The hosts also dissect a brewing U.S.-Canada trade war, discuss the impact of inflation, and touch on airline policies and celebrity news, all while maintaining the show’s familiar blend of skepticism, wit, and playful banter. If you care about sports, politics, or just want to hear how mafia tactics and technology collide, this episode delivers.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The NBA Gambling Scandal: Tech, Crime Families & The "X-Ray Glasses" Scam

[06:30 – 20:00]

• X-ray Glasses & Card Cheating:
  The latest scandal involves high-tech cheating—contact lenses and glasses that can read marked cards, card-shuffling machines, and even "x-ray tables."
  • Joe Getty: “This was unfreaking believable… they had special glasses and contact lenses that could read the backs of cards… insanely high tech.”
• Who Gets Involved & Why?
  • Joe questions why anyone wealthy would get into high-stakes poker, given how rife it is with cheating—either through old-fashioned means or new tech.
  • Jack Armstrong: “Somehow you gotta be at least on the verge of being a gambling addict to, to take that gamble, to take the word of somebody you kinda know that, oh no, it's a legit game…”
• Scamming the “Fish”: The strategy is to let players win occasionally to keep up the illusion of a fair game, with multi-layered scams ongoing.
  • Joe Getty: “You way stack the deck, no pun intended… you might, one out of five times your scam is going to lose, but four times you win. That loss actually helps perpetuate the feeling that it's legit.”
• NBA Ties & Point-Shaving Mechanics:
  • The scandal combines high-stakes poker culture—already well-known among NBA stars like Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley—with whispers of point-shaving and game-fixing.
  • Jack Armstrong: “There have long been whispers… some of the greatest players in the game (have) been tied up in very high-stakes poker. The whispers about point-shaving and throwing meaningless games—that’s been going on in the NBA for a long time.”

2. The Inept Caper & Getting Caught

[14:00 – 17:30]

• The scam's unraveling began with suspicious betting on a "meaningless" NBA game, where heavy money unexpectedly poured in on obscure players with odd prop bets.
• AI and betting algorithms flagged these irregularities almost instantly.
  • Joe Getty: “With AI, can monitor so much of this betting action and figure out variables that don't match... so it's going to be a lot harder to fix sporting events that way.”

3. “Had Him by the Tender Bits”: NBA Games, Obvious Fixes, & Fallout

[30:00 – 34:15]

• The hosts play and analyze suspicious game footage (involving Terry Rozier), describing clear evidence of players intentionally making terrible passes and missing shots.
  • Joe Getty: “Why would you do it to that extent… passing the ball so it would be intercepted, making passes NBA players never make?”
  • Jack Armstrong: "If the big time gamblers who had him by the tender bits had bet his team to lose... you gotta take more extreme measures, I guess."
• The scandal is expected to taint how fans view close or strange games for a long time.

4. Legalized Gambling: Was This Inevitable?

[35:00 – 37:00]

• The hosts discuss arguments (referencing Rich Lowry) that the surge in legal gambling, following Supreme Court decisions, made such a scandal virtually inevitable.
  • Jack Armstrong: “This was inevitable. I suppose he’s right. I don't know how you outlaw it though if you believe in freedom.”

5. Organized Crime in Sports: The Mob Never Really Left

[21:00+]

• The show notes that organized crime’s presence is constant, just more behind the scenes, from the five major mafia families to whispers of NBA player involvement.
  • Joe Getty: “Every decade my entire life, they've said organized crime doesn't really exist anymore… then stories like this rise up and, once again, the same five families are running some sort of giant operation.”

News Roundup ("Katie's Headlines")

[42:40+]

• NBA Scandal: The major story of the day, with coverage focusing heavily on poker money and mafia involvement.
• Inflation (Wall Street Journal): Inflation up to 3% in September—news that briefly roils markets.
• Trump’s Trade Trip (ABC/CNN): Trump heads to Asia for critical trade talks with China’s Xi, and sanctions on Russia heat up.
• US-Canada Trade War: Canada runs an ad with Ronald Reagan’s voice criticizing tariffs; Trump, insulted, terminates negotiations (see below for details).
• Southwest Airlines Policy Change: Now, plus-size travelers must buy a second seat in advance if required, rather than being given an extra seat for free.
• Celebrity News: Britney Spears seen driving erratically after Kevin Federline’s tell-all memoir; the hosts lament her ongoing struggles.

The U.S.-Canada "Trade War" & The Reagan Ad

[63:55 – 77:15]

• Canada used an old Reagan radio address as an ad, criticizing tariffs in a pointed way. Trump, furious, severed all negotiations, claiming “fraudulent use.”
  • Notable quote:
    Jack Armstrong (joking): “If we bombed Montreal… do you think it could become a nationalistic thing with the whole World Series, like a mini version of Miracle on Ice?”
  • The Reagan Foundation later claims Canada “misrepresented” the audio by creative editing (further details pending).
• Potential World Series Fallout: The hosts speculate on a more heated, nationalistic tone at the Blue Jays' home games.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Cheating in Poker/Gambling:
  Joe Getty [07:15]: “I don't know how a person with any money would ever get involved with very high stakes at all gambling. Based on everything I’ve learned… it’s just so easy to get swindled.”
• On Mob’s Enduring Influence:
  Jack Armstrong [20:00]: “They’ve been saying organized crime doesn’t really exist anymore… and then stories like this rise up.”
• On the NBA’s Scandal Fallout:
  Joe Getty [34:15]: “Every fan for quite a while will think when their team loses a close game with a weird play… ‘Oh, okay, I see what’s happening here.’ At the very least, it’ll be a fun running joke.”
• On Reagan's Free Trade Message:
  Jack Armstrong [77:00]: “Everything he [Reagan] said was the Republican position my entire life. So if Canada edited it in a creative way… but it does not mislead in any way as to Reagan’s stance on free trade.”
• On Political Hypocrisy (Thought Experiment):
  Jack Armstrong [75:00]: “Can you be completely honest with yourself? If this exact same tearing down of the East Wing was going on and Biden was president, would you feel exactly the same way as with Trump doing it?”

Fun & Pop Culture Asides

• Eyebrow Trends [41:00]: The hosts riff on women's eyebrow styles, with banter about drawing on Joker-style smiles.
• Babylon Bee Joke [44:30]: Read mock headline: “WNBA players assure the FBI that they weren’t missing layups to throw games. They just suck at basketball.”
• Quick Life Tips [45:15]: Walking daily may help prevent lower-back pain.

Listener Mailbag & Freedom-Loving Quotes

[80:30+]

• Listener emails on immigration and trucking safety, referencing recent CDL-related crashes and unqualified drivers.
• A concluding round of “freedom-loving quotes” from Sun Tzu on the value of subtlety, mystery, and knowing when to fight.

Timestamps for Main Segments

• Opening/Scandal Introduction: 06:30 – 20:00
• Scam Mechanics & Caper: 14:00 – 17:30
• NBA Fix Fallout/Legalized Gambling: 30:00 – 37:00
• Organized Crime & NBA: 21:00 – 24:00
• Canada Trade War & Reagan Ad: 63:55 – 77:15
• Political Thought Experiment: 75:00
• Pop Culture & News Roundup: 41:00 – 47:00
• Mailbag & Quotes: 80:30+

Episode Tone & Style

• Direct, skeptical, irreverent. Armstrong & Getty tackle serious issues with black humor, occasional sarcasm, and a keen eye for hypocrisy and absurdity.
• Playful banter (mob jokes, eyebrow gags) tempers the hard news.
• Sharp political commentary includes thought experiments and challenges for audience honesty.

In Summary

This episode is a raucous, insightful look at the intersection of sports, crime, technology, and politics. Armstrong & Getty unravel the NBA’s jaw-dropping gambling scandal, speculate on the future of integrity in sports, and link everything back to real-world events like trade wars and inflation. You'll come away seeing headlines—and bets—with a more skeptical eye.