Casino Exec Offers to Pay $100K for UNLV Quarterback to Stay

Las Vegas casino boss Derek Stevens (inset) was hoping he could pay the money that now former Rebel quarterback Matthew Sluka says he was owed. (Image: Trask Smith / CSM)

A local Las Vegas casino mogul offered to pay the $100,000 in name, image, and likeness (NIL) money that former UNLV Rebels quarterback Matthew Sluka believed he was owed, but the offer was apparently too late to salvage the situation, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Circa CEO Derek Stevens and Mike Palm, his vice president of operations, came up with the plan on Wednesday to keep Sluka on the UNLV football team, which is off to a 3-0 start to the season and has hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff. 

Sluka Opts Out, Feeling Slighted 

Sluka announced his decision on Tuesday, alluding to the idea that the school made NIL promises that never materialized. Sluka had transferred to UNLV from Holy Cross prior to the 2024 season. 

“I have decided to utilize my redshirt year and will not be playing in any additional games this season,” Sluka wrote on social media. “I committed to UNLV based on certain representations that were made to me, which were not upheld after I enrolled. Despite discussions, it became clear that these commitments would not be fulfilled in the future.”

Sluka’s decision to take the redshirt designation – available once in a college football player’s career, and only if an athlete participates in four games or fewer during a season – will allow him to retain one year of NCAA eligibility moving forward.

UNLV: Agent’s Demands Could Violate NCAA Rules, Nevada Law

Both Sluka’s agent, Marcus Cromartie, and his father, Bob Sluka, later told media outlets that a UNLV coach had verbally agreed to secure the quarterback $100,000 in NIL payments from its third-party collective. However, the school and Blueprint Sports and Entertainment – which supports UNLV’s NIL program, known as Friends of UNILV – disputed this version of events.

“There were no formal NIL offers made during Mr. Sluka’s recruitment process,” Blueprint Sports and Entertainment said in a statement. “Additionally, Friends of UNILV did not finalize or agree to any NIL offers while he was part of the team, aside from a completed community engagement event over the summer.”

Sluka received $3,000 for that summer event, which his agent and father say is the only NIL payment he has received so far.

In a statement, UNLV claimed that Cromartie had made financial demands to keep Sluka on the team, which the school interpreted as prohibited under the NCAA’s pay-for-play rules and Nevada state law.

Circa Offers $100K to ‘Keep Playoff Hopes Alive’

Stevens and Palm hoped to resolve the issue themselves. Palm reached out to UNLV on Wednesday with an offer that would have had Circa pay $100,000 to keep Sluka on the team.

“Derek and I talked about the situation and thought it would be worth it for $100,000 to keep the Rebels’ playoff hopes alive,” Palm told the Review-Journal. 

However, Palm was quickly informed that such a deal was likely impossible. Sluka had already left the UNLV football program by Wednesday, and the relationship had deteriorated given the public accusations on both sides.

A source at UNLV confirmed to the Review-Journal that Palm’s phone call with university officials did take place. The report noted that both Circa and the school hope that the conversation could lead to a future relationship between the casino and the football program.

Despite the loss of Sluka, UNLV is a consensus 2.5-point favorite at home against the Fresno State Bulldogs at Allegiant Stadium this Saturday. The Rebels will turn to Hajj-Malik Williams at quarterback. Williams is a senior transfer himself, having come to UNLV after playing with the Campbell Fighting Camels (in North Carolina) for parts of five seasons.