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South Point hotel staple John Taddio dispenses sharp haircuts and winning hockey tips to gamblers

LAS VEGAS — The facial mist is an aloe-lavender mixture, the collagen-cream concoction a blend of organic oils, including Kalahari melon and prickly pear, with jasmine, geranium and bergamot extracts.

John Taddio applies only the finest anti-aging compounds to customers’ mugs.

His facility with the scissors, in the far right cubicle of the South Point barbershop, leaves every client model-worthy.

And the straight razor he wields is so close, well, he best describes it.

“A baby’s ass would be jealous,” says Taddio.

What’s unique about his cubicle, however, is how a visit can pay for itself, and then some. Patrons stroll away feeling younger and livelier.

Richer, too, if they adhere to his NHL tips.

The Tonsorial Tout of Vegas.

“Well, not every day presents a good game,” he laughs. “But I can usually find one.”

REVENGE GAMES

Taddio’s voice rises a few decibels on the phone.

“Funny you should ask about the Blackhawks . . . I gave their game today as an Over to a guy in Cincinnati who bets a lot, along with Tampa Bay to win.”

Three minutes earlier, the Hawks’ 4-3 defeat to Carolina had become final. An enviable 5.5 total came with an Over price of -125 (risk $125 to win $100). The Lightning also defeated Columbus 3-2. The Ohio pal made $10,000.

The previous day, Taddio had recommended Colorado (which beat Phoenix 9-3) and Over in Minnesota-San Jose, with the same favorable 5.5 total and -125 price. The Sharks won 4-2.

When the Vegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN) started at the South Point, Taddio, as John the Barber, became a semi-regular NHL Insider on the first all-sports-betting satellite radio outlet. Listeners enjoyed his sound reasoning.

The next morning, we discuss his betting strategies as Taddio gives 35-year-old Brandon Fanning — an Eau Claire, Wisconsin, resident visiting his father, Robert — the full facial treatment.

A Chicago transplant, Robert Fanning is one of the South Point’s high rollers.

Earlier in the week, Taddio had recommended — to select clientele who contact him daily — the Blackhawks over Carolina. Chicago won 2-1. That factored into his selection of the Carolina-Chicago Over.

“The Blackhawks had beaten them, but now Carolina came back and won. Teams are playing a lot of back-to-backs, so there are a lot of revenge games, guys getting pissed off. The Blackhawks have been good, but the Hurricanes are close to being in the playoffs.

“When Chicago won, I knew they wouldn’t keep it up. They’re not as aggressive as the Hurricanes.”

The Blackhawks are battling for a winning record.

“They’re small,” he adds. “They can’t keep up with very good teams.”

ENTERTAINING CAREER

A Buffalo native, Taddio quit high school at 16 to attend barber training, certain the vocation would provide him with an entertaining life meeting interesting people. He has not been disappointed.

He had cut the coconuts of Bills football players during training camp. Former Sabres defenseman Mike Robitaille, whose signed and framed 8-by-10 hangs nearby, is a hockey favorite.

Taddio and wife, Connie, raised three daughters, moved to Las Vegas in 2004, and he has been at the South Point for 15 years.

Another client, associated with the Wirtz Corporation that owns the Blackhawks and is involved with a beverage distributorship in Vegas, presented him with souvenirs after Chicago won the Stanley Cup in 2015.

(He’d rather not divulge his age, but Taddio eventually says he was 16 in the early 1960s. He doesn’t catch his self-indictment.)

South Point owner Michael Gaughan, son of the late Vegas legend Jackie Gaughan, has had a standing weekly appointment for years. Taddio infuses Michael’s hot-water towels with a dash of his favorite cologne.

Cold-water compresses spring Gaughan awake after a 40-minute slumber, induced by Enya on Taddio’s Bose audio system.

THE HUMAN FACTOR

Taddio likes the zigzag theory. Since NHL teams are playing each other so frequently, Team A wins the first, Team B often gets the next one.

He tracks hot players, knows who is injured. He possesses an innate puck feel, honed when he played recreational hockey in Buffalo. “The human factor,” Taddio says, “that’s built into hockey, too.”

When a team scores early in the first period, he taps in-game mobile-app options for a first-period tie whose typical odds are +230 (wager $100 to win $230). Two or three hundred dollars is his typical unit.

He only deals with games today or tomorrow. When pressed, though, he favors Colorado (+500 at William Hill) or Vegas (+800) to lift the Stanley Cup, with Florida (+2000) as his long shot.

He agonizes over picks that go south. But his Cincinnati pal mollifies him, crowing that his success rate is about 75%. He remunerates Taddio well.

Some inquire why he does not contribute to, or run, an actual tout service, but Taddio is leery about such operations.

He also likes soccer. He gave up gambling for Lent, which ends the following day, when he will play the Over in Atalanta-Udinese in Italy.

He points to his phone.

“There it is,” says Taddio. “A 2½ total. Usually, it’s three [goals]. That’s a given to go Over. Minus-135. That’s a good one.”

Atalanta wins 3-2. The Tonsorial Tout strikes again.

See him for an exceptional cut and shave, profit on his sports suggestions. The hints of jasmine, geranium and bergamot in the air? Just the sweet smell of success.

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After choosing to play quarterback at Wisconsin instead of lacrosse at Notre Dame, look where Coan is now.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Jack Coan has fond memories of rooting for Brady Quinn and Jimmy Clausen as a young Notre Dame football fan, but it was lacrosse that seemed to be his ticket out of Long

Island, New York.

‘‘That’s sort of the hotbed for lacrosse,’’ Coan said during a recent break from his first spring practice as a Notre Dame quarterback. ‘‘There’s obviously not many Division I football players that ever come out of there. So growing up, I definitely thought

lacrosse was going to be my future.’’

Coan, in fact, initially committed to play

lacrosse for the Irish and longtime coach Kevin Corrigan. That decision came the summer after Coan’s freshman year of high school.

‘‘I played with all the travel teams in the summer and did all the showcases,’’ Coan said. ‘‘But, honestly, once I got my first Divi-

sion I football offer, I knew it was pretty much over. Football was my first true love. I knew that’s always what I wanted to do.’’

Coan, a 6-3, 221-pound product of Sayville, New York, eventually signed with Wisconsin, spurning schools such as Michigan, Northwestern, Indiana, Miami, Louisville and Boston College.

Notre Dame, however, never offered Coan a chance to play football. The Irish already had Brandon Wimbush and 2016 signee Ian Book on campus.

‘‘Growing up, I was a Notre Dame fan,’’ Coan said. ‘‘I was committed here for

lacrosse, but I think a main reason for that was I wanted to come here and watch some football games.’’

Coan went on to make 18 starts in 2018-19 for the Badgers, including a one-point loss to Justin Herbert and Oregon in the 2020 Rose Bowl, but he ultimately lost his starting job to redshirt freshman Graham Mertz after

having season-ending surgery on his right foot six months ago.

When the Irish expressed interest in Coan after he put his name in the transfer portal in December, he was thrilled.

‘‘It was pretty cool how it worked out,’’ Coan said. ‘‘Everything came full circle, and I was able to come here. But coming out of high school, I didn’t have an offer here. If I did, there would have been a good chance I would have come here, but I didn’t.’’

Even with Book preparing for the upcoming NFL Draft after going 30-5 as a three-year starter, Coan remains in prove-it mode when it comes to the Irish coaching staff. He is splitting first-team reps this spring with lightly used holdover Drew Pyne, and the fan base is salivating not over Coan but over a Blue-Gold Game look at early enrollee

Tyler Buchner, the dual-threat high school star from Southern California.

While Book’s mobility was a huge part of his success, Coan was mostly a pocket passer at Wisconsin. That could change if he wins the job, as expected, even coming off his surgery.

‘‘We’re not afraid to run Jack,’’ Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. ‘‘He is a better athlete than people have given him credit for. Maybe he hasn’t been discredited; maybe that’s not fair to say. But he’s a good athlete. He runs well, he’s big, he’s strong.’’

Those who watched him play lacrosse as a teen prodigy could attest to that.’’

‘‘I think [lacrosse] has helped a lot as a quarterback,’’ Coan said, ‘‘just as far as agility and conditioning and scrambling. One thing with lacrosse is making moves but still keeping your eyes down the field and trying to find open guys. It just works on your athleticism and vision.’’

By the time the Irish face Wisconsin on Sept. 25 at Soldier Field, Coan might be heading into his fourth start. He hopes to show he can be more than just a caretaker for an offense that should feature tight end Michael Mayer and running back Kyren Williams.

A rebuilt offensive line that returns only one starter could put a premium on quarterback quickness.

‘‘I think running is a part of my game that I can use when I need to,’’ Coan said. ‘‘When I was at Wisconsin, I’d rather hand the ball off to Jonathan Taylor than me run the ball. I’m excited to definitely use my legs a little bit here. I feel like I’m more athletic than probably a lot of people think.’’

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The fire broke out a home in the 9400 block of South Halsted Street.

One person died and another was seriously wounded in a fire Friday night in Brainerd on the South Side.

The fire broke out after 11 p.m. in the 9400 block of South Halsted Street, according to Chicago fire officials.

Firefighters pulled a woman out of the home and she was transported to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in serious condition, fire officials said.

Crews also searched for a 75-year-old man trapped inside the home but flames were too intense to make a rescue, fire officials said.

He was identified as John Macone by the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

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Phillips, who played for Team Jamaica at a 2018 tournament, is currently with the Rockford IceHogs and signed his NHL entry-level contract March 31.

In some aspects, Blackhawks prospect Isaak Phillips has followed a typical hockey path.

His mother is Finnish. He grew up an hour outside Toronto. He worked his way up through Canadian juniors, including two years with Sudbury of the Ontario Hockey League. He was drafted by the Hawks in the fifth round in October and signed his NHL entry-level contract March 31.

In other aspects, however, Phillips’ background and path have been different. He is Black. His father hails from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent. And, in 2018, he played on what was essentially the first Jamaican hockey team.

‘‘That was a pretty awesome experience to have a team full of kids that look like you,’’ Phillips, 19, said. ‘‘You look around, and everyone looks the same. It was a fun summer tournament and hopefully something that can put Team Jamaica on the map.’’

Jamaica became an associate member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in 2012, and the momentum to grow hockey in the island nation of 2.9 million has taken off in recent years.

It started with that 2018 team, which competed in the Team Elite Prospect Hockey Showcase tournament in Toronto and won, going undefeated in eight games.

‘‘We needed to go ahead and field a team ourselves, so we could show people that this was a probable idea,’’ said E.J. Phillipps, the co-founder and CEO of the Jamaica Olympic Ice Hockey Federation (JOIHF). ‘‘Isaak did a tremendous job coming and really helping elevate the team — and himself, as well — to get the maximum exposure for us to move forward.’’

E.J. Phillipps/JOIHF

That team was made up of Canadian-born under-20 players with various Caribbean ancestries. In the time since, however, the JOIHF has expanded its player-outreach programs enough that it now uses only players with specifically Jamaican ancestry.

Board member Gary Smith said it has developed a 75-player prospect list spanning Canadian junior leagues, college hockey conferences and pro minor leagues.

Jamaica fielded a roster in the 2019 LatAm Cup — a tournament in Florida that included 21 teams from Central and South American countries — and won that tournament, too. After the 2020 edition was canceled because of COVID-19, it will seek to defend its title in October.

And Jamaica has its eyes on greater heights, including Olympic participation. The JOIHF has designed and is raising money for a multipurpose ice rink in Kingston, which would allow the country to become a full IIHF member. And it debuted a hockey class with 42 students enrolled this semester at G.C. Foster College in Spanish Town.

The goal is to develop a national hockey program similar to that of Mexico, which has competed in the IIHF’s Division II World Championships since 2000 and has about 2,700 registered adult players.

‘‘[We want] to continue to grow the program at the grassroots level in Jamaica, which would start with a street-hockey, roller-hockey transition scenario, developing young children at the school level,’’ Smith said. ‘‘Five years from now, hopefully the rink will be built and we’ll have learn-to-skate and learn-to-play hockey programs.

‘‘That’ll really be the start, genuinely, of Jamaican-born players developing into legitimate ice-hockey players.’’

Phillips can take pride in his contributions to the start of this movement. He has become the first JOIHF alum to sign an NHL contract and hopes to become the first to play in the NHL in the not-too-distant future.

Special rules during the pandemic gave Phillips the rare opportunity to play in the American Hockey League this season as a 19-year-old, and he admitted he arrived in Rockford with ‘‘pretty low expectations.’’ He wasn’t sure whether he was just there to practice and improve under the Hawks’ development staff or whether he would play in regular-season games.

It turned out to be the latter. The 6-3 defenseman has played in 16 of the IceHogs’ first 21 games, recording six points and learning how to adapt to the next level.

‘‘You just learn to think the pro game,’’ Phillips said. ‘‘In junior [hockey], you can get away with some stuff — an extra move or holding on to [the puck] for an extra second. But here, everything is going quick, quick, quick. Everyone in this league can play at the next level and everyone is fighting to get there, so you just learn little tendencies and little tips and tricks: how to move the puck quicker, how to use your body.

‘‘I try to learn something new after each game . . . and then I try to be a quick study, get that into my game right away and show them I can be really coachable.’’

When Phillips received the contract offer late last month, he called his parents to break the news, and ‘‘some tears of joy’’ were shed.

The three-year deal officially kicks in next season. Phillips knows he’ll be back in the AHL next fall, but he’s hoping to make his NHL debut at some point during the season.

That would make history for Team Jamaica, but Phillips hopes it eventually won’t be seen as notable at all.

‘‘We are coming up in the sport,’’ he said. ‘‘As you see more Black players in the game, it’s going to help out the younger generations. For me, I know when you see a couple of Black players in the NHL, it inspired me to keep chasing my dreams.’’

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A 17-year-old boy was fatally shot Friday in the 200 block of West 37th Street.

One person was killed and five others wounded in shootings across Chicago so far this weekend, including a 17-year-old boy who was fatally shot Friday in Bridgeport on the South Side.

The teen and two others were sitting in a parked vehicle about 9:45 p.m. in the 200 block of West 37th Street when a black Dodge Durango pulled up and two men exited and began shooting at them, Chicago police said.

Davion Ward, 17, was struck in the back and was transported to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

A 16-year-old boy suffered a graze wound to the head and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, police said.

A man between 18 and 20 years old suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was transported to the same hospital in critical condition, police said.

In nonfatal attacks, a 48-year old man was hurt in a drive-by shooting early Saturday in Humboldt Park on the West Side.

The man was standing outside about 12:50 a.m. in the 1000 block of North Avers Avenue when someone inside a passing white Jeep fired shots, police said. He was struck in the leg and was taken to Stroger Hospital in fair condition.

Also Saturday, a man was shot in West Pullman on the Far South Side.

The 34-year-old was standing outside about 4 a.m. in the 100 block of East 119th Street when someone inside a red-colored vehicle fired shots, Chicago police said.

He sustained five gunshot wounds on the body and was taken to Roseland Community Hospital in good condition, police said.

In the weekend’s earliest reported shooting, a person was hurt in a shooting Friday night on Interstate 290 near Cicero Avenue on the West Side.

About 9:30 p.m., a driver suffered a gunshot wound while traveling on I-290 near Cicero Avenue, Illinois State Police said.

The driver’s injuries were non-life-threatening, according to state police.

Thirty-four people were shot, eight fatally, last weekend in Chicago.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.

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The list of quarterbacks in this year’s draft doesn’t stop after the top five five. For the Bears, it may only start then. 

The Bears are watching Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond.

And he’s flirting back.

“I definitely see a connection [with the Bears],” he said last week after his on-campus pro day. “I definitely don’t want to say any names — but you know you know I’m definitely excited, especially them being able to watch me in person and watch me spin and spin the ball in person.”

The Bears sent quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo to College Station, Texas to see Mond — and to Palo Alto, California, to watch Stanford’s Davis Mills.

It’s a reminder that the list of quarterbacks in this year’s draft doesn’t stop after the top five five. For the Bears, it may only start then.

The top three picks in the draft, which starts April 29, are expected to be quarterbacks: Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence first, likely followed by BYU’s Zach Wilson second and either Alabama’s Mac Jones or Ohio State’s Justin Fields third. North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance could go in the top 10, too.

That would leave the Bears sorting through quarterbacks on Day 2, when they hold Picks 52 and 83. Drafting one in Rounds 2 or 3, though, would go against type. The Bears haven’t taken a quarterback in the second or third round since Peter Tom Willis went 63rd overall in 1990. Pace has drafted only one quarterback — Mitch Trubisky — in his six seasons. Since 2004, fourth-rounder Kyle Orton is the second-highest quarterback the Bears have selected.

This year comes with an added degree of difficulty: no NFL Scouting Combine. Typically, coach Matt Nagy said, coaches get to see how the ball spins out of a passer’s hands and how they move their feet when they throw at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. When the coronavirus scuttled the combine, the Bears sent representatives to virtually every relevant quarterback’s on-campus pro day.

“It definitely helps,” Nagy said. “There’s only so many of those you can do and see with everything else going on. What’s fair is that every other team is doing the same thing.”

Here are four quarterbacks the Bears could consider on Day 2 of the draft:

Davis Mills

Stanford

6-4, 217 pounds

Age: 22

In one sentence: The former top high school quarterback prospect — by both Scout and Rivals — started only 11 college games.

The skinny: No quarterback was hurt more by the shortened college season than Mills. He missed the 2020 opener because of a false positive coronavirus test and played only five games for the Cardinal, whose conference didn’t begin football games until November. At his pro day in the rain, he showed why recruiters fell in love with him in high school — he has both zip and touch.

The big question: Can he stay healthy? Mills’ history of knee injuries dates to high school, when he hurt his left one in the state title game.

He could be: The biggest mystery in the draft. If the Pac-12 had played a full season, Mills could have worked his way into the top tier of quarterbacks. That might have happened next year had he not turned pro, too.

Kellen Mond

Texas A&M

6-3, 205 pounds

Age: 21

In one sentence: The four-year starter quarterbacked the nation’s No. 4 team last year.

The skinny: Mond began career as the country’s top dual-threat quarterback. His completion percentage improved every season and, by the time he left College Station, he held most of the school’s passing records. He was the Senior Bowl MVP in January.

The big question: Can he adjust to the pro game? Mond spent almost all his college career out of the shotgun — which is why he worked exclusively under center at his pro day. His athleticism is a plus at the next level, but there are questions about his accuracy.

He could be: Colin Kaepernick, a second-round pick 10 years ago with whom he shares special athleticism and less-impressive passing touch. The Bears just spent four years being frustrated by an athletic, inaccurate quarterback, though, and might not want to go through that again.

Kyle Trask

Florida

6-5, 240 pounds

Age: 23

In one sentence: He went from not starting his first three years of high school — or his first three years of college — to a Heisman Trophy finalist.

The skinny: Trask led major college football with 4,283 passing yards and 43 touchdowns in 2020 — though that was partly a function of the SEC playing more games than the Big Ten or Pac-12. His production and height will land him an opportunity somewhere. If it’s Chicago, he’d have an ally waiting for him — Trask has been working out with Andy Dalton in California.

The big question: Are teams drafting lifelong backups this high? Trask’s experience playing second-string could prove helpful in the NFL, where he could carve out a decade-long career as a backup. That has value for teams — but probably not until Day 3.

He could be: The Steelers’ Mason Rudolph, who was also old — almost 23 — when he was drafted out of Oklahoma State.

Ian Book

Notre Dame

6 feet, 211 pounds

Age: 23

In one sentence: No quarterback in Notre Dame history won more games than the undersized Book’s 30.

The skinny: Book isn’t a Day 2 pick unless a team overlooks his measurables and sees a two-time captain who had more success than almost any passer in Notre Dame history. He’s probably at the top of the Day 3 quarterback tier, which includes Texas’ Sam Ehlinger — Tom Herman, his former head coach, now works for the Bears — and former Wake Forest quarterback Jamie Newman.

The big question: He’s too small, isn’t he? Six quarterbacks 6 feet or shorter started at least one game last year. Four have special skills: Drew Brees, Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa. The other two, Ben DiNucci and Phillip Walker, started one game each. Book’s skill set skews more toward the second group.

He could be: A quicker Chase Daniel, maybe? Daniel, remember, went undrafted.

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