[h=1]Vegas books support Adam Silver[/h][h=3]Why Sin City appreciates the NBA commish's op-ed; weekend betting recap[/h]
By David Purdum | ESPN.com
Las Vegas sportsbook operators applauded NBA commissioner Adam Silver's call for the legalization of sports betting. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly's comments regarding prohibiting betting on games involving a potential NHL franchise in Las Vegas were not met with the same support.In an op-ed in The New York Times, Silver wrote that the laws restricting sports betting outside of Nevada need to be changed. He proposed that Congress create a "federal framework" to allow states to legalize, regulate and monitor sports betting.
"Finally, a commissioner that has some common sense," said Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading for William Hill's sportsbook in Nevada. "To me, he spoke the truth. I was glad he spoke up."
Bogdanovich was one of several Las Vegas sportsbook officials who spoke out in support of Sliver. Ed Salmons, head football oddsmaker at the Westgate SuperBook, called Silver's opinion refreshing and said, "It's naive to think legal sports wagering is a bad thing."
Daly's comments, however, were a head-scratcher for multiple industry insiders. In regard to a potential NHL franchise being located in Las Vegas, Daly told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the league could ask Nevada Gaming Control to prohibit the state's sportsbooks from accepting bets on games involving a Vegas team.
According to NGC chief of enforcement Karl Bennison, there is a regulation in the bylaws that allows leagues to request such a measure. In 1983, when the Utah Jazz were preparing to play 11 games in Las Vegas, the NGC officials voted to prohibit betting on those games.
Wagering on the NHL in Vegas is small compared to the other sports. Hugh Citron, sportsbook supervisor at the Stratosphere, says an average NHL game will attract about one-tenth the amount wagered on an average NBA game.
"I know within minutes if I don't have one of the NBA games up on the TV," Citron said. "Someone will come up the counter and let me know immediately. That's not the case with NHL. They should be begging people to bet on their games, and I'm a hockey guy from Chicago, but there's no interest right now."
MGM is building a $350 million, 20,000-seat arena on The Strip that could be the home of an NHL franchise. The arena is expected to be ready by 2016.
Jay Rood, vice president of race and sports for MGM, said he didn't have any direct knowledge of an NHL team coming to Vegas but was optimistic.
"There's a lot between now and then, but from all I'm hearing, it sounds like it's something that's in the works," Rood said.
The point spread on the Florida State-Miami game created one of the largest divides between public and sophisticated bettors of the season.
The public believed the line was too low and overwhelmingly backed the Seminoles, while bettors, deemed sharps by the sportsbooks, supported the Hurricanes early in the week. Salmons described the action as one of the "public's most strongly supported games of the year" at the SuperBook.
This time, the public was right.
[h=4]Odds to win 2015 national championship[/h]Courtesy of the Wynn
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Florida State, which closed as a 2.5- or 3-point favorite, rallied in the second half, capitalizing on a fortunate touchdown off a tipped pass, a blocked extra point and a missed chip-shot field goal to pull out a 30-26 win.
"It was our worst college decision of the year," said Bogdanovich. "Horrible."
The Seminoles opened as short, 1.5-point favorites at several Las Vegas books. Other shops, such as the Wynn and MGM, went with a higher opening number -- FSU minus-3 and minus-2, respectively -- and took early money on the Hurricanes.
"Early in the week, the sharps took Miami [plus-2]," Rood said. "Then on Friday, the sharps came back on the game [bet Florida State], and we moved to 2.5. It was pretty much the same people. I think their opinion maybe shifted. Then on Saturday, there was a quite a bit of public money on Florida State all day long."
Three times more money was wagered on the Seminoles than the Hurricanes at the MGM, and the action was more lopsided at other shops. At the Aliante sportsbook, director Marc Nelson said 90 percent of tickets were on the Seminoles. William Hill was holding approximately eight times more money on the Seminoles by kickoff, Bogdanovich said.
It looked like the books knew what they were doing in the first half, with Miami jumping out to a 23-10 lead at intermission. Rood considered using the halftime line to lock in some profit but talked himself out of it and suffered the worst decision of Saturday.
Despite the lopsided action, oddsmakers didn't feel like the line was off.
"The action on Florida State was the kind of action that you want," Nelson said. "It's the kind of action that, when it wins, usually comes back over the window. I think the line was right."
The point spread on the Mississippi State-Alabama game also generated plenty of betting interest. The Crimson Tide opened as a 7-point favorite. Sharp action drove the line to as high as Alabama minus-10 at several shops, but the public backed the underdog Bulldogs enough to even things out. In fact, the SuperBook and MGM ended up with slightly more money on Mississippi State.
Trailing 25-13 late in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs scored a touchdown with 15 seconds to play to cover the spread.
"The sharps bet the line up [in favor of Alabama] early in the week," Salmons said. "But there was plenty of support for Mississippi State. It was a good two-way write but really was a nothing game in terms of the decision."
Overall, Saturday was a success for the sportsbooks. Seven underdogs covered in the first eight games involving a ranked team, setting up the books for a big day.
"It would have been our best of the year, except for Florida State," Bogdanovich said.
• With TCU failing to cover the spread in a closer-than-expected win over Kansas, Western Michigan now owns the best ATS record in the nation. The Broncos (9-1 ATS) covered the spread for the ninth straight time in a 51-7 win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
• Only Akron (2-8 ATS) has a worse record against the spread than Alabama (2-7-1 ATS).
Top five teams by number of bets to win the national championship at the Westgate SuperBook
1. Ohio State
2. Oregon
3. Alabama
4. Michigan State
5. Notre Dame
Top five teams by money bet on to win the national championship at the Westgate SuperBook
1. Florida State
2. Alabama
3. Oregon
4. Ohio State
5. Oklahoma
[h=3]New Super Bowl XLIX favorite[/h]The New England Patriots are now the favorite to win the Super Bowl at the Westgate SuperBook. The Patriots were impressive in a 42-20 win at the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night. Afterward, the SuperBook shortened New England's Super Bowl odds to 7-2, moving it past the Denver Broncos into the role of favorite. The Green Bay Packers, at 4-1, also leapfrogged the Broncos and are now the favorite in the NFC.
The Broncos remained the Super Bowl favorite at other shops, though, including the Wynn and Stratosphere.
[h=4]Super Boxl XLIX Odds[/h]Courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook
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There were several deep-pocketed Rams fans at the MGM, though.
"We took a few pops on the Rams money line about 30 minutes before kickoff," Rood said. "We had two, three or four guys moving that at 10 dimes [$10,000] at a time."
The Rams were around 4-1 underdogs to beat the Broncos straight-up. St. Louis won 22-7 as a 9.5-point home underdog.
"It was definitely bounce-back day," said Jason Simbal, vice president of race and sports at CG Technology's sportsbook. "All the misfortune we had last week kind of reversed itself this week."
• Caesars Entertainment sportsbook's computer system crashed for two hours Sunday morning, affecting all of the company's properties from roughly 9:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. PT.
Top five teams by number of bets to win the Super Bowl at Westgate SuperBook
1. Packers
2. 49ers
3. Broncos
4. Eagles
5. Colts
Top five teams by amount of money wagered to win the Super Bowl at Westgate
1. Seahawks
2. Patriots
3. 49ers
4. Packers
5. Broncos
By David Purdum | ESPN.com
Las Vegas sportsbook operators applauded NBA commissioner Adam Silver's call for the legalization of sports betting. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly's comments regarding prohibiting betting on games involving a potential NHL franchise in Las Vegas were not met with the same support.In an op-ed in The New York Times, Silver wrote that the laws restricting sports betting outside of Nevada need to be changed. He proposed that Congress create a "federal framework" to allow states to legalize, regulate and monitor sports betting.
"Finally, a commissioner that has some common sense," said Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading for William Hill's sportsbook in Nevada. "To me, he spoke the truth. I was glad he spoke up."
Bogdanovich was one of several Las Vegas sportsbook officials who spoke out in support of Sliver. Ed Salmons, head football oddsmaker at the Westgate SuperBook, called Silver's opinion refreshing and said, "It's naive to think legal sports wagering is a bad thing."
Daly's comments, however, were a head-scratcher for multiple industry insiders. In regard to a potential NHL franchise being located in Las Vegas, Daly told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the league could ask Nevada Gaming Control to prohibit the state's sportsbooks from accepting bets on games involving a Vegas team.
According to NGC chief of enforcement Karl Bennison, there is a regulation in the bylaws that allows leagues to request such a measure. In 1983, when the Utah Jazz were preparing to play 11 games in Las Vegas, the NGC officials voted to prohibit betting on those games.
Wagering on the NHL in Vegas is small compared to the other sports. Hugh Citron, sportsbook supervisor at the Stratosphere, says an average NHL game will attract about one-tenth the amount wagered on an average NBA game.
"I know within minutes if I don't have one of the NBA games up on the TV," Citron said. "Someone will come up the counter and let me know immediately. That's not the case with NHL. They should be begging people to bet on their games, and I'm a hockey guy from Chicago, but there's no interest right now."
MGM is building a $350 million, 20,000-seat arena on The Strip that could be the home of an NHL franchise. The arena is expected to be ready by 2016.
Jay Rood, vice president of race and sports for MGM, said he didn't have any direct knowledge of an NHL team coming to Vegas but was optimistic.
"There's a lot between now and then, but from all I'm hearing, it sounds like it's something that's in the works," Rood said.
Florida State-Miami: 'Worst college decision of the season'The point spread on the Florida State-Miami game created one of the largest divides between public and sophisticated bettors of the season.
The public believed the line was too low and overwhelmingly backed the Seminoles, while bettors, deemed sharps by the sportsbooks, supported the Hurricanes early in the week. Salmons described the action as one of the "public's most strongly supported games of the year" at the SuperBook.
This time, the public was right.
[h=4]Odds to win 2015 national championship[/h]Courtesy of the Wynn
| Team | Opening | Current |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 9-1 | 5-2 |
| Florida State | 3-1 | 7-2 |
| Oregon | 4-1 | 4-1 |
| TCU | 150-1 | 6-1 |
| Ohio State | 8-1 | 7-1 |
| Mississippi State | 125-1 | 10-1 |
| Baylor | 28-1 | 11-1 |
| Georgia | 50-1 | 20-1 |
| Mississippi | 250-1 | 20-1 |
| UCLA | 20-1 | 40-1 |
| Kansas State | 100-1 | 175-1 |
| Michigan State | 35-1 | 200-1 |
| Auburn | 40-1 | 200-1 |
| Arizona State | 25-1 | 250-1 |
| Wisconsin | 45-1 | 250-1 |
| Arizona | 100-1 | 250-1 |
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Florida State, which closed as a 2.5- or 3-point favorite, rallied in the second half, capitalizing on a fortunate touchdown off a tipped pass, a blocked extra point and a missed chip-shot field goal to pull out a 30-26 win.
"It was our worst college decision of the year," said Bogdanovich. "Horrible."
The Seminoles opened as short, 1.5-point favorites at several Las Vegas books. Other shops, such as the Wynn and MGM, went with a higher opening number -- FSU minus-3 and minus-2, respectively -- and took early money on the Hurricanes.
"Early in the week, the sharps took Miami [plus-2]," Rood said. "Then on Friday, the sharps came back on the game [bet Florida State], and we moved to 2.5. It was pretty much the same people. I think their opinion maybe shifted. Then on Saturday, there was a quite a bit of public money on Florida State all day long."
Three times more money was wagered on the Seminoles than the Hurricanes at the MGM, and the action was more lopsided at other shops. At the Aliante sportsbook, director Marc Nelson said 90 percent of tickets were on the Seminoles. William Hill was holding approximately eight times more money on the Seminoles by kickoff, Bogdanovich said.
It looked like the books knew what they were doing in the first half, with Miami jumping out to a 23-10 lead at intermission. Rood considered using the halftime line to lock in some profit but talked himself out of it and suffered the worst decision of Saturday.
Despite the lopsided action, oddsmakers didn't feel like the line was off.
"The action on Florida State was the kind of action that you want," Nelson said. "It's the kind of action that, when it wins, usually comes back over the window. I think the line was right."
The point spread on the Mississippi State-Alabama game also generated plenty of betting interest. The Crimson Tide opened as a 7-point favorite. Sharp action drove the line to as high as Alabama minus-10 at several shops, but the public backed the underdog Bulldogs enough to even things out. In fact, the SuperBook and MGM ended up with slightly more money on Mississippi State.
Trailing 25-13 late in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs scored a touchdown with 15 seconds to play to cover the spread.
"The sharps bet the line up [in favor of Alabama] early in the week," Salmons said. "But there was plenty of support for Mississippi State. It was a good two-way write but really was a nothing game in terms of the decision."
Overall, Saturday was a success for the sportsbooks. Seven underdogs covered in the first eight games involving a ranked team, setting up the books for a big day.
"It would have been our best of the year, except for Florida State," Bogdanovich said.
[h=3]Odds and ends[/h]• Texas Tech, a 14-point home underdog to Oklahoma, completed a 39-yard touchdown pass on the final play to cover the spread in a 42-30 loss.• With TCU failing to cover the spread in a closer-than-expected win over Kansas, Western Michigan now owns the best ATS record in the nation. The Broncos (9-1 ATS) covered the spread for the ninth straight time in a 51-7 win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
• Only Akron (2-8 ATS) has a worse record against the spread than Alabama (2-7-1 ATS).
Top five teams by number of bets to win the national championship at the Westgate SuperBook
1. Ohio State
2. Oregon
3. Alabama
4. Michigan State
5. Notre Dame
Top five teams by money bet on to win the national championship at the Westgate SuperBook
1. Florida State
2. Alabama
3. Oregon
4. Ohio State
5. Oklahoma
[h=3]New Super Bowl XLIX favorite[/h]The New England Patriots are now the favorite to win the Super Bowl at the Westgate SuperBook. The Patriots were impressive in a 42-20 win at the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night. Afterward, the SuperBook shortened New England's Super Bowl odds to 7-2, moving it past the Denver Broncos into the role of favorite. The Green Bay Packers, at 4-1, also leapfrogged the Broncos and are now the favorite in the NFC.
The Broncos remained the Super Bowl favorite at other shops, though, including the Wynn and Stratosphere.
[h=4]Super Boxl XLIX Odds[/h]Courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook
| Team | Opening | Current |
|---|---|---|
| Patriots | 12-1 | 7-2 |
| Packers | 15-1 | 4-1 |
| Broncos | 6-1 | 9-2 |
| Cardinals | 25-1 | 8-1 |
| Seahawks | 6-1 | 12-1 |
| 49ers | 7-1 | 14-1 |
| Colts | 25-1 | 14-1 |
| Chiefs | 25-1 | 14-1 |
| Cowboys | 30-1 | 18-1 |
| Eagles | 25-1 | 18-1 |
| Lions | 30-1 | 25-1 |
| Chargers | 30-1 | 25-1 |
| Bengals | 18-1 | 30-1 |
| Saints | 15-1 | 30-1 |
| Steelers | 30-1 | 40-1 |
| Ravens | 30-1 | 40-1 |
| Dolphins | 40-1 | 40-1 |
| Falcons | 18-1 | 60-1 |
| Texans | 30-1 | 80-1 |
| Browns | 60-1 | 100-1 |
| Bears | 25-1 | 200-1 |
| Bills | 60-1 | 200-1 |
| Vikings | 60-1 | 300-1 |
| Rams | 30-1 | 500-1 |
| Panthers | 15-1 | 500-1 |
| Redskins | 30-1 | 1000-1 |
| Giants | 30-1 | 1000-1 |
| Jets | 60-1 | 2000-1 |
| Buccaneers | 40-1 | 2000-1 |
| Titans | 40-1 | 5000-1 |
| Jaguars | 100-1 | OFF |
| Raiders | 100-1 | OFF |
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[h=3]NFL odds and ends[/h]• The sportsbooks bounced back from their worst Sunday of the season with one of their best. Outright upsets by the St. Louis Rams over the Broncos and the Cincinnati Bengals over the New Orleans Saints keyed a successful day for the books.There were several deep-pocketed Rams fans at the MGM, though.
"We took a few pops on the Rams money line about 30 minutes before kickoff," Rood said. "We had two, three or four guys moving that at 10 dimes [$10,000] at a time."
The Rams were around 4-1 underdogs to beat the Broncos straight-up. St. Louis won 22-7 as a 9.5-point home underdog.
"It was definitely bounce-back day," said Jason Simbal, vice president of race and sports at CG Technology's sportsbook. "All the misfortune we had last week kind of reversed itself this week."
• Caesars Entertainment sportsbook's computer system crashed for two hours Sunday morning, affecting all of the company's properties from roughly 9:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. PT.
Top five teams by number of bets to win the Super Bowl at Westgate SuperBook
1. Packers
2. 49ers
3. Broncos
4. Eagles
5. Colts
Top five teams by amount of money wagered to win the Super Bowl at Westgate
1. Seahawks
2. Patriots
3. 49ers
4. Packers
5. Broncos
