[h=1]Olympic betting coming to Vegas?[/h][h=3]Why bettors may soon be able to bet on Heisman, Olympics and more in Sin City[/h]
By David Purdum | ESPN.com
You used to be able to bet on almost anything in Vegas.
In 1979, the El Cortez Hotel and Casino took action on where remains of the Skylab satellite would land. You could bet on each of the states, the oceans and foreign countries as potential landing spots. You could even bet, at 10,000-1, that the satellite's remains would land on the El Cortez itself.
In 1980, late Vegas bookmaker Sonny Reizner posted odds on "Who shot J.R.?" from the popular television drama "Dallas." You could bet on each of the characters and even people outside of the show, including then-Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry.
The odds generated a ton of publicity and attracted bettors from all over to Reizner's sportsbook at the old Castaways casino. All bets were off, though, after Nevada Gaming Control showed up and ruled that bets on non-athletic events, especially those with predetermined outcomes, were not allowed.
It's been that way now for decades in Nevada. You can't bet on the Oscars, the Heisman Trophy or the Super Bowl MVP at the state's sportsbooks. You can't even bet on the Olympics, albeit for different reasons. Gaming regulations prohibit wagers on any amateur non-collegiate sport or athletic event.
But that all could be changing soon.
The South Point Casino has petitioned Nevada Gaming Control to amend regulations to allow bets on events sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee. The South Point also is asking the NGC to consider allowing bets on non-athletic events like the Oscars and the Heisman.
Other Vegas sportsbooks are on board. The Westgate SuperBook and the William Hill U.S. sportsbook have filed letters supporting the petition, and sportsbook operator CG Technology told ESPN that it also expressed informal support. A workshop to discuss language for the potential amendments is scheduled for Jan. 20. It will be followed by a hearing on Feb. 26.
The NGC in the past has expressed concerns about events that the winner is decided by a vote. They are concerned that information may be leaked ahead of time or that large wagers could impact the outcomes. To address those concerns, the South Point suggested keeping limits small, "i.e., $500," and halting the wagering before votes are tabulated.
"We just want to expand the betting menu," veteran Las Vegas sportsbook director Jimmy Vaccaro, now with the South Point, said. "And we believe there's a betting appetite for it."
If the offshore sportsbook market is any indication, there's definitely an appetite for betting on events like the Heisman Trophy and Academy Awards. The Heisman Trophy and Oscars attract about five times more action than the NFL MVP market, according to popular online book Bovada.
"The Oscars are the Super Bowl of entertainment betting, and the Heisman Trophy attracts a similar amount of handle," Bovada's Kevin Bradley said.
Betting on the Olympics, while still relatively small compared to the NFL, NBA and other prominent sports, is growing offshore, according to Bradley. Nevada books haven't taken bets on the Olympics since the Dream Team won the gold medal in men's basketball at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
"I remember there were some decent decisions on the basketball back then, but the other stuff didn't move the needle," Vaccaro said.
If the amendments are approved, Hugh Citron, supervisor at the Stratosphere sportsbook, doesn't expect significant betting interest on a lot of events, but did say he had multiple inquiries from customers wanting to bet the hockey games from the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.
"We had to tell them that we don't take bets on the Olympics," Citron said. "I'm sure the hockey and basketball would do well, and I would bet the finals of the figure skating would do well, too." The niche sports, especially those that are judged like figure skating and gymnastics, could pose problems for oddsmakers.
"We'll take baby steps with some of the sports that are new," Vaccaro said.
"I sure hope they don't put me in charge of gymnastics," Citron added with a laugh.
Bradley said, besides the mainstream sports like basketball and hockey, the Olympic events that draw the most betting attention are anything with a prominent American in contention.
"The Olympics are very patriotically bet," Bradley said. "Even an obscure event like fencing, if there's an American who has a chance, it will be bet. We've had some massive liability on some Americans."
Patriotic betting also could be an issue for the sportsbooks. This past summer's World Cup is a good example. The MGM sportsbook took so much early action on the U.S. to win the World Cup at 100-1 that it was forced to move the Americans down to as low as 10-1 at one point before the tournament.
Despite the challenges, expanding betting options to the Olympics and other events such as the Heisman Trophy is seen as a winning proposition for the Nevada industry.
"We believe these amendments, if adopted, will further the advancement of the Nevada sports betting industry," William Hill U.S. CEO Joe Asher wrote in his letter of support to the NGC.
By David Purdum | ESPN.com
You used to be able to bet on almost anything in Vegas.
In 1979, the El Cortez Hotel and Casino took action on where remains of the Skylab satellite would land. You could bet on each of the states, the oceans and foreign countries as potential landing spots. You could even bet, at 10,000-1, that the satellite's remains would land on the El Cortez itself.
In 1980, late Vegas bookmaker Sonny Reizner posted odds on "Who shot J.R.?" from the popular television drama "Dallas." You could bet on each of the characters and even people outside of the show, including then-Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry.
The odds generated a ton of publicity and attracted bettors from all over to Reizner's sportsbook at the old Castaways casino. All bets were off, though, after Nevada Gaming Control showed up and ruled that bets on non-athletic events, especially those with predetermined outcomes, were not allowed.
It's been that way now for decades in Nevada. You can't bet on the Oscars, the Heisman Trophy or the Super Bowl MVP at the state's sportsbooks. You can't even bet on the Olympics, albeit for different reasons. Gaming regulations prohibit wagers on any amateur non-collegiate sport or athletic event.
But that all could be changing soon.
The South Point Casino has petitioned Nevada Gaming Control to amend regulations to allow bets on events sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee. The South Point also is asking the NGC to consider allowing bets on non-athletic events like the Oscars and the Heisman.
Other Vegas sportsbooks are on board. The Westgate SuperBook and the William Hill U.S. sportsbook have filed letters supporting the petition, and sportsbook operator CG Technology told ESPN that it also expressed informal support. A workshop to discuss language for the potential amendments is scheduled for Jan. 20. It will be followed by a hearing on Feb. 26.
The NGC in the past has expressed concerns about events that the winner is decided by a vote. They are concerned that information may be leaked ahead of time or that large wagers could impact the outcomes. To address those concerns, the South Point suggested keeping limits small, "i.e., $500," and halting the wagering before votes are tabulated.
"We just want to expand the betting menu," veteran Las Vegas sportsbook director Jimmy Vaccaro, now with the South Point, said. "And we believe there's a betting appetite for it."
If the offshore sportsbook market is any indication, there's definitely an appetite for betting on events like the Heisman Trophy and Academy Awards. The Heisman Trophy and Oscars attract about five times more action than the NFL MVP market, according to popular online book Bovada.
"The Oscars are the Super Bowl of entertainment betting, and the Heisman Trophy attracts a similar amount of handle," Bovada's Kevin Bradley said.
Betting on the Olympics, while still relatively small compared to the NFL, NBA and other prominent sports, is growing offshore, according to Bradley. Nevada books haven't taken bets on the Olympics since the Dream Team won the gold medal in men's basketball at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
"I remember there were some decent decisions on the basketball back then, but the other stuff didn't move the needle," Vaccaro said.
If the amendments are approved, Hugh Citron, supervisor at the Stratosphere sportsbook, doesn't expect significant betting interest on a lot of events, but did say he had multiple inquiries from customers wanting to bet the hockey games from the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.
"We had to tell them that we don't take bets on the Olympics," Citron said. "I'm sure the hockey and basketball would do well, and I would bet the finals of the figure skating would do well, too." The niche sports, especially those that are judged like figure skating and gymnastics, could pose problems for oddsmakers.
"We'll take baby steps with some of the sports that are new," Vaccaro said.
"I sure hope they don't put me in charge of gymnastics," Citron added with a laugh.
Bradley said, besides the mainstream sports like basketball and hockey, the Olympic events that draw the most betting attention are anything with a prominent American in contention.
"The Olympics are very patriotically bet," Bradley said. "Even an obscure event like fencing, if there's an American who has a chance, it will be bet. We've had some massive liability on some Americans."
Patriotic betting also could be an issue for the sportsbooks. This past summer's World Cup is a good example. The MGM sportsbook took so much early action on the U.S. to win the World Cup at 100-1 that it was forced to move the Americans down to as low as 10-1 at one point before the tournament.
Despite the challenges, expanding betting options to the Olympics and other events such as the Heisman Trophy is seen as a winning proposition for the Nevada industry.
"We believe these amendments, if adopted, will further the advancement of the Nevada sports betting industry," William Hill U.S. CEO Joe Asher wrote in his letter of support to the NGC.
