presstelegram.com
On the first day, the NCAA basketball preseason polls were revealed.
On the second day, the clock struck 12 and Midnight Madness began.
On the third day, teams began their season that took them on a ride in the national polls and in their respective conference standings.
On the fourth day, David slayed Goliath as No. 1 unbeaten Illinois traveled to Ohio State and lost, 64-62.
On the fifth day, conference tournaments started and opened up the door for a lot of teams to make the Big Dance.
On the sixth day, the NCAA selection committee had the daunting task in filling the field of 64.
And on the seventh day, the madness tipped off.
And there is no place like Las Vegas to experience the frenzy that is March Madness.
And if you have the itch to drop a few bones on your favorite team, the casino's sports books in "sin city" are the place to be. <!-- cdaFreeFormDetailByName.strSQL = FreeForm_GetTextBySectionIDPaperID @Name = 'ArticleAd', @PaperID = '204', @SectionID = '28780', @ArticleID = '2769669', @Filter = 'Section', @LiveFilter = '1', @DateTimeContext = '3/20/2005 10:45:14 AM' --><!-- ArticleAd not found -->
Droves of people will show up to main events like the Kentucky Derby and the opening weekend of the NFL season, but nothing brings out the fans like the first weekend of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
They travel by plane and automobile to place their bets, whether it's a 10-team parlay, an over/under wager or a straight money-line bet.
It falls second to Super Bowl weekend when it comes to the amount of people in Vegas and money wagered. The 2005 Super Bowl brought in $90.8 million compared to the $85 million the 2004 tournament tallied.
That means there are a lot of hoop-crazed fans that converge with their hopes and dreams of winning and partaking in the festivities.
And that includes me, along with some of my fellow hoop-crazed buddies that take this yearly pilgrimage.
Let the games begin.
6:30 a.m.: The alarm goes off in our presidential suite at the Travelodge and its time to do our homework. We read through newspapers and gambling sheets trying to get the upper hand on the oddsmakers. Which we never do.
8 a.m.: We arrive at a local sports book to claim our spot and set up camp. The room is half-filled with people watching the Congressional steroid hearing that was being shown on all 15 televisions. Most of people are consuming coffee, the drink of choice to get you through the next 12 hours of hoop coverage.
9 a.m.: We venture up to the betting windows to place our sure-money wagers. And we're talking big money, $10, $20, $25 bets. We don't mess around.
9:20 a.m.: The televisions are switched form ESPN to CBS and a cheer goes out as the all-too-familiar voices of Greg Gumble and Clark Kellogg echoes through the sports book. It's tipoff time and we all take one more look at our wager tickets.
11:30 a.m.: OK, maybe not sure money, but sure to lose</B> your money bets! Eastern Kentucky and Wisconsin-Milwaukee pulled through for me with the point spreads, while Pacific and Niagara brought me back down to earth.
11:55 a.m.: Talk about losing your shirt, a gentleman at the table next to us fell asleep and a security guard woke him to advise him that sleeping wasn't allowed within the confines of the sports book and if he was caught dozing off again, he could be fined up to $1,000. How do you like those odds?
12:30 p.m.: The second wave of games begin and I'm feeling confident about these matchups. But that's how I felt about the first games.
3 p.m.: Boston College? Yes! Cincinnati? Yes! UTEP? Noooooo! Plus 3 to cover, it was tied up at 54-54 with 30 seconds left and the Miners lost by six? Give me a break.
6:30 p.m.: I'm sitting pretty with my Wolfpack winning, but my Zags and my Demon Deacons didn't cover. Can you feel my pain?
These guys are good and I'm not talking about the players.
I'm talking about the oddsmakers. There is a reason why Las Vegas rakes in so much money every year.
It's not who you would want to win or lose, but by how many points they'll win or lose. It's called the point spread and as soon as the field of 64 is chosen, they go to work.
As soon as the second-round games are determined, the oddsmakers are right back at it.
So on this St. Patrick's Day, where people indulge themselves with the color green, wearing it, eating it and drinking it.
I am left losing it.
On the first day, the NCAA basketball preseason polls were revealed.
On the second day, the clock struck 12 and Midnight Madness began.
On the third day, teams began their season that took them on a ride in the national polls and in their respective conference standings.
On the fourth day, David slayed Goliath as No. 1 unbeaten Illinois traveled to Ohio State and lost, 64-62.
On the fifth day, conference tournaments started and opened up the door for a lot of teams to make the Big Dance.
On the sixth day, the NCAA selection committee had the daunting task in filling the field of 64.
And on the seventh day, the madness tipped off.
And there is no place like Las Vegas to experience the frenzy that is March Madness.
And if you have the itch to drop a few bones on your favorite team, the casino's sports books in "sin city" are the place to be. <!-- cdaFreeFormDetailByName.strSQL = FreeForm_GetTextBySectionIDPaperID @Name = 'ArticleAd', @PaperID = '204', @SectionID = '28780', @ArticleID = '2769669', @Filter = 'Section', @LiveFilter = '1', @DateTimeContext = '3/20/2005 10:45:14 AM' --><!-- ArticleAd not found -->
Droves of people will show up to main events like the Kentucky Derby and the opening weekend of the NFL season, but nothing brings out the fans like the first weekend of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
They travel by plane and automobile to place their bets, whether it's a 10-team parlay, an over/under wager or a straight money-line bet.
It falls second to Super Bowl weekend when it comes to the amount of people in Vegas and money wagered. The 2005 Super Bowl brought in $90.8 million compared to the $85 million the 2004 tournament tallied.
That means there are a lot of hoop-crazed fans that converge with their hopes and dreams of winning and partaking in the festivities.
And that includes me, along with some of my fellow hoop-crazed buddies that take this yearly pilgrimage.
Let the games begin.
6:30 a.m.: The alarm goes off in our presidential suite at the Travelodge and its time to do our homework. We read through newspapers and gambling sheets trying to get the upper hand on the oddsmakers. Which we never do.
8 a.m.: We arrive at a local sports book to claim our spot and set up camp. The room is half-filled with people watching the Congressional steroid hearing that was being shown on all 15 televisions. Most of people are consuming coffee, the drink of choice to get you through the next 12 hours of hoop coverage.
9 a.m.: We venture up to the betting windows to place our sure-money wagers. And we're talking big money, $10, $20, $25 bets. We don't mess around.
9:20 a.m.: The televisions are switched form ESPN to CBS and a cheer goes out as the all-too-familiar voices of Greg Gumble and Clark Kellogg echoes through the sports book. It's tipoff time and we all take one more look at our wager tickets.
11:30 a.m.: OK, maybe not sure money, but sure to lose</B> your money bets! Eastern Kentucky and Wisconsin-Milwaukee pulled through for me with the point spreads, while Pacific and Niagara brought me back down to earth.
11:55 a.m.: Talk about losing your shirt, a gentleman at the table next to us fell asleep and a security guard woke him to advise him that sleeping wasn't allowed within the confines of the sports book and if he was caught dozing off again, he could be fined up to $1,000. How do you like those odds?
12:30 p.m.: The second wave of games begin and I'm feeling confident about these matchups. But that's how I felt about the first games.
3 p.m.: Boston College? Yes! Cincinnati? Yes! UTEP? Noooooo! Plus 3 to cover, it was tied up at 54-54 with 30 seconds left and the Miners lost by six? Give me a break.
6:30 p.m.: I'm sitting pretty with my Wolfpack winning, but my Zags and my Demon Deacons didn't cover. Can you feel my pain?
These guys are good and I'm not talking about the players.
I'm talking about the oddsmakers. There is a reason why Las Vegas rakes in so much money every year.
It's not who you would want to win or lose, but by how many points they'll win or lose. It's called the point spread and as soon as the field of 64 is chosen, they go to work.
As soon as the second-round games are determined, the oddsmakers are right back at it.
So on this St. Patrick's Day, where people indulge themselves with the color green, wearing it, eating it and drinking it.
I am left losing it.
