David_Payne's Blog
Posted Wednesday, August 31, 2011 05:17 PM
You can tell it’s game week by the way pointspreads are popping all over the place -- the money is coming in.
There was significant line movement offshore and in Nevada on Wednesday, as sportsbooks began re-opening lines on two of the opening weekend’s biggest games, Oregon vs. LSU
and Miami at Maryland.
Betting action had been halted on both games for much of August as suspensions were sorted out. But both games were back on the board at several shops Wednesday.
Caesars was one of the first Nevada books to re-open the Miami-Maryland line, a day after seven Hurricane starters were among those suspended for the Monday night game. The Terrapins opened as a 1.5-point favorite, but were quickly bet up to -3 by Wednesday afternoon, Caesars race and sports consultant Todd Furhman told Covers.com in an email. Multiple offshore books re-opened with Miami favored by 1, but within hours the Terrapins were favored by as many as 4.
Oregon also saw early line-moving money, after re-opening as 3-point favorites over LSU, which will be without their suspended quarterback and top receiver for Saturday’s marquee matchup. The Ducks were laying as much as 4.5 by Wednesday afternoon.
The MGM Mirage took four limit plays on Oregon: two at -3; One at -3.5
and one at -4. "It's still all Ducks money," said book manager Jay Rood....
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Posted Tuesday, August 30, 2011 05:35 PM
The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears are not playing in Week 1, but that won’t stop bettors at Caesars sportsbook in Las Vegas from getting action on the rivalry.
Caesars will be allowing clients to bet on rivalries like Bears-Packers, Giants-Jets and Cowboys-Steelers every week even though the teams won’t actually be meeting on the field.
Here’s how it works: A line and over/under total is offered on a handful of rivalry games. For example, the Packers are 6.5-point favorites over the Bears in Week 1 with a total of 44.5. The wager is based on how many points each team scores in their actual game. So if the Packers beat the Saints 31-30 on Thursday and the Bears lose to the Falcons 28-27, the winning ticket on the rivalry matchup would be Bears +6.5 and Over the 44.5.
“It’s basically modified team total bets with spreads,” said Caesars Race and Sportsbook analyst Todd Fuhrman.
Caesars posted the Week 1 matchups Tuesday (see below). Depending on the response from bettors, they may branch out into college.
“We could have the Iron Bowl playing every week,” said Furhman. “Eventually, we might even have college vs. pro. So if you wanted to be the Texas Longhorns against the Dallas Cowboys you could.”
Fuhrman expects some wise guys to try and beat the numbers, but is more excited about offering a unique wager that can only be found at Caesars.
Caesars Week 1 Rivalry Matchups
Border Ward: Bears vs. Packers (-6.5, 44.5)
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Posted Wednesday, August 17, 2011 07:34 AM
College football’s off-the-field issues are impacting Las Vegas sportsbooks.
Two of the opening week’s top matchups - Oregon vs. LSU, Sept. 3, and Miami at Maryland, Sept. 5 - were taken off the board Monday with question marks surrounding players for the Ducks and Hurricanes. Multiple offshore books also removed the games.
Mike Colbert, race and sportsbook manager for Cantor Gaming, took the Oregon-LSU game down after reports surfaced that Ducks quarterback Darron Thomas was a passenger in the car, when defensive back Cliff Harris was pulled over and cited for driving 118 mph in June.
According to
video of the traffic stop obtained by KATU news in Portland, the patrolman asked Harris, “Who’s go the marijuana in the car?”
Harris replied, “We smoked it all.”
In the video footage, Harris later indicated that Thomas had not been smoking the pot.
Harris was suspended indefinitely for the incident, but the new reports of Thomas’ involvement prompted Colbert to halt betting on the game, “due to the possible suspension of Thomas.”
Multiple books also took Miami’s Sept. 4 opener at Maryland off the board Monday, after
Yahoo! Sports reported allegations of wide-spread improprieties involving 12 current Hurricanes and more tha...
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Posted Monday, August 15, 2011 08:03 PM
If USA Today oddsmaker Danny Sheridan does have inside info on the lingering Cam Newton saga, it’s doubtful it came from any perceived deep-rooted Las Vegas connections.
“As far as I know, [Sheridan] doesn’t have any Las Vegas connections,” John Avello, sportsbook manager at the Wynn casino, said Monday.
“I don’t think Danny Sheridan has stepped in Las Vegas since I’ve been here,” added Las Vegas professional gambler Ted Sevransky, who arrived in Vegas in 1998.
Multiple additonal Vegas sources also downplayed Sheridan’s influence, going as far as saying he had “0 influence in this town. He’s not affiliated with Las Vegas in anyway.”
Most hadn’t even heard of the story, which riled up the Twitter-verse and blogosphere on Monday.
Sheridan claimed on Twitter that he’s been told the name of the person the NCAA feels allegedly paid Newton’s father Cecil in return for his son’s commitment to Auburn. Sheridan says he’ll announce it on the Paul Finebaum radio show in an appearance later this week.
According to
Sheridan’s bio, he is a lifelong resident of Mobile, Ala., and a graduate of the University of Alabama School Business in 1969.
Those factors are probably more relevant than Sheridan's handicapping background.
He has been writing and setting odds for USA Today since 1982, but does not supply odds to any sportsbook in Nevada or offshore.
Does this mean he doe...
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