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Lynda Collins - EzineArticles.com Expert Author
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- Down the Stretch- Derby Props
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] The Kentucky Derby sure spawns interesting side stories and creates lots of commotion for something called "the fastest two minutes in sports."
Of course the winner's time for the classic mile-and-a-quarter distance may be a few seconds more or less.
An over-under on that is just one of the rainbow of wagering propositions racebooks from Antigua to Australia have fashioned for Saturday's annual Run for the Roses.
- Super Fight of the Century
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Western civilization isn't even halfway through 2007 yet, but the Super Fight of the Century already looms large on the Las Vegas horizon.
Pretty Boy versus The Golden Boy in (arguably) the Boxing Capital of the World - and a pair of U.S. Olympic medalists to boot.
Undefeated challenger Floyd Mayweather (37-0, 24 KOs) will face Oscar de La Hoya (38-4, 30 KOs) in a long awaited, much anticipated WBC title match on Saturday.
- Texas Two Step
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] San Antonio could replace the cry "Remember the Alamo!" with "Don't forget the Spurs."
Many NBA observers predicted pre-Playoffs that Dallas successfully would defend the NBA Western Conference crown it won a year ago and go on to emerge victorious in the Finals.
Some would-be lawyers and present-day Professional Handicappers League members make a strong case for the Spurs, however.
The two Texas clubs already have displayed vulnerability and are 1-1 entering the third game of their respective opening series.
- Friendly Competition
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Championship sports analysts such as Mike Lineback and Jim Kruger may view the Professional Handicappers League's site contests a bit differently, but the bottom line's the same.
The contests not only rev up their competitive juices, they also provide the public a "black and white" opportunity to see for themselves just how well a handicapper is doing in a particular sport versus the competition.
After all, while the handicapping business generates a lot of camaraderie among the various players, it's still, much like professional sports themselves, a dog eat dog industry and one in which the numbers do the talking.
- NBA MVP? The Pros Know
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] So who's the NBA's MVP?
Professional Handicappers League member Bill Fishman says it's Dirk Nowitzski, who led Dallas to incredible heights during the regular-season campaign.
Big Al McMordie, his fellow PHL member, votes for reigning MVP Steve Nash of Phoenix.
The league should find out starting on Sunday, when both teams begin postseason play.
- NBA Playoffs Overview
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Dallas is best in the West this year and should feast on the East in the 2007 NBA Playoffs, which get underway this weekend with a pair on games in each conference on Saturday and Sunday.
The operative word is "should," as this is professional sports and there's no such thing as a lock.
- Books on Bowls
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] New Frontier Race and Sports Director Tony Nevill viewed Boise State's 43-42 overtime upset of Oklahoma in Monday's Fiesta Bowl as fulfillment of the American dream as well as a perfect example of how the playing field in college football is being leveled.
"It reenforces everything that's good about college athletics and is indicative of the parity that has been achieved by limiting scholarships," said Nevill, who had "well balanced" action on the game and closed it at Sooners minus 7.
"Here you have this superpower getting beat by a small, mostly unknown school.
- Hilton Consensus
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] It would take some doing, but if Jarhead manages to lose the Las Vegas Hilton SuperContest in the 17th and final week, he will, as Ricky said to Luci, have a whole lot of "splainin'" to do.
Ask Dave Zenor, a Gold Sheet contributor and perennial Hilton entrant who took a comfortable lead into the last week one year in the '90s, needed only a couple wins to clinch all the marbles, got skunked and finished out of the "big money."
- Bowl Betting
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] The 2006-07 bowl season kicked off Tuesday with the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, which TCU won 37-7 over Northern Illinois, and ends on Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz., with the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game.
In all, 32 bowl games will be played over three weeks. Starting Dec. 26, there will be a least one game for nine straight days, so bettors will want to be well-prepared heading into all the action.
Here are a few handicapping pointers to get you started:
- NFL Ends, Bowling Begins
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Las Vegas oddsmaker Ken White says football fans are in for some real holiday treats New Year's Weekend, which officially gets underway Friday night.
"As far as I'm concerned, the bowl season is just starting," White, head of Las Vegas Sports Consultants, declared.
"We have some great games coming up this weekend."
- Vegas Odds & Ends 12/29/06
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] UCLA, USC's crosstown rival whose upset Pac 10 win over the Trojans last month kept Southern Cal out of the BCS national title tilt, is garnering plenty of attention in college hoops.
"We have a lot of liabilty on UCLA," said Las Vegas Hilton oddsmaker and supervisor Jeff Sherman, referring to the Hilton's NCAA Tournament futures book, where the Bruins have plummeted from 20/1 to 6/1.
- NFL Down the Stretch
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] As Bob Dylan sang, the times they are a-changin' -- especially in the NFL's American Football Conference.
"Parity," said Chuck Esposito, the book boss at Caesars Palace, wrapping the NFL's current situation in a single word.
- Kentucky X-Mas
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Santa's annual global trek still is days away, so, with reindeer on the brain and temperatures freezing, it's a wee bit early to think about spring and the Kentucky Derby.
That's unless you live in Louisville or Las Vegas, where horse racing is a major part of life.
- Meeting with The Mouth
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] What you see isn't necessarily what you get, at least when it comes to poker star Mike "The Mouth" Matusow.
Some people know only the guy they see on TV and many of them think Matusow is a just plain jerk, or, as one writer put it, asshole.
Others, including "The Mouth" himself, swear he's the greatest guy on earth -- as long as you don't mess with him.
- Banker on the Bowls
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Lem Banker was full of holiday spirit on Wednesday, though make no mistake about it: he wasn't dipping into the egg nog.
An occasional glass of wine at dinner, OK, but booze really doesn't fit into this octogenarian's routine.
Many people still view Banker as the world's best living sports handicapper, despite the rise of young computer whizzes who have failed to drive him out of the business.
- Hachem Again
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Australian Joe Hachem got several early Christmas gifts this week, including the second bookend in a set that doesn't exactly match and another gold bracelet.
No problem.
He isn't about to exchange or return either.
- Grinding Out the POY
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Michael Mizrachi busted out of Doyle Brunson's $15,000 buy-in North American Poker Classic in 29th place at Bellagio on Monday, but the Grinch didn't steal "The Grinder's" Christmas.
Mizrachi and his family, which includes longtime love Lilly Olivera -- a poker force in her own right -- and their young son and daughter, have plenty of cause to celebrate this Yule season as the popular poker pro officially became Las Vegas-based Card Player Magazine's 2006 Player of the Year.
- Hilton Happenings (12/20/06)
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Sundown led a record field of 506 Las Vegas Hilton SuperContestants for much of the early 2005 season, then faded into the sunset when favorites kept romping home.
This year, a more normal one by NFL handicapping standards, Sundown shifted gears and saved the best for last, gradually scaling the ladder the past month to where he's within a single game of longtime leader Jarhead with two weeks and 10 selections to go.
- Hilton Consensus 09/12/06
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Close calls dominated the Las Vegas Hilton SuperContest consensus for the second straight week, with four decisions being made by single digits and five by between 11 and 19 nods.
SuperContestants got off on a losing note Thursday when reigning Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh crushed Cleveland 27-7.
- Contest Crunch
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Rules differ slightly, but names pretty much are the same, at least at the top.
Jarhead, who has been running roughshod over the Las Vegas Hilton SuperContest field, also is knocking 'em dead in two other Sin City high-end football contests, which, not coincidentally, were germinated by former SuperBook bosses.
Jarhead, a nickname for members of the United States Marines, takes a comfy 3 1/2 cushion into the final four weeks of the Hilton competition.
- Hilton Consensus
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Las Vegas Hilton Super Contestants predict Sunday will be a real turkey for bookmakers and underdog players.
Twelve games are slated on that day's NFL card and the Hilton consensus sided with favorites in 10 of them.
Underdog San Francisco, an upset winner over Matt Hasselbeckless Seattle last week, was an 84-48 pick over St. Louis.
- Vegas News and Notes
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Promises are made to be broken.
That appears to be the stance of 2006 World Series of Poker champion Jamie Gold, who is being sued for half his $12 million winnings.
While he admits to having a verbal agreement with Bruce Crispin Leyser to share his winnings, Gold seems to be backpedaling on certain aspects of it, although Leyser has a voice-mail tape of the promise.
- Bernardini Braces for Breeders Cup
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Saturday is - as one Las Vegas bookmaker observed - Thoroughbred racing's Super Bowl and World Series rolled into one.
"It's racing's crowning day," said New Frontier bet shop boss Tony Nevil.
This year's $20 million, eight-race Breeders' Cup card will be contested at Churchill Downs, horse racing's Mecca and site of the Kentucky Derby.
- NBA: Boo
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] The NBA - some say appropriately - chose Halloween as its 2006-2007 coming-out party.
A quartet of teams took the court for the first time in regular season play, though this momentous occasion was somewhat blurred in the holiday hullabaloo and ongoing NFL wars.
"People are still into football," said New Frontier bookmaking chief Tony Nevil.
- Breeders Cup
[Recreation-and-Sports:Horse-Racing] The Sam's Town horse handicapping crew is playing it close to the vest this Breeders' Cup.
Gordon Jones, Patrick McQuiggan and Tony Vega believe they can bring home a winning Pick 6 or Classic superfecta for folks who participate in their betting pools.
Thus, they're uncharacteristically keeping many picks cloaked and saving them for customers who turn out for horse racing's biggest single day next Saturday.
- Bettor not Bankin' on Bears
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Chicago's Bears are either the NFL's best team, luckiest or both, but judge and jury still are out on oft-injured quarterback Rex Grossman and whether the Windy City's reincarnated Monsters of the Midway can go 16-0.
Don Shula's 1972 Miami squad achieved the last unblemished season in 1972.
- Odds on Cubs to Win Series
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Now is the time for all good Chicago Cubs fans to purchase their 2007 World Series futures, before numbers plummet as they always and quickly do.
Actually, the same advice could apply to backers of many Major League Baseball teams, though odds on some inevitably will rise rather than drop.
It's just that long-suffering Cubs boosters are, like their beloved, retired Hall of Fame shortstop Ernie Banks, eternal optimists.
When futures are posted, Cubs fans usually are first in line at the betting windows and their numbers are legion.
- Poker Academy
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] There's the Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and now the World Poker Tour Academy.
The company behind the televised WPT phenomenon this week unveiled poker's latest breakthrough: a comprehensive Web-based education center.
According to officials, the WPT Academy is desined to provide a "compelling, interactive learning tool for both poker enthusiasts and novices alike."
- Breeders Cup
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Jack Schneider visualizes just one manner in which Bernardini can be beaten in next month's $5 million Breeders Cup Classic -- barring stumbling on a stable rock, getting stuck in the gate or being abducted by aliens.
"The only way it could happen is if Bernardini and Lava Man get into a dog-dirt duel and are so into watching each other and not looking behind them, someone else bolts by both in the end," the Sam's Town Race Book manager said.
- October Dreams Fade in a NY Minute
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Apparitions of a dream New York subway World Series have dissipated into the crisp autumn air for fans, TV execs and Las Vegas bookmakers alike.
The Mets made it to the National League finale, but the Yankees won't advance in October's pennant race, thanks to the feisty, underdog Detroit Tigers, Major League Baseball's 2006 Cinderella club.
Sob.
- Post Season Posturing
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Baseball was bountiful for Las Vegas bookmakers in the 2006 Major League season.
Now sports stores are looking to line coffers more during postseason play, which begins with two games Tuesday and continues with two more Wednesday.
The Big Apple has dual postseason interests, while the Golden State has three.
- Money Talks
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Players Tony Ricci and Andy Iskoe weighed in on opposite sides of a big AFC encounter in Round 1 of their Leroy's Money Talks match Friday night.
Ricci, a Vancouver, British Columbia, exotic club owner who won $303,000 as the Las Vegas Hilton SuperContest champion last year, and Sin City handicapper Iskoe made seven graded selections against the Leroy's line, ranging from $100 to $700, plus the vig.
- Hilton Consensus
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] God spelled backwards is dog.
Las Vegas Hilton SuperContestants reversed the word as well as a trend and predicted a dog day afternoon on this weekend's Sabbath.
- Gold Shows Midas Touch at WSOP
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Just call him Goldfinger, the man with the Midas touch.
Just about everything Jamie Gold touched the past week turned to, well, gold -- $12 million worth.
The 37-year-old Hollywood talent agent ran roughshod over a field of 8,773 players, including some of poker's brightest stars, in winning the 37th World Series of Poker's $10,000 buy-in Texas No-Limit Hold'em event at Harrah's Rio Hotel and Casino.
- Pre-Season Diamonds
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Preseason pro football is sort of like the engagement period that precedes marriage.
You haven't made a final commitment yet, but you get a taste of what's in store.
- Ladies Night
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] It will be Ladies' Night in LaLa Land Aug. 31 when Hollywood actress and Oscar nominee Jennifer Tilly defends her championship as five poker starlets attempt to earn their way into next year's World Poker Tour Championship at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
- Main Event Madness
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] The 37th World Series of Poker continues to shatter attendance and money standards at Harrah's Rio Hotel and Casino, even as the field for the $10,000 buy-in Texas No-Limit Hold'em event keeps thinning out.
The record 8,773 main-event competitors created an $82.5 million net prize pool, an increase of $29.5 million over last year's $53 million.
Overall, the six-week tournament has brought in $154 million compared to $103 million in 2005.
- Proposition 666
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] The world survived 6-6-06 with just the usual share of disasters such as dust storms and volcano eruptions.
One offshore book, taking $500 limit wagers at 100,000/1 that Earth would make it through another day, had to pay off people at the rate of half a penny or so.
According to one spokesman, folks bet both sides.
There would have been some mighty big payoffs due had the apocalypse come, though collecting might have been a problem.
- WSOP Wagering
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Picking a World Poker Tour event champion is like finding a stolen dog in Las Vegas.
It's the old proverbial needle in a haystack.
Tabbing a World Series of Poker champion in this day and age, with upwards of 8,000 entrants expected for the 2006 event, could be likened to finding a bottle with a note addressed to you on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
It used to be much easier when only hundreds of players entered the fray, but now, with thousands ...
- Money "Double' Talks
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Leroy's will double the stakes for its "Money Talks" football contest in the fall, prompted in part by the demise of the Stardust Invitational.
Last year, the Money Talks competition was held at the Riviera Hotel and Casino, just a short walk across Las Vegas Boulevard South from the Stardust; the two contests played back-to-back on Friday nights on the city's largest AM radio station.
While the Stardust Invitational offered a $10,000 winner-take-all prize, paid by the house, Money Talks players had to buy their way in.
- Kelly Speaks
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] John Kelly grew up in south suburban Chicago with an eye on gambling, even as a youngster.
Consequently, he never developed a loyalty toward the Cubs or White Sox.
"I guess it was the gambling thing," he said.
"I learned early I couldn't be for either one of them."
Kelly, the voice of Las Vegas sports gambling now that Larry Grossman has retired, was around for the last breaths of old Las Vegas and to see the birth of a new one.
- Danica Starts More Engines than Daytona
[Recreation-and-Sports] NASCAR certainly dulled (demolished, as one bookmaker put it) most of the Indianapolis 500's luster many moons ago, but, thanks partly to pinup girl Danica Patrick, the fabled Brickyard event is making a bit of a comeback.
Put the emphasis on bit.
"People just aren't that interested," said Stratosphere Tower Race and Sports Director Robert Jaynes, adding, "but they will be a little more so right before the race."
- Triple Crown?
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] It happens every spring.
The Kentucky Derby delivers a winner and the world immediately speculates on whether the horse can become a Triple Crown champion.
Barbaro, undefeated in six outings and a 6 1/2-length winner over Bluegrass Cat at Louisville, is the current focus of attention.
Las Vegas and offshore race books have no Preakness futures, but are offering propositions on the race as well as whether Barbaro will win the Triple Crown.
One Hilton prop asks if the colt will sweep racing's trio of 3-year-old showdowns.
- Is Poker a Sport?
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Maybe they should call it Pokeman and satisfy everyone.
That, however, may cause phony fur to fly among the ladies.
But Pokewoman doesn't sound right and Pokemanandwoman is too long.
Oh well, you can satisfy some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time.
Or something like that.
- Slow but Steady Action
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Las Vegas sports stores reported decent two-way action on Round 3 NCAA Tournament games, though wagering had slowed down since the first two rounds were completed on Sunday.
"It (money) will start rolling in again Thursday night," Stratosphere Tower bet shop supervisor Eric Solomon said.
- Books Write Strong Finish to WBC
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] The United States got skunked in the World Baseball Classic, which may be a reason why bookmakers wrote more action on the event than they anticipated.
America was such a prohibitive favorite bettors were scared away.
- M & M & M's
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Madness, mayhem and mania.
Sin City has a serious case of hoops hysteria.
"I think everybody's coming to the Palms," bet shop boss Rich Baccellieri said.
"It's nuts around here."
Bookmakers across the valley may dispute Baccellieri's first claim, but there'd be little quibbling about the second.
It's March and that means one thing in Las Vegas: the NCAA Tournament.
- Madness at Work
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] CEOs dread March Madness as much as their merchant counterparts welcome the holiday shopping season.
They must deal with office pools, employees who fill out brackets during working hours and workers who find every excuse imagineable (sorry about your grandmother) to watch the Big Dance -- online or on TV, at home or the office.
- Sharp Madness: Puppy Love
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Call it puppy love.
Las Vegas bettors have been tripping over themselves the past couple days to embrace dogs in the opening round of this year's NCAA Tournament.
By Tuesday, the two biggest Stardust line moves had been on Thursday underdogs.
- Spreizter all Business at Tourney Time
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Handicapping the NFL is a leisurely Sunday stroll through the zoo next to analyzing the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
That's more like a long weekend trip to an amusement park, with rollercoaster peaks and valleys, a fun house and lots of thrill rides.
- Seeds of Gold
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Cinderella went to one ball, Cinderfella to another.
His was called the Big Dance, but -- alas! -- Cinderfella made an early exit.
Such is the fate of the Hamptons, Bucknells and Belmonts that struggle so just to make the NCAA Tournament field, then go home after a single whirl, garnering scads of pub that adds up to much ado about nothing.
Smart college gamblers and handicappers know, however, that gold usually is hidden beneath that dance floor.
One place to look is the seedings.
- Dark Clouds over Nascar
[Recreation-and-Sports:Auto-Racing] Freezing temperatures and dark, cloudy skies that threatened to dump the valley's first snowfall of the winter hovered over Las Vegas Motor Speedway Friday night as NASCAR veteran Greg Biffle grabbed the pole for Sunday's UAW DaimlerChrysler 400.
He will be joined in the 1 1/2-mile oval's front row by 2005 Nextel Cup winner Tony Stewart and defending 400 and reigning Daytona 500 champion Jimmie Johnson, the race favorite.
- Crowd Likes Jimmy
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Jimmie Johnson won the UAW DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last year, started the 2006 season with a victory in the prestigious Daytona 500 and then finished second in California two weeks ago.
So it's no surprise the defending champ is favored to repeat on Sunday, or is at least among the co-favorites
- LV Race Draws Big
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] "What do you know about cars?" a bookmaker was asked recently.
"You put gas in them, turn the key and go," he answered.
That's the way it is with NASCAR
- Bookie Picks
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Robert Jaynes wears a heavy chain around his neck, at least for a Las Vegas bookmaker.
He's a Duke fan.
That's a no-no in Sin City, dating back to 1990, when Jerry Tarkanian and the hometown Runnin' Rebels handily disposed of the Blue Devils in the NCAA championship game at Denver.
- Round Ball: Square Players
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Chatting off the record, one Las Vegas bookmaker recently remarked that the NCAA Tournament was his favorite time of year.
"It's better than the Super Bowl because it's about more than the money," he declared.
- Vegas Bettors Yawn at WBC
[Recreation-and-Sports:Baseball] Can you imagine Bowie Kuhn - who confronted boycotts, expansion and other big-time labor issues during his 15 tumultuous years as Major League Baseball's commissioner - dealing with something like this?
New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner is still alive and he's spinning in his grave over it.
The first World Baseball Classic - the Olympics of baseball, sil vous plait - involving 16 teams from throughout the world gets underway next week.
- World Series Relief
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Entrants in the 2006 World Series of Poker will be "relieved" to learn long lines outside the men's washrooms during breaks are history, as is the cardboard and plastic food sold in the lobby next to the card room.
So are the smoke-filled hallways and those 18-hour days at the tables that taxed the patience of players, staff and media alike.
These are just a few of the major changes the Rio plans for this year's event, which is slated to run June 25 through Aug. 10 at the Harrah's-owned property located on Flamingo Road a few blocks west of the Strip.
- Sox Series Success Drives Futures
[Recreation-and-Sports:Baseball] Chicago's Cubs always have been a huge drawing card as far as Major League Baseball futures are concerned, while the crosstown rival White Sox have been regarded as the proverbial Little Sisters of the Poor.
An upper echelon club versus a lower mid-level one.
But hey, hey, holy cow!
- Boys of Summer Warming Up
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] The Winter Olympics may be a hot topic in most of the world, but in America, the Boys of Summer already are grabbing headlines as they frolic on base paths at warm-weather spring training locales in Florida and Arizona.
The big prize, of course, is the Fall Classic, captured last year by the Chicago White Sox, who won 100 regular-season games en route to their first World Series title in 88 years.
- Internet Gambling Under Attack Again
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] The Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada's largest daily newspaper, on Saturday published an editorial that strongly repudiates efforts to ban Internet gambling.
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and 112 co-sponsors on Thursday reintroduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would outlaw the activity, currently a $12 billion a year industry.
Additionally, Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl has indicated he plans to continue his push in the Senate to ban Internet gambling.
The legislation would update the U.S. Wire Act of 1961, which forbids the use of telephone lines to place interstate bets, to include Internet technology.
- All Star Pick-Em
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Stratosphere Race and Sports Director Robert Jaynes has a suggestion for oddsmakers who are fashioning a line on Sunday's NBA All-Star Game in Houston.
Since the contest shapes up as a close call, Jaynes thinks the numbers crunchers should take the easy way out, make the line pick'em and let the public decide who the favorite should be.
- Bowl Handle Fails to Flush Standard
[Recreation-and-Sports:Football] Close but no cigar could be the post-theme of Super Bowl XL as far as a record Las Vegas Super Bowl handle is concerned.
Pittsburgh defeated Seattle 21-10 Sunday -- easily covering the spread --- the total went way under 47, Bill Cowper finally won a Lombardi and the Bus finally rolled a stop, while on top.
The $6,064,000 Question in the Land of Odds -- besides "Did you win or lose?" was "Will the handle surpass last year's standard of more than $90 million?"
- Odds On Tiger
[Recreation-and-Sports:Golf] Las Vegas Hilton golf specialist and oddsmaker Jeff Sherman had one important duty to tackle Sunday before he could focus on Super Bowl chores: Adjusting Masters odds on Tiger Woods after golf's 29-year-old superstar boosted his record for the year to two-for-two by winning the Dubai Desert Classic.
"It's a smooth start of the year for him," Sherman said.
- Bowl Buzz Down in Vegas
[Recreation-and-Sports] Las Vegas always is a beehive of activity Super Bowl Week.
There's plenty of bustling this year, as usual, but some of the hustle appears to be missing.
First, Mr. Tagliabue and other Big Apple suits, cash registers cha-chinging in their eyes, kiboshed the big Super Bowl bashes that were a large part of the city's tradition, citing broadcasting rights.
- Wise Guys Love Seattle
[Recreation-and-Sports] Pittsburgh is a solid Super Bowl XL favorite, but Seattle appears to have strong pockets of support among Las Vegas' gaming elite.
"I had dinner the other night (at the Stardust) with some of Vegas' fine young handicapping minds, some very talented guys, and everyone liked Seattle," said internationally-known sports gambler Lem Banker, clicking off names like Steve Fezzik, Andy Iskoe and Nick Bogdanovich, an ex-bookmaker who is well-established on the betting side of the counter.
- Derby Race is On
[Recreation-and-Sports] While most eyes will be focused on Motown's Super Bowl this weekend, many orbs will be peering through binoculars at tracks in Florida and Southern California as horse racing moves another couple steps toward the Kentucky Derby.
First Samurai, the highly-touted son of 2000 Kentucky Derby champion Fusaichi Pegasus and third place finisher in October's Breeders Cup Juvenile, will run in the Grade II 7 1/2-furlong Hutcheson Stakes, one of two races with Derby implications on Gulfstream Patk's Saturday card.
- Banker on the Super Bowl
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] High profile Las Vegas sports gambler Lem Banker has wisecracks for every occasion, including the Super Bowl.
"The best proposition I ever got was the $200 hooker who gave it to me for half price."
Or
"The whole of North America - the "uncivilized world" - is abuzz over the Super Bowl, a few billion Chinese don't give a damn."
- Better than Super?
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] What's better than super?
How about ultimate?
Organizers of a project called the Ultimate Sports Resort chose Super Bowl season to announce plans to construct a mammoth sports complex with reasonably-priced rooms in North Las Vegas, about a mile away from Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
- Sin City Super Bowl
[Recreation-and-Sports:Football] What's missing from Las Vegas newspapers, TV and radio this week?
The answer is easy for Sin City denizens: casino Super Bowl party ads.
That's because there aren't any big bashes planned, at least the kind where you pay a C-note, watch the game on widescreens, stuff yourself with all-you-can-eat "stadium fare" and get intoxicated with friends at open bars ... a big part of the Vegas mystique.
- Super Bowl Secrets
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Even Las Vegas sports bettors -- who used to trumpet their plays to anyone who would listen -- are playing it close to the vest and hiding under heavy cloaks these days.
No one ... except maybe Steve Fezzik ... wants to give anything away.
In this age of the Super Information Highway, everyone is looking for even the tiniest edge; gleaning an advantage is like finding gold.
- Betting Besides the Bowl
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Super Bowl XL is, of course, the talk of the town, but sports bettors have other events on which to wager leading up to the big day.
Basketball, college and pro, and golf are among the biggies, but the horses and buggies are in action -- or soon will be -- too.
- Fishing for Winners
[Recreation-and-Sports] Bill Fishman can't bet his beloved New York Jets in this year's AFC title game because Coach Herman Edwards' crew got left at the runway gate, leaving him with little choice but to take a "bus" to the 2006 Super Bowl in Detroit next month.
Trouble is, Fishman doesn't know if it will stall in Denver en route to Motown.
- Super Bowl Longshot
[Recreation-and-Sports:Football] Leroy's, the chain of more than 60 Nevada race and sports books that has made such a big splash in its first season, listed a Seattle-Pittsburgh Super Bowl XL matchup at 8/1, the longest shot on its exacta board.
The NFC Champion Seahawks will at least have a chance to make it happen Feb. 5 at Detroit's Ford Field.
Four to 4 1/2-point favorite Seattle claimed its first-ever NFL title 34-17 Sunday, ousting Carolina from the playoff picture.
- On the Road Again
[Recreation-and-Sports] On the road again ...
That's the plight of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers, who once more find themselves having to face hostile crowds in unfriendly environs as they play for NFL conference championships this weekend.
- Vegas Odds & Ends (Jan. 20)
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Folks aren't necessarily talking baseball when they say World Series these days.
They might mean golf's old World Series, the long-running World Series of Poker or the relatively new Orleans Annual Horseplayer World Series, which begins Thursday, Jan. 21, and runs through Saturday, Jan. 23.
The event costs $1,000 to enter and players will compete for a $500,000 top prize, based on 1,000 entries.
- NFL Playoff Action Good for Vegas Books
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Pittsburgh's upset of Indianapolis coupled with Denver's disposal of two-time defending Super Bowl champion New England proved to be a knockout blow to the public over the weekend, sending many parlays and teasers tumbling along with futures tickets.
Last week, Stardust Race and Sports Director Bob Scucci forecast a New England-Carolina Super Bowl to the Professional Handicappers League, believing heavy favorite Indianapolis would stumble on the road to Motown, site of the NFL's 2006 showcase.
- 'Scooch' Off to AC
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] A major piece in the jigsaw puzzle involving the Stardust Hotel and Casino's transformation into a $4 million megaresort fell into place Monday when the Las Vegas Review-Journal broke the story that Race and Sports Director Bob Scucci soon would be joining former boss Joe Lupo at the Borgata Hotel Casino in Atlantic City.
Scucci, one of the Nevada's most influential bookmakers, confirmed he would depart June 1 to become the Borgata's director of relationship marketing.
- Dust Settles on Echelon Place
[Recreation-and-Sports:Football] Stardust Race and Sports Director Bob Scucci has a future with Boyd Gaming -- no question about that -- but neither he nor anyone else knows exactly what it will be.
This week's announcement that the legendary Strip casino will be demolished and replaced by a $4 million megaresort called Echelon Place caught many observers by surprise and clouded the crystal ball as far as Scucci's future is concerned.
- Bronc's or Bust
[Recreation-and-Sports:Football] One of the cardinal rules of sports betting is don't let your heart rule your head.
Sometimes, that's easier said than done.
Ask Boston native Robert Jaynes, the Stratosphere Tower's race and sports director.
- The Long & Winding Road to the Roses
[Recreation-and-Sports] It's a long and winding road to Churchill Downs and the first Saturday in May, but the Thoroughbred set is atwitter about Breeders' Cup Juvenile champion Stevie Wonderboy, who is slated to make his 3-year-old debut Saturday in the $150,000 San Rafael Stakes at Santa Anita.
No Juvenile champion has ever gone on to capture the Kentucky Derby.
- Odds & Ends (Jan 11)
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Super Bowl XL still is nearly a month away and football fans don't even know who the combatants will be.
Nevertheless, the Las Vegas Hilton -- which attempts to be first with the most for bettors throughout the valley -- has posted odds on the NFL's 41st mid-winter extravaganza, to be played Feb. 4 at Dolphins Stadium in Miami.
- NFL Playoff Picks from the Pros
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] High profile Las Vegas gambler Lem Banker is playing it close to the vest with his pick for Super Bowl XL in Detroit next month, citing contractural obligations through football season, but he isn`t banned from giving out some broad hints.
He says the eventual champion will come from the AFC and it won`t be Indianapolis.
- Bears the Bell of the Bowl
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Las Vegas bookmakers say Indianapolis and New England remain the teams to beat in Super Bowl XL, but bettors love Lovie and his marauding Chicago Bears.
"We have a good price on the Bears (6 1/2 to 1 to win the NFC) and we're getting a lot of action on them," said Stewart Kramer, a supervisor at the Stardust Race and Sports Book. "A lot."
- Hilton Wrapup
[Recreation-and-Sports] The holidays are a time for giving rather than receiving, but things bordered on the ridiculous in the prestigious Las Vegas Hilton SuperContest New Year's Weekend.
The Blue Team tried to give away the title and cool $303,000 first prize, but had no takers, so walked away with the whole ball of wax, including a bonus for hitting more than 67 percent winners.
- Money Talks - And So Does Leonard!
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Professional Handicappers League member (ProCappers.com) Bryan Leonard is the type of gambler who puts his money where his mouth is.
Before the season started, Leonard went around the valley entering every major contest he could: $1,500 to get into the Las Vegas Hilton SuperContest, $1,000 for Palace Station's Gambler's Challenge, $250 for Leroy's College Challenge.
- Lawrence Rises from the Dust
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] It was no picnic in the Poconos, but ProCappers.com sports analyst Marc Lawrence crept past challenger Steve Cofield over the weekend to advance into the finals of the 11th Stardust Invitational on Dec. 16.
Lawrence defeated local radio talk show host Cofield 3-4 to 2-5 as the string of worse than .500 contestant showings continued.
- Hilton Happenings - December 3
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] As fall morphs into winter and the year's final solstice approaches, thoughts of most Las Vegas Hilton SuperContestants are turning to the three-week mini-contest at season's end.
That's when the majority of contestants get to essentially start over as they begin competing for a $10,000 prize that goes to the winner.
- Money Talks - December 3
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] ProCappers.com member Bryan Leonard faced professional sports gambler Chicago Pete Ventrella in a semifinals match of the Leroy's Money Talks competition.
The victor will earn the right to move into the finals against either gaming columnist Buzz Daly or former Las Vegas bookmaker Nick Bogdanovich. They meet next week.
- Dust to Dust - December 3
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Steve Cofield and ProCappers.com sports analyst Marc Lawrence will be cheering for two of the same teams Saturday -- though the outcomes could have different consequences.
They'll also be rooting against each other in the Florida State-Virginia Tech encounter, which actually could be the game that decides which player advances to the title match of the 11th Stardust Invitational.
- Hilton Happenings (November 23)
[Recreation-and-Sports:Football] They may feel foolish and tormented, but they also are blessed this Thanksgiving Week as they head into Turkey Day tightly clutching the drumstick as well as the lead in the prestigious Las Vegas Hilton SuperContest.
- Money Talks - November 18
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Money Talks and more listeners are listening.
Word of Leroy's Money Talks contest has rapidly spread throughout the gambling community and the audience is growing.
- Hilton Consensus: NFL Week 11
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Chicago can bear down as if the Monsters of the Midway were running its show again, but the homies won't beat Carolina Sunday -- even getting 2 1/2 points in the frigid Windy City air.
- Hilton Happenings
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Devils LLC went 2-3 last week and saw its lead in the Las Vegas Hilton SuperContest chopped to a single game over Maximillion and Foolish, Tormented and Blessed.
The leader has 35 1/2 points and the second-place pair 34 1/2.
- Dust to Dust
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] There will be a new champion in the Stardust Invitational this year.
Big Al McMordie, the defending champion, had his win streak snapped at five straight Invitational victories -- four last year, one this year -- by Floridian Marc Lawrence.
- Money Talks
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Doc Moseman, a member of The Professional Handicappers League, and former Las Vegas bookmaker Nick Bogdanovich tied in their Leroy's Money Talks showdown last weekend, with the two players earning the same amount of (hypothetical) cash.
- Hilton Consensus: Week 10
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Las Vegas Hilton SuperContestants apparently are feeling a Rocky Mountain High in Week 10 of the 2005 football season, even though the Denver Broncos will be playing in a city by the bay.
- Sox, Lineback Win World Title
[Recreation-and-Sports] Dorothy was right ... You can go home again -- to Kansas.
Just close your eyes and think ... You'll be transported back home from the glittering Land of Odds to KU country.
And Mom, your sister and friends will be waiting.
- Hilton Happenings - November 9
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Devils LLC made a delayed Halloween arrival, landing atop the Las Vegas Hilton SuperContest in Week 9 with a 4-0-1 mark.
The entry has 33 1/2 points and leads Eaglesfans4 Stan; Foolish, Tormented and Blessed; A.N.C. and Maximillion by two full games.
- Las Vegas Odds & Ends
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] The Las Vegas Hilton SuperBook again paces the pack by posting the first lines on over/under season win totals for all NBA teams. The popular SuperBook proposition gives players a chance to wager on how many wins a particular team will have.
- Vegas Odds & Ends
[Recreation-and-Sports] The Las Vegas Hilton has updated its odds on the 2006 Super Bowl.
Unbeaten Indianapolis, a 5/1 shot when the season started, is now 9/5 to win it all and even money to cop the AFC championship.
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