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02/09/2007 -
Let's start with a bet.
Will the NBA return to Las Vegas, this time on a permanent basis, after the Feb. 18 All-Star game?
``Absolutely, not even close,'' Mayor Oscar Goodman said.
If only it were that simple.
Sending a team to Las Vegas would require NBA commissioner David Stern to change his stance on gambling. He was quite clear on the subject last year: ``We are not going to go there while they have betting on NBA games.''
A year later, Stern seemed to leave room for hope in an interview with The Associated Press, saying the decision isn't solely his to make.
``I guess all I'd say is that we've been having these discussions now for somewhere over 20 years,'' he said. ``But on the other hand, our owners are the ones that ultimately call the shots, and so I wouldn't ... there's no sense in laying down at the bridge. But right now our policy has been very consistent and has been acted upon for the last two decades.''
But in a league where teams from Seattle to New Orleans face uncertain futures in their cities, how long can Stern expect his owners to back that policy if there's money to be made in a market that longs for a team?
Gavin Maloof, whose family owns the Sacramento Kings and the Palms, where the players will stay next week, said he supports Stern but believes the policy is antiquated. He said he expects the NBA will announce Las Vegas is getting a team in the next five years.
``Every owner that I've ever spoken to loves Vegas,'' he said. ``I can't speak for them, but I know that this All-Star game was a big hit.''
Goodman desperately wants a pro sports franchise for his city. Getting All-Star weekend to the Strip was fairly simple. With the Maloofs acting as a go-between, NBA officials let Goodman know the city had a chance to host if the casinos wouldn't take bets on the exhibition.
Now all he has to do is get wagering removed for real NBA games, and he could move closer to his goal.
Don't bet on it.
Goodman said he would not consider eliminating gambling on the NBA, nor does he think he needs to. He seems to believe he can persuade Stern to change his mind.
``I believe that when the two of us sit down quietly, we're going to be able to resolve any issues that are outstanding,'' Goodman told the AP. ``And I believe that Las Vegas is a city that will become home to the world's team. As Dallas was America's team in football, the Las Vegas Oscars will be the world team.''
Las Vegas already has a passionate basketball fan base. The city showed how much it loves hoops when UNLV was the greatest show in college basketball in the early 1990s. During an exhibition game against Puerto Rico last summer at the Thomas & Mack Center, U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski was greeted with a number of boos during pregame introductions - 15 years after his Duke team ended the Runnin' Rebels undefeated season with an upset in the Final Four.
``Vegas is a very special place. I had a blast there,'' said Phoenix All-Star Shawn Marion, who played for the Rebels. ``The fans are unbelievable, and the difference between UNLV fans and most college fans is UNLV fans are more like NBA fans because they're older.
``It's crazy because they love basketball just as much as everybody else around the country. They're going to show it, too.''
So far, it looks as if UNLV would welcome the NBA. The Rebels have been accommodating, making sure they'll be on the road for All-Star weekend. The school will make some money for the use of its facilities, but athletic director Mike Hamrick said he most valued the exposure for the university and the city.
``I like NBA basketball as well as any pro sport,'' Hamrick said. ``My No. 1 priority is UNLV, and if an NBA team came here that would be great for our city.''
Las Vegas occupies a prominent spot on the basketball calendar these days. Plenty of NBA personnel will spend time there this summer, for the Las Vegas summer league or the FIBA Americas tournament, a 2008 Beijing Olympics qualifier.
``It's kind of the basketball capital of the country in the summer,'' said USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo, whose team will train at UNLV the next two years.
Colangelo, one of basketball's most respected voices and a former chairman of the NBA's Board of Governors, said he believes Las Vegas will have a team someday. Stern is aware there are probably others within the league who feel the same way.
``I'm not wrestling them to the ground,'' Stern said. ``I'm much more philosophical.
``I never say never, but I think that you have to ... it isn't about rhetoric, it's about actions.''
Stern said gambling is his only objection to Las Vegas, so Goodman could call his bluff. But the place Goodman calls ``the next great world city'' isn't about to forget how important betting has been to its success.
Jay Kornegay, the executive director of race and sports at the Las Vegas Hilton, said NBA betting represents about 15 percent of his sports book's total handle. He said it would be hypocritical to have an NBA team in the city and not take action on it.
Like Maloof - who isn't allowed to have NBA betting in his casino because he owns a team - he doesn't think gambling on NBA games has to be eliminated.
``I think that we have proven over the last six years that taking wagers on games that are played within the state of Nevada haven't changed anything,'' Kornegay said. ``We've also taken wagers on different sporting events that took place within the city limits, and you see no different betting patterns on those games as you would taking bets on something that would happen clear across the world.''
So Goodman continues to dream of a pro sports franchise playing in his city.
But will it be an NBA team?
Stern won't bet.
``I'm going to withhold a response to that and just say that our policy is what it is until the owners elect to change it,'' Stern said. ``And since I'm not in the handicapping business, I'm not planning to give you a line on that eventuality.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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March Madness odds and printable March Madness brackets
With the field of 64/65 set, MySportsbook.com has the Florida Gators as the 4-1 favorite to successfully defend their National Championship. Men’s Division-1 College Basketball has not seen a team repeat as National Champions since Duke won back to back championships in ’91 & ‘92. After losing three out of four late in the season, the Gators are full of momentum as they won their last four games by an average of 18 points. Not surprisingly, right behind the Gators are the other three top seeds: Kansas 5-1, UNC 6-1, and Ohio State 7-1. Many consider Kansas to be the hottest team in the country, having won 11 straight. With Kansas, it is hard to ignore all of the early exits from the “dance” in recent years. With an impressive ACC Tournament, UNC ensured themselves the other top seed. UNC has about as much talent as any other team in the tournament but with a team that’s best players are primarily freshman and sophomores, could youth be a concern. Behind freshman sensation, Greg Oden, OSU will look to do what their football team failed to do just a few months earlier. OSU seems to have peeked at the right time, as they currently have a 17 game winning streak. Since the tournament field was expanded in 1985, there has never been an instance where all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. It is obvious that each of the top seeds have the talent to make it through to Atlanta. But as everyone knows, when makes the NCAA Tournament so special are all of the spoilers and “Cinderella” stories that knock off the favorites on a daily basis.
Be sure to logon to MySportsbook.com to see check out all of the early lines and “March Madness” props. Also be sure to enter the “$10,000,000 Perfect Bracket Contest”. If someone has the skills to predict every winner, they will be set for life and walk away with $10,000,000. Even if no one can cash in on the Grand Prize, with a $35,000 guaranteed prize pool and a Mazda RX-8 to the first prize winner, Sportsbook.com’s bracket is a must for all “March Madness” fans.
MySportsbook.com’s odds to win the Championship and Regions:
| EAST | National Championship | Region |
| Arkansas | 300-1 | 50-1 |
| Belmont | 1000-1 | |
| Boston College | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Eastern KY | 1000-1 | |
| George Washington | 75-1 | |
| Georgetown | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| Marquette | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Michigan State | 100-1 | 25-1 |
| New Mexico St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| UNC | 6-1 | 6-5 |
| Oral Roberts | 500-1 | |
| Texas | 15-1 | 5-1 |
| Texas Tech | 200-1 | 5-1 |
| USC | 75-1 | 20-1 |
| Vanderbilt | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Washington State | 40-1 | 15-1 |
| WEST | ||
| Duke | 50-1 | 10-1 |
| Florida A&M | 1000-1 | |
| Gonzaga | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Holy Cross | 300-1 | |
| Illinois | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Indiana | 75-1 | 40-1 |
| Kansas | 5-1 | 13-10 |
| Kentucky | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Niagara | 1000-1 | |
| Pittsburgh | 40-1 | 8-1 |
| Southern Ill. | 50-1 | 12-1 |
| UCLA | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| VCU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Villanova | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| VA Tech | 50-1 | 15-1 |
| Weber St | 1000-1 | |
| Wright St | 1000-1 | 300-1 |
| MIDWEST | ||
| Arizona | 50-1 | 30-1 |
| Butler | 40-1 | 30-1 |
| Davidson | 300-1 | |
| Florida | 4-1 | 4-5 |
| Georgia Tech | 75-1 | 25-1 |
| Jackson State | 1000-1 | |
| Maryland | 30-1 | 6-1 |
| Miami-OH | 300-1 | |
| Notre Dame | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| ODU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Oregon | 40-1 | 6-1 |
| Purdue | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Texas A&M CC | 1000-1 | |
| UNLV | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Winthrop | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Wisconsin | 15-1 | 7-2 |
| SOUTH | ||
| Albany | 200-1 | |
| BYU | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Central CT St. | 1000-1 | |
| Creighton | 100-1 | 35-1 |
| Long Beach St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| Louisville | 40-1 | 10-1 |
| Memphis | 30-1 | 4-1 |
| Nevada | 75-1 | 35-1 |
| North Texas | 500-1 | |
| Ohio State | 7-1 | 6-5 |
| Penn | 500-1 | |
| Stanford | 200-1 | 50-1 |
| Tennessee | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| Texas A&M | 12-1 | 11-5 |
| Virginia | 75-1 | 18-1 |
| Xavier | 100-1 | 40-1 |
About MySportsbook.com MySportsbook.com is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet, where millions of adult Americans bet on sports, play poker and enjoy blackjack and other casino games online in a regulated and licensed jurisdiction. Named the "Best US Sports Book" by the industry's top magazine, eGaming Review, MySportsbook.com has been leading the online gaming industry since 1996. Dwarfing its nearest competitors in the US, MySportsbook.com has been the first to achieve every significant industry milestone, from record turnover to active users to number of bets--achieving a peak of fifteen bets per second. As the US online gaming leader, the firm and it's products have been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Financial Times, USA Today and in every major newspaper in the US.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.
American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies
It's that time of year folks. Betting on American Idol Season 9. And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below. With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.
No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.
Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.
Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.
Odds to Win
There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.
All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.
A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.
Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.
Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol.
Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.
If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.
Elimination Props
Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.
Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.
Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups
The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.
Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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