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Sports Betting In Las Vegas: Tips For The Novice

leyla.a/flickr
leyla.a/flickr

With college football’s championship game between Alabama and Clemson set for Monday night.

And, the NFL playoffs kicking off this weekend. Sports books throughout Las Vegas will be packed with gamblers looking to make a few extra bucks wagering on their favorite teams.

If you’re considering placing a bet on a college or NFL football game, but aren’t really sure how, we’ve reached out to Art Manteris to help.

He is vice president of sportsbook operations at Station Casinos. And, he’ll explain what you need to know before betting on Alabama to possibly win another college football championship.

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS

What is a point spread?

The point spread is the equalizer between the two different teams. Generally, one team is considered superior to the other, in this case Alabama is the favorite. So they’re favored by 6.5 or 7 points. That 6.5 or 7 points is supposed to be the equalizer for betting purposes.

So if Alabama is favored, why does it say minus 6 or minus 7?

If you bet on Alabama minus 6.5 points right now, they have to win by 7 or more for you to win your wager. So they don’t just have to win the game they have to win by more than a touchdown.

If I see a certain NFL team is -110, what does that mean?

That’s the money odds you have to put up to win a dollar, or in that case $100. You would bet $110 to win $100 and get back $210, when you cash your winning wager. So, if you’re betting on Alabama today at -6.5 points, you put $110 and they win by 7 or more points, then you would get $210 when you come to the cashier’s window.

How do you decide on the 6.5 or 7 for the point spread for this game?

If these teams had matched up a couple weeks ago the point spread would have been substantially less… So, we did have Alabama versus Clemson some time ago and it was projected at 3.5 point spread at that time but because Alabama looked so dominate last week that did influence the price and the price did go up over just one week’s performance a couple of points.

Don’t sports books set the line so their win is going to be large and how does that play into the number?

Well, we try to work it but it doesn’t always work out that way. In the business of sports gambling, if there’s a potential for a high reward there is also potential for high risk on behalf of the bookmaker or the sports book. We hope to win. We try to win as the betting public does the same. Sometimes the betting public gets the best of it.

There is no guaranteed profit for the sports book. It’s not like horse racing where there is a pari-mutuel take out for the house and the house is guaranteed a win. I frequently hear, ‘You get your 10 percent no matter what.’ Well, that’s completely untrue. We don’t have a 10 percent theoretical edge, we have 4.5 percent theoretical edge in straight sports bets.   

Let’s talk about the over-under on the Green Bay Packers at Washington Redskins game. The number I’ve seen is 50.5.

We have that game at 45.5 right now. So if you bet the over, you’re betting that both teams combined will score 46 points or more to win your wager. You’re laying the 11 to 10, you’re putting up $110 to win $100 same as in point spread wagering. In the under, both teams, if it’s a close, low scoring game, somebody wins, you don’t care who wins, but somebody wins 21-20 that’s under the 45.5, so you would win your wager.

What about the NFL playoffs that start this weekend?

The Pittsburgh game is very close. Pittsburgh is a small favorite. They’re about a 2.5 or 3 point favorite on the road at Cincinnati. That line is clearly impacted by the starting quarterback of the Bengals being hurt right now, Andy Dalton. It’s a shame for the Bengals. They had a very good season and they are home but they are without their star quarterback.

The Steelers are hot and they are hungry. They’re a team that can go quite far in the playoffs.

Will one team generate interest from gamblers? And why?

The Steelers are generally a popular public team. And what is a good analysis of general betting trends for a particular team is equating it to popularity in TV ratings. Generally, if a team generates real good national TV ratings, that’s usually indicative of their popularity with the betting public as well.

Who is favored to win the Super Bowl?

Going into the playoffs, the Cardinals and the Panthers are co-favorites to win it all, right now. They’re both hungry and ready. They both have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Panthers are of course the number one seed. So, if it comes down to those two teams matched up, it will be in Carolina. The Seahawks are right behind them. They’re the third choice in the NFC.     

Art Manteris, vice president sportsbook operations, Station Casinos

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