Sports
Going For Broke
Top teams in college, NFL cleaning up at betting window
October 20th, 2011
Consider what’s happened the last two weeks: The top 10 college teams in the country have played a combined 18 games … and covered the spread 16 times. And lest you think this is just a two-week anomaly, think again. There are 10 undefeated Division I-A teams remaining, and according to Covers.com, those schools have a combined 50-12-1 point-spread record, good for a 79 percent win rate! Read more »
Going For Broke
Two-week reversal of fortune puts bankroll back in black
October 13th, 2011
Tough to say who’s enjoyed a better October to this point: Amanda Knox, Oakland Raiders fans or yours truly. Sure, Knox gained her freedom (literally) when her murder conviction was overturned, and Raiders fans gained their freedom (figuratively) when owner Al Davis, who over the last several years did more harm than good to his franchise, finally passed on. But were either of those events more shocking than me freeing my bankroll from debt in just a single fortnight? Read more »
Going For Broke
First month of football season packed with award-winning moments
October 6th, 2011
Television has the Emmy. Music has the Grammy. Broadway has the Tony. Even the porn business has the Woody. And the sports-betting industry has the … well, nothing. Here, then, are the “Bettys,” which recognize the good, the bad and the “you gotta be freakin’ kidding me!” moments from the first month of the college football and NFL betting seasons. Read more »
Going For Broke
Chargers’ failure to dominate Chiefs hardly a shocking development
September 29th, 2011
When you pick 14 games and win eight of them, including two of your biggest plays, you’re supposed to walk away with some cash. When you put your biggest chunk of cash on the San Diego Chargers, as a two-touchdown-plus favorite, in September … you’re supposed to get fired. Read more »
Auto-Manic
What are Las Vegans most passionate about? It could very well be Their cars. Meet five enthusiasts and their eclectic evidence.
September 22nd, 2011
Las Vegas is great car town. You see things here on a daily basis that are rare and wonderful treats in most other cities: a Ford GT at Fresh & Easy, a 21-window VW bus on Interstate 215, a Trophy Truck doing a couple of laps around the block while the cops aren’t watching. A high percentage of our suburban garages seem to hold some kind of vehicular work in progress, and the backyards … one can only wonder about the treasures they conceal. Read more »
Going For Broke
Unraveling Chiefs to continue downward spiral at hands of Chargers
September 22nd, 2011
Prior to the start of the season, there wasn’t a team in the NFL that I liked less than Kansas City. Well, the Chiefs are 0-2 after losses to the Bills and Lions by a combined score of 89-10. Adding injury to insult, three Chiefs starters (including stud running back Jamaal Charles) are done for the season. Let’s just say I’m keeping my eyes open for a prop on K.C. going 0-16. Read more »
Going For Broke
Utah-USC reversal punctuates tumultuous start to football season
September 15th, 2011
Trailing 17-14 in the waning seconds, Utah’s game-tying field-goal attempt was blocked and returned for a touchdown, giving USC an apparent 23-14 win and spread-cover. However, USC’s sideline was penalized for excessive celebration on the touchdown play, and under new NCAA rules, on-field officials can negate a scoring play for an unsportsmanlike conduct foul, and that’s exactly what these refs did, rewinding the final score to 17-14. “When the refs waved their hands in the air and said ‘The game’s over,’” Lucky's race and sports book director Jimmy Vaccaro says, “everybody from here to Jupiter put in the final score as 17-14 and started paying [Utah] tickets.” Read more »
Going For Broke
Vick, Eagles getting public’s support, but Rams are way to go in season opener
September 8th, 2011
Don’t overreact to opening-week results. In the sports-betting handbook, that tenet ranks somewhere between “never bet on the Buffalo Bills to win the Super Bowl” and “never wager against UNLV when it plays Wisconsin.” Keeping that in mind, here are four things I think we learned after the first week of the 2011 college football season. Read more »
Going For Broke
Arrival of college football helps removes stench of putrid offseason
September 1st, 2011
Thankfully for those involved in the sport (and those who like to wager on it), attention finally shifts from off-the-field hijinks to on-the-field action this weekend, as the 2011 season kicks off with a full slate of Labor Day weekend games. The marquee attraction, ironically, features two of the aforementioned programs under NCAA scrutiny, as No. 3 Oregon and No. 4 LSU hook up at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Sept. 3. Read more »
NBA players taking game to Las Vegas in face of lockout
August 29th, 2011
With the NBA’s lockout of its players threatening the 2011-12 season, some of the league’s top stars are coming to Las Vegas to work on their game. About 50 players will compete in a two-week league at the Impact Basketball training facility on East Sunset Road starting Sept. 12, and play could continue for longer if the lockout drags on. Read more »
