Nevada the betting choice
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
3/26/2004 01:12 am
Larry Evans bet with his head instead of heart Thursday as he decided to put money on the University of Nevada against Georgia Tech in today?s regional semifinal of the NCAA men?s basketball tournament.
?I?ve got a daughter who went to Georgia Tech,? Evans said at the Reno Hilton sports book. ?But business is business.?
Evans, a visitor from Arkansas whose opinions came in a southern drawl, wasn?t a local Wolf Pack fan. He was a gambler looking for a chance to win cash.
?I won on them last week,? said Evans, who bet Nevada when the Pack beat Gonzaga in the tournament?s second round. ?I got on the bandwagon late.?
Nevada has become a betting choice in the tournament.
Georgia Tech was a 4 1/2-point favorite over Nevada at the Hilton. The Pack won its first two games, starting with Michigan State, in the same underdog position.
Evans isn?t the only gambler to become a Pack fan as the tournament progresses. Sports books in Northern Nevada reported increased wagering on the local team, not only by neighborhood boosters wearing Pack T-shirts but also out-of-town bettors playing a hunch.
?They are recognizing this is not a fluke,? Tom Sullivan, director of the Hilton?s race and sports book, said of the reaction by gamblers to Nevada?s tournament success.
At the Club Cal Neva in downtown Reno, the point spread favoring Georgia Tech had dropped to four from 4 1/2, reflecting money being bet on the Pack.
?For this game, they are on Nevada,? said Tony DiTommaso, director of the Cal Neva?s race and sports book.
It?s a shift from the betting in Nevada?s game against Gonzaga, according to DiTommaso, when gamblers went with the highly ranked Bulldogs.
?We did a tremendous amount of business on the (first two) games,? DeTommaso said of gambling on Michigan State and Gonzaga to beat the Pack. ?They were pretty much betting against Nevada.?
It was the same for Harveys Casino Resort at Lake Tahoe.
?The funny thing is, in the last game, when they played Gonzaga, everybody bet Gonzaga,? said Steve Schorr, sports book manager at Harveys. ?It was a big game for us because Nevada won.?
That means Harveys beat the bettors.
But Nevada?s sudden popularity among gamblers is reflected in Cal Neva?s odds on the Pack winning the tournament, which have dropped to 15 to 1 from 30 to 1 last week after opening at 100 to 1.
?The public has taken (the odds) down,? said DeTommaso, whose odds and point spreads, according to sport book operators, may more accurately reflect local betting trends.
The Cal Neva runs books at 17 other casinos in Northern Nevada.
But gamblers at Harrah?s Reno also are picking the Pack against Georgia Tech.
?This is the first game I?ve noticed a lot of wagers on Nevada,? said Ron Ulman, operations supervisor at the Harrah?s race and sports book. ?We weren?t swamped the first two games. For whatever reason, they are on the bandwagon.?
At the Reno Hilton, Wayne Pickard of Tennessee seemed ready to join the rush.
?You like Reno?? Pickard asked a small group of gamblers about Nevada?s chances against Georgia Tech. ?They?re in the WAC (Western Athletic Conference)? I hear people say it?s a lot better league than people think.?
As Pickard considered his tournament choice, another gambler who walked into the Hilton book had no doubts.
?Wear the blue,? said Bob Sheets, dressed in a blue windbreaker with ?NEVADA? spelled out across the front, as he bet on the Pack.
The Hilton?s Sullivan expects to see a lot more fan-bettors such as Sheets before the start of the Nevada-Georgia Tech game.
?They don?t care what the point spread is,? Sullivan said. ?It?s their team.?
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
3/26/2004 01:12 am
Larry Evans bet with his head instead of heart Thursday as he decided to put money on the University of Nevada against Georgia Tech in today?s regional semifinal of the NCAA men?s basketball tournament.
?I?ve got a daughter who went to Georgia Tech,? Evans said at the Reno Hilton sports book. ?But business is business.?
Evans, a visitor from Arkansas whose opinions came in a southern drawl, wasn?t a local Wolf Pack fan. He was a gambler looking for a chance to win cash.
?I won on them last week,? said Evans, who bet Nevada when the Pack beat Gonzaga in the tournament?s second round. ?I got on the bandwagon late.?
Nevada has become a betting choice in the tournament.
Georgia Tech was a 4 1/2-point favorite over Nevada at the Hilton. The Pack won its first two games, starting with Michigan State, in the same underdog position.
Evans isn?t the only gambler to become a Pack fan as the tournament progresses. Sports books in Northern Nevada reported increased wagering on the local team, not only by neighborhood boosters wearing Pack T-shirts but also out-of-town bettors playing a hunch.
?They are recognizing this is not a fluke,? Tom Sullivan, director of the Hilton?s race and sports book, said of the reaction by gamblers to Nevada?s tournament success.
At the Club Cal Neva in downtown Reno, the point spread favoring Georgia Tech had dropped to four from 4 1/2, reflecting money being bet on the Pack.
?For this game, they are on Nevada,? said Tony DiTommaso, director of the Cal Neva?s race and sports book.
It?s a shift from the betting in Nevada?s game against Gonzaga, according to DiTommaso, when gamblers went with the highly ranked Bulldogs.
?We did a tremendous amount of business on the (first two) games,? DeTommaso said of gambling on Michigan State and Gonzaga to beat the Pack. ?They were pretty much betting against Nevada.?
It was the same for Harveys Casino Resort at Lake Tahoe.
?The funny thing is, in the last game, when they played Gonzaga, everybody bet Gonzaga,? said Steve Schorr, sports book manager at Harveys. ?It was a big game for us because Nevada won.?
That means Harveys beat the bettors.
But Nevada?s sudden popularity among gamblers is reflected in Cal Neva?s odds on the Pack winning the tournament, which have dropped to 15 to 1 from 30 to 1 last week after opening at 100 to 1.
?The public has taken (the odds) down,? said DeTommaso, whose odds and point spreads, according to sport book operators, may more accurately reflect local betting trends.
The Cal Neva runs books at 17 other casinos in Northern Nevada.
But gamblers at Harrah?s Reno also are picking the Pack against Georgia Tech.
?This is the first game I?ve noticed a lot of wagers on Nevada,? said Ron Ulman, operations supervisor at the Harrah?s race and sports book. ?We weren?t swamped the first two games. For whatever reason, they are on the bandwagon.?
At the Reno Hilton, Wayne Pickard of Tennessee seemed ready to join the rush.
?You like Reno?? Pickard asked a small group of gamblers about Nevada?s chances against Georgia Tech. ?They?re in the WAC (Western Athletic Conference)? I hear people say it?s a lot better league than people think.?
As Pickard considered his tournament choice, another gambler who walked into the Hilton book had no doubts.
?Wear the blue,? said Bob Sheets, dressed in a blue windbreaker with ?NEVADA? spelled out across the front, as he bet on the Pack.
The Hilton?s Sullivan expects to see a lot more fan-bettors such as Sheets before the start of the Nevada-Georgia Tech game.
?They don?t care what the point spread is,? Sullivan said. ?It?s their team.?
