RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 10/23/2007
As a 9-year-old, John Pinto was too young to bet on the sixth game of the 1975 World Series, one of the most famous ever played.
So Pinto sat in the living room of his Reno home, acting as a good luck charm for his father, who had $500 on the Boston Red Sox against the Cincinnati Reds.
"My dad wouldn't let me go to bed or leave the couch," said Pinto, sports book director at downtown Reno's Silver Legacy Resort Casino, where he'll be taking bets on this year's World Series between the Red Sox and Colorado Rockies.
It starts Wednesday.
In 1975, the Sox won the sixth game on a Carlton Fisk home run in the bottom of the 12th inning. The Reds won the Series in seven games, but the Fisk homer is the highlight many people, including Pinto, remember.
"When I moved here, the first game I watched on TV was the sixth game of the '75 series," said Pinto, a Red Sox fan since his long night on the couch. "If my dad didn't make me watch that baseball game that night, I don't know if I'm a Red Sox fan today."
But he is. He's picking them to beat the Rockies.
"The American League is so superior to the National League," said Pinto, sitting on a couch with his 4-month-old daughter Sunday, watching the Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians to win the American League championship.
The Red Sox are favored to defeat Colorado Wednesday and win the Series.
"I don't think the Rockies pitching can shut down the Red Sox bats," said Steve Mikkelson, sports book director at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino. "The Red Sox will score on every (pitcher) they throw out there."
At Harrah's Reno, sports book director Ron Ulman isn't so sure.
"Everbody bets the Red Sox," Ulman said. "But you have two things going on. We've got a lot of Colorado people in town. The Rockies will get a little more play than you think. Bet the team on a streak. Nobody has been on a streak like the Colorado Rockies."
The Rockies have won 21 of their last 22 games, including
10 straight, the last four in a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the National League pennant. But they haven't played in eight days, waiting for Boston to win its American League series against Cleveland in seven games.
"I kind of like the Rockies," said Chuck Thomas, sports book director at downtown Reno's Circus Circus Hotel Casino. "They are so hot."
For much of the season, Colorado was a long shot.
"There is a buzz going around," Thomas said. "Six weeks ago, you could still bet the Rockies at 100 to 1 to win the World Series. We kept it at 100 to 1 for a long time."
Now it's 2 to 1.
"There were some long odds on them," said Terry Cox, sports book director at Reno's Peppermill Hotel Casino. "But not too many people bet on them."
Cox and other casino book makers expect a busy World Series. But it's not the Super Bowl.
"You can't compare anything to football wagering," Ulman said.
If you're not a regular baseball bettor, there are things you'll probably want to learn before placing World Series wager.
"You have to do a lot of explaining," Thomas said. "What the minus means and what the plus means."
In football, you bet the point spread. In baseball, it's the money line.
"Baseball is harder to bet than other sports," Ulman said.
At the Silver Legacy, the Red Sox, with 20-game winner Josh Beckett the starting pitcher, are a minus $2.10 favorite. The Rockies, with Jeff Francis the starting pitcher, are a plus $1.75 underdog.
"If you see a 'minus,' you have to put up that much money to win $1," Pinto said. "It gets complicated."
Pinto explained Series betting like this:
"If you see a 'minus,' you lay $210 to win $100. You get the $210, plus the $100 you won. You get $310."
That's if the Red Sox win.
If you bet the underdog Rockies in the first game, at plus $1.75, here's what happens:
"For every $1 you bet, you will win $1.75," Pinto said. "You (bet) $100 to win $175. You walk out with $275."
Maybe it sounds complicated. But Mikkelson figures betting baseball is easier than trying to beat the point spreads of football and basketball.
"All you have to do is win the game," Mikkelson said. "You aren't covering point spreads. All you have to do is win. For the serious bettor, I think it's the easiest to make money at."
Posted: 10/23/2007
As a 9-year-old, John Pinto was too young to bet on the sixth game of the 1975 World Series, one of the most famous ever played.
So Pinto sat in the living room of his Reno home, acting as a good luck charm for his father, who had $500 on the Boston Red Sox against the Cincinnati Reds.
"My dad wouldn't let me go to bed or leave the couch," said Pinto, sports book director at downtown Reno's Silver Legacy Resort Casino, where he'll be taking bets on this year's World Series between the Red Sox and Colorado Rockies.
It starts Wednesday.
In 1975, the Sox won the sixth game on a Carlton Fisk home run in the bottom of the 12th inning. The Reds won the Series in seven games, but the Fisk homer is the highlight many people, including Pinto, remember.
"When I moved here, the first game I watched on TV was the sixth game of the '75 series," said Pinto, a Red Sox fan since his long night on the couch. "If my dad didn't make me watch that baseball game that night, I don't know if I'm a Red Sox fan today."
But he is. He's picking them to beat the Rockies.
"The American League is so superior to the National League," said Pinto, sitting on a couch with his 4-month-old daughter Sunday, watching the Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians to win the American League championship.
The Red Sox are favored to defeat Colorado Wednesday and win the Series.
"I don't think the Rockies pitching can shut down the Red Sox bats," said Steve Mikkelson, sports book director at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino. "The Red Sox will score on every (pitcher) they throw out there."
At Harrah's Reno, sports book director Ron Ulman isn't so sure.
"Everbody bets the Red Sox," Ulman said. "But you have two things going on. We've got a lot of Colorado people in town. The Rockies will get a little more play than you think. Bet the team on a streak. Nobody has been on a streak like the Colorado Rockies."
The Rockies have won 21 of their last 22 games, including
10 straight, the last four in a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the National League pennant. But they haven't played in eight days, waiting for Boston to win its American League series against Cleveland in seven games.
"I kind of like the Rockies," said Chuck Thomas, sports book director at downtown Reno's Circus Circus Hotel Casino. "They are so hot."
For much of the season, Colorado was a long shot.
"There is a buzz going around," Thomas said. "Six weeks ago, you could still bet the Rockies at 100 to 1 to win the World Series. We kept it at 100 to 1 for a long time."
Now it's 2 to 1.
"There were some long odds on them," said Terry Cox, sports book director at Reno's Peppermill Hotel Casino. "But not too many people bet on them."
Cox and other casino book makers expect a busy World Series. But it's not the Super Bowl.
"You can't compare anything to football wagering," Ulman said.
If you're not a regular baseball bettor, there are things you'll probably want to learn before placing World Series wager.
"You have to do a lot of explaining," Thomas said. "What the minus means and what the plus means."
In football, you bet the point spread. In baseball, it's the money line.
"Baseball is harder to bet than other sports," Ulman said.
At the Silver Legacy, the Red Sox, with 20-game winner Josh Beckett the starting pitcher, are a minus $2.10 favorite. The Rockies, with Jeff Francis the starting pitcher, are a plus $1.75 underdog.
"If you see a 'minus,' you have to put up that much money to win $1," Pinto said. "It gets complicated."
Pinto explained Series betting like this:
"If you see a 'minus,' you lay $210 to win $100. You get the $210, plus the $100 you won. You get $310."
That's if the Red Sox win.
If you bet the underdog Rockies in the first game, at plus $1.75, here's what happens:
"For every $1 you bet, you will win $1.75," Pinto said. "You (bet) $100 to win $175. You walk out with $275."
Maybe it sounds complicated. But Mikkelson figures betting baseball is easier than trying to beat the point spreads of football and basketball.
"All you have to do is win the game," Mikkelson said. "You aren't covering point spreads. All you have to do is win. For the serious bettor, I think it's the easiest to make money at."
