LAS VEGAS - Welcome to the first gathering of "Tuesdays with Tuley."
In this new weekly column, we're going to discuss sports betting topics that don't get covered in my other ESPN.com pieces like Friday's "Tuley's Take" and Monday's "Opening Line Report." Sometimes I'll talk about what's going on in the sports books here in Nevada, other times we'll discuss hot betting trends or I'll interview people in the industry.
Now I know what you were thinking: "Wait a minute! He stole that title from Mitch Albom's 1997 New York Times bestseller 'Tuesdays with Morrie'!" But I'm not stealing, I'm borrowing it -- and also invoking my literary license (yes, it's a thing). I'm paying homage and giving it a new twist. In his book, Albom was the writer having weekly conversations with a former professor who was dying from ALS (bringing awareness to the disease 17 years before the first Ice Bucket Challenge) while I'm hoping this will become a destination piece and you'll be spending Tuesdays with me. See the difference?
Besides, my title has alliteration.
The goal is for this to be interactive, so feel free to post in the comments section below about which topics you'd like to see covered or send me questions on Twitter ***********.
Insider PickCenter
PickCenter Wondering which side to take? Check out PickCenter and do your research before making that critical decision. PickCenter
This week we'll start with the biggest sports betting news here in Las Vegas over the summer and leading into the football season: the continued explosion of the SuperContest at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook (formerly known as the LVH SuperContest and before that the Hilton SuperContest).
For those who don't know, the SuperContest costs $1,500 to enter and you make five NFL picks a week against the contest spread. They received a record 1,403 this year, a 35 percent increase from the 1,034 entries last year. I've covered the SuperContest since moving to town in 1998 and the current numbers are mind-boggling. It's reminiscent of the World Series of Poker boom of a decade ago.
The SuperContest was started at the then-Hilton in 1989 after Art Manteris borrowed the idea (see, that wasn't stealing either) from the Castaways Challenge that had been held in the mid-80's at the Castaways Casino on the Strip before it was razed and replaced by the Mirage (which launched a Vegas megaresort building boom at the time). The Castaways Challenge was started in 1978 by the late, great Sonny Reizner, who is also famous for booking "Who Shot J.R.?" bets about the "Dallas" TV cliffhanger in 1980.
For a couple of decades, these contests drew just a few hundred entries of mostly local professional sports bettors as well as a smattering of people from around the country that were aware you could have your weekly picks put in by a local proxy as long as you came to town to sign up in person before the season.
The SuperContest topped the 300-mark for the first time in 2003 and grew to 505 entrants in 2005 before dropping back into the 300's during the recession. In 2010, there were 345 but that was the calm before the storm. And just like the poker boom that was aided by TV exposure on ESPN, the SuperContest also received a big boost from the Worldwide Leader.
That year, ESPN.com writers Bill Simmons (who now heads the Grantland website) and Chad Millman (head of ESPN.com and ESPN the Magazine) entered the SuperContest and talked about it openly in their columns. That, along with more exposure from people talking about it on emerging social media networks, led to a 50 percent increase to 517 entries in 2010. There was another increase of nearly 50 percent to 745 entries in 2012 and the SuperContest was also being talked about on Colin Cowherd's radio show as he gave his five picks every week and would have been in or near the lead most of the season (if he had actually entered). But the point was that word continued to spread and last year crossed the 1,000-mark for the first time.
This year, the 1,403 entries means the prize pool exceeds $2.1 million (with all entry fees returned as prizes to the top 30 finishers) with a first place prize of $736,575. The payday for the champion and only four previous champions will rank ahead of this year's second-place prize of $294,630. When the one-named professional gambler known as Fezzik won back-to-back titles (he's the only two-time winner) in 2008 and 2009, he only won $210,000 and $196,800, respectively.
In Week 1, 21 SuperContestants started with a 5-0 record while 67 started 0-5. The latter are joined by five entrants who didn't submit their picks for Week 1.
Defending champion David Frohardt-Lane went 4-1 and 3-2 on his two entries, while Fezzik started 1-4. Among other notable entrants, Millman was 3-2 while Simmons was 2-3 (and I'm sure he'll write about his bad beat on the Jaguars). I went 1-4 with my @ViewFromVegas, which was tough to do as I'm an underdog-or-pass bettor and dogs went 11-5 ATS in Week 1. I managed to land on four of the losers while going 3-3 ATS in my "Tuley's Take" column. We'll give weekly updates here throughout the season.
Betting industry news and notes
This last section will be where I clean out my reporter's notebook:
? New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie made big news Monday by giving a directive through the state attorney general's office to allow Jersey casinos and racetracks to offer sports betting. This isn't a Las Vegas story, per se, but it clearly would have an impact here, especially since many Nevada casino companies also have properties or do business in New Jersey.
Last May, the William Hill U.S., based in Las Vegas, entered an agreement with Monmouth Park to run its sports book operation if/when New Jersey made it legal. Their CEO, Joe Asher, issued a statement saying: "We are reviewing the Attorney General's directive and the motion filed in U.S. District Court. Obviously, this is a significant development. Like others, we recognize that legalized sports betting is inevitable, and will be a good outcome for customers, states and the sports leagues. In light of our significant investment at Monmouth Park, we are happy that it appears racetracks and casinos in New Jersey will be taking sports bets sooner rather than later."
ESPN Chalk
PickCenter The new ESPN Chalk section is now live. Check out betting coverage for all your favorite sports. Home page ?
If that sound non-committal, there's a reason. The Nevada Gaming Commission has warned licensees that they can't illegally operate in other jurisdictions or they risk losing their Nevada license. Since New Jersey failed in its court battles to overturn the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) that prohibits sports betting in states that weren't grandfathered in at that time, this could be a gray area.
The pro sports leagues are expected to file an injunction against Christie's action, so we'll see where this all leads.
? As mentioned above, NFL underdogs went 11-5 ATS in Week 1 with seven outright upsets: Falcons over Saints, Vikings over Rams, Bengals over Ravens, Titans over Chiefs, Dolphins over Patriots and Panthers over Buccaneers. Home dogs were 2-1 ATS as the Falcons and Dolphins won outright and the Cowboys came up short. * Minnesota, which closed as a consensus 3-point road underdog at St. Louis, won 34-6, thus covering the spread by a whopping 31 points. Since there was no better way of breaking the tie between the 16 spread-covering teams, the Vikes topped the Week 1 NFL ATS Standings.
? As I think you can tell from this column, I'm a big fan of the handicapping contests here in town. I've played in all of them and written about them since moving here in 1998. While it's been exciting to see the SuperContest prosper, it's disappointing that all of its competition has gone by the wayside. Station Casinos, Caesars Palace, South Point, Golden Nugget and Cantor Gaming (now called CG Technology) have all taken on the SuperContest the past decade with high-end contests and all have folded. Even the smaller contests -- some casinos offer free entry while others charge $25 per entry -- that resemble office pools where you just pick NFL games straight up have dwindled in recent years.
********************************
? Besides the usual big crowds we get here every football weekend to watch the games, there's an actual live sporting event bring a lot of people to town this weekend. And, no, I'm not talking about my alma mater, Northern Illinois University, coming here to take on UNLV at 4 p.m. PT. Later Saturday night, around 9 p.m. local time, Floyd Mayweather Jr. puts his undefeated record on the line at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in a rematch against Marcos Maidana. At the host hotel, Mayweather was a 1-9 favorite (minus-900 as a money line, or risk $9 for every $1 you want to profit) as of Tuesday afternoon. Maidana was 6-1. *********************
In this new weekly column, we're going to discuss sports betting topics that don't get covered in my other ESPN.com pieces like Friday's "Tuley's Take" and Monday's "Opening Line Report." Sometimes I'll talk about what's going on in the sports books here in Nevada, other times we'll discuss hot betting trends or I'll interview people in the industry.
Now I know what you were thinking: "Wait a minute! He stole that title from Mitch Albom's 1997 New York Times bestseller 'Tuesdays with Morrie'!" But I'm not stealing, I'm borrowing it -- and also invoking my literary license (yes, it's a thing). I'm paying homage and giving it a new twist. In his book, Albom was the writer having weekly conversations with a former professor who was dying from ALS (bringing awareness to the disease 17 years before the first Ice Bucket Challenge) while I'm hoping this will become a destination piece and you'll be spending Tuesdays with me. See the difference?
Besides, my title has alliteration.
The goal is for this to be interactive, so feel free to post in the comments section below about which topics you'd like to see covered or send me questions on Twitter ***********.
Insider PickCenter
PickCenter Wondering which side to take? Check out PickCenter and do your research before making that critical decision. PickCenter
This week we'll start with the biggest sports betting news here in Las Vegas over the summer and leading into the football season: the continued explosion of the SuperContest at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook (formerly known as the LVH SuperContest and before that the Hilton SuperContest).
For those who don't know, the SuperContest costs $1,500 to enter and you make five NFL picks a week against the contest spread. They received a record 1,403 this year, a 35 percent increase from the 1,034 entries last year. I've covered the SuperContest since moving to town in 1998 and the current numbers are mind-boggling. It's reminiscent of the World Series of Poker boom of a decade ago.
The SuperContest was started at the then-Hilton in 1989 after Art Manteris borrowed the idea (see, that wasn't stealing either) from the Castaways Challenge that had been held in the mid-80's at the Castaways Casino on the Strip before it was razed and replaced by the Mirage (which launched a Vegas megaresort building boom at the time). The Castaways Challenge was started in 1978 by the late, great Sonny Reizner, who is also famous for booking "Who Shot J.R.?" bets about the "Dallas" TV cliffhanger in 1980.
For a couple of decades, these contests drew just a few hundred entries of mostly local professional sports bettors as well as a smattering of people from around the country that were aware you could have your weekly picks put in by a local proxy as long as you came to town to sign up in person before the season.
The SuperContest topped the 300-mark for the first time in 2003 and grew to 505 entrants in 2005 before dropping back into the 300's during the recession. In 2010, there were 345 but that was the calm before the storm. And just like the poker boom that was aided by TV exposure on ESPN, the SuperContest also received a big boost from the Worldwide Leader.
That year, ESPN.com writers Bill Simmons (who now heads the Grantland website) and Chad Millman (head of ESPN.com and ESPN the Magazine) entered the SuperContest and talked about it openly in their columns. That, along with more exposure from people talking about it on emerging social media networks, led to a 50 percent increase to 517 entries in 2010. There was another increase of nearly 50 percent to 745 entries in 2012 and the SuperContest was also being talked about on Colin Cowherd's radio show as he gave his five picks every week and would have been in or near the lead most of the season (if he had actually entered). But the point was that word continued to spread and last year crossed the 1,000-mark for the first time.
This year, the 1,403 entries means the prize pool exceeds $2.1 million (with all entry fees returned as prizes to the top 30 finishers) with a first place prize of $736,575. The payday for the champion and only four previous champions will rank ahead of this year's second-place prize of $294,630. When the one-named professional gambler known as Fezzik won back-to-back titles (he's the only two-time winner) in 2008 and 2009, he only won $210,000 and $196,800, respectively.
In Week 1, 21 SuperContestants started with a 5-0 record while 67 started 0-5. The latter are joined by five entrants who didn't submit their picks for Week 1.
Defending champion David Frohardt-Lane went 4-1 and 3-2 on his two entries, while Fezzik started 1-4. Among other notable entrants, Millman was 3-2 while Simmons was 2-3 (and I'm sure he'll write about his bad beat on the Jaguars). I went 1-4 with my @ViewFromVegas, which was tough to do as I'm an underdog-or-pass bettor and dogs went 11-5 ATS in Week 1. I managed to land on four of the losers while going 3-3 ATS in my "Tuley's Take" column. We'll give weekly updates here throughout the season.
Betting industry news and notes
This last section will be where I clean out my reporter's notebook:
? New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie made big news Monday by giving a directive through the state attorney general's office to allow Jersey casinos and racetracks to offer sports betting. This isn't a Las Vegas story, per se, but it clearly would have an impact here, especially since many Nevada casino companies also have properties or do business in New Jersey.
Last May, the William Hill U.S., based in Las Vegas, entered an agreement with Monmouth Park to run its sports book operation if/when New Jersey made it legal. Their CEO, Joe Asher, issued a statement saying: "We are reviewing the Attorney General's directive and the motion filed in U.S. District Court. Obviously, this is a significant development. Like others, we recognize that legalized sports betting is inevitable, and will be a good outcome for customers, states and the sports leagues. In light of our significant investment at Monmouth Park, we are happy that it appears racetracks and casinos in New Jersey will be taking sports bets sooner rather than later."
ESPN Chalk
PickCenter The new ESPN Chalk section is now live. Check out betting coverage for all your favorite sports. Home page ?
If that sound non-committal, there's a reason. The Nevada Gaming Commission has warned licensees that they can't illegally operate in other jurisdictions or they risk losing their Nevada license. Since New Jersey failed in its court battles to overturn the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) that prohibits sports betting in states that weren't grandfathered in at that time, this could be a gray area.
The pro sports leagues are expected to file an injunction against Christie's action, so we'll see where this all leads.
? As mentioned above, NFL underdogs went 11-5 ATS in Week 1 with seven outright upsets: Falcons over Saints, Vikings over Rams, Bengals over Ravens, Titans over Chiefs, Dolphins over Patriots and Panthers over Buccaneers. Home dogs were 2-1 ATS as the Falcons and Dolphins won outright and the Cowboys came up short. * Minnesota, which closed as a consensus 3-point road underdog at St. Louis, won 34-6, thus covering the spread by a whopping 31 points. Since there was no better way of breaking the tie between the 16 spread-covering teams, the Vikes topped the Week 1 NFL ATS Standings.
? As I think you can tell from this column, I'm a big fan of the handicapping contests here in town. I've played in all of them and written about them since moving here in 1998. While it's been exciting to see the SuperContest prosper, it's disappointing that all of its competition has gone by the wayside. Station Casinos, Caesars Palace, South Point, Golden Nugget and Cantor Gaming (now called CG Technology) have all taken on the SuperContest the past decade with high-end contests and all have folded. Even the smaller contests -- some casinos offer free entry while others charge $25 per entry -- that resemble office pools where you just pick NFL games straight up have dwindled in recent years.
********************************
? Besides the usual big crowds we get here every football weekend to watch the games, there's an actual live sporting event bring a lot of people to town this weekend. And, no, I'm not talking about my alma mater, Northern Illinois University, coming here to take on UNLV at 4 p.m. PT. Later Saturday night, around 9 p.m. local time, Floyd Mayweather Jr. puts his undefeated record on the line at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in a rematch against Marcos Maidana. At the host hotel, Mayweather was a 1-9 favorite (minus-900 as a money line, or risk $9 for every $1 you want to profit) as of Tuesday afternoon. Maidana was 6-1. *********************
