unrelated story, but interesting to the fact of shakey crap!
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BOOKMAKERS HANG DARK CLOUD OVER MAC GAMES, ESPECIALLY TOLEDO?
While bookmakers have no evidence of wrong doing they are still focusing a tremendous amount of attention to what they say are strange betting patterns in the Mid-American Conference, especially those involving Toledo.
Bookmakers say there has been a tremendous amount of line manipulation in the MAC this season and they point to two Saturday games as examples of that. Toledo opened a -10 road favorite at Central Michigan and has been bet down to -7?. In a second game they are watching, Western Michigan opened a -4 home favorite over Kent State and has been bet out to -7.
Pointspread shifts such as this are not uncommon but bookmakers say it is happening too often on MAC games and they have the evidence to prove it, as they have been hit hard by ?middle? bettors. For those not familiar with the term, a ?middle? bettor is one who bets both sides in the same game, laying different prices and then hoping the game falls between that which he gave and that which he took. When that happens he collects both bets.
For instance, if the Toledo-Central Michigan final score falls on an 8 or 9-point difference middle bettors will win on both sides. If the Kent State-Western Michigan falls on a 5 or a 6, they will also collect both bets.
Bookmakers have already been stung twice this season with Toledo?first in the Rockets game at Temple on September 17 and again on their game at Ball State two weeks ago.
In the Temple game, Toledo opened a 30-point favorite and was bet down to -24?. The final score was 42-17, which meant the Rockets won by 25 and the game fell in the middle. This game costs bookmakers tens of thousands of dollars.
In the Ball State game, Toledo opened -19? and was bet out to -23?. The Rockets won that on by 20 points, 34-14, again putting the game in the middle and cost bookmakers another small fortune.
ODDS AGAINST SAME TEAM PRODUCING MULTIPLE
MIDDLES ASTRONOMICAL?
Bookmakers say the odds of one team producing two middle winners during a single season are astronomical and the heavy two-way action on both games was traced to a small group of individuals, all of whom knew one another.
"We may look stupid, but we're not," said one bookmaker from Antigua, "And we will get to the bottom of this."
The mechanics of middle betting tell the entire story, since a middle gives a player 20-1 for his money in a world where most bets return even money on a winning wager. Here is how the middle works, using the Temple-Toledo game as an example.
Bettors would take Temple +30 and then bet in a manner that gave the appearance of continued action on the underdog. When they felt their actions had driven the number as far as it would go, they would step in and bet Toledo -24 ?.
The math is simple: If a person bet $110,000 to win $100,000 on Temple +30 and then made a similar bet on Toledo -24 ?, he is risking just $10,000 to win $200,000 because it is impossible to lose both bets. If the game falls in the middle of the +30 and the -24 ?, he collects $200,000, or gets 20-1 for his money.
Bookmakers have their own crew of investigators studying every aspect of any game with a suspicious betting pattern; from who officiated the games to how touchdowns were scored and if there were bogus penalties or turnovers at key points of the game.
We will keep you informed, but in the meantime, this is one handicapper who is staying away from MAC games. It is an understatement in the world of sports betting to say rather safe than sorry.
