Casinos expecting record-breaking wagering
Associated Press
RENO, Nev. -- Being less than four hours down U.S. Interstate 80 from Oakland, the Raider Nation always has claimed a stronghold in Reno and might help Nevada casinos break the 1998 state record of $77.2 million bet on a Super Bowl. ''This is shaping up as being the biggest Super Bowl ever,'' said Terry Cox, the race and sports director at the Peppermill Hotel Casino in Reno. ''There's a lot of money floating around on this game. We're getting lively two-way action. We're getting big bets, small bets,'' he told the Reno Gazette-Journal. Most of the big bets are on the Tampa Bay Bucs. Most of the small bets are on the Raiders. Cox said it's already apparent there are a lot Raider fans coming to town. ''Invitation only, we have 1,600 people coming here (to the Peppermill) for the parties,'' Cox said. ''I think you'll even see it in Las Vegas. Here, it'll be Raider Central.'' And this time, Cox said the Raiders fans are going to be serious about wagering on the team. Last weekend, Raiders fans made the trip to northern Nevada casinos, but with their team an eight-point favorite over the Tennessee Titans, they generally didn't bet as much as sports books expected. ''Compared to 49er fans, Raiders fans won't bet against their team,'' Cox said. ''Forty-niner fans will say, 'That's too many points,' and will bet the other way. The Raider fans didn't want to lay the eight points against the Titans. They wanted to wait for a better deal (in the Super Bowl).'' ''I think you're going to see a pent-up demand.'' The line has held steady with the Raiders a four-point favorite at most books in northern Nevada and Las Vegas. At offshore books, most places have the Raiders a 3?-point favorite. The Raider Nation has the overwhelming numbers, but the Buc bettors go into the books well armed. ''We opened at four points. We went up to 4? for less than 24 hours. This morning, somebody bet us $100,000 (at four points) on Tampa,'' said Chris Andrews, the Club Cal Neva's vice president of race and sports operations. ''We went down to 3?. I think well go back to four. As more money is bet on the Raiders, the point spread will go up. If more money is bet on the Bucs, the betting line will go down,'' he said. ''The matchup on paper really looks even. I think you can make a good case for either team. They're relatively similar teams. (Jon) Gruden is the coach of one team (Tampa Bay) and he was the coach of the other team. As the thing goes on, I don't have an idea how it's going to play out. That's great for betting.'' Christi Mitchell, a sports book supervisor at Harrah's Reno, said the betting is all on the Raiders both in quantity and quality. She estimates there has been three times the action on the Raiders. ''I have a feeling the Buc money might be later,'' she said. ''It's pretty much the amateurs (making wagers) right now. The real ones are going to wait until Saturday or Sunday morning.'' Uncertainty is the nature of sports betting. Last year, Nevada's total handle on the Patriots and Rams was $71.5 million, the third largest handle in state history. The hold or win for the books was $2.3 million, which was paltry at 3.3 percent compared to XXXV in 2001. Two years ago, the handle was $67.6 million, but the hold was a whopping 16 percent at $11 million. For the game this year, the line has been steady for days, but Dan O'Brien, an oddsmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants, which provides lines for Nevada and offshore books, expects movement. ''We expect the line to go up by the end of the week,'' O'Brien said. ''It wouldn't surprise me if it (the line on the Raiders) would go that high 5? or 6.'' He said it's possible there could be a gap between the lines offshore and in Nevada. He said the offshore books could stay at 3?, even as the number climbs in Nevada, which is affected by the Raider bettors. ''The Raiders could have a big effect, a skewed effect,'' O'Brien said. ''This is one of the few games public money can skew smart money.'' Tom Sullivan, director of race, sports, keno and casino promotions at the Reno Hilton, said he had expected more money to be wagered on the Raiders than has been bet at this point, but doesn't doubt the Raider money is out there. ''Sunday, between (noon) and 3 (p.m.), I think it'll be a feeding frenzy. They'll make their bets,'' Sullivan said. ''I expect a great game. I expect it to be one of the best games we've seen in a Super Bowl.''
UPDATE as of Thursday 11pm 
