You're welcome, glad to help.
The "TRAP!" game people are still out there, I see them from time to time but I don't try to explain it to them because as they say, "There are none so blind as those who are not willing to see."
The "Trap" myth is similar to the "Vegas Fixes Games" myth, and the "Sharp Money/Public Money, Reverse Line Movement, Wise Guy's are on" myth.
Are games fixed?
It's happened. But not by a Vegas casino.
I told a story about this in another thread, I'll find it and post here in case anyone is interested.
As for "Sharp vs Public money" - I've been meaning to address that in a post, but haven't made time to do so yet. It will likely open a can of worms, like I said, "There are none so blind" etc, but I won't be posting the info for the need-to-believe'ers. If even one person opens their eyes it will be worth the time to share a little reality.
On Vegas fixing games . . .
To believe Vegas fixes games shows a staggering ignorance of the typical handle at a sports book as a % of annual revenue at a casino/hotel, not to mention the fear they have of the Nevada Gaming Commission.
True story, from a Super Bowl years ago:
A guy is screaming at one of my ticket writers. He had a $200 prop bet, * Strahan Over 3' tackles.
Strahan had 3, when Head Coach Coughlin pulls him out late in the fourth quarter.
The bettor swears that Strahan did not play the last series because we didn't want him to get a fourth tackle to make his ticket a winner. He actually accused us of having Strahan taken out of the game.
I asked, "So, let me get this straight. You think that we have Tom Coughlin's personal cell phone number.
And we called him. And he answered, DURING the Super Bowl, and we told him to pull Strahan, and he did, all so that you wouldn't be able to collect on a $200.00 bet. Is that correct?"
And he looked at me, straight-faced, and said, "Yes."
This fool actually believed it.
He kept making a scene demanding a refund, so security removed him from the property.
They should have taken him to the loony bin.
Yes, game are fixed, history has proven that (just ask Tim Donaghy.)
Players, refs, coaches? Sure.
But not by Vegas.
* I have the year right, and know it was a prop on "Total number of tackles made." I may be incorrect in remembering it was Strahan, but the gist of the story is accurate.
Here's one more:
Years ago, there was a power outage that caused a football game to be stopped early. Wisconsin was in town to play the Rebels, at Sam Boyd Stadium. According to NGC laws, a contest has to go X amount of minutes for it to be official, otherwise the game must be refunded.
The Badgers were leading 27-7, and covering the spread, when the game was called.
Bettors with their money on Wisconson were pissed, and rightfully so, when they tried to collect on their bet but were given a refund.
The NGC Rules are posted in every sportsbook, for all to see.
There was no disputing the game qualified as a cancelled wager due to the early stoppage, but many Wisconsin bettors from across the country posted nonsense about the Vegas books calling Sam Boyd and telling them to shut the power to avoid paying out Badger bettors.
Setting aside the common sense that should inform a normal thinking person that the guys who run the power grid aren't in cahoots with and at the beck and call of the sportsbooks, this flies in the face of basic math and finance, as I noted yesterday:
To say Vegas books fix games, shows a staggering ignorance of:
the typical handle at a sportsbook as a % of annual revenue at a casino/hotel,
and the fear these businesses have of the Nevada Gaming Commission.
And to that, I'll add one other common sense tidbit: the knuckleheads screaming "FIX!" had no idea how much money was wagered at each house, side and total. The line rose due to Wisconsin money coming in, but at my house we had a few large bets on UNLV, and stood to profit off the game.
So, when"Vegas fixes games" do we, the bookmakers, contact each other to see who needs which team to win?
What if I need Team A, and another book needs Team B, how do we decide which way to fix the game?
The very concept is ridiculous.
And, the Badger betters also had no idea how much money was taken on the total, and if the house needed the Under or Over. The game was a sure Under, and what if houses had more money bet on the Over than on the Badgers, and the books also lost money there?
The entire concept that Vegas books are in cahoots on fixing games is nonsense.
Whenever you hear this nonsense, consider the source - it's always a guy who is angry because he lost his bet.
