Nevada books drop Metro, Big Sky,
Southern and OVC hoops

By Stephen Nover
Senior Sports Analyst
Nov. 11, 1998

LAS VEGAS -- You might think with the NBA season starting
late, if at all,
Nevada sports books would increase their college
basketball menu.

Wrong.

Sports books are actually cutting back, dropping four
conferences.

We're not talking major conferences here, but no longer
will the Nevada Sports
Schedule rotation contain the Metro Atlantic, Big Sky,
Southern and Ohio
Valley conferences.

Las Vegas Sports Consultants, the oddsmaking firm created
by Roxy
Roxborough, won't be making odds on these conferences.

SINCE MOST OF THE SPORTS BOOKS IN NEVADA use Roxborough, few
are going to take betting action on these conferences.

In addition, the Ivy League has been reduced to added
board conference
status. This means some sports books will cut them off,
too, since their
games are now considered optional by bookmakers.

Roxborough is out of the country and couldn't be reached
for comment. John
Harper, a senior oddsmaker for Las Vegas Sports
Consultants, said the
decision to drop these conferences was made last spring by
Roxborough in
consultation with bookmakers and others in the gaming
industry.

"It's not a great situation either way," Harper said.
"Some (bookmakers) want
more. Some want less. There's not a consensus either way."

Without Roxborough's odds, it's going to be rare to find a
line anywhere on
these conferences.

LEROY'S, THE MIRAGE AND STARDUST, all of whom have
reputations for
booking minor conferences, will not take action on the
Metro Atlantic, Big
Sky, Southern and Ohio Valley conferences.

"We're only going to book what's in the schedule," said
Robert Walker, race
and sports book director at The Mirage. "There's so many
college basketball
games. There's never a shortage."

These conferences didn't exactly draw heavy volume.

"It's a case of not a lot of public interest in those
teams and conferences,"
said Bob Scucci, sports book manager at the Stardust. "We
don't get much
action on them. The only people who really bet them are
the professional
gamblers."

Without Roxborough's input, many bookmakers don't have the
time or
expertise to make odds on smaller conferences.

"We really don't have time to keep up with those four
conferences," said Jeff
Sherman, a sports book supervisor at the Imperial Palace.
"We're not
anticipating doing them.

"It's not worth it to do on our own because we have to
keep up with everything
else. If we had more time and manpower, we would. But we
just don't. I wish
we could."

The argument in not making lines on these conferences is
they aren't worth
the time and effort for the little action they draw.

THEY ALSO ARE TOUGH BETTING NUMBERS to make, and usually the
people wagering on them are professional gamblers.

"It should help our lines on the other games," Harper said.

This could mean a sharper line, since the oddsmakers won't
have daily NBA
work to do until at least late December.

But with no NBA, why take away betting items?

Rich Baccellieri, sports book manager at Caesars Palace,
agrees.

"College basketball is (bet by) all professionals until
February and March, so
what's the difference what conferences you use," he said.
"You do the best
you can. You move the numbers. You respect the player
(bettor)."

Caesars has booked these conferences the past few years,
and Baccellieri
says they will continue.

The past few years, including this season, Caesars hasn't
booked the NBA
and NHL because of their ownership's involvement with the
New York Knicks
and New York Rangers.

"Very true," Baccellieri said when this was pointed out.
"Except this year, no
one has NBA."

BACCELLIERI IS ALARMED BY THE DOWNWARD TREND in sports
wagering in Nevada. Even though sports betting is at an
all-time high in
popularity, state handle was down last year, due in large
part to a decrease in
professional, wise-guy action.

"Everything seems to be going backwards," Baccellieri
said. "Let's move
forward. I refuse to see this industry drop down any lower.

"I want to see the creativeness move forward. It's very
stagnant right now, with
books not taking any (big) limits, everything that has
gone on with the
(Binion's) Horseshoe and with closing of phone accounts.

"It's time to stop. I'm not saying this is going to make a
big difference. I'm just
saying I'm not taking a step backward. People want to
gamble. People want to
bet. Give them things to bet on and keep trying to create
new things for them
to bet on."

Monday and Friday are slow days during winter for
bookmakers because few
basketball games are played.

The Imperial Palace's Sherman said his place could put up
some games
involving non-board teams during those slow days.

"During a light schedule, say a Monday where there might
be only four games,
we might throw some of the better ones up there," he said.

"Let's say Iona were to play Syracuse, a regular board
team which would
command more interest. We might put something like that up
on an irregular
basis."

EVEN THOUGH THE IVY LEAGUE HAS BEEN reduced to added board
status, meaning they are listed on the Nevada Sports
Schedule betting
rotation after all other games, hotels might consider
booking them, especially
on Friday when they're sometimes the only conference in
action.

"There's a lot more interest in the Ivy League in
basketball than there is in Ivy
League football," oddsmaker Harper said. "Ivy baskets is
more competitive,
and Princeton and Penn have been always been (good) teams.

"Ivy football has faded away."

IT looks like the only 2 "ADDED" conferences
left are the SUN BELT and MCC........

Add the WEST COAST CONF. to the 2 above....

Well it was fun while it lasted for myself.