Las Vegas 400 coming to town
The Auto Club 500 Sprint Cup (for those who don't recognize that Cup, it's the same as the Nextel Cup of recent vintage and the longtime Winston Cup) race in Fontana, Calif., was delayed by rain Sunday on three separate occasions. I was actually looking forward to the scheduled restart at 11 p.m. Sunday as it seemed like a nice time to do some work while watching the race with the rest of the family sound asleep, but the track was unable to get dried out and they pushed it back again to 10 a.m. Monday.
The skies cleared and the race was concluded with Carl Edwards, who had been the 13-1 sixth choice at Station Casinos winning the race. The circuit now moves here to Las Vegas, where those people coming from California will be joined by NASCAR fans from all over the country who like to make Las Vegas one of the most popular stops, so popular that Bruton Smith, who owns Las Vegas Motor Speedway, is considering moving one of the 11 other Cup races that are run at his six other tracks to give Vegas a second date on the NASCAR calendar (and some people speculate he will make an announcement this week).
The UAW-Dodge 400 Sprint Cup race is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sunday and last year drew 156,000 spectators, but it's not the only game/race in town. There is also the qualifying on Friday that draws huge crowds (especially among those who can't get tickets on the weekend) and the Sam's Town 300 Nationwide Series (formerly Busch) race on Saturday and a bevy of other local activities that bring in money for LVMS, NASCAR and the city. In all, there was an estimated non-gaming economic impact of $133.9 million last year according to the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Bureau, and as the name states that doesn't include gambling from the 300,000 people who are expected to be in town. Here are some other activities as NASCAR drivers continue to be among the most accessible to their fans (more are expected to be added at lvms.com:
THURSDAY, FEB. 28
Clint Bowyer - Orleans Hotel & Casino, 5-6:30 p.m.
Kurt Busch - Sierra Gold Tavern, 6515 South Jones Blvd., 7-9 p.m.
Tony Stewart - Home Depot, 6025 South Pecos Road, 5-7 p.m.
Kasey Kahne - Stratosphere Hotel & Casino, 5-7 p.m. (must obtain wristbands at casino at Noon on Feb. 27 and 28).
Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, David Ragan, Jason Keller - Speedway Children's Charities NASCAR Driver Auction, Sam's Town Hotel & Gambling Hall, starts at 6 p.m. (Admission: $35).
FRIDAY, FEB. 29
Kurt Busch - Palms Hotel & Casino (concert area), 7:30-9 p.m.
Kenny Wallace - The Joint (Hard Rock Hotel & Casino), 8:30 p.m.
Jamie McMurray - TI Hotel & Casino, 7 p.m. (details TBA)
Brad Keselowski, Landon Cassill - Stratosphere Hotel & Casino, 9-10 p.m.
SUNDAY, MARCH 2
Kurt Busch - Autographs at souvenir hauler, 10-10:30 a.m.
As for Sunday's race itself, Jimmie Johnson is the 7-1 favorite at Station Casinos, which always has the most comprehensive auto racing menu thanks to oddsmaker Micah Roberts. Here's the full list of odds to win the race:
Odds to win UAW-Dodge 400
Jimmie Johnson 7/1
Jeff Gordon 8/1
Matt Kenseth 8/1
Tony Stewart 10/1
Denny Hamlin 10/1
Kyle Busch 11/1
Carl Edwards 12/1
Greg Biffle 13/1
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 13/1
Kurt Busch 17/1
Casey Mears 20/1
Kasey Kahne 20/1
Ryan Newman 20/1
Jamie McMurray 25/1
Kevin Harvick 25/1
Martin Truex Jr. 25/1
Mark Martin 25/1
Clint Bowyer 28/1
Jeff Burton 30/1
Juan Pablo Montoya 30/1
Reed Sorenson 32/1
Elliott Sadler 45/1
Dario Franchitti 45/1
David Ragan 60/1
Sam Hornish Jr. 65/1
A.J. Allmendinger 70/1
Dave Blaney 75/1
Patrick Carpentier 75/1
Brian Vickers 75/1
Paul Menard 75/1
Scott Riggs 75/1
David Reutimann 100/1
Dale Jarrett 100/1
Michael Waltrip 100/1
Robby Gordon 125/1
Regan Smith 125/1
Jeremy Mayfield 150/1
Bobby Labonte 150/1
J.J. Yeley 175/1
Joe Nemechek 200/1
Travis Kvapil 250/1
David Gilliland 250/1
Ken Schrader 500/1
Kyle Petty 500/1
Burney Lamar 500/1
Field (all others) 150/1
However, just like any big sporting event, proposition wagering continues to get more popular. Stations has 10 head-to-head matchups in which you try to pick which driver will finish ahead of the other driver, plus another eight four-way groups in which you try to pick the top finisher among those listed. And then there's the really interesting props:
WINNING CAR NUMBER
CAR #'s 00-26 -120
CAR #'s 27-99 -110
WINNING CAR NUMBER
ODD NUMBER +120
EVEN NUMBER -150
WINNING MANUFACTURER
FORD, DODGE, or TOYOTA +105
CHEVROLET -135
WILL A HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS DRIVER WIN
(GORDON, JOHNSON, EARNHARDT JR, & MEARS MUST ALL START FOR ACTION)
YES +200
NO -250
WILL DRIVER TO LEAD MOST LAPS WIN RACE
YES +130
NO -160
MARGIN OF VICTORY
OVER 1.619 SECONDS +110
UNDER 1.619 SECONDS -140
MORE TOP 10 FINISHERS IN UAW-DODGE
DODGE -120
FORD -110
LAS VEGAS' BUSCH BROTHERS EACH IN TOP 15
YES, BOTH IN TOP 15 +120
NO, BOTH NOT IN TOP 15 -150
NEVADA vs NORTH CAROLINA
BETTER FINISH: DRIVER FROM NEVADA or NO. CAROLINA?
NEVADA -110
NORTH CAROLINA -120
(DRIVERS HOMETOWN AS LISTED BY NASCAR; Nevada: KURT & KYLE BUSCH; North Carolina: DALE JR, K PETTY, JARRETT, VICKERS, RIGGS)
FORMER LV CUP RACE WINNER WINS 2008 RACE
YES +180
NO -220
(PAST WINNERS: MARTIN, J BURTON, J GORDON, MARLIN, KENSETH, & J JOHNSON)
UAW-DODGE 400 EXACTA
CHEVY - CHEVY 9/2
CHEVY - FORD 5/1
CHEVY - DODGE 10/1
CHEVY - TOYOTA 8/1
FORD - FORD 12/1
FORD - CHEVY 8/1
FORD - DODGE 20/1
FORD - TOYOTA 12/1
DODGE - DODGE 35/1
DODGE - CHEVY 28/1
DODGE - FORD 30/1
DODGE - TOYOTA 30/1
TOYOTA - TOYOTA 18/1
TOYOTA - CHEVY 13/1
TOYOTA - FORD 18/1
TOYOTA - DODGE 25/1
Tiger Woods continues domination
That's a lot of odds and some rather big payoffs. Golf betting hasn't returned many big payoffs lately, especially in the events involving Tiger Woods (note: my favorite sports story from the weekend was when I tried to tell my 5-year-old daughter Jordyn about Tiger Woods; she started giggling uncontrollably; I asked her what was so funny and she said "because he's not in the woods and he's not a tiger" — OK, maybe you have to be a parent of a young child to appreciate that). However, it has been profitable for those who have continued to back Woods even at low odds as he has won 10 of his last 16 tournaments.
Heading into last weekend, the Las Vegas Hilton had Woods at 2-1 to win the 64-players, single-elimination WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Tucson, Ariz. He was nearly upset in the first round last Wednesday as a -450 favorite over J.B. Holmes. Woods rolled through the rest of the competition and in Sunday's 36-hole final vs. Stewart Cink, Woods was a -500 favorite, though bettors took Cink and Woods was lowered to -450 by the time the match started. Woods dominated start to finish and clinched the victory 8-and-7, which means he was up by eight holes with seven to play, so the mercy rule was invoked.
Jeff Sherman, golf oddsmaker at the Hilton, lowered Woods from even money to 4-5 to win the Masters on April 10-13. Phil Mickelson has been raised to 10-1, followed by Ernie Els at 25-1, Padraig Harrington and Adam Scott at 30-1, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk and Justin Rose at 35-1, and Sergio Garcia at 40-1.
In this week's Honda Classic, which Woods is not playing, Els is the 12-1 favorites followed by Rose, Garcia and Luke Donald at 20-1, and Justin Leonard and Boo Weekley at 25-1.
College hoops heating up
The weekend's Bracket Buster matchups and No. 2 Tennessee's upset of No. 1 Memphis really gets the juices flowing for March Madness. Tennessee, with a record of 25-2, is now the unanimous No. 1 team in the USA Today/ESPN Poll, but they're only No. 4 in the Top 30 Oddsmakers' Poll by Las Vegas Sports Consultants, where UCLA is the No. 1 rated team followed by North Carolina and Kansas.
UCLA is also the favorite in the future-book odds by LVSC at 9-2, followed by North Carolina, Kansas and Memphis at 5-1,Tennessee at 7-1, Duke at 8-1, and Georgetown at 10-1. The great thing about this debate is that it will be settled on the court.
* The Leroy's College Challenge has two weeks remaining and it's really competitive at the top. Among the six competitors tied for first with a record of 34-22 is BobbyW, who won the football contest. The others tied for the lead are Lee Sager Jr., David Miller 3, Sahari Munoz, Mia Miller and Tommy P. Three people are a game back at 33-23 with eight tied for 10th through 17th at 32-24. Prizes are paid to the Top 16 finishers. My ViewFromVegas entry is just off the pace in 18th at 31-25 after going 4-3 last week.
Fine tribute for Lynda Collins
A week ago Sunday, journalist Lynda Collins passed away at the age of 61. Many of you knew her from her contributions to the ViewFromVegas.com website as well as her work over the years covering the Las Vegas betting scene, especially the high-end football contests. For her full obituary and a look at how she was a pioneer for female sports writers, go to the Las Vegas Review-Journal website.
When I met with the family to discuss having a memorial service, we all agreed that Lynda wouldn't have any fuss made about her — she was always intent on making others the center of attention — and that she wouldn't want to inconvenience anyone or interrupt their sports action. We settled on an informal gathering at the Plaza in downtown Las Vegas where she used to go when covering the pro bowlers tour in the mid-1980s from 5-7 p.m. Friday so it would be after the day's races in Southern California and not on a much busier college basketball Saturday when a lot of her friends would be busy. As expected, most of those who came by to pay their respects were oddsmakers and handicappers from around town, but I want to share one other story:
Around 6 p.m., a tall guy, probably about 6-foot-6 in his early 40s, walked in wearing a suit. He was scouting out the room like he looking for someone — but also had a look on his face like someone who didn't know what the person he was meeting looks like. He walked up and asked if this was the get-together for Lynda Collins. When we told him it was, he lit up and told his story. He said he's not the kind of guy who ever even glances at the obituaries but it just so happened that his wife was looking for an obituary of someone she knew and asked him to check the R-J on Friday. When he did, he saw that Lynda had died and felt like he needed to come down and pay his respects. He said his name was Steve Stallworth and he was the starting quarterback at UNLV in the mid-1980s and Lynda covered that beat. He said he hasn't seen her in 20 years but that he always remembered the name because all the clips in his scrapbook have her byline and he would show it to his kids while they were growing up. I just thought that was the coolest thing and a great tribute to Lynda.
The skies cleared and the race was concluded with Carl Edwards, who had been the 13-1 sixth choice at Station Casinos winning the race. The circuit now moves here to Las Vegas, where those people coming from California will be joined by NASCAR fans from all over the country who like to make Las Vegas one of the most popular stops, so popular that Bruton Smith, who owns Las Vegas Motor Speedway, is considering moving one of the 11 other Cup races that are run at his six other tracks to give Vegas a second date on the NASCAR calendar (and some people speculate he will make an announcement this week).
The UAW-Dodge 400 Sprint Cup race is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sunday and last year drew 156,000 spectators, but it's not the only game/race in town. There is also the qualifying on Friday that draws huge crowds (especially among those who can't get tickets on the weekend) and the Sam's Town 300 Nationwide Series (formerly Busch) race on Saturday and a bevy of other local activities that bring in money for LVMS, NASCAR and the city. In all, there was an estimated non-gaming economic impact of $133.9 million last year according to the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Bureau, and as the name states that doesn't include gambling from the 300,000 people who are expected to be in town. Here are some other activities as NASCAR drivers continue to be among the most accessible to their fans (more are expected to be added at lvms.com:
THURSDAY, FEB. 28
Clint Bowyer - Orleans Hotel & Casino, 5-6:30 p.m.
Kurt Busch - Sierra Gold Tavern, 6515 South Jones Blvd., 7-9 p.m.
Tony Stewart - Home Depot, 6025 South Pecos Road, 5-7 p.m.
Kasey Kahne - Stratosphere Hotel & Casino, 5-7 p.m. (must obtain wristbands at casino at Noon on Feb. 27 and 28).
Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, David Ragan, Jason Keller - Speedway Children's Charities NASCAR Driver Auction, Sam's Town Hotel & Gambling Hall, starts at 6 p.m. (Admission: $35).
FRIDAY, FEB. 29
Kurt Busch - Palms Hotel & Casino (concert area), 7:30-9 p.m.
Kenny Wallace - The Joint (Hard Rock Hotel & Casino), 8:30 p.m.
Jamie McMurray - TI Hotel & Casino, 7 p.m. (details TBA)
Brad Keselowski, Landon Cassill - Stratosphere Hotel & Casino, 9-10 p.m.
SUNDAY, MARCH 2
Kurt Busch - Autographs at souvenir hauler, 10-10:30 a.m.
As for Sunday's race itself, Jimmie Johnson is the 7-1 favorite at Station Casinos, which always has the most comprehensive auto racing menu thanks to oddsmaker Micah Roberts. Here's the full list of odds to win the race:
Odds to win UAW-Dodge 400
Jimmie Johnson 7/1
Jeff Gordon 8/1
Matt Kenseth 8/1
Tony Stewart 10/1
Denny Hamlin 10/1
Kyle Busch 11/1
Carl Edwards 12/1
Greg Biffle 13/1
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 13/1
Kurt Busch 17/1
Casey Mears 20/1
Kasey Kahne 20/1
Ryan Newman 20/1
Jamie McMurray 25/1
Kevin Harvick 25/1
Martin Truex Jr. 25/1
Mark Martin 25/1
Clint Bowyer 28/1
Jeff Burton 30/1
Juan Pablo Montoya 30/1
Reed Sorenson 32/1
Elliott Sadler 45/1
Dario Franchitti 45/1
David Ragan 60/1
Sam Hornish Jr. 65/1
A.J. Allmendinger 70/1
Dave Blaney 75/1
Patrick Carpentier 75/1
Brian Vickers 75/1
Paul Menard 75/1
Scott Riggs 75/1
David Reutimann 100/1
Dale Jarrett 100/1
Michael Waltrip 100/1
Robby Gordon 125/1
Regan Smith 125/1
Jeremy Mayfield 150/1
Bobby Labonte 150/1
J.J. Yeley 175/1
Joe Nemechek 200/1
Travis Kvapil 250/1
David Gilliland 250/1
Ken Schrader 500/1
Kyle Petty 500/1
Burney Lamar 500/1
Field (all others) 150/1
However, just like any big sporting event, proposition wagering continues to get more popular. Stations has 10 head-to-head matchups in which you try to pick which driver will finish ahead of the other driver, plus another eight four-way groups in which you try to pick the top finisher among those listed. And then there's the really interesting props:
WINNING CAR NUMBER
CAR #'s 00-26 -120
CAR #'s 27-99 -110
WINNING CAR NUMBER
ODD NUMBER +120
EVEN NUMBER -150
WINNING MANUFACTURER
FORD, DODGE, or TOYOTA +105
CHEVROLET -135
WILL A HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS DRIVER WIN
(GORDON, JOHNSON, EARNHARDT JR, & MEARS MUST ALL START FOR ACTION)
YES +200
NO -250
WILL DRIVER TO LEAD MOST LAPS WIN RACE
YES +130
NO -160
MARGIN OF VICTORY
OVER 1.619 SECONDS +110
UNDER 1.619 SECONDS -140
MORE TOP 10 FINISHERS IN UAW-DODGE
DODGE -120
FORD -110
LAS VEGAS' BUSCH BROTHERS EACH IN TOP 15
YES, BOTH IN TOP 15 +120
NO, BOTH NOT IN TOP 15 -150
NEVADA vs NORTH CAROLINA
BETTER FINISH: DRIVER FROM NEVADA or NO. CAROLINA?
NEVADA -110
NORTH CAROLINA -120
(DRIVERS HOMETOWN AS LISTED BY NASCAR; Nevada: KURT & KYLE BUSCH; North Carolina: DALE JR, K PETTY, JARRETT, VICKERS, RIGGS)
FORMER LV CUP RACE WINNER WINS 2008 RACE
YES +180
NO -220
(PAST WINNERS: MARTIN, J BURTON, J GORDON, MARLIN, KENSETH, & J JOHNSON)
UAW-DODGE 400 EXACTA
CHEVY - CHEVY 9/2
CHEVY - FORD 5/1
CHEVY - DODGE 10/1
CHEVY - TOYOTA 8/1
FORD - FORD 12/1
FORD - CHEVY 8/1
FORD - DODGE 20/1
FORD - TOYOTA 12/1
DODGE - DODGE 35/1
DODGE - CHEVY 28/1
DODGE - FORD 30/1
DODGE - TOYOTA 30/1
TOYOTA - TOYOTA 18/1
TOYOTA - CHEVY 13/1
TOYOTA - FORD 18/1
TOYOTA - DODGE 25/1
Tiger Woods continues domination
That's a lot of odds and some rather big payoffs. Golf betting hasn't returned many big payoffs lately, especially in the events involving Tiger Woods (note: my favorite sports story from the weekend was when I tried to tell my 5-year-old daughter Jordyn about Tiger Woods; she started giggling uncontrollably; I asked her what was so funny and she said "because he's not in the woods and he's not a tiger" — OK, maybe you have to be a parent of a young child to appreciate that). However, it has been profitable for those who have continued to back Woods even at low odds as he has won 10 of his last 16 tournaments.
Heading into last weekend, the Las Vegas Hilton had Woods at 2-1 to win the 64-players, single-elimination WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Tucson, Ariz. He was nearly upset in the first round last Wednesday as a -450 favorite over J.B. Holmes. Woods rolled through the rest of the competition and in Sunday's 36-hole final vs. Stewart Cink, Woods was a -500 favorite, though bettors took Cink and Woods was lowered to -450 by the time the match started. Woods dominated start to finish and clinched the victory 8-and-7, which means he was up by eight holes with seven to play, so the mercy rule was invoked.
Jeff Sherman, golf oddsmaker at the Hilton, lowered Woods from even money to 4-5 to win the Masters on April 10-13. Phil Mickelson has been raised to 10-1, followed by Ernie Els at 25-1, Padraig Harrington and Adam Scott at 30-1, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk and Justin Rose at 35-1, and Sergio Garcia at 40-1.
In this week's Honda Classic, which Woods is not playing, Els is the 12-1 favorites followed by Rose, Garcia and Luke Donald at 20-1, and Justin Leonard and Boo Weekley at 25-1.
College hoops heating up
The weekend's Bracket Buster matchups and No. 2 Tennessee's upset of No. 1 Memphis really gets the juices flowing for March Madness. Tennessee, with a record of 25-2, is now the unanimous No. 1 team in the USA Today/ESPN Poll, but they're only No. 4 in the Top 30 Oddsmakers' Poll by Las Vegas Sports Consultants, where UCLA is the No. 1 rated team followed by North Carolina and Kansas.
UCLA is also the favorite in the future-book odds by LVSC at 9-2, followed by North Carolina, Kansas and Memphis at 5-1,Tennessee at 7-1, Duke at 8-1, and Georgetown at 10-1. The great thing about this debate is that it will be settled on the court.
* The Leroy's College Challenge has two weeks remaining and it's really competitive at the top. Among the six competitors tied for first with a record of 34-22 is BobbyW, who won the football contest. The others tied for the lead are Lee Sager Jr., David Miller 3, Sahari Munoz, Mia Miller and Tommy P. Three people are a game back at 33-23 with eight tied for 10th through 17th at 32-24. Prizes are paid to the Top 16 finishers. My ViewFromVegas entry is just off the pace in 18th at 31-25 after going 4-3 last week.
Fine tribute for Lynda Collins
A week ago Sunday, journalist Lynda Collins passed away at the age of 61. Many of you knew her from her contributions to the ViewFromVegas.com website as well as her work over the years covering the Las Vegas betting scene, especially the high-end football contests. For her full obituary and a look at how she was a pioneer for female sports writers, go to the Las Vegas Review-Journal website.
When I met with the family to discuss having a memorial service, we all agreed that Lynda wouldn't have any fuss made about her — she was always intent on making others the center of attention — and that she wouldn't want to inconvenience anyone or interrupt their sports action. We settled on an informal gathering at the Plaza in downtown Las Vegas where she used to go when covering the pro bowlers tour in the mid-1980s from 5-7 p.m. Friday so it would be after the day's races in Southern California and not on a much busier college basketball Saturday when a lot of her friends would be busy. As expected, most of those who came by to pay their respects were oddsmakers and handicappers from around town, but I want to share one other story:
Around 6 p.m., a tall guy, probably about 6-foot-6 in his early 40s, walked in wearing a suit. He was scouting out the room like he looking for someone — but also had a look on his face like someone who didn't know what the person he was meeting looks like. He walked up and asked if this was the get-together for Lynda Collins. When we told him it was, he lit up and told his story. He said he's not the kind of guy who ever even glances at the obituaries but it just so happened that his wife was looking for an obituary of someone she knew and asked him to check the R-J on Friday. When he did, he saw that Lynda had died and felt like he needed to come down and pay his respects. He said his name was Steve Stallworth and he was the starting quarterback at UNLV in the mid-1980s and Lynda covered that beat. He said he hasn't seen her in 20 years but that he always remembered the name because all the clips in his scrapbook have her byline and he would show it to his kids while they were growing up. I just thought that was the coolest thing and a great tribute to Lynda.
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