Betting Sports Odds: Will video poker machines help or hurt? Depends on whom you ask
By Matt Arado
Daily Herald Staff
The plan to legalize gambling on video poker machines in Illinois has elicited both cheers and jeers in the suburbs.
Some believe the machines will provide a boost to local businesses and generate much-needed revenue for the state diminishing the need to enact or hike another tax. Opponents say the plan will entice more people, including young adults, to become addicted to gambling.
The gambling expansion is part of a capital construction plan designed to help fund $26 billion in construction projects by hiking fees, raising taxes and creating new revenue, like the receipts derived from video poker machines.
The plan will allow gambling to occur on machines in bars, restaurants, VFW halls and other venues. The plan won approval from the state Senate earlier this week. The House approved it Thursday.
The Daily Herald checked in with a number of people in the suburbs to get their thoughts about the video poker issue. Here are their responses:
• Ted Arvanitis, manager of The Sports Page Restaurant and Bar in Arlington Heights:
Arvanitis said the bar crowd at the Sports Page shrank when the statewide smoking ban went into effect last year. Video poker machines might bring at least some of those people back, he said.
"We notice it in the colder months, especially," said Arvanitis, who has managed the Rand Road establishment for eight years. "People decided they didn't want to come if it meant having to stand outside in the cold to smoke. I wouldn't be surprised if poker machines enticed a few of those folks to come back."
Arvanitis said the addition of a few machines probably wouldn't change the atmosphere of his establishment.
"We cater to a lot of families here, and I don't think poker machines would change that," he said.
• Mike Barbour, a member of the Judd Kendal VFW Post 3873 in Naperville:
The presence of poker machines inside the VFW hall wouldn't necessarily bring more people to the organization or provide a windfall of cash, Barbour said. Still, they could help.
"It would allow us to do more for veterans," Barbour said. "We don't have space for more than two or three of the machines, but with them we could spend more on veterans in need, or those at (V.A. hospitals) who need assistance.
"I think that's the feeling among most of the veterans' groups around here. We're not begging for these things, but we'll take advantage if they're available."
Barbour said the VFW used to have poker machines in the past, but got rid of them.
"That actually forced us to work harder at maintaining our finances," he said. "Now we're in good shape, but a little more would always be welcome."
• Jim Kasputis, owner of Rockford Charitable Games Association, a group that helps organize poker/gambling events for charity groups throughout the suburbs:
Rockford Charitable Games helps plan roughly four events a week throughout the Chicago area. Would legalized gambling on poker machines hurt the business? Kasputis doesn't think so.
"If anything, it might inspire the kinds of groups we work with to hold more events at VFWs and American Legions, because they can get a cut of the action," Kasputis said.
"Frankly, a lot of places already have these machines. The state might as well get some tax money from them."
• The Rev. Nathaniel Edmond, pastor of Second Baptist Church, Elgin:
Edmond said the state's willingness to expand gambling to fill budget holes makes him wonder whether legislators value the communities they serve.
"It seems like once you start looking at budgetary deficits, 'community' becomes less important," he said. "This plan would present more opportunities for people to engage in negative behavior. That's very distressing to me.
"I understand the difficulties the state faces. You need creativity to come up with solutions that truly help everybody. I see no creativity here."
• Kurt Becker, owner of Twin Oaks Music and Vending in Aurora:
Becker is a strong supporter of the video poker provision, and not, he says, just because he could make some money off it.
Approval could certainly help Twin Oaks, which supplies coin-operated amusement machines to bars and restaurants, but it also will help save jobs in the struggling bar/restaurant industry in the suburbs and across the state, Becker said.
"Local, privately owned bars and restaurants are hurting," Becker said. "They're being taxed to death, and they've been hurt by the smoking ban. Something like this (will) be an economic boost for them."
• Wayne Burdick, director of the Outreach Foundation in Downers Grove, which counsels gambling addicts:
Burdick said he would expect the number of addicts to skyrocket given the pervasiveness of gambling in bars and at truck stops.
"Let's face it, we know that bars are a place that people have gambled, but you are now making it absolutely OK," Burdick said. "You are saying it is just fine and you are increasing the people who are going to be exposed."
Betting Sports Odds: Will video poker machines help or hurt? Depends on whom you ask
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
NFL Fights Delaware Betting Sports, Yet Promotes Lottery Betting
NFL Fights Delaware Betting Sports, Yet Promotes Lottery Betting
Another round of hypocrisy from the NFL has begun when owners last month abandoned their anti-gambling crusade for the sake of making more money. The owners approved licensing deals with state sponsored lotteries.
Lottery gambling in the U.S. is even more widespread that sports gambling. The NFL has made itself out to be choir boys when it comes to gambling. Simply put, it would not be allowed or accepted. That stance proved to go only as far as NFL owners could stand not making money from gambling.
The Washington Redskins have now become the second team that has signed a licensing deal with a state run lottery. The New England Patriots became the first team earlier last month.
"We envision a game that will link lottery fans with the Redskins in new and exciting ways," said Redskins Chief Operating Officer Mitch Gersham.
One can only assume that when Gersham said "new and exciting", that he was referring to the revenue possibilities for owners. A league that has just weeks ago blasted Delaware for offering a new form of gambling, has now given in to the lure of revenue.
It is expected out of politicians to flip flop on the gambling issue, much like many have over the past few years. There is more casino gambling being legalized in states around the country than ever before.
So where will this new found partnership with gambling end for the NFL? Will they really be able to walk into a court room during their case against Delaware and tell a judge that they are vehemently opposed to gambling? The answer is no.
Once the initial boundaries are broken, they keep becoming looser and looser. The next time a story comes out about the NFL and how they are appalled at the actions of others who are endorsing gambling, simply think back to last month, when league owners took a similar leap of faith.
NFL Fights Delaware Betting Sports, Yet Promotes Lottery Betting
Another round of hypocrisy from the NFL has begun when owners last month abandoned their anti-gambling crusade for the sake of making more money. The owners approved licensing deals with state sponsored lotteries.
Lottery gambling in the U.S. is even more widespread that sports gambling. The NFL has made itself out to be choir boys when it comes to gambling. Simply put, it would not be allowed or accepted. That stance proved to go only as far as NFL owners could stand not making money from gambling.
The Washington Redskins have now become the second team that has signed a licensing deal with a state run lottery. The New England Patriots became the first team earlier last month.
"We envision a game that will link lottery fans with the Redskins in new and exciting ways," said Redskins Chief Operating Officer Mitch Gersham.
One can only assume that when Gersham said "new and exciting", that he was referring to the revenue possibilities for owners. A league that has just weeks ago blasted Delaware for offering a new form of gambling, has now given in to the lure of revenue.
It is expected out of politicians to flip flop on the gambling issue, much like many have over the past few years. There is more casino gambling being legalized in states around the country than ever before.
So where will this new found partnership with gambling end for the NFL? Will they really be able to walk into a court room during their case against Delaware and tell a judge that they are vehemently opposed to gambling? The answer is no.
Once the initial boundaries are broken, they keep becoming looser and looser. The next time a story comes out about the NFL and how they are appalled at the actions of others who are endorsing gambling, simply think back to last month, when league owners took a similar leap of faith.
NFL Fights Delaware Betting Sports, Yet Promotes Lottery Betting
The Importance Of Discipline To Betting Sports Success
The Importance Of Discipline To Betting Sports Success
By Ross Everett
I get some of my best sports gambling concepts from non-sports gambling books. That’s not really surprising, since there are so few serious works addressing sports handicapping and gambling. Of all the various gambling related disciplines, sports gambling is perhaps the most complex. The paucity of written work on the subject is downright shameful in light of that fact. Since there’s so little specific literature available some of the best theoretical resources available to the serious sports gambler can be found in books written for the serious poker player.
Poker–like sports betting–can be a profitable endeavor, and one in which knowledge and skill can counteract the theoretical odds against him. Legendary poker theorist Bob Caro once noted that while there are some professional poker players, sports bettors or blackjack players there’s not a single professional roulette player.
The reason for that is that the house advantage in roulette is too high to overcome by any combination of skill, money management, strategy or discipline. To throw in another Caro concept, it’s a case where the decisions made by the roulette player simply don’t have a role in overcoming the house advantage. Over the long haul whether you choose red or black, even or odd the house edge remains the same.
Caro stresses the paramount importance of discipline to a poker player’s long term success and profitability. It’s important to keep in mind that to succeed as a professional gambler that you need to approach a trip to the casino with a diametrically opposite mindset to that of the recreational gambler. A recreational gambler heads to the casino to *avoid* discipline and ‘unwind’. The professional uses discipline to his advantage.
And the lesson that Caro gives to the would-be expert poker player is the same lesson that Im going to give to you here. The first step toward becoming a successful sports gambler is to approach it with the same discipline that you approach any other job. You must start to think about sports and sports wagering like a professional and not like a recreational gambler. The greater degree to which you can apply a regimented framework to the sports betting process, the greater degree to which you will be successful at it.
Now, I have no problem with recreational sports gamblers or any other recreational gamblers for that matter. Recreational sports gamblers are, in fact, crucial to the survival of those of us who do this for a living. They’re not our prey “like they are for the poker professional” but a thriving recreational sports gambling industry keeps the sports books in business, and what I do is utterly useless if my book doesn’t pay me.
The life of a professional sports bettor isn’t for everyone, and if you just want to bet recreationally and have fun with it that’s great. While a few theoretical tips here and there won’t hurt, the only discipline that really matters for a recreational player is the same thing for any other hobby–don’t spend more on it than you can afford to. After that, you’re on your own to have fun with it.
The Importance Of Discipline To Betting Sports Success
By Ross Everett
I get some of my best sports gambling concepts from non-sports gambling books. That’s not really surprising, since there are so few serious works addressing sports handicapping and gambling. Of all the various gambling related disciplines, sports gambling is perhaps the most complex. The paucity of written work on the subject is downright shameful in light of that fact. Since there’s so little specific literature available some of the best theoretical resources available to the serious sports gambler can be found in books written for the serious poker player.
Poker–like sports betting–can be a profitable endeavor, and one in which knowledge and skill can counteract the theoretical odds against him. Legendary poker theorist Bob Caro once noted that while there are some professional poker players, sports bettors or blackjack players there’s not a single professional roulette player.
The reason for that is that the house advantage in roulette is too high to overcome by any combination of skill, money management, strategy or discipline. To throw in another Caro concept, it’s a case where the decisions made by the roulette player simply don’t have a role in overcoming the house advantage. Over the long haul whether you choose red or black, even or odd the house edge remains the same.
Caro stresses the paramount importance of discipline to a poker player’s long term success and profitability. It’s important to keep in mind that to succeed as a professional gambler that you need to approach a trip to the casino with a diametrically opposite mindset to that of the recreational gambler. A recreational gambler heads to the casino to *avoid* discipline and ‘unwind’. The professional uses discipline to his advantage.
And the lesson that Caro gives to the would-be expert poker player is the same lesson that Im going to give to you here. The first step toward becoming a successful sports gambler is to approach it with the same discipline that you approach any other job. You must start to think about sports and sports wagering like a professional and not like a recreational gambler. The greater degree to which you can apply a regimented framework to the sports betting process, the greater degree to which you will be successful at it.
Now, I have no problem with recreational sports gamblers or any other recreational gamblers for that matter. Recreational sports gamblers are, in fact, crucial to the survival of those of us who do this for a living. They’re not our prey “like they are for the poker professional” but a thriving recreational sports gambling industry keeps the sports books in business, and what I do is utterly useless if my book doesn’t pay me.
The life of a professional sports bettor isn’t for everyone, and if you just want to bet recreationally and have fun with it that’s great. While a few theoretical tips here and there won’t hurt, the only discipline that really matters for a recreational player is the same thing for any other hobby–don’t spend more on it than you can afford to. After that, you’re on your own to have fun with it.
The Importance Of Discipline To Betting Sports Success
Seminar Sheds Light on College Sports Betting
Seminar Sheds Light on College Sports Betting
By Nick West
of The News-Sentinel
Dozens of IPFW and statewide university officials from athletic departments, student affairs offices, counseling centers and other departments gathered at the Holiday Inn across from Memorial Coliseum last month to learn about the issues surrounding gambling and college students.
The morning session specifically focused on gambling and college athletics - student-athletes who break NCAA rules by wagering and the people who wager on those student-athletes.
University of Alabama Associate Athletic Director Chris King and NCAA Director of Agent, Gambling and Amateurism Activities Rachel Newman-Baker were the keynote speakers for the session, which was titled, “Point Spreads and Point Guards: Gambling and College Athletics.”
Their discussion was prefaced with the fact that NCAA created prohibitive rules for student-athletes to not engage in sports wagering of any institutional practice or competition - intercollegiate, amateur or professional - in an NCAA-sanctioned sport.
“Student-athletes often don't realize there's an issue with (gambling),” said King, who spent six years as a compliance officer in Alabama's athletic department and currently heads a campus advisory committee called Gambling Action Team.
King discussed the various forms of gambling available to student-athletes such as Internet Web sites, fraternities, house bookies, lotteries, racetracks and casinos. Even small pools with friends on the NCAA men's basketball tournament or Super Bowl, or fantasy sports league are illegal if money is involved.
King cited a study that said of the $400 million online bets for the 2004 Super Bowl, only $81 million were legal.
A 2003 NCAA study found that 69 percent of male and 47 percent of female NCAA student-athletes reported participating in any gambling behavior. Thirty-five percent of males and 10 percent of females wagered on sporting events, which is in direct violation of NCAA bylaws. Reasons for gambling range from student-athletes' general competitive nature to paying off debt.
Penalties can be removal from team, loss of scholarship, expulsion from college, banishment from professional sports, turned down for jobs or even prison.
Sports gambling is legal in only three states - Nevada, Delaware and small forms in Montana.
King's raised the issue that while many colleges make drug and alcohol education and assistance available, they tend to ignore gambling. Also, wagering on sports can sometimes involve organized crime.
“They don't even realize who they're betting with,” he said.
Newman-Baker's job is to educate student-athletes and university officials who have responsibilities within or over the athletics department, because it is also illegal for them to wager on sports.
“Our study tells us education really does work,” she said.
NCAA initiatives include communication with state high school athletic associations, education through Web sites like dontbetonit.org, public speaking and presentations, and encouraging coaches and team captains to take the lead.
IPFW hosted the presentation as part of a three-year grant from the state to inform administrators about gambling on college campuses and its effects.
Seminar Sheds Light on College Sports Betting
By Nick West
of The News-Sentinel
Dozens of IPFW and statewide university officials from athletic departments, student affairs offices, counseling centers and other departments gathered at the Holiday Inn across from Memorial Coliseum last month to learn about the issues surrounding gambling and college students.
The morning session specifically focused on gambling and college athletics - student-athletes who break NCAA rules by wagering and the people who wager on those student-athletes.
University of Alabama Associate Athletic Director Chris King and NCAA Director of Agent, Gambling and Amateurism Activities Rachel Newman-Baker were the keynote speakers for the session, which was titled, “Point Spreads and Point Guards: Gambling and College Athletics.”
Their discussion was prefaced with the fact that NCAA created prohibitive rules for student-athletes to not engage in sports wagering of any institutional practice or competition - intercollegiate, amateur or professional - in an NCAA-sanctioned sport.
“Student-athletes often don't realize there's an issue with (gambling),” said King, who spent six years as a compliance officer in Alabama's athletic department and currently heads a campus advisory committee called Gambling Action Team.
King discussed the various forms of gambling available to student-athletes such as Internet Web sites, fraternities, house bookies, lotteries, racetracks and casinos. Even small pools with friends on the NCAA men's basketball tournament or Super Bowl, or fantasy sports league are illegal if money is involved.
King cited a study that said of the $400 million online bets for the 2004 Super Bowl, only $81 million were legal.
A 2003 NCAA study found that 69 percent of male and 47 percent of female NCAA student-athletes reported participating in any gambling behavior. Thirty-five percent of males and 10 percent of females wagered on sporting events, which is in direct violation of NCAA bylaws. Reasons for gambling range from student-athletes' general competitive nature to paying off debt.
Penalties can be removal from team, loss of scholarship, expulsion from college, banishment from professional sports, turned down for jobs or even prison.
Sports gambling is legal in only three states - Nevada, Delaware and small forms in Montana.
King's raised the issue that while many colleges make drug and alcohol education and assistance available, they tend to ignore gambling. Also, wagering on sports can sometimes involve organized crime.
“They don't even realize who they're betting with,” he said.
Newman-Baker's job is to educate student-athletes and university officials who have responsibilities within or over the athletics department, because it is also illegal for them to wager on sports.
“Our study tells us education really does work,” she said.
NCAA initiatives include communication with state high school athletic associations, education through Web sites like dontbetonit.org, public speaking and presentations, and encouraging coaches and team captains to take the lead.
IPFW hosted the presentation as part of a three-year grant from the state to inform administrators about gambling on college campuses and its effects.
Seminar Sheds Light on College Sports Betting
Betting Sports Forum: NFL loses right to moral ground on betting issue
Betting Sports Forum: NFL loses right to moral ground on betting issue
By TIM DAHLBERG
Coming soon to a state lottery near you: NFL team logos you can save after blowing 20bucks on yet another worthless batch of scratch-off tickets.
Coming soon to the Delaware state lottery: A legitimate chance to win some money with what you know about your favorite NFL team.
One game steals your money in the name of pro football. The other at least gives you a fighting chance to test your skills.
Guess which one the NFL likes.
Yes, the league that is so terrified of gambling that it refused to allow a Las Vegas commercial during the Super Bowl a few years back is now in the gambling business itself. Aware that it can sell only so many $300 tickets to its games, the NFL has figured out a way to get a cut of some of the biggest gambling operations around.
Owners this week gave their approval for teams to put their logos on lottery tickets, in exchange for a piece of the action. The Patriots and Redskins immediately announced plans to do just that, and you can bet there will be plenty of team promotions urging folks to spend what little money they might have left on the new tickets.
No word yet on whether there will be kiosks next to the beer stands at the stadiums, but that won't likely be far behind. The one thing the NFL does know how to do is promote its product.
At the same time the league is entering the lottery business, though, it is threatening legal action if Delaware goes ahead with plans for a new lottery of its own. The NFL has serious problems with Delaware's new lottery, and not just because its greedy owners won't make money off of it.
Delaware's crime? It wants to allow sports betting in its lottery.
That apparently crosses the line for the NFL, whose stance against betting on its games has always been a bit ironic considering gamblers helped found the league and the evolution of point spreads helped make it so wildly popular. So attorneys for the league were in the courtroom the other day arguing before the Delaware Supreme Court that betting on NFL games should not be allowed.
Their reasoning? Bettors might have too good a chance to win.
Indeed, it may be true that picking winners in the NFL is easier than picking a scratch-off card at your local convenience store that might pay off. Then again, what isn't easier than going up against the astronomical odds that lotteries disclose only on the fine print that few people who buy tickets actually read.
Take the Massachusetts State Lottery, where the Patriots tickets will be sold, as an example. The lottery already runs a Boston Red Sox game, which this year offers prizes of up to $1 million for 10 lucky buyers whose only skill was being in the right line at the right time to buy a ticket and having $5 to buy it with.
The official odds show that one out of every 4 1/2 tickets is a winner. But odds of actually winning something over your original investment are more like one in eight because 10 percent of the payoffs merely give you your five bucks back.
Pick a football game against the spread, meanwhile, and you theoretically have a 50-50 chance of winning. Heck, play a three-team parlay and you're still ahead of the scratch-card odds.
Interesting that the NFL has no moral qualms about making money off people who have no clue about how high the odds are stacked against them. But it does have issues with people betting $20 on the outcome of one of its games when they have a decent likelihood of winning that bet.
It's not as simple as that, of course. The NFL will tell you it's terrified of sports betting because of the possibility someone may try to fix one of its games. But that's an old and tired argument, and the thought that an NFL game could be tampered with is laughable to a betting industry that analyzes everything from the wind patterns at Lambeau Field to the main course at the team breakfast and would quickly spot any wrongdoing.
In the end, gambling is gambling. And now that the NFL is in the gambling business, it has lost its right to the moral high ground on the issue.
Lotteries are the worst form of gambling imaginable. They prey on the weakest people and exploit their dreams.
The next time the NFL screams about sports betting, remember who is sharing its bed.
Betting Sports Forum: NFL loses right to moral ground on betting issue
By TIM DAHLBERG
Coming soon to a state lottery near you: NFL team logos you can save after blowing 20bucks on yet another worthless batch of scratch-off tickets.
Coming soon to the Delaware state lottery: A legitimate chance to win some money with what you know about your favorite NFL team.
One game steals your money in the name of pro football. The other at least gives you a fighting chance to test your skills.
Guess which one the NFL likes.
Yes, the league that is so terrified of gambling that it refused to allow a Las Vegas commercial during the Super Bowl a few years back is now in the gambling business itself. Aware that it can sell only so many $300 tickets to its games, the NFL has figured out a way to get a cut of some of the biggest gambling operations around.
Owners this week gave their approval for teams to put their logos on lottery tickets, in exchange for a piece of the action. The Patriots and Redskins immediately announced plans to do just that, and you can bet there will be plenty of team promotions urging folks to spend what little money they might have left on the new tickets.
No word yet on whether there will be kiosks next to the beer stands at the stadiums, but that won't likely be far behind. The one thing the NFL does know how to do is promote its product.
At the same time the league is entering the lottery business, though, it is threatening legal action if Delaware goes ahead with plans for a new lottery of its own. The NFL has serious problems with Delaware's new lottery, and not just because its greedy owners won't make money off of it.
Delaware's crime? It wants to allow sports betting in its lottery.
That apparently crosses the line for the NFL, whose stance against betting on its games has always been a bit ironic considering gamblers helped found the league and the evolution of point spreads helped make it so wildly popular. So attorneys for the league were in the courtroom the other day arguing before the Delaware Supreme Court that betting on NFL games should not be allowed.
Their reasoning? Bettors might have too good a chance to win.
Indeed, it may be true that picking winners in the NFL is easier than picking a scratch-off card at your local convenience store that might pay off. Then again, what isn't easier than going up against the astronomical odds that lotteries disclose only on the fine print that few people who buy tickets actually read.
Take the Massachusetts State Lottery, where the Patriots tickets will be sold, as an example. The lottery already runs a Boston Red Sox game, which this year offers prizes of up to $1 million for 10 lucky buyers whose only skill was being in the right line at the right time to buy a ticket and having $5 to buy it with.
The official odds show that one out of every 4 1/2 tickets is a winner. But odds of actually winning something over your original investment are more like one in eight because 10 percent of the payoffs merely give you your five bucks back.
Pick a football game against the spread, meanwhile, and you theoretically have a 50-50 chance of winning. Heck, play a three-team parlay and you're still ahead of the scratch-card odds.
Interesting that the NFL has no moral qualms about making money off people who have no clue about how high the odds are stacked against them. But it does have issues with people betting $20 on the outcome of one of its games when they have a decent likelihood of winning that bet.
It's not as simple as that, of course. The NFL will tell you it's terrified of sports betting because of the possibility someone may try to fix one of its games. But that's an old and tired argument, and the thought that an NFL game could be tampered with is laughable to a betting industry that analyzes everything from the wind patterns at Lambeau Field to the main course at the team breakfast and would quickly spot any wrongdoing.
In the end, gambling is gambling. And now that the NFL is in the gambling business, it has lost its right to the moral high ground on the issue.
Lotteries are the worst form of gambling imaginable. They prey on the weakest people and exploit their dreams.
The next time the NFL screams about sports betting, remember who is sharing its bed.
Betting Sports Forum: NFL loses right to moral ground on betting issue
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