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Sports Book Betting
A gambling theorist turns to sports betting to beat the odds--and the house
Bruce Schoenfeld
From the Print Edition:
Kevin Bacon, May/Jun 00
(continued from page 5)
In the end, the Kings take a 116-113 victory. Had I bet a few moments later than I did, it would have been a push. I'd get $36.35 back and lose the $3.65 vigorish. But I had the Kings giving 2 1/2, not three, so when my ticket is inserted into the computerized slot, it confirms that I'm owed $76.35 for my labor. That makes me 8-for-11 on the weekend, and nearly $300 in the black.
I can't gloat, however. In the games that the oddsmakers knew the most about, the NFL playoffs, I somehow went four-for-four. Two of my college basketball wins, Arizona's and UConn's, came from high-profile teams. That Louisville bet I'd been so proud of was a loser. So were Colorado and the Nuggets. Only Wake Forest served to confirm my theory that obscure is better.
Still, as I leave the sports book I gaze longingly at the scores of games like Marshall-Kent State and Bowling Green-Buffalo. Someone made money on those games, and I'll bet it wasn't Mandalay Bay.
Bruce Schoenfeld is a frequent contributor to Cigar Aficionado.
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