Squares Becoming Well Rounded

Bookmakers in the 20th Century had it easy. Prior topublic bettors were making more educated wagers.
the new Millennium, bookies could always count onSports betting is essentially a battle between the public
large masses of public bettors - referred to assquares and the professional 'wise guys'. And you can
"squares" by those behind the counter - to blindly betguess which group usually comes out on top. This
on the favored team in any sporting event, especiallysymbiotic relationship is crucial for bookies to balance
one involving NFL football. Often times it didn't mattertheir action (and assure a profit via the vigorish, or
what number the books released on a game, thecommission charged to sports bets). When both
public would bet the favorite with reckless abandon.groups are on the same side of a game, however, it
This allowed the bookie to set 'shaded' numbers whichcan spell major trouble for the books."The first half of
means they loaded down the favorite with extrathe year (in the NFL) was like that," said Kornegay of
points. It didn't matter what number the bookmakerthe 2004 regular season. "The public money and the
strung up on a team - especially in big games - theeducated money was on the same side. And a lot of
squares would line up to take it.Boy, how times havetimes during that stretch they were correct. So the
changed.In the last five years, bookmakers havebooks really got off to a rough start (during) the
noticed a major fluctuation in the way the publicmonths we usually have fairly decent numbers. You
wagers on sports. Squares can no longer be counted(look at) the last couple of Super Bowls and you didn't
on to bet the favorite in any situation. Anticipation ofalways just see a rush of favorite money, you didn't
where the handle will fall on a sporting event is one ofsee a rush of 'over' money and you didn't see a rush
the key tools for a bookie in hopes of securing aof favorite and over money (on parlays). There isn't
strong profit for the house. While many public oroverwhelming favorite and 'over' support like there
recreational bettors can still be relied on to bet theirused to be."Even though the squares are getting
hometown team or an overvalued favorite, the groupsmarter and they have shocked bookies at certain
as a whole is becoming much more educated andpoints in the last five years, all the bookmakers
much less predictable in the eyes of theinterviewed for this article agree that this trend is good
bookmaker."The public is (growing) tired of gettingfor the industry as a whole. Bookies may be forced to
burned by just betting the favored team," said Jayadjust their strategies to adapt to the new
Kornegay, executive director of race and sports formarketplace, but the increased volume that comes as
the Las Vegas Hilton. "It's hard to even say 'squares'a result of more educated and more interested bettors
anymore because they are just more educatedis considered a major positive."I think it's great,"
players."The Information Age has ushered in a newcommented Kornegay. "The volume is terrific. The
breed of sports bettor. Recreational bettors do theirmore interest we have, the better. It makes our job
homework. They research games on the Internet.more difficult and there is not a problem with that. It's
They watch 24-hour sports news programs. Theyjust more work for us. We pride ourselves on that
listen to radio talk shows. They are familiar andso-called art form of bookmaking and that is
comfortable with sports betting and they understandsomething we have to rely on more and more every
the point spread. Most importantly, they realize thatyear.""I think bookmaking is kind of an 'over-time' kind
there can be value in taking the points."People are justof thing," added Beil. "The idea is still to put up a good,
more educated," said Tony Sinisi, odds director for Lasstrong number and over time the bookmaker should
Vegas Sports Consultants, the Southernwin out. That isn't necessarily the case on a
Nevada-based odds firm responsible for supplyingday-to-day basis or an event-to-event basis. I think the
point spreads to more than 90 percent of the books inpopularity of our industry helps our industry. The
the state. "There are more sources to get information.popularity of sports betting is nothing but a positive (for
There's the Internet, there's a myriad of sports showsthe book)."There is also more to sports betting than
on television. If you are looking for (the information) youjust being informed. Bookies and oddsmakers both
can certainly find it and you are going to become aagree that interpretation of the information is critical in
more educated bettor.""It seems like people are justregards to long-term gambling success."I think that
more accustomed to what the numbers mean andeven if you have good information, unless you are a
what types of different bets there are," added Dougprofessional player, there are a lot of ways (things)
Beil, race and sportsbook manager for Terrible's Hotelcan go bad," said Sinisi. "There's a lot of pitfalls out
Casino in Las Vegas. "In year's past there would be athere. It's not just picking a particular winner. It's money
significant amount of people that would come to themanagement. It's dealing with emotions (and) greed. A
counter where I work and ask 'what does minuslot of it is the interpretation of the information. The
seven mean?' You still get that customer and you stillsophisticated bettor is taking 10 on a game that he
get that kind of question, but I think the frequency ofshould only be taking eight on. It's the idiosyncrasies, the
that is much less than it used to be."Super Bowlvalue judgments that are being made by the wise
XXXVII was one of the first major betting events inguys that (differentiate them from the
which the squares shocked Las Vegas bookies bysquares)."Bookies must now make adjustments in the
going against typical wagering patterns. 'Sin City' getsway they operate. They can no longer anticipate that
so many California visitors that the Oakland Raidersthe public will lay all their money down on inflated
are usually a very popular 'public team' with thefavorites. Shading - although still prevalent in the
squares. In this big game they were facing off againstindustry - is becoming less widespread. Larger line
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Oakland was a slightmovements will become more commonplace as the
favorite and the public was expected to bet themsquares and wise guys load up on the same side of
heavily (the oddsmakers shaded the line in anticipationgames, causing bookies to become more aggressive
of excessive Raiders handle). On game day, however,in an attempt to attain balanced books."We used to
the public bucked all the trends that have taken placeanticipate and we could pretty much predict (the
in Las Vegas books for more than three decades andhandle) just by looking at the game a week in
bookmakers saw a huge influx of Tampa Bay money,advance," concluded Kornegay. "But now it is more or
much of it coming in on game day. The Buccaneersless monitoring during the course (of time) that the
won the game, 48-21.This year's NCAA Basketballwagers come in. And it makes us analyze the type of
Tournament provided even more surprises. Las Vegasmoney that is coming in more - how fast we should
hotels are booked solid months in advance for themove (the number) or not move it at all. It's definitely
tourney, which is almost as big as the Super Bowl formore of a challenge. Analyzing the type of money
local sportsbooks when you add up the combinedcoming in is now probably our most valuable tool."
handle for the entire event. The public has always betDoc's Sports Handy Links:Jeremy Martin archiveWorld
the popular teams in the tournament but this yearCup 2006Breeders Cup 2005Doc's Sports
major books like the Stardust and the Hilton actuallyHandicapping Service
needed some big favorites like Duke and Kansas to1-866-238-6696Since 1971 Doc's Sports has been
cover in some of their games. This would have neverrecognized as one of the leaders and most trusted
happened 10 years ago.Kornegay said that the Hiltonnames in sports handicapping information.
got off to a bad start last football season because