Hilton Superbook’s World Cup betting action is kickin’; ESPN Zone closes at New York-New York Wednesday

By John Katsilometes

Thursday, June 10, 2010 | 5:49 a.m.

OK, I'm taking the United States, Mexico or England — any of those three — to win it all, at 7-to-1.

Or maybe Uruguay to make it out of Group A at plus-350.

Or maybe Ivory Coast, which is a country and not a merger of soap companies, to win the title at 40-to-1.

There's more. In Saturday's matchup between the U.S. and England, you can catch a draw at plus-135.

World Cup wagering options are plentiful at the Las Vegas Hilton Superbook, where sports book overlord Jay Kornegay has turned proposition betting into something of an art form. Maybe he's the Pele of sports-book directors.

Kornegay kindly e-mailed the document listing all of the hotel's betting options for this year's World Cup, which starts Friday at 7 a.m. when Mexico faces off against host country South Africa.

Having printed out that doc, I am stunned to report that the list is 25 pages long. That includes the tournament's TV schedule, sure, but ... 25 pages?

"We have a couple of guys who follow soccer year-round," Kornegay said during a phone interview this week. "We have all the leagues on the board."

Kornegay's crew had the odds for the 2010 World Cup posted in July.

Of 2006.

"We had it up then and people said, 'No one's going to bet that!' But they did," Kornegay said. "If people are interested, we'll put it up, sure."

Some of the numbers have shifted, of course, but the heavy favorites — such as Brazil, Spain and Argentina — are largely unchanged. Brazil and Spain are going off at 4-to-1; Argentina is 6-to-1. England and The Netherlands are 8-to-1. The United States is 50-to-1, and are listed at plus-575 to beat England in the opener.

You don't need Matt Goss to tell you that is not bloody likely.

Other quirky props: Japan at plus-330 to advance from Group E, Paraguay at plus-165 not to advance from Group F, and a draw in the Chile-Honduras match at plus-300.

The Hilton is opening Shimmer Cabaret and its theater for select games, including the opener and the U.S.-England match.

Kornegay considers the Hilton to be Las Vegas' "soccer book" and seems to find some new wager to gnaw on as he re-reads his own numbers.

"You look at Ivory Coast, 40-to-1," he said. "Ivory Coast is a country that doesn't get enough respect, to be honest."

So true. That's because its best player, striker Didier Drogba, is nursing a broken right arm and might not play at all. He's been given permission to sit out the tournament by Laurent Gbagbo, the country's president, who might or might not have some scratch on his team.

More from the notes

• An ESPN Zone spokesman confirmed this morning that the company's restaurant at New York-New York is closing Wednesday. Walt Disney Co., which owns all ESPN Zones across the country, is also closing its outlets in Chicago, Baltimore, New York and Washington D.C. Poor financial performance is the reported reason. ESPN Zone opened at New York-New York in 2001. In Las Vegas, about 160 employees are losing their jobs.

• A friend who works as a Metro officer told me the other day that ever since the Las Vegas firefighters' union and the City of Las Vegas have been butting heads in contract talks, firefighters are now the first on any emergency call. They beat Metro units, paramedics, everyone. This was not always the case. Probably not a coincidence, either.

• One way to figure out a groovy way to redesign your luxury suites is to invite someone else to do it. On Monday, El Cortez launched the "Design A Suite Downtown" contest. The call has gone out to any and all interior designers, architects, or teams of designers and architects with at least one member licensed in the State of Nevada. These are all professionals, in other words.

The original entries will be winnowed to four semifinalists. The final four will each be required to remodel an existing suite, being allowed a $20,000 budget and materials culled from the Las Vegas Design Center and World Market Center showrooms. Deadline for submissions is July 22, and all entrants are required to kick in a tax-deductible $150 entry fee that will be donated to the Keep Memory Alive foundation. Entries are to be anonymous. The winner will receive the honor of being the designer of the hotel's remaining suites, to be unveiled during the hotel's 70th anniversary next year.

• A quote to note: "I think they definitely want to come here. I think this is the type of facility, there's no place like it in the world."

That's from Arlington (Texas) Convention and Visitors Bureau President and Chief Executive Officer Jay Burress. He's speaking of Academy of Country Music executives, who reportedly have traveled to the city, home of Cowboys Stadium 10 times over the past year. Their mission has been to gauge if the city and stadium would serve as fitting homes to the ACM Awards show when its contract with MGM Grand times out next year.

Burress' comments were aired on Dallas-area network affiliates during Memorial Day weekend. To cast this mathematically, 10 visits equals strong interest.

• Sunset Thomas hit the exacta for Sunday's Belmont Stakes, with her $2 bet for Drosselmeyer to win and Fly Down to place paid $144. A central figure in the HBO brothel reality series "Cathouse" and a longtime adult-film star, Thomas is an avid horse bettor. But how she thought of "Fly Down" is anyone's guess.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.