Lockout put books in tough spot with futures

NBA FUTURES

The Imperial Palace hotel-casino is one of the few sports books to post future odds on the 1999 NBA season. The favorites:

Indiana Pacers 2-1

Los Angeles Lakers 3-1

New York Knicks 4-1

Utah Jazz 4-1

San Antonio Spurs 8-1

Houston Rockets 10-1

Jay Kornegay had more just a passing interest in last week's Scottie Pippen saga.

The director of race and sports for the Imperial Palace, Kornegay and his staff kept their ears and eyes open for any news on which team might lure the longtime Chicago Bulls star.

"We've been on the Net a lot, and we watch lots of SportsCenter and Fox Sports News," Kornegay said.

Since the NBA lockout's end, such has been the way of life at the Imperial Palace, one of the only sports books in town offering betting on NBA futures.

When word of a possible Houston Rockets' trade for Pippen first got out, the Rockets moved from a 30-1 choice to win the championship to a 12-to-1 choice there.

When that rumor initially fizzled, the Rockets moved up to 20-to-1. Pippen's ultimate trade to Houston moved the odds back to 12-to-1, and the Imperial Palace currently has Pippen's new club as a 10-to-1 choice.

"We're on top of it," Kornegay said. "Sometimes, (bettors) might beat us to the punch, but most of the time, we're there first."

For most Las Vegas sports books, the flurry of player movement has caused book managers to take NBA futures off the board until rosters become more firm.

"We're holding off on posting them, probably until the beginning of the season," Jim Korona, race and sports supervisor at the Stardust, said. "We don't know where everybody's going to end up yet."

"We're probably going to wait until the season starts," Las Vegas Sports Consulting odds manager Cesar Robaina echoed. "It's a matter of waiting until the major guys are settled and sitting down and analyzing rosters."

Unlike most of the other sports books in town, the Imperial Palace kept its NBA future odds on the board throughout the lockout. The defending champion Bulls started as a 3-to-1 favorite to repeat, then slipped to 5-to-1 as rumors of Michael Jordan's pending retirement spread.

When Jordan made it official earlier this month and Pippen was traded to Houston, the Bulls fell all the way to a 60-to-1 pick.

With the dismantling of the champs, the Pacers (2-to-1) now stand as the Imperial Palace favorite to claim the 1999 title, followed closely by the Lakers (3-to-1), Jazz and Knicks (both 4-to-1).

The Denver Nuggets, who won the sweepstakes for highly sought-after free agent forward Antonio McDyess, moved from a 200-to-1 choice at the Imperial Palace to a 75-to-1 pick.

The Phoenix Suns, who lost McDyess but signed free agent forward Tom Gugliotta, went from an 8-1 pick to a 20-1 choice.

According to Kornegay, the wild signing period has helped revive some interest in a league hit hard by the prolonged lockout.

"It's still pretty early, but there's been interest in it because of the signings," Kornegay said. "The interest isn't where it usually is at the beginning of the regular season, though."

Robaina said that when Las Vegas Sports Consulting sets its odds, the Lakers will likely be installed as the favorite, with the Spurs, Rockets, Jazz, Supersonics, Knicks, Pacers and Hawks among the other top choices.

"I think this year, especially with the short season, I can see any of eight to 10 teams coming out and winning it," Robaina said.

archive