Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2001 | 10:34 a.m.
Jeff Haney's sports betting column appears Wednesday. Haney appears Thursday on the Lee Pete radio show, which airs weekdays at 3 p.m. on KRLV 1340-AM. Reach him at 259-4041 or [email protected]
When the Palms hotel-casino opens its doors this week, the resort's race and sports book will occupy a spot right in the middle of the action.
That's a welcome change from certain other properties, where visiting the sports book has all the ease and convenience of searching for Ed Abbey's hidden grave in the wilds of the Sonoran Desert.
"Some places take the sports book and tuck it away in a corner somewhere, hoping the locals don't come," Marc Nelson, Palms director of ancillary gaming, said during a recent tour of the Flamingo Road resort. "We put ours right out there, front and center.
"We're a locals property. The access is second to none. We have nearly 5,000 parking spaces within easy walking distance of the book."
Once in the book, customers are greeted by some 45 big-screen televisions and 100 more small monitors. The race book has 150 seats, with another 50 to 75 on the sports side.
Horse racing bettors can wager from their chair by using one of 50 "interactive player terminals," which track bets electronically.
The Palms cannot accept NBA wagers because its owners, the Maloof family, also own the Sacramento Kings. However, Nelson and sports book director Perry Swanson said the Palms' extensive betting menu will reflect the property's decision to spotlight the race and sports book operation.
Bettors can wager up to $10,000 on NFL sides and $5,000 on college football sides, said Nelson, former sports book director at the Fiesta hotel-casino.
The Palms plans to open a "Sports Express" drive-through betting service next year, similar to those at the Fiesta and the Imperial Palace.
"Because we can't book the NBA, we're going to try to be real aggressive in other areas," sports book supervisor Marcus Hurd said. "Whether it's golf, auto racing or the rodeo, we're going to give people what they want."
Sports book supervisor Adam Pullen said he'll be hanging odds on English Premiership soccer matches, as well as other European and American soccer leagues.
"People from all over the world follow soccer," Pullen said. "Here's a place they can bet on it."
Sports book supervisor Jeff Sherman said odds on the 2002 Masters, the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, the Skins Game, the college baskeball title, English soccer and the next two NASCAR races -- among other events -- should be ready to go when the Palms opens at 11 p.m. Thursday.
"The biggest thing for us is that we're an independent book, so we can do more," Sherman said. "We don't feel like we're tied down by a corporate headquarters somewhere."
If the current betting trend continues, money will continue to come in on underdog Hasim Rahman, who knocked out Lewis this past April. Rahman was an underdog of about 16-1 in that fight.
In Saturday's rematch, Lewis is a minus 340 favorite at the Stardust, down from minus 500. Rahman is listed at plus 260. The round prop is eight full, with the "won't go" a minus 140 favorite and the "will go" plus 120.
Coast Resorts sports books have Lewis at minus 320 with Rahman plus 260.
Lewis backers can do even better at Mirage properties, which list the favorite at minus 270 with a takeback of plus 230 on Rahman.
Barring some highly unusual late line movement, it would be difficult to justify betting the fight at Leroy's sports books. For some reason, Leroy's saw fit to employ a $1 straddle on its line, making Lewis minus 300 and Rahman plus 200. Even the most strident libertarian would argue that using such a large straddle should probably be a violation of state law.
Johannesburg, a European star who's unbeaten as a 2-year-old, is the second choice behind 10-1 favorite Repent, runner-up in the Juvenile.
Officer, a highly regarded 2-year-old who has disappointed in his last couple of outings, is listed at 15-1. Siphonic, who placed third in the Juvenile, is an 18-1 shot.
Minervini's 2002 Derby future book opened on Aug. 3 at Coast properties and includes 87 horses.
In this week's matchup, Tim Trushel of the Vegas Sportswire takes on Las Vegas author and handicapper Patrick Forsythe. The action gets under way at 9 p.m. Friday in the Stardust race and sports book.
On Wall Street -- which only a cynic would call the world's largest casino -- they are already betting the "over," in a sense.
Shares of AOL Time Warner, which distributes the film and owns merchandising rights, have been "bet up" to $38, up from $32 and change just over a week ago.
archive
