Olympics have bettors dreaming of football

Bob Cloud

Monday, July 22, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

The U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball Dream Team may be a big hit on the court, but it's drawing nothing more than a muffled yawn from sports book patrons across Las Vegas.

Gold medal odds of 1-75 and upwards served to stifle pre-Olympics betting, and now mind-boggling point spreads -- the U.S. giving 51 points vs. Argentina Saturday, for example -- have kept interest in the Dream Teamers down to a snail's pace.

"I think the attitude of everyone is that it was great the first time, to show the world we could put our best players out and kick everyone's butt," said Kirk Brooks, race and sports director at the Holiday Inn-Boardwalk. "I think now it would have been much better to see the college guys, the (Marcus) Cambys and all, play.

"To put it bluntly, there's almost no reason to put them up on the board. There's just so little interest. After all, how much could you really lay? Do you really want to lay $99 to win $1? It's gotten ridiculous. The wise guys aren't going to bet into anything like this."

Rob Terry of Boulder Station said the lack of interest in men's basketball can be carried over into almost every area of the Atlanta Games.

"There hasn't been a big interest in (basketball), but in reality, there hasn't been much interest in the Olympics at all," Terry said. "We'll get something with track and field, maybe soccer. I think people have really lost interest in Dream Team III, especially from a betting perspective.

"I really thought the Olympics would do more, but I guess it is only just the third day."

Terry said part of the reason Olympic betting is slow is that most serious bettors stay away from heavy wagering when dealing with so many unknown quantities.

"The Olympics in general are tough to bet because people don't know much about what other countries have, so the bets are of the $5 and $10 variety," he said. "For that reason, what we've seen are the bets from the heart."

Albeit poorly, the Summer Games are helping to fill the large void the sports books are enduring until the start of football season. Terry said while the later stages of July might be slow, it does present some opportunities for the smart sports bettor.

"We're in the preparing -- and praying -- mode for football," he said. "This time of year is so slow. This is the time when the race and sports directors take their time off.

"This is the month we might get caught with our pants down. This is the month where the real players might make some money because maybe we're not paying as much attention as we normally do."

Odds and Ends

* COX TO IGC: Interactive Gaming & Communications Corp. has announced the appointment of Terrence Cox as race and sports book general manager for Sports International Ltd., a subsidiary of IGC. Before his employment at IGC, Cox served as director of race and sports book services for Harrah's hotel-casino from 1980-96. Cox's other work experience includes operations manager for the California Canadian Bank from 1971-79. IGC's on-line Wiseguy Sports Wagering System and Global Casino can be viewed on the Internet at http://www.gamblenet.com/bet/

* NUMBERS CRUNCHING: Sunday's winner of the 125th British Open, American Tom Lehman, was a 15-1 selection. Tournament favorite Greg Norman was an 8-1 choice, with Nick Faldo at 9-1. ... Rusty Wallace, winner of this weekend's Miller 500 NASCAR race, also went off as a 15-1 choice. Jeff Gordon, the betting favorite every time out, was a 3-1 selection. ... The NFL preseason begins next Saturday with a three-game slate. The Colts are a 1 1/2 -point favorite over the Saints, the Steelers are favored by 1 over the Chargers in Tokyo, and the Cowboys are a 3-point favorite at home over the Raiders.