Sal DeFilippo: Derby bettors do well at local sports books

Sal DeFilippo

Monday, May 5, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

There's one consistent and dependable adage relating to the Kentucky Derby: Any horse can win. Unless, of course, that horse happens to be the race favorite.

For the 18th consecutive year, the bettors' choice to win the Run for the Roses didn't find the winner's circle.

This year, however, favored Captain Bodgit did finish second to 4-to-1 shot Silver Charm, which meant a profitable day for many local sports book patrons.

"It was a really good betting Derby for everyone," said Joe Lupo, sports book director at the Stardust. "It was a smaller field but very competitive."

Lupo said many bettors had action on horses that finished near the top, such as Free House, who ran third, Pulpit and Crypto Star.

"Combine that with (Gary) Stevens being a West Coast jockey and Charm being a West Coast horse, and the customers did pretty well," Lupo said.

Fortunately for sports books, this was one instance where the player's fortune wasn't at their expense. Because Churchill Downs allows off-track sites to link directly with the track, the win, place and show bets made in Las Vegas were part of the track's handle, making it a true pari-mutuel wager. Only future bets and quinella wagers were booked locally.

"It's a rare chance where we can really root for the players -- it's kind of nice," Lupo said. "We were also able to take large wagers because we are linked in. We lost a little here on the quinellas, because Charm and Captain Bodgit were two of the top horses, but a lot of the futures win action was on Bodgit and Pulpit."

Silver Charm paid $10, $4.80 and $4.20.

Count it down

Ask most people what today signifies, and they'll tell you Cinco de Mayo.

For me, however, it marks 118 days until the start of the NFL regular season. Sure, that's a long time, but it's never too soon to look at opening lines.

The Imperial Palace already is taking wagers on the Week 1 schedule to be played Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.

The biggest favorite, not surprisingly, is Green Bay. The Packers are a 14-point pick over Chicago in the Monday Night Football opener.

Denver is a 7-point favorite over Kansas City, and three teams are picked by 6 1/2 points: San Francisco over Tampa Bay, Detroit over Atlanta and Seattle over the New York Jets in Bill Parcells' debut.

The sports book isn't predicting success in Mike Ditka's debut with New Orleans, either, listing the Saints 5-point underdogs at St. Louis.

The remaining games: Cincinnati --5 over Arizona; Buffalo --3 over Minnesota; Oakland pick at Houston; New England --6 over San Diego; Dallas --2 1/2 over Pittsburgh; Miami --5 over Indianapolis; Jacksonville --1 over Baltimore; Carolina --5 1/2 over Washington.

Poker brothers

There will be a lot of bets made this week at Binion's Horseshoe, but not at the sports book.

The World Series of Poker continues and action heats up this week, as card players from around the world sign up for next Monday's granddaddy event, the $10,000 no-limit Texas hold 'em tournament.

"We have almost 100 entries, but we expect to have a little over 300 for the event," said tournament director Jack McClelland. "We are having satellite events every day from here on out."

McClelland estimates about 60 percent of the entries are generated by the satellite tournaments, where players can enter with as little as $200 and try to win a spot in the field for the big event.

It is illegal to set betting lines on the World Series of Poker, and McClelland added it would be tough to pick a winner anyway.

"It would be like a Kentucky Derby with 30 great horses in it," he said.

The top seed? Maybe Huck Seed, the Las Vegan who won the event a year ago. John Bonetti of Houston, who has finished third twice in the past three years, and reigning U.S. Poker Championships winner Ken Flaton, who won the Atlantic City Taj Mahal event in November, are strong contenders, according to McClelland.

"We have a large contingent of European players -- players from Germany, Italy, France and England already have won this week," McClelland said.

Admission is free.