Sports books aren’t panicking yet, but the NBA lockout has many worried about their bottom lines

Tim Graham

Monday, Nov. 2, 1998 | 10:12 a.m.

There were supposed to be throngs of roaring fans. There were supposed to be fast breaks, jump shots and slam dunks.

The NBA was supposed to tip off Tuesday, but the ongoing lockout will render arenas dark on opening night and many game nights to follow.

And as long as the work stoppage drags on, sports books will be emptier than they should be. NBA insiders claim the earliest the season can start is Dec. 1.

The lockout is showing no indications of reaching finality any time soon, but local sports book directors aren't panicking -- yet.

"If they cancel any more games than what they canceled (last Wednesday)," Las Vegas Hilton sports book manager Art Manteris said, "then I think you're getting to a dangerous point. But I won't reach that point until January or after the Super Bowl."

According to Las Vegas Sports Consultants, the world's preeminent oddsmaking firm, the NBA accounts for about 60 percent of Nevada's basketball handle.

"That's a lot of volume," Las Vegas Sports Consultants oddsmaker John Harper said. "If the season's entirely wiped out, and there's no playoffs at all, it'll be a major drain. That's a tremendous loss."

It is believed most hoops money is wagered later in the season, when the NFL is over and the basketball postseason draws nearer.

"We're lucky that the lockout is happening during the football season," Manteris said. "If it was at a time of year where nothing else was going on, it would have a much greater impact.

"Football is the king of sports betting by a wide margin. So the sports betting handle for basketball will not be as apparent."

But there still will be slow nights at the betting windows. During the week, the only games to bet on now are hockey, a sport that generates very little for sports books.

"On certain nights people are going to miss the NBA if they don't get going," Harper said. "Friday night is a big NBA night because there are so many tourists in town and not many college games at all. Friday nights this year will be slow if the season hasn't started.

"But they have football right now and hockey has started. There's still plenty to bet, but the regular NBA bettors miss out, and volume does decrease."

But it's not just the hardcore NBA bettors who are losing out, according to Manteris. He claims the lockout diminishes the basic allure of any sports book.

"What basketball does is complement the menu," Manteris said. "If we had basketball right now it would make for a nice weeknight evening to watch a couple basketball games and a couple hockey games simultaneously, have a couple cocktails, eat some pizza.

"You could have a fun night in a sports book right now if not for the lockout. The casual fans are missing that opportunity."

And there is nothing bookies can do to combat the deficiency.

"Unfortunately, sports books do not create the product," Santa Fe sports book manager Steve Klein said. "It's not like the casino where if one particular table game doesn't work we can put another game on the floor.

"I'm at the mercy of the sports. That's where this industry is different. We're gambling with something that we have no control over. We don't deal the cards."

The books are getting hurt most of all by a lack of futures bets. The lockout prohibits teams from signing free agents. That makes it impossible to handicap anyone's chances to win the title or set over-under win totals.

The defending champion Chicago Bulls could lose their two best players in Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, arguably the NBA's top overall stars. With Jordan and Pippen, the Bulls easily are favorites to repeat. Without them, their win total probably drops closer to the .500 mark.

"We advise most people to forget about NBA futures," Harper said. "You waste a lot of effort, and what if they don't play this season?

"We don't know which players are going to play for which teams. Once they reach an agreement they'll need at least a month before they start playing games. You need at least that long to negotiate with free agents."

Once the NBA season does begin, significant repercussions are unlikely.

"I've seen worse problems than this," Klein said. "If baseball goes on strike in July when there's nothing else to do, or if you remember the NFL when they had replacement games ... Those are much more serious problems than this is."

Kelly Downey, the assistant sports book manager at the Imperial Palace, predicts fan relations will be hurt by the lockout. However, he doesn't foresee bettors getting bitter or holding a grudge.

"I don't see the fan backlash yet like with baseball," Downey said. "But as it gets uglier we will.

"But bettors are bettors. As long as a game is up there, they're going to put in their two-cents worth. Buying a (betting) ticket doesn't translate into money for the players or owners, like buying a game ticket does."

Three sports books won't be affected at all if the season never tips off. Caesars Palace, the Desert Inn and the Fiesta are prohibited from accepting any NBA action because of their connections with the league.

Caesars and the D.I. haven't accepted NBA wagering for more than three years. They are owned by Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which also owns the New York Knicks.

The Fiesta is owned by the Maloof family, which purchased part of the Sacramento Kings last season.

But wherever the sports book is, it's too early to get worked up over the NBA lockout.

"I don't think we'll get nervous about it because it looks like they're going to play," Harper said. "There'll be a season eventually."