Columnist Jeff Haney: Baseball playoffs expected to be a big hit in books

Wednesday, Oct. 6, 1999 | 10:41 a.m.

Jeff Haney's sports betting column appears Wednesday. Reach him at haney@lasvegassun.com or 259-4041.

This year's eight playoff teams boast legions of dedicated fans -- and that bodes well for baseball betting this fall, local sports book directors say.

The defending champion Yankees were listed as a 9-5 favorite at Caesars Palace on Tuesday to win the World Series, down from an opening-day line of 7-2.

The Braves were a 5-2 second choice (down from a 5-1 opening-day line), and the Indians and Diamondbacks were 3-1. The Tribe opened at 12-1, the D-backs at an eye-popping 125-1.

All those clubs command stronger interest from gamblers than teams such as the Marlins and Padres, who advanced to the World Series in recent years.

"I think it's going to be a great postseason," said Vinnie Magliulo, sports book director at Caesars. "We have some very popular clubs in the playoffs, and these matchups are very appealing to the betting public."

In matchups that started Tuesday, the Yankees were a minus 290 favorite to win their best-of-5 series with the Rangers; the Braves were minus 220 against the Astros; and the Diamondbacks were minus 175 against the Mets. The Red Sox were listed at minus 115 to beat the Indians in the series that starts today at Jacobs Field.

Caesars is offering a full slate of proposition bets on each game, including team to score first, team to score last -- and even an over/under prop on the total number of runs, hits and errors by both teams combined. In today's Red Sox-Indians game, for instance, that number is 26 1/2, minus 110 either way.

At the Las Vegas Hilton SuperBook, manager Chuck Esposito is also expecting lots of interest from bettors in the baseball playoffs.

"The Yankees did it last year and they're still real strong," Esposito said, "but the Rangers have a lot of balance, especially a strong bullpen. You also have the hitting of the Indians against Pedro Martinez, who could win a couple games for the Red Sox."

Esposito pointed out that this year's pennant races ran true to form, setting up the possibility of a truly classic fall.

"The eight best teams did make it," Esposito said, "and it wouldn't suprise me at all to see a dark horse win it."

* NO CRYING IN FOOTBALL: NFL bettors won overall against the house at Caesars this past Sunday, but Magliulo wasn't singing the blues.

"Week 4 was very strong for the (bettors)," Magliulo said, "which is good for business. The public has to have its good days -- you won't hear me crying about it."

A key game for gamblers came in the Sunday night game, when the Raiders, widely backed by bettors, covered a 3 1/2-point number in a 22-21 loss to the Seahawks. The public also cashed on the 49ers, a 1-point favorite who beat the Titans 24-22.

"The public did well in the morning games, then rolled everything into the Raiders at night," Magliulo said.

Bettors didn't fare as well in Monday night's game, when the favored Dolphins lost outright to the Bills, 23-18. Buffalo was a 4 1/2-point underdog.

There were nine unders in the NFL this past week and five overs -- including Monday night's game, which barely went over the total when Dan Marino and O.J. McDuffie hooked up for a Miami touchdown with 5:13 left to play for the game's final score.

* WISE DECISION: A once-great warrior who's surely headed for the Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, Julio Cesar Chavez came up on the losing end of a big upset Saturday night in the co-feature of a fight card at the Las Vegas Hilton.

A minus 900 favorite, the fading Chavez, a former three-time world champion, lost a unanimous decision to Willie Wise in a non-title welterweight bout.

Esposito said money was coming in on both fighters at the Hilton's SuperBook.

"We opened Chavez at minus 8 and he closed at minus 9, so the early money was on Chavez," Esposito said. "But we actually got good two-way action on the fight."

* RUGBY WORLD CUP: The American team got off to a rough start in the Rugby World Cup, losing its opening game to Ireland 53-8 in Dublin this past weekend.

It was no big surprise, though, considering the U.S. team was listed as a 500-1 shot at the Resort at Summerlin's sports book in the five-week competition that kicked off Friday. Ireland was 75-1.

New Zealand was a 4-5 favorite in the World Cup, which is held every four years and will wrap up with the championship game Nov. 6 at Cardiff, Wales. Australia and defending champion South Africa were 9-4 shots, with England a 10-1 third choice in a 20-team field. Betting closed when play began.

* ELECTION WAGERING: Warren Beatty is off the board so far, but Great Britain-based sports book Bowman International (www.bowmans.com) is accepting wagers on a host of other hopefuls in the 2000 United States Presidential election.

George W. Bush is a clear favorite at 2-5, with Al Gore running second at 3-1. First lady Hillary Clinton is listed at 50-1 and Jesse Jackson is a 150-1 shot. Election betting isn't allowed in Nevada.

* CONTEST WINNERS: One contestant, Mark Ross, won the entire $15,000 prize in Week 4 of the Stardust's free All-American Football Contest. Ross went 16-1.

In the Stardust Invitational contest, sports handicapper and radio-show host Dave Cokin (6-1) eliminated fellow sports analyst Dave Malinsky (4-3). This Friday night at the Stardust, handicapper Larry Ness goes up against former NFL quarterback Cliff Stoudt.