Columnist Jeff Haney: Dime line being dealt — for now

Wednesday, April 5, 2000 | 9:17 a.m.

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

It wasn't so long ago that Las Vegas baseball bettors had their choice of a couple of nickel lines to hammer away at in local sports books.

Sure, it was primarily a promotional tool designed to increase traffic in the casino.

Still, there it was: a nickel line.

If the favored team in a game was minus 120, then the underdog would be plus 115. For a value-seeking sports gambler, it didn't get much better.

So it's easy to understand the apprehension baseball bettors were feeling in recent weeks, when it looked as if sports books might switch to a 20-cent line in baseball, up from the traditional dime line.

Such a move would have effectively doubled the house edge in baseball, making the sport that much tougher to beat for gamblers.

Here's why: Because money lines, rather than point spreads, are used in baseball, the house's edge comes from the difference between the price favorite bettors lay and underdog bettors take.

For example, if the favorite is minus 140 and the underdog is plus 130, the 10 cents difference represents the house edge. Using a 20-cent line in the same game, underdog bettors would get back only 120, doubling the book's advantage.

For an avid baseball bettor -- even one who's not a high roller -- the difference can add up to thousands of dollars over the course of a season.

But even a tourist, or someone who bets the bases only occasionally, wants the most bang for his buck.

(Of course, if that tourist is simply parlaying a bunch of favorites together, it doesn't make much difference. Then again, if he's parlaying several underdogs, he is losing money by not finding the best available line.)

As it turned out, many books were still using a dime line as of opening day, although some linesmakers have said that could change later in the season. Several books switched to a 15-cent line; others are "breaking" their dime line to 15 cents before the traditional point of minus 200.

One book not budging from the familiar dime line is the Las Vegas Club downtown.

"We're an old-fashioned gambling hall, the home of the dime line," said Jonathan Jester, sports book director at the Las Vegas Club. "We don't break the line to 15 cents until $2."

Jester said he wasn't surprised by some other books' decision to alter the line.

"It's a business decision, pure and simple," Jester said. "As more places become corporately owned and corporately sponsored, they increasingly become interested in the bottom line above all else."

And books feel particularly exposed in baseball season, which attracts lots of "sharp" money but relatively little tourist action. Last year, especially before the all-star break, several Las Vegas baseball syndicates -- and their followers -- played havoc with baseball lines, managing to win bets and set up "middles" at the same time.

"It was common to see them move the lines 40 cents or more, with no buy-back," Jester said. "We hadn't seen anything like that before."

As a result of bettors' success in baseball, Regent Las Vegas officials decided to break their dime line early, going to a 15-cent line at minus 150 (takeback 135).

"The last two baseball seasons have been horrific (for books)," said Jeff Sherman, sports book supervisor at the Regent. "If it starts out like that again, we might bump it up, but we are starting out at 10 cents. We'll see how it goes; nothing is set in stone."

Here's a sample of how some other Las Vegas casinos are dealing the baseball line so far:

Mirage properties are using a dime line up to 130, where it becomes an 11-cent line (takeback 119). At 140 it becomes 12 cents, at 150 13 cents (takeback 137), and so on.

Park Place properties (Hilton, Bally's, Paris, Caesars), Stratosphere and Imperial Palace are using a 15-cent line.

Mandalay Bay, Station Casinos, Leroy's and Fiesta are using a dime line with an early break at approximately 150, similar to the Regent.

Dime lines are in place at Coast properties, Excalibur and related properties, Hard Rock, MGM Grand, Plaza, Santa Fe, Stardust and other Boyd properties, Rio and Arizona Charlie's. (Note: Books not identified as "early breakers" may sometimes break the line to 15 cents before $2, perhaps at $1.80 or $1.85).

* HEAD TO HEAD: Mandalay Bay offers a prop featuring baseball rivalries. Bettors can wager on which team will win more games this season: The Yankees or Mets; the Giants or Dodgers; the Astros or Rangers; and the Cubs or White Sox.

* THE MASTERS: Tiger Woods is a 2-1 favorite at the Regent to win this year's Masters, which begins Thursday and is the biggest event of the year in golf betting.

"By far. It's not even close," Sherman said. "It's like the Kentucky Derby or Super Bowl of golf."

In the early wagering, bettors were shying away from Woods and his short price, but putting their money down on a wide selection of others.

"Most of our tickets are dispersed across the board on a lot of different golfers," Sherman said. "I opened Tiger at 9-5 and adjusted the line up because we weren't getting much action on him." Among its proposition bets, the Regent is offering 10 matchups and eight over/unders, including the winning score (279), the cut (148 1/2) and John Daly's first-round score (76).

* NCAA FINAL WRAP: It was only appropriate that the total in Monday night's NCAA championship game went "over" 143 points after being bet down from as high as 147. Books made out well the entire tournament, thanks to balanced action and plenty of underdogs covering. "It was almost like a bookmaker's dream," Jester said shortly before Michigan State beat Florida 89-76 in Monday's final. "They are betting the under here, but we are also getting a lot of two-way action, just like we've had for the whole NCAA Tournament."