Columnist Jeff Haney: Veterans — not draftees — spur NFL wagers

Wednesday, April 19, 2000 | 9:54 a.m.

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

Any NFL betting action around draft time is generated by big-name veteran players who change teams as a result of trades or free agency -- not by the draftees themselves.

So as entertaining as Saturday's Round 1 of the NFL draft was for football fans, it had little effect on NFL futures books in Las Vegas casinos.

"Nobody's going to say, 'Hey, the Jets got Chad Pennington! Let me go bet on them!' " said Jay Kornegay, sports book director at the Imperial Palace.

Nothing against Pennington, a quarterback out of Marshall who has received some positive reviews. It's just that barring a surprising trade at the last minute, most draft-day decisions are foregone conclusions.

"The draft doesn't affect the futures book much at all," Kornegay said. "The only time it comes into play is when you have trades involving veteran players. Most line movements this time of year are based on trades or free-agent signings."

For example, the Redskins have been bet down to 4-1 to win the Super Bowl from an opening line of 10-1 at the Imperial Palace.

But that support is not based on the 'Skins' performance in the first round of the draft, in which they chose highly touted linebacker LaVar Arrington and offensive lineman Chris Samuels.

Bettors knew going into Saturday that Washington owned the second and third picks overall, and had wagered accordingly.

"The Redskins have received a lot of publicity, and they deserve it," Kornegay said. "But the adjustments had already been made."

Sunset Station sports book director Tom Smilanich said the pattern was similar at the Henderson resort.

"We saw a little movement in the futures early on leading up to the draft, when a few of the major deals were made," Smilanich said. "The Redskins were a popular play when they signed (defensive end) Bruce Smith and made a couple of other big pickups," such as safety Mark Carrier and linebacker Kevin Mitchell.

"Another good example is Tampa Bay, which attracted some action before the draft when they traded for (wide receiver) Keyshawn Johnson," Smilanich said. "We're not talking tons of money, just some interest, and primarily on Tampa Bay and Washington.

"The draft itself didn't generate a whole lot of action. I think you'll see the next (major) moves when training camps open."

* BASEBALL NOTES: Sports books were forced to make an unusual -- but easy -- call last week when Wednesday's game between the Dodgers and the Giants was suspended due to rain with the visiting Dodgers leading 3-2 in the middle of the sixth inning.

Because the Giants did not get a chance to bat in their half of the inning, the game resumed Thursday from the time play was suspended.

For betting purposes, all money was refunded. Run-line and over/under wagers were automatic refunds because 8 1/2 innings had not been played when the action was halted. Bets on either side were refunded because the game was officially suspended, not shortened. ...

Wonder why the dime line continues to be so widespread in baseball wagering but not in other sports? So does Jeff Sherman, sports book supervisor at the Regent Las Vegas. "I think it should be a 20-cent line," Sherman said. "Every other sport has it. In football or basketball, if one team is minus 110, the other team is minus 110 too; it's not even. And baseball is the sport (that books) have the least amount of hold on."

Indeed, Nevada sports books' win percentage -- or hold -- in baseball was just 1 percent in fiscal 1999, according to the most recent figures released by the State Gaming Control Board. In contrast, the hold on football was 4.41 percent and on basketball it was 5.23 percent. (The win percentage on parlay cards was 23.54 percent.) Yet the baseball dime line thrives.

* NBA FUTURES: It looks as if most of the Laker money that was going to be wagered in futures books has already been wagered.

After accepting a steady flow of Laker money all season, sports books are in effect saying they do not want any more by posting extremely short prices on the Lakers to win the NBA championship.

Most books in Las Vegas list the Lakers as overwhelming favorites in the area of 1-2 or 2-5, although a 4-5 line can still be found at Jerry's Nugget in North Las Vegas. The NBA regular season ends Wednesday and the playoffs begin Saturday.

* NOTABLE: Fernando Vargas' 12-round unanimous decision over Ike Quartey in a 154-pound title bout Saturday night commanded strong two-way betting action. Vargas went off as a favorite of between 5-2 and 3-1. "Betting action was very good both ways and heavier than I thought it would be," said Smilanich. "It worked out well for us, and it was good to see for boxing, because with that sport you never know what's going to happen." ... The Regent lists Bruce Fleisher as a 9-2 favorite to win this weekend's Las Vegas Senior Classic at the TPC at Summerlin. Hale Irwin is a 5-1 second choice. And Fleisher and Irwin are paired in the Regent's featured matchup as well, with Fleisher a small favorite. ... In Saturday's Vegas Indy 300, the Indy Racing Northern Lights Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Scott Goodyear is a 7-2 favorite at the Regent, followed b y Buddy Lazier at 4-1 and Greg Ray and Al Unser, Jr., each 6-1.