Columnist Jeff Haney: Woods’ feat poses dilemma for oddsmaker

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2000 | 10:04 a.m.

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

Golf fans can take delight in the sheer dominance Tiger Woods has shown during his string of six victories in his last six PGA Tour events.

Nostalgia freaks can revel in the history lesson Woods has given along the way, invoking the names of Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan and Johnny Miller.

Even headline writers and ESPN punsters can have fun discussing "Tiger's roar" and Woods' polishing off a "Six Pack."

But for a golf oddsmaker, Woods' streak poses a unique set of challenges.

Specifically, how to deal with a guy who is already an overwhelming favorite each time he competes, yet continues to attract more public money than any other golfer -- and still manages to win the darn thing six times in a row.

"We're in uncharted waters," said sports book supervisor Jeff Sherman, who sets golf odds for the Regent Las Vegas (formerly Resort at Summerlin).

One answer to the question of how Sherman is meeting the challenge can be found on the board in the Regent's sports book, where Woods is listed as a 2-1 favorite to win this week's Buick Invitational and a 2-1 shot to win the Masters in April.

That's minus 200 -- not against one other player in a matchup proposition, mind you, but to win the title. Woods is too heavy a favorite to be included in matchup props.

With the exception of small-field events such as the Williams World Challenge, those are about the lowest odds that will ever be posted on a player to win a golf tournament.

"And it was only a few years ago that it was common to get 8-1 on the favorite in a tournament," Sherman said.

Until Tiger changed the face of golf betting.

Sherman said he dropped Woods to 2-1 in the Masters after bettors didn't hesitate to put money on him at 5-2. In the Buick, Woods was at 5-2 Monday morning before his stunning comeback victory in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

"I made him 2-1 in anticipation of money coming in on him," Sherman said. "If it doesn't come in, I can always adjust it. I'm just taking a few steps so I don't have a big liability going into the tournament.

"If a lot of bets do come in at 2-1, you might even see him go down to 8-5. I've seen some books in Europe are listing him at plus 175, or just under 2-1."

Sherman has already adjusted the line on the prop bet "Exactly how many majors will Tiger Woods win in 2000," lowering the odds on "1 major" from even money to 4-5, and increasing the odds on "zero majors" from 2-3 to 4-5. He said several bets have come in on "4 majors (Grand Slam)," a 50-1 shot.

Sherman is feeling confident in the house's position in a prop bet that closed Jan. 5 -- the over/under on the number of PGA Tour wins by Woods in 2000. That total closed at 4 1/2.

"Before that one closed, they were betting the under," Sherman said. "And he's already won two."

Another golfer attracting attention from bettors in Masters wagering is Tom Lehman, who's down to 25-1 from 30-1. The Masters is scheduled for April 6-9 at Augusta National Golf Club.

"Besides Tiger, he's probably the player showing the best form," said Sherman, whose expertise in the sport has helped make the Regent the area's golf-betting headquarters. "In addition to those two, we're writing a lot of balanced action on the Masters."

In the Regent's marquee matchup prop for the Buick Invitational, Lehman is minus 120 against Davis Love III, who is listed at even money. Seven other matchups are offered, including a classic showdown between Bob May and Bob Tway, both minus 110. The tournament begins Thursday.

The city's only line on the scheduled April 1 heavyweight fight between Chris Byrd and Lawrence Clay-Bey can also be found at the Regent, which will host the bout. Byrd is minus 400, Clay-Bey plus 325.

And the Regent is the lone Las Vegas property to offer odds on which soccer team will win the 1999-2000 English Premiership. Manchester United is a 1-4 favorite, with Arsenal a 9-2 second choice and Leeds United at 5-1. Three teams are 500-1 long shots.

"There are enough people who follow (English soccer) and want a little action on it to make it worthwhile," said Sherman. "I know there are a couple of English bars here in town, and we have an Irish pub right here in the hotel, so I better keep up with it."

* DERBY FUTURES: Churchill Downs' Kentucky Derby futures book will have a larger potential audience this year, as outlets in 11 additional states plan to offer the wager, the track has announced. Tracks and other betting sites -- including Las Vegas race books -- in 26 states will offer the wager this year, up from 15 last year.

Consisting of three separate four-day pools, the Churchill futures wagering attracted a total of $676,233 last year.

It will be interesting to see what kind of value -- if any -- the "field" offers this year, considering 1999 Derby winner Charismatic was part of the field in each of the three futures pools.

In most traditional Las Vegas futures books, Anees is the current Derby favorite.

* SUPER BOWL RECAP: The $4.2 million won by Nevada's 147 sports books on the Super Bowl was the most since the books pocketed $7.1 million in 1996, according to the Gaming Control Board.

Books posted a win of $2.9 million last year, $472,000 in 1998, $2.3 million in 1997, $7.5 million in 1994, $7.2 million in 1993, $301,000 in 1992, and $3.5 million in 1991, according to state figures.

Casinos actually lost about $396,000 on the 1995 game, when heavily favored San Francisco pounded San Diego, 49-26.

* FREE CONTEST: NCAA Tournament time is approaching, but there are still a few weeks left to enter the free college basketball contest at the Wild Wild West hotel-casino. Entrants choose up to 20 games a week against the opening line, with $500 (aggregate) awarded to the person who picks the most winners, and a $1,000 bonus (aggregate) awarded to anyone who can go 10-for-10 on Saturday.