CBS connected to Las Vegas oddsmaker

Thursday, Jan. 25, 2001 | 11:12 a.m.

With CBS about to air the Super Bowl and the NCAA basketball tournament, the broadcaster has been found to have an embarrassing stake in Las Vegas' biggest oddsmaker, according to a report in the New York Post.

Professional sports leagues and college sports bar any direct association with gambling and they have been cracking down on media partners having any ties -- or even taking ads from -- gambling operations.

CBS' stake in the legal oddsmaker -- which provides three-quarters of the odds information for all casinos -- was disclosed this week in an online report by Brill's Content. The report said that CBS' ownership in the shop of fabled Las Vegas oddsmaker Michael "Roxy" Roxborough -- Las Vegas Sports Consultants -- has been obscured in its corporate structure.

CBS never publicly announced it took an ownership stake in the gambling operation 10 months ago through two subsidiaries. CBS owns 19.8 percent of SportsLine.com, whose subsidiary, Vegas Insider, purchased Roxborough's company for about $7 million.

It was the second time CBS has become embroiled in gambling. A year ago,its SportsLine was discovered running ads from off-shore bookies. CBS dropped the contract and had anchor Greg Gumbel read a nationwide apology.