Columnist Jeff Haney: Lakers are heavy favorites to pull off ‘3-peat’

Wednesday, June 20, 2001 | 10:10 a.m.

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

The Lakers have barely finished their triumphant march down Figueroa Street, and already they are listed as low as 4-5 to win next year's NBA title.

Can ... you ... dig ... it?

"I've never seen anything like that," said D. Wayne Mauldin, sports book director at the Castaways hotel-casino. "It's really remarkable."

Many Las Vegas sports book have not posted 2002 NBA futures yet, but those who have list the Lakers at close to even money -- or lower -- to win their third straight championship.

The Lakers are 4-5 at the Imperial Palace, 6-5 at Caesars Palace and related properties, and 6 1/2-5 at the Mirage and its affiliated books.

Mauldin said those are the smallest prices he can remember seeing on an NBA team this early in the year.

"Even when the Bulls were winning all their titles in '90s, you could usually find them at 3-1 or so before the season," he said.

Monday's victory parade in Los Angeles followed a rampage through the NBA playoffs in which the Lakers went 15-1 straight up and 12-3-1 against the point spread. (That assumes a point-spread victory in Game 3 of the Finals and a push in Game 2 against the Kings in two games that fell close to the number.)

Basketball bettors never stopped riding that powerful wave, even though the Lakers were favored by double digits at home and by 4 to 6 points on the road in the Finals.

"In Las Vegas, there is a strong contingency in favor of L.A. teams," Mauldin said. "Plus, the Lakers are a very public team. A lot of people jumped on them, and a lot of people made some money in the playoffs."

When the Lakers met the 76ers in the Finals, Mauldin said, betting at the Castaways followed the same pattern it did throughout L.A.'s playoff run.

Although bettors lost money when the 76ers covered in the first two games of the series, they made it back with interest in Games 3 to 5.

"The Laker money just kept coming," Mauldin said. "The only game that was really good for the house was the first game (when the underdog 76ers won outright in overtime). From then on, it was either break-even or a losing proposition for the house."

The house did come out OK in futures betting, as the Lakers' odds plummeted once the team began to catch fire. Bettors who responded by looking for value in the future book with teams such as the Sixers or Spurs failed to cash those tickets.

"There was no value for Lakers bettors in the future book," Mauldin said.

Well, there's one thing that hasn't changed.

The Regent had 49 individual golfers on the board for the U.S. Open, but Goosen and playoff opponent Mark Brooks both came out of the field (all others).

"We did well with the field coming in," Sherman said. "The odds on the field varied from 10-1 to 15-1 heading into the tournament, and settled in at 12-1."

Monday's head-to-head playoff opened at pick 'em at the Regent and most other books, although a few made Brooks a slight favorite. The bettors leaned toward Brooks in spirited action at the Regent, Sherman said, although Brooks was bet much more heavily at some other establishments here and offshore.

Before the tournament, favored Tiger Woods was bet down from 3-2 to even money at the Regent, with most of the wagers on Woods coming in at even money. The house's greatest exposure, however, was on David Duval (bet from 15-1 to 8-1), and to a lesser extent Sergio Garcia (40-1 to 25-1).

It's bad enough some books have adopted a 20-cent line in major league baseball, the avid bettor said, but there is "no excuse" for a 30-cent baseball line.

In Saturday's final, perhaps books needed all the help they could get, as bettors were on the right side of Miami's 12-1 victory over Stanford. The Hurricanes opened at minus 160 or 165 and were bet up to as high as minus 185.

At Caesars, which did use a 30-cent line, Miami opened minus 165, and the betting line closed at minus 170/plus 140.

Among those using a more palatable 20-cent line were the Stratosphere and related properties, which had it minus 160/plus 140.

Coming off her victories in the French Open and Australian Open, Jennifer Capriati is listed at 4-1 to win the women's championship, behind favored Venus Williams (5-2) and Martina Hingis (7-2).

A total of 24 individual men are listed, along with a 25-1 field (all others) bet; 19 individual women are on the board along with a 25-1 field option.

No over/under was posted on how many times we'll hear the word "fortnight" between now and July 8.

Adelman was best known for his SportsFax News Service, valued by bettors and oddsmakers for its innovative approach to sports statistics and information.