Columnist Jeff Haney: Root states Nevada’s case on Fox News show

Wednesday, May 2, 2001 | 10:52 a.m.

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

On Capitol Hill this week, the white hats from Nevada were overcome by a familiar frustration as they heard the same old, astonishingly naive rhetoric spouted by proponents of a ban on college sports betting.

The immortal words of the Gipper probably sum up this frustration best: "There you go again."

Again, famous ex-coaches gave their sadly misguided testimony. This time it was Tom Osborne of Nebraska telling us how gamblers would blow up his mailbox when his team failed to cover the point spread -- as if outlawing wagering in Nevada would magically cause such behavior to cease.

Again, famous politicians made outlandish analogies. This time it was Sen. John McCain comparing sports betting to murder. "If murder was legal in one state and illegal in 49, etc., etc."

There you go again.

On the bright side, sports analyst Wayne Root -- one of the Nevada white hats -- fought back with an appearance on the Fox News Channel program "The O'Reilly Factor" on Friday night.

Root, a self-described Reagan Republican and longtime professional gambler, outlined his opposition to the proposed betting ban -- and, yes, his devotion to the Gipper. Root contends Republican lawmakers who support the ban are betraying Reagan's ideal of a less intrusive federal government.

"It's time somebody pointed out the hypocrisy of today's Republican leaders," Root told the Sun after his TV appearance. "Who set them up as the ultimate arbiters of right and wrong? Who says gambling on sports is wrong? Betting on sports has gone on since the beginning of time. ... It is no different from betting on stocks Monday through Friday on Wall Street.

"This betting ban bill is just another example of government intruding on the rights of Nevadans and individual Americans. The goal of the Republican Party should be to get government out of my life -- to eliminate rules and regulations, not increase the burden."

Speaking with guest host John Kasich on the program, Root reiterated the argument that illegal bookmakers stand to benefit most from the bill.

"This bill does more than just betray the Reagan legacy -- it hands the keys for a billion-dollar payday to organized crime," Root said. "My GOP has become the party of M-O-B. As I said on Fox, it should be renamed 'The Sopranos Support Bill.' Except this isn't fiction, it's a real-life example of what happens when misguided bureaucrats and politicians try to correct a 'wrong.' "

Because the Fox News Channel is not offered by Las Vegas' local cable system, only those with the dish were able to watch Root on Friday. But Root said he's confident he reached his target demographic.

"Those watching Fox News are primarily a conservative Republican audience, so it's good I was getting the word out to them," said Root, chairman and CEO of eSports & Entertainment, Inc. "A great philosopher once said, 'If everyone is ignoring the law, perhaps it is the law that is wrong, not the people.' I know Ronald Reagan would have agreed."

As a Senate committee plans to revisit the bill Thursday in Washington, Root & Co. can only hope the white hats from Nevada, just like old Grover Cleveland Alexander himself, end up on The Winning Team.

Strike one: This is perhaps the hoariest cliche in sports journalism -- and that's saying a lot. In fact, it's almost unheard of these days to see this tired allusion used without any sense of irony.

Strike two: The Yankees were not even favored in the game. In many Las Vegas sports books, the line closed at minus 105 each way -- guess you could call it a pick 'em of biblical proportions.

At the Stardust, the Yanks were -- literally -- the smallest of favorites, laying 106 to the Twins' 104. In 1 Samuel, the takeback on David was presumably a bit larger.

Moral of the story: If the mediocre Yankees are perceived as "Goliath" in the mainstream media, plenty of value is still likely to exist for sharp baseball bettors who look to play against them. ...

"Over" bettors experienced a sort of harmonic convergence in Tuesday's Pirates-Giants game. Giants pitcher Kirk Rueter had made five starts heading into the game -- and all five had gone over the total. Pirates pitcher Ramon Martinez had made three starts before Tuesday -- and all three had gone over. That's an 8-0 wave to ride.

Weather was fine in Pittsburgh, and the listed total a reasonable 9 1/2 runs. Appropriately, bettors pounded the "over" to a premium of a whopping minus 140.

By the top of the fourth inning Tuesday, 10 runs had been scored, and the Giants went on to post an 11-6 win.