Columnist Jeff Haney: Wagering not a drag for drivers, fans

Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2001 | 10:24 a.m.

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

Station Casinos odds to win the major categories in the ACDelco Nationals Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

Think there's no drama in betting on drag races?

Think again, says Santa Fe Station sports book director Micah Roberts.

Last time the NHRA Winston Drag Racing series visited Las Vegas, Roberts made driver Jerry Toliver a 40-1 shot to win the Funny Car category.

Toliver apparently saw the long odds as some kind of an affront to his manhood, and marched into the Palace Station sports book demanding to bet $10,000 on himself.

Because $10,000 would have exceeded the casino's upper limit on the proposition, the wager was refused -- which saved Toliver a lot of money when he failed to qualify for the final event, let alone win.

Still, the driver wasn't appeased.

"He went on the RPM2night-type shows on TV, ranting about how he was 40-1," Roberts said. "I think he felt we were taking a personal shot at him.

"The risk would have been so high that we couldn't take the ($10,000) bet, and that really seemed to irritate (Toliver). The bottom line was he didn't qualify."

Roberts, who has carved out a reputation as Las Vegas' No. 1 motor sports oddsmaker, says the episode illustrates how closely professional drag racers follow the betting lines on their races.

Odds hit the board Monday for this weekend's ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

"The drivers, teams and fans all love this stuff," Roberts said. "The drivers are very open about the wagering, and they have a lot of fun with it. I expect betting to really pick up (today) and Thursday as more people arrive in town."

According to Roberts' odds, which appear at all Station properties, Kenny Bernstein is a 5-2 favorite in the hotly contested Top Fuel division, just ahead of rival Larry Dixon (7-2).

Drag racing legend John Force is a 5-2 favorite in the Funny Car category, while Warren Johnson is a 9-5 choice in the Pro Stock division.

Local driver George Marnell is a 22-1 shot in Pro Stock.

And take note, Jerry Toliver: You're listed at 20-1 in the Funny Car category.

Distaff: Flute is a 6-5 choice over Spain.

Juvenile Fillies: Bella Bellucci is a pick 'em against Habibti.

Mile: Irish Prize 6-5 over Val Royal.

Sprint: Kona Gold 6 1/2-5 over Delaware Township.

Filly & Mare Turf: England's Legend 7-5 over Starine.

Juvenile: Shiphonic 6-5 over Came Home.

Turf: Timboroa pick 'em against Anticipation.

Classic: Fantastic Light 6-5 over Galileo.

At the Stardust, the Yanks opened minus 115 on the series price and were bet to minus 135 by late Tuesday. The takeback on the Diamondbacks is plus 115.

Mirage properties were among those offering World Series propositions, including:

Yanks in a sweep: 7-1 (down from an opening line of 8-1).

Yanks in 5: 9-2.

Yanks in 6: 11-2.

Yanks in 7: 5-1.

Diamondbacks in a sweep: 12-1 (up from 10-1).

Diamondbacks in 5: 13-2.

Diamondbacks in 6: 7-2.

Diamondbacks in 7: 7-2. ...

The consensus over/under in Saturday's Game 1 at Phoenix is a seldom-seen 6 1/2. Mirage properties did post a 6 1/2 this past Sunday in Game 5 of the NLCS, which the Diamondbacks won 3-2 to clinch the series when Randy Johnson outdueled Tom Glavine. At other Las Vegas sports books, the total was 7, but with a hefty premium of up to minus 150 on the under.

During the regular season oddsmakers rarely if ever hang a total lower than 7 runs on a baseball game.

In Game 1 of the Series, the Diamondbacks and Curt Schilling opened a minus 130 favorite over Mike Mussina and the Yankees, according to odds at the Imperial Palace.

In fact, underdogs won outright in 11 of the 12 games they covered -- which is always good news for anyone who strings together a bunch of money lines in an all-dog parlay.

The Rams were the only favorite to win and cover, beating the Jets 34-14; the Lions were the only underdog to cover but lose straight-up, falling 27-24 to the Titans.

It was the second straight week of 'dog days, as over the past two weeks underdogs are 23-3-1 against the spread.

This is probably best viewed as a correction, as they call it on Wall Street, rather than a seismic shift. After all, before the past two weeks, favorites had been covering at a well-above-average 67 percent clip this season.

Historically, favorites in the NFL cover the spread about 49 percent of the time.

Both men hit their best bet -- Nover with the Redskins and Mack with the Rams on Sunday's NFL card. Mack had a setback when UNLV lost to Colorado State as a 4-point favorite.

At 9 p.m. Friday at the Stardust race and sports book, Bob Donahue of Vegas Insider faces former Oakland Raider Napoleon McCallum.

The invitational features 16 entrants competing in a single-elimination tournament for a $10,000 prize.