Columnist Jeff Haney: ‘Rogue’ lines out there, but not easy to find

Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2001 | 9:14 a.m.

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

Veteran sports bettors have been known to lament the lack of variety in betting lines among Las Vegas sports books.

"It's like Bruce Springsteen said -- 57 channels and nothing on," handicapper Russ Culver of the Vegas Insider website (vegasinsider.com) said at a recent betting symposium held at Palace Station.

"The common complaint in Las Vegas is that there are 50-some sports books, and they all have the same numbers."

Culver and colleague Trace Fields explained at the seminar why so-called "rogue" lines have largely disappeared here.

In a nutshell, it's because those extra half-points and points have value to sophisticated bettors. A lot of value.

"The runners and the (pro bettors) hammer any number that gets one point off the consensus, and they make a profit doing it," Culver said.

The uniformity in lines has turned off many professional gamblers to the Las Vegas scene.

"It's gotten to the point where I figured I might as well live in Indiana," said Culver, who recently moved to Indiana.

Whether you should make a bet solely because you get a good line is up for debate. What's not up for debate is that once you decide you like a game, finding the best line can make a big difference.

Fields, another pro handicapper in the Vegas Insider stable, presented an in-depth study that revealed the value of finding advantageous lines. Space prohibits us from recapping most of his research (besides, the word "logarithm" should never appear in the sports section), so we'll skip to the results:

In college football, a 1-point edge versus the consensus line is worth five games to the bettor over the course of 200 wagers, according to Fields. A 2-point edge versus the consensus is worth 10.6 games over 200 wagers, Fields said.

"Those numbers to me are significant," Fields said. "(These are) ways you can beat the book."

In pro football, a 1-point edge is worth 7.9 games over 200 wagers, and a 2-point edge is worth 14.6 games over 200 wagers, according to Fields.

"Do I expect you to find a 2-point edge? No. But there are half-point and 1-point edges out there," Fields said. "I expect people to find them."

Finding rogue lines in Las Vegas often involves pounding the pavement and venturing into sports books thought by some to lie off the beaten path.

A few quick examples:

Of course, the approach outlined here works best for medium- and low-rollers, as opposed to big-time professional bettors.

For instance, if you were to go into some of these places and ask to bet 10 dimes, they might think you mean 10 actual dimes.

Two and a half weeks ago, Syracuse opened a 2 1/2-point favorite against East Carolina in a game originally scheduled for Sept. 15 and postponed due to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11.

This week, coming off a 31-14 win over Auburn, the Orangemen were installed as 6-point favorites against East Carolina in Saturday's rescheduled game.

Las Vegas oddsmaker Pete Korner takes on Houston-based radio host Lance Zeirlein in this week's matchup at 9 p.m. Friday in the Stardust race and sports book.

The Stardust invitational features 16 celebrities and handicappers competing in a tournament format for a $10,000 prize.