IP’s early college football lines continue to entice anxious bettors

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, July 11, 2002 | 10:37 a.m.

UNLV doesn't play BYU in football for another three months, but anxious college football bettors don't have to wait that long to get a line on the game.

That contest and 77 others were posted last weekend at the Imperial Palace Race and Sports Book as "Games of the Year." BYU opened as a 7 1/2-point favorite for the Oct. 19 game in Provo, but the spread has already been bet up to nine.

"We've been doing this for quite a long time," said Jay Kornegay, Imperial Palace director of race and sports. "And it's expanded quite a bit the last four or five years.

"Back when we first did this around 1990, we started off with teams like Florida State or Miami or Notre Dame. If we anticipated they'd be in a big game, we'd put up one or two early games in the summer. Now it's expanded to over 70 games in the college ranks. And that has proved so popular that we decided to do NFL "Games of the Year" a few years ago."

Diehard football fans here on vacation who won't be around when the official lines are posted the week of November 23 can now plop down a few bucks on, say, the USC-UCLA game (UCLA favored by 1 1/2) or Michigan-Ohio State (OSU by three).

"We have all of the top 25 teams up there," Kornegay said. "We put up most of the games with conference championship implications and also the rivalry games. We like to put those games up because they're the games that draw the most interest. They're also the games most likely to wind up on TV and be wagered on."

To say the promotion during the dog days of summer has been popular for the Imperial Palace would be a vast understatement.

"I have guys who will come up and bet every game just so they can have action all during the year," Kornegay said.

Kornegay is the first to admit that his opening lines could change dramatically as the season unfolds. But he counters that the risk of betting games early goes both ways.

"Some of these point spreads will move tremendously," he said. "Due to injuries and performances, they can move around. I've seen some games move as much as 20 points for teams that are up and coming. Maryland was a big surprise like that last season.

"A team like Oklahoma might be a 10-point favorite over Colorado in July, but come November, Colorado could be a 10-point favorite. That might be hard to think of right now, but it happens.

"People are always bringing up the risk involved of booking these games now, but the bettor is also putting himself at risk. When you bet a game so far in advance, do you really know what is going to happen with those teams or what injuries they're going to have? Not really. Nor do I. But I'm just giving you a chance to play the game if you want."

Kornegay has also posted odds for the Fiesta Bowl, the BCS national championship game on Jan. 3. Defending national champion Miami, Oklahoma, Texas and Florida State are listed as favorites at 6-to-1. If you think John Robinson and Co. can pull off a real stunner, you can get UNLV at 1,000-to-1.

"Yeah, we've had a few people wager on UNLV," Kornegay said. "It's probably more of a sentimental bet. Do they have a shot? Most likely not. But we want to give them the opportunity (to be posted). And if they win it, good for them."

The UNLV-BYU game is one of four Rebels games on the early board. Bettors can get UNLV at plus 5 1/2 against Wisconsin, minus 8 against Kansas and plus 9 against Oregon State.

Kornegay and sports book manager Ed Salmons have been busy crunching numbers the past few weeks for another popular college football proposition that will be posted Saturday -- win totals for top Division I teams.

"Of all of the lines we make, those are the toughest," Kornegay said. "You've got to really research it. Who do (teams) have coming back? What's the schedule like? What back-to-back games do they have? If they play three straight road games, who's the third one against? And you usually have so many new players and starters to factor in. The pros are more consistent in that regard."

In the end, Kornegay hopes to accomplish what any good sports book wants: good two-way action on each game. Then no matter who wins, the IP usually will come away with its 10 percent vigorish.

"Sometimes (the bettors) can middle us and sometimes we can middle them," Kornegay said. "So it all pretty much equals out in the long run."

College football odds

Selected games courtesy of the Imperial Palace.

a--at East Rutherford, N.J.

b--at Denver