Columnist Ron Kantowski: Stations parks its F-1 betting

Tuesday, May 21, 2002 | 10:05 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's insider notes column appears Tuesday and his Page One column appears Thursday. He can be reached at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

It's the biggest race on the Formula One calendar but you won't be able to wager on the outcome of this weekend's Grand Prix of Monaco in Las Vegas.

Micah Roberts, auto racing oddsmaker for Station Casinos, said the Ferrari team's command to have its No. 2 driver, Rubens Barrichello, pull over just a few hundred yards from the finish at the Austrian Grand Prix on May 12 so that teammate and championship leader Michael Schumacher could win the race (and an additional four points) has forced him to take traditional F-1 wagers off the board.

While there probably is more money wagered on Taxicab Confessions than Formula One in Las Vegas, Roberts said Station, the only entity that offers F-1 betting, would offer alternative wagering for its F-1 fans. Most of it will probably be head-to-head matchups featuring drivers for teams not involved in the championship battle.

In other words, everybody but Ferrari. ...

Elsewhere, it wasn't exactly Hickory High in "Hoosiers," but Norman Dale and Shooter would have been proud of the way Boulder City High, which normally competes in Class 3A, dominated their 4A (big schools) competition en route to winning the boys' state swimming championship at UNLV over the weekend. ... There were so many 1-0 and 2-1 games at the girls state softball championship you would have sworn that Bob Gibson and Juan Marichal were doing the pitching. But observers said the lack of spectator seating at the new Stephanie Lynn Craig diamonds is something NIAA officials need to address before next year's tournament. ... Finally on the prep front, charge Bishop Gorman with a little hyperbole for announcing that a couple of its athletes planned to sign with "major universities" last Friday. One was Westmont University and the other was Minnesota State, which is not to be confused with "Coach" Hayden Fox's TV alma mater. ...

Forget fingerprints and DNA. Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione has testified he believed those photos of Judith Soltesz-Benetton that were identified as Anna Kornikova in his magazine had to be the tennis star because of her wristwatch, freckles and the "attitude of the pinkie" -- i.e., the way she points her little finger. Anybody who shelled out 6 bucks for a gander of the bogus magazine photos would like to pose with another finger extended for Guccione's benefit. ... We all make mistakes, but the researchers for a big shot like Bob Costas should know better. While teasing his HBO show last week, Costas said he would interview race driver Tony Stewart leading up to the Indy 500. The only problem is that Stewart isn't driving at Indianapolis this year. ...

I had to laugh when a wire story said Las Vegan Andre Agassi could face a fine for his late withdrawal from the Hamburg Open. You could take all the zeroes from the long-range Antarctic weather forecast, put a one in front of them, and it still wouldn't break through Agassi's well-insulated pocketbook. ... As if he needs them, Tiger Woods is soon going to start playing with some new high-tech Nike irons. That's more bad news for Phil Mickelson. Instead of "Tiger-proofing" the course, maybe the PGA should make Woods play with the tools from the groundskeepers' shed. ...

Early nominee for fight of the year: Micky Ward vs. Arturo Gotti on HBO Saturday night. What a slugfest! Barring a Kitaen vs. Finley rematch, I don't see anything topping this one.