Winston Cup wagering no big deal in Las Vegas

Tom Gardner

Thursday, March 6, 2003 | 9:51 a.m.

In a town full of casinos, you'd figure NASCAR fans would be flocking to the sports books on Winston Cup weekend.

Don't bet on it.

"It's a dead sport for us," said Robert Walker, race and sports book director for MGM MIRAGE's eight casinos in Las Vegas. "It's a huge weekend. It's a great event for the town. It's just not a big betting sport."

Even with some 140,000 people in attendance for Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Walker put his books' handle at $100,00 to $500,000. In comparison, $71.6 million was wagered on this year's Super Bowl in Nevada 153 sports books.

"People like to watch it, but that doesn't translate into a betting event," he said.

Walker and Chris Chavez, race and sports book supervisor at the Stardust hotel-casino, say the betting action on NASCAR is equivalent to that on the National Hockey League and far behind professional basketball.

Football -- pro, then college -- is by far the biggest draw for the sports books, Chavez said. Basketball is a distant second.

The sports book directors said NASCAR bets generally are in the $10-$20 range with few of the really large wagers that a major fight or a key football or basketball matchup can bring.

In addition, Chavez said handicappers don't follow NASCAR as closely as they do other sports, so the books keep the limits lower -- mostly under $500.

For Sunday the prerace odds on eventual winner Matt Kenseth were 18-1, although they dropped to 8-1 by the time the green flag was waved. Hometown driver Kurt Busch, who went into the race with the Winston Cup points lead, was a 4-1 favorite when the race started. He lasted 179 of the 267 laps before a multicar accident took him out.

John Avello, director of the race and sports books at the Paris Las Vegas and Bally's hotel-casinos, said bettors also can put money on proposition bets, such as picking Jeff Gordon to finish ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr., (he didn't) or predicting what make of car will win (Kenseth drove a Ford).

"It keeps it exciting," Avello said.

One proposition Walker wishes would go away is whether the race will run its advertised length or will be cut off anytime past the halfway point, such as the rain-shortened Daytona 500 that began NASCAR's season two weeks ago.

"It'll never be a major sport until they address things like that. It's like, 'We've got the money. Let's run.' It's like ending the Super Bowl at halftime," Walker said. "If it takes three days to complete, it should take three days. I think the fans are cheated out of the last few laps.

"One pit stop could have been the difference. We'll never know."

Chavez doesn't see rain-shortened races as a hindrance to betting on the sport.

"I always look at the odds for the full 500 miles, or whatever it's going to be. Each of them can win, but realistically, only a handful of them can. I'm not saying Dave Blaney can't win, but he's a one-car team.

"It's a 4-5 car NASCAR team that has a real chance of winning. Jack Roush has 4-5 drivers and all the resources in the world."

One person who wasn't putting down any money at the sports books over the weekend was Roush, who owns Kenseth's and Busch's cars along with sixth-place Jeff Burton's and Mark Martin's, who finished last with a blown engine.

"I bet on these guys every day," Roush said. "Why would I sit down at somebody else's table?"