Sports books jammed with tourney fans

Dan Kulin

Monday, March 22, 2004 | 10:55 a.m.

Andrew Meyer bet on all 48 games in the NCAA college basketball tournament since Thursday -- except two.

Meyer said he just couldn't bet on the two games involving his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin. He wanted them to win too badly.

"I didn't touch the Wisconsin game. It would be just too much heartbreak if they lost and I lost money on it too," Meyer said Sunday while watching Wisconsin play on one of the giant screens at Caesars Palace's sports book.

In the end, Meyer's apprehension saved him some money, and a little heartbreak, as Wisconsin won Friday, but then lost by four points to the University of Pittsburgh on Sunday.

But despite his favorite team's season coming to an end, Meyer said thanks to his earlier wagers he was able to "come out a little ahead," on the basketball games.

"But I definitely lost it on blackjack," he said.

The March trip to Las Vegas is an annual tradition for Meyer. For seven of the last eight years, Meyer, who wore a red and white Wisconsin jersey, said he and 10 to 20 friends have come to Las Vegas to bet on and watch the tournament.

"We love college basketball and we love to all get together," said Meyer, 33, a marketing manager from Los Angeles.

And Meyer and his friends are far from alone.

The NCAA tournament trails only the Super Bowl in money wagered on sporting events in Nevada, and the tournament's busiest days are the four during which the field is whittled to 16, local sports book officials said.

"This closely compares to the Super Bowl, with the electricity and the excitement, especially the first four days," said Chuck Esposito, assistant vice president of race and sports book operations at Caesars Palace. "Nothing compares to the first four days of March mania."

Jay Kornegay, director of race and sports at the Imperial Palace, said about $81 million was bet on the Super Bowl this year in Nevada, and in a typical year about $70 million will be wagered on NCAA tournament games.

"I wouldn't be surprised if this year it's around $75 million," he said about tournament bets statewide. "Maybe it's that people are not afraid to travel, or it's the popularity of the sport.

"But here you can watch all the games at once on the big screens and with all your buddies and you can't do that in your living room."

At the Imperial Palace, a large dinner hall is converted into NCAA nirvana, with 10 big screen televisions going at once.

"It's convenient, it's fun and there's a big crowd," Marti Smith said about the setup at the Imperial Palace. "You can sit at home and watch it but it's not the same."

Smith's husband Greg Smith, 40, said he also likes seeing "some of the characters" that show up.

For example, last year a man would flap his arms while watching the St. Joseph's University Hawks play, he said.

The Smiths, from Salt Lake City, have been coming to Las Vegas for the beginning of the NCAA tournament for the last eight or 10 years, they said.

Even though their alma mater the University of Utah lost Friday, they were still enjoying the tournament.

"I love to see the underdog teams win, it's exciting," Marti Smith said.

Dan Schmidt, 36, a doctor from Spokane, Wash., also saw his team make an early exit from the tournament when Gonzaga University lost to the University of Nevada, Reno on Saturday.

"But there's so much going on here at once it really holds your attention," Schmidt said Sunday.

Kornegay said Gonzaga's early exit and Stanford University's loss will dampen the crowds because they were the favorite West Coast teams, but he added that having UNR win should boost interest in the tournament locally.