Columnist Jeff Haney: On overtime finish for football competition

Friday, Dec. 2, 2005 | 8:13 a.m.

Jeff Haney's sports betting column appears Monday, Friday (gaming) and Wednesday (poker). Reach him at (702) 259-4041 or haney@lasvegassun.com.

By any measure, the inaugural "College Challenge" football handicapping contest sponsored by Leroy's sports books was a success.

Anyone could pony up $250 before the season to participate, with a maximum of three entries per person. Contestants predicted seven college football games against the point spread each week from a list of 32 selected games, and all of the entry fees were earmarked to be returned in prize money.

Leroy's guaranteed a minimum prize pool of $50,000, but that wasn't necessary because the contest drew 364 entrants, generating a $91,000 pot that would pay the top 30 finishers.

It was expected that the prize money would be distributed after last Saturday's games. The contest was originally scheduled to run for 12 weeks.

But in a development that surprised even its top two finishers, the "College Challenge" has gone into overtime, with the top prize of $45,500 at stake. The runner-up will win $9,100 -- not a bad payday, but a substantial dropoff from No. 1.

After last weekend's action, two contestants were tied for first place, each with an impressive record of 56 wins and 28 losses.

One of them was Fezzik, the one-name Las Vegas professional sports bettor. The other, a bettor from California who traveled to Las Vegas each week to submit his picks, goes by the handle "Maj Ent" in the contest.

Fezzik held a slight lead going into Week 12 and went 5-2 on last Saturday's card, but Mr. Ent went 6-1 to pull into the tie for first.

Both contestants assumed the prize money for the top two places would be combined and whacked between them equally. The contest's rules, however, dictate that a one-week playoff determine the overall winner in the event of a tie.

All such handicapping contests are approved and monitored by state gaming regulators.

So Leroy's printed a selection sheet for this Saturday's game just for the two finalists.

"The two players who tied for first have to put in another week's worth of picks to determine a winner," said Arne Lang, co-host of the "Leroy's Sports Hour" radio show. "Of course, that doesn't preclude the individuals from working out some kind of a private deal between themselves."

The two finalists were scheduled to meet for the first time and discuss the situation before today's 5 p.m. deadline to submit their picks.

Their selections are scheduled to be announced on tonight's "Leroy's Sports Hour" at 8 p.m. on KDWN 720-AM.

Oddsmakers and bettors see Saturday's middleweight title rematch between Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor as a competitive, evenly matched fight.

Fight week had Hopkins a small favorite at some Las Vegas casinos and Taylor a small favorite at others. The pay-per-view bout will be at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

"It's a nice betting fight, and we're seeing great two-way action," Rich Baccellieri, Palms sports book manager, said. "We're taking plenty of action, and that's the way it should be for a fight like this, for the middleweight championship of the world."

Taylor was a 3-2 underdog when he ended Hopkins' long reign atop the middleweight division by winning a split decision in July.

In the rematch, the Palms had Taylor listed as a minus-120 favorite (risk $1.20 to win $1) with Hopkins at even money (risk $1 to win $1).

The fight is expected to go the distance. It's minus-190 it will last the full scheduled 12 rounds and plus-165 it won't.

In Saturday's top undercard bout, Oscar Larios and Israel Vazquez square off for the world super bantamweight title.

Larios is a minus-360 favorite with Vazquez a plus-280 underdog, according to odds at all Station Casinos properties.