Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Columnist Jeff Haney: Saying if you like the Steelers, better put your money on them now for the best price

Jeff Haney's sports betting column appears Monday, Friday (gaming) and Wednesday (poker). Reach him at (702) 259-4041 or [email protected].

The point spread on the Super Bowl is sitting at 4 points at most Las Vegas sports books, with the AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers favored against the NFC's Seattle Seahawks.

If you like the Steelers, you're probably not going to find a much better price than that between now and game time, according to Jeff Sherman, Las Vegas Hilton assistant sports book manager.

"We're seeing a lot of Steelers money," Sherman said. "We opened it at 3 1/2 early, but went to 4 quickly, so most of our betting started at 4. It's been pretty heavy on the Pittsburgh side.

"The number's definitely going up, not down."

Before changing the line to 4 1/2 points in response to bettors playing the Steelers, sports books are likely to adjust the premium you have to pay on the favorite minus 4 points.

For example, rather than requiring bettors to risk the traditional $1.10 to win $1, they might make the price minus-4, minus-115 (risk $1.15 to win $1).

The Stardust and the Imperial Palace, in fact, had that price on the board Thursday.

The majority of money wagered on the Super Bowl does not start coming in until next weekend, Sherman said, beginning to show up the Friday before the game and continuing to pour in through Super Bowl Sunday.

This week in Las Vegas, much of the betting is devoted to hammering the lines on Super Bowl propositions -- or "props" -- into shape, Sherman said. Props are the offbeat or nontraditional wagers linked to the game, and the Hilton is one of the leaders in that area.

"We see people who are going around looking for differences in the props (odds) between the different properties," Sherman said.

The over/under, or "total," on the big game has settled in at 47 1/2 points at the Hilton and most other Las Vegas shops. The line opened at 48 points at the Hilton, but is attracting solid action on both sides at 47 1/2, Sherman said.

"Over the course of the next week, you could see it creep up, because traditionally the public likes to play the favorite and the over," Sherman said. "Unless the pros (professional bettors) deem it too high and come in on the under, it will probably go a little higher."

* * *

Professional gambler Alan Boston has opened a small lead against handicapper Brent Crow, his opponent in the "Beat Boston" college basketball betting contest, with both contestants performing well against the point spread after the first three weeks of the eight-week competition.

Boston went 4-2 against the point spread in Saturday's action, hitting his best bet for the third consecutive week, while Crow went 3-3 and also connected on his best bet. Boston now leads the contest, 13 1/2 points to 12 points.

Each man picks six college basketball games against the spread each Friday night at the Riviera in the contest, which is sponsored by Leroy's sports books. Best-bet winners are worth 1 1/2 contest points; other wins are each worth 1 point. The contest carries a $50,000 winner-take-all prize.

Boston, an accomplished poker player affiliated with fulltiltpoker.com, had a best-bet winner with Boston College against Miami, and Crow nailed his top play with New Mexico against Air Force. In the hours after Boston announced the selection, Boston College went from a small underdog to a small favorite at most sports books.

After three weeks, Boston has a record of 12-6 while Crow, online at sportsmemo.com, is 11-7. Their combined mark of 23-13 works out to a 64 percent clip against the spread.

* * *

Offshore sports book Pinnacle (pinnaclesports.com) has posted some propositions on how Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush of Southern Cal will fare next season in the NFL.

Although Bush is expected to attract plenty of hype in his first year as a pro, he is an underdog of more than 2-1 to make the Pro Bowl as a rookie, according to Pinnacle odds.

It's plus-132 (risk $1 to win $1.32 plus your original stake back) that Bush will rush for 1,000 yards as a rookie, and he's an underdog of about 4-1 to take after LaDainian Tomlinson by throwing a touchdown pass.

Bush is a small favorite, at minus-119, to win the league's offensive rookie of the year award.

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