Jeff Haney hunts down the best values available on parlay cards for those wagering on such a losing proposition

Monday, Oct. 9, 2006 | 7:32 a.m.

Sports bettors in Nevada risked a collective $63 million on parlay-card wagers alone in 2005, a figure that has more or less held steady for the past several years.

The casinos "held" - or won - about 24.8 percent of the total amount of money bet on parlay cards, or more than $15.6 million, according to the state Gaming Control Board.

The percentage held was down from the previous two years, when parlay-card bettors lost about one-third of the amount they risked.

Still, the figures illustrate that parlay cards do big business in the state's sports books, and that bettors can be expected to lose a healthy portion of the money they wager. In comparison, the casinos' "hold rate" on traditional baseball, basketball and football bets, excluding parlay cards, was between 3.8 and 6.7 percent last year, according to the Gaming Control Board.

Parlay-card wagers differ from so-called "off the board" parlays in that all selections must be made from those brightly colored, eye-catching cardboard tickets that casinos issue each week during football season.

A traditional favorite of casual bettors and Las Vegas tourists, parlay cards can also be a good option for more sophisticated bettors who are looking to catch an off-market betting line on a particular game or games.

Because parlay cards are printed and distributed in the early or middle part of the week and the point spreads printed on them remain stagnant - as opposed to the dynamic lines on the betting board - gamblers can sometimes find bargains on games in which the point spread has been adjusted. (If a line moves too much, of course, the game is often declared off-limits for parlay-card bettors - an occupational hazard of sorts for value-seeking sports bettors.)

While some sports books offer a wide selection of parlay cards - usually containing permutations of the phrases, "super," "mega," and "teaser" in their titles - they all offer a standard card in which ties are either impossible (due to the use of half-points in the point spreads listed) or considered no action.

This version of a football parlay card is not only the most widespread, but also most likely to offer bettors the most value. For example, so-called "ties win" cards might sound attractive, but they typically don't offer high enough odds when you take into account the percentage of games that are likely to end in a "push," or a tie against the point spread.

And super, mega, teaser, etc., cards veer way too close to the land of carnival games for our liking.

Payout odds on cards that are otherwise virtually identical can vary considerably from casino to casino. Here's a rundown of highlights and lowlights from this year's crop of parlay cards:

(Speaking of carnivals, all casinos are equally guilty of listing their parlay-card payouts using the phrase "for 1," which makes it sound like we're playing pull tabs at a parish Christmas bazaar or something, rather than betting sports in a highly regulated gaming jurisdiction. For the record, 7 1/2 "for 1" is the same as 6 1/2 "to 1.")