Tigerless tourney up for grabs

By Jeff Haney (contact)

Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Without a Tiger type in the field to skew the betting odds as a heavy favorite, this week’s Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open shapes up as an attractive golf tournament for gamblers.

Mike Weir has been installed as a 12-1 favorite to win the event, which takes place today through Sunday at TPC Summerlin, followed by Rory Sabbatini and Hunter Mahan at 15-1 each, according to odds at the Las Vegas Hilton sports book.

The Hilton has posted odds on about 50 individual players to win the tournament as well as 10 head-to-head player matchups.

Weir, a former Masters champion, is on enough of a roll in 2008 to firmly support his status as the betting favorite. Weir has six top-10 finishes this year and more than $2.7 million in prize money. In a head-to-head matchup at the Hilton, Weir is a minus 130 favorite (risk $1.30 to net $1) against Stephen Ames, who’s plus 110.

Zach Johnson, coming off a 2-stroke victory at the Texas Open, is a 20-1 choice in Las Vegas.

George McNeill, who won his first PGA title in last year’s event here with a 23-under 264, opened at odds of 60-1 to repeat.

Former UNLV golfers in the field include Chad Campbell (20-1), Ryan Moore (50-1), Charley Hoffman (50-1) and Chris Riley (100-1).

Veteran John Daly is a 150-1 long shot to win the event — the highest price on the board besides David Duval, who’s listed at 200-1.

The tournament, the fourth of seven Fall Series events, carries a $4.1 million purse and a $738,000 top prize.

Lucky’s ‘carry-over’

This week’s prize pool in the free NFL prediction contest at Lucky’s sports books has grown to $42,000 as a result of a six-week carry-over after starting at $6,000.

No entrants predicted the winner of all 14 NFL games on this past week’s slate. The best score was 12-2, which 29 participants achieved.

Upset losses by the Redskins and Cowboys on Sunday ruined the cards of many entrants. Washington lost to the Rams as a 12-point favorite and Dallas lost to the Cardinals as a 5-point favorite.

The weekly contest, which is limited to one entry per person, entails picking the straight-up winner (no point spreads apply) of each NFL game. Under the terms of the contest, unique in Nevada, $6,000 is added to the prize pool if no one submits a perfect card.

Picks can be submitted any time before 9 a.m. Sunday at any Lucky’s sports book, including those at the Plaza and Terrible’s in Las Vegas. Lucky’s also has locations in Pahrump, Primm and Northern Nevada.

Ump watch

Baseball over/under bettors who track umpire tendencies are keeping a close watch on the two league championship matchups, with mixed results so far.

The crew working the AL series between Tampa Bay and Boston includes several umps who trended “over” this season in Sam Holbrook (19 overs, 12 unders in games he worked home plate), Alfonso Marquez (17-10 to the over) and Tim McClelland (19-13), according to the Vegas Insider umpire report (online at vegasinsider.com).

Game 1 stayed under the posted total despite McClelland working the plate. Game 2 went over with Holbrook behind the plate.

In Monday’s Game 3 the umpire play pointed to under 8 1/2 runs with Brian O’Nora (20 unders, 11 overs this season) working the plate, but the Rays pushed the total over with a 9-1 victory.

In the NL series between Philadelphia and Los Angeles, umpire Jerry Meals had the most notable tendency either way at 20-11 to the over.

Meals worked the plate in Game 2, which did go over the posted total of 8 runs.

Nobel Prize

When Paul Krugman won the Nobel Prize in economics this week, it was not a major upset, nor was Krugman the betting favorite.

The 15-1 odds on Krugman placed him in the middle of the pack of contenders, according to betting lines at Pinnacle Sports, a major offshore gambling operation based in Curacao.

Krugman, a Princeton scholar and New York Times columnist, won for his analysis of how economies of scale can affect international trade patterns.

The post-time favorite was Harvard professor Martin Feldstein at 8-1, followed by New York University professor Thomas Sargent at 12-1, according to Pinnacle odds. The dark horse in the field was N. Gregory Mankiw, former chairman of President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers.

Wagering on the Nobel Prize is not permitted in Nevada.