Wwbobcats Horseracing Betting News

<< Stars return home to face Ducks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Some rest was much needed for the weary Stars, who are back in the Lone Star State after a five-game road trip that took the Dallas-based club to both coasts. Though not nearly racking up as much mileage, the Anaheim Duck

<< Spartans put win streak on the line against Kangaroos
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Michigan State Spartans seek their 10th straight victory, as the welcome the UMKC Kangaroos to East Lansing this evening, for non-conference action at the Breslin Center. Tom Izzo's Spartans dropped th

<< Delta Devils come to Gainesville to challenge Gators
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In what certainly seems to be a non- conference mismatch, the Florida Gators play host to the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils this evening at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville. Mississippi Valley St

<< Baylor plays host to NAIA foe Paul Quinn
Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baylor Bears look to remain perfect as they host the Paul Quinn Tigers of the NAIA at the Ferrell Center in a game that is part of the Las Vegas Classic. This will be the second meeting between the Bears and T

Flyers seek rare win in Colorado >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers are now literally on the road to the Winter Classic. The Flyers look to recover from a blowout loss on Saturday with their first victory at Colorado in seven years as they take on the Avalanche, who

Surging Red Wings visit struggling Oilers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tonight's matchup for the Detroit Red Wings seems to be a favorable one, as they take on the Edmonton Oilers in the opener of a four- game road trip at Rexall Place. The Red Wings won the first meeting with Edmonton by a 3

Canucks host sliding Wild in Northwest showdown >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite three straight losses, including back-to-back shootout defeats, the Minnesota Wild are still sitting comfortably atop the Northwest Division standings. The Vancouver Canucks are right on Minnesota's tail and will t

Celtic in more trouble with UEFA >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic is facing charges from UEFA for the second time in two months as the club is being charged with two offenses related to the Europa League match against Udinese in Italy. UEFA has confirmed t

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.