Johnny Detroit

The Offshore Report: LSU Smashes Books

Johnny Detroit — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:56:00 GMT

Overall I am hearing it was a very good weekend for the offshore sportsbooks. Many of the bookies were wondering when a prime time game would go their way and the Indianapolis Colts did just that to close out the week for them. The folks at BetOnline best summarized the week this way, "Was good to finally win a big primetime game (Colts); especially considering how LSU almost wiped out our Saturday profits all by themselves. Was on pace for a monster day on Saturday, but no thanks to LSU covering we gave about 70% of that profit back." So here is the rundown of last week and a look ahead to what we know so far about the upcoming football action:

NFL results that made the books the most money Sunday:
*Colts and Raiders.

College Football teams that cashed for the sportsbooks on Saturday:
*Notre Dame and Oklahoma.

What NFL teams cost them money Sunday:
*Ravens by far. Straight bet, teasers and tied to tons of parlays.

Worst CFB result:
*LSU by far. A big named favorite covering on prime time is NEVER good for the books. Also Alabama and USC were not good for the sportbooks bank accounts.

NFL early betting action for this week:
*Bills -3, Ravens -3.5, Pats -4.5. Buffalo Bills are the Detroit Lions of the AFC. Public is jumping on them early and in terms of action are lumped together with both the Patriots and Ravens as of now. I personally have the Bills as a -1.0 favorite on the road and think there is tons of value on the Bengals getting +3.0 at home.

Early NFL movement:
*Saints from -8.0 to -7.0 with about 60% of the public action.
*Cardinals opened up at +3.0 at home and down to +1.0/+1.5. Sharps jumped on Cardinals and not over reacting to the Giants win over the Vick-less Eagles. Plus, can Eli Manning really have two good games in a row?
*Chargers opened up at -9.0 at home and are down to -7.5/8.0 as it looks like San Diego is once again off to a slow start despite all the talent.
*Patriots opened up at -6.0 on the road against the Raiders and down to -4.5 despite 90% of early public action on Patriots. Sharps think New England is over valued and have faith in McFadden and the Raiders.

NFL injuries to watch:
*Vick of course. Word is his hand is not officially "broken" and could play next week. Most books do not have a number on their game yet, but the offshores who do have Eagles -6.5.
*Frank Gore. Obviously essential to 49ers running game. After the game he said following his ankle injury he had issues cutting on the ankle afterwards.

CFB early action for this week:
*South Florida over Pitt, Bama over Florida.
*Biggest move UCLA +21.5 to +19.5 (sharp) vs Stanford.

Interesting notes:
*Raiders opened the season 40-1 to win the Super Bowl and despite the strong start are now 65-1.
*Detroit Lions opened the season 75-1 to win the Super Bowl and are down to 15-1.
*When it was announced Peyton Hillis was sent home with strep the Browns went from -1.0 to +1.5 (opened -3.0). Browns won 17-16. So if you played Browns WITH Hillis in line-up you pushed or lost. If you bet Browns with him OUT, you won.

Sports Betting - Is It Fixed?
Pregame's own Johnny Detroit discusses with Vegas Runner the past situations where sports betting was fixed and also discuss the inevitable question of "Is Sports Betting Fixed?"

(Please visit the site to view this video)

NFL Survivor Contest: Picks, Tips and Predictions

Johnny Detroit — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 03:48:00 GMT

I love to gamble. I am also not afraid to admit that I love to gamble when there is no edge in my favor. For every time I find an arbitrage where if you bet $1000.00 on Team A at +130 and $1250.00 on Team B at -120 and win $45.00 no matter who wins (once per day makes you an extra $16,000 per year), Mr. Johnny Detroit is a sucker for a Wheel of Fortune slot machine in hopes of getting to hear "Wheel....of.....Fortuneeeee". I love pools. I love squares. I really love contests. So besides playing in numerous fantasy leagues, I plan to enter tons of handicapping contests for the upcoming football season. Out of all these unique football contests, one of my favorites is the infamous NFL Survivor Contest where you pick one team per week with no spread and move on if you win under the ruling that the chosen team can never be picked again. So being a betting nerd and a betting junkie at the same time, I am going into the contest this year with a strategy that should increase my chances of winning. Nothing is 100% and with all the babbling and math you are about to read, there is still the chance I get knocked out in week #1 and the waitress who picks the nice jersey each week cashes out in the end. So here we go.....

First off I pulled the projected lines for the NFL season by Cantor Gaming for their Las Vegas properties (Cosmopolitan, Hard Rock, M, Venetian, Tropicana, etc). Four Cantor oddsmakers set lines for each game individually and after the games were reviewed, Mike Colbert (Cantor's overall race and sports director) made the final ruling. These numbers were released in June.

Second, I pulled the projected season win totals and focused on the teams expected to be bottom dwellers. The Carolina Panthers are only expected to win 4-5 games this season and I can play against them 6 to 7 times on the road as close to double digit underdogs each time. Teams favored by 10 or more at home win at around a 84.4% clip. Yes, I am quite aware of the "any given Sunday" stuff, but you can't pass up something winning at that type or percentage.

Third, the schedule was reviewed and emphasis was put on homes teams and the ability to not use the top tiered teams until they provided the most bang for their buck. For example, why use New England Patriots on the road -7.0 in week #1 when they could be saved until week #11 at home as potential -11.5 favorites over the Chiefs on Monday Night Football. In week #11 and being a -10.0+ favorite at home the Patriots (using long term historically data) are 84.4% to win outright versus being 73% in week #1 on the road at -7.0. Overall a home favorite of -7.0 should win outright 82% of the time, while a road favorite of -7.0 is at 76%. Taking the Cardinals over the Patriots might seem odd, but the math on each is close in week #1 and allows me to save the Patriots late and get a 84% scenario.

Week 1: Arizona Cardinals over Carolina Panthers (projected line -7.0, projected Carolina wins 4.5, projected Arizona wins 7.0, -7.0 home favorites 74%).
Week 2: New York Jets over Jacksonville Jaguars (projected line -8.0, projected Jacksonville wins 6.5, projected New York Jets wins 10.0-11.0,-7.0+ home favorites 82%)
Week 3: San Diego Charges over Kansas City Chiefs (projected line -6.0, projected Kansas City wins 7.5-8.0, projected San Diego wins 10, -6.0 home favorites 73%)
Week 4: Chicago Bears over Carolina Panthers (projected line -12.0, projected Chicago wins 8.5-9.0, -10.0+ home favorites 84%)
Week 5: New York Giants over Seattle Seahawks (projected line -7.5, projected Seattle wins 6.0-6.5, projected New York wins 9.0-9.5)
Week 6: Atlanta Falcons over Carolina Panthers (projected line -12.5, projected Atlanta wins 10.5-11.0)
Week 7: Miami Dolphins over Denver Broncos (projected line Miami -6.0, projected Denver wins 5.5-6.0, projected Miami wins 7.5-8.0)
Week 8: Baltimore Ravens over Arizona Cardinals (projected line -11.0, projected Baltimore wins 10.5-11.0)
Week 9: Dallas Cowboys over Seattle Seahawks (projected line Dallas -6.5, projected Dallas wins 9.0-9.5)
Week 10: Philadelphia Eagles over Arizona Cardinals (projected line -10.5, projected Philadelphia wins 10.5-11.0)
Week 11: New England Patriots (MNF) over Kansas City Chiefs (projected line -10.0, projected New England win 11.5-12.0)
**Week 12: Indianapolis Colts over Carolina Panthers (projected line with Manning -11.5) or back-up of St. Louis Rams over Arizona Cardinals (projected line -6.5, projected St. Louis wins 7.5-8.0)
Week 13: Tampa Bay Buccaneers over Carolina Panthers (projected line Tampa Bay -9.0, projected Tampa Bay wins 8.0)
Week 14: Pittsburgh Steelers over Cleveland Browns (projected line -9.0, projected Pittsburgh wins 10.5-11.0)
Week 15: Houston Texans over Carolina Panthers (projected line Houston -8.0, projected Houston wins 8.5-9.0)
Week 16: Cincinnati Bengals over Arizona Cardinals (projected line -7.0, Cincinnati projected wins 6.0)
Week 17: New Orleans Saints over Carolina Panthers (projected line -11.0, New Orleans projected wins 10.5-11.0)
*all above selections are home teams
**planned ahead in the event the Colts have no Manning and the back-up is a cluster

Even though there is a 16% chance I lose in week #1, overall I think the above scenarios and scheduling gives me a great shot at getting deep into the tournament. In later weeks when most people exhaust teams like the Patriots, Steelers, or Saints I am not forced to take teams -3.0 or -4.0 where the outright win rate is only around 59%. Even if the Panthers shock the Cardinals this weekend, I stand behind the selections over the length of a complete season. Injuries or changes on a roster can totally toss the above out the window, but as of now it is based with the information available at time of this post. Regardless of the outcome, I wish everyone the best of luck this season and would love any feedback on where you agree or disagree with the picks above.

March Madness TV Start Times:

Johnny Detroit — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 00:35:00 GMT

Here are the March Madness TV start times for Friday's college basketball action:

Oakland vs. Texas - NCAA Tournament, 12:15 PM - CBS

Tennessee vs. Michigan - NCAA Tournament, 12:50 PM - truTV

Akron vs. Notre Dame - NCAA Tournament, 1:40 PM - TBS

Villanova vs. George Mason - NCAA Tournament, 2:10 PM - TNT

Memphis vs. Arizona - NCAA Tournament, 2:45 PM - CBS

Hampton vs. Duke - NCAA Tournament, 3:10 PM - truTV

Florida State vs. Texas A&M - NCAA Tournament, 4:10 PM - TBS

Texas-San Antonio vs. Ohio State - NCAA Tournament, 4:40 PM - TNT

Boston Univ vs. Kansas - NCAA Tournament, 6:50 PM - TBS

Long Island vs. North Carolina - NCAA Tournament, 7:15 PM - CBS

Saint Peter's vs. Purdue - NCAA Tournament, 7:20 PM - TNT

Marquette vs. Xavier - NCAA Tournament, 7:27 PM - truTV

Illinois vs. UNLV - NCAA Tournament, 9:20 PM - TBS

California at Colorado - NIT Second Round, 9:30 PM - ESPN U

Georgia vs. Washington - NCAA Tournament, 9:45 PM - CBS

Virginia Commonwealth vs. Georgetown - NCAA Tournament, 9:50 PM - TNT

Indiana State vs. Syracuse - NCAA Tournament, 9:55 PM - truTV

2011 NCAA Championship Odds: Kansas Jayhawks

Johnny Detroit — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:20:00 GMT

The Kansas Jayhawks are the #1 seed in the Southwest Region and finished the season 32-2 and won the Big 12 Title (14-2 record). Always find the best number possible when betting a future. With your money tied up for so long, getting the most profit from your wager is important. If you plan on betting Kansas to win it all, you would make an extra $65.00 per $100.00 wager just by shopping around. Below you will find the best odds on the Kansas Jayhawks to win it all in March Madness:

BetJamaica: +400
BETUS: +400
bodog: +400
Bookmaker: +465
JustBet: +425
sportsbook.com: +450
sportsinteraction: +425

Other great betting tips to help with your March Madness Tournament Brackets and college basketball picks:

Free Picks: Northern Colorado vs San Diego State Betting
Free Picks: Michigan State vs UCLA Betting
Free Picks: Florida State vs Texas A&M Best Bet from Marco
NCAA Tourament Prop Bet Odds
Betting Odds - 2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament
NCAA Future Betting predictions
Bracket Tips - 2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracket Strategy, Rules, and Advice
True Odds of a Perfect NCAA Tournament Bracket - 2011
March Madness 2011: Round #1 Line Movement
Updated March Madness Picks and Handicapping

Regards,

Johnny Detroit's 7 Day All Access | Follow JD on Twitter

Johnny Detroit, Co-Founder and Vice-President
Bettors get ready at Pregame.com

1-800-PREGAME | johnny@pregame.com
AOL/YAHOO IM: johnnypregame
MSN Messenger: jd@pregame.com

Odds for San Diego State to Win the 2011 NCAA Championship:

Johnny Detroit — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:02:00 GMT

The San DIego State Aztecs are the #2 seed in the West Region (Duke is #1) and finished the season 32-2 and won the Mountain West Title (14-2 conference record). It is important to get the best value possible and the highest payout, especially since your money will be tied up the length of the tournament. For example, if you bet $100.00 on the Aztecs to win the tournament, you would make an additional $800.00 on your wager just by gettting the best number available. Below you will find the best odds on the San Diego State Aztecs to win the 2011 NCAA Championship:

BetJamaica: +1600
BETUS: +1800
bodog: +1800
Bookmaker: +1500
JustBet: +1600
sportsbook.com: +1000
sportsinteraction: +1800

Other great betting tips to help with your March Madness Tournament Brackets and college basketball picks:

Free Picks: Northern Colorado vs San Diego State Betting
Free Picks: Michigan State vs UCLA Betting
Free Picks: Florida State vs Texas A&M Best Bet from Marco
NCAA Tourament Prop Bet Odds
Betting Odds - 2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament
NCAA Future Betting predictions
Bracket Tips - 2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracket Strategy, Rules, and Advice
True Odds of a Perfect NCAA Tournament Bracket - 2011
March Madness 2011: Round #1 Line Movement
Updated March Madness Picks and Handicapping

Regards,

Johnny Detroit's 7 Day All Access | Follow JD on Twitter

Johnny Detroit, Co-Founder and Vice-President
Bettors get ready at Pregame.com

1-800-PREGAME | johnny@pregame.com
AOL/YAHOO IM: johnnypregame
MSN Messenger: jd@pregame.com

March Madness TV Schedule for Thursday:

Johnny Detroit — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:38:00 GMT

The 2011 NCAA Tournament is underway and we have created a list of the basketball TV Schedule and start time for March Madness below.

Before you start betting money on the tournament, I highly suggest listening to "How a Wiseguy bets March [podcast]":

Only DOGS on moneyline!
TRIPLE his normal bets!!

Listen to the "Philly Godfather" with host RJ Bell on TiSB . . . and get PG's best first round pick!

>>> CLICK TO LISTEN

TV Schedule for March Madness:

Clemson vs. West Virginia - NCAA Tournament, 12:15 PM - CBS

Old Dominion vs. Butler - NCAA Tournament, 12:40 PM- truTV

Morehead State vs. Louisville - NCAA Tournament, 1:40 PM - TBS

Penn State vs. Temple - NCAA Tournament, 2:10 PM - TNT

Princeton vs. Kentucky - NCAA Tournament, 2:45 PM - CBS

UNC Asheville vs. Pittsburgh - NCAA Tournament, 3:10 PM - truTV

Richmond vs. Vanderbilt - NCAA Tournament, 4:10 PM - TBS

Northern Colorado vs. San Diego St - NCAA Tournament, 4:40 PM - TNT

UC Santa Barbara vs. Florida - NCAA Tournament, 6:50 PM - TBS

Wofford vs. B-Y-U - NCAA Tournament, 7:15 PM - CBS

Bucknell vs. Connecticut - NCAA Tournament, 7:20 PM - TNT

Belmont vs. Wisconsin - NCAA Tournament, 7:27 PM - truTV

Michigan State vs. U-C-L-A - NCAA Tournament, 9:20 PM - TBS

Gonzaga vs. St Johns - NCAA Tournament, 9:45 PM - CBS

Missouri vs. Cincinnati - NCAA Tournament, 9:50 PM - TNT

Utah State vs. Kansas State - NCAA Tournament, 9:57 PM - truTV

Regards,

Johnny Detroit's 7 Day All Access | Follow JD on Twitter

Johnny Detroit, Co-Founder and Vice-President
Bettors get ready at Pregame.com

1-800-PREGAME | johnny@pregame.com
AOL/YAHOO IM: johnnypregame
MSN Messenger: jd@pregame.com

Duke Blue Devils Odds to Win 2011 NCAA Championship

Johnny Detroit — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:07:00 GMT

The Duke Blue Devils are the #1 seed in the West Region and ended the season at 30-4. When betting on any futures you want to get the best possible odds on your wager. It is important to get the best value possible and the highest payout, especially since your money will be tied up for a few weeks. For example, if you wanted to bet $100.00 on Duke to win the tournament, you would make an additional $115.00 on your bet just by shopping around. Below you will find the best odds on the Duke Blue Devils to win the 2011 NCAA Championship:

BetJamaica: +375
BETUS: +400
bodog: +475
Bookmaker: +490
JustBet: +425
sportsbook.com: +450
sportsinteraction: +400

Other great betting tips to help with your March Madness Tournament Brackets and college basketball picks:

Free Picks: Northern Colorado vs San Diego State Betting
Free Picks: Michigan State vs UCLA Betting
Free Picks: Florida State vs Texas A&M Best Bet from Marco
NCAA Tourament Prop Bet Odds
Betting Odds - 2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament
NCAA Future Betting predictions
Bracket Tips - 2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracket Strategy, Rules, and Advice
True Odds of a Perfect NCAA Tournament Bracket - 2011
March Madness 2011: Round #1 Line Movement
Updated March Madness Picks and Handicapping

Regards,

Johnny Detroit's 7 Day All Access | Follow JD on Twitter

Johnny Detroit, Co-Founder and Vice-President
Bettors get ready at Pregame.com

1-800-PREGAME | johnny@pregame.com
AOL/YAHOO IM: johnnypregame
MSN Messenger: jd@pregame.com

Ohio State Buckeyes Odds to Win 2011 NCAA Championship

Johnny Detroit — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:01:00 GMT

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the #1 seed in the East Region and finished the season at 32-2 (16-2 in the Big 10). It is important when betting on any futures to always get the best possible odds on your wager. If you are going to have money tied up for a length of time, getting the "most bang for your buck" is essential to be profitable long term. For example, if you wanted to bet $100.00 on Ohio State to win the whole thing, you would make an additional $150.00 on your bet just by shopping around. Below you will find the best odds on the Ohio State Buckeyes to win the 2011 NCAA Championship:

BetJamaica: +350
BETUS: +400
bodog: +450
Bookmaker: +450
JustBet: +500
sportsbook.com: +350
sportsinteraction: +400

Other great betting tips to help with your March Madness Brackets and 2011 NCAA Championship picks:

Free Picks: Northern Colorado vs San Diego State Betting
Free Picks: Michigan State vs UCLA Betting
Free Picks: Florida State vs Texas A&M Best Bet from Marco
NCAA Tourament Prop Bet Odds
Betting Odds - 2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament
NCAA Future Betting predictions
Bracket Tips - 2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracket Strategy, Rules, and Advice
True Odds of a Perfect NCAA Tournament Bracket - 2011
March Madness 2011: Round #1 Line Movement
Updated March Madness Picks and Handicapping

NBA Slam Dunk Contest: Start Time and Betting Odds

Johnny Detroit — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 21:05:00 GMT

NBA Slam Dunk Contest Start Time:

Date: Saturday, February 19, 2010
Time: 8:30pm EST (4th event)
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Television: TNT (coverage begins at 8pm EST)

Best Odds to win the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest:

Blake Griffin (LAC) -238 (SportsInteraction)
DeMar DeRozan (TOR) +400 (Bookmaker)
JaVale McGee (WAS) +700 (Bookmaker, SportsInteraction)
Serge Ibaka (OKC) +900 (SportsInteraction)

Notes: Bookmaker/CRIS have Blake Griffin at -450.

Blake Griffin slam dunk video:

DeMar DeRozan slam dunk video:

JaVale McGee slam dunk video:

Serge Ibaka slam dunk video:

So who is your best bet for Saturday's Slam Dunk Contest? Personally, with Bookmaker laying -450 on Blake Griffin, to get -238 at SportsInteraction and -275 at Bodog seems like GREAT VALUE.

Video of Ray Allen Beating Reggie Miller's 3 Point Record

Johnny Detroit — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 02:22:00 GMT

Here is a video of Ray Allen breaking Reggie Miller's three point record with 1:48 left in the first quarter versus the Lakers tonight. Mr. Allen now has 2,561 three pointers in his career.

Kudos sir

Side note: He has nothing on my record of triples from the top corner of the screen in Double Dribble.

Looking for any thoughts on the new record or memories of Reggie Miller nailing clutch triples during his carrer.

Sportsbook Industry: View from the Inside

Johnny Detroit — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:18:00 GMT

Whether sharp, square or somewhere in between a theme I sometimes read on the forums is:

"BetUS sucks"

"Bodog is horrible"

I hear it from people who are pretty sharp on not only betting, but in their understanding of the industry. I hear it from the squarest of the square. I hear it from those who sound sharp, but are actually clueless on how everything works. But I wonder how this guy feels about these rants

Accept Transaction Reset    Edit Player

Transaction Information

Method of Payment:    [or credit card charge back]

Transaction Type:

Amount:

Action Breakdown

Total Action        $113,935.00 ††(includes pending wagers)

Risk to Player    $113,935.00 ††(all resolved wagers)

Risk To House    $103,410.00 ††(all resolved wagers)

Net To Player     ($1,075.00) ††(all resolved wagers)

Hold:         0.94352042831439

Current Balance $25445.00

Notes About This Transaction:

Personal Information

Player Name:     XXX XXXX

Address:    XXXX

Encino

CA

91436

US

Phone:       XXXXX

Referred By:      XXXX

Initials:     XX

Password: 5656

E-Mail:       XXXX@aol.com

See that amount of $25,000+ in his current balance? That WAS the amount in his account when Camelot Sportsbook closed up shop and stiffed everyone who was owed money. To understand why a place like Camelot went "busto" and why a place like Bodog and BetUS have been raking in tons of money over the years you need to go back 10 years or so. Our story begins with a young fellow named Johnny Detroit and his launching of a site based off one of his favorite movies "Let It Ride". Originally, I had a site on a "free" web-hosting service called GEOCITIES and talked sports and handicapped games (which usually lost). As the site grew in popularity, I registered the domain LetItRideSports.com in 1999 and bought a copy of Microsoft Frontpage. In May of 2000, the new site went live (LINK) and along with some of the popular forum posters of the day we hit the web. At this time it was only a hobby. I was booking some small time action and betting at the same time. Most of the knowledge I had came from an old school book from the 60's/70's who was now in the twilight of his career. "Bookstore Eddie" died a few years back, but was "old school" and was involved during the glory years of the The Detroit Partnership/Combination. Obviously if he was still alive I would never say his name or be sharing this, but this is how old school he was> LINK (from 1974 when Ed (Edmond Burdziak) was caught up in a small bust) We would meet at a place called 3 Nicks on Warren Avenue in Detroit. Total dive bar that was packed with bikers, bookies and other scoundrels. So with my love of gambling, knowledge from "Ed" and being in the infant stages of the business I was off.

This was the boom time for the industry as sportsbooks and portals were popping up left and right. There were no issues with sending or getting money and you could even use PAYPAL to deposit/withdraw funds! Since the web site was more of a hobby, my full time gig was an investigator at Ford Motor Company making good money. A friend of mine from the forums (Nittany Lion/Betting Prophets) one day goes you should ask a sportsbook to advertise on the site since you have good traffic. Having no clue what to expect or ask for, I called my friend who owned Grand Central Sports. (Quick note: At this time, all the books did not have these massive marketing machines as "marketing" was handled by the owner. If the book had a marketing department, it basically was one other person who was responsible to send you a banner and promo information). I am sitting at my desk and talking to Peter (everyone offshore used fake names) and brought up to him potentially advertising for the upcoming football season. Mind you, I have ZERO clue on what to expect. So Pete pauses for a second, takes a deep breathe and goes, "JD, I like you and you have a nice site, how about $8000.00 for football?". Remember, I was doing this for fun, had a full time gig and was hoping to get like $500.00 or something to put up some banners. To this day, I recall hitting mute on my office phone, taking a deep breathe and going "Holy F***ing S**t....". I went back to the call cool as could be, closed the deal and called back my friend telling him what happened and asking what the hell an insertion order was because Pete needed one. I called a few other books and quickly learned it was a land grab for these sprouting sportsbooks and all you had to do was say Sportsbook X is on the site and they were fighting to write checks and get their banners up on your site.

It was a glorious time. Wise guys were all over the place.-Henry Hill

As I mentioned, during this time you dealt either with the owner himself or someone who sat 10 feet away from them. Since there were tons of ways to send money (including PAYPAL), money was flowing back and forth to everyone and the industry exploded. Being lucky enough to be around in the beginning, I built relationships with some of the sharpest people in the business. Almost like the infant stages of Las Vegas (pre-corporation), it was street guys who ran the show. Bookies who were tired of getting doors kicked in, picked up shop and went offshore to set up a web site to take bets. Unlike now where EVERY book moves at the same time regardless of their in-house action and across the board the lines are the exact same, these guys had "balls" and took stands and moved when and how they wanted. This was a scalpers and middlers paradise. Since everyone was trying to do a land grab, the funds were endless for advertising and bonuses. Literally you could toss up a bunch of sites and the books would send you a check to be on each one. You could fund a few books with PAYPAL, get a CRAZY bonus from each and in a few days scalp and middle the money out with no risk and pocket the cash. The sky was raining money and everyone was living the dream. But like with anything in life, what goes up, must come down.

Like sharks to blood, the wiseguys flocked to get into the money falling from above. People like Billy Walters (LINK to a great story on him and the Computer Group) did not have to focus only on locals around the country using beards to move money around. With everything offshore, not only could they open up tons of accounts, they were getting 100% bonuses to do so! Now, these guys offshore running things were sharp, but outside of people like Spiro at Olympic, Henry at Pinnacle and a few others, these "internet bookies" stood no chance against the "internet wiseguys" like Billy, Kosher Boys, Tiger, etc. The once friendly sportsbook owners now started to coin phrases like "bonus whores". Even people offshore I was "super cool" with would make comments that scalpers and middlers were "lowlifes" (including the ones who taught me how to do it). The slippery slope was becoming more slippery each passing month.

The first signs that began the downfall was sportsbooks not making good on transfers. See, in the beginning almost all of the books knew each other and you could move money book to book with a simple phone call or email request. So for example, say you hammered BetUS for a ton of money. In those days you could call BetUS and say I want to transfer X amount to Bodog, Y amount to JustBet, etc. In a few hours the money would be credited and business went on. Each sportsbook kept a running tab on who owed who and everyone was one big happy family. Since most owners of the sportsbook were available on IM or phone, industry rumors, gossip and back-room stories were everyday discussion. It slowly seemed more common to hear book X was no longer planning to do transfer with book Y. Even worse some of the rumblings were about past due amounts and tabs getting close to six figures.

When New England Patriot's kicker Adam Vinatieri kicked a 48 yard field goal in Super Bowl XXXVI to upset the 14-point favorite St. Louis Rams it shocked the sports world and started a chain reaction that would change the sportsbook industry forever.

Charlie Therwhanger was a bookie from Texas who went offshore in the mid 90's to run his phone operation and by the late 90's had an online site that was considered one of the industry leaders; Aces Gold. Aces offered low juice and was known to take a stand on a game and was a "bookmaker's bookie". If you middled or scalped during this time, Aces Gold was a "must out" and everyone who was anyone played there. This not only included the grinders, but "wiseguy bettors" and other offshore bookmakers. Behind the scenes Charlie was slowly running up debts and trying to go "toe to toe" with the sharpest betting minds was starting not to be such a solid business model. Whether urban myth or fact (I have talked to many people offshore who claim 100% fact), Charlie decided that based on his opinion and the opinion of some respected "sharps", the St. Louis Rams would destroy the New England Patriots. The line on the game was -14.0 at 99.9% of the betting world. The lone hold-out was Aces Gold who proudly put up a -14.5, thus getting everyone who wanted Patriot action (teaser, spread and (cough) moneyline) to bet with him. Toss in all the middlers who did not mind a free +14.5 and -14.0 on the Super Bowl he was essentially ALL Patriots action. Around 6:40pm EST on February 3, 2002 the Super Bowl was over and the New England Patriots defeated the St. Louis Rams by a final score of 20-17. Within two weeks the unthinkable happened and the house of cards started to fall.

February 15, 2002 is the official date Aces Gold closed up shop and Charlie fled Curacao. The aftermath was over $5 million owed to players and sportsbook owners. With close to a million of the five owed directly to other bookmakers either from betting accounts or credit transfers, nothing would ever be the same in this business.

Despite the crash of Aces Gold, most of the operators continued to offer crazy bonuses and have an open door policy to the very people that helped destroy Aces. Even though the claim for the bonuses was to gain customers, many people will not admit it was to keep money coming in to try and pay the money that needed to go out. Everyone was treading water and all the sportsbook ran by "street bookies" started to drown.

The next big thing was Bet Pan Am. They had great minds from various sportsbooks working there and the forums were going crazy hyping up the "next" Pinnacle. Reduced juice, not moving on air (IE, taking a stand on games) and not fearing middlers/wiseguys, they were going to align the stars again and all would be well in the betting universe. Close your eyes and count to ten. That is about how long Bet Pan Am survived (actually was only four months!) before they had to close their doors and it was one of the last attempts by "street guys" to open and run a new offshore on a major level using the "take all comers" business model.

But in the end, we fucked it all up. It should have been so sweet, too. But it turned out to be the last time that street guys like us were ever given anything that fuckin' valuable again.-CASINO

I can't remember the exact order of when they fell, but it seemed every few months a new book was having money troubles out of the gate or a "respected" shop was slow paying or offering 100% bonuses to try and get an influx of cash. Just off the top of my head, here is a short list of places that I played at on post-up or credit that never survived the evolution of this industry:

Aces Golds
Alladins
Bet Camelot
Bet Pan Am
Blue Marlin
Bookie Joint
Dunes
New Age Bets
Premier League
Sports International
Sportsbook Paradise

The writing was on the wall, unless you were Cris, Greek, Pinnacle or a handful or sharper outfits (even many of them were gobbled up or bailed out by other sportsbooks), trying to book like you did back in New York or Texas was not going to work offshore. Even though some smaller places were already trying to change their model, the new industry leaders decided to focus on "marketing" and leave the "lines/odds" to the people like CRIS and Greek. Why try to outsmart the professional bettors when you could just follow Henry and Spiro, not cater to the sharp bettors and spend all your resources on marketing? Enter Bodog and Sportsbook.com.

Unlike the founders of the industry who did the marketing themselves or pawned it off on a lackey sitting 10 feet away, people like Bodog took it to not just another level, but another universe. An industry friend of mine was in the room when Calvin decided "The Big Book" was not the brand to market. He wanted something unique, creative and that could not be associated or confused with something else. Thus, the name Bodog was born. I can still remember being in a standard room at the Mirage with Calvin and some other industry friends listening to him talk about banging a waitress in Amsterdam and in the matter of a few years he is on the cover of Forbes being called a billionaire with a "B". Unlike the old way of doing business, they created marketing machines that tracked and audited every little detail. They created content, learned SEO and sent out teams of smoking hot girls to events around the country. In the matter of years Bodog could buy places like CRIS or Greek with the money found between the cushion on their couch.

Using this new model of "bookmaking", places like BetUS came on the scene and a new generation of sportsbooks started to make their mark in the industry. Unlike the old days of the marketing plan of a sportsbook consisting of just having a banner somewhere, the "new school" have entire teams of marketing experts and brainy types who run everything like a well oiled business. BetUS or Bodog have a building full of marketing people, where when I dealt with Olympic or Pinnacle there was a marketing "person". You literally called and dealt with that one person. Pinnacle at one point had three people you could deal with.

When you watch the lines now, CRIS or Greek sneeze and every sportsbook (including Las Vegas) jump. If they have 90% of their action on Team A -7.0, but CRIS goes to -6.5, they move to -6.5. There is no more taking stands by the large offshores. All the new major players in the offshore industry are of the Bodog mold. The "street guys" are still around but confined to online "credit only" shops with wacky names like Bet Kodiak or Fat Moe. Outside of the ones who weathered the storm, all the major players now are not "Vito the Bookie" but "Chip the Businessman".

Today it looks like Disneyland. And while the kids play cardboard pirates, Mommy and Daddy drop the house payments and Junior's college money on the poker slots. In the old days, dealers knew your name, what you drank, what you played. Today, it's like checkin' into an airport. And if you order room service, you're lucky if you get it by Thursday. Today, it's all gone. You get a whale show up with four million in a suitcase, and some twenty-five-year-old hotel school kid is gonna want his Social Security Number. After the Teamsters got knocked out of the box, the corporations tore down practically every one of the old casinos. -CASINO

Personally, I can't stand the way the industry is now. Just like "Vegas Wiseguy" Frank mentions in the interview I did with him at the Pregame offices, there is no gamble left. They want donations. At the same time, for 95%+ of the betting public who do it for recreation and not grinding out middles or moves, places like Bodog and BetUS are the best option possible. There was a run where every few months a major offshore was closing up and stiffing, but since the switch to the "no wiseguys allowed" policy when is the last offshore you can name who closed for lack of funds? Bueller? Bueller? Anyone. Sure, us grinders hate getting a dual line or a delay before our bets are confirmed. But for the average bettor the current selection of sportsbooks have endless funds and in the end the most basic concept of bookmaking is followed: you win, you get paid. you lose, you pay. Simple as that. I lost count over the years of all the claims about BetUS or Bodog stiffing or having money trouble. Fact is, ANY issues on payment delays have been the result of a processor or the government putting pressure on a bank. People can say what they want about the policies or rules of the new school books, but BetUS, Bodog, Sportsbook.com are 100% safe in regards to your funds. They protect themselves from betting syndicates and "bonus whores (that one is for your Peter)". All these decisions that people complain about are decisions that books in the past failed to make and in the end cost players millions of dollars in money never paid out.

Instead of bitching about profiling and restrictions, be happy someone like Billy Walters is not allowed to play at a Bodog or BetUS. BetUS is not going to be CRIS or Greek, but at the same time, they also will not end up like Aces Gold.

Would love to hear feedback and comments from everyone. Especially those who remember the run of book after book have issues and the word "slow pay" becoming part of a bettors vocabulary.

Props to Cheech who motivated me to recap my time in the sportsbook industry. Plan on turning these into a video series with actual interviews with people offshore who were involved during this time.

Regards,

Johnny Detroit's Personal Selections | Follow JD on Twitter

Johnny Detroit, Co-Founder and Vice-President
Bettors get ready at Pregame.com

1-800-PREGAME | johnny@pregame.com
AOL/YAHOO IM: johnnypregame
MSN Messenger: jd@pregame.com

2011 Super Bowl XLV Start Time

Johnny Detroit — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:16:00 GMT

2011 Super Bowl XLV start time information can be found below so you do not miss any action from the big game. Super Bowl XLV from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas will be the first time the game is held in Dallas, but third overall in Texas.

Super Bowl Kickoff Time: 6:25pm EST

Date: February 6, 2011

Location: Arlington, Texas USA

Stadium: Cowboys Stadium

Television Broadcast: FOX

Cost of a 30-second Super Bowl Commercial: $2.8 to $3.0 million

Announcers: Joe Buck and Troy Aikman

Radio Broadcast: Westwood One

Announcers: Kevin Harlan and Boomer Esiason

National Anthem: Christina Aguilera

Super Bowl Halftime Show: Black Eyed Peas

Super Bowl Point Spread: CHECK OUT PREGAMELINES.COM FOR LATEST!

Early Super Bowl MVP Odds:

Aaron Rodgers +150
Ben Roethlisberger +200
Braylon Edwards +1500
Brian Urlacher +3000
Greg Jennings +1200
Greg Olsen +1500
Hines Ward +1500
James Starks +1500
Jay Cutler +500
LaDainian Tomlinson +1800
Mark Sanchez +500
Matt Forte +800
Rashard Mendenhall +500
Santonio Holmes +1200
Julius Peppers +1500

Early Super Bowl Betting Odds and Spread:

Johnny Detroit — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 18:58:00 GMT

With the 1st game between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers about to kick off, here are some of the closing numbers on Super Bowl XLV bettings odds, spreads and futures:

Odds to Win

Green Bay Packers +175
Chicago Bears +450
New York Jets +350
Pittsburgh Steelers +200

Conference to win Super Bowl XLV

AFC Conference -120
NFC Conference -110

AFC vs NFC Super Bowl

Total Over 43½ Points -115
Under 43½ Points -115

Remember all new members to the Pregame Community get $25.0 FREE to use on ANY PACKAGE from a Pregame Pro> CLICK HERE

NFL Betting Tips

Johnny Detroit — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:52:00 GMT

Football season is upon us, and with all the variables needed to handicap (coaches, players, rules, etc.) always changing, there are numerous betting tips that have stood the test of time. Below you will find some of my personal handicapping concepts I always look at when breaking down the NFL card.

Key Numbers: 3 and 7 are without question the most important numbers in the NFL. The secondary ones (in terms of frequency) to remember are 1, 4, 6, 10, 13, 14, with the distant “key number” relatives being 11 and 17. These are the numbers that have the highest probability of being the margin of victory. About 14 percent (or 1 in 7) of NFL games land on 3 points. It is also important to avoid some traps that people fall into, such as taking a +7.5 -110 underdog on an alternate line at +9 1/2 points but being forced to lay big juice. Games rarely end in an 8- or 9-point victory, so there really isn’t much difference in the two points from 7 1/2 to 9 1/2 points, so be careful not to let the juicier numbers with the high premium tempt you.

Anti-Public: Blanket-fading the public will do nothing but make you broke unless you are the one booking the action. Here is why: -110=4.5%. Vegas hopes to hold 4.5 percent of every dollar wagered by their players based on the -110 they charge on losers. Let me paint the picture another way: Bears -7 (75% public)/Lions +7. Lions lose by 3, and the public loses, but (and a big but) the book collects at +110 profit while you are only getting +100. By taking the side of the book, you do so by giving up the almighty -110 that in the end allows them to have an edge over the player. Say the opposite happens, and the Bears destroy the Lions. The book pays out at even money while you are paying your loss with an extra 10 percent tacked on. It may not seem like much, but over the course of a full season of you paying at -110 on losing bets and not -100, the money will start to add up.

Underdogs on Monday Night Football: At one time in sports betting, this was the “golden goose” public betting trend. The trend slowly went south, and in 2007, close to 70 percent of the road favorites beat the number. If there is an edge or flaw in the lines, due to the money involved, the gambling gods will eventually even out their universe. From the 1970s to around 2000, following the dog on Monday, you would have hit close to 60 percent. Over the past 10 years or so, it is a coin flip at best. Especially with the advent of the internet, the exchange of information can have an amazing trend network between 1000's of people in one click.

Money Line Versus Pointspread: Using close to 20 years of NFL pointspread data, we find that when a team covers the spread, they also win outright close to 85 percent of the time. For example, in 2009, the Chicago Bears in every game but one (9-point favorite over the Rams and winning by 8), the spread result matched the straight up result, including an outright win over the Vikings as 8-point underdogs. Using this data, you will find that handicapping five out of six games correctly on who will win outright, you also most likley hit five out of six when factoring in the spread.

Betting Teasers: Based of a -110 vig, a sports bettor will need to hit around 52.4 percent of their wagers to break even. Using the standard 6-point teaser as our example, each individual teaser side would now need to cover 72.5 percent to break even. Essentially, those extra six points need to boost your win percent an additional 20 percent to make a teaser worth playing. The first thing is toss out using a total. Even though some may disagree, there is no total worth moving six points that will boost your win percentage 20 percent. Sure, a dog to the under or favorite to the over has some correlation concepts, but we are trying to keep it simple in this example. Some basic tips to follow when betting six-point teasers in the NFL: favorites of 7.5-8.5 down to 1.5 – 2.5, thus crossing both 3 and 7. Also, move the underdogs of 1.5-2.5 up to 7.5-8.5, thus moving cross 3 and 7.

Parlay Cards: On average, the house edge in Baccarat is 1.06 percent. Blackjack when playing perfect strategy is around 0.50 percent. The average street books pays 9-1 on a 4-team parlay card, which results in about a 46 percent house edge. Even with the best odds offshore at 12-1, the house edge is still 29 percent, which equals the odds paid out on Keno. The actual odds on a 4-team parlay are 15-1, which leaves the house with only an 11 percent edge or around the house edge for prop bets at the craps table. The more teams the player picks, the higher the payouts are, which entices the junkie in all of us. The house edge actually goes higher and higher with each team you add on, but we tend to be blinded with the increasing payout odds. Hit a nice 8-teamer and get back 100-1, but even at 100-1, the house is still keeping a 65 percent edge on the player. One Vegas book pays out 200,000-1 on a 20-teamer. House edge? 80.93 percent.

The majority of people who plan to bet the NFL this season are doing it to have a little fun while watching the games. So despite all the information I have shared above, my best advice is to put aside a bankroll for football season and stick within your means. Never think you are due to win or “chase” your way into getting into money trouble. Unless you plan to become a professional sports handicapper, if you can get 16+ weeks of enjoyment for little or no cost, I would call that a great bet!

Regards,

Johnny Detroit, Co-Founder and Vice-President
Bettors get ready at Pregame.com

1-800-PREGAME | johnny@pregame.com
AOL/YAHOO IM: johnnypregame
MSN Messenger: jd@pregame.com

Are you ready to bet some football?

Johnny Detroit — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:49:00 GMT

Every year the crowning of the NBA Champion, followed up by the MLB All-Star Game is the precursor leading into the greatest time of the year; football season. Before the explosion of being able to wager online, football betting was done via a phone call to the local bookie that had certain hours, little options and a fraction of what is available now when betting sports. Instead of the usual game "tips and trends" review, we should look at some areas to gamble that pre-internet were basically non-existent or not offered by an average local bookie.

Get Your $100 of Pregame Pros Premium Picks FREE>>> Simple as 1-2-3----- Find out more right now!

Betting halftimes and quarters: I remember in the late 80’s/early 90’s knowing I had to get all my early and mid-day action in to “Ed” before 1pm on Saturday because he was not back in the office until 3pm for the 3:30pm games (and back at 6:30 for the late action). There was no betting halftimes or quarters. Side, total, parlay and basic teasers were the extent of my betting options. This all changed when gambling went online allowing bookmakers to offer action on almost every aspect of a game, including creating a side/total for quarters and halves. When setting the line for quarters and halftimes, the sportsbook tend to use a basic chart and set these numbers based of the overall game side and total. Granted, there are exceptions for big T.V. games where the flow of the game can be factored in, but on a college football Saturday, the majority of lines are set using a basic formula. Here is where the edge for the sharper or even casual player (who understands patterns for certain teams) comes into play. For example, during the USC Pete Carroll era they would start slower versus above average or better teams, but Pete would eventually make adjustments and put the rout into effect (IE Rose Bowl vs. Michigan). When you look at the 2^nd half, the sportsbooks have limited time to put up a line and total and are forced to use the current score in conjunction with the overall game odds (tossing in trying not to get double sided), which gives a huge edge to someone watching the game that can see the flow, adjustments and reasoning behind what the score is at half (sloppy play, bad call, etc). Besides the basic examples above, halftime lines allow for you to hedge out of a game (bet on dog +7/tied at half/ take fav -4 in 2^nd half), which allows you to lock in a profit or sometimes (holy grail of betting), winning both wagers (using example, dog +7 loses game by 6) by taking the other side with the halftime line. Out of anything I can pass on, be careful on jumping on the -1/2 1^st half with high juice in the NFL on small favorites, since close to 10% of all NFL games will be tied at the half.

Understanding the moneyline: Before the internet, players and local bookies tended to shy away from moneylines because it seemed confusing. This is one reason betting on MLB did not get mass appeal until sports betting went online. Anyone ever try calculating a moneyline parlay by hand? With the internet, the money needed to wager plus the payout is all displayed without you having to figure anything out. When talking moneylines over with some offshore bookmakers, it is a general policy not to jump and move the moneyline with the pointspread in every instance. This is usually true in big games, such as the Super Bowl where they get an overwhelming amount of money on a certain game line. The year the Patriots beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl, based off the game line movement, the moneyline should have been at -290, but it stayed static at -230. So even though you may not want to lay $230.00 to win a $100.00, in this instance you have an edge because you are paying -230 for something that should be -290 (especially since the Patriots only won by 3).

Here is a basic odds conversion chart you can use (NFL : CFB):

-2 -130/+110 : -130/+110
-2.5 -140/+120 : -140/+120
-3 -155/+135 : -155/+135
-3.5 -175/+155 : -175/+155
-4 -200/+170 : -185/+165
-4.5 -220/+180 : -200/+170
-5/-5.5 -240/+190 : -220/+180
-6 -270/+210 : -240/+190
-6.5 -300/+220 : -270/+210
-7 -330/+250 : -300/+220
-7.5/-8/-8.5 -360/+280 : -330/+250
-9/-9.5 -400/+300 : -360/+280
-10 -450/+325 : -400/+300

In the coming weeks, I plan to put up tons of blogs about trying to get some type of edge going into football season. If you have any questions, feel free to post here or email me at Johnny@pregame.com.

Regards,

Johnny Detroit, Co-Founder and Vice-President
Bettors get ready at Pregame.com

1-800-PREGAME | johnny@pregame.com
AOL/YAHOO IM: johnnypregame
MSN Messenger: jd@pregame.com