Wow, what a city we live in if you are a sports fan. Vegas has it all but the books will be rolling out the red carpet this month with March Madness in the air.
If you love college hoops as I do – you, like me – will head over to Palace Station this week or any Station Casinos, Fiesta or Wildfire (except for Valley View) property and sign up for their huge Last Man Standing March Madness contest.
They guarantee a $50,000 payoff but it will be more, and the Last Man Standing will take down the entire pool. The great thing is it only costs $25. If you come up with a $100 you get five entries, now that’s a deal.
Pick up a set of the rules in the sports books, sign up and make sure you get a player’s card while you are there. If headed to Palace Station stop by the race book, ask for Donnie and he will make you a player’s card. You can also go online at www.sclv.com to get more info. This is your shot for some big fun, big money and a March Madness to remember.
Not only do we have the Madness of the College Basketball tournament, but NFL futures are going up. CGT (aka Cantor Gaming) has put up season wins and what division will win the Super Bowl. Check out the CGT books around town. I have already made a play on the NFC East and the Eagles to win the division and Super Bowl. I am a futures junky as it does keep the season going a long time if your QB doesn’t go down.
You can also bet the Pacquiao/Mayweather fight plus the props and rounds. If I were retired or had a vacation coming and lived back East, I would be getting myself some plane reservations for Vegas. This city never sleeps.
With March Madness on the horizon we start conference tournaments this week. The slate includes the Horizon League, Ohio Valley, Missouri Valley and Metro Atlantic Athletic, Colonial, West Coast and Southern Conference. Here’s what we see for the most important ones.
Horizon
This is the fifth straight year home courts will rule these games. The league winner goes to the Big Dance. The home court advantage favors Valparaiso, which has won all but one and has four starters back. Oakland had been doing well in conference, but was crushed by Wisconsin-Green Bay this past Saturday. Cleveland State has the best player in Trey Lewis and a very good dog bet.
MVC
Northern Iowa and Wichita State top the Missouri Valley. The Shockers look to get back to the promised land – remember last year they went to the Final Four with a perfect 35-0 record. Wichita lost to UNI by 16 on the road and then came back to beat them this Saturday by 14. Evansville and Indiana State could be a nice bet as dogs. I will be shocked if Wichita State goes down.
Colonial
These games will be played at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Mary-land so we favor William & Mary who was second in this tournament last year. They are loaded with seniors and if their 3’s connect they will win this. Hofstra can cause a lot of heartache. Delaware beat W&M last year in the final game by a point and will be a danger.
West Coast
It’s a good thing Gonzaga lost this past Saturday to BYU 73-70. With the perfect season in conference down the drain they can now focus on the tournament and the Big Dance. The Zags very seldom lose in this tournament, going 30-4. We’d love to see a BYU rematch. If so this bettor will be all-in on the Zags. The Cougars from Provo have gone 0-7 ATS in their last seven tourney games but BYU beat all the main contenders here both times they met.
Again, this is Gonzaga time of year in Vegas.
If you are sitting at home being a couch potato get out, make a bet and take in a game at the Orleans Arena. You just could be walking around lucky and not even know it.
Richard Saber, a former director of race and sports at the famed Stardust book, is GamingToday’s horse racing and sports handicapper. Follow Richard on Twitter @SabesBet. Contact Richard at [email protected].