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“It’s Bonus Time, Baby!” North Carolina bettors can embrace a phrase first championed by the late actor Telly Savalas in the infancy of Atlantic City’s legalized gambling.
He referred to a Player’s Club offering in the late 1970’s. That term can mean three Tar Heel State teams – North Carolina State, North Carolina, and Duke – vying in the Sweet 16 round of March Madness.
“It’s not surprising that Duke is still in it, nor, surprisingly, North Carolina is there, but the team that has taken a lot of the tournament by storm is North Carolina State,” Johnny Avello, the director of race and sportsbook operations for DraftKings, told Gaming Today. “They weren’t even going to make the Big Dance unless they won their conference tournament, and here they are in the Sweet 16. Bettors are taking them, too.
“This is a funny tournament,” he added. “You will often see a team make a big run to get through the conference tournament and then get bounced. But I don’t know if there is any good pattern to follow this year. You often look at who is playing well at the end of the regular season, but I don’t know if that applies this year.”
NC State does put that theory to the test. In one week, it beat nationally-ranked Duke and North Carolina to win the ACC tournament. The Wolfpack rallied from six points down to force the overtime they dominated against Virginia. They throttled Texas Tech and survived an overtime conflict against underdog Oakland. North Carolina just missed covering -6.5, but overtime rescued the Over bettors. Seven straight tournament wins after a 17-15 regular season.
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Women’s Play Ignites Public, Bettors
Avello told the Gaming Today audience last week that NCAA women’s tourney and Caitlin Clark could be a big draw.
Avello is personally torn by the scheduling. The MVP Arena in Albany, NY, is host to the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight Rounds. It’s only 80 miles from his native Poughkeepsie.
“I do have to go back to the area from time to time,” Avello noted, “and I wish one of them were this weekend. I would be eager to take in the games. The women play exciting basketball.”
He is not alone. Shaq goes as far as to say he only watches women’s March Madness hoops. Bettors, of course, watch everything. That’s how they learn while they earn.
