The LVH SuperBook has been taking entries for their world famous SuperContest since July 1, and through Sunday, there have already been 246 signups, which is ahead of last year’s record-setting figure of 745.
The sign-up pace figures to get even faster this weekend when the second annual SuperContest Weekend begins Friday. There will be handicapping seminars, a golf tournament on Saturday, along with a Super Reception Saturday night where they’ll raffle off five SuperContest entries.
Winning the SuperContest is regarded as the greatest achievement in sports handicapping, because it’s a tournament consisting of only the best of the best. Whoever wins will forever have their named etched in Las Vegas history as one of the best of all-time. It’s really that big.
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The entry fee is $1,500 and the total prize money given away this season is expected to top $1.1 million. All you have to do is pick five games against the spread each week, and if at the end of the year you have the most winners, you win.
If you manage to hit 67 percent winners on the year, the LVH will award you a bonus of $15,000, up from the $10,000 offered in years past. For bettors that don’t feel comfortable laying down that kind of cash, they still have a chance to gain an entry by winning one of the five free entries given away Saturday night during a raffle.
Future wagers bet at the LVH of $20 or more get one raffle ticket, and losing parlay wagers of $20 or more get a ticket. Race players are also included. Any bettor accumulating more than $50 of losing pari-mutuel tickets per day since July 1 gets a raffle ticket and chance at winning one of SuperContest entries. And for those that participate in the Super Golf outing, they get five raffle tickets.
That’s a chunky $7,500 giveaway that the LVH is offering, and nice gesture to those who play small money daily, giving them an opportunity to play with the big boys for big money. Winning the SuperContest is a life changer.
Another great offering by Jay Kornegay and his staff is the handicapping seminars on Friday night in Ballroom E, which begins at 6 pm, with a welcome reception at 5. There will be some great information and advice offered from a wide array of experts.
One session will be on sports betting, with some good angles to approach that can help bettors try to maintain a winning edge throughout the season. Two other panels of experts will be discussing the pro and college football teams: who is under the radar and who might be overrated, complete with analysis and insight from some of the sharpest minds in the business, including past SuperContest winners.
I will be on the sports betting panel, along with two-time SuperContest winner Steve Fezzik, ESPN the magazine’s chief editor Chad Millman, ViewfromVegas.com‘s publisher Dave Tuley, in a segment that will be hosted by ESPN radio’s Mitch Moss.
Even if you think you know everything about football or sports betting, I guarantee you will come away from the seminar with a least a few pieces of information that you did not know. It’s a great chance to mingle with some people that have the same interests, learn a few things, and best of all, it’s free.
Anyone can walk in, and there will even be an allotted time frame for you to ask the experts a few questions that may not have been covered during the sessions.
NL Central battles: Through Sunday, the Pirates had lost seven of nine games and the lead between first-place and third-place has shrunk to only 2½ with the Cardinals and red-hot Reds breathing down their neck. With seven weeks to go, who do you like to come out on top?
One angle you have to look at is that the Reds and Cardinals have been through this stage in past seasons and almost everyone on their roster knows what has to be done plus the type of attitude it takes daily to win the division. The Pirates on the other hand, are still learning, and may be thinking more about not failing like the past two seasons rather than focusing on winning.
Winning the division takes on a larger role of importance than past years since the leagues were aligned to three divisions. There was one additional wild card added to each league, which is great, but they only get one shot. There is no seven game series. They have to win that one game to earn the right to play one of the division winners. For a team like Pittsburgh or Cincinnati with no true ace, a one game format is not attractive, which puts on extra pressure to win the division.
When looking at the schedule down the stretch, St. Louis has a major edge. They play the Pirates six times and the Reds seven times, but don’t face either of them after Sept. 8. In fact the Cardinals don’t play a winning team from that point on, getting to face teams like the Rockies, Mariners, Brewers and Cubs.
Meanwhile, the Reds and Pirates meet six times in their final nine games, including the last three to close out the season. Because of the schedules, the Cardinals have a huge edge to win the division and is part of the reason why they are 7-to-1 to win the World Series while the first-place Bucs are 10-1 and the Reds 12-1.
If that scenario does come into play, and the Pirates and Reds can hold off Arizona in the wild card race, the two clubs would meet in the one game playoff, which should be entertaining considering how often they played down the stretch against each other.
Micah Roberts is a former Las Vegas race and sports book director, and longtime motorsports columnist and sports analyst at GamingToday. Follow Micah on Twitter @MicahRoberts7 Contact Micah at [email protected].