воскресенье, 16 сентября 2012 г.

`PUSH' SENDS BETTORS BACK FOR REFUNDS IN LAS VEGAS.(Sports) - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The bookies got it right - and it cost them a bundle.

A Super Bowl that ended just the way the oddsmakers predicted - with St. Louis winning by seven points - left both the sports books and the bettors feeling less than satisfied yesterday.

Long lines of bettors swarmed to the cashiers' windows at sports books along the Las Vegas Strip to collect money after the game. But in most cases they were merely getting back what they had wagered.

Those who bet on the Rams minus the seven points stood in the same lines as those who bet on the Tennessee Titans plus seven points. Neither side was a winner, but they weren't losers either.

``Most people are just getting refunds,'' said Cesar Robaina, who sets the odds for many Las Vegas sports books. ``It's not horrible, and it's not like the town lost millions. But it's obviously not a good result.''

Although it will be several days before the betting results are finally totaled, oddsmakers say the biggest sports betting event of the year turned out to be a dud this time around.

The Rams were a solid 7-point favorite all week long, and the betting line never wavered.

``I suspect from a player's standpoint, they're not too happy either,'' Robaina said. ``Nobody wants a push.''

At the Imperial Palace, book manager Jay Kornegay said bettors swarmed to the pay windows to get their money back as soon as Kevin Dyson's outstretched arm fell short at the goal line.

``We're almost as busy now as we were before the game,'' Kornegay said. ``We've got long lines of people here getting their money back.''

The result was similar to three years ago, when Green Bay beat New England 35-21 in a game that the Packers went into as 14-point favorites.