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Columnist Buzz Daly: Sports Book Scene

When we think of wiseguys we envision cool, detached bettors kicking bookmakers' butts.

However, in Vegas these days, the sharps are anything but cool and collected. Many of them are livid over the latest indignity being perpetrated by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

In a previous column, we've noted that the GBC is limiting the amount of money that can be bet during a 24-hour period over the phone to $2,200. That's the good news.

The bad news is that if you want to get around that little restriction, the Board will be only too happy to accommodate you.

With the cunning of a snake, and the efficiency of a piranha, the regulatory agency has provided a deceptive looking loophole that lets gullible players avoid the wagering limits.

So, what little trap does the unsuspecting player fall into in order for the limits not to be applicable?

Just file an application with the GCB to obtain the classification of a "listed patron" for wagering communication purposes.

Like any predatory government agency, the GCB isn't satisfied to prick your finger and extract a few drops of blood. It wants to suck up all your bodily fluids and leave a pod person behind.

The application to be filed with the GCB requires the following information: Social Security number, identification credentials, birth date and wagering activity at the book for which the application is intended.

Pretty innocuous stuff, huh? Certainly not enough to deter a serious bettor from continuing to bet over the phone.

Maybe in a parallel universe, but not in this one. Wiseguys are notorious for not leaving footprints, and if the agency expects them to fork over a complete dossier on their wagering proclivities, it's not going to happen.

Talk about good cop, bad cop. The board taketh away, but then it giveth back.

When all this data is collected, does the GCB just sit on it? The wiseguys don't think so. The ones we spoke with are convinced that allowing access to such private and privileged information would be akin to letting Uncle Sam ransack their home and office, while rifling through their safety deposit box.

These are sophisticated bettors, some of whom have had run-ins with law enforcement authorities. They live in houses valued at seven figures and many are respected members of the community. They are sophisticated enough to know that giving any government body carte blanche to snoop in their private affairs is an invitation to disaster.

So, what do they do?

The sharps are flocking to sports books cashiers to withdraw their funds.

Being bettors, that money is still earmarked for sports wagering and much of it will eventually find its way off shore.

What about the rest of us? Our average play is $100 a game. But we're not eager to have a bunch of bureaucrats poking around in our confidential business.

We're gonna pass when it comes to filling out the form.

The Winning Line. On this week's show, we'll find out from Jimmy Vaccaro just what he thinks of the new betting limits, and the loophole being offered to bettors.

We'll also be joined by a consultant for Costa Rica-based WIT Sports (www.witsportsbook.com), who will cover in detail how books make their numbers, how different shops hang their numbers, and why overall action - rather than a bet from a sharp player - moves their line.

The show can be heard over 1340 KRLV AM Las Vegas, and over the Internet at www.audiovegas.com, where it is archived for the season.

Penny Wise, Pound Foolish. How many readers laid the wood on Washington in Monday Night's game with visiting and winless Dallas?

If you bet the 'Skins, you were never in the game. Here's one of the reasons.

Billionaire 'Skins owner Daniel N. Snyder spent over $100 million on the team, making it a contender. He spent liberally for such veterans as Deion Sanders and Bruce Smith. Hell, they've got a backup QB who makes more than some starters.

So maybe Snyder was looking to get some of it back this summer when the Redskins decided to charge admission to watch its practices. For $10, you could watch all the proceedings.

Guess who ponied up a reported $300 and showed up on a regular basis? Some scouts for the Dallas Cowboys.

The payoff came Monday night when the hapless, winless 'Boys pulled off a straight-up win, and one Washington player reportedly complained, "They seemed to know everything we were doing."

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