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Columnist Buzz Daly: Sports Book Scene

Amidst the revelry of fireworks, backyard barbecues and parades, this Fourth of July brought Nevada sports bettors a real taste of what Independence Day stands for.

The Revolutionary War, as some still refer to it, signaled the emergence of democracy as a participatory form of government. When this nation was founded, the rights of its citizens to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" was cited as "unalienable".

But 225 years after winning the fight for freedom, United States citizens who embrace sports betting and other forms of gaming might quibble about the existence and vitality of their rights. Our prerogatives have been seriously compromised and trampled upon by holier-than-thou anti-gaming zealots.

But here on the battleground in Nevada, where a struggle for the right to wager on college sports in legal sportsbooks is being waged, the forces of light have enjoyed a major breakthrough. Sen. Harry Reid, D-NV, the Senate's second ranking member, has officially declared victory in the effort to defeat NCAA-inspired legislation.

Reid has stated, "The bill won't pass."

Recent efforts to gain support by pressuring politicians and manipulating the public – which included well-publicized posturing by a group of high-profile coaches who were trotted out in lockstep to mouth the party line – failed miserably.

The NCAA and the hack politicians it has in its pocket bought into conventional wisdom, which assumes the American public can be snookered simply by playing a politically correct card and pushing the right buttons via a campaign of disinformation.

But the laughable contention that a betting ban in Nevada is needed to protect college students and athletes from Las Vegas corruption, and that eliminating legal wagering on college events would magically influence bettors not to make illegal wagers on college sports, didn't stand up to scrutiny.

The more vehement was the proselytizing for this flawed, illogical and disingenuous position, the more clearly was its moral and intellectual bankruptcy exposed.

A confident Sen. Reid said of the bill, "We'll kill it. It has lost support." Not surprisingly, in view of the fact that pious sentiments of the sanctimonious crowd fall on deaf ears, when they insist on brow-beating everyone into submission.

When Penn State basketball coach Jerry Dunn insists that wagering on college sports, "takes away from the very innocence of our game," it is obvious that what he is selling smells worse than two-week-old mackerel.

For a coach to mouth words about "the very innocence of our game," shows the contempt he and his cohorts have for the public. Dunn, et al, presume we are not aware of recruiting scandals, shameful graduation rates by athletes, and the special privileges routinely enjoyed by campus jocks. Innocence indeed!

Until the NCAA gets its messy house in order, it should refrain from throwing stones at Nevada.

But lest we get too cocky about beating back the Philistines, it was probably an historic anomaly that caused the decision to go in favor of those who think betting is a lifestyle choice, not a crime against humanity.

It was the defection of a single Republican senator which changed the tenuous balance of power in the Senate, and tipped the decision which puts the Democrats in charge of that governing body as well as all of its committees.

Diehards who still fantasize about imposing their own sense of morality upon the rest of us will likely still try a power play or two. But fortuitously, they no longer have the firepower they held immediately after the last election.

Reid expects attempts by the Republicans to try to attach the bill as an amendment to an appropriations bill. But now he – along with an ally, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-SD – has the leverage to thwart such back-door attempts.

So, with a collective sigh of relief, Nevada bookmakers say bring on football with all the great college matchups, traditional rivalries and the bowl season.

New Online Gaming Magazine Appears. A new magazine dedicated to cyber gaming is on newsstands and it is a winner, with a classy combination of substance and style.

The 100-page pub on coated stock and four-color graphics throughout comes with an interactive CD version of the magazine.

Content is diversified and enlightening, with the emphasis on casino gambling. A sampling of articles runs the gamut from 10 gambling strategies to make you a winner to celebrity gossip in Las Vegas about the stars of "Oceans Eleven", who filmed a remake of the classic 1960 movie depicting a heist of the city's top casinos.

Our favorite story is a comprehensive in-depth interview with Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal. In it, he reveals that the largest bet he ever made was a little over $500,000 on the Super Bowl game between Kansas City and Minnesota. It was a laugher and he was on the right side.

Casino.com is notable for excellent graphics, layout and writing. And like any specialized publication, the advertising is of interest to gamblers.

Issue 1 costs $6.99 and will be on newsstands shortly. In Vegas and Reno-Tahoe, it is being distributed free at hotels, car rentals and other tourist-oriented establishments.

New Odds Feature. Serious bettors get an informed take on action by checking the history of line movement on a game. Monitoring these fluctuations and interpreting them correctly is a big edge.

Our new Odds page allows you to not only view the current odds offered, but the odds history as well. You can use this page to track line movement from the opening line all the way to game time.

To access this new page, click on the "Odds via Don Best" link in the menu to the left just under "breaking news" on our home page, www.buzzdaly.com. To view the history for one particular game, click on the date or time in the "Date" column on the odds page.

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