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Columnist Jimmy Vaccaro: As I See It

I've been involved in the gaming life for as long as I can remember of my 56 years, and I'm realizing that a lot of people are interested in what I've experienced.

There is an ongoing fascination with gambling, and the queries cover a wide spectrum of experiences. There is the, "Jimmy, are the outcomes of the games determined by the networks in order to pump up ratings for certain matchups?" type questions.

Some bettors simply want to know how the spreads come so close to the final outcome.

I have also gotten suggestions to quit my wicked ways and to stop perpetuating this lifestyle by making it so attractive to the next generation.

Of course, I get some charming email from regular people who actually get a laugh out of our highs and lows, because they don't bet a matchstick. In some way, these folks are probably smarter than the rest of us.

Without belaboring the obvious, the gaming landscape has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. I am especially amazed at how mass communications have developed during this time.

So please keep responding to these columns, because I am sure somewhere out there is a guy who owns a 7-11 store in a small town who can show me how to get one. That would be the "nuts" for me.

But I have trouble filling up my gas tank, let alone trying to buy a business. So, let me address some of this week's questions that fall within my area of expertise.

Brad from Palo Alto, California, asked about opening numbers and who moves them, because it seems every time he tries to get down on a number, he gets there late. Brad is a Don Best subscriber and will sit there trying to jump the moves during the week.

I will answer that using some firsthand knowledge and a little speculation, since I am not in the main loop like I used to be when I was running some of these joints.

Sunday nights, the opening numbers are sent out from a few offshore books such as CRIS, Wit and Olympic, along with the Stardust in Vegas. The 'Dust has been doing it for years and was among the first to iron out the line for the upcoming week through its "lottery".

Pros with good opinions and other wiseguys would bet into the openers trying to beat them or at least get a good lead. Later in the week, these players would decide whether to keep what they had or sell back some of it in an attempt to get a middle.

The process worked very well for a long time, and the Stardust lottery became a Sunday night tradition for a lot of sharps. You could check the opening number and changes Monday morning and make some decisions on where other books might want to open or share a game or two.

It was always worth looking at, even though at times the wiseguys might throw up a "snowball" and double back on a game after everyone had opened on Monday.

Now I know there is not much honor among thieves, but there was a time when this did not happen with much regularity.

At the Mirage, Monday mornings was a busy time for two of my key staff, Russ Culver and Lori, who now works for Rio in Costa Rica. They were diligent and did a good job, but the litmus test for the lines occurred in the next hour.

Here's the drill as it went in those days. Even though we were networked to all our sister properties, we only opened up these games to our phone accounts, the sharps, and let them hammer the numbers. We allowed one outfit in at a time and it lasted about an hour. Our handle was between $300K and $400K, and it put me where I wanted to be relative to the opening numbers.

Those figures may be small compared with some of today's Vegas shops, but it was worth it to me to find out exactly where the numbers might go and how they would stretch.

This paled in comparison to the handle we would get entering the weekend, but I knew which group took what and laid what, so I always knew what I could offer to get rid of something if needed.

Contrary to what some managers believe, you do not have to agonize over the numbers to hang a good line. You simply need to be diligent, not cute, to be okay.

What I did was done long before me with pros like Bob Martin and Frank Rosenthal, who were light years ahead of most of us. Both of them told me how they would give out the openers to a few pros who would have first crack at them. After the wiseguys had done their damage, it was opened up to the world.

Of course, after you go through this process, it doesn't mean you can relax and go to sleep. During the week you must account for injuries, weather, suspensions and other unforeseens to guard against.

Today's offshore books are a different kind of animal than the Vegas books. Some of them like to bet as much as they book. So, at times when they get the play from the syndicates, they simply have their own messengers who get them down by betting these games at other books. Then, they are on the same side as the wiseguys.

From what I hear, the Stardust does not attract much of a crowd, and with the addition of the respected offshore books posting opening numbers, it does not have the captive audience it used to get when the lottery was such an attraction.

So, Brad, you can sit there 'til the end of time and you will never get in before any of the offshore shops once that screen starts to turn black. The syndicates have too many operators and agents who are paid to get the number the originator wants. So with the sharps trying to pick off plays to owners, and the bookmakers following their own sharps, you are better off walking your dog or going to work out.

Another misconception is that public money pushes these favorites during the week. From Tuesday to Friday, the public is going to work and bowling, they are not involved at all in making moves on games.

So, the vast majority of regular players have got virtually nothing to say about moving the line. My advice is, don't even try to get involved in this because the first time you jump in and get your number, and it later backs up like a Georgia mule, you will lose any confidence you already have.

Here's a better idea: do your homework, try to track the moves, then bet within your budget. Do that and you should be fine.

Just so no one thinks I am arrogant or presumptuous, I include myself among that latter group. I may be able to jump a few numbers and take a few leads, but never do I think I'm smarter than the entire system. This would be a gross mistake.

Essentially, it comes down to when I win, I win, and when I lose, I pay like everyone else, which unfortunately has been my m.o. over the last few weeks.

Understand the system, but do not become a victim of its inexorable favoritism to the few hard core pros.

In this week's game, I played U.S.C. at Notre Dame simply because I have the better team who has played a tougher schedule. Tough house to be a visitor in, but I think I've got the winner.

Your comments are always appreciated. Write to me at vaccarosports@lvcm.com.

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