08/16/2008 - Rochester, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brendon De Jonge shot a three-under 67 on Saturday to maintain his lead at the Xerox Classic at Irondequoit Country Club.
Through 54 holes, De Jonge stands at 12-under 198 and is three ahead of Jonathan Fricke and Greg Owen. Fricke fired an impressive seven-under 63 on Saturday, while Owen shot a three-under 67.
De Jonge got off to a slow start with a bogey on the par-four first hole. Despite one more bogey on the seventh, he was solid all day. De Jonge had a total of five birdies on the day.
If De Jonge can hold onto his lead, he will collect his first-ever Nationwide Tour victory.
MORE TO FOLLOW.
<< Nasri nets winner in Arsenal debut
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samir Nasri could not have envisioned a
better start to his Arsenal career as the Frenchman scored four minutes into
his first match for the Gunners, handing the team a 1-0 win over West Bromwich
at the
<< Offiong propels Hamilton to another win
Inverness, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Richard Offiong's goal in first-half
stoppage time allowed newly-promoted Hamilton to continue its dream start to
the Scottish Premier League season as the team slipped past Inverness, 1-0 on
Saturda
<< Edwards grabs pole for Nationwide race at Michigan
Brooklyn, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Edwards won the pole for Saturday's
Carfax 250 Nationwide Series race at the Michigan International Speedway. The
No.60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford driver and defending series champion rounded
the two
<< Rays attempt to shine once again in Texas
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everyone is waiting for the upstart Tampa Bay Rays to run
out of steam. However, despite injuries that are mounting by the day, they
continue to roll.
Tampa will shoot for its fourth straight win this evening, when
Traore's late winner helps Nice down Nancy >>
Nice, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mahamane Traore scored in the 90th minute to
give Nice a 2-1 win over Nancy on Saturday at Municipal du Ray in the second
Ligue 1 contest for both teams.
Loic Remy opened the scoring for Nice 34 minutes i
Giants scratch Sanchez, Palmer to make ML debut >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Francisco Giants left-hander
Jonathan Sanchez was scratched from his scheduled start Saturday against
Atlanta due to a left shoulder strain. Matt Palmer, recalled to the team
Thursda
Astros' Matsui heads to DL >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Astros second baseman Kazuo Matsui was
placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with an irritated disc.
The move is retroactive to August 13.
The 32-year-old native of Japan is hitting .285 wit
Dechy upsets Mauresmo to reach Cincy final >>
Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nathalie Dechy upended fifth-seeded Amelie
Mauresmo to secure her spot in Sunday's championship match at the $175,000
Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, a hardcourt U.S. Open tune-
up.
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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