Good morning, everyone, I hope you having a wonderful Monday. To all you Bears fans out there, you have my condolences, and my post-Super Bowl prediction that Rex Grossman jerseys will be finding their way to the clearance bins later this summer. To all you Colts fans, congratulations for a well-deserved win.
As I mentioned in my comments section yesterday, I took the Colts and laid the 7 points. And here's the thing--it was an absolute bargain of a bet. My only regret is that I didn't take out a payday loan for a grand and bet it all... heh heh... Anyhow, with Bears fans around the country outnumbering Colts fans by about a 20-1 margin, everyone was betting with their heart, and not their head, so even giving seven points to the Bears, I didn't have to pay the 10% juice--it was an even money bet! Bet a hundred, get back $200. However, there were so many people betting on the underdog Bears that taking the seven points cost 20%--You had to bet $120 to win a hundred on the dog. Unbelievable. I thought that 7-point line was about three points too low when it came out, but again, so many people were willing to bet on the Bears regardless of the line that the bookies had to 'artificially' lower it to get more action on the Colts.
I don't consider myself an expert sports handicapper by any stretch of the imagination, but damn, I know a bargain when I see one, so I took advantage of it. And luckily I was right.
As happy I was to cash my ticket tonight, and collect another few bills in side bets from co-workers, there was a complete downside to the Colts win. Once the game was over, all the Bears fans who lost all their bets were broke, so they took off--that left nobody to stick around playing table games. Yeah, it was a bit quieter this year than last year. When the Steelers won, we had a good night--busy all night with a bunch of happy players. Since all the Bears fans left early last night, the bosses were slamming lids on games early and sending folks home starting at midnight. Had the Bears won, or at least covered, we would've had a *big* night. But since the Colts won, it was just a busier-than-usual Sunday night. We'll make a little more money than usual, but nothing to cause too much excitement.
On the plus side, we dealers were happy about the Colts covering the spread, even some of the Bears fans. On Friday night we had a player in telling all of the dealers how he'd just bet $50,000 on the Bears. No big deal--we get some crazy sports bettors in there every week. Well this toolbox went on a run and won over $35,000 playing blackjack. And when he colored up, he totally stiffed the dealer. Didn't tip him one thin dime.
What's even worse is that this guy is a former dealer from a now-defunct property, and should know better. So once that happened, word spread around the pit and everyone was gunning for him to take him down. He had every dealer in the joint wanting to take a shot at his bankroll. I don't know if anyone did--I was dealing Pai Gow and Dice all night, but tonight we were all pretty happy knowing that he lost five stacks of high society in the sports book. Karma, baby.
Since our shift didn't start until after the game had ended, I heard some pretty good stories before hitting the floor. The gal who lost the side bet to me had also made a 5-way parlay and took the Colts, the Over on number of field goals, the Over on number of turnovers, the over on number of interceptions, and the Over on the half-time score. She hit 'em all for a 20-1 payoff, so she didn't mind losing a measly $25 to your humble scribe.
Another guy I work with took "Devin Hester scoring the first touchdown" at 25-1, and put $20 on it, so he cashed a $500 ticket to go with his $100 win on the Under.
I think the most interesting thing I heard however, came while I was sitting in a bathroom stall, ahem, reading, and I overheard a guy a few seats away from me carrying on a conversation on his cell phone. Apparently he'd been in the Book all day long and had a big day betting the ponies. A very big day. And every time he'd "cash" in a race, he'd go lay that money on the Bears. Apparently, brothaman had lost several thousand dollars of house money, but was still up $800 for the day because he laid a bunch on Rex Grossman throwing at least one interception. Damn, talk about easy money. Wish I'd bet that.
Anyhow, as happy as I was with the results, the euphoria has given way to the sad fact that there isn't going to be anymore football until next August. Sports, as far as I'm concerned, is going into hybernation. Yeah, I'll watch a few important things between now and then--The Daytona 500, The Masters, The US Open, MLB Opening Day (and I'll follow the Cardinals religiously...), and March Madness, but as far as I'm concerned, football is king, and when it's not around, the countdown is always on as to when it'll be back.
So here's to a quick off-season. Hopefully the Rams will be contenders again next season. Only six months until training camp opens!
Mikey
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