Question of the Day - 04 April 2018

I only bet the SuperBowl, and only prop bets. 

I have a friend in Vegas who will either place my bets for me or take the action himself - splitting the vig. 

You should have a category for someone who only bets in Vegas but will investigate betting from their own home state once it becomes legal nation wide.

I agree with Mary Pat that the prime difference will be in adding a betting option at home. Personally, I rarely bet on sports in Las Vegas because of the red tape in collecting if I win but have already left town. I would be more likely to bet at home since collecting would be easier.

I am a NASCAR fan and bet on NASCAR races when I am in Vegas. If sports betting was legalized I would probably bet on NASCAR races in other casinos as well. However, I am only a casual sports bettor and would not visit casinos specifically to bet. So I suggest a choice something like, "I bet on sports for fun when I'm in Las Vegas, but not seriously. I'll probably bet for fun whenever I'm in a casino with a sports book, but I probably won't make a trip to a casino just to place a sports bet."

I don't understand sports betting.  I've asked my husband "what does "the points spread" mean?  How are the winning amounts determined?  I've read "Bet $500 to win $510, which makes no sense to me.  His explanations don't register (he doesn't gamble at all so I suspect he doesn't know much more than I do)  If I understood some of the terminology I might take some shots.

Since my state won't even legalize pari-mutual betting on horses, there is zero chance they would legalize sports betting.  Note that if the Supreme Court rules, it won't make sports betting legal nationwide, it will just allow states to decide individually whether or not to allow it, just like pari-mutual now.  I personally prefer horse betting - I'd rather bet $50 to win $500 on a live 10-1 shot than have to bet $510 to win $500 on a football game.

In response to your questions:

A "point spread" is when you bet on (usually) a football or basketball game; usually, one team is more likely to win than the other, so for betting purposes, one team has to win by more than a certain number of points.  For example, in the recent NCAA men's basketball championship game, Villanova might have been a "10-point favorite" over Michigan; this means if you bet on Villanova, they have to win by more than 10 points, and if you bet on Michigan, you win even if Villanova wins the game but by less than 10.

Most bets like this are "Bet 110 to win 100" - that is, if you win, you win $100, but if you lose, you lose $110.  This is how the sports books (and illegal bookmakers) make their money; it is usually called "vigorish", "vig", or "juice".

Hey, Don Guy, I get your very clear explanation about the point spread!  Thanks so much.  And obviously I had that "vig" thing backwards.  I'm with ischultz. Much more fun to risk a small bet on a long shot at the horse track.

I bet with "Uncle Joe", who's wife is a dispatcher at the sheriff's dept. Unless the local casino book has good promos or better lines, not much will change.