Can Vegas Bookies Save Sports?

Pro, college leagues hire insiders to sniff out problems
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 3, 2007 7:23 PM CDT
Can Vegas Bookies Save Sports?
Former Philadelphia Flyer' Rick Tocchet, left, and defense attorney Kevin Marino exit the courthouse following Tocchet's sentencing in Burlington County Superior Court in Mount Holly, N.J., Friday, Aug. 17, 2007. Tocchet, a former NHL hockey player and assistant coach who ran an illegal sports gambling...   (Associated Press)

Sports that once slammed betting are now playing ball with Vegas bookies, the Wall Street Journal reports. Pro and college leagues hire advisers to spot odd bets and the players or refs who may be shaving points behind them."It's a way for them, I think, to be able to tell their athletes: 'There's someone in Vegas watching you,'" says a rep at Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
I

Such companies have set spreads for years, helping casinos profit on what is called "equal betting flow." But sports leagues opposed gambling for years, until a spate of scandals forced them to reach out. "The leagues have a public stance that, 'We don't like gaming,'" says one better. "But the reality is that without Las Vegas and without sports betting, their giant empires would crumble." (More NBA stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X