Wlalakers Basketball Betting News

<< Kings hope Martin will return in Philly
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Sacramento Kings are expected to get their leading scorer back in the lineup when the team starts up a six-game road trip against Eastern Conference opponents with tonight's matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers.

<< Capitals, Maple Leafs close out season series
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals will aim for their fifth victory in six games when they welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs for tonight's encounter at Verizon Center. The Southeast Division-leading Capitals have won four of their last

<< Spurs make a stop in Charlotte
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a refreshed Tim Duncan back ready to go, the San Antonio Spurs take aim at a fourth straight victory when they visit a Charlotte Bobcats team that's also playing very well of late tonight at Time Warner

<< Redmond signs on with the Indians
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians signed backup catcher Mike Redmond to a one-year deal on Friday. Financial terms of the contract were not released. Redmond, who will serve as a tutor to prospect Lou Marson, hit .

Grizzlies host Wolves at FedEx Forum >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies shoot for a franchise-record tying seventh straight home win Friday when they host the hapless Minnesota Timberwolves at FedEx Forum. The Grizzlies needed a little help from the fire

Raptors pay a visit to Knicks at MSG >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlantic Division rivals meet in historic Madison Square Garden Friday when the Toronto Raptors visit the New York Knicks. The Raptors, who lead the Knicks by 2 1/2 games for second place in the division, droppe

Preds end road trip against sliding Flames >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators will attempt to wrap a three-game road trip perfect this evening as they take on the Calgary Flames, who will be trying to avoid a fifth loss in six games. The Predators visit Pengrowth Saddledome o

Mavs close out homestand vs. Thunder >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Southwest Division-leading Dallas Mavericks hope to salvage the finale of a three-game homestand Friday when they host the improved Oklahoma City Thunder. The Mavericks fell to 0-2 on the residency Wednesda

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

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