Riegger earns first win at LaSalle Bank Open

Golf Betting Lines

06/03/2007 - Glenview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Riegger birdied the final hole Sunday to close a round of four-under 68 and win the LaSalle Bank Open by a single stroke.

Riegger completed his first tour title at 17-under-par 271. He also collected the second biggest first-place check of the year - $135,000.

"I knew going into the day what playing good today would mean," said Riegger, who jumped to sixth on the Nationwide Tour's money list. "I wasn't feeling my best, but I managed to get the job done and that's all that matters."

The win came despite a bad back that bothered him all week.

"I'm going home tonight and I'm going to get a shot in my back," Riegger admitted. "I've been down on the back all week. It didn't look like it the way I played, but I was in a lot of pain out there all week."

B.J. Staten was the only player to post four rounds in the 60s this week, but it wasn't enough. He also closed with a 68 to end one back at minus-16. Roland Thatcher and Kris Blanks shared third place at 15-under-par 273.

Tag Ridings, who shared the lead after three rounds with Riegger and Jason Day, carded a one-under 71 Sunday to end alongside Jay Williamson in fifth at minus-14.

Staten and Riegger were just two of several players atop a crowded leaderboard on this day. Staten moved out in front early. He birdied the first two holes before tripping to a bogey on three.

The 28-year-old Staten bounced right back with a birdie on the fourth. He got to 15-under with a birdie on the par-four sixth. However, he ran off 10 straight pars from there as others came into the picture.

Riegger was playing in the final threesome. He dropped a shot at the third to slip to minus-12, but bounced back with three birdies over the next four holes.

The 43-year-old Riegger remained at 15-under with four straight pars. He dropped another stroke on the 12th, but recovered in style once again.

Riegger rolled in a nine-foot birdie putt on 13 and followed with another birdie on 14, from six feet out, to get to 16-under. As he parred the next three holes, Staten joined Riegger in the lead with a birdie on the par-three 17th.

Staten had a chance to grab first by himself, but parred the par-five 18th at The Glen Club to finish at 16-under.

Riegger headed to the last needing birdie or eagle to grab the title. He drained a 18-foot birdie on the 18th for the win.

Thatcher, playing alongside Staten, got to 16-under with four front-nine birdies, but posted eight pars and a bogey on the back nine to end two back.

Chris Smith (67) and Livermore Valley Wine Championship winner Omar Uresti (71) ended in a tie for seventh at 13-under-par 275.

The 19-year-old Day struggled to a closing 73. That dropped him into a share of ninth at minus-12. He was joined there by Rich Barcelo, Jeff Klauk, James Driscoll, Michael Long, Tee McCabe, Dustin Bray, Chris Stroud and Bob Burns.

7decks Golf Betting News

<< Cubs slam Braves to avoid sweep
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark DeRosa belted a grand slam and finished with five runs batted in to power Chicago past Atlanta, 10-1, as the Cubs avoided a three-game sweep at Wrigley Field. Derrek Lee went 3-for-5 with a home

<< Victorino lifts Phils over Giants
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shane Victorino belted a game-winning home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Philadelphia Phillies edged the San Francisco Giants, 9-8, at Citizens Bank Park. With the sco

<< Sheffield, Bonderman lead Tigers over Tribe
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gary Sheffield set the tone with a two-run homer in the first inning, and Jeremy Bonderman hurled six-plus solid innings as Detroit downed Cleveland, 9-2, in the finale of a four-game set at Jacobs

<< Sheets, Brewers blank Marlins
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Sheets struck out seven batters over six scoreless innings, as the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers got back in the win column when they wrapped up a four-game series against the Florida

<< Dodgers rally late to top Pirates
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andre Ethier belted a two-run homer in the eighth inning, lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers to a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third of a four-game series at PNC Park.

Pujols, Cardinals down Astros in 10 innings >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Albert Pujols hit two homers -- including a two-run shot in the 10th -- as the St. Louis Cardinals edged the Houston Astros, 8-6, in the finale of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park. So Taguchi

Choi's 65 gives him Memorial title >>
Dublin, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - K.J. Choi converted a five-foot par save at the 72nd hole on Sunday to ward off Ryan Moore and win the Memorial. Choi fired a final-round, seven-under 65 to finish at 17-under-par 271. The win was Choi's fi

Mariners slug past Rangers >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Lopez went 4-for-5 with a bases-clearing double in the fourth inning as Seattle outslugged Texas, 11-6, in the finale of a four-game set at Safeco Field. Jose Guillen went 3-for-4 and also knocked in t

Atkins lifts Rockies past Reds >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garrett Atkins singled in the game-winning run in the 10th inning, as the Colorado Rockies stormed back to down the Cincinnati Reds, 10-9, in the finale of a three-game series at Coors Field. Brad H

Vlad's homer in ninth lifts Angels over O's >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vladimir Guerrero belted a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, as the LA Angels of Anaheim closed out a four- game set against the Baltimore Orioles with a 4-3 victory. Chris Ray (3-4) replac

Sportsbook Betting Lines

Who Makes the Sportsbook Betting Lines?

Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC) is the world’s premier oddsmaking company and the most respected authority on making the lines. Mike Seba is a Senior Oddsmaker at LVSC and has been making lines for the last six years. In our extended interview, Seba explained that there are 4-5 oddsmakers assigned to make lines for each of the major sports (pro & college football and basketball; MLB, NHL, boxing, golf). Each of these oddsmakers bring unique opinions, strengths and weaknesses to the process. Oddsmakers at LVSC are professional sports junkies who love what they do and would probably do it for nothing if you asked them, but they do get paid for it. By necessity their approach is very research-oriented and concise, since with millions of dollars at risk there is little margin for error.

“You either have a passion for it or you don’t,” Seba said.

“The #1 thing for us is to make a line for each game that creates good two-way action. We do this by drawing from past experiences and applying them to current situations. People think it’s much more complicated, but it’s not. “

What are the Football Betting Lines Trying to Accomplish?

There is a common misconception that point spreads represent the oddsmakers’ prediction of how many points the favorite will win by. That is not the case at all – their intent is NOT to evenly split the ATS result between the teams; rather, their goal is to attract equal betting action on both sides. Stated another way, they want to create a line that half the people find appealing to bet one way while the other half find it appealing to bet the other way (known as ‘dividing the action’).

Divided action means the sportsbook is guaranteed a profit on the game because of the fee charged to the bettor (called juice or vig – typically $11 bet to win $10).

How the Opening Line Is Made

The opening line is the first line created by the oddsmakers, which is then sent out to sportsbooks. Of course there is an entire method to the madness on how the opening line is created. Seba explained that it all starts with each oddsmaker creating a line on each game based upon their own personal approach. This usually includes having up-to-date power ratings on each team.

Power ratings are the oddsmaker’s value of each team and are used as a guide to calculate a "preliminary" pointspread on an upcoming game. The power ratings are adjusted after each game a team plays. Examples of non-game factors that would require an adjustment to a team's power rating are key player injuries and player trades.

Once a game’s power rating based pointspread is determined, the oddsmaker will make adjustments to that line after considering each team's most recent games played and previous games played against that opponent. Also, adjustments are made after reading each team’s local newspapers to get a sense of what the coaches & players are thinking going into the game.

Since the oddsmaker’s ultimate goal is equally dividing the sports betting action, public perception and sportsbook betting patterns must be taken into account. For example, the public might have heavy betting interest week after week on a popular college football betting team such as USC. If an oddsmaker comes up with a preliminary line of USC -7, then an adjustment up to -7.5 or -8 would be made in response to the public’s expected USC bias.

The last step in the line-making process for each oddsmaker is taking one final look to determine whether or not the line "feels right." This is where common sense and past experience with how games are bet enters into the picture.

A round-table discussion among the 4-5 oddsmakers involved in making the line for each sport is then conducted and a consensus line is decided upon by the Odds Director before it is released to the sportsbooks. Of the 4-5 oddsmakers, generally the 2 most respected opinions are weighed more heavily by the Odds Director before he decides on the final line.

Why Sports Betting Lines Change

Once the opening line is released by LVSC, the individual sportsbooks decide if they want to make any adjustments before offering it to the public. Reasons for such adjustments include:

Experts working for the individual books having a strong opinion on the game

Individual books having players who consistently bet with certain tendencies (such as an extreme bias toward favorites or toward a certain popular team like USC)

The purpose of these adjustments, like all line adjustments, is to more equally divide the betting action.

Once betting begins, sportsbooks can adjust the line at any time. In doing so they attempt to make more attractive the team that is getting less action. By moving the line, sportsbooks can influence how the public bets on a particular game.

For example, if the pointspread on a game is 7 and most of the money is coming in on the underdog (taking the +7), sportsbooks will then move the number down to 6 ½ to try and attract money on the favorite.

Moving the line is the oddsmaker's effort to balance betting action, and often times such moves can have a major impact on a bettor’s decision. Oddsmakers can also change the line depending on various event-related factors such as player injuries or weather. Obviously, if the line comes out a week ahead of the event (which is the case in football), there is much that could happen during the week leading up to the event that could affect the line. Oddsmakers have to determine if any changes are necessary and send out an "adjusted line."

“The main objective is that our clients get equal action on both sides,” Seba said. “We’re not trying to pick the team that covers the spread, we’re trying to make it a coin flip, a tough decision (for the bettor). If we’ve done that, we’ve done our job.”

To visit this internet sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your sports betting needs and World Series odds.

MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.