Does Vegas influence our favorite past time?

[63bears40]

Watching the game a good 50 yrs. I say yes.
I've seen many a questionable calls go Vegas way.
Are Refs paid by Vegas ? If I were a ref, I'd like some extra $. I'm only human.
Not only talking NFL, but College as well.
I don't think stops at football, but pretty much any major sport betting venue.
Just curious how many feel the way I do?

 

[Clayton]

Errant call costs Pittsburgh Steelers last-second touchdown - ESPN

 

[TDs3nOut]

Watching the game a good 50 yrs. I say yes.
I've seen many a questionable calls go Vegas way.
Are Refs paid by Vegas ? If I were a ref, I'd like some extra $. I'm only human.
Not only talking NFL, but College as well.
I don't think stops at football, but pretty much any major sport betting venue.
Just curious how many feel the way I do?

Which way is Vegas' way? Obviously it is the way that bookmakers pay out less in winnings. Given that the objective of the spread is to attract equal amounts of money to both sides of the bet, it's never been clear to me which team Vegas favors.

 

[douggie]

Vegas doesn't care who wins or loses. All Vegas wants is for you to be stupid enough to place a bet.

 

[TDs3nOut]

After rereading the initial post I think I might have misinterpreted it. Seems like it is more about whether or not refs in various sports are ever in on some kind of a fix. We know that that has happened and that it was once apparently routine in the NBA. I suspect that it has also happened in both college football and the NFL, but I don't think it is wide spread. Perhaps I am naive.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Vegas doesn't care who wins or loses. All Vegas wants is for you to be stupid enough to place a bet.

That's pretty much my take. Vegas most prefers a high volume of bets, with the spread set in such a way that it's exposure to loss is limited. Simply collect the the juice from as large a volume of bets as possible.

 

[JDM]

"Vegas" as in the bookies don't care. But "Vegas" as in some of the gamblers betting high stakes do.

 

[broncosmitty]

"Vegas" as in the bookies don't care. But "Vegas" as in some of the gamblers betting high stakes do.

Yeah, I wouldn't think it'd be just the casinos looking to get an insider on their payroll. The NFL can thank much of their billions in revenue to Americas love of gambling. I assume sports books and gamblers haven't been simply a positive for the game.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I wouldn't be so naive to say it's never factored, but on an ongoing basis...I really can't side with any degree of confidence on either side.

 

[Bunkamania]

I'm not too sure about Vegas having an influence but, it does appear that calls tend to favor the losing team each and every week. No matter which game you're watching you can almost bet that the decision will always fall in favor of the team that is trailing. The NFL wants close games and the officiating is the easiest way to keep it that way.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I'm not too sure about Vegas having an influence but, it does appear that calls tend to favor the losing team each and every week. No matter which game you're watching you can almost bet that the decision will always fall in favor of the team that is trailing. The NFL wants close games and the officiating is the easiest way to keep it that way.

I think coaches have a lot more influence on calls than we might think...particularly home games...be on the look out for this or that from #, etc.

Officiating can keep a game close especially if the calls are on 3rd down, but they won't really keep a blow out from happening...I think turnovers, DEF scores are almost involved in blowouts.

I did a little small stakes wagering when $ was easier to come by...before I got married...if you keep it simple and only bet on teams you know a lot about you can do okay over the course of a season...the guys that are hardcore I think are very ballsy or nuts.

 

[63bears40]

Vegas doesn't care who wins or loses. All Vegas wants is for you to be stupid enough to place a bet.

Yes they do. They want the team w/ the most money bet on them to lose. Enhancing their share of the stake.

 

[63bears40]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dFmZ7pW4eM]Johnny Knox and Devin Hester Punt Return FAKE for TD- Chicago Bears 2011 - YouTube[/ame]
Just 1 example of what I'm talking about.
Probably 1 of the best STs play ever. The TD would not determine the out come of the game. But a Phantom holding call . Cost Bear fans all over the country a lot money , as the Bears would have beat the spread.
The holding call was on #29. There was no 29 on the field for the Bears. The announcers thought it might have been called on Corey Graham #21, who didn't touch any one .
I've seen many a call, just like this. through my days of watching football. Just can't recall them all any more.

 

[63bears40]

Which way is Vegas' way? Obviously it is the way that bookmakers pay out less in winnings. Given that the objective of the spread is to attract equal amounts of money to both sides of the bet, it's never been clear to me which team Vegas favors.

Where there is money to be had, plain & simple.

 

[63bears40]

"Vegas" as in the bookies don't care. But "Vegas" as in some of the gamblers betting high stakes do.

Why wouldn't the bookie care? It's his lively hood.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Where there is money to be had, plain & simple.

Like I posted above, though, the bookmaker's objective is to set the line in such a way that there are equal amounts of "money to be had" on both teams. For example, the opening line for Denver at NE this week is Denver -2.5. When the bookmakers post that spread, the aim is that there are equal amounts of money bet on Denver -2.5 as there is on NE +2.5. If it turns out that bettors bet more money on, say Denver -2.5 than on NE +2.5, then the bookmakers will adjust the line to, say NE +3.5, in order to make betting on NE more attractive and betting on Denver less attractive. The bookmakers keep adjusting the line in this way until, hopefully, there are equal amounts of money bet on both teams. By doing that, the aim of the bookmakers is to attain a position in which their payouts to winners equal what they collect from losers, collecting their commission from all who bet, win or lose. That commission revenue is the "money to be had".

 

[TDs3nOut]

This is a subject that I find kind of interesting, so I gave it a bit more thought and realized that there is certainly a possibility that the bookmakers could wind up in a position where they would have an incentive to try and use refs to fix the outcome of a game. In the Denver at NE example above, for instance, suppose that by kickoff the amount of money bet on NE is far greater than the amount bet on Denver, despite efforts to elicit equal money bet on both teams. Clearly, in such a scenario, the bookmakers would then have an incentive to fix the outcome in such a way that Denver covers the spread.
Does that ever happen? Like I wrote above, it probably has. Is it common? I don't know.

 

[63bears40]

Like I posted above, though, the bookmaker's objective is to set the line in such a way that there are equal amounts of "money to be had" on both teams. For example, the opening line for Denver at NE this week is Denver -2.5. When the bookmakers post that spread, the aim is that there are equal amounts of money bet on Denver -2.5 as there is on NE +2.5. If it turns out that bettors bet more money on, say Denver -2.5 than on NE +2.5, then the bookmakers will adjust the line to, say NE +3.5, in order to make betting on NE more attractive and betting on Denver less attractive. The bookmakers keep adjusting the line in this way until, hopefully, there are equal amounts of money bet on both teams. By doing that, the aim of the bookmakers is to attain a position in which their payouts to winners equal what they collect from losers, collecting their commission from all who bet, win or lose. That commission revenue is the "money to be had".

Thanks, I understand how the how the lines work. My bookie never collected a commission from me. Though not legal in IL. I can understand why.
But I doubt Vegas thrives on commissions. It takes a lot of bets on 1 team to move that line. And by kickoff, I doubt the money bet on both teams are equal.

 

[fastforward]

It doesn't happen the way people think it does. Major gambling organisations don't want events tampered with. The lower an event's integrity, the lower the amount of money is wagered, and the lower the gambling profit is. Most 'fixes' are orchestrated by individuals and syndicates to defraud legitimate gambling organisations...not the other way around.

 

[MajorPackersFan]

Johnny Knox and Devin Hester Punt Return FAKE for TD- Chicago Bears 2011 - YouTube
Just 1 example of what I'm talking about.
Probably 1 of the best STs play ever. The TD would not determine the out come of the game. But a Phantom holding call . Cost Bear fans all over the country a lot money , as the Bears would have beat the spread.
The holding call was on #29. There was no 29 on the field for the Bears. The announcers thought it might have been called on Corey Graham #21, who didn't touch any one .
I've seen many a call, just like this. through my days of watching football. Just can't recall them all any more.

Are you talking about this "phantom" hold? Where Jarrett Bush's (#24) upper body is at a 30 degree angle from the rest of his body while the Bears' #21 looks like he has a good grip of Bush's shoulder pad? This phantom hold?: