With September now here, Nevada bookmakers are clamoring to get the grand prize of gaming enthusiasts: the hordes of American football fans.
According to recent numbers, last year sports books made over $84M in profits, an astounding 104% increase from the previous year.
Frank Streshley, a senior analyst for the Nevada Gaming Control Board, sees these numbers not as the status quo however, but a correction of the craziness the last two football seasons have provided.
Two years ago, the casinos had a disastrous year and what they explained to me was that favorites were covering in an abnormally high number of games and the books just got hammered last year, there was a complete flip flop.
Still, sports books are betting on customers returning, and in even greater numbers. They are offering more and more contests designed for the high rollers, as well as your average fan. So far, it looks like mixed results, with week 1 having the favorites mainly covering the spreads, while last week the underdogs put in a respectable showing.
Despite the betting jump due to football, sports-betting in general has taken a backseat to casino games, gaming analyst Ken Adams surmises.
With a sports book, when you get a game where the numbers are upside down, you lose, according to Adams. But with a slot machine, the mathematics of a slot, over a large enough number of wagers, are guaranteed to hold within a very narrow margin of its theoretical hold percentage.
With football, One big upset, where the books take a bath on a game, show dramatically in the numbers.
