On the Road Again
That's the plight of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers, who once more find themselves having to face hostile crowds in unfriendly environs as they play for NFL conference championships this weekend. The Broncos are a 3 to 3 1/2-point AFC favorite over the Steelers at Mile High Stadium in Denver while the NFC Seahawks are laying 4 1/2 points to the Panthers at Seattle's Qwest Stadium. The total is 41 in the Rocky Mountains and 43 1/2 in America's Great Northwest. Bookmakers contend the sides are so evenly matched that the games are garnering solid two-way action as the clock ticks toward Sunday. 'I don't have any predictions," said Cyril Burger, the former Hilton SuperBook chief who now runs the Flamingo bet shop. "These games are too close to call. "I think they'll be tremendous games, though. "Not being at the hub (Caesars Palace), it's kind of hard to tell how the betting's going." Rich Baccellieri, the Palms' race and sports director, couldn't forecast much more than "a busy weekend for the books." "The numbers seem to be right there and we're getting good action both ways," Baccellieri said. "It's like a roll of the dice." Baccellieri conceded, however, that the Seattle-Carolina game possibly would present a different scenario if the Panthers weren't so plagued with injuries. The heart of Carolina's backfield will be watching from the bench as running back DeShaun Foster is out with a busted ankle, joining injured reservist Stephen Davis on the sidelines. Jake Delhomme and the remainder of the Panthers' offense instead will rely on Nick Goings, a fifth year undrafted free agent who has performed well under pressure in the past. Goings has averaged 4.4 yards a carry in the playoffs, but is not a breakaway threat. The good news for Carolina Friday was that defensive end Julius Peppers was likely to be in the lineup after suffering a shoulder injury against Chicago last week. Peppers practiced Friday after resting earlier in the week. "I think you'd see a different game with everyone healthy," Baccellieri said. The No. 1 priority for Carolina will be to get the ball to wideout Steve Smith, who led the NFL with 103 receptions for 1,563 yards and guided the attack against Chicago last week. Jack Snyder, top assistant to Tony Paonessa at Sam's Town, believes Carolina and Pittsburgh will wear out before time runs out on Sunday. The Panthers have won four straight playoff games on the road, two this season and another pair when they made their first Super Bowl appearance in 2004. "You can't keep going on the road and winning indefinitely," Snyder said. "The Denver and Seattle players are sleeping in their own beds and are just a short drive from the away from their stadiums. "The Steelers and Panthers are looking at long plane rides, checking in at hotels and sleeping in strange beds," Snyder continued. "Playing on the road is a big thing." Nevertheless, Snyder said early betting was on the road teams "by almost a 2/1 ratio." "It's weird," he observed. "They're betting the Steelers straight, but the Broncos in parlays." Likewise, the public is taking the Panthers. "We opened at Seahawks minus 5 1/2 and it's now 4," Snyder noted. The total on that game has gone from 43 to 44 at Sam's Town, an East Las Vegas resort. "They're betting the over heavily in the Seattle game and the under on the Denver game. We've gone from 43 to 41," Snyder declared. Eric St. Clair, a son-law of longtime Las Vegas oddsmaker Bob Martin who now operates books at The Cannery and Rampart Casino, agrees with Snyder's rationale and prefers the two home clubs. "I don't think the Steelers will win a third straight road game, not with that crowd at Mile High," he said. "If Carolina was healthy, I'd choose the Panthers." St. Clair said wagering at the two northwest valley casinos was pretty even. "The teaser action is going to the dogs, though," he added. Most betting action will pass through the counters on Saturday and Sunday, St. Clair observed. "People will come in Saturday to bet basketball and they'll be making their NFL selections then." Whichever teams advance to Super Bowl XL at Detroit's Ford Field two weeks from Sunday, don't look for record-breaking betting numbers. Denver is the only survivor that could be considered a public team, dating back to the days of John Elway. "The Super Bowl won't be as glamorous as it would've been with Indianapolis in there," Baccellieri observed. "These teams don't have the same kind of appeal as the Colts. "It's obviously going to draw," Baccellieri said. "After all, it is the Super Bowl. Some of the flair will be missing, though."
Other Betting Tips Articles
How to Spot the Bluff When Playing Online Poker This article is strictly referring to online poker games. It has nothing to do with reading the players. You can read here about some moments in the game when it is likely for others to bluff.1. When they are still betting after a bad flopWatch other player. Let’s say they already did bet pre-flop and their position was not that go ...Blackjack Card Counting - Getting The Odds In Your Favor To Win Blackjack card counting can give you an edge against the casino when playing help you win over the longer term and it’s statistically proven to help you can winHere we will look at the basics, some misconceptions and the odds that you can get in your favor to win big at blackjack card counting.1. Card counting is simpleContr ...Seeking Spiritual Guidance The power of the human spirit is a strange paradox. It is at once one of the strongest and at the same time the frailest things imaginable. Spirit isn't dictated by environment, social status, or culture. Spirit is something we all possess, and strength of spirit is something we all seek.It shows up in various forms, from the single mothe ...The Casino Consultant Saves the Day Can you imagine a better job then being a casino consultant? For a person who is caught up in the ever growing fascination with gambling and related gaming then this type of job is as good if not better then being right there in the pit. The dealer deals and the cashier makes change but when you’re in the consulting business you have your hands ...This Aint Golf! It's Cricket! Go on, admit it, you have never read an article on cricket before, right? But wait, this aint no ordinary cricket, this is the Ashes! The Ashes? Yes, the series between England and Australia that dates back to the 1870’s. The two old foes locked in combat in England throughout the summer.Australia, world number one, world champions, such ...Beginner's Guide to Online Casinos If you want to begin gambling at any one of the online casinos found on the Internet, there are a few things you should be made aware of. For one thing, not all online casinos are created equal—not only do casinos differ in terms of rules and regulations, but just like the traditional brick and mortar casinos, different online casinos will offer ...Top Basketball Stadiums - Staples and MSG The Staples Center, located in Los Angeles, California, is the home court of three teams: the Lakers, the Clippers, and the Kings. It contains a total of 12 locker rooms and dressing rooms, with specifically designated rooms for each of the three home teams. Having opened in October of 1999, it is a fairly new facility with lots of new techno ...Online Casino Sucker Bets Proposition bets in Craps: These Craps bets means you are betting that a particular thing will happen on the very next roll. For instance, you might make the ‘hard ways’ bet, which means that you are betting that the shooter will roll a 4, 6, 8 or 10 by rolling a double. These bets have a house advantage of anywhere from 9.1-11. ...#50 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Preview Spring practices are in the books and fall camps will be here before you know it so that means getting an early jump on the 2006 NCAA football season. Knowing the teams now will save you time in August and Matt Fargo is here to help you get a grasp of what to expect this upcoming year. We go from worst to first in this 2006 College Football Prev ...Jacks-or-Better Video Poker Machines - Five Simple Tips to Win More Money If you are playing video poker, then Jacks-or-Better is a great machine to play and you can increase the odds of success dramatically by learning five simple tips.You don't need to spend a long time learning these tips; they're simple, quick, and easy to learn. Jacks-or-Better video poker is fun anyway, but even more so when you're winnin ...Texas Holdem Poker Pre-Flop Strategy - Six Tips to Help You Win A carefully thought out pre-flop strategy is essential if you are to win at Texas holdem poker.Here is a basic Texas holdem pre-flop strategy to get you off to a winning start:Tip 1 – Consider the Number of PlayersWith 10 people in the game, there is a greater chance of someone having a good hand, than in a game with a lesse ...Horse Racing - The Sport of Kings Thousands of years ago, man discovered that an animal from the Equus order was good for carrying his burdens and lightening his load. Then one day, as the human race as a whole are natural competitors, we began to use that animal, called the horse, to race against others.Then man began breeding horses to excel in speed and endurance. Wh ...Capitalizing on Road Favorites in Game 4 of a Series We saw in my Home Field Advantage articles that home field advantage in baseball decreases as the series progresses to the point that by game 4, it is as if the game was played on a neutral field. Since the Vegas odds have yet to take this into account, we can capitalize on a small system playing on road favorites.Favorites are defined ...My Casino Blackjack Variation Game I have played millions of hands of blackjack. I started sneaking into the casinos when I was 16. I have played online blackjack, I have counted cards, and worked with a team for a short while. With all that said I have still lost a lot of money at blackjack. The casinos have made it nearly impossible to beat the game.I still enjoy the gam ...Life Lessons Learned While Watching M*A*S*H M*A*S*H is one of my all time favorite TV shows. In fact, an old repeat is on while I write these words.I've had the good fortune over the years to meet both Alan Alda who played Hawkeye Pierce and Wayne Rogers who played Trapper John.Life lessons from M*A*S*H1. Humor healsCan you think of a more stressf ...How to Bet on Horse Racing So you’ve decided to get in on the exciting world of horse racing. But before you can throw down some money on the ponies, you’re going to need to know what kind of bets are available and what each one means. Read on, and all will be explained.First, let’s look at the three most common types of bets. They are to win, to place, and to s ...Go Against Betting Trends - Mentally Burned Out Teams During a long 162 game season, many teams will mentally take a day off even though they have a game scheduled. When a team plays a division rival, they expend a lot more effort and energy into the game that they normally would not.The type of games that require the least effort and energy are Interleague games. If we pit two teams toget ...American Gambling Basics Casinos have always been a destination for the wealthy and the famous, however, these days they are hoping to be a regular stopover. But the gambling cannot be confined to one spot. However gone are the days when Las Vegas was the all and all destination for serious gambling.The success of Las Vegan model inspired a lot of other states to ...How to Win Poker Tournaments Online Are you sick of losing when you play online poker? Do you know and feel that you should be winning? Are you having trouble understanding why you are not winning more tournaments? I am going to give you a simple formula to show you how to win poker tournaments online.First, you need to be playing at a poker site that is not able to be h ...Custom Clay Poker Chips Betting the internet is a sure thing for those custom clay poker chips you have been looking for? You’re probably right. There are hundreds of clay poker chip distributors out there that sell chips and most have the option of going customized or stock. You won’t face a problem with options available or a place to buy your custom chips, if anythi ...Secret Lottery Winning Tips Don't think lucky. Think smart. Some of these tips may seem obvious at first sight, but I bet you've made some of these common mistakes at one time or another.1. You've got to be in it to win it - OK, that's not much of a secret, but it's amazing how many people forget to enter, arrive at the terminal too late, go on holiday, or it's too ...How To Find Top Rated Online Casinos And Bonus Offers Online casinos have proliferated cyberspace and are patronized by the veteran and the novice gambler alike. Nevertheless, for both categories of players the task of locating a dependable, steadfast online casino can be rather daunting.One can determine an internet casino with a good rating, on the basis of a number of parameters, such as ...NFL Superbowl Odds: Public Perception Will Skew the Line Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC) is the source and creator of most, if not all, of the betting lines of sports games. Casinos and online sportsbooks rely on LVSC to set the odds, thus ensuring a “universal” line among all sportsbooks. During the early days of the sportsbooks, many different casinos had different lines, thus enabling ...Macklin's NBA Win Total Recommendations The start of the NBA regular season is just a week away (Tuesday, Nov 1) and season win totals have been out for a while. Depending on the out, season win totals range from a high of 57 1/2 on the defending World Champion San Antonio Spurs to a low of 19 1/2 on the second-year Charlotte Bobcats.Personally, I don't do a whole lot with any ...How To Play Casino Roulette Playing casino roulette has many similarities to playing online. That said, casino roulette is also vastly different than playing online. The basics of the game are the same: use your chips to place a bet, watch the wheel and ball spin and determine the winner. The odds are generally the same in both casinos and online and both places offer priz ...Blackjack – Play Like a Pro Quickly! Blackjack is the ones casino game you can gain an edge over the house and if you gain an edge you will make big money longer term.Many players who have not played before think blackjack is complicated that means they have to have a degree in finance to succeed, but the game is essentially simple and basic strategy and card counting are fa ...Tips for Playing Better Poker Poker has been gaining such popularity lately that many people are looking for the secrets of the pros to help them play a better game. Countless books and shows and web pages have been created to help people play better poker.Whether you are playing at the casino or in a regular weekly game, you want to know the techniques that will make ...Online Poker Tournaments - What to Expect Online poker has recently been gathering a lot of interest lately. When you come and visit the online world you will be able to notice that there are more and more sites offering online poker tournaments that anyone can join into anytime. If you want to get better at playing this card game, practicing online may give you just the edge in honing ...Slot Machines for Casino Gambling People There's a lot of available games to play inside a casino whenever somebody wants to go Casino Gambling. A gambler could pick to play card games, roulettes, and other games that have evolved over time. But among these, slot machines remain to be one of the favorites of people who love Casino Gambling.Slot machines have been around almost i ...Las Vegas Dining and Drinks as Cheap as it Gets Las Vegas, my favorite destination doesn't have to cost a fortune. I would consider myself a sharp spender, good with my money... Ok I will admit it I am CHEAP! Over the years I have found some great deals in Las Vegas. Lets start out with my favorite, food.The cheapest food is found in downtown Las Vegas. I usually start out with a $.99 ...
|
