"Vegas"

[Voice of Reason]

I am not qualified to start this thread because I NEVER EVER bet on anything. But you can't avoid this topic in today's sports world.

My pet peeve with "Vegas" is people act like "Vegas" is all knowing and in control. It bugs me because "Vegas" does one thing. They set an opening line based how they think the public will wager, not on who will win by how much. Once the opening line is set it is all about the way the betting public goes with it from there. "Vegas" has nothing to do with where the spread ends up.

This weeks Bengals Chiefs game is a great example of this. "Vegas" started out with the Chiefs a 3 point favorite. Then it moved all the way to the Bengals being favored. Did "Vegas" have anything to do with that? No. That was the betting public moving that line. But people are going to act like "Vegas" is the all knowing, all controlling genius if the game ends up within a point or two of the ending spread.

The other thing is you have people talking about bad beats. Stupidest thing ever. On every bad beat, half the people are on the other side and get a great win. 

Whatever. I don't even bet so I shouldn't be bothered by this, but I am. Honestly, it is a little nauseating how much this is imbedded in sports now. I have to do more channel flipping of my sports talk radio these days because I have no interest listening to people talk about his stuff.

Rant over. Back to your apps. Enjoy.

[rjs4470]

8 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

I am not qualified to start this thread because I NEVER EVER bet on anything. But you can't avoid this topic in today's sports world.

My pet peeve with "Vegas" is people act like "Vegas" is all knowing and in control. It bugs me because "Vegas" does one thing. They set an opening line based how they think the public will wager, not on who will win by how much. Once the opening line is set it is all about the way the betting public goes with it from there. "Vegas" has nothing to do with where the spread ends up.

This weeks Bengals Chiefs game is a great example of this. "Vegas" started out with the Chiefs a 3 point favorite. Then it moved all the way to the Bengals being favored. Did "Vegas" have anything to do with that? No. That was the betting public moving that line. But people are going to act like "Vegas" is the all knowing, all controlling genius if the game ends up within a point or two of the ending spread.

The other thing is you have people talking about bad beats. Stupidest thing ever. On every bad beat, half the people are on the other side and get a great win. 

Whatever. I don't even bet so I shouldn't be bothered by this, but I am. Honestly, it is a little nauseating how much this is imbedded in sports now. I have to do more channel flipping of my sports talk radio these days because I have no interest listening to people talk about his stuff.

Rant over. Back to your apps. Enjoy.

It’s all just fun. And while a lot of what Vegas does is to ensure they come out ahead and get action on both sides (so they can make money off the vig), the ability to do this and set lines is based on “what they know”, especially in the beginning when setting the initial line. 
 

As far as bad beats, again it’s just fun to talk about. I’m not sure why the opposite wins don’t get talked about as much. Maybe it’s the same reason why fisherman and hunters talk more about the “one that got away”. 
 

Full disclosure, I love sports betting, and although I’m not a high roller, I enjoy playing. I was just at Belterra Park last night getting some bets down for todays games. 

[bugatti]

To me it provides added interest.

I’ll say “Vegas” is the original sports analytics. There is a reason teams have hired pro gamblers and others in the industry to provide guidance to their organizations.