AT&T and Oak Hills stay involved with Champions Tour

Golf Betting Lines

10/17/2007 - San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Champions Tour announced on Wednesday that the AT&T Championship will return to Oak Hills Country Club for at least two years with an option for another year.

The venue, which held the Texas Open on the PGA Tour 25 times, has hosted the tournament since 2002 and the new agreement is for 2008-2009 with an option for 2010.

"We are absolutely thrilled that Oak Hills, one of the most popular stops on the Champions Tour will continue to host AT&T Championship for the next two- three years," said Lora Watts, President of Champions Charities, the owner and operator of this event.

The 2007 tournament tees off Friday with Fred Funk defending his title.

Sprtsline Golf Betting News

<< COLLEGE FB PACKAGE: Buckeyes, Bulls face trick first tests as new Nos. 1 and 2
It had been 11 years since Nos. 1 and 2 lost on the same day before LSU and California pulled the trick last week.In this unpredictable college football season, would it be all that surprising to see the top two teams in the AP poll and the BCS stan

<< Record number pre-entered for 24th Breeders' Cup
Oceanport, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense and Preakness champ Curlin are two of the record 141 thoroughbreds who have been pre-entered for all 11 Breeders' Cup races scheduled for October 26 and 27 at Monmout

<< Messi shines again as Argentina downs Venezuela
Maracaibo, Venezuela (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lionel Messi scored another fantastic goal on Tuesday as Argentina took care of Venezuela, 2-0 at Jose Pachencho Romero in a World Cup qualifying contest. Gabriel Milito scored his first interna

<< FBS College Football - Week 8 Predictions
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) Below is a compilation of The Sportsbook Betting Lines's predictions for the top games in Week 8 of the college football season. (Detailed previews for each game can be found by following the "Top 25 scoreboard" link

<< Ranked Big 12 foes meet in Columbia
Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders bring their high-flying act to Columbia to take on the 15th-ranked Missouri Tigers in what should be a thrilling Big 12 Conference affair. Texas Tech has won three straig

Report: Patriots RB Morris has chest injury >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots running back Sammy Morris reportedly injured a bone in his chest during Sunday's 48-27 victory over the Dallas Cowboys and could be sidelined up to a month. According to the Boston Hera

NFL reinstates Packers' Koren Robinson >>
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -The NFL reinstated suspended Green Bay Packers wide receiver Koren Robinson on Wednesday.``He received notification today,'' agent Alvin Keels said in a telephone interview. ``He was excited to be given another chance. He's jus

From trailers to No. 2: South Florida pulls off college football miracle in the Sunshine State >>
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Wally Burnham was one of the lucky ones. From his desk in the doublewide trailer, he actually could see the world beyond.``Some of the offices had windows. Some didn't,'' Burnham remembered. ``I had a window. It came with the job.

FANTASY FOOTBALL: Griese looks like more than a journeyman heading into Week 7 >>
It's hard to believe a guy who's been cut or benched for the likes of Jake Plummer, Rex Grossman, Chris Simms and Jay Fiedler could come back and become a solid quarterback.But Brian Griese has overcome those devastating blows to his ego to become q

Report: Thrashers fire Hartley >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After starting the season with six consecutive losses, the Atlanta Thrashers have reportedly fired head coach Bob Hartley. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Thrashers general ma

Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.