Shocker: Earnhardt Inc. has best 500 odds
By GODWIN KELLY
Motorsports Editor
Any phone call that begins with the other party saying, "This is for entertainment purposes only" has to be good, right?
It's not what you're thinking. The person on the other end of this call was Micah Roberts, the director of race and sports operations at Station Casinos in Las Vegas.
Roberts sets the odds for Station Casinos sports book and recently released his preseason chart for the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.
"I started doing this nine years ago and at that time we'd do some key races like the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 and that's about it," Roberts said.
But in 1998 that all changed when Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosted its first major NASCAR race and stock car racing was discovered by the sports book industry.
"That's when we started to get in depth," Roberts said. "We started doing over and under on cautions, lead changes, lap leaders, things like that."
Over the last six years, Las Vegas has seen more and more action on stock car racing. Whether NASCAR likes it or not, it has grabbed the attention of the betting public.
"Our handle year after year doubles from the previous year," Roberts said. "NASCAR is approaching hockey as a fifth major professional sport in this country."
With more people taking an interest on taking a chance, Roberts has seen bettors become much savvier with their money. He said more people are doing more research and paying attention to detail, such as Happy Hour practice speeds.
To stay in the fast lane, Roberts has to stay on top of the racing news, scanning several racing Web sites each day. He goes to NASCAR.com, which offers real time scoring for a fee.
Roberts also has contacts within the industry who can tip him to latest developments in the garage area.
"Bettors have gotten so much smarter with this information over the last two years," he said. "They can beat you up pretty fast."
Roberts went to UNLV with the idea of becoming a history teacher.
He was quickly grabbed by the lure of sports by working on local radio sports show. Then Roberts went to work for the sports book at Circus Circus, where he saw the first sparks of interest in NASCAR.
Six years ago he moved to Station Casinos which offers a wide range of betting options in the stock car arena. Roberts, 33, also does a weekly column on racing at Vegasinsider.com.
So who has Roberts picked as the Daytona 500 favorite?
It should come as no surprise that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 4-to-1 in the preseason line. Right behind him is Dale Earnhardt Inc. teammate Michael Waltrip, at 9-to-2.
"Everybody knows those guys are going win," Roberts said. "There are some pretty good odds out there for other drivers."
Bringing up the rear of the odds sheet are Larry Foyt, Derrike Cope and Kyle Petty at 500-to-1 and Christian Fittipaldi, who drives a Petty Dodge, at 750-to-1.
Roberts' top-five for Nextel championship honors are Ryan Newman, 7-2; Jimmie Johnson, 9-2; Jeff Gordon, 5-1; Earnhardt, 6-1; and Tony Stewart, 7-1. Matt Kenseth, 15-1 this year, is up to 8-1 in 2004.
"Kenseth had the most wins in 2002," Roberts said. "He changed his style to win the championship. He sacrificed wins to win the championship. Newman and Johnson are in the same position this year. They'll ease up instead of going full throttle. They are ready to roll."
Yes, they are paying attention to racing in Vegas.
[email protected]
Odds-on Favorites
Some odds for the Daytona 500 and Nextel Cup championship:
DAYTONA 500 ODDS
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 4-1
Michael Waltrip 9-/2
Jimmie Johnson 8-1
Tony Stewart 9-1
Jeff Gordon 9-1
Kevin Harvick 9-1
Kurt Busch 10-1
Bobby Labonte 15-1
Rusty Wallace 15-1
Ryan Newman 15-1
Matt Kenseth 18-1
Sterling Marlin 18-1
Mark Martin 25-1
Johnny Benson 100-1
Kevin Lepage 100-1
Field (all others) 100-1
Larry Foyt 500-1
Derrike Cope 500-1
Kyle Petty 500-1
ODDS TO WIN 2004 TITLE
Ryan Newman 7-2
Jimmie Johnson 9-2
Jeff Gordon 5-1
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 6-1
Tony Stewart 7-1
Matt Kenseth 8-1
Kurt Busch 10-1
Michael Waltrip 40-1
Ricky Rudd 75-1
Terry Labonte 100-1
Field 25-1
Note: Official winner as declared by NASCAR; SOURCE: Station Casinos, Las Vegas
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By GODWIN KELLY
Motorsports Editor
Any phone call that begins with the other party saying, "This is for entertainment purposes only" has to be good, right?
It's not what you're thinking. The person on the other end of this call was Micah Roberts, the director of race and sports operations at Station Casinos in Las Vegas.
Roberts sets the odds for Station Casinos sports book and recently released his preseason chart for the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.
"I started doing this nine years ago and at that time we'd do some key races like the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 and that's about it," Roberts said.
But in 1998 that all changed when Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosted its first major NASCAR race and stock car racing was discovered by the sports book industry.
"That's when we started to get in depth," Roberts said. "We started doing over and under on cautions, lead changes, lap leaders, things like that."
Over the last six years, Las Vegas has seen more and more action on stock car racing. Whether NASCAR likes it or not, it has grabbed the attention of the betting public.
"Our handle year after year doubles from the previous year," Roberts said. "NASCAR is approaching hockey as a fifth major professional sport in this country."
With more people taking an interest on taking a chance, Roberts has seen bettors become much savvier with their money. He said more people are doing more research and paying attention to detail, such as Happy Hour practice speeds.
To stay in the fast lane, Roberts has to stay on top of the racing news, scanning several racing Web sites each day. He goes to NASCAR.com, which offers real time scoring for a fee.
Roberts also has contacts within the industry who can tip him to latest developments in the garage area.
"Bettors have gotten so much smarter with this information over the last two years," he said. "They can beat you up pretty fast."
Roberts went to UNLV with the idea of becoming a history teacher.
He was quickly grabbed by the lure of sports by working on local radio sports show. Then Roberts went to work for the sports book at Circus Circus, where he saw the first sparks of interest in NASCAR.
Six years ago he moved to Station Casinos which offers a wide range of betting options in the stock car arena. Roberts, 33, also does a weekly column on racing at Vegasinsider.com.
So who has Roberts picked as the Daytona 500 favorite?
It should come as no surprise that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 4-to-1 in the preseason line. Right behind him is Dale Earnhardt Inc. teammate Michael Waltrip, at 9-to-2.
"Everybody knows those guys are going win," Roberts said. "There are some pretty good odds out there for other drivers."
Bringing up the rear of the odds sheet are Larry Foyt, Derrike Cope and Kyle Petty at 500-to-1 and Christian Fittipaldi, who drives a Petty Dodge, at 750-to-1.
Roberts' top-five for Nextel championship honors are Ryan Newman, 7-2; Jimmie Johnson, 9-2; Jeff Gordon, 5-1; Earnhardt, 6-1; and Tony Stewart, 7-1. Matt Kenseth, 15-1 this year, is up to 8-1 in 2004.
"Kenseth had the most wins in 2002," Roberts said. "He changed his style to win the championship. He sacrificed wins to win the championship. Newman and Johnson are in the same position this year. They'll ease up instead of going full throttle. They are ready to roll."
Yes, they are paying attention to racing in Vegas.
[email protected]
Odds-on Favorites
Some odds for the Daytona 500 and Nextel Cup championship:
DAYTONA 500 ODDS
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 4-1
Michael Waltrip 9-/2
Jimmie Johnson 8-1
Tony Stewart 9-1
Jeff Gordon 9-1
Kevin Harvick 9-1
Kurt Busch 10-1
Bobby Labonte 15-1
Rusty Wallace 15-1
Ryan Newman 15-1
Matt Kenseth 18-1
Sterling Marlin 18-1
Mark Martin 25-1
Johnny Benson 100-1
Kevin Lepage 100-1
Field (all others) 100-1
Larry Foyt 500-1
Derrike Cope 500-1
Kyle Petty 500-1
ODDS TO WIN 2004 TITLE
Ryan Newman 7-2
Jimmie Johnson 9-2
Jeff Gordon 5-1
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 6-1
Tony Stewart 7-1
Matt Kenseth 8-1
Kurt Busch 10-1
Michael Waltrip 40-1
Ricky Rudd 75-1
Terry Labonte 100-1
Field 25-1
Note: Official winner as declared by NASCAR; SOURCE: Station Casinos, Las Vegas
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