Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Despite the star power of champions Declan's Moon and Sweet Catomine, Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia has installed the mutuel field as the 3-1 morning line favorite for the first of three pools of the 2005 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which opens Thursday and runs through Sunday.
The mutuel field includes all three-year-olds other than the 23 horses listed as individual betting interests.
Unbeaten juvenile champion Declan's Moon is the favored individual horse at 6-1 with Rockport Harbor, who is bidding to give trainer John Servis his second consecutive Derby victory, installed as the 8-1 choice.
Sweet Catomine, the champion two-year-old filly, is a wagering interest in the opening pool of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager and the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager, which will be offered at the same time.
Record wagering, late TD net landmark win for casinos
By MATT YOUMANS
REVIEW-JOURNAL
In terms of dynasties, the New England Patriots don't compare to Nevada sports books.
A record of just under $90.8 million was wagered on Super Bowl XXXIX, and the state's 173 sports books won a record $15.4 million, according to figures released Tuesday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Nevada sports books have posted a win in 10 consecutive Super Bowls. The Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 on Sunday, winning their second consecutive Super Bowl and third in four years.
"I was shocked," Stardust sports book director Bob Scucci said. "The win didn't shock me, but certainly the total handle did."
In last year's Super Bowl, the Patriots' win over Carolina produced a record total handle of $81.2 million and a record win of $12.4 million for the state's 152 books.
"Last year, we were really surprised with the jump. It all came back to the economy turning around, and we also saw that in the rest of the gaming numbers," said Frank Streshley, the control board's statistical analyst.
Streshley credited marketing efforts by the casinos for attracting more visitors for Super Bowl weekend. But he said in the days leading up to the game "we had gotten mixed signals" from sports book directors about whether the handle would set a record.
The handle of $90,759,236 was up 11.7 percent over last year, the win of $15,430,138 was up 24 percent, and the books' 17.0 win percentage also set a record.
Station Casinos sports book director Micah Roberts said he expected the bigger numbers.
"The other books I talked to all said the handle was up," Roberts said. "Our numbers were exactly indicative of that, as far as the increase goes."
MGM Mirage sports book director Robert Walker estimated the handle would be $70 to $77 million but said the handle at his books was up 5 percent over last year. He took several six-figure bets, the largest for $550,000 on New England as a 7-point favorite.
Roberts said he expected the Patriots' dominance and the hype surrounding injured Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens to create betting interest in the matchup.
New England did not cover the spread and the game went under the total of 47 1/2, two factors that contributed greatly to the casinos' win.
Streshley said the books needed the Patriots to win but not cover. He said the most popular wagers statewide were on the Patriots laying the points, the Eagles to win straight up on the money line and for the score to go over the total. Most parlays were on the Patriots and the over. Proposition betting also was profitable for the books.
"The last touchdown was huge for the sports books," Streshley said, referring to Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb's TD pass with 1:48 remaining that cut the final deficit to three points.
Scucci said the last score "had to double" the win for the books. "It would not have set a state record otherwise."
Nevada sports books showed a Super Bowl loss of $396,674 in 1995, when San Francisco routed San Diego.
The total amount wagered on the Super Bowl has increased each of the past four years and is up from $71.5 million in 2002, when New England started its run by beating St. Louis.
SUPER BOWL BETTING HISTORY
A summary of the performances by Nevada sports books for the past 10 Super Bowls:
Year Wagers Win Win Pct. Score
2005 $90,759,236 $15,430,138 17.0 Patriots 24, Eagles 21
2004 $81,242,191 $12,440,698 15.3 Patriots 32, Panthers 29
2003 $71,693,032 $5,264,963 7.3 Buccaneers 48, Raiders 21
2002 $71,513,304 $2,331,607 3.3 Patriots 20, Rams 17
2001 $67,661,425 $11,002,636 16.3 Ravens 34, Giants 7
2000 $71,046,751 $4,237,978 6.0 Rams 23, Titans 16
1999 $75,986,520 $2,906,601 3.8 Broncos 34, Falcons 19
1998 $77,253,246 $472,033 0.6 Broncos 31, Packers 24
1997 $70,853,211 $2,265,701 3.2 Packers 35, Patriots 21
1996 $70,907,801 $7,126,145 10.1 Cowboys 27, Steelers 17
SOURCE: Nevada Gaming Control Board
By: Jamie Trump, Gold Country News Service
Wednesday, February 9, 2005 6:06 AM PST
GRANITE BAY - Roxanne Rhodes is quite the card, a diverse woman who can play soccer-mom, run her own business and still find time to take on all comers at the poker table.
In fact, Rhodes is so accomplished at the typically male-dominated game that she now plays poker professionally.
The Granite Bay resident definitely leads two lives. She attends charity events, helps with her children's homework, drives her kids to soccer practice and specializes in negotiating through her own health care consulting firm.
In her more high-profile life, Rhodes is known as "Roxci," a professional poker player who is preparing for her second appearance at the World Series of Poker.
"I do a lot of things," she said. "When I'm 80 I want to look back and say I did it all."
Rhodes has taken her passion for poker another step further and will begin teaching tips to a class of women at the Granite Bay Golf Club.
"The Internet is changing the dynamics of poker and so are women," she said.
At 5-foot-10, blond and full of energy, Rhodes might not look like the typical poker player. But she's definitely made a name for herself. Despite only playing for about three years, she's already been rated among the top 10 women in the game.
She's also played with some of the game's greats, like Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke and Jon Cernuto, one of Rhodes' favorite players. She's even played with celebrities, like Tobey Maguire and Ben Affleck.
And she's taken home some hefty, six-figure pots, including one check last year of almost $100,000.
Although playing against a group of male poker players might sound intimidating for some women, Rhodes doesn't intimidate easy.
"They're just players," she said.
In fact, it's the amateur that can occasionally make her nervous, because their playing can be unpredictable.
Rhodes, a former professional black jack player, was first introduced to games like Texas Hold'em and Seven Card Stud on a women's weekend retreat at a local casino.
She said the day was full of your typical female pampering, like pedicures, manicures and facials. However, the highlight for her was a two-hour poker lesson given by the poker room manager at the time.
Successful right away, Rhodes said the manager called her a natural and encouraged her to compete in a tournament.
"I won and I have never looked back," Rhodes said. "I jumped in with two feet and just went for it."
Rhodes said she's not surprised by her success as she typically gives herself some lofty goals.
"I've always known it, just like I know I'll be in the top three this year," she said.
One of eight children, Rhodes has always loved cards and used to play as a child with her siblings. Working in negotiations only strengthened her game.
"The game of poker is like negotiating," she said. "I play to win, just like when I negotiate."
A strong supporter of women, Rhodes encourages other women to pick up the male-dominated game. In her classes, she's hoping to make her students feel more comfortable at the table and more confident in their games.
"It's a game of intimidation and aggression and that comes more natural for men than women," Rhodes said.
She plans on teaching her students no limit Texas Hold'em.
"It's like driving," she said. "We skipped the automatic and went straight to the stick shift."
News of Rhodes' upcoming class spread quickly. So fast, in fact, that her first group has already filled up, with no advertising, just by word of mouth. The group includes teachers, a bank manager and a stay-at-home mom.
"We've got 40 women right away," said Trish Sandbach, who works at Granite Bay Golf Club and helped secure the location. "The class in March is at full capacity. We told Roxci that she has to offer another class."
It's been so well received that even some of the men at the golf club want to join.
"They call and say they want to play," Sandbach said.
Rhodes wants to get her women players ready and comfortable before she takes on the men.
Roseville's Chris Telford was one of the lucky ones who registered early and will take the March class. She's hoping to learn the basics.
Telford doesn't plan to follow in her instructor's professional footsteps, but would like to know enough to possibly win some of the regular games she plays with her family of five.
"It's getting pretty popular, this game," she said. "We watch it on TV and we play as a family. I thought it would be fun to be able to play and know the rules."
Women interested in taking a class can visit Rhodes' Web site at www.roxci.com, or call her at 217-1312.
Jamie Trump can be reached at jamiet@goldcountrymedia.com.
