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Sportsbook Scene 12/27

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  • Sportsbook Scene 12/27

    Tout Publicly Releases His Bowl Picks, Is Risking Humiliation vs. Bragging Rights
    By Buzz Daly www.buzzdaly.com

    If the squeaky wheel gets the grease, it is also a fact of life that most of us have adverse reactions to human versions of the squeaky wheel.

    We're referring, of course, to the litany of self-promoting blather which is disagreeable whether it originates with a boorish acquaintance or an aggressive hypester trying to sell us something.

    As sports bettors, we are prime targets for offshore books and sports handicapping services, who desire our business.

    We actually enjoy getting promotional material from the sportsbooks, since their flyers, brochures, etc., indicate just how much of a players' market exists. Riffling through some of the outrageous signup incentives is indicative of how confident the books are that we're going to lose.

    The other promotional material, from touts, is even more brazen. It assures us that although we are losers, we can dramatically change the status quo by enlisting their services. Some of them conveniently include a list of last year's winners, generally in the 80-95% vicinity.

    With all those incredible handicappers out there, offering freebies to tempt even the most skeptical or cynical bettors, it is amazing that any offshore stores are still taking action and that Vegas books are still open.

    Well, we're not here to bash the touts. We have learned that some bettors know instinctively better than to buy picks, so we'd be preaching to the choir.

    Other punters are invariably drawn to the biggest frauds, because they make the biggest claims in the slickest marketing venues. The number of times these bettors need to be ripped off before catching on to the scamsters is directly related to the degree of their own gullibility.

    Are there legitimate handicappers who sell picks? Yep. We know several and work with a few, whose efforts are weighted toward handicapping rather than marketing.

    That brings us to one of the biggest squeaky wheels of all. A tout whose marketing and salesmanship skills are as polished and productive as anyone in the industry.

    We're talking about Wayne Root, whose handicapping acumen is questionable, according to many critics. Like his brethren in the tout industry, Wayne quotes enviable winning percentages whose reliability is vouched for by "monitors".

    Right about now, a little disclosure is in order. We've interviewed Wayne a few times and found him to be a relentless self promoter, but also likeable. He is either utterly full of himself of incredibly self confident. But he is a lightning rod for other touts, who take great pleasure in ripping and bashing Root as a fraud.

    The question is, just how good is Wayne Root in picking winners? We are not presumptuous enough to think we can provide the definitive answer, but we can give a glimpse into his abilities.

    Root has publicly released all his college bowl picks ATS for upcoming games, to the Las Vegas Sun's columnist Jeff Haney. Jeff covers sports betting for the daily paper, and mention in his column brings a certain credibility.

    Just in case the Sun's readership isn't big enough, Root also sent out Jeff's column to additional media via the Internet.

    So in the spirit of either hoisting Wayne on his own petard or giving him bragging rights which he will gleefully use ad nauseum, we are posting the selections with his analysis in order to let everyone see how he does.

    We feel there are enough bowl selections to give an adequate read into his handicapping credentials. After all, if he is good enough to cherry pick bowl game winners, good for him.

    If he picks losers, well, it would be interesting to hear his mea culpa and see how he blows it off.

    * * * * *

    Here are Root's selections for the remainder of the bowl season (only those games on which Root has an opinion are included):

    Seattle Bowl, Thursday: Root says take Georgia Tech plus 4 1/2 over Stanford. Root calls the Cardinal "one of the five best teams in the land," and says the team's disappointment in being in a minor bowl in "dreary" Seattle will show.

    Galleryfurniture.com Bowl, Friday: Root likes TCU plus 6 1/2 over Texas A & M. "I love intrastate bowl matchups," Root says. "TCU will be eager to upset their cross-state, high profile rivals. The Aggies get all the pub, but TCU is a real blue-collar scrapper."

    Holiday Bowl, Friday: Take Texas minus 12 1/2 over Washington. "Remember these two words: Major Applewhite," Root says. "Put Applewhite at QB from start of season and Texas is playing next week for the national championship."

    Alamo Bowl, Saturday: Take Texas Tech minus 1 over Iowa. "Tech is the best team no one in America knows anything about," Root says. "And (Kliff) Kingsbury is the best QB in the NCAA that no one ever heard of. They'll hear about him after this game."

    Humanitarian Bowl, Dec. 31: Take Louisiana Tech plus 6 1/2 over Clemson. "The Tigers have lost 10 of their last 12 as a favorite -- these guys have burned more Southern money than General Grant," Root says. "Woody (Dantzler of Clemson) is the most over-hyped, overrated QB of our generation."

    Silicon Valley Bowl, Dec. 31: Take Michigan State plus 5 1/2 over Fresno State. "Fresno is a serious live dog against any big-conference opponent. But playing the role of favorite is a whole different story," Root says. "Take smashmouth Michigan State to ram it down Fresno's throat and eat up the clock, thereby keeping (Fresno QB David) Carr off the field."

    Liberty Bowl, Dec. 31: Take BYU plus 3 over Louisville. "I love the role -- not the team," Root says of BYU. "They've had six weeks to think about that humiliating 72-45 loss to Hawaii. ... Live dog."

    Cotton Bowl, Jan. 1: Take Arkansas plus 13 1/2 over Oklahoma. "Arkansas needs to shine for bragging rights and a recruiting edge," Root says. "Oklhoma thinks they're better than this also-ran bowl. And you get double-digit points. Take the motivated underdog."

    Outback Bowl, Jan. 1: Take Ohio State plus 2 1/2 points over South Carolina. "Here's a case of serious revenge," Root says. "The same Gamecock team humiliated the same Buckeyes in the same bowl a year ago. But Ohio State has a better coach now in Jim Tressel. He knows his goals -- beat Michigan and win bowls. He's already accomplished the beat Michigan part."

    Gator Bowl, Jan. 1: Take Virginia Tech minus 2 over Florida State. "This is not a great edition of the vaunted Seminoles," Root says. "And again, they're not happy to be here, whereas the Hokies are thrilled to be in a New Year's Day bowl. ... The boys from Blacksburg have more to prove."

    Sugar Bowl, Jan. 1: Take LSU minus 3 over Illinois. "LSU is the home team in the Superdome -- the crowd will be the 12th man for the Tigers," Root says.

    Fiesta Bowl, Jan. 1: Take Oregon plus 2 1/2 over Colorado. "I believe this may be the true national championship game," Root says. "The Buffs are arguably the hottest team in the country and (Gary) Barnett is definitely the best coach in America -- that's what I hate about them! Once you're that hot, that high-profile, that known -- you get a fat head and lose. That's how underrated teams quickly become overrated. ... The Ducks in an outright upset."

    At the conclusion of the bowl games, we'll give the final tally on Wayne's batting average. His website can be accessed at esportsedge.com.

    * * * * *

    TROUBLE IN GREEN VALLEY. In our last column we gave high marks to the new sportsbook at Green Valley Ranch. Well, it is still a most comfortable place from which to watch the action. But a serious glitch was noticeable during the first Sunday's NFL action.

    There is such scant room between the ticket writers and the book's seating that it is not possible to have lines of bettors going to each ticket writer. Instead, a single long queue snakes up the aisle in the book and around through the casino, similar to a line in a bank that sends patrons to the next available teller.

    That scenario left more than 100 disgruntled bettors, by our estimate, shut out of the early games. Unless and until the situation is corrected, anyone who waits 'til game day to bet at this book had better get there bright and early.

    We'll get together with the book's manager soon and report on what, if anything, can be done to improve the betting logjam.

    Please send questions, comments, etc., to [email protected], and visit our website at www.buzzdaly.com.
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