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UNLV quarterback Jason Thomas has a blind spot. In a game situation, that would be dangerous. But in this case, it's ideal.
The issue is sports betting, with this being the first time it is legal to bet on the Rebels' football games in Las Vegas books.
Thomas has heard all about it, but he doesn't see a thing.
"I stay away from the sports books, and I don't look at the lines," Thomas said. "It's not something that concerns me."
UNLV opens the season tonight against Arkansas at Little Rock. The Rebels are 5 1/2-point underdogs on the betting line. What was once only a game now means business for local sports books.
In the past, the only legal way to wager on the Rebels was through an offshore account on the Internet or by placing a bet in Caliente, Mexico. That changed in February when a betting ban on Nevada teams was lifted. The effects of it are yet to be determined.
It will mean more action at sports books, and it should spark more interest in UNLV football. But the financial impact won't be great, according to Stardust Race and Sports Book director Joe Lupo.
"I probably expect more bets, but not much more money. I expect to see more $10 or $20 bets from local players," Lupo said. "It's really going to depend on how the team fares the first couple games. If they do well, there's going to be more interest."
When the Stardust booked UNLV basketball games in the spring, Lupo said it was "just another game on the board." On a normal college football weekend, there are about 50 games on the board, and the money is spread all over.
"People who are going to the game might come in and put a small bet on it," Lupo said.
As he eyed the glowing board in The Mirage on Wednesday, Larry Brandon barely noticed UNLV. A 50-year-old who bets college football regularly, Brandon isn't eager to wager on the Rebels, even if they are the hometown team.
"It really doesn't make much of a difference to me. It's not a game I'm looking to bet," Brandon said. "If UNLV is a Top 25 team, more people might look to bet."
Steve Yurga has spent the past 10 years in Las Vegas and he welcomes the Rebels to the sports book scene.
"It does offer another betting opportunity," Yurga said from his seat at Barbary Coast. "Any game that's on the board, I'm interested in betting. I like the fact it's on the board.
"But there was never a time with UNLV football that I said, `I wish I could get a bet on that game.' With basketball, yes. But not with football."
It sounds harmless enough, yet there is the potentially troubling aspect of a gambling scandal. UNLV's athletic department has taken steps to ensure the school's athletes don't mix with the wrong crowd.
While nobody anticipates a problem, nobody expects a shark attack, either. So the student-athletes have been thoroughly educated on gambling. That job falls mainly to Eric Toliver, UNLV's assistant athletic director for compliance.
"We have a rules education program that specifically targets gambling issues," said Toliver, who meets with athletes three times a year to explain what's right and wrong. "Our kids are forbidden to go into a sports book. We discourage all types of gambling. What we are concerned with is perception. Everybody has been educated on gambling, everybody from the president on down to academic advisers."
If Toliver hears that an athlete has been seen in a sports book, the athlete will be suspended until Toliver can finish an investigation.
"We have a model program," he said. "I have schools call me to inquire about our gambling program. In my three years, I have not had a problem in regards to gambling."
That message hasn't escaped Thomas, the school's highest-profile athlete.
"We know the rules. I watch where I'm at and I watch my surroundings because all it takes is for someone to say that you were (near a sports book) for you to be taken out of practice for a violation," said Thomas.
He also said he said he knows he must even be careful with what he says to strangers.
"If you say something to someone and they use that information to bet, then whether you knew or not, ignorance is not an excuse," Thomas said.
UNLV coach John Robinson said he accepts gambling as a part of sports. However, he said he hopes betting and how it relates to his team's games is a nonstory this fall.
"All my years in football, just about every paper that ever covered the team that I (coached) printed the odds, so I assumed someone was betting," Robinson said. "Most of my career, I never knew what the odds were, and I don't think most players do, either.
"The legal betting, it doesn't make much difference to me. Since coming here I've been convinced that it's probably more difficult to fix a game in Las Vegas than it would be anywhere else because of the awareness."
Robinson's only run-in with a gambling problem was in the 1960s when he was an assistant coach at Oregon, and his team was preparing to play a game at Michigan.
"One of our players was approached by a guy and we turned the guy in and called the police," he said. "It didn't matter, we got beat 53-10 anyway."
As he stands on the UNLV practice field, Thomas can look across campus and see a skyline of casinos. He couldn't care less that his games are open for betting.
"When you can throw a football to the Hard Rock from your practice field, you think about those things. It's part of being here in town," he says. "But the average guy doesn't worry about it. I don't care if you've got $1,000 on me or $1,000 on Arkansas. We're going to play to win every week."
http://www.lvrj.com
UNLV quarterback Jason Thomas has a blind spot. In a game situation, that would be dangerous. But in this case, it's ideal.
The issue is sports betting, with this being the first time it is legal to bet on the Rebels' football games in Las Vegas books.
Thomas has heard all about it, but he doesn't see a thing.
"I stay away from the sports books, and I don't look at the lines," Thomas said. "It's not something that concerns me."
UNLV opens the season tonight against Arkansas at Little Rock. The Rebels are 5 1/2-point underdogs on the betting line. What was once only a game now means business for local sports books.
In the past, the only legal way to wager on the Rebels was through an offshore account on the Internet or by placing a bet in Caliente, Mexico. That changed in February when a betting ban on Nevada teams was lifted. The effects of it are yet to be determined.
It will mean more action at sports books, and it should spark more interest in UNLV football. But the financial impact won't be great, according to Stardust Race and Sports Book director Joe Lupo.
"I probably expect more bets, but not much more money. I expect to see more $10 or $20 bets from local players," Lupo said. "It's really going to depend on how the team fares the first couple games. If they do well, there's going to be more interest."
When the Stardust booked UNLV basketball games in the spring, Lupo said it was "just another game on the board." On a normal college football weekend, there are about 50 games on the board, and the money is spread all over.
"People who are going to the game might come in and put a small bet on it," Lupo said.
As he eyed the glowing board in The Mirage on Wednesday, Larry Brandon barely noticed UNLV. A 50-year-old who bets college football regularly, Brandon isn't eager to wager on the Rebels, even if they are the hometown team.
"It really doesn't make much of a difference to me. It's not a game I'm looking to bet," Brandon said. "If UNLV is a Top 25 team, more people might look to bet."
Steve Yurga has spent the past 10 years in Las Vegas and he welcomes the Rebels to the sports book scene.
"It does offer another betting opportunity," Yurga said from his seat at Barbary Coast. "Any game that's on the board, I'm interested in betting. I like the fact it's on the board.
"But there was never a time with UNLV football that I said, `I wish I could get a bet on that game.' With basketball, yes. But not with football."
It sounds harmless enough, yet there is the potentially troubling aspect of a gambling scandal. UNLV's athletic department has taken steps to ensure the school's athletes don't mix with the wrong crowd.
While nobody anticipates a problem, nobody expects a shark attack, either. So the student-athletes have been thoroughly educated on gambling. That job falls mainly to Eric Toliver, UNLV's assistant athletic director for compliance.
"We have a rules education program that specifically targets gambling issues," said Toliver, who meets with athletes three times a year to explain what's right and wrong. "Our kids are forbidden to go into a sports book. We discourage all types of gambling. What we are concerned with is perception. Everybody has been educated on gambling, everybody from the president on down to academic advisers."
If Toliver hears that an athlete has been seen in a sports book, the athlete will be suspended until Toliver can finish an investigation.
"We have a model program," he said. "I have schools call me to inquire about our gambling program. In my three years, I have not had a problem in regards to gambling."
That message hasn't escaped Thomas, the school's highest-profile athlete.
"We know the rules. I watch where I'm at and I watch my surroundings because all it takes is for someone to say that you were (near a sports book) for you to be taken out of practice for a violation," said Thomas.
He also said he said he knows he must even be careful with what he says to strangers.
"If you say something to someone and they use that information to bet, then whether you knew or not, ignorance is not an excuse," Thomas said.
UNLV coach John Robinson said he accepts gambling as a part of sports. However, he said he hopes betting and how it relates to his team's games is a nonstory this fall.
"All my years in football, just about every paper that ever covered the team that I (coached) printed the odds, so I assumed someone was betting," Robinson said. "Most of my career, I never knew what the odds were, and I don't think most players do, either.
"The legal betting, it doesn't make much difference to me. Since coming here I've been convinced that it's probably more difficult to fix a game in Las Vegas than it would be anywhere else because of the awareness."
Robinson's only run-in with a gambling problem was in the 1960s when he was an assistant coach at Oregon, and his team was preparing to play a game at Michigan.
"One of our players was approached by a guy and we turned the guy in and called the police," he said. "It didn't matter, we got beat 53-10 anyway."
As he stands on the UNLV practice field, Thomas can look across campus and see a skyline of casinos. He couldn't care less that his games are open for betting.
"When you can throw a football to the Hard Rock from your practice field, you think about those things. It's part of being here in town," he says. "But the average guy doesn't worry about it. I don't care if you've got $1,000 on me or $1,000 on Arkansas. We're going to play to win every week."