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The mid-80s were a period of tremendous growth and change in the Las Vegas sportsbetting scene. As Vegas boomed, and new casinos sprouted up almost overnight, numerous new sportsbooks also came into existence. Not only did the newly built casinos have sportsbooks, but the already established casinos that did not--such as the Desert Inn, Frontier, and Tropicana, to name a few--now added them.
In my opinion, there were four main reasons why every casino at that time felt the need, which had not existed previously, to have a race and sportsbook:
1) Some tax law, the details of which I can't recall, was introduced, and, in essence, it made it more profitable for casinos to operate race and sportsbooks.
2) Televised off-track race betting became a reality, and the casinos rightly saw this as an opportunity to lure many more people into their confines.
3) It became an "in thing" to have one. Sportsbetting was no longer perceived as a sleazy underworld activity, but as a normal recreational activity that could be enjoyed by everyone. When NFL pre-game talk shows included Jimmy The Greek and talks about pointspreads, it signaled that Middle America was ready to wager.
4) A large, established casino could no longer afford not to have a sportsbook. Otherwise, their customers, hungry for action, would ahead across the street to a competitor that did.
So, now that sportsbooks were popping up all over the Vegas scene, the question became: where could enough qualified people be found to run them? The answer was, nowhere. How many people were readily available who knew how to book, had the organizational skills to manage a sportsbook, and also were good at dealing with the public? Most serious and
competent bookmakers were already operating as privates with a large clientele base. Why would they leave a very lucrative, self-owned, tax-free business for the hassles, headaches, and lower pay of a corporate, casino position? The answer is, they wouldn't. Thus, the new sportsbooks were, for the most part, forced to hire an employee
with experience from an established sportsbook, and hope that he would work out as their sportsbook manager.
To complicate matters for the new sportsbooks, as soon as they opened, their main clientele immediately became runners with clipboards and walkie talkies. As soon as an ignorant new sportsbook manager would make a mistake moving a line, a runner would pounce on the number. When the steam moves would hit, the runners, now termed "messenger bettors" by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, would all race to the counter to try to be first in line in order to get the original line. After an ignorant sportsbook manager might move the number too far, a runner, often the one who had initated the line movement, would race to the counter and bet the buy-back, thus procuring a juicy middle or scalp for his operation.
In reality, the real competition facing the sportsbook managers were the syndicate bettors, for whom the runners worked. Organized betting groups such as mine would get an order, usually on a Computer Group or Kosher Boy play, and we'd immediately radio all of our runners, each with a walkie talkie, and the race for the original number among runners for competing groups would be on.
It is easy to imagine how a sportsbook manager might perceive the group of awaiting runners as unsightly vultures. First of all, many runners had long hair, were unshaven, and dressed like combat soldiers, wearing pants with a multitude of pockets that were stuffed with money. And, imagine the consternation of unsuspecting tourists who were in danger of getting knocked down by runners rushing for the betting windows when the steam hit. I remember my overt frustration when, as a runner, I would rush to the window for numbers, and then I would get stuck behind Joe Tourist making fifteen $10 parlay bets. While my competitor at the adjacent window would be betting the numbers and laughing in my face, I would sometimes curse out loud because of anger due to Joe Tourist costing me my bets. And all the while, Joe Tourist would wonder what the hell was going on.
Anyway, the situation was finally deemed unacceptable by the sportsbook establishment and the Gaming Control Board and, as a result, progressively stricter measures have been adopted over time in an attempt to neutralize messenger betting. Finally, messenger betting, although it still goes on to a certain extent, has been oficially outlawed in Nevada sportsbooks.
Messenger betting was outlawed because it costs the sportsbooks money. This is because the big steam plays win more than they lose, and the plays often come close to post time, thus reducing the possibility of buy-back. In essence, off-joints get almost no buy-back and, in effect, end up gambling rather than booking. For these joints, the concept of bookmaking, which is based on balanced action on both sides, is totally unachievable when they are hit by late, smart steam action. Furthermore, since many Vegas sportsbook manager lack true bookmaking skills, they need protection-- meaning constant line updates and freedom from runners ready to pounce on their every mistake.
In summary, it is totally understandable that off-joints continually update their betting lines without action and that they have banned messenger bettors. As Yogi Berra might put it, "the bottom line is the bottom line." And their bottom line probably looks better because of these measures.
In fact, regarding the Horseshoe, what I heard was that after old man Binion died , the old lady did an accounting of the sportsbook, the last one in Vegas to take big limits--5 dimes on the sides, two dimes on totals--over the phone. The results were that the sportsbook wasn't making any money. Big steam moves at post time with little buy-back were pinpointed as the problem. The sportsbook manager was canned and limits were dropped.
When I continue this post, I'll compare Vegas sportsbook managers and offshore BMs.
In my opinion, there were four main reasons why every casino at that time felt the need, which had not existed previously, to have a race and sportsbook:
1) Some tax law, the details of which I can't recall, was introduced, and, in essence, it made it more profitable for casinos to operate race and sportsbooks.
2) Televised off-track race betting became a reality, and the casinos rightly saw this as an opportunity to lure many more people into their confines.
3) It became an "in thing" to have one. Sportsbetting was no longer perceived as a sleazy underworld activity, but as a normal recreational activity that could be enjoyed by everyone. When NFL pre-game talk shows included Jimmy The Greek and talks about pointspreads, it signaled that Middle America was ready to wager.
4) A large, established casino could no longer afford not to have a sportsbook. Otherwise, their customers, hungry for action, would ahead across the street to a competitor that did.
So, now that sportsbooks were popping up all over the Vegas scene, the question became: where could enough qualified people be found to run them? The answer was, nowhere. How many people were readily available who knew how to book, had the organizational skills to manage a sportsbook, and also were good at dealing with the public? Most serious and
competent bookmakers were already operating as privates with a large clientele base. Why would they leave a very lucrative, self-owned, tax-free business for the hassles, headaches, and lower pay of a corporate, casino position? The answer is, they wouldn't. Thus, the new sportsbooks were, for the most part, forced to hire an employee
with experience from an established sportsbook, and hope that he would work out as their sportsbook manager.
To complicate matters for the new sportsbooks, as soon as they opened, their main clientele immediately became runners with clipboards and walkie talkies. As soon as an ignorant new sportsbook manager would make a mistake moving a line, a runner would pounce on the number. When the steam moves would hit, the runners, now termed "messenger bettors" by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, would all race to the counter to try to be first in line in order to get the original line. After an ignorant sportsbook manager might move the number too far, a runner, often the one who had initated the line movement, would race to the counter and bet the buy-back, thus procuring a juicy middle or scalp for his operation.
In reality, the real competition facing the sportsbook managers were the syndicate bettors, for whom the runners worked. Organized betting groups such as mine would get an order, usually on a Computer Group or Kosher Boy play, and we'd immediately radio all of our runners, each with a walkie talkie, and the race for the original number among runners for competing groups would be on.
It is easy to imagine how a sportsbook manager might perceive the group of awaiting runners as unsightly vultures. First of all, many runners had long hair, were unshaven, and dressed like combat soldiers, wearing pants with a multitude of pockets that were stuffed with money. And, imagine the consternation of unsuspecting tourists who were in danger of getting knocked down by runners rushing for the betting windows when the steam hit. I remember my overt frustration when, as a runner, I would rush to the window for numbers, and then I would get stuck behind Joe Tourist making fifteen $10 parlay bets. While my competitor at the adjacent window would be betting the numbers and laughing in my face, I would sometimes curse out loud because of anger due to Joe Tourist costing me my bets. And all the while, Joe Tourist would wonder what the hell was going on.
Anyway, the situation was finally deemed unacceptable by the sportsbook establishment and the Gaming Control Board and, as a result, progressively stricter measures have been adopted over time in an attempt to neutralize messenger betting. Finally, messenger betting, although it still goes on to a certain extent, has been oficially outlawed in Nevada sportsbooks.
Messenger betting was outlawed because it costs the sportsbooks money. This is because the big steam plays win more than they lose, and the plays often come close to post time, thus reducing the possibility of buy-back. In essence, off-joints get almost no buy-back and, in effect, end up gambling rather than booking. For these joints, the concept of bookmaking, which is based on balanced action on both sides, is totally unachievable when they are hit by late, smart steam action. Furthermore, since many Vegas sportsbook manager lack true bookmaking skills, they need protection-- meaning constant line updates and freedom from runners ready to pounce on their every mistake.
In summary, it is totally understandable that off-joints continually update their betting lines without action and that they have banned messenger bettors. As Yogi Berra might put it, "the bottom line is the bottom line." And their bottom line probably looks better because of these measures.
In fact, regarding the Horseshoe, what I heard was that after old man Binion died , the old lady did an accounting of the sportsbook, the last one in Vegas to take big limits--5 dimes on the sides, two dimes on totals--over the phone. The results were that the sportsbook wasn't making any money. Big steam moves at post time with little buy-back were pinpointed as the problem. The sportsbook manager was canned and limits were dropped.
When I continue this post, I'll compare Vegas sportsbook managers and offshore BMs.
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