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07/25/2010 - Bad Gastein, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Julia Goerges of Germany beat Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the Gastein Ladies tennis tournament.
The second-seeded Bacsinszky had to wait until Sunday morning to learn her opponent for the title match after rain postponed Saturday's semifinal between Goerges and France's Alize Cornet.
Goerges posted a 6-1, 6-4 victory to advance into the first WTA Tour final of her career.
She then became the second consecutive German to win the title at this event after Andrea Petkovic claimed the championship a year ago.
Bacsinszky was aiming for her second career title after her triumph in Luxembourg in 2009.
<< Osanai wins 3-way playoff in Japan
Chitose, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mamo Osanai won a three-way playoff Sunday
to capture the Japan Golf Tour's Sega Sammy Cup.
Osanai shot a three-under 69 in the final round at The North Country Golf Club
to join Shunsuke Sonoda and Min-Gy
<< Conrad's late slam helps Braves cook Marlins
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brooks Conrad hit his second career grand slam
during an eight-run eighth inning, as the Atlanta Braves rallied past the
Florida Marlins, 10-5, in the second test of a three-game set between these
two NL
<< Tigers' Ordonez out 6-8 weeks with broken ankle
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Tigers slugger Magglio Ordonez left
Saturday's 3-2 loss against Toronto with a fractured right ankle.
Ordonez was thrown out at home trying to score on a Miguel Cabrera double in
the bottom of the
<< Burris carries Stampeders over Roughriders
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henry Burris threw four touchdown passes as he
led the Calgary Stampeders to a convincing 40-20 win over the Saskatchewan
Roughriders at McMahon Stadium in Alberta.
Burris, who last week threw four inte
Tigers place Ordonez, Guillen on disabled list >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers have placed outfielder
Magglio Ordonez and second baseman Carlos Guillen on the 15-day disabled list
after both players were injured during Saturday's 3-2 loss.
Ordonez fractured his
Rays try to make it two straight in Cleveland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After snapping their 18-game slide at Progressive Field,
the Tampa Bay Rays will try for a series win this afternoon in the finale of
their three-game series against the Cleveland Indians.
Ben Zobrist's replay-reviewed thr
A-Rod takes another crack at 600 in finale with Royals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The finale of the series between the New York Yankees and
the Kansas City Royals could be a historic one, as Alex Rodriguez comes
into the matchup one home run shy of becoming the seventh member of the 600
home run club.
Twins go for series win in Baltimore >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins hope to continue their recent strong
play on the road this afternoon when they close out their four-game series
against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.
The Twins have posted just a 22-26 mark awa
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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