Buffet of contests open to wagerers

This is about two words – hope, luck – that provide a theme for the football season in Las Vegas. Place your bets, and hope for the best. With some luck, you can win big.

On the morning of Sept. 9, the sun will rise on a new season of opportunity as long lines snake from the sports book betting windows before the NFL games kick off.

"My guess is people bet about four parlay cards on a Sunday morning to try to hit something," said Jimmy Vaccaro, director of public relations for William Hill sports books. "Everybody is looking to make a score."

Vaccaro said many of the parlays he sees string together five, seven or even 10 teams. Sports bettors obviously like the idea of trying to turn a matchstick into a lumberyard.

In other words, bet a little to win a lot. And one of the best ways to attempt to accomplish that is by entering a handicapping contest – or by entering multiple contests.

As usual, several casinos are getting back into the contest game, and a buffet of options is available for players big and small. There are contests for handicappers who are dead serious and others who bring dead money.

At Coast Casinos, enter for free, select NFL games with no point spreads and hope to cash in on a portion of the approximately $500,000 in prize money.

Station Casinos annually offers one of the best deals for locals, with three contests requiring only a $25 entry fee. Its Great Giveaway Football Contest awards a total of $2 million in prizes.

British bookmaker William Hill, which took over the Cal Neva, Leroy’s and Lucky’s operations in Nevada this summer, unveiled two contests offering a combined $600,000 to the players.

"We had to come in with something that we thought was appealing and wasn’t overpriced," said Vaccaro, who nailed both objectives.

The NFL contest hosted by William Hill has a $25 entry fee, and Vaccaro said he’s hoping for 20,000 entries. His target for the college contest, which requires a $100 fee, is 750 entries.

Vaccaro has been around since the inception of contests in Las Vegas. In 1978, the late Sonny Reizner had the vision to create the state’s first football handicapping contest at the old Castaways, and soon things snowballed in the desert.

More casinos marketed contests, each trying to top the shop next door by tweaking rules and enhancing payouts. Some major contests have come and gone, and just two high-end contests are left standing for this season.

"It’s great to have a high-end contest, and it’s great to attract attention and free publicity, but it doesn’t drive the foot traffic that you want," said Vaccaro, who ran one of the first contests as director of the Barbary Coast sports book in the early 1980s.

The two surviving high-end contests – the Cantor Football Showdown and the LVH SuperContest – are as dissimilar in styles as Peyton Manning and Robert Griffin III.

Cantor’s contest returns for a second year, with a bump in the entry fee from $3,000 to $5,000. Sixteen handicappers compete in a 15-week bracket tournament with a head-to-head matchup airing on ESPN Radio (1100 AM, 98.9 FM) at 2 p.m. each Friday from the M Resort. Cantor is adding $10,000 to the pot for a total of $90,000.

What is most appealing about the format is the contestants have unlimited options; they choose seven plays, college or NFL sides and totals, from the numbers on the Cantor odds board.

"We’re using live numbers, and I think that’s important," Cantor sports book director Mike Colbert said. "It’s not going to be made-up contest numbers that don’t exist by game time. Who really wants to put $5,000 in a contest when you’re betting numbers that are stale? It’s not a real good representation of who the best handicapper is.

"You’re going to have top handicappers in this contest, and for them to talk about all seven of their plays, it’s going to be good for the listeners."

The SuperContest, which requires entrants to pick five NFL sides against the spread each week, was created in 1989 and carries the most prestige. Last year, a record 517 contestants paid $1,500 to play, and the winner cashed for $310,200.

The competition is tough in all of the contests, but the risk-reward factor favors the players.

So sharpen your handicapping skills, and hope luck is on your side.

Contact sports betting columnist Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. He co-hosts "The Las Vegas Sportsline" weekdays at 2 p.m. on ESPN Radio (1100 AM, 98.9 FM). Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.