March Madness

I have always wanted to be in Vegas for some March Madness to bet on a game, but it never happened.

Then this year, I planned a trip the 3rd week of March - not considering basketball - and just realized last week that...holy crap...that is when sweet 16 and elite 8 are! yahoo!

Now I have to learn quickly how to sport bet in vegas. I never have done it...i'm a little nervous.

Any suggestions on how I start? Any quick (and I mean quick) dummies guide on sport betting?

How do I actually bet while in Vegas?

To bet on a single game with a point spread, just look at the big electronic boards. They will have the team names, game time, and point spread. You might see something like this:

NCAA East Regional Semifinal
101 Duke -7
102 Kentucky 124

That means that Duke is favored by 7 points. The 124 is a separate bet called the total, where you can bet that the total combined score for both teams will be over or under that number.

Both of these bets are generally rated at (-110) which means for every $11 you bet you will win $10.

To make a $20 bet on Duke, go up to the cashier and say "$20 on #101". For your bet to win, Duke has to win the game by more than 7 points. If they win by exactly 7, it's a push and you get your money back.

More details from Wizard here: https://wizardofodds.com/games/sports-betting/

I too am coming out to Vegas for March Madness and I would like to know where is the best sportsbook to watch/bet the games. I am staying at the Flamingo. I have been to Vegas many times but not specifically for March Madness

Quote: slyther

To bet on a single game with a point spread, just look at the big electronic boards. They will have the team names, game time, and point spread. You might see something like this:

NCAA East Regional Semifinal
101 Duke -7
102 Kentucky 124

That means that Duke is favored by 7 points. The 124 is a separate bet called the total, where you can bet that the total combined score for both teams will be over or under that number.

Both of these bets are generally rated at (-110) which means for every $11 you bet you will win $10.

To make a $20 bet on Duke, go up to the cashier and say "$20 on #101". For your bet to win, Duke has to win the game by more than 7 points. If they win by exactly 7, it's a push and you get your money back.

More details from Wizard here: https://wizardofodds.com/games/sports-betting/

Oh this is great info. Thanks!

Quote: platinumroof

I too am coming out to Vegas for March Madness and I would like to know where is the best sportsbook to watch/bet the games. I am staying at the Flamingo. I have been to Vegas many times but not specifically for March Madness

This is a moderately uninformed response, but based on my experience...

You need to be pretty committed to this. Vegas gets pretty packed during the tournament, and it can be hard to get anywhere near a decent sportsbook during the games. Many of the seats and tables are "reserved", I'm not sure for whom. Maybe you need to be a high roller, and work something out with a casino host? I think lots of people camp out in the sportsbooks for several hours before the games start to save a spot. Some hotels open up banquet rooms with big screen TV's for overflow viewing.

As for which sportsbook to choose, you can expect that the best casinos have the nicest books. Venetian, Caesar's, Mirage, MGM are all top notch. I don't think I've been to the books at Wynn/Encore, but I expect they are first rate. I'd guess that Emeril's sportsbook in Palazzo is probably the top of the line, but its also going to be the hardest one to get anyplace near.

Quote: platinumroof

I too am coming out to Vegas for March Madness and I would like to know where is the best sportsbook to watch/bet the games. I am staying at the Flamingo. I have been to Vegas many times but not specifically for March Madness

If you are staying at the Flamingo, I would recommend going across the street to Caesars. Top notch facility. If you have a car and want to avoid the huge crowd, maybe take a trip south to the M?

Quote: PapaChubby

This is a moderately uninformed response, but based on my experience...

You need to be pretty committed to this. Vegas gets pretty packed during the tournament, and it can be hard to get anywhere near a decent sportsbook during the games. Many of the seats and tables are "reserved", I'm not sure for whom. Maybe you need to be a high roller, and work something out with a casino host? I think lots of people camp out in the sportsbooks for several hours before the games start to save a spot. Some hotels open up banquet rooms with big screen TV's for overflow viewing.

I understand why there would be a lot of business during the first weekend, but would it be nearly as crowded during the second weekend, especially on Saturday/Sunday when there are no more overlapping games?

(Side question: does anybody know when Nevada started allowing futures bets on who would win the tournament? IIRC, up until some point, as long as UNLV was eligible (I think the law changed before UN-Reno moved into Division 1), you could not bet on who would win the whole thing. At first, they changed it to "which non-Nevada team will advance the farthest in the tournament, but later they allowed bets on the Nevada teams themselves.)