The Opening Line is a number that always enters into the calculations of bettors and handicappers as well. It is one of the most important factors in the equations that most everyone who wagers on sports incorporates into their potpourri of information being considered before wagering on a sporting event.
That number known as the opening line was not arrived at lightly. A lot of research and study went into coming up with that number before in went public.
In the modern era of sports betting, what is exactly is “The Opening Line’? It’s most assuredly not a meaningless question. There are many bettors who consider the opening number as an important part of their handicap.
Long term winning bettors don’t bet ‘bad’ numbers – if they miss their targeted ‘strike price’, they’ll leave the game alone. So the opening number – or what they consider to be the opening number – holds significant weight in future wagering decisions.
In Las Vegas in the late 90’s, there was no debate. Joe Lupo, Bob Scucci, Doug Castanada and the rest of the bookmakers at the Stardust hung the very first numbers, worldwide. When those opening numbers were first posted, the ‘Dust held a ‘lottery’ to determine the order of who could bet first, second, third and on down the line. Bettors coveted a place at or near the front of that line – it legitimately made a difference.
The Sunday Night lottery at the Stardust during football season was a spectacle to behold. The book was packed; the energy electric in anticipation of those ‘virgin’ numbers hitting the betting board. Even during basketball and baseball season, when numbers were posted first thing in the morning, it wasn’t unusual to see dozens of high limit bettors waiting for their crack at the opening numbers.
But the ‘Dust didn’t hold their ‘monopoly’ on the opening line for long. Other books in town wanted to (or were under pressure to) create additional handle. Particularly during football season, they posted earlier than the Dust. At varying points Bally’s, the Imperial Palace, the Wynn and the MGM Grand Sportsbooks posted the very first football pointspreads for the following week.
There was a time when Jay Kornegay’s (the LVH Superbook Director for the last decade or so) book at the IP packed with limit bettors at halftime of the afternoon games on an NFL Sunday, when he posted his first lines for the following week. It was like the ‘Dust all over again!
At the same time, the offshore betting world was increasing in size and influence on what seemed like a weekly basis. Books like CRIS and Olympic coveted that enormous wiseguy handle, and they began posting the very first bettable numbers on Sunday’s for the following week’s football games.
By the mid-2000’s, the ‘Dust had closed for implosion – its influence on the sportsbetting marketplace had waned considerably from their heyday in the 90’s. Cantor Gaming wasn’t yet on the scene here in Vegas. It seemed as if the offshore world was going to dwarf Sin City when it came to influential sportsbooks setting opening numbers.
