A gathering of some of the smartest minds in sports betting descended on beautiful Red Rock Canyon to attended the 2007 VegasInsider.com Football Handicapping Seminar on August 27th & 28th. The event was held at the Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa in Las Vegas.
Art Manteris, the VP of Race & Sports Book Operations for Stations Casinos, opened up the football seminar to a packed house of over 300 attendees on Monday morning stating that "Peter Gold of VegasInsider.com has single handily worked to provide more of a flow of information from the Las Vegas Sportsbooks to the general public than anyone else in the history of sports betting in America."
The entire VegasInsider.com team continued to deliver on Manteris's statement at the formerly annual event (VI has not held a handicapping seminar for about five years). It took four convention halls at Red Rock Resort, Casino & Spa to hold everyone. Hundreds of everyday Nevada based sports bettors as well as some of the nation's leading sports handicappers showed up.
“The event exceeded our expectations on all levels,” stated Peter Gold, Executive VP/General Manager of VegasInsider.com. “It has been several years since we’ve conducted a seminar so we did not know what the response would be. Needless to say, we were overwhelmed when we reached capacity only two weeks into promotions, so instead of limiting the number of attendees we just moved to larger conference facilities. We also broke with long-standing protocol of only inviting VI handicappers to participate – our goal was simply to put on a “best of the best” type of event without ego or competition coming into play. The result was a great cross-section of the top handicappers, writers, analysts, professional bettors and media figures; perhaps the best ‘grouping’ ever.”
Speakers and panelists included Marc Lawrence, Steve Fezzik, Andy Iskoe, Ed "The Professor" Meyer, Brian Edwards, Paul Bovi, Paul Prestridge, Brad Young, Lee Sterling, Jorge Gonzalez, Jamie Tursini, James Manos, Ted Sevransky, Andy Iskoe, Chip Chirimbes, David Cokin and Stephen Nover.
“The whole experience for me was fantastic,” stated Las Vegas resident and avid sports bettor Stan Paczosa. “This is the atmosphere that gets my blood boiling.”
Las Vegas is a unique microcism of professional sports handicappers and sports bettors. While the VegasInsider.com Football Seminar filled every spectrum of American sports betting, it clearly focused specifically on the void within the $2 billion dollar a year sports betting scene in Nevada. I doubt anyone else in the industry could have pulled this off, a savvy move by a savvy company with strong tie ins directly to the local Las Vegas Sportsbooks.
The Professor Ed Meyer capitivated the crowd with his knowledge of trends and systems throughout the two days as he was on the five panels. The Physics Ph.D gave a fun lecture on statistical analysis which saw many people’s pens run out of ink as they scrambled to write the trends down as they appeared on the screen.
“When a bird is at home against a cat and the line is less than 3 points, the bird is 15-0 ATS,” stated Professor Ed Meyer. “The Eagles are 11-0 ATS when they foiled at least 3 red zone attempts the previous week.”
The Professor’s performance was entertaining, unlike the typical math whiz that blows you away with abstract thoughts. His performance was worthy of one of his classes back at Bingham Wallace University. The Professor’s plays can be found exclusively on VegasInsider.com and to listen to his discussion on “Statistical Analysis” and the entire archive menu for the Seminar here.
I was impressed with how fast legendary Las Vegas professional sports bettor and math whiz Steve Fezzik was able to convert line movements into vigorish. The man can clearly spot value in a line and knows his numbers.
"If you want to bet an NFC team to win the Super Bowl you are throwing your money away," stated Steve Fezzik. "The NFC has no chance against the AFC to win the Super Bowl. Instead, bet them to win the NFC Championship and by doing that you might actually win the bet."
Red Rock was a hidden gem off the strip in the beautiful Red Rock Canyon. The Red Rock Resort, Casino & Spa has made me want to come back to Las Vegas again. I actually cannot stand the city, but came to realize that I can't stand the strip. I would rather be out with the locals.
If you missed the 2007 Football Handicapping Seminar don't worry, you can catch it in its entirety at VegasInsider.com. I want to thank Peter for inviting me out to attend some of the most informative days I have had in quiet some time. I am looking forward to coming back in 2008.
