[Paterno]

I just got back from Vegas. Me and a couple guys spent 15 straight hours in the Mirage sportsbook on Saturday (before Gameday until the fu**ing Idaho coach went for 2 in 2nd overtime). Yes I had a TCU PK and NMS teaser fuked bc of that one.

One of my favorite plays of the day was Central Michigan. I have been betting this team ever since the PSU game. They have some athletes on their team.

Anyway, it is the only game missing from the board. I go and ask the guys and they tell me they never post Toledo games. I ask why and they wouldnt give me an answer.

Any information on why?

[Hitman26]

There was an article on this subject. I will try to find it for you, but it boils down to some funny betting patterns on MAC games.

[Hitman26]

Funny business in the MAC Conference?

<HR style="COLOR: #fdde82" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->I've seen that ACE-ACE for one has often had strong "opinions" on MAC games - football and baskets. Saw the following on another board today...

"My boys out in Vegas are telling me to be extremely careful when betting on MAC games

Anyone remember that Marshall/Akron game on ESPN 2 late last season where Marsall was up 28-7 on Akron late in the 3rd quarter, then Marshall's WR drops an easy TD pass, they turn the ball over, and Akron comes back to win that game 31-28?

Tell me that game wasn't fixed

Here's some more inportant information on the MAC:

Offshore bookmakers from both Antigua and Costa Rica told this handicapper this week they have their caution flags up on any big bet placed on games involving teams from the Mid-American Conference, noting unusual betting patterns on certain games.



“We are not saying the sky is falling,” Dutch Magnum, the bookmaker from Intertops in Antigua said. “We are just saying the volume of betting and how it was done on a handful of MAC games were not normal.”



Magnum said bookmakers were looking at several schools and the officiating crews that handle their games.



While bookmakers had been watching MAC teams for the past four weeks, they did not begin their investigation of these unusual betting patterns until after the Toledo-Temple game in the third week of the season. Toledo won that game, 42-17, and produced the biggest score of the year for those who had been betting heavily on teams from this conference.



The same bettors, placing their wagers in different places, won with both sides in that game, taking Temple plus the 30 points early and Toledo -24 ½ later in the week. The game fell 25, which meant they collected both bets.

Also

The manipulation of numbers is nothing new in the world of football betting, and bookmakers expect it. What caught their attention on this game was the fact the money was voluminous, that those betting both sides all seem to be connected and that it followed a month of unusual bets on MAC teams.



Bookmakers emphasized they are not making any accusations but for their own protection have begun studying the make up of MAC officiating crews.



“If a guy, or a group, wants to bet a middle, that’s fine with us,” Dutch said, “But in the case of a few MAC games, things just don’t look kosher. It may mean nothing; it may mean something. We’re going to find out”.



One bookmaker from Costa Rica said this same suspicion was once cast on the Mountain West Conference but a study and investigation said the suspicious calls that changed the outcome of several games was the result of “the most incompetent, absolutely awful, officiating crews in the business”.



This handicapper will stay on top of this situation and report the findings of those looking into the situation. In the meantime, one should approach MAC games with one’s eyes open wide. Everything may be just fine, but if bookmakers are nervous, one must respect that.""

[Paterno]

I do remember that line movement in that game....Thanks!

[Brock Landers]

To me this is the kind of thread I look for, very imformative, full of REAL examples of games and lines. Personally i doubt any fix, that Toledo/Temple game was all over the board and for good reason!

[mson]

All suck. And that is why I will never go back to the desert.

[Chuck Sims]

SCnit, first off, Robert Walker, the guy that runs the MGM/Mirage sportsbooks is a piece of shit. A gutless bookmaker who has no business running a book. As far as the MAC games, sounds more like bookies crying the blues than college games being fixed.

The bettors are sharper than the bookies concerning MAC games. At least some bookies apparently. Note: the MGM/Mirage refused to post NFL Win Totals also. GUTLESS!!

[Insiders]

hitman Great read. That was very informative and i do hope i catch the rest.

Strange things always happen in sports. Yes i agree that some look the part of, is this for real?

There are groups that are powerful enough to do this sort of thing.
But a MONTH?
WOW that probably did raise a red flag!

[cattlerustler]

The las vegas sportbooks are the most gutless of all betting operatons around the world, no doubt, but I feel they are right about some of these teams - temple,toledos of this world have been bet to huge amounts this season - and all sides that are bet seem to cover lol lol

I suspected this about a month ago myself and mentioned it to a few people.

[quantumleap]

I wonder how much of an affect Ace-Ace's posts have on the money being played on these games and the moving of a line.

[Kornholio]

Article posted by Quick Nick over at SCI. Pretty interesting....
Quote:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">These people must be stupid, if anyone gambles and does not know they have cheating going on in college atheletics, they need to get their head out of the sand to put it lightly!!!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

BOOKMAKERS HANG DARK CLOUD OVER MAC GAMES, ESPECIALLY TOLEDO…

While bookmakers have no evidence of wrong doing they are still focusing a tremendous amount of attention to what they say are strange betting patterns in the Mid-American Conference, especially those involving Toledo.
Bookmakers say there has been a tremendous amount of line manipulation in the MAC this season and they point to two Saturday games as examples of that. Toledo opened a -10 road favorite at Central Michigan and has been bet down to -7½. In a second game they are watching, Western Michigan opened a -4 home favorite over Kent State and has been bet out to -7.
Pointspread shifts such as this are not uncommon but bookmakers say it is happening too often on MAC games and they have the evidence to prove it, as they have been hit hard by “middle” bettors. For those not familiar with the term, a “middle” bettor is one who bets both sides in the same game, laying different prices and then hoping the game falls between that which he gave and that which he took. When that happens he collects both bets.
For instance, if the Toledo-Central Michigan final score falls on an 8 or 9-point difference middle bettors will win on both sides. If the Kent State-Western Michigan falls on a 5 or a 6, they will also collect both bets.
Bookmakers have already been stung twice this season with Toledo—first in the Rockets game at Temple on September 17 and again on their game at Ball State two weeks ago.
In the Temple game, Toledo opened a 30-point favorite and was bet down to -24½. The final score was 42-17, which meant the Rockets won by 25 and the game fell in the middle. This game costs bookmakers tens of thousands of dollars.
In the Ball State game, Toledo opened -19½ and was bet out to -23½. The Rockets won that on by 20 points, 34-14, again putting the game in the middle and cost bookmakers another small fortune.

ODDS AGAINST SAME TEAM PRODUCING MULTIPLE
MIDDLES ASTRONOMICAL…

Bookmakers say the odds of one team producing two middle winners during a single season are astronomical and the heavy two-way action on both games was traced to a small group of individuals, all of whom knew one another.
"We may look stupid, but we're not," said one bookmaker from Antigua, "And we will get to the bottom of this."
The mechanics of middle betting tell the entire story, since a middle gives a player 20-1 for his money in a world where most bets return even money on a winning wager. Here is how the middle works, using the Temple-Toledo game as an example.

• Bettors would take Temple +30 and then bet in a manner that gave the appearance of continued action on the underdog. When they felt their actions had driven the number as far as it would go, they would step in and bet Toledo -24 ½.
• The math is simple: If a person bet $110,000 to win $100,000 on Temple +30 and then made a similar bet on Toledo -24 ½, he is risking just $10,000 to win $200,000 because it is impossible to lose both bets. If the game falls in the middle of the +30 and the -24 ½, he collects $200,000, or gets 20-1 for his money.

Bookmakers have their own crew of investigators studying every aspect of any game with a suspicious betting pattern; from who officiated the games to how touchdowns were scored and if there were bogus penalties or turnovers at key points of the game.
We will keep you informed, but in the meantime, this is one handicapper who is staying away from MAC games. It is an understatement in the world of sports betting to say rather safe than sorry.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ANYWHERE YOU HAVE HUGH AMOUNTS OF CASH AND GAMBLING INVOLVED YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE CHEATING.

JUST THINK ABOUT THIS......... YOU ARE A 18 OR 19 YEAR OLD KID PLAYING FOOTBALL IN COLLEGE OR BASKETBALL FOR THAT MATTER AND SOMEONE APPROACHES YOU WITH A DEAL WHERE YOU CAN MAKE $10,000.00 CASH JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON'T WIN A GAME THIS WEEKEND BY MORE THAN 23 POINTS AND YOU ARE A 24 POINT FAVORITE, WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS BROKE KID IS GOING TO DO???????? HE IS GOING TO WIN THE GAME AND MAKE DAMN SURE HE DOES NOT WIN BY MORE THAN 23 POINTS.

HE MAKES $10,000.00 CASH AND THE GUY THAT FIXES THE GAME BETS $100,000.00 ON THE GAME AND MAKES $90,000.00. FOR 3 HOURS OF WORK IF YOU WANT TO CALL IT THAT. NOW YOU SAY, HEY WHAT IF THE KID DOES NOT GO FOR THE FIX, THEN WHAT?????? YOU THREATHEN HIS PARENTS AND TELL THE KID TO TAKE THE MONEY AND WIN THE GAME BY 23 OR LESS. wHAT KID WILL NOT DO IT IF SOMEONE THREATHENS HIS PARENTS OR WIFE AND CHILD, A LOT OF COLLEGE ATHELETES HAVE FAMILIES AT THE AGE OF 18 OR 19. THERE ARE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF WAYS TO FIX A COLLEGE SPORTING EVENT AND THOUSANDS OF aTHELETES TO HELP FIX THEM FOR MONEY!!!

JUST THINK ABOUT WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN, IT MAKES PLENTY OF SENSE TO ME.

THEY HAVE TOO MANY KIDS THAT YOU CAN GET TO AND FIX A GAME IN COLLEGE........... ON ANY GIVEN WEEKEND YOU HAVE 50 GAMES OR MORE THAT HAVE LINES ON THEM IN NCAA FOOTBALL </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
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[GreenDoberman]

Just checked a few other books and they do have the MAC games up this week.

And if the odds of a middle are 20-1, then the odds of two hitting are 400-1 (20*20), not "astronomical".

[TTinCO]

Wasn't there a really, really fishy E. Mich game last year?

[greg641]

wow

[Thrillseeker]

“We are not saying the sky is falling,” Dutch Magnum, the bookmaker from Intertops in Antigua said. “We are just saying the volume of betting and how it was done on a handful of MAC games were not normal.”

LMAO! yeah, Itops probably had to pay someone $50 and is crying about it...NO WINNERS ALLOWED!

[cattlerustler]

Yeah , f#$king Intertops - joke of an operation, they could have been something, instead they are bush league outfit.


Not really for or against bent games, fair play if they get the money down, but would not like to be on the receiving end of shed loads of cash coming in like that:eek: :eek: lol lol .At the end of the day it happens in many sports , when your booking offshore you need to be wide awake otherwise you can get f#$ked hard.

[BaseballGuy]

MGM/MIRAGE is a total shit outfit.

I remember playing carribean stud there and hitting 4 of a kind. It only paid a 100.00 bonus. This when like 99 percent of casinos pay 500.00 on 4 of a kind.

They will try to nickel and dime you to death. So sad Wynn sold out to these fuckers.

[WildBill]

I heard something very juicy on this subject, but its not proven info. Basically though the word is the officials aren't the ones they should be looking at.

[hellah10]

i watched that Temple game live on TV...

i highly doubt that it was fixed - i didnt see anything our of the ordinary that it would be fixed

[Vaulted Treehouse]

I heard something very juicy on this subject, but its not proven info. Basically though the word is the officials aren't the ones they should be looking at.

Do tell Bill.

[ImpulseControl]

...are not 20-to-1. That just happens to be the payoff if a player hits one, relative to the amount he actually had at risk. Bookmakers don't "handicap" middles based on probability. The actual probability of a middle hitting is probably fairly proportional to the size of the middle. If the middle is four points, the odds of the number falling in a four point range are lower than if the middle is six points. I don't know what the odds are of any team having two games in one season with sufficient line movement to create a reasonable middling opportunity, and then landing in the middle, but I'll bet it's quite a bit more than four hundred to one. That's why it caught the attention of the books.

[Chuck Sims]

When you have clueless a-holes running sportsbooks you have the "we lost, the games must be fixed" mentality. If the books had balls and kept the line firm, guess what, NO MIDDLE!

[doug stewart]

When you have clueless a-holes running sportsbooks you have the "we lost, the games must be fixed" mentality. If the books had balls and kept the line firm, guess what, NO MIDDLE!

Well, you certainly are the authority on clueless a-holes! You are proposing that a book should hold the line firm while taking one-sided action...and then you have the nerve to call a bookmaker clueless? LOL

[Chuck Sims]

doug stewart, the forum douchbag is at it again. Can you believe this dope? Yeah, move the line 5 points on heavy MAC action. LMAO! And then when you get middled, call the games "fixed". Damn doug, you seem to show your stupidity on every post.

[WildBill]

Do tell Bill.

Its just a rumor I heard from a couple of people. Nothing certain and supposedly it is still a factor that might be out there for the bettors so I don't want to piss someone off if I kill off the goose. Could be something real, could be someone's imagination. My guess though is when it gets to this level where it is being discussed publicly then it could be a real issue. Most bookmakers won't bring it up otherwise.