January 31 2007
The venerable Dr. Vino, or Tyler as his friends call him, had a post on his site on Wednesday morning that gives something of a primer on betting lines and the moneyline in the world of wagering. Dr. Vino’s post is a precursor to THE GAME.
THE GAME, of course, is Super Bowl XLI—the Indianapolis Colts vs. the Chicago Bears.
Of course, our hometown team here at Good Grape is the Colts and they are favored by a touchdown. Dr. Vino is, naturally, a Bears fan, a Chicago transplant living in New York, but still occasionally teaching in Chicago.
The gist of the deal with a moneyline is if your team is the underdog (just ‘dog to be hip with the slang) it lets you make a bet straight up and increase your potential winnings, as opposed to taking a betting line that gives you the benefit of a point spread.
So, for example, if Notre Dame is a 9 point underdog in the Sugar Bowl and you really think they are going to win, than a $100 dollar bet would pay off at $325. Pretty good. But, if they lose within nine points then you might wish you had the point spread because your bet is a loser. Not that I know anything about the moneyline or anything. I certainly don’t know anything about a winning moneyline, being a Notre Dame fan and all.
Tyler and I exchanged an email engineering, in the vein of the Governor’s from our respective states, a friendly little exchange.
Though, it will hardly be as glamorous as the food exchange that’s going to go down between Indiana’s Gov. Mitch Daniels (nicknamed “The Blade” by President Bush when he was Director of the Office of Management and Budget in ’01 – ’03 for his desire to cut social services, rankling Dems along the way) and Gov. Rod Blagojevich from Illinois. Gov. Daniels was wagered caramels and chocolates from Abbott’s Candy, organic cheeses from Traderspoint Creamery, a 15 bean soup pot from N.K. Hurst and shrimp cocktail from the legendary St. Elmo Steak House. Daniels, it should be noted, doesn’t appear to be using the corn pone Midwest hick drawl that won him office these days. Not that I keep track of such things. Blagojevich has staked his wager to Lou Malnatis’ deep dish pizza, Eli’s cheesecake and a some assorted treats from the Illinois Nut and Candy shop.
Incidentally and ironically, when the Colts beat the pants off the Baltimore Ravens, they used the facilities at the non profit that I volunteer at to cook up a bunch of crab cakes. So, these things really do get done beyond lip service.
And, it is going to get paid off for ol’ Jeffro, too. Because I don’t think the Colts are going to lose. This is Peyton’s year—Peyton with the laser rocket arm.
In the event that I do lose, I have offered Tyler the wine moneyline on the game. In lieu of points, I’ve offered to double the value of our exchange. I’ll send him at least $50 worth of wine in the event that the Colts lose and he’ll pick up the tab on a $25 bottle next time I’m in NYC if the Colts are victorious. I’ve offered a 2000 Franciscan Magnificat Meritage blend (a nice bottle in the $45 - $55 range) and a bottle of the Kickin’ Ass Colts Cuvee from Cherry Hill Winery in Oregon. I wrote about them a week or so ago in a post that can be found here.
Tyler is a good sport and one thing I can be certain of is his wine will be tasty in victory! Go Colts!
UPDATE: The interesting, though less material, portion of my prize offering is the Kickin’ Ass Colts Cuvee--something of an Indianapolis Colts specific vino made by an Indiana native at an Oregon winery. Dr. Vino, to his credit, went to some lengths to try and find something that was akin to a Bear. And, he’s gracious enough to not get me four bottles of Toasted Head with the bear on the label. But, even better for me, I get to pick something out from Crush Wine & Spirits that falls in line with the moneyline spirit. I trust his palate, so I may want to take a recommendation, but I’m also inclined to snatch up another bottle of the 2000 Tulocay Zinfandel to add to the two I bought last week from Crush and the one bottle that I’ve already polished off. It’s good stuff. And, to make matters more interesting, I do need to divulge that I grew up about an 1.5 hours away from Chicago and grew up a Bears fan. The Super Bowl Shuffle Bears are a fond memory, but I’m now a Chicago turncoat having converted to the Blue Nation years ago by virtue of zip code. Do the Blue. Make it Personal. Go Colts.
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