Good news for all those concerned with what happens in Las Vegas.
Previous to this year only Ballys offered wagering on College Hockey,
but now Caesars Palace has added College Hockey to their Race and Sports
Book. Oddly enough, both offerings only include 24 teams plus the Field
(aka, everyone else). The difference is that instead of Vermont at
Ballys, Caesars Palace offers St. Cloud State (otherwise the missing
team is in the Field at the respective establishments). But how to beat
the system, or "win" instead of "lose".
Below are the odds at BALLY'S Race and Sport Book in order from highest
bet team to lowest bet team and the team's respective placing according
to the PWR ranking and their actual PWR ranking (place/ranking).
TEAM BALLY'S PWR Place/Ranking
North Dakota 2/1 1/19*
Michigan State 3/1 2/18*
Boston U 7/2 3/17*
Michigan 4/1 4/16
Colorado College 5/1 10/10
Minnesota 6/1 NA/0
Maine 8/1 15/6
New Hampshire 10/1 8/11
Miami-Ohio 12/1 17/3
RPI 15/1 19/2
Clarkson 15/1 6/14
Lake Superior State 18/1 NA/0
Cornell 20/1 NA/0
Western Michigan 30/1 NA/0
Boston College 25/1 5/14
Bowling Green 30/1 NA/0
Wisconsin 30/1 11/10
Princeton 35/1 20/0
Denver 40/1 NA/0
Providence 50/1 NA/0
Minnesota-Duluth 50/1 NA/0
Vermont 60/1 NA/0
Colgate 60/1 NA/0
Harvard 100/1 NA/0
Field (all others) 20/1 7/13*
What, if anything can be gleaned from these numbers?
(1) It takes money to make money. The favorites are favorites for a
reason -- they are good teams and Las Vegas is smart enough to recognize
them. So, to pick a good team means low odds, but it also means a higher
chance of winning something. To win a lot, you must bet alot.
(2) The stars (*) indicate the team has won their league's regular
season title, an automatic entry into the final field of 12, and if they
win the league tournament will get an automatic bye in the first round.
This automatic bye is a huge advantage in getting to the final four in
Boston. Again (1) is clearly in force, except that Yale is in the Field
at with 50/1 odds is a great buy.
(3) Avoid Colorado College. Though #5 in order of odds, they are just
#10 in PWR rankings. However, the worse buy appears to be Minnesota.
(4) The best buys (besides the favorites) appear to be Clarkson with the
6th highest PWR ranking, and 15/1 odds; and Boston College with the 5th
highest PWR ranking, and 25/1 odds. However, a best buy is only best if
the team goes and wins it all.
(5) The real problem with compairing PWR rankings and odds is that odds
exist from the beginning of the season whereas PWR rankings only make
since at the end of the season. However, the odds in Las Vegas do not
change very much throughout the year, so it is possible to wait until
just before the playoffs start and use all available information to find
inefficiencies in the odds which you might be able to take advantage of.
GO TO THE COLUMNIST INDEX PAGE.