Did You Place Your Bet? March Madness Betting Could Surpass Superbowl

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament picks up again tonight with the Sweet 16. That's the number of college teams remaining from the initial 68. From bracket pools to individual contests, the American Gaming Association estimates that people will bet $9 billion over the course of the tournament. That's more than double what people wagered on this year's Super Bowl and that makes it an especially busy time in Las Vegas, where betting on sports is legal. Jay Rood is vice president of Race and Sports Book at MGM Resorts, which runs sports betting at 10 casinos in Las Vegas and two in Reno. Mr. Rood joins us from the Mirage Hotel and Casino.

Welcome to the program.

JAY ROOD: Thank you. Glad to be here.

SIEGEL: What's the atmosphere like these days with so many basketball games going on at the same time?

ROOD: It'll get crazy again in a little bit, but last week during the Tuesday, Wednesday playing games it was standing room only. We have, you know, probably the largest sports book on the strip here at the Mirage and we're busting at the seams. The players kind of took it on the chin a little bit as the favorites went 0 and 10 to start the tournament.

SIEGEL: Just for some listeners who might be confused - you're using players in the sense of horse players, the people who bet on the games, not the basketball players - not the ball players.

ROOD: Right, right, right. My players, the guys that - the punters, I guess you would call them.

SIEGEL: (Laughter). The punters. How much money's being bet this year? How does it compare with last year at this time?

ROOD: Well, our handle - which is how much money is being bet - is down, but I think we can contribute that to the fact that we started the tournament off so strong on Thursday. We had such a good day that I think the players' bankrolls kind of took a little bit of a hit, so they weren't able to play what they normally would on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. But I would imagine we're going to have a new group of people in this week. You know, hopefully our handle will go back up, but it's very strong.

SIEGEL: Do you find that when the men's basketball tournament comes around every year that a lot of people are betting sentimentally for alma mater, as opposed to studying the point spread carefully and betting on the best teams?

ROOD: Yeah, I believe so. I mean like, there's the contenders that have a real legitimate shot to win it. This year obviously Kentucky is an extremely dominant team, but they have a tough challenge in front of them tonight with West Virginia.

SIEGEL: Yeah. I was going to say one way of looking at is there are 67 teams and then Kentucky. Which, if they win, the NCAA will have completed an undefeated season - something that hasn't happened in almost 40 years. Does a team like that attract more money to its games or are people shy of it because Kentucky could win by so much?

ROOD: They are winning obviously, yes, by 36 and 0. But they're right there around 17, 18 both ways on the win-loss record against this point spread. So you know, that's the point of the point spread, is to try to make a level playing field from a betting perspective.

SIEGEL: As a professional in this business, how do you regard the bracket, the bet you make at the office on all the games in the entire tournament?

ROOD: It's difficult. I mean, I love it. I fill one out just like everyone else just to see what my predictions - whether they would hold water or not. And I usually have as many if not more holes than the average Joe.

SIEGEL: Well, can you afford to actually root for a team at all this year, or would that be unprofessional of you?

ROOD: Yeah. I root for a team in every game. The one that we need to win the money on...

SIEGEL: (Laughter).

ROOD: ...So, my allegiance follows the cash for the house and it switches from time to time, which makes it kind of confusing for my wife and children. On one night I'll be rooting for Kentucky and then the next night, I'll be rooting against them.

SIEGEL: You tell them it's nothing personal, it's just business.

ROOD: It's just business, exactly.

SIEGEL: Jay Rood, thanks a lot for talking with us.

ROOD: Any time.

SIEGEL: Betting on the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, Jay Rood is vice president of Race and Sports Book at MGM Resorts. He spoke to us from the Mirage resort in Las Vegas. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.