For Nevada sports books, the start of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament this week is the next-to-last oasis before the doldrums of summer.

Only professional football's Super Bowl in February, which drew $94 million in bets this year, generates more Nevada betting than the three-week tournament.

"I can't give you an exact figure, but it's not a very close second," Terry Cox, director of the Peppermill Race & Sports Book, said Sunday. "On our annual calendar, after you get done with football, you look for March Madness, the Kentucky Derby in May and then start looking towards football."

Two years ago, $100 million more was bet on basketball in March than in February, according to Nevada Gaming Control Board data. The agency doesn't separate college and professional bets in the sport.

Cox said the 65 teams playing 64 games in the NCAA tournament generate new excitement and new customers every year.

"You see people you don't see for the other times of the year, because it's such a concentrated entertainment experience," he said. "The first two days have 16 games each, then eight a day. Four days in a row.

"All of them on TV. You see teams you never heard of and have never seen. That adds to the mystery of it all. It's like a national holiday."

For a Super Bowl, some people will make large bets, $5,000 up to $100,000 on the game. During the college tournament, people might bet $22 (to win $20) on every game every day.

"It's a great way to introduce new players to Nevada-style entertainment, as we like to call it," Cox said. "It brings in a lot of novice players and people who ordinarily wouldn't be interested in watching sports on TV or certainly wagering on a game.

"All the big events have the same phenomenon. People say, 'I just came to watch the race, but can you show me how to make a bet because I've never done that before.'"

Even though neither Nevada team was picked for the NCAA tournaments, Cox expects the betting volume will be larger than last year. In addition to the concurrent National Invitational Tournament that ends in New York City, this year there is a College Basketball Invitational for 16 teams not picked for the other events.

Cox said many groups use the tournament as the occasions for reunions.

"It's just fun for them to get together and watch basketball from sunup to sundown," he said. "We had a patio and barbecue convention in town last year and those guys had to get to their events by 8 a.m., so we opened early for them to make their bets."

College hoops boosts betting
JOHN SMETANA
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 3/17/2008