Gambling! Now we're having fun!

I'm not a big gambler myself but I love odds, percentages and chances. IL has a great post this morning about the NCAA Tournament odds from Wynn Casino in Vegas. Seriously, I had no idea that people bet on lacrosse but gambling certainly won't decrease the popularity of the sport.

John Jiloty has some comments about the odds and reflects a common misunderstanding about how odds occur. Casinos set a line and move it according to how people are betting. So if you think a line is too high or too low, it isn't the casino that is wrong, it is the wisdom of the crowd.

Anyway, here were the national championship odds from January:

Good Calls
Virginia: 3/1
Syracuse: 4/1

Good Bets
Duke: 7/1
Princeton 12/1
Notre Dame: 20/1
Hofstra: 30/1

Too Much Faith In January
Maryland: 5/1
Georgetown: 12/1
Denver: 35/1

Note that Maryland is at Notre Dame this weekend. Ouch.

How about this one:

Duke -4 ½ vs. Navy
Another one that could be close or could be a blowout. I picked Navy in the Staff Picks but wouldn’t throw money down on this one.

I lost count at the number of times I heard about a possible Navy upset. Not so many people putting money on them though.