7 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

About being a bookie an oddsmaker.

Douglas Sonders

It's oddsmaker, not bookie. Got it?

1. WATCH WHAT YOU CALL US. "We're oddsmakers. Bookie has an illegal connotation. It's legal to accept wagers in Nevada, and we're regulated by the State Gaming Control Board."

2. WE'RE SHOWN THE MONEY. "The Big Football Game in February—our lingo for the Super Bowl—gets the most action: about $95 million industry-wide. But the NCAA Tournament as a whole is catching up. Last year about $85 million was bet. The women's Tourney gets around $5 million, but it's growing."

3. THE TOURNEY STARTS WITH THE PAIRINGS SHOW. "My crew and I watch the seedings in my office. The show ends about 3:30 p.m., and we typically put up the numbers around 7 p.m.—as soon as we're confident that they'll draw good two-way action."

4. WE SET OUR LINES WITH CARE. "We use ratings, consultants and our own software. But we also consider trends, public perception, travel, offensive and defensive matchups, and coaching. And we're near Southern California, so we adjust for teams like the Lakers and UCLA."

5. IT'S A POPULARITY CONTEST. "The 'public' teams like the Red Sox and Cubs draw more interest, because of their stature. Similarly, in the NCAAs, UNC and Duke get more attention than, say, Tennessee, so we move the numbers to put ourselves in a favorable position."

6. PROP BETS? WE GOT 'EM. "The public demands that we be creative. In NASCAR, you can bet on the pole, head-to-head matchups and order of finish. In the Tourney, there's interest in bets like most threes and leading scorers. But the Super Bowl is the most outlandish—we'll have more than 300 props on the board."

7. WE THROW A MEAN PARTY. "The book is the best tailgate in the U.S. Early in the Tourney, fans camp out for prime seats—what we call center court. When the crowd's quiet, we know we're doing our job. When they're hooting and hollering, it's not a good day for us."

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