DV Goes One-On-One With The Governor of Gambling

Double Viking: First things first, do you think this is the Steelers' game to lose?
Al DeMarco: Yeah I think so. I don't imagine its going to be a blowout. Historically champions run the ball and play defense and thats the Steelers. We're probably looking at something like a 31-17 win much like we saw out of Pittsburgh when they played the Seahawks for that last title. 

 
DV: And even though the Steelers are seemingly favored, the casual gamblers are a little hesitant after that last super bowl with the "sure thing" Pats?
AD: It definitely draws more attention to the underdog, especially this year with Warner's big comeback story, and how good Fitzgerald has been playing. And then the way they killed the Panthers and upset the Eagles. Fans love an underdog especially when the last four Super Bowl underdogs have covered. Iin fact the bulk of the public's money is going towards the Cards probably just because of their story, and that dropped the line from the Steelers at -7 to -6½ just today at the Hilton, and Station Casinos.

 
DV: Are people betting differently online than they would if they placed a bet with a live person?
AD: For sure. Take a look at a USA Today, inside they have equal coverage but what's the featured story? The Cards as an inspired underdog all post season. Impulse betters are that much more comfortable with it. Its one less step, one on one they just say to themselves “let me make that bet,” and tha'ts why impulse betters are generally the losers.

 
DV: Ah yes, don't bet the feel good story.
AD: Most of the time that's why its smart to go against the public.

 
DV: Vegas has the game at a combined points over under of 46½ as of this interview. Does that seem low considering the Cards have been going over for most of the postseason? And the Steelers' impressive over record in the playoffs?
AD: Yeah, and it seems to have bottomed out there especially with reports that the game time conditions are going to be 60 degrees and a nice clean field. I'm towards the over, even though I'm leaning Steelers and their defense coming through.

 
DV: After picking up fantasy football I was doling out all kinds of advice, though being involved didn't improve my win percentage all that much. It just made me curse LT. In general does fantasy football make you better at betting?
AD: Yes indeed, it makes people go that extra mile and follow teams and sports far more than just what the newspaper will give in a wrap up Monday morning. It creates a routine of coming in to work and immediately checking scores, and then discussing it with co-workers.

 
DV: So its just keeping your finger on that pulse?
AD: Yeah, I tell people all the time sports betting is just like financial advising, or owning a stock. You keep on it 365 days a year. And if you are analyzing it like a stock, you're less prone to bet with your emotions. 
 
 
DV: Why on earth would people that have no affiliation to either team root for the Steelers? They have five rings already!
AD: (laughs) The Steelers are one of those public teams, high profile like the Cowboys or the Colts. People still like a sure thing. I actually thought that reputation was going to swing the line up to 7 1/2 but I was dead wrong. Like we were saying earlier, the underdog mentality took over and pushed it the other way.


DV: What kind of betting are people doing on the Pro-Bowl?
AD: None. There's more action on WNBA games. Its even harder to predict than the NBA All-Star game, with the constant roster switching, and different rules. 


DV: Will the NFL moving next year's Pro-Bowl to a week before the Super Bowl have any effect on that?
AD: Yeah, it can only help. I mean the way it is now, its a killer on football fans to just have that gap between championships and the big game. It usually just works to hype everything out of proportion. The move will definitely draw more interest, and betting. Prop betting is where the action is. This year the handle is at 1.2 million, and that's almost 30 million in prop bets; around 80 million overall. Which is actually down from previous years where you'd be seeing up to 90 million.


DV: Is that just because Arizona is a smaller market?
AD: Yup.


DV: Speaking of prop bets, come game time what are you taking: heads or tails?
AD: (chuckle) Generally, I like tails.


DV: Tails never fails!
AD: Yeah its strange, statistically we all know that there's no reason to lean one way or the other, but people seem to favor tails and they bet that way too. And there's some variables there: how heavy the coin is... what the wind will be like at game time... the odds are now favoring tails.


DV: Fantastic, football has conquered math. All right, thanks for chatting with us Al.
AD: My pleasure.

You can check out more of Al's coverage on the Superbowl and other sporting events over at Sports Gaming Edge.com! So tell us, who are you guys rooting for?