By Dave Tuley DRF.com
Brent Carter, professional poker player turned football handicapper (though he has been betting sports as long as he has been playing poker), went 4-1-2 to eliminate Jimmy Vaccaro, who went 2-4-1, in the first semifinal match of the Stardust Invitational.
Carter's only loss was on his best bet, the Packers-Eagles game under 48 points. He pushed with the Chargers -3 vs. the Broncos and Rams -10 vs. the 49ers. He went 4-0 on his other totals.
Carter moves to the Dec. 17 finals to face the winner of this Friday night's matchup between Cal State-Hayward statistics professor Mike Orkin and professional handicapper "Big" Al McMordie. Each will give seven selections, including a best-bet tiebreaker and two alternate best bets in case of further ties, from 9-10 p.m. in the Stardust sports book. Their selections will be broadcast live in nine Western states on KDWN AM-720 and worldwide on kdwn.com.
* The standings are bunched near the top in the richest handicapping contest in Las Vegas, the $500,000 Ultimate Gambler's Challenge at the Golden Nugget. A contestant using the alias "JRBuck" is atop the leaderboard with a record of 43-22 for a total of 52 points. In the Nugget contest, which had a $5,000 entry fee, contestants make five NFL selections a week with one best bet worth two points. "El Loco IS" is a game back with 51 points, followed by "Poker Boys" at 50, and Daniel J Allen (presumably not an alias) at 49.
* In the Las Vegas Hilton SuperContest, "Tiger Wilson" held onto his lead with a 3-2 week to stand at 43 1/2 points, a game ahead of "TNT," "Ok wat Nak" and "Vegas Connection" at 42 1/2. Hilton contestants, who put up $1,500 apiece, make five NFL selections a week with no best bet.
* In the Station Casinos' Gambler's Challenge, "4 Aces" saw his lead shrink despite going 3-2 and increasing his point total to 44 1/2. "Sdsoda + LV Moosh" went 4-1 and is now just two games back in second with 42 1/2 points. "Great 8" is another game back in third. * Picks of all contest leaders, as well as consensus plays of all entrants, will be available at their respective sports books: Stardust (10 p.m. Friday), Las Vegas Hilton (Friday afternoon), Station Casinos (late Saturday morning), Golden Nugget (6 p.m. Saturday). The Hilton, Stations, and Golden Nugget plays can also be found online under the "Hot Links" section at Jim Feist's website, nss.net, though the Hilton selections usually aren't updated until Friday evening while the Stations and Nugget contests sometimes aren't available until late Saturday night.
Dave Tuley DRF.com
Brent Carter, professional poker player turned football handicapper (though he has been betting sports as long as he has been playing poker), went 4-1-2 to eliminate Jimmy Vaccaro, who went 2-4-1, in the first semifinal match of the Stardust Invitational.
Carter's only loss was on his best bet, the Packers-Eagles game under 48 points. He pushed with the Chargers -3 vs. the Broncos and Rams -10 vs. the 49ers. He went 4-0 on his other totals.
Carter moves to the Dec. 17 finals to face the winner of this Friday night's matchup between Cal State-Hayward statistics professor Mike Orkin and professional handicapper "Big" Al McMordie. Each will give seven selections, including a best-bet tiebreaker and two alternate best bets in case of further ties, from 9-10 p.m. in the Stardust sports book. Their selections will be broadcast live in nine Western states on KDWN AM-720 and worldwide on kdwn.com.
* The standings are bunched near the top in the richest handicapping contest in Las Vegas, the $500,000 Ultimate Gambler's Challenge at the Golden Nugget. A contestant using the alias "JRBuck" is atop the leaderboard with a record of 43-22 for a total of 52 points. In the Nugget contest, which had a $5,000 entry fee, contestants make five NFL selections a week with one best bet worth two points. "El Loco IS" is a game back with 51 points, followed by "Poker Boys" at 50, and Daniel J Allen (presumably not an alias) at 49.
* In the Las Vegas Hilton SuperContest, "Tiger Wilson" held onto his lead with a 3-2 week to stand at 43 1/2 points, a game ahead of "TNT," "Ok wat Nak" and "Vegas Connection" at 42 1/2. Hilton contestants, who put up $1,500 apiece, make five NFL selections a week with no best bet.
* In the Station Casinos' Gambler's Challenge, "4 Aces" saw his lead shrink despite going 3-2 and increasing his point total to 44 1/2. "Sdsoda + LV Moosh" went 4-1 and is now just two games back in second with 42 1/2 points. "Great 8" is another game back in third. * Picks of all contest leaders, as well as consensus plays of all entrants, will be available at their respective sports books: Stardust (10 p.m. Friday), Las Vegas Hilton (Friday afternoon), Station Casinos (late Saturday morning), Golden Nugget (6 p.m. Saturday). The Hilton, Stations, and Golden Nugget plays can also be found online under the "Hot Links" section at Jim Feist's website, nss.net, though the Hilton selections usually aren't updated until Friday evening while the Stations and Nugget contests sometimes aren't available until late Saturday night.
Dave Tuley DRF.com
