Everett, Wash.
Published: Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Bettors mad after Nevada casinos declare Phillies winner of Game 5

Associated Press

 LAS VEGAS -- Bettors cried foul after most Nevada casinos declared the Philadelphia Phillies the winner of Game 5 of the World Series despite it being suspended while tied in the middle of the sixth inning.

Nevada sports books and gambling regulators received complaints Wednesday from bettors angered by rules governing wagers on the rain-delayed contest. But the disputes vary depending on where the bets were placed because rules are not uniform among casinos across the state.

The flap stems from the circumstances surrounding Monday night's game, which resumed Wednesday night in Philadelphia with the Phillies batting in the bottom of the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays tied 2-2.

The Rays, down 2-1 at the start of the sixth, tied it when B.J. Upton scored on a single with two outs. Evan Longoria ended the inning with a flyout, and play was then stopped because of heavy rain.

Unfortunately for most Rays bettors, the unfinished inning meant most sports books reverted to the score at the end of its fifth, the last completed inning. That makes the Phillies the winners and means game over for Rays gamblers.

"We have very stringent rules," said Jason Been, an oddsmaker with Las Vegas Sports Consultants, which provides betting lines for roughly 90 percent of sports books in Nevada. "A baseball game, if it goes 5 innings, is official for betting purposes for betting either team.

"Whatever (commissioner) Bud Selig or anyone in baseball declares is completely different from wagering rules in sports books."

Been and others said the ruling does not mean the books consider the Phillies the winner of the World Series. The Phillies were up 3-1 in the series when Game 5 started.

A top Nevada gambling regulator told The Associated Press that "a handful" of bettors had complained and said the enforcement arm of the Nevada Gaming Commission would investigate if gamblers could not resolve their differences with casinos where they placed bets.

"This is an unusual situation because one, it does not generally occur this way and two, it's a World Series game, and three, Major League Baseball made the decision to do it that way," said Jerry Markling, enforcement chief of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Markling said casinos must submit their rules to state regulators when applying for their gambling licenses, and must post the rules for the public.

The difference in rules has resulted in angry Phillies bettors, too, according to MGM Mirage Inc. Race and Sports Books director Jay Rood.

Their rules say the game is still live until Major League Baseball declares a winner, a change from rules used during the regular season, Rood said.

"It's playoff baseball, and it's different," Rood said.

Rood said he had received complaints from Phillies bettors who expected to be paid under the rules used during the regular season.

"Some of the guys that bet baseball normally, that's why they're upset," Rood said. "They're like, 'Hey, if this was a game in July, you would have paid this way.' And that's correct, we would have paid that way."

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On the Net:

Nevada Gaming Commission: http://gaming.nv.gov/

Major League Baseball: www.mlb.com
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA