Sportsbooks Stand to Lose Over $1 Million With Rays Win

The Las Vegas Review Journal on Tuesday reported that the Tampa Bay Rays, a 200-1 long shot in April to win the 2008 World Series, is making several sports book directors nervous in Las Vegas, and the same is true at online gambling enterprises the likes of Bookmaker.com and Sportsbook.com

"I don't think it will be a vastly popular matchup, but there is some drama that could unfold and people could get excited about it," MGM Mirage sports book director Jay Rood told the Review Journal.

There is plenty of drama in Las Vegas, where some sports books are facing six-figure losses if Tampa Bay wins the World Series, that paper reports.

Las Vegas Hilton sports book director Jay Kornegay said he's looking at a smaller potential loss, but he's definitely rooting against the Rays.

"It's not that we're going to get destroyed and be forced to shut down the book," Kornegay said. "I would call it a solid loser. It's not an astronomical number.

"But it doesn't take much to accumulate liability when you're giving out 200-1 odds."

Sports books normally hold 25 to 30 percent of futures wagers, so even small losses are unexpected. No specific figures were available, but sources indicated the state's cumulative World Series losses on Tampa Bay could easily top $1 million.

"After the All-Star break, I saw this team wasn't going to go away. I was able to get us in a much better spot," Rood told the Journal.

Because most books need to attract Phillies money in the World Series, the Rays opened as bigger favorites. Rood said Tampa Bay should be "realistically" about a minus-130 favorite.

"The line is probably a little inflated because everyone is not in a great position on the Rays in the World Series," said Rood, adding that "most of the damage was done" with wagers on Tampa Bay to win the American League at 75-1 odds.

You can bet the Rays online at around -150 at either Bookmaker.com and Sportsbook.com