Each week we will present the selections of some of the nation's leading handicapers
as they compete for cash prizes and handicapping acclaim. Three such contests have
attracted national notoriety. Two of the contests, those sponsored by the Las
Vegas Hilton and the Sunset Station Hotel and Casino, are season-long
contests with the same contestants making selections each week against the Las Vegas
pointspread. The third contest, sponsored by the the Stardust Race & Sports
Book, is an invitational tournament with 16 invited handicappers participating
in a one-on-one elimination format that runs for 15 weeks with just one of the 16
contestants surviving.
Out of respect for the handicappers who participate
in the season-long contests, and thereby provide selections each week, we will not
reveal the names of the individuals, many of whom have their own consulting servies
for which they charge a fee for selections. The identities are known to those of
us who reside in, or travel weekly to, Las Vegas. Clients of Logical Approach may
telephone our offices if they would like further details on the contestants and/or
selections.
We will be identifying the participants in the Stardust Invitational
because of its unique head-to-head format and because the successful participants
will only appear a handful of times over the course of the season, with the winner
advancing and the loser being eliminated.
Contest Format -- 16 nationally prominent celebrities & handicappers
have been invited by the management of the Stardust Race & Sports Book to compete
for a winner-take-all $10,000 prize. Each week two contestants are matched against
each other in a head to head meeting with each handicapper making 7 selections against
the pointspread at the Stardust using the line at approximately 8:30 PM (the contest
airs over radio station KDWN (AM 720) at 9:00 PM and is also available for broadcast
on the Internet). One of the 7 selections is designated as a Best Bet. The winner
is determined by the handicapper having the greater winning percentage with all selections
rated equally. The Best Bet is used only as a tie breaker in the event both handicappers
have the same record on all 7 selections. Pushes are ignored (thus 5-2 would lose
to 4-1-2). The winner will be the handicapper who successfully wins a total of 4
matches with the finals to be held in week 15, December 17, 1999. The weekly contest
is held in the Race & Sports Book at the Stardust at 9:00 PM on Fridays and is
open to the public.
DANA CORBO's SELECTIONS --
Miami - 7 1/2 over San Diego
Detroit/Chicago
OVER 37
Pittsburgh + 8 1/2 over Kansas City
Dallas - 5 1/2 over N Y Jets
Oakland
Pick 'em over Tampa Bay
New England - 4 over Philadelphia
New Orleans/Baltimore
OVER 41 1/2 (BEST BET)
PAPA JOE CHEVALIER'S SELECTIONS
Baltimore
- 8 1/2 over New Orleans
San Francisco + 7 over Carolina
Pittsburgh + 8 1/2
over Kansas City
Chicago + 3 over Detroit
N Y Giants + 10 1/2 over St Louis
Green
Bay + 4 over Minnesota
Buffalo - 3 over Arizona (BEST BET)
NEXT WEEK: Congratulations to the 1999 Champion -- PAPA JOE CHEVALIER
Results
of Previous Matches
First Round Results--
Ron Futrell and Ken White
Tied at 5-2
(Ron Futrell (4-3) wins Playoff)
Papa Joe Chevalier (4-3) defeated
Jimmy Vacarro
Russ Culver (4-3) defeated Keith Glantz
Dave Cokin (6-1) defeated
Dave Malinsky
Larry Ness (4-3) defeated Cliff Stoudt
Dana Corbo (4-2-1) defeated
Jay Kornegay
Al Bernstein (3-4) defeated Michael Pomer
Greg Daraban (4-2-1)
defeated Jimmy Rotunda
Second Round Results --
Dana Corbo (4-3)
defeated Dave Cokin
Papa Joe Chevalier (3-4) defeated Al Bernstein
Russ Culver
(4-3) defeated Greg Daraban
Larry Ness (4-3) defeated Ron Futrell
Semi
Finals
Dana Corbo (5-2) defeated Russ Culver
Papa Joe Chevalier (3-4) defeated
Larry Ness
Through all 15 weeks of the contest, the handicappers have
combined
to go 109-110-5 for 49.8% with Best Bets going 18-14-0 for 56.3%
Contest Format -- Eleven reputable and natinally or regionally prominent
handicappers have been invited to participate in the contest. Each contestant makes
6 selections against the pointspread (generally Wednesday noon lines are used),
designating one selection as a Best Bet. Each regular winner is worth 2 points; a
Best Bet winner is worth 3 points, all pushes (including Best Bets) are worth 1 points;
losers are worth 0 points. The top four contestants after 15 weeks advance to the
semi-final with the top two advancing to a head-to-head final in week 17. With 13
points available to be won each week, through 15 weeks a 'perfect score' would be
195 points.
In week 16 the top four finishers from the first fifteen weeks
will compete according the same rules except that this phase of the contest runs
just one week. The top two finishers in week 16 will compete head-to-head in week
17 for the 1999 Sunset Station Handicapping Championship and $5,000 winner-take-all
first prize.
Results for the 15 full weeks of the Contest
Selections of Contestant
# 1 (Finished tied for 9th place with 103 points; Best Bets 9-6-0)
Selections
of Contestant # 2 (Finished tied for 5th place with 114 points; Best Bets 10-5-0)
Selections
of Contestant # 3 (Finished in 3rd place with 119 points; Best Bets 11-4-0)
Selections
of Contestant # 4 (Finished in 2nd place with 126 points; Best Bets 11-4-0)
Selections
of Contestant # 5 (Finished tied for 9th place with 103 points; Best Bets 6-9-0)
Selections
of Contestant # 6 (Finished tied for 5th place with 114 points; Best Bets 9-6-0)
Selections
of Contestant # 7 (Finished in 1st place with 134 points; Best Bets 11-4-0)
Selections
of Contestant # 8 (Finished in 7th place with 111 points; Best Bets 8-7-0)
Selections
of Contestant # 9 (Finished in 8th place with 107 points; Best Bets 9-6-0)
Selections
of Contestant # 10 (Finished in 11th place with 83 points; Best Bets 6-9-0)
Selections
of Contestant # 11 (Finished in 4th place with 117 points; Best Bets 10-5-0)
Collectively
the 11 handicappers have gone 453-351-21 (56.3%) on their regular selections and
they
have gone 100-65-0 (60.6%) on their Best Bets for a total record of 553-416-21 (57.1%)
Contest Format -- The SuperContest is open to anyone who pays the entry
fee. Each entrant pays a $1,500 entry fee with 90% of the fees being returned
to the winners. Only the top 20 places (and ties) are paid. Historically, a 60%
winning percentage will finish in the Top Twenty. Each contestant must make five
selections each week vs. the pointspread (generally the lines at the Hilton as of
noon on Tuesdays). Each winning selection counts 1 point; a push counts 1/2 point;
losses are 0 points.
xxx Contestants submitted selections for week 17
MINNESOTA
(32) - 7 vs. Detroit (19)
GREEN BAY (29) - 7 1/2 vs. Arizona (15)
N Y JETS
(63) - 1 1/2 vs. Seattle (22)
KANSAS CITY (63) - 4 1/2 vs. Oakland
(24)
Baltimore (56) - 1 1/2 vs. NEW ENGLAND (18)
Indianapolis (41) -
1 1/2 vs. BUFFALO (43)
Tampa Bay (18) - 3 1/2 vs. CHICAGO (30)
JACKSONVILLE
(27) - 8 1/2 vs. Cincinnati (14)
CAROLINA (35) - 8 1/2 vs. New Orleans (17)
St
Louis (27) - 8 1/2 vs. PHILADELPHIA (25)
DALLAS (16) - 6 1/2 vs. N Y Giants (25)
DENVER
(32) - 7 vs. San Diego (14)
WASHINGTON (34) - 3 1/2 vs. Miami (12)
Tennessee
(26) - 3 1/2 vs. PITTSBURGH (48)
ATLANTA (16) - 6 1/2 vs. San Francisco
(14)
Top 5 selections are in Bold type
#
in parentheses indicates contestants selecting that team
(i.e. 32 contestants
took Minnesota -7 1/2 over Detroit)
HOME TEAM is in CAPS
In theory, all of the six can tie for first place if the leader goes 0-5 and
the others get enough wins to reach 55. But with the likelihood of overlapping selections
the leader, up by 2 games, is favored to win with at worst 2-3.
THESE
SELECTIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE BEFORE 8 AM PDT SATURDAY MORNING
MINNESOTA
(2) - 7 vs. Detroit (1)
GREEN BAY (3) - 7 1/2 vs. Arizona (0)
N Y JETS
(2) - 1 1/2 vs. Seattle (1)
KANSAS CITY (2) - 4 1/2 vs. Oakland (1)
Baltimore
(3) - 1 1/2 vs. NEW ENGLAND (0)
Indianapolis (0) - 1 1/2 vs. BUFFALO (2)
Tampa
Bay (0) - 3 1/2 vs. CHICAGO (3)
JACKSONVILLE (1) - 8 1/2 vs. Cincinnati
(0)
CAROLINA (0) - 8 1/2 vs. New Orleans (0)
St Louis (0) - 8 1/2 vs. PHILADELPHIA
(0)
DALLAS (0) - 6 1/2 vs. N Y Giants (1)
DENVER (0) - 7 vs. San Diego (0)
WASHINGTON
(1) - 3 1/2 vs. Miami (1)
Tennessee (1) - 3 1/2 vs. PITTSBURGH (3)
ATLANTA
(2) - 6 1/2 vs. San Francisco (0)
Currently the leader is at
55-25-0 (68.8%)
There are 6 contestants at 50-30-0 (62.5%) or better
There
are 15 contestants at 48-32-0 (60%) or better
Leaders' most
popular selection(s) will be shown in Bold type