Sunday, September 11, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

RANKING THE BEST: Hilton sports book tops bettor's list

Competition cited for sparking director's creativity

Jay Kornegay runs the sports book at the Las Vegas Hilton. Kornegay's efforts have earned him the No. 1 spot on professional bettor Steve Fezzik's unscientific rating of the best sports books in Las Vegas. Photo by John Gurzinski.

Few professional bettors are more qualified to critique Las Vegas sports books than Steve Fezzik. He visits almost all of them on a regular basis and bets big.

Fezzik is welcomed into most books but has been thrown out of others.

"I oftentimes don't speak well of sports books," he said, and he's not alone.

Every sports book director gets more criticism than he cares to hear. Fair or not, that comes with the job when money is involved and people are parting with it. But some directors also get their share of props, including Jay Kornegay of the Las Vegas Hilton.

Fezzik uses 10 factors to judge the best sports books: favorable odds, an easy-to-read betting board filled with product, high betting limits, attitude, large and plentiful viewing screens, accessible parking and seating, ambience, character, comping policy and intangibles.

Based on his unscientific rating system, and realizing that every bettor has a personal preference, Fezzik's opinion is that Kornegay runs the No. 1 sports book in Las Vegas.

"The product the Hilton offers is tremendous," said Fezzik, who calls Kornegay "much more innovative" than his peers for the wide array of proposition bets he offers.

The Hilton stages the prestigious $1,500 buy-in NFL SuperContest, which annually draws the highest-profile handicappers, and this year Kornegay is posting first half and halftime lines on every college and NFL game.

Kornegay said the competition he faces in town and from offshore books has sparked his creativity to find ways to attract business.

He has posted better odds on futures, parlay cards and teasers, occasionally offers minus-105 vigorish and has upgraded the Hilton's book to add seating and televisions.

"We obviously have more competition and we get more aggressive. We have a long wagering menu," Kornegay said. "What I believe players look for is convenience, value and product.

"Sometimes, I think it's just human nature to complain. It's easier to gripe about things than for people to say, `You know what, you guys are doing a pretty good job.' But we do receive a lot of compliments."

Fezzik hosted the local radio show "You Can Bet On It" this summer and is entered in every major handicapping contest in Las Vegas. A graduate of Northwestern University, he left his job as a vice president and actuary for a major insurance company in 2001 to be a full-time sports bettor.

He is on a never-ending hunt for the best odds in Las Vegas, which has more than 25 books with independent lines, and said the city is staying competitive with the offshore market.

On his top 10 list of books, Wynn Las Vegas comes in at No. 2, mostly because director John Avello takes some of the highest limits in town, $10,000 on NFL sides as early as July, for example.

"Wynn is doing everything right," Fezzik said, noting one negative is that the seating area is too small. "They're not afraid and they're gambling with people."

The Stardust is ranked No. 3 on Fezzik's list mostly because it posts the first numbers in Nevada and respected handicapper John Kelly hosts daily radio shows.

Fezzik (fezziksplace.com) does not rank the rest of his top 10 that includes Caesars Palace, Coast Casinos, the Hard Rock Hotel, Leroy's, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage and the Palms. The order often changes.

"Coast properties take bigger bets than anybody else in town and they stay open all night. They will accommodate anyone," he said.

Fezzik prefers the Hard Rock Hotel and the Palms for their high limits, "hip factor" and abundance of attractive women in the casinos.

Leroy's earns high marks for starting three new contests, weekly radio shows and superb customer service.

"If you have extremely fortunate luck against Leroy's, they pay you instead of howling about it," Fezzik said. "If you're a gambler in town and you're betting big, you're going to have your bad days and good days, and your really good days and really bad days.

"When I have a really bad day, I don't go up and yell and scream and get upset at the sports book. So I'm offended when a sports book does the same with me, like I've done something wrong when I've won. If you sweat winners and actively bar people, you don't make my top 10."

He excludes the Aladdin and dropped the Golden Nugget from his list. The Aladdin has no convenient parking, and, he said, "Another disadvantage is if you win too much, security will escort you out of the Aladdin. That did happen to me once. It's real hard to get in, real hard to get out."

His knock against the Nugget is "new management, new attitude and they don't want to gamble anymore."

Offshore books are luring most of the business, but Fezzik said Las Vegas is making a comeback.

"Vegas isn't dead," he said. "You've got the offshore, but there's still a lot of people much more comfortable betting against the Vegas books.

"I really think in Vegas, I can see there being a renaissance in sports betting, just like poker."