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

SHOPPING FOR THE BEST PRICE: Handicapper finds new world

Mouse clicks replace frequent trips around town

Handicapper Ted Sevransky takes a break Friday in his home office in northwest Las Vegas. Back in 1998, Sevransky spent hours each day in Las Vegas traffic, shopping at sports books for the best price possible on favored games. Now he has about 12 accounts open at sports books in the Caribbean and other spots around the globe. "The single biggest advantage is time," he says. Photos by Isaac Brekken Ted Sevransky works in his home office in northwest Las Vegas. "I know there are a lot of handicappers out there who don't bet on their games at all," he says. "I don't think that's right. If you're going to advise your client to bet on a game, you damn well better get to the window and bet it yourself. I'm not a salesman. I'm a bettor."

It was an exhaustive search that led him from one casino to the next, and Ted Sevransky followed the same path daily. He was new to Las Vegas and was searching for a number, but he was not looking for a girlfriend.

Sevransky was looking for the best number, whether it be 3 1/2 on an underdog or 2 1/2 on a favorite, and was shopping at sports books for the best price possible.

"I had a route that I would take every day and it would take me about three hours. I would drive around and sit through traffic," said Sevransky, who lived in an apartment near the Hard Rock Hotel, where his journey started.

His next stop was Ellis Island for the Leroy's sports book, then he would cross the street to check out the Cal Neva lines at Bourbon Street. After that, it was on to Bally's, Barbary Coast, The Mirage and Stardust.

That was in 1998, when the world of a professional sports bettor still revolved around the Las Vegas lines. But the offshore explosion was opening up a new world for bettors such as Sevransky, who saw the future three years later when he moved away from the Strip.

Now, the 37-year-old lives in a new house in northwest Las Vegas and does his betting almost exclusively online at sports books in the Caribbean and other spots around the globe.

He has about 12 accounts open at places called CRIS, Millennium, Olympic and Pinnacle. Instead of starting his car, he turns on a computer and clicks a mouse.

"The single biggest advantage is time," Sevransky said. "I can look on my computer and see every book that I have and every line that is available to me in a matter of a few minutes, as opposed to driving around Las Vegas and doing it in a few hours. Once you move away from the Strip, it's the convenience factor."

Betting on the best number is essential to serious gamblers, the people who play games for work. There are several of those people in Las Vegas, but now more than ever they are doing business offshore.

If the prevailing point spread is 10 on a given game in Las Vegas, chances are an offshore book somewhere is offering 11 1/2, and Sevransky will be there to jump on the underdog.

"A square bettor doesn't realize how much a half-point can make a difference over the course of your season, and I'm going to get at least a half-point better on every game than the average Joe," he said. "It's going to make a big difference in my bottom line. It's going to be worth thousands of dollars.

"If you're doing it for recreation or for fun, it's one thing. If you're doing it for a source of income and a way to make a living, it's another story entirely."

Sevransky didn't always do this for a living. Before earning a bachelor's degree in international development from the University of Michigan in 1992, he did volunteer work for the United Nations in Africa. He hoped to help Third World countries in some way.

But while managing a sports bar and, he said, a small bookmaking operation, he lost his way back to Africa and stumbled into a new career.

"I had a good year betting football games and decided to do it full time," he said. "It's not easy. I had no idea. I'm sure most people who come to Vegas have no idea what the realities are of betting."

Sevransky started posting his plays in online chat rooms and became a professional handicapper in 1999 by launching his Web site, whocovers.com. He has gone from having a handful of clients to having "hundreds" on his new site, sportsmemo.com.

He bets by depositing money in offshore accounts and by settling up with agents -- representatives for offshore books -- who live in Las Vegas.

"I'm not a huge player. I bet nickels ($500) and dimes ($1,000) as my standard wager size," he said. "I know there are a lot of handicappers out there who don't bet on their games at all. I don't think that's right. If you're going to advise your client to bet on a game, you damn well better get to the window and bet it yourself. I'm not a salesman. I'm a bettor."

As a handicapper who frequently makes his picks public either in the newspaper or on the radio, Sevransky can't hide when he has a bad day or a bad year. Last year, his NFL selections went sour, and his record against the spread in the Las Vegas Hilton SuperContest was 32-50-3.

"The last NFL season for me was not profitable," he said. "I have a job to do and my job is to pick winners for my clients, and last year I didn't do that in the NFL. I did do it in other sports, but not in the NFL, and that is the most public sport."

By betting offshore, he can find multiple outs on games -- meaning he can hedge or middle his bets at the most advantageous numbers -- and lay reduced vigorish of minus-105 when most Las Vegas books offer the standard minus-110.

Nevada books are regulated and the payout is guaranteed. There is an unknown element to betting offshore, but Sevransky said he never has seen his money disappear from an offshore account.

"There was a period of time in which it was like the Wild West," he said. "There was a lot of crazy stuff going on with the offshore books, and a couple of big-name books went belly up, people got busted and people got left with very little or nothing. Those days are past."

Although locals often criticize Las Vegas books for lowering betting limits or posting unfair futures odds, Sevransky said taking business offshore is the alternative to complaining.

"The books in town don't owe us anything," he said. "I understand the business model of Las Vegas books. I understand many of the creative bookmakers in town have their hands tied. It's not like I'm mad at the books for not giving me more options.

"They can do whatever they want to do, but I have that right too, and I'm betting the majority of the time offshore. The books are here as a service for customers that stay in that particular hotel-casino. They're not here as a profit center for sharp bettors."