Bettor wins dispute with Aria sports book

Steven Frith said his Las Vegas weekend was ruined when a rare scoring change in a September Southern California-Utah football game swung the betting result in many sports books from the Utes to the Trojans.

But after weeks of haggling, the Folsom, Calif., resident and USC fan found sweet victory when the Nevada Gaming Control Board ruled in his favor. His $200 check arrived last week.

"I've lost plenty of money in casinos over the years," Frith said. "It seems only fair that they actually pay on the occasions I do win."

Regulators had been taking calls from gamblers and casinos after Pac-12 Conference officials changed the score of the Sept. 10 game two hours after it ended.

Jerry Markling, enforcement chief with the gaming control board, said Monday he wasn't aware of any other pending disputes about the game before the regulators.

USC ultimately won 23-14, scoring its last touchdown on the final play of the game when Matt Kalil blocked a 41-yard field-goal attempt and Torin Harris, a Palo Verde graduate, returned it for a touchdown.

But the touchdown wasn't counted in the box score at first because of an excessive celebration penalty committed by USC. Right after the game, the score was given as 17-14.

USC was favored by roughly 8½ points in most sports books.

Two hours after the game, the Pac-12 said the unsportsmanlike conduct penalties are dead-ball fouls by rule, but this one was automatically declined by rule because the game ended.

The conference then clarified its stance two days later, saying the referees on the field called the play properly.

Normally, the change wouldn't have meant much. But in the betting world, it caused major concern as USC bettors who had scrapped their tickets or thought they were losers found themselves poring over the technicalities of house rules, trying to see how their casino was supposed to handle the situation.

Frith said he spent that Saturday night and Sunday trying to persuade officials at the Aria to pay his second-half wager on USC, which looked sour for the first two hours after the game.

Jay Rood, race and sports book director for MGM Resorts International, which operates the Aria, said at the time that his company's policy is to not recognize scores that are changed based on overturned rulings. But he said Monday that the betting operation was abiding by the regulators' guidance.

Markling, a veteran regulator, said he can't recall any situation like this. But he says it's not clear whether casinos won or lost money because of the USC-Utah score.