Las Vegas sports books allow Heisman Trophy betting for first time

Quick. Name the last five Heisman Trophy winners.

Without Googling the answer, we'd be willing to bet you couldn't come up with Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston, Johnny Manziel, Robert Griffin III and Cam Newton. But for the first time ever in Nevada, bettors can place wagers on who will win the Heisman, which is awarded annually to college football's most outstanding player.

After receiving approval from the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Sept. 11, Station Casinos posted the state's first Heisman Trophy odds on Oct. 5. Louisiana State running back Leonard Fournette is the 9-5 favorite, followed by Texas Christian quarterback Trevone Boykin (5-1) and Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott (8-1) and Baylor quarterback Seth Russell (8-1).

"We had asked (Gaming Control) for the Heisman on several occasions because we think it will be a popular bet," Red Rock sports book director Jason McCormick said. "Right out of the box, it hasn't been real popular because, in part, we're five games into the season and a handful of players have really separated themselves in the Heisman watch.

"But we're really looking forward to next year, when we put this up before the season starts and 30 to 50 players all will have an opportunity."

In January 2011, the NGCB changed its regulations to allow the state's sports books to offer wagers on events other than a horse race, greyhound race or athletic event.

"After that, licensees could submit other events for approval," said Karl Bennison, chief of the NGCB, enforcement division.

Under regulation 22.120, the board has allowed wagering on each of the last five World Series of Poker, the 2015 National Handicapping Championship, the 2014 Horse of the Year and the 2011 National Championship Air Races.

Betting on the Heisman Trophy — the first voted-upon event allowed at Nevada sports books — must end on Nov. 15, before voting starts for the award, which will be presented on Dec. 12.

"We set the cutoff date well in advance of the ballots even being sent out," Bennison said. "That way, there's built-in, extra security. There's no way any inside information or leak can get out."

McCormick said he hopes the Heisman decision paves the way for approval of wagers on Super Bowl Most Valuable Players, Cy Young Award winners and other such awards.

"We've just got to make sure we understand how these decisions are made and the voting processes to win those awards," he said. "How great would the Cy Young action be this year with (Zack) Greinke, (Jake) Arrieta and (Clayton) Kershaw. That would be fantastic to put up right now.

"Those would be cool bets not just now, but before the season starts. Jake Arrieta came out of nowhere."

Bennison said it's possible such wagers will be approved in the future.

"Certainly we would entertain the requests as we get them and review them on a case-by-case basis," he said. "There was obviously an interest to post wagers like this."

Bennison said betting on politics is expressly prohibited, so forget about loading up on Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton to win the 2016 presidential election. As for wagering on the Academy Awards and other such events, he said, "we'd have to look at the voting process and make sure we were comfortable with the way everything's tabulated and secured."

In addition to the aforementioned Heisman candidates, Georgia running back Nick Chubb was at 7-1 odds before suffering a season-ending knee injury Saturday at Tennessee that knocked him off the board.

Florida State running back Dalvin Cook is on the rise. After opening at 40-1 odds, he's down to 16-1 after compiling 269 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday's win over rival Miami.

Falling fast is California quarterback Jared Goff, who opened at 40-1 but dropped to 100-1 after throwing five interceptions in Saturday's loss at Utah.

Fournette, a sophomore who leads the nation in rushing (1,022 yards) and TDs (12), might be the prohibitive favorite, but McCormick envisions someone else striking the Heisman pose.

"The guy I personally like is Boykin, just because Fournette is gonna have some tough SEC games ahead of him and he could be held below 100 yards in any of those games," he said. "TCU is going to put up 50 to 60 points a week. Boykin is not going to slump at all."

Wanna bet on it? For the first time ever in Nevada, you can.