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The green is long and wide, but the par-three 17th is anything but easy. From an elevated tee, a medium to long iron will be required to clear the fronting lake and avoid the bunkers deep and right. Let's not forget the tiered putting surface that slopes hard towards the water. The key is picking the right stick, especially when the wind is up. Making par here is no small task. In 2006, this hole was the fourth hardest and 17 players during round one found the water.
FINAL WORD: The Tournament Players Club at Avenel has it all. An outstanding course with immaculate conditioning. The practice facility, clubhouse and amenities, not to mention the generous staff, make this venue one of the best.
The course has a wide variety of nature, including beaver, deer, fish, red fox and many species of birds and fish -- making the TPC of Avenel a cornucopia of wildlife.
Aces, pars or bogeys, send your thoughts to psokol@sportsnetwork.com.
Maestro Analytics: the competitive advantage NORTHWIND’s newest tool to increase revenue for operators is Maestro Analytics Business Intelligence. This powerful data mining solution gives properties and hotel companies access to their organization’s key operating data to support marketing strategies and business decisions. Christy Ashton, assistant controller of Stein Eriksen Lodge, said, "We are a 5-Diamond, 4-Star property going for a 5-Star rating, and service is the critical factor. Maestro Analytics gives us a competitive advantage. It lets us recognize guests instantly on the phone and proactively offer them what they enjoyed with us previously. We have three managers on the system now and expect every department head to be using it in the near future." Ms. Ashton noted that Stein Eriksen Lodge also will use Maestro Analytics to create more effective marketing programs. "It helps us pinpoint our clients’ location and target our marketing budget accordingly."
NORTHWIND specialists also provided HITEC attendees with a tutorial session entitled, "CRM, Business Intelligence and Management Reporting: The Power of Integration." The educational seminar presented operators with new ways to leverage technology for competitive gains. Attendees learned the advantages of integrating data from different departments and properties onto a single database and analyzing it with leading-edge business intelligence applications. The rewards of comprehensive analysis were demonstrated to be a more effective use of marketing budgets and greater efficiency in allocating resources.
About NORTHWIND
Based in Markham, Ontario, Canada, with a network of dealers and offices worldwide, NORTHWIND is a leading supplier of software for all types of hospitality operations including hotels, resorts, timeshares, condominiums, seminaries, state parks, and clubs. Maestro applications are engineered for operators who need to manage their enterprise in a real time environment for the utmost operational control and profitability. Designed to maximize the efficiency of any size single hotel or multi-property enterprise, NORTHWIND's Maestro solution offers the most productive working environment, which includes the following suite of products: PMS, Sales & Catering, Spa & Activities Management, CRM, Corporate Reservations Office, Multi-Property Management, Condo/Owner Management, Yield Management, F&B POS & Online Table Res, Retail POS, GDS Connectivity and ResEze Internet Reservations. This comprehensive multi-platform (Windows 2000/XP, Unix/Linux, Terminal Server & Web Enabled) suite is recognized as the solution of choice for progressive and demanding organizations. NORTHWIND is a total solution provider that offers leading-edge technologies, and unparalleled training and support.
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Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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