Popular US Oddsmakers
NFL
Broncos (Denver) +260
Ravens (Baltimore) -320
MLB
Braves (Atlanta) Lowe +143
Giants (San Francisco) Lincecum -153
NBA
Miami Heat +160
Los Angeles Lakers +250
Boston Celtics +1000
Have you ever wondered who sets the odds like the ones above?
Today most Nevada casinos that offer sports betting get their opening odds from private companies like Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LSVC).
LSVC has been in the business since 1982, and is touted today as the world's largest oddsmaking company. LSVC blends online technology with personal service to provide odds and point spreads to all major Las Vegas and international sports books.
LVSC is said to be the world's most respected authority because of its available comprehensive collection of sports gaming resources. Some reports say that LVSC sets the point spreads for 90 percent of Nevada's sports books.
LSVC is headed by Chief Operating Officer Kenny White and Odds Director Tony Sinisi.
Before LSVC, there was Athletic Publications, Inc., popularly known as "the Minneapolis Clearing House". It was started by Leo Hirschfield in the mid 1930s in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Hirschfield had a team of handicappers who analyze the matchups and study newspapers across the country. They subscribe to 59 daily and Sunday newspapers, and study 97 college papers (including the Harvard Crimson and Yale Daily News).
In 1940, Hirschfield bought the Minneapolis' Gorham Press, which published a weekly football record. Under Athletic Publications, Inc., the press puts out schedules and record books from basketball to football to baseball.
The company published and distributed odds to bookies across the United States through telephone and telegraph. It was reported that clients paid up to $25 a week then.
The company was a major provider of odds and prices until it finally disbanded, under fear of prosecution from the Federal Wire Act of 1961.