Matt Holthe's Fleeting Thoughts

Just let me dream for a moment.... Let's say that Illinois wins its last 2 games - beating Michigan State at home and Penn State on the road. Illinois is 13-5 in the Big Ten. Then, let's say that Purdue wins its last 3 games - beating Ohio State and Northwestern at home and Michigan State on the road. Purdue is also 13-5. And that gives Michigan State 2 more losses. They will beat Indiana in their other game and they will end up 13-5 in the Big Ten. A three way tie for first. I don't know how the tie breaker works for the Big Ten tournament, but (assuming the above happens) Illinois is 2-0 against Purdue and 1-1 against Michigan State (3-1 overall). Purdue is 2-0 against Michigan State and 0-2 against Illinois (2-2 overall). Michigan State is 0-2 against Purdue and 1-1 against Illinois (1-3 overall). That would give Illinois the #1 seed in the Big Ten tournament (I hope). That would be very nice. If Illinois gets the #2 or #3 seed in the tournament and has to play Purdue in...

The game wasn't on here in Colorado, but Illinois won tonight. Now they have 2 games left in the regular season and are 23-6 for the year. They play Michigan State on Sunday (on CBS, so I should be able to watch it) and then at Penn State next Thursday on ESPN (I should be able to watch that one as well). I have been very surprised about the Illini this year. I thought that maybe they would have a chance to make the NCAA tournament. They are solidly in, and even have a chance at a #5 seed if they play well down the stretch.

Silver Creek High School in Longmont, CO is within walking distance of my house. Last night, Jacy Drobney had 16 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds in the girls basketball win. According to the local paper (emphasis mine), "Junior guard Jacy Drobney collected what is believed to be the first triple-double in Silver Creek history." Silver Creek opened in 2001. Don't you think they would know if there has been a triple-double before? I mean, c'mon, it's only been 8 years.

The next time I go to Las Vegas, there's a new casino with a nice sports book to check out. It's way up in North Las Vegas. Since it's not on the strip and not downtown, it caters to locals. That's a good thing - that usually means better games at lower stakes. For example, many strip casinos are going to a 6-to-5 payout on natural blackjacks instead of the traditional 3-to-2. The new hotel is called the Aliante Station . You can find a MapQuest to the location here: http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=North+Las+Vegas&state=NV&address=7300+Aliante+Parkway&zipcode=89084 The race and sportsbook has 170 "uncommonly comfortable" seats (according to Casino Player). There are three HUGE video screens measuring 96 feet by 18 feet and span the book's entire wall. There are 24 additional 64-inch LDC TV's and another 126 individual 15-inch monitors. Next to the sportsbook is a lounge with 105 seats and 35 screens. Something to check out on a future tri...

In college football, there is the concept of the "BCS" conferences. These conferences are: Big East Southeastern Conference (SEC) Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Big Ten Big 12 Pac 10 These 6 conferences generally get the lion's share of at-large bids to the NCAA tournament. How often does a team from outside a BCS conference make it to the Final Four and/or the National Championship game in college basketball? Using Wikipedia as a reference, here is the list going back to 1985. Note that going back that far includes references to conferences before the "big 6" really came to be. (It was also when the "Big 12" was known as the "Big 8" and before lots of other changes were made). 1985. Memphis State (Metro) 1986. Louisville (Metro) 1987. UNLV (Big West) 1988 and 1989. none 1990 and 1991. UNLV (Big West) 1992. Cincinnati (Great Midwest) 1993, 1994, and 1995. none 1996. Massachusetts (Atlantic 10) 1997. none 1998. Utah (Western Athletic) 1999, ...

I subscribe to Casino Player magazine. In the January, 2009, issue, there is a "tip of the month" that I thought I'd like to post. Did you know you can reserve a blackjack table for yourself, or for you and your spouse or group of friends? The cost is not as extravagant as you might think. For example, the Luxor will allow you to reserve a blackjack table during the week for yourself and four friends, with these requirements: Each player must buy in for at least $300, bet a minimum of $15 per hand, and play for a minimum of one hour. You must book the game at least 24 hours in advance. If you bring a total of six players, the minimum-betting requirement drops to only $10 per hand. (The buy-in and minimum-betting requirements are slightly higher for Friday and Saturday.) Many other casinos will also allow you book a game. Just call and ask. This is a good reminder for a future trip - get a table for a guys trip.

I guess I'm a couple years late joining the party, but I've started a blog. This blog will probably center around three major themes: Sports Travel Gambling In the "sports" area, my favorite sport by far is college basketball. But I follow the other major sports. I grew up in central Illinois, and my teams I follow more than any (for pro sports) are from Chicago - the Cubs, the Bears, and the Bulls. For college sports, my Alma Mater is the University of Illinois, so I certainly follow them. But I watch quite a bit of college basketball, so I have a pulse on a lot of teams. In the "travel" area, I do travel quite a bit for business. I may not have a lot of interesting stories here (depends on if I do anything besides work on a particular trip) but I'll keep you posted. In the "gambling" area, I have (in the past) made a few trips to Vegas every year. I like to bet on sports (I love going for the college basketball tournament) and I play blackjac...