A look at NFL handicapping with the PFW editor lobbying to become Las Vegas bureau chief.
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The Patriots-Dolphins line, off the board earlier today in Las Vegas because of apparently unfounded speculation about QB Tom Brady's playing status, is back up at most Las Vegas sportsbooks followed by VegasInsider.com.
Earlier Thursday, rumors that Brady was questionable with a head injury along with a flurry of bets on the underdog Dolphins, caused the game to be taken off the board at some Las Vegas sportsbooks earlier on Thursday. However, Brady practiced fully on Thursday, and there are absolutely no indications he will not start vs. the Dolphins. Brady was listed on the NFL's practice status / injury report Thursday with a right shoulder injury, but he has been listed with this injury for several years, and it has never kept him out of the lineup. Brady also practiced fully on Wednesday.
Rumors of Brady's status perhaps being in doubt spread earlier Thursday in the sports-betting world, causing many sportsbooks in Las Vegas to act quickly to take the game off the board once wagers started coming in on Miami, driving the line down a couple of points.
Jimmy Vaccaro, the director of sports operations and public relations at Lucky's Race and Sports Book in Nevada, told PFW Thursday he took Patriots-Dolphins off the board "90 seconds" after taking a "limit bet" or the biggest bet allowed by the house on a particular day, on Miami getting five points.
Tony Sinisi, odds director for Las Vegas Sports Consultants, Inc., which provides odds and pointspread guidance to Nevada casinos, said he was "skeptical" of the rumor, but oddsmakers were wise to take the game off the board, he said.
"You go the safety route, because you've got a lot of time to book the game," he said.