Wayne Root Sports Picks For Sale

Hot Streaks and Achievements

  • Prime Time Football Games on a 14-2 Winning Streak
  • Pinnacles are on a 4-0 streak; more to come
  • MLB 42-22 FOR SEASON; Game of year tonight

Biography

Wayne Root launched his career on FNN, and then starred on Proline and The Winning Edge TV shows to build the biggest brand in sports handicapping.

Active since:  1985

Location:  Las Vegas, NV

Wayne Root started his career at age 16 when the media dubbed him "The Betting Whizkid" and "the next Jimmy the Greek."  After graduating from prestigious Ivy League Columbia University, Wayne became the sports gaming expert on NBC Radio New York and NBC Radio Chicago.  Soon he was predicting NFL point spread winners on over 100 NBC Source Radio stations nationwide.  By age 27, Wayne was Jimmy “the Greek's” television partner on Financial News Network (now known as CNBC). ONLY IN AMERICA!  Wayne served as FNN’s Oddsmaker, NFL Analyst and host of its pregame and postgame football shows, including FNN Zone,  Huddle Up, Fantasy Zone, and The Fan Speaks Out.  He was also its anchorman for sports scores and updates.

Following FNN, Wayne was the star and rainmaker of the sports handicapping pregame show Proline on USA TV Network for 10 years. Wayne had the most expensive 900 (pay-per-call) numbers in U.S. telemarketing history:  $50 and $100 per call for his sports betting advice.  Millions of sports gamblers called for Wayne’s famous advice. 
 
Wayne’s national TV football pregame show, The Winning Edge aired from 2000 to 2009 on popular national television networks such as Fox Sports Net, Comcast Sports Net, Superstation WGN, Discovery and Spike TV. 
 
Wayne has been profiled by the biggest media in the world, including CNBC, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Equities, Worth, Success, Financial Times and Robb Report. 
 
Wayne literally “wrote the book" on sports gambling — three books to be exact...
 
ROOT on Risk: Betting to Win on Sports
The Zen of Gambling
The King of Vegas' Guide to Gambling
 
Wayne also co-created, co-executive produced and co-hosted a gambling reality TV show on Spike TV (King of Vegas).

In 2006, Wayne became the only Vegas oddsmaker or sports handicapper ever awarded a star on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars.  The Governor of Nevada presented Wayne's star at the ceremony.  It was named "Wayne Root Day" in the state of Nevada and Clark County (the city of Las Vegas).  Wayne's 180-pound granite star sits in the sidewalk on Las Vegas Blvd along with Vegas legends like Elvis Presley, Liberace, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Siegfield & Roy. 

Some recent highlights:

2020 January and February college basketball Pinnacles 18-8 (70%)
2019 MLB finished in top 5 in USA 
2019 NBA Playoffs 28-13 (68%)
2018 NFL Root Trust won 12 of 17 weeks (71%)
2018 MLB finished in top 8 in USA
2017 March Madness went 71% 

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NFL Top 5 Teams

Sunday, Oct 25, 2020

1) Pittsburgh 5-0 The Steelers are a legitimate contender for AFC supremacy, and next up is an intriguing matchup Sunday with the Titans in a rescheduled game. With both teams 5-0, one team will be in a position to dominate the AFC. Kevin Bush’s knee injury is quite worrisome though, as Pittsburgh’s second level depth is a real concern and could open up a weakness in their great defense. Of course that remains to be seen as they just usually have “it” defensively. Their defense keyed Sunday’s 38-7 rout of Cleveland, holding the previously-hot Browns to 220 total yards with four sacks and two picks against Baker Mayfield. Great game Sunday at Tennessee. 2) Kansas City 4-1 Did anyone see 245 rushing yards coming from the Chiefs in a game in which they possessed the ball for nearly 38 minutes? Did Coach Reid forget he has a NFL great quarterback they paid a boatload of money to use? The defending Super Bowl champions didn’t look like a team that necessarily needed to add former Jets running back Le’Veon Bell after Monday’s game against the Bills. Now the Chiefs add Bell to the running back mix but few understand why. The guess is that Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy will get far more out of Bell than the Jets did. Maybe they’re saving Mahomes for the playoffs.  Also noteworthy:  Kansas City’s improved defense held Josh Allen to just 122 passing yards. 3) Seattle 5-0 Just one of three undefeated teams with the Titans and Steelers. Seattle sits atop the NFC but for how long is anybody’s guess. Their test to move to 6-0 is Sunday in Arizona. But keep your eyes on a potential upset in Arizona as Kyler Murray leads his Cardinals against the unbeaten Seahawks. Seattle will return with consecutive key games against divisional opponents, which should go a long way to determine whether MVP candidate Russell Wilson and the Seahawks will run away with the NFC West. The Seahawks return from their bye to play two straight division games, first at Arizona on Sunday and then at home against the 49ers. There are no easy games in the rugged NFC West. They better hope the defense gets it going soon because that's been an issue all season. The team’s average margin of victory is 6.8 points and all of their opponents have scored at least 23 points. UGH! 4) Tennessee  5-0 Ryan Tannehill and the Titans continue to prove that last year’s run to the AFC title game was no fluke. Their overtime victory over the Texans on Sunday came behind the exploits of QB Ryan Tannehill and RB Derrick Henry.  Ryan Tannehill threw for 364 yards and Derrick Henry ran for 212 while also chipping in with two catches for 52 yards. Derrick Henry (264 total yards Sunday vs. Houston) continues to build a case for MVP honors. On a short week, the Titans beat the AFC East division-leading Buffalo Bills and ran a two-minute drill in a comeback win over the Texans Sunday.  Within seven days, the Titans have likely erased a lot of doubt about their status as a playoff contender.  In Week 7, they'll play the Pittsburgh Steelers in a battle between the AFC's last two undefeated teams. 5) Baltimore 4-1  This team is not functioning at the level that last season’s team did. They are 5-1 heading into their bye and I still don't think they have played close to their best. They have the Steelers coming out of that bye, so they better be ready. Lamar Jackson’s struggles in the passing game are becoming more and more worrisome and the Ravens allowed too many long runs while not creating a consistent run game of their own.  Jackson had his best game of the season running the ball, with 108 yards on nine attempts.  It remains to be seen if he will win more games with his arm or with his legs. THESE TEAMS ARE LOOKING TO OVERTAKE YOU Green BayBuffaloTampa BayArizonaChicago 

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NFL Top 5 Teams

Wednesday, Oct 14, 2020

After five weeks of play, there are just a few teams one would be willing to bet that makes it to the Super Bowl.  Despite their loss on Sunday, the Chiefs are still the team to beat.  The Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Ravens, Seattle Seahawks all look the real deal too. Even Gentle Ben might have something to say. But we do have a new Number One.  1. Green Bay Packers We don’t punish teams in the rankings for taking a week off.  Matt LaFleur’s team has made winning look easy in the opening four games, taking a perfect record into their well-deserved bye week. During their time off, they’ve jumped up in the power rankings.Just who was Matt LaFleur when he was hired to guide Aaron Rodgers a few years ago? Matt LaFleur has made them one of the toughest teams in the entire NFL as they’ve quietly won 20 games while losing only three in the regular season under his watchful eye. That’s who he is! Despite the fact they’ve just been on a bye week, the Packers’ 152 points this season is still good for fourth-most in the NFL. LaFleur and Rodgers (and Hammerstein) have connected...somehow. They were 4-0 heading into their bye and haven’t scored less than 30 points in any game this season. The Packers are also the only team in the league to not turn the ball over a single time this season.  This Sunday's Aaron Rodgers and Tom (GOAT) Brady matchup should be great. 2. Kansas City Chiefs We listened unmercifully on every local Las Vegas sports radio talk show on how the LV Raiders were going to defeat the Chiefs leading up to their Sunday game. No one could take all the hype seriously, could they? We now get to hear all the local experts regurgitate the almighty “I told you so”. (Gag me). The 8-point loss represents the worst defeat of Patrick Mahomes’ young NFL career. How did the Chiefs defense get carved up by Derek Carr? More concerning is that offensive line in front of Patrick Mahomes. In all honesty, this was the Chiefs’ second relatively poor performance in a four-week span. They just haven’t been the same freewheeling  consistently crisp team enough to hold the top spot. I am sure that Mahomes would bet he’ll be back in the final game of the NFL season. Book it!  3. Seattle Seahawks  The Seahawks were fortunate to survive on Sunday night, but the Vikings are better than their 1-4 record absolutely proves that Russell Wilson and D.K. Metcalf are a deadly duo right now. Definitely better yet, never give Russell Wilson a second chance. The Minnesota Vikings learned this the hard way as they elected to go for a fourth-and-1 from the Seattle Seahawks six-yard line while leading by five. Refusing to go up by eight points with a chipshot field goal, Zimmer had to face everyone for an explanation. The Seahawks defense stuffed the Vikings and that gave Wilson the ball. (Make that the “game ball”). That was a huge mistake. While he had less than two minutes to go 94-yards, there was little doubt he would do just that. And the results are in. Seattle remains undefeated and the Russell Wilson for MVP chants are growing after that remarkable comeback. He’s now leading one of only two undefeated NFC teams and is playing better than just about everyone right now. Many would love to see a Wilson-Mahomes Super Bowl matchup.   4. Baltimore Ravens  Perhaps the Ravens were scolded too much afterwards for their loss to the Chiefs. They're still very clearly one of the best teams in the AFC. You get to watch a sea of talent when you watch the Baltimore Ravens. It’s not enough that they have an MVP under center in Lamar Jackson who can tear teams apart with the run or pass, but they also have to have one of the best (if not the best) tight end in the game right now in Mark Andrews. And there’s more. Marquise Brown can score in the blink of an eye. The Ravens also boast the deepest stable of running backs in the NFL with Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards, and J.K. Dobbins.  Right now, the Ravens' only loss was to the Chiefs which hurts them in the standings but not from having a very solid chance of making it to the Super Bowl.   5. Pittsburgh Steelers   With the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens nipping at their heels coming into last weekend, the Pittsburgh Steelers just kept ignoring everything going on around them as they went on to win another game and go to 5-0.  The Steelers aren't even overly impressive, but they're steady, deadly and they keep winning games.  Last week, in a high scoring affair, they ended up taking out an in-state rival as they were able to beat up on the Philadelphia Eagles at home. I believe that we’ll be hearing Roethlisberger to Claypool for a touchdown over and over for the remainder of the season.  This rookie, Chase Claypool, scored four touchdowns and definitely looks like a future star.  They are looking to move up into the NFL Top Five.   Tennessee  Buffalo  LA Rams Cleveland  Chicago

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Top 5 NFL Rankings (Thru Week 4)

Thursday, Oct 08, 2020

We’re speaking of the NFL, where it’s topsy and turvy week-in and week-out. It’s like the swinging doors of the Wild West saloons. Expectedly, there have been some major upswings and downward falls. But those are from the lower-tiered teams.  1. Kansas City Never, ever take the defending Super Bowl champions out of the No. 1 spot in the Power Rankings until they lose their first game. Prior to Week 4, no team had started 4-0 in four consecutive seasons. While everyone gives credit to Patrick Mahomes and Coach Reid, Kansas City's underrated defense deserves praise. Kansas City‘s defense looks more capable over the last couple of weeks. It was only a few years ago they ranked number 30 or lower. Now, Kansas City is alone on top of the heap after one fourth of the season is behind us. Maybe a division game will slow them down.  2. Green Bay Rodgers looks as electric as ever and the Packers look very tough to beat. In fact, they may be in their own separate tier above the Ravens and just below the Chiefs. It must have helped motivate Rodgers when Green Bay drafted a rookie quarterback. But it’s all roses now and Aaron even seems to get along with his coach. Look out when his wide receivers get healthy and return and they bank win after win in their NFC North Division games. That offense is playing at an elite level. Aaron Rodgers is clearly in the MVP race.   3. Baltimore  They bounced back in nice fashion against Washington, but it wasn't exactly a big-time test. Even so, you have to win those types of games and move on. The Ravens lead the NFL in points off turnovers this season with 38. Of course that didn’t matter two weeks ago. Against mild manner Washington, Baltimore looked nothing like the discombobulated unit that was getting crushed by the Chiefs. But no one has looked very good against them either. Lamar Jackson is brilliant whenever he isn’t playing the Chiefs or Titans and their team's blitz-heavy defense has been highly effective against everyone but Kansas City. The Ravens have won their games big and have had great production from their ground game. But can they win the big ones: KC or Pittsburgh? 4. Pittsburgh  The Steelers are back and solid. When the Steel Curtain is making headlines, other teams are in trouble. It's (very) early, but they're on pace to record 80 sacks over a full season which would surpass the 1984 Bears' record of ‘72. They have looked solid to this point, especially on defense. If Ben Roethlisberger can get the most out of his weapons, the Steelers may push the Ravens for the top spot in the AFC North. They got a week off because of the postponement due to COVID-19, so they essentially had an early bye that included practice. Will that help or hurt? Pittsburgh prepares for a stretch of 13 straight games, starting at home on Sunday against an Eagles team that finally has some momentum to build on. 5. Seattle  For the first time in Pete Carroll’s tenure, he has unleashed Russell Wilson in the passing game. Wilson has looked like the frontrunner for MVP at this point as he seemingly throws 10 touchdowns a week to DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. The offense wasn't as explosive against Miami, but they still scored over 30 points. They are 4-0, but do we know how good they are as a team? Given the long trip, not surprising the team wasn't hitting on all cylinders but can't complain too much about another efficient Russell Wilson performance. The last time the team was 4-0 they made it to the Super Bowl so Seahawks fans are hoping for similar vibes this season.———Looking to move up6. Buffalo 7. Tampa Bay8. New Orleans9. LA Rams10. Indianapolis 

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Bad Beats and Good Wins

Tuesday, Oct 06, 2020

At The Sportsbooks My good friend of over 30 years and I had a meeting Sunday morning as he is one of the greatest at betting big NFL (only) 6-point teasers. I personally don’t bet them but I get a kick out of him doing so. Plus his entire life is built around him being extremely lucky. It’s great entertainment just to sweat his teaser bets occasionally. There are certain things that are a must “rules” to bet these games properly. My rule is to rarely bet them.   I’m teasing you now about this teaser  Where can you ever have five of your teams score 123 total points, getting a total of 30 more teaser points and your very last game comes down to a two-point conversion on the last play of the game...to win by a half a point?    The Payout The payoff on this bet was +600. My friend bet a dime on this wager looking for a steal (as he calls it) of $6000. I reluctantly tossed in $200 just to be part of this action. I assure you, anything involving six teams over six hours is definitely action. It’s certainly not for most professional gamblers. But fun is fun and action is fun. His Selections  He picked the following teams: Miami +12.5Washington FB Team +19LV Raiders + 9Carolina + 9.5Lions + 10Bears + 8.5 4-0 to begin; two left for $7200 We had won the four early games and were sweating the fourth quarter of the Bills vs Raiders game along with the Colts vs Bears game. With the Raiders trailing 30-16 with less than two minutes left, Carr threw a pass for a touchdown to close the score to 30-23. With our + 9 points, we were finally 5-0 with one game to finish. And $7200.   Bears Make You Sweat Bullets  The Bears game seemed to never get untracked for over three quarters and half of the fourth. We needed a turnover. We had to get the ball back. But damn!!  With 3:47 left in the game, the Colts extended their lead with a successful field goal to make it 19-3. Now we had the ball and needed a miracle. The Bears got the ball back and moved it decently down the field but with under two minutes to go and on the Colts 30; it was nerve wracking for my buddy and had me on the edge of my seat pulling for him. Then one play here, a completion there and a run later, Nick Foles hit Allen Robinson for a 16 yard touchdown at the 1:47 mark making the score 19-9. Getting +8.5 points meant one thing. Knowing they needed a two point conversion to make the following onside kick meaningful, they had to attempt a two-point play and be successful. They handed the ball of the David Montgomery and he ran it in from the left side. The score was 19-11. Damn he is Lucky! There were a total of 123 points, 6.5 hours of TV viewing time, $7200 to collect in bets and it came down to one two-point play to win a six game teaser bet by a half point. As stated above, my friend is one of the luckiest gamblers I know. Next week, I hope he has another one to bet and watch. 

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Bad Beats: NFL 4-Team Parlay

Wednesday, Sep 30, 2020

Let’s discuss this crazy four team parlay over the weekend. You won’t believe this happening.Here are the wagers:Buffalo -1.5Pittsburgh -3.5Chicago + 2.5KC/Balt Over 54.5  Keep in mind that a four team parlay pays 10/1. Many call this type of wager a poor person's football lotto. Scraping up $200 to win $2000 is monthly bills-changing money. So off my friend went to Caesar's Sportsbook to purchase his piece of "game day hope." And he was sure to wear his "lucky" hat.  Game 1)   Buffalo  How great do you have to feel with Buffalo leading 21-3 at halftime against the LA Rams. You never know if a lead is safe in the NFL but the first score in the second half is a score by the Bills extending their lead to 28-3. With under 5:00 minutes left in the third quarter, the Rams are driving but who cares with this lead. The Rams score a touchdown making the score 28-10 and the partying continues. The Rams scored again within two minutes and quieting my friends happy expressions at 28-17. In the fourth quarter, the Rams scored another TD and a successful two point conversion having the score 28-25. OH NO!  On fourth and goal, the Rams went for it and scored another touchdown putting the Rams ahead 32-28. My friend was devastated and very quiet...And crushed. Josh Allen got the ball back with four minutes left and moved down the field and scored with .15 seconds left to win the game and cover the point spread. The smiles are back with this winner. The first game is a winner but meanwhile Chicago is getting blown out so it’s kind of all for naught.  Game 2)   Chicago It’s easy to hate Atlanta. They seem to always make a gambler’s life miserably lately. Always losing money on them. They are set to get a mention in pretty much every bad beat story. They have turned the Bad Beat into an art form, working their genius on the gridiron like other true masters work in clay or oils. This game started off slow. The Falcons led 6-3 after the first quarter. We both were prepared to see a close hard fought game. In the second quarter, Atlanta added a field goal and a touchdown to lead 16-3 as the game was getting away. But the Bears scored and at the end of the first half, the Falcons were leading 16-10. Not a problem. The second half start saw the Falcons add 10 quick points in the first five minutes now leading 26-10. The third quarter ended with no further scores. The last fifteen minutes began with the Bears and Nick Foles scoring a TD to cut the lead to 26-16 as the two point conversion failed. Two minutes later, Foles was back and threw a 37 yard touchdown pass to make it 26-23. He’s only getting plus +2.5 points and with under 4:00 minutes left and Atlanta having the ball, we needed to get the ball back and then a miracle score. Somehow, Atlanta didn’t do anything and our new Bears hero, Nick Foles, threw a 28 yard touchdown pass for a touchdown and let the confetti fly as the Bears won 30-26. I can only imagine the Atlanta Falcons can envision the horrid, soul crushing loss that lives inside of their heads. If others want to say that the Falcons blew another game, it’s probably true. At least two legs of the parlay are in.  Game 3)   Pittsburgh  The Steelers game was also an early game so it was difficult where to pay special attention with three games going at once. I had seen an early score while watching the Buffalo game where Houston was up 14-3 but Pittsburgh roared back to make it 17-14. All we knew for sure was the score at halftime was 21-17. The Steelers made the only score in the third quarter tying the game at 20-20. Now for the long 15 minute fourth quarter. We got in at the six minute mark and added a two point successful play to bring it to 28-20 which ended up as the final. We had purposely chosen these three games because the late games were difficult and we thought the extra time until Monday night would give us time to hedge our bets if lucky to go 3-0 with the early games.  Whoopee, Bravo, Presto. We are 3-0 and the best game is left. The perfect two teams to score a ton of points and we have (he does but by now I am truly involved) the over 54.5.  The One Day Wait.  Your mind starts to think of safe vacation spots for you, your spouse and your kids that wouldn’t be too crowded while the weather’s still warm. You know what would be great? A cabin. A nice one with a Jacuzzi right off some hiking trails. You can distance and if society continues to collapse, you’ll already be safely ensconced on a mountaintop watching the world burn from afar. Frankly, it’s my dream scenario. Or a quick trip to the beach knowing it would be prepaid with my $2000 win. What a life we live!!! ————— MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Kansas City/ Baltimore ov 54.5  There was plenty of fire in the first half as the Chiefs took a 27-10 lead. There could have been more as we were on a tie on points needed  We figured 30 or 31 points would be scored that half so we were in a great position with 37. I was the one to advise my friend to bet the over for the obvious reasons of two great QBs. I liked the Baltimore side and it looked like a oddsmakers trap giving you Mahomes and +2.5 points so the over seemed like the best choice. NOTE: Only four times in history has the Regular Season MVP and the Super Bowl MVP met with the SB MVP winning all four contest. Now back to the game. Only 19 points were needed after the break to push the total over. Thinking back while watching the second half, I was wondering if Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker’s missed extra point and 42-yard field goal wouldn’t matter.  4th Quarter Finale  Those points mattered. Only three points were scored in the third quarter. My friends heart was sinking. The two teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter to leave the Chiefs ahead 34-20 with 8:14 to play. To win $2000, any score would do for over bettors. The Ravens promptly drove down the field, but their drive stalled out with two Kansas City sacks and they turned the ball over on downs. This is starting to be a nightmare. My buddy and I had sweated they two days and three miracle games on Sunday. It’s our fate to win this. Certainly no Greater Power would take us this far and betray our magic ticket bought Sunday from the Church of the Holy Point Spread. Sweating the rest of the game with over eight minutes left was a true sweat thru your shirt moment with $2000 in your front right pocket. Neither of us said much not wanting to say an unlucky thing or being the blamed jinx. It was no longer tictock; it was tic-tic-tic-tic-tic as the minutes were vaporizing at nano speed on the clock. Under five minutes left, under four and three and the the two minute warning. Over bettors were in trouble. Make that big trouble. The Chiefs merely milked the clock and turned the ball over on downs instead of kicking a field goal with 23 seconds to go. So Sad He Lost That had to be the longest and most disheartening loss I have witnessed. I felt it was my money losing by the end. There were no words to say. He won three out of four games and lost money. It was not the right time to say parlays are difficult at best to win. He wins 75% and lost $200. The moral of the story is obvious. Don’t bet parlays. Be sure to read more Wayne Root articles if you enjoyed this one. 

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Dan Quinn's Atlanta Falcons: Another Historic Defeat!

Monday, Sep 21, 2020

Did greed overcome proper betting or was this too foolish to wager upon?  Here’s the situation.The Atlanta vs Dallas game goes to a TV commercial leaving you too much extra time to think clearly. Some of your buddies at the MGM Sportsbook says, “Go for it”. “You can’t lose”. You may have been having a great day or maybe you just wanted to pick up a cool fast, free $1000. What should one do?  At the seven minute mark left on on that “Black Sunday II”, the Atlanta Falcons led the Dallas Cowboys 39-24. Their odds on the in-game line was -3333. Someone bet $35,000 to win $1,050 on the Falcons’ moneyline, according to BetMGM. Historic Note since 1939Teams were 440-0 when scoring 39 points or more and with no turnovers. This scenario fit the situation perfectly. In a nano-second, you flash back to the Patriots vs Falcons Super Bowl and tell your buddies, “hell, it will never happen again”, and to the betting window you go. You count out your cash, grab your betting ticket and return to celebrate your perceived winner with your boys.Patience my boy!!It’s doubtful the next seven minutes will be patient. Dallas scores at the 4:52 mark bringing the score to 39-30. Ugh but no problem! Dallas goes for two and misses. YES!!!  Start the celebration Celebrating begins as the Falcons will get the ball back and up by nine points. One good first down and then four more plays should run out the clock. Oh No! Atlanta goes nowhere and the Cowboys will get the ball back. Can Dallas score?Of course. They go down the field and Dak Prescott scores from one yard out bringing the score to 39-37 with just over a minute to play. You are reminded by a buddy that with the recent rule changes for the onside kick, it’s effective just 11% of the time. It almost never works. Even if Dallas does recover the ball, they still have to score. So what could go wrong? I’ll tell you!!The same thing that went wrong in the Super Bowl debacle.  Horrible coaching.  From Dan Quinn to his special teams coach. They actually made a case that they thought the ball had to go in excess of 10 yards. THAT’s FOR THE OFFENSE DUMMIES!  How do they hold their jobs? How do they not know the rules.  But that is for the Owner (Arthur Blank) of the Falcons to demand an answer. Here’s my answer. It was NOT greedy. It would normally be a smart wager. However, the same coaching staff is on the sideline. And they have made a plethora of mistakes running the show since that Super Bowl.  Dan Quinn is a defensive guy. Might not even be respected as their head coach. Being down 15 points when the bet was made would have been a smart bet for most teams involved. (Well at least 440). I wouldn’t even say it was a case of being greedy. You just cannot do it if it involves the Falcons. History will place an asterisk that Atlanta moved the needle to 440-1. The gambler at the MGM will need more than asterisks to be reminded to never repeat history if it involves the Atlanta Falcons. 

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NFL Week 1 Review: Four Surprising Winners

Tuesday, Sep 15, 2020

The Washington Football Team, the Jacksonville Jags, the Chicago Bears and the Arizona Cardinals looked like dwellers in the cellar coming into the 2020 NFL season. They are all undefeated. How did they all accomplish this Herculean feat?  WASHINGTON 27, EAGLES 17 Washington was getting routed in Coach Rivera’s first game. As expected by most. Then poof, Peyton Barber ran for two touchdowns and Dwayne Haskins rallied Washington from a 17-point deficit to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-17. It was from a great defensive effort. One that they’ll most likely have to count on for wins. They sacked Carson Wentz eight times and forced two costly interceptions behind an Eagles injury-depleted offense line. Ryan Kerrigan led the way with two sacks and No. 2 overall pick Chase Young got a key sack.This seems to be the yearly pattern for Washington. Average offense that has to depend on their defense. If they ever get to a Championship Game, I hope they remember that defense wins playoff games. JAGUARS 27, COLTS 20 Minshew Mania is back and maybe better than before if the mustache is left out of conversations and he is left to play quarterback without distractions. The Jaguars entered Week 1 as the NFL’s biggest home underdogs with talk of tanking the season beginning with week 1. That talk was nonsense except maybe to the Colts. Gardner Minshew II was nearly flawless going 19-for-20 with 173 yards and three touchdown passes. Most were betting on Colts QB Philip Rivers as he made his Colts debut. He had 363 passing yards, one touchdown pass and two interceptions. An new NFL record was established as undrafted Jags rookie running back James Robinson accounted for 90 yards, including 62 on the ground. Look for everyone to forget Leonard Fournette real quick. BEARS 27, LIONS 23 The Lions had the game but let it slip away from them. They were in familiar week one territory. Detroit opened last season by blowing an 18-point lead at Arizona and settling for a tie. Could they do it back to back? Spoiler Alert: YES as Matthew Stafford had a game-winning touchdown pass to D’Andre Swift dropped blowing a 17 point lead. The highlights were that the Bears scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win the game. The bombshell of the game was that Mitchell Trubisky had three touchdown passes. QB Nick Foles can keep his clipboard job another week or two. Father Time, Adrian Peterson ran for 93 yards on 14 carries in his Detroit debut, just four days after signing with the team. Matt Stafford was 24 of 42 for 297 yards in his loss.  CARDINALS 24, 49ERS 20  Kyler Murray used the new offseason WR toy Arizona got him to get his second season off to a 1-0 rousing start. It all starts with the old adage: follow the money. It was evident that San Francisco did not as DeAndre Hopkins made a big impression in his first game with Arizona. He led the way with 14 catches for 151 yards in the game. I wonder if the Houston Texan players noticed someone missing? Was it mentioned that his performance was against one of the best secondaries in football? It is isn’t it? Arizona QB Murray threw for 230 yards and a touchdown and ran for 91 yards and another score to help the Cardinals shock the 49ers on their home field which Coach Shanahan is blaming the red fire lit skies on their loss.  What are the odds that 3 of 4 are undefeated after next week? We know, so follow Wayne Root all week and all season long.

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New England Patriots: 2020 Season Preview

Wednesday, Sep 09, 2020

The excitement in New England understandably is high following the addition of Cam Newton, but Patriots fans might want to temper their expectations. It might be a shorter list if we wrote a paper on the Patriots weaknesses in the Revolutionary War. Today’s New England Patriots have some glaring shortcomings  But the media hype is all about new quarterback Cam Newton. Pats fans might want to temper their enthusiasm while betting fans might want to rev up their bets against the Pats. Or at least be aware of what’s at stake. SCHEDULE The most difficult schedule in the NFL belongs to New England. They have their normal difficulty at Miami. While Brady always played well at Buffalo, the Bills will be favored to win at home. The Jets should be their 2-0 sweep. But what about their non-conference games?  At Seattle, at the Chiefs, at Houston and at LA Rams. Playing Denver, San Francisco and Baltimore at home will be ultra-challenging at best.  TIGHT ENDSIt the past it was Brady to Gronk. Now it’s Newton to a tight end of the unknown variety. This weakness for the Patriots is not only an issue for this season but has been for the last few years. Their offense loves to use the tight end especially up the middle needing a long completion. But this weakness comes at the tight end spot and that position both in the passing game and in the rushing attack shows a gaping hole. This offseason, New England did draft a pair of tight ends in the NFL Draft with the selections of Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene in the middle rounds of the draft but it remains a mystery on how they factor into the offense.  WIDE RECEIVERS Many question who are the targeted wide receivers?  Although Edelman will continue to be solid as he always is and hopefully will be, that leaves little else. N'Keal Harry and others could step up even more than what they did in 2019 but that group doesn’t necessarily raise any eyebrows as being filled with talent. Who will Cam Newton look to as his favorite go-to guy? Once other teams identify him, they will game plans accordingly. Do you still like New England? LINEBACKERS Can they excel on the defensive side of the ball? Their linebacker core indicates maybe not. I think the Pats’ most troubled position is linebacker. Behind a thin defensive line, the Pats’ linebackers are greener than the Belichicks have been used to in recent years and that is not the talent needed based on the scheduled top-notch quarterbacks they have to face. Donte Hightower is among football’s best but we always worry about injuries. It may be tough to bank on the two-time Pro Bowl selection making it through a full season healthy. Young linebackers Winovich and Bentley also have their work cut out of them as their roles are expected to expand in 2020. MEDIA HYPESo the bottom line is you now see a different picture of what’s being presented to Coach Belichick and his staff. The media has led many to believe that the only void they had was to replace Tom Brady. It’s far from that.  BETTINGI would bet under 9 wins as a futures bet and additionally would be cautious on straight bets as the oddsmakers will take advantage of the love the public has for New England.  By Wayne Allyn Root 

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Football Handicapping: Five Factors

Saturday, Jul 11, 2020

There are many ways to handicap football games when broken down to the basics. Here are 5 of the most important factors to share from 35 years of beating the Vegas number. In most match-ups, a combination of all factors weighs into the final outcome. However, many handicappers choose to rely on one of the following methods more than another. It is the “identify” of that handicapper. As any CEO in the business world can do, handicapping "numbers" is very similar to crunching the numbers of a financial report. Let's review the 5 most popular methods I've used during my 35 year career as “America's Oddsmaker” and “The King of Vegas Sports Gambling.”1) TECHNICALThere are more "technicals" available for each game than any other method. For example, when one hears that team A is 9-1 versus team B over the last 10 years- that is a technical. There are teams that are 9-2 at home and 2-9 on the road. Night games vs. day games and grass vs. turf are common examples of "techs". One has to consider how teams play within their division, as opposed to outside their division. A team like the Oakland Raiders was once labeled as "unbeatable" on Monday Night Football. That technical trend is no longer applicable. Trends must be updated often. One can go back into the history of numbers and find all these "stats and trends". Many trends follow patterns that don’t change for the way teams play. West coast teams traveling to play on the east coast with that early 1:00 start had always favored the east coast teams. The time change and travel took its toll. But the oddsmakers have offset that by adding more points to the east coast team adjusting the spread. This is not an automatic bet any longer. Another one (the NFL is trying to avoid) is playing three consecutive games on the road. It used to be another automatic play going against the road team on that third road game. The oddsmakers have adjusted their point spreads but the average gambler has not. These are the type of technical points of reference to be careful. 2) EMOTIONALOne has to watch certain games where emotional factors are involved. This is especially true in college where emotions can run especially high (due to youth and bitter long-term rivalries). Revenge is good for "an emotional outlook" of playing a game. An embarrassing loss from the previous year also needs to be considered. There are certain rivalry games where all stats can be thrown out and the underdog will play like the World Champions. In the NFL, what you watched last week may be a huge change of play this week. A team that looked embarrassing and pathetic in week four might come out in week five and play completely opposite from the previous week. The oddsmakers are guaranteed to have made the line adjustments to trick the bettors. Beware and check with Wayne Root. There's usually at least one game each week which this applies. 3) SITUATIONALThis is a combination of technical and emotional scenarios. There could be a "key" injury that is "situational" to that game. The weather could become a major factor in analyzing the game. Be careful of placing too much emphasis on injuries, as the team with the injured star often rises to the occasion for that situation. And when it comes to weather, wind is the number 1 factor- far ahead of rain or snow. This factor and by me usually betting live underdogs are the reasons to bet these games as close to kickoff as you can. There’s rarely an instance where betting a Sunday game on Friday is paramount. 4) FUNDAMENTALHandicapping by using "fundamentals" is simply looking at basic fundamental “X and O” football stats. When team A is ranked number 1 in passing versus the number 27 passing defense, one has to look at betting team A. There are teams- due to age and lack of speed- that have trouble on turf. Make sure the fundamentals are in place in terms of statistics when doing the analysis. The playoff teams that rush the ball the most seem to win more often. Be sure to check rushing stats versus "against the rush" stats before placing a wager in this method of handicapping. And separate regular season versus Playoff stats- it's a whole new season.5) BETTING AGAINST THE PUBLICWayne Allyn Root used to notice that most of his friends and fans lost nonstop in sports wagering. So a light bulb went off in his head over 30 years ago AND still applies to this day. Wayne began studying public opinion- and betting against it. He simply calls it "going against the public.” Experts might call it “Contrarian Betting Strategy.” His thinking is 90% "contrarian" to the public. And he has been the most successful handicapper in America for 35 years- starting with his days as co host with Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder on Financial News Network (now CNBC). Wayne's track record for over three (3) decades has been the source of the media declaring him "America's Oddsmaker,” “The Face of Las Vegas Gaming” and “The King of Vegas.” It is the reason that Wayne was awarded a star on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars- alongside Elvis, Liberace, Wayne Newton, Bobby Darin and Siegfried & Roy. He is the only professional sports handicapper ever honored (and the youngest recipient ever). All these years later, Wayne's focus remains on betting against the public. The public has a difficult time betting underdogs- so WAR bets on the underdogs. That's where the point spread value is found. When the point spread is rapidly escalating because of a "key" injury, WAR bets on the injured team. WAR loves to bet against popular “public teams” and wager on what he calls “orphans” (teams the betting public ignores or believes has virtually no chance of winning). 

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