Canucks acquire Stastny from St. Louis

Hockey Betting Lines

03/03/2010 - Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks have acquired center Yan Stastny from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for left wing Pierre-Cedric Labrie.

Stastny, who has 91 games of NHL experience, will report to Vancouver's AHL affiliate in Manitoba. He appeared in 49 games with St. Louis' top minor league club in Peoria, posting 10 goals and 17 assists.

The 27-year-old Stastny has six goals and 10 assists for 16 points in his NHL career with St. Louis, Boston and Edmonton.

Labrie, 23, played in 45 games for Manitoba this year, collecting five goals and one assist.

Wwwgamblecom Hockey Betting News

<< Wolski dealt from Colorado to Phoenix
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes have acquired left wing Wojtek Wolski from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for forwards Peter Mueller and Kevin Porter. Wolski had spent his entire career with the Avalanche,

<< Hammers hoping for Upson stay
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Ham co-owner David Sullivan has urged coveted defender Matthew Upson to stay at Upton Park. The England international continues to be linked with a move away from the cash-strapped Hammers with

<< Oilers claim F Ryan Jones off waivers from Preds
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers announced on Wednesday that they have claimed forward Ryan Jones off waivers from the Nashville Predators. The 25-year-old Jones had seven goals and four assists in 41 games with the Pred

<< Aurelio suffers another injury setback
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool defender Fabio Aurelio will miss up to three weeks with a thigh injury he picked up during Sunday's 2-1 victory over Blackburn. The 30-year-old Brazilian's season has been blighted by inj

<< Hurricanes trade defenseman Ward to Ducks
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to force their way into the Western Conference playoff picture, the Anaheim Ducks have acquired defenseman Aaron Ward from the Carolina Hurricanes. In exchange for the 6-foot-2 defenseman, the

Caps acquire F Walker from Carolina >>
Arlington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals have acquired veteran forward Scott Walker from the Carolina Hurricanes for a 2010 seventh-round draft pick. The 36-year-old Walker has spent the last four seasons with Carolina

Marchena hoping for Valencia stay >>
Valencia, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Valencia captain Carlos Marchena is hoping to extend his stay at the Mestalla with a new contract. The 30-year-old Spain defender has been with the La Liga club since 2001 but is out of contract at the e

Roughriders sign OL Goodspeed >>
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Saskatchewan Roughriders on Wednesday agreed to terms with offensive lineman Dan Goodspeed. Details of the contract were not disclosed. A five-year CFL veteran, Goodspeed was with Hamilton in 2009 af

Milan still waiting on Pato >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan will have to wait until next week before discovering whether Alexandre Pato will be fit to face Manchester United in the Champions League. The Brazil striker is in danger of missing the se

Diamondbacks lock Upton up through 2015 >>
Tucson, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks have signed outfielder Justin Upton to a six-year contract extension. Although financial details were not released, the deal is believed to be a shade over $50 million, making it

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.