Gambling

Actor Todd Thomas is a transplanted New Yorker living in Southern California and he seldom gambles. But once Thomas found out that the Giants were double-digit underdogs to New England in this year's Super Bowl, he jumped at the chance to place his money on New York to win. It turned out to be a great decision when the Giants upset the Patriots, 17-14, on Sunday.

Shaquille O'Neal's trade from Miami to Phoenix has been the biggest news in the sports betting world this week and the deal has forced oddsmakers to adjust the Suns' postseason numbers. According to Bodoglife.com, the odds on the Suns winning the Western Conference before the trade were 5-2; after the deal they improved to 2-1. The odds on Phoenix winning the NBA championship before the trade were 4-1; now they are 7-2.

Wynn Resorts Ltd. says it swung to a profit of nearly $66 million because of more VIP gambling in the Chinese gambling strip of Macao. Las Vegas-based Wynn earned 57 cents a share in the fourth quarter, contrasted with a loss of 55 cents a share in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose 26% to $711 million.

After ending their seven-game trip with a win in Milwaukee on Monday, the Clippers have a chance to maintain some momentum in their return to Staples Center tonight. Washington awaits, and the visitors have hardly been road wizards of late. Since an 88-83 victory at Boston on Jan. 14, the Wizards have lost nine in a row on the road, including a collapse Monday at Golden State. Washington, which led by as many as 23 points and by 17 at halftime, lost to the Warriors, 120-117.

Remember the days when NBA regular-season games were considered a formality for the league's top teams, and they didn't seem to play hard until the fourth quarter? Well, those disjointed efforts are now a thing of the past. Thanks to this season's hotly contested playoff races, the NBA features upsets and closely contested games nightly, and this type of unpredictability has kept pro basketball bettors on their toes. Just look at some results over the last week. Atlanta, despite a sub-.

Arthur Hancock, a fourth-generation thoroughbred breeder, pointed out his office window on a recent morning to illustrate a fundamental difference between horse racing and casino gambling. A shimmering copper sun was rising over his 1,800-acre bluegrass farm. A clutch of lithe prize ponies grazed under a gunmetal sky. "Look out there," said Hancock, 64. "This is a whole different world." Las Vegas it was not. But Vegas-style gambling is threatening to intrude on Kentucky's genteel horse culture.

North Carolina will try to retain its No. 1 ranking tonight when it visits Duke. The game is the regular-season finale for both teams and the Atlantic Coast Conference title goes to the winner. Both the Tar Heels, who have won seven in a row, and the Blue Devils, who have four consecutive victories, are 13-2 in the ACC. Hoping to avenge its last loss -- 89-78 to Duke on Feb. 6 in Chapel Hill -- North Carolina has a solid history when playing the Blue Devils as the No. 1 team.

The European Union launched an investigation into U.S. laws on Internet gambling, after European betting companies complained that Washington's actions against them were infringing world trade rules. The investigation could lead the EU to file a complaint at the World Trade Organization. European companies say a U.S. ban that forced them out of the lucrative American market discriminates against them in violation of WTO rules.

The state is not likely to get a $37-billion up-front payment if it enters a long-term lease of the state lottery to private investors, a legislative analyst said Tuesday, adding that such an arrangement would probably provide less than half that amount. Jason Dickerson, a gambling policy analyst for the state Senate, told a legislative committee that it should not rely on the $37-billion projection offered by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration last year. "That is highly unlikely and unrealistic," Dickerson told the Senate's Local Government Committee, which is considering loosening restrictions on the lottery to make it more marketable to the public and a potential private investor.

Matching history should come easy for Houston tonight. Seeking to equal the second-longest winning streak in NBA history, the Rockets will play the Atlanta Hawks, who have lost 13 of their last 17. With a victory, Houston will have 20 in a row, the same streak Milwaukee had during the 1970-71 season. The longest winning streak in league history belongs to the Lakers, who won 33 in a row during their championship season of 1971-72.