In Las Vegas, where it is legal to bet on sports, the University of Hawaii football team gives bettors one last chance.
With its home games generally starting at either 8 or 9 p.m. Pacific time, Hawaii is often the final college game gamblers can place their wagers on.
For some, it’s a chance to double up on a good day’s fortune. For others, it’s a final stab at avoiding a loss.
This year, Hawaii is 5-6 overall and two wins away from securing a berth in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve.
But for those who bet on the Warriors, it’s been a much worse season.
Against the "spread," UH is 2-7-1 versus Football Bowl Subdivision schools and 0-5-1 in its past six games.
The goal for Las Vegas casinos that offer sports betting is posting a point spread that generates betting equally on both sides. The money they make is in the form of a "vig," also known as the "take" of the "juice."
Generally, when betting on a point spread — the amount of points by which a team either has to win or lose — bettors are asked to pay at odds of -110. In other words, to take a certain team against the spread, for example, one must bet $110 to win $100.
Point spreads are not only made available for the final result. Halftime lines and first-quarter lines are also possible betting options. Interested gamblers can also bet an "over/under" number listing the total points scored in the game, choosing whether the two teams will combine to score more or less than the given amount.
When lines move heavily one way or the other, the house can either win or lose a lot of money.
Bettors can also make a "moneyline" bet, in which all a team has to do is win the game outright. Depending upon the size of the point spread, moneyline bets are adjusted accordingly.
Hawaii, which is listed as an 18.5-point favorite over Tulane at www.vegasinsider.com on Saturday, has a posted moneyline of -800, so putting up $800 would earn a bettor $100. However, if a bet is placed on the posted Tulane moneyline at +550, $100 would win $550.
UH opened the season by covering a 7-point spread against Colorado (UH won 34-17). Hawaii then was a 6-point underdog at Washington on Sept. 10. A late touchdown with 1:39 remaining put UH an extra-point away (38-32) from covering. When Washington blocked the point-after kick and returned it for two points the other way, UW won 40-32 and barely covered.
When Hawaii played at UNLV, the Warriors were a 20-point favorite. Ryan Greene, a UNLV beat writer at HeyReb.com, tweeted on Tuesday that the UNLV moneyline opened at +1600. But by kickoff it had dropped to +700. Greene called it "pretty mysterious movement at the time."
The Warriors lost 40-20, beginning a 1-6-1 stretch against the spread versus FBS schools.
After a 44-26 win at Louisiana Tech on Oct. 1, in which UH was a 4-point underdog, the Warriors have failed to cover a spread since.
They were favored in their next four games and lost two of them outright, blowing a late lead in a 28-27 loss to San Jose State, and a 28-7 third-quarter lead in a 35-31 loss to Utah State.
