Gambling man

Las Vegan widely recognized for handicap talent

SW/VIEW--Tony Salinas 68 looks over a sports sheet overview of teams playing as he talks about his experience living as a gambler & handicapper Thursday July 21, 2005. View photo Henry Vargas.

Handicapping hasn't always been the chosen profession of legendary local sports handicapper Tony Salinas.

Salinas, 67, knows how to handicap and his livelihood for the last 30 years or so has consisted of handicapping baseball, basketball and football games.

Handicapping in reference to sports is when someone, professionally referred to as a handicapper, bets money on the outcome of a sporting event based on their calculations. These calculations can be determined from factors such as past outcomes, specific umpires and referees, and how large of a crowd is expected among many others.

Salinas said a few of his handicapping tools are to be aware of when a team wants revenge, what type of mood the players are in mentally, venue size, wind factors and the size of the strike zone for baseball.

Salinas won the world championship of football handicapping in 1980 at Castaways, and in 2002 at the Las Vegas Hilton. He also competed in this year's World Series of Poker, but he didn't do too well, he said.

"I still really enjoy playing poker, too," he said. "I still play poker every day."

Salinas grew up on his family's ranch in Encinal, Texas. "I'm a Texas cowboy, born and bred," he said, adorning with a white cowboy hat, which has become his signature look throughout the years.

Salinas, a former national champion calf roper, attended Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, now Oklahoma State University, for his freshman year of college and then transferred to what is now Texas State University-San Marcos and received a bachelor's degree in economics in 1961.

After graduating from college, Salinas coached junior high and high school basketball, football and tennis and taught mathematics and Spanish in both Catulla, Texas, and San Antonio. Although Salinas chose teaching as his first career, he said he had always been interested in games of chance. And as he gained additional statistical knowledge through his collegiate courses and further comprehension of sports by coaching, his desire to handicap grew.

"I enjoyed teaching very much," Salinas said. "You really learn a lot by coaching." Salinas said he is never surprised when a former coach becomes a skilled handicapper, because of the thorough understanding of the mechanics of the game.

Salinas moved to Las Vegas in 1978 with his wife, Helen, and son Tony Salinas, Jr. and has since retired. "I am retired, but I still play," the gambler said with a grin.

Although retired, Salinas was anxious to speak about the latest endeavor he is involved in, which is a football handicapping contest offered on the Internet. "They just canceled the one at the Golden Nugget the other day," he said of the NFL handicapping contest the property had planned on offering before a change of ownership. "This is really another option," he said, playing his part as spokesman for www.thefootballcontest.com.

Steve Brody, vice president of marketing at Giraffe Marketing Inc., who is involved in marketing the contest, said he wanted Salinas involved because of his easily recognizable name in the handicapping world.

Salinas said his consultant and spokesman role for the contest are enjoyable and leave adequate time for his own pastimes. As for his top choice of candidate to win the contest, he said it would have to be someone in the coaching profession, second choice would be someone in the "handicapping services," and third would be a woman. "Why not a woman?" he asked. "You don't really see any women handicappers. But there should be damn it."

As for Salinas Jr., he seemed to inherit his father's interests, but on a different level. Salinas Jr., who is a consultant for Giraffe Marketing Inc., said he couldn't be happier to be involved with the handicapping contest. "It has been my dream for about five years now," he said.

And as for Salinas Sr., he still can't get enough of games of chance. "I'll always be a gambler."