Parlay

As a light rain fell and jet engines worked feverishly to dry the track next door at Dover International Speedway, Chuck Priestley and four racing buddies from Havertown took refuge inside the new sports book at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino. Twenty minutes before the Eagles and other NFL teams kicked off yesterday on the oversize, high-definition televisions lining the tall walls of the $5 million bar and lounge, Priestley glanced quizzically at a card - roughly the size of a legal pad - containing pro football point spreads.

Hersey Hawkins said you had to be there. You had to be in the 76ers' locker room in the Omni at halftime Saturday night. You had to hear the bleat of guys who were leading the Atlanta Hawks by five points and thought they should have been leading by 15 or 20. "Guys were finally getting frustrated," Hawkins, the Sixers' captain, said in the aftermath of a 103-96 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. "Guys were finally upset at the way we had been playing. That was good, because when you're mad, you play better.

A federal appeals court yesterday limited Delaware's plans for a new sports betting lottery to parlay bets on professional football games only - similar to what the state offered in 1976 with limited success. Bettors have to pick the winners of at least three NFL games in a single wager to win the bet, according to the court. In addition, the state is prohibited from offering parlay betting on other professional sports and college athletics. "While we are disappointed the decision does not provide the flexibility we had hoped for, Delaware is still the only state east of the Rocky Mountains that can offer a legal sports lottery on NFL football," said Delaware Gov. Jack Markell in response to the court's 23-page opinion, which expanded on a ruling issued last week.

Patrick Schafferman waited 20 minutes in line yesterday morning to place a $40 bet. For the first NFL Sunday since 1976, gambling on football games was legal in Delaware, and Schafferman, who has come to Delaware Park since he was a kid, said he wasn't going to miss out. Schafferman, 40, of Newark, took the Eagles, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Minnesota Vikings in his three-team parlay bet. He paid the cashier, took his ticket, and left to...

Now here is a problem we can all identify with. Say you're Nancy Kerrigan, a famous and beautiful skater who was involved in a famous, ugly scandal around Olympic time last year. Say you recovered, went to the Olympics, won the silver medal and became, for one brief and shining moment, America's Sweetheart (until you dissed Mickey Mouse, but that's another story). Since then, you've appeared in parades and on talk shows. You've starred in prime-time skating specials. You've done Saturday Night Live.

Delaware Dan got off to a pretty good start as parlay betting on the NFL began in his home state this week. Dan cashed in for $52 by hitting a $20 wager on the five-team super teaser parlay with the Ravens, Bengals, Jets, Saints and Giants. He was less successful on his three- and four-team efforts, for a total Week 1 loss of $8. The mythical bankroll now stands at $9,992, heading into Week 2. Be sure to check out Delaware Dan's parlay selections, plus picks from Vegas Vic and the Daily News staff each Friday in the Eagles Playbook.

Imagine you could bet $50,000 on the Eagles on Sunday and be guaranteed of winning. There is a player who made a 15-team NFL parlay bet at Harrington Raceway in Delaware who is in exactly that can't-lose situation. Delaware has a $5, 15-team parlay bet in which the payoff is $100,000. The bettor who got his ticket at Harrington picked last weekend's 14 games against the spread. And got them all right. Because four teams had byes last week and there were not 16 games to find 15 bets, they carried one game over to this week.

The Delaware Lottery, where parlay bets (three-game minimum) on professional football were legal this year, still has some gambling action in play for the Super Bowl. Trying to extend their "season," lottery officials allowed customers to parlay the two league championship games played on Jan. 24 with bets on last week's Pro Bowl and today's Super Bowl. Asked why anyone would bet on the Pro Bowl, Vernon A. Kirk, principal deputy of the lottery, said: "We tried to be customer friendly.

If you were in parlay-card action at the three Delaware race tracks (Delaware Park, Dover Downs, Harrington) during the NFL regular season, you can remain in action during the playoffs. The cards will be available on Tuesdays (that would be today), instead of Thursdays, as they were during the regular season. All of the same half-point and teaser cards as well as "off the board" bets will be available on the four games this weekend and next. Like the regular season, a player must use at least three games.

Remember that Delaware NFL parlay bettor? He lost $5, his original bet. Actually, he could have won thousands, but word on the street is that he bet four $1,000 off-the-board three-team parlays in Delaware, taking both sides of two other games and the Eagles. Each parlay pays 6-to-1. So, for his $4,000 investment, he got back $7,000, a $3,000 profit. He could have done better. In his original Delaware parlay bet, the player had 14 straight NFL winners against the spread in Week 4. And a push in Week 5. If he had won that 15th game, he would have won $100,000.

HOW HARD IS IT to pick a 15-team parlay on NFL games against the spread? Well, the actual odds against hitting it are 32,000-1. The odds used for the Delaware parlay bet are 20,000-1. In actuality, it took nearly 74,000 losing bets before somebody hit it. One player, who made his bet at Delaware Park before the Week 5 games, bet $5 on the 15-team parlay proposition. He got all 13 games correct last week. He had the Eagles and Ravens yesterday. Both won and covered. That $5 bet will become $100,000 when the bettor cashes his ticket.

Over the last few years, I've interviewed more than my fair share of reality-show cast members. When asked about their ambitions, they almost inevitably say, "Someday I'd like to have my own reality show. " It's not surprising they want to repeat the experience. Having your every utterance recorded for posterity, finding yourself recognized in public - that's got to be a potent ego boost. And let's face it: About the only thing participating in a reality show qualifies you for is another reality show.

Sometimes you live by the hook, sometimes you die by the hook. The hook, that's the 1/2 point that dangles at the end of a team's name on the Delaware parlay cards. And last week we had the Colts minus 3 1/2 against the Redskins. Colts won by three, knocked us out of a $220 payout. This week, strictly teaser and super-teaser action: Wagering $40 on Falcons plus 2 1/2, Bears plus 2 1/2, Patriots plus 9 1/2,Broncos minus 1 1/2 and Giants plus 9 1/2. Try $40 on Falcons plus 6 1/2, Titans plus 7 1/2, Bears plus 6 1/2, Saints minus 3 1/2, Rams plus 13 1/2, Giants plus 13 1/2. Last week: Lost $90. Bankroll: $530.

Remember that Delaware NFL parlay bettor? He lost $5, his original bet. Actually, he could have won thousands, but word on the street is that he bet four $1,000 off-the-board three-team parlays in Delaware, taking both sides of two other games and the Eagles. Each parlay pays 6-to-1. So, for his $4,000 investment, he got back $7,000, a $3,000 profit. He could have done better. In his original Delaware parlay bet, the player had 14 straight NFL winners against the spread in Week 4. And a push in Week 5. If he had won that 15th game, he would have won $100,000.

Imagine you could bet $50,000 on the Eagles on Sunday and be guaranteed of winning. There is a player who made a 15-team NFL parlay bet at Harrington Raceway in Delaware who is in exactly that can't-lose situation. Delaware has a $5, 15-team parlay bet in which the payoff is $100,000. The bettor who got his ticket at Harrington picked last weekend's 14 games against the spread. And got them all right. Because four teams had byes last week and there were not 16 games to find 15 bets, they carried one game over to this week.

TRY TO PICK winning parlays by the seat of your pants and you are going to wind up pantless. There are no dominant, take-it-to-the-bank teams in the NFL this year. None, zero, nada, zilch. How about the other side of the coin? Are there any dreadful, pathetic teams you can bet against week in and week out? The Bills, the Browns and the Lions qualify. So we'll pick against teams this week. Start with $30 parlay of Texans minus 3 1/2, Jets minus 4 1/2, Bengals minus 3 1/2. Play $30 teaser of Texans plus 2 1/2, Jets plus 1 1/2, Bengals plus 2 1/2, Packers minus 8 1/2, Colts minus 3 1/2. And risk $30 on a super-teaser of Texans plus 6 1/2, Jets plus 5 1/2, Bengals plus 6 1/2, Packers minus 4 1/2, Falcons plus 3 1/2, Titans plus 3 1/2, Chargers plus 1 1/2. Last week: Bet $100.

Off to a wobbly start. But at least we didn't line up offsides on the very first play of the very first week of the season. Hit five of seven in the super-teaser, so I've gotta do a better job of picking teams that can win. Bankroll is down to 910 fishers. Let's start with a $40 parlay of Vikings minus 5 1/2, Texans minus 2 1/2, Colts minus 6 1/2 and Saints minus 5 1/2. Risk $30 on a teaser parlay of Saints plus 1/4, Chargers minus 1 1/2, Vikings plus 1/2, Ravens plus 4 1/2, Packers minus 7 1/2. And wager $20 on a super-teaser of Saints plus 4 1/2, Chargers plus 1 1/2, Texans plus 6 1/2, Vikings plus 4 1/2, Bears plus 18 1/2, Lions plus 14 1/2 and Steelers plus 15 1/2. Last week: Lost $90. Bankroll: $910.

SOME HANDS aren't worth playing if you're evaluating them in a vacuum. But poker isn't a vacuum, and the context of odds you're getting and the position you hold can make it worth gambling, such as this hand from young pro Kevin Saul in the 2009 World Series of Poker $10,000-buy-in Main Event at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas. With blinds at $50-$100, the players in seats 8 and 9 limped from middle position. Saul also limped from the cutoff with K-5 of spades. The small blind made it $550.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Monday an appeal by Delaware to expand its sports-betting offerings beyond professional football. The decision could have ripple effects on New Jersey, which is working for the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, which restricted sports betting to four states: Nevada, Oregon, Montana and Delaware. The justices denied Delaware's petition for judicial review without comment, leaving in place a ruling last fall by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia that limits Delaware to offering multi-game bets on National Football League games and prohibits it from offering the more popular and lucrative single-game wagering allowed in Las Vegas.

The Delaware Lottery, where parlay bets (three-game minimum) on professional football were legal this year, still has some gambling action in play for the Super Bowl. Trying to extend their "season," lottery officials allowed customers to parlay the two league championship games played on Jan. 24 with bets on last week's Pro Bowl and today's Super Bowl. Asked why anyone would bet on the Pro Bowl, Vernon A. Kirk, principal deputy of the lottery, said: "We tried to be customer friendly.