The Sweet Sixteen starts today. I spoke with Jay Kornegay, Vice President of Race and Sports at Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino about the latest installment of March Madness.
Mims: What advice would you give a first time visitor to Las Vegas making a bet on the Sweet Sixteen?
Kornegay: Our advice to all new and experienced players is to all manage your money accordingly. This is all relative. They should only wager on what they can afford. One last bit of advice, remember there is no such thing as a “lock”. As much as you might like a particular team, they have a chance to come up short. Enjoy and wager within your means.
Mims: How does the Sweet 16 compare in popularity to the Elite Eight with the betting public?
Kornegay: They’re both very popular but I would have to say the Sweet 16 weekend is little more popular due to the number of games played. The NCAA tournament is the only event that’s more popular at the beginning of it rather than the end of it.
Mims: What conference did you think would have the most teams in the Sweet Sixteen prior to the start of the tournament?
Kornegay: I would have to go with the best and deepest conference and that’s the Big 12. Obviously, this doesn’t hold true every year and we do have some surprises.
Mims: The conference with the most teams remaining in the tournament are the SEC and the Big East with 3. The Big 12 has two teams and all the other conferences have one. With two number one seeds eliminated ,the sports books are looking at a profit in the futures markets. The longshots to advance out of the Sweet Sixteen are the Princeton Tigers and Florida Atlantic.
My Final Four has 3 teams that I picked at the start of the tournament and one team that I consider a dark horse, Michigan State.
Follow me as I watch the games on Twitter. Check out my Elite Eight on Saturday.