More info on ASU scandal featured on ESPN

tuleythetout · Sep 22, 2004

In my opinion, ESPN should have interviewed Jimmy Vaccaro, the sports book director at The Mirage back in 1994. I talked to him two years ago when FX aired its made-for-cable movie "Big Shot." Every other media coverage of that story makes it sound like ALL the action was on Washington to drive the line from ASU -15 to -3 or thereabouts in the climactic game, and that certainly sounds logical, but Vaccaro details how the wiseguys were balancing the action as the line plummeted as they tried to set up a juicy middle (which didn't cash as ASU won by 18). Must have been a wild, wild day.

http://www.drf.com/drfNewsArticle.do?NID=36272&subs=0&arc=1

wilheim · Sep 22, 2004

Excellent read, thanks Dave.

wil.

Brock Landers · Sep 22, 2004

I am wondering why they never seem to mention the Northwestern Fix with the football team, Dennis Lundy is one of the players I recall being involved..This happened in like 1994, just before they went to the rose bowl.

The former ND kicker, Pendergast did time for his role.

Anyone have info on this fix?

agreeen · Sep 22, 2004

it was actually the 94-95 basketball team that fixed 6 games..the last one being against michigan when the line went from about 18-25..which they didnt cover..i knew alot of people who rode the NW wave for the 1st 5 games though!

WildBill · Sep 23, 2004

I was in Laughlin that day and a UW student at the time on my spring break trip. I wanted to bet against the Huskies as I had been in Tucson to see them get absolutely creamed a couple nights earlier and I got the clear impression they were completely out of gas and not trying. So I go down to the book an hour before the game and the game is off the board. I asked the book manager what was up with that, I had a strong bet for the game. He laughed and said, "oh you too?" I asked what he meant by that and he acted like I was full of it and walked away. So I finally got a clerk to spill the beans. They had been given the order to take the game down as this was the Flamingo Hilton and had been told the story about "strange action up in Vegas", but admitted they hadn't seen more than a small bet or two on the game. I couldn't get down anywhere and sure enough the Huskies got smoked. They were so done at the time with no effort that if one guy on the other team wasn't trying, it was still better than the 3 or 4 starters on UW that were packing it in for a good 3 weeks to close out the season.