LAS VEGAS — CBS Sports took a break Sunday at about 3:15 p.m., halfway through unveiling the four NCAA Tournament regions, to trigger action in the back room of the South Point sportsbook.
While the TV folks relaxed, having revealed the South and East regionals, South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews oversaw a savvy trio charged with producing each game’s point spreads.
It had finished setting the South lines and had begun establishing spreads in the East. Any second now, CBS would return to divulge the Midwest matchups.
“We’re talking through some of the East spreads,” Alexandra White said, “and you could hear other guys in the back [of the room] say, ‘Hey, Chris, they’re taking this dog over here.’ Chris said, ‘Okay, take [the bet] and move it a point.’
“We saw and heard it all, behind the scenes.”
Gaughan Gaming sportsbook director Vinny Magliulo, veteran oddsman Tony Sinisi and White, a third-generation Nevada handicapper, turned their power ratings into spreads.
Andrews was the ultimate arbiter of each game’s opening number. During that break, the group tapped into the East, South lines were being posted, cash flowed into the book.
When CBS returned to the Midwest, the trio jotted down the matchups to keep up with the real-time revelations. When CBS finished, The Andrews Trio returned to finish the East, Midwest and West.
“It happens pretty quickly,” White said. “Just grabbing matchups, putting our power numbers in as fast as we can, but we have to get all the matchups first.”
The quicker they established a spread, the quicker Andrews’ computer experts could post them on their app, and outside kiosks and tote board. They were zipped to the property’s sister book at the Rampart Casino in Summerlin.
Writing down the matchups, setting spreads and trying to keep pace with the bracket reveals could generate quite a frenzy.
“But it was pretty stable,” White said. “I was just a little nervous last year, not knowing what to expect. But this year I felt more confident going in there. I knew the flow and how it would go. I felt like I knew the teams even better this year.”
A sharp girl
For the second consecutive NCAA Tournament, Andrews invited White, 36, back into the South Point’s exclusive inner sanctum to produce the first-round opening lines.
Her father, Kenny, and his dad, Pete, are well-known Nevada ’cappers. Pete produced sharp numbers and won so often that Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal once invited him to make odds for his book; Pete wisely declined.
Sources helped determine that, in 2024, White became the first female to have such a direct effect on establishing point spreads at a Vegas book since Patty Davidson, at the now-defunct Stardust, in 1994.
The return invite wasn’t a certainty. When conference games began, though, Andrews asked White back into the backroom.
White, a co-host of the “Sports By The Book” TV show the South Point streams daily out of its glass-walled studio, recalls Andrews stopping her and saying, “Hey, you’re going to be in the back with us again, right?”
She didn’t pause.
“I was excited,” White said. “A perfect time for me to make sure my numbers were good.”
They’re very good. White made a profit wagering on college basketball this season.
In particular, Cal Poly covered nine of 11 toward the end of the season, which made her money. The Mustangs, 4.5-point dogs with a +180 moneyline, beat UC-Riverside 96-83, returning sweet dividends to White.
As a small dog, Tulane also cashed for White with recent victories over UAB and Florida Atlantic.
“This is a sharp girl,” Andrews said. “She knows her stuff. I regard her numbers as good as any of ours. She gets equal weight, as far as my judgment. That’s why I have her part of this team.”
Action
The spreads Magliulo, Sinisi and White concocted from their power figures mostly varied by only 1 to 1.5 points, which Andrews averaged to set each game line.
In the South, Marquette-New Mexico was announced and Magliulo told his colleagues that Golden Eagles coach Shaka Smart can’t shake the Pitinos.
In the Big East Conference over the previous six weeks, the Eagles lost and failed to cover three times to St. John’s and coach Rick Pitino. The Lobos are coached by his son, Richard.
With Alabama-Robert Morris, the trio discussed the availability of Tide power forward Grant Nelson, nursing a knee injury.
“Is he or isn’t he playing?” White said. “We produced an ‘in’ number and ‘out’ number, so it kind of fell in the middle. Protect the house, right?”
Andrews opened Alabama -23. Bettors, as they did with nearly every big spread, took the points, moving it to 21.5 within an hour.
The trio debated whether Houston or Florida would give more points; Andrews would open the Cougars -28.5 against SIU-Edwardsville, the Gators -30 versus Norfolk State.
The largest variance was Kansas-Arkansas, as the trio favored the Jayhawks from between 2.5 and 6.5 points. Andrews opened Kansas -3.5.
“Super fun,” White said. “I enjoyed it even more than last year, being in the moment and appreciating what was happening back there. I already love Selection Sunday. Then, being a part of that . . .
“I put a lot into it, so it’s nice to be recognized for it and for them to want my opinion.”