The Betting Window – April 16th, 2011

This will be my only post until Monday – I’m in Florida for a family wedding.

Yesterday was a somber day in the gambling world. The three major online poker sites in America, Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and Ultimate Bet, we’re all indicted for money laundering and bank fraud. Really, they were indicted for violating the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (2006) – a bill that created it’s own definitions for “money laundering” and “bank fraud.”

While the poker industry is crumbling after Black Friday, the rest of the gaming industry moves on. The NBA playoffs start tonight, so here’s a look at the five future bets I like for the weekend and beyond.

1. Boston Celtics (-350) over New York Knicks

Love the Knickerbockers, but there is no way this is happening, and -350 is a great price.

2. San Antonio Spurs (-380) over Memphis Grizzlies 

Memphis tanked their last few games to lock up the eight-seed, and ensure they’d play the Spurs rather than the Lakers. I don’t like San Antonio moving forward, but without Rudy Gay, the Grizzlies don’t have enough to beat them.

3. Dallas Mavericks (-190) over Portland Trailblazers

Fade. The Public.

4. Chicago Bulls to win the NBA Championship (7/2)

Great value. The team with the best record in the regular season has the third best odds to win it all, and they’re a great ball club. Some people are hesitant to pick a young core, but Derrick Rose and company are something special.

5. Oklahoma City to win the NBA Championship (11/1)

Love, love , love this bet. If the Thunder can get past Denver (they’ve never won a road playoff game) then they are the most dangerous team in the tournament. Kendrick Perkins has changed this team dramatically on the defensive end, and Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are two of the most dynamic scorers in the league. At 11/1 this price can’t be beat.

Betting lines are provided by Bodog and are accurate at the time of this post.