Nolan Dalla

Nolan Dalla

Sports Betting Columnist  |  LAS VEGAS

Nolan Dalla made his first sports bet at age 8 when the Baltimore Colts beat the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V. Since that day in 1971, he's written thousands of gambling articles, served as Director of Public Relations for Binions's Horseshoe in Downtown Las Vegas, been the Media Director for the World Series of Poker, worked as Director of Communications for PokerStars, written a best-selling book on the life of poker champion Stu Ungar ("One of a Kind"), and wagered millions of dollars on sports and other events all over the world -- from European handball and Greek soccer matches to Canadian college football and the Oscars. In that despicable Super Bowl game, Dalla lost the princely sum of $1 when Jim O'Brien kicked a last-second field goal, giving the Colts an undeserved 16-13 victory. After starting his gambling career stuck for a buck, Mr. Dalla's goal is to someday climb out of the hole and get back to even.

NFL Playoffs: Insider’s Guide to Betting Totals in the Divisional Round

NFL Playoffs: Insider’s Guide to Betting Totals in the Divisional Round

NFL Playoff games tend to be lower scoring affairs than their regular season counterparts. However, this week’s four divisional-round games each have a higher-than-average total. So, what’s going on? Four playoff games will take place this weekend — two on Saturday (Minnesota at San Francisco, Tennessee at Baltimore) and two […]

NFL Playoffs: Which Underdog is Most Likely to Pull Off an Upset?

NFL Playoffs: Which Underdog is Most Likely to Pull Off an Upset?

The gambling public loves betting on favorites. That’s amplified even more so in playoff games. For this week’s divisional round matchups, point spreads range from -4 all the way up to -10. Which of the four games looks to offer dog bettors the best chance for a possible outright upset? […]

2019 NFL Season Win Totals Recap: Who Got There and Who Didn’t?

2019 NFL Season Win Totals Recap: Who Got There and Who Didn’t?

Remember when the NFL season win totals were released last summer? So many teams and wagers looked tempting. A few even looked easy. With the regular season now complete, it’s time to go back and look at which teams were the biggest surprises and disappointments of 2019, and to see […]

Top Photos of 2019: The Year in Sports

Top Photos of 2019: The Year in Sports

The end of the year offers us the ideal time for reflection. CBS News just released its Top Photos of 2019: The Year in Pictures. Of the 53 photos selected, nearly a dozen relate to sports. Accordingly, this seems like the perfect occasion to ponder and marvel at these 11 […]

How to Handicap the Final Week of the NFL Regular Season

How to Handicap the Final Week of the NFL Regular Season

Pittsburgh is favored over Baltimore? Tennessee is laying nearly a touchdown at Houston? Chicago is favored by a field goal in Minnesota? Week 17 looks to be a crazy slate of NFL games. Here’s a guide to taking advantage of unusual circumstances and avoiding traps. The final week of the […]

Key Trends for Handicappers in NFL Week 17 Matchups

Key Trends for Handicappers in NFL Week 17 Matchups

Trends can be a helpful starting point when handicapping NFL games. In fact, some trends should carry added weight this time of year, because late-December matchups carry nearly a full season’s worth of data. Here’s a look at some noteworthy trends for NFL Week #17. Let’s take a look at […]

NFL Week 17: Totals Trends Suggest Four Possible Under Wagers

NFL Week 17: Totals Trends Suggest Four Possible Under Wagers

The NFL may be a pass-happy league, but betting on unders is clearly the way to go in late-season games. Both recent and long-term trends suggest that bettors haven’t yet caught on to the value of unders when wagering on totals, especially in the final week. This Sunday, four games […]

Key Trends in Sports Betting: Monday, December 23, 2019

Key Trends in Sports Betting: Monday, December 23, 2019

Here’s a look at some powerful betting trends for today’s — and tonight’s — games in college football, college basketball, the NHL, NBA, and NFL. The most significant trend for each sport is listed below. Check them out. Which teams are hot and which are not? Here’s a quick-and-easy guide […]

Key Trends for Handicappers in NFL Week 16 Matchups

Key Trends for Handicappers in NFL Week 16 Matchups

Trends can be a helpful starting point when handicapping NFL games. In fact, some trends should carry added weight this time of year because late-season matchups include significantly more regular-season data worth considering. Here’s a look at some trends worth looking at for NFL Week #16. Trends are very often […]

Betting NFL Totals: Winning Angle Revealed in Some Late-Season Unders

Betting NFL Totals: Winning Angle Revealed in Some Late-Season Unders

All sports bets are not created equal. Inside the unpredictable Animal Farm of wagering on overs and unders, some NFL totals “are more equal than others.” Betting on NFL sides makes up the vast majority of football wagers. Betting on NFL totals, however, is frequently where you can find more […]

Mastering the Fine Art of Middling an NFL Point Spread

Mastering the Fine Art of Middling an NFL Point Spread

December is the best month to create “middles” when betting NFL games. This article explains why the final four weeks of the regular season presents ideal opportunities for wagers that, essentially, “can’t lose.” Last week, the Chicago Bears opened as -2.5 favorites versus the Detroit Lions. By kickoff, the line […]

Data Mining Week 13 NFL Games for Winning Betting Angles

Data Mining Week 13 NFL Games for Winning Betting Angles

We’re doing the dirty work of crunching through data, and deep into the 2019 NFL season, we’ve found two betting angles that continue to produce a profit. Will our good fortune continue? Last week, we data-mined two betting angles that produced a profit. This week, we see no reason to […]

NBA Data Mining: What the Numbers Say about Betting on Black Friday

NBA Data Mining: What the Numbers Say about Betting on Black Friday

Data mining is precisely what it seems to be — lots of digging, sifting through vast quantities of worthless rubble, and only on occasion finding buried treasure. Unfortunately, for every discovery that’s potentially profitable, there are dozens and sometimes hundreds of disappointments and dead ends. Nonetheless, all new knowledge is […]

Thanksgiving Day Football in Dallas Provides Bounty of Warm Memories

Thanksgiving Day Football in Dallas Provides Bounty of Warm Memories

Thanksgiving is as much about football and gambling as it is about turkey and dressing. Family dinners are now scheduled around game time. If you grew up in Dallas (or Detroit), football on Thanksgiving Thursday was a rite of passage and way of life — one in which Thanksgiving dinner […]

Betting on Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns may seem odd to many, but as 10.5-point favorites this weekend against the Dolphins, historically this game is theirs to cover. (Image: Matt Starkey/Cleveland Browns)

Why NFL Teams Favored by 10-14 Points are Historically Strong Bets

Handicapping the NFL isn’t easy, but starting out with a betting advantage might be as simple as hunting for games within a specific point-spread range. This article explains what to look for, and what the data says about finding a point-spread sweet spot. The sports betting market generally gets things […]

Data: Previous Week Rushing Stats a Key NFL Betting Predictor

Data: Previous Week Rushing Stats a Key NFL Betting Predictor

The NFL has become a passing league. Virtually all pro football teams now throw the ball more than ever before. This doesn’t mean we should disregard rushing data, however. In fact, recent rushing statistics can have significant predictive value in picking point-spread winners. Consider just one stat, which measures the […]