Tinoco’s Kitchen, the only sit down restaurant left at the Las Vegas Club, has closed its doors.  It appears that the lunch counter sometimes referred to as Tinoco’s Express has also closed.  I could not get a straight answer about the express location.  If they have both closed, this means that the Las Vegas Club no longer has any dining choices for their guests, unless you consider the $2 hot dog and Coors Light from the bar a dining option.

Tinoco’s Kitchen, which might be best known for its lobster tank where gamblers could deposit $1 and try to catch a live lobster with a claw that would be cooked for free, never caught on in its hidden location towards the back of the casino.  Foot traffic is low in that area, especially due to the fact the hotel at Las Vegas Club is only open on busy weekends.

There were several noticeable changes at Las Vegas Club.  The hotel was closed this weekend.  All of the video poker machines and slot machines that were in the area of the rear restrooms by the parking deck elevators have been removed.  Many other machines towards the back of the casino have also been removed, including many popular machines that still used coins.

The back of the casino is starting to look completely deserted with the hotel closed most nights, many machines removed, the bingo hall closed, Frisky’s Bar closed, and now Tinoco’s Kitchen calling it quits.  There were several changes in the front of the casino with many machines moved around.  Hopefully this is a sign of a remodel coming to the property.

Tamares Group owns Las Vegas Club.  They also own The Plaza across Main Street, which was given a $35 million remodel in 2011.  Earlier this year, the company closed The Western, a dilapidated casino east of the Fremont Street Experience.  Considering the location of Las Vegas Club, my prediction is that a remodel similar to Plaza is coming and it will not meet the same fate Western did.  I have been hearing one of the hotel towers has been getting remodeled at Las Vegas Club.  This leads me to believe they intend on doing something with Las Vegas Club, as opposed to closing it or letting it rot, when they generate the cash to do it.

Riviera Las Vegas is offering players a $1000 freeroll on slots.  It appears that this play is also valid for video poker machines.  Any machine in the casino should qualify as long as it pays points.  This would disqualify some video versions of table games, including video blackjack and Shoot to Win Craps. Table games do not qualify for this promotion.

Riviera will reimburse losses up to $1000 in a single day on a tiered system.  The chart can be found in the image on this page.  A playing day starts when a player first arrives and visits the player’s club to get a new card.  A player has until 11:59pm on that same day to claim reimbursement of their losses.  If a player fails to go to the player’s club before 11:59pm on their first day of play, they will forfeit all rights to the promotion.

The promotion is returned in free slot play.  Half of the loss return is added to the player’s card immediately.  The other half is added on the third of the following month and expires after one year.  A player can release the free play right at the machine of their choice.

The best way to play this promotion is to play the highest limit slots or video poker that you can find.  Riviera has slots up to $25, and video poker up to $5.  The $5 video poker can be played as high as $25 a hand.  The best strategy is to play for a large jackpot and not not need the promotion.  This is a good time to play recklessly and way over your bankroll hoping to hit a big win.  If a player loses and gets the free play, I suggest playing lower in an attempt to lower the variance to get their money back through the free slot play.

This is an interesting promotion.  Riviera is proving once again that they have no problem taking a big chance with a promotion in an attempt to get their name out there and bring players in the door.  The terms show that they reserve the right to modify or cancel this promotion at any given time so I suggest not waiting too long to hit this.  If I did not have a player’s card there already I would be taking advantage of this as soon as possible.  Mrs. Pokeraddict also has a player’s card there, so this household is going to miss out on this promo.

Black Friday was a shocking day.  Before the press release about the seizures hit the wire, someone tried to break into my house and got into several others around me.  Once I came inside after talking to the police, I picked up the laptop and there it was, news that most people did not believe at first.  PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker, and Ultimate Bet were indicted by the feds, with tens of millions of dollars seized.  In the end, only PokerStars would recover.

I am still pretty angry about the government and how corrupt this situation was on both the government’s side, as well as Full Tilt Poker’s side.  I always knew Cereus was corrupt so that came as no surprise.  Beyond saying that the U.S. Government needs to know that they do not own the internet, I will not go beat that dead horse.  Hopefully somewhere down the road people that actually understand technology can be in charge of this country.

Before Black Friday, I played online poker full time.  I left Poker Affiliate Solutions full time a few months before and decided to go back to playing the game that I love.  I was crushing Carbon Poker when it was just a few hundred players.  It was an unknown gold mine before Black Friday.  Since so many U.S. grinders have moved there, the game quality has suffered badly.  I also played Seven Card Stud High/Low sit and gos and multi table tournaments, with an occasional Omaha High/Low game on PokerStars and was doing great.  That all came crashing down.

Shortly after Black Friday, Poker Affiliate Solutions brought me back on as a writer, consultant, and to help with player support.  It was a good way to get back into the swing of working again.  I had been writing on this blog, but had done little else.  The exposure I got from PAS, and my coverage of Black Friday news on this blog, helped me land some good writing jobs.

I have written about many different gambling topics in the past year.  In addition to online poker, I have also written about Las Vegas table games, sports betting, video poker, restaurants, hotels, and written dozens of legal articles covering the gaming industry.  My business takes me to the Las Vegas Strip often.  I have been in each Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Las Vegas casino a dozen times for my business.

I have cut a lot of my poker playing out, mostly because of work.  I still get to play some.  I tend to play Omaha High/Low at Venetian, and Seven Card Stud High/Low at Suncoast.  I do not play any No Limit Hold’em.

Black Friday Made Me an Entrepreneur Again

Beyond what Black Friday taught me about politics and government, it taught me a lot about myself.  I always knew that I was an entrepreneur.  Black Friday forced me to become one again without any planning.  I had not owned an active business since I sold Rake Rebate Review in 2006.  In one year, I have built a large customer base, as well as some websites such as this blog.

One month after Black Friday, I decided to get an office.  I found one within five minutes of the house.  It is 250 square feet.  It is far from a professional environment.  It has a recliner, a mini fridge that is usually well stocked, pictures of dogs playing poker on the wall, and a sound system hooked up the desktop.  The office has one wall that is all windows facing outside.  If I have the blinds open, people walking by sometimes give me odd looks as I am stretched out in the recliner watching TV.  I also have a desk and office chair, but most of my creative writing is done in the office recliner.  It is a great place to go and be creative, even if only for a few hours.

The office is cheap, and was perfect for giving me a place to write during my creative spurts.  I am not a natural born writer.  Sometimes I need some extra help and the change of scenery at the office is perfect.  Sometimes I am there for 16 hours, other times I go days without going to the office at all.

Instead of letting my anger at the online poker industry and the politicians involved get in the way of my life, I made the most of a truly awful situation.  I am lucky that I only have a few hundred dollars lost at Full Tilt Poker.  I know that players have a total of about $400 million lost between Cereus and Full Tilt Poker, with many single players owed well into six figures, and hundreds or thousands with $10,000 or more lost.

Although several states have had serious discussions about legalizing online poker, Nevada is the only state that has actually done it.  Online poker is yet to be live in Nevada though, but should be during 2012.  That will be another opportunity that hopefully opens some doors.  Not only will there be endless work writing about online poker in Nevada, my ultimate goal is to either contract with the online poker rooms, or become employed by one to help build it from the ground up.

A year is a long time in the online poker industry.  By April 15, 2013, there will be more states with online poker.  Nevada should also have several months of experience by then.  There is no telling what will happen on the legal front.  Considering the light sentences those who have come forward in the Black Friday cases have received, the only enforcement I predict down the road will be cash seizures.  I am already looking forward to my Black Friday second anniversary post.

Bovada, the U.S. facing Bodog Network site, has closed all player accounts in the State of Washington. Bovada has not accepted new players from Washington State for about a month.  Existing players could no longer deposit. Now all players in the state are banned and must cash out.  When Bovada stopped accepting new registrations from Washington last month, they also restricted new accounts in Utah and New York, but allowed existing players to continue playing, but not deposit.  On that same day, all Maryland players had their accounts closed.

There are no major online poker rooms that accept new players from Washington State, although some poker rooms continue to allow existing players to continue playing.  Below is the email sent to Washington State Bovada players.

Due to continuing difficulties finding and maintaining acceptable payment options, we have been forced to make the difficult decision to stop offering our services to residents of your state.

As a resident of Washington, your account has been closed to further activity. Your balance remains safe and in place – simply contact us prior to April 30th to arrange for a payout via the most suitable method. Past this date we cannot guarantee an immediate availability of options for payments to your state.

Please note that due to this decision we expect an increase in payout requests and this may delay receipt beyond our standard 15 days. We always honor our payouts so rest assured you will receive your funds.

We recommend you contact us by phone at 1-888-263-0000 at your earliest convenience and assure you we will do everything we can to service your state in the future.

With just a few days of notice to players, Poker Nordica closed their doors.  Poker Nordica had many complaints over the years about a lack of communication.  Players and affiliates constantly complained about lack of email responses to seemingly easy questions.  At one point, Poker Nordica planned an exit from the Merge Network.  Their potential new network was never named, and in the end Poker Nordica never left the network.

Poker Nordica was at one point the only EU licensed Merge Gaming skin.  They were licensed in Malta, and aimed at Scandinavian online poker players.  Over the years, their player base crumbled, even as Merge Gaming’s network exploded in traffic.

Carbon Poker is able to get players that had rakeback accounts moved to their poker room.  Players that received 35% daily rakeback can continue to receive that after they move.  They can also get players that are in states that are no longer accepted by Merge Gaming moved to their poker room.  Any player with a Poker Nordica account can move to Carbon Poker.  Player balances will move to Carbon Poker as well.  There will be no need to withdraw and redeposit.

After clearing cookies, click here to download Carbon Poker.  Create an account at Carbon Poker.  Once you have done that, contact Carbon Poker VIP Services with your Poker Nordica username, Carbon Poker username, and your request to move your bankroll and rakeback if you received it.  After that, please contact me at pokeraddict at hotmail.com to make sure we get you tracked so that you can receive stats and rakeback.  You may also contact me with any other questions that you may have.

Many have wondered why U.S. facing BetOnline was still using a .com domain after all of the domain seizures.  It looks like BetOnline finally took care of that issue by buying a domain in Antigua, far out of the reach of U.S. authorities.  The .com will forward to the .ag in the near future.  I have never played at BetOnline, and their poker room has a poor track record, so I do not recommend playing there.  I set up an account to do some research and got this email to the registered email for that account.  If you do play there, make note of the new domain  You should also check your email. Here is the email that I received:

Dear John,

This morning at approximately 6 am (ET) your account will be transferred over to the website BetOnline.ag.

At BetOnline.ag you will log-in using your exact same Username and Password.

Your entire account balance, betting history and all of your account details will be transferred to BetOnline.ag as well.

Once you log-in to BetOnline.ag you will notice that everything is identical to what you are used to. You’ll have access to the same betting options… the same fast software… the same generous bonuses… the same reliable banking options… EVERYTHING is the same!

The only change is the URL obviously. You will ALWAYS go to BetOnline.ag for all of your gaming needs.

In other words, it’s business as usual at BetOnline.ag.

Thanks and see you at BetOnline.ag soon.

S. Francis
Director, Player Services

P.S. If you have not already done so, we strongly recommend that you download the standard BetOnline client to your desktop for the fastest and most reliable way to access the site. See the simple instructions below. If you’ve already done this, you don’t need to do it again.

1.  Click here to download the tiny BetOnline Client, your instant connection to BetOnline. (Mac users please use this link)
2.  Run it and install it on your computer – it’ll place the BetOnline icon on your desktop.
3. Click on the BetOnline icon and the site will instantly open in your browser every time.

Las Vegas based Allegiant Air has announced yet another fee that is not industry standard.  Allegiant Air will now charge $15-$35 when you carry a bag on the airplane that must be stowed in the overhead compartment.  This forces virtually every passenger to pay some sort of extra fee to board the plane.  Flyers must either pay the $15-$30 while buying their ticket or they will face a $35 fee at the gate.

At the very least this violates the spirit of the Department of Transportation rule that fees that are to be paid by all travelers must be disclosed in the set price.  Considering virtually all of Allegiant Air’s flights are not daily service, passengers will have to either pay the $15-$35 carry on fee, or the $20-$35 checked luggage fee, since all trips will be multiple days.  Note that this fee is per segment.  If you plan to connect and take two Allegiant Air flights to reach your destination, you will get hit with the fee twice.

Allegiant Air already has some outrageous fees.  Below is a list of some of them:

• Seat assignments – $10-$25 each segment
• Using the website to purchase ticket – $10 each segment
• Using call center to purchase ticket – $15 each segment
• Priority Boarding – $9.99 each segment
• Soft drinks and water – $2
• Food – $3-$5
• Alcohol – $6-$7
• Checked bags $20-$35 each segment

To avoid the website or call center booking fee, a passenger must go to the airport.  My family took a trip to Rapid City, SD over the weekend.  Many weeks ago we went to McCarran to buy the tickets.  We found out after we got to the desk that tickets can only be purchased before 11am.  Luckily we just made it, but that was just another example of poor business ethics.  The person that entered our tickets took about 20 minutes and made a major error that we had to call back to Allegiant Air to fix.  It is hard to imagine Allegiant Air really wants people to go to the airport and slow down their lines to buy tickets, but it saved us $80 to do it as we bought four round trip tickets.

I think this will keep us from flying Allegiant Air in the future.  If their fares are still extremely low, and the fees plus fares are still less than competitors, we may consider it.  This loses a lot of goodwill on behalf of Allegiant Air though.  They are taking advantage of their monopolies.  I think at some point passengers will get fed up with this.  If they do, it may hurt overall Las Vegas tourism since Allegiant Air connects about 20 cities with Las Vegas that may otherwise have no reasonable way to visit.

This fee will go into effect either later tonight or tomorrow.  If you plan on flying on Allegiant Air you should consider buying your ticket now to avoid this fee.  When Allegiant Air lowered the size of their allowed carry on bag years ago they tried to nail me with the checked bag fee even though I bought the ticket before the change.  They forced me to pay the checked bag fee even though they changed the terms after I bought my ticket.  I charged it back at the end of my vacation and I won because Allegiant Air did not even bother to fight it.  I wonder how many passengers just paid it without a fight.  It would not surprise me if Allegiant Air tries the same thing here.

Two major casinos have rebranded in Las Vegas in the past few months.  The Las Vegas Hilton dropped their affiliation with the hotel chain and became “Las Vegas Hotel”, or LVH for short.  Fitzgeralds also changed its name.  The new name for this hotel is now The D.  Being the SEO nit that I am, both of these name changes have bothered me.

Las Vegas casinos seem to do a poor job marketing themselves on the internet.  Some have yet to even set up Facebook or Twitter pages.  Some of these casinos just seem to be stuck in the past, with no way for their players to find them, or find their latest offers that may draw them in for their next vacation.  Many people reserve their hotel rooms over the internet.  If potential guests cannot find them, the casino will never get that reservation.  If the reservation is never made, there will also be a loss of gambling and other revenue.

There has always been the debate among SEO experts about whether it is better to brand yourself, or go after a keyword as a domain.  Here is an example of one keyword domain, and one branded domain.  Both of these brands are going to run into trouble marketing themselves on the internet.

Las Vegas Hotel

I cannot think of a worse name for a hotel in Las Vegas.  There is no value in this brand.  Every TV station and newspaper reported about the Las Vegas Hilton’s name change.  There were countless news articles that were essentially free advertising for their new brand.  Instead of coming up with a creative new brand, one that potential guests might have remembered, they decided on the most generic term possible.

“Las Vegas Hotel” is a highly sought after search term, but they did not go after that domain, likely due to the money it would have taken to purchase it.  Considering the company was bankrupt, and cannot even afford to replace their sign on Paradise Rd, attempting to place for that search term was going to be a major challenge.  I could not even find their Twitter or Facebook accounts without going to their website.  I would have had a hard time finding their website if I did not know to look for the abbreviation.  Without a sign on the road, passersby may not even know what the place is called anymore, which means that they would have no idea what to even search for to find the hotel’s website or social media accounts.

Social media is a free way to advertise to people that have essentially signed up to receive a company’s advertising, or a way for people to find promotions.  Using a brand that is difficult to find among the millions of users is a major obstacle to overcome.  From looking at the LVH numbers on Twitter, I assume that they were able to move their previous followers, or they advertised to their Las Vegas Hilton followers to follow the new name.  The @LVHHotelCasino has over 27,000 followers.  They are following over 25,000 people though, which seems unusual to me and probably helped pad the numbers.  Bellagio, with over 32,000 followers, is only following 89 people on Twitter.

The D

Fitzgeralds has decided to rebrand to “The D”.  While I love their marketing ideas, and their advertising campaign, the brand issue is a problem on the internet.  People looking for The D on Google are never going to find the website.  A Google search of “The D” does not come up with anything related to the casino.  Adding Las Vegas to the search comes up with news stories, but the website is the bottom spot on page 1.  That should improve over time, but this should have been resolved before the casino’s brand was changed.  This brand is also nearly impossible to find on Facebook and Twitter.  Their Facebook page only has 465 likes, about half that many follow the Twitter account @theDlasvegas.

Do not get me wrong here, I really like what is going on with The D.  I especially like the idea of transforming the upstairs into a retro casino.  I just think they could have chosen a name that could be found easier in social media and Google.

Maybe both of these properties will prove me wrong.  If one of them does, it will probably be The D with their ideas and offline marketing.  My last two trips to LVH to check on their sports book were troubling.  The place was nearly vacant, and the sports book is not what it used to be.  I was there to pick up the book of prop bets for the Super Bowl.  I went there twice, and they were out of the prop bet sheets both times so I gave up.  I have not been back since.

Hopefully LVH can overcome all of their problems.  I hate seeing anyone’s business fail, especially with so many jobs depending on it.  If the LVH cannot overcome their financial problems, that would make two Las Vegas Monorail stops out of seven that would be essentially vacant.

As my articles are finding their way to more mainstream media, and my blog begins to focus more on Las Vegas, I have been getting asked the same question more and more through my blog, by email, and discussions that I participate in.  “I play poker at (insert random city’s poker room)” or “I am a winning sports bettor at (insert random online sports book)” and “I am thinking about taking a shot.  Should I move to Las Vegas?”

If you have to ask, you probably are not ready for such a big move.  I will however try my best to answer the question anyway with general observations and information.  Almost every time I get asked these types of questions, I do not get much in the way of details.  Even after asking for more info, I get very little in the way of information that might help me give useful advice.

“Can I Get a Job in Las Vegas?”

The most important thing to consider is that Las Vegas is nothing like any other city.  This is a tough town.  There are few jobs here.  Most potential employers want to know that you can survive a full year in Las Vegas before committing to you.  That is because many people cannot make it here a year because their vices destroy them.  Some people cannot handle the heat.  Others have poor bankroll management.  If you are going to move here, you should take into consideration that you will likely not find a job quickly, or if you do find one it will be part time, low paying, or not what you want to do.  This advice goes more towards men.  Woman are going to have a much easier time finding a job.  That is just how it is here.

“Can I Make a Living Playing Poker in Las Vegas?”

Chances are that you are playing in small poker room if you are asking this.  You have gotten to know most of the players that play your game, and know what to expect when you sit down.  Poker rooms in smaller casino cities tend to be looser games.  When combining that with how you will know your opponents, it is safe to assume that the games that you are playing back home are softer.  You should be absolutely killing your hometown games to even consider moving to Las Vegas.

Once you have established that you are capable of crushing the games in your hometown casinos, I suggest visiting Las Vegas for at least two weeks and preferably in the summer after the World Series of Poker.  The reason that I suggest doing this after the WSOP is that it will be the hottest part of the summer, and you will get a better idea of what the regular poker games are like.  Make sure that you drive here or rent a car.  Drive as much of the city as possible so that you can see the parts of Las Vegas that are desirable to live in, and the parts of Las Vegas that not somewhere you would want to be carrying a lot of cash.  Talk to apartment leasing agents, real estate agents, and players at the poker table that live here.  They will be full of good advice on where to live.

While you are visiting, play as much poker as possible.  Play during the day, during prime time, graveyard, and early in the morning.  You are likely to find the games to be softer between 9pm-5am Thursday through Saturday.  Can you handle that lifestyle?  If not, how much worse were the games at other hours?  Can you adjust to playing with a bunch of nitty rocks?  Some games during the day are full of players just grinding out hands between jackpots.

Once you have established whether you can beat the games or not, whether you can stand the summer heat, and what part of town you live in, it is time to look for somewhere to live.

If you do not have kids, check out some of the highrises on Las Vegas Blvd.  They will be more expensive than living further out, but then you will not have to drive as much.  That can even itself out.  Every time I drive to The Strip from Summerlin I burn about $5 in gas.  That equals $150/month before I figure in the other costs associated with operating a car.

The convenience of living on The Strip can be enormous for a poker player.  You will not have to worry about driving around the city in the middle of the night, which can be dangerous due to the drunks.  You can also walk to the game of choice if you choose your apartment’s location well.

If you have children, then your choices will be limited to the outskirts.  I live in Summerlin, but there are plenty of decent areas that are family friendly in Henderson, Southern Highlands, the far southwest, and the far north and northwest parts.  You can pick a nice area and still be 15 minutes from The Las Vegas Strip during off peak travel times.  The schools are better than you would think in those areas.  The closer you get to Las Vegas Blvd, the worse the schools and crime get so keep that in mind.

“Can I Live in Las Vegas Without a Car?”

The short answer here is no.  If you can live on The Strip, and only ever want to play at poker rooms that you can walk to from your apartment, then you can probably pull it off.  The problem is that over time you will get sick of the same people in those poker rooms, both staff and players.  Eventually there will be a poor floor ruling, or a guy you always end up seated next to that never showers, and your opinion of that room will change.  If you are on one end of The Strip, you will grow tired of the long walks in the middle of the night to and from the other side of The Strip. There will also be games that are off strip that you will be unable to play in.

If you plan on living off the Las Vegas Strip, you must have a car.  The rest of the Las Vegas metro area is one giant suburb.  The city blocks are wide, and there are few crosswalks, so walking is not really an option either.  The city is not pedestrian friendly in the slightest bit once you leave Las Vegas Blvd.  You may think that you can take the bus and be fine, but imagine waiting for the bus in 105 degree heat every day multiple times. The bus system is also not convenient for getting to and from The Strip in a timely manner.

“I am moving to Las Vegas anyway”

The first thing to do is research how much it will cost to move to Las Vegas.  Price how much a Uhaul is and how much gas you will need to get it here.  You will also need to set aside money to get your new apartment ready.  That may include renting or buying furniture, but will also include all of the standard household staples.  Be prepared for Nevada’s most unfair tax too.  The tag for your car will run about 2-3% of its value every year.  If you have a newer car, your license plate will cost you at least $500 each year.  My two six year old cars each run about $300 a year.

I also have some bankroll suggestions.  First, leave $5000 in a bank outside of Las Vegas.  Keep it there in case of emergencies.  If you fail, you will have that money to fall back on where you take your next step in life.  If you go completely bust, you can have some of it wired to a casino cage for pick up so you can get moved back home.  This may seem harsh, but what kind of plan do you think the panhandlers here had to fall back on when they went bust?  You need to have the ability to get out of town if things do not go well for you.

You should also stash living expenses for at least one year.  You will probably have to put up about 25% of that in deposits, maybe more if your only income is your aspiring Las Vegas poker career.  You will also need about $10,000 in cash in addition to this.  That gives you over 30 buyins to 1/2 NL.  That means that you should not move here to play poker or bet on sports for a living if you do not have $20,000 or more in cash plus backup cash to move if you flop.

I am not trying to discourage anyone from visiting Las Vegas and having fun.  Moving to Las Vegas is an entirely different story though.  Make sure that you are well bankrolled for such a move.  You are not going to move here and win $25,000 playing blackjack your first week.  Living in Las Vegas takes discipline.  It also takes incredible bankroll and life management skills.

Good luck in your move if you decide to ever do it.  I cannot imagine living anywhere else.  Just keep in mind that this is a tough city to make a living in right now.

Guest blogger Jason Osborne goes over his predictions in the NCAA basketball tournament’s South and East Regions.

Is Indiana a Player?

The most intriguing match up to me in the entire Sweet 16 is Kentucky vs. Indiana.  The Hoosiers beat the Wildcats back in December, 73-72.  Cody Zeller (Tyler Zeller’s younger brother) is shooting well over 60% on the season in a very tough Big10 basketball league.  Backing him up is Christian Watford, a 6’9” very credible threat from downtown, forcing defenses to cover two solid scorers.  Indiana’s Achilles Heel is their ability to move the rock.  The Hoosiers rank 120^th in the nation in assists.  Rebounding has also been a consistent problem, as they are ranked 145^th in the nation in that category.  Indiana will need for the freshman Cody Zeller to step up and really grab some boards, along with putting some serious numbers up in the points category.  In short, Cody will have to play like his brother Tyler in order to win this game against Kentucky, and I certainly think that they can.  The online basketball betting sites have Kentucky -9, I think that is too many points.

Baylor should knock off Xavier.  Not to discount the Musketeers, but Baylor played Mizzou with such intensity in the final game of the last Big12 tournament.  I came away from the game thinking that either of those two teams, Baylor or Mizzou, would make good runs in this year’s NCAA tournament.  Although Missouri was bounced by Norfolk State in the first round, Baylor has made a solid run.  However, I think that either Indiana or Kentucky are too tough for the Bears, and look for the winner of the Indiana Kentucky game to take the South Region.

Florida vs. Marquette

Some people seem to forget that Billy Donovan won back to back NCAA Tournaments a few years ago.  The problem for those people is that Billy Donovan has not forgotten that fact, and when the Gators almost beat Kentucky for an SEC title, it made people wake up.  Erving Walker is an experienced player that can call an offense and move the ball.  Additionally, he is not someone that you foul late in the game.  Kenny Boynton is a credible offensive threat and every year he gets better from beyond the arc.

Marquette has seemed uninspiring in the games that I’ve watched them play, and I don’t think that their matchup against Florida will be any different.  They do not have a stand up threat from downtown.  Their only hope is that Jae Crowder and Jamil Wilson step up on defense.  They have performed well all season on the other side of the court.  However, those two are their only threats defensively, so look for Marquette to fall to Florida.

Tom Izzo in March

If Florida rolls on to victory, they will have to play Michigan State, who should handle Louisville.  The Louisville Cardinals are the weakest Big East Champion in many years.  Simply put, the Cardinals only averaged 68.8 points per game this year, which will hardly be enough to put away Tom Izzo and the Spartans.  Izzo is always tough to play in March, and this year will be no different.

Florida’s run will end with Michigan State, as well.  The Spartans have been well tested throughout the season, starting the year off with North Carolina and Duke, back to back.  Both of those games amounted to loses, but gave the Spartans invaluable experience, which they translated into toughness and they played the regular season Big10 basketball schedule well, finishing off the year by beating both Wisconsin and Ohio State back to back.  Michigan State ranks highly in all important offensive categories, as well as in defensive categories.  This year, in a talent laden Big10, Michigan State only allowed 59.4 points per game.  The Spartans will go on to the Final Four.

East Region

The Spartans and Big10 basketball are a great Segway into the East Region, where Syracuse matches up against Wisconsin.  Syracuse is playing without Fab Melo, who was deemed academically ineligible.  Syracuse is deep, but Wisconsin is strong as well, only allowing 52 points per game in Big10 play.  Fortunately for Syracuse, Fab Melo was not exactly putting up great numbers (7.8ppg, 5.8rpg and a very sad assist to turnover ratio) on the offensive side, but was putting up some pretty respectable defensive stats.  He will be a loss on defense, not offense.  That leaves the door wide open for Wisconsin, who brings Jordan Taylor and Ryan Evans to the court.  Unfortunately, their field goal percentage has not been great this season, but that may change without defensive threat Melo on the court.  I like Syracuse here, because I think that they are deep enough to recover from the loss of Fab Melo.

Unfortunately for the Orange, that should put them in the East Regional Final against Ohio State, who should take care of Big East Champion Cincinnati fairly easily.  The Bearcats looked great against Florida State, but I think Ohio State is too strong for them.  Syracuse should be the first number one seed to fall and it will happen against Ohio State.  When the bracket was announced, Syracuse stood out like a sore thumb, when compared against the other number one seeds.

Ohio State Has Luck with Them

Ohio State got some luck with Cincinnati topping off the ACC Champion Seminoles, and their luck will continue against Syracuse.  It is one thing to have a single player shooting over 50% on the season, but the Buckeyes have two of them, and will be tough to defend against.  Sullinger and Thomas are both solid shooters that will spread out a defense, and without Melo, Syracuse simply will not be able to handle them.  Ohio State is going to the Final Four.