NFL Week 10: Belterra

It’s going to be a weird Sunday/Monday for me this week. I am flying to India and will be staying overnight in Delhi. I have not yet firmed up any sleeping plans for tonight, so I could be watching the games in a lonely corner of the Delhi airport bumming off the free wireless. Or, I could be in a “sleeping pod” they have at the airport, where overnight travelers can stay in and get a few hours of sleep. But with the arcane airport access rules that Indian airports have, I may be paying $300 for an overpriced hotel room that I will use for 5-6 hours.

So we need to think of a comfort of home this week, and what better comforting memory to have than the Belterra casino between Cincinnati and Louisville. It’s the only casino with UTH in the area, and was the most popular stop for me, Don, Mike, and others for the past 3-4 years. The limits are cheap – they still are! – there usually is a $5 craps table open all the time. The UTH is always $5 as well. The high limit room is expensive - $25 a hand for BJ in the room! Who can afford those stakes?

The clientele? Of course, not the best. That’s the only downside if you can handle it. The UTH table is particularly bad, if I remember correctly. I think I got yelled at for going 4x on A-Q; I know Don had plenty of strange looks with his card and going all in on K-7.

But it’s home, it’s comfortable. It’s like meat loaf. Yeah, it’s not flashy, and there are more elegant casinos in the area, but Belterra makes you feel all warm inside. I don’t ever recall getting killed there – I’ve lost money, sure, but not a complete outing disaster unlike other casinos.
And the Jeff Ruby steakhouse is a plus.

The Browns will hopefully have some meat loaf home cooking this week with the Rams coming to town. I remember Steve inviting me to a home game in 1991 to watch the Rams; I had to back out at the last minute due to some events that I won’t rehash here at this time. 99 was our expansion season, and the Rams were on our schedule; I thought that would be a game we could possibly win, playing on the road and the Rams starting QB, trent Green, went down in week 1!

Of course, that was the Rams’ magical season.

The first Monday night game in Cleveland since 99 was vs. the Rams in 2003; another disappointing loss, and that game spelled the end of the Couch-Holcomb merry go round. However, in 2007, we won in St Louis in the middle of the season as we realized that maybe this Derek Anderson was going to be a good QB……

When are we ever going to get a decent quarterback?????

On to the games:

SD 31, Oak 13. Uh, not so much.

Hou 24, TB 20. Tampa is a good home team, but how are they going to score
here?

Phi 31, Az 10. I have to believe that the Eagles will take out their frustrations on someone. And the Cardinals are terrible – Skelton on the road?

Mia 20, Was 10. Browns vs Redskins, neutral field…..over/under is 15? Who ya got? I am a little surprised that the Dolphins are still playing for Sparano. And I picked up Reggie Bush in one my league –a nice surprise.

Den 21, KC 20. Just a hunch. I continue to believe that Kansas City is no good.

Ind 17, Jax 14. Another rhunch. If there’s ever a game the Colts will win tis year, it has to be this one. How does Jacksonville move the ball?

Dal 30, Buf 28. Another sol crushing loss for the Bills. However, I don’t see the Cowboys stopping Buffalo like the Jets did last week – unless the Ryan borthers compare notes.

Atl 30, NO 24. I think the Saints have proven themselves to be a poor road team, and Atlanta is moving into high gear.

Car 27, Ten 13. Carolina off a bye ? They will figure out how to contain the Titans and score at home.

Pit 27, Cin 23, The Steelers are a trap pick, and I am staying away. But really, I am biased and I just can’t force myself to see the Bwengals winning here.

Bal 23, Sea 20. Seattle is a good home team, and this is a trap game for the Ravens. Steelers last week, and the Bengals next week?

Det 27, Chi 14. A letdown game for the Bears after the big win Monday night. I think the Lions will be ready to go after the bye.

SF 24, NYG 17. A game between two teams that I still don’t think are all that good. However, the Giants are on the road, and I think the 49ers wear them down with Gore.

NE 24, NYJ 20. This should be a great game, and I still have faithin Belicheck and Brady to not lose 3 in a row.

GB 27, Min 20. The Packers’ defense have a lot of holes in it. I think Ponder and the Vikings will score some garbage time points to cover the spread.

Best bets: 19 (!) of them, 0-1 already this week. Last week: 7-9; overall: 76-56-7
SD -7 (loss)
Phi -13.5
Mia -4
Was/Mia under 37
Den +3
Ind +3
Jax/Ind under 37.5
Buf +5.5
Buf/Dal over 48
Car -3.5
Ten/Car under 47
Atl -1
Pit/Cin over 41
Det +2.5
Det/Chi over 43.5
Sea +6.5
SF -3.5
NE +2
Min +13.5