Always Bet On The (Running)Back

That wonderful time of year is here again. A time when one can really immerse themself in football, whether it's college, pro or fantasy. Though, you might not want to let your workplace know that you're a fantasy team owner.

This year, however there's a new aspect of football fandom. Betting on fantasy football stats. Instead of drafting a team, and participating in a league you can choose from different players(24 players: 8RB, 8QB, 8WR) each week.

Station Casinos Inc., the fifth-largest sports book in the country, was to become the first to release a betting line - at 7 p.m. EDT - and start taking wagers based on players' projected fantasy statistics.

So instead of plunking down a bet on whether the Saints will beat the Colts next week, or how many points will be scored, a better in Vegas can wager that Reggie Bush will finish with more than 16 fantasy points. Or that Peyton Manning might be under 21.

Station isn't offering fantasy leagues, just the chance to bet on fantasy projections for 24 players a week.

Some sports books in Nevada - the only state where sports gambling is legal - occasionally offer "proposition" bets on a player's yardage or touchdowns.

But Station is rolling all a player's projected stats together, then setting an over-under betting number based on a scoring system used in many fantasy leagues. With six points awarded for each touchdown, one point for every 30 yards passing and one point for every 10 points rushing or receiving, Station determines a player's fantasy line.

For the opening weekend, for example, Donovan McNabb's fantasy line is 16, and Terrell Owens' is 14.

And the pool of 24 players is going to change each week, so you always have to be knowledgeable of the match-ups like any good fantasy football participant.

It will be interesting to see if this type of betting catches on because it is so specific. To me, fantasy football is all about beating your opponents week in and week out with a team that you've put together. Though, people will bet on anything, so I could see this type of gambling having some moderate success.