He came close to losing out big time, but Roger Federer is back and just in time to face his No. 1 clay court rival: Rafael Nadal.

Rafael Nadal, who has been playing some of the best tennis of his career in Monte Carlo this past week, goes head-to-head against Federer in the Monte Carlo final for the third year in a row on Sunday. If he wins, it’ll be Nadal’s fourth successive title at Europe’s opening ATP Masters Series event.

Nadal leads 8-6 in all meetings against Federer and is 6-1 ahead in their matches on clay. Read more about the Federer-Nadal rivalry here; and get all your tennis odds at the Bodog Sportsbook (where Nadal is the -250 to win).

Winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player award must be a lot like winning a silver medal at the Olympics. You can almost taste the condescension. But the kind of player that usually wins this award is exactly the kind of player handicappers love: undervalued.

Last year’s winner, Monta Ellis, was a key contributor to Golden State’s 44-37-1 record against the spread (plus 6-4-1 ATS in the playoffs). Statheads already knew about Ellis thanks to his promising 11.13 Player Efficiency Rating as a rookie. Boston’s Glen “Big Baby” Davis (11.35 PER) could follow the same path as Ellis, from second-round draft pick to emerging star.

It isn’t always sophomores who win the MIP. The very likely winner this time will be Orlando’s Hedo Turkoglu. The eight-year veteran stayed relatively healthy in 2007-08, and with Rashard Lewis put next to him on the Magic frontline, Turkoglu enjoyed a career season with 19.5 points per game and a 17.81 PER. Orlando supporters profited at 50-29-3.

Baseball used to be known as the national pastime but not anymore. Gambling has taken over.

Sports gambling is America’s gamble of choice. The numbers produced by sports gambling are stunning. According to the U.S. Congress’ Gambling Impact Study, over $380 billion dollars is wagered on sports annually in the United States, making sports wagering the most widespread form of gambling. That $380 billion is more than the entire U.S. auto industry at $350 billion or the entire women’s clothing industry with $90 billion. According to USA Today, more than one out of every two adults in America places a bet on sports each year, with the Super Bowl being the largest betting event in the world.

So why is sports gambling so popular? Maybe it has to do with how lazy we have gotten, but its simple; you don’t have to leave your couch to bet on sports. We are a nation of sports lovers; we love competition and most are money hungry. Sports betting brings all 3 together in one nice little package. Now with online Sportsbooks and Racebooks it’s no surprise that it has become so widespread.

So the next time you sit at your favorite pub, watching your favorite game, hoping for one more win, take pride in knowing you’re helping build Americas new pastime. Good luck!

If you’re as pop culture-challenged as I am, you might shudder at the thought of leaving the friendly confines of the sports world for the entertainment futures market. But hold on there. You don’t have to buy those “newspapers” at the front of the checkout line to sniff out a good bargain.

It’s often just a matter of comparing prices. Here’s an easy one: American Idol 7. At press time, you could bet on David Archuleta at –150 on the moneyline to win the competition (+110 to lose). Or you could bet on David Archuleta to win at 3/2 odds (+150) when matched up against his six remaining opponents, like golf or tennis futures. The second bet is a good deal.

Here’s another one: Will the Idol winner will be under 23 years of age? Betting yes at the same –150 covers 17-year-old Archuleta, plus Jason Castro and Syesha Mercado, both age 21. It’s a blue-light special.

The cynics (and I was one of them) have been answered. The Boston Celtics not only played well with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in the fold, they continued to get better. The C’s will go into the playoffs with the best record in the league and the shortest title odds: 3-2 at press time.

It’s a crowded field of contenders; any number of teams could win the championship and deserve it. But Boston stands above the crowd at 62-16 SU and 48-28-2 ATS – making the Celtics the most profitable team in the NBA as well. Not easy to do when everyone expects you to blow out the opposition.

Danny Ainge gets extra marks for adding more and more talent to the roster after picking up Garnett and Allen. You can’t have enough experience or depth at this time of year; Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown provide both. Anything short of a title would be a major letdown.

We’ve all heard of the king of rock and roll and only in America could it happen that they would theme an entire casino in the king’s honor. That’s right, Elvis will be everywhere in the building.

FX Real Estate and Entertainment have just announced plans for and 18 acre development on the Las Vegas Strip with the Elvis Presley theme. This project will be spending an estimated $3 billion to do the king proud. As well as a 2,269 room hotel to be built along with the casino there will be a second smaller hotel and various “Elvis” teamed shops as part of the over all complex.

This Elvis venture will start soon and this venture has also opened up the possibility of other themed casino ventures throughout the industry. The potential is enormous when you consider how this area of the industry may develop.

Do you know enough about the games you’re playing when you go online or to the casino? Lots of people think they know what they’re doing, but in reality they just know the rules of the game. If you answer ‘no’ to any of the following questions, you should go to casino school.

Do you know basic strategy for blackjack?
Do you know why the “come” and “don’t come” bets are the best on the craps table?
Do you know the worst bet on the roulette table, which gives the house a 7.89% edge?
Do you know what you must do on a slot machine to qualify for the progressive jackpot?
Do you know how to collect your comp points whenever you play a game?

These are things that everyone should know if they plan on having a chance to win some money in any casino.