LAS VEGAS -- Here's a hint concerning placing a bet on the NCAA men's basketball tournament: Never, under any circumstances, go to Sin City with three Michigan State grads.

That's the situation I found myself in this week as four of us, who received hall passes from our wives or girlfriends, rendezvoused in Las Vegas.

The object of our mission: have fun and make a few dollars betting on the first two rounds of the annual NCAA hoop event known as March Madness.

The first thing I noticed about Las Vegas is that we weren't the only ones with the same idea.

Thousands of men convinced their sweethearts that a few nights out with the boys would be harmless.

I have experienced Las Vegas before, but never during March Madness.

Other than the Super Bowl, the handle by the sports books in town is larger than any other event. And that includes the Kentucky Derby and a multitude of championship fights.

Nevada's 152 sports books accepted a record $81.2 million in wagers for the Super Bowl this year, according to a story in the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Frank Streshley, the gaming control board's statistical analyst, told the newspaper that no exact numbers are collected for NCAA tournament betting.

But Streshley offered a comparison. In February 2003, the total basketball handle -- pros and college -- was $69.5 million. That total jumped to $151.3 million in March, a difference of more than $80 million, mostly attributable to the NCAA tournament.

Casino News, an Internet site, predicted the books would this year take in $80 million over the three-week, 64-game run of the tournament.

In Las Vegas during a busy week, there are lines for everything.

People patiently wait in line to play poker, blackjack or to place a sports bet. The lines at the sports books, particularly 10 minutes before a game starts, were 20 people long by my count.

Never have so many been so anxious to give away their money.

At the New Frontier Hotel, 14 viewing screens showed not only basketball but also horse and harness racing from tracks situated in New York, Kentucky, Minnesota and California.

The noise at the sports books was almost as irritating as that constant dinging sound you hear from the slot machines in the casino area.

If you are looking for a little peace and quiet, this isn't the place to visit.

About every other minute, a couple of fans would cheer a play.

But with 14 screens showing different events, what were they looking at? Was it Brigham Young against Syracuse? Southern Illinois and Alabama? The stretch run at Aqueduct? They were all on at the same time.

Every now and then a couple of guys would jump up to high-five each other for no apparent reason.

The spectators really got vocal during the later games on Friday, especially the Wisconsin-Richmond contest that night.

One of my friends explained the high-fivers might have a parlay bet going, which brings a higher payoff.

That's assuming the right teams prevail.

After visiting the race books at the Bellagio and the Mirage, all the people watching games could agree on only one thing -- the referees screwed us.

Which gets me back to my Michigan State friends. We had pooled a sizable amount of money on one of our first-round "can't miss" bets -- Michigan State over Nevada. So what if we had to give 2 points? The Spartans would win easily.

Nevada 72, Michigan State 66.

Loyal Spartans to the end, the group agreed that Nevada was going to get killed by Gonzaga on Saturday.

"Nevada doesn't have a chance," said my friend Barry.

"Let's go all-in on Gonzaga."

Gonzaga was an 8-point favorite and lost the game by 19 points.

A lesson learned -- never bet with your heart during March Madness.

Steve Scholfield is senior sports columnist for the North County Times. He can be reached at (760) 740-3509 or scholf@nctimes.net.