Doc’s Sports Service has been a leader in the sports betting industry for well over 40 years due to our ability to provide our loyal customers with proven winners in a number of different sports through the use of a Unit Betting System that is second to none. The key to the system’s continued success is backing it up with some of the best handicappers in the business. One of those top performers for the past five years has been the Vegas Sports Informer. He has moved to the top of the ranks through his handicapping skills at breaking down matchups combined with the competitive edge that comes from spending the last 15 years behind the counter of one of the biggest sportsbooks in Las Vegas. The Informer has been able to incorporate this insider’s edge into all of his picks and the results speak for themselves with a consistent winning record for a wide selection of sporting events.

Doc’s Sports has been able to tap into this insider’s edge through a series of weekly interviews with The Informer. The goal has been to give our readers a first-hand, behind-the-scenes glimpse at what is really going in the Las Vegas books. This ongoing dialogue has been invaluable in providing insight into some of the hottest trending topics in the sports gaming industry today. The following is this week’s discussion.

Doc’s Sports: There is little doubt that last week’s Masters was one of the most exciting tournaments in recent memory right down to Adam Scott’s final winning putt, but what kind of action did this event create for the Las Vegas books last weekend?

VSI: Any time professional golf stages one of its Majors, it creates quite a bit of interest from the betting public, but the Masters followed by the US Open are easily the two biggest events of the year as far as wagering on the sport. All the books offered additional prop bets and head-to-head matchup lines for this year’s Masters, and the event itself dominated the big screen in sportsbooks up and down the strip.

Doc’s Sports: The Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder are once again favored to meet in this season’s NBA Finals, but is there another team (or teams) out there capable of derailing this rematch?

VSI: It is hard to see any team in the East getting in Miami’s way, and the season-ending injury to Danilo Gallinari probably ended Denver’s chance at pulling off the upset in the West, so it is safe to assume we will have a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals. The one team I would keep an eye on to possibly make some noise is Golden State, especially if Stephen Curry stays hot and David Lee stays out of foul trouble.

Doc’s Sports: The NBA Playoffs are a whole different ball game than the regular season, so what are a few of your “insider” tips for wagering on the games?

VSI: Defense is much more prevalent during the playoffs, so you should shift your focus towards looking for opportunities to play the “under” on the total line as opposed to the “over” that many people normally look to play during the regular season. You should also look for opportunities to bet on series prices, especially when a favorite loses one of the first two games at home. They normally go on to win the series anyway, but you can get a much better value from the adjusted price.

Doc’s Sports: Just like the NBA, it appears to be two-team race to this season’s NHL Stanley Cup title between Chicago, out of the West, and Pittsburgh in the East. Would you agree, or are there a few other teams we need to keep our eye on once the playoffs get underway in a couple of weeks?

VSI: I would agree that those two teams appear to be on a collision course with one another this season, but anything can happen in the NHL, especially if a team’s goalie gets hot at just the right time. If I had to pick two teams to watch, it would be Vancouver in the West and Montreal in the East as both teams have been playing pretty much under the radar all season long.

Doc’s Sports: We are only two weeks into the new MLB regular season, but which teams have impressed you the most so far from a betting standpoint?

VSI: I thought that Atlanta would contend in the NL East, but I never imagined it would get off to an 11-1 start. The Cardinals pitching so far has also been somewhat of a surprise as I saw that staff taking a step backwards this season. The same thing could be said for Oakland’s bats as they are off to a blistering start in a very competitive AL West.

To keep up on all the inside information from Las Vegas be sure to follow VSI on Twitter @vsidocsports. Also, if you have any questions for The Informer that you would like us to cover in future articles please email them to askvsi@docsports.com and we will do our best to add them into the mix.