The holiday season is filled with a ton of betting action for a number of different sports; making it the perfect time to treat yourself to the present of a Doc's Sports' selection package that is designed to build your bankroll heading into the New Year. We have been putting together winning selection packages for all the major sports for the last 43 years with the help of some of the top expert handicappers in the game. One of the "best of the best" for the past eight years has been none other than the former Vegas Sports Informer Raphael Esparza.

He built his reputation as an expert handicapper during a long and illustrious career behind the counter of some of the biggest sportsbooks in Las Vegas. Raphael was able to climb to the top of his profession by holding the prestigious position of Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria until his retirement in 2013.

It's hard to call him "retired" considering how hard he continues to work at developing and expanding an already vast network of relationships with some of the biggest and most influential Las Vegas insiders in the sports betting industry today. These professionals know the gaming world inside and out, and Raphael has been able to use this "insider's edge" to make savvy bettors a small fortune over the past several years with his picks.

What really makes his expert handicapping service so unique is selection packages for such sports as the WNBA, horse racing, boxing, professional tennis and soccer leagues all around the globe. Recently, he has gone as far as to offer picks for professional wrestling, high school football and the world of entertainment when it comes to high-profile award shows. Rest assured that if Las Vegas posts odds for it, he will handicap it.

Doc's and Raphael have been sitting down for a weekly Q&A for quite some time now to delve deeper the Las Vegas betting scene as well as to discuss some of the hottest trending sports betting topics of the day. We have found that there is no better source than someone that is a true "insider" in the undisputed sports gambling capital of the world. The following is this week's conversation.

Doc's Sports: Before the college bowl season got underway, you gave us Memphis over BYU in the Miami Beach Bowl as one of your early picks, and the Tigers covered as one-point favorites in a thriller. Looking at this weekend's slate of bowl games, can you give one or two teams you are leading towards right now?

RE: My top play would probably be the "under" 61.5 in the Holiday Bowl between Nebraska vs. USC. The Trojans will look to light things up on the scoreboard, but I think Nebraska will be able to slow things down with a heavy dose of its running game. I do like Boston College -2.5 points over Penn State in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl given my tendency to go against Big Ten teams in bowl games, but that line bears watching as we get closer to kickoff.

Doc's Sports : Looking ahead to this year's Rose Bowl between Oregon and Florida State, the large nine-point spread favoring the Ducks has held fairly steady despite the loss of cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, who was such a key part of their pass defense. How much of impact will this injury really have when it comes to handicapping this matchup?

RE: If this type of injury happened closer to game time it might have an impact, but given the long time frame that Oregon has to make the necessary adjustments with its existing personal, it will not be that big of a factor. You get the feeling that the Ducks are going to rely heavily on their ability to put points on the board to get the win as opposed to trying to keep Florida State out of the end zone.

Doc's Sports: The NFL wraps up its regular season this Sunday, and it would be hard to argue against the fact that New England and Seattle appear to be on a collision course to play one another in Super Bowl XLIX. Would you agree with that assessment, or are we missing something?

RE: I am completely on board with New England winning the AFC especially with the road going through Foxborough, but I am not quite ready to give Seattle the same free pass. Granted the Seahawks have played well down the stretch, but the level of competition they have faced diminishes these results a bit. You still have Green Bay and possibly even Dallas waiting in the wings to bring Seattle back down the earth.

Doc's Sports : Recently your blog, Straight Bet Talk, you provided your readers with a Las Vegas rendition of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" that you dubbed NBA Gambling Style. With so many high-profile matchups on this Thursday's slate, which NBA game are you most looking forward to watching?

RE: Being a huge Bulls' fan, I am always interested when Chicago takes center stage, but the best matchup on Thursday's slate by far is the West Coast battle between Golden State and the Los Angeles Clippers. This division clash will easily have the tightest spread in any of the five games on the schedule , and the way that the Warriors have exploded onto the scene has definitely caught my attention.

Doc's Sports : As an early Christmas present for our loyal readers, can you give them one free pick for any sporting event on the board between now and Sunday that they can use to help build their holiday bankroll?

RE : I would have to go with the Minnesota Vikings at home against Chicago as seven-point favorites. The Vikings will be looking to close out their season on a high note by getting to seven wins, and the Bears have been phoning it in for the past few weeks. You really have to ask yourself as to what kind of motivation is Jay Cutler going to bring into this game? My guess would be not all that much.

Click here to visit Raphael Esparza's Insider's Page at Doc's Sports for more information on his amazingly-profitable sports handicapping picks. Also, get $60 worth of Esparza's member's picks absolutely free - no obligation, no sales people - you don't even have to enter credit card information. You can use this $60 credit for any sport Esparza handicaps. Click here for $60 worth of free picks from Raphael Esparza . Also be sure to follow him on Twitter @VSIDocsports