Oddsmakers Put LeBron in Chicago

The expert says Chicago has more city appeal and winning potential

The LeBron James free-agent sweepstakes-extravaganza begins Wednesday night at precisely 11:01 p.m. when teams are allowed to contact free-agents.

Everyone wants to know where the all-star will land. Does Miami have the juice? Can Cleveland hang on? Will the Knicks pull an upset?

An ESPN gambling expert is putting his money on LeBron James coming to the Windy City.

Chad Millman, who writes a blog on ESPN, explained fans are reading everything they can, talking to experts and thinking of different scenarios or handicapping to figure out where the NBA MVP will land once the free agency window opens at precisely at 11:01 p.m. Wednesday.

He turned to the MIT blackjack team to create his formula to predict whether James will call Chicago, Miami, New York, New Jersey or Cleveland home, according to onlinecasinoadvisory.com.

When Millman combined city appeal, winning potential and career potential after basketball, the City of Big Shoulders crushed the competition.

Not all gamblers are so sure.

 "The market in the offshore sports books for where LeBron will go became so volatile, with different teams leading the way seemingly every minute, that two of the most popular island bookmakers, sportsbook.com and Bodog, stopped taking bets on the sweepstakes completely," Millman wrote in his blog.

The free agency stress is even making the pros second-guess themselves.

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