The Las Vegas streets are still soaked with champagne, and William Karlsson’s parade hangover is probably more legendary than his shirtless speech. Moments after the 2023 hockey season ended with the Golden Knights atop the mountain — which prompted the biggest NHL payout in the history of the sports gaming industry —fans were already making sure the STN Sports Books paid close attention to the 2024 team. How does one spell L-I-A-B-I-L-I-T-Y anyway?
With all that in mind, let’s quickly look back at the past week in sports and peek at what’s ahead on the STN Sports App and at the Station Casinos Race and Sports Books…
1 NBA Move, More To Come?
Even beer kegs don’t draft like the NBA. Due to the NBA Draft on Thursday, teams will shake up their rosters like a snow globe. But, the Phoenix Suns have already moved their odds down with the addition of Bradley Beal. Prior to the trade, Kevin Durant’s squad had 2024 championship odds of 9-to-1. They’ve since shrunk like a celebrity head at Golden Tiki. “I think this is just the tip of the iceberg,” Esposito said. “There’s a number of names out there that are potentially being floated as big name guys who could be on the move.” Damian Lillard, Draymond Green, Zion Williamson, Zach Lavine and even James Harden could all be settling down in new zip codes before tipoff this fall.
MLB Surprises
It’s time for the boys of the summer to have their say. With the NFL kickoff still months away and the NHL and NBA seasons over, baseball takes center stage. All season long, the A’s, Royals, White Sox, Nationals and Rockies have had more problems than Hunter Biden’s laptop. While the Cardinals and Padres haven’t exactly been a “bet against” (at least in the eyes of the guests) they aren’t really rewarding bettors either. “Guests are still betting those two quite a bit, and both have losing records,” Esposito said. “Of course, it’s all kind of dependent on who they’re playing.” On the flip side, the Giants, the first place Diamondbacks and the Orioles are all vastly exceeding expectations but aren’t garnering the attention they rightfully deserve. “You look at the National League West and it was really all about the Dodgers and Padres, but I think both the Giants and Diamondbacks, especially the Diamondbacks, may be overlooked a little bit by bettors,” Esposito said. “You could say the same thing with the Orioles, who have one of the best records in the American League. They’re maybe not getting quite the love on a daily basis as maybe some teams that aren’t very good.”
Bets To Know
The lights at T-Mobile Arena hadn’t even gone down when STN Sports Books posted future book odds for the 2024 NHL season, which was led by… Colorado? The Vegas Golden Knights opened up with 9-to-1 Stanley Cup odds next year, second only to the Avalanche, but fans were quick to tell the Book it was wrong. “There has been an onslaught of VGK money,” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos’ Race and Sports Book Director.
Weekly Winners
Picking a winning golfer is harder to do than exiting Flamingo on VGK parade day. Heading into the U.S. Open, the STN Sports Book had liability on Brooks Koepka, Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler. Almost nobody foresaw Wyndham Clark (who?) beating the best golfers in the world and capturing his first major title. One Station guest placed a $500 bet on Clark at 80-to-1 odds, which meant that bettor earned a $40,000 payday.
