It’s less than a week before America’s Birthday, but it’s still fireworks at the STN Sports Books. This is the time of year when bettors are all about baseball. “It’s usually a little tougher for us when it’s only baseball,” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos’ Race and Sports Book Director, “but we’ve been kind of holding our own over the last week.” The Book needs a win after getting bullied by Golden Knights bettors earlier this month in the Stanley Cup Final.
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…
MLB Action
Like a health department inspection at a Planet Hollywood pool, the Padres continue to disappoint. San Diego came into the season with more promise than a politician’s speech, but they haven’t even managed to eek out a .500 record — and that’s a problem since three other teams are ahead of them in their own division.
“They need to straighten it out pretty quickly, especially as well as the Giants and Diamondbacks are playing,” Esposito said. The National League is streakier than Windex-less pane of glass right now, as teams seem to be on either winning streaks or losing streaks. The American League, on the other hand, has seen a lot of teams middling, which is great for the Sports Book. “Parity is awesome for us,” Esposito declared.
The Reds are starting to put bettors in the black. Thanks to a recent 12-game winning streak, the return of Joey Votto and rookie sensation Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati has become a very trendy bet of late. In terms of future book odds, they’re more disruptive than an NDOT orange cone. “That’s the nature of the beast in baseball. When teams are winning and streaky, guests are most certainly going to play those teams,” Esposito said. Also, the Reds are producing runs and runs and more runs when playing at home, so taking the over on their home games has proven to be beneficial (During a recent three-game stand against the Braves, a total of 47 runs were scored.) At Great American Ball Park, pitchers are more abused than a PPP loan.
The Association
On the heels of the NBA Draft, teams are transforming their rosters like a Green Valley Ranch renovation. In addition, one fairly major move was made over the past week when the Golden State Warriors traded Jordan Poole for Chris Paul. Interestingly, adding the future hall of famer did nothing to change the Dubs’ future book odds. Like, nothing. At all. The Warriors number didn’t move. In fact, no team — for better for for worse — saw significant odds movement after the trade, which is rare considering Paul is a 12-time All Star. “We’re not sure what his role will be yet,” Esposito said. “I think he helps a little bit as being a distributor to the guys that like to shoot, and it looks like they are going to bring Draymond Green back. Is CP3 going to start or come off the bench?” Odds for many NBA teams are on the verge of moving, as many blockbuster trades are being rumored. It’s been speculated that Miami is incredibly interested in trading for Damian Lillard, but the Blazers might be vetoing that like a bill on Joe Lombardo’s desk.
The Match is Back
Are you ready for another round of The Match? On Thursday, Patrick Mahomes and his teammate Travis Kelce will tee off on the golf course against Stephen Curry and his fellow splash brother Klay Thompson at Wynn. The early money is on the heavily-favored Warriors teammates. It’s interesting that bettors are siding with Curry and Thompson considering Mahomes, Kelce and the Chiefs have never lost in Vegas. Zing! This is the eighth edition of the exhibition challenge, four of which have occurred in Vegas — which is ironically a city that now has driverless taxis. Those taxis, though, just kind of putt around the southwest part of the city. Still, these NFL and NBA guys better iron out the wrinkles in their game before the national TV audience watches them. (No more puns… for now.) “We’ve put these Match bets up over the last couple of years. They do draw some attention, but nothing too crazy,” Esposito said. The question remains: who wagers on an exhibition like this? Golf bettors or NFL fans? “It’s a combination of both, but you definitely get the fan who is betting with their heart,” Esposito noted. Regardless, we’ll applaud all four competitors because it takes balls to play golf outside in the Vegas summer heat.
Bets To Know
Tick, tock, tick, tock. We’re still about two months from the NCAA football kickoff, but early birds can already get their college fix. Not only do STN Sports Books already have Heisman and future book odds posted, but opening week spreads are also on the board. By the end of the week, win totals for college’s top teams (and UNLV) will be up.
Weekly Winners
Nice little 5-leg baseball parlay from Tuesday had this bettor turn $50 into $1,417.50! The legs:
-REDS +120
-GIANTS +150
-BRAVES -.5 EV
-TIGERS +170
-D’BACKS -.5 +110
