For bettors, October has already proven to be sweeter than a bag of Halloween candy, as guests had their best day of the NFL betting season last weekend. With all that in mind, let’s quickly look back over the sports landscape and dish out some insight on what’s ahead on the field, on the diamond, on the ice, on the STN Sports App and at the Station Casinos Race and Sports Book.
Beats and Beatings!
When you’re hurting, you usually go to CVS for a cure. At the Station Sports Books on Sunday, CVS —also called the Cowboys, Vikings, Seahawks — brought the pain instead. Make no mistake about it, the Station Casinos Race and Sports Book got beat on Sunday. “Some of our bigger games all seemed to go the guest’s way,” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos Race and Sports Book Director.
The Cowboys covering the line against the Commanders was a huge decision in favor of the guests; the Raiders finally notching a victory was a large win for the bettors; the Chiefs and Seahawks were especially good for bettors too. Interestingly, underdogs went 9-6 with six outright wins, which is normally a recipe for success for the Book. “We saw substantial play on the Chiefs, who were a dog, and substantial play on the Seahawks. The Seahawks were a big, big play,” Esposito said.
Still, regardless of how well the day went for bettors, it can’t possibly be as large as a CVS receipt.
Monday Night Comeback
The Sports Book was able to exact a little revenge on the guests on Monday night due to the San Fransisco 49ers 24-9 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Guests heavily backed the defending champs against the 49ers, with 83% of the tickets going on Los Angeles. “We were 49er fans. The 49ers and the under 41.5 was the best result for us,” Esposito said. “The 49ers winning kind of killed off any teasers that were tied in the Rams. We had some carry over liability going to the game.”
It should be noted that guests and professionals are starting to believe in this 49ers team. “I think everybody’s kind of in agreement that this team is ready to win now,” Esposito said. “The veterans are clearly backing him. We even saw some late push on the 49ers Monday night.”
While the NFL proved to be profitable for the guests, Saturday went to the oddsmakers… and it all hedged on the Southern California/Arizona State game. Like Penn Jillette and other staunch atheists, it seemed no one believed in the Devils. “Southern Cal not getting the cover against Arizona State preserved a really good day,” Esposito said, referring to the Sun Devils covering the 25.5 point spread in the 42-25 loss. “Everything that was kind of live and pending in any liability was going into Southern Cal.”
In the first three weeks of the season, Southern California was cruising past spreads. They’ve failed to cover the lines over the past two weeks. Then again, even the Trojans you can buy in the grocery store aren’t 100% effective.
Ice Is Nice
The Vegas Golden Knights are back in action. In less than a week, the team kicks off its regular season slate of games, and, like a sumo wrestler in the Red Rock sauna, the bets could come hot and heavy. “I expect guests to really support them early on, but whether guests continue to ride them will depend on how they come out of the gate,” Esposito said. “There’s still a tremendous amount of optimism with the Knights because when they are healthy, there’s still a really talented bunch.”
Based on the future’s board, Station considers the Knights a Top 10 team… unfortunately there are four teams in the west expected to be better. But hell, VGK was supposed to be nothing more than US-95 roadkill in the inaugural year, and we all remember what happened there. Still, the odds aren’t exactly trending toward Vegas, as Esposito points out that the Knights enter the season with its highest odds since the 2017-2018 season.
“And their odds are trending up upward, not downward,” he added. The key is goaltending. Can the young tandem of Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit man the pipes adequately? With a question mark in net combined with Vegas’ offensive prowess, are we in for a lot of overs?
Mr. October
It was a season that saw Aaron Judge becoming the new American League home run king and Albert Pujols reach homer immortality; it saw the Reds pitch a no hitter and still lose the game; it saw Fernando Tatis Jr. get suspended; it also saw a Marlins pitcher balk three times during a SINGLE plate appearance… But, things are about to really get wild! The Major League Baseball postseason begins on Friday and, like a dog and a fire hydrant, the new format might just give bettors a leg up. Pro tip: Judging from history, lean toward low scoring games and back the teams with better pitching.
“I think the teams that don’t play Wildcard Weekend really have an opportunity to kind of set up their rotations, which is going to be paramount,” Esposito said. We’re looking at you, Dodgers, Braves, Astros and Yankees. Of course, we’ve seen wildcard teams ride a hot streak to titles before, but that was under the old format.
“When it comes to baseball postseason, everything really is predicated based on pitching,” Esposito said. “You see some games that are a little bit lower scoring and tighter, and it really comes down to pitching.” He adds, “When you can roll out the top three pitchers like the Astros can, it makes it awfully tough for the other teams.”
Weekly Winners
Preseason? No problem. This STN Sports bettor capitalized on preseason offerings in basketball and baseball to cash this 8-teamer for $11,482. NICE!
– Knicks -4 -110
– Pistons OV 208.5 -110
– Islanders OV 5.5 EV
– Islanders -155
– Senators -180
– Senators OV 6.5 -115
– Pelicans +2.5 -110
– Pelicans OV 217.5 -110
Preseason CASH
Congrats to this bettor who hit an 8-teamer last night across basketball and hockey preseason.
$100 $11,482.75 pic.twitter.com/FLuEMyCoPK
— Steven Money, baby. (@STNSportsApp) October 5, 2022
Bets To Know
The pro baseball postseason is upon us, and there is a huge menu of options nightly to choose from. Also be on the lookout for regularly updated futures on who will win their respective pennants, or win it all.