All-Star Game, Derby Prove Profitable For Books

There’s been nonstop activity at the STN Sports Books this summer. Crowds have filled seats for soccer, tennis and baseball recently, creating an atmosphere more spirited than a T-Bones back bar.

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 STN Sports Books…

MLB All Stars

The Home Run Derby nearly saw the STN Sports Books get more butchered than an Ingrid Andress national anthem. All night long on Monday oddsmakers were desperately rooting against Bobby Witt Jr., and things were looking more dicey than a craps table when the Royals stud made it to the final. On the flip side, he was going against Teoscar Hernandez, one of two players that the Books did well to (the other being Alec Bohm.)

“With the matchups, the live betting aspect, adjusting prices as they go through the derby and the future book, betting has gone up every year,”  said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos Race and Sports Book Director. “There was a lot of betting and fan interest this year despite lacking some of the star power of the past, like Shohei Ohtani and Bryce Harper.”

The American League is on an absolute tear in the All-Star Game, and that’s continued. Going into Tuesday night’s game, the AL had won nine of the last 10 games. In fact, they’d gone 21-4-1 over the past 26 years. They’ve now added to that tally following the 5-3 win. Guests clearly knew of the AL’s historical dominance in the midsummer classic, as they pounded the American League and the under at the counters and on the STN Sports App. The National League was getting dismissed like a classified documents case in Florida.

“Our best case scenario is the National League winning and the over,” Esposito opined before the first pitch. “In the game, guests consistently bet the under. You’ve got these star power pitchers who are only asked to go maybe an inning, and they clearly have the advantage. A lot of times some of the opposing leagues hitters haven’t seen these pitchers before. It seems like every year we’re rooting for the over in the game.” On Tuesday, the over hit.

The first half of the MLB season has closed like the Mirage, so it’s the perfect time to examine who’s underachieved and who’s overachieved — in betting terms, who to bet and who to fade.

“I keep looking at the Astros. They’ve made up a lot of ground recently, and they could be really dangerous with a few moves,” Esposito said. The Cubs, meanwhile, could be a sneaky good team if they can get a closer, particularly given that they have 18 blown saves. (Then again, they might be sellers at the trade deadline.) On the other side of the coin, Esposito is leery of the Braves. As of now, Atlanta has a vice-like grip on an NL wildcard spot, but are they doing it with smoke and mirrors?

“I worry about the Braves a little bit because of their injuries. Their pitching staff just hasn’t been great,” Esposito said. “Chris Sale has been phenomenal, but can he keep this up the second half of the season? The rest of the guys in the rotation have really been guys that haven’t thrown that many innings in their careers, so I worry about them maybe taking a step back.”

Soccer Action

We’re just two weeks removed from Independence Day, but things have been feeling downright international. The UEFA European Champion and the Copa America tournaments drew Super Bowl-esque crowds to the Books and generated handle larger than a presidential visit traffic jam.

Guests pocketed a win when Spain, the favorite, notched a win over England in the Euro, but the Book took home a victory later in the day when Argentina, also the favorite, defeated Colombia.

“You had two huge international events at a time when there’s not a whole lot going on in sports. Combine that with the star power of the countries involved, the marquee players that were involved and isolated game times, and it was really the perfect storm,” Esposito said. Both games saw an influx of in-play betting, which only added to the never-ending list of props that were already offered before kickoff.

“There was a lot of action on Colombia to win, so we clearly were rooting for the end of regulation time to be a draw, and that outcome was kind of perfect for us,” Esposito said. “We did have a lot of action on Spain against England, so we kind of split the two games overall.” Still, bettors were all-in on soccer and shooting their shot like a Summer League player.

Esposito added, “The Euro and Copa generated a kind of atmosphere and buzz and just the loudness in the room. These are diehard fans. We’re an international city and we had international guests that were clearly backing their countries and letting it show.”

Wimbledon

When it came to women at Wimbledon, top seeds were dropping like an amusement park ride all week. Coco Gauff, Ida Swiatek, Jessica Pegula were all ousted on the court, and Aryna Sabalenka bowed out before the tournament. On the men’s side, two of the favorites — Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic — faced off in the final.

“The overall handle was good and there was a lot of live action on it, but we had no real liability on anyone,” Esposito said. “Really, the Copa America and UEFA tournaments were so much bigger internationally than Wimbledon, which just shows how big soccer was for us.”