Let’s be real here: The relentless heat overtaking the Las Vegas Valley is nastier than a Janet Jackson song. What we wouldn’t give to be colder than the Chicago White Six, right? While we patiently await the return of the NFL (it’s coming, it’s coming!) the STN Sports Books have become a hub of activity with Olympic-sized bets and baseball pennant races heating up. With all that in mind, let’s quickly review the past week in sports and peek at what’s ahead on the STN Sports app and at the STN Sports Books…
MLB
The Chicago White Sox have crashed worse than the stock market. Many months ago, in this very newsletter, we told you that the most automatic continuous win was to bet on whoever was playing the White Sox, and that has proven to be more real than a Housewives show on Bravo.
On Monday night, the team from Chicago’s Southside lost their 21st game in a row. The following day, bettors voiced their best Taylor Swift lyrics and said, “I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 22.” Unfortunately for them, the Sox pulled off a miracle and actually notched a win, a monster win for the Book, as the victory wiped out a slew of parlays. Still, we don’t exactly foresee a Sox winning streak. They are currently tied for having the worst win percentage of any team since 1901. In addition, they’ve won less than a quarter of their games and could very well take home the title of “worst team ever” by the end of the season.
Jason McCormick, Station Casinos Race and Sports Book Vice President, said, “Bettors have been, we’ll call it, feasting on the displeasure of the White Sox and not only betting against them but also betting against them on the run line. Not only are they getting beaten in these games, they’re getting beaten badly in these games.” The White Sox betting lines have been more absurd than NDOT’s sudden I-15 closures. The White Sox are so bad that Books sometimes use a run line of -2.5 rather than the typical -1.5.
“I really don’t want to be in-market with the White Sox. I want to be high market,” McCormick said. “I want to make the bettors tell us that we have the bad price. It’s like a free bingo square on your bingo card to play against these White Sox right now. The number can’t be high enough. They’re just not playing competitive baseball. The lineup’s not what you could say is a quality major league lineup.”
Football
Well, that’s not how we wanted the NFL season to start. Last week, the NFL preseason kicked off with the annual Hall of Fame game. But, in the eyes of the book, the game never happened. Due to inclement weather, the game was stopped in the third quarter and never resumed. STN house rules state that games must go 55 minutes for them to be official, and this one didn’t come anywhere close to that. As the over had already hit and the Bears were covering, bettors were saltier than a Top Ramen bowl. All bets on the game were refunded.
Who couldn’t use a six-figure check? Signups for the Last Man Standing competitions in both the NFL and college football are underway. The rules: Each entry costs $25, and guests must sign up in person at any Station Casinos Sports Book. Any contestant who purchases four entries will receive a fifth free.
While still active in the competition, guests must turn in their weekly picks in person. Active participants must select one game against the spread for each entry. The winner of the Last Man Standing competition of the college variety will win a guaranteed minimum of $100,000, and the NFL’s Last Man Standing winner will take home a guaranteed minimum of $150,000.
Olympics
The Olympics have oddsmakers singing like they’re at karaoke night in the Rouge Room. Between soccer, basketball and track and field, the numbers have exceeded expectations. “Both the men’s and women’s basketball, we’ve been getting a lot of action, and the soccer has been absolutely fantastic,” McCormick said. With Olympic soccer following closely behind the Euro and Copa America events last month, the soccer handle is up well over 100% as compared to a typical handle.
“We’ve been really spoiled with soccer, and the momentum is really contagious.” Meanwhile, on the hardwood, teams playing the USA men’s squad are now being picked apart like a presidential ticket. The USA women’s team, however, might be generating more handle. “With the men, you’re not seeing as much money line action or parlays because the spreads are so high, but the women’s team is generating a ton of handle,” McCormick said, noting that much of the men’s team wagering is coming via a litany of player prop bets tied to points or rebounds, and most bets are on the overs.
Some of the bigger bets of the week have actually been coming from the track and pool in Paris. Guests bested the book when Swedish swimmer Sarah Sjöström won the gold in the 100m freestyle, but some of those winnings washed away on the track. After winning the 100m dash, bettors pounced on Julien Alfred and bet her heavily to win the 200m race. Of course, that didn’t happen, as she was edged out by American Gabrielle Thomas. On the men’s side, the Book also took home a victory when Noah Lyles won the 100m race after sticking his neck out like Ozzie the giraffe (RIP.)
Bets To Know
NFL Preseason is here! And with that comes opportunities to bet on the action. Check the app often as we head into the remainder of August as we get hyped for the regular season.
Weekly Winners
The baseball wins keep on coming all summer! $30 +600 four-team parlay for this STN Sports bettor to collect $210 August 6:
-Padres -1.5 -105 vs Pirates
-Cubs -103 vs Twins
-Guardians -116 vs Diamondbacks
-Astros -122 vs Rangers