Someone prepare the pancakes because the guests are battering the STN Sports Books again. For the second straight week, guests got the better of the House as favorites and very public underdogs (Chiefs, Lions and Texans) covered spreads.
“Christmas has definitely come early the last two weeks for the guests,” Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos Race and Sports Book Director. “What saved us was that the Raiders kicked that meaningless field goal and the Steelers winning outright on Sunday night.”
Still, it was another winning NFL weekend for the guests and a losing weekend for the Book. And, Week 8 could be another boon for the guests, as there are six games with a line set at a touchdown or more.
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 the STN Sports Books…
Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers entered Week 7 with a 4-2 record but decided to change quarterbacks, opting for Russell Wilson over Justin Fields. The move was questioned by many. What happened? The Steelers had their highest offensive output of the season, scoring 37 points against the New York Jets, a top 10 defense.
Much to the chagrin of one guest who could have netted a $144,840 payday with a Jets win, Pittsburgh converted that game into a W, just like the Delano.
“I think with Russ, they’re a much better offensive team,” Esposito said, noting that the odds value of Wilson vs. Fields is significant. “Maybe going into that game, it was a field goal, but I would say now it’s probably closer to the five to six range. That might be a little generous, but I just think he brings so much more to the table than Fields.”
Injuries and Line Shifts
The injury bug has bitten several teams, including a few with postseason aspirations. Raiders quarterback Aiden O’Connell is out for at least a month with a thumb injury. Over in San Francisco, Brandon Aiyuk will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn ACL and MCL; plus, Deebo Samuel checked into the hospital with pneumonia. In Washington D.C., rookie of the year favorite Jayden Daniels might be out for a few weeks with a rib injury.
Then Monday night occurred, which saw the Buccaneers lose the game and their top two receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Regarding the 49ers, that line has bounced like a When We Were Young concert attendee. The Commanders’ line has moved over a field goal toward the Bears, who are now favorites, thanks to Daniels’s injury. Speaking about Baker Mayfield’s squad, Esposito said,
“When it becomes multiple injuries for a team, that’s when you see them become a bet against, and I think that’s the case with Tampa now. We saw a number of quarterbacks struggle who don’t have any wide receivers — the Saints, the 49ers — and now it’s going to happen to the Bucs without Evans and without Godwin. It’s a totally different team without them.”
College Ball
While Sunday didn’t go the Book’s way, the same can’t be said for Saturday, thanks to Georgia’s domination of Texas in the college football ranks.
“We had a phenomenal handle, almost like a BCS playoff game, but we were huge Bulldogs fans that night,” Esposito said of Georgia’s 30-15 win. “A lot of the afternoon games went our way, with the exception of the UNLV game.” The Rebels entered the late-night skirmish as 6.5-point favorites and won 33-25. This week, the Rebs are a field goal underdog as they play a Friday night game against Boise State, who beat them in the Mountain West Championship Game last year.
“I think we’re clearly going to be Boise fans from the business side of it,” Esposito said, adding that the over might be the smart play. The over has hit in eight of Boise’s last nine games. The over has hit in seven of UNLV’s previous eight games. Dating back to last season, UNLV is 10-2 against the spread as an underdog, which is more impressive than the Neon City Festival music lineup.
“They relish the role of being an underdog,” Esposito said, “and I think the public getting them in the role as a dog is going to be pretty juicy.”
Last Man Standing
Only 42 entries remain active in the NFL contests (the week started with 94 people still in the running.) Similarly, 42 entries remain in the college contest, down from 72 that began last week.
World Series
Baseball got what it wanted: a New York Yankees/Los Angeles Dodgers World Series matchup. East Coast vs. West Coast. Judge vs. Othanti. Pizza vs. Avocado toast. Biggie vs. Tupac. The series should cause more of a frenzy than Wrestlemania/Allegiant Stadium ticket sales.
“You’re looking at a phenomenal matchup that will generate a huge handle. These teams have so much history, high payrolls and two of the mega superstars in the league. I think it’s going to be fun,” Esposito said. Based on future book bets, the House does better if the Yankees hoist the trophy, but they’re at a “break even” point if the Dodgers prevail. Los Angeles enters the World Series as a slight favorite in both Game 1 and the series overall.
“I really think that Yankees have a better pitching rotation coming in, and I think that favors them a bit, but the Dodgers have home-field advantage and that they’ve just been hitting so well from top to bottom, so we will see how that neutralizes the pitching of the Yankees,” Esposito said. “The old adage is pitching always wins big games and big series, and I would favorite the Yankees pitching.” Esposito’s prediction: Yankees in 7.
Bets To Know
Like the state of Nevada every four years, we’re in full swing over here! The NHL is a couple of weeks into the season (Go, Knights, Go!) On Tuesday, the NBA tipped off its season. NFL teams are starting to separate themselves and establish the haves and have nots, and college basketball is less than two weeks away. The menu of options on the STN Sports app has never been larger.
Weekly Winners
A $3 STN Sports teaser card had this bettor walking away with $900 this past Sunday! The legs:
-Texans +8
-Eagles +1
-Jaguars -1
-Steelers +8
-Bengals -1
-Bills -4
-Colts/Dolphins Under 49
-Vikings +2
-Chiefs +8
-Bills/Titans Over 36
-Raiders +12
-Panthers/Commanders Under 56
-Packers/Texans Over 43
-Commanders -4
-Falcons/Seahawks Under 57