All gas, no brakes. That’s how things always are at the STN Sports Books, where the list of betting options is longer than an Adrien Brody Academy Awards speech.
Despite being a month past the Super Bowl, March Madness and the baseball regular season are set to begin, the NBA is thinning the herd and the Vegas Golden Knights have righted the ship after losing five of seven games in February. While the VGK always see the largest NHL handles, guests have also shown love this season for the Stars, Wild, Avalanche, and Oilers.
“Right now, there’s a real shot that round one of the playoffs could be Avalanche vs. Knights, and wouldn’t that be interesting?” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos Race and Sports Book Director.
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…
NCAA Tourney
The NCAA tournament is bound to be wide open. At the top sits Auburn, Duke, Houston and Tennessee. Then, there are about 20 teams that are all good and interchangeable.
“It’s going to be a really deep tournament,” Esposito said. “It’s pretty chalky up top, but you’ve got teams like St. Mary’s, who’s been playing really, really well. Louisville and Clemson are playing really well. BYU is playing well right now. It’s very chalky at the top, but after that, I think it’s really almost a roll of the dice.”
Take UConn, the back-to-back champions, for example: With over 20 wins, they’re pretty much assured to make the tournament. While they’re not ranked in the Top 25, do you want to bet against them? Would you take someone like Maryland against UConn? Esposito said,
“There’s probably a good 10 to 15 schools that are fairly interchangeable that I think there’s some value with. We’ve seen small schools with juniors and seniors get hot in the past, so I think this tournament is wide open.”
Feeling Mav-elous
Just five weeks after the Dallas Mavericks rocked the NBA by trading Luka Doncic, the team is flailing more than an inflatable outside of a Vegas car wash. On Monday, Kyrie Irving suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee. Just one day later, on Tuesday, news came out that Anthony Davis, a centerpiece of the Doncic trade, may also be out for the season. “They’re a shell of what they were three weeks ago,” Esposito said. As evidenced by the future book, the Mavericks’ season seems to be on life support. Prior to Irving’s injury, Dallas had listed odds of 30-to-1 to win the NBA title. Afterward, their odds shot up five-fold. Dallas hasn’t been reeling this badly since we discovered Kristin Shepard was the one who shot J.R. Ewing (look it up, kids).
Big League Weekend
The A’s have arrived… kind of. On Saturday and Sunday, Vegas will once again host Big League Weekend, and this year will feature back-to-back days of A’s vs. Diamondbacks. STN Sports Books will have a plethora of bets available tied to the in-our-backyard MLB action.
“We’ll definitely have some props and some stuff on the board that I’ll draw some interest,” Esposito said. “It will probably be the two most-bet spring training games of the season.” Like hangover brunches and mimosas, Big League Weekend and Las Vegas go hand in hand.
Deebo Trade
Much like the parents of a newborn child, the NFL never sleeps. On Monday, the San Francisco 49ers traded Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders for a fifth-round pick in the upcoming draft. Samuel is in the final year of his current contract, so as of now, the trade amounts to a rental, but one that has a real chance of paying off.
“You look at Washington, they led the league in screen passes last year, so Deebo clearly fits the MO of what they’re looking for,” Esposito said. “It helps out Terry McLaurin, Zach Ertz and some other young receivers, so I think it helps them a lot.” After the trade, the Commanders’ future book odds were lowered a smidge, and the Niners’ odds were raised.
The Niners, by the way, are reportedly considering trading receiver Brandon Aiyuk and still need to sign quarterback Brock Purdy to an expensive extension. The 49ers’ last off-season was more chaotic than a Trump-Zelenskyy White House meeting, and we’re starting to see a pattern.
Bets To Know
Guests can now sign up for the Men’s Last Man Standing competition for NCAA Basketball Tournament! For the low, low price of $25, players can purchase an entry into the winner-take-all competition in person at any Station Casinos property or Station-run sportsbook.
Weekly Winners
This week in tennis betting: $5 to win $1,986. ALL in-play dogs at the WTA Indian Wells Qualification. WOW. The legs:
-Inglis, M
-Osuigwe, W
-Liu, Claire
-Lepchenko, V
-Niemeier, J
-Ngounoue, C