After winning a bevy of the NFL slate’s morning games last weekend, the STN Sports Books began the day catching more bucks than an NFR cowboy riding a horse. The house won with victories by the Vikings, Titans, and Steelers, which put them on the right foot.
The afternoon was better for the guests, but the hometown Raiders dealt them a blow, covering the 7.5-spread on a last-second, game-losing field goal. “We needed all three underdogs, the Packers, Cardinals, and Raiders, and we needed all three unders,” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos Sports Book Director.
“All three afternoon games went over, but somehow, we got what could be the worst bad beat of the year if you had the Broncos. We’ve been on the wrong side of them, too, but this was one that worked out for us. We clearly needed the Raiders to kick that field goal, which they did.”
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…
NFL
For the better part of a decade, the Kansas City Chiefs have been the kings of the AFC — and even the NFL — and have received more acclaim than Time Magazine’s Athlete of the Year (A’ja Wilson!), but things are changing. When K.C. fell to the Houston Texans last Sunday, their playoff hopes may have died like a penny. But, guests are still betting them, and they will likely continue to back the 6-7 Chiefs through the end of the season.
“The Chiefs don’t look that bad, but I just wonder if everyone else has closed the gap on them,” Esposito said. “I think guests will still bet them. I mean, every game now becomes a must-win game. They’re going to have to really hope that there’s more parity.”
The likelihood of Patrick Mahomes and Co. making the playoffs is low, but if they win out, all is not lost, considering some of the teams they’d have to overcome. The Chargers, for instance, play a brutal final four games; the Colts, another team they’d have to leapfrog, are about to start Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite at quarterback. It’s improbable, but not mathematically impossible.
Philly Takes Vegas
The Philadelphia Eagles enter this weekend’s game against the Raiders as double-digit favorites, but the number dropped a bit from the initial line. The line drop was “a little surprising to me, and I don’t think it’s a product of the Raiders at all,” Esposito said. “I think it’s a product of how bad the Eagles have been.”
What gives anyway? The champs have lost three in a row and don’t look as dominant as they did last season.“We said all year that the Eagles are just going to go through the motions until the postseason starts, but you keep waiting for them to turn it on. We’re going into week 15, and they still haven’t,” Esposito said.
Most bettors assumed that by now the Eagles would be cruising like a car on a widened Interstate 15. Similarly, a fellow avian is in a similar situation. “When I watch the Eagles and the Ravens, something just seems to be off. I don’t know what it is. There just seems to be a disconnect somewhere,” Esposito said.
The Ravens have lost two in a row after winning five. The STN oddsmaker added, “Without Lamar Jackson, they couldn’t get out of their own way. Now that he’s back, they still can’t get out of their own way.
There’s a real chance that the Ravens and Chiefs, two teams that we all thought would be playing possibly in February, aren’t going to make the playoffs.”
Last Man Standing
We have an unofficial winner in the NFL’s Last Man Standing Competition. The contestant, assuming everything is confirmed, beat out 7,140 other entries to take home the $150,000 prize, cashing out like a winner at Durango’s new High Limit Lounge.
The Rams -8.5 over the Cardinals was the guest’s final winning pick (the other guest had Baltimore -5.5 against the Steelers).
Bets To Know
College bowl season is upon us. Yes, in all transparency, the bowl season has lost some of its luster with players and now teams opting out of games (See: Notre Dame pity party!) But many games offer intrigue and plenty of betting options on the STN Sports App.
Weekly Winners
Nothing like a small bet turning into a big win. Check this $210-team mobile parlay card which hit for $1,500 this past Saturday across college and one NFL game.
-Western Michigan
-Tulane
-Georgia
-Texas Tech
-Indiana
-Troy
-Boise State
-Duke
-Kennesaw
-Detroit Lions