Like the crew of NASA’s Artemis II, STN Sports Books were over the moon after a record-setting March Madness. “Overall, the tournament was probably the best March we’ve had, maybe ever. It was certainly the best over the past couple of years, which were so chalky,” Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos Sports Book Director.
“Although this tournament was still chalky, every single day we seemed to have one or two outright ‘dog winners, big winners that really helped as well. When Duke went down, Florida went down, just to name a few, were all really positive stuff for our side of the counter.”
He added, “We had only one losing day in the tournament, which was the Saturday of the Sweet 16 weekend, when all the favorites won. That was the only day that we did not post a positive number.” 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…
Natty
Hail to the Victors, indeed. On Monday night, the Michigan Wolverines completed a dream season with a win in the National Championship, beating the UConn Huskies 69-63. Although UConn lost, they covered the 7-point spread, and the game went under the closing total of 146. Just prior to tipoff, 83% of the over/under bets were on the over, and 63% of the money was on Michigan and the touchdown.
“Early in the day on Monday, there was a lot of Michigan moneyline play, but then we seemed to see some UConn play closer to tip-off,” Esposito said. “Michigan winning but not covering was good for us, but really keeping it under was paramount. I think at that point, once it was apparent that it looked like it was going to stay under, we couldn’t really lose.”
Michigan’s win was also a stress reliever for the STN from a liability standpoint, as the Book was in much better shape with a Wolverines win, as opposed to another Huskies title. Certainly, UConn’s 2026 run was impressive, as they seemed to be out of it a few times but managed to storm back with a deluge of 3-pointers and swarming defense. On Monday, though, that run was more absent than Fernando Mendoza at the upcoming NFL Draft.
Last Man Standing
We have a winner (which will be official next week). One guest, who plays at Red Rock, was the sole winner of the $55,200 Last Man Standing Contest, correctly taking UConn with the points on Monday night, icing out the competition like a Frozen Four game.
Going into the game on Monday, four entries remained active. Three people, however, picked Michigan -7. The sole guest bested 2,737 entries to win the five-figure prize.
Marlins
It’s still very early in the baseball season, and to little surprise, the Dodgers and Yankees are very, very good. Their division leads are already getting stretched out like a New Moon Yoga attendee. Naturally, guests will undoubtedly bet on both, but the payouts can be tempered by the moneylines.
Having said that, is anyone paying attention to some off-the-radar teams killing guests’ parlay tickets? How about the Marlins, who are (so far) more than holding their own in the NL East? The Angels, Reds, and Pirates are all on the positive side of .500, which few would have guessed two weeks ago (and judging by the ticket handles, guests are continuing to bet against these small-market teams — and lose).
“On the flip side, the Cubs’ early-season struggles have been good for us. They’re off to kind of a miserable start, but guests are still betting them heavily,” Esposito said. The Mariners were a very popular future book bet in the offseason, and they’ve looked more lost than Santa Claus on Easter. The Red Sox and Tigers, who had high expectations, aren’t exactly lighting up like a nighttime marquee.
“Some of the teams that we expected to be good are not playing well out of the gate, so there’s definitely been some early-season parity, which has been good. That definitely helps us. Baseball overall has been pretty good so far for the first couple of weeks,” Esposito said.
Bets To Know
The Masters, a tradition unlike any other, has just begun. Between the plethora of prop bets, straight bets, and live betting, oddsmakers are expecting a huge handle. Check the app throughout the tournament for updated betting markets.
Weekly Winners
Sometimes, you just need to put down $1 on a flyer. Congrats to this ticket that hit Tuesday for $176.45:
-Raptors -1.5
-Rockets +1
-Clippers -11.5
-Timberwolves -12.5
-Pelicans -11
-Bulls -6
-Celtics -4.5
-Thunder -18