While guests and oddsmakers trade money back and forth in the NBA and NHL, it was the STN Sports Books that got smashed like a With Love, Always meat patty last weekend when Sean Strickland beat the heavily-favored Khamzat Chimaev in UFC 328.
“The bettors had a good night on the main event,” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos Sports Book Director. “They backed Strickland pretty good. Chimaev had to cut a lot of weight for the fight, and the public just backed Strickland, I think, because of the price.” Chimaev entered as a favorite of -600, whereas Strickland had odds of +450.
And this week offers another potpourri of betting action, with NBA and NHL playoffs, MLB regular season, a golf major, and The Preakness.
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…
VGK
Despite winning Game 5, the Vegas Golden Knights might want to buckle in for a long series. So far, the series against the Anaheim Ducks has seen overs and unders, and each team has proven it can win in the opponent’s barn.
“I really think this series goes seven. I think from a talent standpoint, the Knights are still more talented, but I think from a speed standpoint and maybe from a hunger standpoint, the Ducks are right there,” Esposito said. With these teams being the two highest scoring squads left in the playoffs and teams that love to play open, you might expect more overs, but with very little separation between the VGK and Ducks, Esposito expects things to get tighter than a go-go dancer’s underwear.
“I think they’re going to be a little bit more conservative on both sides,” he said. Regardless of who prevails, neither will be crowned the Stanley Cup favorite, an honor that now belongs to the Carolina Hurricanes, who are sitting at home on the couch after sweeping the Flyers. Now comes the rest vs. rust conversation for the ‘Canes, who will play the Sabres or Canadiens.
“We know it’s a taxing season for all these guys and all these sports, but rest is good, but also when you’re playing well, and you’re hot, you want to keep playing,” Esposito said. Out West, no one seems to be able to rest up, as both series are competitive. However, if Colorado makes it out of its series with Minnesota, the Avs would become the Stanley Cup favorite.
PGA Championship
Scottie Scheffler enters this week’s PGA Championship as the favorite to win another Wanamaker Trophy, which isn’t surprising, as he’s the No. 1 player in the world. He’s also the most-bet player at STN Books. However, he doesn’t present nearly the liability that Cameron Young does.
Young has been a beast on the golf course for most of his career, but he had a bad stretch last year. He’s since pulled his best Mojave Max impersonation and reemerged.
Before the new year, Cameron Young would’ve been 80-to-1 to win the PGA Championship, but after winning the Players Championship in March, his odds dropped to 30-to-1; after winning the Cadillac Championship by a dominating six strokes, he was down to 14-to-1; his odds are even lower now, as he’s made 10/10 cuts this year, scored two wins, four top five finishes, six top 10’s and is currently leading the FedEx Cup in points.
Aces Liability
The Las Vegas Aces’ championship defense started with a huge thud, as they got cooked like a Good Pie pizza by the Phoenix Mercury 99-66. They turned around and beat the brakes off of the Los Angeles Sparks, 105-78.
STN Books have “a lot” of liability on the Aces, Esposito said, and it seems that every basketball pundit has picked Vegas to repeat. Despite that opening loss (on the day they received their championship rings), no one seems to be concerned about A’ja Wilson and Co., especially after they middled around .500 last season before winning it all.
“We always do a pretty robust handle on WNBA, and as the Aces are relevant and playing well, it kind of adds to the overall handle for everyone,” Esposito said.
Bets To Know
The Preakness has arrived. The race is this Saturday, and the STN Sports App makes it easy to bet. If you have the app, you can go to the RACE side to find all the action – no extra steps needed.
Weekly Winners
Baseball continues to pay off for bettors. A nice little lotto ticket hit on Tuesday – $2 to win $275.81
-Blue Jays/Rays over 8
-Guardians money line over Angels
-Twins +1.5 over Marlins
-Brewers money line over Padres
-Braves money line over Cubs
-Rangers/Diamondbacks over 8.5
-Astros/Marlins over 8.5
-Cardinals money line over Athletics