Westgate takes wagers on Houston Astros from respected bettor

The Houston Astros have garnered the disdain of many baseball fans this offseason, but that doesn’t mean they still won’t be a great team this year.

Westgate sportsbook director John Murray said “maybe our most respected baseball bettor” made some pro-Astros bets recently, including for them to go over their season win total and to lead MLB in victories.

The Astros’ win total was 94½ on Thursday at the Westgate. They have the third-highest projected total, behind the New York Yankees (102½) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (101½).

The Astros’ odds to have the most wins was +500 on Thursday. The Yankees were +125, and the Dodgers were +180.

Houston won the most games in baseball last season (107) and went on to lose to the Washington Nationals in seven games in the World Series.

But the franchise has been tarnished after revelations about using a video monitor to steal signals from opposing pitchers, in violation of MLB rules. Manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were fired after an investigation, and the team also lost draft picks and was fined $5 million.

Veteran manager Dusty Baker was hired, but Houston also has to deal with the loss of ace Gerrit Cole, who departed for the Yankees after going 20-5 with a 2.50 ERA last season.

The Astros are +800 to win the World Series, +325 to win the American League and -225 to win the AL West at the Westgate.

Other win totals

Sunset Station sportsbook director Chuck Esposito reported good action already on several baseball win totals.

He said bettors had taken the Cincinnati Reds over 84½ after the signings of outfielder Nick Castellanos and reliever Pedro Strop. The Reds won 75 games last season.

Bettors also took the Atlanta Braves under 91½ (97 wins last season) and the San Diego Padres under 83½ (70 last season).

Sunset draft event

Sunset Station will host “Get Drafted at Sunset” for the first round of the NFL draft April 23.

The draft party will include a giveaway for one ballcap from every NFL team, Esposito said.

There also will be an expanded menu of props for the draft, which is being held on the Strip.

“It’s the greatest soap opera on TV for guys,” Esposito said.

Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.