The World Cup proved surprisingly popular in Las Vegas sports books four years ago, and the monthlong tournament, which gets underway Thursday in Brazil, is expected to generate even more interest this time around. I
Betting
With the final round falling on Father’s Day, and especially because he has played second fiddle six times in the U.S. Open, Phil Mickelson will be the sentimental favorite of most fans and media this week.
Let’s not kid ourselves here. It doesn’t take Paul the Octopus to know what will happen during the World Cup. Soccer fans across the country will jam into pubs with stereotypical British names such as The Pig and Whistle or Ye Olde King’s Head to watch matches. Social media timelines will explode with World Cup hashtags and outdated vuvuzela references. And the haters will say there’s not enough scoring.
Las Vegas Review-Journal sports writers Adam Hill and David Schoen have been given $5,000 fantasy bankrolls to bet during the World Cup on either sides, totals or props. Below are their bets for today, with an explanation of their picks:
ODDS TO WIN TOURNAMENT
The triple crowns people get most worked up about are in horse racing.
California Chrome has failed in his bid to win the first Triple Crown in 36 years.
California Chrome is running in the Belmont Stakes and attempting to become thoroughbred racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner and the first in 36 years, and listening to most people you’d think he was already in the winner’s circle posing for photos.
No asterisk goes next to this result, and no excuses will come from the Miami Heat. Only one player pulled up lame and limped off with cramps, but it just happened to be LeBron James, the best player in the game.
There will be no free lunch for the Chrome in the Belmont Stakes. His foes will be set on preventing him from winning the Triple Crown. And the 1½-mile race on an enormous oval is an unknown factor.
Pundits have sounded the death knell for the San Antonio Spurs for years, but coach Gregg Popovich and his core trio continues to prove them wrong.
A showdown between LeBron James and the San Antonio Spurs is not only deja vu, it’s a dream NBA Finals matchup in almost every sense.
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