Wynn Las Vegas bettor loses $100K money-line parlay
Las Vegas Review-Journal reporters Todd Dewey and Adam Hill will be writing a live blog Friday on the second day of the NCAA Tournament from the Westgate sports book.
Wynn bettor loses $100K ML parlay
Big money-line parlays on heavy favorites have become increasingly popular at Las Vegas sports books.
“Every time in the tournament, I get them,” Wynn Las Vegas sports book director Johnny Avello said.
While one Wynn bettor won a $90,000, three-team money-line parlay on North Carolina, Cincinnati and Xavier that paid $10,000, another Wynn bettor wasn’t so fortunate.
The gambler lost a $100,000 three-team money-line parlay that would have paid $26,000 on Cincinnati, Michigan State and Wichita State when the Shockers were stunned by Marshall. The 13th-seeded Thundering Herd, who closed as 13.5-point underdogs, beat Wichita State 81-75.
“That helped our day a little bit,” Avello said.
Final: Xavier (-19.5) 102, Texas Southern 83
Another only-in-Las Vegas moment at the end of this one, as the crowd exploded when a player on a team losing by 21 points in the final seconds was fouled. Marquis Salmon made two free throws with 13 seconds left to cut the deficit to 19, which pushed or covered the spread for most Tigers bettors.
Final: Michigan State (-14.5) 82, Bucknell 78
The Spartans were up by 16 with 2:03 left, but the Bison made five 3-pointers the rest of the way — including three by Stephen Brown in the final 17 seconds — to rally for the cover as the crowd roared.
Final: Auburn (-9) 62, Charleston 58
The Tigers never led by more than seven points in this one. Marquise Pointer made a 3-pointer to put the Cougars ahead 55-53 with 3:10 left, but Bryce Brown answered with a go-ahead 3-pointer for Auburn with 2:07 left and the Tigers never trailed again. Jared Harper made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:18 left to put Auburn ahead to stay.
Final: Kansas State 69, Creighton (-2.5) 59
Barry Brown scored 18 points, and the Wildcats held the Bluejays to a season-low 59 points in posting a wire-to-wire win without leading scorer Dean Wade.
Final: UNR (Pick) 87, Texas 83 (OT)
UNR stormed back from a 14-point, second-half deficit and tied it at 68 on a free throw by Jordan Caroline with 3.8 seconds left in regulation as the crowd went crazy at the Westgate. Caleb Martin scored 18 points and made two huge 3-pointers in overtime as the Wolf Pack erased an early five-point deficit in the extra session to send UNR bettors to the windows to cash their tickets. Westgate sports book director Jay Kornegay reported a solid win on the Wolf Pack as most of the money was on Texas.
Final: West Virginia (-10) 85, Murray State 68
The Mountaineers led by nine at halftime and pulled away in the second half, leading by double digits in the final 12:30.
$20K to make $870
A bettor at CG Technology sports book on Friday placed a $20,000 three-team money-line parlay on Purdue, Virginia and North Carolina that would pay $870.
The first two legs rolled in as the Boilermakers crushed Cal State Fullerton by 26 and the Tar Heels beat Lipscomb by 18.
Blackout at the Westgate
Bettors and bookmakers alike suffered a bad beat of sorts Friday afternoon at the Westgate sports book, where the world’s largest indoor LED video wall went dark for 12 minutes.
The wall, which measures 20 feet tall and 240 feet wide, was installed in September 2015 and only went dark once before for about five minutes during a minor glitch.
Once the TVs were rebooted and the wall was restored in all its glory, the crowd quickly picked up where it left off, roaring for Lipscomb to cover against North Carolina.
1:12 p.m. — Everything is right in the world again at the Westgate sports book, where the big screens and odds boards were fully restored.
12:54 p.m. — As the crowd roared down the stretch of Marshall’s 81-75 upset of Wichita State as a 13-point underdog, the big screens went black at the Westgate sports book at 12:42 p.m. and stayed dark until 12:54 p.m. All of the small screens around the casino were still working.
Biggest upset so far today…and no one saw it. #MarchMadness @LVSuperBook pic.twitter.com/y8CAl6dwp7
— Elaine M. Wilson (@WilsonElaineM) March 16, 2018
Final: Butler (-1.5) 79, Arkansas 62
Kelan Martin scored 27 points and Kamar Baldwin added 24 points for the Bulldogs, who blew a 21-2 lead before pulling away in the second half.
Final: North Carolina (-22) 84, Lipscomb 66
The Tar Heels threatened to burn Lipscomb bettors and cover in the final minute, when Shea Rush came up with a steal and breakaway dunk to put them ahead by 23 with 45 seconds left as the crowd exploded. But Andrew Fleming answered with a 3-pointer to make it 84-64 with 35 seconds to go. Rather than run clock, Kane Ma took a quick shot for North Carolina and Brandon Huffman missed a putback dunk, sealing the cover for the Bisons.
Final: Marshall 81, Wichita State (-13.5) 75
Jon Elmore scored 27 points and hit several huge shots in the second half to lead the Thundering Herd to the biggest upset of the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Ajdin Penava scored a go-ahead layup with 3:50 left and Marshall stayed in front the rest of the way. Penava’s layup with 2:11 to go put the Herd ahead 76-72 and C.J. Burks then came up with a steal and dunk to make it 78-72 with 2:01 left.
Final: Cincinnati (-14) 68, Georgia State 53
The No. 15 Panthers led 47-46 with 9:31 left but the Bearcats finished the game on a 22-6 run to cover the spread by one point and burn underdog bettors who were roaring on every basket by Georgia State throughout the game.
Jarron Cumberland hit a pair of free throws with 41 seconds left to put Cincinnati up by 15. Devin Mitchell then missed a 3-point attempt that would’ve covered the spread for Panthers backers and the Bearcats ran the clock out.
Final: Texas A&M (-2.5) 73, Providence 69
The Friars, who were getting between 2½ and 4 points depending on when the bet was placed, trailed by 11 with 31 seconds. They cut the deficit to six on Jalen Lindsey’s 3-pointer with 18 seconds left and had a chance to earn a push for many bettors after Tyler Davis missed two free throws for the Aggies.
But as the crowd at the Westgate waited for the Friars to fire a 3-pointer, they instead settled for a layup by Tom Planek with seven seconds left and didn’t foul, leaving Providence bettors so unsatisfied.
Final: Purdue 74 (-20.5), Cal State Fullerton 48
Carsen Edwards and Vince Edwards scored 15 points apiece for the Boilermakers, who pulled away in the second half, outscoring the Titans 44-27.
Pros vs. Joes
8:45 a.m. — People may say they enjoy the underdog stories in the NCAA Tournament, but the average recreational bettors still love a favorite.
The Westgate sports book is seeing plenty of public action on Michigan State and North Carolina today.
Professional bettors are all over West Virginia and Bucknell.
Tipoff
7:14 a.m. — The second day of the tournament comes quickly after an exhilarating and exhausting day one capped by Buffalo’s monster upset of Arizona on Thursday night. There will be plenty of people opting for lattes and coffee without Baileys instead of bloody mary’s on Friday morning at Las Vegas sports books as we all get ready to do it again.
The Bulls might’ve busted your bracket but there will be plenty of chances to recoup your pool entry fees Friday. Which team will play giant killer?
We’ll recap every game from a betting perspective.
Wagering update
There are 16 games Friday, starting with No. 1o Providence vs. No. 7 Texas A&M (-3) at 9:15 a.m. and No. 2 Purdue (-20.5) vs. No. 15 Cal State Fullerton at 9:40 a.m.
The other morning matchups are No. 13 Marshall vs. No. 4 Wichita State (-12) at 10:30 a.m., No. 15 Georgia State vs. No. 2 Cincinnati (-13.5) at 11 a.m. and No. 15 Lipscomb vs. No. 2 North Carolina (-20.5) at 11:45 a.m.
Friday’s Best Bets
Adam Hill
Record: 1-1-1 against the spread
Creighton (-1) over Kansas State (3:50 p.m.)
Charleston (+9) over Auburn (4:25 p.m.)
Florida State (-1.5) over Missouri (6:50 p.m.)
Todd Dewey
Record: 3-0 ATS
Providence (+3) over Texas A&M (9:15 a.m.)
Butler (-1) over Arkansas (12:15 p.m.)
Charleston (+9.5) over Auburn (4:30 p.m.)
(This betting blog will be updated throughout the day).
More betting: Follow all of our sports betting coverage online at reviewjournal.com/betting and @RJ_Sports on Twitter.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter. Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.