In a span of 11 days that began Thursday, fans and bettors can feast their eyes on a smorgasbord of baseball, the Final Four and NCAA championship and the Masters.
Todd Dewey
Todd Dewey covers sports betting for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
tdewey@reviewjournal.com … @tdewey33 on Twitter. 702-383-0354
If a bettor had placed a $100 money line wager on Oregon State and kept rolling it over during its six-game winning streak, the bankroll would be a little more than $250,000.
Bettors bank on Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim to help No. 11 Orange cover as 6½-point underdogs to No. 2 Houston at Hinkle Fieldhouse, site of the movie “Hoosiers.”
The NCAA Tournament games couldn’t have gone much better for Las Vegas sportsbooks, as underdogs went 24-15 ATS with 16 outright upsets Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Las Vegas sportsbooks welcomed back the NCAA Tournament on Friday after a one-year hiatus, and the biggest betting event of the year did not disappoint.
Sharp bettors and the betting public are banking on Ohio to cover the spread against Virginia, which opened as a 10½-point favorite but is down to -7.
Las Vegas bookmakers have been at odds for years with the NCAA selection committee, but there was only one instance Sunday in which a higher seed was favored over a lower seed.
Since 2002, when Ken Pomeroy started KenPom.com, 17 of the 18 NCAA champions have ranked in the top 20 in his offensive and defensive efficiency ratings.
Arkansas (20-5, 16-7-1 ATS), guided by fiery former UNR coach Eric Musselman, is listed at 70-1 odds at William Hill to win its first NCAA title since 1994.
Perhaps based on a belief that Deshaun Watson will be traded to the Jets, sharp bettors at William Hill wagered on New York to win the AFC East, AFC and the Super Bowl.
The Westgate opened the Dodgers at 103½ wins and William Hill at 104½ — which ties the 1999 Yankees for the highest total since 1990, according to sportsoddshistory.com.
LeBron James, at age 36 and in his 18th season, has played in all 26 games for the Los Angeles Lakers and appears to be on a mission to win his fifth NBA MVP award.
Perhaps more improbable than Tom Brady leaving New England after 20 years and leading Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl title in his first season there was the manner in which the Buccaneers beat the Chiefs.
William Hill released 1,218 ways to bet on the Super Bowl at 2 p.m. Thursday, and the video wall at the Westgate lit up at 7 p.m. sharp with more than 1,000 wagering options.
Kicking is for losers. That’s a favorite saying of Westgate sportsbook director John Murray, and it was never more true than on the NFL’s conference championship Sunday.
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