Fresh off their biggest August ever, sportsbooks followed that up with a huge betting handle — or amount of money wagered — on Week 1 of the NFL season.
Todd Dewey
Todd Dewey covers sports betting for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
tdewey@reviewjournal.com … @tdewey33 on Twitter. 702-383-0354
New England almost singlehandedly made Sunday a losing day for BetMGM in Nevada when a bettor won a $525,000 wager on the Patriots (-7) placed at the counter at The Mirage.
The Bills traded for receiver Stefon Diggs and drafted running back Zack Moss to help spark an offense that has averaged only 18.1 points per game the past three years.
Week 1 kicked off Thursday with two of the six games on the Labor Day weekend betting board. But Las Vegas sportsbooks still aren’t sure if the Big Ten is going to play this year.
The Westgate offered 25-1 odds on Washington quarterback Alex Smith to win the award. After taking two $200 wagers on Smith at 25-1, the book lowered his odds to 12-1.
Lamar Jackson was a 200-1 long shot to win MVP last season, and a professional sports bettor turned $500 into $63,000 at Circa (at 125-1) when Jackson won the award.
Jeff Whitelaw went 3-1 on his NFL win totals in the Review-Journal last year, with winners on the Bills Over 6½ (10-6), Browns Under 9½ (6-10) and Redskins Under 6½ (3-13).
Vegas, the +450 favorite to win the Stanley Cup, is the heaviest first-round NHL playoff series favorite at -350 over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Wagering on the 2020 PGA Championship — the first major in this unprecedented year — is expected to rival the Masters at Las Vegas sportsbooks.
Handicapper Dana Lane is betting against the Golden Knights, who might be without leading scorer Max Pacioretty. Dallas is a +115 underdog to the Knights, who are -125.
Handicapper Micah Roberts is backing the Mets (-138) over the Braves as one of his best bets largely because of Jacob deGrom, the +275 favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award.
Mike Trout’s wife is expecting their first child in August, and the Angels center fielder has said he isn’t sure if he’ll play the entire 60-game season.
Las Vegas sportsbooks have generally shortened the futures odds of long shots and lengthened the odds of favorites because of the small sample size of 60 games.
Professional sports bettor Rufus Peabody, Westgate golf oddsmaker Jeff Sherman and VSiN host Brady Kannon recommend betting more on matchups than futures.
Rufus Peabody had $2,000 in bets to win $173,000 on Kyle Stanley, who led by seven strokes in the final round at Torrey Pines in 2012 but lost in a playoff.
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