Technically, Ravens bettors didn’t suffer a bad beat in Sunday’s 24-23 loss to the Saints. That’s because even if Baltimore had tied the game in the final seconds, there was no guarantee it would’ve won and/or covered as a 2½- or 3-point favorite.
Todd Dewey
Todd Dewey covers sports betting for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
tdewey@reviewjournal.com … @tdewey33 on Twitter. 702-383-0354
Two weeks before the first College Football Playoff rankings are released, let’s take a look at four matchups of teams in the AP Top 25 poll, which is often at odds with Las Vegas power ratings.
Countless other bettors also lost on Chicago and the Rams in the day’s two biggest decisions for Las Vegas sports books.
ESPN anchor Scott Van Pelt was interviewed for the keynote chat on the future of legalized, regulated sports betting in the U.S. on Wednesday at the Global Gaming Expo at the Sands and Expo Convention Center.
Home underdogs are 16-6 ATS, including 4-0 ATS on Sunday with three outright upsets.
Nurmagomedov (26-0-0), a Russian grappler, is a minus 160 favorite over McGregor, the popular plus 140 underdog from Ireland.
Tennessee, which closed as a 3-point underdog to Philadelphia, overcame a 14-point third-quarter deficit, then converted three fourth downs on the winning drive in OT.
The bad beat for bettors who wagered on under 55½ points turned out to be a miracle win for a William Hill gambler at SLS Las Vegas who had over 55 on a $100 10-team college football parlay that he hit for $72,000.
Buffalo, which closed as a 17-point underdog, whipped Minnesota 27-6.
FanDuel spun a potential public relations nightmare into positive publicity Thursday when it agreed to pay a New Jersey bettor his full $82,000 payout on a disputed $110 live wager at 750-1 odds.
Week 2 in the NFL wasn’t kind to the wagering public as underdogs went 11-4 against the spread with seven outright upsets (including the Bengals’ win over the Ravens on Thursday).
The biggest favorite in Saturday’s rematch between Gennady Golovkin and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at T-Mobile Arena is on the fight to go the distance.
Tampa Bay, which was a 10-point underdog without suspended starting quarterback Jameis Winston, killed every straight bet, parlay and teaser on the Saints.
Stanford running back Bryce Love, the 2017 Heisman Trophy runner-up, appears primed to kick-start his 2018 Heisman campaign against USC, which allowed 308 yards rushing to UNLV in a 43-21 win.
Several Las Vegas oddsmakers and handicappers are high on Michigan, which will take on Notre Dame on Saturday night in South Bend, Indiana, in a classic Week 1 matchup.
