Cleveland, getting two to four points Wednesday in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, led by six with 3:09 left before Golden State ended the game on an 11-0 run to not only win 118-113 but also cover and send the number over the total of 227.
Todd Dewey
Todd Dewey covers sports betting for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
tdewey@reviewjournal.com … @tdewey33 on Twitter. 702-383-0354
After blowing a 3-1 lead last year and adding a former MVP, the pressure is squarely on the Warriors. As an underdog after finally bringing a banner home to Cleveland, LeBron James is playing with house money.
The Cavaliers eliminated Boston in a 135-102 blowout Thursday night to set the stage for the highly-anticipated threequel with the Warriors that thankfully promises to be more like “Rocky III” than “The Hangover Part III.”
Nevada’s sports betting handle has increased from $2.6 billion in 2007 to $4.5 billion in 2016, while the state’s horse racing handle has dropped from $596.5 million in 2007 to $310.3 million in 2016.
The Yankees entered Thursday’s series opener against the Astros in a virtual tie for baseball’s best record with Houston and the Orioles, another surprising team.
The most popular prop was the total of 3.5 quarterbacks selected in the first round, and under bettors cashed their tickets.
More tickets have been wagered on Las Vegas’ future NFL franchise to win Super Bowl LII than on any other team at the South Point sports book, which has the Raiders at 15-1 odds to win their fourth Lombardi Trophy next season.
The Westgate sports book has a prop pitting the Warriors (minus-200) versus the field (plus-175), and manager Jeff Sherman expects Golden State to cash as the heaviest favorite he can recall since the late 1990s Bulls title teams led by Michael Jordan.
Charley Hoffman — one of only two players to break 70, along with William McGirt (69) — closed at 125-1 odds to win the Masters after opening at 150-1 odds in August.
Despite North Carolina’s dominance down low, Vegas Insider handicapper Brian Edwards is backing underdog Oregon (+5) as his best bet of the Final Four.
The betting public is banking on the over trend to extend to the Sweet 16, and two handicappers are on Oregon-Michigan Over 147 and UCLA-Kentucky Over 165½.
There weren’t any bad beats in the NCAA Tournament’s first 16 games — other than the intentional foul that cost Vanderbilt a win over Northwestern.
Will a Wildcats team win the NCAA Tournament? Las Vegas radio host Brian Blessing bet Yes (plus-280) on the intriguing prop that includes Villanova, Kentucky, Arizona, Northwestern and Kansas State.
Vic Salerno pioneered satellite books, replaced handwritten betting tickets with a computerized betting system and developed Nevada’s first mobile betting app.
Former Vegas Insider handicapper Lance Blankenship has been busy in Las Vegas the past 10 days pounding Purdue on futures bets to win the NCAA Tournament.
