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STN Sports Weekly Rundown

March 16, 2022

“No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.” – Aristotle

What a time to be a sports junkie! Brackets are being filled out, quarterbacks are coming, going, and coming out of short-lived retirements, baseball is returning, and the NBA and NHL are in their playoff push. Buckle up, it’s March! With all that in mind, let’s quickly look over the sports world’s landscape and take a peek at what’s ahead on the field, on the court, on the STN App and at the Station Casinos Sports Book.

Bracketology
It’s time to go dancing! The greatest tournament in sports has begun with 64 teams vying to be the 2022 College Men’s Basketball Champion. Thus far, the Station Casinos Sports Book has seen a flurry of activity, but most of the early money came via the professional bettors. Like an Atlanta Falcons receiver, the general public tends to bet on game day.

“We’ve definitely seen some line moves early on,” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos Sports Book Director. Early money pushed the San Diego State spread a touch higher, and Gonzaga, the overall top team in the tourney, was actually a bet against, as early money was all over 16 seed Georgia State. Due to parity in college basketball, smaller schools are getting a lot of love as of late. “A decade ago, almost every game in the first round was a double digit spread. You saw many games with spreads in the high twenties, and some even in the thirties. You don’t see that anymore,” Esposito explained. “Gonzaga was the highest number on the board this year. I think that’s why you see the bettors kind of take the underdog in that spot.”

Catch Scratch Fever
Ever since the basketball pairings were announced, many in the national media seemed to believe that Arizona had the easiest path to the Final Four among the No. 1 seeds. Let’s be clear, a deep Arizona run would be somewhat concerning to the Station Sports Book. “We don’t have a tremendous amount of liability on Arizona, but we’re not in a great spot either,” Esposito said. “They weren’t even in the Top 25 prior to the start of the season, so guests were able to get a really good price on them a few months ago. Now they’re sitting there as a No. 1 seed.” Due to Arizona’s proximity to Nevada and the fact that the Cat’s have a rabid fan base, guests (likely with a 520 area code) did indeed bet on Arizona cutting down the nets. The last cat to make Vegas sweat this much was Roy Horn’s tiger.

Ball Brothers and Sisters
Boy, are we having a ball! Not only are the odds up for the NCAA Men’s Tournament Games, but lines are up for the NIT, CBI and Women’s NCAA Tournament (UNLV Lady Rebels 500-to-1 odds — Go Rebs!). And then there are the props. There are team vs. team props (who will win more games in the tourney), conference props, player vs. player props, point race props, regional props, win total props and more. We have more college options than Jimmy Garoppolo probably had an Eastern Illinois sorority party.

Can’t Keep Me Down
Tom Brady couldn’t go quietly into the night, could he? Just a few weeks after the Greatest of all Time hung up his cleats, he decided he wasn’t done after all. Of course, Brady’s announcement had a dramatic impact on the futures market in the NFL. Prior to Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had 25-to-1 odds of winning the whole enchilada. Surprisingly, not a lot of guests bit on the then-Brady-less Bucs at that point. Upon Brady’s reappearing act, Station Sports Book and the STN App quickly took down the NFL futures odds to readjust.

Brady and Co. are now sitting behind only the Packers and Rams in the NFC. “When that news broke about Brady, within 10 minutes we probably had a dozen guests looking to bet Tampa at the elevated price,” Esposito said. Before Brady’s Decision (not to be confused with Lebron’s), some area sports books had much, much higher odds on the Bucs. Esposito said Station was analytical about it, knowing that the NFC South was riddled with quarterback question marks. “Tampa was still the odds-on favorite to win the NFC South,” he said. “So we weren’t too carried away there with the future’s line. But, of course, once a guy like Brady comes back, there was a quick adjustment.” To many, Brady’s announcement was more shocking than the NWO crashing the WCW set back in 1996 (RIP, Scott Hall). The other headline-making quarterback moves — the Steelers inking Mitchell Trubisky and Carson Wentz going to Washington — didn’t make much of a ripple in the future’s market. Pro tip: Watch for a drastic line shift when Deshaun Watson finds a new home.

TD Department
Russell Wilson and Tom Brady both scored touchdowns in the marriage department, but they’re pretty good on the field, too. For his past four full seasons, Russell Wilson has averaged 35 touchdown passes a year. Tom Brady has averaged 41.5 TD passes over the last two seasons. If you think you can foresee the aerial attack in Denver and Tampa, money awaits. This week, the STN App posted props linked to both men’s TD totals. Will Wilson toss 35.5 touchdowns while leading the Broncos next season? Will Brady find the end zone 41.5 times?

“In regard to Wilson, although he had a lot of success with Pete Carroll, Pete was more of a defensive, run-first coach,” Esposito said. “I think it’s going to be a refreshing change for Russell Wilson to be able to open it up at times, especially with an offensive-minded head coach.” Still, experienced bettors have been betting the under on Wilson TD passes, as there’s always a worry of quarterbacks — any quarterback — staying healthy for the duration of a 17-week season. Brady, meanwhile, has a projected TD total that’s less than his age.

The Boys Are Back
The boys of summer have come to a spring compromise. After a 99-day lockout, baseball is back, and Station Casinos wasted no time, as it was first to market in posting team win totals. “We couldn’t wait to start putting up prop bets,” Esposito said, noting the STN App currently features group props for home runs, pitcher wins, pitcher saves and pitcher strikeouts. “The future’s market is very fluid right now,” the oddsmaker said. “There’s not an hour that goes by where we’re not taking a close look in adjusting something based on rumors or signings.” With baseball’s free agency period in a full frenzy, oddsmakers are making adjustments on the fly. Look for the signings of Kris Bryant, Trevor Story and Freddie Freeman to shake up the odds, too. Currently, the Dodgers have the lowest odds to win the World Series, followed by the Mets and Braves. Two bets guests have been pounding: betting over the win total on the Arizona Diamondbacks, and betting the under on the win total of the probably-not-coming-to-Las-Vegas-Athletics.

Last Chance
Guests have until 5 p.m. on Thursday to sign up for the Men’s Last Man Standing competition for NCAA Basketball Tournament. Players can purchase an entry into the winner-take-all competition in person at any Station Casinos property or Station-run sports books for $25. Bettors can increase their chances of winning by purchasing multiple entries. Any contestant who purchases four entries will receive a fifth entry complimentary. Contestants will make picks against the spread every day of the tournament, from March 17 to March 20. For those still in the running after the first weekend, daily picks will continue from March 24 to March 27, as well as April 2 and April 4. Kind of like what your high school sweetheart did to you: the idea is to move on. Although the grand prize won’t be known until all entries are in, the pot is expected to exceed $50,000. If more than one bettor has a perfect tournament, the pot will be split.

Bets To Know

STN Sports Weekly Winners

– Bulls -5.5
– Kings +9.5
– Tennessee +3
– Mich. St. +6.5
– Indiana +5.5
– Texas A&M +6
– Kansas -2.5
– Creighton +6.5