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STN Sports Weekly Rundown

January 26, 2023

Unders and Underdogs Key to Nice Weekend for Station Sports Book

The divisional round of the NFL Playoffs went against conventional wisdom, as all four of the games when under the total, which was a boon for the Station Casinos’ Race and Sports Books. “That was kind of the difference maker for the weekend, especially with so many parlays and teasers going into that last game with San Fransisco and Dallas,” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos’ Race and Sports Book Director.
“If that game ended with San Francisco and over, it would’ve really taken away a big piece of all the profits.” With all that in mind, let’s quickly look back over the sports landscape and dish out some insight on what’s ahead on the field on the STN Sports App and at the Station Casinos Race and Sports Books.

Divisional Round-up

The NFL weekend started with a a bad beat for Kansas City backers. The Chiefs were leading Jags the entire game and were up by 10 points in the waning seconds. But, with 25 ticks left in the game, Jacksonville kicked a field goal to cut the score to 27-20. After the Jags couldn’t retrieve the onside kick, Kansas City was content to take a knee, end the game and, as Bill Belichick says, be “on to Cincinnati.” That late kick carried some consequences, as it meant Jacksonville covered the 8.5-point line. Kansas City bettors were probably thinking, “Why couldn’t they have gotten a kicker like the Cowboys!”

The Book saw good two-way action on the Chiefs-Jags game, but it oddsmakers were clearly cheering for Jacksonville. “That late field goal was good for us,” Esposito said. “It just seemed like the Jags were kind of in that game. It was really only Mahomes and Kelce, and Jacksonville couldn’t seem to put a lid on that. That was the difference in the game.”

Cincy Advances

In something that’s about as rare as a George Santos true story, the sharps missed in the Cincinnati/Buffalo game. “Sharp action was clearly on the Bills at home, but the ticket count favored Cincy,” Esposito said. “We still ended up needing Cincy when everything was said and done.”

The Book saw a lot of money line play and parlays tied to the Bills, who got steamrolled 27-10 at home in a game that was snowier than a commercial for dandruff. It looked to be a snow globe come to life (eat your heart out Hallmark Channel). Snow Joe Burrow and Company, who came into that game as underdogs, have became absolute road warriors over the last two seasons in the playoffs.

Giant Letdown

Being that the Eagles and Giants are division foes, this game had all the makings to be a slugfest. In the end, it wasn’t even a high school pillow fight, as the final score of 38-7 indicated. Even Strip street performers show more aggression than the Giants did on Saturday.

“The sharp money was kind of split. Early sharp money was on the Giants, but then there was a late big push on the Eagles,” Esposito said. Big Blue was bruised more a grocery store [big] apple.

49ers Run Continues

The San Fransisco 49ers continue to strike fear into Sports Books across the city, and Station Casinos is no different. Being that they had fairly high future odds during the season — particularly due to the carousel of quarterbacks — a Niners Super Bowl win could dent the Book’s wallet. Of course, San Fran’s run is continuing after a 19-12 win over the Dallas Cowboys, a game wherein Dallas’ offense was more sobering than Dry January.

Still, the game saw a tremendous handle, but one particular bettor took the Cowboys loss hard, dropping $50,000 on Big D. “Brock Purdy is only being asked to kind of manage the game, but he’s managing it masterfully and not turning he ball over,” Esposito said. “San Francisco is in a really good spot, and they have a really good team.”

The Final Four

The handle in the upcoming AFC Championship between the Bengals and Chiefs is already more lopsided than a Downtown Las Vegas hotel mattress, and that’s largely due to Patrick Mahomes’ injury and Cincinnati’s undeniable swagger. “We’re seeing a lot of Cincinnati love industry wide,” Esposito said. Since the opening line, a flood of Bengals bets have move the line several points, and it’s likely to go even more, possibly even to a field goal. In fact, with Cincy entering the game as favorite on Sunday, it will mark the first time Mahomes has been an underdog in a playoff game. The Chiefs will be just the seventh team since 2000 to be a home underdog in a conference championship game.

In the early goings, over 70% of the tickets are being printed on the Bengals. “Over the last month and a half of the season, Cincinnati was a real popular choice amongst more sharp betters looking at the future book,” Esposito said. “You were getting a better price for the Bengals than any of the other legitimate contenders.”Burrow, by the way, is 3-0 against the Chiefs. Mahomes, who has rarely been an underdog in his career, is 6-1-1 against the spread as an underdog.

History Repeats

The last time 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts played against each other was in 2019. Purdy was guiding Iowa State and Hurts was helming Oklahoma. That game was more explosive than a Michele Fiore city council fight, with Iowa State winning 38-31 on the road in an epic game.

On Sunday, Purdy will again face Hurts, but this time a Super Bowl berth will be on the line. The Eagles have been the best team in the league all year, but the Niners became a very trendy pick as the season went on, largely based on its run game and top overall defense. The NFC Championship game spread is holding steady at just under a field goal with the Eagles favored. If these teams were in a neutral field, it would be closer to a pick ‘em.

“We saw some early action on the Eagles in the game. The sharp action has been on the 49ers a bit,” Esposito said. The strength of these teams couldn’t be more different: The Eagles have the second-best offensive team in the league, whereas the Niners have the league’s top defense. “Can Purdy step up and do it again? Can he do it on the road? Those are questions I have,” Esposito said. “I wanted to see him face a little bit of adversity and see how he played, and he did see that with Dallas. That Dallas defense was swarming. They created a lot of havoc for him, but he doesn’t turn the ball over.”

Either Philly is gonna beat San Francisco til it Hurts, or the Niners will be sitting real Purdy by the end of the weekend.

Bets To Know

The props continue to pile up for Conference Championship weekend. In each game, the app offers bets like team to score first, first touchdown scorer, defensive TD (Y/N), team to score last, shortest/longest TD scored, overtime (Y/N), longest FG made, team to punt first, and much more.

Weekly Winners

Congrats to this bettor who cashed a huge return on a $10 8-team parlay… 163-1! They walked away with $1,620.05.

– PANTHERS OV 6.5 -120

– KINGS -130

– BRUINS -1.5 -160

– SABRES OV 7 +120

– DUCKS OV 6.5 -105

– BLACKHAWKS OV 6.5 EV

– 1H DEPAUL OV 70 -110

– 1H MIAMI FL OV 70.5 -110