Hot takes, bad beats and all things sports betting, a weekly newsletter by Steven Money.

STN Sports Weekly Rundown

February 9, 2022

And then there were two. After 24 weeks of meaningful football games (not including the Jets or Jags, of course), we’ve finally arrived to the Big Game at So-Fi Stadium. [Insert Bruce Buffer voice] In this corner, coming from Los Angeles by way of St. Louis, by way of Los Angeles, the Rams. And in this corner, hailing from the city that bred Jerry Springer, the Cincinnati Bengals. Let’s get it on! By the time the Rams and Bengals take the field after that much-too-long pregame show, they will have had two weeks to study each other. Bettors, too, will have had ample time to not only wager, but second guess those wagers, as well. “We’ve only scratched the surface in terms of bets,” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos Sports Book Director. “We’ve only seen a small percentage of the overall wagers, but that’s all about to change. It always gets insane the closer you get to game time.” With all of 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 ice, on the court, on the STN App and at the Station Casinos Sports Book.

Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Although the Super Bowl spread and total saw a little movement after initially being posted, they’ve settled in and remain untouched — kind of like Tim Tebow at a sorority party in college. Still, it’s too early to determine where the lines will end up, as the 72 hours prior to kickoff are usually busier than the 215 at Eastern Avenue during the holidays. Thus far, the early money is on the Rams, including all of the high five-figure wagers at the Station Sports Books. “We’re still getting guests that are playing the typical underdog on the money line,” Esposito said. “I think if you like the underdog in this game, you have to feel that they can win the game outright.” There is one trend that has held true since 2010: the team that scores last has won the game; and the team that scores first in the game has won eight of the past 12 years.

Home Cooking
The Los Angeles Rams enter Sunday’s game as the favorite, which makes sense since they’re playing in their home stadium. But, we saw visiting fans of opposing teams overrun So-Fi Stadium this year multiple times, so do the Rams really have a home field advantage? “I don’t think so,” Esposito said. “This is a bucket list game, so you have people from all over the world going, not necessarily Rams fans.” To prove that, the Station oddsmaker said the spread would have opened at six points, not four, if this were a regular season game or a playoff game. “So-Fi being the site wasn’t factored into the spread for this one,” he added. Is there some value on the Rams because of this? For what it’s worth, this is the second year in a row that a team in the big game is playing in its home stadium. Last year’s game was in Tampa, and Tampa won. [Next year’s Super Bowl is in Arizona… hint, hint, Cardinals}.

Keys To Success [Rams Edition]
The Rams were put together for one very specific reason: to win the Big Game this year. And while Matthew Stafford will get most of the Rams’ ink, the strength of this team may very well be the defense, specifically the defensive line. “I think the way they win the game is by putting a tremendous amount of pressure on Joe Burrow,” Esposito said. “Remember, the Titans, although they lost, sacked him nine times. The Rams had a Super Bowl-caliber defense before they got Stafford. They need to compliment that on the offensive side of the ball.” The key for Stafford is limiting turnovers, which he’s struggled with at times this season. Esposito added of the Rams signal caller, “If he doesn’t turn the ball over, I think the Rams will have a lot of success.”

Keys To Success [Bengals Edition]
For eons, the Bengals were more dysfunctional than the cohosts on “The View,” but those days are long over. However, the Bengals are really playing with house money right now. They weren’t expected to be here, especially since they had the fourth longest odds to win the big game going into the season (For perspective, the 2023 odds are up on the STN App, and the Lions are fourth from the cellar — anyone jumping at the chance to bet Detroit next year)?? There’s no question that a Bengals victory rests on the arm of Joe Burrow. He’s going to have to have a game of games and then become the first player to win the Heisman Trophy, win a National Championship, be the first pick in the draft and hoist the Lombardi Trophy. In fairness to Burrow, he seems to save his best performances for big games. If Burrow has a big game (hey, MVP) ! he could be lighting up another cigar, just as he did after winning a National Championship and after winning the AFC North. Sheesh, we haven’t talked about cigars this much since the Clinton impeachment proceedings.

The Letterman
The only three letters equivalent to STN? MVP! TheBig Game might be the only time where playing the field is actually encouraged, because that can amount to Most Valuable Player. It should come as no surprise that the two quarterbacks are the favorites to win the award. But there are some particularly interesting players who could very well take home the honor, especially on the Rams side of the ball. Cooper Kupp is getting a lot of early love, as is defensive stud Aaron Donald, whose odds have dropped. Von Miller has won it before, so the concept isn’t foreign to him. What if Miller and Donald are double-teamed, does that open up long shot MVP candidate Leonard Floyd to tee off on Smokin’ Joe? What about OBJ? “With the Rams, it’s a bit more wide open with the MVP,” Esposito theorized. “On the Cincy side, Burrow is the overwhelming favorite to win it, just because it seems highly, highly likely that if they win, it’s going to be because of Joe Burrow.” However, Esposito sees value in some MVP long shots, including Bengals kicker Evan McPherson and Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey — both of whom have odds higher than 50-1.

Prop It To Me
The props have dropped! There are over 1,000 ways to bet the game within the game on the STN App and at the Station Casinos Sports Books. 1,000! Nick Cannon doesn’t even have that many children. With so many opportunities, bettors can have a wager on seemingly every play. “If you don’t like either team, you can find something to root for,” Esposito said. There is everything from cross-sport bets (will there be more Rams touchdowns or Vegas Golden Knights goals in the Feb. 16 game vs. the Avalanche) to specific trifecta’s (will Ja’marr Chase have over 82.5 yards + a touchdown + a Bengals win?) You can even bet whether Joe Brrr, as his teammates call him, will have more passing yards than Kenny Anderson did back in the 1982 Super Bowl. “We’re seeing a lot of play on the unders so far in almost everything, but that’s more the sharp bettors. The public really hasn’t stepped in yet,” Esposito said. “Prop bets are gonna make up probably 45 to 50 percent of the overall handle on the game, so they become a vital part of it.”

Trading Places
Like that vacant lot by your house, the NBA landscape is changing before our very eyes. With the trade deadline approaching, teams are reshaping their rosters in their quest for a title. CJ McCollum is now a Pelican; Domantas Sabonis is now a King, and Tyrese Haliburton is moving to Indiana. “There always is a lot of hype leading up to the trade deadline, but I think this year you’re going to see a bevy of movement with it being kind of so open in both conferences, especially with teams below the top two or three,” Esposito said. Could one of those teams be the struggling Nets? Although management has publicly said James Harden is not on the trading block, that might just be smoke and mirrors, something Vegas knows all about. “We’re making adjustments on the teams involved — we’ve lowered the Pelicans a little bit and raised the Blazers after that trade,” Esposito said.

Olympic-Sized Wagers
The STN App may cater to locals, but it’s got an eye all over the world, including China. Like the athletes in Beijing, STN and Station guests can score some gold of their own. Do you have a favorite in curling squad? We got you! Do you have insight on the Latvia hockey team? Try to beat the book! “We’ve seen some action on the Olympics,” Esposito said. “I think any time we add more wagering options to the menu it becomes appealing to the guests, and we’re always looking for stuff.” Don’t get it twisted, Olympic betting doesn’t rival that of other major sports. Still, there is money to be made. “Hockey in the Winter Olympics is always really popular, both men’s and women’s. Plus, there’s such a correlation with being able to watch an event and wager on an event,” Esposito said. “It does become a positive thing when we can offer more stuff like that.”

With the STN App, bettors can become their own Super-stars… especially this week!

Bets To Know

STN Sports Weekly Winners

$10 at 800-1 for $8k!