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STN Sports Weekly Rundown

March 23, 2022

Madness (noun): a state of frenzied or chaotic activity… And they say that like it’s a bad thing! Last week, the NCAA Tournament kicked off and it saw more twists than a Chubby Checker concert. How crazy was it? Multiple double-digit seeds are still in the running and a No. 1 seed got knocked out in the round of 32. Are you not entertained!?

Over on the pro side of things, there were significant moves in the NFL and MLB, and there’s likely more coming. 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 ice, on the STN App and at the Station Casinos Sports Book.

March Has Arrived.
No. 15 seed St. Peters is dancing. Michigan and Iowa State, both No. 11 seeds, are still dancing. No 10 seed Miami is still dancing. This tournament has had it all, and it’s been a windfall for the Sports Book, although it hasn’t been easy. Station Casinos Sports Book Director Chuck Esposito said the book was consistently “sweating” the day games, as the favorites had more covers than a Bed, Bath & Beyond. The underdogs, though, came barking later in the day and really bailed out the oddsmakers, including Cal St. Fullerton, who covered a big spread against Duke, and Wright State, who covered against Arizona. The Book was also pulling hard for TCU against Arizona on Sunday night, and the Horned Frogs rewarded the Book and came within the number.

“Seeing all the guests having fun, it’s really a win-win for us,” Esposito said. “It’s clear that Cinderella at this point is alive and well, and there’s kind of four glass slippers out there. That’s what makes the tournament so great.” Big bets also make it great — the Book saw multiple bets in the $20,000-$40,000 range during opening weekend of March Hoops.

With the first and second rounds out of the way, bettors are now turning to the Sweet Sixteen, and there’s already been plenty of action. Duke is a team bettors are zeroing in on, as they are in unfamiliar territory coming into the game as an underdog against defensive-minded Texas Tech. UCLA is also getting a lot of early money. Clearly, though, the darling of the tournament so far is St. Peters, who shot down perennial blue blood Kentucky like a Evgenii Dadonov trade. They then followed that up with a victory against Murray State.

“It’s become that David against Goliath Cinderella story that everybody likes,” Esposito said of the Peacocks, who are 1000-to-1 odds to win the whole thing. “People did take a shot on them. There were some tickets written at that high price.” The Peacocks are heavy ‘dogs in the next round, getting about a dozen points against a stout Purdue team.

NFL Carousel
The NFL might have more drama than Regal Cinemas. The quarterback carousel continued this week with a major change: the Browns traded for Deshaun Watson. The move had huge ramifications on the future’s market. Prior to the trade, Cleveland’s odds to win the Super Bowl were set at 25-to-1. After the trade, they dropped down to 14-to-1 odds. The Browns are now listed as the favorites to win the AFC North, ahead of Baltimore and Cincinnati (you know, the team that was just in the Super Bowl). Over the in the AFC South, the Colts picked up Matt Ryan, dropping their odds as well.

“In all my years in the industry I don’t think I can ever remember seeing so much movement at quarterback, arguably the most impactful position in all of sports,” Esposito said. “I just can’t remember an off season in pro football that has seen so much movement. From our side of it, our heads have been on a swivel as we’ve had to move teams up and down.”

While quarterbacks get the vast majority of the headlines, bettors have been reacting to non-QB moves, too. The Jaguars, for instance, are getting more love than a gigolo on an all-female cruise. Jacksonville has had a busy offseason with signings, and the betting public likes what it’s seeing. With the addition of J.C. Jackson and Khalil Mack, the Chargers are also the apple of bettor’s eyes. “The one thing that hurts the Chargers is, for whatever reason, they don’t have a true home field advantage playing in L.A,” Esposito said. Even the hometown Raiders are getting some action based on major non-QB moves, as they’ve picked up Davante Adams and Chandler Jones. Still, the Raiders are fourth in the AFC West in terms of odds, with the Chiefs still being the favorite.

“I really think the Broncos, Chargers and Raiders have kind of narrowed that gap a little bit,” Esposito said. “They’ve all gone out and made huge moves and they’re almost matching each other. When one makes a move, somebody else makes a move. We’ve actually seen the odds on the Broncos, Chargers and Raiders drop somewhat. And the odds on the Chiefs go up because the gap is narrowed.”

Pitchers and Catchers
Carlos Correa’s $105.3 million, three-year deal certainly changed his lifestyle, and it changed the look of the Twins (and Astros). Trevor Story just became $140 million richer after his Red Sox signing. Unlike Fatburger, these deals aren’t exactly shaking things up. “We’re moving teams up and down the board just based on some of signings, but there hasn’t been anything that has really changed the entire landscape of baseball,” Esposito said, noting that most of the baseball action thus far has been on win totals. Let’s just say bettors are not anticipating great seasons from the Reds and A’s.

Basketball Positioning
The Association is starting to fall into place as teams begin to focus on positioning themselves for the playoffs and getting healthy. This might be the moment to think about underdog betting. “I think the NBA is just leveling out and you’re not quite seeing the blowouts that we saw prior to the All Star Break,” Esposito said. “I think the spreads were a little bit inflated for about a three week stretch after the All-Star Break, but I think it’s starting to level out a little bit right now.” One storyline to keep a close eye on is Stephen Curry’s health and his foot injury. Usually only carpenters pay so much attention to a foot.

Puck It
The NHL trade deadline came and went faster than a Shea Theodore slap shot. Some teams really strengthened their chances to compete for the Cup (Hello Minnesota), and some didn’t do much (Viva Las Vegas). In addition to trying to smooth things over with Knight-turned-Duck-turned-Knight Dadonov, VGK’s biggest friend is going to be health. The team has been beat up all season long. “They’re one of those teams that if they get healthy and get into the dance, I think they can be really good,” an optimistic Esposito said. “They don’t care if they’re fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth, it’s just getting into the playoffs. But, if they don’t have a healthy Robin Lehner, even if they get in, I’m not sure they get out of the first round.” The NHL prognosticators believe it will take 93 points to get into the playoffs. The Knights, after getting waxed by Winnipeg on Tuesday, have 72 points. It’s going to be an uphill battle with only 17 games left.

Fun Bet Alert
With Marc-Andre Fleury now on the Wild, the STN App posted a prop bet tied to his win total in Minnesota. Similarly, a prop bet tied to Davante Adams touchdown receptions was also put on the board.

Happy betting!

Bets To Know

If you missed out on picking a team to make it all the way to win the Natty, the STN Sports app has updated odds heading into the second weekend. You can even pick the team to win each regional, which will make this weekend very interesting…

STN Sports Weekly Winners

– Illinois UND 133.5
– Houston -4.5
– Villanova UND 132.5
– Villanova -5.5
– Providence UND 134
– Providence -3.5