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STN Sports Weekly Rundown

May 1, 2024

Guests Win Big in Draft, Plus Kentucky Derby, Fight Night

Welcome to the STN Sports Books, where things are changing more than a Strip-front Wet N’ Wild construction site. With the NFL Draft now behind us, the NBA and NHL playoffs are taking center stage, as is a certain horse race. We’re all over the board like a Jeopardy contestant.

With all that in mind, let’s quickly look back at the past week in sports and peek at what’s ahead on the STN Sports app and at the STN Sports Books…

NFL Draft

It’s not even close to December, but ’tis the season of giving. The NFL Draft has really never been a winning endeavor for STN Sports Books oddsmakers, and this year was no different. Guests, however, raked in money, cashing in by betting the over on quarterbacks and wide receivers taken in Round 1 — both at plus prices. However, it was moves by the Falcons and Raiders that gave the books more indigestion than a Big Mac.

Atlanta shook up the draft after taking quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick, a shocker since they signed Kirk Cousins to a monster deal this offseason. Still, one bettor put a $100 bet on the Falcons taking a QB with its first pick. The odds? 100-to-1. That bettor was suddenly $10,000 richer. With the pick, Atlanta’s division odds moved up a touch, as few believe Penix will help the team win now. The draft pick was more confusing than the Southwest Airlines boarding process. Also, almost nobody foresaw the Raiders taking Brock Bowers in Round 1… well, almost nobody. One guest placed a $100 bet on the Silver and Black taking a tight end at 60-to-1 odds. That guest had a nice $6,000 payday.

“Some big winners had some big prices on both the Falcons and Raiders first selections, so those were the two that really kind of paved the way,” said Jason McCormick, Station Casinos’ Race and Sports Book VP.

The Derby

This Saturday marks the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby, one of the pinnacle events in all of sports. Station properties will create an atmosphere similar to Churchill Downs with mint juleps, hats so big they have area codes and more revelry than a Lindo Michoacan grand opening. In the spirit of the derby, Station’s Sports Books will feature a $10,000 twin quinella promotion on Friday for Kentucky Oaks Day, and a $20,000 twin quinella promotion on Saturday (ie. bettors must pick the top two finishers of two predetermined races.)

“The big race is on May the Fourth, so I feel like we’re going to have a Star Wars theme going on here,” McCormick said. “I’m throwing out the No. 12 horse, Track Phantom, because it has a Star Wars theme. Maybe we see an upset with the Star Wars May the Fourth horse.” As an added incentive, every $20 wager on Saturday’s race will receive a commemorative 150th anniversary official Derby Day T-shirt.

VGK

The Vegas Golden Knights are more maddening than paid parking. The boys opened their Stanley Cup title defense with back-to-back road wins against the top-ranked Dallas Stars. Having solidly stolen home ice, the VGK were prohibitive favorites in the series. They followed that up by getting outplayed in two games at The Fortress. Just like that, Dallas is again the favorite in a series that’s more of a toss up than a swing state in November – it’s also the only competitive series in the first round of the NHL playoffs.

“The Stars had somewhat dominating performances in both games three and four on road ice,” McCormick said. “The Knights pulling those road upsets kind of maybe woke this Stars team up, and we’re going to have to see if they can find a way for Logan Thompson to stand on his head again for the Knights to pull this out.”

To little surprise, bettors hammered the Knights in the first two games of the series and pocketed more coin than a vending machine. But, they gave it all back while siding with the Knights in games 3 and 4. While you could argue that Dallas outplayed Vegas in all four games, it’s likely that a flood of VGK money will pour in for games 5 and 6.

Fight Night

Like a UFO over Area 51, fists will be flying in Las Vegas this weekend. On Saturday, Canelo Alvarez will again return to the city for a major fight, this time against fellow Mexican Jaime Munguia. Alvarez comes in as a heavy favorite, but this fight also comes just two weeks after Ryan Garcia pulled off a massive upset against Devin Haney. Because Garcia was such a huge underdog, bettors took a flier on him and it paid off (It resulted in the worst boxing outcome for the STN Books in 10 years, making oddsmakers gag like a president on trial.)

“I think boxing fans are going to kind of jump in the same boat here with the younger Jaime Munguia and take a chance at a huge price,” McCormick said. “I think when we start to age these boxers, that’s when we start to see the upsets come in.” Still, going against Alvarez is a tall task, as he’s more decorated than the high limit rooms Green Valley Ranch, Red Rock and Santa Fe Station. The Book is likely to be cheering for Alvarez by the time the fighters touch gloves at T-Mobile Arena. McCormick added,

“I doubt we’ll see a knockout here, so I’m expecting this fight to obviously go the distance.” In addition to the boxing match and Kentucky Derby, UFC 301 is also Saturday, which is taking place in Brazil. “It’s a great fight weekend, and the Derby to the fights has been a common practice,” McCormick noted.

Bets To Know

There seems to be a trend in the NBA Playoffs: a team jumps out to a big early lead and then lets the other team back into the game. Guests have caught onto this phenomenon, too, and they are killing it during in-play betting. “It seems like it’s easy. These NBA playoffs, these teams go up 20 and 25 and it’s easy money just to take the other side of it,” McCormick said. Maybe something to look at the rest of the playoffs?

Weekly Winners

$50 to collect $22,779! This STN Sports bettor hit a 9-team parlay April 28 across multiple sports:

– Predators/Canucks over 5.5 goals -115

– Canucks ML +130

– Rangers -1.5 +135 over Capitals

– Oilers ML -155 over Kings

– Pacers/Bucks over 216.5 -110

– Phillies ML +136 over Padres

– Red Sox ML -142 over Cubs

– Angels/Twins over 7.5 runs -110

– Suns/Timberwolves over 213 -110